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Post by travis on Jul 9, 2020 9:56:01 GMT -5
Their riff on GLEN OR GLENDA was wonderful, really looking forward to seeing it again!
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Post by travis on May 11, 2020 13:07:10 GMT -5
Interesting that they didn't try to shut Cheepnis down completely for selling MST3k bootlegs. That's some good will, right there.
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Post by travis on May 7, 2020 14:10:42 GMT -5
Maybe this sale is like when Jim sold to Shout and liquidated. Shout's liquidating as they sell the IP. I don't know about that, but it is interesting that the hammer falls on CheesyFlix, Shout has a big clearance sale on MST3K merch and Joel does a pretty open Q&A saying if there is a season 13 it would be the Circus Tour cast all within the span of a week. Suspiciously eventful, indeed!
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Post by travis on May 7, 2020 12:05:30 GMT -5
Fortunately the majority of the show is available officially via Shout and there are plenty of us who are happy to "keep circulating the tapes" so I'm not worried about anything. Cheesyflix (who I bought from or traded with many times back in ye old days) is still technically selling bootlegs, so it was only a matter of time before Shout Factory shut him down. Especially since now that they have more invested in the series. Selling bootlegs of in-print episodes is a no-no in my book.
Of course I would like to see the rarities and outtakes compilations still made available (at least the stuff there is no chance of getting official releases of), preferably somewhere like YouTube where fans can watch it for free.
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Post by travis on May 6, 2020 5:48:18 GMT -5
I bought the last two DVD/Blu-ray sets that I needed to complete my (official release) collection. Great sale!
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Post by travis on May 1, 2020 14:05:00 GMT -5
Count me in on watching this, but I don't know how I feel about riffing over an old finished episode. MOON ZERO TWO?! One of the most forgettable episodes of the entire series (maybe that's why they chose it?). This could be super clunky. Like when Barbra Streisand (on a 90's rarities box set) recorded a faux-duet with her 13-year old self using an old demo.
Seriously though, why not just do a "live" riff of EEGAH or another title they already have scripts to? That's kind of what I thought they'd be doing when the watch-along was announced. This feels like a waste of their talents.
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Post by travis on Apr 18, 2020 17:34:27 GMT -5
Hmm, I'm curious to see what Joel's been working on next. I could see him rebooting the show again using the touring cast, maybe trying releasing episodes directly to DVD/BR via Shout Factory. Somewhere without the restrictions of Netflix would be great.
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Post by travis on Apr 14, 2020 17:31:55 GMT -5
With the economic impact of the current crisis, Susan eventually might not be able to afford throwing tons of money at keeping her films under lock and key. IIRC, it took losing millions on bad investments to bring Roger Corman around? We can only hope!
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Post by travis on Apr 10, 2020 12:12:51 GMT -5
It's mind-boggling to think so much money and time was spent over a few seconds of footage from a B-movie. A B-movie that hasn't seen an official release since the end of the VHS-era.
At the very least, it's good to hear that Wade is licensing some of his catalog out. I wonder if Film Detective offered to do their own transfers?
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Post by travis on Apr 3, 2020 18:47:52 GMT -5
I'm sure Shout is always checking in on the remaining MSTied films and is eager to get another set out (especially considering they're caught up with Rhino reissues).
I may have a lead on who owns QUEST OF THE DELTA KNIGHTS, but I gotta keep it under wraps for the time being.
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Post by travis on Apr 2, 2020 9:28:31 GMT -5
Yeah, about those rumors of a Volume 40 DVD set release... Those rumors started when Mr. Lobo from Cinema Insomnia made some remarks on the Damn Dirty Drive-in (formerly the MST3k Revival League) podcast. He remarked that he had been interviewed for feature to be released on a new set of unreleased episodes, a 30th Anniversary set. I reached out to Daniel Griffith. He stated that Mr. Lobo was mistaken. He had sat down for some bonus material to be released on those Shout Factory re-issued DVDs of Rhino episodes, like Volume 9. Just thought I'd update everyone. Glad you got that clarified! I had forgotten about that rumor. Oh well, back to wishful thinking!
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Post by travis on Feb 28, 2020 22:20:44 GMT -5
It's still mind-boggling that someone would continue to waste time and money over and over again over insignificant clips of b-movies which haven't seen physical media releases since VHS. Meanwhile, these films have been uploaded for free on YouTube (and are readily available on DVD bootlegs) for quite some time and yet you don't see these being taken down.
My interest is only in the MST3k versions of these movies, but it's crazy to see ultra-obscure trash cinema getting crisp HD releases while these better-known b-movie "classics" are now stranded in the days of VHS. It's truly absurd.
