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Mystery Science Theater 3000: On April 14th, We've Got Movie Sign

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I'm sure Josh had a good hand in getting the show started but there is a difference in starting something and making it actually work/successful.

From what I remember he didn't like going from improvised riffing to scripted.

EDIT: Skiptastic proved me wrong. My mistake.

EDIT 2:

jt_zpsgyq1oxbl.jpg


I'm just going to stop worrying about it.
 
From what I remember he didn't like going from improvised riffing to scripted.

Going scripted was the way to go and it gave us Kevin so the change was for the better all around.

EDIT: If he got fired in 1989 it sounds like all of the other staff did not agree with him on something. Those would be some old sour grapes. Plus he worked with Joel on CT so I don't get why he is still being publicly angry on Twitter if it is really about him getting screwed in 1989.
 

Takuhi

Member
All the passive aggressive stuff from the old cast is starting to piss me off. Either it's pettiness at being replaced, in which case they need to grow the hell up, or some kinda shady stuff went down with Joel and this reboot ahead of time, in which case the people donating money to the campaign have a right to all the facts.

I agree with this completely. At first the sense that the rest of the cast wasn't on board was stopping me from participating, but now that they've had a month to air concerns and still just keep subtly sniping when Joel has been nothing but even-handed and open has me shifting my sympathies to him. I think I'm in.

I mean, I get it. For years they were all trying to save or replicate MST3K, and now a single member has gone and done it without asking them first, so now it's coming back on Joel's terms, and not theirs. So sure, they're upset, but there's no reason they can't be mature about it now and explain whatever grievances they have.
 
CT wasn't a shop that would have been kept afloat in any significant manner though. I loved it, but even Rifftrax has a limited audience, and CT had maybe a quarter of that one at best interested.

Eh, it kept them paid, kept their name out there, and created further opportunities for the entire gang. It might not have been "FULL TIME CT" but it was probably a nice money earner.

While the death of CT might be part of it, I think it might have more to do with the offer Joel made. It might have been too low for most of the old staff to work with, considering they would most likely only be brought back on as writers. Trace, Frank, and gang are getting older and Joel really did need to bring on a fresh cast. It might also have to do with Joel getting the rights back and not offering to split royalties with the original staff. If that is the case I can understand the old staff being sour but it is up to Joel as the rights holder to split up any funds as he chooses. I know Mallon screwed everyone over but I don't think Joel should have to make up for it now that the show is being brought back to life.

Of course this is all speculation and there could be a whole can of worms waiting to be opened that we all know nothing about.
I'm interested in what the whole arrangement is with Shout Factory. Does Joel have the full rights? Does Shout Factory? Who decides "the cut" for each party?

If Joel has full rights now from Jim and isn't giving past members a cut for the old episodes they sell, then that is kind of a dick move. It wouldn't be "making up for it", it would be doing what's right.

As far as the new episodes go and whether the old cast should get a cut of that, then I would probably say nah, but I don't know.

I'm sure Josh had a good hand in getting the show started but there is a difference in starting something and making it actually work/successful.
I've watched every available episode of the KTMA era. Josh was probably the best one back in those days. He really understood how riffing worked and just was always on.

From what I remember he didn't like going from improvised riffing to scripted.
He got screwed over in 1989 when they were forming Best Brains and didn't have him involved/included because he was 16. The whole "improvised to scripted" thing was an excuse that was used back in the day. He's discussed it on the various podcasts he's been on over the past few years.
 
Going scripted was the way to go and it gave us Kevin so the change was for the better all around.

EDIT: If he got fired in 1989 it sounds like all of the other staff did not agree with him on something. Those would be some old sour grapes. Plus he worked with Joel on CT so I don't get why he is still being publicly angry on Twitter if it is really about him getting screwed in 1989.

Josh knew what I was talking about. If they aren't willing to be more transparent, I'm going to keep supporting Joel until I have a reason not to.
 
Josh knew what I was talking about. If they aren't willing to be more transparent, I'm going to keep supporting Joel until I have a reason not to.

I kind of did the opposite and decided that my support isn't really needed here, so I pulled my pledge. I'll be supporting by buying content as long as it's good, though, and I'm certainly not hoping to see this fail by any metric.
 

FStop7

Banned
At this point, my response to all the snark by some of the old cast is "fuck off." Either say something or don't. Either way move on.

Yep. It's super petty and catty. High school drama queen stuff. It's been over 20 years. Either speak your mind or STFU.
 
Eh, it kept them paid, kept their name out there, and created further opportunities for the entire gang. It might not have been "FULL TIME CT" but it was probably a nice money earner.


