Ogopogo Movie Set to Begin Shooting this Summer
Posted by: John Kirk on May 13th, 2006
After the Penn and Teller Showtime fiasco, the last thing we need is another cryptozoology mockumentary. I hope that Provost Pictures – who are set to start principal photography at Okanagan Lake the setting of a film called The Beast of Bottomless Lake – are able to avoid the abusive pitfalls entered into by the producers of the aforementioned awful program that had nothing remotely positive or entertaining about it. The producers of the latest offering in cryptozoological satire have released a blurb about the film which incorporates this statement: “The Office” meets “Jacques Cousteau” with a little bit of “Jaws” thrown in for good measure. That is a huge claim so I hope the filmmakers come up with a film that is as good as they make it out to be.
In a similar vein, a couple of years ago, I saw a brilliant piece of satirical filmmaking in the hugely entertaining flick Incident at Loch Ness. The brainchild of writer Zak Penn, Incident was an incredible expose of the egos involved in a cryptozoological search of Loch Ness which was designated to be incorporated in a documentary. Penn enlisted one of the best filmmakers alive, the legendary Werner Herzog, the German director of motion pictures and documentaries including Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre: The Wrath of God and The Grizzly Bear Man, to play himself as he sets out to make the ultimate documentary about the enigma of Loch Ness. I recommend anyone who hasn’t seen this film to do so. It is witty, exciting and incredibly sharp.
The premise of The Beast of Bottomless Lake is an interesting one. The searchers are after the $2 million reward for proof positive of Ogopogo, and while searching for the beast, everything that can go wrong goes wrong. In the middle of all of this is the principal figure whom has a sighting of the denizen of Okanagan Lake, but cannot convince anyone he talks to about the incident that he really has seen this animal. The searchers are a group of academics led by one Paul Moran who apparently has lots of personal demons and this is compounded by having to work with a team of people who simply shouldn’t be in the same room with each other.
The filmmaker documenting all this is a bloke called Ernie and with the use of a wee spy camera he sets about capturing the prime moments when team members are off their guard or thinking that they are not being recorded. These guys are apparently told that they have been set up with luxurious accommodations at a high-class local resort, but when they get to the lake, they have the ignominy of having to all cram into the basement of Paul’s parents’ place. The farce continues when they bumble around on their research vessel and lose the brand new high-tech sled loaned to them by the mythical Royal Commission on Loch Ness.
To compound things their idyllic search is further tarnished when it is discovered that they have to share their research party with a grim wedding party. The rest of the ingredients in this curious mix are a member being busted for dope, obtaining actual video of the lake cryptid, betrayal and a lack of interest in the evidence the searchers have obtained. I hope the producers are mindful of the winning formula used by Incident at Loch Ness and do not resort to the recent lowbrow mockumentary tactics of others who have purposefully attempted to denigrate cryptozoology. I wonder just how successful this film will be as their budget is just $500,000 and that does not buy you a heck of a lot these days.
You can view a teaser on the film at www.provostpictures.com
About John Kirk
One of the founders of the BCSCC, John Kirk has enjoyed a varied and exciting career path. Both a print and broadcast journalist, John Kirk has in recent years been at the forefront of much of the BCSCC’s expeditions, investigations and publishing. John has been particularly interested in the phenomenon of unknown aquatic cryptids around the world and is the author of In the Domain of the Lake Monsters (Key Porter Books, 1998).
In addition to his interest in freshwater cryptids, John has been keenly interested in investigating the possible existence of sasquatch and other bipedal hominids of the world, and in particular, the Yeren of China. John is also chairman of the Crypto Safari organization, which specializes in sending teams of investigators to remote parts of the world to search for animals as yet unidentified by science. John travelled with a Crypto Safari team to Cameroon and northern Republic of Congo to interview witnesses among the Baka pygmies and Bantu bushmen who have sighted a large unknown animal that bears more than a superficial resemblance to a dinosaur.
Since 1996, John Kirk has been editor and publisher of the BCSCC Quarterly which is the flagship publication of the BCSCC. In demand at conferences, seminars, lectures and on television and radio programs, John has spoken all over North America and has appeared in programs on NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, TLC, Discovery, CBC, CTV and the BBC.
