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It’s Official: RiffTrax Live 8/19 (and another one 10/28!)

As you read here nearly a month ago, the next RiffTrax Live show will be Thursday, Aug. 19, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central/6 p.m. Mountain/8 p.m. Pacific (tape delayed).

The movie will be “Reefer Madness,” and there will also be three new shorts.

As in the past, audiences will receive free digital goodies after the event including a downloadable short, avatars (those big blue guys?) and other stuff.

There will be a rebroadcast of this show at most of the same theaters on Tuesday, Aug. 24.

And even more good news: ANOTHER RiffTrax Live show, featuring the movie “House on Haunted Hill,” will come to theaters Thursday, Oct. 28, with an encore on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

72 Replies to “It’s Official: RiffTrax Live 8/19 (and another one 10/28!)”

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  1. Katana says:

    They love doing this on my dorm move-in-days…But ah well! Awesome!

    What’s VERY awesome is that the October show is the Thursday of Youmacon (an anime convention, I know), wherein I can get even more people to go…Ah, wow, this just made my day.

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  2. Cheapskate Crow says:

    They need to tape delay this for the Mountain time zone as well as Pacific, 6pm is too early to pound a beer and get to the movie theater. I will wait for the DVD.

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  3. Um, still not feeling the love with these shows which they’ve already done (already riffed).

    I’ll pass on these two and hope they do something around Christmas (dare I hope for Jack the Giant Killer then?)

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  4. CK2 says:

    So, anyone know WHERE the live shows will be? Would love to meet them, but they don’t seem to like to travel like the Cinematic Titanic gang.

    And I’m SUPER excited about buying two more movies they’ve ALREADY done. That’s sarcasm in case it wasn’t thick enough.

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  5. darthservo says:

    Sorry Rifftrax, I have both of these on dvd. Are the riffs going to be 100% redone? What happened to Jack the Giant Killer?? Very disappointed in this turn of events. Stop with the rehashing!!!!

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  6. Iggy Pop's Brother Steve Pop says:

    Yeah, it does seem odd to redo as live shows movies they’ve already done (more than once!) on DVD. I guess it works for them, or they wouldn’t be doing it, but it beats me why it does work for them, or why they seem to think a third go-around on these movies would be more popular first cracks at a different movies.

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  7. Glad you guys are writing the show off already! What did you think of the three new shorts at the Reefer one?

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  8. awfulgoodmovies says:

    Cool! Can’t wait! “House on Haunted Hill” should be perfect for Halloween. Now I just need a date…….

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  9. I will add that of course there will be stuff that you’re not familiar with if you’ve already seen the Reefer Madness DVD. And as anyone who saw the Christmas Show can tell you, there is always stuff that comes across in a live setting that is unexpected.

    Hope everyone shows up.

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  10. There are waaaaaaay too many people on these boards who have entitlement issues. Get over yourselves. At the Plan 9 one there were a sizable number of people who’d never watched MST3K, who came because they saw it in the Fathom Events calendar and knew about Plan 9 as one of the worst movies ever. In a related story, the Christmas Shorts show didn’t draw nearly as well, because those same people no longer knew what they were getting into, and for them Mike, Kevin, and Bill alone did not a drawing point make. Not all of us have seen every Rifftrax, and not all of us get bent out of shape when they attempt to draw in people besides the die-hards. I swear, you guys remind me of indy music fans after the band becomes popular. “Other people like it, so it sucks now. Boo!”

    I for one am looking forward to both of these shows. I just have to hope I can get to one; working 3 to 11 sucks for this sort of thing. Conor, what was the thought process behind putting the encore on the following Tuesday? Just curious why you guys switched from doing it the next night. Thanks in advance, and thanks for the work you guys do, I don’t think you get to hear it from us nearly enough.

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  11. Get over yourself, Denby — we have a right to express our feelings and also to vote (with our dollars). By letting Conor know why some of us will pass on these then when attendance is down (as it is sure to be versus an event like the Christmas one where there was all new stuff) then perhaps the RT folks won’t write off doing these live events.

    If you like them, more power to you — don’t be so judgmental on those who don’t.