I'm interested in what the whole arrangement is with Shout Factory. Does Joel have the full rights? Does Shout Factory? Who decides "the cut" for each party?

If Joel has full rights now from Jim and isn't giving past members a cut for the old episodes they sell, then that is kind of a dick move. It wouldn't be "making up for it", it would be doing what's right.

As far as the new episodes go and whether the old cast should get a cut of that, then I would probably say nah, but I don't know.

Let me be a little more clear. You are right in thinking that Joel should split that pot but who knows what that pot looks like about now. I'm sure it was a lot more money years ago when Mallon still had the rights. But now it might be more of a trickle and not worth splitting. I'd prefer to see that money go into starting up the new show. If the money is still good royalty wise I agree that the money should be split with the old staff. But I don't think the old staff should get royalties from the new seasons if they are not onboard.

Plus we have no idea how much Joel had to pay to get the rights back in the first place. Any royalties he gets now could just help cover the crap he had to go through with Mallon.
 

Abounder

Banned
Jay Leno meets Galaxy Quest is the vibe I get from this drama. Probably good people all around, but not exactly business savvy or who knows what. Let's kickstart a documentary like the Nic Cage Superman flick to find out lol
 
UPDATE! $425K in Add-Ons, Currently at $5.2 Million, New Stretch Goal: 13th Episode!

mst13_zps7yduy3n0.jpg


Joel said:
With less than 12 HOURS LEFT in our Kickstarter to #BringBackMST3K, our combined total* is almost at $5.2MM! That means we're 95% of the way to our goal of making TWELVE all-new episodes of MST3K!

*Now remember, that's our combined total, so you won't see all of it here on Kickstarter. That's because we've also raised OVER $400,000 IN ADD-ON REWARDS over at our official website.
 

mclem

Member
To be fair, a thirteenth episode is quite a boring stretch goal (as in it's simply 'more of the same'), but I like the twist of making it a holiday one!

The Dudley Moore/John Lithgow Santa Claus: The Movie might be a fun choice of film. It really is very awful.
 
To be fair, a thirteenth episode is quite a boring stretch goal (as in it's simply 'more of the same'), but I like the twist of making it a holiday one!

The Dudley Moore/John Lithgow Santa Claus: The Movie might be a fun choice of film. It really is very awful.

I don't really see what else the new stretch goal could have been, but the day's not over yet!
 

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Go onto Twitter and the first thing I see is Trace retweeting this:

Happy that the MST3K reboot now has the money to hire absolutely everybody except the cast of MST3K.

I may have to unfollow him and some of the other cast members, honestly. It's just getting tiring at this point.
 
Go onto Twitter and the first thing I see is Trace retweeting this:

I may have to unfollow him and some of the other cast members, honestly. It's just getting tiring at this point.

Yep.

"We support it! But we're not happy about it. But you should totally support it as long as you're okay with getting rid of us old timers. I wish them well...except when I don't. Come see The Mads from Mystery Science Theater...that show we're pissed about."
 

mclem

Member
Yep.

"We support it! But we're not happy about it. But you should totally support it as long as you're okay with getting rid of us old timers. I wish them well...except when I don't. Come see The Mads from Mystery Science Theater...that show we're pissed about."

The thing is, it really doesn't quite make sense.

I guess they don't want to disappoint the fanbase loudly and publicly. Or they're really in, have been in for ages, and this has been a month-long tease building up to a huge reveal. I'll just go on believing the latter, it makes me feel happier :)
 

SeanC

Member
Yep.

"We support it! But we're not happy about it. But you should totally support it as long as you're okay with getting rid of us old timers. I wish them well...except when I don't. Come see The Mads from Mystery Science Theater...that show we're pissed about."

Joel's plugged stuff for the former cast too over the course of all this, which doesn't really fit into their narrative of being excluded by him or slighted. As I said earlier, they can fuck off at this point. I'm over it and happy to be moving on to a new generation and will enjoy new talent and voices in the realm of riffing movies.
 

daveo42

Banned
Yep.

"We support it! But we're not happy about it. But you should totally support it as long as you're okay with getting rid of us old timers. I wish them well...except when I don't. Come see The Mads from Mystery Science Theater...that show we're pissed about."

If they were dicked over in the past, they have some reason to be upset by that, but not because Joel didn't want to bring back the old cast full time to reboot MST3K and/or the amount he could afford wasn't enough for the guest spot.

The thing is, it really doesn't quite make sense.

I guess they don't want to disappoint the fanbase loudly and publicly. Or they're really in, have been in for ages, and this has been a month-long tease.

