'Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation' to be made into two movies

Mike Krumboltz


In the early '80s, three friends from Mississippi decided to remake their favorite film, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," shot-for-shot. Seven years and a lot of drama later, the odyssey came to a conclusion.   

The story of the making of "Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation" has been oft-told. Vanity Fair did an extensive article about the boys' labor of love, and the famous movie theater Alamo Drafthouse screened the film to enthusiastic audiences.  

Now, the adaptation is getting a big-time, big-budget Hollywood remake. Several days ago, Deadline reported that "Napoleon Dynamite" producer Jeremy Coon has optioned the story of Chris Strompolos, Jayson Lamb, and Eric Zala's tribute to the man in the hat, Indiana Jones.

Coon told Deadline that he plans to make two films: a documentary about the making of the adaptation as well as a feature film. The creation of the film, which the boys started when they were around 11 and finished when they were in their late teens, was filled with hilarious situations that can only come when a group of enthusiastic youngsters decides to do the impossible, and then succeed.

And make no mistake, the remake of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" required a lot of ingenuity. The huge boulder that nearly kills Indy in the opening scene? The boys made that out of plaster in the garage. The face-melting Nazis? They're in there. The rough-and-tumble bar that the Nazis burn down? The boys did that, too, lighting a basement on fire in the process.

Strompolos, Lamb and Zala did this before the Internet. Before computer editing. Before cheap cameras and DVDs. And all the while juggling school, friendships and family. The source material is incredibly rich. Here's hoping the movies about the adaptation will do justice to the boys' accomplishment.

Imagine you were going to full-length remake a movie with a couple of friends? Which film would you choose? "Star Wars"? "The Dark Knight"? "Back to the Future"? Leave a comment below and let us know.

Note: Comments saying "Gigli" will be immediately deleted.