[Argh - this post was lost when the site was migrated to another server. So, I'll see if I can reproduce it, but it may be a little truncated. Still, a small price to pay, as the connection errors have ceased and the site is faster than it's been in months.]
Awhile back when I was suffering a combination of whimsy and extroversion, I suggested that Ghostbusters would be a fun, audience participation movie, similar to The Rocky Horror Picture show – fans dress up already, so why not?
The response was mostly positive, while a few thought the idea was in its own way worse than nuclear war and cancer combined, and those that didn’t shout it down immediately should be chemically castrated.
Well, imagine my pleasant surprise that another group had a similar thought – Secret Cinema held it’s London meeting on November 28th, turning the Royal Horticultural Hall into a series of Ghostbusters related installations, complete with actors manning them, while the audience was encouraged to dress 80s and laugh along to the film.
Better yet, the Nokia sponsored event drew an attendance record for the Secret Cinema – 1100 people came out to interact with a highly interactive film.
FREAKIN AWESOME!
I never said nay!
Lot of effort went into that – looks cool… but said it once and it’s worth saying one more time before I rest my case…
If Ghostbusters goes the route of Rocky Horror with people thinking they’re funnier than the movie, shouting lame lines as they throw marshmallows in the air, I completely give up.
Event? Yes.
Midnight movie? Yes.
Interactive displays before the movie and dressing up the theater like a location from the movie? Okay sure.
Goofy fanboy Comic-Con masquerade skits? Starting to make me uncomfortable.
People up in front of the screen or talking during the movie? Count me out.
Young Frankenstein is a comedic masterpiece midnight movie and I don’t see people trying to be funnier than Mel Brooks at screenings… let the movie speak for itself.
Love,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Old Guy
The problem last time was that it was completely pie-in-the-sky – it was as big or as little as the thinker preferred to consider, and completely hypothetical as to how it would play with an audience. My point, before I let it rest, is that there is room for something more than just watching the film – it doesn’t have to include yelling at the screen, though that was one of the suggestions.
1100 people all agreed to show up dressed in costumes and enjoy the movie – and that’s the kind of thing I’m in favour of. Whatever it turns out to be, I’m in favour of it.
Something small and localized, or even the horrible horrible Universal Studios Beetle Juice versus the EGBs, can’t possibly ruin the Ghostbusters movie franchise, so why not? Most people will probably never know it even existed. Now Ghostbusters 3 – that’s something to fear as the future of the franchise is actually riding on it. Can you imagine a new Ghostbuster cartoon being produced based off of a new and extremely different version of the GB, like the cartoon based off of the American version of Godzilla who looks like a bipedal iguana?
Mistletoefruitcake son of a PUPPY!