'Star Wreck' Triumphs On the Internet

A Finnish Star Trek spoof, Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, has drawn hundreds of thousands of downloads in its first week on the internet.

InformationWeek notes that the film, which was made over a seven-year period in the living room of filmmaker Samuli Torssonen, is one of several movies that has found a niche on the internet and helping to create a viable distribution environment for independent filmmakers.

Billed as "An epic film about the emperor of the world in the far reaches of the galaxy," In the Pirkinning was dreamed up by Torssonen and had a cast and crew of 300. It tells the story of Captain James B. Pirk, who declares himself Emperor and tries to conquer the universe despite the Korg destruction of his spaceship.

"We are not trying to reach big bucks with this one," said director Timo Vuorensola, whose web site notes the filmmakers' understanding of the copyright issues governing parody. "We consider this a business card, which hopefully will help us gain the attention of investors...we see this as part of the pioneer work [on the Internet] for the film industry," Vuorensola said. The producers said that their biggest expense was keeping their computer equipment up to date over the long shoot.

The film's web site offers the trailer, image galleries, information about the crew and the opportunity to order DVDs and t-shirts as well as the movie itself for download. It highlights the "astounding special effects, action and loads of dark humour" in the film. More information is also available at the Internet Movie Database.

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