Written By: Ken HulseySources: Jared Foust / Avery Guerra
With a $70 zombie movie making all the news at Cannes, it is only fitting that I spotlight another, made from the money in my pocket, production entitled "Ultaman Sorta".
As many of you know, we here at Monster Island News, love low budget, independent, productions. Come to think of it. With this "Colin" movie making headlines, and Hollywood and overseas studios foaming at the mouth to make their own version of it, many of the films that I have written about may be next. Is it possible that we are trend-setters here. Are low-budget films the next "big thing"?
Anyway.....
As you may have guessed, "Ultraman Sorta" is film maker Jared Foust's do-it-yourself homage to the Japanese super hero, Ultraman. Now, when I say do it yourself, I mean Jared did the whole thing himself. He wrote the story, directed it, starred in it, edited it, and did all the visual effects for it. The only thing Jared didn't do was take a few promotional photographs, his mother did that.
How did Jared feel about taking on all the facets of a film production? Well, he describes it as a sort of a living hell, "I made this in the summer and fall of 2006 working almost exclusively by myself with the notable exception of having my mother take two or three still photos. Everything else is me. All the roles, all the camerawork, editing, effects, etc. Some of you may find that impressive but it was kind of hell. I hate working on films like that, it's a very lonely existence.All the effects were done as a combination of Final Cut and Photoshop, many shots being drawn in frame-by-frame in Photoshop. Seriously, it was hell."
Well, I hate to break it to Jared, but a lot of directors and indie film makers describe the process of making a low-budget production as hell. It kinda comes with the territory.
Presently Jared is working on the 3rd episode of "Ultraman Sorta." This time around he promises better effects, costumes and a more advanced storyline.
You have to admit that Jared really has captured the essence of the classic Ultraman series with his little films. Who knows, Maybe "Ultraman Sorta" will be the talk of Cannes next year?
Hey, it could happen.......
Here is the first episode of "Ultraman Sorta":
See Also: Behind The Scenes Photos From Norman England's It's All Good / Mothra X MechaGodzilla: Revenge Of The Black Hole Aliens / You Really Haven't Lived Until You Have Seen The Japanese Spider-Man TV Show / DEX Wins The Thai Rights To Ultraman Max And Ultraman Mebius / Pusan International Film Festival Focuses On Asian Super Heroes / Ultraman To Appear At This Years Japanese Film Festival In Kuala Lumpur / Ultraman Showcase 2008 - Ultraman Comes To Malaysia / Ultraman Cosmos vs. Ultraman Justice: The Final Battle (2003) / Hitomi Muto Talks About Her Grandfather Eiji Tsuburaya / Ultraman: Towards the Future (1990) / Ultraman Becomes A Permanent Resident Of The Fukushima Airport / Courts Rule That Sompote Saengduenchai Did Not Co-Create Ultraman / Bandai Aquires A Large Portion Of Tsuburaya Productions / Ultra Galaxy: Dai Kaiju Batoru (2007-2008) / Ultraman Exhibit At The Roppongi Hills Mori Arts Center / Ultraman Turns 41 /Eight Versions Of Ultraman Hit The Big Screen In 2008
Thanks for the write-up!
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I know indie-filmmaking can be hell but filming all the roles and wearing those suits for Sorta 1 in AUGUST in GEORGIA was a special kind of hell on Earth! XD
When we did the opening scene of Sorta 2, I had other folks to help me out and it took a lot of weight off my shoulders, difficult as it still was, and made the experience a lot more enjoyable.
- Jared