College kids may huddle together in a tiny dorm room to watch Dazed and Confused downloaded free of charge on a laptop, but the strobed, slow-mo images may be making them as spaced out as the drugged out youths in the film.

But, they want to see the movie, even if the technology isnt quite there yet. Thats the result of feeding a hungry audience before the product is finished cooking. And it leaves everyone with the munchies.

It is taxing to watch a feature length film on a computer: The novelty is appealing, but in the end all the viewers are left with is a headache.

Enter the short film. Never before has there been a more ideal format or audience for shorts. Word of mouth, in addition to sites promoting these mini-films has created an atmosphere for short films and their creators that is nothing short of revolutionary.

Heading up this revolution is the nine-minute film George Lucas In Love. A parody of Shakespeare In Love, Lucas, played by Martin Hynes, is a student of cinema in 1967 suffering from writers block as he tries to write a movie about a young space farmer with a bad crop of space wheat. Hes surrounded by potentially inspiring characters but sees nothing. Not even his advisor, who looks suspiciously like Yoda, is able to help him. Then he meets his muse, a young girl with a hairdo that looks like two gigantic breakfast rolls attached to her ears. She urges him to write what you know. Then before you can say may the force be with you his block goes away and Lucas is pounding on the typewriter. With a parade of Hollywood bigwigs watching his every step Joe Nussbaum director of George Lucas In Love, is definitely an Internet success story with a plot thats getting thicker by the minute. This short, simple parody with a slick Hollywood aesthetic and soundtrack to match quickly became an Industry favorite and top seller on Amazon. Zap2itcaught up with Joe in between approving final cuts of a commercial he just finished directing.

Zap2it.com: When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker?

Joe Nussbaum: In elementary school my parents bought a video camera, little movies of just me turned into grabbing my friends every weekend and making movies. Mostly we made Ninja movies. I made an entire oeuvre of Ninja movies. Then in high school I started absorbing every single video class, I always had a camera with me, I took a lot of acting classes, it was just all about performing, entertaining, but film always seemed like the coolest way to do that.

Zap2it.com: So it was natural that you would go to film school?

Joe Nussbaum: When I was applying to colleges I only applied to film schools. I ended up going to USC as a production major and it was great. I spent my first couple of years taking general-ed classes, working as a P.A. on every student film I could, and interning--I interned on a couple of features--and as soon as I was in the actual production class I made the most out of every student project I could, taking every directing class I could, putting my all into it.

Zap2it.com: Were the people who worked on George Lucas In Love people you met in school?

Joe Nussbaum: Totally, it was great it was kind of like a USC reunion. Between me and the producer Joseph Levy, the Executive Producer Gary Bryman, our DP, our composer, our gaffer, it was just on and on with USC people. Including the actors; almost all of the cast were USC theatre people.

On Friday, Find Out How and Why Joe Went Into Short Films!