Jason Prugar found a kindred spirit in Mike DeLorenzo when working at their day jobs. Both had a love of film and laughter. Mike was a big fan of comedy films and had ideas of things he'd like to see in movies and TV. Naturally this shifted the conversation to Jason and Stunod Pictures. A light bulb went off over Mike's head, and a partnership was formed.

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One of those ideas came in the form of a contest. The Discovery Channel was hosting a parody film contest. To enter, you had to create a parody of one of their shows. The prizes were great, but the real reward was the chance to showcase your work to Discovery Channel personnel.

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There was a catch.

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You only had three weeks to craft, produce and submit an entry.

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The pair were heartbroken. "We are men with real jobs and families," Prugar recalled. "There was no way we could put this together in that time frame."

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Undaunted, they decided to forge ahead with their idea and make the short anyway. "We both loved the idea and wanted to see the finished product. So we went for it."

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The idea would parody the realty show I Shouldn't Be Alive, which chronicled people's very narrow escape from death. They would take an uncomfortable situation and make it seem deadly .

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To star in the film, Jason turned to a good friend and Stunod veteran Mike Huber. Huber starred in a minor yet hilarious role in Jason's first film The Prize. "I've been asking Jason for a while if he had another role for me in a film. I was very happy and signed up right away."

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Jason also turned to Andrew Miller, who helped him shoot Engagement, to star as the "villain of the piece". Prugar also enlised the help of Jackie Tumolo, in her film debut. If that name is familiar, you're not mistaken,. She is the wife of Jerry Tumolo, the star of The Prize.

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They needed an elevator for the film but getting one not in use that was safe was impossible a was shutting one down. So Prugar who had recently seen elevators in the throes of remodeling, created one in his basement that  they could control.

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Shootng took five days and inluded scenes at the office of Prugar's realtor for the office with the elevator. Cast and Crew were very happy with the finished product, which took two months to complete.

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"Mike and I viewed the parodies that made the cut for Discovery's contest. Our film would've fared well. Perhaps in the future they will allow more time for entries. In the end we did the best we could in the shortest time possible We did our best and had a blast and that's all you can ask."

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The film did end playing at  both the Lancaster Area Film Festival and the American Motion Picture Society festival.

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