First, I got sent a preview copy of the next Shout!Factory set recently and one of the most interesting extras on it was the interview with Walter George Alton, who played The Pumuman. And I was a little taken aback about his opinion of the MST3K riffing. He said “some of it was a little bit offensive,” or words to that effect. He really did not appreciate it. The last time this happened was with the late Peter Graves, who expressed a very similar opinion of MST3K riffing.
Second, it was Lisa Loeb’s birthday the other day, and I noted the day on Twitter (using her twitter handle, so she would see it) and I included a link to a YouTube video of the host segment in which Bridget, as Lisa, visits the SOL. A while later I got a tweet back from Lisa! She tweeted “I LOVE THIS!!!”
So, there you have it, two MST3K targets, two very different responses.
And it got me thinking. I bet it would be interesting to find out what more movie cast members think of the MST3K version.
So here’s your topic: What other MST3K targets would you like to hear from and why? I’ll compile a list and see who I get in touch with. The whole thing may collapse and fail, but it will be interesting to try.
If you have any contact info or suggestions, that would help!
Have at it!
(Keep those WDT suggestions coming!)
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I’d be interested to see what Arch Hall Jr’s take on the riffing of Eegah was. They were pretty harsh on him, but the booklet that came with the Wild Guitar cd (yes, I broke down and bought the album for various reasons) seemed to indicate the movies were more his father’s idea – and that Arch Jr was more interested in making music than movies. I could imagine him him having a pretty good sense of humor about the whole thing….
Not a celebrity, but it would be interesting to have the citizens and
officials of Rutland, Vermont surveyed (perhaps by people from The Daily
Show :) ) to see what they think of Tom Servo’s view of them, Time Chasers
and the treatment of their area. I think it would be positive, on the whole.
The crew filming it could get maple syrup gifts, I understand they’re giving it away.
Now about Canadians…
I recently viewed VILLIAGE OF THE GIANTS so I’ll nominate Ron Howard and Beau Bridges. I would guess that they both would be on the more cheerful side due to their extensive subsequent successes.
Not exactly what you’re asking for, but I remember reading in the ACEG that Dennis Miller once took the guys to task for riffing on “Marooned”, since he thought it was a really good movie. As I recall, they let him slide as, at the time, he was down in the dumps over his less-than-successful show on Fox.
This may be a stretch, but I’d like to know how some experts on Shakespeare feel about MST daring to riff on the Bard’s “Hamlet”.
As for specific stars, I’ll think it over.
Two people who now work in comedy: Don Scardino (Squirm) and Shawn Levy (Zombie Nightmare). Now that they’re directing stuff like “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” and “The Internship” I wonder what they would think of being goofed on. Hopefully they’d have a sense of humor.
Christopher Lee, no question.
Also, a DVD commentary by Ben Murphy and Shari Belafonte for “Being From Another Planet.”
An interesting topic, Sampo, but I really can’t give any decent suggestions. The people I’d most want to hear from are Hugh Beaumont, Yvette Vickers, John Reynolds, Allison Hayes…but unfortunately, they’re no longer with us. And we know the dead DON’T talk back.
And with the Dead Don’t Talk Back, there’s the Skipper Too.
But I imagine Alan Hale, Jr. would have had a rather mellow
take on the riffing.
I’d love to hear from Punch Rockgroin and his wife. From what I remember, she insists they knew they were in a cheese-fest.
Also, I’d wonder what the surviving members of the Del-Aires (Horror of Party Beach) thought. The MST crew admitted they were a fun group, but they still went after them like they were the second coming of Arch Hall.
Most of the best possibilities I can think of have passed away. However, I would love to hear about what Reb Brown from Space Mutiny thinks about all the beefy nicknames he acquired. I understand Miles O’Keefe is quite cool with MST3K.
I just finished a book by Greydon Clark- who took the ribbing of Angel’s Revenge and Final Justice in good humor, expecpt for three issues: 1- comments about his friend Joe Don Baker, 2- that content was cut from each film, 3- he didn’t get any money for the rights.
Anybody from Laserblast. It’s such an odd movie, I would love to hear the director talk about it, or the leads. I did hear Eddie Deezen talk a little about it on a podcast and he had a sense of humor about the MST riffing. I am fascinated by movies like this that are train wrecks!
Kenneth up there said:
I went on a date once with a guy who said the same thing and furthermore cited it as the reason he didn’t like MST3k. That was our only date.
