Bubba Ho-Tep

[Ravi]

Finally watched this last night.  It was pretty funny, and Ossie Davis was great.  The shot of Elvis and JFK walking (JFK in wheelchair) down the hall was hilarious.  It's probably not something I will watch many times, but it was a fun strange film.

SPOILER

The trailer exploding was freaking awesome.

[Two Lane Blacktop]

Finally watched this last night.  It was pretty funny, and Ossie Davis was great.  The shot of Elvis and JFK walking (JFK in wheelchair) down the hall was hilarious.

Hilarious, but also touching, to me.  Having dealt with grandparents, and lately parents, getting old, I thought this movie was brilliant in how it made getting old funny, and at the same time critiqued those who would dismiss the old just for being old.  

2LB

[MacGuffin]

I've been a fan of the Phantasm series since I was a youngster. The Tall Man and Reggie and Mike all just fascinate me. Even the sequels, which most would consider cornball, all have a special place in my heart. I guess I'm sentimental. Phantasm was the first "R" rated movie that by big brother ever snuck me in to. I think I was about 13 at the time, and you can imagine how cool a guts and gore movie like that would be to a middle schooler.

'Phantasm' in New Line's airspace

New Line Cinema is in final negotiations with filmmaker Don Coscarelli to bring the cult horror film "Phantasm" back to the big screen. The first "Phantasm," which Coscarelli wrote and directed, was released in 1979. It told the story of a young boy named Mike and his friends, who face off against a mysterious grave robber known as the Tall Man and his killer flying spheres. The film spawned three sequels, all of which were made by Coscarelli. Coscarelli would act as producer on the new version, in which the Tall Man travels from town to town turning the dead into his own army and using his deadly spheres against anyone who opposes him. Mike, who is developing psychic powers, and his brother try to stop him. The movie is being developed as a relaunch and as a possible trilogy about Mike's coming of age.

Coscarelli said three elements made the franchise stand out in the horror field: the Tall Man, played by Angus Scrimm, the spheres and the setting.

"One thing that caused nightmares is that 'Phantasm' dealt with a reality that we as a society don't like to talk about, and that's death. The goings-on in a mortuary is not something that is really explored much, and I think the movies tapped into people's fears."

Back in New Line's early days, company founder Bob Shaye made an unsuccessful bid for "Phantasm," which ultimately was released by Avco Embassy.

Said Coscarelli, "I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to introduce a new generation to the saga, and I'm happy that (New Line executive) Jeff Katz, who was very aggressive, and New Line are intent on staying true to the original spirit of the movies."

Katz championed the project at the company through a courting and negotiation process that took more than a year and a half.

Coscarelli also co-wrote and directed 1982's "The Beastmaster" and wrote and directed "Bubba Ho-tep" (2002), which starred Bruce Campbell and the late Ossie Davis as nursing-home residents Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy, battling a mummy.

Anchor Bay will release his 1976 feature "Kenny & Company" on DVD in the summer.

[modage]

oh, is it a relaunch?  remake remake fucking remake....

[MacGuffin]

Bubba Ho-2: Undead Boogaloo

Genre demi-god Don Coscarelli, director of one Beastmaster, four Phantasms, and one particularly popular episode of Masters of Horror, has been dropping hopeful little hints about a sequel to his cult fave Bubba Ho-tep for quite some time, but a few of the astute horror sites now bring word that Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires may become a reality more sooner than later.

Of course it's a given that Bruce Campbell will return to play Elvis Presley (you really have to seen Bubba Ho-tep for any of this to make sense), but BD.com just caught wind of a rather colorful little rumor: Could Paul Giamatti be lined up to play Col. Parker in Bubba 2? I'm sure stranger things have happened in the realm of cult horror sequeldom.

Not much regarding BH-t: CotS-V is set in stone just yet; Mr. Coscarelli has his script finished and cast a few lines in the water, but as far as funding, casting, and all that important stuff are concerned, we're still waiting for the good news. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and rent Bubba Ho-tep. Based on a wonderfully offbeat story by Joe Lansdale, it's a flick that (somehow) wedges chills, giggles, wit, and warmth into one irresistible little B-movie.

[MacGuffin]

'Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires' Shooting Soon?!
Source: Bloody Disgusting     

On the Creation Entertainment website for next summer's Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in Burbank, CA, they wrote a really interesting blurb towards the bottom, "Bruce Campbell had to cancel his appearance as his film 'Bubba Hotep II' will be shooting during the convention." We ran into Writer/Director Don Coscarelli last week who is still referring to the film as Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires. More news as it comes in, we're looking into this matter as we speak. In Bubba Ho-tep, Elvis and JFK, both alive and in nursing homes, fight for the souls of their fellow residents as they battle an ancient Egyptian Mummy.

[MacGuffin]

Source: MTV

One of the more intriguing cult movie explosions of the past few years has to be "Bubba Ho-Tep," the 2002 horror/comedy that put Elvis and JFK in a nursing home fighting a mummy and has made far more of a splash on DVD than it ever did in the theaters. Now Paul Giamatti is hoping to join Bruce Campbell for a prequel entitled "Bubba Nosferatu and the Curse of the She-Vampires," in which Gimatti would play Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to Campbell's King. "Hopefully that will happen," the "Illusionist" star told MTV News this week, explaining that the pre-production process is still trying to get off the ground.

