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Moriarty Visits The LAND OF THE LOST, Part 1! Sleestaks & Temples & Will, Oh My I'm Hard!
Hey folks, Harry here... Moriarty just won't go away. He sends me like 6 pieces a week and I keep rejecting them because usually he spends 2/3rds of the columns talking about his inflamed hemmoroids and the exact manner in which to apply the ointment - and then the cleaning process before handling his precious Blu Rays. But this time it was actually an article I was interested in. LAND OF THE LOST. Earlier today on my wife's Facebook, she listed her favorite childhood shows. Besides the immediate dirty old man feelings that it gave me, I realized how much luckier I was to grow up in a period where my Saturday mornings spanned 1973-1984, which I consider to be the golden age of Saturday morning - where the repeats were great, the new shows were mostly awesome - minus the crap video game cartoons, but most of all - there was the strange weirdness that was LAND OF THE LOST. And I'm dying of curiousity to see what Brad, Will, Danny & Anna have in store for us. That... and well, I have a pterodactyl hanging in my living room... life size. Yes. I'm lucky to be married. Here's Mori...
Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here.
I drove down to Universal Studios from my house in Northridge, and on the way, I was talking to a friend. “Hey, guess what I’m doing today,” I said. “And unless your guess involves a couple of dozen Sleestaks, you’re wrong.” I always love being on the Universal lot. I was a tour guide there in the early ‘90s, and I love walking by a tour tram and waving at the tourists as they try desperately to figure out if I’m famous or not.
It was a warm day in July, and I’d been invited to spend a day by myself on the various soundstages being used to bring “Land Of The Lost” to the bigscreen for this summer. Claire Raskind, the publicist who was my host on the “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” set in Hawaii, greeted me as soon as I walked out of the parking structure and steered me directly over to the stages. No fooling around, since I was on a fairly tight schedule and so were they.
My first impression as I walked into Stage 27 was surprise. I’m so used to everything these days involving minimal builds and giant greenscreens to add in digital sets later that it was a shock to find myself standing in the middle of Sleestak Plaza. And since the production designer on this film is the great Bo Welch, the sets were full-scale and fully-functional. If you don’t know Welch by name, you know his work. He worked on films like “Joe Versus The Volcano,” “Edward Scissorhands,” the “Men In Black” movies, the ravishing “A Little Princess” and “Batman Returns,” which featured some of the greatest soundstage creations I’ve ever seen in person. Welch is from the school of thought that if you can build something, you build it, and this film is a great example of that. They took over a big chunk of the Universal lot last summer and built as many full-sized sets as they could. My guess is that any one of those soundstages represented a larger investment than any complete season of the original Sid and Marty Krofft “Land Of The Lost” series, and there’s something really crazy about that.
I spent a certain chunk of my childhood watching the Sid & Marty Krofft shows, and I enjoyed them. However, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to see me wax on and on about how special and perfect and inviolable those programs were, because that would be ludicrous. At some point, I’m hoping that my fellow web movie reporters who were fans of things as children realize that just because the six-year-old version of you liked something, that does not make it Shakespeare, and it doesn’t mean that it was brilliant. Kids like garbage. It happens. Sometimes, kids are even very passionate about garbage. And so what? They’re kids. Everything’s new to them. When they see a rip-off of a rip-off of a copy of a steal of a hack job, they don’t know that. They don’t care. They like what they like, and they’ll watch almost anything if they’re even remotely interested. Nostalgia has made an entire generation incredibly stupid, and at some point, it’s okay to let go of those childhood memories, let them be memories, and look at some of this source material with clear eyes.
“Land Of The Lost,” for example, was fucking ridiculous.
Great theme song. And kids love dinosaurs and monsters, so the combination of stop-motion dinos and hissing green men-in-suit aliens was pretty irresistible. And the show even employed some writers I love, like David Gerrold, Norman Spinrad, Ben Bova, Theodore Sturgeon, and Larry Niven. And, yes, when the show came out on DVD, I bought the complete season box sets. And when I rewatched the show, it became incredibly clear to me that despite the ambition, despite the names involved, and despite some occasionally engaging ideas, as an actual show to sit down and watch, “Land Of The Lost” is a repetitious and shoddy bore. And the performance work in particular is nigh unwatchable. This is definitely a case where my memories were very kind to something that has not aged well at all.
And did it bother anyone else that the song begins “Marshall, Will and Holly/On a routine expedition,” when Marshall is the family’s last name and the dad’s first name is actually Rick? Guess it fit the meter, but it makes no sense.
Even having said all of that, I will confess that when the first Sleestak walked by me in full costume, his head-to-toe suit in place and the mask over his head, I got a huge smile on my face and I asked if I could shake his crazy pincher hand, all three fingers of it. And looking around the set at the remarkable detail that had been poured into every corner of it, it was apparent that someone took that source material very, very seriously. More seriously than I would have taken it, which is a strange thing to say about a film that stars Will Ferrell and Danny McBride, but it’s true. Screenwriters Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas and director Brad Silberling have worked to make sure that this film absolutely respects the batshit crazy mythology that the original show created, right down to using the same Pakuni language that was created for the series whenever Chaka (Jorma Taccone) shows up.
