Today the Volturi, Tomorrow Jar Jar Binks

Last week, Rifftrax decided to shoot for the stars, and set up a Kickstarter campaign to get enough money to bribe or use embarrassing photos convince Lionsgate to let them riff on Twilight, the teen vampire movie that launched an tween-based movie empire. They were looking for 55 thousand dollars, and according to Satellite News, that was raised in an hour.

As of 10 AM Pacific Time today (March 5), more than 4300 people have donated about 201 thousand dollars. It's safe to say that if Lionsgate has a sense of humor, and no concerns that three guys mocking this movie will affect anything, this could happen this coming August. However, if Lionsgate considers this blasphemy or could ruin the inevitable reboot someday, Rifftrax could consider another movie like Troll II, The Room, Transformers: Dark of the Moon (or, God, Where's Megan Fox When You Need Her?), Eragon, or maybe Battlefield Earth, Not-Anne Hathaway Catwoman or Batman and Robin.

Meanwhile, response by the media has been fairly slow. It's more concerned about having a president who can't tell the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek. However, Geek System has written an article about this, and even Bill Corbett found out Perez Hilton added a blurb to his site. There's also been articles in Wired and Daily Dot.

However, where is the massive uprising by Twi-hards who consider a public mocking of the Sacred Sparkling Vampire Sacrament, the movie that changed their lives, the Ultimate Sin?

Well, it hasn't happened yet. Maybe they are watching all of their Twilight DVDs now that Breaking Dawn 2 is now available. The Rifftrax response is coming on March 14, and that should break the server that delivers the mp3's.
Or maybe they just realized they spent their hard-earned cash on a movie franchise that hasn't been the Supreme Teen Experience they had expected....and now want revenge!

Hey, more than 4300 people can't be wrong, and neither will the thousands more that will contribute through the end of this month. If Twilight does get the Rifftrax treatment, that means any recent movie, as in five to ten years old, is fair game. While Star Wars or Lord of the Rings movies may be a bit out of reach, movies that couldn't start franchises (hello, John Carter, The Lightning Thief, The A-Team) may be in reach. Heck, maybe my dream of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie being riffed could come true, especially if Sarah Michelle Gellar helps out.

If you'd like to donate some bucks to the Rifftrax Kickstarter site, just click here. You can also get some nice thank-you gifts, including a digital download of the August event itself. Whatever happens, it will be worth every penny, and could lead to a new era in movie mockery. Some have even hoped other MST3K alumni may help out, like Trace or Mary Jo. We can only hope.

The Greatest Kickstarter Campaign Ever, or How to Avenge a Youthful Mistake

Rifftrax promised a big announcement recently about its next live show, and it wasn't kidding.

It wants to spin, fold and mutilate, or in lay men's terms goof on, the original Twilight movie.

Just sending mp3's to people who want to see the classic vampire love movie with appropriate commentary just isn't enough anymore.
Nope. Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy all had a dream. They wanted to honor Twilight in the worst way, but then that would involve giving it some reward, and we can't have that.
So, they had a better idea: declare the movie as the Worst Movie Of All Time, according to an internet poll of the most superior experts of such a thing. Sure, they were mainly Rifftrax customers, but that proves they have taste. Add hard-core fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Vampire Diaries, and the case is made right there.

Next, Rifftrax decided to roll the dice and raise money for the rights to riff on Twilight, and broadcast it to willing fans in theaters across the nation. Heck, have this on PPV, and you may be more popular than last week's UFC card.

Now, there are some people who are certain Lionsgate would never let three self-appointed movie critics who base their expertise on being trapped in space while being attacked by Coleman Francis, Ed Wood and whoever thought Hobgoblins was a good idea, riff on Twilight live in theatres. Sure, Fathom Events show classic movies or TV shows, but add featurettes and deleted scenes and stuff like that. It's to commemorate these classic films. It makes no sense to present a classic movie, and heckle it from start to finish.
On the other hand, Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment have both generated billions from this franchise. Maybe it's about time they suffer the consequences. Besides, it's not as if any other movie franchise is upset Rifftrax targets them every time.

So, the Rifftrax boys are giving it a try. In an interesting move, they started a Kickstarter campaign to ask people if they'd help raise 50 thousand bucks to get the rights to show Twilight, and present the money in a big and massive novelty check. That started on February 25th. About 26 hours later, they've raised 145 thousand dollars, and will likely get more. That's a lot of people who want to avenge their youthful mistake that Twilight would be as good as they had hoped, then it turned out it never will be. Heck, with Buffy, True Blood and Vampire Diaries, that ain't happening.

So, if the final tally on March 27 is big, like around 250 thousand dollars, Lionsgate should prove it's got nerve and let Rifftrax mock Twilight this coming August. If the studio demands a "rebuttal", they could ask Taylor Lautner to be part of it. I doubt Kristen Stewart could do much, unless she's been holding back a lot of riffs over the years. If the next live show's target isn't Twilight, it could be a "classic" like Troll II, The Room, or (and this may be a dream) Son of the Mask.

