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Ph.D Webcomic Gets Adapted Into Feature Film
Technically Inept writes with the lead paragraph from a report at Comics Alliance: "To the best of my knowledge, Jorge Cham's Piled Higher and Deeper (better known as PhD Comics) is the first webcomic to be adapted into a feature-length film. After months spent on a college campus screening tour, Piled Higher and Deeper: The Movie is finally available for purchase and streaming. And, like its comic inspiration, the PhD pokes fun at the frustrations of graduate students, those noble folks who enter academia with dreams of changing the world and inspiring young minds, only to be thwarted by indifferent professors, lazy undergrads and the ever-present fear that they'll never graduate." The short review linked makes this sound like a very watchable movie.
As a former grad student, I say Bravo!
The golden trio of webcomics.
New Economic Perspectives
There have been other webcomics optioned, like more than 3 years ago, and may still be in development hell.
Richard is the man. Would make one hell of a movie.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
I saw this at a screening in March, and it was very good. The references to the comics would be lost on non-readers, but the movie is enjoyable even without them.
philosophies must unless you can work Private sex party Smith only serve It wiil be among Prospects are very
You can access a streaming version of Piled Higher and Deeper: The Movie for $10
Read More: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/04/19/phd-comics-the-movie-video/#ixzz1spIbl05I
For one thing, they're using that Tynt garbage. For another, that's twice the price of, say, an iTunes or Google Play rental.
There is a South Korean movie based on a popular webcomic here that was released last year called Moss.
I like (most of) the PhD Comics, but the opportunity to attend an advanced screening on my campus (MSU) came up a few months ago, I watched the trailer and was a little leery. Long story short, I wound up skipping the screening. Should I have gone? Is it a genuinely good film?
I still have my fingers crossed for a Jerkcity feature film
they should cover lack of real skills in college and people saying to long.
For most jobs 4 years is to long much less 6 or more. Even more so for most IT jobs you can learn a lot more on your or even in a 2 year tech school.
This feature film came out a couple of months ago...
PhD comics is about grad school. In grad school you're supposed to learn how to learn what you need to know. If you lack skills when you come out, it's because you failed.
I'm going to watch it, but as an amateur filmmaker, I'm bracing myself after looking at its imdb listing here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2066040/ ... The actors are all not real actors. I expect it's going to be silly in a painful way. The idea behind it is great, but, for the major roles at least, you can easily find actors willing to work for free who are worlds more believable than some lab rats trying to make fun of themselves.
Honestly, who gives a fuck about a comic about a bunch of fucking lazy do-nothings? Get a job out in the real world.
The career choice of attaining a PhD seems simultaneously humourous, praise-worthy, and worthy of sympathy from those on the outside. But as someone who has a CS PhD from a top-20 U.S. university and is now fast approaching 40, I can honestly say it's the single best decision I've ever made. I'm skilled in my chosen fields, make over $200K for a large Bay Area company, and can attack any new project with confidence and thoroughness (and my managers know this). My only real regret is not studying harder in undergrad to get into a top-5 PhD program.
only to be thwarted by indifferent professors, lazy undergrads and the ever-present fear that they'll never graduate
I mostly agree with the original statements. Some professors are frankly very indifferent, and undergrad students are exceptionally lazy, particularly for Spring quarter classes. However, there shouldn't really be a fear of not graduating; it's just a matter of putting together a coherent set of high-calibre research publications.
...the Girl Genius web comic, it's from Studio Foglio. There are not many films in the steampunk style, though - maybe Spielberg could give it a fair rendition.
Shameless plug.
same worthless 7heir parting
No. No more adaptions. GG is one of my favorite things in the universe. Keep that cesspit Hollywood far away from it.
How about they write movie scripts with original ideas that fit a movie form and structure?
I went to a top-1 U.S. university for my PhD in chemical engineering and while I'm happy with my choice, it can be annoying to see that the much easier path available to everyone from my top-2 U.S. university undergraduate institution ("investment banking" if you haven't guessed) would have been far more lucrative.
Mod this nauseous clown DOWN.
So, wait, what are you selling again?
Didn't one of the Occupy guys have a degree in puppetry?