In his personal life John spends much time studying the histories of Scottish Clans and is himself the president of the Clan Kirk Society. John is also an avid soccer enthusiast and player.
The Werner Herzog film is called GRIZZLY MAN, not THE GRIZZLY BEAR MAN. It’s a fantastic film that I believe was the best of 2005.
Grizzly Man….that film outraged me….I’m sure his significant other felt one with nature…as she was mauled and consumed alive….then there was the bear….destroyed…for being hungry…
I saw Incident at Loch Ness…agreed it’s a witty look at ninnies….the model would make an interesting interlude…
mess with the bull…ya get the horns…
all the best…
ole bub and the dawgs
Sometimes I think that even when the slant of a work involving cryptozoology is not entirely positive, just the fact that it is out there in some part of the public consciousness is a good thing. Obviously, the hack job done by P & T was ridiculous, but even the Disney ad blitz with Corwin et al. for their Yeti ride at least had people talking about crypto pursuits.
Although I do not always subscribe to the old saying that “bad press is better than no press”, I do think that it is amazing how crypto topics keep showing up in popular film and media.
Now that was a funny trailer! lol
Is Incident at Loch Ness worth renting?
Timi….”Incident at Loch Ness”….only if it’s free is it worth watching….save your money and buy one of Loren’s books….I’m reading Mysterious America which is very interesting….JMHO
seeing is believing….
ole bub and the dawgs
Timi, contrary to what “Ole Bub” says, Incident at Loch Ness is a lot of fun. Herzog is a true character, and is fascinating to watch, regardless of what he’s doing. I thought the film was funny with some biting humor, and pokes some good natured fun at both cryptozoologists and filmmakers in general.
unfortunately it’s not available in the UK. The worst film I’ve ever seen about Loch Ness is Evil Beneath Loch Ness(I think it had a different name in the states)which was so bad it was laughable. It was quite obviously filmed in the USA and bore no relation to Loch Ness.I think Patrick Bergin is in it and a supposedly 60 foot aquatic predator which ate nessie.The accents are hilarious.I love bad movies lol
On the plus side though, any movie or TV programme no matter how bad, does provoke interest and people will then go and look stuff up about the creatures or area.
Tabitca: You should look into getting a region-free DVD player. You can get a base-level model now in the US for around $50. It’ll let you play DVDs from anywhere in the world. I bought one 3 years ago, and it was a great investment.
The Patrick Bergin movie is just called Beneath Loch Ness in the U.S., by the way. Much less scary sounding! 🙂
With a 500,000 budget prob. will not be a great film but who Knows. The Grizzly Man proves one thing some things in nature were not meant to be disturbed by Humans. Sad story when they put the bear down.
Thanks for you help fellow commenters!
I’m always on the look out for Cryptozoology related flicks!
Can anyone help me with the name of a film about some sort of lake monster from the 80’s early 90’s. It concerned a youg science obsessed guy who found somthing odd in his local pond and went diving for it. Had somthing to do with a witch doctor and a JCB digger in the end, good film tho!
it was The Quest in USA and something like Frog dreaming elsewhere. It was a childrens film and at the end they drain the lake and there is the JCB.
An awesome film to see is “Crater Lake Monster” from the 1970’s. It has an incredibly well done (for low budget fare) stop motion animated plesiosaur type creature to go along with some funny antics by a couple of drunks, a too serious cop with bad hair and Elvis sunglasses. The premise has an egg at the bottom of the lake being incubated when a meteor crashes into it.
A lot of fun! Highly recomended…
See, I love mockumentaries. If “This is Spinal Tap” taught me one thing, it is that it is OK to poke fun of the ridiculous nature of things you love.
Hi,
I know this is an old post…
I’m Googling around finding old references to Beast of Bottomless Lake, because the film has it’s world premiere TOMORROW! At the Mississauga Independent Film Festival.
And then two weeks later it screens in the region that it was filmed in at the Okanagan Film Festival – indeed, it is the opening night feature.