As we have been adding dates to our live show schedule for 2013, we have come to the decision that this will be our last year actively touring as Cinematic Titanic. We feel that with any project there is a time to move on and as 5 people living in 5 different cities with different lives and projects, it has become increasingly difficult to coordinate our schedules and give Cinematic Titanic the attention it requires to keep growing as a creative enterprise and a business. As a result, we have decided to take this indefinite hiatus.
The last 5+ years have been an amazing opportunity for us all to reconnect creatively with one another and more importantly to connect with the fans of MST3K and new fans of Cinematic Titanic. We’ve had the great pleasure of playing some beautiful theaters around the country and have taken movie riffing to places we never dreamed, like ILM and Pixar, a sports arena, and even Broadway! The love we’ve been shown by those we’ve met and performed for will be with us forever.
We will be performing as many dates as is feasible this year and we hope you’ll come out and see us go at it one last time if we come to a theater near you in 2013. We are still in discussions about the production of additional DVDs and we’ll keep you posted.
We thank you deeply for all the support you’ve shown Cinematic Titanic over these years and we’re looking forward to many great shows in the year ahead.
Cheers,
The CT Crew
The tour as it stands now:
Feb 23, 2013
7 pm – The Wasp Woman
10 pm – The Doll Squad
Royal Oak Music Theatre
Royal Oak, MI
get tickets
NEWLY ADDED:
May 31 – June 1
Arlington Drafthouse
Arlington, VA
Sept 20-21
Pabst Theater
Milwaukee, WI
Nov 2, 8 pm
Calvin Theater
Northampton, MA
get tickets
Nov 3, 2013
Wilbur Theatre
Boston, MA
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Wow, didn’t see that one coming. But we can all be thankful for the second chance we got to hear this talented group riffing not so great movies. It’s been a great ride this second time around, and perhaps someday we’ll get a third chance! Thanks for all the laughs and best of luck to all of you!
I missed a wedding to go see you the day you premiered “The Wasp Woman” in Dallas all those years ago. Really, it wasn’t that difficult a decision to make – sitting in on the live Q&A before the show began told me I made the right decision. Hearing the crowd go nuts when Roger Corman’s name appeared onscreen at the start of the movie drove that decision home.
I’m going to be “that guy” and keep his fingers crossed for some closure on the “Time Tube” story the DVDs initially established. My OCD self will sleep better at night knowing something was being done about the electron scaffolding and the other 493 movies that would have ended up in said Tube. I know additional studio DVDs may be a longshot but, like every movie you’ve put up for sale so far, those would be day one purchases for me. The live DVDs rule, too, but those first seven are like scotch and cookies for me: they leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling inside and possible dizziness.
In all honesty, though, thanks for the laughs and for doing something you believed in. Perhaps most importantly, thanks for being as genuine in person as I (and probably hundreds of others) made you out to be all those years from watching you (in a non-stalker way) on TV. There’s nothing more depressing than running into a celebrity out on the streets and finding out they’re a raging tool and I was relieved and impressed to find no instances of raging tool-ness going on at the meet-and-greet after the show. Class acts on and off the screen. Best of luck to all of you!
Thank you Cinematic Titanic. For making us laugh. Again. I will gladly accept anything else you have to offer, but demanding more seems both rude and ungrateful.
If you can perform at Cal Poly or The Fremont in San Louis Obispo in Ca I’ll go to the show. And I’d love DVD’s of any unreleased movies you’ve riffed live or more studio releases. Thanks again, and February love to you all.
Never had the chance to catch any of the Bay Area performances, but of course I have all the DVDs and will spontaneously glomp up any future releases.
Thank you all.
The good news from this is that we can all look forward to the big reunion tour in a few years.
Thanks Titans! We’re lucky to have had both CT and Rifftrax post-MST3K. And we’re lucky that no matter what happens, these people will all go on doing interesting, creative things we can all partake of. So there’s really no reason to complain, especially if you live in a nice place like Denver.