Remember… the show wasn’t set in Earth’s past. It was set in an alternate dimension, and there were all sorts of SF ideas introduced over the course of the three seasons of the show. So although the ad campaign so far definitely plays up the dinosaur side of things, and rightfully so, there is also a whole lot of wacko going on in the film, and that seems fully appropriate considering the source.
They’ve tweaked things, of course. Rick Marshall (Ferrell), Will (McBride), and Holly (Anna Friel) are no longer related in any way. Now Holly is an assistant to disgraced researcher Rick, whose theories on time/space portals have made him a laughing stock. They meet Will when they stop at a roadside exhibit that he owns and operates, and as they’re on his cheesy fake river ride, one of those time/space portals opens, and the three of them are pulled into this alternate dimension where the movie takes place.
On the day I was on-set, Rick and Will were trying to rescue Holly from the Sleestaks, using a cunning plan involving discarded Sleestak skins. The film obviously gives these comic actors a lot of room to improvise within the structure of a SF adventure, and that collision of styles is what should hopefully pay off for Universal when the film finally hits theaters in July.
As we were waiting for them to set up the first shot for the afternoon, Claire walked me through the Sleestak wardrobe tent. Racks of costumes, all identical, with one special rack for the dozen “hero suits” that actually have moveable articulate mouths. Each of the Sleestak actors was required to stand 6’4” or taller, and they were basically sealed into their suits in the morning, a process that required each of the performers to go through two full tubes of KY jelly every day, one to get them into the outfit, and one to help get the costume back off. That’s how skintight the costumes are, and they actually had to build in special removable crotch pieces so that the actors could use the bathroom without taking the entire costume off each time. I watched a few of the actors suiting up.
Before any filming could take place, Claire told me that Sid and Marty Krofft were on-set and that they were actually available to talk if I was interested. And again… nostalgia is a powerful thing. I didn’t just watch their shows as a kid… I actually made the pilgrimage to Atlanta to attend their short-lived amusement park. So the chance to sit down with the two of them to chat for a while was impossible to pass up, and that interview will be part of my coverage for the film over at HitFix.com.
I’ll say this about the two of them together… they’re a fascinating team. Sid is the dreamer, and Marty’s the businessman, and I get the feeling they couldn’t exist without each other. It’s a great dynamic to observe, and the two of them have an obvious love for all of their shows and for the audience that has been in touch with them over the years. They told me that they’re excited to get started on both “H.R. Pufnstuf” and “Sigmund And The Sea Monsters” as soon as “Land” is in theaters. I imagine both of those will hinge on this film being a success, of course, but even at their age, Sid and Marty both seem like they’re 100% ready to start the next stage in their careers.
Much of the afternoon was spent watching Brad Silberling try to choreograph some difficult Sleestak action, and also allow Will and Danny room to play within the scene. Although I was originally set to speak to both Will and Anna, it didn’t happen because of scheduling. I did sit with Danny for a few minutes, the second time we got a chance to speak after a brief “Foot Fist” interview.
Seems strange that was in July, before “East Bound” or “Tropic Thunder” or “Pineapple.” At that point, I was just excited because of “The Foot Fist Way” and my near-lunatic love for the film. And Danny seemed a little surprised to find himself on the set for a $100 million blockbuster type film, fighting dinosaurs and lizard creatures. He talked about the importance of the production design and the effects in creating a reality that allowed he and Will to be the comedy against some sort of concrete reality, and how hard everyone on the production was working to find the balance. Certainly Anna was playing everything as real, and there was a sense of danger that Silberling was working to create which would hopefully make the comedy a release instead of just non-stop jokes. We talked about how different comic performers work, and how Danny likes being thought of as a comic character actor and not a movie star. We also talked about the spoiler for “Terminator: Salvation” that I had just run as a rumor and the fallout from that decision, and why I ran it in the first place. One of the things that I love about talking to Danny and Jody Hill and that whole North Carolina gang is that they’re film fans first, and a conversation with them turns into a free-ranging film nerd reference fest. Danny couldn’t stop laughing at the idea of “Terminator: Salvation” as an “El Cid” rehash, and that kicked us off into a conversation about original work versus remakes and sequels versus homage, and the idea of risk aversion in Hollywood filmmaking. I don’t know that I’d even call it an “interview,” since we spent so little time talking about “Land Of The Lost.”
