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Space Jam 1 director to Justin Lin (2): "Don't Do it". "Doomed". Lebron aint MJ, etc

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S

Salsa

Member
Dreams-Visions said:
Neither was MJ at the time.
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uhh no he was

he was an international superstar

my brother had a poster of him. he didnt like basketball, I think my dad put it there

every kid knew him

he was famous well outside the US even if just because he "dunked good" and could "fly"

you are absolutely insane if you think the level of popularity is compared to Lebron

I can't stress enough how much of a non-thing Lebron is outside of his country

Michael Jordan is the guy mentioned when you talk about Maradona with soccer (obviously a much popular sport here), and this was before Space Jam came out


NBA might be bigger now but there's no star at MJ level currently. It's a much harder thing to accomplish, maybe precisely cause its bigger. It's much more US centric now
 
T

Timeaisis

Member
What if they did Space Jam 2 with all the original cast. They're like old and not as good at Basketball, but the still smack talk and Bug's Bunny is in it. I'd watch the hell out of that. Especially for Barkley.
 
D

Dreams-Visions

Member
NeoGold123 said:
Like I said, they'd really have to write it well, but I'm not sure I have much faith in it at this point.
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lol, what does this even mean? have you seen some production information, heard news from the set, or seen some clips that would lead you to have or lose faith "at this point"? are you from the future?

lmao
 
J

jett

D-Member
Salsa said:
uhh no he was

he was an international superstar

my brother had a poster of him. he didnt like basketball, I think my dad put it there

every kid knew him

he was famous well outside the US even if just because he "dunked good" and could "fly"

you are absolutely insane if you think the level of popularity is compared to Lebron

I can't stress enough how much of a non-thing Lebron is outside of his country

Michael Jordan is the guy mentioned when you talk about Maradona with soccer (obviously a much popular sport here), and this was before Space Jam came out


NBA might be bigger now but there's no star at MJ level currently. It's a much harder thing to accomplish, maybe precisely cause its bigger. It's much more US centric now
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Yeah everyone knew who Michael Jordan was internationally, even if you didn't follow basketball (or if anyone in your country did :p).

I'm not sure why that happened. But it's the way it was. There's nobody like that in the NBA today.
 
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starchild excalibur

Member
The film will be okay as long as they're smart and don't over-spend on it. 2016 (2018?) is a very different beast from 1996 and I wouldn't be surprised if the vast majority of those who are endeared by the original don't necessarily translate into willing ticket buyers. The original film grossed $230 million worldwide in 1996 dollars. They'd be idiotic to assume they'll make more than that in 2016 dollars given the lack of an international super star and Looney Tunes being less of a bankable quantity than it used to be.

I can't imagine the film will be a... slam dunk.
 
S

Salsa

Member
Bobby Roberts said:
How the is the argument that nothing about Space Jam was "soulful" because it's the sequel to a shoe commercial "tryhard," Salsa? Make that make sense to me.

The "Soul" of nothing was in that movie. It's a soulless movie. That's part of what little charm it has. It has more in common with the Star Wars Holiday Special and Scott Baio hosting the Saturday Morning Supercade Special than it does actual storytelling.

It wasn't novel. By definition, it can't be novel because it's the sequel to a fuckin' shoe commercial.

When your defense of a film includes the phrase "yeah, it barely tried" like - how am I being "tryhard" for pointing out how low the bar was?
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eh its being tryhard in the sense that it bores me when people bash something that worked at the time when looking at it later, it wasnt aimed at you specifically bby rob

I remember specific bits of it very specifically and I havent seen it in a long time. Daffy duck stealing the shoes, stuff like that

it was well done, the characters were who they alwas were and it was novel to see them in the real world

I think if I remember a movie fondly from my childhood it did what it was intended to do, and I like it for it. I saw a lot of trash that I completely forgot, this wasnt one of those for many many people
 
