The Dark Crystal is a 1982 fantasy film directed by puppeteers Jim Henson and Frank Oz, creators of The Muppet Show. Although still marketed as a family film, it was notably darker than previous material created by them. Characters for which they are famous do not appear, but some of the same performers are used. The animatronics used in the film were considered groundbreaking at the time. The primary concept artist was the fantasy illustrator Brian Froud, famous for his distinctive faerie and dwarf designs. Froud also collaborated with Jim Henson and Frank Oz for their next project, the 1986 film, Labyrinth which was notably more light-hearted than The Dark Crystal.
The Dark Crystal was produced by Gary Kurtz, whose list of credits includes American Graffiti, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Return to Oz, and Slipstream. The screenplay was written by David Odell, who had worked with Henson as a staff writer on The Muppet Show. Trevor Jones provided the film’s atmospheric music. The movie makes an attempt to study the nature of good and evil in terms of conscience, destiny, and the triune nature of harmony. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment, the British production company responsible for producing The Muppet Show.
Creepshow is an American horror-comedy anthology film directed by George A. Romero (of Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead fame), and written by Stephen King (Carrie, The Shining, Misery, The Stand).
It was considered a sleeper hit at the box office when released in November 1982, earning over $21 million domestically, and remains a popular film to this day among horror genre fans. The film was shot on location in Pittsburgh and the suburb areas. It consists of five short stories referred to as “Jolting Tales of Horror”: “Father’s Day”, “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill”, “Something to Tide You Over”, “The Crate” and “They’re Creeping Up on You!”. Two of these stories, “The Crate” and “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” (originally titled “Weeds”), were adapted from previously published Stephen King’s short horror tales. The segments are tied together with brief animated sequences. The film is bookended by scenes, featuring a young boy named Billy (played by Stephen King’s own son, Joe King), who is punished by his father for reading horror comics. The film is an homage to the E.C. horror comic books of the 1950s such as Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror and The Haunt of Fear.
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In later years, the international rights of the film would be acquired by Republic Pictures, which today is a subsidiary of the Paramount Motion Pictures Group, itself owned by Viacom. The film’s UK rights are owned by Universal Pictures.
Trivia:
Stephen King carried a toy figure of the character “Greedo” from Star Wars (1977) on the “Creepshow” set for good luck.
Cameo: [Joe Hill] (son of Stephen King) The young boy featured in the beginning of the film (avid reader and collector of “Creepshow” comic books).
Rice Krispies were used as maggots on the corpse’s eyes in the first story, “Father’s Day”. In addition, real maggots were also utilized.
The marble ashtray (which plays a major role in Creepshow’s first story, “Father’s Day”) is featured in all five of the film’s stories if you look closely.
The wrestling match Jordy Verrill is watching on TV in the second segment, “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill”, was being called by Vince McMahon (Chairman of the WWF – now WWE). The wrestlers in the ring were then-current WWF Champion Bob Backlund and The Samoan No. 1.
A sign leading to “Castle Rock” (Stephen King’s trademark fictitious town) appears at the very end of the segment “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill”, among other signs.
Ted Danson, who played Harry Wentworth in “Something to Tide You Over”, said in a T.V. interview that his daughter was on the set during the scene where his character returns from the dead encased in rotting flesh and seaweed. He purposely tried avoiding his young daughter out of fear of scaring her. Finally, despite his best efforts, she went up to him, looked at him and simply said, “Oh, hi Dad.”
It is rumored that Max von Sydow was originally slated to play Upson Pratt in Creepshow’s final story, “They’re Creeping Up On You!”.
In a “Creepshow” special feature from the pages of “Cinefantastique” magazine around the time of “Creepshow”’s release, Stephen King (screenwriter) and George A. Romero (director), revealed that if the film’s final story (“They’re Creeping Up On You!”) had proven to be too difficult and ambitious to film, it would have been substituted with the King short story “The Hitch-Hiker”, which ended up being the final story of the film’s sequel, Creepshow 2 (1987), directed by George A. Romero’s cinematographer on the original Creepshow, Michael Gornick.
Originally, in Stephen King’s first draft 142-page screenplay for the film, the stories “The Crate” and “Something to Tide You Over” switched places. Making “The Crate” story number 3 and “Tide” story number 4. This is also how the Berni Wrightson Creepshow graphic novel adaptation turned out.
In Stephen King’s original script for the film, the final story, “They’re Creeping Up On You!”, originally took place in a lush, carpeted penthouse apartment. However, because with roaches this would have been unworkable, Romero opted for a more empty almost hospital room-like set for the story.