Back on the set, I ran into Bo Welch, and I had a chance to tell him how overwhelmed I was by the sets of “Batman Returns” when I visited them back in the early ‘90s. They remain one of the most impressive builds I’ve ever seen, and on a scale that I’ve only ever seen a few films top. Welch struck me as a guy who has been through the wringer in Hollywood. His one film as a director was the wretched “Cat In The Hat,” and I still feel like it’s unfair to judge him as a filmmaker based on such an obviously studio-driven piece of cynical garbage. His episodes of the live-action “The Tick” were plenty funny, and he’s obviously got a huge visual imagination. Right now, though, my guess is that he was so beaten up by the experience behind the camera that he won’t direct again.
Frankly, I’m happy to see him still designing big movies, and I’m dying to see what his version of Asgard’s going to look like since he’s been hired to be the production designer on “Thor” for Marvel and Kenneth Branagh. That’s exciting.
Finally, before I wrapped for the day, I ran into Brad Silberling. I’ve met Brad before, and the last time we spoke was in the editing room for “Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events.” I’m fascinated by Brad, and I think he doesn’t get enough credit as one of the first guys to ever incorporate a CGI character into a feature film. And I’m not talking about a creature or a CGI single effect, either. When he directed “Casper,” no one even knew if a CGI-animated character could really work in a film, and he ended up making a film that starred four of them. ILM considered “Casper” a landmark when they made it, and for good reason… it was a proving ground for them, and much of what’s followed was because of the work they did there. Brad has a real eye for how to mix his effects and his live-action, and on a film like “Land,” that’s essential. My interview with Brad will wrap up my coverage of “Land” when it runs here at Ain’t It Cool on Friday.
For now, I’ll just say that I’m curious about the movie, and I am optimistic that at the very least, the people who worked on it were ambitious and determined to make something strange and crazy and different. Yes, they’re tapping into that same nostalgia that every studio is chasing these days, but they seem to understand that they have to make a movie, something we never could have seen on television, and that with this particular cast, they have permission to make it crazy without necessarily treating the world itself like a joke. It’s a tough nut to crack, but I think this is the right team to try, and the trailers so far look to me like they pulled off the film that everyone on-set described to me.
Look for the Sid & Marty interview on HitFix on Wednesday, and then I’ll see you back here on Friday to wrap things up with Brad.
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
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I'm fuckin' in!
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scriptgirl sucks
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Let him write for his own website! I thought he took his ball and went home to play with himself?? Why does he keep coming back here?
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And the bitch will go away.
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but theres no way users are gonna stop going in those shitty talkbacks looking at the shitty unfunny video...shes worse than that time harry posted excerpts from that crappy book (cue the family guy flashback)
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CGI and w/ Owen Wilson/Steve Buscemi voicing team-up. You know you are, too.
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boy was it a fun talkback. he got pretty mad over the hate too if i recall...ugh what the fuck was it called
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Apr 20, 2009 6:05:40 PM CDT
Apparently JP4 has ended up in the Land of the Lost...
by fa_tass_dinomolester
Moriarty, how about next time you're at Universal, ask what the fuck happened to "Jurassic Park IV", a franchise which Spielberg seems to have abandoned to sate his LaBoof fixation and make "The Secret of the Unicorn", which sounds like a half-assed Teletubbie episode. Just greenlight the damn movie, SPIELBERG! Make a prequel...make a musical, ya schmuck!
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Can't get rid of him. After his last wretched appearance here, wherein he vindictively insulted about 3/4 of the people on a particularly long talk, I'm surprised he's back for more. I think he showed his true character once and for all on that talkback, and it was not a particularly pleasant one. Hopefully he'll crawl away with his tail between his legs, but that's just wishful thinking. What a fucking leech he is.
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I've been reading AICN for many years now, and I have to say, that was one of the best articles I have read in a long time on this site. I find most articles on this site somewhat elitist and arrogant. This one seemed more genuine and informative. Thank you.
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How come we get the LOTS set visit but no part 3 for the Sherlock Holmes set visit?! And why am I the only one who seems concerned about this?! I feel like Kevin McCarthy in Body Snatchers over here!
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you made this big deal out of how you were leaving aicn for greener pastures (aka ew.com redux hitfix.com) then you won't leave because hitfix didn't click. IT'S FUCKING DISTRACTING!!!!
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I won't name names but I will say that it's sequel comes out May 26th of this year. So if you haven't Gone to the bookstore in awhile, that might be a good day to go.
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Is the Land of the lost supposed to be a comedy? a Drama? Serious or not too serious? I mean it was camp tv when I was a kid.
From the trailer it looks like typical Will Ferrel Fare. -
Mori provides some of the best materials that can be found on the site. I prefer Quint and Capone's reviews and interviews, but I always appreciate the depth, background and details that can be relied upon in a Mori submitted article.
To the Talkbackers who get offended that Mori is still around, then don't read the fucking articles, it's as simple as that. -
a good Land of the Lost could have been made? I mean, yes the series was bad, but like you said, it was "ambitious." It had great writers and great concepts. It was like an early episode of Dr. Who (seasons I or II) where the creative talents were not up to the same level as the basic idea or potential of the idea. But just because the original series was cheesy and not well down doesn't mean the movie automatically has to be campy and stupid.
