Other than that, there really was little new ground covered during the panel. Dave (Gruber) Allen warmed up the crowd with a brief comical retelling of the history of the Tivoli Theatre, which is a grand old theater that was built back in 1924, and then quickly introduced the CT gang. Joel started to tell the history of MST3K, but he got as far as the anecdote about seeing the “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” album cover as a teenager before deciding that the audience had probably heard it all before, and opened the floor to questions instead. The questions were mainly of the standard “what’s your favorite/least favorite episode?” variety, but there were two that stood out. The first was about the differences between how they used to write for MST3K and how they write for CT now. “We live in four different states now,” said Josh, “and now we each write our own pass of the movie, then put them all together and decide which riffs work best.”
The second standout was the usual “do you ever get recognized? question, but this was the first time I’d ever heard Josh answer it. “When I moved out to L.A.,” he said, “the first person I met was Paul Feig, who was a huge MSTie, and he recognized me right away. I’ve never been recognized since.” Paul, of course, went on to create “Freaks and Geeks.”
After the panel, the CT crew did their normal meet and greet, graciously signing autographs and posing for pictures. Grube also worked the crowd and signed a few autographs himself.
Here are a few pictures I took during the panel. Tomorrow, I’ll post a lengthier report from the live show at the Family Arena. And if you were at the panel, please give us your thoughts in the comments section.
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- Gruber at the Tivoli
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- Hi Trace!
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- Joel talks about “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (sorry about the flash, Joel!)
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- Frank answers a question
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- Joel asks Josh to talk about “Tom” Servo
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- The line to meet the Titans
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- Satellite News continues its tradition of posting one photo focusing on Mary Jo at the autograph table
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- Trace and Frank
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- Mary Jo, Josh and Joel
Oh, and in case you were wondering about those “favorite/least favorite” answers:
Favorite
Joel – I Accuse My Parents
Josh – Untamed Youth
Frank – Cave Dwellers (but it changes daily)
Trace – Laserblast (it was his last episode and his father was in it)
Mary Jo – Space Mutiny
Least favorite
Joel – Manos, The Hands of Fate
Josh – Robot Monster (he felt that it was famously bad and didn’t need to be riffed)
Frank – The Castle of Fu Manchu
Trace – The Incredible Melting Man
Mary Jo – Overdrawn at the Memory Bank
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I was finally excited once again at seeing some CT news about the DVD until I read further that it was a live recording, then my heart sank. I was REALLY looking forward to a definitive studio version of East Meets Watts.
:sad:
Awesome job on getting the info up so quickly!
Also, I was upset at Mary Jo’s “worst” pick.. as an episode, it’s great… plus, it’s got her best song in it :)
I’m just glad to hear that they’ll be releasing another one soon. I’ve been jonesing for more CT for a while now, and it depressed the heck out of me back in July when they said no new releases until the fall. So a big hurray that the wait is almost over!
Seems to me that sometimes the worst can bring out the best. “Bring out the worst movie– and bring out the best!!”
Josh’s best & worst choices were, in my opinion, the two best episodes of the first Comedy Central season.
My least favorite: Hamlet
My favorite favorite: Hmmm… um, I’m running out of room here– gotta go!
Cool news on the DVD release. I’m not going to judge the fact that it’s a “recorded Live” until I see it. As long as I can see and hear the film and then hear the riffs and maybe a little audience reaction, it could be really cool, almost like being there.
Kudos to CT for trying different things!!
The idea is to give people a taste of what it’s like to be at one of their shows.
Yes, uncertainty of the show’s amusement is the driving factor why more people haven’t been traveling cross-country to catch their never-sold-out shows. Now with this new DVD, the kids in Bangor, ME will know that it’s *totally* worth the expense of traveling to L.A. to catch one of their shows!
I won’t be able to share in this new-found joy, I’ve been to one of their shows. East Meets Watts, in fact. (And, unless they were super-duper ninja cameramen, I don’t think they filmed at the Lakeshore Theater. Or are they shadow-lip-synching to the recorded audio?)
While the decision to buy may be made for me by my pocketbook, I’m not excited about this. It’s really too bad for me, because I thought East Meets Watts was extremely funny, a sharp riff. To me, this is MST with a laugh track.
It’s an experiment. Something different to try.
