Just a Bunch of Knuckleheads...

In the spirit of the fine art of low-budget guerilla filmmaking, Philip Chidel, Dean Stapleton & Christian Oliver decided one day to absolutely, definitively make an indie feature movie of their own, despite having no script and no financing. To make matters more difficult, they decided to shoot in Aspen, Colorado, at a height of 12000', atop Aspen Mountain in a back-country hut that was eight miles from civilization and required an arduous 1.5-hr snowmobile ride just to get to the location. There was no electricity, no running water, and no contact with the outside world — not even by walkie. So with that in mind, they said, 'Sure, why not?' — and in 3-1/2 months, they were done.

In 3-1/2 months. The script was written, complex production logistics planned, and photography was completed. Chidel wrote and directed, Stapleton and Oliver played the leads, and Director of Photography Rich Confalone captured the magnificent Rocky Mountain scenery. Mother Nature also helped out by snowing on command. And it was all done in 3-1/2 months.

After shooting in the winter and editing through the summer on a home Final Cut Pro system, our trio of knuckleheads sent a work-in-progress DVD to the Sundance Film Festival on a wing and a prayer. Three months later, Sundance responded with a phone call — Subject Two had been selected as part of their Park City at Midnight lineup. The now-completed feature (including a terrific score by Erik Godal) premiered on January 20 in Park City to an enthusiastic capacity crowd. Soon after, First Look Studios picked up worldwide distribution rights. And currently, Subject Two continues to tour festivals and theatrical screenings around the world, being recognized with such honors as the Audience Award at the Silver Lake Film Festival and Best Feature at the London Sci-Fi Film Festival.

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