[MacGuffin]

MGM has announced a Bubba Ho-Tep: Limited Edition for release on 8/7 (SRP $22.98), which will include commentary by director Don Coscarelli and star Bruce Campbell, a separate commentary by "The King" himself, author Joe R. Lansdale reading from his own short story, deleted scenes with optional commentary, an animated photo gallery and production featurettes, all presented in special "jumpsuit" packaging.

[tpfkabi]

MGM has announced a Bubba Ho-Tep: Limited Edition for release on 8/7 (SRP $22.98), which will include commentary by director Don Coscarelli and star Bruce Campbell, a separate commentary by "The King" himself, author Joe R. Lansdale reading from his own short story, deleted scenes with optional commentary, an animated photo gallery and production featurettes, all presented in special "jumpsuit" packaging.

Other than the packaging, all the extras listed seem to be included on the present edition.

Interesting note - I am related to the author of the story that is the basis of the film. Another of his short stories was made into an episode of Masters of Horror. I don't believe Bubba 2 is based on anything he wrote, just using the characters.

[MacGuffin]

Bubba Nosferatu Gets Giamatti, Waiting for Campbell
Prequel production nearly underway.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes

In the "things that sound awesome but can't possibly be true" department, Paul Giamatti is listed in the cast of Bubba Nosferatu. The prequel to Bubba Ho-Tep would have Bruce Campbell's Elvis Presley battle vampires. But come on, acclaimed thespian Paul Giamatti would never do a low budget camp movie, right?

"I would really like to do that," Giamatti revealed. "Did you ever see Bubba Ho-Tep? Great movie. And that director [Don Coscarelli], I love that guy's movies.  All the Phantasm movies and stuff. But we are trying to do it."

A commitment like that should be money in the bank for Coscarelli, but it turns out B-movie legend Bruce Campbell himself may be the hold up.

"Bruce Campbell was waffling around about whether he wants to play Elvis or not again. So that's the problem, Giamatti says, "I'm playing Colonel Parker, which will be great, but you gotta have Elvis and you really want him playing Elvis, so hopefully we can get him to do it. If not, I'm sure they will try and find somebody else but I think it's contingent on whether he'll do it or not. It's a great script, a completely insane script. I would love to do that because I love [Bubba Ho-Tep]. It's a great movie."

[MacGuffin]

Bruce Campbell nixes BUBBA HO-TEP sequel
Source: Fangoria

Genre fave Bruce Campbell dropped a bombshell on FANGORIA RADIO listeners the other night: The actor has turned down appearing in BUBBA NOSFERATU, the long-mooted sequel/prequel to his and director Don (PHANTASM) Coscarelli's 2002 sleeper hit BUBBA HO-TEP. You read that right: The EVIL DEAD actor won't be growing out his sideburns and donning the white jumpsuit again to play the geriatric Elvis Presley for the follow-up. The reason, Campbell said, had to do with the screenplay by Coscarelli and co-scripter Stephen Romano, which features Elvis, both in the past and present, battling a clan of Las Vegas vampires and dealing with the machinations of his duplicitous manager, Colonel Tom Parker (to be played by Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti, a big Coscarelli/Campbell fan).

"[BUBBA NOSFERATU] is dead to me," Campbell said flatly. "It sleeps with the fishes. Don Coscarelli is a very passionate filmmaker. We got to a few points [developing the screenplay] that we couldn't reconcile. I want to keep our friendship, so we parted ways. So I'm not part of that project."

So will BUBBA NOSFERATU move forward without Campbell? Coscarelli told Fango that he is considering recasting the film with another actor whom the fans would embrace, but he admits that it will be a tall order to fill Campbell's shoes. Campbell, meanwhile, commented on another sequel that genre buffs got excited about a few years back, the proposed FREDDY VS. JASON. VS. ASH movie that former New Line exec Jeff Katz pushed for. The major mashup never happened, Campbell said, because "it blows! You really think Ash would be allowed to kill Freddy and Jason off? We [including EVIL DEAD creator Sam Raimi] didn't have any control on the project, New Line did, so there was no reason to do it."

FREDDY VS. JASON. VS. ASH has since been reborn as an upcoming comics miniseries from Wildstorm. As far as a fourth EVIL DEAD movie is concerned, Campbell added, "Raimi still talks about it, but he's in no rush to do it with everything else he has going on. Sam jokes, 'Maybe we can do another EVIL DEAD when we're 70.' "

The squared-jawed horror star also put the kibosh on the EVIL DEAD remake reports. "The feedback from the fans was 90 percent negative," Campbell noted of the once-announced redux. "It's going nowhere. The remake has fizzled fast at Sam's company."

[SiliasRuby]

This is a campy film, to the max. It has anything and everything that one would love about such a film. I've seen it over seven times and it never gets old.