Fandom, friendship and a vision
IF you have been a super fan of anything, if you love films, nostalgia and dreams coming true; and if you want an uplifting break amidst all the worry, gloom and anxiety nowadays, “Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made” could be just the thing for you.
Pre-teen boys Eric Zala and Chris Strompolos from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, started a friendship in 1982 over a shared fascination and obsession with the Steven Spielberg film, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (the Indiana Jones character was someone George Lucas had in mind even before “Star Wars” was released).
Eric met Chris while riding on a school bus; he spied Chris’ “Raiders of the Lost Ark” comic book and borrowed it. Chris had taken notice of Eric’s character — which reminded him so much of one Raiders’ villain, the Nazi agent Toht — in a Super 8 film made for a class project. Their meeting was destiny.
Both boys were soon committed to re- creating “Raiders of the Lost Ark” scene by scene, using whatever resources they had. Christmas and birthday gifts were converted to goods they could use as equipment, costumes or props. They went to thrift store to get Boy Scout uniforms which they turn into Nazi uniforms.
Chris played Indy and was the producer, while Eric directed and played the role of rival, Belloq. Eric’s younger brother, Kurt, filled in several roles — Gobler, Col. Musgrove, Nazi soldier, Peruvian porter, tent soldier, water merchant, bar patron, and street Arab, among others. Friends were brought in to play more soldiers, more diggers, pirates and bar patrons. A dog Snickers played the Nazi monkey.
They brought in Jayson Lamb who had fascination with movie monsters and ghoulish make up to do camera work and figure special effects.
These boys (and one girl) spent each summer and school break of their lives until the end of high school to make that film. They had most of it except for the Nazi airplane scene that involved a brawl with a shirtless Mr. Clean looking character. This was an elaborate set piece they could not pull off that easily.
The boys had actually done the boulder escape scene (with four different attempts at creating a good boulder and getting it to roll properly) that has a fire in a tavern; and the scene with Indy and the truck. These boys designed and rigged these set pieces and did their own stunts. It’s actually a miracle they’ve escaped unscathed for the most part!
Eventually, there was a falling out between Chris and Eric over a girl. Eric had gone off to college and gotten happily married; Chris had gotten in to meth; and Jayson had felt left out.
In the meantime, the tape of the “Raiders” recreation got into the hands of Eli Roth and Harry Knowles and it ended up being screened at the 2002 “Butt-Numb-A-Thon” film festival.
The event reunited Chris, Eric and Jayson and provided further inspiration to get that final scene completed. With the help of $58,000 from a Kickstarter campaign, they shot that scene in Vancleave, Mississippi in 2014.
“Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made” recalls the entire journey spanning decades in 106 minutes. It shares the highs and lows in the course of the production; it shows this genuine love for the film and how these kids had their passionate, geeky fandom see them through some very tough times in their lives.
You get to hear Eric and Chris’ moms talk about the project from their point of view. You’ll also hear John RhysDavies (Indy’s dear friend Sallah) give his insights on this lifelong project. He shares this at the end, “If you can see where you want to be in ten or 20 years’ time, you have about a 97 percent advantage over the rest of mankind.”
Now it won’t go according to plan but there’s a wonderful remark, ‘If you want to make God laugh, tell him you have a plan.’”