Is the job market a non disaster now? I also in the bay bay area and graduated with a PhD in 2008 and the job market was a disaster, and the only job I was able to get I'm still working at, and I'm making less than half of your salary.
It seems kind of weird that they didn't give us a free alternative for the film. Why not take advantage of sites like Hulu or Youtube? Why not put the movie on a torrent?
Puppeteers can make a lot of money. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Muppets
I believe Undercover Brother was technically the first.
I read a lot of webcomics and I always buy the printed compilations and other goodies. So I buying the DVD a good use of money to support the art of webcomics from which I derive much entertainment. That said, in my opinion, the movie was only so-so.
Pros:
1) hit many great jokes from the strip - the conference in hawaii, Tajel's hippie-ness, lab role stereotypes, trying to secure funding, etc.
2) I thought male leads more-or-less matched their hand-drawn counterparts
3) I also thought DVD extras were entertaining, particularly the commentary
Cons:
1) the main character had two different haircuts! Thought it was two different characters at one point! I found it really distracting.
2) sound quality was awful
3) acting for the main characters wasn't great, and was flat out awful for all the non-main characters
4) the female leads were not well matched to their hand-drawn counterparts. This is more of a nit-pick than a real flaw. The girl playing Tajel was gorgeous, though!
5) I thought Tajel & Slackenery's roles were marginalized, while Cecila's romance was given unnecessary prominence. I'll agree that Cecila and the unnamed main character are the "leads", but in the comic they don't dominate like they did in the movie.
Bottom line: the movie was made by students, with students, for students. And I think it showed. I don't recommend it for people who aren't fans of the strip. But for people who are fans of the strip I found it to be a good use of an hour, if for no other reason then seeing your favorite strips acted out live.
I honestly don't understand the response article about webcomics can provoke. I can understand different people taking the opportunity to share comics they like -- indeed, it's kinda nice -- but why so many would want to talk down comics (without, evidently, producing anything better of their own) is lost on me. Maybe it's just trolling but so much effort seems to go into it. Kinda sad. Here's something nice about most webcomics : they're free. Which means people can enjoy those they like and do not have to visit those they don't. It also means that a comic like XKCD can and does link to a comic like Perry Bible Fellowship. Even so, thanks for the recommendations. For my part : I'm having other post grad friends over and we'll make a night watching the film. Congrats to PhD comics. Hope the film's as good as the comic.
You're also a lot younger than them - experience tends to result in greater pay.
Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.
Problem is that it has taken years for the story to advance... 2 weeks. At this rate there will never be a GG movie as the plot won't be resolved for several more weeks.. call it a decade at least.
So, your wish is granted!
Oh please. Many engineering jobs are project-oriented, a new project is often like an entirely new job, only you don't have to interview again.
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
Me think these grad students have too much time on their hands.
"Get back to work!" says Prof. Smith
From what I've read of this film so far, the grad students involved would have been better served if they had worked with the experts in the field: the drama department.
Why is it that so many "geeks" think they're good at everything just because they're experts in one or two fields? No one is good at everything, so sometimes you need to swallow your pride, shelve your ego, and call in people who are experts.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
And it was just that: a web-comic turned into a movie. It felt like a lot jokes from the comic strips trying to be linked together by a poor story. I'm a PhD student myself, but I hardly ever found it funny, just lots of overused cliches about students. I don't think a lot of people in the audience liked it too. It's not THAT bad, but it's not something I'd ever watch again or recommend.
Only way to make it would be to clone Mr. Foglio, and have him animate it.
This is not getting a theatrical release. It is not going to be 'featured' in theaters.
I'm quite fond of Girl Genius, myself.
well in IT trades / tech schools are better college CS just covers the wrong areas and the higher up you go the less tech skills are learned so it's the schools teaching plans that failed as well as HR who says they want a BA, MA, PHD for a Trades / Tech job.
Errant Story, First Blood, Marry Me.
But... the future refused to change.
Cowboys and Aliens, after Moss, I think, well before PhD. No?!?
That's probably the most boring trailer I've ever seen. I don't even feel like pirating the movie, let alone paying $10 for it.
I don't have a sig.
There is a surprisingly high overlap between XKCD fans and Ron Paul fans.
Managing to disparage both at once isn't the worth effort, as the gain in population of pissed-off-people is marginal, at best.