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It’s Official: RiffTrax Live 8/19 (and another one 10/28!)

As you read here nearly a month ago, the next RiffTrax Live show will be Thursday, Aug. 19, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central/6 p.m. Mountain/8 p.m. Pacific (tape delayed).

The movie will be “Reefer Madness,” and there will also be three new shorts.

As in the past, audiences will receive free digital goodies after the event including a downloadable short, avatars (those big blue guys?) and other stuff.

There will be a rebroadcast of this show at most of the same theaters on Tuesday, Aug. 24.

And even more good news: ANOTHER RiffTrax Live show, featuring the movie “House on Haunted Hill,” will come to theaters Thursday, Oct. 28, with an encore on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

72 Replies to “It’s Official: RiffTrax Live 8/19 (and another one 10/28!)”

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  1. Cronkite Moonshot says:

    @Iggy Pop’s Brother Steve Pop #31… No you don’t really get it at all. I think it’s a problem with your reading comprehension skills, but that’s just my amateur diagnosis. For starters you mistakenly seem to think that calling someone a whiner is the same as saying that they aren’t entitled to express their opinion. Anyway, this analysis is more like it…

    “I am okay with seeing a third riffing of the same movie.” = entitled to opinion

    “I have not seen this movie before, so it’s all new to me.” = entitled to opinion

    “I’m not going to see a third riffing on the same movie.” = entitled to opinion

    “You guys are trying to rip us off by making us pay to see the same thing we have already seen before (ignoring the fact that they’ve already said they are overhauling the riff with a lot of new material and including three new shorts), and so I don’t want to give you scoundrels my money, and you are going to fail because the Christmas show did much better than Plan 9 because it was new material (even though I just pulled that “fact” directly out of my anus), and you guys are stupid if you don’t listen to my BS completely uninformed assessment of your success/failure possibilities, and if anyone doesn’t like how I choose to voice my opinion then I will pretend they are attacking my very right to free speech, and feign offense. etc. etc.. blah blah blah…”= whiny cry baby who is acting like an obnoxious douche, and thinks they are entitled to more than just being able to express their opinion, and should also be able to do so without facing any criticism, even just for HOW they are doing it.

    You may notice that I never said anyone shouldn’t be saying that they would prefer to see something new. In fact I said as much myself. I actually agree with the basic opinion of those few who are being whiners (in that new material MIGHT make for a better show for someone like me who has already seen the older riff of Reefer Madness), but that is ignored by you because I also express my happiness that they are doing more live shows at all, and am happily willing to pay to see Reefer Madness even though I’ve already seen their earlier version, AND I understand and accept their reasons for choosing a couple of films they’ve already riffed before for these shows. I guess if I had complimented my stated preference for new material with an attitude of superiority and disrespect, and some disdain for the Rifftrax crew, then that would have met with your approval? Sadly I could give a rats ass about your approval.

    @Iggy Pop’s Brother Steve Pop #43… Savaged you say?

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  2. starman15317 says:

    I am excited for these shows, even though they r both movies they have done before. I haven’t seen too many of the Rifftrax for the PD movies, but I have seen the Reefer Madness and HOHH riffs. Reefer Madness is a goofy movie that deserves being riffed and House on Haunted Hill is goffy, but it’s a movie that I could actually watch without the riff. I will make sure to go to both of them, although I might have to wait for the Encore showing of Reefer unless I go with friends (stupid sister and her damn college move-up day), but I will be able to live with that.

    I’m assuming both prints are color, but I do hope they aren’t since I hate color restorations (that being said, Legend did a pretty great job with Plan 9 so it might not all be bad). When the poll was first posted, I looked up Jack the Giant Killer on IMDB (since I haven’t heard of it until the poll) and saw that MGM owns it. This made me wonder how they could get away with using it.

    Anyways, can’t wait!

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  3. Erik @ RiffTrax says:

    @Laura (#15):

    If you don’t work for us, how do you know my answer was b.s.? Sorry to have offended you, but you should really just relax.

    @Ex-Genius Kelly:

    I was only responding to the part where you said “some of us will pass on these then when attendance is down (as it is sure to be versus an event like the Christmas one where there was all new stuff)”. I was saying that the fact of the matter was, having new stuff does not automatically guarantee higher attendance. However you’re right, the future shows might prove otherwise, if they are new material. I personally am pushing for it, and I was really bummed when we decided to not go with Jack – but that decision was out of my hands. :(

    I’m going to point Mike and others to this thread, btw, just so they understand the feelings of the fans directly. I am as surprised and disappointed about doing Reefer again as you guys are, but like I said, it seemed the cult status of Reefer trumped the idea of doing something new that hadn’t yet been cleared by anyone. We lobbied really, really hard for it – and it almost happened. I’m deadly serious here, but some people (Laura) seem to think they know what goes on behind the scenes, when they don’t – and that is disappointing.

