And here’s another report (warning: page contains images that might be NSFW).
Our buddy Dave (who previously reported to us from the CT appearance in Minneapolis) journeyed to Dallas this weekend for the Dallas Film Festival, and provided this report:
The “MST at 20” forum began with a presentation of clips taking us through the whole series, pretty much chronologically. The clips ran for about 25 minutes, and then Joel, Trace, Frank, Mary Jo and Josh walked onto the stage onto directors chairs. Unfortunately, Kevin took ill and was unable to attend.
The host then spent the next 30-40 minutes asking questions, going over familiar ground for most MSTies. During this entire Q and A segment, they were each riffing and mocking each others responses in the manner we are accustomed to, and it was very entertaining. Joel recounted leaving Los Angeles to return to Minneapolis, having a “monster movie show” idea in his mind. They said the four Gamera films in the KTMA library helped them greatly in cementing the idea and format for the show.
Trace discussed the motion picture, and the frustration of being told to have more broad, accessible riffs for the film, producing a product he personally felt was inferior to the TV show.
Mary Jo recounted the start of the Sci-Fi Channel years, and talked a bit about the sometimes disheartening remarks seen on online discussing her character.
Frank, in response to a question about fame, said he is only recognized in public occasionally, and then, usually very respectfully/politely by fans. He said it’s especially gratifying when he’s out to dinner with friends, is recognized, and then hears his friends say, “You’re famous? I didn’t know that!”
The audience Q&A portion followed, and went on for roughly 35-45 minutes. There were many questions we’ve heard many times before, but some relatively new and of interest. My party of four estimated that approximately 60% of the audience questions were “good,” with 40% relatively predictable or in some cases, “groan-worthy.”
Asked if CT will use more “adult” humor, Joel joked about “Skinematic Titanic” but said each of them has their own type of humor, and that they will continue to do things along those lines.
Asked if there are movies that are too “good” or “bad” to use for MST/CT, Frank said that many films they’ve screened since The Oozing Skull were actually worse than that, which was a bit surprising to him, given how bad “Oozing Skull” was.
Asked about filming of the Giant Gila Monster replacement segment, Joel never really answered the question, and instead went off onto a tangent with some backstage information. He said he had contacted Jim Mallon last summer to see if they might want to do something together for the 20th anniversary of MST3K. Joel said Jim mostly talked about the Flash animation and how he wanted to do shorts online using the bots. Joel said he was more interested in riffing on movies, and in the end the two couldn’t come to an agreement. This was the point at which he came up with the idea for Cinematic Titanic.
At the end of the forum, we all filed out of the theater and got back in line to return into the same theater with different tickets, to grab general admission seating.
When the show began, the CT cast came out on stage and sat down in chairs (no scaffolding) in front of the screen, with lighted easels holding their scripts. The film turned out to be the Roger Corman 1959 epic “The Wasp Woman.” (“The Wasp Woman” will be one of the three films that Cinematic Titanic will be filming in May for eventual release.)
In this fan’s opinion, the riffing was dead-on target. The live audience reactions were extremely positive, and the general consensus was the show was even funnier than “The Oozing Skull.”
The cast then went outside to sit at a table to meet the fans in line for autographs and comments. The only merchandise sold at their table was the Oozing Skull pre-autographed DVD cover and the 8×10 CT Cast silhouette photo.
Thanks to Dave for his report!
