Official Futurama Thread - Futurama back in '08 -RK has 2 years to afford cable

Started by ©brad, August 11, 2003, 04:12:20 PM

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matt35mm

Thanks guys!  The trailer made me lose faith and your reviews have made me feel badly for ever supposing that this new Futurama movie could have been anything less than stellar.  Color me psyched again!

MacGuffin

David Cohen on Futurama
IGN looks into the future for more intel!

Futurama fans, unite! Last week, we had the chance to sit down with Futurama writer/producer David X. Cohen to chat about widely-loved show.

IGN TV: Can you talk a bit about how you'll turn these DVD movies into television episodes?

David Cohen: Well first of all, Comedy Central is taking over the re-runs of Futurama on January 1st, for anyone who hasn't heard that already. They're currently planning on airing it in prime-time, though things could change. That's the plan. It's a huge show of support from Comedy Central. And as part of that, they're going to get these DVDs. And we're breaking them down into four part episodes so that they can air them as TV shows. We're not going to go too crazy and cut them up into four nonsensical episodes. We've written them knowing in advance so that they had these dramatic twists along the way. So we stop at a dramatic point in the episode and it says "To be continued..." and then in the next one we'll have a "previously on Futurama" catch-up segment at the beginning. Even when it comes back to TV, we want it to be an epic return and not a crazy mish-mash. So it'll be a four episode arc for each movie. And I think that'll work a lot better than trying some crazy editing tricks on it.

IGN TV: So will there be much new footage that will be on TV that wasn't on the DVD?

Cohen: There's several minutes of footage that were on the DVD that will not be in the episodes, and there are a few little treats that'll be in the episodes and not on the DVD. We do want to reward everybody who watches Futurama in any form. For example in the episodes, there will be an advertisement for Morbo's executive powder - a fake advertisement that was not in the DVD. It's a powder which is made from ground up Fox Network executives and in the future this powder is used to cure jock-itch and as an explosive and scouring powder and that kind of thing. There's also some new little animations to go with the "previously on" segments, and little touches like that.

IGN TV: Will the episodes be letterboxed?

Cohen: Initially as episodes they'll be going full screen. That's how we were asked to deliver them. Another example of why you should buy the DVD and watch them on TV! But my current understanding is that they plan to air it fullscreen.

IGN TV: The writers really seem to put great effort into the actual science fiction elements that go into the show, certainly above and beyond what you would expect from an animated comedy. Has that always been the goal?

Cohen: That was a lesson we learned along the way. At first we didn't know how much people could take in terms of sci-fi. And whether we should just make fun of the sci-fi, or we should really go for it as our plot-lines. As we gradually found, is that if we took the sci-fi seriously and made the humor of the show more about the characters and their reactions to these crazy sci-fi situations that we put them into, taking the sci-fi seriously - those seem to be our best episodes. And the episodes that the fans would give the highest ratings on discussion boards and so forth. We decided to really go for it with the sci-fi in our return to life here. Hence there's this gigantic time travel story with Bender rampaging through time and stealing Earth's treasures - and shooting a big gun and that kind of stuff. At the same though we did want to keep the character stuff alive. The very best episodes of the show were the ones that did both things, took the sci-fi seriously and had a touching story. So we attempted to do that with the movie, but on a grander scale. So there's the huge sci-fi story, and a personal story involving Fry and Leela and those characters and their emotions. So without giving away too much, I'm eager to see when this hits the shelf what people think and whether we pulled it off. If we did you will be both touched and amazed by the craziness of the sci-fi that we went for.

IGN TV: When you're breaking these stories and developing the sci-fi angle did you ever think "Isn't this an animated comedy? We're working too hard!"

Cohen: (laughs) They're not contradictory. We were actually worried about it at first. The comedy works better when you take the drama seriously, and you believe that the characters are real, more, if they're actually scared in a dramatic situation. The basic rule of thumb is that you can put the characters in any kind of crazy situation as long as their reactions are those that a real person would have. Even if the character is not a person but a robot or a lobster, they have to behave in a way that a person can sympathize with. That's kind of our operating principle and it seems that once you believe these characters are people, then you're able to laugh at the jokes they're making, more so. All of these things work together in a way that we didn't really understand ourselves at first, but I think we gradually came to appreciate that they're not contradictory. And actually when you make fun of the science fiction and start to make jokes on it, people don't appreciate that. They want us to take it seriously because there are a lot of sci-fi fans in our audience.

