Independents Day

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 5, 2005 5:39PM

While Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston are what constitute big “movie news” in the major papers, there are two independent film productions that have captured Chicagoist’s notice.

The first is a film called Dimension from Rusted Rhino Productions. Unfortunately, that’s about all we know about it. Though their production company’s webpage promised occasional updates after filming began in late May, all’s been quiet on the Internet front.

Chicagoist contacted the makers of the film and they said the film is about—and filmed in—a small neighborhood in Chicago. Most of the cast members are Chicagoans with a few NYLA ringers. Other than that, we were told the “the cast specifics, budget and script are all being kept secret...once you view the completed project you will see why.” Are the makers of Dimension engaging in a little guerilla filmmaking so as to avoid a cease and desist order? We’re both stumped and intrigued by this cloak and dagger affair so if anyone sees film trucks with rhinos on them, snoop around a bit and give us the scoop.

The second film is Crime Fiction, a project stemming from the work of Fire Escape Films, the student filmmaking group of the University of Chicago. Crime Fiction is the story of a frustrated novelist who finds himself with fame and fortune after he kills his girlfriend and publishes a novel based on the crime.

In a much more warts-and-all approach than the Dimension folks, the makers of Crime Fiction have been posting their progress on an unofficial production blog. Because the scope of their production surpasses the “turn on a camera and film two people talking” genre of independent film, the producers have had to cope with angry police, car crashes, overzealous medical technicians, and intra-crew gossip all on a steady diet of RC Cola and cigarettes. Production wrapped during the last week of June but there are plenty of pictures on the site including some that explain why LaSalle St. was closed down for an afternoon a couple weeks ago.