Raiders! by Alan Eisenstock
Published by Thomas Dunne Books in November 2012
Raiders! truly is
the story of the greatest fan film ever made. Years ago, I had the opportunity
to attend a screening of Eric Zala and Chris Strompolos' Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation and I was blown away by it.
While the quality of the video wasn't the greatest, what impressed me most was
how this group of kids managed to pull off a (relatively) shot for shot remake
of my favorite film of all time. What they lacked in props, locations and
special effects, they made up for with passion and excitement that resulted in pure
magic.
Raiders! is the behind the scenes story of how they managed
to pull it off (which only took seven years). The ingenuity that went into the movie
is astounding. The basement became their studio which held sets for the Well of
Souls, complete with overhead entrance created by removing an old furnace and
even The Raven Bar in Nepal
were Indy goes to find Marion . And,
yes, they even set fire to the place, just like in the movie. Unable to find a
monkey, they trained their pet dog to take on the role. After a few attempts,
they even managed to get a six foot boulder for the South American temple and they even filmed the entire truck chase.
The only scene missing from The
Adaptation is the flying wing sequence because they couldn't find anyone to
let them blow up an airplane.
It wasn't all pleasant for everyone involved though. As the
years went by, friendships were strained and tested as the kids grew up
and apart from each other. The book follows the entire story from the idea's
conception, through filming, editing and on up through the present day. After
years of having the complete film sitting on their shelves, Steven Spielberg
was finally given a copy and wrote letters to the filmmakers congratulating
them on their achievement. It's all here for you to read, and aside from the
opening chapters about repairing a home in post-Katrina Louisiana
(this part is a real chore to get through), it's a great read. But be warned,
after reading this book, you will want to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, but it's not commercially
available anywhere.
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