Cool News
Bad News Regarding that Joe Dante LOONEY TUNES Live-Action / Animation Thing!
Badee badeeee baddeeee That's all Folks, Harry here... ahem... your resident porky ham-hocked reporter of dread. Remember the days when you were hearing about HARRY POTTER being given to the right people, with reverence and honor being given to the material, casting and development? Remember the days where we were all excited about MATRIX movies? Well... Through it all, we still have Lorenzo and crew in charge at Warner Brothers, so while we get coolness like THE FOUNTAIN and God-Willing KING CONAN: CROWN OF IRON... There are the deflated brain farts pushing dirigibles full of methane fumes from their ears. Yup. Below, you'll see a report from DEVIL DOG about some tests they've seen for the upcoming Looney Tunes/Live Action Flick. In addition to this, I've received many phone calls about the horror that is the script for this project. Phrases like, "Makes Scooby Doo read like Shakespeare!" and "...this will kill all potential dead from these characters," to "This is going to solve the energy crisis in California, all we'll need to do is to attach magnets to Chuck Jones and his grave spinning will power the entire state when this hits!" The phrasing has been extreme... to say the least. I've also heard that Brendan Frasier wanted out, but he ain't getting away. The word is that the script was tossed out last week, and they start shooting this week. Well... Given the word on the Script, that'd be a good thing. I can't rail on this project yet because frankly... I trust Joe Dante. If there is anyone that I trust with a Live Action / Animated Looney Tunes project.... well, I've got 3 or 4 people I'd love to plug for the gig, but Dante is right in there. I've been a fan of his work from the beginning, and he has been on chaotic projects in the past. SMALL SOLDIERS was one that I heard was hell to wrangle, and I thought he did a great job on it. I'm hoping that the spirits of Clampett, Avery and Jones guide him through these troubles. That the overt product placement bullshit is dumped. And that they realize that you do that, not in the film, but in the marketing of the film. The audience doesn't like commercials... built into their movies. Right?
This may not be a huge scoop, but I've seen several animation tests for the new Looney Tunes/Live Action flick, but the most depressing thing is that 3 out of 4 of them have involved some serious product placement, like characters exchanging dialogue about Coca Cola and going to a McDonalds restaurant. Depressingly enough, it looks like Space Jam may have have been the artistic summit that WB cartoons will reach as long as they can reap $$$$$ from product placements. Now thats what I call entertainment.
-Devil Dog
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Er.. product placement in a Looney Tunes movie? Not too earth-shattering - why was this even posted Harry?
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I mean a Warner Bros. cartoon without the involvement of Bob Clampett, Tex Avery, Bob McKimson, or Chuck Jones. Although I might be wrong, I mean that segment in the Twilight Zone Movie directed by Joe Dante was pretty good. Why does'nt every studio just kill their beloved franchise characters now, instead of doing it slowly over time.
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Aug 12, 2002 6:40:13 AM CDT
Before I was being sarcastic, that segment from the Twilight Zon
by filthy fox
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This is looney tunes here were talking about, it hasnt been of a good quality for decades, since the late sixties. There's no doubt this movie will either be ok or will suck big time, but to expect it to be a great like it was in its early days is just deluded thinking.
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Aug 12, 2002 8:23:37 AM CDT
The ONLY product placement in a Looney Tunes movie should be for
by renonevada2000
the ACME Corporation. Come on, you know it to be true....
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Brendan Fraser/Jenna Elfman thing? I thought WB was touting this as a rebuke to product-schilling cartoons and a return to the wacky-anarchist days of Looney Tunes.
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Yeah, that's what I thought. sk
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But what the hell is this live action Looney Tunes project?? This is the first I've heard of this. Is it suppossed to be a full length feature, tv special, what?? Is it going to be a combination of live action and animation ala Space Jam, I'm just assuming that, since Brendan Fraser was mentioned. Or is he just doing a voice-over? Can somebody clue me in please? Thanks.
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Aug 12, 2002 11:11:51 AM CDT
"This is going to solve the energy crisis in California, all we&
by el duderino
That's one of the funniest things I've heard off this site!! Bravo to whoever originally said that.
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Aug 12, 2002 12:04:20 PM CDT
This elongated droplet of dung is sounding better and better.
by klam bake
What's next? Danny Elfman doing the music..? Oh why lookie over there at DH. You knew this colossal pile of excrement was doomed from the beginning. Hello! Writers have no business working on cartoons. Animators and only animators should ever be allowed to touch a looney tune.
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I want to see Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd chatting with each other using AOL's wonderful instant messaging and buddy list features. And make sure these wacky toons use AOL Version 8.0 or even 9.0 we must be sure they use the most up to date version available damn it. Then I want to see Daffy pounding on h is computer when he gets bounced offline and I want to see Elmer use his rifle to blast his computer to bits. Then I want Bugs to cackle at their computer idiocy and I want Porky Pig to pop up on screen stuttering "Th-th-th-th-th-th-that's all folks!"
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Judging by some of the clues (McDonalds tie in) this isn't the Termite Terrace movie. Whatever happened to THAT Joe Dante film project? Might as well have all of the AOL-Time-Warner-Turner-WB-MGM cartoon characters in this mess. Too much can never be enough for Hollywood...
