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blastoisemonster · 4 years ago

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Kodomo No Omocha’s Sticker Album Highlights (Merlin, 2001, Italian)

Let's keep talking about retro japanese cartoons, shall we? I've done some posts lately in which I reviewed Game Boy games based on comics or animations from Japan, with the intention of covering series that I either used to watch as a kid or recall being popular during the GB and GBC eras. A lot of these games have never been released outside Japan, so it's also an occasion to gather up some imports and see what Italy has missed on. There's actually a particular cartoon I wanted to talk about since the start of this research, but unfortunately it seems it has never recieved any videogame adaptation. But hey, this is my blog, and I can talk about whatever I want! >:C Also I suddenly remembered my Fandom tag has been created purposely for non-gaming objects. >.> So, let's look at some stickers while I tell you the tale of Rossana.

Rossana can be best described as the soap opera that spawned a second wave of nipponic hysteria among every single italian person under 20 during the very last period of the 90s. It's like The Bold And The Beautiful looked at Pokèmon and said "yeah, I want something like that.". Its popularity hit even harder my personal view of the world as the plot starts with the protagonists attending the last year of elementary school... which is exactly what me and my friends were doing, multiplying the relatable factor tenfold. This cartoon took everyone by their necks since its first episode: it was broadcasted on what was, at the time, the best and most popular italian channel for children entertainment, and heavily advertised before starting, so we knew exactly when to tune in to catch it. The day after the first episode, school looked like a different place. Everyone in class was chanting the opening at the top of their lungs; boys were acting like the male protagonists, all girls mimicked the main role Rossana, the more artisticly inclined ones started doodling the characters anywhere possible, including textbooks and homework. Teachers were in tears. I had watched the first episode and found it amusing enough to keep me entertained, so for some period I fully partecipated in the general enjoyment of the cartoon. Then, I started missing episodes (when you missed something on TV during the 90s... it was gone!) and upon returning to it, I found the plot had become much more complex and centered on sentimental intrigues, of which I never gave a toss about, so I jumped off the hype train while others still followed it until the end.

As it is usual for these productions, Rossana was another anime based on a manga series; the original work is titled "Kodomo No Omocha" (which literally means "Children's Plaything"... yeah, I too find it a tad creepy), drawn by mangaka Miho Obana and serialized by Ribon from 1994 to 1998. It tells the story of Rossana Kurata, a child actress (an idol in the original story) trying to balance her career with a normal kid's life by going to school and having normal friends: however, her class is anything but normal and she finds herself often fighting against the biggest bully of the school group, Hayama (translated as Heric in italian). As the story progresses, though, Sana understands Heric's complex and at times completely inappropriate attitude is a result of a troubled childhood, having lost his mother at birth and being bullied by his older sister and completely ignored by his father. Willing to help him out, Sana befriends him and starts to develop even deeper feelings, also sharing her own troubled past: she had been actually abandoned as a newborn and adopted by Misako, a famous writer. New characters are introduced along the way, among which the child actor Charles, Sana's schoolmate but also colleague which the girl will work alongside during a trip to the States, and Funny, an extremely extroverted kid that will at first become close friends with Sana, but that will, at some point, steal Heric's heart, leaving Sana to deal with heartbreak and jealousy. Despite the story being drawn in an energetic shojo style and the episodes showing many hysterical/demential jokes along the way, Kodomo No Omocha is a dramatic story centered on overcoming past secrets, venomous feelings, and describing the difficult shift from childhood to adolescence.

The original 10 manga volumes got adapted for animation in 102 episodes, which broadcasted on TV Tokyo from 1996 to 1998. In Italy, the anime got imported first with the direct title "Rossana": it was aired in its entirety during all of the year 2000, and yes, all the 102 episodes got translated! Unfortunately, the channel wanted to make Rossana completely targetable to little kids, which meant that many plot elements had to undergo heavy censorship. The result was a comedy/demential series that at times showed a sentimental route, and for the rest felt very cut, like it was hiding something. This was no Chou Gals!-styled localizaion effort: scenes were edited or completely deleted, names and terms translated losing all context, graphics and objects concerning japanese culture got zoomed out, some episodes even aired randomly without following the original order, and finally the ending got cut, leaving it as an open cliffhanger. Kodomo No Omocha is, originally, marketed towards an adolescent audience, but kids are a much more profitable target, so a lot of the original plot points went away: Sana no longer thinks of Rei (her adult manager, called Robby in italian) as his boyfriend; it's never mentioned that her actual mother abandoned her in a park after giving birth at only 14 years old; and many instances in which some kids (Heric, but also Komori in later eps) practice self-harm or have suicidal thoughts are cut in their entirety. And yet, despite this general mangling, the story managed to become popular anyway, gaining three reruns, some video distribution on VHS and DVD (both cut, for unknown reasons, after the 20th episode), and an opening with lyrics that will never leave the minds of an entire generation. The manga got translated only after 2002, getting marketed instead for its actual audience and going for a literal translation of its original title: "Il giocattolo dei bambini - Rossana" got published by Dynit in its entirety, however I'm not sure wether it underwent the same censorship measures of the cartoon or it was left to a more faithful state.

The hype about Rossana was interestingly lacking of any substantial, original merchandise imported from their origin country; instead, every gadget we had about the anime was produced by italian companies and it consisted in the usual cheapish stuff sold in order to cash a quick buck on popular media. We had school supplies such as bags, pencil cases and diaries, decorated stationary, and the never-missing sticker album. This last merchandise, aptly featured in this post, is what I remember most since everyone was trading doubles at school; the blindingly hot pink package has also burned a permanent image in my mind. Published by Merlin in 2001, Rossana's abundantly pink album could contain 204 stickers; be them glossy, holographic, single or combined, it adds up as quite a large selection considering that all images shown were nothing more than screenshots of the cartoon, with album pages filling up a description of episodes shown, or giving a little more insight on the general plot. At least my previously reviewed Pokèmon album showed interesting action poses by Sugimori and doubled up as a Pokèdex, but I do recognize the latter can count on a much more substantial franchise. What Rossana's album excels in, though, is its value; remember when I said a completed Pokèmon album was only worth a few bucks? Well, a completed Rossana album goes instead for nothing less than a hundred euros on secondhand markets. Even the single stickers, if sold in lots, can become a pretty penny, and still sealed booster packs can range from 30 to 70 euros depending on how many you're selling. I can already picture italian readers going through their cupboards to see if they still have this relic intact! As for me, I was too focused on Pokèmon during that period to care about filling up another sticker album, so I had completely skipped that. And no, I'm not gonna spend 100+ euros on an album just to make a Fandom post: what you're seeing here are all images collectors have shown to the net.

It's interesting to notice that Merlin tried to cash in on the anime's popularity even beyond the sticker album itself, by advertising even among the album pages an upcoming periodical (monthly I suppose?) magazine almost all centered on the cartoon, but trying to double up as a typical girls' magazine with pictures of boybands, various articles, and the always present and equally emberassing mail section. For some reason I have very vivid flashbacks of me going through the pages of the first volume: probably some friend brought it at school, they had it lying about at their house, or I may have bought it along with other girls then left it to them. This mag was nothing particular and doomed to be shortlived: you can't keep a single anime series relevant forever, and it was apparent that arguments tried to always pull Rossana into context when in reality it had nothing to do with the articles. It seemingly disappeared after its second issue, and got buried under the sheer abundance of more relevant girly mags, among which the legendary Cioè.

All in all, Rossana’s shout of livelyhood was probably short, but loud enough to have shook the heart and soul of many of us, especially in this country. It’s apparent that companies wanted to keep the profit margin as high as possible by not importing any substantial japanese gadget about Sana and opting instead for printed publications or cheapy stationery; however, apart from dolls, plushes and general toys, even Japan didn’t seem too keen on releasing actually peculiar stuff dedicated to the franchise. The most technological gimmick I found is a toy audio recorder, of which I can only find a few images online and not even one single listing so I can get and review it. Maybe I’m just sour no one ever thought about doing a Game Boy adaptation, because I’m sure it would’ve been a major hit among girls here. Oh well, can’t change the past... but surely you can remember it. :)

#Fandom

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dwkinternational · 4 years ago

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DWK Podcast - recap

Mika Braun is the costume designer since the very beginning. She created the Look of the wild soccer bunch in the first, second, third and fifth movies. Her costumes influenced and even changed the book covers and the Illustrations of Jan Birck. When it came to the creation of your own world, she was a great teacher for Joachim Masannek.

She basically created the whole look of the wild soccer bunch, according to Masannek

He distinctively remembers their trial and error while trying to get a hairstyle for Leons character, because they wanted him to look like the real Leon and he and Jimi didn’t really look alike (They even tried to colour his hair blonde)

Joachim Masannek and Mika Braun first met at Samfilm

She originally was there for a meeting to talk about a different Movie that was going to be produced, but the people in charge didn’t think she was capable enough, she hadn’t brought her portfolio with her because it was all very rushed

When she met with Joachim however they instantly clicked, they got along great and knew what they wanted to make was going to be Mad Max for Kids. She did bring her portfolio with her this time but he didn’t even want to take a look inside

Because she had worked on a lot of projects regarding TV and advertisements he had a lot of respect for her previous work and felt like he couldn’t judge it as he had never made a movie before, only short films

To him it only mattered that they got along and that he had the feeling he could trust her since they were making something new that may have been made before, but not in that way

She also felt that they were eye to eye as she had also never done a movie for cinemas before. The whole process was not about her experiences and what she was capable of or not capable of, but about him developing this Idea and how they were adapting that together. To her that was so special about these movies, that you could see that everyone put their heart and soul into it

At least you saw it with the german crew. When they were shooting in Prag, they had a few problems. One of the Camera assitants just forgot that the camera was running and when Masannek reviewed the footage (back then it was on VHS) the take was 20 Minutes long.

Another example is one Woman in the costume department who always called people “Darling”:

They were searching for the kids helmets one time and the Woman kept saying the helmets are props and the backpacks are part of the costume, darling until Masannek got so fed up that he took the helmets once they were found and said “Look, darling. I’ll take your darn helmets now and put them into the darn backpacks and then its your problem where they are”

Braun says that that happens quite often during shooting in foreign countrys, because they have differently distributed teams and work with different systems

It just happened to Mika that she was baffled that the crew she was working in had no Parasols for the actors even in 40 degree heat or if it was raining, they didn’t care and said that its not their job. Even though in america for example they have a position (personl assistant) just for that. Or you have someone for directing assistance or Script or Continuity. But to her suprises like that are whats so nice about the job

During Masanneks last Movie Luliane Susewind they were shooting in Aachen but also in Belgium and he also had to learn a few things:

the first one was that the Makeup artist didn’t do the hair of the actors, they found out two to three weeks before the shooting started and had to hire an extra Hair stylist

the second things was that part of the crew just take three weeks of vacation unannounced and their replacement doesn’t have a clue about anything and Masannek showed up at the set one day and his costume designer was nowhere to be found and when he asked where she is he got told “Uh...shes on vacation”

Mika was very glad that the second wild soccer bunch movie was shot in Bavaria, not in the Czech Republic, because she was able to bring her team with her.