For sure I’d like to hear from Joe Don Baker and if he was still alive, Martin Balsam. And of course, Timothy Van Patten, who has gone on to be a very successful and critically acclaimed director and also writer. And Miles O’Keeffe. I saw him years later in a really low budget werewolf movie.
Just in general, the way a celebrity responds to being made fun of in the media (for things like ‘ahahahaha, you were in a silly movie’ and not looks or various uncontrollable characteristics) really impacts my opinion of them.
Interesting topic. I would seriously like to know what director Tjardus Greidanus and star Christian Malcolm think of the MST treatment of “The Final Sacrifice.” On the DVD extras, there’s an interview with Bruce J. Mitchell (Rowsdower!) and he seemed cool with the whole thing. It was just a student film from Alberta, for goodness sake! I bet a few thousand times more people have seen TFS because of MST than would ever have otherwise.
The bit about Lisa Loeb reminds me of a similar exchange I had with her about six months ago.
https://twitter.com/LisaLoeb/statuses/382056853745573888
@#12- Spot on. The more I watch Laserblast,the more I want to see it again. And, I wonder what Kate Mulgrew thinks of Mike’s take on her?
An Issue of Screem Magazine had interviews with 8 different MST alumni. Heres what they thought of their MST treatment.
Ross Hagen (Sidehackers and Hellcats): Calls it a Farce and says it really doesn’t bother him.
William Grafe (Wild Rebels Director): Not a fan of MST3K. Thinks that all films deserve some respect no matter how much of a success they were.
Ben Solovey (Manos: the Hands of Fate Restoration Project founder): Talks about the history of Manos and his relations with the cast.
Greydon Clark (Angels Brigade director): Found some of the episode funny and not funny. Wasn’t happy about the edit of the film that was used on the show.
Charlie Band (Laserblast Executive Producer): Thought it was hilarious. Appreciated that it gave the film a new life.
Rick Sloane (Hobgoblins Director): Loved the Episode but mortified by some of the jokes. States “they (MST) made it (the film) watchable.”
Ted V Mikels (Girl In Gold Boots Director): Doesn’t bother him, thought it was fun.
Jeff Lieberman (Squirm Director): Claims he doesn’t “Give a Flying *F-word* about Mystery Science Theater 3000”. Goes on for an entire column about how he doesn’t care. Just my thought but In my experience I’ve found that when someone claims they don’t care and then goes on and on about how they don’t care, they actually care.
That guy who played Deathstalker and Thom Christopher who played Troxartis.
George Rivero, to explain his varying hair in Werewolf.
Daniel Bernhardt from Future War. The man has had a solid B-movie career.
Brigid Connelly Walsh from Quest of the Delta Knights, as well as Richard Kind.
I agree. That Squirm director kept on saying how the movie was already absurd, so why bother riffing it? How can he think the movie’s concept is ridiculous and laughable, but still get upset about it getting the MST3K treatment?
My list is a mix including especially some of the fine actors who still amazingly ended up on MST3K:
James Earl Jones (City LImits), arguably the best actor to ever appear in a MST3K riffed movie.
Gene Hackman (Marooned, aka Space Travelers).
David Warner (Quest Of The Delta Knights).
Reb Brown (Space Mutiny), because MST3K was so merciless to him and his film I’d like to hear how he felt about it.
Steve Alaimo (Wild Rebels), since his acting and music were so much a target of what made that episode hilarious.
And if they were still with us my wish list would include: Gregory Peck, John Carradine, Cameron Mitchell, Steve Reeves and Lee Van Cleef.
Vivian Schilling on Soultaker.
Also, if you’re really brave, try to get in touch with Joe Don Baker.
#17 Jose Chung
But what did Rick Sloane think of Crow’s take on his directing
of Hobgoblins? It must have felt like a stout, red automoton kicking
him in the shins.
@17 — nice to know the director of “Hobgoblins” has such a good attitude about the riffing.
Sometimes on IMDb you can find little nuggets of info from people, usually extras, who were in the MSTed movies. Here’s one from the guy who played the unnamed security guard in “Werewolf”: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118137/board/flat/71355843
Yes, the guy could be making it all up but it rings true to me. In his OP, he says, “So what, you may ask? Well, I can’t tell you how proud I am to a) have been in what the IMDB once claimed to be the 12th worst film of ALL TIME, and b) to have been riffed on by the MST ‘Bots. That alone was an honor that made up for the fact that I wasn’t even paid to be in the film.”
