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There can be few young film fans in possession of a video camera who, in a fit of youthful exuberance, haven't tried to remake their favourite movie. But most of these will be swiftly abandoned after someone has to go home in time for tea, the family dog proves resistant to direction and everyone involved realises that they're making something that might kindly be described as unwatchable. Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb were the exception to that rule. After seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark at the age of 11, the trio was so enamoured of the movie that they decided to remake Indy's first adventure. But this would not be a half-baked effort; they would redo the film shot for shot. The endeavour would take seven years and eat up huge amounts of allowance, cause fractured friendships and leave one of their number briefly eyebrowless. But the result is a film that has been championed by Eli Roth and lauded by none other than Steven Spielberg. It is the ultimate fan film. We spoke to Strompolos and Zala about making the movie, meeting Spielberg and the excitement of Indy IV.
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"I was dead set on playing Indy - that was basically the main reason to do it."
Chris Strompolos |
What do you remember of the first time you saw Raiders of the Lost Ark?
Chris: I remember waiting in line forever and just rushing with adrenalin, then sitting down and, literally from the first frame, being completely enthralled and taken in. My senses were thrown all over the place and it just felt like a real, accessible world to me. I think that's much of the reason I wanted to be in that world and wear the jacket and make my own version of the world. It was amazing. From that first viewing experience it strangely defined the rest of my life.
Eric: I had low or no expectations. And I was, of course, euphorically jolted to my core, tapping directly into a wellspring of giddy excitement that I hadn't known was there. And, oddly, I still recall when leaving the theatre thinking, "Now wouldn't it be funny if that film is to change my life somehow?"
And how quickly after that did you decide that you were going to remake the film?
Chris: The second I walked out of the cinema! I sat with the idea for a little while and bought the comic book and the script. I was dead set on playing Indy - that was basically the main reason to do it. I rode the school bus with Eric and Jayson and read the comic book with Eric. He had done a film with his sixth grade class and I thought, well, this guy knows something about filmmaking. So, gave him a call and said, 'I'm doing this remake of Raiders, do you want to help?' We were 10 or 11 at the time.
Eric: I got a phone call out of the blue from Chris, this kid that I hardy knew, who had this crazy idea to remake Raiders using teenage actors. He asked me if I wanted to help. I thought about it for all of say, five seconds, and said "sure". I envisioned that most of the other actors had been cast, the sets built, costumes and props ready, that I'd just walk on and pitch in. Little did I know that the only thing that Chris had done at that point was to buy the published screenplay of Raiders - and to cast himself as Indiana Jones!
Were there any arguments about who'd take what role?
Chris: Initially, my plans were to star, direct and produce. Then we started to go through the mechanics of putting the whole darn thing together. The mechanics of shooting were an absolute nightmare. Eric, who had been storyboarding some things - he hand-drew over 600 frames, which served as our template. He would just start setting up shots and saying where we should put the camera and what angles we should use, so I figured maybe he should direct.
Eric: I nodded, and said "Yeah, okay." And we stayed in those roles, determined in a five second conversation, for all of those remaining years, and even now into our thirties, as we mount our new production company. In brief, we were able to go with our strengths, and not think about ego, and that helped us find what role we were to play.
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"Turns out it's a big endeavour, remaking a $26 million dollar on your $5-a-week allowance."
Eric Zala |
It took you seven years to make this film. What was it that took so long?
Chris: It was just a gargantuan undertaking. It had global locations, and we had all these costumes and extras and special effects. Also, we only made this during summers. There were mishaps and problems. In fact, the first couple of years of footage that we shot were just bad, kind of unwatchable. So we'd re-shoot over and over and over again.
Eric: Turns out it's a big endeavour, remaking a $26 million dollar on your $5-a-week allowance.
Were there fallings out during that period?
Chris: We certainly had our dark times. Every summer we were surrounded by naysayers and people asking if we were ever going to finish this movie. And just being tired and burned out. Actually, Eric and I got into a little argument. I got a bit too flirtatious with one of his girlfriends and took her out to dinner behind his back. That was scandalous. Nothing happened but he was very mad at me. It's now known as the Salad Incident, because I bought her a salad. So production stopped and we didn't talk for a while. Then we kinda worked it out and production continued.
Eric: And then near the end, in year six, there was something of an editing room mutiny over what degree of work we were going to give the sound, and we went our separate ways for a year, the fellowship seeming to fail even as we were nearly over the finish line at last. But we came together again, and got past all that, which is why for me our story is primarily a story of how friendship can endure, and has, for twenty-six years now and running.
What was the most challenging part to shoot?
Chris: All the scenes had their challenges. There were things that we worked on that had their own challenges that were fun, and then there were things that were challenging and just miserable. Two examples would be the truck scene, which was really hard but really fun, and the Tanis Digs, which was excruciating.
Eric: The Tanis Digs excavation site was the most difficult for its sheer complexity of logistics. It requires carting out a ton of tents, lumber, tables, benches, props and twenty neighborhood kids in traditional Arab costumes out to a giant dirt pit doubling for the Sahara desert… and then it rains. Exhorting the mob to huddle beneath a leaking tent tarp for the rain to let up, everyone's muddy, cranky. It was hard to hold our crew of young volunteers together during that time. But we made it!
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