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  12. KJB says:

    #10

    Hear, hear, Robert. They may have done it already, but doing Reefer Madness is really a clever move. I live in a somewhat herb-friendly town and I can guarantee you that this will draw in people who’ve never shown up for a Rifftrax show before. I’m sure they’ll be sprucing up the riffs for the big event, and the new shorts are goodies are a nice way of keeping the diehards happy. One thing I have to wonder, though, is if the multiple showings aren’t diminishing demand. The turnout for my Christmas show was noticeably smaller than the one for Plan 9. Perhaps letting people think, “Oh, well, I can catch the next one” is making these less special? Maybe I’m wrong, but…

    (That said, I’d give a pinky toe for a live Rifftrax of Twilight. I know, it’ll never happen, but I can dream.)

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  13. Tarantulas says:

    Yet more retread action from RT…

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  14. Creepygirl says:

    I’m really looking forward to these shows. I loved PLAN 9 and CHRISTMAS SHORTS.

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  15. For those of you that missed the explanation about what happened to Jack The Giant Killer:
    http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,18249.msg560150.html#msg560150

    We definitely understand the reaction of the die-hard crowd, which is why the guys are doing the 3 new shorts, overhauling the script, and putting on a contest where the fans get to write riffs (to be announced next Friday.) For a big, nationwide, event it’s quite difficult to find PD movies with bigger name recognition than Reefer Madness – so, that was definitely a factor in choosing it when the copyright issues with Jack arose.

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  16. normal view says:

    Hell yeah!!!!! House on haunted hill? October 28th? Perfect!!!!! i will wrangle as many people as i can.

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  17. @Casey – There are other movies in the public domain though.

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  18. Aye, there are indeed.

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  19. Not so many that we own high definition film assets for, or ever would be able to get, though.

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  20. Erik @ RiffTrax says:

    I think it’s interesting that “Ex-Genius” seems to KNOW that the Christmas shorts show did better than the Plan 9 “rehash” – in reality, it was the opposite, as Robert Denby cleverly picked up on. Mike, Kevin and Bill by themselves is not enough of a draw, which is why we eventually went with Reefer (and Haunted Hill) for this year’s shows. People will come out to see those movies simply because they’re cult classics.

    On top of that, as we mentioned in the forum post referenced above, we couldn’t secure the rights in time to get Jack the Giant Killer, which all of us really, REALLY want to do. Needless to say we WILL be doing it eventually, and we have some other surprises coming up this year to say thank you to the diehards.

    As others have mentioned there are far, FAR greater numbers of people who have a) never heard of us and/or b) never seen the Reefer riff. We can’t always please everyone, we know that – but just realize this wasn’t a “Yeah, screw the fans!” type of decision – it was a compromise more than anything. But we hope to make it up to the diehards soon enough.

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  21. mst3ktemple says:

    Folks, I agree everyone is entitled to their opinion so I’m going to share mine. I’d love to see Jack the Giant Killer too, but I’ll still be there for Reefer Madness and House on Haunted Hill. There is NOTHING like a live event. I was able to see Mike, Kevin and Bill do Plan 9 live at Comic Con a few years ago and it was absolutely hilarious. I went again for the satellite broadcast show last year and completely enjoyed it again and I watch the DVD of the live show every once in a while. There is a completely different energy to the live shows and the interaction with the fans makes for some great moments. Would I like to see some different movies riffed? Of course I would, but I still plan to go to each event because RiffTrax continues to offer the funniest entertainment I could ever hope to see. That’s my two cents worth any way. OK, maybe five cents.

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  22. Drunken Fist says:

    Awesome! I usually can’t go to these things because the RT crew doesn’t seem to want to visit the South(although, judging by some of the movies they’ve watched, I can hardly blame ’em!). There’s a theater about an hour away that’s showing Reefer madness, and I’ve already talked my girlfriend into going.
    Even though it’s a re-do, I’m looking forward to it. The live “Plan 9” was much better than the previous version, and it won’t surprise me if it’s the same in this case. The knowledge that they’ll be in front of a live audience seems to inspire them to up the ante, even more than usual.

