It’s time to head back to Twin Peaks, salute some major names (Gus Van Sant, James Cameron, Hal Ashby, Guillermo del Toro, Orson Welles), icons (James Dean), and (former) power players (Mike Ovitz). Plus, Harry Potter, Seinfeld, and McDonald’s! Let’s start with a loving look back at 50 years of the starship Enterprise.
Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years (Titan Books)
There have been a number of interesting books released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, but there’s no question that 50 Artists 50 Years is the handsomest. As the title makes clear, the premise is simple: 50 respected artists, all with wildly unique styles, were tasked with creating a work of art highlighting some element of the Trek universe. There’s plenty of original series — Glen Brogan’s jaunty representation of the bridge of the Enterprise is my personal favorite — and lots of Spock. Plus, Leonard Nimoy himself...
Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years (Titan Books)
There have been a number of interesting books released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, but there’s no question that 50 Artists 50 Years is the handsomest. As the title makes clear, the premise is simple: 50 respected artists, all with wildly unique styles, were tasked with creating a work of art highlighting some element of the Trek universe. There’s plenty of original series — Glen Brogan’s jaunty representation of the bridge of the Enterprise is my personal favorite — and lots of Spock. Plus, Leonard Nimoy himself...
- 11/10/2016
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
When Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in 1981, it was unlike anything American theaters had seen for at least a generation. Set in 1936, the homage to the adventure serials of the '30s and '40s proved to be - by far - the year's biggest blockbuster. This succes was built largely on Spielberg's commitment to the spirit of the material and Harrison Ford's uncannily charismatic - and ultimately iconic - portrayal of Indiana Jones, an archaeologist with a flair for the dramatic. It's little wonder that the film captured the imaginations of filmgoers of all ages around the world, but none quite so much as a trio of 11-year-old boys in MIssissippi. Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, and Jayson Lamb weren't special...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 9/12/2016
- Screen Anarchy
The amazing true story of the greatest fan film ever made is coming home on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital!
Drafthouse Films and Mvd Entertainment have announced the upcoming home video release of Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on August 16th.
After Steven Spielberg's classic Raiders of the Lost Ark was released 35 years ago, three 11-year-old boys from Mississippi set out on what would become a 7-year-long labor of love and tribute to their favorite film: a faithful, shot-for-shot adaptation of the action adventure film, which the New York Times calls "a testament to the transporting power of movie love." They finished every scene...except one; the film's explosive airplane set piece.
Over two decades later, the trio reunited with the original cast members from their childhood in order to complete their masterpiece in what IGN has dubbed "the Boyhood of fan movies.
Drafthouse Films and Mvd Entertainment have announced the upcoming home video release of Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on August 16th.
After Steven Spielberg's classic Raiders of the Lost Ark was released 35 years ago, three 11-year-old boys from Mississippi set out on what would become a 7-year-long labor of love and tribute to their favorite film: a faithful, shot-for-shot adaptation of the action adventure film, which the New York Times calls "a testament to the transporting power of movie love." They finished every scene...except one; the film's explosive airplane set piece.
Over two decades later, the trio reunited with the original cast members from their childhood in order to complete their masterpiece in what IGN has dubbed "the Boyhood of fan movies.
- 7/14/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Victor Medina)
- Cinelinx
There are times where I don't want to write about a film because I know for a fact that publishing my review is going to end up making people I like angry at me, and this is one of those times. But even months after seeing it, I find myself struggling to make sense out of the film Raiders! The Story Of The Greatest Fan Film Ever Made and the enthusiasm people have for it. I think the film is revealing, certainly, but I wouldn't say I enjoyed it. I also wouldn't call it a celebration of anything. Whether they realize it or not, Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen have given us one of the most searing, ugly portraits of artistic hubris since Overnight. I spent a good portion of my screening at the Drafthouse feeling sick to my stomach, tied in knots by what I was watching instead of elated or moved,...
- 6/21/2016
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Thoroughly hilarious, surprisingly poignant portrait of fandom, friendship, and the filmmaking odyssey that consumed the teenage years of three movie lovers. I’m “biast” (pro): Raiders of the Lost Ark is my most favorite movie ever
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
In 1982, three friends in Mississippi — Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos, and Jayson Lamb — set out to make a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark. You know, just for fun. They were 11 years old, and it took them seven years before they were done with the project… although they were never able to fully finish: they were missing one key scene. I won’t tell you which scene that is, because you can see them go through the adventure and the torment of finally shooting it now, as adults, in the thoroughly hilarious and surprisingly poignant Raiders!:...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
In 1982, three friends in Mississippi — Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos, and Jayson Lamb — set out to make a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark. You know, just for fun. They were 11 years old, and it took them seven years before they were done with the project… although they were never able to fully finish: they were missing one key scene. I won’t tell you which scene that is, because you can see them go through the adventure and the torment of finally shooting it now, as adults, in the thoroughly hilarious and surprisingly poignant Raiders!:...
