The Short: Escape To Nowhere (1962)

Starting in '62, young Steve Spielberg made his second stab at a short film with the 41-minute war epic Escape To Nowhere.

Sadly, only a small chunk is online, but even in the brief segment, you can see the promise of a major talent.

The movie - which used army surplus gear and was funded by screenings of movies in the Spielbergs' living room at which the teen director sold popcorn and candy - took three years to finish and was shot mostly at weekends.

Escape follows a group of American soldiers battling the Germans in North Africa and is impressively loaded with stunts and special effects.

Wonder where that young man is today?

If It Was Made Feature-Length: Oh, right... possibly the world's most famous filmmaker.

True, he's already made his big war film with Saving Private Ryan and with that plus the miniseries Band Of Brothers (and the incoming The Pacific), he might have said all he needs to about World War Two.

So why not use Escape as a launching pad for a new young directing talent under Spielberg's guidance? Surely Quentin Tarantino can't be the only director with a WWII story to tell?

The Short: Geometria (1987)

It should come as no shock that Guillermo del Toro's second-ever filmed project combines two of his burning passions - demonic horror and sick, twisted humour.

Geometria follows a young man with an unfeeling, overcritical mother who is sick of him constantly failing geometry at school.

He decides to remedy the problem by consulting his late father, but things don't turn out quit the way he intended and soon terror is stalking through the house.

If It Was Made Feature-Length: We love this idea, even if it's pretty much perfect as a short film.

Given Guillermo's hectic schedule (between making The Hobbit and producing six or seven thousand other projects), we doubt he could get to this much before the sun boils away, but, like Spielberg, he's known for supporting new talents.

We suggest hiring Paul Solet, the man who made disturbing baby horror Grace, and getting him to turn the concept into a fully-fledged flick.

Oh, and through the magic of A) prosthetics or B) performance capture, Doug Jones can play every part.

Next: Terry Gilliam & George Lucas