Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made
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Release Year: 2015
Rating: 7.3/10 ( voted)
Critic's Score: /100
Director: Jeremy Coon
Stars: Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, Jayson Lamb
Storyline
In 1981, two 11 year-olds in Mississippi set our to remake their favorite film: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. With the help of all their friends, it took them seven years to complete in their basement. Except one scene, the airplane scene. Thirty years later, they set out to finally finish their fan film and full realize their childhood dream. This is the story behind the making of what is known as the greatest fan film ever made.
Writers: Tim Skousen, Jeremy Coon, Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, Jayson Lamb, Ernest Cline, Casey Dillard, James Donald, Rob Fuller, Chris Gore, John E. Hudgens, Guy Klender, Harry Jay Knowles, Jayson Lamb, Scott Lionberger, Michael Mobley, Ryan Pierini, Karl Preusser, John Rhys-Davies, Angela Rodriguez, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Cast: Ernest Cline -
Himself
Casey Dillard -
Herself
James Donald -
Arab
Rob Fuller -
German Mechanic
Chris Gore -
Himself
John E. Hudgens -
Himself
Guy Klender -
Himself
Harry Jay Knowles -
Himself
Jayson Lamb -
Himself
Scott Lionberger -
Stunts /
Hovito Indian /
Bar Patron /
Nazi Soldier /
Street Person /
Dogman
Michael Mobley -
Himself
Ryan Pierini -
Mechanic
Karl Preusser -
Himself
John Rhys-Davies -
Himself
Angela Rodriguez -
Herself
Trivia: Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, and others organized a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund filming of the only scene missing from Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (1989): Indy's battle on the landing pad with the plane, ending in a bloody mess. Filming completed in 2014. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 7/10
Greetings again from the darkness - from the Dallas International Film
Festival 2-15. Most documentaries are pretty simple to recap: A
filmmaker makes a movie about a topic or person. However, simplicity
just doesn't fit here. Filmmakers Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen made a
movie about the making of a movie that is a movie re-made in honor of a
movie that was already made. This isn't Coppola's Hearts of Darkness
which portrays his difficulty in making Apocalypse Now. Far from it.
This is a modern day look back at two/three geeky eleven year old boys
making a shot-for-shot remake of Steven Spielberg's classic Raiders of
the Lost Ark.
Coon and Skousen catch up with forty-somethings Eric Zala, Chris
Strompolos and Jayson Lamb as they are trying to put together the
financing and logistics to film the final scene of their unfinished
movie Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation. These are the same boy
that started the process in 1982 and filmed each of the next seven
summers until they graduated from high school.
If you are a total film geek, you have probably heard of their film and
know that it has been an underground film favorite for years. But you
may not know the real life details behind it and certainly not the
modern day drama of Eric and Chris as they try to complete it. How
about some interviews with their mothers? How about the real world
possibility that Eric risks losing his job to complete this thirty plus
year old kid's summer project? How about the personal struggles of
Chris over the years, or the fallout with Jayson as he is left out of
this final chapter?
Director Eli Roth was instrumental in spreading the word of this film
project throughout Hollywood, and the boys even got invited to meet
with Spielberg. Mostly we are left with the fascination that young boys
can have such passion and persistence over so many years. When asked
about whether they missed out on their childhood, Chris responds "We
filmed childhood". A true and fitting response, that doesn't tell the
whole story. Fortunately, Coon and Skousen do.
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