- 6/17/2016
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
You've probably heard the story by now: Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark comes out in 1981 and blows everyone's minds, but three Mississippi kids' minds are arguably blown more than anyone else's. Against all odds, and without the internet or even a VHS copy of the movie to assist them, they set out to complete a shot for shot remake of the movie to be filmed in their houses, backyards, and surrounding town. For the next seven years, they work tirelessly through every summer vacation and spring break to finish this thing, sacrificing any semblance of a "normal" childhood in the quest to achieve their ultimate goal. An astonishing seven years later, they finally wrap production, and fifteen years after that, their movie becomes a sensation among hardcore film fans. So...what next?
Well, if you're Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala — the two masterminds behind "the greatest fan...
Well, if you're Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala — the two masterminds behind "the greatest fan...
- 6/17/2016
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
While other 11-year-olds in Biloxi, Mississippi might have spent their 1980s summer vacations playing endless hours of Space Invaders at the local arcade or tricking dimwits into painting picket fences, Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, the subjects of the new documentary Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (opening June 17th), were busy lighting each other on fire.
The two boys first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in the summer of 1981, and like any right-minded latchkey kids in search of adventure (and father figures), they instantly fell in love.
The two boys first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in the summer of 1981, and like any right-minded latchkey kids in search of adventure (and father figures), they instantly fell in love.
- 6/16/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Plot: The true story of childhood friends Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb, the trio behind the now famous shot-for-shot Raiders Of The Lost Ark remake they made as teens growing up in the eighties. Twenty-five years after their last shoot, the now-grown men reunite to shoot one last, ambitious scene to finally complete their film. Review: I first heard about the shot-by-shot Raiders Of The Lost Ark... Read More...
- 6/16/2016
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Chicago – When it comes to movie fandom, there are acolytes and obsessives, but few stories are better than three fanboys in 1982, who loved a certain film so much they decided to do a shot-by-shot remake. This is chronicled in the new documentary, “Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made.”
Chris Strompolos was one of those boys – he portrayed Indiana Jones in the remake – and he was joined by his childhood friends Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb. They were 11 years old when they started their project, and came back to it in the next seven summers (yes, they aged to teenagers during the process). In 1989, they finally showed the results of their efforts in a local hometown premiere, and promptly left behind their childhood obsession. The 1980s video quality film then went into the underground cult world, until emerging in 2002 at the “Butt-Numb-a-Thon” film festival sponsored by the...
Chris Strompolos was one of those boys – he portrayed Indiana Jones in the remake – and he was joined by his childhood friends Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb. They were 11 years old when they started their project, and came back to it in the next seven summers (yes, they aged to teenagers during the process). In 1989, they finally showed the results of their efforts in a local hometown premiere, and promptly left behind their childhood obsession. The 1980s video quality film then went into the underground cult world, until emerging in 2002 at the “Butt-Numb-a-Thon” film festival sponsored by the...
- 6/15/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made is one of the most purely entertaining documentaries you will see this year, a tribute to the joys of cinema and the agonies of childhood. Directors Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen tell the story of Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, two childhood friends who set […]
The post A Conversation With the Subjects of ‘Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made’ appeared first on /Film.
The post A Conversation With the Subjects of ‘Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made’ appeared first on /Film.
- 6/15/2016
- by Jacob Hall
- Slash Film
We’ve been hearing about this Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made documentary for years, and it finally has an official trailer and release date. The doc focuses on a group of passionate Indiana Jones fans who went out to make a shot-for-shot remake of Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. They started making the film as kids, but they didn’t finish it until 20 years later.
This film offers us every little detail of how it was made and all of the drama surrounding it. As a guy who used to make all kinds of films when I was growing up with my brothers and friends, I’m fascinated by this story. I’m sure many of us who got into making movies when we were kids will be able to relate to this story. Here’s the synopsis for the doc:...
This film offers us every little detail of how it was made and all of the drama surrounding it. As a guy who used to make all kinds of films when I was growing up with my brothers and friends, I’m fascinated by this story. I’m sure many of us who got into making movies when we were kids will be able to relate to this story. Here’s the synopsis for the doc:...
- 5/11/2016
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
In 1982, best friends Eric Zala and Chris Strompolos set out to remake Steven Spielberg's action/adventure classic, "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Seven years later, after an odyssey that tested their relationship as well as their filmmaking acumen, the result was a remarkable shot-for-shot replica—except for the airplane fight sequence in the North African desert. (Last year, Vice's series "American Obsessions," which unearths stories of the strange cultural phenomena that capture the public imagination, featured an 11-minute short about Zala and Strompolos, including the campaign, thirty years after "Raiders" first appeared in theaters, to shoot the airplane scene. Watch the video below.) Now, Drafthouse Films has acquired the worldwide rights to Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen’s "Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made," a documentary about their lifelong journey—joined by another friend, Jayson...
