Virtually Heroes

Virtually Heroes is a 2013 American low-budget gamer film directed by G.J. Echternkamp,^[1] starring Robert Baker and Mark Hamill. Produced by Roger Corman, it made its world premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.^[2] Adjusted for inflation, it is Roger Corman's cheapest film to date.

Plot

Two self-aware characters in a Call of Duty-inspired video game battle endless supplies of Vietcong, absurdly powerful level bosses and their own existential crises. With the help of Mark Hamill's Yoda-like monk, they attempt to win the game and get the girl.^[3]

Production

Virtually Heroes evolved from Roger Corman's desire to utilize his extensive library of stock footage to create a modern war film.^[4] Since the 1970s, Corman produced over 20 war films with Filipino director Cirio H. Santiago. Writers G.J. Echternkamp and Matt Yamashita drew heavily on Corman's library to write their script, developing a video game world to justify the repurposed stock footage.^[5]

Production lasted 14 days, with a budget of $114,000. Because of the low budget, most of the film had to be block-shot. Most of the takes were done only twice. Virtually Heroes was the first film of Roger Corman's (dubbed "the Godfather of Indie Filmmaking") to enter the Sundance Film Festival.^[6][7] Reviews of the film were in general not positive.^[8][9]

Films Featured

Virtually Heroes uses footage from the following Corman pictures:

• Battle Gear (1991)
• Beyond the Call of Duty (1992)
• Eagle of the Eye (1987)
• Eye of the Eagle 2: Inside the Enemy (1989)
• Eye of the Eagle 3: Last Stand at Lang Mei (1989)
• Firehawk (1993)
• Kill Zone (1993)
• Saigon Commandos (1988)
• When Eagles Strike (2003)

References

External links

• Virtually Heroes Official Website