Two of the characters featured in the film, Tabitha and Richard (The new professors at the faculty reception at the beginning of the fourth segment, “The Crate”), were named after Tabitha King (Stephen King’s wife) and Richard Bachman (his ghostwriting name), according to the author.
In the film’s second segment, “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill”, the film playing on Jordy’s television in the background is A Star Is Born (1937), according to director George Romero’s commentary on the UK special edition DVD.
The prop 10-cent “CREEPSHOW” comic book featured in the film was drawn and inked by veteran artist ‘Jack Kamen’, one of the artists for the original E.C. crime and horror comics of the 1950′s. Creepshow was a tribute to these comic books. Jack Kamen also created the comic book-style poster for the film, which was also featured on the front of the Plume “Creepshow” comic book adaptation (which Bernie Wrightson, another prolific horror comic artist, drew and inked the interiors for). Originally, (‘Stephen King (I)’ wanted Graham Ingels, another EC artist (famous for his work on the title “The Haunt of Fear”) to do the artwork for the film’s poster, but he refused. It was head of EC comics ‘William M. Gaines’ who then suggested Jack Kamen do the assignment. Kamen accepted.
A screen capture of the “Creepshow” comic book featured in the film reveals that the letters page has letters from “Brian Hall of Ann Arbor, Mich.” and “David Graves of Spruce, Maryland”, among others. Spruce is the maiden name of King’s wife Tabitha. David Graves is the name of King’s late brother-in-law (married to wife Tabitha’s sister, Catherine). David Graves lived in Maryland (although not “Spruce”, Md), until his death in 2000.
The on-set nickname for the monster in the crate in Creepshow’s fourth story was “Fluffy”, as named by director George A. Romero. The creature’s creator (and makeup artist on the entire film), Tom Savini, was the shorter garbageman featured near the end of the film.
Why does Aunt Bedelia’s father come to life after 7 years in the first story “Father’s Day”? Not because of the lucky number it turns out. If you watch closely you will see Bedelia spills whiskey on the grave. In Gaelic, the word for whiskey is translated as Water of Life, and is likely a nod to James Joyce and his book “Finnegan’s Wake”. In the story a builder’s laborer falls from a ladder and breaks his skull, but is revived when someone spills whiskey on his corpse at the wake. The story of Finnegan’s Wake is in turn written based off an old Dublin street ballad.
At the end of “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill”, on the signpost is the town of Portland, Maine. This was Stephen King’s home town, and King is the star of this segment of the film.
Adrienne Barbeau was still married to John Carpenter when Creepshow was released. Carpenter would make the film version of Stephen King’s Christine (1983) the following year. King wrote and makes an appearance in Creepshow.
The housekeeper in the “Father’s Day” sequence is Mrs.Danvers. The malevolent housekeeper in Alfred Hitchcock’s suspense film Rebecca (1940) is also named Mrs. Danvers.
Evil Toons is a 1992 live-action/animated B-movie. The film is a light spoof of traditional haunted-house films.
Tagline: First they undress you, then they possess you!
Trivia:
Shot in eight days using the equipment and crew from another production.
At the end of the scene in which Burt (played by Dick Miller) is watching A Bucket of Blood (1959) on TV, just before turning it off, he says the line “How come this guy never won an academy award ?” The guy in question is actually Dick Miller himself.
We’ve gathered a list of the top five uses of pumpkin/jack-o-lantern in a movie or title. Here are GoreMaster’s favorites for your Halloween season viewing and enjoyment!
5. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is an animated television special, based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.
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It was the third Peanuts special (and first Halloween special) to be produced and animated by Bill Meléndez. Its initial broadcast took place on October 27, 1966, on the CBS network, preempting My Three Sons; CBS re-aired the special annually through 2000, with ABC picking up the rights beginning in 2001. The program was nominated for an Emmy award. It has been issued on home video several times, including a Remastered Deluxe Edition of the special released by Warner Home Video on September 2, 2008, with the bonus feature It’s Magic, Charlie Brown which was released in 1981.
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, a retrospective book was published in 2006 entitled, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Making of a Television Classic with the entire script, never-before-seen photographs, storyboard excerpts, and interviews with the original child actors who provided the voices of the Peanuts gang.
4. Pumpkinhead (1988)
Pumpkinhead is a 1988 supernatural horror film, combining elements of
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fable, fairy tale, and morality. It was the directorial debut of noted special-effects artist Stan Winston. The film has become quite popular with horror fans for Winston’s atmospheric direction and memorable monster, and has built up a cult following in the years since its release, and is thought to be a classic of the genre.
