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The Weinsteins effing the f out of FANBOYS?!?
Hey, guys. "Moriarty" here. Just to clarify something... Judd Apatow is NOT involved with this in any way, shape, or fashion. Shauna Robertson, his producer, is. It's not a package deal. Shauna's the one helping to re-edit this, and it's not because the Weinsteins forced it. I think there's a real push happening here to find a version of the movie that makes everyone happy. Also, there was no new writing done for these reshoots. Everything was either done as improv, or old pages from the eight gajillion drafts of this were used. No new writing was done by anyone. I'll have a full report on all things FANBOYS later this week to sort out what's real, what was reshot, and what may eventually find its way to theaters. Anyway... back to it...
Hey folks, Harry here... I saw the original version of FANBOYS, a long long time ago. The movie that existed prior to all this apparent tampering - which I've heard isn't at Apatow's crews behest, but at the hands of Harvey Weinstein himself. What I loved about FANBOYS was that the film wasn't just a 'yuckfest' but actually had a heart and a soul to it. Like most FANBOYS themselves, the movie was about the friendship and the possible loss of a friend that made the boys stand up and take on the impossible. The word I've heard is that this Tuesday and Wednesday in Burbank at 7:30pm both versions of the film are being test screened and they're going to give it up to the audience to decide which version to release... the one that has them go on this mission for a reason... or just for the fuck of it. It'll be sad if we lose the soul of this movie. We'll just have to wait and see.
Hey guys, I have a friend close to the Fanboys production who says some things are going on with it, that I thought you'd like to know about. Apparently Judd Apatow and his co-producer Shauna Robertson have gotten involved with the movie and are making some big changes and were involved with some re-shoots about two weeks ago. I've got more about it at my blog: Click Here I'll add the full post below, feel free to quote what you want and link to my blog. As I said in he comments section yesterday I was recently informed of some goings on with Fanboys, which apparently haven't been reported elsewhere. Apparently Judd Apatow's production company has picked up Fanboys and he and co-producer Shauna Robertson have apparently taken the movie under their wing and are making a lot of changes and were doing re-shoots about 2-3 weeks ago. I love the Apatow crew and with the exception of "Walk Hard" have enjoyed their movies. But I'm hoping they don't turn this into a "hard" R-rated comedy as the footage I saw was very sweet and was easily PG-13 (it might possibly end up being R, but not because every other word is a cuss word, so please keep it that way). From what I saw the movie didn't need reworking, which is apparently what the Apatow crew are doing. Rumors are that one of the big changes would rework the entire plot of the movie and would honestly highly disappoint me. The story follows a group of friends who try to break in Skywalker Ranch to steal a copy of Star Wars Episode 1. The reason they finally agree to do it is because one of the friends in dying of cancer and won't live to see it in theaters. Apparently the Apatow people have done research which says most people won't laugh for 5 or 10 minutes after cancer is mentioned so they want to do away with the entire cancer subplot and I've heard they have a version which edited out the entire cancer plot. This means it's just a group of punk kids breaking into Skywalker Ranch to steal a movie to see it before it comes out. Why would I root for these kids to steal the film, if the noble reason for doing it is gone? Judd if you read this, I'm all for more jokes and more money to make the film better, but for heaven's sake, please don't edit out the cancer plot. If you take this point away, you get rid of the heart of the film. The entire reason these kids go on this adventure is because they want their friend to see the movie before he succumbs to cancer. I understand cancer kills comedy, but a movie can have a 5 minute recovery period, it's okay! (Apparently some of the actors aren't happy with this either so maybe ask them about it) Hopefully this version of the film has already been shot down and all these rumors will be for not, but if so I hope fan outpouring can change their minds. -- Travis Tidmore www.theCineManiac.com
Readers Talkback
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I want to see this move, but not with these mindless reshoots. Dammit.
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Has anyone actually seen an Apatow movie? The guy LOVES the last 45 minutes of all his movies to be straight up sentimental drama shit. The guy loathes comedy, so why would he excise the cancer subplot? It would seem to be straight up his alley.
