Meet the writer and director of Indiana Jones and the Legend of Bimini, B. Anthony Gibson, as he answers questions about his background, past experiences and the production at hand.
What led you into writing and directing your own films?
As a kid I’ve always loved movies. When I was about 11 years old, my father rented a video camera for me for a weekend. My younger brother and I made some movies(our action figures being our actors) and we absolutely loved it. I’ve always enjoyed creating my own stories so I decided to start writing. I’ve probably been writing and directing my own films for the better part of 15 years.
Why a fan film as opposed to an original idea? And why Indiana Jones?
I have made quite a few original stories but a fan film seems to be a genre of film that seems to be getting more and more popular. I think the advent of fan films has forced Hollywood filmmakers to improve on the movies that they’re creating. But with all the fan films on the internet there are only a few serious Indiana Jones films. I think I speak for a lot of “Indy” fans out there when I say that the last “Indy” film was disappointing, to say the least. So even though I don’t have the budget, I knew that I could get creative and make a better “Indy” film.
This is your second Indiana Jones fan film. Will this be the final fan film feather in your cap or do you see yourself continuing with these types of productions?
I really enjoy the fan film genre, however, this will be my last Indiana Jones fan film. On the other hand, I wouldn’t say that this will be my last fan film. I may take a look at other stories.
What did you take away from your first “Indy” production that you’re putting into the Legend of Bimini? What lessons have you learned from the first go around?
I learned that I can’t do everything on my own. As the sayings go, “two heads are better than one” and “the more the merrier”. It takes more than one creative mind to create a fan film because of the fact that we don’t have the Hollywood budget. So now, I have to always ask the question, “How are we going to do this?” and it doesn’t always have to be me to come up with that answer. I’ve got a really great production team assembled to help answer this question. I’ve also learned that action sequences require more than a half day of shooting because of the number of shots involved to make it exciting.
Going hand in hand with the previous question how are you going to make this film better?
When I first approached Rick (the actor playing Indiana Jones) about doing another “Indy” film, I told him that we had to do what we did with “Apalachee” but take it up a notch. I was never satisfied with the amount of action that was in “Apalachee” and wanted to make sure that “Bimini” had a little more action. I also think that I was a little pre-occupied with whether I could make an “Indy” film that I didn’t work on characters and relationships as well as I could have. Rehearsing was done on set rather than in pre-production. So you will see better direction on my part.
What’s your ultimate goal in making these fan films considering you can’t make money off them. Are they pure hobbyist for you or is there a bigger picture in advancing a career?
I’ve always been an entertainer. So if I can bring joy to those who enjoy my work than I can be happy. But with a fan film, there’s always a chance that someone in the industry will view my films and will want to hire the services of the crew or talent(as well as myself).
Talk about your cast specifically Rick Staropoli who portrays the legendary character.
When I decided that I was going to do an “Indy” fan film, I knew it would be a bust unless I had someone who could pull the character off well. I was lucky to have an actor like Rick to pull it off. He’s always seemed like the leading man type to me. Not only is he a fantastic actor but he also has the rugged manner that Indy needs. I’ve directed Rick a couple times and he always brings a certain intensity to his characters that is very difficult to duplicate. I think that is what makes him a versatile and dynamic leading man. Jim Valone plays the complex Dr. Findley who is trapped by his illness and forces him to be the consequential villain in this story. One of the things that I admire about Jim is that you never know what character is going to come out. He is so good at what he does and I look forward to seeing what he’ll do with this character. It’s really great to have Chris Woods back playing Roland MacDuffy. When I wrote “Apalachee”, I knew that I wanted the villain to be someone who had once befriended Indy. When I wrote “Bimini”, I wanted to see that time where Roland and Indy were friends. This will be the third project that I’ve had the pleasure of directing Chris. He’s another great character actor that will do well in this picture. There’s always some sort of comic element to an “Indy” film and not just Indy himself, at times. Every movie has had a screaming damsel in distress but I wanted to do something different with this movie. I fashioned the character of Rodrigo to fit that bill. Danny Hoskins is the actor that I think can pull this off. Truth of the matter is when I wrote this character, I wrote it with Danny in mind in the hopes that he would do it. Lucky for me, he was able to do it. Finally, reprising his role as underworld mobster Jimmy Styles is Dean Amsler. Originally, the character was supposed to be a minor character in “Apalachee”. But I loved the way Dean played it that I wanted him back for “Bimini”. You’ll see more of Jimmy in this one.