I was lucky enough to see the Titans in Portland a few years ago, and just to be in the same room with them all, well, it was certainly one of the highlights of my life.
In the meantime Titans, let me add my voice to the chorus of minions and say KEEP MAKING DVDs! And Mary Jo, please keep writing! And Frank, keep on being Frank about yourself!
I have had the privledge of seeing CT six times in the Northeast. I want to thank everyone involved with CT for giving me some of the best laughs I have had in my life and every show was incredible. CT treats their fans so great and I have enjoyed meeting them these past five years. I am tempted to make the drive from here in NYC up to MA for their final show and work permitting I plan on doing it.
Thank you for five fantastic years CT and I hope and wish the best for everyone in the future.
Good luck to “yinz,” (Pittsburgh-speak) and thanks for all the laughs!! I’ll try to contact people in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Columbus about any potential venues!!
Having both RT and CT was proof that we Americans have no idea how blessed we are. The fact that MST3K was able to split into two camps and still make us laugh is a testament to the level of talent that went into the original show. I was never one to get off my butt and go to the live shows, but I have all the DVDs and will continue to buy them if they show up. Good luck with future endeavors, CT folks!
I just want to chime in here and say thank you as well. I’ve seen CT quite a few times in Chicago and Milwaukee. And I will BE THERE in September for sure, count on that! I feel like they kept closer to the spirit of the original concept (bad movies, older references, etc) which was so nostalgic for all us MSTies out there…much appreciated. Might I suggest–one venue a year? And record it? One lucky city gets a well honed, trainwreck of a movie riffed to pieces, and the rest of us get to enjoy it on DVD. Just an idea. Either way, thank you again for all you’ve given us over the years, we appreciate it more than you could ever know.
And one final thought–Luke Forrester, why don’t you start your own independently operated artistic project and try booking it in every city in the country. Oh yeah, I know why, because we’d all say IT STINKS!
#59, snowdog: 100% agree. It’s kind of like if after the Beatles split, instead of going solo, Paul and George formed a band and John and Ringo formed a band. We’re so lucky….there has been a wealth of hilarious material thanks to CT and Rifftrax.
I want to say how fortunate we’ve been to have these fine talented people back in our lives, again. Think about MST3K and all the changes it went through over the 10 yrs.on TV.Then Josh, Joel, Frank, and Trace leaving the show ( or in Josh’s case well…. I had nothing to do with it) even being dropped by the Comedy Channel. But what happened? We as fans were crushed, when our favorite characters left and devastated when it got dropped. But the talented folks at the show took up the slack as people left, and kept the show alive and when it was dropped someone saw how important the show was to it’s fans and the SCI-FI picked it up and kept it going. I still remember the ad in a magazine with Tom on the table and the paddles bringing him and the show back to life.
Then that ended, all too soon for us fans. But look how this site has kept the show alive along with RHINO, SHOUT, MST3K.COM and YOUTUBE. So we had fan sites to read and talk about all the shows, VHS/DVDS and clips on YOUTUBE. What about something new? TV WHEEL, The FILM CREW and RIFFTRAX and finally Cinematic TITANIC. So this is the end of something we love? Hardly, as long as people continue to find and make bad movies someone will be out there RIFFING on them. BUT what will TRACE, FRANK, JOEL, MARY JO, and J. ELVIS do with all this free time? Certainly not rust and fade away, just look at the Life After MST3K Bonus Features on the SHOUT DVDS.
So sad to see this in my email inbox this morning… I hope they make it back over to the west coast, though. I’d gladly drive across a few state lines for them, but actually buying a plane ticket might be a little much. (The fact that I missed them a few years ago when they were an hour and a half away from me… graaaahh.)
Anyway, whatever comes next for them, I wish them all the best.
Damn, I’m going to miss you guys! Sorry to see you won’t be doing a Princeton, NJ show for one last time.
