June 2004

Atts

My 1.5 Seconds of Fame

Amanda Aikman
Arts and Entertainment Editor

I know in your eyes | am a writer, an
editor, a friend—but did you know
that I am now a movie star too? Yup,
a real-life movie star. Now, before you
all start chasing me through the halls
of Douglas College begging for an
autograph, a lock of hair, or even just
the opportunity to bask in my aura of
fame—I should probably admit that
the word “star” might be a little mis-
leading.

After an exhaustive auditioning
process—which consisted of the
director, who is my boyfriend’s broth-
er, asking if I wanted the part—I was
no longer Amanda Aikman, writer,
student, and creditor-avoider. I was
now Amanda Aikman, writer, stu-
dent, creditor-avoider, and “actor.”

The film, Zapruder vs. Sasquatch,
was written and directed by Ed
Hatton for the 2004 Crazy8s film fes-
tival. The annual Vancouver festival
challenges five filmmakers (whittled
down from 40 hopefuls) to make a
10-minute film in only eight days,
with only 800 dollars. The films are
then screened at a fancy pants pre-
miere at the Vogue theatre, followed
by a schmooze-fest reception at the
Vancouver Art Gallery.

Hatton's film successfully made it
past the first hurtle—the pitch ses-
sion. This is a grueling five-minute
opportunity for prospective filmmak-

 

ers to sell their film’s concept to a
panel of industry professionals. Once
his pitch had been accepted, all that
was left to do was write the script,
recruit the crew, cast the actors, scout
the locations, obtain the filming per-
mits, and stock the Crafts Services
table with imported mineral water.
Oh, and then there were little things
like makeup, wardrobe, props, light-
ing, transportation, shooting, edit-

began getting into character. Plus I
heard that there would be free coffee
and muffins.

Zapruder vs. Sasquatch
Zapruder’s legendary filming of the
Kennedy assassination and Roger
Patterson's famous alleged footage of a
Sasquatch, and connects them with a

zipper. Well okay, not literally, that

takes

would be difficult. What Hatton's

film does is examine the relationship

I got to sit in the
back of a big fancy
convertible and

pretend I was the First
Lady of Camelot

ing...okay so maybe there is more to
making a movie than simply sitting in
a cool chair and yelling “Action!”
Once Hatton and his faithful crew
had sorted out the details, it was time
for the magic to begin. Unfortunately,
this magic time came at 6am on a
Saturday. But being, the trooper that I
am, I eagerly hopped out of bed and

between a father and son who were
present for both of these historical
events, but were unable to catch them
on film because of complications with

-zippers. Clever, huh? And it gets bet-

ter; two of the lead actors were regu-
lars on the X Files. | mean it’s not like
an actor of my caliber would agree to
work with just anyone.

& Entertainment

   

2004 Ed Araquel/Crazy 8s Film Led.

I got to play Jackie Kennedy in the
film, which means I got to wear a
pink suit. I know, fabulous isn’t it? I
had makeup people fussing over me,
wardrobe people arguing over which
gloves and shoes worked the best on
me, and Crafts Services people offer-
ing me baked goods—and I got to sit
in the back of a big fancy convertible
and pretend I was the First Lady of
Camelot. Sure beats writing newspa-
per articles for a living.

However, despite the fact that we
filmed my big motorcade scene mul-
tiple times, it looks like I won't be
quitting my day job just yet. Turns
out it didn’t really matter which
gloves and shoes worked best for me,
because you would need to be a quick
draw with a pause button and a mag-
nifying glass to actually see me in the
finished film. Which is fine by me,
I’m not ready for the intrusiveness of
fame right now. I like being able to go
to the grocery store or the porn the-
without constantly being
harassed by the paparazzi. So it looks
like you will get to keep me for a lit-
tle while longer; I may have been

atre

temporarily bitten by the acting bug,
but it’s venom is no match for the
familiar ooze of the writing slug.

For more the
Crazy8s Film Festival you. can visit
<www.crazy8s.cc>. For more infor-

mation on Zapruder vs. Sasquatch, or

information on

to join Ed Hatton's revolution, visit
<www.sasqploitation.com>.

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