One day, Mike Delorenzo, co-writer of the film, showed Jason Prugar (co-writer and director) a link to a Discover Channel parody contest. One show they both enjoyed was I Shouldn't Be Alive. Mike, being more comically gifted than Jason, came up with a great premise.
The only problem with the contest was the timing. Since they found the link, they were given 3 weeks to devise, shoot and edit a film. With their busy schedules, that wasn't going to happen. "Being both working professionals with families," Jason said, "it was very hard to schedule a shoot in 3 weeks, let alone finish a film."
That didn't stop them. Soon, Jason was writing a script from Mike's idea and they were off. Jason quickly rounded up a cast, including Andrew Miller, who shot Jason's last film, Engagement. "Andy is a big film fan, and he did a great job on Engagement," Prugar explained. "I told him this time he'd be in front of the camera, and he jumped at the chance."
Another casting choice would be familiar to Stunod Pictures fans. Mike Huber would return to acting in the film. Mike, who starred in Prugar's first film, The Prize, was eager to return to the film. "Since I was married and settling down, I couldn't find time to fit acting into my schedule. I now had the time and Jason came to me with a script that I loved."
The premise was based on a parody of I Shouldn't Be Alive. The premise of the show is situations where people should've died but ended up living. Mike DeLorenzo's idea was to parody this by putting characters in a situation that was uncomfortable, but played like it could be deadly. The fictional show was The Fight To Survive and the episode was titled A Mighty Wind.
The shoot called for an elevator. However, Prugar couldn't' acquire a working one. Either they couldn't get access to one on weekends, and the one they did, wouldn't let them shut it down or use it while it was running. So they improvised.
With Andy Miller's help, Prugar converted a corner of his basement into an elevator. Not just any elevator; one that was being repaired. "I had seen an elevator interior being re-done while in Florida. So I bought fabric at a local store and converted my basement into an elevator that was being re-upholstered. It worked.
The film was well-received, being accepted into the American Motion Picture Society's American International Film and Video festival, where the judges called it "everything you'd expect from a good parody." It also played at the inaugural Lancaster Area Film and Video Festival.
Many of the actors, who were in a film for the first time, enjoyed the experience. One of them, Jackie Tumolo, hoped to do it again with her husband, Jerry Tumolo, who was the star of The Prize.
And although it was completed until well after the Discovery Channel contest, many who saw the contest winners and Prugar and DeLorenzo's film agreed it could've been a finalist. That's good enough for them.