However, let me echo what many others have said: job well done, and we love you guys!!!!
Greg, forlorn in NJ
I too was quite sad to hear the news. I was on the fence about going to the Royal Oak/Detroit Show on the 23rd,(namely due to price after fees) but this made me say, screw it- lets do it one more time!
I do hope that they will bring completion to their project by making dvd releases of their 3 remaining films. Even if they’re not all live. I’m sure our international brethren would appreciate it muchly.
best wishes ct crew!
I am both honored and privileged to have seen your show twice and met everyone. I am going to miss you guys!
This whole thing is perplexing. Joel’s recent show sold out here in Austin, his riff with Master Pancake sold out in about 5 minutes. Master Pancake does 4-5 shows a month here and sells out every time. Rifftrax’s theater shows usually play at about 5 theaters in town and are well-attended. Mary Jo lives here and with all this CT only came to Austin once I think? I appreciate her comment about not performing on every single person’s lap in every city, but not to at least play Austin more often, where it’s obviously popular? Maybe they do have trouble getting bookings in other places, but come on, CT could’ve played 10 shows a year at the Alamo Drafthouse and people would’ve been begging for more. Anyone who went to Joel’s show there and saw the love and affection he got would agree with me on this.
Thank you for coming to my home town (Santa Rosa, CA)! That was amazing. I sure hope you manage to make it back to San Francisco one more time. And please put out the rest of the dvds! I want so badly to see “Doll Squad”!!
Huh, I was there that time and saw them in Austin myself. (Could anyone possibly get a better 40th birthday present? NO.) Austin and CT go together like coffee and pie, but it’s just not in my nature to complain, cuz I totally hate conflict. I was too shy to say hello to these folks but I want them to know we are so lucky to have had CT and I wish them the best. Oh, and more DVDs would be awesome.
#66: The economics of a solo show vs. a five person show at a venue with a relatively small capacity are more complicated than that. There are many other mitigating factors, all of which we’ve done our best to manage. I am not part of any conspiracy to withhold CT from Austin, or Denver, or anywhere else.
Thanks for keeping the dream alive, CT! Meeting everyone after the show I got to see was something I won’t soon forget. I’m off to lobby the Hanna Theater to have you back!
Sorry to hear it but I understand — it’s tough to wrangle so many performers.
Saw them in Mesa a few years back (my first real date with the woman I’ll be marrying in three weeks!) and enjoyed both the show and the opportunity to meet the Titans — they were just as nice a bunch of people as I’d always imagined.
I hope there are further riffing projects coming from the Titans in the future; best of luck to all of them. (Hi Frank and Mary Jo!)
[teardrop]
Terrible news, but now I am more glad than ever I am going to see Joel in a few weeks at the Riff Camp. I always thought CT kept the MST3k spirit alive better than RT and I will be sad to see it go. I love you guys so much I have decided to forgive you all for the horrible crime of never coming to Boise :)
Although I will still harass my local theater about it as I have done a few times.
PLEASE STAY TOGETHER WE WILL SEND YOU MORE MONEY!!!
The CT performance of ‘Doll Squad’ in Beverly HIlls was probably the single best comedic performance I have ever (or will ever) witness. I hope you guys will at least give us geeky fans the gift of DVD releases of the shows you haven’t yet released. It was really, really great seeing you guys together again doing what you do best. You’ll be deeply missed.
On the darker side, it’s kind of sad to learn how much Mary Joe Pehl hates Denver. :(
Did Joel get bored again?
MJP and Frank, thank the crew for all the laughter. You made it a happier world.
Sad to hear, I’ve had the privilege of seeing them twice live, the 2nd time was for the recording of Rattlers. I hope that they get the opportunity to perform again in the future after this year, as well as record and release the movies that haven’t made it to dvd. And Luke, don’t blame them for not performing in Denver, blame the venues for not booking them. Also, both times I saw them required me to drive 600 miles one way to see them, and I’m sure there are plenty of fans who traveled farther to attend one of their shows.