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this sounds kinds of weird considering most of Apatow's tv series and films stood out because they had so much sincerity along with the laughs. Freaks and Geeks is the very definition of that type of comedy.
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So this is what's going on with FANBOYS? I'd rather not see it at this point if they're going to re-edit the shit out of it. I'd heard SO mjuch good feedback on the original print. Maybe I can find it on a torrent site or something...
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Honestly, if you're going to call yourself that, then fucking respect those that you are basing the movie off of - us the fans. We are the ones who made Star Wars what it still is today. We are the ones who make it live on, and always live on, through posters and memorabilia and every ounce of marketing that we embrace as collector's items. We are the ones that could finally have a voice and a representation in a movie named after us. Respect us. Respect us as we desperately cry out for you to keep the soul of this movie intact.
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Meh. Its been too long. People have lost interest-- this thing will now suffer the fate of Phone Booth and Sunshine.
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Because there are no laughs on "Freaks & Geeks" or "Undeclared," and none can be found in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up" and "Walk Hard." Sheesh, AnimalThunderballsStructure, troll much?
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Jan. 14, 2008, 4:17 p.m. CST
So...I'm guessing this movie is getting delayed...again.
by Reel American Hero
Okay, the first time was somewhat forgiveable, as it was to add some official Lucasfilm sound effects and such. But everything I've heard was that this movie was supposed to be coming out Friday. I guess now that's no longer the case.
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... I saw the trailer on the Clerks 2 DVD!!! why remove the main thrust of the story??
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Fucking gay. I open this story and then leave the room to go make some coffee. I come back and see "None posted yet" under talkback. Of course at this point it has been 20 minutes since I loaded the page, so obviously I can forget about getting a first. If I had just fucking scrolled down BEFORE leaving the room I could have had this one. GOD DAMN.
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Seriously did anyone see it? Or does anyone know someone who knows someone who claims to have seen it? John C. Reilly, that guy's career is over!! We're No Angels stands out as his only decent work anyway. Kidding of course.
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It's not that I don't care about cancer, it just sounds like cheap audience manipulation to me.
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I didn't know this movie had a soul.
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Apparently, Kyle Newman and co-star Chris Marquette haven;t known anything about this...you can refer to an interview with both of them from last week here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/moviegeeksunited/2008/01/06/FANBOYS
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I mean the whole cancer thing sounds fucking forced. <br> What about 5-25-77?
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Cancer Boy was the height of comedy.. That's a Kids in the Hall reference if you don't know..
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"Why would anybody want to steal shitty Episode I joke from Lucas?"
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I'd like to see a movie without his claws into it, thank you very much.
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What if the friend was merely going to go blind before the movie came out? Weinstein, call me!
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nobody cares. this movie is going to be awful. they should substitute aids for cancer. it's much funnier.
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because it's just a dumbass rumor. you really think the fucking Weinsteins off all people would spend more, let alone ENOUGH, money to change a film that much, especially a film that's been in the can as long as this one has? it's just a rumor, boys, and a publicity stunt to boot. you're simply playing into it.
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I remember hearing about this plot since before a single frame was shot for Revenge of the Sith and it seems that every geek in a major metropolitan US city has seen it at this point. Frankly, by the time Fanboys is released, either no one will be left to see it or Kristin Bell will have aged to the point where she resembles Lucas.
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Stop fucking turning movies that you buy into complete shit.
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Screw you, buddy. It's probably much better than Fanboys.
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obviously haven't seen the film but my automatic reaction to it being about some kid with cancer does not scream "comedic potential". Its no surprise to me that someone is thinking of changing this, and not necessarily a bad idea either.
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This is absolutely true, and budget was driven up by 400% at least is my understanding. Much as I want to see the original, and much as I won't bother with the new one, the Weinsteins will be hard-pressed to pretend they never made the extra investment. I wrote this one off when I heard the news, but the notion that they're letting folks choose is heartening. Of course, the dice are loaded, because the people that go to these things are carefully screened in advance, no?
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seriously.