    I would love for them to take a chance on something no one has ever seen before, but unfortunately, it looks like that won’t happen this time around. I am certain it WILL happen though, it’s just a matter of when.

    @Dirk #44:

    I know they don’t need my business to survive, and I don’t think my opinion is all that important in the grand scheme of things, but I really hope they note the number of hardcore fans that are questioning them on this strategy.

    Everyone’s business helps, for sure. We’re not making money hand over fist here – we’re just now at the point where we can buy lighting and green screen equipment for the online shows we hope to bring back after the first one that crashed and burned. Doing more stuff like that, which we’ll have more control over, will allow us to branch out more and do crazy and experimental things.

    The other part is that, yes, we are noting all of the feedback, and we realize we cannot please everyone – every group will have its Laura – but it saddens me when people go to such extreme reactions. I’m as much a fan as you guys are – if you don’t know the story of how I got the job at RiffTrax, you should check it out (it’s on our forum, buried in 4 years of posts) – so I am also coming at this from a fan’s point of view and am always trying to keep a pulse on the fanbase. I sort of knew this would happen, and I wasn’t really looking forward to having to deal with the backlash, but even I was surprised at some of the hostility here.

    @MSTJon #50: Yep, it’s the colorized version.

    Anyway, to the rest of you – sorry if I missed any questions, there are a lot of comments to read through and I’m kind of busy today – we appreciate everyone that doesn’t hate our guts for this, and we promise that the leaf will turn over soon. Just like when people wished, a few years ago, that we’d stop doing mainstream movies and go back to Public Domain cheese. We kept saying “we will!” and not many believed us. But then we DID do them and the result was a success.. We knew it was the right decision not just because the fans said so, but also because we were finally at the point where we could take risks.

    I think that, once we have more of this live model figured out – both online and theatrically, since both of them are pretty brand spankin’ new – we’ll be at the point where we, once again, will be able to take risks. I, too, would have preferred something new, but it just didn’t happen this time. That’s really about all I can say, other than the fact that “It will! It’s just a matter of time!” And that’s something I’m looking forward to just as much as you guys are.

    Sorry this was so long and rambling; no one probably cares anymore, but figured I’d put this out there anyway.

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  4. Creepygirl says:

    I care Erik. My friends and I will be at both the events and all the future shows.

    RiffTrax Rocks!

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  5. Iggy Pop's Brother Steve Pop says:

    Cronkite Moonshot (#51):

    Well, if who you’re directing your bile at is just the people who are calling this a rip-off, as though it were being forced on them, then frankly, we’re not too far apart in opinion (see #43, which you cite, but apparently didn’t read further than the first sentence). But when you phrase it like this…

    “Personally I had a lot of fun at both the other live shows, so I’m going to these no matter what they are doing. Would I prefer they be something completely new? Probably, in a perfect world. Am I going to be a whiny little cry baby who whines and whines about it as if they deserve everything to be especially catered just to them (and then has the nerve to tell someone else to ‘get over’ themselves)? Nope.”

    …you certainly make it seem like there are two and only two options: “going… no matter what they are doing” (even if you prefer that they do something new), and “be[ing] a whiny little cry baby who whines and whines,” etc. To expect people to comprehend what you mean, it’s necessary to put what you mean into the actual words you write, rather than to say something unspecific and expect people to read your mind for the rest.

    “You may notice that I never said anyone shouldn’t be saying that they would prefer to see something new.” You may notice I never said that you did, Reading Comprehension. It’s for the same reason I “ignored” your saying that you yourself would prefer to see something new. Your message drew the distinction between people who are going, and people who are not going. And that’s exactly the distinction I specifically made in my reply (hence the category “I’m not going to see a third riffing on the same movie,” and two categories of people who are). The fact that there’s a subset of “I am okay with seeing a third riffing of the same movie” who would rather be seeing something new wasn’t the issue in your message, so why you think it was in mine, I don’t know. (You do understand that “I am okay with seeing a third riffing of the same movie” is not synonymous with “I would prefer to see a third riffing of the same movie, as opposed to something new,” right?)