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  23. mgroves says:

    Who cares if it’s the same material, slightly reworked, new, improved, whatever? These are some of the finest comedic minds of their generation, and I’d watch them riff on the dictionary and gladly pay for the privilege. I watched them COOK FREAKIN BACON via webcam and it was infinitely better than almost any other comedy offering on television.

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  24. CK2 says:

    I love it when people get all offended when some of us say, “hey, how about something new?” I mean, is that really so bad to want new stuff? Seriously? I’ve faithfully bought every DVD that RT has put out, but it does get a little tiresome to have to rebuy the same movie over and over again. Okay, so maybe it has some new lines, and a couple of new shorts. But new lines and new shorts can be applied to NEW movies they haven’t done yet.

    Keep this in mind RT, if we were all 100% satisfied with this rehashing of films, this conversation wouldn’t exist. I’m not trying to start a debate between which is better between CT or RT as I actually prefer RT, but I can honestly say I haven’t once said, “Oh, I’ve got to buy that CT movie AGAIN??!!?!??” But unfortunately with RT it’s going to happen not once, not twice, but three times. Booo.

    And seriously, how come nobody knows where these lives shows are going to be broadcast from? Sure I’m a bit disappointed in the rehashes, but I’d still love to meet them, but they don’t seem to do any traveling.

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  25. It’s being broadcast from the same venue as the Christmas show. The Escondido Center For The Arts http://www.artcenter.org/performances/10august/index.html

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  26. CK2 says:

    Oh. That’s too bad. Thanks for the info though. Do you think they’ll ever do a bit of a tour and hit some of the major cities? There are people outside of California who’d love to see them! Not all of us can go to SDCC or travel to CA for the live shows they’ve been doing. Pretty please?

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  27. Ben says:

    Shame about Jack the Giant Killer, but just two cents about the movie-name-recognition factor that was mentioned above about Reefer Madness/House On Haunted Hill. Just for the sake of argument, how come Cinematic Titanic manages to get out and about live with movies that are not well known at all, in comparison, and manage to get audiences? The Alien Factor or War Of The Insects both do not have the name power of Plan 9, yet audiences came to see them and the DVDs get bought. If it didn’t attract audiences, I would imagine that CT would just not even bother touring given the expense to do so, yet new dates are always announced, with new and various movies that are not well known at all, so it must attract a paying audience. I would imagine that the MST fan would flock to see either CT or RT in equal volumes and drag family and friends along too. I don’t really think that the name recognition of a bad movie is a sufficient excuse in this case.

    I enjoyed the short on the Plan 9 live Rifftrax DVD and the Christmas shorts live Rifftrax DVD for the main reason that it was new material to be showcased. Reefer Madness/House on Haunted Hill have had either Mike solo and Rifftrax commentary done already. Unless these movies were completely gutted and redone, and even then it just seems like treading water. Oh and as nice as high def is, I should imagine just having a semi-clean print of a public domain flick would suffice. After all those Christmas shorts weren’t the pinnacle of the digital age; they showed wear and tear of their age and they worked just fine.

    I honestly don’t mean to be whiny about it or start comparisons between the two current riffing camps, but if one group can do it, why can’t the other group do it as well?

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  28. Iggy Pop's Brother Steve Pop says:

    The Elusive Robert Denby and Conor’s Meat Market:

    Yeah, we only have beef. No pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, veal. No, no seafood, either. Who cares? Suck it up, you babies! There are waaaaaaay too many consumers who have entitlement issues. Get over yourselves. There are other people who haven’t had beef three times this week, you know. Do you think anybody should give a goddamn what you want? You act like you have a choice as to whether or not to spend your money here! As if! Hey, where are you going? Nice to see you’re writing off our beef already! What did you think of the three new side dishes?

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  29. Cronkite Moonshot says:

    Personally I had a lot of fun at both the other live shows, so I’m going to these no matter what they are doing. Would I prefer they be something completely new? Probably, in a perfect world. Am I going to be a whiny little cry baby who whines and whines about it as if they deserve everything to be especially catered just to them (and then has the nerve to tell someone else to “get over” themselves)? Nope. I can understand the reasoning behind their decision to do more well known films, and I’m going to go anyway and have a grand old time. Reefer Madness is a very good riff that I enjoy seeing, and I’m sure the new revisions will make it all the more fun to watch. And I loves me some shorts, so three new shorts is awesome news.