IGN TV: First there was Family Guy and now Futurama coming back from certain doom after the success of repeats and DVD sales. Do you think this is a trend - or is there something about animation that allows for this kind of resurgence?

Cohen: Well, [DVD sales and repeats] are both signs that the fans stuck with the show and FOX just took a while to notice that. When Family Guy came back that was the first time that we dared to really hope that we might come back to life. We had kind of hoped before, but we had thought it was a long-shot. When that happened there was a clear precedent and it became obvious that there was a possible way of doing business now that did not involve going on the network at all and just doing DVDs and cable TV. Once we had that example we knew we had a fighting chance and here we are. So yeah, we definitely owe Family Guy also for paving the way for us.

IGN TV: How did this idea come about to mix the TV episodes with the DVDs and construct them in this way?

Cohen: It was sort of a fortuitous thing that right when we started talking to Fox Television Studio (not the network) about doing these DVD movies - at the same time Comedy Central entered the mix because they were talking about acquiring the rights to the re-runs after Cartoon Network's five year window expired, which is on December 31st. So by a strike of luck, those two conversations were going on at the same time. So FOX said hey, if we can deliver these to you as sixteen new episodes and make them epic four part episodes that nobody has ever seen on TV before, are you interested? And they said yes. So it was just luck of the draw that those two conversations were happening at once. Again, Comedy Central has been super supportive and as far as I know they're planning to show the series in prime time again, so we've kind of come full circle. It's been a long and difficult road but we may be back in prime time again.

IGN TV: So tell me, are Futurama writers ready to take credit for Al Gore's post-Vice Presidency popularity?

Cohen: I am! I'll take it. It works both ways. I like to think we're both mutually leeching off of each other. Because obviously he first appeared on the show before he was riding high, and has sine won every prize in the book from the Oscar to the Nobel prize. But this is his third appearance on the show, as fans will know. And by the way, we took inspiration from him and we made this a "carbon neutral" production. It's actually FOX Home Video's first carbon neutral DVD meaning that Newscorp really wants to go down that road and they investigated for us and calculated exactly how much carbon we were putting into the air in terms of our computer usage and commuting and every little thing and then the physical production of the DVD itself and they tried to reduce the use of plastic and stuff where possible and then they invested in clean power technology to remove the carbon in the air from dirty power to cancel out the rest of it. So Newscorp really went all out to back us up on that amazingly so. Credit to Al Gore for inspiring us. There's actually a sticker on the box with the Professor's head on fire from global warming. So we tried to note this on the box, and hopefully people will notice.

IGN TV: You have three more DVD movies planned?

Cohen: The other three are all written and in Korea being animated as we speak. So people are asking us and the cast questions about the first movie. I've actually seen it more recently, but for the cast members the fourth one is what is fresh in their mind. The lead time is so long to make an animated movie that the year and a half it took us is very fast by animated standards. We started working on this literally more than a year and a half ago. But the other three are fully in the animation process.

IGN TV: So tell us what to expect from the next three, and what's in store after that.

Cohen: Well after that I just have my fingers crossed again. The second movie, some people may be wondering when they see this first DVD if we're going to pick up where it leaves off - as there are some unanswered questions. We could have gone either way and either said "Ah, it's a cartoon" and forgotten about them, or we could pick up and answer them. The answer is that yes we pick-up where the second leaves off and we are going to answer unanswered questions. The second one guest stars David Cross as this really disgusting planet-sized monster from another universe who has a simultaneous with all living beings in our universe. It's very disgusting, but touching of course. It also guest stars Brittany Murphy and Stephen Hawking who is back for his second appearance on Futurama and then the third one is our first real foray into the fantasy world as opposed to straight sci-fi, so like Dungeons and Dragons-style fantasy. And amazingly we've never done a whole episode on that before so we're going to go gung-ho into that. You'll get to see the fantasy versions of all of our characters so I think it's going to be really visually impressive one. I'm eager to see that when it comes back. And the fourth one, because for all we know could be the last Futurama we ever do, is another real epic sci-fi story that involves this ancient battle that's been going on for billions of years and our crew of course ends up in the middle of that. It ends on a real sweet notes and we'll be content with that if it's the last we ever do. In answer to what comes next, basically we once again cross our fingers hard and see how the sales go on the DVDs and the viewership on Comedy Central and obviously hope for that phone call to come again. And my secret hope that I tell every single person, thus becoming less secret by the minute, is they'll call up and say "Hey, let's do a feature film!" Because not only do we have the example that the fans can bring these shows back as DVD movies and more episodes, but from The Simpsons movie they now see that these animated shows can make a transition to feature film. So I'm hoping they'll combine all the evidence together and bring us back as a feature film.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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modage