Frank said he hopes it becomes the “Frampton Comes Alive” of CT DVDs. :)
I hope that doesn’t mean that “Alien Factor” will be the “I’m In You” of CT DVDs.
Preemptive Dewey/Debbie Downers aside, I cannot wait for EMW, and am very excited about the possibilities of the live DVD format! :grin:
Wow, haven’t even woke up from being out so late at it and the write up is already done. Excellent work!
Huh.
I didn’t recognise Paul “Gruber” Allen at first but I think it was because he had clothes on.
Why is Overdrawn At The Memory Bank Mary Jo’s least favorite episode? Does anyone know her reason? I mean, she got to sing, “When Loving Lovers Love” in it and everything!
I must admit that when I read the next DVD would one of the live shows, my reaction was sort of, “Oh…interesting.” I’ll buy it anyway because I love these guys and CT so much. I was just hoping that maybe a live show would be included as an extra on a studio-recorded show of the same title. Eddie Izzard has done a similar concept with his stand-up DVD “Dressed to Kill” where the extra was a single-camera recording of him doing the same show speaking French in a small club in Paris, when Eddie first decided to take his act to a wider area of the Earth’s population.
I noticed also that Joel’s favorite has changed over the last few times he’s answered that question. He used to say it was “Hercules Unchained.” Oh well…both of his answers are pretty high up on my favorites list.
It is a very unique experience to see CT live and the new “East Meets Watts” DVD will let people who haven’t seen CT live share that.
Thanks to Erhardt for getting the pictures up so quickly. I would say one thing to the folks who run the Tivoli, quoting “The Unearthly”:’Lights we need lights!’ About half of the discussion was in very subdued lighting and then suddenly they turned on the lights. I can’t wait for the show at the Family Arena tonight.
One last thought: I was standing in the mens room at the Tivoli after the discussion, turned to my right and there was Frank Conniff, as I said before–a very unique experience!
Great news. I hope the “recorded live” angle works out. Either way, East Meets Watts sounds really good. I give props to Josh for his remarks about Robot Monster. Kind of like Plan 9 from Outer Space, it sort of makes it’s own comedy gravy.
I think some of them got confused and instead of “favorite overall episode including host segments” they went with “favorite film that was riffed excluding everything MST related”.
Was there any comment on any of them guest riffing on a Rifftrax? C’mon, TRACE TRACE TRACE TRACE.
My eyes lit up when I saw “Next DVD Title” in the header, but when I read that it was going to be live instead of a definitive studio version I could almost hear the cartoon “wah wah wah” sound. They just completely ignored demand for studio produced DVDs and continue to shove the live angle down my throat. For the first time since I’ve become a fan of MST and their various movie riffing projects, I’m disappointed enough to no longer support them or even give a damn.
To the folks at CT, I’ll try not to let the door hit me on the way out. Good luck with “Cinematic Titanic Live.”
Thank God for Rifftrax and Shout! Factory.
:sad:
Their favorites are also my favorites.
Then again, their worsts are also my favorites.
Eh, what are you gonna do?
I honestly think that East Meets Watts is the best choice for a live recording.
Among other things, the spit take is brilliant.
As far as the “Least Favorite”, I think they’re talking about the films themselves, not the episodes.
It is a very unique experience to see CT live and the new “East Meets Watts” DVD will let people who haven’t seen CT live share that.
How? My “unique” experience was shared by at least 200 people – hardly unique. People who haven’t seen CT live, to judge by reactions on message boards*, want to see them live, not see (or hear) other people seeing them live.
Whatever. I’m already labeled a “Downer.” It’s their gig, they own the joint. This is my reaction to the news. I think it’s artistically self-indulgent, no matter how they try to dress it up. I don’t have to like it; I don’t have to buy it. And I’m sure they don’t care.
*Always a dodgy proposition, but I think this is an accurate reading.
Live, not live, whatever. I’m just glad a new CT DVD is finally coming out.
Mary Jo’s reasoning for Overdrawn as her pick for least favorite was that it was depressing to her to see Raol Julia, an easily agreed upone fine actor, in such a turd. Remember, they slog through these movies for days over and over… funny to us, but sometimes punishing for them.
Weren’t they recording studio DVDs back in October?