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  30. CK2 says:

    #27-totally agree, especially the last line. They were gone for too long, and now that Mike, Kevin and Bill are back, I don’t want to see them lose support by rehashing movies. People do tend to vote with their money, and maybe they’ll go to see the live show at the theater, but when it comes time for the DVD release, sales might start to decline, and if it’s not profitable, then we all lose if they stop doing them all together. But no, those of us who are concerned about keeping it fresh and going strong so we can get many more movies to come are whining and have a sense of entitlement. Please. We’ll all be crying if they call it quits because sales aren’t there.

    And I really, really do not understand the apologists who get all pissy because us “entitled” consumers have the audacity to hope to see new films. There are SO MANY bad films out there to do. Imagine if the RT crew came up to you and said, “Hey Consumer X, you can have a brand new movie you’ve never seen riffed before, or a movie we’ve already done, but with some different lines.” And people would honestly say, “New movie? Nah, I want one I’ve seen before.” Wow.

    I just don’t get how wanting to see my favorite group of guys come out with new material is a bad thing and makes me a “whiny, cry baby consumer.”

    Oh, and side dishes are nice and all, but they aren’t quite as filling as the main course.

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  31. Iggy Pop's Brother Steve Pop says:

    Cronkite Moonshot (#29):

    Oh, I get it.

    “I am okay with seeing a third riffing of the same movie.” = entitled to opinion

    “I have not seen this movie before, so it’s all new to me.” = entitled to opinion

    “I’m not going to see a third riffing on the same movie.” = whiny little crybaby who whines and whines and wants everything their way

    It’s so obvious now! People must agree with you, or else they’re defective! How did I not realize this before?

    Please, repeat after me. Take a deep breath between each if you have to:
    “Your mileage may vary.”
    “There’s no accounting for taste.”
    “It takes all kinds to make a world.”
    (now take a few deep, slow breaths–this is the tough one)
    “Everyone is entitled to their opinion.”

    I like peanut butter, yet I have no problem with the existence of people who don’t. Some of my best friends don’t like peanut butter. I don’t even mind their SAYING they don’t like peanut butter, or that they won’t buy it. Go figure that, huh? I can even understand their point of view. It’s eerie, I tell you. It’s like I’m… I’m… I dunno, putting myself in their place or something. I think it’s a race memory of some kind, an atavistic survival out of the distant, pre-internet past. Let’s give it a name. How about “empathy”?

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  32. Iggy Pop's Brother Steve Pop says:

    Okay, granted, I don’t have much empathy for people who don’t have empathy.

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  33. I don’t really care about the folks who don’t care about my opinion but I DO care what the two from Rifftrax have to say, so let me make this clear — when I said the Christmas show was well attended I NEVER said the Plan 9 wasn’t. Plan 9 was the first time (and, as far as any of us knew, the only time) that we’d get to see the RT crowd perform in this way. So it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it was hugely successful — just as it won’t surprise me at all if these next two shows AREN’T.

    If they are — great. I am not hoping for them to fail. I love Mike and Co. and want nothing more than for them to continue to riff whatever they want. I vote with my dollars and buy ALL their shorts (and will continue to do so) and will go to any new material shows they do (but NOT any retreads). However, if these next two tank I AM worried they will be the last.

    So, Erik at RT — I NEVER said the Plan 9 show did less business. Don’t be a jerk and don’t try to put words in my mouth. All I said was that the attendance may be down at these next shows compared to the Christmas one. If it isn’t, that’s wonderful and you guys will continue to do these (I assume). If I’m right (and I’d hope you’d be enough of a man to admit that possibility) then I would equally hope you’ll realize the problem and try and correct it. Just grow a pair.

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  34. darthservo says:

    The folowing statements refer to ME. No one else, just ME, making my feelings known. So please…don’t get your panties in a bunch!

