Filmmaker John Galligan stars as Indiana Jones in his second adaptation set to release in May.
Photo courtesy of John Galligan
A Queens filmmaker is gearing up to release his second Indiana Jones short film adaptation after his first one was a huge hit online among fans of the franchise.
John Galligan, a Forest Hills resident, released Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Queens Giant in 2020, just three years after buying his first camera, to pay homage to the film saga. The short film centers around the tallest and oldest tree in the city, known as the Queens Giant in Alley Pond Park. Since its release, the film garnered over 250,000 views on YouTube.
The 23-minute film, which cost over $25,000 to produce, also won several awards after its premiere at Kew Gardens Cinema. But Galligan says that while filming and starring in the film as Indiana Jones himself, he was still a budding filmmaker learning the ropes.
Now three years later, equipped with more experience and double the production value, Galligan is set to release his second fan film – Indiana Jones and the Legend of the Inwood Caves. This time around, he knew he had to go over the top given the success of the first film and the pressure to release a second.
“Indiana Jones in particular is the type of film that really encompasses every kind of aspect of filmmaking,” said Galligan. “There’s mystery, intrigue and adventure and action and horror, and all that kind of stuff.”
The second installment is based on the Inwood caves, a rare historical site in upper Manhattan. But since they were too tight to film in, he had them recreated in a New Jersey set. He also rented vintage cars, borrowed some horses and secured a plane for one scene with a live snake. Everything down to the boots he wears, to the way he cracks his whip, was meticulously considered to be an accurate ode to Harrison Ford in the original Indiana Jones films.
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