To the kids the shooting of the second movie was the most fun, but to Masannek it was the most exhausting to the point he thought he never wanted to make a kids movie again

He was like, well, the first movie was so exhausting and complicated and he wouldn’t have to work as hard with the second one.He worried that that movie wouldn’t be as good because he felt like he wasn’t putting enough effort into it and it didn’t seem as complicated

but then Mika Braun invited him to a flea market in Braunau and he thought it would be great to do something else than the movie for a day, he would find something nice to buy and she showed him a lot of nice stuff

that day Masannek found out what making a movie does to someone because he was going through the flea market but couldn’t see anything other than the movie and couldn’t focus on anything

although he did buy something that he found ten years later in his basement when he moved (it was around a 120 Whistles although he does not remember why he bought them)

They mentioned their Vision of Mad Max earlier and Sascha Heimanns asks them how they get from an Idea to the finished product, like the helmets they talked about or the necklaces

Mika answers that there is a whole development process behind everything. It starts with her reading the script and getting an Idea of what something looks like, she discusses that with Joachim who tells her about how they are basically all in black and have these logos, but everyone has their special thing and they search together for what fits best

She will never forget the discussion about Staraja Riba. Originally she thought that the witch was supposed to be big and terrifying like the thunderbolt giants, so that the kids would feel small next to her or no one would be afraid of her

Joachim insisted that she should crawl over the ground like a spider and in the end she thought it was good that they did it his way because it was the scariest thing in the whole movie series to her and that was one instance where they didn’t have the same opinion

The Staraja Riba thing was overall difficult to get righ tin the end

Because Buena Vista didn’t want the director to attend the test screening ( although he was present during the screening of the first movie and that went pretty well) Masannek was offended and they hired a different director who went to cut the scene differently. The producers said that the scene with the witch wasn’t believable or scary anymore and Joachim got to fix it

He thinks the bravest thing they did was the scene with the love letter and the glowing hearts, he originally wasn’t allowed to do that scene because it was a “boys movie” and the audience wouldn’t like it

They did a test screening for an audience that only consisted of boys without approval of the producers and the feedback was good except for the love letter scene which the boys didn’t like

Another thing that was difficult was the paint the actors had on during the scene where the bunch plays against the SV 1906. That originally took too much effort and time to do (because drawing the markings for everyone took 4 hours and taking it off took 4 hours also Sarah was allergic to the paint) but Joachim just decided they were going to do it anyways

Mika said that she appreciated the fantastical aspect of the movies, to try something that hasn’t been done before and that that was probably what the kids found so fascinating and fun

To her it was very special to work on it even though it was relatively low-budget

because of that for example they spent whole nights painting Logos on T-Shirts

Joachim said that she played a huge role in the evolution of the Logo itself, the first thing she put the minimalistic Logo on was the black shirt Maxi wears at the beginning of the third Movie

It was her idea to only put the eye and the teeth on there and that has been adapted for Merchandise ever since

Sascha asks why Mika hasn’t worked on the fourth and sixth movie

When they were shooting the fourth movie in Mai 2006 she was in Kenia to adopt her daughter and because she spent 7 Months there she wasn’t able to work on the movie

But she said Susann Bieling did a great job with that movie

She shared the 5th one with Andrea Spanier because her daughter was still so small that she felt like she wouldn’t be able to do it alone

These are some of her costume designs for the 5th movie, for Leon and Klette

They worked so well together that Mika sais she was spoiled afterwards and when she went on to another production it didn’t go as smoothly anymore

That production was Gangs, for which they also asked Joachim Masannek if he wanted to work on it, but he was in contract with Constantin Film for Wildernacht

For the sixth movie Mika was also unavailable due to another production she had already agreed to

Question:

Sibille 24 years old: She grew up with the wild soccer bunch and because they talked about the new series in the last podcast episode, she wanted to say that she thinks the idea is great. The bunch has been inspiring to her back then and thinks that the bunch is a great role-model with their creativity and bravery. She would be thrilled about a new series.

Answer:

The Procuders originally wanted to retell a story in the vein of the first and second movies but Joachim said he is sick of writing that fight against fat Michi over and over so they decided on something new

The story will take place in Berlin

The Kids will come from different social backgrounds

One boy will be the son of a Maori Woman, who came to germany when she was 17 years old and pregnant

His dad was a german tourist but he dumped his Mom

She currently lives in Marzahn and has her own Tattoostudio

The boy wants to become the best Goalkeeper in the World

hes very stubborn but a great guy overall

Then there is a girl whose Mother is a turkish Policewoman and she lives in an allotment garden

they hear about this hidden world of the wild bunch in which Kids can fight to do what what they believe in

The series will be called “Forever wild”

Its still rooted in what has already been established

there will be some characters from the movies but they will appear in a different way than how we know them

He said that the girl that asked the question is over 20 and that generation is exactly who they want to do the series for

Mika chimes in to say that back then the movies created a boom and more girls started to play soccer

She said its never wrong to challenge society and gender stereotypes

Joachim says that to him its very fascinating that times are getting more conservative and we are not living in a world anymore where little boys have to be raised by a woman

He said that the perspective of society is different right now with metoo for example and that its an exciting challenge to define what a role model is

To question what is a boy, what is a girl, what is a man or woman?

One family in the series he is planning consists of a native american father and a mother who is a descendant of the Aborigines

They live in Spandau and have an indian daughter and a son who is african

The parents take turns on who is leading the company and who is taking care of the kids, to them every job is equal and everyone has to take on some responsibility

Masannek says he notices even with his little Kids (his 9 years old daughter and his 2 years old son) that they already want to know what exactly a woman is or a man is

He wants his kids to develop freely and once they know what the stereotypes are they can decide to not support these stereotypes anymore

Mika Braun agrees that these topics are very important right now and that it is a responsibility of all creatives and all the tolerant folks to take on these kinds of topics so that the conservative ideals don’t take root

And thats it for Episode 29!

#die wilden kerle #Podcast recap #dwk international

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brunhiddensmusings · 5 years ago

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random movies/shows i just remembered were a thing

there is no point in any of this other then me being impressed that i remember all of this shit and reflecting on ‘i couldnt make this up if i tried’ a live action tv series of alice in wonderland, it was violently 80s an ‘alf’ cartoon series, that was MORE violently 80s an alice in wonderland cartoon series from the makers of the alf cartoon series which was only moderately 80s neverending story animated series that is somehow underwhelming enough it erases memory of itself a show where james earl jones sits in some kind of negative plane room that has a floor, doors, windows, a chair, and one lamp yet somehow no walls, the windows just kind of hover there. he told stories. how the hell did a show where james earl jones just tells soothing stories fly under everyone's radar? a live action reading comprehension series that featured a kid with magic gloves that rode a stationary bycicle to warp through dimensions that im sure no other human being ever saw so im partially thinking it might have been a hallucination except hallucinations typically have higher production values an animated glowworm movie that was trying to do with the glowworm dolls what MLP the show did for MLP the toys. it contained at least one song i can still remember the tune of 25 years later. there was a moleperson that gave off strong lesbian vibes who was rebelling against her biker vibe moleperson family an animated movie about ‘the lollipop dragon’ that seemed like there was other content on the intellectual property but ive never seen any, taking the form of a car race through whats essentially candyland to prevent liver and onion flavored lollipops being the new official christmas candy to be distributed by santa clause live action series that was only ever on at like 4AM where someone tells fairy tales that are slightly more disturbing then they should be while illustrating them in chalk which is one hell of a trick the animated series ‘mummies alive’ that was trying to basically copy/paste everything they could from the ‘gargoyles’ show but forgot to make it good not to be confused with the ‘tutenstein’ show, which somehow made less sense ‘dink the dinosaur’ a tv series hoping nobody noticed it wasn't actually land before time the animated series a live action series where a modern family was trapped somewhere that was a dinosaur infested jungle so they had to live in a tree house that was only just barely taller then the t-rex that was continually stalking them. the moon had claw marks on it i think? it was basically swiss family robinson but early 90s animated movie ‘the elm chanted forest’ that im more just baffled my parents were able to acquire something that obscure in their pirated vhs collection, i cant think of a possible reason anyone in my family would ever have been in the same room as a copy of this. like damned i havent even seen any of the youtubers that rate obscure bizzare movies even mention this fever dream. the highlight was probably when the talking mushrooms started breakdancing in a impressively racist manner like damned you raised the bar on racist cartoons somehow for about two minutes in an otherwise completely inoffensive movie from i think croatia. seriously its the best part, even better then when the cactus king summons his sapient weapon minions and engages his ferris wheel of doom to kill all the beavers

the animated series ‘superdave’ about a daredevil who gets repeatedly maimed, and repeatedly framed it as though he was a real person in the way jackie chan adventures does the animated series ‘wish kid’ where macully culkin aged 9 is granted basically fairy odd parents style wish abilities from a baseball glove. gilbert godfried its there, constantly, like hes almost there as much as the kid is holy crap i forgot the tazmanian devil got his own show for like five months yall remember when the ps1 first launched? when the game cases were strangely huge for no particular reason because they hadnt adopted the jewel cases yet and there were only like seven games available for the system and none of them even knew how to incorporate memory cards? ‘blazing dragons’ was a point and click adventure game that happened to be one of those seven games, eric idle was one of the people who made the game yet ive never met anyone who remembers playing the game or even hearing anything about it. yeah, this game had an animated series.... it was surprisingly witty in a were not even trying to make sense way that was purposefully avoiding explaining its world live action series ‘zoobalie zoo’ where people in the worst fursuits known to man just kind of exist in an almost entirely empty set where a handfull of circus cage wagons that i assume were their homes were the only structures outside of like two cardboard bushes why the hell was ‘mighty max’ not a cultural icon the way invader zim was, that show rocked so hard ‘the robonic stooges’ where the 3 stooges are robots jhon candy had an animated series where he played himself as a camp counselor. it.... kinda worked almost, blending the generic 80s camp movie ‘bad land developer’ formula with self aware complaints. it only stank a little the animated ‘happy days’ spinoff where they have a time traveling spaceship

not to be confused with the one where the partridge family lives in the year 3000, or when casper the ghost lives in space.... im beginning to see a trend here ‘starship troopers’ the CG series where surprisingly nobody ever died an animated series about a green rabbit on a spaceship that i only recently learned also was not a fever dream from when i was 8. all images i see of it only convince me more that im still hallucinating its existance i cant rmember the name of it but a live action series about aliens living on earth, all the adults have actual costumes to disguise themselves as humans but the baby, who is apperantly the ruler of the universe, is a disturbing pink puppet. also they have magic powers instead of technology and the theme song was ‘wishing on a star’. memories of this show still occasionally haunt me but it was still better then charles in charge just on novelty value there was a ‘jhonny quest’ reboot that aged him up and incorporated CG for a kind of cyberspace setting for the sole purpose they had a villian that was a quadrapallegic but could do things in the cyberspace setting, yet really nobody should have cared because the cyberspace setting wasnt connected to any real world imput devices so he was just the main boss of his own videogame why are you picking on this man. they were foggy on if haji actually had magic powers or just really hardcore yoga skills, and one fanatical zealot villian who basically escaped from the place they keep the well written batman antagonists you remember the ‘the way things work’ book? it had illustrations on every concept of physics and mechanical processes that used mammoths to explain everything from the screw to the lever to sewing machines to integrated circuits. yeah, it had an animated tv series .....somehow not to be confused with ‘cro’, an animated series about a mammoth that was frozen, thawed in the late 80s, was able to talk, and was a framing device for his stories of a weirdly sexily drawn caveman teen that invented all technology

it was basically ‘the croods’ but better and 30 years earlier a live action series based on ‘harry and the hendersons’.... im surprised they could create enough material for one full episode like seriously where do you go from there? its surprisingly hard to think of a story for ‘were a modern 80s family who has bigfoot as a roomate’ an animated series where a basketball player, baseball player, and hockey player are secretly superheroes. there was also a hardcore badass old lady who did most of the work. wayne gretszky was the one nobody respected the pocket dragons had a show. yes, a show based on collectable porcelain figurines that were marketed for their cute value on home shopping network CG series ‘vanpires’, yes it was about sapient cars that were vampires and actual live children who turned into cars that were vampires. that is all oh yeah, there was a back to the future animated series, i thought i repressed that better speaking of repressed memories, i cannot escape the knowledge that ‘super duper sumos’ and ‘mega babies’ existed, booze cannot erase this knowledge

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machetelanding · 5 years ago

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BY JOE BOB BRIGGS

Los Angeles — I just finished recording a 148-minute commentary track for I Spit On Your Grave Déjà Vu, the 40-years-later sequel to the notorious rape-revenge movie from the seventies, and one of the main reasons I was hired by director Meir Zarchi and his producer son, Terry, is so that the upcoming Blu-ray release could beat back the haters.

