HURRICANE — Move over Spider-Man, there’s another arachnid-based crime-fighting hero in town.

Scorpiation, the brainchild of 12-year-old Alex Lowery of Hurricane, has stepped from the comic book pages and into a live-action short movie, courtesy of the Figmentation Foundation and the efforts of dozens of volunteers.

The film, also titled “Scorpiation,” was shot by a professional crew in the St. George area over a period of five days, from July 17-21.

A previous story about the project, published in St. George News on July 31, focused on the foundation’s efforts to make the project happen. This follow-up article provides additional insights and details highlighting Lowery’s experience.

The film shoot started July 17 with some fight action scenes at Raven Self Defense Academy in Hurricane, under the direction of filmmaker Colin Cunningham, who is also an experienced actor. 

As Cunningham and his crew were setting up the first scene and giving directions to the motorcycle gang members who appear in it, Alex and his best friend Bryce Fortune were first getting dressed up in white lab coats, in preparation for a “science fair” photo op meant to come into play later in the story.

Then, it was time for both boys to get into their main costumes, with Alex donning the white, black and gold regalia of the titular Scorpiation and Bryce dressing up in all black, ninja style, as the mysterious character known as Megatropus.

Helping the kids get ready were Jacque Bird Ence and her mother Jeremy Bird, who teamed up to start the St. George-based Figmentation Foundation a couple years ago.

The idea behind the nonprofit organization, as stated on its website, is to “give a child who’s facing the gravity of life-threatening trauma the gift of starring in a courageous hero’s journey, born of their own imagination, and then put on the big screen.”

Ence said that Alex, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in June 2020 at age 10, was a fitting choice to be the foundation’s first beneficiary to receive movie star treatment.

To get started Ence and Bird helped Alex put his ideas on paper in the form of a story outline that they later crafted into a workable script.

Suffice it to say, the plot (without giving away too many details) includes such elements as a full-on martial arts battle, a bank robbery and a showdown in a secret underground lair.

In addition to the martial arts dojo, other filming locations included the desert, the Lowery home, a storage tunnel and the science lab at Dixie High School.

Alex’s mother Callie Lowery said the experience was a rewarding one for her whole family. She and husband Nate Lowery have two other children, Logan, 16, and MaKayla, 10, both of whom also appear in the film.

“It brought us closer together as a family, Callie Lowery said. “We got to spend so much time laughing and playing. When on set, it’s like the rest of the world stopped around us and we were just in the moment. I know the experience is for Alex, but it truly included our whole family. It’s a memory that will last forever for all of us.”

Alex said he particularly enjoyed doing his fight scenes. They were choreographed by professional stunt coordinator Beni Alexander, who recently designed the stunt work for “The Mandalorian” TV series and the Marvel Studios film “Shang-Chi.”

“They taught him how to do his flips and his kicks, tossing stunt doubles into a railing or over his shoulder and onto a table,” Ence said. He just had so much fun. The memories that little boy has made are just right over the top.”

Alex said writing and starring in his own superhero story is an “awesome experience.”

“It makes it very fun,” he said. “It proves that the world never ends, no matter how bad it gets.”

Alex said he particularly enjoyed filming the scene where he got pushed backward into a tank of “synthetic scorpion venom,” which was actually just water and dry ice.

That gave Scorpiation an extra dose of superpowers, he explained.

Meanwhile, Bryce said he’s considering a possible future career in movies.

“Maybe … I’m still deciding,” he said as he prepared to shoot the biker gang scene.

Ence called the experience “the most fun, I think, that anybody can have.”

“They get to see themselves do hard things,” Ence said. “They get to see themselves accomplish things they never thought they could. And then, they get to see themselves as the hero on the big screen, so that they know that whatever it is that they’re going through doesn’t define them; that there is a hero in there. And all they have to do is dig deep and find him.”

With the shooting now having wrapped, the film has now gone to post-production. Alex said he’ll be recording some voiceover work as the filmed scenes are edited and put together.

Based on the scripted story, it’s expected that the finished film will be around 30 minutes long, including some time devoted to a behind-the-scenes “making of” documentary. 

Ence said she hopes the movie will be finished and ready to be released by October.

“We would like to have a red-carpet premiere, where Alex gets to be dropped off in his limousine,” she said. “And everybody who volunteered will get an invite. Everybody that showed up for this kid will get to see it first-hand.”

Ence said the film production ended up being “a little bigger than we had in mind, and that’s okay.”

“We’re figuring it out as we go,” she said. “Every kid’s movie is going to be based off of what the kid needs or wants. And I think we’re probably going to always be in the process of learning how to do this.” 

Ence said the project is being created primarily for Alex’s benefit. He even gets to keep his custom Scorpiation costume, she noted.

“We’re making this for an audience of one,” she said. “We’re not about impressing the public. This is about telling the kid’s story, for the kid. And even though it’s going to be epic and it’s going to be amazing, the first thing that we want to do is make a 12-year-old boy happy.”

Ence said the Figmentation Foundation is also planning a fundraising event in October. In connection with that, it will be sponsoring a writing contest through local schools.

“We want to encourage kids to really use their imaginations and really get fired up by pretend play and imagination,” Ence said. “Between the ages of 5 and 15 is when our brains develop out-of-the-box thinking, perspective, creative problem-solving skills, and empathy.”

“We’re kind of hoping to tap into that a little bit with the kids in our community, and get them to really open up their imaginations, design their costumes, write their story and make their world,” Ence added. “The goal is to have the winner of the overall contest get a custom costume. They’ll get it right before Halloween so they can dress as themselves for Halloween.”

Ence said the project would not have been possible without the generous contributions from the numerous individuals, businesses and organizations who donated time, money, goods or services toward the making of the film. They include the professional film crew and cast members, Raven Self Defense Academy, Kimball Gardner and family, Perks Coffee, Utah Behavior Services, Zion Harley-Davidson, St. George chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse, Design-2-Shine Sign and Banner and Washington County School District.

For more information about the Figmentation Foundation, visit its website.

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