@78: Very true, I flew 500 miles to see CT in 2009 and am doing it again to attend Joel’s riff camp and one man show in a few weeks. People should realize they would probably want to perform in every town in America since they would get more money but a variety of logistical reasons prevent this. And it goes without saying that nobody wants to perform in Denver anyway.
I’m sad about this but hope the gang does release more studio DVDs. After post #16, though, I can’t get the idea of the CT 2013 Farewell Lap Dance tour out of my head….
I will miss live riffing! It will be cool if they do more DVDs, but the Live ones are far better (IMO) and different in a good way from MST3K, so hope they do solo shows & record them. I’d keep paying for that!
So glad to not live in Denver, as I saw each performance at the Calvin & Wilbur (as well as all the other New England love they bestowed upon us) and they were memorable experiences my wife and I won’t forget. Joel & Josh in particular remembered us each time from smoking with Josh and they all treated us with respect and gratitude. I hope the experience for this last tour is even remotely close to the fun we’ve had!
I have bought every dvd but never got to a live show. I think they made a big mistake by abandoning studio work and opting for the grind of touring.
Once again proof to me how wise Mike Nelson is with RiffTrax. You get the “live” vibe with the fathom events and you also get a steady diet of downloads of varying types.
It’s too bad CT didn’t understand the power of that model. The world is definitely better with both groups in operation. Hopefully we will see CT back in some capacity at some point.
CT should do a Joe Don Baker movie before they split.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that my suggested Joe Don Baker movie would be Goldeneye.
#82: We did not make a mistake by touring. It was great fun, and it played to our strengths. Thanks for educating us on the “correct” model, however.
@16 WE’RE NOT WORTHY! WE’RE NOT WORTHY!
Seriously, thanks for taking the time to wade into the mine-fields of MST-fandom, Mary-Jo, and this announcement has reminded me it’s time to spend some money on Cinematic Titanic (I “sampled” Doomsday Machine, but trust me, that was one time only and any future CT’s will be legally paid for – I’m downloading Oozing Skull as we speak).
Last, but not least, I hope any future projects, be they Cinematic or Rifftrax, continue this one-sides war against Luke Forrestor. It’s not cruel, it’s an in-joke! Feel free to make me the poster-boy for illegal downloaders, though, I can take a joke.
@45 Show me Luke Forrestor’s birth certificate and I’ll give you a million ram-chips.
@84 No, it should be THE Joe Don Baker movie, Walking Tall. Though that Witch Mountain movie he did would work too.
Thanks for all the good wishes, everyone. Like I said, you all made the past five years possible. Thank you with all my heart.
I really do love CT, I just wish I could have ever gone to a show. They seem to avoid Kansas City like the plague (can’t say I blame them). Even Topeka or Wichita would have worked. I know they were in Saint Louis a couple times, but that’s a pretty far drive, I don’t know the city, and I didn’t have a car until 8 months ago.
Anyway, good luck to all of you!
#87 Mary Jo
The last time you folks were in the area I think it was in Concord NH I had the privilege of talking with your husband after the meet and greet.
And I gotta say it was like talking to someone I’ve known for years, just very relaxed and friendly. Everyone was great to talk with and I’m sure
that’s what I’ll miss the most about the live shows. As fans of the show and all CT DVDS we feel close almost like we know each one of
you but really we’re all just strangers. But it takes a special kind of person or people to connect with fans, and for that I will always be
grateful my wife and I had the opportunity to meet you all at the 5 shows ( so far ) we’ve attended. I know all of you will continue to entertain and make people laugh in whatever future projects you engage in.
#87 (Mary Jo)
You’re very welcome.