That is just my two cents. -
What the hell did McWeeny name his kid again? I can't remember but it was like the most nerdtastic name ever. The kind of name that guarantees your kid will always be beat up and his head dumped into a toilet bowl.
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well, not directly, but JJ alludes to his review and this site.
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I think it was Leia's-Bikini Cardassian Deadite Harryhausen Killer-Croc Dave-Bowman It's Pronounced-"Igor" McWeeny...
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Apr 20, 2009 6:40:26 PM CDT
The last post referring to Continentalop's question obviously
by fa_tass_dinomolester
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deems the name of the unit publicist as important info. This story is 2300 words when it should be 1000. He talks with Bo Welch, Silberling, the Krofts and Danny McBride and quotes none of them? This shit gets you fired at a print magazine.
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That last movie Silberling did with Jimmy was boring as fuck. He should stick to his real life stories.
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Apr 20, 2009 6:48:56 PM CDT
Land of the Lost? Fuck That Shit...Dr. Shrinker Much more ambiti
by conspiracy
And you fucking know it! With its subversive sexual overtones, and themes of domination and control; Dr. Shrinker too this day twisted my mind in ways I both regret and am thankful for.
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Or perhaps Wicket?
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...movie damn it!
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Toshiro Lucas McWeeny. Funny, I was just talking to my wife about this yesterday when begging to name my son Carter or Carthoris or my daughter Dejah or Thuvia. She was unimpressed (despite my explanation for the appropriateness of these names) and I mentioned "Toshiro Lucas" and "Pilot Inspektor." I still lost the point, big time.
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Wasn't it Toshiro Lucas McWeeney? He's definitely called Toshi, I remember that much. I miss Mori writing regularly for this site. I don't like the format of HitFix so I never remember to catch up with his writing there, and this place is diminished by his absence.
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There was actually a pilot made a decade or so ago of a modern version..where Electra Woman is a bitter, boozy, sexed up Cougar...was gonna Star Markie Post...I'd have watched it..
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Get a job, Moriarty.
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Damn you Bicycle Sharer, damn you!
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You're not alone in thinking that this could have been good. This route is a real fucking shame. The general concept behind LOTL is great; it's the execution (past and present) that lacks.Great screen name, btw. LOVES me some Hammett (and Chandler). Joe Gores did a fantastic prequel to "The Maltese (almost wrote "Millenium") Falcon" - have you read it?
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Because I did this set visit last July. I was still employed by Ain't It Cool at the time. I also did set visits for "Terminator: Salvation" and the Ricky Gervais film "This Side Of The Truth" for AICN as well. I said when I moved to HitFix that there were still many articles for AICN that would show up this year, and look... sure enough... here's one of them. If I offend you so profoundly, feel free not to click on stories with my name in the headline. I'll cope.
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After one of the most effed up episodes of this great show, no Talkback? I know Im way off topic here. But can someone explain this?
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It was sheer luck, fast typing, and the fact that I'd just talked about that name (?!?!?) yesterday. Hand to God! And if McWeeney gets "Toshiro Lucas," I sure the fuck ought to get "Carter" or "Carthoris" or "Dejah" (but maybe not "Thuvia" - sounds like you've got a speech impediment when you say it). ;)
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Saturday morning ended at 11:59 when the BUGS BUNNY ROAD RUNNER SHOW ended.
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especially since George banned him from "The Ranch".
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Am I the only person who finds the shit currently on Saturday morning network tv complete, well, shit? Fuck, man, I remember the days of weekend prime time previews of a slate of bad ass shit that I was fucking ADD to see! Nowadays, I wake up, flip channels, see the dreck that kids are watching and mourn the past.
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Feel free to skip his stories. He'll be okay. (See above.) Good to know, right? Since everyone's so concerned with Moriarty's feelings.
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Telemundo and Galavision are always rolling out the big tittied women in bikinis on Saturday morning dancing to some Latin grooves so I cope...
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I couldn't even get through a half hour of it, and I'm easy.
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You're a better man than me. Ten minutes and I was fucking out of there. A theater, no less.
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In which Mori insulted half the posters. Personally, I loves me a slamfest in the talkbacks. I would much to enjoy reading it.
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I'm sure hitfix is doing SO well, it's gotten nothing but glowing reviews from talkbackers *sarcasm*
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Every single talkback he ever posted in?
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The book was called Gone and was the greatest Talkback in history, I miss that talkback. Having read the book, it descends into some bizzaro world involving sentient dogs and shit. He has a sequel coming out as well.
