This movie could be thought of as an adaptation of source material from a different medium, which would be technically correct. The story itself was more inspired by the source material, since it diverged radically from many specifics of the original. People familiar with the source material freely admit this was an improvement. Much of the principal cast was actually familiar with the source material- and of the roles for which they were cast. One cast member who was not made a point of sitting down and crash-coursing on their character before filming started. A lot of people expected this film to crash and burn. Boasting an excellent plot, excellent effects, and an excellent stable of actors, it was a rousing success, which naturally led to a sequel (and so on.) Two actors of the principal cast were not invited to return for the sequel. (Rather sensibly for one, but arguably not at all for the other.)
What movie is this?
The story of "Iron Man 1" was adapted from a comic book storyline- with a great many changes that vastly improved on the story. The story arc with Obadiah Stane, in the comics, was so bad that the first half of the storyline convinced me, a die hard Iron Man fan, to stop collecting the comic book. (I had an unbroken run of about 100 issues, plus others before that.) Obadiah Stane was a complete stranger, a cipher who had a holding company. He quietly tried to ruin Tony Stark and ruin Stark International, to lower the buying price after he ruined Stark. His agents failed repeatedly to damage the company (one managed to ruin a set of Iron Man armor, and Tony switched to an older armor, a point that was later forgotten by the writer, Tom de Falco.) One of his agents DID manage to cause Stark to have a breakdown. Those of us who'd read "Demon in a Bottle" noted he acted nothing like Stark having a breakdown, and also had one a LOT easier than last time, especially since he knew what to avoid this time around. But, de Falco wanted a black Iron Man, and he didn't like the idea of the inventor wearing the armor. So, after a bunch of story gymnastics, Tony Stark became a broke drunk and James Rhodes put on the Iron Man armor (and had to figure out how to use it.) Rhodes was a competent hero, but he wasn't as good at being Iron Man. (And I liked Rhodey.) Eventually, Stark got out of the gutter, and cleaned his act up. He worked with a small electronics startup, and the West Coast Avengers convinced him to make a new IM armor for when the next IM was going to need it. When Stane tried to blow up Rhodey, Stark and the startup, he was partly successful. Stark went to the WCA compound and put on the new armor. The resulting battle inspired the end of Iron Man 1, with Iron Man vs Iron Monger. Tony eventually outsmarted and outperformed Stane, who took his own life rather than let Tony arrest him. Stark got control of his personal fortune again, and later bought back (Stark) Stane International from its current owner (Justin Hammer) and returned it to its original name.
I trimmed the story down and left out a LOT of missteps by the writer, who, apparently, couldn't keep consistent within his OWN continuity (he contradicted his own stories at times.) The movie's story worked a lot better. It kept a few nods to the original, but most of the storyline was rewritten into something good.
Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges were all familiar with the comics. (Jeff Bridges was familiar with Obadiah Stane, which was a lot harder.) Jon Favreau knew Happy Hogan. Gwyneth sat down with a pile of comics shortly after being cast.
Marvel movies had a bad record of crashing at the box office, and this was believed to be likely for Iron Man 1, despite excellent casting and excellent SFX and CGI work. The excellent storyline, added to the rest, made for a box office smash. Marvel Studios, all but on life support, was rejuvenated. There were sequels, and Avengers movies, and other heroes got movies....
For the sequel, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard were not invited back. Terrence Howard was good as Rhodey. When he initiated salary negotiations, they canned him and pulled in Don Cheadle, who looked nothing like him (other than both men being black.) That was a shame. Jeff Bridges was not invited back because Stane died in the first movie (as in, they found the body and everything.)
Apparently, I was able to fog things for George, but Raf managed to find his way to the answer.
File this in the category of Movies that became long-running TV shows.
This on won a Best Actress Oscar for its star, who did not return for the TV show.
One major supporting actor did return for the series, and though he has been on Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, he's best known for the series.
Another major supporting actor (female) returned for the series as a different character, ironically replacing the character she played in the movie (that character was spun off into her own series, which flopped).
One supporting actor reprised his series role for a single episode, the pilot, after which he was replaced. That original actor became one of the ballplayers in the original Bad News Bears movie.
Vic Tayback is best known as Mel Sharples, the diner owner (and diner cook.) He was also a gangster in TOS' "A Piece of the Action." ( Jo Jo Krakow, or something like that. He tried to "put the bag" on Kirk, and Kirk beat him to it. He was the only gangster who actually made it up to the Enterprise.