I’d also like to add one other thing: Thank you Cinematic Titanic for sharing the fantastically bad movies you chose to riff…what horribly funny pieces of cinema! Every single show I attended or DVD I purchased was better than the last. Once I bought “Doomsday Machine” and saw how brilliant you guys (and gal!) were together I knew you were on to something special. Never did get a chance to purchase “Rattlers” though. What a shame. I hope you film some of your final shows and give us MSTies one final gift to remember all of the hard work you put in over the last 5 years…
Thank you thank you thank you!
Sincerely,
Josh in WI
MJ,
I don’t think #82 was being condescending — while he may have expressed it badly, I think he echoes what a lot of us who didn’t live within 1000 miles of any show you did felt: that the DVDs were the only way we could enjoy your work, and that you could reach a MUCH wider audience that way.
Yes, you folks are wonderful live performers, and rights issues may have kept you from being able to record and release those performances to a lot of us who would have paid what would have amounted to gravy (on top of the work you already had to do) but it IS a shame that the Rifftrax folks have been able to produce a prodigious amount of work by following a different path and those of us who do appreciate your own efforts just can’t get enough.
So while you gather together for your farewell tour, I hope you are at least having the discussion about preserving the work you have done because it’s valuable and worthy of preservation, and it will make a lot of additional people happy — and I know every artist aspires to reach as wide an audience as possible.
As for me, I’ll be happily buying whatever you come up with — and listening to the 9 or so (that’s the total, right?) DVDs I already have with great enjoyment over and over again.
Just like to add a thanks for all the laughter you at CT brought us.
Saw you guys in Sommerville and having you all sign my Manos dvd was a great memory.
Really hope you guys stay together in some capacity but either way, thanks for the effort and happiness you brought.
Just thanks for everything guys. See you in Detroit!
Damn Im going to miss you guys…I felt so blessed to meet you guys and thankful and now the chances of that happening again just shrank like an area in cold water…All kidding aside…I will always ALWAYS be glad to have met my idols
Won’t ever get a chance to see them live, but I guess it’s something that I got mocked by them.
What???
Cinematic Titanic folding?
Next thing you’ll be telling me the Pope is abdicating!
Well, while I never got a chance to see a live show, I can certainly understand how difficult maintaining a touring schedule is, so I completely sympathize with the decision. And I’m glad to see that there are some plans underway to see if it’s possible to keep some CT DVDs out there–I would love to see some of the other live shows that have yet to be released. Would it be heresy to wonder if Cinematic Titanic VODs could be maintained at Rifftrax? After all, Mary Jo did do that guest riffer spot on the X Files movie once, so hopefully that’s a sign that there’s the possiblity of cooperation, should there be no better home for CT.
More significantly, has there been any announcement as to whether the end of Cinematic Titanic touring means the end of Cinematic Titanic as a _group_? I’m sure hoping not. Hey, I started liking CT with download-to-burn DVDs, and I’m perfectly happy to go on that way, as long as I get my CT fix every now and again. Here’s hoping the Titans can find the time in their busy schedules for more inspired cinematic riffing for a long time to come.
Aww. :-(
I’m just glad that, by incredible coincidence, CT were in Ann Arbor last year when I just happened to be back up in Michigan visiting my parents (as I’m considerably certain they, like so many others, had no intention of visiting Lexington, KY). And they definitely put on one hell of a live show.
I hope this isn’t the last we’ll hear of the CT crew, and I really hope they put out more DVDs of the movies I never got to see them riff, but for all the episodes I did see and the one live show I got to go to, thanks, guys. It was awesome times.
@86: BTW, there’s a legal way of sampling CT (at least, in the States; I’m not sure about international availability): a number of episodes are on Hulu. I watched the Santa Claus Conquers the Martians re-riff around Christmastime. Comes with ads, but well worth it to know the Titans are getting some revenue from them.
Thanks for being a good sport Luke Forrester, it’s been good natured ribbing (opposed to good natured brawling).
And for the record I liked the whole time tube/ nanotated disk studio work. More would be welcome and purchased. Thanks again. I’ll push the button for you Frank.