We were in negotiations to make it as a sixteen millimeter horror film, says Benedikty.
It was looking pretty good but at the last minute the deal fell through.
I just wanted to make a Hollywood movie.Star Warswas a huge inspiration for me back in the day.
I thought there was no reason whyIcant make a Hollywood movie.
You know, Budget means nothing!
This is my idea and Im just going to go and do it!
So, thats what I did.
I rewrote the script with a budget of $250 taken into account, she says.
But that $250 doesnt account for the equipment that was used.
If we had to actually rent all this gear, it might have actually cost $5,000-$10,000.
And everybody was, like, Absolutely, what do you need?
After its completion,Phobebecame a staple of the community channels schedule.
It became like, a filler show, says Benedikty.
It would air once in a while when we needed to fill time on the community channel.
Thats what really helped people see it a lot.
It was just there, and people would catch it and be like, Whats that?
People were also calling us like, Yeah, I caught some alien running around?
Can you guys play that again for me?'
Over time, Benediktys creation began to garner a cult following.
People would email and say, Yeah, we have this group that studies your film.
I was like, Oh my god,what?
People just loved it, as I started to discover.
It was like, Wow, this is amazing.'
I thought Wow, thats fantastic, 20 years later.
We restored a bit, and added a few things, and cleaned it up.
Airing it in a theater was really a unique experience.
It was like, Wow!
Its amazing to see that people are enjoying it and being entertainied.
So, that was really awesome to be a part of.
Im blown away by that, says Benedikty of the DVD release.
The director is aware that the company will almost certainly send her a free copy, correct?
Its just so cool.
you’re free to see the trailer forPhobebelow and an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip from the DVD, above.
