Just when you thought you'd had your fill of Mike and his robot friends, the Comedy Central hit show, "Mystery Science Theatre 3000" is headed for the big screen. The film is currently in post-production, with release expected either this fall or early next year.
The screenplay includes, of course, Mike and the bots watching a really bad sci-fi flick, "This Island Earth," a 1954 Universal/MCA pictures film about blood lust in outer space - it's right up their alley. Fans won't be disappointed with the effects, either; they're just as cheesy as the ones on the show. One example is a meteor shower of grey styrofoam hurled from a 20-foot platform by five "pitchers" throwing underhand.
Thus far, the film has done well in pre-release screenings on the West Coast, but fans everywhere will be disappointed in the new season, which has been reduced from the normal 24 episodes to only six in order to accommodate the filming schedule for the film. To make up for it, past episodes from the second through fourth seasons of MST have been put into syndication. The episodes, all of which feature creator Joel Hodgeson in the human wisecraker's chair, will air this fall throughout the U.S.
"The Movie's" competition, should it be released during the holiday season, could be tough. With most of this summer's movies in the sci-fi or action genres, most of this fall's releases are comedies, dramas, and unfortunately, sequels. "Father of the Bride II" reprises Steve Martin in the title role, this time as a nervous father- AND grandfather-to-be. After his stunning success in "Batman Forever," Jim Carrey returns to his roots as pet detective Ace Ventura in the sequel "Ace Ventura II: When Nature Calls."
Another ace this fall could be Robert De Niro, starring as Sam "Ace" Rothstein in the 1970's western drama, "Casino." Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone also star in the story of an over-ambitious gambler forced to choose between his best friend and his lover.
Sylvester Stallone is back as a professional killer in "Assasins." Think you've seen this before? What might make the difference between this film and last summer's much-hyped "The Specialist" is Antonio Banderas as a young hotshot in Stallone's line of work, eager to become the best.
The best bet for this year's holiday hit? Hands down, it's going to be "Goldeneye," the new James Bond adventure starring Pierce Brosnan as the dashing and dangerous 007. Besides Brosnan's good looks, the film promises to deliver incredible special effects and, of course, scenes with Bond and his lady friends.
Disney has taken a new approach to animation in cooperation with Pixar in it's holiday release, an entirely computer-animated feature entitled "Toy Story." Tom Hanks and Tim Allen provide the voices of a cowboy doll and an action figure spaceman in a tale of toys who come to life when their owner isn't around.
Other titles worth mentioning include "Nixon," directed by, you guessed it, Oliver Stone. Fresh from her lead role in "Little Women," Winona Ryder tackles another in "How to Make an American Quilt," the story of a master's student who retreats to her grandmother's home to finish her thesis and contemplate a marriage proposal with the help of her relatives' quilting circle.
In addition, "Cutthroat Island" (pirate adventure starring Geena Davis), and another gambling flick, "Get Shorty" may surprise, but "Twelve Monkeys," yet another "monkey's carrying a virus" plot and "Mallrats," starring mall-brat bad girl Shannen Doherty will most likely fizzle.
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