Rifftrax vs. Godzilla '98: The Home Game

It's been two months since Rifftrax took on the 1998 version of Godzilla, or as it was produced, Sleepless in Jurassic Park.

Backers of the Kickstarter project, including me, just got the mp3 version of the riff for the movie. This likely made a lot of people happy, especially those who didn't hear the riff in theaters.

I've already made a review of the live show. Seeing the movie again with the mp3 actually made the movie better. There were a couple of riffs people may not have understood the first time, but it got easier the second time. There were at least a couple of new jokes, but only a few remarks about this year's version. A lot was also made on Emmerich's attempt to mock Siskel and Ebert by making them bungling New York City officials. Nice try, Roland, but rebooting Godzilla from scratch doesn't work out. At least the 2014 version admits its Godzilla probably came from 60 years ago, and the MUTO in that film may have said 'SCOOOOOOOTTTTEEEEERRR"

Here's some more riffs:

early in the credits
Bill Corbett:  Before Michael Bey'd, there was Roland Emmerich

Shot of NYC skylinw with the caption, "The City That Never Sleeps"
Kevin Murphy:  Ah, Las Vegas. Fort Worth?

Fishing Market starts its day
Mike Nelson:  Delivery for some guy named Oswald Cobblepot (makes more sense thanks to Gotham)

Godzilla heads for the fish that Nick the worm guy (Matthew Broderick) laid out for him
Kevin:  Ferris Bueller's second day off not as whimsical as the first

One of the eggs Godzilla laid at Madison Square Garden hatches
Mike:  Biggest disappointment since the Gobbledy Gooker

Audrey decides to broadcast on TV by using "an internet"
Mike:  An internet. Is that where they have the Google?

And of course, Godzilla's two painful cries, "PAAACCCKKKEEERS"  and "SCOOOOTTTEEERRR".

There's also riffs on Game of Thrones, Rodan, The Monkees, Bernie Goetz, Harry Knowles, Dr. Strangelove, Ernie Anastos (mainly for this), 4 Non-Blondes the Knicks, and this year's Godzilla.

The mp3 riff is now available soon at the Rifftrax site. Meanwhile, Rifftrax Live prepares for Anaconda on November 4th and Santa Claus (the 1959 version) on December 4th.

Rifftrax Presents Kickstarter II: Godzilla vs. Ferris Bueller

History shows again and again
How nature points out the folly of men.....GODZILLA...Blue Oyster Cult

About a year after the Rifftrax gang asked its fans to donate for plans to do a live riff of Twilight, which was later changed to Starship Troopers, in theaters, and hit its goal very quickly, they're back with another project,
On August 14th, they plan to take on the 1998 "re-imagining" of the classic movie monster Godzilla. They already have approval from Sony. The gang just needs 100 thousand dollars for the event, movie rights and such.
Naturally, the goal was met at supersonic speed. It took about 20 hours, and the money's still rolling in. They're still taking donations to put more money on the presentation, possibly including a life-sized left foot, and maybe plans for "Bambi vs. Godzilla III, the Last Stand" Some extra bucks to grease Sony's palms won't hurt, either.

I've already come up with a web ad....

Now, a little history lesson:

The 1998 remake of Godzilla featured Matthew Broderick, Hank Azaria and Jean Reno. It mixed in the classic story of the big guy being created by nuclear testing, plus some political conspiracy. It also showed Godzilla laying eggs, and reproducing. It was considered a new take on a classic movie monster, without Raymond Burr being in nearly every scene of the American version (and that includes a very short 1985 version).
The movie was also written and directed by Roland Emmerich, who gave us Independence Day, Stargate, 2012, 10,000 BC, and White House Down. These days, it's not even considered a true Godzilla remake. People, especially Japan, refer to the beast as Zilla, considering the monster never gets anywhere near Tokyo.

The announcement of the Kickstarter project comes just a few days before the new Godzilla movie, which at least will guarantee the big lizard will show Bryan Cranston the real definition of Breaking Bad.

Anyway, here's the link to the Kickstarter page. Fans who chip in will get special rewards, depending on the contribution. They include a shorts package featuring a re-riff on "A Case of Spring Fever", the Cold War short "Duck and Cover", and one of those "At Your Fingertips" shorts. Major contributors can get a limited-edition t-shirt, the original scripts from the event, signed posters, and even a chance to come up with your own riff that'll be used on the show. That's about the same as being an "associate producer."

Again, the Kickstarter page for Rifftrax taking on the post-grunge version of Godzilla is right here.

UPDATE:  with two weeks to go, the crew is shooting for a goal of 250 thousand dollars to also get the rights to Anaconda, a 1997 movie with  Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson and Eric Stoltz. They're part of a National Geographic crew looking for an Amazon tribe, but is forced to help a crazy hunter played by Jon Voight. Apparently he's hunting the Great Green Anaconda, Moby Hiss. It's a pretty cheesy movie that still made enough for a sequel or two. If they can hit this goal, it'll be riffed October 30th.

Of course, Rifftrax will also take on Sharknado on July 10 and 15th. Tickets are available, and you can go to fathomevents.com for more info.