M

massoluk

Banned
impact said:
lol this is a troll post
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That's the truth. He's the crazy 3 pointer dude. I kew MJ, Shaq, Rodman, Curry. That's it

MJ was the godly guy. Shaq was the big giant guy. Rodman was the crazy guy. Curry was the 3 pointer guy.

edit: I guess that Lin guy also, can't escape him for awhile in NY.
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
I was in Europe during the Jordan space jam era and Jordan was well known but not the giant he is here. Basketball was big in mainland Europe but dwarfed by soccer. So at least for Europeans in some ways the Space Jam name is enough. As others have noted LeBron could be funny. It could be a much better and more sophisticated movie. The bigger issue is that the looney tunes characters are more obscure to today's teens.
 
K

kitschykitty

Member
In regards to how internationally famous Jordan is compared to LeBron I did find this:

Jordan retired for a third and final time a dozen years ago, but he still resonates with the public like few other people on the planet. He rates higher than any current of former athlete when it comes to consumer perception, according to market research firm Repucom. He ranks fourth among all celebrities in the U.S. and 12th globally. The only other athlete ranked in the top 20 globally is soccer’s David Beckham. Jordan’s 98% awareness level in the U.S. is on par with Barack Obama.
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S

Salsa

Member
Bobby Roberts said:
That's not how "tryhard" works, Salsa.



No, it wasn't.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action - I could see an argument being made for that. Not Space Jam.
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what wasnt well done about it?

its silly and it relies on the novelty of its "tecth" too much, but you got "looney tunes in the real world" advertised and that's what you got

its memorable. I was a kid and I liked it, I rewatched it, and I never bought a pair of air jordans

edit: what does tryhard even mean, fuckin english

I guess I meant it in the sense that some people seem to try-hard to bash kid films that are a product of its era and it doesnt get more 90s than this
 
D

Dishwalla

Banned
Salsa said:
it was well done, the characters were who they alwas were and it was novel to see them in the real world
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Nah. Daffy's character wasn't too bad, was in line with the mid to late 50s Friz Freleng characterization of him, but Bugs' character doesn't resemble any of his classic incarnations. He's not nearly as sarcastic, not nearly as tricky, and is more of a push over in Space Jam. Classic Bugs would never have needed Michael Jordan's help to beat the Monstars, he probably never would even have challenged them to a basketball game. Even when overpowered in a sporting competition in the classic shorts he was able to hold his ground by himself, as seen in Baseball Bugs. The only thing classic Bugs Bunny needed was the occasional carrot.

The rest of the Looney Tunes characters weren't even featured enough to really get a sense of their characterizations, other than some quick jokes in relation to the tropes they were known for.
 
M

MRrogermoore

Member
I think Space jam was huge because of the Looney toons mix; I mean looney toons was at its peak then. Not a shit ton of kids cared about basketball... I think.
 
S

Salsa

Member
Dishwalla said:
Nah. Daffy's character wasn't too bad, was in line with the mid to late 50s Friz Freleng characterization of him, but Bugs' character doesn't resemble any of his classic incarnations. He's not nearly as sarcastic, not nearly as tricky, and is more of a push over in Space Jam. Classic Bugs would never have needed Michael Jordan's help to beat the Monstars, he never would even have challenged them to a basketball game. Even when overpowered in a sporting competition in the classic shorts he was able to hold his ground by himself, as seen in Baseball Bugs. The only thing classic Bugs Bunny needed was the occasional carrot.

The rest of the Looney Tunes characters weren't even featured enough to really get a sense of their characterizations, other than some quick jokes in relation to the tropes they were known for.
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daffy was great and I was all about daffy as a kid, so I might give you that

I havent seen the film in more than 10 years easily, but Bugs kissing jordan and such felt like some iteration of himself for sure
 
BadAss2961

BadAss2961

Member
He's right. But there's a little more to it. While MJ and friends were on another level of stardom, Space Jam was a product of its time. Shit like that could work back in the 80's and 90's. Stars in general were more larger than life back then compared to now with today's jaded internet culture where they're overexposed and everyone has access to them via social media.