- 1/6/2016
- by Matt Brennan
- Thompson on Hollywood
The organizers behind the Ithaca International Film Festival in upstate New York have released promotional artwork from comic and video game industry veteran Steve Ellis (The Only Living Boy, Green Lantern Corps). Now in its fourth year, Iifff celebrates the weird and the wild in International cinema. The annual program includes a competition of genre films from around the world as well as a retrospective showcase of cult classics and genre heavyweights. The art from Ellis, who has created the poster every year since the festival’s inception, is always one of the highlights of the buildup to the event in November.
This year’s Iifff retrospective promises to be the most skin-crawling yet with Organic Horror: Obsessions with Body Alterations. Ellis’s moody and evocative image appropriates iconography from several of the films that will be screened, including Georges Franju’s Eyes Without A Face, Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession,...
This year’s Iifff retrospective promises to be the most skin-crawling yet with Organic Horror: Obsessions with Body Alterations. Ellis’s moody and evocative image appropriates iconography from several of the films that will be screened, including Georges Franju’s Eyes Without A Face, Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession,...
- 8/13/2015
- by Luke Dorian Blackwood
- SoundOnSight
The story of the Raiders Of The Lost Ark fan film is brought brilliantly to life in this new documentary...
I love fan films. I remember the very first fan film I ever saw: Hardware Wars (a Star Wars spoof). I’ve been hooked ever since. They’ve come a long way since then, some of them nowadays boasting a production value that almost rivals Hollywood productions. When I watch, for example, the Piano Guys’ Cello Wars (which in essence, is still a fan film), I’m amazed how much fan films have evolved, but my favorites remain the older ones, like Closet Cases Of The Nerd Kind (who can forget those singing mailboxes?).
But while some fan films of that era were happy to simply parody blockbuster movies, in 1982, two kids from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Chris Strompolos (11 years old) and Eric Zala (12 years old) set our to produce a...
I love fan films. I remember the very first fan film I ever saw: Hardware Wars (a Star Wars spoof). I’ve been hooked ever since. They’ve come a long way since then, some of them nowadays boasting a production value that almost rivals Hollywood productions. When I watch, for example, the Piano Guys’ Cello Wars (which in essence, is still a fan film), I’m amazed how much fan films have evolved, but my favorites remain the older ones, like Closet Cases Of The Nerd Kind (who can forget those singing mailboxes?).
But while some fan films of that era were happy to simply parody blockbuster movies, in 1982, two kids from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Chris Strompolos (11 years old) and Eric Zala (12 years old) set our to produce a...
- 7/31/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
I don't believe that they are "just" movies. I mean, sure, there are plenty of movies that I would consider inconsequential, and many of those are even movies that I like. But the entire culture of films, the idea of these shared narratives that make up something that unites people from around the world, is something that I think people dismiss too easily sometimes. Films are transformative. Films can force you to see things in a new ways. They can build or destroy communities. They can be powerful forces for social change, and they can shine a spotlight on things in a way that is undeniable and immediate. And, in their best moments, they can save lives. Right now, "The Wolfpack" is making its way into theaters, a documentary about a family of young men, all raised by a domineering father who intentionally cut them off from the outside world.
- 6/29/2015
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
There was a fairly famous commentary in Wired a couple of years ago by Patton Oswalt that essentially came down to the comedian telling today’s movie geeks that they have it too easy. Back in the day, there was no internet to follow the development of a film blow-by-blow, there was no Internet Movie Database to learn who all the primary people behind the film were, and a home video was months, if not years, after the initial theatrical run, rather than weeks. In essence, the technology has taken the effort out of it, and truthfully, the same can be said about the art of filmmaking as well. Digital cameras, Photshop, Final Cut, it all means you can make a movie at home look like a top-notch professional effort.
All this has probably also leant to the rise of the fan film, an easy way for people who love...
All this has probably also leant to the rise of the fan film, an easy way for people who love...
- 5/5/2015
- by Adam A. Donaldson
- We Got This Covered
Over 30 years ago, a trio of 11-year-olds in Mississippi began making a shot-for-shot remake of their favorite film, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," a project that continued for seven years and resulted in an all-kid cult classic. Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb chose a Spielberg film with impossible-to-replicate special effects and complex set pieces. For years, the boys requested only costumes and film props for birthday presents, and spent summers reenacting dangerous Indie stunts with their friends and family. Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News called the "Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation" a better remake than Gus Van Sant's "Psycho," because it was "made with love." Horror director Eli Roth and actor John Rhys-Davies, who starred in the original "Raiders," also praised the film, and Spielberg himself invited the boys to meet him. But the "Raiders" remake never got finished—one scene was...