Critics don’t like Meir Zarchi. They didn’t like him in 1979 and they don’t like him now.

Distributors don’t like Meir Zarchi. They wouldn’t give him a deal in 1979 and they wouldn’t give him a deal now. (A major studio backed out of an agreement, citing “the cultural environment.”)

Feminists don’t like Meir Zarchi. They called him a misogynist when I Spit On Your Grave first came out, and the film has been the subject of impassioned debate in Women’s Studies classes and film departments ever since.

Fortunately, there was an exploitation marketer named Jerry Gross who took Meir’s original film, called Day of the Woman, retitled it, platformed it through a system of sub-distributors, and fought the various protesters in every city, including Chicago, where Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert stood in front of theaters and told people not to go in. That was followed by a video release that allowed people all over the world to see the movie that was often banned in the very city where they watched it. One of the most liberating developments in the history of free expression was the invention of VHS.

Today all those subdistributors are gone and VHS is a hipster hobby at best, a piece of metal crap in your garage at worst. The chances of I Spit On Your Grave Déjà Vu getting into a mainstream movie theater in 2020 are somewhere between zero and impossible. Fortunately, there’s a device called the Blu-ray player that allows anyone in the world to order a physical copy online and watch it the next day.

The Blu-ray player, in other words, is the Jerry Gross of our day. It’s our defense against a world of judgmental overlords who would very happily make Meir Zarchi’s film disappear.

And pretty soon now we won’t have that protection anymore.

Samsung recently announced that they will no longer manufacture 1080p or 4K Blu-ray players. These are state-of-the-art devices, the absolute best digital image quality ever achieved, but they showed up two years too late. As we know from the early days of video players, people don’t care about image quality. If people cared about image quality, Technicolor and Eastman Kodak would still be in business, because film images have been getting progressively worse since the late 1930s. People care about convenience and price. Nobody upgraded from the Blu-ray players they bought in 2017 — they either accepted the less brilliant image or switched over to streaming, where image quality will never equal any Blu-ray.

We’re not quite at the end of physical media — Sony and Panasonic will probably show record sales this year, now that their biggest competitor has left the field — but it’s the first signal that pretty much everything is gonna be moving to The Cloud. The problem with The Cloud is that someday The Cloud is going to explode into a fine digital mist and trillions of cultural artifacts are going to be lost. I don’t know how it will happen, whether through cyber-terrorism, actual war, or simple mismanagement, but a whole bunch of stuff is gonna get burned up and everyone will be asking, “Who do I sue?”

Of course, all your physical media could burn up, too. Your house could burn down and take all your tapes and DVDs with it. But State Farm would replace it for you. The problem with The Cloud blowing up is that it takes a billion other people with you.

But that’s not even the worst result of moving away from physical media.

The worst result is that controversial movies and tv shows and music — especially under-the-radar media like I Spit On Your Grave — will simply not be there anymore. They will be censored into a digital void.

And we won’t even notice it happening.

Take it from a person who has dealt with censors his whole life: they’re nothing like the stereotype. The stereotype is Anthony Comstock, head of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, upholding Victorian morality. The stereotype is Thomas Bowdler, the English doctor who took all the naughty parts out of Shakespeare. The stereotype is Tipper Gore, dedicating herself to saving the youth of America by getting rid of rap music.

I’ve only encountered one opponent like this: The Reverend Donald Wildmon of Tupelo, Mississippi, a “family values” advocate who devoted himself to ridding the world of pornography in all its forms, including high school sex comedies and horror films. The Reverend was fun to debate with because his position was so pure — he really did think movies could turn ordinary people into rapists and killers.

But these aren’t real censors. These are crusaders. They eventually collapse under the weight of their own self-righteousness.

The real censors are the people who say, “Let’s stay away from that topic.” They’re the retiring types. They wear grey cardigans and sensible shoes. They’re middle managers at Disney, creative executives at Fox, lawyers at CBS. Their solution to any controversy is to cancel the show, pull the film out of distribution, cut off the licensing.

Amos ‘n’ Andy, one of the most influential radio and television series ever produced — the template for The Honeymooners, Sanford and Son, All in the Family and many other “bro” series — hasn’t been widely seen since 1966 because CBS took it out of distribution and refused to license it. Its crime: racist stereotypes.

If you haven’t seen the slasher Clownhouse, you probably never will unless you own the hard-to-find DVD. Its crime: the director was a convicted child molester.

Don’t watch the “Sign my dick” scene from Victor Crowley on Amazon Prime, because they took out the money shot. Its crime: showing a dick.

Notice that these are all crimes of omission. They just make the film, or the scene, or the entire series, unavailable.

And these are the people who own The Cloud.

These are the people who run streaming.

Once the DVD players are gone, and once the Blu-ray players are gone, all we’ll have left is faceless bureaucrats who are periodically cleansing their library of inconvenient titles. They won’t care about right or wrong, justice or injustice, questions like “Has enough time passed to start running The Cosby Show again?”

And the little companies like Something Weird Video, knocking at the doors of the big streaming services? “No, sir, I don’t think our company needs to be renting Bigfoot Gets Laid at the current time. We’re doing just fine with Transformers 12.”

It will be censorship of the minority by the majority. It will be silent and legal. You won’t notice it until the day you discover Cannibal Holocaust, only to find that all the rights have been purchased by an animal-rights group so that they can make sure it’s never seen again.

Vladimir Putin will love it. Xi Jinping will love it. Recep Erdogan will be especially fond of it. All you have to do is find the corrupting media influence wherever it resides in The Cloud, push one button and — voila! — it’s gone. So much better than when they had those pesky home video devices. In those days we couldn’t even be sure of what they were watching. Media is better when it keeps track of the watcher. Media is better when it doesn’t just know what to feed you, it knows when to starve you.

#joe bob briggs #movie critics #horror hosts #media #physical media #blurays #dvds #movies #television #censorship #i spit on your grave #streaming #political correctness #dictators #anti sjw

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fishdavidson · 5 years ago

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Dream Journal 2019-11-06: A (Poorly-Executed) Cloak And Dagger Operation

Happy Wednesday! Get ready for another episode of quality dream action!

Dream Fragments

A wooden power pole had toppled over onto my brand new roof. The roof wasn’t damaged, but I was ready to go yell at the power company. Also I was confused as to how a power pole made it there in the first place, since there aren’t any within toppling distance in real life.

The Main Dream

At some point between the start of this dream and where I become aware of the dream, I went to a secondhand store and bought something. Specifically, I bought a garish-looking VHS tape whose case just screamed 1980s cyberpunk. In addition to being so hideously dated that I had to buy it, the text on the case appeared to be in Russian. The title of the tape appeared to say “яндъ“ in big letters. There was some smaller text on the cover, too, but I couldn’t remember it.

I don’t currently own a VHS player, so my subconscious transported me to the nearest place likely to have one: an old Sunday school classroom. There were maybe 20 people in the room already, all sitting around a big square table and talking. No one seems to notice me, so I pull up the TV cart and put the tape in the player to see what’s on it.

There are a few brief shots of a landscape and some more Russian text. It looks like a publicly-funded educational video of some kind. The screen goes black shortly thereafter and the speakers play something that sounds like static. I know exactly what this means:

THERE IS A SECRET HIDDEN IN THIS TAPE!

Real-Life Computer History Tangent Time: Many years ago, computer programs would be recorded to cassette tapes instead of saving them disk. Yes, the would be recorded to audio cassettes, like the kind Star Lord listens to in Guardians of the Galaxy. If you played the encoded tapes back, you would hear static, and some places distributed computer programs over the radio this way. People would have their tape recorders ready to record the sounds of static and “download” the program. To load it into memory, the computer would play back the tape and decode the static as a series of zeroes and ones and reconstruct the program that way.

BACK TO THE DREAM NOW!

So I’m still hanging out in the room with this VHS tape full of secrets and I really want to know what’s on the tape. My subconscious wants me to succeed in this endeavor, and now there is an old Commodore 64 connected to the VCR/TV that I can use to read the secret message.

On the tape are secret government documents and blueprints for an experimental nuclear reactor that has either recently been built or is about to be built. There are also cool messages like “for your eyes only” and “this does not officially exist.” HOLY CRAP, I HAVE INTERCEPTED SECRET SPY COMMUNICATION!

I look back at the people in the room, most of whom do not seem to have paid any attention to me. Two of the placeholder people in the audience are not from the area. I somehow recognize these two men as being Russian spies who will straight-up murder me in order to keep this stuff secret. If I try to leave quietly, they will follow me out and poison me or something.

How does Fish Davidson extricate himself from this situation? BY BEING AN IDIOT, OF COURSE! I make a loud noise to draw attention to myself and announce that I have found a secret tape containing RUSSIAN NUCLEAR SECRETS and that I’m being hunted by foreign spies for possessing this knowledge. This way, people will know what happened if I suddenly turned up dead.

But I don’t stop there! I also announce that two of the spies tracking me are in the room with us, and point those two out. They pretend to be surprised at the accusation, but they do not fool me. At this point, I believe I have the upper hand in the situation. The spies can’t get me or the tape without incurring a lot of casualties. They also probably won’t directly hurt me in front of all these witnesses. I am effectively invincible in this moment.

“Lemme feel how soft your hair is, you silly spy!” I say to the man to my left. He groans and sinks into his chair as I approach. My hands rumple the man’s hair. “Your hair is really soft,” I say. “Good job on your hair care!”

I walk to the other side of the room and approach a man with shoulder length blond hair. His hair is stiff and coated with enough product to classify it as concrete. I knock on this guy’s hair with my knuckles and it makes a hollow sound. “Your hair is not soft,” I say. “Try using less hair gel.”

Then I walk out the door and wake up shortly thereafter, free from the threat of Russian spies.

P.S. I looked up the title of the VHS tape in my dream and apparently that combination of letters is pronounced similar to “Yand” or “Yanda.” According to Google, it may also be the name of a river in Russia. COOL!

---------------

Header image is “VHS FUTURE” by Pixe-Licious on Society6.

#dream journal #dreams #fishdavidson #russian #vhs #video tape #spy #cyrillic #hair

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skateboardtips · 6 years ago

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HISTORY OF SKATEBOARDING

Introduction

Skateboarding is something beyond cruising around. Skateboarding is a way of life. Skateboarding is love. In the course of recent years Skateboarding experienced a sort of advancement.

The central matters of the story we cleared up for you in our skateboarding history:

By the mid 1950s, surfing can be followed as the wellspring of skateboarding. A few surfers had the plan to exchange the sentiment of riding waves onto the lanes to resist times of days with a delicate swell. Not with no reason these fellows were classified "black-top surfers". At two spots on the planet a sort of a skateboard was created at the first run through in the mid 1950s: California and Hawaii. They utilized shorter surfboards and wheels made out of metal without certain direction. In the late 1950s, skateboarding had a first pinnacle. Amid the post-war period, the U.S. economy blasted and this likewise influenced the toy business. Amid that time, the toy business ended up mindful of the load up with wheels. In 1959, Roller Derby discharged the principal official skateboard with some new specialized improvements. In this manner, the taking care of qualities have been improved. Consequently, skateboarders had the capacity to grow new traps and moves.

bite the dust ersten Boards

THE 1960S

Between the years 1959 and 1965, skateboarding turned out to be increasingly more mainstream in the United States. Especially influenced were the states on the east and west drifts. Because of the mechanical improvement, the skateboard's status changed from toy to sports hardware. In 1962, the surf shop "Val-Surf" in Hollywood sold the main self-delivered skateboards. These sheets highlighted a run of the mill surfboard shape and roller skate trucks and were sold as total sheets. Around the same time, the organization Patterson Forbes built up the first mechanically created total loads up with progressively created trucks. In 1963, the distributer of the "Surf Guide Magazine" Larry Stevenson discharged the main commercial for skateboards in his magazine. Likewise the attire business concentrated increasingly more on skateboarding. A standout amongst the most acclaimed skateboarding shoe brand named Vans was built up in 1966. From this day on, Vans bolstered skateboarders from everywhere throughout the world. Particularly shoe organizations like Vans, Etnies, Converse and DC Shoes created and fabricated skateboarding related footwear and streetwear.