3. The Legend of Sleepy Hallow (1958)
The story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman, based on Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (narrated by Bing Crosby). The gangly and lanky Ichabod Crane is the new schoolmaster in Sleepy Hollow. His somewhat odd behavior makes him the ridicule of the rambunctious and robust town bully Brom Bones. Despite his odd appearance, Ichabod quickly proves to be a ladies’ man charming all the eligible local ladies. Finally, however, Ichabod discovers the local town beauty, Katrina Van Tassel. Brom decides to take advantage of Ichabod’s strong belief in superstitions.
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Brom musically tells the tale of the Headless Horseman to frighten the teacher. That Halloween night, Crane’s lonely ride home becomes exceedingly frightening because of his exposure to the possibility of encountering the ghost.
2. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is a 1993 stop motion
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fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from “Halloween Town” who opens a portal to “Christmas Town”. Danny Elfman wrote the film score and provided the singing voice of Jack, as well as other minor characters. The remaining principal voice cast includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page and Glen Shadix.
The genesis of The Nightmare Before Christmas started with a poem by Tim Burton as a Disney animator in the early-1980s. With the success of Vincent in 1982, Disney started to consider The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short subject or 30-minute television special. Over the years, Burton’s thoughts regularly returned to the project, and in 1990, Burton and Disney made a development deal. Production started in July 1991 in San Francisco. Walt Disney Pictures decided to release the film under their Touchstone Pictures banner because they thought Nightmare would be “too dark and scary for kids”. The Nightmare Before Christmas has been viewed with critical and financial success. Disney has reissued the film annually under their Disney Digital 3-D format since 2006.
1. John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978)
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Halloween
is a 1978 American independent horror film set in the fictional suburban midwestern town of Haddonfield, Illinois, USA on Halloween. The original draft of the screenplay was titled The Babysitter Murders. John Carpenter directed the film, which stars Donald Pleasence as Dr. Sam Loomis, Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, and Nick Castle, Tony Moran and Tommy Lee Wallace sharing the role of Michael Myers (listed in the credits as “The Shape”). The film centers on Myers’ escape from a psychiatric hospital, his murdering of teenagers, and Dr. Loomis’ attempts to track and stop him. Halloween is widely regarded as a classic among horror films, and as one of the most influential horror films of its era. In 2006 it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Team America: World Police is a 2004 comedy film, written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Pam Brady and directed by Parker, all of whom are also known for the popular animated series South Park. The film is a parody of big-budget action films and their associated clichés and stereotypes, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the resulting war, with particular humorous emphasis on the global implications of American politics. The title of the film itself is derived from domestic and international political criticisms that the U.S. frequently and unilaterally tries to “police the world”.
Tagline: Putting the “F” back in Freedom.
The film, which features a cast entirely composed of marionettes (except for two live cats, two nurse sharks, a cockroach, and an adult male dressed as a giant statue of Kim Jong-il), focuses on a fictional team of political paramilitary policemen known as “Team America: World Police,” who attempt to save the world from a violent terrorist plot led by Kim Jong-il. The film was primarily inspired by Thunderbirds, a popular British TV show created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson which also featured an all-marionette cast.
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The film was released in the United States on October 15, 2004 and, despite receiving mostly positive reviews, was a box office disappointment. Though it made $51 million it failed to exceed the performance of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. The film was released on DVD in the United States on May 17, 2005, available in both R-rated and Unrated versions.
Trivia:
The very first footage screened for Paramount executives was of a poorly crafted puppet in front of a background of a badly drawn Eiffel Tower, prompting one executive in the audience to yell. “Oh god, they fucked us!” This was a prank pulled by the directors and the shot then pulls back to reveal a highly refined marionette manipulating the inferior one, then flies over beautifully detailed Parisian landscape full of believable yet cheesy marionettes. This actually ends up being the opening shot of the movie.
The idea for the film came in 2003 when Matt Stone and Trey Parker were watching television and came across re-runs episodes of “Thunderbirds” (1965), which Parker had never seen. Instantly intrigued, the two decided a marionette action film would be “the perfect way to send up all those Jerry Bruckheimer movies”.
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Before Trey Parker and Matt Stone settled on the final plot for this film, one of their original ideas was to do an all-puppet version of Armageddon (1998/I). They had been given a copy of the script and thought it was already funny as was; but thought that if they were to make it into an all-puppet movie; then it would substantially funnier. The main reason why this idea never came to fruition was because of legal problems with the studio who owned the rights to the film.