- 4/16/2015
- by Anya Jaremko-Greenwold
- Indiewire
It’s pretty safe to say that Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala never thought they’d be the subjects of a movie, even as they were making their own. When the two were 8-years-old, they decided to remake Raiders of the Lost Ark shot-for-shot – and then stuck to their guns for the next 30-something years. Now in their 40s, the duo finally finished Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation with a Kickstarter-themed, fully-color corrected, professionally-shot version of the infamous airplane-fight scene done, and a documentary about the whole process in the
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- 3/19/2015
- by Jeff Miller
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The story has made the rounds for years: In 1982, a trio of 11-year-old Mississippi boys — Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb — launched an elaborate attempt to remake "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Over the course of eight years, they more or less completed the task, and the result took on a mythological dimension. Eventually noticed by horror director Eli Roth, the now-adult figures responsible for "Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaption" enjoyed newfound appreciation for their accomplishment and eventually landed a meeting with Steven Spielberg himself. However, as Jeremy Coons and Tim Skousen's enjoyable documentary "Raiders!" makes clear, even then the story wasn't quite finished: The boys never managed to shoot one crucial scene, and in adulthood, they finally attempted to finish the job. Read More: The 2015 Indiewire SXSW Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During Run of Festival The missing scene, in which Harrison Ford's.
- 3/16/2015
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
In 1981, when Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark was released, everyone was changed by the world of Indiana Jones. However, few changed as much as Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala. The then teenagers decided they wanted to remake the film, shot by shot and did so over the course of the next seven years. It’s a story […]
The post ‘Raiders!’ Review: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made [SXSW 2015] appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Raiders!’ Review: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made [SXSW 2015] appeared first on /Film.
- 3/16/2015
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
It was a story that, in film nerd circles, gradually took on the glimmer of legend: in 1981, a group of kids in smalltown Mississippi set out to recreate, shot-for-shot, Steven Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark." It would gradually consume every summer of their childhood and gain some big name appreciators in the form of horror filmmaker Eli Roth and nerdy movie blogger Harry Knowles. The recreation was something that had to be seen to be believed, a pop culture artifact as lovingly crafted as the film it so astutely mimicked. What makes "Raiders!," a documentary by Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen, so compelling, is that it chronicles not only the phenomenon but the attempts by the original filmmakers Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos, and Jayson Lamb, to finish the one shot that never got completed. The resulting film is exhilarating, most notably for its ability to be awesomely triumphant...
- 3/15/2015
- by Drew Taylor
- The Playlist
The 2015 SXSW Film Festival kicks off this week, and one film screening there is a documentary called Raiders!, tracking one duo's attempt to complete a lifelong project that began back in 1982: to film a shot-for-shot recreation of Raiders of the Lost Ark. For Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, the project began when they were around 11 years old and continued for seven years, at which point they had shot everything except the film's iconic airport fight scene. The documentary -- as well as the below Vice report on the two -- chronicles those early days in the '80s, as well as their reunion 30 years later to complete the final missing scene. Our favorite bit of trivia about this whole thing is that the kids recreated the entire film from memory since they...
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- 3/11/2015
- by Erik Davis
- Movies.com
“In 1982, 11 year-old Chris Strompolos and 12 year-old Eric Zala decided to film a shot-for-shot remake of 'Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.' ” goes the opening scroll to this latest documentary from Vice. They did not finish for seven years, and even then, the film was considered complete despite the lack of one crucial scene. As kids, Zala and Strompolos took it upon themselves to reshoot 'Raiders' from start to finish, an ambitious endeavor that would consume most of their adolescence. Why remake not just any movie frame-by-frame, but “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in particular? The answer is quite simple, really. They see it as a perfect film, the only one that merits such devotion and reverence. Though both continued making films as they entered adulthood, neither saw the remake as a project that would live beyond its own completion. The end goal was a full-length adaptation, nothing more.
- 3/10/2015
- by Zach Hollwedel
- The Playlist
In 1982, best friends Eric Zala and Chris Strompolos, then 12 years old, set out to remake Steven Spielberg's action/adventure classic, "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Seven years later, after an odyssey that tested their relationship as well as their filmmaking acumen, the result was a remarkable shot-for-shot replica—except for the airplane fight sequence in the North African desert. Vice's new series "American Obsessions," which unearths stories of the strange cultural phenomena that capture the public imagination, debuts with an 11-minute short about Zala and Strompolos' homemade passion project, including the campaign, thirty years after "Raiders" first appeared in theaters, to shoot the airplane scene. Vice, the irreverent news organization famously taken down a notch by late New York Times media columnist David Carr, is not always quite so brave in its reporting as founder and frequent correspondent Shane Smith seems to think: his "Vice Special...
- 3/5/2015
- by Matt Brennan
- Thompson on Hollywood
It's like Boyhood meets American Movie: In 1982, a pair of 12-year-old best friends, Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, embarked on a journey to create a shot-by-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark on a shoestring budget with a cast of friends and non-actors. With Strompolos portraying Indiana Jones and Zala serving as director and the villain Rene Belloq, it took the two teenagers seven years to complete their adaptation of Raiders; the viewer watches them age from 12 to 19 as the film moves toward its Ark of the Covenant-opening end.
- 3/4/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Movies have the power to change peoples. lives, and this proved to be all too true when two 11-year-old boys saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. Cut to the present day. These kids are now in their early 40s, and they.ve spent a good chunk of their lives recreating the film shot-for-shot in what they call "The Greatest Fan Film Ever Made." The entire making-of process of this ambitious endeavor has been documented in a new film called Raiders!, and the trailer is now online for you to preview. Raiders! is set to premiere at this year.s SXSW in Austin, and this first teaser was released to preview what.s coming to the film festival. It.s not much, but watching snippets of Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala.s tumultuous journey to remake Raiders of the Lost Ark is reminding us of how great an impact this film...
