Final movie parody is safely in the can. 3/7/2011.

The no-salad supper scene

And, as long as that can seals in the freshness, this is one movie parody that’s going to continue to be funny, even years from now. If it doesn’t, we all have botulism to worry about. Despite the fact that the wind was gusting outside, blowing down the blackout window screens, the crew and cast of The Movie Parody Network shook it’s collective fist at the gale and spit into the wind; probably not a wise thing to do. The final movie this go around was a parody of the 1945 movie, Strange Illusion.

Drama as portrayed by The Movie Parody Network

The original movie centers around a young man who believes that his widowed mother’s suitor may have murdered his father.  In other words, Hamlet as a 40s film noir Hardy Boys movie. The Movie Parody Network’s version, Strange Illusionisms, follows this general outline while dropping all the pertinent plot points and keeping the really weird moments.

Strange Illusionisms dream sequence

With our fake dry ice machine we re-created the opening dream sequence and, trust me when I say, ours is just as incomprehensible as the original.

What do we do next?

Handling the video production duties this week were Dave Franzina (that’s not his real hair), Raven Thibodeaux and Steve McGregor. The 11 scenes were shot in the usual time frame of 12 hours over a day and a half. One of the things that makes the production of the Movie Parody Network unique is the camaraderie of effort.  At the end of the day, everyone, including the cast, helps tear down the set and put it away. It’s a bit like the Little Rascals putting on a show in Darla’s barn. The important thing for everyone, is to get to beers, snacks and socializing as quickly as possible at the end of the day.

Jane McGregor fixes Krishna's evil hair

Costumes again were handled by Jane McGregor, with young Kelsey McGregor on makeup.  The role of Paul Cartwright was played by Christopher Nash with Bethany Hubbard as his mother, Virginia Cartwright. The dual villains  were Patrick Knoles as Brett Curtis and Krishna Smitha as Nurse Mulbach. Side note: in the original movie, Nurse Mulbach was Professor Mulbach, a man, but due to cast restrictions, a little gender bending was in order. The part of lovable Dr. Vincent was played by Coleman Wallis. Of course Monkey Monkey was played by Kelsey McGregor and a surprise cameo by Dave Franzina as the cowardly bartender was thrown in to the delight of most of the people present.

In other news this week, our full page article about The Movie Parody Network was published in the Lovejoy Journal. Sorry, there’s no link to the paper or article.

Photos by Bethany Hubbard