A month or SO? :sad: Ugh!! This waiting is driving me nuts. I hope it’s out before Christmas.
I’m glad they’re doing East Meets Watts as a live DVD. It will be interesting to see how it translates. I saw them do it in Boston and it will kind of be like capturing a memory.
I think they are just seeing how they go, and what the ACTUAL response will be to an ACTUAL live DVD. Not what people think before they even SEE one.
Haven’t you folks ever watched a comedian on TV, for crying out loud? Hearing the audience might add something to it, I don’t think it’s like watching a TV show with a laugh track.
You don’t HAVE to like it. That’s what they want to see – how it goes. If response isn’t good, then they’ll go back to just studio releases. Comedians release CD’s that they’ve recorded live, the audience’s laughter doesn’t hamper it or anything. At least give them a chance and see what it’s really like before you judge. I’m sure they’re not going to do JUST live versions anyway, probably just mix in a few now and then. If you like it, great, if not, they’ll do the studio ones.
Sheesh.
Great news about the upcoming dvd release,but I hope this is just a one-off thing and not what’s yet to come with future releases.I’d like to see a live performance of this one,since I’ve never seen it before,but I hope it’ll be the last one.Also,I hope since this was recording in front a live audience,that they’ll have Frank’s song and the stuff that Josh and Gruber did,too.That would be nice to have a little extra something included,besides the movie itself.All in all,excited that there’s a new dvd coming soon.Seems I’ve(and the rest of us)been waiting forever!! Oh,great pics,by the way! Thanks! :mrgreen:
I’ve been wondering if the focus on live shows is a response to digital piracy… they have a strangely personal warning about copying their DVDs, they have moved from DVD release schedule to live appearance schedule, the new DVD is just a live recording and a lot of the talk about music downloads says that bands make all their money from touring rather than CDs now. Is this true for CT as well?
For those of you disappointed that it’s a live release, you might be surprised. I’ve seen the rough draft, and the way it’s been done is very inventive. Hold off on assumptions until it’s released. I myself am a big fan of the ‘Studio Recorded’ releases, but I was impressed with this production.
RAD
That’s good to hear, RAD. I was thinking that if this was shot/mixed properly, it could work really well. My mind kept flashing to “Cheap Seats” when they brought in the audience and it ruined the show-this sounds interesting, though.
I don’t think this is self-indulgence at all; I’ve seen them at three appearances now (ConVergence ’09, and DragonCon ’08 and ’09) and people have consistently asked about “Live at the Hollywood Bowl” type DVDs of the live show experience.
They’ve heard there might be a demand for something like this, and so they’re releasing it. I don’t think there’s anything sinister about that. :)
While I’m not overly crazy about a “live” versus “studio” recording, I’m sure I’ll buy it and most likely enjoy it, as long as the audio riffs are audible — my biggest concern is that us old fogeys even miss riffs without ambient noise, and add in an audience and I may not be able to hear anything (or at least anything beyond an initial riff).
However — it doesn’t sound to me as if this is anything other than an experiment to see if they can do this cheaper: obviously it’s going to be cheaper to record something they are already there for and post process it than get together in a studio and record it again. I don’t mind them trying to save money, but they shouldn’t try and BS us into thinking it’s anything other than that.
Why are people flummoxed by Mary Jo’s Overdrawn… least favorite episode pick? From the viewpoint of having to watch it a bunch of times within a week or so and having to riff it from scratch, I can see how that might be a really brutal experience.
The fact that Joel picked I Accuse My Parents as his favorite, and “Manos” as his least favorite just makes me like him even more.
Well I wouldn’t say the movie INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN was that bad. There were far worse films shown.
So ALL these months go by, and the next DVD we get is a LIVE recording. Oh yeah…I’m SO excited to wait this long, then I have the chance to pay you guys for a DVD that will probably have 25% of the jokes killed from audience members laughing so damn loud!
I have been patient with you guys (CT) for long enough, and this is my reward?! Well, I hope this new idea of yours isn’t your final goodbye for those fans who will buy ANYTHING of yours…I on the other hand will not buy your live DVD, and when 2010 starts I can bow my head and say a few words about the deceased CT, and continue on with other hobbies.
Maybe Rifftrax can grab my interest? I’m usually slamming them, but at least they are making more of an effort. So sad too, since I really wanted CT to succeed. I guess I’m not the type of fan/consumer for their projects.