Matt Stone referred to the puppet technique used in the film as “supercrappymation”.
When Trey Parker and Matt Stone showed the first footage of the film at the 2004 San Diego Comic Convention, it began with the tagline (words flying at the screen) “Alec Baldwin, George Clooney, Janeane Garofalo, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Michael Moore, George W. Bush, John Kerry, Kim Jong-Il …. will all HATE this movie!” A teaser trailer shown in theaters used a longer list of names, including Alec Baldwin.
Sean Penn was so insulted by his portrayal in the film, that he wrote an angry letter to Matt Stone and Trey Parker about it. The letter was later published by several Newspapers and Magazines.
Team America first meets Gary performing in a play called “Lease”, an obvious parody of the popular broadway musical Rent in which several of the characters are struggling with AIDS.
In the song “America FUCK YEAH” the word “Fuck” is used 37 times
A billboard in Times Square reads “Chiodo: You Go Now.” The Chiodo Brothers are responsible for the puppets seen in the film.
Marc Shaiman composed songs and a score for the movie, but the score was rejected by Paramount execs about three and a half weeks before the movie was released. Harry Gregson-Williams was hired to rewrite the score and compose it at the 11th hour. Shaiman’s songs, however, still remain in the finished film.
The MPAA gave this film an R rating, accompanied with the specific explanation “For graphic crude and sexual behavior, violent images and strong language – all involving puppets.”
During the attack on the Panama Canal, the puppets repeat the line “No me gusta” which is Spanish for “I don’t like it.”
All of the puppets in the movie used the same two bodies (one for the males and one for the females) with different heads- except for Kim Jong Il, to make him look that much smaller.
In the overhead shot of Gary lying in the giant puddle of vomit, it is actually Trey Parker wearing a pair of fake legs so his proportions more closely match those of the marionettes. The “vomit” was a mixture of soup and beer.
The dress worn by Lisa during the film’s finale is a near-exact replica of the one worn by Kate Capshaw in the opening moments of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).
The tavern scene is an homage to the Mos Eisley Cantina scene in Star Wars (1977). Many of the same camera angles and character positions are used, and many shots are replicated. The band is using the same instruments as the Cantina band and are playing a sound-alike which follows the chord progression of the original “Cantina Band Song.”
In the style of the “Thunderbirds” (1965) show which the movie is a spoof of, close up shots of hands were not puppet hands but rather real hands dressed up to look like puppet hands.
The statue in Kim Jong Il’s palace is actually a human in heavy makeup. In the first scene in which he appears, you can see his eyes blinking.
All of the male puppet heads consist of nine different servo motors that control the various facial expressions/actions, while the female heads consist of seven in the head and two in the back.
The leaves on the palm trees in Hollywood during the F.A.G. meeting are made out of dollar bills.
During the film there are hints of how big the puppets actually are. Tree leaves made out of dollar bills, coin belt buckle etc. In Kim Jong Il’s singing scene, there is a shot of him in the entrance hall with the statue. The statue is slightly moving and it is actually a real sized person painted bronze.
In the opening sequence in Paris when the Team America vehicle slides into a vendor, there are actually pawn chess pieces along the road.
When Gary Johnston walks to the tavern in Cairo disguised as a Terrorist, in the background there is a “Coca-Cola” bottle cap mounted against a stone wall.
When Lisa is at the Peace Ceremony with Kim Jong Il, Her hair sticks are in fact matches.
When Team America arrives in Cairo, the woman in the grey dress with a black mask has what looks like to be oranges in a basket on her head. These are actually goldfish.
WILHELM SCREAM: From the Korean guard in the high balcony that Gary shoots when he first walks into Kim Jong Il’s palace and says, “Don’t worry fellas, I’ve got my pass right here!”
When the Film Actors Guild decides to go to North Korea, the members all shout “Qapla’!,” which is Klingon for success.
When the camera first shows us the palace in North Korea, several of the smaller buildings are actually Chinese food take-out boxes.
As a subtle detail in the opening scene in Paris, the streets are paved with croissants.
During the fantasy sequence where several different countries are being destroyed, America is shown and a movie theatre is visible which is apparently showing the films I Heart Huckabees (2004) and Seed of Chucky (2004).
The Paramount Logo, which starts the film, runs backwards.
The Michael Moore puppet was stuffed with ham before it was blown up.