So, click here if you want to contribute to the "Rifftrax wants to riff Twilight in theaters nationwide" campaign today. If Lionsgate does approve this, it will be certain doom....for Transformers, Avatar, the Star Wars prequels, etc. Wouldn't that be cool.

The backlash has started

I found this at the J!nx website.

You'd think they'd have these shirts ready for Christmas, but I am guessing those who like the Twilight books, if not the movie, would be upset if they saw this shirt.

Well, tough luck. I just wonder if anyone would make a similar shirt for Let the Right One In.

While I am on the horn here, I may have to change my prediction on who will get the Oscar for Best Actor. Kate Winslet is still my choice for the Best Actress bid, as she gathers more praise for The Reader. After Sean Penn won the SAG award for Milk, I may have to change my vote to him over Frank Langella. I had thought of Langella for Frost/Nixon because the Academy Awards rarely gives awards to actors more than once. They sometimes give their praise to someone new. With Penn's win Sunday, I think he has the momentum to get another Oscar.

I am also certain, as Sister Aloysius is, that the Oscar voters will snub Mickey Rourke out of the Kodak Theater. It's not because The Wrestler is a bloody film, which would upset squeamish voters. It's also not because the Academy isn't a fan of Bruce Springsteen--but should have been. It's because Rourke may be part of Wrestlemania XXV in a few weeks. Vince McMahon reportedly saw the movie and hated it. One Golden Globe later, Vince decides to put Rourke in a storyline with Chris Jericho. Rourke will be lucky to get a hundred votes after that bit of news.

I don't recall Verne Gagne plugging his appearance in the 1974 version of The Wrestler during AWA All-Star Wrestling. That's because he didn't have to, but this is 2009...and synergy is all, even when it's not supposed to exist. You think Vince would make The Wrestler, and have it made the way Darren Aronofsky did? Of course not. We already know that with No Holds Barred 20 years ago.

So, forget about Mickey Rourke getting the Oscar this year. His comeback will be praised, but anyone who'd be in the same county as uncouth Vince McMahon won't be considered even slightly worthy of an Oscar. At least, that's how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will see it. Too bad. Mickey should have waited until SummerSlam.

Joss is keeping us posted

It's been great that Joss Whedon has been keeping us posted on Dollhouse, and several other things, in Whedonesque. I copied his post from last Saturday, and put it in my web page where future reviews of Dollhouse will exist. He submitted another one early Wednesday morning, talking about some of his favorite things, including Patton Oswalt. It's great news Patton may soon be seen at a Dollhouse near us. I suggest he could be someone who almost finds out what's going on while hooking up with an Active (not Eliza Dushku, but someone else). That would be something to look forward to.

There was also an article about someone asking Joss about True Blood and Twilight, which feature vampires in love with human girls as opposed to Slayers. He had the right attitude with this comment: "If people want stories about girls who love vampires, they should have them...It's not like I came up with it. It's always deeply romantic or deeply interesting or deeply scary, or all of the above, and that's going to be mined long after I'm gone."

Also, True Blood and Twilight are both based on best-selling books. Their fans will support these shows, as well as Whedonistas will support their type of vampire romance. We're just paying attention to True Blood and Twilight because people will compare them to Buffy or Anita Blake or whoever else.

Meanwhile, a friend of mine at work asked me if I watched Pushing Daisies. Of course, I do. I was at the Mobile Pie Hole Tour, and I have season one on DVD. Anyway, she was worried about how few people are coming back to the show, and are leaning towards Knight Rider or Old Christine. Apparently in these sour times, with an intense election and Wall Street going down the drain despite lower gas prices, people don't like whimsy...no matter if it's well-done.

Well, I sure do, because I know for all its charm and bright colors, there is a dark side. We had to deal with Ned, the guy with the Magic Touch, deal with telling not-dead-anymore-unless-he-touches-her-again Chuck he accidentally killed her dad. If you saw all of season one, you know it really was an accident. Not only that, we find out a big dark secret from one of the aunts (Lily is Chuck's mom, not her aunt), which Chuck now knows but can't go to the said aunt to discuss it at length. Thing is, this season will deal with family. We had a peak at Emerson Cod's family, and it looks like we look at Ned's past as well. Not only that, we find out Gina Torres will be dropping by, too. She's the reason why I am going to a CreationCon in Burbank in a little more than three weeks. This will finally complete the Serenity Cast Experience for me.

Well, November will be an interesting month. After the election, which seemed to have started just after Bush's second inauguration, we can look to the future. With any luck, it will include Pushing Daisies. I can understand if it loses to the final chapter of the fifth game of the World Series, but if it also loses to the Obamamercial, too, ABC get a lawn mower and use it on Daisies. If it's going to be that dumb, though, it should allow extra time to wrap up the story. Whimsy must be respected, even if it's decided that it's too expensive..which I suspect will be the excuse ABC uses to yank the show. We shall see, as we send "What the...have you got bad Chocolate Pudding for Brains" pies to ABC if they dare do such a thing.