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St. Paul, Minn.

May 31, 2007 4:16 PM

The tale of the teenagers who remade "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

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Truck Climbing — In a shot from "Raiders of the Lost Ark:The Adaptation" Indiana Jones (Chris Strompolos) climbs aboard a speeding truck. In reality the vehicle lacked an engine, and had to be puleld from a swamp and cleaned up before the shoot.
Image courtesy of www.theraider.net

The fact that they were respectively 11 and 10 years old didn't concern them.

Many such projects begin, while very few reach completion. But Zala and Strompolos stuck with it, and after 7 years completed "Raiders of the Lost Ark: the Adaptation."

Zala and Strompolos — Eric Zala and Chris Strompolos as they are today. They completely recreated "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when they were teenagers. Now a rediscovery of the film has launchged new careers for them in the film business.
MPR Photo?Euan Kerr

It's a complete recreation, shot for shot, of the original film.

The movie gets a screening tonight in Minneapolis, with Strompolos and Zala, now in their 30's, in attendance. Zala admitted to Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr that when his friend first asked him to direct the film, he thought the preproduction was all done.

Gallery

3 of 3

Marion and Indiana — Marion Ravenwood (Angela Rodriguez)gets a helping hand from Indiana Jones (Chris Strompolos.) Rodriguez now lives in the Twin Cities. Strompolos hadn't seen her for almost 20 years before coming to Minneapolis for the screening.
Image courtesy www.theraiders.net

1 of 3

Truck Climbing — In a shot from "Raiders of the Lost Ark:The Adaptation" Indiana Jones (Chris Strompolos) climbs aboard a speeding truck. In reality the vehicle lacked an engine, and had to be puleld from a swamp and cleaned up before the shoot.
Image courtesy of www.theraider.net

2 of 3

Zalar as Belloq — A teenaged Eric Zalar played the unscrupulous archeologist Dr Rene Belloq as well as directing "Raiders of the Lost Ark:The Adaptation."
Image courtesy of www.theraider.net

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