Four More Years of Vader (2005)

This is a short film idea I had back in November of 2004 (that’s an election year, people!). As I stood there debating on whom least deserved my vote, I thought it might be funny to select the write-in block and put Darth Vader’s name in the space provided. After discussing this idea further with friends, it started to become clear that this was a funny scheme—and I had to make a movie out of it. I spent some time writing it with Ethan S. Knightchilde who also stars in it, as well as getting some input from Andy Branscom and Tanner Cole. The Colorado Film School was gracious enough to let us film in there television studio, which provided an excellent backdrop for the film’s talk show-like feel. We were also able to take advantage of the green screen they had. Stacy Ayer, part of the Rocky Mountain Fan Force, was awesome enough to show up in full Vader attire and play the lead role. All in all, this was filmed entirely in just under four hours, with about 16 hours of editing done by Jeff Deel and myself. One motivation behind filming this was to enter it in the 2005 AtomFilms Star Wars fan film competition. Naturally, the film was rejected, for reasons unknown—but since they can’t be bothered to contact entrants who were not accepted, we may never know. I suspect they don’t want to be associated with anything that may send a political message; and as we all know, in the United States of Offended People, this is sure to find a soft target somewhere. Fortunately, the good folks at IFILM have seen the light, and have opted to host this film for free as an IFILM pick. You can download the film by clicking the IFILM logo on the left, and select your format!

Oh, and by the way—I will have my revenge, AtomFilms! In this life or the next!

Now before you go off emailing me, please keep in mind that this is a joke—political satire, if you will. Being the non-partisan that I am, I have no qualms with creating a film such as this and posting it for all to see. However, I would like to point out that I fully respect the United States government positions this film obviously pokes fun at, and I furthermore consider myself to be a loyal citizen. This video is not made to make a statement, or rally anyone around a cause—it stars a fictional character and is purely for entertainment value.

Download Film:

The Technicals:

Starring:  Ethan S. Knightchilde, Stacy Ayer, J. Michael Weiss, Benjamin Hirschfeld, Scott Douglas, Jason Cook, Andy Peevler Written by: Hank Braxtan and Ethan S. Knightchilde Directed by:  Hank Braxtan Director of Photography:  Drew Adams Release:  March 8th, 2005 Length: 00:09:31 RATED PG