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“Meet Dave” tomorrow

This is a reminder that “Meet Dave” comes out in theaters tomorrow, July 11. This is the movie that was written by Bill Corbett and Rob Greenberg and was originally titled “Starship Dave.” No telling what else may have changed during the trip from script to screen.

Meet Dave graphic 

22 Replies to ““Meet Dave” tomorrow”

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  1. Badger1970 says:

    I thought they learned from their first experience with the studios. At least this is labor and and not labor of love (MST3k).

    Not to be a wet blanket, but I’m not that much of an Eddie Murphy fan (at least since “Axel F”. ;)

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  2. ety3 says:

    Poor Bill. You have my sympathies.

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  3. Eric D. says:

    I saw it last night at a promo screening. It’s unimaginably bad. The sad part is, much of the badness is inherent in the story, with no regard for internal logic or consistency — the sort of things that would have been present in the original script, too, unless they did a COMPLETE overhaul of it in the production process. I mean, I hope that’s not the case, because I want to think Bill would have written something better. But watching the movie, there’s not much evidence of talent, sadly.

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  4. Rowsdower42 says:

    Having read both of Bill’s plays, it’s upsetting to hear that this is not good at all. Here’s hoping that it’s not all his fault. I assume much of the blame can be placed on Eddie Murphy, as is the norm.

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  5. A-Spot says:

    To give you an idea of how much a movie can change from original script to screen, I was once told that the movie “Cobra” was originally based on the same script that was later used for “Beverly Hills Cop.” Apparently Stallone rewrote it to death.

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  6. Graboidz says:

    As bad as this film looks, I cannot wait to hear Bill’s Rifftrax comments when this puppy hits DVD :shock:

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  7. Yaanu says:

    Another example of script changes: Hancock, a story about a drunk superhero who becomes some type of police guy, was originally called Tonight, He Comes, a story about a homeless superhero who becomes a surrogate dad to a family. Look it up.

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  8. Mac says:

    “From Justin to Kelly” was originally an adaptation of “Measure for Measure”.

    No, not really. But it would be cool if it was.

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  9. Sampo says:

    Bill says he hasn’t seen the final movie yet, but offers some preliminary thoughts here: http://blog.rifftrax.com/2008/07/10/meat-dave/

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  10. Omega says:

    Kevin Smith’s writing experience on an unmade Superman sequel (a long and tedious production that ultimately led to Superman Returns in 2006) is another great example of where the filmmakers don’t even give a crap about the original script. As Kevin discussed in length to his fans, his script entitled Superman Lives, was completely thrown out by director Tim Burton (who wanted it re-written by his own people) and eventually the production did not even get off the ground.

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  11. R.A. Roth says:

    Thanks for the link, Sampo. Please read my response on that blog. It is Hollywood experiences like Bill’s that scare away good movie ideas. I have one, but should I even bother? They’ll rape it of all integrity before the public sets eyes on the screen.

    Randy

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  12. Bob says:

    We saw a trailer for this recently in a movie theater. Sorry to report that it didn’t make me, my wife or our young son laugh, not once.

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  13. Jay Pandolfo says:

    It boggles my mind that a MSTite could have something to do with this awful picture. I wonder if Eddie Murphy plays five characters in this one, or six?
    Dont worry Bill, we know you have little to do with this crap.

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  14. Gorn Captain says:

    Don’t they have an “Alan Smithee” pseudonym for writers? Nobody should have to suffer blame for the script rewrites of others.

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  15. Matty-O says:

    I agree with Bill that his title was far better. Starship Dave paints a better picture of the story and leaves more of an impression. It’s a shame, but for some reason beyond me Hollywood has taken to bland names for their movies as if afraid that a title with flavor will spook some people away. Perfect example, Wanted. What does the name have to do with the film or tell the prospective viewers about it? Nothing. Which is a real shame since in the trailer they have Morgan Freeman saying the killer line “we are the weapons of fate”. Now that would have been a great title; “Weapons of Fate. But no, just like Meet Dave they went with a generic brand that could be applicable to any project.

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  16. Jordan says:

    or it was based off of the comic book called WANTED….

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  17. Burke says:

    Possibly NSFW. A little crude language.

    http://www.cracked.com/video_16457_who-would-actually-pay-see-new-eddie-murphy-movie.html

    (sorry Bill)

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  18. Matty-O says:

    or it was based off of the comic book called WANTED….

    … sure… that’s a possibility too.

    And here I was going off on an otherwise perfectly good diatribe. :mrgreen:

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  19. radioman970 says:

    Mr Bill, I hope you went on ahead and cashed the check just to be safe.

    Ouch! $4.4 Million!

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  20. Bob says:

    Check out the comments about “Meet Dave” on Yahoo at http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/ap/20080713/121597782000.html

    Here’s an excerpt:
    “Eddie Murphy bombed with his comedy “Meet Dave,” a 20th Century Fox release that took in just $5.3 million. The movie features Murphy in dual roles as a tiny alien and his spaceship which is designed to resemble a full-sized human for a visit to Earth.”

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  21. Clint says:

    The FOX exec in the article says the concept was”too hard to get across.” Gee, maybe you could have gone with “Starship Dave” which says a lot more than “Meet Dave.”

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  22. FredBeagle says:

    Review check what the critics are saying it’s not very encouraging.

    http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/ebertandroeper/index2.html?sec=1&subsec=5759

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