<p>Going into his four minutes of fame, Frank Mullen's expectations were low.</p><p>After all, even if he did get the part, the star of the show would be an 800-pound wild hog. Still, the chance to be on screen with Hogzilla was enough to turn a mellow freelance photographer into a would-be actor in a horror film based on the great beast.</p><p>"I've been fascinated since the story came out," Mullen said of Hogzilla. "I think it's just a great Georgia success story. If you're gonna be in a movie, this seems like it sure would be a fun one to be a part of."</p><p>Mullen was one of a handful of hopefuls who had auditioned for a role in "The Legend of Hogzilla" on Saturday afternoon. The film, being made by south Georgia-based Lithium Productions, is based on Hogzilla, the near-mythical monster hog said to once roam the area that was brought down in 2004.</p><p>Chris Griffin, the man who killed Hogzilla in Alapaha, is serving as a consultant.</p><p>The media attention surrounding giant, wild pigs grew this month after an 11-year-old Alabama boy said he killed a feral hog that weighed 1,051 pounds and measured 9-feet-4 from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail. The boy will play a part in the movie.</p><p>Auditions were held earlier this month in Tifton, about 17 miles from Alapaha, and organizers said 178 people showed up. There are parts in the movie for about 200 people, most of whom will be extras.</p><p>A National Geographic team confirmed the pig's existence in 2005 after exhuming the behemoth's remains. While the experts said the hog didn't exactly live up to the hype _ local hunters said the pig was 12 feet long and weighed 1,000 pounds they still discovered a mighty big hog. They estimated it weighed around 800 pounds and was probably about 8 feet long.</p><p>In their search for raw talent, the film's director and producer have thrown dozens of people into imagined scenarios with Hogzilla, looking for courage, humor, and of course, fear.</p><p>"Hogzilla is eating you alive from the stomach down, and you can do nothing to stop it," director Daniel West cues a tryout.</p><p>Immediately, the man goes down on the linoleum floor of the Tucker High School auditorium, writing and screaming.</p><p>"I can't feel my legs!" he cries before going limp, dying without even having to be told.</p><p>An aspiring actress is told her husband has just been trampled by a giant boar.</p><p>"Show me your reaction to that," West says.</p><p>She bursts into laughter, unable to get into character.</p><p>"Your husband is dying," West responds matter of factly, trying to help her along.</p><p>Key to getting a callback was an actor's ability to let a bloodcurdling scream at the thought of a wild, murderous, giant pig bearing down on them.</p><p>"Lots of people are really scared of these things," producer Rick Trimm said. "That's what were trying to feed off of."</p><p>Trimm said he and West are already working on the sequel, titled, "The Legend of Hogzilla: The Spawn," and thinking of a story line for a third movie. He has no doubt that based on the attention the story has gotten, the film will be a success, and they are looking for investors.</p><p>"I want this thing to do for the woods what Jaws did for the ocean," Trimm said. "It scared the hell out of people."</p><p>The mild-mannered Mullen _ whose 14-year-old son, Kyle, is also waiting to audition _ pretends to have his throat ripped out by Hogzilla and mourns his wife after the beast takes her life.</p><p>"You want revenge," says West, setting the next scene for him. "You whole family has been murdered by this beast. You have but a knife."</p><p>Mullen lunges, grunting and stabbing toward the camera. The audition is over.</p><p>"What a way to spend the day," he says.</p><p>_____</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x2dee584)</p>
