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Post by adamcomic on Aug 8, 2006 21:00:06 GMT -5
Yesterday, I thought it would be kinda cool to go down to my local used video shop, which just happens to be owned and run by Ray Dennis Steckler, and get my Vol. 9 DVD set signed by him. He was far less than happy about seeing it. He said that not only was he never paid when MST3K ran it originally, he also got nothing for it's inclusion in the Vol. 9 set. He blamed both Media Blasters and the folks at Best Brains.
I am posting here in hopes of a response that will absolve Best Brains of all wrong-doing. I have only heard Ray's version of what transpired, and am hoping that someone in-the-know around here will have the straight dope on what took place.
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Post by crowbot on Aug 8, 2006 21:14:26 GMT -5
I think it was a courtesy that the guys pointed out Steckler early on as the director, without riffing on it, though later in the movie they did do some of that. Who owns the rights to the thing? Media Blasters? That's who he should be peeved at. Hell, I'd never know about the guy without MST3K!
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Post by Hugh Beaumont on Aug 8, 2006 22:56:13 GMT -5
I can't honestly say that I'd ever dare say anything about MST3K to an actor who was in a MSTed movie, unless of course I knew they were okay with it. (Like Beverly Garland, or even Jack Perkins.) Still, shame on Steckler for making the film.  |
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Post by apocalypse1986 on Aug 8, 2006 22:56:51 GMT -5
Wow. If my local video store was run by Steckler I would come in every day dressed as Orteaga, look around for 5 minutes and then leave without buying anything.
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Post by adamcomic on Aug 8, 2006 23:07:00 GMT -5
Well, if that kind of thing interests you, feel free:
Video Exchange, Inc.
4555 E. Charleston Blvd #109
Las Vegas, NV 89104
He's open from 10 to 5.
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Post by Hugh Beaumont on Aug 8, 2006 23:12:32 GMT -5
Um, I don't know if it's a good idea to be posting phone numbers on here, even if it is his store number. Mods might take issue with that. And, for goodness sake, people - don't harrass the man! Sure, he made an awful movie, but it's not funny to be an unnecessary pain in the ass, no matter what the morning DJs tell you.
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Post by adamcomic on Aug 9, 2006 20:29:49 GMT -5
Okay, I have removed his number. Sorry about not thinking ahead on that one. It was past my bed time.
As for stopping by when in Vegas, feel free. He is actually a very nice guy, and is willing to talk about his career with anyone polite enough to ask nicely. He is just a little sore about the MST3K thing.
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Post by Hugh Beaumont on Aug 9, 2006 20:37:33 GMT -5
Are we all aware that he was in Eegah? Because I just found that out today and surprised the hell out of me. Just wonderin'...
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Post by Waluigi on Aug 9, 2006 21:15:01 GMT -5
Hey thanks for the address, I am going to write him & send a picture & see if he will sign it, & I will not say anything about mst3k so that he will sign it. I found this interview, here is the link: www.crazedfanboy.com/spotlight/raysteckler.htmlIt talks about mst3k, you have to scroll down to find it. But I will post what he said about mst3k: "ET: I’d rather be in one of your films any day! Speaking of cheesy science fiction shows, what do you think about your films being shown on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”? Ray Steckler: I think it’s just disgusting. I think the people that wrote that should be ashamed of some of the things they said. If they want to poke fun at my films, that’s fine. We went out and made a movie and they have a right to say what they think about it, but some of things they said in that show were just disgusting. I don’t even like to talk about it because it upsets me so much. They never had the rights from me to show the pictures. The guys that do that show just have no respect for what a filmmaker goes through with very little money. You give up a lot to make a movie like “Strange Creatures”, time and money. I did not need the kind of racist, sexist and even anti-Semitic remarks those guys made. I just think they were wrong to do it. I hope they made a lot of money off that and then spent it unwisely. The show is off the air now so it really doesn’t matter. Let me ask you something, have you ever heard me knock anyone before? ET: No, I can honestly say in anything I have read or seen about you, you have never said an unkind word about anyone. I can also add that I know first hand from talking with other filmmakers that you are not alone in your sentiments towards that show. Fortunately “Mystery Science Theater 3000” has been canceled and that is all in the past. Let’s talk about the future now. You have your website up and running. Do you have plans to expand it? RS: Yes, I have a lot of stuff to put up on that. I have some reproduction lobby cards that I need to get on there. It isn’t doing that well and I’m not really sure why. I still go on tour and I sell a lot of stuff that way. I’m also selling some films on eBay. My seller ID is Stecklermovies." Man he was not to happy by the sound of it, so I am not going to metion mst3k to him so he will sign a picture for me. But Ray just didn't need to make that BAD OF A Film. |
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Post by Tealeaf on Aug 9, 2006 21:27:46 GMT -5
Still, shame on Steckler for making the film. Really? I know that if I had a chance to be involved with, and especially to appear on camera in, a really, really crappy cheesy movie I would leap at it. You want me to be the annoying fat friend of the babe that gets eaten by a walking tree trunk before the end of reel two? I'm your go-to man! And I can really understand why the people who make these movies, no matter how bad they are, get annoyed with MST3K. They probably worked hard on them, enjoyed doing them, and think that all things considered they didn't come out that bad. I would hate to have some guys examine my output at the factory and publically mock it in a popular tv show. I'm glad that MST3K is, mind you. I can just see the other side of the coin. |
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Post by crowbot on Aug 9, 2006 21:50:58 GMT -5
Are we all aware that he was in Eegah? Because I just found that out today and surprised the hell out of me. Just wonderin'... Yeah, you see him briefly when Eegah throws him into a swimming pool. Here he is with Eegah costar Arch Hall Jr. Fairly recently, obviously.  |
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Post by mstgator on Aug 9, 2006 22:36:46 GMT -5
Don't forget "dignity"...
