Everything
Synopsis
When the ambassadorial spaceship Tiger Shark crashes on the hostile Spidertron Planetoid, its surviving crew—Captain Abele, Ambassador Kaalin, and Navigators Landrew and Hemming—must do everything they can to keep from getting killed—or killing each other! Pursued by the enthusiastically bloodthirsty Commandant Extiglios and sadistic telepath Interrogator Goylgar, the marooned “heroes” must make their way to safety while preserving a universe-shattering secret. And little do they know, once they reach the supposedly neutral Spidertron Waystation, they face the direst threat of all: the flamboyantly villainous Lord Vexor! So fasten your heads and get ready to laugh!
Reviews and Articles
Production
Spidertron Materializes
It’s amazing that nearly anyone can make a movie these days. But when Carter Soles decided in 2005 that making a movie would give him a unique understanding of his dissertation topic (low-budget, independent film making), he could not have guessed at the grandiosity of the outcome. The science-fiction comedy “Spidertron”, would rally talent from across the United States and culminate in a screening at the Bijou nearly three years later.
A strange and hilarious mix of themes, “Spidertron” was written by Max Rayneard a South African playwright currently at UO. The story satirizes machismo, traditional heroism, and reality itself. It contains overtones of political unrest, and an arch villain character that is gay. Inspired by the simplicity of the sets from the original Star Trek series, Spidertron uses the unearthly terrain of nearby Little Belknap Crater and the Columns at Skinner Butte to represent the surface of the alien planet on which its heroic crew is marooned.
Although Soles’ academic research on the topic had prepared him to organize shooting the movie (Soles’ is a doctoral student at the University of Oregon), he is quick to defer credit for the surprisingly high quality product to the network of friends and artists who raised its value at every turn. Through word-of-mouth and the sheer momentum that continually mounted behind the movie-making project, many and various digital arts professionals and movie enthusiasts lent their skills of matte painting, costume design, 3-D animation, digital effects, acting, and more to create the believable world of “Spidertron.”
The movie crew and cast were comprised predominantly of UO students and alumni, local hobbyists, craftspeople, and many inspired “fakers” who voluntarily donated their time to make the micro-budget movie. Few of the actors were theater trained. Fight choreography was done by local amateur mixed martial artist James Anderson. Editing was done by Cody Yarbrough, a recent graduate of UO, and founder of The University Film Organization (UFO).
Invisible to the viewer, the movie-making process was filled with leaps of faith. The forthcoming documentary of the making of “Spidertron” by Emily West (costar and co-conspirator on Spidertron and UO folklore student), — aptly named “Fake It ‘Til You Make It” — reveals the simple steps taken to turn the interior of a Volkswagen bus into a spaceship cabin, how a compass affixed to an old school “Gameboy” became hand held sci-fi navigational equipment, and truck floor mats and a shower curtain became armor for an over-the-top S&M gay biker villain.
With its camp humor and science-fiction cross-referencing traditionalism, “Spidertron” holds potential to develop a cult following among sci-fi, gaming, and low-budget movie fans. This film is unrated and contains strong language and some violence.