Vans Old School

Another milestone occasion in 1963 was the primary skate challenge in Hermosa Beach, California. Skateboarding was not simply cruising any longer. Skateboarders demonstrated their aptitudes in various controls like slalom or free-form and organizations began to amass a group to support the riders. As the fame of skateboarding started to extend, the principal skateboarding magazine "The Quarterly Skateboarder" was distributed in 1964.

A next huge advance was the further improvement of the state of the sheets. Larry Stevenson concocted the "kicktail", and with it came significantly more conceivable outcomes to ride a skateboard.

Old fashioned Boards

THE 1970S

The main reliable thing is change thus it went to a point where everything changed for skateboarding. Honest Nasworthy's innovation of urethane wheels in 1972 made it feasible for skateboarding to return. Nasworthy began the organization Cadillac Wheels and with the new material it was conceivable to ride smoother, quicker and progressively agreeable. An assortment of controls, for example, free-form, downhill and slalom encountered a genuine high point. New magazines like the "Skateboarder Magazine" from 1975 were distributed and new occasions were propelled. In 1976, the principal falsely made skate park was introduced and new stops developed with new components, for example, vertical slopes and kickers.

Gadillac Wheels

In the mid-1970s, skateboarding achieved Germany. The American officers carried the pattern with them and by 1976 Munich turned into the principal German skateboard focus. In Munich Neuperlach, the principal skate park was manufactured, first skateboard magazines pursued and in 1978 the primary German skateboard titles were held in Munich.

All the distinctive riders with their individual styles upgraded bunches of new traps. In this way, skateboarding equipment was grown further and further: Shapes changed, sheets ended up more extensive, got progressively sunken and they highlighted nose and tail.

At that point in 1978, Alan Gelfand imagined a move that gave skateboarding another progressive bounce: The "Ollie", which considers the best trap at any point concocted and totally upset skateboarding. That was the introduction of road skateboarding!

Alen Gelfand - Ollie

THE 1980S

Rodney Mullen was one of the main riders who exchanged the Ollie for various moves onto the boulevards and spread another style of skateboarding. Alongside other fun game exercises like BMX or inline skating, road skateboarding grew to an ever increasing extent and turned out to be prominent.

Rodney Mullen

In 1981, the "Thrasher Magazine" was established and from that point forward, this magazine represents road skateboarding, the center scene, punk shake and the way of life motto "Skate And Destroy". In 1983, another notable magazine was established, specifically the "Transworld Skateboarding Magazine". Beside these magazines, a couple of littler ones were established and more skate shops opened. Along these lines, the fame of skateboarding kept on developing. A worldwide scattering of new traps and concealed skate moves permitted the primary skate recordings on VHS. Videography has turned out to be progressively critical to the scene.

Thrasher

Titus Dittmann was instrumental in the advancement of skateboarding in Germany. He imported skate-related items from the US and composed challenges and different skateboarding occasions. The "Münster Monster Mastership" wound up one of the greatest universal skateboarding rivalries during the 1980s. Hence, skateboarding turned out to be increasingly more well known in Germany.

From the mid-1980s on, it was conceivable to procure great cash as an expert skateboarder and the skateboard business blasted in the US. In the late 1980s, organizations like Powell Peralta, Santa Cruz and Vision commanded the universal market of the scene. The design was for the most part controlled by shoes. Shoes by Vans, Converse or Vision progressed toward becoming leaders for the skateboarding scene.

Powell Peralta

Skateboarding was presently completely settled the US and in Germany and vert skateboarding was supplanted by road skateboarding. The quantity of skateboarders expanded altogether and expert skateboarders turned out to be increasingly more celebrated simply like baseball or football stars.

FROM THE 1990S

In the mid 1990s, skateboarding experienced a further profundity stage because of the expansion in different pattern sports. So skateboarding returned to its foundations. But since of the digitalization, skateboarding kept up its essence out in the open. From the mid-1990s, the advanced skateboarding encountered a next high stage, which proceeds until today. Super occasions like the "X-Games" were propelled and broadcast. Because of various magazines, every one of the occasions, recordings and to wrap things up the web, skateboarding ended up basic around the world.

Due to brands like Chocolate, Girl Skateboards or Flip Skateboards, the skateboarding equipment was grown to an ever increasing extent and skateboarders could purchase amazing skateboards in each greater city.

Reynolds and Koston

More markers are the huge and worldwide known occasions of "Road League". "Road League Skateboarding" is a challenge arrangement for universal star skaters. Here, you just observe the best road skateboarder you can consider like Nyjah Huston, Eric Koston, Paul Rodriguez, Andrew Reynolds, Ryan Sheckler or Torey Pudwill. Because of the money prizes of 200.000 US Dollars or more for the victor and 10.000 guests at the "Road League" quits, skateboarding has turned into a pro game.

Road League

In Germany, road skating is the most prevalent control at challenges simply like in the USA. The European and German skate scene is free, has its own industry, geniuses and a national challenge arrangement. This is a proof of how enormous the job of skateboarding is in our general public.

Skateboarding has turned into an occupation for many individuals. Due to the expanding organizing inside the skate scene, skateboarding will develop and acquire more advancements what's to come. Yet, for the greater part of us, skateboarding is and will be a diversion and a demeanor to life.

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polarpal · 2 years ago

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Resident evil 7 nightmare

On that note, towards the end of every wave, you'll get a warning telling you to kill the remaining enemies, and given 40 seconds to do so. Scrap accumulates in the generators slowly (there are upgrades to speed up the process but you won't be able to afford them for a wave or two at minimum), and it is completely possible to run out of scrap if you use too much ammo or too many First Aid Meds.

This means you'll need to save it, yet spend enough to keep your weapons loaded and Clancy alive throughout the night. To buy bigger upgrades and more powerful weapons, you'll need more scrap. Unfortunately, the scrap must be collected from the generators manually (but it doesn't take up any space in your inventory to collect it). There are four generators (something new in this DLC) in the basement that distribute "scrap." The scrap can be used on workbenches (there are two in the basement, these are also new) to create weapons, ammo, First Aid Meds, upgrades, etc. No weapons, no First Aid Meds, not even the Knife. Thankfully, he knows not to run with scissors and he'll move a bit slower this time around.īut it's not quite that simple. The second time he spawns (at the very end of the scenario, just before you finish it), he's got that "groovy" chainsaw-scissors combo from the base game. The first time he spawns, he's carrying that spiked/paint-roller weapon, and he moves pretty quick. Jack spawns at the end of wave 2 and the final wave. The idea is to survive from midnight to 5 AM, with each hour being a wave of Molded to fight (thankfully these aren't real-time hours!). You'll have to fight off waves of Molded (all different types) and Jack Baker (twice). I'll explain: Clancy is trapped in the basement from the base game. And because of the way this works, you wouldn't want to anyway. Night Terror doesn't unlock until you've beaten Nightmare, so you can't stack them. The second is for beating it on the hard difficulty, called Night Terror. The first is for beating it on Nightmare mode. There are two achievements tied to this tape. Lastly, to find the DLC's: starting from the Main Menu, scroll down to "EXTRA CONTENT" and select "Banned Footage" from the next menu. Ultimately, this DLC is fun because it tests your item management skills and efficiency in using what you have, similar to the way the original Resident Evil does. First, let's take care of the Banned Footage. I won't go into too much detail about that mode, as there's enough information to warrant it's own page. The additional mode (Ethan Must Die) will put you back in Ethan's shoes, and will have you playing through a short portion of familiar areas from the base game, with the main objective being to kill Marguerite. The Banned Footage will have you playing as Clancy, seeing some more of the horrific things he saw before meeting his maker. In the first Resi 7 DLC you'll play through two nightmarish scenarios (the VHS tapes aka "Banned Footage") and one additional mode.

#Resident evil 7 nightmare

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nickgerlich · 3 years ago

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Pass The Popcorn

It’s one of those traditions that goes without questioning. No one seems to care about when and why moviegoers started munching on popcorn in theatres. It’s just what you do. As if the price of admission weren’t already enough, we pony up another $10 or more on one of the highest profit margin products available.

In case you’re actually wondering, popcorn and movies date to 1927, when the “talkies” were introduced. Although popcorn had been popular since the mid-1800s, there were no cinemas yet. And even when silent movies debuted in the early-1900s, they were shown in elaborate theatres in which eating was not allowed. These attracted the intellectual elite of the time, because they were able to read the text screens. Score one for literacy, which begat wealth and class.

But in 1927, movies with sound hit theatres, and the rules were changed. Suddenly the masses wanted to go to the movies, and bring their snacks with them. Savvy street vendors seized the opportunity to sell popcorn outside these theatres, but the theatres wised up and started selling their own.

And subsequently banning any outside food. Unless you sneak it in, of course. Large purses for the win. Very large.

Going to the movies became an American preoccupation, a time-honored activity where folks on first dates, families, and everyone in between went to watch the latest offerings from Hollywood. But that was before all things digital, which started with VHS and later DVD movies available to rent or buy, and then streaming. Stir in a little pandemic for seasoning, and now you see an industry in a world of hurt. People just aren’t going to the movies anymore. Actually, in the last year, 61% of Americans reported not having gone at all.

And things are so bad that theatre chain AMC is planning to start selling its popcorn at retail outside of the cinema.

Hold the salt and add some butter, this sounds like the perfect storm of retailing reality and new product disruption. Good luck with this, AMC.

To wit: AMC dreams of opening popcorn kiosks inside other retailers, as well as partnering with third-party delivery companies to make its tasty morsels available far from the silver screen. It’s a dream that sounds good on paper, but I have serious reservations about actually working.

For one, it requires advance planning from consumers. Typically, the movie ticket and popcorn purchase are only a few minutes apart. The popcorn is fresh and hot. Try doing that with Door Dash. And then consider those kiosks, where they plan to sell microwave popcorn just like Orville Redenbacher.

There is much to be said about venturing far away from one’s area of expertise. AMC knows how to make and sell popcorn in theatres, but knows nothing about retail and off-premise consumption. Even though it created a new position to pursue this new strategy, and even poached an executive from Frito-Lay, I see a major disconnect in all of this.

I’ll share an anecdote. My brother likes to trawl discount stores, scooping up bargains. When I saw him last summer, he gave me a couple of bottles of barbecue sauce he had gotten at one of those stores that carry things that went unsold elsewhere. I looked down and beheld two bottles of Cuisinart sauce. I knew I had an example of line extending gone bad. While Cuisinart may know kitchen appliances, it knows nothing about the sauces people put on the foods they cook in their appliances, nor the distribution thereof.

Same goes for AMC, but even worse. They have forgotten their business, which is movies. Popcorn is just extra profit. And if you disconnect the popcorn from the theatre-going experience, it all comes crashing down to earth. The odds are good that many households have been buying competing products for years, and I doubt they will see a need to switch brands.

I know what you’re thinking. Many restaurant brands have found their way into supermarkets, like Taco Bell, White Castle, and even the now-defunct chain Chi Chi’s. You can still make money and find some modicum of success, but it is risky business. Trying to leverage brand equity in one area to another often results in good money chasing bad.