Originally, Matt Damon (who Trey Parker and Matt Stone have admitted is really a “pretty cool guy”) was going to be portrayed as intelligent and articulate, but when they saw the puppet, they noted that it made him “look retarded” and decided to portray him as such.
When the terrorist is seen by the little french kid, we hear Turkish music – it’s a song about a girl whom the singer fell in love with.
When Team America arrives in Cairo and they are moving to the tavern, there is a mosque in the background. This is the Mohammad Ali mosque (aka the Alabaster Mosque) in Cairo.
Household objects were used as props in order to, according to Trey Parker and Matt Stone, remind the audience the actual size of the puppets. A pair of nail clippers can be seen on a Team America’s utility belt in their first scene; in Cairo, a citizen is carrying a basket of Goldfish snacks on his head; and a set of palm trees have leaves made out of dollar bills.
In the opening scene in Paris, the Mime resembles Trey Parker.
During the palace scene, when the camera pans across the audience, some of the people near the sides and in the back appear to be 2D cardboard cut-outs.
North Korea’s embassy in Prague demanded that the film be banned in the Czech Republic, saying the movie harmed their country’s reputation.
In Russian Federation the movie is being shown translated by Dmitry Puchkov, an independent translator who’s famous under his nickname “Goblin”. All obscenities are translated to Russian obscenities, which is very unusual for movie translations in Russia. The movie has Russian rating “Not for people less than 18 ages old”.
The motorcycle that the puppet Gary Johnston rides is a remote control red Harley Davidson VRSC, available at all good toy stores.
Despite almost getting an NC-17 Rating in the States, the film was promoted as a “kids and family” movie in several European countries, and rated fit for all accordingly.
According in an interview with Steve Jablonsky one of the co-composers of the music, he and the others wrote and recorded the score in 8 days.
The Team America male puppets have the tails side of an American Susan B. Anthony one dollar coin on the front of their belts.
Most of the Korean spoken in the movie is not Korean, but rather Asian-sounding gibberish. Three exceptions are – 1) When the North Korean soldier is torturing one of the team members, he is saying, “Die, you bastard.” – 2) When Kim Jong-il tells his soldiers to salvage Team America’s planes after the ambush, the soldiers reply with, “Yeh,” which is “Yes”. – 3) When Gary enters the North Korean palace, the North Korean soldiers are shouting, “Who are you, you bastard?”
After the flooding scene in Panama, the puppets that were “drowned” had to be literally wrung out and dried so that they could be used in the next scenes.
Due to a puppet sex-scene, the movie was given a NC-17 Rating by the MPAA. The scene was edited twelve times before they received the R rating they were shooting for. Trey Parker later admitted that the scene was originally added to distract the MPAA from the rest of the film’s subject matter. On Matt Stone’s urging, the scene was reinstated to the “unrated” DVD.
The “Montage” song first appeared in the “Asspen” episode of “South Park” (1997). The song is played while Stan is training for a downhill ski race and the lyrics are slightly altered.
Bill Pope agreed to be the movie’s director of photography because it was a refreshing change from the last few movies that he had done, like The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and Spider-Man 2 (2004), where large portions of filming were blue/green screen photography.
George Clooney was a driving force in getting Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s “South Park” (1997) to air. He also appeared in the show and the subsequent movie. As to their puppetry portrayal in Team America: World Police (2004), both he and Matt Damon are quoted as saying they would have been offended if they weren’t in the film.
Bill Pope had planned on shooting the film with anamorphic lenses in order to replicate the classic “action film look”, but was unable to because there were no anamorphic lenses available that could focus close enough to the puppets.
This is the first movie by Trey Parker and Matt Stone to get under an “18″ rating in the Republic of Ireland.
During the Alec Baldwin and Gary Johnston scene on stage at Kim Jong Il’s palace, in some shots the screens at either side of the stage show footage of the real Alec Baldwin in a tux, and Trey Parker recording the voice over.
For the voice of Spottswoode, Daran Norris imitates the voice of Charlton Heston.
911 times 2356 equals 2,146,316.
Team America was not the first “Thunderbirds” (1965) parody. When Thunderbirds was shown as part of the “Amazin’ Adventures” animated syndicated package as “Turbocharged Thunderbirds” in 1994 the dialogue and story were changed to make the show a comedy in the tradition of _What’s Up, Tiger Lily (1966)_ with two teenage hosts supposedly controlling the action in the footage. “Saturday Night Live” (1975) did their take in 1997 through 1998 with “The GoLords” taped shorts. MTV’s version was a short lived series called “Super Adventure Team” (1998) co-created by Dana Gould.