    3 new shorts are not enough to make me spend $10 at a movie. Although I have gone to the last 2 events, I thought the sound quality was terrible. I have both on DVD, so I can sit at home and watch them on the dates above. I love Rifftrax, but I need something new for my dollar. I support Rifftrax in that I buy every NEW DVD they put out. I just feel that this is a very LAZY way to pick my pocket.
    Oh…and don’t get me started when they release the LIVE DVDs of these shows to get more money. If YOU want to go see these events again or if YOU have not seen them riffed before, I hope YOU all have a great and wonderful time. I just expect something better from them.
    OR maybe I just have scars from seeing Kevin in fishnets from the Christmas show!

    I’m darthservo….and I approve this message.

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  35. Laura says:

    This is for the condesending prick (Eric @ RT):

    If you couldn’t “secure the rights”, or whatever BS excuse you gave, then what was the frigging point of having fans vote for the next project? Seems to me, this was a screwjob for the fans. And because you think you know more than us (you don’t, by the way), I won’t be attending any RiffTrax live events. I also can’t afford to spend $10.50 right now just for 3 shorts.

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  36. PrivateIron says:

    I realize that RT has a marketing strategy and that what makes sense for them may not include my needs. I am OK with that; they have to eat and they seem like nice people, as well as being very funny.

    That being said: RT/MST3K/CT have always been “edge” entertainment for families, meaning they dance around the line of what kids can see/hear and mostly a family can get by with that. My 12 yo (then 11) son loved going to see Plan 9 and if it had worked for us logistically, we probably would have gone to Christmas as well. Reefer is one that is way past the line; so I had to disappoint my son and tell him he cannot have his end of summer vacation event again. Hopefully, we can see a Halloween House on Haunted Hill, though that may interfere with school too much.

    For me personally, I loved House on DVD and it is the right time of the year; so I may go to that one. I thought Reefer was kind of flat. I don’t blame RT; I blame the underlying material. So I probably would not go to that one regardless. If this attracts new fans and pumps up their overall sales figures, I would love to hear that because it means they will get more means to keep doing their other material and it will spread the word on other great MSTverse offerings.

    I don’t think people from RT can answer why CT can do things and they cannot. We don’t know how well CT is doing financially or what position the various artists from that project are in outside the CT project. If CT is doing better, then it is possible that Joel and company still have more pull in the entertainment world. I would not expect Mike’s employees to comment on that. I also would not expect one of the RT principals to comment because it sounds they still have good relations with the CT folks and this would just be a subject for needless acrimony. I like both varieties and am happy to support both when they produce a product that suits me. If they sometimes make something I don’t want, I hope other people can enjoy it and support these great artists.

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  37. The issue with the rights isn’t BS. The poll went up before we knew that there were issues. This was partially due to our own excitement and, I must admit, it wasn’t the best move.

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  38. Also, no one should be ridiculed for saying that they want new material. However, when that opinion comes served with accusatory language like rehash, screwjob, pocket picking, etc…you shouldn’t be surprised that such phrases and the hostility that is coming from some of the posts (not all, mind you) is attracting explanation. I assure you – from Erik, Conor, my own, and everyone else at RT – we’re working our asses off regardless of the title chosen. There is no, “Screw the fans!” conspiracy going on. The guys (and us on the lowly crew :) ) want to make the show an event that, yeah, does well, but is also a lot of fun for new and old fans alike. That’s it, really.

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  39. Dirty D says:

    I think I understand why the decisions were made (mostly jumping the gun with a poll before knowing that one option may not in fact, be an option at all). Sure something new would be nice, but these guys and CT have provided me with so much great entertainment over the years, I find it hard to complain. But still, like a poster above wrote, I won’t be taking my kid to this one, which is a shame. I’ll be attending, however, and I will have fun dammit!

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  40. darthservo says:

    This is for Casey@RIFFtrax

    Casey do you have any info as to if the riffs will be rewritten or the same as used on the dvds. For those of us who bought the dvds this would help settle the issue of paying again for the same thing.
    If the movie was rewritten with say maybe 75% new stuff, I would not mind the expense.I bought Santa Claus Conquers the Martians by CT even though it was done by MST3K.

