Gorilla Filmmaking

Gorillas in the Mist was a big Hollywood hit which centred on the true story of an American biologist campaigning against the poaching of Rwandan gorillas. And she was right to do so. Surely there is a better way of cooking them?



A pivotal scene in 'Gorillas in the Fog'.

Films can be massively expensive and risky enterprises. Sequels are less risky, perhaps, because they follow a success. So, to make the cheapest surefire blockbuster, perhaps it’s time to look at what could be done to cut the budgets on these. Enter ‘Gorillas in the Fog’. (CLICK ON 'Read more' LINK, BELOW)

Visibility is a lot lower in foggy conditions than when it’s misty. So you wouldn’t even have to use gorillas or at least feature them very sparingly. Perhaps just a suggestion of a gorilla. Almost something that would work just as well as a radio play. And the savings would more than offset the cost necessary in the film unit meeting Health and Safety guidelines. Signs would have to be erected on the Rwandan motorways, the ones you get roadside with flashing lights displaying a reduced speed limit to keep to in the fog, and perhaps another to warn of the possibility of gorillas straying across the road like they have for cattle – a gorilla in silhouette in a red border triangle and something like ‘Gorillas for the next 4 miles’ written underneath.

Some sequels would be cheaper to make if they were shot closer to home. A UK-funded follow-up to The Manchurian Candidate might therefore locate to Manchester, instead of carting all the film equipment, actors, crew etc. to northern China. Title: ‘The Mancunian Candidate’.

If you’re a film company looking for cheaper, as in less classy, then look no further than following up on ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’. Think a military man of the lowest rank, somebody like a soldier in the amateur set-up, the Territorial Army. Then think how far this type could divert from the notion of chivalrous. Thus, the sequel to ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ – ‘A T.A. Reservist and a Tit’.