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Figgis's maverick latest shot in 93 min

by Benjamnin Svetkey

Brit director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) has filmed his digital-video feature Time Code 2000, and true to his word, he recorded the movie in exactly 93 minutes in LA on Tuesday.

Talking to Canada's Jam! Movies website, Figgis explained: "It's basically shooting an entire feature film in 93 minutes on one tape. Obviously the actors have to know their timing." They'd have to - they're expected to improvise the film based on rough trajectories for each of their characters. "It's all a bit of a mind-blowing idea," Figgis continues. "It's entirely gratuitous on my part. I'm just fascinated by the reductive process that video offers." The shoot is reported to have started at noon, and to have included four locations. The experiment also included an online component: one of the actors chatted with web users during filming.

The impromptu nature of the project wasn't quite as impromptu as it seemed, however. It transpires that Figgis had shot the digi-feature once before and that this was in effect his second take. "I've shot it already. I'm just shooting it again (today)… It'll become clear very soon. I can't talk about it right now." What is clear is that the new record-setter for cinema's briefest shoot stars, among a cast of 20, Salma Hayek, Stellan Skarsgard, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Figgis's actress-girlfriend, Saffron Burrows.

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