|
 |
Update: RiffTrax Wants to Riff ‘Twilight’ Live, But…… they need to get the rights. Enter Kickstarter.
UPDATE: In slightly more than an hour, the $55,000 goal was reached. Amazing–but not surprising, to me. I know you people. Still, when they have to back the money truck up, they’ll need all they can get, so if you still want to contribute, please do. 95 Replies to “Update: RiffTrax Wants to Riff ‘Twilight’ Live, But…”Commenting at Satellite News
We are determined to encourage thoughtful discussion, so please be respectful to others. We also provide an "Ignore" button ( Comments are closed. |
|
Satellite News is a fan site for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television and Netflix series. It is an independent publication written and compiled by Chris Cornell (msampo@aol.com) and Brian Henry (erhardt4@aol.com). Satellite of Love, LLC does not maintain this web site, nor is it responsible for this site's content.
All content posted on Satellite News is copyright © 2024 by Chris Cornell and Brian Henry, except where otherwise noted. This Date in MSTory is written and compiled by Steve Finley, Chris Cornell and Brian Henry. Copyright © 2024 All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce This Date in MSTory items in any form without express written permission from the authors. Items of MST3K news may be duplicated or reposted, as long as Satellite News is cited as the source. The views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of Satellite of Love, LLC. No warranty is expressed or implied that the information given herein is completely accurate, and in fact this information can and will change at any time. So there. Mystery Science Theater 3000, its characters and situations are copyrights and trademarks of Satellite of Love, LLC. Banner image created by Larry Lee Moniz. Powered by WordPress & Atahualpa |
|
) to help our users cope with "trolls" and other commenters whom they find annoying. Go to our
Rifftrax doing what I never thought would happen in my lifetime: Getting me to go into a movie theater to watch Twilight. Sounds incredible and I can’t wait.
Aww–They wanna stump their old nerd-bashing fairground gig of picking on Twilight, but they can’t afford it because it isn’t a PD film…
(Is anyone right now hearing me laugh a hysterical giggle that even Richard Widmark would think creepy?) :)
SO DISAPPOINTED. IF Rifftrax wanted to start up a kickstarter project to try to do a mainstream bad movie live, that’s one thing. But to drag this announcement out all weekend and get the fans’ hopes up that something truly epic would be announced today was incredibly lame and disappointing. “We want your money to help us make more money” is not a major announcement. I had my expectations lowered to it being something like “We’re doing The Room live” but to have the announcement not even be an announcement of anything made me feel crapped on.
This is unbelievable…. They are almost half way to their $55,000 Goal! This is great! I’m planing to donate and I wouldn’t if they weren’t offering the digital download of the show. Where I live it would be quite a trek to see the show in a theater that would show it.
I wish I could donate, but unless money magically appears in my bank account, I can’t do anything. :cry: Sorry RT.
Eric J, if you keep laughing that way the good men in the white coats are going to transfer you to the padded room. Keep it low, nobody cares.
3: Oh, hi drama queen!
It’s a Kickstarter World and welcome to it. I’ve done a couple of Kickstarter projects and they are no big deal. Here, you actually get benefits from contributing and if they don’t raise the money (which given the initial start money already committed, that hardly seems likely…but still) then there will be other movies they can do and you keep the benefits.
As they explained, securing the rights to riff and apparently sell their riff costs money and since nothing is sure in this world, it’s better to have the money up front from fans whom they will be pretty sure will then pay for tickets to see this flick. Plus, in real terms this is NOT a lot of money that they will be making when you take into account all the expenses.
Plus, even if you don’t contribute, you still get to go in August and see them riff a movie…I’m not seeing any downside here.
When I clicked on the Kickstarter page, it was at $13,000+. Twenty minutes later, it’s at $32,000+. And naysayers, check what you get for backing their play. The $35 pledge is a good value. You get digital downloads galore, roughly equal to what you’d spend on those riffs anyway, maybe a slight overpayment. It’s a fine deal. And given that one riff troupe is hanging up its gloves at year’s end, it might behoove you to support the only show in town come 2014.
They had me at new Mr B Natural.