- 2/26/2015
- cinemablend.com
We've talked about the awesome shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark that was attempted by a group of 12-year old kids back in 1982 before. The film became a cult sensation when it was screened in Austin, Texas, and now the story of how the film came to be is coming to the big screen with a documentary called Raiders! premiering at SXSW next month. In addition to looking back at the making of the film with childhood friends Eric Zala and Chris Strompolos, it also chronicles their attempt to shoot the final scene they could never pull off: the infamous Flying Wing scene where the shirtless Nazi strongman is cut up by the circling plane's propeller while fighting Indy. This looks like one hell of a cool story. Watch now! Here's the first trailer for Jeremy Coon & Tim Skousen's Raiders! from the film's YouTube: Check out the...
- 2/26/2015
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
In 1982, a group of kids wanted to make a movie. Not just any movie, however. They wanted to make Raiders of the Lost Ark. That’s exactly what they did. Shot for shot, Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala attempted to recreate Steven Spielberg‘s masterpiece. It took seven years. They didn’t quite finish at the time, but […]
The post ‘Raiders!’ Trailer: Documentary About the Remake of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Raiders!’ Trailer: Documentary About the Remake of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ appeared first on /Film.
- 2/25/2015
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
When English mountaineer George Mallory was asked, infamously, why he.d ever attempt to climb Mount Everest, he replied, "Because it.s there." The same logic can be applied to an extensive, elaborate recreation of Steven Spielberg.s masterful Raiders of the Lost Ark, which has been filmed by Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala. Why did they do it? Because Raiders is there. Their process has taken them 33 painstaking years, and the L.A. Weekly . in its comprehensive profile of the duo and the film . report that the remake finally is finished. Their story is basically the stuff of legend. Strompolos and Zala started their process as children in Mississippi, so enamored with Spielberg.s 1981 thriller that they decided to recreate it. They only made it so far . there.s only so much children can accomplish, after all . and they eventually abandoned the project after years of passionate filmmaking fun.
- 11/14/2014
- cinemablend.com
There's already a book on shelves and a documentary adaptation in the works about Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, two kids who decided to put together a homemade adaptation of Raiders of the Lost Ark when they were kids. The film has been shown at some special screenings around the country, but catching it has been pretty damn hard. However, the film has never been 100% completed because it's missing the infamous airplane scene featuring Indiana Jones facing off with a tough, bald Nazi mechanic before meeting a bloody end. But now Strompolos and Zala are trying to finish it, and they've asked Kickstarter for help. If you're not aware of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, here's the Kickstarter video to explain: And as for why they've decided to shoot this scene now, well the page explains: As a solo project, and also as a driving set piece for Jeremy Coon’s documentary,...
- 2/12/2014
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
It took buddies Eric Zala and Chris Strompolos seven years to create a shot-by-shot, stunt-by-stunt remake of the 1981 action-adventure classic Raiders of the Lost Ark. Dubbed Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, the pals begged, borrowed and stole for their fan film (shot on Betamax and eventually VHS), recruiting neighborhood kids to play roles, building massive props (like a six-foot fiberglass boulder), and scouting for desert locations in Mississippi. Chris had his first kiss on camera, Eric almost melted his face off, and his house was nearly destroyed. Through the years, their friendship was pushed to the limits as the guys faced personal struggles (parents divorcing, remarrying, moving away), and more. Raiders: The Adaptation became a documentary of a friendship and a...
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- 10/15/2013
- by Alison Nastasi
- Movies.com
In 1982, a pair of Mississippi kids named Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala set out to create their own shot-for-shot remake of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, a project that spanned seven years, two home video formats, several near-brushes with serious injury and damage to their parents’ houses, and the normal, ravaging effects of puberty. But it all paid off with the completion of Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation, which became an Eli Roth-championed festival hit that spawned a glowing Vanity Fair profile, a book about their journey, and now, possibly two upcoming films about their film of ...
- 10/15/2013
- avclub.com
When they were 11, Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala set out to make a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark. They finished it just in time to celebrate with a legally bought pack of cigarettes or an “I Voted” sticker. Their efforts have become something of a cult phenomenon, and now, according to Deadline Hollywood, Napoleon Dynamite producer Jeremy Coon has optioned the book that was written about the childhood friends and their fan film with the intention of making a documentary and a fictional feature. Naturally, he’ll have to work out an arrangement with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, but if they give him their (legal) blessing, it could also be a big boon for the legitimacy of his projects. A tacit thumbs up from two titans. A documentary sounds excellent. It’s easy to imagine that there’s a lot of worth in hearing the full story of how and why they did...
