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    <title>Date Movie's Recent Activity - Spout</title>
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      <title>Film:Date Movie</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/films/Date_Movie/269841/default.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<table width='100%' style='font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><tr><td><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t79659jyum1.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' /></td>
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<strong>Title:</strong> Date Movie<br/>
<strong>Year:</strong> 2006<br/>
<strong>Director:</strong> Aaron Seltzer, Jason Friedberg<br/>
<strong>Plot:</strong> The glorious Hollywood institution of the romantic comedy gets raked over the coals in this broad parody of any number of boy-meets-girl flicks. Julia Jones (<a href="/players/P____30191/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Alyson Hannigan</a>) is a young woman who wants nothing more than to find the man of her dreams and settle down. However, Julia has a rather serious weight problem that prevents her from making a positive impression on people. Determined to find love at all costs, Julia somehow drops the weight and meets Grant Fonckyerdoder (Adam Campbell), a handsome and charming Englishman who falls head over heels for her. Julia and Grant waste no time in setting the date, but until they make their way to the altar they have to deal with meddling parents, flaky wedding planners, fights over the right wedding dress, vertically challenged romantic advisors, and Andy (Sophie Monk), a longtime friend of Grant, who isn't so happy to hear he's getting hitched. Also featuring <a href="/players/P____76341/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Fred Willard</a>, <a href="/players/P___225744/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jennifer Coolidge</a>, <a href="/players/P____28790/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Eddie Griffin</a>, and Tony Cox, Date Movie was written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, proudly billed as "two of the six writers of <a href=/films/135325/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Scary Movie</a>." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide<br/>
<strong>Times Tagged:</strong> 23<br/>
<strong>Number of Lists:</strong> 11<br/>
<strong>Number of blog posts:</strong> 2<br/>
<strong>SpoutRating:</strong> 1<br/>
</td></tr></table>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:08:24 GMT</pubDate><spout:Title>Date Movie</spout:Title><spout:Year>2006</spout:Year><spout:Director>Aaron Seltzer, Jason Friedberg</spout:Director><spout:Plot>The glorious Hollywood institution of the romantic comedy gets raked over the coals in this broad parody of any number of boy-meets-girl flicks. Julia Jones (&lt;a href="/players/P____30191/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Alyson Hannigan&lt;/a&gt;) is a young woman who wants nothing more than to find the man of her dreams and settle down. However, Julia has a rather serious weight problem that prevents her from making a positive impression on people. Determined to find love at all costs, Julia somehow drops the weight and meets Grant Fonckyerdoder (Adam Campbell), a handsome and charming Englishman who falls head over heels for her. Julia and Grant waste no time in setting the date, but until they make their way to the altar they have to deal with meddling parents, flaky wedding planners, fights over the right wedding dress, vertically challenged romantic advisors, and Andy (Sophie Monk), a longtime friend of Grant, who isn't so happy to hear he's getting hitched. Also featuring &lt;a href="/players/P____76341/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Fred Willard&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="/players/P___225744/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Jennifer Coolidge&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="/players/P____28790/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Eddie Griffin&lt;/a&gt;, and Tony Cox, Date Movie was written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, proudly billed as "two of the six writers of &lt;a href=/films/135325/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Scary Movie&lt;/a&gt;." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide</spout:Plot><spout:TimesTagged>23</spout:TimesTagged><spout:taglevel>Tag Target (&gt;10)</spout:taglevel><spout:Numberoflists>11</spout:Numberoflists><spout:NumberOfBlogPosts>2</spout:NumberOfBlogPosts><spout:SpoutRating>1</spout:SpoutRating><spout:FilmCoverURL>http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t79659jyum1.jpg</spout:FilmCoverURL><spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL>http://www.spout.com/films/Date_Movie/269841/default.aspx</spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL><spout:type>Film</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Is parody on life support?</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/usesoap/archive/2008/3/27/26656.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t79659jyum1.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/113227/default.aspx'>usesoap</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/usesoap/default.aspx'>usesoap Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 3/27/2008 2:30:32 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Cinematic parody as it once was is dead. And after much searching and researching, I have found the murderer of this under-appreciated sub-genre of filmmaking.  It&rsquo;s Waldo.  Oh sure, the bespectacled, striped-ski-cap-sporting little geek likes to appear anonymous, but I am positive he is to blame for the current slate of &ldquo;Movie&rdquo; movies: &ldquo;Epic Movie,&rdquo; &rdquo;Date Movie&rdquo; and, most recently, &ldquo;Superhero Movie.