It was announced last week that Spike Lee has teamed up with Nokia to make a movie composed of footage shot by amateurs with their cell phones. Working title of the film: Blurry, Shaky Things with Bad Sound.

No, just kidding. Actual working title of the film: Spike Lee Desperately Needs Work.

No, still just kidding. The REAL working title of the film is: What a Stupid Idea This Was.

No, sorry. There is no working title. Nokia is welcome to use any of those suggestions, though.

This Reuters article lays out the basics. The movie will be made in three chunks. An assignment for each chunk will appear online, and you’ll have four weeks to create your response, using only a cell phone to film it. Spike Lee will oversee the entries and, after some audience voting narrows down the finalists, pull the best segments together into one film.

My initial reaction to this is disappointment in Spike Lee. He was once a maverick, a true independent, and now he is officially working for The Man. I guess you do what you have to. Maybe I’m in no position to judge, being a total whore myself. Then again, I never said I wasn’t. Also, who says being in a position to judge is a prerequisite for judging? I can judge as much as I want. So shut up.

Nokia’s press release quotes Lee as saying this: “You are seeing firsthand the democratization of film. Aspiring filmmakers no longer have to go to film school to make great work. With a simple mobile phone, almost anyone can now become a filmmaker.”

Hold the phone there, Spikeroo. There’s a huge difference between “making a film” — i.e., pointing your camera or cell phone at something and pressing “record” — and being a “filmmaker.” No, you don’t have to go to film school to be a filmmaker. But merely possessing a device that can record moving images doesn’t qualify you as one either. I’ve got some pots and pans in my kitchen. Does that mean I’m a chef? If so, it’s going on my résumé.

I’ve always held that just because you can make a movie doesn’t mean you should. I don’t want film to be “democratized.” I want it to be somewhat difficult to make a movie. That helps to weed out the people whose hearts aren’t in it or who know their ideas aren’t very good.

Acquiring the technical equipment to make a film is easy now. Digital video cameras are affordable, and even cell phones can function as “movie cameras” (in the same way that iPhones can function as “movie screens,” i.e., badly). The hard part of making a good movie is coming up with a good story to tell. Somehow I doubt that people are going to be really, really inspired by Nokia’s suggestions.

People will probably come up with some amusing videos. There’s a lot of creativity out there, plenty of talent waiting to be discovered. But are cell phones the right medium to capture it? Or is this just a big marketing ploy to help Nokia and Spike Lee increase their brand awareness?

Anyway, if you want to participate, Nokia’s site is here. And don’t forget: Nokia makes excellent phones, too! Be sure to purchase one today! Nokia and Spike Lee: two names you can trust!

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Eric D. Snider (website) is going to make a movie with his View-Master.