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Frankenstein rants about DEATH RACE 3000
Jeez... I'm depressed. This project went from such a high level of coolness in my eyes to such a pit of hell no interest whatsoever, sooooooo quickly. You know, this film almost has to be a pleasant surprise when I see it, cause after this report I feel like shit. I checked up on this fella, wrote him back a few times, and actually talked on the phone with him for a few hours today and.... It's really depressing. Ya know... Why call it DEATH RACE 3000 and attribute ANY connection at all if it's just gonna be a visceral racing car movie through all types of landscapes. Call it.... POLE POSITION or something. Well, here's Frankenstein... I'm gonna go to sleep now. I don't feel good.
Usually I abhor what it is you do here at this site,
frankly because you are always picking on us folks
that work on Paul Anderson’s films. This time
though I have to concur with you and that angers me.
I love with the original DEATH RACE 2000, and
when I saw that you misattributed the film to Paul
Thomas Anderson yesterday, for just a second I felt
like screaming, “I wish that were true.”
Sometime in this business you accept a paycheck to
simply pay the bills, send the kids to college, keep the
wife happy. This is one of those projects with me. I
am working on this one to pay the bills and it kills
me.
I feel that the original film is one of the great social
satires put to celluloid. However, that does not
describe at all DEATH RACE 3000. The fact is that
Paul is not looking to remake DEATH RACE 2000,
Paul really likes racing video games. And that is his
concept for DEATH RACE 3000.
Basically it would have Tom Cruise’s character
racing through a series of environments. These
would be such high concepts as ICE AREA and FIRE
AREA and JUNGLE AREA and CITY AREA.
Basically it would be a feature length Pod Racing
Movie. The cars would morph into vehicles most
appropriate for the environments. Suddenly the tires
would sprout spikes for traction.
That’s the film. It’s a BIGGER film, but devoid of
the satire that made the original movie the important
film that it is.
If they just called the movie RACE, I would be
happy. Calling it DEATH RACE 3000 though angers
me. The film is a case of putting the effects ahead of
substance. I am going to work my ass off for this
film, but inside it is killing me. Paul simply does not
get what I’m talking about here though. He likes
video games and that I understand. He would be a
fantastic game creator, but for film he needs to love
stories.
What I find stunning is this movie is going to
cost an exponential figure higher than the original,
and when all is wrapped and the film is sitting on a
video shelf next to David Carridine’s original, DEATH RACE fans will still pick up the original
cheapo version. Maybe that is how it is
supposed to be.
This project and the work being done on it finally
made me understand why you do this Harry. I can
not stand to see this title being shat upon, that is why
I am writing. You do a good thing here Harry.
Thank you.
Sign me Frankenstein
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...Or possibly behead Paul Thomas Anderson and use his severed head in BLAND AMBITION. In any case, this movie needs to be killed before it advances and give us Death Race fans a little dignity...
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Here we are again, with Harry hating Paul Anderson and his films such as Event Horizon. Harry man, usually I agree with you, but on Event Horizon I seriously don't understand why it is so hated. EH was about the ONLY true horror film of the 90's - scary, well acted, and WELL DIRECTED. I'm sorry, but the feeling of fear that film left me with was unmatched. The guy can direct, and given a good script, can make one hell of a movie. I can understand people hating Soldier - it was indeed a piece of shit. But Event Horizon is inexplicably trashed, even though it's far superior to most movies of its genre. can somebody give me a good, measured negative review of Event Horizon? Because I just don't see it as a flawed film, it's one of my favourites and I'll never understand it's bad rep...
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come on this has got to be made up and why is everyone getting so excited anyway the original was TERRIBLE!
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Paul Thomas Anderson and Paul Anderson are two very different people.
The man who gave is Boogie Nights is the former, and would make an excellent Death Race film.
The latter Paul is a true fan of the genre, who keeps missing the mark (although I have to say I can't take my eyes off Event Horizon whenever it's on cable).
So which one is it?
(btw, I wish Dominic Sena the best as he remakes Gone in 60 Seconds. I just hope he doesn't get flattened by a utility pole like the director of the original did) -
Event horizon is ok but come on its hardly some sort of classic. For a start it is EXTREMLEY derivative of other, much better SF movies (ALIEN AND SOLARIS for example), the characterisation is nil-i dont even think i can even remember any of the characters names only their cliched defining characteristics( the tough leader, the cocky wisecracking one, the nerdy scientist type and so on). Worst of all it relys on gratutitous violence and gore for its scares, take that out and it would be an extremely average Alien rip-off. To compare it with THE SHINING is wrong, THE SHINING is a genuinley creepy film that does not need to resort to gross-out effects to scare us.Its been proved in films time and again that subtlety is best and that we can conjure up more scary imagery with our own imaginations than any effects guy can. Its a cliche but like a lot of cliches there is truth in it-the remake of THE HAUNTING will prove this. Dont get me wrong though Event Horizon is an ok movie just not one thats in any way great and id be wary of anything that Paul Anderson goes near( SHOPPING was good though).