Limiting myself to those who are still living, my top three would have to be:
Joe Don Baker of “Mitchell” and “Final Justice”: MST3K really went after him (a bit too personally and excessively in “Final Justice”, IMHO), so I’d love for him to get the chance to fire back.
John Allen Nelson of “Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell”: His role as Deathstalker came relatively early in his career, and I get the impression that he’d have a good sense of humor about the ribbing he got from MST3K. It would just be a treat to hear “Relson” himself talk about the movie.
Either Vivian Schilling of “Soultaker” or Jennifer Delora of “Robot Holocaust”: Both have had interesting careers beyond acting, and both movies seem as if they have some interesting stories behind them.
#23 I wish I was lucky enough to play “Security Guard On Screen For One Second”. Almost as big an honor as “Man Who Pours Beer”.
John Reynolds.
It’s very sad that he let his depression lead to suicide and that he never got to know or experience the “fame” that playing Torgo would bring him. I know MSTies far and wide would love love love to have met him and discuss Manos and see what his take on the whole endeavor was. RIP, Reynolds.
As for MST associated people that ARE still alive. . . . .
Tim Van Patten (aka Max Keller, who now directs lots of shows for HBO) would be a good one,
Richard Kiel on his multiple rolls in MST movies (Phantom Planet, Eegah, and Human Duplicators),
maybe Lamberto Bava (he could talk about Devil Fish and his father’s film, Danger: Diabolik),
and the holy grail (perhaps) would be tracking down David Love (real name:Charles Robert Kaltenthaler, aka: Derek from Teenagers from Outer Space), who hasn’t been seen or heard from since the 60s. In hiding? Missing? On the run? Dead? We don’t really know. . . but it’d be neat to talk to him about his role in that movie and if he’s seen the MST version or not.
Check out my tribute to Mystery Science Theater: http://youtu.be/ZvnMV_D8nQA Included is a current photo of Arch Hall, Jr. wearing a T-shirt that says “Watch Out For Snakes”. I think he is okay with MST.
Of the dozens of MST3K movies I love and cycle through, my current favorite might be Touch of Satan. Would love to know what happened to/hear from that cast… esp. Emby Mellay and Michael Berry.
Any of the cast of Space Mutiny still living (I’m a bit obsessed with that movie, for reasons I can’t adequately explain). John Philip Law and Cameron Mitchell would have been a hoot, I imagine, but alas…
I’d love to hear from the cast and crew of I Accuse My Parents as well, but I imagine they’re nearly all gone now…
I second Richard Kiel. He’s always been a fascinating person to me anyway.
I’d love to catch up with The Fontanelles from Hobgoblins as well (I was disappointed that they and McCreedy weren’t even mentioned in the Special Edition DVD extras (yes, of course I own that), and of course, Amy and Roadrash flatly refused).
Anybody involved with Pod People. That had to have been an unusual shoot. And I’d love to get my hands on an original, undubbed copy, but that seems difficult/crazy.
I’d also like to hear from Kevin Casey (Beth, Skydivers) and Billy Second (Lt. Lamont, Space Mutiny) and find out why two women have decidedly male names.
@ 17 – For being a jerk, Sandy Frank actually seemed to take the Gamera episodes in stride–Like most non-fan celebs, he thought it was “okay”, kinda funny, and if he was grumbling over the “We want to make Sandy Frank cry!” songs from the Gamera-overdosed J&tB, he didn’t seem to show it in the Shout-disk interviews.
Also, Parts/Clonus director Robert Fiveson said in interviews he wasn’t that familiar with MST3K before fans pestered him about suing Michael Bay, and then he admitted he thought the show was funny enough.
(And I’ll third Richard Kiel–As AHJ tells it, Eegah was a minor hit with the kids at the time, and the big lug got a huge reaction at movie public appearances, which was probably the closest he ever got to celebrity before the Bond movies.
He also gets off more scot-free in the riffing than AHJ, with more jokes about his character than about his appearance, going along with the goofiness of the movie.)
I wonder what Orville Redenbacher’s grandson, Gary, thought of the popcorn commercial spoof seen in a host segment from “Godzilla vs. Megalon”. “You’ll be eating a lot of cheese. GOVERNMENT cheese!”
@26: Man, I am an idiot.
“Richard Kiel on his multiple ROLLS” ????? ?:-) :shame:
Sounds like a children’s book. Or maybe a cookbook. Or maybe a children’s cookbook.
Anyway,
edit: ROLES.
