Page 12 - 200802 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - February 2008

12 ALIEN AUTOPSY - GAME OVER 12 ALIEN AUTOPSY - GAME OVER ALIEN AUTOPSY - - ALIEN AUTOPSY GAME OVER GAME OVER Continued From Page 11 Continued From Page 11 Who is Spyros Melaris As the name might give it away Spyros was originally born in Cyprus. As a boy he was taught a magic trick by his grandfather and his love of magic was born. The other passion as a boy growing up in the UK was film making. At school he told his careers officer that he wanted to be an actor but this was discouraged. A proper job was what he should have. So a proper job he took and after leaving school became an apprentice trained motor mechanic. However, his love of magic and film making eventually won over and he eventually became a magician and a filmmaker. He now owns his own TV studio in London and makes TV shows for all the major networks in the UK and independent production companies alike. In short in his owns words we make programmes for "anyone who books us." How Did he Meet Ray Santilli In January 1995 he was to attend the MIDEM music industry event in Cannes, France. He was taking a film crew there and had some spare time on his hands so he sent fax messages to 4 production companies picked at random from a media directory. He basically asked them if they wanted to hire him and his crew while in Cannes. One of these happened to be the Merlin Group owned by Ray Santilli. Spyros and Ray Santilli had a few telephone conversations but did not meet and arranged to meet in Cannes. By pure chance they bumped into each other at a restaurant in Cannes and it was here that Ray Santilli fist told Spyros Melaris that he had obtained film footage of an alien. Holding back a smirk Spyros asked Santilli if he was serious and he replied he was, not only that he wanted Spyros to make a 2: Drawing 2. Original pencil sketch of a design for the alien creature by Spyros Melaris. documentary from this footage. They eventually Copyright Spyros Melaris. agreed to meet at Ray Santilli's office back in London. A few days later Spyros kept his had sometimes overlapped into film and TV The Team Behind The Making of The appointment with Santilli at his office in special effects. Melaris and Humphreys had Film London. Here he met an almost distraught Ray known each other for a long time and had Santilli who told him he'd bought this film but it worked on a number of things together in the had turned out to be very poor quality. Spyros past. Melaris simply put the idea to Humphreys, First off there was Spyros Melaris. He was shown what has become known as the 'tent "John, do you fancy sculpting an alien?" designed and directed the film, directed, footage' and he immediately recognised it as Melaris told Humphreys of his meeting with instructed and paid the rest of the team, made been shot on video. The tape he was shown was Santilli and basically came up with the idea of the autopsy table along with many of the other on VHS format. Santilli seemed surprised that making it. They talked things over from a legal props, he also made the 'contamination suits' as he had recognised it as being shot on video so point of view and how it might help them break well as obtain the props and cameras. The main quickly and he realised the game was up. Again into other projects, even Hollywood. The idea researcher behind it all was Spyros's then in Spyros's own words. "If I can't get it past this was to make it, release it to the world and then girlfriend Geraldine. She was the one who guy, I'm not going to get it past anyone else. He make a second programme shortly after checked the medical books, spoke with realised it was game up. That's when the showing how they did it. Humphreys agreed surgeons and pathologists and she even played meeting ended. I thought the guy's mad. He's and Melaris pitched the idea to Santilli. Santilli the part of the nurse in the film. Geraldine is not trying a fast one. I thought it was over at that looked like a man reborn almost and agreed. her real name as she wishes to remain point." anonymous. The budget put forward by Melaris was about £30,000 and it was Santilli's business partner So How Did The Idea of a Fake Film and friend Volker Spielberg who put up the ALIEN AUTOPSY ALIEN AUTOPSY - - Come About money. The funding was in place, contracts and GAME OVER a confidentiality agreement were signed and the GAME OVER Melaris met up with his friend and ball was rolling. Continued on Page 13 colleague John Humphreys. Humphreys is a Continued on Page 13 Royal Academy trained sculptor whose work