The novels of Phillip K. Dick have been the basis for several popular sci-fi films, among them “Blade Runner” and “Total Recall”. He also has many short stories that are getting attention as well. When director Shahab Zargari and his brother writer Shahram Zargari started searching for an intriguing story to base their new short film, sparks flew. What they found was a “lost” gem.
The Crystal Crypt was first published in the January 1952 edition of Planet Stories magazine.The setting in the distant future, with Earth and Mars on the verge of war and the last spaceship to leave Mars for Earth is suddenly stopped by Martian soldiers in search of three saboteurs who have destroyed a Martian city. The story has a surprising conclusion, as is true with many of Dick’s most popular novels.
In independent filmmaking, one question is: how can we get funding? But with a Sci-Fi genre film, the second question is how to make a journey through outer space look real, like Star Trek or Star Wars.
“If your concept is to create, let’s say, a remake of the Star Wars trilogy then you are so far past the short film it’s not even funny and lets not forget the problems with budgeting,” said director Shahab Zargari. “Try and come up with a concept that is simple and uses only a few locations with little to no special effects. As far as coming up with the actual story, keep it true to your vision.”
The brothers turned to Kickstarter, the popular crowd-funding website, but they are no strangers to production. They also enlisted producer Zeus Zamani, whom worked with them on the most recent promotional video for Luxor Las Vegas Casino. The commercial ended up winning a total of five Silver Awards at the 2012 Davey Awards, including a trophy for the Videography & Cinematography category.
“The wonderful world of short filmmaking may be just the place for you to get started in the world of movie making,” states Zargari. “We’re only a few months away from wrapping this project up, and I feel that I can share my thoughts on the subject. People should realize that independent filmmaking is less about ‘me’ and more about ‘we’.”
“I’ve been a Sci-fi nerd my entire life. I gravitated toward Philip K. Dick. He’s one of my favorite authors in the genre. As soon as I saw Star Wars in the movie theaters as a little kid, I instantly knew that making movies was something I was passionate about,” says Zargari “I now have the confidence and the chops to start my directing career and I must succeed.”
The Kickstarter campaign has just launched, and rewards for backers include one-of-a-kind original props and credit in the film. You can check out the pitch below:
