MARTY KROFFT IS PUFFIN’ STUFF

Written by Vince Mancini / 10.29.09

Sid and Marty Krofft are famous for creating a whole bunch of shows that seem retarded to me but are great according to people who smoked a lot of pot in the 70s.  They’ve got an H.R. Pufnstuf movie in production now. Marty Krofft says they want to use Where the Wild Things Are as inspiration, which is easy to say now that it was successful, but his reasons seem sort of contradictory.  From NYDailyNews:

“‘Wild Things’ is very, very good for us,” says Marty Krofft. “We always wanted to do low-tech costumes and high-tech heads. But it’ll be a big difference in tone, of course — we’ll be bright, not dark.”

After “Land of the Lost,” Krofft says he and his brother learned some valuable lessons.

“We went with comedy, which got it green-lit. But we didn’t know it was going to go so far in the PG-13 direction and so close to an R rating,” he says of the unfortunate flop. “Our characters are all likable, and we have so much goodwill from our fans. So, now we know: Don’t mess with what’s worked.”

Dude, your fans are all 40 years old now, you think they care about the ratings?  And your stuff worked back when there were five channels.  Take a look at what you’re trying not to mess with:

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WKND PREVIEW: AFTER LOST HANGOVER SEASON

Written by Vince Mancini / 06.05.09

Opening this weekend:

After Last Season
This is either a prank or the future cult-hit of the decade.  If you want to see it, all you have to do is make your way to Austin, Rochester, Lancaster, or North Aurora.  First 10,000 guest receive a complimentary cardboard MRI machine.  “They’ve got, uh, printers in the basement you can use.”

The Hangover
The triumphant return of Todd Philips.  Most people are saying it’s pretty damn funny.  It’s got Zach Galifianakis, Mike Tyson, a tiger, and a baby in sunglasses. Pretty much everything you could ask for.

Land of the Lost
Man is this thing getting some terrible reviews.  But Ebert liked itMovieline calls it “a pretty good stoner comedy being mismarketed as a kids’ movie.”  Isn’t that exactly what the original show was?  Anyway, your results may vary. In related news I think a good poster would just be Will Ferrell running from a dinosaur with “LOL!” written on it.

My Life in Ruins
Nia Vardalos’ follow-up to My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the only film getting worse reviews than LOL. Hey, have I mentioned Nia Vardalos is Greek?  Because she is!  I think that’s why she’s so zany!  Hey, Nia, ethnicities are like assholes.  That’s probably why ethnic types are smelly.

Away We Go (limited release)
Sam Mendes (American Beauty) directs a script by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, a coming-of-age/non-traditional rom-dramedy.  College boner!  It’s just so hard to decide between this and grad school.

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WILL FERRELL IS MILDLY AMUSING

Written by Vince Mancini / 02.23.09

After the jump, you can watch a new clip from Will Ferrell and Danny McBride’s wholesome family comedy, Land of the Lost.  I dislike things that are wholesome and family oriented as much as I like things that are booze related and pornographic, but if you’re into that whole “not swearing” bullshit, I suppose you could do worse than this.  I mean what’s the competition?  Paul BlartNight at the Museum?  It’s over, give this thing the Oscar.  Best Lame Shit for Fags, the trophy could say.
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WILL FERRELL VS. THE LIZARDS

Written by Vince Mancini / 04.29.08

USA Today has the first official still from the upcoming Land of the Lost remake starring Will Ferrell and Danny McBride.

The featured creatures are Sleestaks (as popularized by the Nerf Herder song, “She’s a Sleestak").  Sleestaks are described as “villainous lizard creatures with a single horn and giant eyes” a la Lisa Rinna.  The good news is that director Brad Silberling (Lemony Snickets) fought to keep the Sleestaks as dudes in goofy costumes rather than CGI.

Ferrell plays Dr. Marshall, a wacky scientist who ends up the laughingstock of the scientific community after attacking the quadriplegic and wheelchair-bound Stephen Hawking while being interviewed on Anderson Cooper 360. Dr. Marshall is reduced to becoming a tour guide at the La Brea Tar Pits, the only scientific job that would take him. A young hot scientist played by Anna Friel convinces Dr. Marshall to go with her on an expedition which no doubt takes him to the Land of the Lost. [/film]

I’ll admit it, this sounds kind of awesome.  I like the idea of remaking old stuff as a comedy, rather than trying to make a faithful version of something that was somewhat ridiculous to begin with, like say, Speed Racer.  Comedies are preferable for the same reason it’s more fun to make fun of old people when they poop their pants than it is to listen to their stories about the olden times.

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1ST LOOK: WILL FERRELL IN LAND OF THE LOST

Written by Vince Mancini / 03.26.08

The Land of the Lost movie stars Will Ferrell and Danny McBride (of The Foot Fist Way). JFX Online has this and a couple other pics from the set.

A forest ranger along with his two children inadvertently stumble into a mysterious land populated by dinosaurs and other creatures, including the mysterious and dangerous race of Sleestak.

Normally I wouldn’t post pictures this boring, but I thought it was important to note that, at the very least, they don’t seem to be relying on his hair and costume for most of the comedy this time.

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