Quote from: MacGuffin on December 05, 2007, 10:50:27 AM
Cohen: So yeah, we definitely owe Family Guy also for paving the way for us.
i just want to take this out of context so pubricks head can explode!
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Pubrick

Quote from: modage on December 05, 2007, 11:18:53 AM
Quote from: MacGuffin on December 05, 2007, 10:50:27 AM
Cohen: So yeah, we definitely owe Family Guy also for paving the way for us.
i just want to take this out of context so pubricks head can explode!

ha, it's not really infuriating because i'm sure he cringed or shuddered as soon as he said it. the writer just didn't make note of it as the following examples show, he's not one to double-check the shit he writes:

Quote from: MacGuffin on December 05, 2007, 10:50:27 AM
to chat about widely-loved show.
....

this really disgusting planet-sized monster from another universe who has a simultaneous with all living beings in our universe.


the first one doesn't matter, it's just a blurb. but the second omission is really pissing me off, a simultaneous WHAT?? fucking idiot IGN.. it's not like it's the most crucial part of the whole sentence or anything.

so yeah, dude X Cohen probly vomited all over himself after he said that, but don't trust IGN to actually do their job and describe shit as it happened.
under the paving stones.

Pubrick

not enuff jokes after the first half hour.

loved it anyway, amazing feature-worthy story. favourite part was al gore "ONE GALLON OF GAS". and leela's butt.

will have huge replay value. this is a show that really understands its potential and doesn't take anything for granted, unlike other resurrected carcasses of festering has-been never-was no-talent crap.
under the paving stones.

Ravi

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Futurama-Beast-With-A-Billion-Backs/9081

Futurama - Release Date, Cost, Extras, & More for The Beast with a Billion Backs ***Updated***
2nd Direct-to-DVD Futurama Feature Coming in June!
Posted by David Lambert
2/28/2008
     
This past November we all celebrated the return of Futurama with the new direct-to-DVD feature Bender's Big Score. It was the first of 4 such productions that we've been told are coming. They also plan to take each of these four features, break them into four parts, and air those sixteen parts as "Season 5" of the series on Comedy Central later on! But we get to enjoy them first on DVD.

When Futurama - Bender's Big Score came out, Best Buy had one of their exclusive bonus disc promotions with it: a second disc in specially marked boxes which had a couple of animatics for Bender's Big Score, but also a "pencil" (black-and-white outline) preview of the second feature, Futurama - The Beast with a Billion Backs. At the bottom you can see a number of screen captures from that preview, giving you an idea of what to expect. The 3rd feature is going to be called "Bender's Game", and the 4th is titled "Into the Wild Green Yonder". Not much is known yet about either, but George Takei (Star Trek, Heroes) is among the voice cast in Bender's Game, per the IMDB.

However, we've got a lot to tell you about Futurama - The Beast with a Billion Backs, starting with the release date of June 24th! This 90-minute production will cost $24.98 SRP, but can be pre-ordered from DVDEmpire for just $14.99 right this moment.

Update: We've been told by Fox that the description and information sent to retailers regarding this title is 100% incorrect. Because of this we've removed it from the story in an effort to curb the flow of incorrect information regarding this title. We're also told that the bonus material hasn't been finalized, and will change, so please treat the following list as extremely tentative, and extremely likely to be changed (edited by Gord Lacey).

