Jamie Stuart may have just created the first Oscar-worthy YouTube video. Stuart, who recorded the clip during the day-after-Christmas blizzard in New York this weekend, edited and emailed the video, entitled "Idiot With a Tripod," to Roger Ebert the next day. Ebert was so impressed he shared it with readers on his Chicago Sun-Times blog, proclaiming, "this film deserves to win the Academy Award for best live-action short subject."

Ebert goes on to explain why he believes to 3 minute and 35 second video should win Hollywood's most coveted award:

(1) Because of its wonderful quality. (2) Because of its role as homage. It is directly inspired by Dziga Vertov's 1929 silent classic "Man With a Movie Camera." (3) Because it represents an almost unbelievable technical proficiency. It was filmed during the New York blizzard of Dec. 26, and Jamie Stuart e-mailed it to me with this time stamp: December 27, 2010 4:18:18 PM CST. 

Cord Jeffereson at MSN's Culture blog responds to Ebert's enthusiasm, predicting that an Oscar may be "a long shot." Still, he believes the video is "a testament to technology--both its power to create and to disseminate information--that a film that took just a day to complete is receiving Oscar buzz from one of the most respected critics in the world."

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at cdickson at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Caitlin Dickson