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That was Mori at his arrogant worst
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Laughable, as there was nothing dangerous at all in this movie. EVERYTHING is played for laughs, except nothing is that funny, at all. Easily one of the worst big budget summer movies ever made. Truly awful experience. And oh yeah, they got their ending from some dude at a friends and family screening back in the winter time. Totally bankrupt film, in every possible way. AND they cut Bob Balaban's character, at least in the cut I saw. Movie is incomprehensible.
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http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-motion-captured/posts/2009-4-6-the-motion-captured-interview-seth-rogen
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Or did I just completely miss it?
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...much like clitoris. Your kid would be doomed.
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Apr 20, 2009 7:34:15 PM CDT
INDIANA JONES AND THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN
by supercowbell4therequestformorecowbell
i wouldnt put it past speilberg and fatass
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Do not speak ill of Pac-Man, Saturday Supercade and Dragon's Lair.
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And so would an Electra-Woman and Dyna-Girl series.
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This isn't a slam against McWeeny but I don't get the point of these "on the set" articles. They're all the same no matter the film. 500 autobiographical words about what the project means to the writer followed up by the cool costumes and sets and blah...blah...blah. It is just so lame.
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This Land of the Lost looks like a classic case of lowest common denominator: Lets take a kids show and make it into a movie that is even more childish than anything the show ever did. I mean, it is camp and cheesy, therefore it could never be taken seriously (see G.I. Joe for the same conclusion).
As probably the least sci-fi interested guy here (I prefer crime, detective, thrillers and westerns to most sci-fi and super-hero movies) I ask those who have much more expertise in the matter: doesn't the premise of Land of the Lost have a lot more potential and possibilities than what they are doing? I mean, the idea of a place where things from different times and dimensions all come together, where dinosaurs and aliens and pirates and a lost race of lizard men all dwell, couldn't that be really cool or awesome if done right?
I am not asking for it to be treated ultra-serious like 2001 or Blade Runner, but at least treat it as respectable as Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean or even a Harry Potter flick. -
It wasn't nearly as nerdy or geeky as I thought. But a suggestion for him - I'd still get him into Silver Gloves boxing and BJJ when he gets old enough. You still have a good chance of being picked on when your name is Toshiro (or Toshi for short).
It is like the song A Boy Named Sue: "I knew you'd have to get tough or die/And it's the name that helped to make you strong." -
...they're gonna be calling him "Toshi My Salad".
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You've pretty much summed it up. They're basically a reason to justify accepting a cushy studio tour to get a behind-the-scenes look. By writing about it they can tell themselves it is business when it's nothing more than a self-indulgent fluff piece that gives the movie some extra press.
I read a little of McWeeny's first Sherlock Holmes visit but couldn't read much more because it was so self-indulgent. It was like, "I've been using the name Moriarty for years, and now I'm visiting the movie set of a film where some other guy's named Moriarty. The same guy I took the name from. I had to sit down to take a breather, to take it all in because it was blowing my mind, and making me a touch sad. And I bought some Sherlock Holmes stories to read on the plane, and again I saw the name Moriarty, and that's what I'm called. And I'm visiting the set where this story is being filmed, where this character Moriarty will be used. Do you see the irony? Do you? Do you see it?" -
"If you can build something, you can build it..."
Inspirational words.
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I got the quote wrong.
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LOL!!
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*LOL @ I read a little of McWeeny's first Sherlock Holmes visit but couldn't read much more because it was so self-indulgent. It was like, "I've been using the name Moriarty for years, and now I'm visiting the movie set of a film where some other guy's named Moriarty. The same guy I took the name from. I had to sit down to take a breather, to take it all in because it was blowing my mind, and making me a touch sad. And I bought some Sherlock Holmes stories to read on the plane, and again I saw the name Moriarty, and that's what I'm called. And I'm visiting the set where this story is being filmed, where this character Moriarty will be used. Do you see the irony? Do you? Do you see it?"
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Weird double-post aside, I'm digging the nick. There Will Be Blood, right?
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There Will Be Blood, yes.
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It's the underrated line which was overshadowed by "I drink your milkshake".
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...I donno, I thought it sounded kinda neat. Bobo IS proof there is life after The Prawn-James.
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It's THE line!
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Re: the weird double post - I just didn't want people to get confused at what joke of BoboCop's I was laughing at.
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I'm not sure what Prawn James is, but that sounds neat, too. Maybe because slightly drunk. Bastard in a blanket, it's okay to admit you laughed at the "Toshi my salad" joke. His last name is McWeeny. Trust me, that kid is gonna get reamed.
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bring back THE TICK
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Usually the one that wound up hung upside down inside of a locker. BoboKop that was pun-in-passing about LeBron James-they blurbed some biopic about him here on the site tonite. That's all.
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I want my live-action Herculoids movie. Harry as Tundro!
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CGI, Owen Wilson and Buscemi voices-make it so. Could be fun. Well why not??? it's not like they're actually making anything Original nowadays---
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Some fathers say to themselves, "I never want my kids to go through what I went through". But other fathers say to themselves, either consciously or subconsciously, "I suffered, and there's no way my kid is gonna have it easier than I did. He's gonna suffer, too, and his penis better not be bigger than mine, goddamn it!"