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Post by Hugh Beaumont on Aug 9, 2006 23:05:25 GMT -5
Still, shame on Steckler for making the film. Really? I know that if I had a chance to be involved with, and especially to appear on camera in, a really, really crappy cheesy movie I would leap at it. You want me to be the annoying fat friend of the babe that gets eaten by a walking tree trunk before the end of reel two? I'm your go-to man! And I can really understand why the people who make these movies, no matter how bad they are, get annoyed with MST3K. They probably worked hard on them, enjoyed doing them, and think that all things considered they didn't come out that bad. I would hate to have some guys examine my output at the factory and publically mock it in a popular tv show. I can understand that too, but I really think these guys need to have a sense of humour about their work. I mean, if they're delusional enough to think that they're making Spielberg or Shakespeare here - the makers of Hamlet not withstanding - then I think they need to have the wind knocked out of their sails a bit. If I'm directing or writing a film and it ends up flopping all-around (for one reason or another), then I'd better have a good attitude about it or else I'd end up in a deep depression. Especially if that film is titled The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Died And Became Mixed Up Zombies. (Seriously, though... look at that film and try - just try - to tell me Ray Dennis Steckler has any right to hold that film so highly.) And if I'm acting in a movie like that, I'd need to be realistic - if I did a bad job, I did a bad job. If the movie sucked, well then the movie sucked. Oh well. Thank God for the paycheck and keep plugging away. Fortunately, the vast majority of films MST covered really deserved a good ribbing. (And I don't mean for their lack of budget or big-name talent. There's a lot of ineptitude in most of those movies.) Sometimes they did go a bit overboard, but we all know the Brains are relatively nice folks and (usually) didn't mean anything by it. I think Steckler went a bit overboard in the above interview. (Anti-Semitic? Really?) And I'm glad to see Arch Hall Jr.'s face cleared up with age. |
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Post by Mr. Atari on Aug 10, 2006 1:27:13 GMT -5
You're not going to believe this, but I'm gonna defend Ray Dennis on this one.
I have no mercy for the horrors he unleashed on an unwitting universe.
However, the guy put a lot of time and money into a film career (however unadvisably), and it didn't pay off. Now the guy is working in a video store to make ends meet, and suddenly his fame is taking off because of people making fun of him. And other people are buying his movie (where said people make fun of him), and he doesn't get one red cent.
So he basically gets his dream crapped on, he's only famous for being inept, and his creation is making other people money. Even if he got the joke, it's still gotta suck.
I just finished a CD that took me over a year to complete. I wrote all the songs and played all the instruments, and it cost me some coin. It's not that I expect it to change the world or even make me a profit; but if in 25 years, someone else re-packages it with a running commentary pointing out all of my flaws and mocking me throughout, and then that re-release sells a million copies, without a penny going to me, I'd be pretty pissed. And I have very thick skin and a good sense of humor about myself.
So I'm gonna let Ray Dennis off the hook (not for the film, but for the circumstance).
Film fans who think MST desecrates fine art are a different matter, though...
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Post by mightyjack on Aug 10, 2006 1:34:25 GMT -5
And I agree with Mr. A - I think he's a thin skinned wiener (Steckler, not Mr. Atari), BUT, his story is similar to Ted V. Mickles of Gold Boots fame. The guy is in debt up to his ears and gets nothing on most of his movies.
Yeah they are crap artists, but they deseve to get paid. To me it's the same thing as when the guys who created Super Man, or the old actors from the 50's, get zip in royalties. I know they signed them away but time changes situations, and they should receive something for their work.
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