Weekend At Kermie's: The Muppets' Strange Life After Death. Elizabeth Stevens asks:
What if, in 1990, instead of recasting Kermit—something that had been done to Mickey and Bugs Bunny before him—the Muppets had continued on Kermit-less, as "The Simpsons" did after Phil Hartman died. Recall Susan’s words on "Seasame Street" about Mr. Hooper in 1982: “Big Bird, when people die, they don’t come back.” Let’s say Robin showed up saying his uncle Kermit had passed away? Or, if that was too dark for Disney, what if Kermit had left show business to go off to start a family with Piggy? Someone else could lead the gang of weirdoes.
It would’ve made more artistic sense than what happened
.
posted by zarq
on Jul 14, 2011 -
67 comments
First, there was
colossal miscalculation. Something so bad it could
make parable a four-letter word. Didn't faze him. His next was
"bizarrely compelling... Slower than watching a train wreck," but yet invoking,
"that same level of disbelief." It was also like swallowing spiky
clusters of manure. Maybe he had
lost his mind? But yet he rose again... Or should we say he blew? No really, it was the wind this time .
A feeble gust of an environmental horror story. "You feel like you're not watching the end of the world but the end of a career." Alas, like the undead, you cannot stop him. His latest, sitting at a paltry 0%* on the
Tomatometer, is
whitewashed, and offers an experience that's a
headache-inducing,
joyless,
soulless, husk that Roger Ebert called
"agonizing... in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented." It enchantingly makes,
"Jake Lloyd’s performance in The Phantom Menace look studied." And,
"the Golden Compass... look like a four-star classic." With
$150 million spent on production, and $130 million on marketing alone, has this
"auteur" finally created his
masterpiece? Or will it be the Last Straw® (in
3d!)?
[more inside]
posted by PBR
on Jun 30, 2010 -
267 comments
ScriptShadow reviews the latest screenplays from Hollywood, usually with links to the screenplays themselves.
posted by alby
on Jul 7, 2009 -
13 comments
Hollywood? Old. Bollywood? That's soooo 2003. Make room for
Nollywood, Nigeria's own film industry which is growing by leaps and bounds every year, and is currently worth about
$45 million dollars. About 400 Nollywood films are produced every year many on a budget of around $15000 and are distributed almost entirely by VHS and VCD. The stories are very much
simplistic and pulpy (check out 419 Stalk Exchange. Yes, 419 as in the email scam) but are much
preferred by local residents and emigre's than the usual arthouse fair one often thinks of when talking about African cinema. Now if you'll excuse me there's a bucket of popcorn and a copy of
GSM Connection waiting for me in the living room.
posted by PenDevil
on Jan 19, 2004 -
13 comments
The "Sum Of All Fears" trailer recently went online, and is already causing some
heated discussion over major changes from the book. In the wake of 9/11, it seems that terrorists in the film have been changed from Muslim to Neo-Nazi (who then go on to detonate a bomb within the United States). Hollywood knee-jerk reaction or a good call given the timing of things? Discuss...
posted by almostcool
on Mar 28, 2002 -
28 comments