One of the waitresses in "Alice" was spun off, I think it might have been "Flo" but I'm not sure.
If you don't like my guess for this round, all I can say is "Kiss mah grits!"
Dianne Ladd played Flo in the movie, then came back as the character who replaced Flo in the series [I think her name was Belle or something].
I forgot the kid's name from the movie. He appeared in the pilot for the series but got replaced by Phillip McKeon. The original kid went on to star in The Bad News Bears.
The version if "Casino Royale" with David Niven and Woody Allen had something reasonably unique- you had multiple characters going around with the same name. For this round, I'm looking for a movie that shares that quality- where multiple actors play multiple characters going around with the same name. This film also had a little brushing-up-against-the-fourth-wall going on. This movie had sets that deliberately were made to match the wrong scale, for plot reasons. It's also a movie that includes roller blades.
The version of "Casino Royale" with David Niven and Woody Allen had something reasonably unique- you had multiple characters going around with the same name. For this round, I'm looking for a movie that shares that quality- where multiple actors play multiple characters going around with the same name. This film also had a little brushing-up-against-the-fourth-wall going on. This movie had sets that deliberately were made to match the wrong scale, for plot reasons. It's also a movie that includes roller blades. I think it's the only movie that mentions Ruth Handler, a woman who should be really famous, but isn't really.
The version of "Casino Royale" with David Niven and Woody Allen had something reasonably unique- you had multiple characters going around with the same name. For this round, I'm looking for a movie that shares that quality- where multiple actors play multiple characters going around with the same name. This film also had a little brushing-up-against-the-fourth-wall going on. This movie had sets that deliberately were made to match the wrong scale, for plot reasons. It's also a movie that includes roller blades. I think it's the only movie that mentions Ruth Handler, a woman who should be really famous, but isn't really. The cast includes Will Farrell, Helen Mirren, Rhea Perlman, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, John Cena, and Dua Lipa. This film included a nod to "2001 A Space Odyssey" which is rather obvious when the scene comes up. It also contains the line " It's like I've been in a dream where I was really invested in the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League."
There was a boatload of alternate universe Deadpools (and Wolverines) in Deadpool and Wolverine. Deadpool movies have some "fourth wall" stuff, so D&W is my best guess, but I don't remember any of the other stuff.
OK, the movie is fairly recent. That's one clue. There's other clues. Assemble the clues, and run through them. (That is not another clue.)
Raf succeeds partly because he assembles the clues and works through them. If you stop at 1 or 2 clues then guess, you're not as likely to home in on the correct movie.
The version of "Casino Royale" with David Niven and Woody Allen had something reasonably unique- you had multiple characters going around with the same name. For this round, I'm looking for a movie that shares that quality- where multiple actors play multiple characters going around with the same name. This film also had a little brushing-up-against-the-fourth-wall going on. This movie had sets that deliberately were made to match the wrong scale, for plot reasons. It's also a movie that includes roller blades. I think it's the only movie that mentions Ruth Handler, a woman who should be really famous, but isn't really. The cast includes Will Farrell, Helen Mirren, Rhea Perlman, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, John Cena, and Dua Lipa. This film included a nod to "2001 A Space Odyssey" which is rather obvious when the scene comes up. It also contains the line " It's like I've been in a dream where I was really invested in the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League."
Which movie is this?
In that version of "Casino Royale", a number of actors all went around their characters announcing they're "James Bond." In the "Barbie" movie, there was a crowd of "Barbies" and a different crowd of "Kens." A few times, the movie paused and a narrator commented on the moment before it resumed. The sets in Barbieworld were made off-scale to match how the dolls and their playsets are off-scale with each other. There was at least one full scene where the roller-blades ("I never go anywhere without them!") were a plot point, on a boardwalk in Southern Cali. Ruth Handler INVENTED Barbie, and Rhea Perlman played Ruth Handler in the movie. The first scene was SO an homage to "2001" and I dare anyone who's seen the "Barbie" movie to say otherwise. And I've never sat down to watch "2001"! I included the Justice League quote to narrow down the window in which the movie could have been released. I was getting ready to start posting the giveaway clues.
(Helen Mirren narrated, America Ferrera played that Mom, Michael Cera played that male doll that wasn't Ken, John Cena was a Ken, and Dua Lipa was a Barbie.)