&rdquo;  If he&rsquo;s not guilty, ask yourself this, why is he always hiding? You see, it is my assertion that the latest generation of filmgoers was weaned on Waldo in their youths. At an early age, they were trained to snoop and search page after page for the skinny little dweeb, and they approach these films much the same way. &ldquo;Hey, there&rsquo;s Borat!&rdquo; &ldquo;Oh, that&rsquo;s a reference to &lsquo;Pirates of the Caribbean.&rsquo;&rdquo; They do not concern themselves with narrative, character development, plot, rationality, common sense or any other law, be it cinematic or logic. Just throw in a quick bodily function gag or a hip-hop reference and they are pacified.This sad state rests solely on the scrawny shoulders of that elusive little nerd who populates the books of their youth. &ldquo;Oh, there&rsquo;s Waldo in Paris!&rdquo; &ldquo;Hey, isn&rsquo;t that Waldo in Tiananmen Square?&rdquo; The page is simply turned and the search begins anew. The declineIt&rsquo;s easy to vilify Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer (the comedically bankrupt  parents of such lowest-common-denominator fare as &ldquo;Date Movie,&rdquo; &ldquo;Epic Movie&rdquo; and &ldquo;Meet the Spartans&rdquo;) , or one of the 8,000 writers of the original &ldquo;Scary Movie&rdquo;  (7, 629 of which were Wayans siblings).. But they are merely feeding the audience what it apparently wants. How else can you explain the fact that an intelligent (if flawed) stab at actual parody, &ldquo;Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,&rdquo; which actually harkened back to the days of &ldquo;Airplane!&rdquo; and &ldquo;Naked Gun,&rdquo; blinked in and out of theaters while the bottom-feeding &ldquo;Spartans&rdquo; landed atop the box office, making in its opening weekend almost what &ldquo;Cox&rdquo; earned in its entire theatrical run?   &ldquo;Cox&rdquo; took the route traveled by the founding fathers of parody (that would be both Mel Brooks and the creative team of Jerry  Zucker, Jim Abraham and David Zucker &ndash; collectively known as ZAZ), which meant building an original character based on a cinematic archetype and structuring a cohesive plot that had purpose. Conversely, &ldquo;Spartans&rdquo; merely planted actors who not only resembled their previous on-screen doppelgangers, but sometimes merely kept their original names in case it was too difficult for the audience to get it. Then plopped them in nearly identical settings and allowed someone to break wind, vomit, belch or breakdance (or any combination thereof).  Now, apparently, mere imitation is the new parody. Storylines are cobbled with the only motive of tying the countless references crammed inside (&ldquo;Spartans&rdquo; mocks not only films like &ldquo;300,&rdquo; &ldquo;Rambo,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Transformers,&rdquo; but also makes room for television shows such as &ldquo;American Idol,&rdquo; &ldquo;Heroes&rdquo; and &ldquo;Ugly Betty,&rdquo; video games, commercials and even the MTV Music Video Awards). It&rsquo;s the cinematic equivalent to sitting on the couch with someone who cannot stop flipping channels with the remote. The legacyDone properly, the parody film can enrich a generation with its writing. &ldquo;Surely you can&rsquo;t be serious?&rdquo; you say. And any movie-lover worth his or her salt should be able to adequately answer that question.Take a look at some of these iconic statements made in parody films throughout the ages:&middot;         &ldquo;Badges? We don&#39;t need no stinking badges!&rdquo; (Blazing Saddles, 1974)&middot;         &ldquo;Wait, Master. It may be dangerous. You go first!&rdquo; (Young Frankenstein. 1974)&middot;         &ldquo;Go away or I shall taunt you a second time. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!&rdquo; (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975)&middot;         &ldquo;       &ldquo; (Silent Movie, 1976)&middot;         &ldquo;Joey, have you ever been to a Turkish prison?&rdquo; (Airplane! 1980)&middot;         &ldquo;I know a little German&hellip; He&#39;s sitting over there.&rdquo; (Top Secret!, 1984)&middot;         &ldquo;Jane, since I&#39;ve met you I&#39;ve noticed things that I never knew were there before: birds singing, dew glistening on a newly formed leaf, stoplights&rdquo; (Naked Gun, 1988)&middot;         &ldquo;My eyes are ceramic. Caught a bazooka round at Little Big Horn. Or was it Okinawa? The one without the Indians.&rdquo; (Hot Shots, 1991)   The future?Has the eulogy been written for the parody, an archaic artifact left best to the memory, or is there a phoenix-like future for the genre? &ldquo;Superhero Movie&rdquo; does not inspire much hope. While it does boast a production credit from &ldquo;Airplane&rsquo;s&rdquo; David Zucker, it was written and directed by Craig Mazin, who, aside from penning the latest two &ldquo;Scary Movie&rdquo; installments, has a handful of other minor credits to his name. Really, it does not matter who is behind the lens or the script of such films, as realized by &ldquo;Dewey Cox,&rdquo; which was backed by current comic &ldquo;it-boy&rdquo; Judd Apatow. No, I think any future hope for the parody film to make a comeback will rest in the homes of those raised on the exploits of Lt. Frank Drebin, Ted Striker, Hedly Lamarr, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (&ldquo;that&rsquo;s Franken-steen!&rdquo;) and others who not only made us laugh, but made indelible marks in our cinematic psyche. For they now have children of their own who may one day demand a bit more sophistication with their humor and need to no longer help their children find that globe-trotting geek so innocently named Waldo and stop him in his tracks before he kills again.The future of comedy as you once knew may just depend on it.   <br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:30:32 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>usesoap</spout:postby><spout:postto>usesoap Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>3/27/2008 2:30:32 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Cinematic parody as it once was is dead. And after much searching and researching, I have found the murderer of this under-appreciated sub-genre of filmmaking.  It&amp;rsquo;s Waldo.  Oh sure, the bespectacled, striped-ski-cap-sporting little geek likes to appear anonymous, but I am positive he is to blame for the current slate of &amp;ldquo;Movie&amp;rdquo; movies: &amp;ldquo;Epic Movie,&amp;rdquo; &amp;rdquo;Date Movie&amp;rdquo; and, most recently, &amp;ldquo;Superhero Movie.&amp;rdquo;  If he&amp;rsquo;s not guilty, ask yourself this, why is he always hiding? You see, it is my assertion that the latest generation of filmgoers was weaned on Waldo in their youths. At an early age, they were trained to snoop and search page after page for the skinny little dweeb, and they approach these films much the same way. &amp;ldquo;Hey, there&amp;rsquo;s Borat!&amp;rdquo; &amp;ldquo;Oh, that&amp;rsquo;s a reference to &amp;lsquo;Pirates of the Caribbean.&amp;rsquo;&amp;rdquo; They do not concern themselves with narrative, character development, plot, rationality, common sense or any other law, be it cinematic or logic. Just throw in a quick bodily function gag or a hip-hop reference and they are pacified.This sad state rests solely on the scrawny shoulders of that elusive little nerd who populates the books of their youth. &amp;ldquo;Oh, there&amp;rsquo;s Waldo in Paris!&amp;rdquo; &amp;ldquo;Hey, isn&amp;rsquo;t that Waldo in Tiananmen Square?&amp;rdquo; The page is simply turned and the search begins anew. The declineIt&amp;rsquo;s easy to vilify Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer (the comedically bankrupt  parents of such lowest-common-denominator fare as &amp;ldquo;Date Movie,&amp;rdquo; &amp;ldquo;Epic Movie&amp;rdquo; and &amp;ldquo;Meet the Spartans&amp;rdquo;) , or one of the 8,000 writers of the original &amp;ldquo;Scary Movie&amp;rdquo;  (7, 629 of which were Wayans siblings).. But they are merely feeding the audience what it apparently wants. How else can you explain the fact that an intelligent (if flawed) stab at actual parody, &amp;ldquo;Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,&amp;rdquo; which actually harkened back to the days of &amp;ldquo;Airplane!&amp;rdquo; and &amp;ldquo;Naked Gun,&amp;rdquo; blinked in and out of theaters while the bottom-feeding &amp;ldquo;Spartans&amp;rdquo; landed atop the box office, making in its opening weekend almost what &amp;ldquo;Cox&amp;rdquo; earned in its entire theatrical run?   &amp;ldquo;Cox&amp;rdquo; took the route traveled by the founding fathers of parody (that would be both Mel Brooks and the creative team of Jerry  Zucker, Jim Abraham and David Zucker &amp;ndash; collectively known as ZAZ), which meant building an original character based on a cinematic archetype and structuring a cohesive plot that had purpose. Conversely, &amp;ldquo;Spartans&amp;rdquo; merely planted actors who not only resembled their previous on-screen doppelgangers, but sometimes merely kept their original names in case it was too difficult for the audience to get it. Then plopped them in nearly identical settings and allowed someone to break wind, vomit, belch or breakdance (or any combination thereof).  Now, apparently, mere imitation is the new parody. Storylines are cobbled with the only motive of tying the countless references crammed inside (&amp;ldquo;Spartans&amp;rdquo; mocks not only films like &amp;ldquo;300,&amp;rdquo; &amp;ldquo;Rambo,&amp;rdquo; and &amp;ldquo;Transformers,&amp;rdquo; but also makes room for television shows such as &amp;ldquo;American Idol,&amp;rdquo; &amp;ldquo;Heroes&amp;rdquo; and &amp;ldquo;Ugly Betty,&amp;rdquo; video games, commercials and even the MTV Music Video Awards). It&amp;rsquo;s the cinematic equivalent to sitting on the couch with someone who cannot stop flipping channels with the remote. The legacyDone properly, the parody film can enrich a generation with its writing. &amp;ldquo;Surely you can&amp;rsquo;t be serious?&amp;rdquo; you say. And any movie-lover worth his or her salt should be able to adequately answer that question.Take a look at some of these iconic statements made in parody films throughout the ages:&amp;middot;         &amp;ldquo;Badges? We don&amp;#39;t need no stinking badges!&amp;rdquo; (Blazing Saddles, 1974)&amp;middot;         &amp;ldquo;Wait, Master. It may be dangerous. You go first!&amp;rdquo; (Young Frankenstein. 1974)&amp;middot;         &amp;ldquo;Go away or I shall taunt you a second time. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!&amp;rdquo; (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975)&amp;middot;         &amp;ldquo;       &amp;ldquo; (Silent Movie, 1976)&amp;middot;         &amp;ldquo;Joey, have you ever been to a Turkish prison?&amp;rdquo; (Airplane! 1980)&amp;middot;         &amp;ldquo;I know a little German&amp;hellip; He&amp;#39;s sitting over there.&amp;rdquo; (Top Secret!, 1984)&amp;middot;         &amp;ldquo;Jane, since I&amp;#39;ve met you I&amp;#39;ve noticed things that I never knew were there before: birds singing, dew glistening on a newly formed leaf, stoplights&amp;rdquo; (Naked Gun, 1988)&amp;middot;         &amp;ldquo;My eyes are ceramic. Caught a bazooka round at Little Big Horn. Or was it Okinawa? The one without the Indians.&amp;rdquo; (Hot Shots, 1991)   The future?Has the eulogy been written for the parody, an archaic artifact left best to the memory, or is there a phoenix-like future for the genre? &amp;ldquo;Superhero Movie&amp;rdquo; does not inspire much hope. While it does boast a production credit from &amp;ldquo;Airplane&amp;rsquo;s&amp;rdquo; David Zucker, it was written and directed by Craig Mazin, who, aside from penning the latest two &amp;ldquo;Scary Movie&amp;rdquo; installments, has a handful of other minor credits to his name. Really, it does not matter who is behind the lens or the script of such films, as realized by &amp;ldquo;Dewey Cox,&amp;rdquo; which was backed by current comic &amp;ldquo;it-boy&amp;rdquo; Judd Apatow. No, I think any future hope for the parody film to make a comeback will rest in the homes of those raised on the exploits of Lt. Frank Drebin, Ted Striker, Hedly Lamarr, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (&amp;ldquo;that&amp;rsquo;s Franken-steen!