By Linda Little
Staff Writer

It's Web site home page at www.steelspirit.com calls it "The first Hi-8 Action Adventure of its kind." and urges viewers to "Get ready for a new adventure." Pictured on the site is a rugged looking, Indiana Jones type character complete with Kevlar BulletProof Jacket and Black Brimmed hat.
   Soon you will learn the entire crew comes from Egg Harbor Township. The full-length film, which is nearing completion, is the brainchild of 28 year old Egg Harbor Township resident Steven Pershing, with help from his P-Crew.
    His group of 15 or so friends all pitching in, doing everything from lighting and set design to acting and music for the film. They are all graduates of Egg Harbor Township High School and the main 6 members call then selves the P-Crew, from the fact that all of them have nicknames that begin with the letter "P", such as Pershing's "Persh".
    On some computers, viewers can download a trailer, with outtakes of the 90 minute flick, and more then likely recognize either the actors or the scenery.
    "After people view the online teaser we want people to say, Hey this looks really cool. I don't know what it is about, but I want to see it.", said Pershing of the film shot in a video format that will go straight to video after its completion this spring.
    While the trailer features chase and fight scenes, the actual film is still top secret. Pershing did allow a quick peak of the opening scene, to demonstrate the musical score, which he described as "better then Titanic."
    The movie is being scored by one of his childhood friends John "Piano Man" Murphy, a local musician with "The Retro Express" (www.retro-express.com), a three man band that performs a history of rock and roll act at nightclubs all over the tri-state area.
    Murphy and Pershing have been friends since third grade when they both showed up on Halloween in Stormtrooper costumes.
    the plot is described as action adventure, with a mysterious main character named Dallas McQuaid and played by Pershing. A feared bounty hunter who has captured 46 of America's most wanted criminals, McQuaid himself eventually becomes the subject of the largest manhunt of all time even though he has given up his life as a bounty hunter and was making an attempt to live a normal life.
    "Indiana Jones himself would love to be in this movie," said Pershing of his character's cross between Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, and Jack Nicholson. Pershing is obviously a fan of Ford's movies, as the movie posters lining his studio walls attest.
    There is an undisclosed plot twist that gives the movie its name "Steel Spirit," said Pershing, who would only reveal that McQuaid is an ex-Marine with connections and media-driven motives.
    "It's based on revenge from the moment the door opens in the first scene," said Pershing. Every relative he could get was used in scenes except for his mother and grandmother, who he described as "camera shy."
    Although it was written in 1994, when Pershing was in the family construction business, filming didn't really get started until 1997. All of the scenes were shot on one $1,100 camera, and the movie was only shot on Sundays when the actors when all the actors could accommodate their "day job" schedules.
    Pershing now works full time from his parent's home, editing the film from his second floor bedroom studio. Most of the remaining work will be done on a computer using editing programs only recently available to small filmmakers.
    "If we had finished then (in 1994) it would not have been nearly as good, but now we are able to get right in with the big boys," said Pershing.
    Additionally, the movie "Blair Which Project," this past summer's low budget megahit, opened the doors for movies shot in video format by independent filmmakers, said Pershing.
    Several scenes were shot in Egg harbor Township, in the woods and trails surrounding Pershing's home, but plenty was shot on location in Utah, where Pershing was visiting a friend, on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, in Brigantine, in North Carolina and even at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. It helped that actor Brian "Pappy" Papakie works down the street from the Pentagon.
    Special effects, such as pyrotechnics, were done in the driveway of their parents' home, Bob and Jane, and all the multi-angle camera shots were done with one camera, some times strapped to a car.
    'When we were doing the Pyro, the tricky part was not to blow up the house," said Pershing.
    All of the miniature models and artwork, such as the movie poster, was done by Dexter Weeks, a local freelance artist and the only member of the crew with formal training. The rest are self-taught, including Pershing, who has been entertaining friends with his movies since he was 14.
    "Dex was the big artist, known for his artwork, John was the music man, and I was the filmmaker," Pershing said of his high school days when brought his movies for classroom screenings. "I put together the dream team, the EHT dream team, and I think the teachers at Egg harbor Township high School will back that up."
    He said a "Terminator" spin off he made his junior year convinced his classmates of his talent. In his senior year, Pershing came out with "Nightmare on New Street," a 40-minute horror flick shot in his old Cardiff Gardens neighborhood. From 1993-1998 Pershing worked at the Atlantic City Race Course in the television control room doing live racing and simulcasting, and currently works part time at the Showboat Casino entertainment department.
    All his movies are now in VCD (Video CD) format and await a home on Steel Spirit's final destination DVD. A couple of movies are available for download from the Steel Spirit web site.
    He says that viewers "will all have fun" watching the film. the group's humor is evident on their web site, which documents the making of the movie, upgrades production schedule and contains photographs and tidbits about the actors and the filming, which ended last summer.
    The trio also thinks the film will open doors for themselves and will stick together through fame and fortune.
    "I know he is a superstar in EHT and after this he will become a legend." said Weeks of Pershing. Murphy agrees that it is just a matter of time until Hollywood calls.
    "Entertainment as a business is very competitive," said Murphy. "It takes talent, luck, and a special kind of person, and Steve is it."
    Pershing has not figured out the cost of putting the movie together, only that his parents are helping him out by giving him a roof over his head.
    When it is finished, he is confident that he will find a distributor, having already had good feedback from over 50,000 visits to the movie's web site. "We are not doing this for the money, we are doing this because we can." said Pershing.