If you saw this 1997 movie in theaters, congratulations. You are one of the approximately 40 or so people who did. Maybe closer to 30, Depends on ticket prices, I think. Point is, not a lot. It cost $15 million to make. It played in exactly two movie theaters for one week and collected $309 at the box office [at one showing, the only people in attendance were the star and his good friend]. There are no missing zeroes in that figure, unless you want to count the two after the decimal point after the 9.
Its stars at the time were better known for their television work, one (male) as a supporting character in a sitcom, the other (female) as a supporting character in a drama. The latter went on to star that same year in a horror movie that did quite well. Granted, not as well as the horror movie that premiered a year earlier and starred one of her co-stars from the same TV drama, but enough to spawn a sequel, a third movie with a new cast, a TV series adaptation on Amazon Prime, and, coming soon, a legacy sequel sure to make you wonder why, and possibly make you swear off a brand of seafood once and for all.
Anyway, none of that helped THIS movie, a by-the-numbers teen-in-hunt-of-sex comedy that has a brief appearance by Lee Majors as Officer Austin (that's an Easter Egg).
If you go on the Rotten Tomatoes website, you'll find no professional reviews, but perhaps surprisingly, 40 percent of audiences actually liked it.
There is some similarity with another 1997 movie involving the same kind of quest that drives the plot. That movie had an all Black cast. This one was much whiter. The Black one also did much better, though neither was what you call critically acclaimed. Not complaining. Just stating facts.
OK, the movie is fairly recent. That's one clue. There's other clues. Assemble the clues, and run through them. (That is not another clue.)
Clues that worked:
The cast (I have a crush on America Ferrara, having met her poolside during a conference before she became famous and thinking, WOW]!
Lots of characters with the same name.
And perhaps MOST importantly (which anyone who has seen the movie knows), the 2001 homage.
I forgot Ruth Handler's name, but remembered Rhea Perlman and Will Ferrell in the cast. So like I said, the cast.
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Human without the bean
Why didn't you say that 2 days ago Mr. Wolf? Your right Rottie, They are pretty good. Makes it tough on me to get my 2 cents in.
Human without the bean
I was way off going with "The Terminal", except that it didn't have any articles of clothing in the title. I assume WordWolf is correct, but I'm not familiar with it. But that's not unusual.
GeorgeStGeorge
Stallone. Also well-known for reprising his Rocky role. I can't see him in Eddie Murphy's role in BHC, though... George
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GeorgeStGeorge
Since Raf's answer turns a page, I'm bumping this up.
George
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WordWolf
It was not "Mission Impossible."
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WordWolf
It IS "Iron Man."
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WordWolf
The story of "Iron Man 1" was adapted from a comic book storyline- with a great many changes that vastly improved on the story. The story arc with Obadiah Stane, in the comics, was so bad that the first half of the storyline convinced me, a die hard Iron Man fan, to stop collecting the comic book. (I had an unbroken run of about 100 issues, plus others before that.) Obadiah Stane was a complete stranger, a cipher who had a holding company. He quietly tried to ruin Tony Stark and ruin Stark International, to lower the buying price after he ruined Stark. His agents failed repeatedly to damage the company (one managed to ruin a set of Iron Man armor, and Tony switched to an older armor, a point that was later forgotten by the writer, Tom de Falco.) One of his agents DID manage to cause Stark to have a breakdown. Those of us who'd read "Demon in a Bottle" noted he acted nothing like Stark having a breakdown, and also had one a LOT easier than last time, especially since he knew what to avoid this time around. But, de Falco wanted a black Iron Man, and he didn't like the idea of the inventor wearing the armor. So, after a bunch of story gymnastics, Tony Stark became a broke drunk and James Rhodes put on the Iron Man armor (and had to figure out how to use it.) Rhodes was a competent hero, but he wasn't as good at being Iron Man. (And I liked Rhodey.) Eventually, Stark got out of the gutter, and cleaned his act up. He worked with a small electronics startup, and the West Coast Avengers convinced him to make a new IM armor for when the next IM was going to need it. When Stane tried to blow up Rhodey, Stark and the startup, he was partly successful. Stark went to the WCA compound and put on the new armor. The resulting battle inspired the end of Iron Man 1, with Iron Man vs Iron Monger. Tony eventually outsmarted and outperformed Stane, who took his own life rather than let Tony arrest him. Stark got control of his personal fortune again, and later bought back (Stark) Stane International from its current owner (Justin Hammer) and returned it to its original name.
