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Kitty's Corner

Movie wannabees

Wednesday, 30. September 2009, 04:00:27

Some of the big movies are making so much money, that it's tempting for others to try to get hands on some of them. But how do you steal movie customers?
It's easy, really. Just make a cheap film with the same theme as one of the big movies, make a DVD cover that looks pretty much the same and call your movie something similar.

I don't know if it actually works. But I know that they're at least trying. Let me give you some examples:

"The Day the Earth stopped" (The Day the Earth stood still) :

"The Little Cars" (Cars):

"The Prodigy - Kung Fu Fun" (Kung Fu Panda):

"Ratatoing" (Ratatouille):

"Snakes on a Train" (Snakes on a plane):

"Transmorphers" (Transformers):

"What's UP" (Up):

"Alien vs. Hunter" (Alien vs. Predator):

:rolleyes:

What is text messages for??Paedophile suspect

Comments

Dacotah 30. September 2009, 04:04

:rolleyes:

Gavin Sheedy 30. September 2009, 04:04

Wow, how blatant.

Kiran 30. September 2009, 04:16

:D

Kittylicious 30. September 2009, 06:08

I have a feeling that it actually works - I mean - why bother if it doesn't.

Hermitess 30. September 2009, 06:10

Gee that's not obvious at all. :rolleyes:

Martin K 30. September 2009, 06:32

The genre is called 'mock-busters', and most of the films are produced by the movie studio called The Asylum, which makes low budget directly to video films. Film makers have been piggy-backing like this since the 50's. Fx: The cult-series Battlestar Galactica is a spoof derived from Star Wars. I think it's very interesting and extremely corny.

Ana 30. September 2009, 07:25

How interesting information, Zaphy! Thanks! :smile: Have you seen any movie of that kind? :smile:

r♡se 30. September 2009, 07:54

Heh. I fell for something similar a while back. I rented what I thought was Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, but it was another movie (on the same subject) with a very similar cover Homer: Doh!.

Whassit Tooh-Ya 30. September 2009, 08:05

I've seen most of these around DVD stores - here they have a habit of putting these cheap imitations out a few days before the real film is released, so people will be fooled into thinking they've found a movie early. People actually fall for it, too :irked:

flamingo-rinse 30. September 2009, 08:31

'Snakes on a Train"??? O M F G :lol:

Sequel : 'Snakes on the Escalators'

Prequel : 'Snakes queue up for a season ticket at Charing Cross'

The Dark Furie 30. September 2009, 08:45

Transmorphers really annoys me. :mad:

Ana 30. September 2009, 09:22

As far as i know, we don't have these movies here yet, but i think they will appear here too. :worried:

The Dark Furie 30. September 2009, 09:27

Check gas stations and bargain bins in supermarkets. You'll soon find them.

Kittylicious 30. September 2009, 09:40

It looks as if it does actually work - some people are being tricked into renting/buying/watching a movie that's not what they thought it was.

I have done it once, I wanted to rent Fatal Attraction, and I came home with another movie - the name escapes me at the moment, but it was a movie about a window designer girl, who lived out her sexual fantasies by putting the dolls in the windows in very... *awkward* positions, and... something like that. :left:

The Dark Furie 30. September 2009, 10:01

I think I've seen that on late night TV years ago. :insane: Look up the fakes for I Am Legend. As the first film of that was The Omega Man they tend to just mix the titles - Legend Man, I Am Omega - or describe the premise - Last Man On Earth, The World Is Vampires, etc - or something equally awful.

Kittylicious 30. September 2009, 10:05

I did actually saw that "I am Omega", when I made this post. :rolleyes: - but I do understand they are doing it when there are actually money in it. :rolleyes:

The Dark Furie 30. September 2009, 10:28

There's a subset of this style of film cash in that I think is hilarious. It's when an actor has like a minute role in a film and is usually never credited on the film cover, but later they get famous for something else so the film is rereleased with a recent photo of the actor on the front and their name in big writing as if they're the star. The latest guy to have that happen is Robert Pattinson (?), the guy who got famous from Twilight.

Angeliki 30. September 2009, 11:56

the title of the post says it all!
thanks for sharing :heart:

Gavin Sheedy 30. September 2009, 14:53

And Knight Rider, which is a blatant Herbie knock-off p:

I've seen them doing the same with older versions of new releases;They re-released the original Hulk series with a cover not unlike the Ang Lee film's cover, and again with the eighties, cartoon Transformers.

Martin K 30. September 2009, 15:12

My son has a thing for that kind of films. He introduced me to the genre a couple of years ago, and I've been a fan of all sorts b-film since. My favorite is D-War which is an example of how they use all the little money they have on special effects, so that the acting and the locations, etc. is totally crap. Another one is Mammoth in which it's the other way around: acting and locations are fairly good, but the special effects are more than just corny. At least 'Mammoth' has a humouristic angle. You can watch trailers from all the Asylum productions here

It's excellent...

Cois 1. October 2009, 08:39

I've never came across any of these. :left: and I do watch ALOT of movies..

Bud McDonnell 1. October 2009, 08:45

'I am Omega' was on the SyFy channel here a couple nights ago. I accidentally-on-purpose missed it.

Aadil 5. October 2009, 11:02

"I Am Legend!" is a re-write of, "Last Man On Earth" as far as I know. :left:.
They're virtually the same story, although, "Last Man On Earth" is from the fifties. :rolleyes:.

The Dark Furie 5. October 2009, 11:17

I Am Legend is 1954 if I remember correctly. It was Matheson's first book.

flamingo-rinse 6. October 2009, 03:19

Matheson's I am legend was\is a bloody good book, i m o and the film of it (Burt Lancaster??) was also pretty good, if I remember correctly....mind you, I might *not* remember correctly...:smile:

Old B L was in some good movies in his time...

The Dark Furie 6. October 2009, 03:36

I hated the films of it, although I'm remembering Charlton Heston in the first one I saw so maybe there was another?

flamingo-rinse 6. October 2009, 03:49

No you're quite right Mik - Charlton Heston is correct - that was my mistake *rolleyes* - I quite liked that whenever it was I saw it (ages ago)...and I thought that the Will Smith one was kinda OK as a 'will smith movie' so to speak, rather than an(other) interpretation of a rather good story (except for the will smith ending, which was just too easy.....the goddam safe army base or whatever it was....nonono!!!!!)

flamingo-rinse 6. October 2009, 03:51

...oh - and I still think that Burt Lancaster was in some good movies (but perhaps they were all Charlton Heston movies after all, and I have to re-evaluate my entire cinematic experience) :lol:

Whassit Tooh-Ya 6. October 2009, 08:29

I hated the Will Smith movie. They totally changed the story - and it's my favourite book :cry:

Martin K 6. October 2009, 14:06

Even worse with 'I, Robot'. What happened to the opriginal story there? Asimov's book is a collection of short stories that actually covers a longer period, from the development of the first robots and further on. The movie is just another man verus machine si-fi flick.

The Dark Furie 6. October 2009, 18:05

People in general are dumb and wouldn't get something eloquently told.

Gavin Sheedy 7. October 2009, 17:31

The C.H. one was called Omega Man. The book was great, I haven't dared watch the film.

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