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  41. Fade away jerk handshake says:

    I brought several friends with me to the Plan 9 live showing at ComiCon, all of them MST3K/Rifftrax virgins. They LOVED it; so much so that they alerted me to the Christmas show! There’s a whole new generation of fans that will be joining us in enjoying Mike, Kevin & Bill’s knee-slapping humor. Plan 9 and Reefer Madness have so much cult cache, that a wider audience would probably be more inclined to watch than virtually any other bad movie.
    Could Rifftrax lose a few fans because they’ve repeated a few movies? Yes they could, but they’d probably gain 10-20 times more newbies to their ranks. Imagine all the people that click on the Rifftrax site for the first time. Finding hundreds of downloadable movie commentaries and shorts. Even if they aren’t very computer savy (what’s a download?), they’ll find several DVD’s they can purchase.
    So while I might not purchase the live show DVD when it’s released, I most definitely will be at the showing in August; Live shows rock! I’ll be bringing my Rifftrax toadies with me as well.
    I wouldn’t worry too much about Rifftrax’s future, it will continue for as long as the guys wish it. While many of us (myself included) were looking forward to “Jack & The Giant Killer”, after all the hundreds of great content they’ve provided over the last 3-4 years, I think we all should be able to enjoy Mike, Kevin & Bill doing a familiar movie. If not, you can allows watch “Twilight; Eclipse … SANS THE COMMENTARY!!!

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  42. [i]However, when that opinion comes served with accusatory language like rehash, screwjob, pocket picking, etc…you shouldn’t be surprised that such phrases and the hostility that is coming from some of the posts[/i]

    Fair enough, Casey — except that I *never* said anything other than I wouldn’t go see something already done and got jumped all over by folks (including Erik at your place, who was particularly out of line). The strongest thing *I* said was that I wasn’t “feeling the love” for it (wow, is THAT a horrible thing to say!).

    My one and only concern isn’t that RT is doing these shows, but that they may not be successful so they may not do others. Aside from that, I feel about them redoing things the same way I feel about them doing movies I love (which is, I don’t buy those but do buy everything else, particularly the shorts). RT doesn’t need to cater to me, but I do think it’s important you guys understand how a certain portion of your fan base feels just in case it makes a difference for future efforts.

    (But best of luck to you this year).

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  43. Iggy Pop's Brother Steve Pop says:

    Having savaged the “shut up, you crybabies, and take what you’re given” crowd yesterday, I just want to add this today:

    Casey@Rifftrax (#38) is pretty much right. Rifftrax has made a business decision to do well-known public domain films that they can show in high definition, even though it automatically limits them to films Rifftrax has done twice already. They lose a certain number of potential viewers who won’t pay to see the same movies riffed a third time, but they hope to gain a larger number of first-timers through the recognizability and high image quality of the films. Which makes sense, if it works. If you have a line of products, it’s good to expand your customer base. Old-timers have already bought a lot of Rifftrax. First-timers, by definition, have not… yet.

    I don’t know if it will actually work for them. I think they may be overselling the value of HD. (That is to say, my own personal, uneducated guess is that a popular first-time film in SD might get them a bigger audience, bringing in almost as many first-timers without losing as many old-timers.) But that’s the business plan they’ve chosen, and they seem quite reasonable and straightforward about what audience they’re going for (excepting Conor, who’s attempting the unusual sales technique of attracting disaffected customers back to the theater by bludgeoning them with sarcasm).

    When people talk about this being a rip-off, pocket-picking, etc., they’re proceeding from an unspoken premise, which is this: Rifftrax is forcing us to buy their product. They aren’t. (Oddly enough, the “you have such entitlement issues” crowd labors under a similar misconception, in their inability to conceptualize that potential customers ARE entitled not to like something, and not to buy it… or, alternatively, to buy it while wishing they were getting better value for their money.) If you’re a Rifftrax completist, and absolutely must have everything they do… well, I can understand how the inevitable prospect of a third version of the same movie on DVD must kind of suck. (That’s an example of empathy, by the way, for those following along.) But it’s your decision to buy it or not, and they’re being totally upfront about what it is. You may think it’s not particularly good value for the money, and say so. But they didn’t steal the money from you, and don’t deserve accusatory language to that effect.