&amp;rdquo;) and others who not only made us laugh, but made indelible marks in our cinematic psyche. For they now have children of their own who may one day demand a bit more sophistication with their humor and need to no longer help their children find that globe-trotting geek so innocently named Waldo and stop him in his tracks before he kills again.The future of comedy as you once knew may just depend on it.   </spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Homage vs. Spoof - Sponsored by Quentin Tarantino</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/gradysghost/archive/2007/5/19/9024.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t79659jyum1.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/15574/default.aspx'>GradysGhost</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/gradysghost/default.aspx'>GradysGhost Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 5/19/2007 8:06:00 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Have you ever seen Murder By Death?  I have.  I watched it last night.  It&#39;s a "dinner-and-a-murder" caper written by Neil Simon.  Really, it&#39;s almost a spoof of capers, but that&#39;s a hard call to make because capers are spoofs of murder mysteries.  Or homages.  One of the two.Where&#39;s the distinction?  Where does one cross the line between spoof and homage.  Lemme go to the dictionary.My Dictionary tells me that homage (which can be pronounced "hom-ij" or "ohm-azh") is "respect or reverence paid or rendered" and that a spoof is "a mocking imitation of someone or something, usually light and good-humored; lampoon or parody."  So the difference is respect?I beg to differ.  A spoof can be respectful.  Look at The Naked Gun: From the FIles of Police Squad.  The Zuckers and Jim Abraham (ZAZ as they have been known to be called) are clearly poking fun at cop movie and TV shows (since Naked Gun started out as Police Squad, a thirty-minute television program that only lasted six episodes).  But I think they do it respectfully.  As in the source material, the Naked Gun series&#39; Frank Drebin always gets the bad guy at the last second, usually at gunpoint, and always gets the girl (who is always Jane).  Even though the films tend to disparage police since the main character is a bumbling idiot, they never seem to forget where they came from.Often with spoofs - and this has become painfully obvious lately with disasters like Date Movie and Epic Movie - entire scenes from original material will be played out by different actors.  One scene in Scary Movie (title trend duly noted, guys) even mentions that it&#39;s all just a scene from another movie.  How respecful is that?  If I recall, they even mention that movie&#39;s title - Scream, of course.  If respect had been eliminated from Scary Movie, I would probably have been the first to flare up in anger considering Scream is one of my all-time favorites, and probably one of the most brilliant horror films ever (I&#39;ll be talking about metafiction soon, methinks).In regards to homage, I&#39;ll provide the example Shaun of the Dead.  Two unsuspecting losers find themselves hungover in a town full of stupid, slow zombies.  The film pays respects to just about any zombie flick that came before it, most notably Night of the Living Dead.  The title, after all, is a play on one of Night&#39;s sequels and was probably a play on the popularity of Stuart Gordon&#39;s zombie flick released about the same time, Dawn of the Dead.  The difference between Shaun of the Dead and The Naked Gun (besides the fundamental fact that we&#39;re comparing cop movies to zombie features; I would compare it to Hot Fuzz, but I have yet to see it and it&#39;s just not fair to compare movies you haven&#39;t seen)?  Shaun of the Dead was executed more stylistically similar to the films it credits.  The Naked Gun series, indeed most of ZAZ&#39;s combined and individual efforts, have a style of their own.Also, when you laugh at Naked Gun or Scary Movie or Not Another Teen Movie, you&#39;re usually laughing at the idea that they really are making fun of something.  When you laugh at Shaun of the Dead, you&#39;re not.  The jokes are original.Maybe that&#39;s the root of it all - a spoof and an homage are really the same thing with only one difference.  A spoof needs to be funny (or attempt to be).  An homage does not.Humor doesn&#39;t hurt, as Quentin Tarantino has shown us.  I laugh when I watch Kill Bill.  Because it&#39;s a direct throwback to other movies that people adore and despise as much as any other, yet it feels so comfortable and natural to watch it.  You don&#39;t feel bad about laughing the way you do when you laugh at movies like Spider-man 3 in the middle of a theater full of people who seem to be actually enjoying it seriously (cue caterpillar-esque lip-quiver).Tarantino is a writer/director, though who makes me question his originality.  Does he actually write original screenplays and direct original movies when so much of each film he makes is grounded in movies made before his birth?  Does that make him derivative?  All he seems to do is make homages to other directors, but I like them all the same, even if I didn&#39;t like the movies they&#39;re referencing.  That must have something to do with the true nature of homage, then.  There&#39;s got to be something original in it.  I guess I would say that Tarantino is original by way of being derivative.  There&#39;s enough there to say, "This is just like that one movie!" but enough there to say, "This is definitely a Tarantino film."Wow.  I got pretty far astray from where I started here.Murder By Death - spoof or tribute?  