Entertainment
The Illegal Indiana Jones Remake That's So Spectacular, A Documentary Was Made About It
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
If you were a child in 1981, odds are high you saw Raiders of the Lost Ark at some point. The blockbuster hit needs little introduction. It famously stars Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, an archaeologist and antiquities professor who travels the world on adventures for ancient artifacts and gets recruited by the United States government before World War II to find the legendary Ark of the Covenant, the Biblical container of the Ten Commandments. The movie spawned four sequels, two television shows, and myriad knockoffs.
Three imaginative pre-teens named Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos, and Jayson Lamb fell in love with the movie and saw it multiple times in the theater. They decided they wanted to remake the movie themselves and began to take copious notes. Their love letter to Raiders is called Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, and it is nearly a shot-by-shot remake made by the three boys and their friends.
The Finest Amateur Hour Ever Documented
Sure, the sets are obviously cardboard, they replace the plane Indy escapes the Hovitos from in the beginning with a boat, and the original version of the film does not include the boxing match with the big German that takes place around a moving plane. Barrel-chested, deep-voiced Sallah is played by a skinny kid named Alan Stenum whose voice hadn’t cracked yet, and some of the sets are really fudged, with the whole thing giving off the impression of being a stage play.
Yet the movie is infinitely watchable and even enjoyable. Strompolos stars as Indy opposite Zala’s smooth and slimy Belloq. Angela Rodriguez co-stars as Marion, and the cast is rounded out by Ted Ross as the sinister Toht, and Michael Bales as Nazi project leader Dietrich. Yes, these are obvious children (by the time the last scenes of the movie were actually filmed, Zala and Strompolos were almost 20) but they all put on amazing performances that carry the film, particularly Zala, who almost out-smarms and out-charms the original Belloq, Paul Freeman.
And those cardboard sets are actually very well-done. They are not only not distracting, but it is obvious a lot of work was put into them, especially the map room in Tanis and the Well of Souls, two of the largest and most complex sets in the original film. Some members of the cast and crew (and everyone who worked on it was both cast and crew) put a lot of effort and thoughtfulness into creating the world of Indiana Jones. The locations are occasionally a bit jarring, being obviously not from the 1930s or Egypt, but viewers will be so wrapped up in the action and creativity that by the time they register the anachronisms, they’re onto the next scene and the next adventure.
Kids Do The Darndest Things
Part of the film’s charm is the noticeable differences, anyway. Viewers are not going to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation because they want to see the special effects of masters George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. The first time watching this film is entirely for the appreciation of what these kids accomplished over the six-year period during which they produced and made the film.
Strompolos produced and Zala directed, with Lamb handling the cinematography, and the group did an excellent job of doing a top-notch amateur film that audiences will recognize and love as much as the original, but for different reasons. Some of the sets are even real: they shot the exterior submarine shots on a real submarine, and also managed to use a battleship to stand in for Captain Katanga’s freighter.
To top it off, 14 years after the movie was made, it was discovered by none other than Spielberg himself. It received critical acclaim as “the best fan film ever made” from names such as Harry Knowles and boasts a 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, with fans agreeing at 88 percent. This caused the group to reunite in 2014 to attempt filming the airplane scene. Zala wrote about the experience of reuniting the cast and crew for the 124-shot scene. It is included in the 2015 documentary about the fan movie, Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made.
Its Legacy Speaks For Itself
The best part, though, is how Zala and Strompolos continued careers in entertainment. At the time of the filming of the airplane scene, Zala worked for a video game publisher and Strompolos was the Executive Director of Operations at The Gnomon School of Visual FX, Games & Animation in Hollywood, as well as an accomplished musician with an upcoming album. That was a decade ago, but Zala’s article was written in 2023, showing that the pair is still actively creating entertainment. The website for the movie also states that Zala tours campuses and art centers to help inspire other creators to follow their dreams as he did.
Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation SCORE
Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made is streaming free on Tubi. Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation is available to rent, download, or own on DVD or Blu-Ray at Raiders Kids, the official store for the production, and there is even a version that includes the 2014 footage. The movie is reasonably priced and a very worthy addition to the video collection not just of movie buffs and Indiana Jones fans, but anyone who likes movies. It is easily as enjoyable as the original, and shows what a group of determined young creatives can do with a little motivation, ingenuity, and a true passion for the source material.
Entertainment
NYT Pips hints, answers for May 2, 2026
Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.
Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.
Currently, if you’re stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.
How to play Pips
If you’ve ever played dominoes, you’ll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we’ve shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don’t necessarily have to match.
The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.
Here are common examples you’ll run into across the difficulty levels:
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Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.
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Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.
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Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.
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Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.
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Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.
If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.
Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 6-3, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally.
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed horizontally.
Less Than (6): Everything in this space must be less than 6. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically.
Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 0-3, placed vertically.
Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-5, placed horizontally.
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Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed vertically.
Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 5-6, placed vertically.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-6, placed vertically.
Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 2 Pips
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 2-5, placed vertically.
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-3, placed vertically.
Number (15): Everything in this space must add up to 15. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally.
Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally.
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically.
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically; 1-3, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 3-3, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally.
Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally.
Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally; 0-1, placed horizontally.
Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 0-1, placed horizontally.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
New rules for the Oscars: AI actors are out of the race
The Academy won’t be handing over the golden statuette to robots anytime soon.
In new rules announced May 1, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has ruled that AI performances are not eligible for an Oscar. Filmmakers can still utilize AI tools in their submitted works, but only human actors and human-authored screenplays will be considered for the body’s highest honors.
The move aligns with AI agreements won during the 2023 Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA strikes and addresses growing tension over the presence of generative AI tools across artistic industries.
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For example, a recent trailer for the upcoming historical adventure film As Deep as the Grave, featuring an entirely AI-generated recreation of the late Val Kilmer, caused widespread furor among fans who recoiled at the on-screen digital likeness. Prior to his death, Kilmer created an AI version of his speaking voice with UK tech company Sonantic. Other celebrities, like Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine, have worked with AI company ElevenLabs to clone their voices, as well.
But while some celebs are getting ahead of their AI counterparts, others are fighting back against nonconsensual deepfakes writ large. Pop star Taylor Swift recently filed for trademark of her voice and image — including the phrase “Hey, it’s Taylor.” — amid a surge of synthetic AI likenesses of her proliferating across the internet, including ones used in data phishing scams.
The Academy announced additional rule changes for international film and acting categories, generating buzz online after several contentious Oscar campaign races in recent years. For non-English films, a country can now have multiple nominated entries instead of the previous limit of one. Similarly, actors can receive multiple nominations in the same category if their performances rank in the top five.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Oscars
Entertainment
Instagram will stop recommending accounts that dont post original content
Serial Instagram reuploaders are about to be hit hard in the algorithm, as the platform announces new content ranking guidelines intended to boost original content creators.
Accounts that primarily aggregate content or repost others’ content without meaningful alterations or additions won’t be recommended to other users, Instagram explained in a recent Creators blog post. The platform announced the same algorithmic guidelines for Reels uploads in 2024. Now they’ll apply to photos and carousel posts, too.
“Original content” is defined as “work that you wholly created or reflects your unique perspective,” Instagram explains. That includes original photos and designs, as well as third-party content that is materially edited by the user. “Some examples include adding unique text on the content itself that provides more context than just describing what’s happening, adding creative graphics that offer new information, or using our remix feature to transform the original,” the blog post reads.
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The platform recommends that accounts that frequently reshare content share other users’ posts to their stories, use the repost button, or enable collab posts to avoid being marked ineligible.
Aggregator accounts that are marked ineligible for recommendations under the new guidelines can regain their place in the feed by pivoting to original posts. Instagram says “most” of an account’s posts, carousels, and reels need to feature original content over a 30-day period to have the decision reversed. Users can also remove unoriginal content and appeal the decision.
Cubs stay hot, edge Diamondbacks in series opener
NYT Pips hints, answers for May 2, 2026
