If my calculations are correct, the atomic resonance was just enough to tear a hole in the very fabric of time itself!

A week or so ago, Imagos Films was invited to participate in an interesting project. For five years now Chicago has been home to an event called the Sci-Fi Spectacular; a 12-18hr science fiction film marathon at an art-house in the city. The first five were at the amazing Music Box Theatre. This year it’s moving to the Portage. You know, just to shake things up.

Anyway, for the last five years a tradition has been established wherein sci-fi trailers are played between every film. Some are amazing (Alien, 2001, Planet of the Apes), some are not (I’m looking at you, Zardoz), but all are super fun.

I know, because I’ve gone every year since its inception.

We may have gone overboard with the screaming a bit. There's a lot of screaming.

This year the festival will feature not only the trailers we have come to know and love, but also a handful of brand new trailers for films that don’t exist and, if they had existed, would have done so in the late fifties and been directed/produced by Roger Corman.

In true Corman style, these trailers are being shot in very little time, and with only a title as direction.

Imagos got the call a little late in the process and ended up with the enigmatic, “The Catastrophe at Catalina.”

He is a man from out of time, and he is most certainly... INSANE.

Also in true Corman style, we kinda’ just worked with what we had. We were already set to do a day of shooting for this wicked little short our friends over at AC Stunts have cooked up and had stunt people, explosives, period costumes and loads of fake blood just sitting there waiting to be jack-punched into some 58 second ill-conceived plot penned by our writer in the front seat of his car and based on an idea we had on the drive to set.

And dammit, that’s just about exactly what we did.

The resulting trailer for The Catastrophe at Catalina is something of a beautiful mess. It was thrown together, to be sure, but with a fair amount of love and homage to the spirit of the show. Everyone on board took it super seriously, especially stunt badass Laurie McNeilly who, though we spent most of the day filming her kick ass as a viscous saber wielding bravosa, is featured in the trailer only when being covered in blood. Both times. And one time she’s choking on it.

The trailer involves a small group of scientists in the remote Catalina Research Facility who rip a hole in time with an atomic laser. That’s all I’m saying. For the rest, you’ll either have to come to the 6th Annual Sci-Fi Spectacular this coming Saturday (4/28/2012), or wait until it hits the intarwebz next week.

All of our vikings are mad. MAD!