I trimmed the story down and left out a LOT of missteps by the writer, who, apparently, couldn't keep consistent within his OWN continuity (he contradicted his own stories at times.) The movie's story worked a lot better. It kept a few nods to the original, but most of the storyline was rewritten into something good.
Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges were all familiar with the comics. (Jeff Bridges was familiar with Obadiah Stane, which was a lot harder.) Jon Favreau knew Happy Hogan. Gwyneth sat down with a pile of comics shortly after being cast.
Marvel movies had a bad record of crashing at the box office, and this was believed to be likely for Iron Man 1, despite excellent casting and excellent SFX and CGI work. The excellent storyline, added to the rest, made for a box office smash. Marvel Studios, all but on life support, was rejuvenated. There were sequels, and Avengers movies, and other heroes got movies....
For the sequel, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard were not invited back. Terrence Howard was good as Rhodey. When he initiated salary negotiations, they canned him and pulled in Don Cheadle, who looked nothing like him (other than both men being black.) That was a shame. Jeff Bridges was not invited back because Stane died in the first movie (as in, they found the body and everything.)
Apparently, I was able to fog things for George, but Raf managed to find his way to the answer.
Go, Raf!
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Raf
I humbly submit that all comic book movies, with very few exceptions, would fall under "could be thought of" and "technically correct."
But I quibble.
Other than that I would have had no doubt.
I THINK I'M UP ON THREE THREADS NOW.
Had hoped to avoid that.
By Monday morning if i have not posted, all three should be considered free posts.
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Raf
File this in the category of Movies that became long-running TV shows.
This on won a Best Actress Oscar for its star, who did not return for the TV show.
One major supporting actor did return for the series, and though he has been on Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, he's best known for the series.
Another major supporting actor (female) returned for the series as a different character, ironically replacing the character she played in the movie (that character was spun off into her own series, which flopped).
One supporting actor reprised his series role for a single episode, the pilot, after which he was replaced. That original actor became one of the ballplayers in the original Bad News Bears movie.
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WordWolf
How about
"ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE" ????
Vic Tayback is best known as Mel Sharples, the diner owner (and diner cook.) He was also a gangster in TOS' "A Piece of the Action." ( Jo Jo Krakow, or something like that. He tried to "put the bag" on Kirk, and Kirk beat him to it. He was the only gangster who actually made it up to the Enterprise.
One of the waitresses in "Alice" was spun off, I think it might have been "Flo" but I'm not sure.
If you don't like my guess for this round, all I can say is "Kiss mah grits!"
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Raf
You are correct.
Dianne Ladd played Flo in the movie, then came back as the character who replaced Flo in the series [I think her name was Belle or something].
I forgot the kid's name from the movie. He appeared in the pilot for the series but got replaced by Phillip McKeon. The original kid went on to star in The Bad News Bears.
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WordWolf
The version if "Casino Royale" with David Niven and Woody Allen had something reasonably unique- you had multiple characters going around with the same name. For this round, I'm looking for a movie that shares that quality- where multiple actors play multiple characters going around with the same name. This film also had a little brushing-up-against-the-fourth-wall going on. This movie had sets that deliberately were made to match the wrong scale, for plot reasons. It's also a movie that includes roller blades.
Which movie is this?
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WordWolf
The version of "Casino Royale" with David Niven and Woody Allen had something reasonably unique- you had multiple characters going around with the same name. For this round, I'm looking for a movie that shares that quality- where multiple actors play multiple characters going around with the same name. This film also had a little brushing-up-against-the-fourth-wall going on. This movie had sets that deliberately were made to match the wrong scale, for plot reasons. It's also a movie that includes roller blades. I think it's the only movie that mentions Ruth Handler, a woman who should be really famous, but isn't really.
Which movie is this?