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Post by travis on Feb 22, 2020 6:33:02 GMT -5
Just to play devil's advocate, here's a good point brought up by a poster at the Classic Horror Film Board:
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Post by travis on Feb 22, 2020 6:06:02 GMT -5
I guess I'm remaining hopeful only because we've seen the legal updates as they happen. If she isn't licensing the films, then there's no need for this "two year or whenever" back-and-forth. She's settling with Shout, which means she knows she didn't have a case against the documentary, so this deal that's being discussed can't possibly be for a bonus feature on an old set that's already likely had its production run. EXACTLY. She's settling. I've looked through Susan's case history. She either loses, or the case gets thrown out. I've NEVER seen her settle. Re-reading Shout's legal defense today, its pretty clear they meant business. Not only did they have their pretty-much guaranteed Fair Use argument, they kept dropping vague little tidbits about defective copyright renewals and possible lack of ownership on Susan's part. It wasn't their main argument, but they kept referencing the idea. And you don't throw bombs like that unless you can back it up in some way. In any case, in a Settlement, either side can reach out to offer to settle. But, generally, if one side (Shout) presents their legal arguments and the other side (Susan) DOESN'T, but is immediately followed by a notice of settlement...the latter party probably got spooked, knew they were going to lose, and reached out. Now, the question for Shout is: Why settle? And why does Susan want to settle? Hypothetically, you're Shout. You have Susan dead to rights on Fair Use. You knew that the moment the suit is filed. Okay. So you win on that, don't pay her anything and you can keep selling your old documentary. You maybe even recoup attorney's fees. Meh. But you've been playing this game with Susan for a decade, negotiating her film rights on and off. And in that time, maybe someone uncovered some anomalies with her film registrations and renewals. Its not much, it probably won't hold its own in court, but maybe she doesn't even know about them. So you spice up your MSJ with that and see how it plays. And look...she offers to settle... Now say you're Susan: past experience and (hopefully) legal counsel clues you in on the upcoming loss, which, if you're lucky, you might only have to recoup Shout's legal fees if they demand it. But you've lost before. That's not what these suits are about. They're about protecting your rights to your movies and warding off interlopers. But...wait, Shout is ALSO claiming that maybe the films aren't yours? Do you have records on all those? You must, but you only got the rights to those films in 1999 when you broke up Selma Enterprises with James Arkoff; who was keeping track of all that before? They said they renewed the copyright back in the 80s... Its going to be a ton of work to disprove Shout's suggestion. And if something IS wrong... pretty risky, better settle. Its about protecting your rights, after all. Now the million dollar question is...what do you (Susan) offer to settle? Obviously you allow Shout to keep the doc, maybe with your official "ok" for a little money and a promise not to sue again. But Shout doesn't have to accept your settlement. Shout could ask for more to make this go away. And...that's where things get nebulous and unpredictable. But my lawyer-adjacent brain tells me 3 things for sure: 1. Shout would've won on Fair Use. 2. Susan offered to settle first, so Shout has leverage. 3. It doesn't take 6 months to only negotiate the rights to an old documentary included as a DVD extra. So my wishful thinking, optimistic MST brain wants this all to mean Shout is licensing her films. But only partly because I can't think of WHAT ELSE Shout would want out of a settlement or why they would AGREE to a settlement if they were, indeed, getting "nothing". It's certainly an interesting situation, I can't wait to see what becomes of it! If nothing else to end all of this speculation. This could also be Susan's last opportunity to license her film properties. What company could possibly want to approach her after all of this? Just the fact that she hasn't enforced her copyright in regards to YouTube uploads and easy-to-obtain bootlegs has decreased their value. Although, from everything we've been hearing over the years, it could very well not be about money but something personal (a grudge, power play, who knows?)
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Post by travis on Feb 21, 2020 10:03:52 GMT -5
As far as Tom Weaver is concerned, the man seems to have been carrying Susan's water for the past decade+, based on his past posts. He's a B-movie author and his job depends on being a sycophant and schmoozing with eccentric weirdos like Susan and Wade Williams. So while I don't doubt that the man spoke to her, I don't think that's a verbatim dialogue or the total truth. As far as Shout is concerned, they wouldn't have been negotiating with Susan for 6 months for "nothing". At the very, very least they're negotiating for the licensing for the documentary. But... In all likelihood, had the case gone to trial, 9+ times out of 10, a judge would've agreed with Shout on Fair Use grounds and Susan wouldn't have gotten 1 red cent. So Shout certainly doesn't need to negotiate a settlement for 6 months over something they would've won otherwise. And it doesn't take 6 months to workout how much back royalties Susan is owed and how much she'll get going forward on a documentary that's been released for 5 years and hasn't sold much. Someone on Reddit posited that before entering negotiations on WHATEVER they're negotiating, Shout probably insisted on NDA's, so Susan probably wouldn't be able to truthfully say to anyone, Tom Weaver or no, what the negotiations entail and what the results may be. So I'm writing Tom's post off as tongue-in-cheek bluffing. So unless something has drastically changed and Susan called the whole thing off (not impossible), there's too much smoke for there not to be a little bit of fire. Let's not forget the original Rumor that popped up before any one of us even noticed this case was ongoing and had reached a settlement. I'm hoping this is the case! When it comes to Susan Hart I remain pessimistic, but I admit there is still a (small) chance we may come out on top!
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