At this rate, they’ll have that money by 6pm EST.
Hope they get to do this. Threw in some funds. Good luck guys.
Honestly, I hope they are unable to secure the rights to the top 5 movies on their list so we can finally get a full riff of SUPER MARIO BROS. As much fun as it would be to see Twilight, Batman & Robin, Catwoman, Spiderman 3 or The Last Airbender riffed live, Super Mario Bros. would be a dream come true (and is probably the most affordable, too).
I was pretty much going to contribute whatever amount I had to to get a signed poster.
Keep in mind one little detail: nobody is forcing you to donate; though if you don’t the Screaming Skull will pay you a visit at midnight…
They’re up to $44,000 at 3:00 Central Time. They should have the rest in about an hour. All of the major donor rewards (1000-2000) are gone as I write.
Actually, I would LOVE to see them do Battlefield Earth!
I’ll admit I was expecting them to announce a combined CT/RiffTrax show in honor of the end of CT… :)
Am I the only one NOT thrilled by this news? I really really really don’t want to EVER see Twilight, riffed or not. Actually I’m not a big fan of RT’s riffs on newer, blockbuster type movies, I much prefer the old B movies. Looking at the list of their “worst movies ever,” I wouldn’t want to see Batman & Robin, Catwoman, Spiderman 3 or The Last Airbender on the big screen (Or see it again, as in the case of Speederman3). Like #11 said, I guess the next acceptable one on the list would be Super Mario Bros. Even then. . . . . . . meh.
One question though,
will Rifftrax tickets sales for Twilight (or whatevs) increase the domestic gross for Twilight (or whatevs)? I really wouldn’t want to contribute to the furthered success of such drivelish tripe.
–
I’m much more excited about Trace, Frank, and Josh riffing Plan 9 here in Portland in a couple weeks. Woo.
I’ll be very interested to see how protective Summit Entertainment or whoever has the rights will be. Warner Bros. would never give anyone the rights to do anything on the big screen with Harry Potter. But Twilight has faded quite a bit as far as marketing and licensing goes. I didn’t even see a special table at Barnes & Noble for Twilight merchandise when the final movie was coming out. But even so, I wouldn’t expect the movie studio to be quick to share it’s licensing rights without some really harsh negotiation. I’ll be donating regardless. I’m sure that even if they don’t get Twilight, they’ll manage to get something interesting. And I don’t consider it a waste of money if I’ll be getting some fun downloads!
I guess it says something about Twilight that even us haters are throwing money at it. Any of my fellow Satellite Newsers get their mugs up on the screen? We’re stars!
How could you not love these bonus features:
– A completely re-riffed version of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 classic MR. B. NATURAL
– The oldest movie ever riffed! RiffTrax will take on the 1902 classic, Georges Méliès’ A VOYAGE TO THE MOON.
:D
PS: To Zee -> First World Problems & Waaaaa….
I think this will be a waste of money. They shouldn’t throw away money on purchasing TWILIGHT just for a live riff. Rifftrax should stick with public domain films for those kind of events. And besides, do you really think the studio will let TWILIGHT end for good? Sadly it makes too much money.
If I recognize any names during the credits I plan to boo loudly. :devil:
I kicked in $40 and I think the ‘thank you video’ sounds really neat. The samples I’ve watched of their Twilight riffs are hilarious and hopefully the studio will let it go. I teased one of my friends years ago about liking Twilight and now I’m gonna end up having to go see it – ha!
I look at it as a test balloon. Even if they don’t get Twilight, we can still expect some sort of big Hollywood riff in August. It’s a way for them to gauge the audience interest, you know? We can post on here and other boards about how Title A would be awesome to see live, but it’s a way to put money where our mouths are. And considering they’re over 2,000 backers with nearly $100,000 raised in about six hours, we are putting up.
I don’t know how I’d feel about this being a yearly occurrence, though.
And… kicked in some cash as well. I am thoroughly impressed with how ambitious RT is being and with trying new ideas. Still, they didn’t approve of my idea for them to write “50 Shades of Greydon Clark” so I’m a little miffed…
Going to get my name in the credits. Even if they don’t get Twilight, some other movie would be just fine. I think they should go after Super Mario Brothers. That movie was awful.