And his middle name is Lucas. He was inducted into the honorary society of neckbeards. LOL! -
Become Lucas McCain or some shit like that. You know-while we're honoring pop-culture types w/ our kids' names-Chuck Connors would prob. have enjoyed the shout-out. Then you could have little Luke Jr. there go that extra step and warble out 'Cindy's Birthday' just because it wouldn't be 1963 w/out it. Or call him 'Heinie Manush'. That always gets a rise up there in Cooperstown-
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also fuck you mori :)
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It sounds like you're speaking from experience!
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I am...that's why I drink. Goddamn you all you bastard dads!
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Apr 20, 2009 9:52:52 PM CDT
Will Ferrel screams a lot and runs around in his underpants
by nasty in the pasty
There, I saved you ten bucks.
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Always wandering around in his underpants and asking me if I want to wrestle in the tall grass in the backyard.
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"I love walking by a tour tram and waving at the tourists as they try desperately to figure out if I’m famous or not." And then later he goes to a fancy Los Angeles restaurant and leans up against the mazzarati outside while staring at the hot latino chick that walks by pretending to be a Hollywood player, hoping to get some action, but when she rolls her eyes while stifling her laughter, Moriarty mumbles "cunt" under his breath then follows her for a few blocks before dragging her to a dark alley, slitting her throat, and raping her dead corpse.
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you let these guys get to you EVERY TIME. Also, when does that Gervais movie come out?
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It's entirely possible you were being sarcastic with the question, but I'd posit that "the idea of a place where things from different times and dimensions all come together, where dinosaurs and aliens and pirates and a lost race of lizard men all dwell" isn't too far off a description for some of the ideas behind "LOST" (which is cool and awesome and well done to boot). I feel like if the new LOTL movie can capture some of the wonder and mystery of the original shows (-and this set visit indicates they're giving it a pretty good shot), give a sense of that immersive, anything-can-happen amusement ride vibe we got watching the intro, who cares if we can all have a good laugh along the way? High hopes!
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I remember reading Mori's parts one and two, but I never remember seeing the third part. Can anyone link it?
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Funniest... post... ever...
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I have seen the film, they give it no shot whatsoever. This movie was made with no script and no effort to do anything interesting, adventurous, or even funny. The movie is an embarrassment to all involved. Sid and Marty were actually at the screening I attended, they looked shell shocked afterward. The movie is a disaster of epic proportions. Be forewarned.
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Apr 21, 2009 12:14:05 AM CDT
"Nostalgia has made an entire generation incredibly stupid"
by bjornegar
Um, no.
That was George Lucas. With an assist from Steven Spielberg. -
Is the line. From the movie. Not picking a fight, just making you aware. Carry on.
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Meaning he wasted over 4000 words on this!
And he calls himself a writer.
No one who disrespects language - simply by using it - should be allowed to call themselves a writer. -
Tied with Dark Knight and Iron Man as best movies of '08. I'm very serious.
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I just prefer when he writes about movies I might actually see, not this shit sandwich.
perhaps next time... -
I'll defend that movie to my dying breath
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HARRYS SO AWESOME!
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For those talking about JURASSIC PARK and wondering what happened to Part 4, I'd say forget it -- it's dead and buried at this point. And I'll tell you why...Seriously, think about this: it's stunning how fast time flies. And right now the first JP film is 16 years old. Which means in 4 more years, which will surely fly by equally fast, that will make it a full TWENTY years old. Two full decades.In the eyes and minds of Hollywood execs, that's old -- and ripe for a remake/restart. So, I predict those 4 more years will pass with not much noise (allowing JP to turn 20), at which point Universal will start gearing up a full-fledged REMAKE -- basically touting that it will now be closer to the Crichton novel. And given production time and whatnot, on the 25th Anniversary of Spielberg's version, we'll see an all-new version of JURASSIC PARK premiere, to relaunch the franchise all over again.
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jurassic park came out 16 years ago...you just blew my mind man...all this time i wasted being broke.
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That movie rocked. Not to mention my Mom had recently died right before it opened, and the whole sense of family that the Wachowskis managed to get into that film was terrific. The freaking thing actually brought a tear to my eye during the climax, when Speed was closing in on the finish line and suddenly all the Racer family moments became a montage going through his head as he now realized what was most important in life. Great movie and TIME was right to name it one of the 10 Best Films of the Year.
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... don't bother. It's not about the work anymore. It's about being unpleasant for the sake of being unpleasant. It's about the fact that some people seem unable to understand the difference between "some talkbackers" and "all talkbackers." I've never... anywhere... under any article... at any point... said that all talkbackers are a problem. But do I think some talkbackers are virulent children who have absolutely bottomed out this forum? Absolutely.
