'Chronicles of the King: The Search for Sasquatch' to be filmed locally

HILLSDALE — Phil Monahan has always been enthralled with urban legends like Bigfoot and the death of Elvis Presley.

Now, he’s found a way to connect the two in his new film “Chronicles of the King: The Search for Sasquatch,” all of which will be filmed in Hillsdale County.

The movie will tell the story of how Elvis faked his death and assembled a crew of Sasquatch hunters to hunt down Bigfoot.

“The whole mystery around Elvis’ life and death was just so appealing to me, so I wondered how I could do something with Bigfoot... and come up with a little backstory,” Monahan said.

Marc Sherman, one of the movie’s actors, said he is looking forward to being a part of the project.

“Unsurprisingly, there aren’t many opportunities for real film productions in Hillsdale County, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear about this opportunity,” Sherman said. “This is a passion project of local producer Phil Monahan that’s been years in the making, and I truly hope the community notices and supports all the hard work he’s done to make his creative vision a reality.”

Monahan said he is excited to work on the movie within the Hillsdale community.

“I’m a big proponent of doing big things in small towns,” Monahan said. “A lot of people limit themselves because of where they are from and saying I’m from Hillsdale, so I’ll never do that. But I followed my dream of wrestling and it paid for me to go around the world. So, that’s my biggest message, don’t let where you are from hinder what you can be.”

The filming team recently spent a day shooting footage, hoping to soon release a trailer.

“Once that trailer is edited and ready for promotion, it’ll be used to gauge public interest and raise funds for our full shoot in the spring,” said Sherman.

Monahan said he is working within the resources available to him currently, even though the movie will have actors who have worked on big-screen productions

“When I write something, I want to make sure that I have the resources to do it. I couldn’t write a movie about space with million-dollar special effects, but I can write a story about Bigfoot,” he said. “One of my good friends, Matt King, stars in the movie as Elvis and he is one of the top Elvis Tribute Artists in the Midwest.”

So far, the movie has done only a little fundraising, but Monahan and Sherman hope the trailer will allow for more.

“If all goes well, Phil expects this story to develop its own cult following,” Sherman said.

Monahan said there are many different ways the community can help with the filming and production process.

“We are going to hold auditions because there are still roles we need filled,” Monahan said. “The resources are kind of limited around here, but I am sure there are plenty of talented people that just don’t know where to go for opportunities.”

Monahan said he is also looking for additional filming sites.

In addition to the trailer, Monahan said they are also planning to release a movie poster and t-shirts to help spread the word.

Monahan said not everyone has been supportive of the project.

“Some of the people think I am crazy. But, anybody that knows me knows that if I want to do something, I will put my head down and go for it,” he said.

Monahan hopes to release the movie in 2025.

“I want to get all the filming done in the spring. I would love to be able to premiere it in Hillsdale. Hopefully, things get done and we don’t run into any hiccups and get all the funding we need,” Monahan said. “Being able to premiere on Elvis' birthday on February 8, 2025, would be awesome.”

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The movie’s team has big dreams that the movie will go far, Monahan said it might even reach a big streaming platform like Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Sherman said he is excited to share the film with the Hillsdale community and hopefully even further.

“Phil is even considering bringing it to film festivals and comic cons,” Sherman said. “Even though it’s small-scale and low budget, I hope everyone knows that this is the real deal and something worth keeping an eye on—especially if you’re a fan of the King of Rock and Roll or mysterious woodland cryptids.”

— Elyse Apel is a correspondent for The Hillsdale Daily News. She can be reached by email at ehawkins@hillsdale.edu.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: 'Chronicles of the King: The Search for Sasquatch' to be shot locally