This project’s about to hit $100,000 in the first six hours. This support is amazing.
So, in the “Thank You” video, are they actually going to thank each and every backer ($25 and over) individually by name? ‘Cause we’re already over 1400 people at or above that level after less than a day. Even just running a printed list on screen is going to be one heck of an epic video!
the nearest Barnes & Noble to me has an entire section – 100-200 books – devoted to “TEEN SUPERNATURAL ROMANCE” (their classification). That’s the audience for “Twilight”. The heck, ya know? Not worth grownups making fun of.
Clearly you haven’t seen any of the riffs. Hell, a friend and attempted Twilight two Thanksgivings ago and I almost turned it off multiple times because the film (not the riffing) was just that awful.
Hell yes, I want this torched live. Bring in guests, MST3k alums, I don’t care. BURN IT.
At 2pm CST the Rifftrax boys formally announce their Kickstarter campaign with the ultimate goal of $55,000 by March 27th. It’s now 9pm CST and they are over $100,000 and will most likely double their original goal in 8 hours time. :shock:
This is beyond criticism, it’s a real showing of the kind of fan base Rifftrax has. If they can pull this off, then they have the clout to try and get virtually ANY film they want the next time out. While I can understand some of the complaints that have been aired (heck, the “Plan 9” choice for their first live show was a good example) I think most of it just misses the point. This should be seen as a stepping stone for them to expand and do more. :-D
Besides, since not everyone will be happy anyway…I say, let ’em do this and see what happens. 8-)
@24 – I look at it as a test balloon. Even if they don’t get Twilight, we can still expect some sort of big Hollywood riff in August.
(Yeah, now watch them try to raise money for Transformers, Avengers and LOTR… 9_9
As CT has proven, there are some distinct artistic advantages to PD Poverty.)
Just donated and NO REGRETS! I’m so excited for this show regardless of whether or not they get the rights to Twilight. Heck, the big announcement could have been “Help RiffTrax build a giant fondue fountain and brewery in their lobby” and I would have thrown my money at them. No one should be deprived of an endless flow of beer and cheese after all…
What astounds me is how quickly they reached their goal. It gives me that warm squishy feeling in my chest cavity on how passionate MSTies truly are even after all these years. You guys and gals rock! :-D
I wouldn’t watch Twilight even with riffing.
Ha ha, ol’ crazy Eric J.’s endless fascination never ceases to fascinate. I think it’s his way of rooting for them kindly folks at Rifftrax to give that Twilight movie the old one two. Otherwise you’d think the fella was in favor of Twilight staying untarnished, and there’s no way anyone here could be that kooky. I think I’ll donate again in his honor.
While I hate the thought of company that brought us Twilight getting anymore money, I am more than happy to contribute to Rifftrax in their goal of riffing this movie live. Also, what a cool sense of community this creates among the fans, being able to fund the project! AND the cool thank you gifts?! It’s a no brainer.
“While I hate the thought of company that brought us Twilight getting any more money, I am more than happy to contribute to Rifftrax in their goal of riffing this movie live. Also, what a cool sense of community this creates among the fans, being able to fund the project! AND the cool thank you gifts?! It’s a no brainer.”
Absolutely. I just called the friend whom I’d gone to see Manos and Birdemic with about this, and he was sold the moment I said ‘Rifftrax’, ‘Live’, ‘Twilight’ and ‘Mr B. Natural’ in a sentence.
I fully expect the total to be over $110k by the time I get up tomorrow morning.
And as to Trolly McTrollerson up there, c’mon, man. We’re all on the same team. If this comes off, then it can only be a good thing for Rifftrax. I couldn’t imagine the folks at CT being too bitter, since most of us would happily have done the same thing had CT asked for funds for a similar project.
Love this! Great idea and so glad to see it was a huge success. I’m proud to have contributed and hope the boys are able to get Twilight!
Why can’t something like this be done to get those expensive, hard to license MST3K episodes out on DVD? Even the most reluctant owners of certain films must have a price…
Gorn Captain is right! I think these students are right!