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oh my god, I hate him!!!!!! my entire being is consumed with a hatred for some dude that used to write for a site that I look at sometimes...AAAAJHHHHHHHH!!!!!!you stupid fucks...
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You are not the only one who thinks that. This movie will be just another Will Ferrel silly shriek-fest, minus the charm and heart Favreau got out of him in Elf.
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for a childhood fascination, and be aware of its shortcomings, yet also recognizing its potential. And there is nothing wrong in expecting quality and a thoughtful adaptation or updating of a property, consider how much they charge for the price of admission.
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that the nostalgia indusrty is bullshit. Stuff isn't good merely because you remember it from your childhood. And all those who are now saying "morning TV isn't as good as it used to be" this is because YOU HAVE GROWN UP. The children of today love the programmes that are on saturday morning TV, the way YOU loved the programmes that were on when you were young. There is no "golden age" of childrens TV. The only thing that makes childrens TV good is nostalgia. And FUCK resurrecting some old piece of shit just because people REMEMBER it. Those same tools who now go around saying The A Team was brilliant will be followed in 20 years by similar douches claiming that Prison Break should be resurrected and wearing Michael Schofield t-shirts.
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to name his child Toshiro Lucas. And to continually piss on TBers.
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or Electra Woman and Dyna Girl
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Was different in the 80's. There wasn't 24 hour kiddie shit channels. You had to wait and time your life around it. That's nostalgia. And when the cartoons were over, Godzilla was on. Or something else not show on TV, today.
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"weren't" not "wasn't". My first typo. Hooray!
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Why did Mori not just type "I visited a movie set nah-nah-nah-nah-nah".
It would have saved me wasting time reading! -
"Shown" not "show"
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I hope Danny McBride does some more roles like his breakout in All The Real Girls. He's funny but he's been taking too many cues from Will Ferrell recently.
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-it was funny. They used to get flooded out every spring. Finally threw in the towel(trowel?) when the economy tanked last year. Do YOU know anyone who drives a Daewoo? Me neither.
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then I don't think you're actually human. Because believe me, I went in with an open mind. I was looking forward to some fun. I was ready for some blu ray eye candy. And I rarely, rarely leave movies or turn off movies I've rented. But it was just painful. Unwatchable.
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Lets not forget DR. SHRINKER, WONDERBUG, the SHAZAM/ISIS HOUR...to name a few.
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I hate you for leaving AICN! Seriously I always loved your writing and I do check out your stuff at Hitfix. It ain't easy having a blackbox, it's like having a target on your back. Just keep Bale in your heart and always strive for professionalism.
And kids, can we keep Toshi out of the Drew-bashing? Pick on someone who can actually type back. -
but the Hyundai Equus (available only in Korea) is fucking hot. Saw it at the auto show. Told that Hyundai rep they would be crazy not to bring that gorgeous car to America.
Not that I would buy one myself - I wouldn't be caught dead driving a frickin Hyundai. -
but I loved it when I was a kid. Same with The Dukes of Hazzard. That movie sucked as I'm sure The A-Team movie will suck. But, no one can tell me that Hong Kong Fooey was anything but awesome. Scatman Crothers as a Kung Fu dog! Now that's nostalgia.
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Okay I just threw up in my mouth.
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just let it go. Every time you respond to those guys you just prove their point.I know a guy who drives a Daewoo. He's had it for like 5 years now. Still works, strangely enough.
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I just took a quick internet search, and I discovered that these two guys were responsible for raping my childhood. I spent uncounted hours watching their shows on Saturdays and in reruns. I had no idea just how bad these shows were, and how much of them were influenced by LSD. The Kroffts claim that drug use had nothing to do with their shows, but that it total bullshit.
Just look at these shows. Are you telling me that 1969's "H.R. Pufnstuf" had nothing at all to do with drug use? A boy goes to a fantasy world filled with colorful creatures? Jesus Christ, I had no idea! Thank God my kids have "Dora the Explorer" and "Spongebob Squarepants" to look back on.
Family Affair (2002)
Land of the Lost (1991)
D.C. Follies (1987)
Pryor's Place (1984)
Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters (1980)
Pink Lady and Jeff (1980)
''The Krofft Superstar Hour (1978; aka The Bay City Rollers Show)
Horror Hotel
The Lost Island
The Brady Bunch Hour (1977)
The Krofft Supershow (1976)
Dr. Shrinker (1976)
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (1976)
Kaptain Kool and the Kongs (1976)
Wonderbug (1976)
Bigfoot and Wildboy (1977)
Magic Mondo (1977)
Donny & Marie (1976; aka The Osmond Family Show)
The Lost Saucer (1975)
Far Out Space Nuts (1975)
Land of the Lost (1974)
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973)
Lidsville (1971)
The Bugaloos (1970)
H.R. Pufnstuf (1969) -
...and there's also the "20-Year-Rule", the cultural phenomenon that whatever was popular in a given decade, becomes so again twenty-some-odd years later, (IE, in the 90's we seemed to have some 70's nostalgia, in the 2000's there's a lot of 80's stuff, so it follows that the 2010's will have some 90's pop elements return)...I'd actually be up for a more faithful adaptation of Crichton's novel. I'd love James Cameron to write or produce, but the chances of that happening aren't particularly good.
