02.06.2016 Views

BeatRoute Magazine B.C. print e-edition - June 2016

BeatRoute Magazine is a monthly arts and entertainment paper based in Western Canada with a predominant focus on music – local, independent or otherwise.

BeatRoute Magazine is a monthly arts and entertainment paper based in Western Canada with a predominant focus on music – local, independent or otherwise.

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

FILM<br />

RAIDERS! THE STORY OF THE GREATEST FAN FILM EVER MADE<br />

Indiana Jones and the 35-year remake<br />

by Paris Spence-Lang<br />

I<br />

love Indiana Jones. He is the greatest hero<br />

ever made, above even Harrison Ford’s very<br />

own Han Solo, and I will gladly watch any of<br />

the original movies at the drop of a well-worn<br />

fedora. But my love for the trilogy has rarely extended<br />

past the movies. As for Chris Strompolos<br />

and Eric Zala, their first meeting with Indy was<br />

the catalyst for, in the eyes of many, the greatest<br />

fan film ever made.<br />

It started in 1981, when Steven Spielberg and<br />

George Lucas teamed up to create Raiders of the<br />

Lost Ark. The next year, 11-year-old Strompolos<br />

Raiders! Is a story of fandom gone wild in the form of an Indiana Jones remake documentary.<br />

asked 12-year-old Zala if he wanted to help him<br />

remake the movie—the entire 115 minute, 20 million<br />

USD movie—on, as Strompolos’s son would<br />

later say, “his allowance.” Zala said yes.<br />

Seven years later, the pair—along with a cast<br />

of friends including special-effects whiz Jayson<br />

Lamb—had created a shot-for-shot remake of<br />

the entire movie, down to the live snakes, melting<br />

faces, and giant rolling boulder. Well, all but the<br />

plane scene—the one where Indy gets the tar<br />

beaten out of him by the Steve Austin of Nazis,<br />

who is then turned into an Aryan smoothie by the<br />

propeller before the plane explodes in a phantasmagorical<br />

fireball. That plane cost $700,000 to<br />

build, making its absence understandable.<br />

But, 30 years later, Strompolos and Zala<br />

decided they had some unfinished business—<br />

namely, blowing up that damn plane. Raiders!<br />

The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made<br />

Takes you through their film shoot, from Kickstarter,<br />

to camel, to “Cut!” But as the documentary<br />

progresses, it becomes less about the boys’<br />

remake and more about the boys themselves. To<br />

them, the project was a way to escape, a fantasy<br />

world where they could hide from the challenges<br />

of—in Strompolos’s case—separated parents and<br />

an abusive alcoholic stepfather. The boys were<br />

outsiders, and the remake became less about<br />

adventure and more about acceptance.<br />

The film is full of beautiful moments that<br />

underpin its emotional journey. John Rhys-Davies,<br />

who played Sallah in the original film, gives<br />

wisdom and priceless anecdotes throughout.<br />

Directors and film critics such as Eli Roth<br />

(Hostel, Inglorious Basterds) explain how the<br />

remake inspired them as film nerds. There’s<br />

even as much (if not more) drama than the<br />

original: romantic competition between the<br />

boys, crippling addictions, and even uncut and<br />

shocking violence that—when it appears—gives<br />

the sobering realization of how close Strompolos<br />

and crew came to serious injury or death time<br />

and time again.<br />

While Raiders! Has parts that go down like<br />

bad dates—for example, the audio of SFX expert<br />

Lamb, while talking about how he was all but<br />

absent from any media recognition, is faded<br />

out—the documentary flows well, and is surprisingly<br />

deep and satisfying. The movie won’t melt<br />

your faces, but it will give any fan of Indy plenty<br />

of enjoyment—especially if you, like Strompolos<br />

and Zala, are the kind of nerd who owns a whip.<br />

But I swear, it’s not mine.<br />

Raiders! opens at Cineplex International<br />

Village on <strong>June</strong> 17th<br />

THIS MONTH IN FILM<br />

TAIWANESE FILM FESTIVAL<br />

In Taiwan, the urban sprawl of cities like<br />

Tainan and Taipei fights with the surrounding<br />

jungle and mountains. Taiwanese<br />

film is just as diverse, and VIFF puts the<br />

best of it on display in the Taiwanese Film<br />

Festival. Featuring eight films, the people<br />

of Taiwan tell their stories through documentary<br />

and drama alike, with violinists,<br />

hit men, resort owners, and the Taiwanese<br />

black kite eagles taking starring roles.<br />

The festival includes The Moment, a<br />

celebration of Taiwanese culture that<br />

features footage from fifty-one films.<br />

<strong>June</strong> 10-12<br />

at Vancity Theatre<br />

UPCOMING RELEASES<br />

Skipping past Michael Bay’s Ninja Turtles, we<br />

find ourselves in Blizzard’s realm of Azeroth.<br />

Yes, the film adaptation of Warcraft is out on<br />

<strong>June</strong> 10th, which means we can finally play<br />

video games without actually having to move at<br />

all. But truth is stranger than fiction, as proven<br />

by the film Tickled. A seemingly innocent<br />

documentary about “competitive endurance<br />

tickling,” the movie turns dark as we fall down<br />

a rabbit hole of conspiracy, secret identities,<br />

criminal activity, and feathers. But that’s not<br />

the only way to get a laugh: our favourite fish<br />

is back in Finding Dory. Fighting her amnesia,<br />

Dory works with Marlin and Nemo—who was,<br />

if you’ll remember, found—to learn about her<br />

past. And where she learned to speak whale.<br />

Finding Dory<br />

by Paris Spence-Lang<br />

JUNE 3 GOOD BURGER JUNE 10 SUSPIRIA JUNE 17 CRASH (1996) JUNE 24 THE CRAFT JULY 1 STOP MAKING SENSE<br />

30 FILM<br />

<strong>June</strong> <strong>2016</strong>

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!