As for AMC, they did not have many choices. They could do this, roll over and die, or possibly partner with a streaming service for a promotion. Of these, I think the latter would have been best. After all, streaming services are about movies, not the retail path AMC has chosen. And doing nothing is just giving up. It’s not an easy proposition no matter what, but this would have been the better path.

I’m not holding my breath on this one. And I am one of the 61% who has not been to a movie now measured in pandemic years. I also have my doubts I will ever go to one, if only because I have now considered what a Petri dish of other peoples’ germs they are. Besides, I have all these streaming services, and, quite frankly, I like what Netflix is doing far better than anything coming out of Hollywood.

I suspect my brother will find cases of this stuff at the discount store in less than a year. It goes without question. I’ll just sit here and wait as this horror movie plays out.

Dr “Can Someone Get Me A Beer?“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

#marketing #popcorn #movie #theatre #theater #AMC

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360photoboothhire · 3 years ago

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Why Should You Rent Chrisco Productions Entertainment Service

Each year, Chrisco Production Entertainment Services offers a wide variety of entertainment and entertainment-related services to the general public. This company has been around for more than 50 years and has steadily grown in that time. The key to their success is very simple: They offer a broad range of different types of entertainment and entertainment services available at a reasonable cost. They offer something for anyone, regardless of your taste maybe! This article will show you ways to make the most out of your next party by having them serve as your entertainers or service providers.

We've produced high-quality broadcasts for a variety of Fortune 500 companies as well as small start-up businesses. We are experts in the transfer of older 8mm Super8 and 16mm home films to DVD or digital formats that can be played on computers or mobile devices like such as an iPhone or IPad. We also convert VHS tapes to dvd, AVI files and MOV discs for files or USB Flash Drive formats. We offer a complete array of services starting from a home-video or wedding DVD to a professional broadcast standard product that can be distributed worldwide. We have collaborated with a variety of major studios and independent filmmakers on award-winning documentary and films that have been shown in cinemas, film festivals, and T.V. around the world.

Second, professional entertainers are able to alter their show. If you're hiring performers for your corporate event, don't think that there's no room to be flexible in how the entertainer entertains guests at the event. Of course, certain performers have a lot of time to perfect their shows (which is why they charge the prices they do) However, if you want them to make changes, they can perform this easily. Additionally, the professional performers are trustworthy. Contrary to friends and family members who might be excited about performing at your event, professional entertainers are serious about their work and don't cancel at the last minute (unless it is due to circumstances beyond their control). In this area, there is another way in which our years of experience writing are a big factor. We know what makes for a good story well-read and will always keep the customer's vision for their project in the forefront of our minds. We're confident that once you've witnessed what we can do and deliver, you'll never go anywhere else for future projects! In addition to the above-mentioned offerings, the Chrisco Productions offers these services as follows: Special Effects, Character Voiceovers, Video Game Voice Overs, animated intros, song production and Music Design & Engineering, and Photography & Digital Artwork. To generate more details kindly head to Chriscoproductions

You can rest assured that your special requests will be considered and actioned, so you can enjoy a memorable experience from beginning to end. Another benefit to Chrisco Productions is their responsiveness as they're always there to help you any time you require them. Chrisco Productions also provides some helpful extras along with each item or service offered by them, including committed team members, props, and safety equipment, plus insurance coverage where needed. One of the main things about Chrisco Production, which sets them apart from other companies in their industry, is the fact that they truly care about their clients and will go to great lengths to ensure they are satisfied. Whether it's listening to feedback or providing advice the company will always do what it takes to make sure they are able to do this. If you're a planner or event planner, you'll know that it can be difficult working with people because you never think you'll get their approval or like your ideas; when you work with Chrisco however, this isn't an issue since they'll know before you do and deliver the highest quality solution that they can.

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moma-jo · 3 years ago

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Vintage from the 1980s

Ships from a small business in

Read the full description

Canada

Materials: home video, vinyl, cardboard cover, vhs tape, cartoon, full color

Description

Dave Fleischer -Director Cast -Mae Questel -Voice Jack Mercer -Voice Crew-Max Fleischer-Producer-S Seymour Kneitel-Animation Director Copyrighted in 1989 by the ABM Group Distributed by The ABM Group, 260 Midland Ave, unit#5 Scarborough, Ontario, M1S1P8. The ABM Group was a Canadian home video distributor from Ontario. They were one of Canada's largest video companies in the early 1990s. This VHS was one of the first movies that ABM put into production. The sticker on the VHS tape is handwritten as well, which shows that it was one of the first. Approximate running time is 30 minutes, color What you see is what you get-ASIS. Don’t have a VHS anymore, so could not test it. The cartoon begins in an orphanage, where the orphans are all asleep in the dormitory, waiting for Christmas morning. Just then the clock chimes, and a puppy in the place of the cuckoo jumps out, slides down a ramp, and licks one of the orphans. The first orphan wakes up to shout to the others, "Merry Christmas, everybody!" They all jump out of bed and make their way to the hall, where they grab the toys from their stockings and get ready to play with them. However, they discover the terrible truth that the toys are old, worn, and already broken when they completely fall apart. The orphans are traumatized, and they burst into tears over having no other Christmas presents. Meanwhile, Professor Grampy is outside, riding through the snow in his outboard motor-driven sleigh. He hears crying as he passes the orphanage, so he parks the sleigh, runs to the door, and peeps through the window to see the orphans wailing and tearfully heading back to their bedroom. Grampy feels distressed for the orphans and starts to think of a way to give them a better Christmas. He puts on his "thinking cap", and the lightbulb on his cap blinks, meaning that he has an idea. He sneaks in through the kitchen window and starts making new toys out of household appliances, furniture, and other kitchen paraphernalia (a washboard, a roller shade, the works of an old alarm clock, etc). While the orphans are still crying in the dormitory, Grampy dresses up as Santa Claus (with bent stovepipes for the boots, a red tablecloth for the jacket, a pillow for the weight, a strop for the belt, a picture frame for the buckle, and a red purse for the hat), grabs a dinner bell, and surprises the orphans by ringing the bell and shouting, "Merry Christmas, everybody!" The orphans instantly stop crying, brighten and excitedly rush out to play with their new toys. Grampy completes the scene by making a Christmas tree out of green umbrellas. He places it on top of a phonograph, decorates it, and gathers all the orphans together. As they sing, a giant 1936 Christmas Seal stamp appears on the screen, showing Santa Claus and a "Holiday Greetings" message. When it was first produced, they promised it to be 100% guaranteed to have high quality videotape and recording; so I wonder how long their guarantee it??? The pictures on the cover package are color enhanced artist reproductions of the 1936 actual cartoons. Christmas Cartoons is a registered trademark of “The First on the Block Video Group” They created a series of 6 videos. This VHS is meant for only the serious collector that knows how to restore old magnetic tapes from Vintage VHS’. Other sellers will tell you they tested the tape, which is a bad thing to do unless you know what you are doing, this is why: THE GOOD NEWS I researched the internet on this specific VHS and found that there are not more then one or two out there available to be Sold as they were quickly replaced by a larger company “Classic Cartoons” that bought out the original producers of the video and made thousands of them for sale. You will see many of them available for sale, the front of the cover has Santa Claus looking back as you as he drops off his presents. I also want you to know that I kept it in a temperature-controlled environment and dry storage in a dark place. The cover is in excellent condition with very little wear. Check out the pictures THE NOT SO GOOD NEWS” Even if you take incredibly good care of them, VHS tapes will eventually deteriorate. By the very nature of their components, VHS just wasn’t built to stand the test of time. There are several factors that cause VHS tape to degrade, a key one being that the magnetic charge needed for them to work is not permanent. Magnetic particles gradually lose their charge, in a process called remanence decay. The rate of decay will depend on the exact chemistry of the particles used, but if it does happen you can expect some colour shift towards weaker hues and a loss of detail overall in your footage. Good thing I never tested this tape; as I wanted to give it to you in its original state so that when you, the collector, attempt to make it work, you know it was not played around with... Research generally indicates that magnetic tapes like VHS and Hi8, stored well, will experience 10-20% signal loss, purely from magnetic decay, after 10-25 years. Given how long VHS has been obsolete, chances are that this tape has already reached, if not exceeded, this time frame. Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Comes_But_Once_a_Year

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nightmareonfilmstreet · 7 years ago

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WE’RE the Monster Squad!: New Trailer for WOLFMAN’S GOT NARDS-A DOCUMENTARY

For many horror fans, the fascination and passion for the genre started at a young age. Whether it was catching glimpses from behind a cracked door, perusing HBO or, in my case, secretly renting VHS movies from the grocery store down the street and watching them while babysitting younger siblings. Monster Squad was one of those movies. The combination of heart, horror and humor found in this film is certainly one that has had an impact on many over the years and there’s a new documentary being released celebrating this impact.

Wolfman’s Got Nards is a project of passion. Directed by Andre Gower (who originally portrayed Sean in Monster Squad) the documentary explores the film’s past while focusing on the fans and the incredible way that 1987’s Monster Squad connected with so many. The cult following simmered beneath the surface for years, unbeknownst to many involved with the original production. Here’s a synopsis of the doc from their official website:

When it was released in 1987, The Monster Squad was deemed a failure by critics and was, according to the box office, a film no one cared about. But over the last three decades, word of mouth has turned this sleeping hit into a cultural phenomenon.

WOLFMAN’S GOT NARDS explores the relationship a dedicated audience (including celebrities and filmmakers) has with The Monster Squad. This documentary takes an in-depth look into the film’s conception, response, cult status, and revival. Through interviews with the cast, crew, screenwriters, directors, academics and original reviewers as well as through never-before-seen footage, it turns the lens on an audience of self-proclaimed misfits who have kept The Monster Squad alive for more than thirty years.

The documentary premiered at the Chattanooga Film Festival and has been racking up rave reviews ever since. A new trailer has just been released and it’s easy to see why. Chocked full of interviews from critics, actors, fans, industry insiders and even director Fred Dekker himself, there’s no shortage of people willing to stand up and sing the praises of this cult classic. While distribution details are still being hashed out, the surfacing of this trailer hints that something is likely on the horizon. Haven’t seen the original film yet? Find it. You will not be disappointed.

Make sure you check out the trailer above and let us know what you think about it in the comments below, on Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and in the Horror Fiends of Nightmare on Film Street Facebook group!

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beastlondoninfo · 4 years ago

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The Scent Movie Trailer 2020

To be able to verify the record of finest films ever, it's fairly a process at hand. Since everybody has his or her opinion on what qualifies and quantifies as the perfect, film makers search varied strategies to propel their productions to the An inventory. Aside from having well-recognized faces on board to type the forged and crew, an important film theme tune can be a vital ingredient. Though folks could neglect the storyline and faces, an important tune is there to remain within the thoughts. By buzzing a couple of acquainted bars, the viewer is mechanically transported to a sure level in his reminiscence financial institution. This is the reason films make use of shifting songs to tickle the ears and hearts, thus gaining themselves a foothold within the viewer's record of favorites. The Scent Movie Trailer 2020

Dissecting additional into what makes the perfect films ever, sure parts which maintain poignant moments are additional emphasised. Usually it's the time when the perfect line or speech is delivered. Different occasions, the perfect interplay between the forged which can sport an onscreen kiss, combat scene or another related level. Maybe focus is positioned on the perfect particular, visible or sound results because the viewers are handled to laser exhibits and 3D imagery. With the current introduction of 3D films, film goers are given an adrenaline rush as they don the particular however odd-looking eyewear to see the film attain out to them.