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Jan. 14, 2008, 5:51 p.m. CST
Wouldn't Apatow reworking the film be against the current WGA Sr
by Mr. Profit
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iPhone's suck sometimes. This bitch is always trying to fix what I want to say....
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As has already been noted, otherwise it's just about some asshole kids trying to steal a movie. Lame.
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Jan. 14, 2008, 6:01 p.m. CST
Harry, is there any way for us Burbankeers to get into one of th
by Stormin
I'd like to take a look and fight for the cancer cause!
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call Elle on her T-Mobile Sidekick and give her Harvey's address. Then Elle zaps him in the balls again and again for screwing around with this movie's release date. <p> Jeez, release the frakkin' thing already; it's been what, 2 years now, almost?
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The kids see the Phantom Menace, realizes it's crap, the cancer kid becomes determined to beat cancer and he beats it, final scene is him kicking Lucas in the balls. The End. (Oh, and shoot additional footage of Bell in the metal bikini.)
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everything he touches is shit. EVERYTHING.
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Why would I want to see a movie about people who desperately want to see them? I'd rather wonder where that movie 5-25-77 has disappeared to.
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... and I'll put this into the article in a moment. Judd Apatow is NOT involved with this in any way, shape, or fashion. Shauna Robertson, his producer, is. It's not a package deal. And there was no new writing done for these reshoots. Everything was either done as improv, or old pages from the eight gajillion drafts of this were used. No new writing was done by anyone. <P>I'll have a full report on all things FANBOYS later this week to sort out what's real, what was reshot, and what may eventually find its way to theaters.
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And K-Bell a cameo? She's the lead, buddy. :)
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...the cancer plot had too much pathos for my taste and veered dangerously into bathos territory. That said, it wasn't nearly as heavyhanded as many other movies with similar themes, and it served a good and perhaps necessary balance with the over-the-top humor in the rest of the film, which was too lowbrow for me at points. I'm guessing if you remove the cancer plot the movie will play almost entirely lowbrow, and I can't envision that possibly being for the better. Fanboys isn't great cinema, but it's certainly passable and entertaining, and I have trouble understanding why there has been this need for so much tweaking. Fanboys has a niche audience; whoever is distributing the movie should accept that, sell it with pride, and let it find that audience.
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All the Fanboys have to do is fake the story. They lie to one of the companies who has to make the film prints saying there friend has cancer and will die before the film hits theaters. The film printer is moved by the story he will set up a private screening for the Fanboys just to see it early. The tagline could be "Taking Diehard Fans To A New Level." Then when they finally see the film say "I think the film gave us cancer." Loathing and depising the movie. Anyway the film printer is found out as is the Fanboys and their story by a watchdog at Fox. Have it that Fox finds out the story and wants to use their story to hype and sell tickets. "Star Wars Episode 1 Cures Cancer." the fanboys story becomes famous and positive buzz. They have to lie to the community saying the film was good. And the ending is a choice between telling the truth about their scam. Being a true fanboy (saying it sucks) and not to believe the hype. They come clean. And all of them end up arrested for seeing the private viewing of the film. But the charges are dropped when the film makes huge box office.
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Jan. 14, 2008, 7:03 p.m. CST
You know, I'm sorry, but the non-cancer plot is better
by CaptainGilgore
I love a good comedy. I love Star Wars. So I'm your audience for this film. But this whole cancer idea always seemed stupid to me. I get it - it adds heart to the movie. But someone dying of cancer just doesn't fly in this kind of comedy. It's Star Wars they're racing to see, not The Notebook. As much as those closely involved with the project want to protect its original vision, you need to step back and realize that people are gonna go see this movie to laugh. And some movie about a guy with cancer is just going to throw an unnecessary forced attempt to make them cry along the way. I've seen the footage from this film. Trust me - it's a comedy. Don't try to make it more than that. And for p.s.'s sake, I always felt like the biggest roadblock for this film was always going to be the fact that these guys are all so desperately trying to see a movie that all of us already know is horrible. I mean they're all going to be so disappointed. Particularly the one who has cancer! (Just another reason to drop the cancer storyline).
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a past in which The Phantom Menace was thought to be a good movie. How on earth is anyone going to buy that now???