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  6. Dr. Carlo Lombardi says:

    I was a little unsure about attending but seeing that Laura (#35) is not going to go assures me 100% that there’s no possibility now of the chance of her being in a theater seated next to me. I fully support people giving their opinions on the boards and detailing their reasons why they are not choosing to support a project, but when you get mean and nasty it pretty much means either your argument is not valid or that you’re just that type of person in real life.

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  7. Erik,

    Thanks for the response (although I do think you weaseled out a bit from where you were saying “I think it’s interesting that “Ex-Genius” seems to KNOW that the Christmas shorts show did better than the Plan 9 “rehash”” when in fact I said no such thing). And I do hope Mike and Co. at least have an idea of some of the fans reaction to what they do — as I said, it’s up to them what they decide but the one thing I don’t want is for any lack of success they have to be attributed to their fans not caring. Pretty obviously we ALL care, or we wouldn’t have such strong opinions here.

    And I have indeed noticed that RT is doing more PD stuff and less mainstream — which is why they are getting more of my business. I’ve bought every short and every PD cheesy film you guys have done and will continue to do so. I strongly believe in voting with my dollars for something I really want (which is why I WON’T be attending the next two live shows).

    And folks, I think you need to cut Laura a little slack. Yes, she (I assume it’s a she although nowadays you never know :>) didn’t express herself well, but it’s obvious to me she is a fan who cares as well. I dunno, maybe she was REALLY looking forward to “Jack” or something (I was as well, but am not crushed about it — I learned a long time ago that the business world seldom does what I want it to anymore now that they aren’t interested in the boomer generation but love them 18-35 year old dollars :>).

    In the words of someone who should now, why can’t we all just get along?

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  8. Cheapskate Crow says:

    You all seem to be missing the important problem here, that 6pm is too early for this kind of thing! :grin:
    The following is one fan’s opinion: I mostly support CT and could never get behind Rifftrax’s business of riffing mainstream/popular films. I have only ever bought one Rifftrax (The Room which was great) but did attend both Rifftrax live shows last year. Plan 9 was hilarious, the Christmas show definitely had its moments but I thought was rather uneven overall (the swimming short seemed especially flat to me). Reefer Madness is something I would like to see but with the time zone problem, I will just wait for the DVD of this. If I had already bought it from Rifftrax, I would not buy it again. I realize I am not a Rifftrax diehard, but I don’t know why people are so upset with this Reefer Madness rehash. If you don’t like it or already have it, don’t go. If you were only waiting for Jack the Giant Killer, keep waiting. I have never heard of it but will have to look it up now. I have a couple of CT live dvds, if they released a studio DVD of the same movies I already have, I wouldn’t buy them. Simple as that.

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  9. TestForEcho says:

    This movie is hilarious in itself. It doesn’t need commentary, which will just enhance the stupidity of these film makers. Can’t wait

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  10. TestForEcho says:

    After reading from top to bottom here … To the Rifftrax crew, I feel bad that you guys are working at this stuff for us Fans, and some of these “Fans” are miserable about it. Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t. As for me, I have been going to the theater shows with five other people I got into the Rifftrax- Mst3K-CT fame, so they can cancel out some of these other “fans”. I love what you guys are doing, keep it up, baby.

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  11. Don’t feel bad for us, we’ve got it great here! You learn pretty early on that you can’t make everyone happy.

    If you’re looking for a chance to laugh at a theater, I don’t think you’re going to find a better one – I never hear movie theaters laugh more than they do at our shows (I believe this is true, i don’t think even the biggest comedies from the past year deliver as consistent laughs because they have to worry about things like plots, love interests, etc.)

    But if instead of that, you’re just looking to complain, you’ll always be able to find something.

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  12. Dr. Carlo Lombardi says:

    My biggest complaint is that last time they did the Rifftrax Christmas stuff at the Cinema Delux with the “adult seating” section and this time they’re not. I really liked being able to sit in the 21+ section and have beer served to me. Can I blame Mike Nelson for that? No? Grrrr…. then it must be Murphy’s fault.

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  13. TestForEcho says:

    I agree Conor. I’ll see you guys next month.

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  14. Cronkite Moonshot says:

    @Iggy Pop’s Brother Steve Pop #55

    You’ve just said… “The fact that there’s a subset of “I am okay with seeing a third riffing of the same movie” who would rather be seeing something new wasn’t the issue in your message”

    My original post said… “Personally I had a lot of fun at both the other live shows, so I’m going to these no matter what they are doing. Would I prefer they be something completely new? Probably, in a perfect world.”