- 10/15/2013
- by Scott Beggs
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Last fall, we highlighted a new book called Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, an account of the making of the greatest fan film ever made - Chris Strompolos & Eric Zala's Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, a shot-for-shot remake shot in 1989 of Steven Spielberg's original Indiana Jones movie. Now the story has caught the eyes of Napoleon Dynamite producer Jeremy Coon as the book by Alan Eisenstock has been optioned for a feature film deal. The process of shooting the much buzzed about fan film lasted seven years, with the kids beginning at age 11 and finishing at 18 years old. The kids even shot part of the film on Betamax at first, but then were forced to moved to VHS when the former became obsolete. Strompolos and Zala, who are now in their 40s, will produce the adaptation, but first they will...
- 10/15/2013
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Producer Jeremy Coon ("Napoleon Dynamite") has optioned Alan Eisenstock's book "Raiders!" which follows two Mississippi kids who set out to do a shot-for-shot remake of "Raiders Of The Lost Ark".
The duo, Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, started filming when they were 11 and finished when they turned 18 - sequences were shot each summer. In the process they re-staged every scene and stunt in their backyards and basements.
The final film, "Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation," has since screened at film festivals where Coon saw it.
Strompolos and Zala are now in their early 40s and will produce two projects with Coon. The first is a documentary which Coon will direct, the second is a full-on feature about the making of this fan film.
Source: Deadline...
The duo, Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, started filming when they were 11 and finished when they turned 18 - sequences were shot each summer. In the process they re-staged every scene and stunt in their backyards and basements.
The final film, "Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation," has since screened at film festivals where Coon saw it.
Strompolos and Zala are now in their early 40s and will produce two projects with Coon. The first is a documentary which Coon will direct, the second is a full-on feature about the making of this fan film.
Source: Deadline...
- 10/15/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Napoleon Dynamite's Jeremy Coon is planning to make Raiders!, a film about two Mississippi boys who remade Raiders of the Lost Ark in their backyards.
Coon has optioned the rights to Alan Eisenstock's book Raiders!, detailing how Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala met at elementary school and re-staged Harrison Ford's first Indiana Jones adventure - shot-for-shot - on Betamax and VHS.
The duo will produce both a Raiders! documentary and narrative feature film with Coon, reports Deadline.
Stompolos and Zala's Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation was completed in 1989 after seven years' work and has screened at various film festivals since 2003.
"I thought the movie was an urban myth but when I saw it, from a filmmaker perspective it was more inspiring than any movie I'd ever seen," Coon said, adding that he admired the lack of cynicism in the endeavour.
Raiders! may need the blessing...
Coon has optioned the rights to Alan Eisenstock's book Raiders!, detailing how Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala met at elementary school and re-staged Harrison Ford's first Indiana Jones adventure - shot-for-shot - on Betamax and VHS.
The duo will produce both a Raiders! documentary and narrative feature film with Coon, reports Deadline.
Stompolos and Zala's Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation was completed in 1989 after seven years' work and has screened at various film festivals since 2003.
"I thought the movie was an urban myth but when I saw it, from a filmmaker perspective it was more inspiring than any movie I'd ever seen," Coon said, adding that he admired the lack of cynicism in the endeavour.
Raiders! may need the blessing...
- 10/15/2013
- Digital Spy
Why is it that people generally tend to look down their noses when movie studios remake films, yet it.s perfectly accepted whenever film fans do the same thing? The internet is filled with homemade homages and amateurs aping the films they love most, free of corporate cynicism and greed (Oh, maybe that.s why we like those more...) But not even the internet can stand up to Mississippi natives Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, who spent 7 years of their 1980s adolescent lives filming a shot-for-shot remake of Steven Spielberg.s classic Raiders of the Lost Ark. The full story behind this massive (and massively impressive) undertaking is detailed in Alan Eisenstock.s book Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, which producer Jeremy Coon (Napoleon Dynamite) has optioned for not just one but two upcoming projects. Before we go any further, you can watch the...
- 10/15/2013
- cinemablend.com
News Simon Brew 15 Oct 2013 - 06:12
The story of two youngsters remaking Raiders Of The Lost Ark is to become a new film from the producer of Napoleon Dynamite...
It was back in 1982 that two 11-year olds, Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, embarked on what would become one of the most famous, and earliest, fan films of all time. They started work on a shot for shot remake of Steven Spielberg's Raiders Of The Lost Ark, a project that would take them through until they were 18. And when Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation was finally complete, even the likes of Steven Spielberg was impressed with the end results.
Their venture was charted in a book called Raiders!, by Alan Eisenstock, and that book has now been optioned for the big screen by Jeremy Coon, the producer of Napoleon Dynamite. Coon intends to make two films, the first being a documentary,...
The story of two youngsters remaking Raiders Of The Lost Ark is to become a new film from the producer of Napoleon Dynamite...
It was back in 1982 that two 11-year olds, Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, embarked on what would become one of the most famous, and earliest, fan films of all time. They started work on a shot for shot remake of Steven Spielberg's Raiders Of The Lost Ark, a project that would take them through until they were 18. And when Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation was finally complete, even the likes of Steven Spielberg was impressed with the end results.