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...Event Horizon is an excellent movie, and if comparisons should be drawn, it certainly resembles the hellraiser, -ehrm, sorry, heckraiser-, premise a lot more than alien. Its even got a line from heckraiser; "we
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Were talking about Paul Anderson here. (Shopping, Event Horizon, Soldier.) OK? Secondly, I think Event Horizon is a darn good film. I saw it at the cinema with my Mum, for crying out loud! I think the reason it got shat on is exactly what you said "It's like The Shining in space!" Well, exactly....I guess some people didn't take to that idea. Oh yeah, and Zinky - Do you remember the deluge of blood pouring out the lift, or the little girls chopped to pieces in the corridor. Jesus, I hate people's selective memory when they're trying to make a point.
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Okay. Event Horizon was no horror vehical for Olivier. Granted, the characters could have been more fleshed out, and less trite, however the movie still was a pleasant surprise. Going into the film, I was expecting a straight forward 90s "B" sci-fi pic. What I got was a journey to Hell and back that was totally unexpected. Now, I had not heard anything about the film's subject matter ahead of time, which helped the surprise factor emmensly. The previews I saw lead me to believe it was going to be an "Alien" knockoff. I thoroughly enjoy going into a movie expecting it to be one thing, and having it actually be about something totally different. "Contact" had a similar, if not even more profound, effect on me. Once again, thinking I'm going to see straight sci-fi fair, I'm taken on a much more personal journey into faith and introspection. Anyway, I guess we have gotten a little off the subject here - this all started talking about Death Race 3000. I've never seen the original, so I have no opinion as of now, however I have not been overly impressed with Paul Anderson thus far, with the exception of "Event." Why call it Death Race 3000, anyway? Why not call it what it really sounds like it is doomed to be - "Days of Thunder 3000"?
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Update! As per Cinema Confidential, Death Match 3000 is set to be directed by Paul THOMAS Anderson (of "Boogie Nights" fame), not Paul Anderson (of "Soldier" misfortune)! That sounds MUCH more appealing to me. If Paul could infuse a futuristic race movie with the type of characters he exhibited in "Boogie Nights," this could be quite the interesting movie! And, how about casting Burt Reynolds in a cameo, just to give a little homage to "Cannonball Run?" (I'm totally kidding, of course!) But, in all seriousness, the difference in the two filmakers Paul would create two distinctly different movies. I, for one, would be first in line if the Thomas Paul where to direct...
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Don't diss Cannonball Run.
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Here's a simple and ironic way to get the film we all want.
So somebody else with no mind has the rights to Death Race 2000, and wants to turn it into a video game movie.
Fine.
Somebody go grab the rights to the video game CARMAGEDDON. It's based on this national car race that scores points for hitting pedestrians.
The end run...a play that isn't used much any more, but works nicely.
Vinnie
PS-Sylvester Stallone should be in it. I'm SURE he's got the sense of humor for it. -
Can we hope to see Jack Noseworthy reteam with Paul Anderson? They really made Event Horizon work for me, and Mr. Noseworthy's performance in Barb Wire is a classic.
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I really hope Paul Thomas Anderson is the director we are talking about here. Boogie Nights is one of my all time favorite flicks. I have dreamed about a Death Race sequal for years. I imagined taking all the washed up superstars like Sly, Bruce, Arnold, Claude, Seagal and some hot chicks who take it off like Pam Anderson (any Relation to Paul?) and maybe another babe like Heather Grahmm. The car companys would donate high tech cars just to be involved. The weapons and effects used for killing would be so amazing to todays standards. The babe car could be topless throughout. Break the norm - make it NC-17. Even if it only plays as a midnight show like Rocky Horror did, this flick should be non-stop violence, tits n' ass. Stay true to the original, just step it up 1000 years. Man, what a fun f'n' flick that would be. Arnold as Frankenstein. Sly as Machine Gun Joe. I hear they have other ideas, but this should be a re-make. Not a sequal. It should pay homage to our fallen 80's action stars while giving us some hot babes to drool over. Go Get em' PTA.
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From what I've read Tom Cruise loved Boogie Noghts, and isn't he in fact briefly in 'Magnolia'? Why would he then sign on to do a movie with a guy who's not even in the same league as the directors Cruise normally works with? Not to say Paul Thomas Anderson is another Kubrick, but he's got a much more captivating style of direction then Paul Anderson, who is basically just a run-of-the-mill action suspense yarn director. Seems like DR3K is more up Paul Thomas Anderson's alley.
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was an okay movie... not great... not classic, but not bad either. Decent horror-type plot, but I agree it was not the Shining in space (those silent screams always get me, not to mention the blood pouring out of the elevator).
