The Millennium Bug Will Get Us Yet

Surreptitiously working away in relative obscurity, director Kenneth Cran and his brother James have been developing a new film called The Millennium Bug. Unlike the Year 2000’s Millennium Bug — which was digitally tiny and proved something of a non-event — this one is set to be very big. Giant monster big. In fact, that’s exactly what Cran’s Millennium Bug is. It’s a giant monster in a new monster flick, one that, from available stills, promises to be both awesome and bloody.

The Cran Brothers are keeping a lid on information about the film while they work hard at seeing the “Special-Effects laden” movie through the post-production stage. Kaiju Search-Robot Avery has been on the case and has dug up some evocative stills from the film. We can’t reveal anything about the plot (apart from what you might piece together from the images below) or about the monster — though we can say that it’s very big and very toothy. Here’s the first available glimpse of it, getting upfront and personal with a member of the cast:

That’s some bug!

And here’s the result of one of its attacks:

Benjamin Watts plays the creature, which was created using physical FX. “Exhausted from tearing through miniatures while wearing an incredible suit of sweat,” as he put it, Benjamin continued working with The Brothers Cran in the role of fight/stunt coordinator. “With enough caffeine, it can be done,” he commented.

Did you catch that “tearing through miniatures” bit? Sounds like this is going to be old-school daikaiju SFX — which is rather exciting.

On the production he wrote:

The stunts and fights went off without a hitch — all thanks to the detailed attention of the actors on set when it came to the safety of themselves and everyone around them. There are only a few pick up shots left to do, then The Brothers Cran hit post production hard! It’s been a year long process (even longer for others!) to finally get to the end of production and the result is sure to be something special. Special thanks to Ken and Jim Cran for the opportunity and the passion they shared. Oktay Ortabasi for his incredible DP skills in lighting the “Bug” (and the rest of the film, of course) to make it look as amazing as it deserves. Ben Seton for all of his help and expertise. All of the crew: Nito, Dustin, Robert, Baron, Frank, Dion, Will, Bridget, Lea, Steve, Frank, Mehri, Jenna, Mari-Liis, Gregory, Susan, Inga, Josh and everyone who repeatedly showed up to help make the film possible. Of course, the actors who made the stunt coordinating part of the job smooth and enjoyable, especially all the last minute gags. In no particular order: John Charles Meyer, Christine Haeberman, Jessica Simons, Trek Loneman, Jon Briddell, Ken MacFarlane, Ginger Pullman, Sandi Steinberg and Adam Brooks. (Website)

Above: Lead actor John Charles Meyer

Above: Lead actress, Jessica Simons

Above: Christine Haeberman and dance partner

SFX make-up is by Robert Lindsay, assisted by former Graduates Steve Weber, Bridget Clarke, Lea Weird and Marissa Williams. Lindsay’s work recently featured on an episode of “U.F.O Hunters: The Gray Conspiracy” for the History Channel. His clay reconstruction of the famous “Starchild skull” can be seen below:

And below are examples of his work for The Millennium Bug:

From these and other pictures in the Gallery at the end of this article, it looks as though the Millennium Bug’s monstrous comeback will be something to look forward to. We’ll keep you informed.