To coincide with the film’s release onto VOD, we spoke via Zoom to Mike Cheslik, the co-writer and director of the slapstick silent film Hundreds of Beavers. We talk about the film’s successful festival and roadshow run, upcoming projects for him and his collaborator Ryland Brickson Cole Trews, and a mutual love for releasing films on physical media!
Hundreds of Beavers Synopsis
IN THIS SILENT SUPERNATURAL EPIC, A DRUNKEN APPLEJACK SALESMAN IS THRUST INTO THE FRIGID WILDERNESS. CAN HE GO FROM ZERO TO HERO, BECOME NORTH AMERICA’S GREATEST FUR TRAPPER, AND DEFEAT HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS?
- Fundraised and shot in Wisconsin and Michigan
- Completed over 4 years
- 12 weeks of shooting
- Filmed in subzero temperatures
- 1500+ effects shots
Hundreds of Beavers Interview Timecodes
00:00 Titles
00:24 Introduction by “Billy the Beaver”
00:49 Mike Cheslik on the idea for HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
01:20 The Influence of Guy Maddin
02:04 How HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS differ from Mike Cheslik’s previous film LAKE MICHIGAN MONSTER
02:43 The Video Game aspect of HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
03:24 How Many Beavers Were There, Actually?
03:51 How difficult was HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS to edit
04:45 The challenging compositions of HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
05:33 About HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS’ performative roadshow
06:20 Mike Cheslik on what’s next for him
07:23 Mike Cheslik on the success of HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
08:01 Mike Cheslik on a future Blu-ray release for HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
08:37 Conclusions
Watch Hundreds of Beavers
Music Attributions
Big Horns Intro by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/
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