‘Sudsy Slim Rides Again’

PALMER — Alaska’s most famous comic strip artists are back in the movie-making groove with a new story for the silver screen.

From the creators of “Tundra” and “Moose: The Movie” comes another spoof-like Alaskan comedy, this time featuring the mummified body of Sudsy Slim — a thinly-veiled adaptation of the historic con artist Soapy Smith, according to co-writer Chad Carpenter.

“I love history, and I love Alaska history,” Carpenter said, by way of explanation.

But while Soapy Smith was famous for swindling others out of money for soap in Skagway, Sudsy Slim is stolen away from the fictional town of “Scratcher Pass” by two fugitives desperate to escape the Hatcher Pass look-alike. Being the main tourist attraction of the make-believe community that once boasted the largest asbestos mine in the world, Sudsy is invaluable to the town’s residents, and his disappearance engenders all sorts of panic and chaos.

Carpenter said he “always wanted to film a movie in Hatcher Pass,” having grown up right down the road, but it was on the drive home from Fairbanks that he came up with the idea for “Sudsy Slim Rides Again.”

“It’s where everything happens,” he said, noting that “Moose” was conceived on the same stretch of highway in 2013. “I just know that there’s a six-hour block when I know I’m not gonna be interrupted, and it’s like the best thinking time for me.”

While Carpenter travels north every so often to market “Tundra” and “Moose” at holiday bazaars and other events, each trip doubles as an excuse to visit his twin brother, Darin Carpenter, who co-wrote “Moose” and is currently putting the finishing touches on the script for “Sudsy Slim.”

Chad Carpenter said he expects to begin casting in February, and hopes to freshen things up with some new Alaska talent. There may be “a tiny bit of crossover” between “Moose” and “Sudsy Slim,” with some potential “guest shots” of the actors or characters from the first movie, he said, but the goal is to bring as many new faces into the picture as possible.

That could apply to the technical crew, too, Carpenter said, though he will be sticking with essentially the same production company as before.

Formerly known as Sons of Winter, Nomad Cinematics has retained its founder, Andrew Phillips, creative director, Logan Dellinger, and cameraman Raymond “Chappie” Chapman. Local writer-director and actress Kitty Mahoney has also joined the team as assistant director for “Sudsy Slim” and director for one of two music videos Nomad is currently producing for the Anchorage band, Autumn Electrique.

Phillips, who is also Nomad’s digital imaging technician, said he was “looking forward to doing another project with Chad because it was so fun last time.” He said the success of “Moose” encouraged the team to make another feature-length movie, as well as the 45-minute telling of “Robert Service’s Tales of the North” with cartoons and puppets, which was released at the Alaska State Fair this year.

Phillips and Carpenter agreed that the main goal is just to continue producing films.

“My goal in the movies is just to break even so I can do another one,” Carpenter said.

Dellinger said he also is excited to work with Carpenter and Mahoney, who was assistant director for “Tales of the North,” and put what everyone learned from the first go around into practice with “Sudsy Slim.”

“Everything about ‘Moose’ was unexpected. The whole time it was like, ‘well, let’s see if this works,’ so we were all pleasantly surprised with … how that one played out,” he said.

Dellinger said he, Carpenter, Phillips and Chappie all happen to be fans of the Western genre, too, and are looking forward to putting that kind of spin on “Sudsy Slim.”

“Honestly we just wanna make a good story,” he said.

Filming will likely begin next summer, Dellinger said, though the team has already locked in a few shooting locations in Hatcher Pass.

Carpenter said he hopes to launch an official Kickstarter funding campaign for the new movie at the end of spring 2017.

“It’s what got us going last time and we’re really kinda countin’ on it to give us a good chunk this time, too — about a third of the budget, hopefully,” he said.

“Otherwise I have to sell a child, which is not a problem for me, but my wife doesn’t like that,” Carpenter quipped.

In the meantime, fans can donate $50 or more at www.tundracomics.com/sudsy-slim.html for mention in the movie credits and one copy each of “Moose” and “Sudsy Slim,” once it’s released.

There is also a screening of “Moose” scheduled at the Glenn Massay Theater next Saturday, Oct. 22, at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10, available at the door or online at www.glennmassaytheater.com, and all proceeds will go toward the making of “Sudsy Slim Rides Again.” The first 100 people in the door will get a free “Moose: The Movie” poster and Carpenter will be there to hand out other prizes before the movie. “Moose” DVDs, graphic novels and Tundra merchandise will also be available for purchase.

Previews for four other Alaskan-made films — “Tales of the North,” “Ruthless Rhymer” (starring Kitty Mahoney), “Find Me” (written by Mahoney, starring Chappie) and “Peaks and Valleys” (from the makers of “Proper Binge”) — will be shown before “Moose” at the fundraiser.

Carpenter said he hopes to make an annual event out of the “Moose” screening and showcase previews of other Alaskan films with it every year.

Follow @SudsySlim on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on the new movie.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.