Hard to say.Not to spoil the movie if you&#39;ve never seen it, but at the very end, after all five detectives (who are all based strongly on other famous fiction detectives - Sam Spade, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, et al) make their wagers on the killer, and the butler is revealed to be Lionel Twain (Truman Capote), Twain actually stands up to reveal his motive was to get back at all the terrible endings to mystery novels and movies ("where the killer is a character who hasn&#39;t even been introduced until five pages from the end"), a screenwriting move that makes Twain&#39;s character completely break free of the realm of the movie.  Never before had it been mentioned that the detectives were actually based on other fictional characters.  You just assumed it.  Because it&#39;s a spoof.  Or an homage.  Or something.  It is this pivotal moment in the film that makes me unable to determine whether Murder By Death is simply farce or tribute.  The fact that Lionel Twain is played by Truman Capote - a real-life novelist who even wrote a book called In Cold Blood which was a real-life murder mystery - convolutes my brain with thoughts of metafiction (will get to discuss this later when my thoughts subside a bit).Because of the lack of distinction here, I can&#39;t give this movie anything but a mediocre rating.  But it really did make me think.  Something that most comedies can&#39;t make me do.I&#39;m all confused.  Anybody have thoughts on this?<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2007 12:06:00 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>GradysGhost</spout:postby><spout:postto>GradysGhost Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>5/19/2007 8:06:00 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Have you ever seen Murder By Death?  I have.  I watched it last night.  It&amp;#39;s a "dinner-and-a-murder" caper written by Neil Simon.  Really, it&amp;#39;s almost a spoof of capers, but that&amp;#39;s a hard call to make because capers are spoofs of murder mysteries.  Or homages.  One of the two.Where&amp;#39;s the distinction?  Where does one cross the line between spoof and homage.  Lemme go to the dictionary.My Dictionary tells me that homage (which can be pronounced "hom-ij" or "ohm-azh") is "respect or reverence paid or rendered" and that a spoof is "a mocking imitation of someone or something, usually light and good-humored; lampoon or parody."  So the difference is respect?I beg to differ.  A spoof can be respectful.  Look at The Naked Gun: From the FIles of Police Squad.  The Zuckers and Jim Abraham (ZAZ as they have been known to be called) are clearly poking fun at cop movie and TV shows (since Naked Gun started out as Police Squad, a thirty-minute television program that only lasted six episodes).  But I think they do it respectfully.  As in the source material, the Naked Gun series&amp;#39; Frank Drebin always gets the bad guy at the last second, usually at gunpoint, and always gets the girl (who is always Jane).  Even though the films tend to disparage police since the main character is a bumbling idiot, they never seem to forget where they came from.Often with spoofs - and this has become painfully obvious lately with disasters like Date Movie and Epic Movie - entire scenes from original material will be played out by different actors.  One scene in Scary Movie (title trend duly noted, guys) even mentions that it&amp;#39;s all just a scene from another movie.  How respecful is that?  If I recall, they even mention that movie&amp;#39;s title - Scream, of course.  If respect had been eliminated from Scary Movie, I would probably have been the first to flare up in anger considering Scream is one of my all-time favorites, and probably one of the most brilliant horror films ever (I&amp;#39;ll be talking about metafiction soon, methinks).In regards to homage, I&amp;#39;ll provide the example Shaun of the Dead.  Two unsuspecting losers find themselves hungover in a town full of stupid, slow zombies.  The film pays respects to just about any zombie flick that came before it, most notably Night of the Living Dead.  The title, after all, is a play on one of Night&amp;#39;s sequels and was probably a play on the popularity of Stuart Gordon&amp;#39;s zombie flick released about the same time, Dawn of the Dead.  The difference between Shaun of the Dead and The Naked Gun (besides the fundamental fact that we&amp;#39;re comparing cop movies to zombie features; I would compare it to Hot Fuzz, but I have yet to see it and it&amp;#39;s just not fair to compare movies you haven&amp;#39;t seen)?  Shaun of the Dead was executed more stylistically similar to the films it credits.  The Naked Gun series, indeed most of ZAZ&amp;#39;s combined and individual efforts, have a style of their own.Also, when you laugh at Naked Gun or Scary Movie or Not Another Teen Movie, you&amp;#39;re usually laughing at the idea that they really are making fun of something.  When you laugh at Shaun of the Dead, you&amp;#39;re not.  The jokes are original.Maybe that&amp;#39;s the root of it all - a spoof and an homage are really the same thing with only one difference.  A spoof needs to be funny (or attempt to be).  An homage does not.Humor doesn&amp;#39;t hurt, as Quentin Tarantino has shown us.  I laugh when I watch Kill Bill.  Because it&amp;#39;s a direct throwback to other movies that people adore and despise as much as any other, yet it feels so comfortable and natural to watch it.  You don&amp;#39;t feel bad about laughing the way you do when you laugh at movies like Spider-man 3 in the middle of a theater full of people who seem to be actually enjoying it seriously (cue caterpillar-esque lip-quiver).Tarantino is a writer/director, though who makes me question his originality.  Does he actually write original screenplays and direct original movies when so much of each film he makes is grounded in movies made before his birth?  Does that make him derivative?  