To supply a blockbuster of a film theme, the screenwriters knit the surroundings, environment, forged and emotion into a large blanket. Complemented with musical interludes, it varieties the center of the film. Advertising campaigns are additional boosted by enticing and significant posters. Having a supportive and gifted crew on board is equally vital because the background models make the foreground groups look and sound good. That in all probability explains why films roll such lengthy credit on the finish.

Learn More

Irrespective of what number of films you personal, there'll come a time once you really feel you might want to be extra organized. Possibly you've got simply moved or are about to maneuver and also you notice you do not know what you personal or what meaning to your group plans. With a film organizer, you'll find out what you personal, what you want, and how one can prepare all of it. However to seek out the perfect film organizer, you might want to ask your self a couple of questions.

In Individual or Software program?

The reality is that the perfect film organizer could also be an individual in your life with higher group expertise than you might have...in addition to extra time. You would possibly wish to pay an older youngster or a pal to take a seat down together with your DVDs and different film information after which arrange them for you. Nonetheless, this could usually flip right into a waste of time as you would possibly find yourself speaking greater than organizing. An expert organizer will help to keep away from this hassle, although they're a bit dearer. With a DVD organizer software program program, it is possible for you to to run this system at any time, at your comfort and solely pay one for the obtain.

Is It Simple to Use?

For those who've determined to make use of a software program program, the perfect film organizer is one which might be straightforward to make use of. Strive searching for applications which have a a reimbursement assure or that supply free trials so as to check out this system earlier than you pay full worth. Take a while to enter in no less than twenty films earlier than you make any remaining selections concerning the buy. You may also wish to ask different folks within the family to make use of this system so as to see if this system works for anybody who would possibly use it.

Can It Deal with the Measurement of Your Assortment?

The most effective film organizer is one that can be capable of deal with the dimensions of your film assortment now and sooner or later. Test to see that this system can deal with no less than twice the variety of films that you simply personal with the intention to develop this program at any time when it's a necessity to take action.

Does It Replace Repeatedly?

Each software program program will want updates once in a while, however additionally, you will need the perfect film organizer program to replace your assortment as properly. Every time you add a brand new film, this system ought to replace the association and the folders you may have created. This fashion, you do not have to spend preliminary time organizing past the primary setup.

With a film organizer program, you'll be able to preserve observe of all the films you personal, whether or not they're in DVD, VHS, or mp4 codecs. Since leisure is really easy to buy and to retailer nowadays, you want all the assistance you will get to ensure you're in a position to preserve observe of what you personal. Issues do not must get out of hand.

Attempting to categorize the perfect films of all time in accordance with style could be a nuisance. Annually comes with its personal film which at all times appears to be higher than the earlier 12 months. Nonetheless, in spite being launched a number of years in the past, there are these films that captured the creativeness of the world and moved thousands and thousands to tears. Most of those usually are likely to revolve round true tales that formed the lives of thousands and thousands.

Herein I'll take a look at a few of the films that turned the eye of the world to Africa. Thanks to those movies, the heroes of those movies can relaxation in peace that the world obtained to know what was occurring within the land.

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#The Scent Movie Trailer 2020

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chicagoindiecritics · 5 years ago

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New from Every Movie Has a Lesson by Don Shanahan: EDITORIAL: Lessons on the New Future of Movie Theaters

Image: pxfuel.com

During this last month or so of our collective national and international quarantine, I’ve been holding the topic of re-opening movie theaters from my usual “What We Learned This Week” columns on the Feelin’ Film podcast for a “Soapbox Special.” There have been so many articles, so many perspectives, and so many rapidly evolving updates and changes that I couldn’t distill them down into one little lesson or column entry.

With several regions of America starting to re-open (including my own state of Illinois and city of Chicago), it was time to get on the stump and arm the cannons. I put some of what follows into spoken word recently on an episode of Mike Crowley’s “You’’ll Probably Agree” podcast, but the issue has grown since then. Click into the multitude of links in the lessons for the deeper referenced stories. They are well worth their reads and your attention. The theme of this all can be summarized as cautiously optimistic.

LESSON #1: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO GO BACK TO THEATERS — I’ll open this rant back in late May with polling from Variety. It featured a survey of consumer comfort. Here are some bulleted results in numerical order:

91% requested hand sanitizer stations

90% say the most important factor is a cure for COVID-19.

86% supported limited screenings for cleaning time

75% support employees temperature checks

70% would rather watch a first-run feature at home

61% would feel better about mandatory face coverings

60% support audience temperature checks

47% were comfortable buying concessions

46% were comfortable using public restrooms at theaters

There’s more there in that article, but those were the highlights. Beyond even that poll, you’ve got more and more segments of the population who won’t feel comfortable with any public event, let alone a movie, without a vaccine in place. Putting any number of these initiatives in place would be costly, especially for theater chain companies reeling on the edge of bankruptcy.

LESSON #2: WHAT DOES THAT FUTURE LOOK LIKE — Any of those changes from Lesson #1 would make for a very different setting than the “normal” way we’ve been going to the movies for the last century. Many editorials and articles (Seattle Times in May, Vulture in May, and Quartz in June) have tried to talk that out exhaustively with every guess in the clouds. For example, many of us have embraced reserved seating as a way to select our spots, skip crowds, and guarantee seats even if we walk in last minute to avoid 20 minutes of senseless trailers (I know that’s not just me, *wink*). The activity timeline changes upward if we are to stand in a line for temperature checks and even downward if there are no concession lines or needs anymore, which is a tremendous business hit to the theater chains that have been bolstering their kitchen capabilities and choices beyond candy and popcorn for the better part of the last two decades. The other word in there everyone wants to avoid is “crowds.” Can that be accomplished with roped off sections, skipped seats, or an all-reserved seating model (which some older theaters don’t fully have)? In the meantime, you’ve got companies fumbling financial footballs and poking public outcry bears (bravo Michael Phillips) over requiring or not requiring masks (and reversing courses) and other measures before they even open. Do you really trust them to get all of this right on the first try here in July?

LESSON #3: THE OPTION OF AUTOMATION — Piggybacking off of Lesson #2, one potential solution could be artificial intelligence, as crazy at that sounds. According to Variety in May, some theaters in Korea were considering “contact-free” technology. Theater chain CJ-CGV replaced its human staff with AI robots and automated kiosks for scanning and handling ticket transactions. Concession stands were replaced with app-powered and LED-controlled pick-up/delivery boxes. Leave it to tech-savvy Asia to be the tip of that spear. Could the likes of AMC or Regal pull stuff like that off, again, while teetering on financial failure? How do data-danger-minded consumers feel about that?

LESSON #4: COMPANY SURVIVAL IS PERILOUS — The first three lessons constitute a forecast and some great ideas, but who or what can afford those measures? After months of virtually complete closure, save for some door-front concession hawking, large theater chains, especially AMC (which includes the Carmike brand), are in the financial toilet. Bailouts and loans are hard to come by and “junk” status is hitting stock reports. You even have Amazon interested in gobbling up AMC, which would be quite interesting. It may require a rescue such as that. This peril is international as well with CineEurope reporting a possible $20–31 billion loss for the year. Even reopening isn’t an instant cure. The majority of profits for these companies are dependent on concessions because of the high ticket receipt percentages going back to the studios, a gouge that has been increasing over the years at the high blockbuster level (Thanks, Disney). If the food areas are closed due to viral fears and health code regulations, that destroys earnings. 50% capacities of social-distanced seating doesn’t help theaters either. Even 50% might be optimistic. There are theaters opening at barely 25% capacity.

LESSON #5: “TOO BIG TO FAIL” IS LOOKING FAILURE STRAIGHT IN THE FACE — And with that we reach the studios’ level of wallet hit with an inactive theater distribution market. Even with their demanded big bites of the pie, half-filled (or less) theaters do not help them either. This is especially the case at the blockbuster level. No matter the anticipation demand or potential staying power of a really big hit flick with less competition, it is exponentially harder to recoup $200 million-budgeted tentpoles and their $100+ million marketing campaigns if sizable fractions of the screens holding butts are gone or entire chains are shuttered. That’s why the really big stuff like Tenet, Mulan, Fast 9, No Time to Die, and more are not automatically landing on streaming services or VOD outlets. Even at a Trolls: World Tour-equivalent $20 price tag per rental (and its modest success), those giants cannot recoup those huge red balances versus getting a ticket for every head instead of every household. A little thing like The Lovebirds or Irresistible can land in the green with VOD, but not Wonder Woman or Black Widow. A business with a blockbuster class level of movies that once looked too big to fail making its worldwide billions is now failing because they have no place to go and no one able to come to their shows.

LESSON #6: STUDIOS DID SOME THIS TO THEMSELVES — Believe it or not, the studios have slowly damaged their own theatrical success/potential for years with the incremental shortening of the windows between big-screen premieres and home media release dates. Folks my age remember the months of interminable wait back in the VHS and cable TV eras before streaming services were even a glimmer in someone’s eye. For example, Forrest Gump hit theaters over the July 4th weekend of 1994. It didn’t land on VHS until late April 1995 after a long theatrical run and a winter Oscar bump. After that, it wouldn’t hit paid cable for another bunch of months and then years before basic cable made it “free.” By comparison, Joker opened on the first weekend of October last year, hit store shelves the first weekend of January 2020, and no one cares if it comes to HBO or Showtime because Netflix, Hulu, or VOD is cheaper and better. What used to be six months at the minimum (or even an entire year if you were a Disney release) has shrunk to merely 90 days on average. Sure, both Forrest Gump and Joker raked for their times, but it’s an indictment on patience versus money-grabbing. People that are willing to wait can now weather a pretty comfortable amount of time compared to the past for their 4K players and big-screen TVs in their dens. In our current COVID-19 state, we’ve all got nothing but time on our hands to do just that. Why risk health if personal patience versus some “fear of missing out” can pay one $20–30 digital download/disc price to watch a movie repeatedly instead of hauling the entire family plus concessions once, especially for something they don’t deem “big screen worthy?” The studios trying to keep the buzz constant with shorter waits will now see leverage backfire in favor of the consumer. For a current case of that, just look at Disney/Pixar’s Onward and the mere weeks it took to cave from the VOD rental level to dismissively dishing it to everyone in Disney+. With studios building their own streaming shingles, you’re going to see more of that or see more wins for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.

LESSON #7: THE PRICE POINT OF DIGITAL — Let’s go further with the digital wants of consumers versus the new risks and hassles of theaters. Circling back to that opening Variety polling again, remember that 70% would rather watch a first-run feature at home. And that was back in May. Imagine now knocking on the door of Independence Day, no matter how much antsy-pant anticipation and hope is out there. That same Variety polling screened respondents on online pricing with some keen results. It asked how much a “reasonable” price would be to stream top-quality productions in their home. Here are those results in numerical rank:

47%- $10

20%- $20

19%- only if it was free

6%- $30

3%- $40

1%- $50, $60, or $80%

That’s 67% holding firm at $20 or under and studios need to do their own projections of math. Regardless, welcome to a more than a little bit of the #firstworldproblems portion of this entire “Soapbox Special.” Movies are wants, not needs, period. They are lovely fulfillment, but non-essential. For every one of those 6% hardcore FilmBros and cinephiles with the disposable income to drop $40 or more to see their precious Christopher Nolan film, over 95% aren’t budging or can’t afford it. Check your privilege.

LESSON #8: ADAPT OR DIE — One way or another, change is needed at the highest level that trickles down to every screen in America. A popular industry that has weathered the advent of television, cable, and now streaming opponents and competition in its century of existence should be able to survive this. Or can they? With the Paramount Accords lapsed, is it time for studios to buy or build their own sustainable theaters to show off their own wares and keep all the profits they used to share with the chains? If studios instead mine the digital landscape successfully, do we really need multiplexes anymore? That is a question posed recently in The New Yorker by Richard Brody in a good read. They’ll need smaller budgeted films to do that, scaling so many things down. Go back to the roots. You can make a dozen solid indies or five or more star-driven mid-budget programmers like the industry used to do in the 1990s with the cost of a single MCU film. Reverting back to that level of business would require some baths and haircuts, but it would rescue the industry. It’s time to embrace those needs. In another angle, columnist Nick Clement on Back to Movies says the film industry is “f — ked.” In many respects, I highly agree with him and his fantastic stump piece speaking on unemployment and the public state of some of those aforementioned #firstworldproblems. Time and patience are the biggest needs.