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WordWolf
The version of "Casino Royale" with David Niven and Woody Allen had something reasonably unique- you had multiple characters going around with the same name. For this round, I'm looking for a movie that shares that quality- where multiple actors play multiple characters going around with the same name. This film also had a little brushing-up-against-the-fourth-wall going on. This movie had sets that deliberately were made to match the wrong scale, for plot reasons. It's also a movie that includes roller blades. I think it's the only movie that mentions Ruth Handler, a woman who should be really famous, but isn't really. The cast includes Will Farrell, Helen Mirren, Rhea Perlman, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, John Cena, and Dua Lipa. This film included a nod to "2001 A Space Odyssey" which is rather obvious when the scene comes up. It also contains the line " It's like I've been in a dream where I was really invested in the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League."
Which movie is this?
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GeorgeStGeorge
NO idea.
George
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WordWolf
Well, you're right so far.... Do you at least have a rough timeframe of when the movie came out?
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GeorgeStGeorge
It would have to be fairly recent, if it includes a reference to Justice League. I still got nothin'.
George
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WordWolf
OK, the movie is fairly recent. That's one clue. There's other clues. Assemble the clues, and run through them. (That is not another clue.)
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GeorgeStGeorge
There was a boatload of alternate universe Deadpools (and Wolverines) in Deadpool and Wolverine. Deadpool movies have some "fourth wall" stuff, so D&W is my best guess, but I don't remember any of the other stuff.
George
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Raf
Oh wait, no, this is Barbie!
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GeorgeStGeorge
That would explain the roller blades...
George
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WordWolf
CORRECT- this is "Barbie"!
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WordWolf
Raf succeeds partly because he assembles the clues and works through them. If you stop at 1 or 2 clues then guess, you're not as likely to home in on the correct movie.
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WordWolf
In that version of "Casino Royale", a number of actors all went around their characters announcing they're "James Bond." In the "Barbie" movie, there was a crowd of "Barbies" and a different crowd of "Kens." A few times, the movie paused and a narrator commented on the moment before it resumed. The sets in Barbieworld were made off-scale to match how the dolls and their playsets are off-scale with each other. There was at least one full scene where the roller-blades ("I never go anywhere without them!") were a plot point, on a boardwalk in Southern Cali. Ruth Handler INVENTED Barbie, and Rhea Perlman played Ruth Handler in the movie. The first scene was SO an homage to "2001" and I dare anyone who's seen the "Barbie" movie to say otherwise. And I've never sat down to watch "2001"! I included the Justice League quote to narrow down the window in which the movie could have been released. I was getting ready to start posting the giveaway clues.
(Helen Mirren narrated, America Ferrera played that Mom, Michael Cera played that male doll that wasn't Ken, John Cena was a Ken, and Dua Lipa was a Barbie.)
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Raf
Here's a tough one.
If you saw this 1997 movie in theaters, congratulations. You are one of the approximately 40 or so people who did. Maybe closer to 30, Depends on ticket prices, I think. Point is, not a lot. It cost $15 million to make. It played in exactly two movie theaters for one week and collected $309 at the box office [at one showing, the only people in attendance were the star and his good friend]. There are no missing zeroes in that figure, unless you want to count the two after the decimal point after the 9.
Its stars at the time were better known for their television work, one (male) as a supporting character in a sitcom, the other (female) as a supporting character in a drama. The latter went on to star that same year in a horror movie that did quite well. Granted, not as well as the horror movie that premiered a year earlier and starred one of her co-stars from the same TV drama, but enough to spawn a sequel, a third movie with a new cast, a TV series adaptation on Amazon Prime, and, coming soon, a legacy sequel sure to make you wonder why, and possibly make you swear off a brand of seafood once and for all.
Anyway, none of that helped THIS movie, a by-the-numbers teen-in-hunt-of-sex comedy that has a brief appearance by Lee Majors as Officer Austin (that's an Easter Egg).
If you go on the Rotten Tomatoes website, you'll find no professional reviews, but perhaps surprisingly, 40 percent of audiences actually liked it.
There is some similarity with another 1997 movie involving the same kind of quest that drives the plot. That movie had an all Black cast. This one was much whiter. The Black one also did much better, though neither was what you call critically acclaimed. Not complaining. Just stating facts.
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Raf
Clues that worked:
The cast (I have a crush on America Ferrara, having met her poolside during a conference before she became famous and thinking, WOW]!
Lots of characters with the same name.
And perhaps MOST importantly (which anyone who has seen the movie knows), the 2001 homage.
I forgot Ruth Handler's name, but remembered Rhea Perlman and Will Ferrell in the cast. So like I said, the cast.
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WordWolf
Um, "Eurotrip?????"
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