Video will be Anamorphic Widescreen: 1.78:1, and audio is going to be English - Dolby Surround 5.1. Subtitles will be in English, French and Spanish. Retailers have been given access to the following list of extras (which will change):

•   Commentary Track
•   Extra Episode from an XBox game
•   Commentary Track for the XBox game's episode
•   Animatic for Beast with a Billion Backs
•   Deleted Scenes / Storyboards
•   Blooper Reel / Record Sessions
•   3D Models / 3D Turnarounds - With Audio Description
•   Celebrity Featurette: David Cross
•   Bender or Cast Reads Credits
•   Bender sings his version of the Futurama Song (which consists solely of "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass" or "Bender is Great!")
•   New Character / Design Sketches

Stay tuned for box art and any further updates we get for this release. For now, here are the promised preview pictures:




















MacGuffin

Second Futurama DVD In June

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release the second of four new Futurama movies, The Beast With a Billion Backs, on DVD June 24.

The company described the movie this way: In their latest extraterrestrial exploit, Bender, Fry, Leela and the crew encounter a repulsive, planet-sized creature with billions of probing tentacles and find themselves involved in a disturbing--yet sensuous--interplanetary love story.

The movie will feature guest voice performances from David Cross, Brittany Murphy, Dan Castellaneta and physicist Stephen Hawking.

Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs also features bonus materials, including commentary from Matt Groening and David X. Cohen and cast members Billy West, John DiMaggio and Maurice LaMarche, as well as director Peter Avanzino and producers Claudia Katz, Lee Supercinski and Michael Rowe. Other extras include a 30-minute "Lost Futurama Adventure" and behind-the-scenes featurettes "Meet Yivo!" (with David Cross) and "A Brief History of Deathball," as well as a sneak peek at the next Futurama movie, Bender's Game. The disc also contains storyboard animatics, deleted scenes and bloopers. Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs will carry a suggested retail price of $29.98.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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hedwig

holy shit, does nobody care about futurama anymore?



released on election day.

john

I care... just after Beast With a Billion Backs, and the preview it contained for this, my level of enthusiasm has dropped considerably.

Which is not to say I'm not excited and grateful that there is new Futurama to watch, regardless of comparative quality. I just might be more excited if I didn't see "Beast..." and this wasn't a sendup on role-playing games... something I know absolutely nothing about.

That aside... the Blu-Ray has been ordered and I'll watch it the moment it arrives... hopefully repeatedly.


Maybe every day is Saturday morning.

pete

"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

MacGuffin

Futurama: Green Yonder Due In Feb.

The fourth and final straight-to-DVD Futurama movie, Into The Wild Green Yonder, drops on DVD and Blu-ray disc on Feb. 24, 2009, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment announced.

The film guest-stars illusionist Penn Jillette, hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg, talk-radio host Phil Hendrie and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.

Fans will discover the truth about "Number 9 Man," a mysterious character from the earliest days of the series.

Futurama: Into The Wild Green Yonder includes audio commentary from Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, writers and animators, a making-of mockumentary, deleted scenes, a How to Draw Futurama feature, Bender's Movie Theater Etiquette, Zapp Brannigan's Guide to Making Love at a Woman and more.

"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Ravi

http://www.collider.com/2009/06/07/exclusive-comedy-central-goes-back-to-the-futurama/

Exclusive: Comedy Central Goes Back to the FUTURAMA
by Cal Kemp    Posted:June 7th, 2009 at 4:00 pm

Good news everybody! An inside source has revealed exclusively to Collider that "Futurama" has been given a 13 episode order by Comedy Central. Though still technically a rumor at this point, word is that "Futurama" production offices have already opened and that casting is about to move forward.

This should be a welcome surprise to fans of the show who have already gone through the series' cancellation and resurrection as direct-to-DVD movies.

Look for official word in the very near future. Though animation has a big lead time, I would guess on some kind of "Futurama" presence at Comic Con next month.

If you're excited by the news, say it in the comments below!

03


Stefen

Casting? What the fuck kind of casting do they need to do? The original cast better come back.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ

So will the series pick up after the last movie?

That will certainly be weird.
"As a matter of fact I only work with the feeling of something magical, something seemingly significant. And to keep it magical I don't want to know the story involved, I just want the hypnotic effect of it somehow seeming significant without knowing why." - Len Lye