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seriously, it would never make much money. Only a scattered amount of people even know about it.
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Put this bad, ill thought out movie on DVD and call it day.
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a much better idea for what they're going to see (so they won't be so disappointed by TPM) is they're going to see a mythical 3 hour first cut of Star Wars that Lucas is rumored to have. Much better than TPM. I know there are no writers so you can have that idea for free.
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on talkshoe podcasts to try and drum up interest.
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What with all the blood fueds and excessive masturbation to Kristen Bell going on with this group.
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Jan. 14, 2008, 8:27 p.m. CST
this has mark hammil and the harley quinn ccosplayer, right?
by ironic_name
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I wonder how he feels about Ethan Suplee playing him? ;)
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Go to your local Barnes and Noble, Borders, Walden's or library and pick up "Down and Dirty Pictures" by Peter Biskind. You get truthful accounts of the Brothers' true onslaught. Pretty interesting stuff.
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No question mark needed; she'll guest voice on the show February 11th. Terrence Howard and Ludacris will also guest. That should be something...
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will never see the light of day.
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I don't get it when people say that there is no longer any interest in this movie- that it is too late. Umm... it has not even been released! Maybe all the geeks on this site know all there is to know about every movie so by the time it comes out its always "too late" but when a movie has not even been released and people think there is no interest that is just going too far. As far as the main story and it being about Episode I, the LONGER it takes to come out, the better. Episode I will soon be nostalgia. It has been a DECADE since that movie came out! This movie either had to come out the year after Episode I, or ten years (or more) after. There are more people in the world that see movies than us geeks who visit this site. Joe Lunchbox will see it as a comedy and won't give a rats ass that it is "too late".
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Some clips of it were shown at Star Wars Celebration IV.
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Cancer should only be used as a funny gag from now on. Not as something serious. I believe the previous HUNDREDS of cancer movies filled any cancer plot voids that existed before they were released. <P> NO MORE CANCER MOVIES!!! <P> NO MORE CANCER MOVIES!!!
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drive the trailer park boys crazy.
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THAT WAS DA BOMB!!!
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...These insanely long delays and production difficulties can only spell success for this flick.
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add a couple of "fucks", some beaver shots and maybe a shot of Harvey Weinstein lying naked on a beach like a fat fucking whale! So what happens after they steal the movie? In the cancer boy version, the kid lethally injects himself with morphine after seeing TPM, and in the other version, everyone else does it for the same reason...
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bunch of pussies. probably the same pussies who think knocked up and superbad has heart. if that means scenes where characters become pussies, then fuck you. comedies don't need sobby shit to be funny, i don't recall Naked Gun having sobby shit yet that is one of the greatest most rewatchable comedies ever.
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he'd have been better off!
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Jan. 15, 2008, 3:23 a.m. CST
If they keep the cancer plot this film will be really depressing
by photoboy
I mean, what happens at the end? He sees Episode 1 and then realises he's glad he's about to die of cancer instead of having to watch Episode 2?
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It looks cringeworthy. So many lame, cliched Star Wars jokes and references. Also, as everyone has pointed out, how can we have sympathy for these cunts wanting to see Episode 1 when the film is such a bag of shit. Captain Gilgore's idea is much better. I would love to see Ethan Suplee play Harry though...
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... and it was one of the best movies I have seen last year. Removing the cancer plot would be totally pointless, I mean, that is the one thing that moves the plot forward, and that is what makes the movie special. The movie was brilliant, editing it out because some people responded badly will just turn this movie into a formulaic, bland comedy that we have seen way too many times. I have had my run ins with cancer, and I have lost family and friends to cancer, and still the movie made me laugh out loud many, many times.
