There are characters that people never tire of—James Bond…Batman…Winnie the Pooh. You can definitely include Indiana Jones on that list. We’ve covered a ton of indie Indy flicks on Fan Cinema Today, from the famous Mississippi trio that made a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark throughout the 1980s (which I wrote about in Homemade Hollywood), to silent movies, to shorts with Indy in short pants.
The list of straight-up, serious Indiana Jones fan films, where there’s no short-cuts taken or radical changes, however, is much smaller. If you’re fixin’ for an Indy flick fix that wants to pay proper homage to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’ creation, you might want to try the 30-minute effort, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Ra.
Set in 1926, the flick finds our favorite archeologist heading out with Abner Ravenwood (That’s Marion’s dad) to find the headpiece of the Staff of Ra—you know, the thing Marion wore around her neck in Raiders that the German guy burned his hand on when he grabbed it out of a fire in the burning saloon.
If you’re expecting an ultra big-budget fan film, you’re out of luck; it was made in 2003 for $500 by land surveyors in Athens, GA, but they had fun making it and that’s the heart of what fan films are about: Fun. Despite the small budget, they found great period costumes and locations, plus they got their hands on some vintage 1920 automobiles and trains as well. Give the opening scene a try and share what you think in the comments section.
Indie as a fanbased movie? What a great idea! Will recommend this clip to all of my friends. I think they did spend their 500 bucks quite well
Best whishes
Luke