Their venture was charted in a book called Raiders!, by Alan Eisenstock, and that book has now been optioned for the big screen by Jeremy Coon, the producer of Napoleon Dynamite. Coon intends to make two films, the first being a documentary,...
- 10/15/2013
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Exclusive: Napoleon Dynamite producer Jeremy Coon has optioned Raiders!, the Alan Eisenstock book that tells how two Mississippi kids set out to remake Raiders Of The Lost Ark. The pals started at 11 and finished when they turned 18, and in that time managed to re-stage every scene, shot and stunt in their backyards and basements. They first shot on Betamax and then on VHS when the former became obsolete. The kid filmmakers, Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, met in elementary school and are now in their early 40s. They will produce with Coon two projects and their life rights are part of the package. First, Coon intends to direct a documentary as he works to set up a narrative feature, which is essentially a movie about the making of a movie that is a remake of another movie. When Coon first saw Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation at a film festival,...
- 10/14/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Talk about a crazy journey: Childhood friends who spent almost a decade filming a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders Of The Lost Ark are on their way to having their passion project become a big screen movie. Napoleon Dynamite producer Jeremy Coon has optioned the book Raiders! that tells the story of filmmakers Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala who made the Raiders Of The Lost Ark adaptation between the ages of 11 and 18. The two will produce a pair of unnamed projects with Coon in exchange for...
- 10/14/2013
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
Back in 1982, two 11-year-old boys, Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, set off to make their own shot-for-shot remake of Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark , spending a full seven years to complete what is now known as Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation . Their fan film achieved quite a bit of notice some years back, including commendations from Spielberg himself. While a narrative version of the boys' coming-of-age story has been rumored for awhile, Deadline today reports that the project is moving forward with Napoleon Dynamite 's Jeremy Coon coming aboard to produce. "Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made," a 2012 book by Alan Eisenstock about the production, is set to serve as the film's source material. At one point, Ghost World...
- 10/14/2013
- Comingsoon.net
If you're into movies and especially the Indiana Jones movies by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, then there.s a good chance you were already aware of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation , the shot-for-shot homemade version of the Steven Spielberg action classic that teenagers Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos and Jayson Lamb spent seven summers during the .80s filming, a project that lay dormant for over 12 years before it was discovered on video tape and brought to the public.s attention by Eli Roth and Harry Knowles. This past November saw the release of Alan Eisenstock's book "Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made," written with the participation of Zala and Strompolos which brings new attention to their fascinating story, one that offers lots of...
- 1/3/2013
- Comingsoon.net
Reel Ink is a new, hopefully bi-monthly column in which I’ll review a wide selection of recent books about film, covering everything from more scholarly tomes to biographies, film histories and lighter, fan appreciation type publications and whatever else of interest catches my eye.
The first column will be divided into two parts, as I’ve had such a great response from book publicists I contacted about the column that it is going to take me a little longer than anticipated to get through all the books I’ve acquired (and thanks to all who contributed review copies).
Part 1 includes a look at one of the greatest British films of the ‘60s, meditations on contemporary cinema from one of America’s most incisive film writers, an examination of some of the most troubled productions in film history, a loving photographic homage to Britain’s greatest cinema icon, the biography...
The first column will be divided into two parts, as I’ve had such a great response from book publicists I contacted about the column that it is going to take me a little longer than anticipated to get through all the books I’ve acquired (and thanks to all who contributed review copies).
Part 1 includes a look at one of the greatest British films of the ‘60s, meditations on contemporary cinema from one of America’s most incisive film writers, an examination of some of the most troubled productions in film history, a loving photographic homage to Britain’s greatest cinema icon, the biography...
- 11/28/2012
- by Ian Gilchrist
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In 1982 a group of friends set out on a journey to remake Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark, shot for shot. It took them seven years to do it, but it was done. In recent years it's become a huge hit among fanboys and fangirls, who say that this is the greatest fan film ever made.
The fan film is called Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation and was made by Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala. Author Alan Eisenstock found the story behind the making of this film so interesting that he wrote a book detailing the fan film called Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made. A great trailer has been released for the book, which is set to be released on November 13th.
Here's the description of the book:
In 1982, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Chris Strompolos, eleven, asked Eric Zala, twelve, a...
The fan film is called Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation and was made by Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala. Author Alan Eisenstock found the story behind the making of this film so interesting that he wrote a book detailing the fan film called Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made. A great trailer has been released for the book, which is set to be released on November 13th.
Here's the description of the book:
In 1982, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Chris Strompolos, eleven, asked Eric Zala, twelve, a...
- 10/24/2012
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Every scene. Every shot. Every stunt. We're taking a short tangent here to feature an outstanding trailer for a book that many movie fans should be interested in. It's called Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, and it's a complete account of the making of the greatest fan film ever made - Chris Strompolos & Eric Zala's Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, completed in 1989, a shot-for-shot remake of Spielberg's original Indiana Jones movie. You've probably heard a bit about the story, or even seen the epic fan film itself at a screening, but now you can read the full story behind it. The trailer for it comes in at a whopping 4 minutes and features some interview segments and a lot of background. Check it! Tailer for Alan Eisenstock's Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made via YouTube: Here's...