I think the thing that killed Event Horizon's credibility for me, and probably many others, is when Sam Neill is confronting Laurence Fishburne and claims that the ship travelled "to a dimension of pure evil." Arrgh... how clich -
At www.kanakaris.com, Death Race 2000 is the on-line movie of the week. It takes forever to get going, but once it does, works surprisingly well. As for the remake, could not agree more with the original commentary here. Taking the Death Race 2000 name is just plain stupid if you're not going to even take the concept. Is the world so short on film titles that they cannot take a title that would make sense and be original? There are just too many conflicting reports about this film. In addition to director, you have some reports saying that Cruise will produce, some that he will star. Who the heck knows. This new thing sounds a whole lot more like Speed Racer than Death Race.
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This is straight off the Internet Movie Database:
Tom Cruise may star in a remake of the 1975 cult movie Death Race 2000 (1975), which saw the movie debut of Sylvester Stallone, published reports said Monday. Director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights) and writer J.F. Lawton (Pretty Woman, Under Siege) have also agreed to sign on, contingent on an accord with Cruise, the reports said -
Jul 13, 1999 1:28:32 PM CDT
Paul (SOLDIER)Anderson directs Tom Cruise... and then he woke up
by los gordos
When I read the sentence "The fact is that Paul is not looking to remake DEATH RACE 2000, Paul really likes racing video games. And that is his concept for DEATH RACE 3000" I rolled my eyes so far back into my head they did a 360. OUCH! If Tom Cruise submits to starring in a film directed by Paul Anderson then I am a monkey's uncle. It seens to me that Cruise is moving in the direction of only working with director's of stature who have interesting or unique visions (Kubrick, DePalma, Woo, Crowe, Paul THOMAS Anderson and yes even Spielberg) and the Soldier guy definiteley does not fall into that category. By the way I think the BOOGIE NIGHTS guy wants to be reffered to as P.T. Anderson if the DVD cover is anything to go by. ALso, if I'm not mistaken didn't yesterday's post on the subject say that Cruise was PRODUCING but not starring -- now that I could buy. Of course P.T. doing DEATHRACE would be fuckin' weird and amazing but I ain't gonna hold my breath. BTW -- DEATH RACE 2000 is a fuckin' psychotronic classic -- long live MACHINE GUN MATURBO!!!!
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...to JMS Power! for lending even more credibility to the 'desensitization to media violence' theory. Have you never seen Wise's Haunting? Dead Ringers is a terrifying horror film- I don't recall much gore in that. Not to mention pretty much everything David Lynch has put to film. And Chairman of the Board was one of the scariest.. OK, well, that's a different discussion. Anyway, true horror is absolutely NOT about gore, it's about leaving you with a sick, trembly feeling in your gut. That's why Blair Witch is a horror film, while Scream is the one you should be targeting as 'merely' suspense. And Event Horizon wasn't bad, but if you want to be terrified by a movie go see Chairman of the Board. Talk about Things Mankind Wasn't Meant To Witness...
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here's how i see this: if cruise is producing and starring, he's gonna get some name brand to direct - the man got john woo to do MI2, for chrissakes! he's not going to settle for the director of soldier. now about that... soldier indeed sucked the sweat from a rabid dog's nuts, but event horizon had a few cool scary bits and mortal kombat (the original) actually kicked ass...in a cheesy way. of course. so lay off anderson, m'kay? we all know that death race 3000 would work wonders in the hands of PTA or verhoeven, but sometimes you gotta take what you can get. my advice to cruise (like he really fuckin' needs it)? hook up with one of these candy-coloured, ritalin-needing propaganda hacks (not david fincher, because he's NOT A HACK - i wish reporters would stop lumping him in with bay, west and fuqua) and keep a tight rein on 'em. that'll help deliver the goods. my hopes for death race 3000 are fading fast - bring on mctiernan's rollerball remake with bruce willis as jonathan e.
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So, I'm thinking that I'll be the last person to weigh in on this, but here we go. To use the title Death Race 3000, implies that it'll be a remake, but if this HACK wants to make a fucking race movie driving through different climates and obstacles, why doesn't he fuck Blake Edwards instead and call it Great Race 3000. I know, Cruise and Kidman can play Tony Curtis and Natlie Wood, Oliver Platt in the Keenan Wynn part, Jamie Kennedy and Seth Green as Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk, and Kevin Kline channeling Ross Martin again. Just thinking of the pie fight alone makes me shudder. FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!!!!!
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Are there any Pauls in Hollywood who aren't directing 'Death Race 3000'? Seriously, this doesn't seem like the sort of movie Tom Cruise would do; not the one described as a "racing game" in the article, anyway. BTW, 'Death Race 3000' wouldn't be a sequel, as some people have suggested. There already was a sequel to 'Death Race 2000.' It was called 'Deathsport.'
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