Raiders! Trailer Reveals Behind The Scenes Documentary Of Legendary Fan Film
Indiana Jones as you've never seen him before.
While most fan films are laughably poor quality, three Mississippi teenagers worked tirelessly over a period of seven years to bring us Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Adaptation. Now a new documentary, Raiders!: The Story Of The Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, is poised to reveal the trials and tribulations of that labour of love.
Childhood friends Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, and Jayson Lamb began making the shot-by-shot remake of Raiders Of The Lost Ark in 1982 when they were just 12 years old, completing the $5000 production 20 years later following on from a Kickstarter campaign. While the film sank into obscurity for some time, it was rediscovered by Hostel director Eli Roth in 2002, who tracked down the makers and arranged for a screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas in 2003.
Steven Spielberg himself described their achievement as an inspiration, and the documentary promises to get to the heart of the passion and drive which led to the film's completion, drawing on interviews with the creators, cultural commentators and filmmakers. For a taste of what's in store, here's the trailer:
Raiders!: The Greatest Fan Film Ever Made is set to screen across America as part of a double bill also featuring the fan film itself followed by Q&A sessions, as well as a release in select theatres and on VOD scheduled for June 17th. If you're in the States you can catch the special event screenings here:
June 2 Seattle (Northwest Film Forum) June 3 Portland (Hollywood Theatre) June 9 San Francisco (Alamo Drafthouse Mission) June 10 Austin (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) June 11 Houston (Alamo Drafthouse Vintage Park) June 12 Los Angeles (Cinefamily) June 14 Dallas (Alamo Drafthouse Downtown Dallas) June 17 New York (IFC Film Center) June 18 or 19 Chicago (Music Box Theatre) June 20 Boston (The Brattle Theatre) June 30 Kansas City (Alamo Drafthouse Main Street) July 1 Denver (Alamo Drafthouse Littleton) July 2 Denver (Sie FilmCenter)