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  44. Dirk Squarejaw says:

    Let me be clear about one thing up front: I LOVE RiffTrax. I’ve bought pretty much everything they’ve ever done. (In fact, I just purchased the 2 newest shorts a few minutes ago.) BUT, I do think they should have to defend the logic of constantly re-releasing the same handful of titles in slightly different formats. I understand that each new version might bring in more fans, but I also think that fans that have been with them every step of the way have a right to start feeling exploited at some point (and perhaps to start feeling a little bored with them as well).

    I mean, if I attend the live shows for the upcoming riffs and buy the inevitable live DVDs that will follow, like Plan 9, I will then have purchased EACH of them FIVE times (Mike’s solo riff, the 3-riffer VOD/MP3 versions, the 3-riffer DVDs, the live shows, and the live DVDs). They frequently rip people to shreds in the riffs for far less blatant acts, so I think it’s a fair complaint to raise.

    So will I pay to see the upcoming live shows (and/or buy the inevitable live DVDs)? For the first time, I’m seriously questioning whether I’ll support a RiffTrax effort. I know they don’t need my business to survive, and I don’t think my opinion is all that important in the grand scheme of things, but I really hope they note the number of hardcore fans that are questioning them on this strategy.

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  45. CK2 says:

    Some good points raised today. I’m with the Dirk, I’m for the first time considering not going to see the RT live events, saving my $20, and just buying the DVD’s when they come out, for the new-ish material. I mean, I’ve already bought these movies once each, heck, I’ve got every single DVD from MST3K, The Film Crew, RT, and CT, so like many, I’ve put out quite a bit of money to support our favorite folks. But to pay $10 to go see a movie, granted with some new lines and shorts, and then to pay $15 + shipping when it comes out on DVD, uhhhh, I think I’ll just save the $10. I don’t know, I may still go, but there’s a LOT of things competing for my entertainment dollar these days, so chances are I won’t. And I understand the desire to want to bring in new people, but if it’s at the expense of showing us rehashes (sorry, I don’t think calling it a rehash is an “offensive” term because that frankly is what it is, in fact, here is the definition: “to work up (old material) in a new form.” That’s exactly what this is, so is that offensive to call it that? Nope.) then that’s upsetting that that’s what our loyalty and dedication gets us, but I don’t think that’s what’s behind the choices.

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  46. Bat Masterson says:

    I was a little sad that they are not new movies, but I’m over it. Seeing them do something live is about 4 times funnier than the studio stuff, and the experience of seeing it in a theater is what’s worth the money to me. And a mere $10 to see one of the funniest things on the planet seems cheap to me.

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  47. I wish it *were* a mere $10 — by the time I buy tickets for my wife and I, and spend the money on gas, tolls and parking, it’s closer to $60 (not counting popcorn and drinks :>). Add in a two hour drive, and there’s no way I’m going for anything less than a brand new movie (or an entire show of new shorts, as they did at Christmas).

    But I will use the $60+ to buy new RT stuff as it’s released, so I guess they’ll get my money eventually .

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  48. MrTorso says:

    As far as comparing one night/two night stands of Cinematic Titanic in one theater you really can’t compare how many seats that need asses with these RiffTrax live shows. They are in over 400 theaters at a time. At mainstream chain theaters on a weeknight. As far as I know every single RiffTrax live show ( the actual live theater show not the broadcast) has sold out. Those shows I am sure are sold on the RiffTrax name. With these Fathom shows they have to draw whoever they can in.

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  49. MSTJon says:

    Started reading this thread and got depressed. Skipped down here. Looking forward to the show. Much like CT and MST, I’ve always gotten more enjoyment watching with more people. Another three in a room, a ballroom of 3,000 the more the merrier. I’m glad to see the RT brand showing up anywhere “mainstream.” Psyched for it guys!

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  50. MSTJon says:

    As a side question, can I assume this will be the colorized version like Plan 9 was?

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