By Euan Mutch
In a world where the power of nature is misunderstood, and rocks don’t collect themselves. Two clueless igneous geologists must travel to the mysterious land of fire and ice to unravel the hidden secrets of the mantle. They must scale mountains, ford ferocious torrents, fight the elements and evade local law enforcement to collect samples vital in the fight for geological understanding. From John Maclennan, visionary director of ‘Dude, where’s the Dan Van?’ and ‘The Poisoned Chalice of Volcanic Petrology’, comes a tale, loosely based on true events, of camaraderie, stoic perseverance and lots and lots of hammering. Starring: one time Razzie nominee Euan Mutch; and Simon Matthews. It’s a race against time, our heroes must learn to ‘Smash and Grab’ to determine their future for the next 2-3 years! Coming to a cinema near you.
If the clichéd trailer has not whetted you appetite, media extraordinaire Professor Simon Redfern of the Cambridge Earth System Science DTP got an exclusive interview with one of the film’s stars: Euan Mutch.
Simon: Tell us a little bit about your character? What was his motivation?
Euan: I play a geology PhD student at the University of Cambridge who is interested in understanding the processes associated with the generation of melt in the mantle up to the events that take place just before a volcanic eruption. More specifically, my character is interested in looking at volcanoes that formed during the last interglacial period, which can tell us something about how the Icelandic mantle responds to deglaciation and how its composition has evolved over the last 150, 000 years.
Simon: Why Iceland? What was it like filming there?
Euan: Iceland is a very beautiful country with a magnificent volcanic landscape that has been carved and shaped by glacial ice. It is a wonderful backdrop for a film such as this. Tectonically, Iceland is also interesting in that it is the culmination of a mantle hotspot intersecting a mid ocean ridge. It is for this reason that the Mid Atlantic Ridge is exposed above the ocean surface, allowing geologists access to a continuous record of mid-ocean ridge volcanism and mantle dynamics over the last 18 million years.
Simon: What was a typical day on set like?
Euan: A typical day would start at 9 am when we would head to our first location in a specially adapted 4×4. We would then trek to the site of interest and use a sledge hammer to collect a handful of samples, which we then had to carry back to the car. We typically visited 2-3 locations per day. After a full day, we would get back to the campsite at about 7 pm; luxurious accommodation fit for any star.
Simon: What will happen to all of the rocks that were collected?
Euan: The rocks will be transported back to Cambridge where there mineralogy and texture will be investigated using transmitted light microscopy. They will then be crushed up and their isotopic and trace element compositions characterised by mass spectrometry.
Simon: Are there any volcanic eruptions in the film?
Euan: Sadly our special effects budget wasn’t large enough to cover a volcanic eruption like the 2014 Holuhraun eruption that is described in the blog post of Jenny Woods.
Simon: There were rumours from the set that you had disputes with your co-star Simon Matthews. Are they true?
Euan: I can safely say that Simon and I got along like a house on fire, despite me forcing him to carry most of the samples.
Simon: Are there any plans for a sequel?
Euan: That will depend on the box office takings of this film. If it is successful, and there are enough funds, then there will definitely be a sequel. Will it be better than the original though?
Iceland in all of its glory! The real star of the film.