How about your crew for the film?
Doing a second Indy fan film meant that I really needed to raise the bar. To do that, I needed a really good production team to help pull this off. First thing I needed was an Assistant Director that could keep the production together during shooting. I had worked with Kat McNally a few times and knew this was something that she could handle. I then needed someone to take a nice wide perspective of the production and help put the pieces into place. Collin McCormack comes with a lot of production experience and provides a great deal of insight as Production Supervisor as well as serving as Director of Photography. Chris Mosier comes into this having a very vast knowledge of fan films in general. Running a website for fan films has given him a large view of the fan film genre. So as Associate Producer and Location Manager he has been able to complete other pieces of the production “puzzle”. Lastly, there are some elements of the film that I needed help with to raise the bar. I brought in Art Director Frank Kielar to help with those elements. Frank also comes into this project with a lot of production experience as well as being a talented artist.
What avenues will you pursue in getting this film out to the public both locally and viral?
I may actually see if there are any film festivals that this film would qualify for as well as trying to get as many showings of the film as possible locally. But be rest assured, it will be on the internet.
Any closing thoughts?
My hope for this film is to stamp my place in fan film history and grow as a filmmaker. I hope that the cast gets proper recognition for the talent they possess and the crew gets work from this. I’m making this film for all the Indiana Jones fans out there! This is something I enjoy and I hope everyone is enjoying this right along with me.
Cine-bomber delivered a nice little fan film write-up titled “Fan Film Inspiration Spotlight” that becomes extra special by mentioning Tatum Picture’s Indiana Jones efforts.
“I found an Indiana Jones fan film from 2010, this one from Tatum Pictures out of Rochester, NY. It’s called INDIANA JONES AND THE SECRET OF THE APALACHEE. I’ll say this, of the completed Indiana Jones fan films I have personally seen, this one stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. The director, B. Anthony Gibson, is a legit film maker. And the acting is surprisingly good. What I most love in this underfunded gem is the attention to detail by its two top players, namely director Gibson and his star, Rick Staropoli as the titular archeologist. Indiana Jones geeks will be tickled time and again by Gibson’s winks to the audience (my favorite moment is Indy’s 2-thug punch out, complete with Wilhelm Scream, a sound effect present somewhere in all 4 Indiana Jones movies.) At times, from certain angles, Staropoli does bear a resemblance to Harrison Ford. He plays Indy a few years older than Ford’s turns in the first 3 films (set in 1942 instead of the late 30’s). What’s rewarding for Indy fans is watching Rick deliver on Indy’s physicality. Not just in being to scrap and look right executing the handful of stunts, but with Indy’s subtler mannerisms. The man did his homework. The close shots of Rick’s hands handling Indy’s journal and then how he gestures to his traveling party to follow him… Yeah. Good stuff, there. I’m excited that these guys are making a second one. Anthony says he plans to raise the bar, and I believe he’ll do it. I’ll be writing more about projects I am looking forward to, and you can be sure I’ll be keeping up with the development of the new one.”
The cast and crew of the fan film Indiana Jones and the Legend of Bimini so solemnly swear that our production values are above what Brett Erlich shows us in this episode of Viral Video Film School. We have the hat so we should pretty much be all set.
For any general inquiries, comments, would like to help with the production, or just to say hello email us at crew@tatumpictures.com