LESSON #9: “ABSENCE AWAY MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER” — I’ve used this lesson before in “What We Learned This Week” and it’s time to end with it again. Shed away all the polling and conjecture. We all know the love for movies is there or we wouldn’t be talking about it. Look at the success of early openings and the lined-around-the-block comeback of drive-in movie theaters. It will be a topsy-turvy year, without question, even with a full return. We’ve had a zero-budget film named Unsubscribe streaking at an empty box office only to be dethroned by revival screenings of Jurassic Park putting it back to #1 in the nation, George Foreman-style, 27 years after it last ruled the multiplexes. If the year ended today, Bad Boys For Life would get the “biggest movie of 2020” championship belt in the record books. Just like Field of Dreams says, “people will come.” They just need to wait. Everyone, for that matter, from the greedy studio execs and sidelined movie stars to the lowly theater ushers and concession stand workers, needs to wait. This has sucked and it will keep on sucking, but the best answer is to wait and get through this better and healthier, personally and financially, than rushing and screwing it all up. The movies will be there. We want all the people to be there too.

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the-master-cylinder · 5 years ago

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Charles Band decided to go after the media market in a different way. He was beginning to make a picture called SWORDKILL in 1982, about a samurai who was frozen in ice, when he realized something. “I had watched all these foreign film representatives take my pictures, license my pictures, and basically go to Cannes and Mifed [the two major foreign film markets), rent an office and make sales, and make a huge commission on basically the fruits of my labor. I thought if I was going to have any control at all, I should go to the foreign marketplace and sell my own stuff, especially since over the years my pictures did very well for everyone. They were very commercial.

“I got many letters from French distributors and Japanese distributors, congratulatory letters saying here’s a copy of our advertising campaign as a momento. So I kind of knew some of the players. I decided to take SWORDKILL, which was just about to shoot, and a couple of other pictures, which I was going to make later that year, and hang my shingle in some hotel room in Cannes and actually begin doing it myself.”

Band came up with the name Empire and the company was formed as Empire International, which, with the aid of Band’s promo reel, was also able to raise funds for upcoming, incomplete projects as well as SWORDKILL. In order to pre-sell domestic rights on an independent picture, one needed to guarantee a certain amount of “p and a” or prints and ads expenditure, so Band figured he ought to set up a modest U.S. theatrical distribution organization and begin to distribute these pictures in order to later sell them to the burgeoning U.S. video market.

Parasite (1982) Retrospective

Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983) Retrospective

Ghoulies (1984) Retrospective

Empire is widely perceived as the new American International Pictures, and you as the new Roger Corman. Is that a fair assessment? Charles Band: It’s funny, all these categories, independents, mini-majors, B movies, C movies, I don’t know. We can never be like AIP because the times are different. AIP started out making B pictures to fill double bills they were originally the second feature at a drive-in. That whole market is gone, and maybe the analogy here is that much of what we do fits into the video pipeline. Maybe that’s the new market that allows us to cover most of our downside, but I just feel that we’re here to make good movies. There weren’t too many AIP films, or Corman films, that were good movies. There were many of them, and there were some with all sorts of interesting cult appeal . Some launched careers of a few of today’s big stars. But in terms of track record, if you look at both bodies of work of those two distribution-production concerns, there aren’t too many good movies. I hope that by the time we’re into ’87, at least one out of every two or three of our pictures will be considered a well-made film, and that will last 10, 20, 30 years, forever.

In terms of budgets, Empire seems comparable to AIP. Charles Band: It ‘snot written anywhere that a good picture must cost a ton of money. You don’t have to spend $20 million on a film. We made a small picture last year called Re-Animator. and not only did it get good reviews , but it did well for us as far as its profitability. It’s a picture that cost just about a million dollars, and it had a lot of talent and quality. As we get better, our pictures will get better, and not necessarily more ex- pensive. Our aim is to make real good movies.

What happened with both AIP and Corman is that after they had discovered a talented director or star, they couldn’t hold on to him once the studios offered him work. Can you keep that from happening at Empire? Charles Band: Not only can we, we are. You can be real smart and draft a contract that commits people for two or three films, but the only thing that’s going to bring people back is how you work together. With a few exceptions, the other independents and studios have a very repressive atmosphere. It’s very tough to get pictures made there, and when they’re in the process of being made, rarely do you get to sit down with the studio head, or anyone who understands pictures, for that matter. Those people who are running the studios, for better or worse, are not filmmakers.

The Alchemist (1983) In 1955, young waitress Lenora (Lucinda Dooling) finds herself inexplicably driving down the California highway to an unknown destination. This doesn’t bode well for Cam (John Sanderford), the hitchhiker she picked up, because he has to endure her somnambulist driving. The duo eventually end up at a graveside in the woods and meet alchemist Aaron (Robert Ginty), who is just as shocked to see them as Lenora appears to be the reincarnation of his wife who was murdered nearly 100 years earlier.

The Alchemist was your first directorial effort, how did that come about? Charles Band: Well, I wasn’t the director when that film first started. The guy who was responsible for the trailers on VHS was producing the film at the time and after about three days of production, he called me up and said that the current director wasn’t working out and could I parachute in to help finish the film. The original director had shot about 2-3 days of work and I then finished about 6-7 days of shooting. I have no memory of the director.

The late Robert Ginty was the star of The Alchemist and at the time was coming off success with The Exterminator. What was he like to work with and what was his appeal as a leading man? Charles Band: I had no input in casting Ginty. He was already on board. What I do notice is that with a lot of leading men there is no simpatico in them. Ginty was a very human actor with simpatico and it was sad that he left us so soon. He did come across as an “Everyman” sort of guy.

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Ghost Warrior (1982/1984) a.k.a Swordkill A deep-frozen 400-year-old samurai is shipped to Los Angeles, where he comes back to life. Dazed and confused, he goes on a rampage. Can the female scientist and her colleague who revived him stop him before it’s too late?

Trancers (1984) Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) is a police trooper in the year 2247 who has been hunting down Martin Whistler, a criminal mastermind who uses psychic powers to turn people into mindless “trancers” and carry out his orders. Deth can identify a tranced individual by scanning them with a special bracelet. All trancers appear as normal humans at first, but once triggered, they become savage killers with twisted features.

Before he can be caught, Whistler escapes back in time using a drug-induced time-traveling technique. Whistler’s consciousness leaves his body in 2247 and travels down his ancestral bloodline arriving in 1985 and taking over the body of an ancestor, a Los Angeles police detective named Weisling. Once Deth discovers what Whistler has done, he destroys Whistler’s body—effectively leaving him trapped in the past with no vessel to return to—and chases after him through time the same way. Deth ends up in the body of one of his ancestors: a journalist named Phil Dethton.

With the help of Phil’s girlfriend—a punk rock girl named Leena (Helen Hunt)—Deth goes after Whistler, who has begun to “trance” other victims. Whistler plots to eliminate the future governing council members of Angel City (the future name of Los Angeles), who are being systematically wiped out of existence by Whistler’s murder spree of their own ancestors. Deth arrives too late to prevent most of the murders and can only safeguard Hap Ashby (Biff Manard), a washed-up former pro baseball player, who is the ancestor of the last surviving council member, Chairman Ashe (Anne Seymour).

Deth is given some high-tech equipment, which is sent to him in the past: his sidearm (which contains two hidden vials of time drugs to send him and Whistler back to the future), and a “long-second” wristwatch, which temporarily slows time, stretching one second to ten. The watch has only enough power for one use, but he later receives another watch to pull the same trick again.

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During the end fight with Whistler, one of the drug vials in Jack’s gun breaks, leaving only one vial to get home. Jack is forced to make a choice: kill the innocent Weisling (who is possessed by the evil Whistler), or use the vial to send Whistler back to 2247, which would strand Jack in the present. Jack chooses to inject Weisling with the vial, saving the lieutenant’s life but condemning Whistler to an eternity without a body to return to. Jack then decides to remain with Leena in 1985, although observing him from the shadows is McNulty, his boss from the future, who has traveled down his own ancestral line, ending up in the body of a young girl.

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Interview with actor Tim Thomerson

Tell us about this journey of Jack Deth. Tim Thomerson: I got this role as a character named Rogue in Metalstorm (1983), and we started working, and that was my first time working with Charlie Band. I had a lot of fun with it, Charlie was fun to work with, and kind of left me alone, which I like. I don’t like a lot of direction. We had quite a lot of fun doing it and then this idea for TRANCERS came up. This is still Empire now, so fast forward to late 1984 early 1985. The FUTURE COP was the original title for TRANCERS, so I went to Danny (Bilson) and Paul (De Meo), and we had meetings together. They were fans of these Philip Marlowe type detective guys, so we were all in love with that genre, and I always liked Sam Spade, Humphrey Bogart, just a fan of that particular character. Charlie wanted to do this cop that comes from the future in LA today, meaning from the year, 20-something. So Charlie didn’t really care what we did with the character from what I remember, so Danny and Paul wrote up this guy Jack and so that’s how that was born. When the character transformed into the other body that was named Philip, it’s a tribute to Marlowe. That was Danny and Paul’s idea, to write it up like that, and for there to be some kind of dialogue and kind of the crispy kind of way of saying. You’ve seen that movie right?

Many, many times. Tim Thomerson: Yeah, so for what it is and for the time that it was shot, it’s a pretty classic B movie I think.

The opening of the film is great, the cross between the future and the past and that noir-like feeling is easy to get on board with. Tim Thomerson: I think it really had its own feeling about it. I thought that while we were shooting it, even though it’s a silly ass movie. But it just had a feeling, you know? Charlie was great to work with on set, and was funny, had a winning personality, and Helen was just a hilarious girl. She really is a funny chick. The performances were really good too; you can tell they got along.

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The Dungeonmaster (1984) Paul Bradford (Jeffrey Byron) is a skilled computer programmer who lives with his girlfriend, Gwen (Leslie Wing), and “X-CaliBR8,” a quasi-sentient personal computer that Paul programmed and which he interacts with via a neural interface. Gwen is jealous of Paul’s unusually close relationship with X-CaliBR8, to whom Paul has given a female voice, and fears that their relationship will be destroyed by Paul’s reliance on X-CaliBR8 for his various day-to-day activities. One night, Paul and Gwen are both transported to a Hellish realm presided over by Mestema (Richard Moll), an ancient, demonic sorcerer who has spent millennia seeking a worthy opponent with whom to do battle. Having long defeated his enemies with magic, Mestema has become intrigued with technology, and wishes to pit his skills against Paul’s, with the winner claiming Gwen. Arming Paul with a portable version of X-CaliBR8 (which takes the form of a computerized wrist band), Mestema begins transporting Paul into a variety of scenarios in which he must defeat various opponents. Most of the challenges involve Paul using his X-CaliBR8 wristband to shoot people, monsters, and objects with laser beams. After Paul completes Mestema’s various challenges, the two engage in a final battle, which takes the form of a fist fight in which Paul kills Mestema by throwing him into a pit of lava. After Mestema dies, Paul and Gwen are transported back to their house, where Gwen expresses her acceptance of X-CaliBR8 and suggests that she and Paul get married.

