Auburn will soon hear the “Scream of the Bikini” all the way from Los Angeles.

The feature film directorial debut of Auburn native Kiff Scholl is currently in post production and awaiting word from the Sundance Film Festival about possibly premiering there in January.

But Scholl would prefer most people believe he had nothing to do with “Scream.” Along with writing partner Bill Robens, Scholl invented a “Blair Witch Project”-style story surrounding the schlocky '60s action film that attributes it to fictional Hispanic director Fernando Fernandez, a South American Ed Wood of sorts. “Scream,” the story goes, was actually made in the 1960s, dubbed in German and then in English. Only recently was the shoestring-budget film “found.”

Should the movie find a distributor after its time on the film festival circuit, Scholl hopes to strengthen the illusion of “Scream's” fictional origins through its marketing campaign. Those origins also opened up the potential for humor in the film itself.

“The dubbing alone kills you, it's so funny on its own,” said Scholl, who graduated from Auburn High School in 1986. “It'll make you watch the movie and say, ‘What's going on? It's like a car wreck, I'm laughing and I can't take my eyes off it.'”

“Scream of the Bikini” stars Rebecca Larsen and Kelsey Wedeen as super models (two words, Scholl emphasizes) Sophia and Bridget, who also moonlight as bounty hunters. After a target says “Gemini” with his dying breath, the ladies find themselves at the center of a plot by the evil Chair Man (again, two words).

The villain's Helsinki device, a necklace unwittingly modeled by Sophia and Bridget, robs beautiful women of their autonomy and reprograms them to murder the five United Nations Ambassadors of Eternal Peace. Sophia and Bridget must break the Chair Man's thrall to stop his heinous scheme.

And somehow, many handsome cabana boys perish in the process.

Wedeen, who also produced the film, had previously acted under Scholl's theatrical direction. Hoping to revisit the satire she performed on the stage, Wedeen was quick to don her character's lavish '60s duds in “Scream of the Bikini.”

“What better way to make a movie on a budget than to do a spoof of the worst movie ever?” Wedeen said in an e-mail. “If something looked really cheap and awful, we would immediately cringe, then say, ‘We love it! Keep it!'”

Scholl acknowledges that the parodical tone of “Scream's” production may not coax laughs from every viewer. His mother, Auburn resident Pam Anderegg, was at first reluctant to believe the movie could work.

“However, watching it grow has been one ‘Wow' after another,” she said in an e-mail. “When (Kiff) told us about the final dubbing I got very excited.”

The dubbing system allowed Scholl to drastically cut “Scream's” budget by eliminating the need to record sound on-set. Though the actors spoke many of the same lines to be dubbed in later, Scholl will play with their words in post-production.

Speech with many syllables will become terse statements to create an obvious disparity between the sound and the image. The difference between the effusive dubbing and the actors' flat expressions will spark even more laughs, Scholl expects.

“Our hope is that the bad dubbing and the ridiculous costumes aren't funny because they're campy, they're funny because they're incompetent,” Scholl said. “'Austin Powers' winked at the audience constantly, but we wanted to make a film that doesn't do that.”

The distinctly '60s costumes of “Scream” were the result of a lucky streak that ran throughout the film's production. Wedeen's grandmother allowed the crew to film for free at her Palm Springs home, which was built during the movie's time period and has not been altered since. Several of Wedeen and Larsen's stylish outfits were culled from the home's closets.

“It was a bounty of fabulousness,” Scholl said. “They were all cutting-edge pieces, and I wish (Wedeen and Larsen) could have worn more of them.”

Through Wedeen, Scholl also enlisted the physical effects help of KNB Effects Group & Fxperts Inc., the company that produced the bloodiest and goriest scenes of the “Kill Bill” films. Their expertise was crucial to a beheading scene in “Scream” that Scholl and Robens originally wrote with no clue how they would film it. KNB also permitted the “Scream” crew to film at a warehouse and a barn they owned, oversaw the movie's gunfire effects and built a few props - all for free.

The company's generosity extended to much of the cast. Scholl expanded his network of friends in entertainment through years of acting in commercials (for Honda, Heineken and others) and TV (“Reno 911,” “Untold Stories of the ER”), as well as directing theater productions like “The Poseidon Adventure: The Musical” and “A Mulholland Christmas Carol.” When those friends learned about “Scream of the Bikini,” they flocked to lend their faces to it.

Among the more recognizable ones are Kirsten Vangsness (“Criminal Minds”), Randolph Mantooth (“Emergency!”), Taylor Negron (“Seinfeld,” “Reno 911”) and Walter Koenig (“Star Trek”).

“We're the luckiest kids in the world,” Scholl said. “Years of being a good person and doing great work pays off.”

Heading his first feature-length film still presented Scholl with many obstacles. Even though his low budget perfectly served the concept of “Scream of the Bikini,” the crew of only five was stretched thin over nearly two years of shooting. Scheduling problems resulted in cast and crew lingering in Palm Springs' 115-degree heat while the lighting was set up. Without a script supervisor or assistant director, the crew forgot to film one line - “Gemini” - but the dubbing dynamic provided an easy solution.

Despite the crew shortage, Scholl's direction steered the cast through most of the difficulties they encountered.

“Because of his extensive stage background (both as an actor and a director), he's really an actor's director,” Wedeen said. “He loves discovering funny 'bits' and pays great attention to detail in every moment.”

From an aesthetic standpoint, Scholl feels the look of “Scream” also manages to hold up to the high standards of a period piece.

“(Taylor) asked who our art director was and I said, 'Jesus,'” Scholl joked.

Along with the film's crew, Scholl doubled as an actor in a brief role in “Scream of the Bikini.” He grew a heavy beard and long hair to indulge his interest in roles that allow him to “disappear.”

Scholl continues to act as “Scream of the Bikini” approaches completion. The experience of directing, however, has opened his eyes to a new facet of entertaiment that he hopes to pursue.

“This is the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life,” Scholl said. “I'm praying the movie gets at least a modicum of success so I can do this again.”

Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net