    What could this possibly mean except that I’m okay with seeing them riff Reefer Madness live, even though I would rather be seeing them riff something new? Not only did my original post imply that there might be people out there who would prefer new material but were still quite excited about this show and so weren’t going to be jerks about it, but the entire point of my post is that I AM one of those people.

    And I certainly did not “make it seem like there are two and only two options: ‘going… no matter what they are doing’ (even if you prefer that they do something new), and ‘be[ing] a whiny little cry baby who whines and whines,” etc.’. For one thing that doesn’t even make sense. How are those two things even related? How could that ever even be the only options in any choice? I simply stated something that I (as in only ME) was going to do (go to the show despite what the movie was), and something that I (as in only ME) wasn’t going to do (whine). It’s undeniable that some people were complaining rather harshly, or as I chose to put it WHINING, and others were expressing the same opinion in a reasonable way. The only thing I ever stated any annoyance for was the manner in which some people were acting, mainly being petulant and disrespectful towards the folk at Rifftrax. In the real world it is possible for SOME people of a shared opinion to be acting like jerks while others aren’t, and criticizing the actions of those people, as I did, doesn’t equate to criticizing the opinion and everyone who holds it, which is what you tried to claim I was doing.

    As for your post #43 I only had interest in laughing to your laughable “savaged” remark, and so that’s all I did.

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  15. David says:

    Personally, I don’t have an opinion on the whole new/old debate. My concern is the whole tape delay issue. Living in California, I don’t want to go to a Live Rifftrax event that is, in fact, taped. Seems to defeat the whole purpose of a “live” event. I understand the rationale behind it, but it’s the main reason that has kept me from going to these things in the past. Are their any plans to try a live west coast feed and see how it does?

    We now return you to your flamewar in progress.

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  16. That just confuses me — I can understand someone not wanting to see a taped “live” event like a ballgame (because there might be spoilers) but if I put you in a room and told you you had to guess whether the RT event you were watching was live or not what odds would you get to guess right? IOW, what the heck difference does it matter?

    It’s not like you’re going to have any interaction with the event or find out something that would spoil your enjoyment (or do you have friends on the East coast that call you and tell you how it comes out? I’ll tip you off in advance — in Reefer Madness, they get stoned :>) But maybe I’m missing something important here.

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  17. Yeah, unfortunately, there is no way to show an event actually live everywhere that would be convenient for the entire country; it would either be too late somewhere or too early other places. Though honestly, I don’t see how it would affect your enjoyment of the show.

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  18. Smirkboy says:

    I think there is an issue not being addressed:

    Rifftrax is getting this big live broadcast from the folks who supply the Colorized versions of the movies.

    Are there OTHER movies by this company Rifftrax can do?

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  19. David says:

    Yeah, I know it’s a minor point, but surely people can understand the difference between seeing something live and seeing something taped. It has nothing to do with enjoying the quality of the show, but with being involved in the whole live experience.

    It’s akin to the Masquerade Ball at San-Diego Comic-Con. If you can’t get in to the actual room, they simulcast it to other convention rooms and everyone is watching at the same time and enjoying the same experience. They rebroadcast it they next day, but the experience is not the same.

    Or take when ER and other shows have done “live” broadcasts. They would actually do two performances, one for the east coast and one for the west coast. Now, they could have gotten away with just taping it for the west coast, but they wanted to give them the same “live” anything-can-happen experience.

    Watching a rebroadcast experience would be akin to watching a DVD, I don’t see the need to be in the theater to catch a “taped” performance, apart from the novelty of seeing it on the big screen. Surely that can’t be that hard to understand.

    Or you can just sue me for being picky about wanting a “live” experience to be, actually, “live.” :)

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  20. Ben says:

    #68 – That is a good point to bring up. Is there the chance for Rifftrax do any other movies in the Legend Films catalog? The Mike solo tracks were done on Legend movies as well as some Rifftrax wraparounds on the Stooge DVDs they did. Like is it possible to riff on The Skull or The Man Who Could Cheat Death or Houdini and the like? Maybe Hitler: The Last Ten Days might be a bit too dark for riffing, but who knows? The relationship with Rifftrax and Legend Films has been apparently good for years, so I guess I’ll ask anyone on the Rifftrax crew if these films are future possibilities for shows and/or DVDs.

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  21. starman15317 says:

    Wait, so is Mike, Kevin and Bill reading this then? :shock:

    OH. MY. GOD. :mrgreen:

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