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I knew that there were some people out there who weren't mindless haters... I just didn't think that they'd be on the AICN talkbacks! Yeah, Speed Racer was fucking brilliant in every way. It just shocks me to hear such an intelligent opinion here.
I'd probably feel some of my hope for humanity returning right now if there weren't dumbfucks in this talkback who're already saying that Land of the Lost sucks because they don't think that it's "serious" enough.
LAND OF THE LOST isn't SERIOUS enough for you? LAND OF THE LOST is too CAMPY for you? How can YOU be fucking SERIOUS? Sheesh.
I guess there's always gonna be mindless hateration. -
Lets not forget this was right after the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show!!!
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Mitt Romney just rapes children.
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Just ignore the assholes, they are just jealous you have a much better job than they do. I always check out your stuff on Hitfix and welcome your presence here at AICN. I would love to give Land Of The Lost a chance, but I was really hoping for a good serious take on the material, not a comedy, but I will wait and see. Thanks for the article.
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besides..you gotta love those Mormon girls they are a nasty bunch, once you get the Holy Underwear off that is...careful though Joseph Smith says, "no pullin out allowed"...full creampie those girls.
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-----REALLY?
IT WAS PLAYED FOR CAMP ON THE FUKN TELEVISION SERIES!!!!!
---It was a Bull-Shit time slot fill In show to entertain the masses until The Bugs Bunny Road runner show came on!
BESIDES----
If you wanna see a "serious take" on the subject
Check out CONGO ( Just Pretend the White Monkey people were green lizard men)
----any of the King Kong or Jurassic park movies.
Yeah some of them were made before or after Land of the Lost But they do have similar themes----But much more "SERIOUS"--Whatevr the Hell that means -
-----REALLY?
IT WAS PLAYED FOR CAMP ON THE FUKN TELEVISION SERIES!!!!!
---It was a Bull-Shit time slot fill In show to entertain the masses until The Bugs Bunny Road runner show came on!
BESIDES----
If you wanna see a "serious take" on the subject
Check out CONGO ( Just Pretend the White Monkey people were green lizard men)
----any of the King Kong or Jurassic park movies.
Yeah some of them were made before or after Land of the Lost But they do have similar themes----But much more "SERIOUS"--Whatevr the Hell that means -
Despite the show's limited budget, it had an epic scope. And it had some really talented minds working on the show: Larry Niven (Theodore Sturgeon, Ben Bova, Harlan Ellis, Norman Spinrad, and a bunch of people from Star Trek like story editor David Gerrold. The budget of the original series never could match the vision and ambition of those earlier writers, so why not try to match them now?
Plus, the majority of interest for a big budget version of Land of the Lost would be from the former fans of the show. Do they want to see a campy version that mocks what they liked as a child, or a film that updates something they loved into something they can enjoy as an adult and not feel guilty or embarrassed? I mean, they could of had Tony Stark wearing his Iron Man breast plate under his shirt, moaning about how he can never tell Pepper he loves her because of the breast plate and had him fight such campy foes as Melter, Mr. Pain and Red Barbarian but instead they made Iron Man "serious." -
There really WAS/IS a golden age of Saturday Morning tv, back when you could watch shows like JOHNNY QUEST that, you know, featured villains and action sequences and adventure against actual consequential enemies in bizarre lands. Kids might love what they've been given, but kids have changed too. Now, they're told it's too dangerous to even go outside or play in the woods. They're told they have to be 15 and up to even set foot outside alone. And they love plastic and don't know where to find America on a world map. Of course they love what they're given - it's all they have. They're not allowed to have characters who interact with eachother (most especially not across generational guidelines - what kind of lame kid is Johnny that he hangs out with his DAD? KIDZRULEWTFZOMG?) And now, in the words of every JOHNNY QUEST villain "AIIIEEE!"
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Actually, I can name quite a few recent cartoon series, as well as from the past four or five decades, which are rather excellent.
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You are shouting into the wind. They don't read and or attempt to comprehend any of the arguments in the threads. They just think they are the first to notice that the original was "campy" and insist upon belaboring the point. And they seem to think that we weren't aware, even as children, of the shortcomings of it's presentation, but that's where the imagination fills the gap, anyway. I knew it looked cheap, but it definitely had a palpably creepy ambience, more so than campy.Also, I don't understand why they are stating that it should be a campy reimagining. Why camp it up, it the original is even more so, in their estimation? There would be no point in the remake.
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look like they're about to break into a dance routine. Fucktarded.
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