David Allen on the stop-motion for the “Stone Canyon Giant” David Allen first became involved in directing an episode of Charles Band’s DUNGEONMASTER almost two years ago, as a test for working with Band on THE PRIMEVALS, a property they have in development together. Although Band had already directed his segment of the film, no clear story had been worked out. The film had been sold on the basis of its premise-a showcase of effects sequences-and it had to be delivered quickly. Band suggested doing a sequence which featured a large statue brought to life (as in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS), and Allen agreed.

Allen spent two days on location, shooting mostly in continuity without storyboards, then three weeks, off-and-on, in the studio to do the effects. According to Allen, the finished segment is “heavily footnoted with explanations for why it didn’t turn out better. We’d do something and think it was okay and then get the shot back from the lab-but we’d already be working on a new shot. A couple of shots are okay, but there are so many below-par scenes. I wanted to go back on location almost a year after the original shooting and redo the first shot of the statue in Dynamation-a split-screen effect all on the original negative. A good first shot would have better set the stage.”

Allen would also have liked a chance to introduce the statue “more poetically, with music,” but he never had an opportunity to speak with the film’s composer, Richard Band. “A pause for mood and atmosphere would have given the sequence some intelligence, but in the time allotted I didn’t think of it.”

Besides doing animation for his own segment, Allen provided two effects for other sequences of the film: for an exploding car, Allen took an explosion he had photographed years ago and superimposed it on the shot, for the conclusion of the film he provided a shot of the evil magician falling into a lava pit. “Band came up with that at the last minute–the film was written as it went along. I did it for a few hundred dollars, using a six-inch doll, some old cliffs I’d used long ago, and oatmeal. I didn’t think it would work, but with all the fire and smoke I put in there it came out, maybe not wonderful, but credible.”

Although dissatisfied with the final result, Allen nevertheless enjoyed the experience. “I learned a lot,” he said. “I got the camera where it needed to be. I enjoyed getting everything done in two days. I was scouting locations sometimes only twenty minutes ahead of the camera crew.”

Interview with Jeffrey (Paul) Byron

This was your second adventure with Band’s band; were you excited to be back in the B-movie saddle? Jeffrey Byron: Sure! I had a great time on METALSTORM and every actor likes to work. So doing a second movie right afterwards was great.

Seven chapters and seven directors Jeffrey Byron: Indeed. It was il fun and unique experience and was ahead of its time. It was a clever idea. It was like doing se ven separate films, which was very cool.

What was your favorite segment and why? Jeffrey Byron: That’s easy! The one that I wrote (SLASHER) about the serial killer. My older brother Steve Stafford directed it, and I was able to hire some close actor friends to be in it. It was a blast! Being directed by my brother Steve was a great experience. He is a talented filmmaker and in some respects this segment inspired him to get more and more directing jobs Plus I got to hire some great actor friends to be in the segment I wrote. That was gratifying as well.

Do you have insight or back story as to the name change? Jeffrey Byron: I don’t recall how that happened. That was up to Charlie Band. He was a wiz at that kind of stuff. He came up with all the rates. I assume he changed the title because he got more traction with THE DUNGEONMASTER, because of the popularity of DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS

As in METALSTORM, you had to square off against Richard Moll, but this time as an ancient demon. Was he a more worthy nemesis this time round? Jeffrey Byron: Richard and I got to know each other on METALSTORM, so we had a warmer rapport on the second film. We had a perfectly good relationship on the first film, but we knew each other better by the time we did this film and he was a pro so it was a great experience

Any RAGEWAR trivia or lesser known facts you can share with us? Jeffrey Byron: All the scenes that were shot in my characters apartment..were actually shot in any actual apartment!

What was next for you after THE DUNGEON MASTER? Jeffrey Byron: Quite soon after I jumped into the soap opera world. They had been chasing me down for awhile and I finally agreed to do ONE LIFE TO LIVE. After I left that show. I went on to do ALL MY CHILDREN, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL and finally PORT CHARLES. I did other work in between but the soaps were my bread and butter.

The Dungeonmaster was a try-out of several different directors. Charles Band: “It was a fun idea. I’ve always done things a little differently and we had a number of directors at the time who all wanted to direct features. We were getting pretty prolific and it was exactly that. I think there were seven directors, if I’m not mistaken. There were more that we were actually looking at but seven wound up directing seven little chapters in this Dungeonmaster film. I would have to think real hard to remember who directed what, but that’s what happens. We made a strange little film.

“It’s actually a fun film to watch. Part of what low-budget films suffer from is you usually are relegated to one location because that’s all you can afford. Unless you are really adept at story-telling and casting, you need to make these movies much more character-driven. Dungeonmaster’s one of those films which diverts you with seven or eight different environments. If nothing else, it certainly looks colorful! It made a great trailer, that’s for sure.”

Savage Island (1985) Women who have been captured and sold as slave labor to a South American emerald mine hatch a plan for revolution and revenge.

Empire seems very loyal to its people given a few pictures, everybody gets to direct. Is that a deliberate policy? Charles Band: Definitely. It’s rare that talent is Just born overnight. It takes time and it’s crazy for a big company to gamble with its resources on a new director. If it turns out wrong, it makes no sense going and spending the time. It makes more sense to educate people here and pay for the tuition, so to speak. Some turn out to be wonderful and some take more time. I can’t think of one that we’ve worked with so far that hasn’t picked up the Empire banner and shown promise.

People like Brian Yuzna and Stuart Gordon, and other directors who have had good experiences with us and are now making their second or third film with us this year, find that our whole directive here is making movies. That’s where all our energy goes. We’re passionate about making movies. That makes their lives much easier because we can work well together. David Schmoeller just finished a picture for us called Crawlspace that turned out very well, and he has had several offers to go elsewhere to make pictures. Well, he has turned them down to make two more pictures back to back for us. I don’t know if the offers were for substantially more than what we’re paying him, I Just know that the experience on Crawlspace was real good for all of us. and good for him creatively. Once a script is approved and we know what we’re spending on a picture, we give the directors total free reign to make their movie.

Re-Animator (1985) Retrospective

Zone Troopers (1985) In Italy in World War II, four members, led by their grizzled sergeant (Tim Thomerson), of an American military patrol are lost behind enemy lines. They discovers an alien spaceship that has crash-landed in the woods, along with its crew. The alien pilot is dead, and one of the aliens has been captured by the Nazis, hampering efforts of the aliens to return home. A larger Nazi unit, with scientific and medical personnel, also investigate the crash and seek to capture the alien’s technology and use that to win the war. However, the aliens side with the Americans after the Nazi’s actions to their crewmember.

Another popular title was Zone Troopers. How did that come about and where did the concept come up? Charles Band: Well, I had Danny Bilson and Paul Le Meo, who wrote Trancers and the stars of that film Tim Thomerson and Art La Fleur on board. I also had a wonderful Production Designer and Art Director and it also gave me an opportunity to go back to Italy as I grew up there. Some people don’t realize that the likes of Crawlspace and Troll were, along with Zone Troopers, filmed in Italy rather than the USA. It was a great set-up for about three years as we got some good films made, but then things changed and the dollar and lira value changed, so it became difficult to continue to film there, but we are very proud of those films.

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Zone Troopers was also directed by Danny Bilson, who had an interesting time of it. “We had a German army of Italian-speaking extras,” Bilson recalls. “We had to have these Nazi SS troops come across a meadow, and they looked like Girl Scouts. Trying to be Mr. Director, I went to show them how to do it. We’ve all played army when we were little kids, and you know how to do it, but when I was right in the middle of showing them, I slipped into this big pile of cow slop. Paul (De Meo) cried out helpfully, ‘But do you want them to fall in the cow shit?”’

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“We had a lot of fun with the Italian prop men,” De Meo chimes in, “One of them came up to us and asked where he should put these two bottles of gin. We wondered what the bottles of gin were for and started looking through the script, thinking that maybe we forgot something. It turned out that somewhere in the script was a description that said two GIs are playing gin. Another time, a prop man bought a pineapple because he didn’t know that was a‘40’s term for a grenade.”

Bilson is very happy working for Empire. He calls it a secure environment that constantly provides an opportunity to work. He feels that the experience he and others are gaining will build confidence and lead to better-made films. Paul De Meo compares the working atmosphere with “almost being like working at Warner’s in the ’50’s. There are lots of people making lots of movies In all kinds of genres.” Bilson Is particularly proud of the fact that he’s been able to work in low-budget, exploitation films without “ever having to do a women-in-prison film or a slasher movie nothing I would find morally objectionable. That’s just not our meat-and-potatoes.”

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Do your writers come up with concepts? Charles Band: Most, if not all. of our projects come from my titles and concepts. That’s a reward for me, to get to dream things up and then assign various projects and concepts to writers and see the picture get made and distributed. So, it’s a little different than the way other people work where they have 200 script submissions a week and they hope to find one and develop it. We’re lucky enough not to be looking for any projects. If anything good comes along, we’re here to read it. We still have our hundred script submissions, but basically, we’re Just looking for good writers. Very few of our projects Just walk in the door perhaps one in the last year. We have hundreds of concepts we’ve been developing over the last few years, and those are the ideas that will become movies.

It sometimes seems that the lack of control works out well when you have a Stuart Gordon around, but there are some films Eliminators comes immediately to mind that needed somebody to step in and say, “This isn’t working.” That script Just didn’t seem ready. Charles Band: True, but that’s the script’s fault, not the director’s. It’s impossible to predict how a project is going to turn out. You can do all the right things and it Just doesn’t work. On the other hand, you can make 500 mistakes and suddenly the picture works. You want to make sure you have the best script possible, but sometimes things are rushed, and that shows. It always comes down to the script. Sometimes the script reads real well but it Just doesn’t play that way. Eliminators was one of the best scripts we’ve ever had here. It reads great. Why the script reads so well and the picture isn’t so good to some, the picture is fun and works; to others, it’s disjointed if you read the script, you’ll find a really well-written, fun script, very cohesive, very weird. I have no defense, or no explanation for why some pictures work and some don’t. The best we can do is to make certain we start off with a good script and that the talent we assemble is right, then hope for the best. You just don’t know. You don’t even know when you see the dailies. There are some times when you see the dailies and you’re in love with every shot, and it gets put together and it just doesn’t work.

Trancers was one of the best things Empire has done and I was surprised it didn’t do better. Charles Band: So was I. It was one I directed, so I was anxious to see it work. But it was the least effective of all the first year’s pictures. That’s another sad thing: There’s no telling which picture is going to work.

Was it supposed to be the first in a series? Charles Band: Yes. I always wanted to make an inexpensive series, not something that would cost tons of money and be hard to get off the ground. We could have made two of those movies a year. I love the character of Jack Deth and the whole thing would have been fun to do. We were even close to doing another one in spite of the first’s failure, just because ‘why not?’ But we’ll come up with something else someday. Tim Thomerson’s a major talent and no one’s used him right except us in Trancers .

Paul De Meo and Danny Bilson have written another film that will begin production soon, Journeys Through The Darkzone (1986). Bilson will direct. “It’s about these guys who work on a dumping fishing station where people get their anxieties out through recreation,” Bilson reveals. Then people start disappearing from this colony on this water planet. It’s a little like Outland. An investigation leads to this attraction, which is an alien machine which can project you into an alternate reality to satisfy your fantasies. But it has hidden dangers.”

The pair are currently scripting Arena (1989), which they describe as Body and Soul in space. Arena is based around a fantasy sport and involves a bid for a new champion, racketeering and space gangsters.

The Caller (1987) One night, an unusual stranger in need asks a woman living alone in a house in the woods if he can use her phone. It soon becomes clear that they’re playing a strange mind game and that there’s something very wrong about the woods.

The History of Empire Films Part Two Charles Band decided to go after the media market in a different way. He was beginning to make a picture called SWORDKILL in 1982, about a samurai who was frozen in ice, when he realized something.

#80sFilms #BAND #EMPIRE

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