All he seems to do is make homages to other directors, but I like them all the same, even if I didn&amp;#39;t like the movies they&amp;#39;re referencing.  That must have something to do with the true nature of homage, then.  There&amp;#39;s got to be something original in it.  I guess I would say that Tarantino is original by way of being derivative.  There&amp;#39;s enough there to say, "This is just like that one movie!" but enough there to say, "This is definitely a Tarantino film."Wow.  I got pretty far astray from where I started here.Murder By Death - spoof or tribute?  Hard to say.Not to spoil the movie if you&amp;#39;ve never seen it, but at the very end, after all five detectives (who are all based strongly on other famous fiction detectives - Sam Spade, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, et al) make their wagers on the killer, and the butler is revealed to be Lionel Twain (Truman Capote), Twain actually stands up to reveal his motive was to get back at all the terrible endings to mystery novels and movies ("where the killer is a character who hasn&amp;#39;t even been introduced until five pages from the end"), a screenwriting move that makes Twain&amp;#39;s character completely break free of the realm of the movie.  Never before had it been mentioned that the detectives were actually based on other fictional characters.  You just assumed it.  Because it&amp;#39;s a spoof.  Or an homage.  Or something.  It is this pivotal moment in the film that makes me unable to determine whether Murder By Death is simply farce or tribute.  The fact that Lionel Twain is played by Truman Capote - a real-life novelist who even wrote a book called In Cold Blood which was a real-life murder mystery - convolutes my brain with thoughts of metafiction (will get to discuss this later when my thoughts subside a bit).Because of the lack of distinction here, I can&amp;#39;t give this movie anything but a mediocre rating.  But it really did make me think.  Something that most comedies can&amp;#39;t make me do.I&amp;#39;m all confused.  Anybody have thoughts on this?</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:funny</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/funny/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/funny/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>funny</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 609</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 317</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 942</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:10:58 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>609</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>317</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>942</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:comedy</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/comedy/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/comedy/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>comedy</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 1087</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 253</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 1342</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:38:30 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>1087</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>253</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>1342</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:romance</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/romance/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/romance/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>romance</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 7163</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 169</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 1005</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:16:35 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>7163</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>169</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>1005</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:movie</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/movie/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/movie/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>movie</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 364</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 115</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 188</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:57:46 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>364</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>115</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>188</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:money</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/money/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/money/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>money</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 508</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 46</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 145</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:03:25 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>508</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>46</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>145</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:horrible</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/horrible/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/horrible/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>horrible</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 72</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 42</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 73</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:19:31 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>72</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>42</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>73</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:humor</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/humor/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/humor/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>humor</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 207</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 34</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 55</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:22:49 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>207</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>34</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>55</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:spoof</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/spoof/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/spoof/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>spoof</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 48</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 34</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 71</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:11:30 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>48</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>34</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>71</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:brutal</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/brutal/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/brutal/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>brutal</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 27</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 27</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 36</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:05:36 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>27</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>27</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>36</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:your</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/your/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/your/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>your</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 16</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 16</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 16</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2008 06:48:53 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>16</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>16</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>16</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:BadAss</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/BadAss/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/BadAss/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>BadAss</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 19</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 14</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 22</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:12:48 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>19</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>14</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>22</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:worst</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/worst/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/worst/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>worst</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 18</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 11</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 18</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:45:27 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>18</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>11</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>18</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:pathetic</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/pathetic/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/pathetic/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>pathetic</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 13</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 10</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 14</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:36:41 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>13</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>10</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>14</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:not-funny</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/not-funny/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/not-funny/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>not-funny</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 12</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 9</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 14</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:49:19 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>12</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>9</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>14</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:loveatfirstsight</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/loveatfirstsight/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/loveatfirstsight/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>loveatfirstsight</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 48</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 8</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 10</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:04:24 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>48</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>8</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>10</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
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