At least I have a handful of their studio DVD’s that I can watch. Not to mention all the MST3K’s as well.
OK so the audio will be live on the next DVD. while I might be able to live with that, I’m very confused about how the video will look? I can’t imagine we will get the shadows on the screen like the other DVDs unless they try to lip-snyc their live performance with studio footage?? and at that point you might as well re-record it in the studio.
BTW I saw them live in portland, and it was great. But at times I couldn’t hear the riffers, or parts of the dialog due to a the laughter. So I’ve been looking forward to a studio cut.
I’ll wait to see what this looks like (trailer anyone?) but I also will not lose hope of next year some proper studio cuts of their newer riffs.
Neil (agentcooper)
P.S. IMO CT does seem to be trying there best to move away from studio work, my guess its one part fighting piracy, two parts avoiding costly studio time costs, and three parts something I thought reading in a CT interview that they are just simply making more money doing there thing live.
Sorry about the error in my above post.
Darn no error button
Sorry again about my second post.
I meant to say “Darn no edit button”
Good to know we’ll be getting THE DYNAMITE BROTHERS soon! It’ll be interesting to watch as a “live” DVD (I’m curious about the framing/movie quality especially). And reading the “Most/Least” favorite bit was great. I ACCUSE MY PARENTS is one of my favorite “introductory” episodes.
I was just watching the Incredible Melting Man yesterday and thinking how it was one of my favorites. I didn’t like it the first couple times I watched it, though.
Personally, I don’t see how a live recording will improve the DVDs at all. If you need a laugh track to tell you when it’s funny, it probably isn’t for you anyway.
But I’m glad to see news on any new DVD and good to know they’re open to trying new things. Maybe it’ll be fantastic. Hard to say until any one of us actually gets the DVD.
As one of the chosen who got to see them live, I totally understand how it’s 100x better seeing the show live. Be hard to capture that magic in any form.
Trace – Laserblast (it was his last episode and his father was in it)
What? I have never heard of this. Is it true? “His father was in it” or is this a joke?
I am kind of surprised by the amount of negative reaction to the news that the next dvd will be live. I’m keeping an open mind. Lord knows I’ve bought a boatload of live concerts in my day. I’ve got Tenacious D live, Flight of the Conchordes live, Firesign Theatre live, Kids in the hall live; why not Cinematic Titanic? Knocking five bucks off the price would be nice. It being Christmas time and all. And my birthday is coming up… next June. Not this June, the next one.
I hope the DVD is just the live performance audio synchronized with normal DVD video. I’m not looking forward the a new CT DVD that’s just a fancied-up bootleg video of CT Live.
I will never understand how negative some folks get whenever there is an announcement of something a little different. If it weren’t for the continued creativity of these wonderful people we would never have had MST3K, Cinematic Titanic or RiffTrax in the first place. As always, I will keep an open mind. Almost without exception I have been pleasantly surprised by the final product. Besides, as a fan I feel I can best support their efforts and hopefully continued comedic offerings by giving them a chance to try new methods as they see fit.
@42: “What? I have never heard of this. Is it true? ‘His father was in it’ or is this a joke?”
Remember aged Dr. Forrester? That’s wasn’t make-up.
I too want to make note that at the live events they are not set up shadow-wize in front of the screen. So without this, doesn’t it end the whole background story of them being FORCED to watch the movie? Won’t this then be more like Rifftrax? The shadows are what linked it to MST, so this would be a great loss.
I am attending a CT show for the first time on New Years Eve, and would like to know if anyone who has seen the live shows can tell me about how much riffing is lost do to crowd reaction?
And will live dvds end the Time Tube thing?
So many questions…Frank are you there?
This reminds me… if they want to release a live show, how about World Without End from the first MST3K live performance? That I’d like to see.
@darthservo: I’ve seen them six times in Chicago. You miss nothing. In fact, they are very good and fast on their feet in the editing if the crowd is laughing too much, as we were doing during an attack in The Alien Factor.
But for the DVD release of a live performance, they have control (I assume) of the soundtracks — so they can up the volume on Trace, say, if something was sort of garbled.
And for those of us who saw it, this will be like reliving the experience of East Meets West live.
Thanks Chuck!