- 10/23/2012
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Lots of kids are inspired to make their own version of a movie when they're on a high walking out of a blockbuster on a hot summer day – but Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala and took their obsession much, much further after seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981. The pair set out to remake the entire Steven Spielberg classic shot-for-shot, and while making the bargain-basement film almost destroyed their friendship, the incredibly impressive final cut has reached cult status and even caught the attention of Spielberg himself.
Watch the first 10 minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation Here.
"It's really something to meet your boyhood hero and find that you've chosen your heroes well, " Eric tells Et exclusively about their meeting with the Hollywood legend, describing Spielberg as "warm and paternal" and detailing how they spent 45 minutes talking about "life and movies" before he treated them to some never-before-seen Raiders outtakes. "It was a real...
Watch the first 10 minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation Here.
"It's really something to meet your boyhood hero and find that you've chosen your heroes well, " Eric tells Et exclusively about their meeting with the Hollywood legend, describing Spielberg as "warm and paternal" and detailing how they spent 45 minutes talking about "life and movies" before he treated them to some never-before-seen Raiders outtakes. "It was a real...
- 9/17/2012
- Entertainment Tonight
They do make them like they used to, says Luke, as he checks out Jj Abrams' Super 8...
On the off chance anyone should underestimate the influence Steven Spielberg had on a generation of moviegoers in the 70s and 80s, one story sums it up better than most. In 1982, three 12-year-old friends from Mississippi had grown so obsessed with Raiders Of The Lost Ark that they embarked on their own shot-for-shot remake. Armed with a Betamax camera, some five dollars a week worth of pocket money, and a willingness to set themselves on fire for that all important burning bar scene, it took them just seven years.
Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos and Jayson Lamb's paean to the adventures of Indiana Jones, Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation, is a fitting tribute to one of the most glorious adventure movies of all time. It's goofy, sure, yet also exhilarating.
On the off chance anyone should underestimate the influence Steven Spielberg had on a generation of moviegoers in the 70s and 80s, one story sums it up better than most. In 1982, three 12-year-old friends from Mississippi had grown so obsessed with Raiders Of The Lost Ark that they embarked on their own shot-for-shot remake. Armed with a Betamax camera, some five dollars a week worth of pocket money, and a willingness to set themselves on fire for that all important burning bar scene, it took them just seven years.
Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos and Jayson Lamb's paean to the adventures of Indiana Jones, Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation, is a fitting tribute to one of the most glorious adventure movies of all time. It's goofy, sure, yet also exhilarating.
- 8/4/2011
- Den of Geek
"A downbeat homage to bright-lights showbiz dramas, an epic orchestration that indulges in stubbornly obsessive riffs, Martin Scorsese's New York, New York (1977) seems to value awkwardness and indecision above all else," writes Dan Callahan for Alt Screen, and much of what follows is pretty rough medicine for those of us who love this film. "Coming off the success of Taxi Driver (1976), Scorsese secured a big budget and MGM sound stages for what was meant to be his tribute to and deconstruction of classic Hollywood musicals, but the tribute got lost somewhere in the deconstruction." The movie "plays out like some errant crossbreeding of Charles Vidor's Love Me or Leave Me (1955) and John Cassavetes's Minnie and Moskowitz (1971)."
It's screening as part of Hollywood Musicals of the 1970s and 1980s, Part 1: The 1970s, a series opening tomorrow at Anthology Film Archives and running through June 26. In his overview for the L,...
It's screening as part of Hollywood Musicals of the 1970s and 1980s, Part 1: The 1970s, a series opening tomorrow at Anthology Film Archives and running through June 26. In his overview for the L,...
- 6/16/2011
- MUBI
In 1981 Raiders of The Lost Ark was released and like many young boys Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos and Jayson Lamb saw the film and were enraptured by it.
Like many kids Chris wanted to be Indiana Jones, to have his own adventure, to fight nazis, hunt for treasure and get the girl. He therefore decided that he would remake the whole film shot-for-shot and that he would play the starring role of Indy. Chris discussed this with his friend Eric who agreed to help and realising they could not achieve the necessary special effects themselves they got another friend, Jayson, involved in the project.
Together, over the next seven years, the three boys, with the help of almost 100 others, made the greatest fan film ever made, Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation. When the boys started they were just 11-12 years old and when they finished they were adults.
Like many kids Chris wanted to be Indiana Jones, to have his own adventure, to fight nazis, hunt for treasure and get the girl. He therefore decided that he would remake the whole film shot-for-shot and that he would play the starring role of Indy. Chris discussed this with his friend Eric who agreed to help and realising they could not achieve the necessary special effects themselves they got another friend, Jayson, involved in the project.
Together, over the next seven years, the three boys, with the help of almost 100 others, made the greatest fan film ever made, Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation. When the boys started they were just 11-12 years old and when they finished they were adults.
- 1/21/2011
- by Craig Skinner
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
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