That'd be quite the stretch, especially since you'd think they would have changed their tune in the final day of the campaign.
 
Threw in $100. Even if this reboot isn't as good as I would like it to be, MST3K has given me entertainment for the passed 25 years. I think that's worth $100.
 

mclem

Member
That'd be quite the stretch, especially since you'd think they would have changed their tune in the final day of the campaign.

It's okay, I'm really good at lying to myself.

In real terms, I'm assuming it's a 'support the fanbase if not the project' attitude. Which does indeed make at least some sense.


Edit: Incidentally, I like the tone they're setting with the 'competing with Veronica Mars' stuff. Something to aspire to, but not really a competition. Might tone down some of the more toxic rhetoric that can spring up out of this sort of thing!
 

Blader

Member
So I guess that lost episodes stretch goal isn't happening then? Doesn't sound like Joel has any more incentives left to unload.
 
Beating veronica mars and with all the star support, this could have a shot at really getting some network attention or some distributor to take notice for sure

The counter is moving crazy fast now! WOW
 
I have a chunk of change in savings and I keep waffling back and forth on whether or not I should spring for one of the big reward tiers. My boyfriend is a huge Dan Harmon/Justin Roiland fan (legit listens to Harmontown, religiously, every week) and I'm so, so tempted to spring for the dinner. Flights to LA from where I live are pretty cheap, but man, that's a lot of money for a dinner...

Has anyone else gone for the bigger reward tiers?
 

HylianTom

Banned
Man.. The Dudley Moore/John Lithgow Santa Claus movie? I think I could end-up misty-eyed at that news.

Soooo many Arthur/Footloose/Third Rock/Ten/etc jokes to be made..
 
I have a chunk of change in savings and I keep waffling back and forth on whether or not I should spring for one of the big reward tiers. My boyfriend is a huge Dan Harmon/Justin Roiland fan (legit listens to Harmontown, religiously, every week) and I'm so, so tempted to spring for the dinner. Flights to LA from where I live are pretty cheap, but man, that's a lot of money for a dinner...

Has anyone else gone for the bigger reward tiers?

I won't say who, but at least one person on GAF pledged in the $1,000 tier.
 

Tobor

Member
Man.. The Dudley Moore/John Lithgow Santa Claus movie? I think I could end-up misty-eyed at that news.

Soooo many Arthur/Footloose/Third Rock/Ten/etc jokes to be made..

I don't think that's a lock, just a suggestion someone here made. Joel said he has a movie in kind but didn't say what the movie is.
 

Cheebo

Banned
Some of you guys are loaded! Or aren't as cautious as I am, anyway.
I don't see any reason to be cautious. Every bit of news so far has been really great. I mean Jerry Seinfeld on MST3K?!

Oh and I realize I didn't PM my donation amount yet.
 
We're supposed to PM our donation amount? Huh?

I was trying to get a total to see how much GAF donated.

It's certainly not required...just for fun.

UPDATE: Nothing new...just Joel encouraging people to ask friends to donate and to up your pledge if you're able to.

Joel said:
ASK YOUR FRIENDS TO PLEDGE $1 EACH.

Remember, it's not just how much we raise that matters when we talk to network execs: it's also about proving that there's a nice big audience out there, just waiting to watch robots riff on more cheesy movies! So, even if your pals just give $1 each, it could still help us get more new seasons of MST3K in the future.

Plus, it's a good chance to introduce them to the joys of riffing, because even a $1 pledge will get them a year of behind-the-scenes updates, a downloadable short from our friends at RiffTrax and we'll throw in streaming access to a few of my favorite shorts from old episodes of MST3K!

CONSIDER GIVING A LITTLE MORE

I know that a lot of you are tapped out, and can't afford to contribute anything else -- and that's OK! I don't want you to do anything silly.

But if you can afford a little bit more, I hope you'll consider increasing your pledge level to get some of the great rewards we've added, or that you'll check out our Add-On Rewards site and see something you like. We'll even be announcing a few last-minute rewards tonight, during our LIVE TELETHON!

Or, if you just want to help, you can increase your pledge by an extra $5 just to help us cross the finish line. Everything you contribute goes to the cause and helps us reach our final goal.
 

daveo42

Banned
I was trying to get a total to see how much GAF donated.

It's certainly not required...just for fun.

UPDATE: Nothing new...just Joel encouraging people to ask friends to donate and to up your pledge if you're able to.

Part of that pitch (if there is or will be one) is how successful RiffTrax has been too. Seriously, the absolute best outcome of this is an actual Cable Network or streaming service deal.
 
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