Alan Eisenstock’s "Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made" follows how two kids, 12-year-old Eric Zala and 11-year-old Chris Strompolos, from Ocean Springs, Mississippi decided to remake the Indiana Jones film ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ Over the next seven years, the two made a complete remake of the movie, with every scene and every stunt.
The final product was considered an undisputed fan film masterpiece. The story of how the movie was made serves as a backdrop for Eisenstock, who chronicles the maturation of Zala and Strompolos during the movie’s making: how the two kids grew up and dealt with their own respective hardships, and how their boyhood friendship eventually dissolved. The film was the center of their youth, but it was also the biggest, and eventually unbearable, burden on their friendship.
From their devotion to their film, to their ruined friendship, to the eventual redemption of their relationship and current directing cooperation, Eisenstock writes of youth, maturation, and the boundless energy and hope contained in a young person’s dream.
Guests:
Alan Eisenstock, author, Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (Thomas Dunne Books)
Eric Zala, co-author, Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (Thomas Dunne Books), director of the film remake, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation,’ chronicled in the book, and portrays Dr. Rene Belloq in the remake
Chris Strompolos, acted as Indiana Jones in the film remake 'Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation'