list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Teen Wolf on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Teen_Wolf/34321/default.aspx Title: Teen Wolf
Year: 1985
Director: Rod Daniel
Plot: After sitting on the shelf for some time, Teen Wolf was released on the heels of the hugely successful Back to the Future in an attempt to cash in on the huge popularity of star Michael J. Fox. Teen Wolf chronicles the plight of Fox as a small-town nerd who can't seem to score a basket on the court or a point with his dream girl. Things change, however, once he discovers his family's hereditary secret, lycanthrope. As he begins to look hairier and hairier, his team begins to win basketball games and his dream girl begins to show interest in his unusual talent. His story does not progress without complications, however. His best friend, an opportunistic weasel, begins to exploit him beyond his limits of toleration, and his dream girl is captive to the requisite bully boyfriend, who, of course, captains the arch-rival basketball team. And then, to top it all off, Fox's other best friend is in love with him. Unbelievably, this film was a box-office success and eventually inspired an even worse sequel, Teen Wolf Too, several years later -- a film which Fox wisely declined. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 12
Number of Lists: 15
Number of blog posts: 4
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:07:00 GMTTeen Wolf1985Rod DanielAfter sitting on the shelf for some time, Teen Wolf was released on the heels of the hugely successful <a href=/films/2146/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Back to the Future</a> in an attempt to cash in on the huge popularity of star Michael J. Fox. Teen Wolf chronicles the plight of Fox as a small-town nerd who can't seem to score a basket on the court or a point with his dream girl. Things change, however, once he discovers his family's hereditary secret, lycanthrope. As he begins to look hairier and hairier, his team begins to win basketball games and his dream girl begins to show interest in his unusual talent. His story does not progress without complications, however. His best friend, an opportunistic weasel, begins to exploit him beyond his limits of toleration, and his dream girl is captive to the requisite bully boyfriend, who, of course, captains the arch-rival basketball team. And then, to top it all off, Fox's other best friend is in love with him. Unbelievably, this film was a box-office success and eventually inspired an even worse sequel, <a href=/films/34322/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Teen Wolf Too</a>, several years later -- a film which Fox wisely declined. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide12Tag Target (>10)1543http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/v18563ryipf.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Teen_Wolf/34321/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/10/23/36623.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 10/23/2008 2:01:21 PM
Body: As if the run-of-the-mill high school movie wasn’t scary enough (cough–High School Musical 3), Hollywood has been upping the ante for years by tossing unsuspecting teens into horrific situations. Audiences seem to enjoy watching vulnerable characters having the hormones scared out of them — or else they just enjoy seeing annoying teens get tortured. Every high school teen horror flick has a stereotypical cast of characters straight out of cliche-ville: the jock/hot guy, the cheerleader/hot girl, the know-it-all nerd (male or female), the misunderstood girl, the new student, and a slew of others who normally end up as a victim for the killer/monster/plague at the heart of the movie. Maybe this is one of the reasons why the acclaimed Swedish preteen vampire film Let the Right One In (which comes out in limited release tomorrow) has been so successful at festivals: it finds ways to rework the nerd/bully/bad guy constructs that Hollywood has been regurgitating in teen movies for fifty years. After the jump, we take a look at the prototypical high school horror stories that make Right One feel so fresh. Carrie Talk about rough times in high school, Carrie is ridiculed by students and teachers alike when she experiences her first period during gym glass. However, she develops telekinesis and goes on a killing rampage that is still impressive in sheer terms of numbers as she takes out a whole gym full of students on prom night. The movie is based on Stephen King’s first published novel, and inspired a terrible sequel (The Rage: Carrie 2), a Broadway musical, a TV movie, and Zapped! Although that movie doesn’t feature Scott Baio going through the joys of menstruation, and the prom scene involves a lot more nudity. Teen Wolf The Michael J. Fox modern-day version of the 1957 I Was A Teenage Werewolf may not hold up that well today, but it still holds a spot in my heart because this was one of the first movies I ever took a date to. And yes, I was in my teens. This movie about a high schooler who becomes a werewolf has a lead female character inexplicably named “Boof,” a sequel starring Jason Bateman, an animated cartoon series, and it was the inspiration for a live-action TV sitcom called Big Wolf On Campus. If that weren’t enough, when this movie was released in Brazil, not long after Back to the Future, they translated Teen Wolf into Boy from the Future. Someone explain that one to me. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Joss Whedon wrote the script for this 1992 movie before it went through several rewrites by others, and as a result it changed so much that he eventually walked off the set and didn’t return. Of course, he got his sweet revenge when his Buffy TV series later became a billion times more popular than this movie. Still, it’s not half bad: Rutger Hauer makes a great vampire, as does Paul Reubens in one of the hammiest death scenes you’ll ever see from a bloodsucker. It’s one of the first times a teen was employed as a Van Helsing instead of becoming the monster, and the fact that it’s a woman made it even more unique. Try and ignore Luke Perry and you’ll probably enjoy this. Fright Night This is basically a love letter to teens who are obsessed with horror movies, and if you haven’t seen this one you need to get a group of friends together, rent it, and decide how cool Evil Ed is. Plus, Roddy McDowell really shines in this as a star of old vampire movies turned late-night horror movie host (based on Vincent Price) who gets recruited to fight vampires. It’s got Susan Sarandon’s brother Chris as a vampire, a werewolf, straddles the line between horror and comedy, and even has a sequel that returns both of the main stars. The Faculty Finally a horror movie that tells us what we’ve suspected all along: our teachers are horrible aliens who want to inhabit our bodies and turn us into vicious killers. This often overlooked Robert Rodriguez film stars Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, Bebe Neuwirth, Famke Janssen, and even Jon Stewart, and doesn’t treat high school students like they are idiots. If you can forgive the incredibly out of place and pandering cameo appearance by Harry Knowles, there’s some good stuff in here. With the exception of a couple of scenes, it all takes place in the halls of high school, including the creepy climactic scene in the gym locker room. Why are so many horror films obsessed with locker rooms? Puberty: The Horror can’t be far away. The Monster Squad Probably most famous for giving us the highly quotable line “Wolfman’s got nards!”, this movie features 12 year old kids doing battle against the classic Universal monsters: Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and “Gill Man” (apparently there were rights issues with The Creature From The Black Lagoon). While not exactly in high school, these preteens have a clubhouse and their own business cards that proclaim “The Monster Squad.” Isn’t that an extracurricular activity any kid would want to be involved with? Apparently there’s a remake in the works right now; maybe they can squeeze in Dr. Jekyll and The Invisible Man. Prom Night Returning to the ground already consecrated by Carrie and her prom night massacre scene, this 1980 movie sees some 12-year old kids (a popular age for horror) playing in an abandoned building, when one falls to her death. Six years later, on prom night, the rest of them start dying. Spooky, right? Prom Night starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen (and it’s not a comedy) and inspired a three sequels and a remake this year. Could it be that all of these writers had disappointing prom nights themselves, and this is their revenge? Just listen to that terrible narration in the trailer. Pretty soon 10 Year Reunion and My Second Marriage horror films will start popping up. Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Final Destination All of these movies star high school students in jeopardy from a deranged serial killer, aliens, or even Death itself, and have multiple sequels. These students might not spend much time in class, but they seem to get all of their lessons in running, screaming and making poor decisions just fine. They earn an honorable mention on our list because of the sheer numbers of students in the cast that get taken out along the way, and the fact that two of them are from Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson, who also wrote The Faculty. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:01:21 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com10/23/2008 2:01:21 PMAs if the run-of-the-mill high school movie wasn’t scary enough (cough–High School Musical 3), Hollywood has been upping the ante for years by tossing unsuspecting teens into horrific situations. Audiences seem to enjoy watching vulnerable characters having the hormones scared out of them — or else they just enjoy seeing annoying teens get tortured. Every high school teen horror flick has a stereotypical cast of characters straight out of cliche-ville: the jock/hot guy, the cheerleader/hot girl, the know-it-all nerd (male or female), the misunderstood girl, the new student, and a slew of others who normally end up as a victim for the killer/monster/plague at the heart of the movie. Maybe this is one of the reasons why the acclaimed Swedish preteen vampire film Let the Right One In (which comes out in limited release tomorrow) has been so successful at festivals: it finds ways to rework the nerd/bully/bad guy constructs that Hollywood has been regurgitating in teen movies for fifty years. After the jump, we take a look at the prototypical high school horror stories that make Right One feel so fresh. Carrie Talk about rough times in high school, Carrie is ridiculed by students and teachers alike when she experiences her first period during gym glass. However, she develops telekinesis and goes on a killing rampage that is still impressive in sheer terms of numbers as she takes out a whole gym full of students on prom night. The movie is based on Stephen King’s first published novel, and inspired a terrible sequel (The Rage: Carrie 2), a Broadway musical, a TV movie, and Zapped! Although that movie doesn’t feature Scott Baio going through the joys of menstruation, and the prom scene involves a lot more nudity. Teen Wolf The Michael J. Fox modern-day version of the 1957 I Was A Teenage Werewolf may not hold up that well today, but it still holds a spot in my heart because this was one of the first movies I ever took a date to. And yes, I was in my teens. This movie about a high schooler who becomes a werewolf has a lead female character inexplicably named “Boof,” a sequel starring Jason Bateman, an animated cartoon series, and it was the inspiration for a live-action TV sitcom called Big Wolf On Campus. If that weren’t enough, when this movie was released in Brazil, not long after Back to the Future, they translated Teen Wolf into Boy from the Future. Someone explain that one to me. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Joss Whedon wrote the script for this 1992 movie before it went through several rewrites by others, and as a result it changed so much that he eventually walked off the set and didn’t return. Of course, he got his sweet revenge when his Buffy TV series later became a billion times more popular than this movie. Still, it’s not half bad: Rutger Hauer makes a great vampire, as does Paul Reubens in one of the hammiest death scenes you’ll ever see from a bloodsucker. It’s one of the first times a teen was employed as a Van Helsing instead of becoming the monster, and the fact that it’s a woman made it even more unique. Try and ignore Luke Perry and you’ll probably enjoy this. Fright Night This is basically a love letter to teens who are obsessed with horror movies, and if you haven’t seen this one you need to get a group of friends together, rent it, and decide how cool Evil Ed is. Plus, Roddy McDowell really shines in this as a star of old vampire movies turned late-night horror movie host (based on Vincent Price) who gets recruited to fight vampires. It’s got Susan Sarandon’s brother Chris as a vampire, a werewolf, straddles the line between horror and comedy, and even has a sequel that returns both of the main stars. The Faculty Finally a horror movie that tells us what we’ve suspected all along: our teachers are horrible aliens who want to inhabit our bodies and turn us into vicious killers. This often overlooked Robert Rodriguez film stars Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, Bebe Neuwirth, Famke Janssen, and even Jon Stewart, and doesn’t treat high school students like they are idiots. If you can forgive the incredibly out of place and pandering cameo appearance by Harry Knowles, there’s some good stuff in here. With the exception of a couple of scenes, it all takes place in the halls of high school, including the creepy climactic scene in the gym locker room. Why are so many horror films obsessed with locker rooms? Puberty: The Horror can’t be far away. The Monster Squad Probably most famous for giving us the highly quotable line “Wolfman’s got nards!”, this movie features 12 year old kids doing battle against the classic Universal monsters: Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and “Gill Man” (apparently there were rights issues with The Creature From The Black Lagoon). While not exactly in high school, these preteens have a clubhouse and their own business cards that proclaim “The Monster Squad.” Isn’t that an extracurricular activity any kid would want to be involved with? Apparently there’s a remake in the works right now; maybe they can squeeze in Dr. Jekyll and The Invisible Man. Prom Night Returning to the ground already consecrated by Carrie and her prom night massacre scene, this 1980 movie sees some 12-year old kids (a popular age for horror) playing in an abandoned building, when one falls to her death. Six years later, on prom night, the rest of them start dying. Spooky, right? Prom Night starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen (and it’s not a comedy) and inspired a three sequels and a remake this year. Could it be that all of these writers had disappointing prom nights themselves, and this is their revenge? Just listen to that terrible narration in the trailer. Pretty soon 10 Year Reunion and My Second Marriage horror films will start popping up. Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Final Destination All of these movies star high school students in jeopardy from a deranged serial killer, aliens, or even Death itself, and have multiple sequels. These students might not spend much time in class, but they seem to get all of their lessons in running, screaming and making poor decisions just fine. They earn an honorable mention on our list because of the sheer numbers of students in the cast that get taken out along the way, and the fact that two of them are from Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson, who also wrote The Faculty. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/8/26/34417.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 8/26/2008 6:01:05 PM
Body: I never went to a normal college, never lived in a proper dorm or experienced fraternity hazing or even rush week from an inside viewpoint. I went to an urban art school and then a commuter school. And though I grew up in a college town and later worked on the campus of another college I didn’t attend, I feel like I don’t have the proper perspective with which to judge most college movies and college kid characters as being true to life. This probably explains why I enjoy so many bad movies set in colleges and/or involving college students. I bet I could even check out a double feature of The House Bunny and College and have a good time at the movies. Of course, I do have some semblance of good taste, and I also recognize that none of the following movies are anywhere near the quality of my favorite college movies (including Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman, the Marx Brothers’ Horse Feathers and the Frat Pack’s Old School), or even the beloved Animal House, which I regrettably find to be highly overrated (no, that doesn’t mean I dislike it or think it’s bad or unfunny). The ten movies on today’s list are merely guilty pleasures that I can’t stop appreciating no matter how hard I try or how old I get. Teen Wolf Too - Certainly basketball is overused in high school and college sports movies, but following hoops with boxing gloves was an odd choice for this Teen Wolf sequel. It was almost as bad as having the popular jock character be on the wrestling team or, worse, a diver (see Back to School below). But despite the change of sport, the repeat of plot and the unfortunate recasting of the character “Stiles”, Teen Wolf Too has at least one enjoyable element: Jason Bateman. Even before he won our favor with Arrested Development and roles since, Bateman was quite a likable presence here. Sure, it’s not as good as the first movie, but does it really deserve that paltry 2.6 rating on the IMDb? Back to School - Having gone back to college after a long hiatus, I have a very special place in my heart for this movie. But I’ve had multiple levels of appreciation since first seeing it 22 years ago. Originally, as a kid, I just liked Rodney Dangerfield. In high school, my favorite character was “Derek,” the freaky friend played by Robert Downey Jr. Later, I got into Oingo Boingo/Danny Elfman and favored their appearance. And almost finally, when Kurt Vonnegut became my favorite writer, his cameo was the coolest thing in the world (as an added bonus: Keith Gordon, who plays Dangerfield’s son in the movie, went on to direct an adaptation of Vonnegut’s “Mother Night”). In a way, the movie isn’t too underrated; it has a decent 6.1 rating on the IMDb and a very good 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, I’m always shocked that more people aren’t huge fans. PCU - I’ve already claimed my pre-hip appreciation for Jason Bateman (I even loved Valerie/Valerie’s Family/The Hogan Family, so there!), and now I must admit to having been a fan of Jeremy Piven since the beginning, too (Lucas has always been one of my favorite teen movies). I don’t know how often it’s watched these days, but looking back on it now, PCU seems to be a great souvenir from its time. Also, I’ll always remember it as the movie that taught me not to wear a band’s t-shirt to their concert and informed me of the fact that at any given time, there’s either a Michael Caine or a Gene Hackman movie being aired on television. Midnight Madness - I know it’s considered a cult classic now, but it truly deserves to be an actual classic. Is it not as popular or as widely seen as other college movies because it involves a college activity that isn’t centered around drinking or sex (there is at least the Pabst brewery)? When I first went away to college, I was nailed to the X (meaning I was straight-edge and didn’t drink or do drugs), so I would have loved it if there’d been scavenger hunts instead of keggers (actually, where I went, there wasn’t either), even if I’d already been arrested while participating in a hunt in high school. By the way, speaking of underrated scavenger hunt movies, where’s the DVD release of Scavenger Hunt already? Up the Creek - I guess not everyone has an appreciation for movies featuring Stephen Furst, despite his prominence in the king of college movies, Animal House. He followed that by appearing in both of my beloved scavenger hunt movies (see #4) and then later reuniting with his Delta brother Tim Matheson in this movie, which as a kid I always thought of as like a live-action, R-rated remake of Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise - It lacked the boobs and the bush, and its premise was pretty weak, even for being something of a redo of the first film’s plot. However, if you’ve ever seen the subsequent sequels, it’s clear that it could have been worse. Personally, I like the parts with James Hong, Bradley Whitford (always a well-played snake) and the song “No on 15″ (see the video above). Higher Learning - I tend to hate movies that so categorically divide the supposed social hierarchies of high school and college — maybe I just went to an abnormal high school, but it never seemed that distinct to me — and I don’t especially like the way this movie defines people by the music they listen to, but I have as much appreciation for Higher Learning as I do for The Breakfast Club and Crash, each of which I consider to be more about using thin characters as vehicles for ideas rather than about real people and a narrative story. Happy Together - No, I’m not referring to the Wong Kar-Wai film. Rather, the 1989 movie starring Patrick Dempsey and Helen Slater. Maybe it’s just the fact that my only college roommate was a girl. But that was intentional, unlike the scenario of this movie. Prior to its relevance to my life, though, it was merely great for featuring Supergirl (and Billie Jean) topless. Pumpkin - After so many high school and college movies in which the handsome guy or pretty girl ultimately falls for the “ugly” guy/girl, it was quite an interesting concept to have the “ugly” one be a mentally handicapped, as well as socially handicapped, person. Road Trip - Thanks to Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone, I now have to specify that I don’t mean College Road Trip. I also have to note that I think it would be a much better movie if Tom Green wasn’t in it. Also, compared to Old School, which was also written by Scot Armstrong and Todd Phillips and directed by Phillips, it’s got about a tenth of the laughs, if even that much. Surprisingly, however, Andy Dick is actually tolerable in Road Trip and not in Old School. Is it just me, or should DJ Qualls be doing better for himself these days? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:01:05 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com8/26/2008 6:01:05 PM I never went to a normal college, never lived in a proper dorm or experienced fraternity hazing or even rush week from an inside viewpoint. I went to an urban art school and then a commuter school. And though I grew up in a college town and later worked on the campus of another college I didn’t attend, I feel like I don’t have the proper perspective with which to judge most college movies and college kid characters as being true to life. This probably explains why I enjoy so many bad movies set in colleges and/or involving college students. I bet I could even check out a double feature of The House Bunny and College and have a good time at the movies. Of course, I do have some semblance of good taste, and I also recognize that none of the following movies are anywhere near the quality of my favorite college movies (including Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman, the Marx Brothers’ Horse Feathers and the Frat Pack’s Old School), or even the beloved Animal House, which I regrettably find to be highly overrated (no, that doesn’t mean I dislike it or think it’s bad or unfunny). The ten movies on today’s list are merely guilty pleasures that I can’t stop appreciating no matter how hard I try or how old I get. Teen Wolf Too - Certainly basketball is overused in high school and college sports movies, but following hoops with boxing gloves was an odd choice for this Teen Wolf sequel. It was almost as bad as having the popular jock character be on the wrestling team or, worse, a diver (see Back to School below). But despite the change of sport, the repeat of plot and the unfortunate recasting of the character “Stiles”, Teen Wolf Too has at least one enjoyable element: Jason Bateman. Even before he won our favor with Arrested Development and roles since, Bateman was quite a likable presence here. Sure, it’s not as good as the first movie, but does it really deserve that paltry 2.6 rating on the IMDb? Back to School - Having gone back to college after a long hiatus, I have a very special place in my heart for this movie. But I’ve had multiple levels of appreciation since first seeing it 22 years ago. Originally, as a kid, I just liked Rodney Dangerfield. In high school, my favorite character was “Derek,” the freaky friend played by Robert Downey Jr. Later, I got into Oingo Boingo/Danny Elfman and favored their appearance. And almost finally, when Kurt Vonnegut became my favorite writer, his cameo was the coolest thing in the world (as an added bonus: Keith Gordon, who plays Dangerfield’s son in the movie, went on to direct an adaptation of Vonnegut’s “Mother Night”). In a way, the movie isn’t too underrated; it has a decent 6.1 rating on the IMDb and a very good 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, I’m always shocked that more people aren’t huge fans. PCU - I’ve already claimed my pre-hip appreciation for Jason Bateman (I even loved Valerie/Valerie’s Family/The Hogan Family, so there!), and now I must admit to having been a fan of Jeremy Piven since the beginning, too (Lucas has always been one of my favorite teen movies). I don’t know how often it’s watched these days, but looking back on it now, PCU seems to be a great souvenir from its time. Also, I’ll always remember it as the movie that taught me not to wear a band’s t-shirt to their concert and informed me of the fact that at any given time, there’s either a Michael Caine or a Gene Hackman movie being aired on television. Midnight Madness - I know it’s considered a cult classic now, but it truly deserves to be an actual classic. Is it not as popular or as widely seen as other college movies because it involves a college activity that isn’t centered around drinking or sex (there is at least the Pabst brewery)? When I first went away to college, I was nailed to the X (meaning I was straight-edge and didn’t drink or do drugs), so I would have loved it if there’d been scavenger hunts instead of keggers (actually, where I went, there wasn’t either), even if I’d already been arrested while participating in a hunt in high school. By the way, speaking of underrated scavenger hunt movies, where’s the DVD release of Scavenger Hunt already? Up the Creek - I guess not everyone has an appreciation for movies featuring Stephen Furst, despite his prominence in the king of college movies, Animal House. He followed that by appearing in both of my beloved scavenger hunt movies (see #4) and then later reuniting with his Delta brother Tim Matheson in this movie, which as a kid I always thought of as like a live-action, R-rated remake of Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise - It lacked the boobs and the bush, and its premise was pretty weak, even for being something of a redo of the first film’s plot. However, if you’ve ever seen the subsequent sequels, it’s clear that it could have been worse. Personally, I like the parts with James Hong, Bradley Whitford (always a well-played snake) and the song “No on 15″ (see the video above). Higher Learning - I tend to hate movies that so categorically divide the supposed social hierarchies of high school and college — maybe I just went to an abnormal high school, but it never seemed that distinct to me — and I don’t especially like the way this movie defines people by the music they listen to, but I have as much appreciation for Higher Learning as I do for The Breakfast Club and Crash, each of which I consider to be more about using thin characters as vehicles for ideas rather than about real people and a narrative story. Happy Together - No, I’m not referring to the Wong Kar-Wai film. Rather, the 1989 movie starring Patrick Dempsey and Helen Slater. Maybe it’s just the fact that my only college roommate was a girl. But that was intentional, unlike the scenario of this movie. Prior to its relevance to my life, though, it was merely great for featuring Supergirl (and Billie Jean) topless. Pumpkin - After so many high school and college movies in which the handsome guy or pretty girl ultimately falls for the “ugly” guy/girl, it was quite an interesting concept to have the “ugly” one be a mentally handicapped, as well as socially handicapped, person. Road Trip - Thanks to Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone, I now have to specify that I don’t mean College Road Trip. I also have to note that I think it would be a much better movie if Tom Green wasn’t in it. Also, compared to Old School, which was also written by Scot Armstrong and Todd Phillips and directed by Phillips, it’s got about a tenth of the laughs, if even that much. Surprisingly, however, Andy Dick is actually tolerable in Road Trip and not in Old School. Is it just me, or should DJ Qualls be doing better for himself these days? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/6/11/31116.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 6/11/2008 2:00:51 PM
Body: I don’t know what is the worse idea, an all-CGI 3-D Smurfs movie, as Paramount had planned, or a CGI/live-action mix, as Sony Animation is now planning for our beloved blue communists friends. I guess if we only think back to Alvin and the Chipmunks and Underdog, it’s easy to think Sony’s new plan for The Smurfs is a terrible idea. But I think the second Scooby-Doo movie worked pretty well as far as cartoon adaptations go, and there’s a chance Hollywood could do a good job again, despite the majority (including Garfield: The Movie, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, the first Scooby-Doo) being on the bad side. That said, I’m still no fan of the trend. However, if it must continue, I think it would be interesting to see any of the following 15 animated series, all of which feature the necessary mix of talking animals (or inanimate objects) and humans, turned into live-action movies with CGI characters: The Yogi Bear Show - I feel it’s inevitable that we’ll be seeing this one soon enough. And if Hollywood is feeling lazy enough, the plot can be a remake of the animated feature Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear! Steve Carell will play Ranger Smith, of course. Help!…It’s the Hair Bear Bunch! - Few people remember this Yogi Bear-like series starring three hippie bears, one of whom had a straggly afro. The movie would involve the usual plot in which the bears escape from the zoo and are chased by the human zoo-keeper and his fat assistant. I’d love to see the sweet production design that goes into the bear’s bachelor pad cave. And aside from the fact that CGI bears would make the invisible motorcycle easier to work with, live-action bears have been proven to be a much worse idea (see The Country Bears). The Great Grape Ape Show - This would be kinda like Peter Jackson’s King Kong, only without the intention of making the CGI look realistic. I’m not sure what the plot would be, but going with the King Kong idea, they could probably just have Grape Ape and Beagle Beagle visit New York (or another city) to allow for plenty of accidental destruction (isn’t that the only reason Transformers‘ last act was in a city?). Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels - It’s like Scooby-Doo but with a caveman instead of a talking dog. They could probably just have a guy dressed up in a very hairy costume for the prehistoric superhero, but as long as CGI characters are bringing Hollywood so much dough, they might as well render him on a computer, too. Speed Buggy - It’s like Scooby-Doo but with a talking car instead of a talking dog. And I bet audiences will be more comfortable with a CGI talking car than with a CGI talking dog. Dynomutt, Dog Wonder - It’s like Scooby-Doo but with superheroes. Hey, I hear superheroes are big at the box office this century. Actually, I’m really, really surprised we haven’t heard about this one yet. Jabberjaw - It’s like Scooby-Doo but with…. wait, I’m starting to see that most of these Hanna Barbera cartoons are a lot alike. But even more than Scooby-Doo, this would be like the live-action Josie and the Pussycats, except with the benefit of having a CGI shark who plays drums for the group. Because most of the action would take place under the sea, there’s a good chance this would be too expensive to produce. Fangface - It’s like Scooby-Doo but not made by Hanna Barbera (however, it was produced by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, who also created Captain Caveman, Jabberjaw, Dynomutt and others on this list). Instead of a talking dog, here one of the mystery-solving teens is a werewolf. And despite everyone’s love for Lon Chaney Jr. and the Teen Wolf movies, Hollywood can rarely make a werewolf these days without CGI. It’s Punky Brewster - They could always just base a movie off the original sitcom (though I doubt they ever would), but wouldn’t it be much cuter if there was a CGI character? Fortunately the cartoon series had that leprechaun-gopher thing named “Glomer.” Snorks - I guess there were no humans in this cartoon, but knowing Hollywood’s ability to mess with things, some could surely be added. Either the Snorks somehow venture out of the sea or a friendly scuba diving kid finds them. Though for the latter, the budget could be too high. I wonder if the Snorks could survive out of water… Ghostbusters - Would be allowed for there to be a feature film version of Filmation’s Ghostbusters — you know, the one that wasn’t based on the REAL Ghostbusters? The one that was actually based on a TV series that came before the movie Ghostbusters? Hmm. I guess this one should really go in the list of live-action series calling for CGI/live-action treatment (like ALF…) The Archie Show - Obviously this one could be completely live-action. But that’s no fun. And that TV movie from 1990 was extremely disappointing. Solution: CGI Jughead! Rainbow Brite - Hey, I really liked Rainbow Brite when I was a kid. Is that OK to admit yet? I may have even wanted a plush toy of Twink. Or maybe I did have a plush toy of Twink. Either way, I’d be the first heterosexual male in line at the theater for this one. Rugrats - This one will only be kinda CGI. It can star real kids with CGI mouths, like what they do with animals in the Babe and Dr. Dolittle movies. Oh yeah, and what they do with babies in the Baby Geniuses movies. Of course, the animated Rugrats movies each made significantly more money than the Baby Geniuses movies, so anyone who’d actually take on this idea is an idiot. The Herculoids - I really don’t care if they make it all CGI, mixed CGI/live-action, all 2D animation, or what; all I care about is that I get to see Tundro on the big screen one day before I die. Back when I saw Jurassic Park for the first time, I thought the triceratops was really lame. But it wasn’t because it was obviously animatronic. It was because it couldn’t shoot rocks out of its horn like Tundro. The rest of the Herculoids, especially Igoo and Gloop & Gleep, would also be awesome to see in a movie. In fact, to be honest, I mostly just made this list in order to profess my desire for a Herculoids movie. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:00:51 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com6/11/2008 2:00:51 PMI don’t know what is the worse idea, an all-CGI 3-D Smurfs movie, as Paramount had planned, or a CGI/live-action mix, as Sony Animation is now planning for our beloved blue communists friends. I guess if we only think back to Alvin and the Chipmunks and Underdog, it’s easy to think Sony’s new plan for The Smurfs is a terrible idea. But I think the second Scooby-Doo movie worked pretty well as far as cartoon adaptations go, and there’s a chance Hollywood could do a good job again, despite the majority (including Garfield: The Movie, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, the first Scooby-Doo) being on the bad side. That said, I’m still no fan of the trend. However, if it must continue, I think it would be interesting to see any of the following 15 animated series, all of which feature the necessary mix of talking animals (or inanimate objects) and humans, turned into live-action movies with CGI characters: The Yogi Bear Show - I feel it’s inevitable that we’ll be seeing this one soon enough. And if Hollywood is feeling lazy enough, the plot can be a remake of the animated feature Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear! Steve Carell will play Ranger Smith, of course. Help!…It’s the Hair Bear Bunch! - Few people remember this Yogi Bear-like series starring three hippie bears, one of whom had a straggly afro. The movie would involve the usual plot in which the bears escape from the zoo and are chased by the human zoo-keeper and his fat assistant. I’d love to see the sweet production design that goes into the bear’s bachelor pad cave. And aside from the fact that CGI bears would make the invisible motorcycle easier to work with, live-action bears have been proven to be a much worse idea (see The Country Bears). The Great Grape Ape Show - This would be kinda like Peter Jackson’s King Kong, only without the intention of making the CGI look realistic. I’m not sure what the plot would be, but going with the King Kong idea, they could probably just have Grape Ape and Beagle Beagle visit New York (or another city) to allow for plenty of accidental destruction (isn’t that the only reason Transformers‘ last act was in a city?). Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels - It’s like Scooby-Doo but with a caveman instead of a talking dog. They could probably just have a guy dressed up in a very hairy costume for the prehistoric superhero, but as long as CGI characters are bringing Hollywood so much dough, they might as well render him on a computer, too. Speed Buggy - It’s like Scooby-Doo but with a talking car instead of a talking dog. And I bet audiences will be more comfortable with a CGI talking car than with a CGI talking dog. Dynomutt, Dog Wonder - It’s like Scooby-Doo but with superheroes. Hey, I hear superheroes are big at the box office this century. Actually, I’m really, really surprised we haven’t heard about this one yet. Jabberjaw - It’s like Scooby-Doo but with…. wait, I’m starting to see that most of these Hanna Barbera cartoons are a lot alike. But even more than Scooby-Doo, this would be like the live-action Josie and the Pussycats, except with the benefit of having a CGI shark who plays drums for the group. Because most of the action would take place under the sea, there’s a good chance this would be too expensive to produce. Fangface - It’s like Scooby-Doo but not made by Hanna Barbera (however, it was produced by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, who also created Captain Caveman, Jabberjaw, Dynomutt and others on this list). Instead of a talking dog, here one of the mystery-solving teens is a werewolf. And despite everyone’s love for Lon Chaney Jr. and the Teen Wolf movies, Hollywood can rarely make a werewolf these days without CGI. It’s Punky Brewster - They could always just base a movie off the original sitcom (though I doubt they ever would), but wouldn’t it be much cuter if there was a CGI character? Fortunately the cartoon series had that leprechaun-gopher thing named “Glomer.” Snorks - I guess there were no humans in this cartoon, but knowing Hollywood’s ability to mess with things, some could surely be added. Either the Snorks somehow venture out of the sea or a friendly scuba diving kid finds them. Though for the latter, the budget could be too high. I wonder if the Snorks could survive out of water… Ghostbusters - Would be allowed for there to be a feature film version of Filmation’s Ghostbusters — you know, the one that wasn’t based on the REAL Ghostbusters? The one that was actually based on a TV series that came before the movie Ghostbusters? Hmm. I guess this one should really go in the list of live-action series calling for CGI/live-action treatment (like ALF…) The Archie Show - Obviously this one could be completely live-action. But that’s no fun. And that TV movie from 1990 was extremely disappointing. Solution: CGI Jughead! Rainbow Brite - Hey, I really liked Rainbow Brite when I was a kid. Is that OK to admit yet? I may have even wanted a plush toy of Twink. Or maybe I did have a plush toy of Twink. Either way, I’d be the first heterosexual male in line at the theater for this one. Rugrats - This one will only be kinda CGI. It can star real kids with CGI mouths, like what they do with animals in the Babe and Dr. Dolittle movies. Oh yeah, and what they do with babies in the Baby Geniuses movies. Of course, the animated Rugrats movies each made significantly more money than the Baby Geniuses movies, so anyone who’d actually take on this idea is an idiot. The Herculoids - I really don’t care if they make it all CGI, mixed CGI/live-action, all 2D animation, or what; all I care about is that I get to see Tundro on the big screen one day before I die. Back when I saw Jurassic Park for the first time, I thought the triceratops was really lame. But it wasn’t because it was obviously animatronic. It was because it couldn’t shoot rocks out of its horn like Tundro. The rest of the Herculoids, especially Igoo and Gloop & Gleep, would also be awesome to see in a movie. In fact, to be honest, I mostly just made this list in order to profess my desire for a Herculoids movie. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2007/10/23/21116.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 10/23/2007 4:01:33 PM
Body: News of a number of can’t-miss events has flown into my inbox over the past 24 hours. In chronological order: This Saturday, The Pioneer Theater in New York is presenting a six-film, 584 minute werewolf movie marathon. $25 buys tickets to the whole affair, or if you really just want to show up at 4 AM to catch Teen Wolf (and who could resist, after seeing the poster to the right?), individual shows are $5 each. For more information, visit The Pioneer’s website. The Denver Film Festival runs November 8-18. There are many reasons to be excited about this festival (and Mark Rabinowitz has and will continue to list many of them on his blog), but here’s a new one: I’m going to be speaking on a panel about film blogging, alongside Mark, James Israel from indieWIRE, and director AJ Schnack. For more info and tickets, go here. Alas, because I’ll be in Denver that weekend, I won’t be able to head up to Cambridge for the Futures of Entertainment conference, which is happening November 16-17 at MIT. Organized by the Convergence Culture Consortium of the school’s Comparative Media Studies program, the conference will bring together academics and industry experts to discuss a variety of new frontiers of form and content, from mobile distribution to fan labor and the “architecture of participation.” There are only 200 seats available, so if this sounds good to you, register now. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog's blog
]]>Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:01:33 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com10/23/2007 4:01:33 PMNews of a number of can’t-miss events has flown into my inbox over the past 24 hours. In chronological order: This Saturday, The Pioneer Theater in New York is presenting a six-film, 584 minute werewolf movie marathon. $25 buys tickets to the whole affair, or if you really just want to show up at 4 AM to catch Teen Wolf (and who could resist, after seeing the poster to the right?), individual shows are $5 each. For more information, visit The Pioneer’s website. The Denver Film Festival runs November 8-18. There are many reasons to be excited about this festival (and Mark Rabinowitz has and will continue to list many of them on his blog), but here’s a new one: I’m going to be speaking on a panel about film blogging, alongside Mark, James Israel from indieWIRE, and director AJ Schnack. For more info and tickets, go here. Alas, because I’ll be in Denver that weekend, I won’t be able to head up to Cambridge for the Futures of Entertainment conference, which is happening November 16-17 at MIT. Organized by the Convergence Culture Consortium of the school’s Comparative Media Studies program, the conference will bring together academics and industry experts to discuss a variety of new frontiers of form and content, from mobile distribution to fan labor and the “architecture of participation.” There are only 200 seats available, so if this sounds good to you, register now. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog's blog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/comedy/MemberTagFilms.aspxcomedy
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]]>Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:13:43 GMT302597398Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/weird/MemberTagFilms.aspxweird
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]]>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:57:36 GMT9083131Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/highschool/MemberTagFilms.aspxhighschool
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]]>Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:51:56 GMT118672219Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/werewolf/MemberTagFilms.aspxwerewolf
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]]>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:50:43 GMT335027102Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/roleswitching/MemberTagFilms.aspxroleswitching
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]]>Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:02:27 GMT317715Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/shapeshifter/MemberTagFilms.aspxshapeshifter
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]]>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:02:43 GMT6645Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/embarassing/MemberTagFilms.aspxembarassing
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