Spring Break
'Indy fix' available at Athens theater
MANDY RODGERS
Issue date: 10/4/07 Section: Out & About
- Page 1 of 1
The release of the fourth Indiana Jones film isn't until next year, but for Athenians needing an "Indy" fix, Athens Ciné is screening something special this weekend.
In 1982 childhood friends Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos and Jayson Lamb set out to make a shot-for-shot remake of the first Indiana Jones film, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," in their home town of Bay St. Louis, Miss.
"Chris came up with the idea. [He] wanted to play Indiana Jones and needed a way to make the daydream real," said Zala, who served as director of the film.
Strompolos had seen a class film Zala had done in the sixth grade and approached him about the idea. Zala wanted to be a comic book artist, and his skills helped with drawing more than 600 storyboards.
"It's a perfect film with a perfectly crafted hero. It's a timeless, lightning-in-a-bottle kind of movie," said Strompolos, who produced the remake and played the lead role. "It felt like a real adventure."
The film started as a fun project and soon turned into a seven-year experience. The boys worked out of basements and backyards to recreate the memorable moments, including such favorites as the rolling boulder, flames, live snakes and truck sequence.
Zala and Strompolos said there were many unforgettable moments, including Strompolos' first on-screen kiss and countless others.
"Being swept into giddy excitement when we played back our footage and saw that we really nailed the silhouette shot," said Zala of his favorite moments. "Finally getting to shoot the rugged 76-shot truck scene with all the stunts. Too many to name, really."
The movie wrapped, and the guys went on to other professions until their film was rediscovered in 2003 and premiered at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas.
"We'd just done this ourselves with no ambition to screen it beyond friends and family," Zala said. "We were blown away when we saw the line wrapped around the block."
Since that screening, the adaptation has been shown around the country and piqued the interest of many - including original "Raiders" director Steven Spielberg.
While in Los Angeles doing TV interviews, the guys received a call to meet the famed director.
"More than 20 years after launching this little film, we get a chance to meet the man himself - our boyhood idol," Zala said. "We spent about 45 minutes with him. Simply amazing."RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK:
When: Friday: 4:30, 7, 10 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 2, 4:30, 7, 10 p.m.
Where: Athens Ciné
Cost: $8
More Information:
www.theraider.net
Workshop:
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: Cinelab, Athens Ciné
Cost: $35, includes lunch
More Information:
proceeds donated to Athens Project Teenscreen
The buzz surrounding the movie compelled Zala and Strompolos to quit their corporate jobs and start a production company called Rolling Boulder Films, where they are now writing an original feature.
This weekend, Athens Ciné is showing their adaptation piece, and Zala and Strompolos will attend selected screenings to answer questions afterward. Saturday, they will host a three-hour seminar to explain the filmmaking process in full.
Hollywood producer Scott Rudin has bought the life rights of the three to make a film about their adventure adapting the classic movie.
"If it happens, it'll be the strangest feeling sitting in the audience watching someone playing me," said Strompolos.
Zala said it's almost too much to think about a movie version of their trials and tribulations with real actors and music.
"We've joked that there ought to be an action figure of Chris," he said. "A kid dressed as Indy whose voice, weight and hair style spontaneously change to recreate our shooting out of order over a seven-year coming-of-age period."
In 1982 childhood friends Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos and Jayson Lamb set out to make a shot-for-shot remake of the first Indiana Jones film, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," in their home town of Bay St. Louis, Miss.
"Chris came up with the idea. [He] wanted to play Indiana Jones and needed a way to make the daydream real," said Zala, who served as director of the film.
Strompolos had seen a class film Zala had done in the sixth grade and approached him about the idea. Zala wanted to be a comic book artist, and his skills helped with drawing more than 600 storyboards.
"It's a perfect film with a perfectly crafted hero. It's a timeless, lightning-in-a-bottle kind of movie," said Strompolos, who produced the remake and played the lead role. "It felt like a real adventure."
The film started as a fun project and soon turned into a seven-year experience. The boys worked out of basements and backyards to recreate the memorable moments, including such favorites as the rolling boulder, flames, live snakes and truck sequence.
Zala and Strompolos said there were many unforgettable moments, including Strompolos' first on-screen kiss and countless others.
"Being swept into giddy excitement when we played back our footage and saw that we really nailed the silhouette shot," said Zala of his favorite moments. "Finally getting to shoot the rugged 76-shot truck scene with all the stunts. Too many to name, really."
The movie wrapped, and the guys went on to other professions until their film was rediscovered in 2003 and premiered at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas.
"We'd just done this ourselves with no ambition to screen it beyond friends and family," Zala said. "We were blown away when we saw the line wrapped around the block."
Since that screening, the adaptation has been shown around the country and piqued the interest of many - including original "Raiders" director Steven Spielberg.
While in Los Angeles doing TV interviews, the guys received a call to meet the famed director.
"More than 20 years after launching this little film, we get a chance to meet the man himself - our boyhood idol," Zala said. "We spent about 45 minutes with him. Simply amazing."
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK:
THE ADAPTATION
When: Friday: 4:30, 7, 10 p.m.Saturday and Sunday: 2, 4:30, 7, 10 p.m.
Where: Athens Ciné
Cost: $8
More Information:
www.theraider.net
Workshop:
"Indy-Pendent" Filmmaking
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.Where: Cinelab, Athens Ciné
Cost: $35, includes lunch
More Information:
proceeds donated to Athens Project Teenscreen
The buzz surrounding the movie compelled Zala and Strompolos to quit their corporate jobs and start a production company called Rolling Boulder Films, where they are now writing an original feature.
This weekend, Athens Ciné is showing their adaptation piece, and Zala and Strompolos will attend selected screenings to answer questions afterward. Saturday, they will host a three-hour seminar to explain the filmmaking process in full.
Hollywood producer Scott Rudin has bought the life rights of the three to make a film about their adventure adapting the classic movie.
"If it happens, it'll be the strangest feeling sitting in the audience watching someone playing me," said Strompolos.
Zala said it's almost too much to think about a movie version of their trials and tribulations with real actors and music.
"We've joked that there ought to be an action figure of Chris," he said. "A kid dressed as Indy whose voice, weight and hair style spontaneously change to recreate our shooting out of order over a seven-year coming-of-age period."
Be the first to comment on this story