Trusting hes still alive, the kid who played Buzz in ‘Mr B Natural’.
Heard somewhere the overage ingénue from SPACE MUTINY and the director/star/almost everything else of INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES were REALLY honked off about it, but that might be one of those internet rumors.
I do know the writers of the FORGOTTEN HORRORS series of reference books on obscure low-budget films from the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s were openly hostile to MST3K, referring to them as ‘vandals’ and ‘cheap shot artists.’ And I kinda understand where they’re coming from, but feel their anger is a little misplaced. I suspect they think of the MST3K people as a bunch of Beavis and Butt-Heads sitting around going, “Like, this is sooooooooooo lame. Why’s everything grey? There’s no gore or boobs or anything, so why watch it? Duh.”
That’s, I think, one of the reasons Joel Hodgson and some of the others go out of their way to make it clear they’re TEASING the films, not condemning them.
@34 – That’s, I think, one of the reasons Joel Hodgson and some of the others go out of their way to make it clear they’re TEASING the films, not condemning them.
That’s one of the reasons there’s a bit of venom against the Mike era and why Joe Don Baker overreacted in such a “mean” way that he did–
There wasn’t very much about the cookie-cutter plots of Mitchell or Final Justice to make fun of on a found-humor level; it was “Somebody Mike hates”, and the riffs ended up being Joe Don Baker Is A Greasy Fat Slob, for TWO HOURS. Five minutes in one scene would’ve bordered on the uncalled-for.
Miles O’Keefe and Steve Reeves, while not fat slobs (greasy, maybe) never took their kidding too seriously, probably because the riffing was about how silly the pec-fantasy adventures were trying to be serious, they’re not exactly on their high horse about thinking it was their best quality acting work earlier, and they managed to laugh along with the episode.
But then, that’s the difference between teasing a horrendously silly movie, and malice-aforethought school-bullying an individual you’ve never met because he did something that bugged you. (Although Mike’s Steve Reeves imitation does push the scapegoat-blame envelope a bit.)
I will add my vote for Space Mutiny, for all the reasons listed above.
I will also second “Time Chasers” as I seem to remember hearing that some of the cast/crew were VERY excited about their movie being featured… until the riffing started. I would LOVE to hear more of that story.
Unfortunately, Chuck Pierce Sr. has passed, but I would like to hear from Chuck Pierce Jr. since Sr. was so involved in the production of movies and “Boggy Creek” is so beloved by Msties.
Christian Malcolm who played Troy in ‘The Final Sacrifice.’ He has been off and on in film, he appeared in several episodes of the show ‘I Shouldn’t Be Alive.’
Ted Eccles who played Davey, the kid who stole the plane in an international airport but didn’t get in trouble. He had a steady acting career as a kid but abruptly stopped acting at 22 y.o.
Unfortunately John Phillip Law has passed but he was in ‘Space Mutiny’ as Kalgan and ‘Danger Diabolik’ as Diabolik. As well he was in one of my favorite Spaghetti Westerns, ‘Death Rides a Horse’ which also starred Lee Van Cleef.
The last time this happened was with the late Peter Graves, who expressed a very similar opinion of MST3K riffing.
And let’s be honest, the Peter Graves “on Biography!” obsession was never about Graves, any more than the Jack Perkins poking was about Jack Perkins:
It was early 90’s cable, and M&tBrains had a full-blown, barely-explicable OBSESSION with jokes about how “irritating” A&E Network was in the early days. (And let’s be honest, it hadn’t really found its groove yet, in ’90-’91, when it was still showing WWII documentaries and not Black Adder yet, but hey, at least they weren’t showing Ice Road Truckers.)
Perkins hosted the “quality programming” bumpers on A&E cable, and hosted the Biography series, before he was replaced by….yep, you know the joke by now.
And let’s not even get INTO the every-third-riff jokes about Ian McShane and “Lovejoy” in Codename: Diamond Head. Okay, I want to see a show of hands how many people remember that series even existed; who’s geriatric enough to remember the days of UK imports on A&E? ;)
Fans have been hypnotized into thinking that Perkins and Graves committed some grievous unpardonable acts on our culture, just for the Mike scapegoating/bullying, but that’s the problem with a selectively-sided view of history. It was just the same 80’s-cable whining EVERY comic was doing back when cable was still a mess (SNL did a funnier, and more frustrated-snarky, parody back then), mixed with a little professional rivalry between cable entertainers.
would also love to know if any of the famous actors (or anyone in the movies) and any of the estates of the actors/people in them movies are blocking release on dvd of the episodes of the show.