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Too bad I made that joke about nine hours earlier...
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Minority Report was like a long future-noir styled ad out of GQ Magazine. Sounds like Spielberg protege Dante also doesn't understand the basic tenets of capitalism. If we PAY for something, it's a product. If it's FREE, it's a commercial. WE DO NOT PAY FOR COMMERCIALS.
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I hate to say this but...
this is only the beginning. It's only going to get worse. Expect to see more of the same type of entertainment as file sharing services and bloated budgets eat into the profitability of films.
All of that MPAA B.S. aside; I'm afraid that we would still be seeing this kind of test marketing of entertainment/advertisement even if none of those profit gobbling monsters weren't eating at the financing of films. Many films are going to be testing these waters over the next few years.
It's all about increasing profits and shareholder value. Not art or even cinema for that matter.
I just saw a Miramax film and boy do I need a Coors beer right now. All that art just drove me to drink.
P.S.This message was brought to you by the emotion of Disdain. And was co-financed by Greed.
Void where unintelligible...
Viva La American Cinema, and "Enjoy Coke -
at least Bilbo and Gandalf didn't smoke Lucky Strike cigarretes! :P
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Maybe if they stuff enough advertising in this film it will be mailed out for free from AOL-Time-Warner-Turner like the AOL CD-ROMs or more closely, the BMW ad films...
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because I read an interview with Joe Dante where he said that basically he walked into the Warners brass's office and flat out told them that SPACE JAM was a fucking disgrace and they should ashamed of themselves. They agreed with him and admitted that they nearly destroyed their beloved characters with that piece of shit. From that I figured that Dante would be given free reign to make a good film. But I won't be convinced Warners has any idea what they're doing until they green-light KING CONAN.
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I'm still pissed that he never got to make his "Mummy" movie !
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Mebbe the problem is that these characters were born & bred in SHORT, 6-7 minute cartoons - they're not SUPPOSED to maintain a 90-100 minute story arc (uh-oh, hope that 'story arc' line didn't make me sound like a studio asshole). ~~~~~~~~~~~ I think we should all let Jones, Avery, Clampett, Freleng & company rest in peace - we'll never be without their masterpieces, and besides, there's plenty of hilarious, exciting and KICK-ASS animation being created right now by people who were INSPIRED by the boys of Termite Terrace; we don't need studio-generated zombie recreations of our beloved WB characters 'interacting' with 'real' actors.
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I'm going to leave aside the opinions of people who've supposedly read the script, which they are free to have, and instead address a couple of factual inaccuracies in the item.
1) There has only been one animation test done for the new movie. It does include Daffy buying a can of Coke from a Coke machine, but this is only and simply because the test was done in order to figure out and perfect the use of live action props by the cartoon characters. It was a Coke because cans of soda are easy to model and because a Coke machine was available. There is no such scene in the movie, nor is there anticipated to be.
Furthermore, and most importantly, this was primarily an effects test. It was not a voice or animation test, except as how either might interact with the live action environment.
That said, there will no doubt be some product placement in the movie. This is probably inevitable in a $100 million movie, however regretable.
2) The script was not thrown out last week. Parts of it are being rewritten, based on notes from the director, the actors and the studio, by the same writer who has written most of the drafts (me), as I believe is the normal course for a movie.
I can't say whether Brendan Fraser tried to get out of the movie, but he has not, in my experience, behaved that way.
And one final thought, an opinion: the director, Joe Dante, the animation director, Eric Goldberg, and the writer of this feature all knew Chuck Jones and are attempting, as best we can, to capture the look and spirit of the classic Looney Tunes. If we fail, it will be trying to do the right thing, at least. -
Cool post by Larry Doyle! Now THAT'S a scoop!
Anyways, there's an old Jerry Lewis movie (Aren't they ALL old?) called "Hardly Working" which has an extended scene featuring Jerry standing next to a 7 Up machine. There are several shots where it is just a shot of Jerry and the machine. Then, if that wasn't enough, a car drives up and a kid asks "Hey Mom! Can I have a 7 Up?" Whew! --- And why is everyone is getting so upset about these "pop up"ads on TV? Back in the old days, the TV stars would do their commercials live during the show! Can you imagine a lawyer on "Law And Order" turning to the camera and saying "After all that intense legal preperation, I sure look forward to my Swanson Frozen Dinner and a Camel cigarette!" and then sitting down for a few minutes and describing the delicious dinner and the flavorful smoke? -
Aug 15, 2002 1:54:08 PM CDT
Why isn't Joe Dante working on that live action Smurfs flick
by terry_1978
Yes, it's a horrible thing to contemplate, but if it ever came to pass, Dante would be the only man to go if it ever needed to be helmed. His Gremlins and Small Soldiers flicks are proof that he could make a Smurfs thing work.
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Personal I'm sick of it...there are now at least 20 minutes of car ads, TV promos, and sport drink spots before the damn previews. Did you see the Minority Report? It was 2 and half hour GAP AD! I already spent 10 dollars just to go to the movies and it's a pretty good bet I went to see a movie to see a movie not to be sold a car
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