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Jan. 15, 2008, 5:17 a.m. CST
So now it's called "Anboys" (Since the f has been effed out?)
by DerLanghaarige
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Jan. 15, 2008, 5:40 a.m. CST
Terminally-ill, cancer-stricken friend is the motivation. Why ki
by Alice Cooper Stalker
I'm no insider. Haven't seen the film or anything like that. My general understanding of the film is that it's the friend's cancer that drives them to commit an illegal act like break into Lucasfilm and steal the film. With the sick friend, they are good guys risking a rap sheet for a higher purpose..their friendship with the guys who is dying. Without the cancer angle these are just a bunch of criminals. My ability to rally behind their cause significantly decreases. It's like the Make a Wish foundation without terminally-ill kids. Then it just feels like some bratty kid wants something big like a trip to Disney. What's the motivator? Why should people reach into their pockets, donate money, and believe? They have sympathy becase of the illness. Shauna Robertson needs to get a clue.
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to steal back the money they spent on their tickets for Episode 1. Now THAT'S a story.
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We need to know what makes them fans.
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... well at least whoever wrote the article - that the cancer subplot should go. I have to agree though, if it wasn't in the movie, that does leave them without a good motivation for risking going to jail, doesn't it?
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Where is "5-25-77?" That film seems to be lost in limbo.
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Really? Just apply a freeze frame on this scene for 90 minutes and I'll be happy. As for the movie, hey, unload it on Lionsgate; douchebag Richard Roeper (the Ryan Seachrest of critics) will call it the Sleeper of the Year and the cast will be invited to a few conventions (sharing a table with Sig Haig, Ken Foree, Doug Bradley, Gunner Hansen and other "horror celebs" who have long worn out their welcome).
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New premise: Friends manage to sneak into a focus group screening of Star Wars I and upon realizing how horribly terribly bad it is, they plot to break into Skywalker Ranch to destroy any copies they can find in the hopes of preventing the movie from ever being released.<p> New character: Mark Hamill as himself. Bumping into Mark at a convention, they tell him they need his help getting onto skywalker ranch. He threatens to call security to throw the boys out. They manage to shuffle him into a closet. Moments later they emerge and he looks absolutely horrified. In a recreation scene from Joan of Arc, he orders that these boys be given anything they require and tells them that all of the resources of his entire kingdom will be at their disposal. Cut to scene at Avis rent-a-car. "dude you dont have a car?" "how much money do you think I actually MADE from star wars? Lucas owns all the toys, bro. Not me."<p> The above has already been mailed to myself with certified postage - the Art Buchwald Insurance Policy. Hopefully, Eddie Murphy will read this, make the movie, and then give me all his money. Peace out.
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cancer is gold, baby!! Give everyone cancer. Audiences love cancer. Can-cer, cer cer cer cer cer cer cer cer, cer cer cer cer cer cer cer cer cer CANCER!!
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Keep the filmmakers' original vision in there. The cancer storyline adds a measure of racing against the clock even as they're joking around. Leave it be. Don't let a focus group-esque audience decide the fate of *this particular* movie. :)
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and google image Kristen Bell and you'll find your slave girl image or go here http://www.give memyremote.com/remote/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/Kri sten-bell-fan boys-leia.jpg
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TAKE A LOOK HERE http://tinyurl.com/ytg8t7 AND http://tinyurl.com/2dkn9x HERE
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Saw this movie, (rough cut) at Celebration Europe in London last July. It brought the house down, but i guess we were the right crowd to show it to. That said, it is VERY funny, apart from the rough edges that the director assured us would obviously be deal t with, it was good to go.
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could be to have the friend facing life-threatening surgery. Not as depressing and still leaves the film its heart.
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Jan. 16, 2008, 6:03 a.m. CST
Wouldn't them attempting to steal a print of the movie for the h
by TheMcflyFarm
make them FANBOYS?! Ya know, the title of the film.
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steal a print of the movie for the hell of it is what I meant to say
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Since the original author Ernie Cline slept on my floor in LA for a summer, I have a little insight to this. The whole time he was there, his girlfriend (who was also sleeping on said floor) was going through health problems, and it was thought to be cancer. Turns out it wasn't (it actually turned out to be Lupus), but things had soured between Ernie and her so much he swore she was faking being sick. I think Harry has noted that the original ending of the script was that the friend dying of cancer was found out to be faking it... This has absolutely nothing to do with this subject really, just thought I'd chime in.
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