Wait . . .
Anyway, I’d contribute to a MST3K DVD Kickstarter project.
Just did the 35 dollar pledge. Twilight would be cool, but I’m in the “make it Mario Bros” camp. Still, this is the first step towards atoning for my (very rare cases of) pirating days. I will still donate to them through the regular channel.
Also, though I swore to myself I would stop feeding the J troll and his little sock-pupp- I mean friend who responded as #3 , but…
IN YOUR FACE!
Really, just go away, Eric J. This is entering Holocaust levels of sad now. (Yeah, non-PC, but given how hopeless the subject is we need to go there)
@36 I completely understand wanting to create a sense of unity among MiSTies despite… everything… but let old timer Billy Slater Jr. tell you while you sit on his lap (You’re cute, I like you…) that some fellers are just, you know, STOOPID!
Also, I guarantee if this works out the next year’s project will be CT/MST3K, or at least the long- promised Joel & Mike Rifftrax. CT has to finish up their last year as a regular troop (I believe they’ll at least make another go at DVD episodes, maybe one live show a year), but next year we’ll probably see a true merger of the casts.
Crisis on Infinite SOL’s here we come! (in spirit at least)
I’m one of the people who kind of hate RT doing the big budget films (but love them doing the VOD on the really cheesy older films) and yet there’s no arguing with this kind of KS success. I’m really glad for Mike and company to have found so much enthusiasm for this project, even if I don’t share it.
If nothing more, it proves there are a ton of MST3K fans out there who are willing to put their money where their (big) mouths are. And, yes, it could serve as the prototype for all kinds of (better?) projects.
Also — I have to say, the Twilight films are kind of the exception to the rule of doing current stuff. While I’d never go see any of their other choices (other than Mario Bros) seeing Kristen’s dour expression while they make fun of it might very well be a hoot. I’m still of the opinion it will never happen (the live show MIGHT happen, but they won’t ever get the rights to release such an event on video in any format) but I’d pay to see it.
Wow… though I’m doubtful they can get the rights (even for a one-time screening), at least they’re trying!
I’d like to see CT do something similar if it helps to get the last few unreleased movies out on DVD.
The downside is that by doing this on Kickstarter is that Summitt will know exactly what Rifftrax’s budget is when the negotiations begin. If they want they can begin by demanding the entire amount raised plus 20% or something of the like.
“Dan in WI” – I would imagine Rifftrax has additional backers and sponsors on top of the Kickstarter amount.
The only way I could or would ever sit through Twilight is if it was given the MST3K treatment by Rifftrax or Cinematic Titanic. I hope they succeed and do this show next summer, Twilight looks positively terrible in spite of its large budget and I think it would be a great Rifftrax Live.
Update – New Pledge Levels:
And since some of the more popular levels sold out so fast, we’ve added some new stuff at the $200, $225 and $1500 levels, including more opportunities to get your face on movie screens across the country, and a brand new Son of VIP Guest of Honor Level.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rifftrax/rifftrax-wants-to-riff-twilight-live-in-theaters-n/posts
Well, if they can’t get the rights to Twilight, at least there’s going to be enough money for the rights to Robot Holocaust. If it isn’t already in PD Land.
@40 – Tell me more about the meaning of loss. And that Crisis on Infinite SOLs thingy.
@41 – I prefer the PD stuff too, as those are the VODs I own. But I look at it as the newer stuff allows them the budget to make the older films/shorts.
@46 – It’s brutal, even with the riffing. Almost turned it off three times when I watched it two years ago.
Mr. B #46> I’ve seen the MP3 studio version riffs of all the Twilights so for. What makes these films so mechanically perfect for riffing is the large quantity of long pregnant pauses in the dialogue. This leaves a lot of room for inserting the deserved riffing. That is usually not the case with a modern big budget film. These days the cater to the short attention span types and the action/sound effects/dialogue are packed so tight that at times the Rifftrax guys struggle to physically get their riffs in without stepping on the next line of the film. So these modern films have an old fashion feel in that regard.