Had it released today, Space Jam would've just been a joke with maybe a couple memes made at its expense. LeBron's movie would be lucky to get that far.
 
S

Salsa

Member
MRrogermoore said:
I think Space jam was huge because of the Looney toons mix; I mean looney toons was at its peak then. Not a shit ton of kids cared about basketball... I think.
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does that Taz and Bugs rap-baggy pants image / t shirt existed before Space Jam?

im more inclined to think THAT thing made the movie happen, and tie it to basketball

im being serious

Looney Tunes were trying hard to be "street" with merch for a while there
 
D

Dishwalla

Banned
Salsa said:
I havent seen the film in more than 10 years easily, but Bugs kissing jordan and such felt like some iteration of himself for sure
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Okay, but what was even the purpose of that in the context of the film? In the shorts Bugs kissed his foes as a way to throw them off or as a manner humiliating defeat. Bugs instead kissed MJ, the person he's trying to ally with? That's Roger Rabbit and Eddie Valiant, not Bugs Bunny.
 
S

Salsa

Member
Dishwalla said:
Okay, but what was even the purpose of that in the context of the film? In the shorts Bugs kissed his foes as a way to throw them off or as a manner humiliating defeat. Bugs instead kissed MJ, the person he's trying to ally with? That's Roger Rabbit and Eddie Valiant, not Bugs Bunny.
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I guess there was a lot of Roger there purely out of "hey we're making this thing what do we look towards to"

but I also think due to the length of the film and whatnot they just introduced a lot of the characters quirks on a recognizable level without that much motivation

I give the movie fault for that tho, sure, that's why I said it relied on the tech

but idk, I think it really went there with scenes that stuck with me

the whole thing with the water that made them stronger, etc. they're kind of cool ideas. I just dont hate the movie nor see it as this merchandise monster (that of course it was, but no need to act like there's not a valid marriage of arts and commerce) and nothing more. I think its a fine kids movie for kids that grew up with those characters around that time. It never strived for greatness nor get near it but it's more of a "hey this is fun" and I appreciated it as such
 
S

Salsa

Member
can you even imagine if the rights to the Quad City DJ's song got lost during this time and they still make this film?

can't think of a clearer situation where you just cannot make a movie without a specific song
 
B

boxter432

Member
Go ahead and make it. I watched part of a movie where a kid takes Kevin durants basketball skills via a magic basketball or something, and another where a kid wears jordans UNC or high school sneakers. Might as well just do this and it will suck. Or not.

Thunderstruck and Like Mike apparently.
 
D

Discotheque

Banned
BadAss2961 said:
He's right. But there's a little more to it. While MJ and friends were on another level of stardom, Space Jam was a product of its time. Shit like that could work back in the 80's and 90's. Stars in general were more larger than life back then compared to now with today's jaded internet culture where they're overexposed and everyone has access to them via social media.

Had it released today, Space Jam would've just been a joke with maybe a couple memes made at its expense. LeBron's movie would be lucky to get that far.
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Yeah celebrities just don't get as big as they once were in the 80s/90s

There will never be another MJ. Jackson or Jordan

Fuck going to other cavs players btw. Throw an all star roster in here instead
 
L

Lijik

Member
Salsa said:
does that Taz and Bugs rap-baggy pants image / t shirt existed before Space Jam?

im more inclined to think THAT thing made the movie happen, and tie it to basketball

im being serious

Looney Tunes were trying hard to be "street" with merch for a while there
Click to expand...
Possibly, but more directly Space Jam was actually a big budget adaptation of a shoe commercial
 
J

Joni

Member
If they need to make Space Jam 2, there are really only two options: get Michael Jordan back, or get Shaq.
 
M

microtransaction

Neo Member
Why a sequel? The first one was just fine!
ObnLw1d.gif
 
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