I’d ask the late Raul Julia not only what he thought of MST3K but what such a wonderful actor was doing in that piece of s…urely quality, quality programming.
As for living people, I’d love to hear from anyone involved with either of the Santa Claus movies, from Pia Zadora on down. I swear I read somewhere that Christian Malcolm of Final Sacrifice was not only cool with it, he grew up to be a MSTie in his own right and even has a replica Crow of his own.
It should be fun to see if Sampo can get ahold of anyone. The Space Mutiny lovebirds would top my list, but oh man, Joe Don Baker…
Adam West seems to have a pretty good sense of humor about his career. I’d like to hear what he’s got to say.
#33, Buzz sadly passed away last March.
https://www.mst3kinfo.com/?p=15074
Our group in Portland is watching “Alien from L.A.” this Monday (hey, it’s St. Patrick’s Day, so the film’s a natural, right?) and it made me wonder what Kathy Ireland thinks of their riffing of the film. She’s moved far beyond it, of course–she’s reportedly the richest model in the world now, based on her business interests–but considering she was thrown into the deep end of the acting business right off the bat, it would be interesting to hear her experiences and what she thought of the MST3K version. (If she’s even seen it. But she’s got three kids and sooner or later, one of them will probably hear about it from a friend…)
@44
maybe someone should email kathy’s website and ask her.
@35:
Yes. That’s mainly what I was thinking of when I said earlier that their treatment of Baker in “Final Justice” was too personal and excessive. They evidently wanted so badly to recapture the magic of “Mitchell” that they strained too hard and ended up making it into a long Joe Don Baker bash-fest. Someone watching the show out of context would wonder if Baker ran over Mike’s dog or something.
It’s not an isolated example, either. After Joel’s departure (and particularly during the Sci-Fi era), the show’s humor acquired a nasty edge that wasn’t there in earlier years. “Monster a-Go Go” was probably as mean as Joel ever got, but even there, we understood that he was retaliating against a movie that treated the audience with open contempt. It wasn’t just Joel being a bully and ripping somebody a new one again and again because he didn’t like their face.
If you look at the list of people who have publicly bristled at the treatment they got from MST3K (Walter George Alton, Peter Graves, Joe Don Baker, etc), more often than not, their movies were riffed during the Mike years. I think that these changes in the quality of the show’s humor had a lot to do with their reactions. Besides the people already named, I also thought that some of the comments made about Vivian Schilling in “Soultaker” were uncalled-for. The Joel-era actors who reacted positively (Miles O’Keeffe, Kim Cattrall, etc) were never on the receiving end of anything worse than good-natured ribbing, and it was delivered in such a way that they understood that and appreciated it for what it was.
(Add this to the last paragraph of #46 …)
That ability to walk the fine line between teasing and condemning, and to deliver funny criticism without being nasty, was one of the qualities that MST3K lost in its later years after it turned cynical and sour. It’s one of the reasons the Sci-Fi shows in general don’t rank so highly with me.
Arch Hall should be easy to reach, he’s on Facebook – my BF has him on her feed, he mostly posts political stuff (very staunch conservative).
@26 David Love would be good as, if he was willing talking about it (and it’s no one’s business if he didn’t)
maybe he could confirm reports from other people who worked on it in Golden Turkey that him and the director
were very close friends.
@29 Cinema Snob reviewed the original version, Extra Terrestrial Visitors, since Pod People is his favorite MST.
#34 Yeah, one of my favorite genre movie guide writers, John Stanley broke my heart when he use a review of The Movie to just… yeesh, it went beyond accusing them of being vandals, it sounded like he had some serious angry resentment towards them.
@42 West hosted a Turkey Day, so I’m pretty sure he’s in the “we’re cool” category.
Though probably impossible to get a hold of it would be interesting to hear from the cast and crew of the Gamera films.
I’m friends with a man who’s good friends with “Squirm” director Jeff Lieberman. The town is named Fly Creek because that’s where he lived, and it’s right down the road from me (if you’re ever in the Cooperstown/Oneonta area, hit me up & I’ll take you on a tour). Apparently, he was not amused by the riffing. Really not amused.
I also went to grad school with MST3K: The Movie’s second assistant director, Bix Skahill (his big band, alas, did not join him) and he, similarly, was not thrilled about having his name riffed. He didn’t really like to talk about his experience making the movie even though it made him a rock star in my eyes.