Tag: Land of the Lost (Page 3 of 3)

A Time for Quick Hits….

Things have been a bit crazy at Casa Westal, what with this new regular blog gig and attendant mishegas and other projects, plus this afternoon the kind folks at AT&T let my household Internet go bye-bye. (I’m writing this at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf nearest me, because the other guys’ “free” Internet deal sucks beyond all words, even if they’re egg sandwiches are good and I actually like very darkly roasted coffee.)

Nevertheless, there is stuff to tell you.

* I’ve been remiss in failing to mention that Sunday’s Bruno/Slim Shady rectal contretemps has been confirmed as a staged event, via the wondrous and personally very cool Anne Thompson. However, Sacha Baron Cohen has at least on potential serious problem — a lawsuit that is a lot more serious than the “Borat made me look stupid and racist, possibly because I really am stupid and racist” actions that were brought against him before. This time a woman alleges that Baron Cohen’s crew attacked her to get a reaction for the film and that she is disabled as a result. If true, I have to wonder why criminal charges weren’t filed, and as Matthew Belloni comments, the timing (just prior to the release of the “Bruno” movie) is worth noting.

* THR and Variety both have reviews of “Land of the Lost.” Neither cares for it. As for the original series, Variety‘s Brian Lowry refers to it as “campy” and Kirk Honeycutt refers to the show as being “fondly remembered (in some quarters).” Those quarters would belong to our own Ross Ruediger. Read on….

* And one more item from Anne Thompson. Something calling itself the Ultimate Movie Site is in beta. At first blush, I’m not feeling it. It’s definitely ambitious, but also strikes me as a little confusing and unfocused in its lay-out and in precisely what it’s trying to do. And, if something calling itself that doesn’t work for this mega-movie geek, will it work for others? Besides, I thought this was the ultimate movie site….

Land of the Lost – Season One: “It’s Not Just for Kids Anymore”

If there’s one thing the upcoming “Land of the Lost” movie can be counted on to do, it’s generate some long overdue interest in the classic Sid and Marty Krofft series upon which it’s based. Viewers of the new film, starring Will Ferrell, will largely be made up of two groups: those who watched the show back in the seventies, and those who have no idea the movie is even based on a TV show. With a sweet new “Complete Series” box set currently in stores, there’s no better time than now to look back at the show that began scarring many a young psyche when it was unveiled in 1974.

The Kroffts unleashed all manner of trippy live action television fare on Saturday morning viewers back in the ‘70s, but the majority of their output was campy and comical. “Land of the Lost” really stood apart from most of their other productions with its far more serious themes and dramatic approach. The first season of “Land of the Lost” is oftentimes seriously thought-provoking science fiction, wrapped around a fair amount of fatherly advice, sibling friction, and heaping helpings of action & adventure and thrills & chills. Rick Marshall (Spencer Milligan) and his teenage children Will (Wesley Eure) and Holly (Kathy Coleman) are, as the famous theme song goes, on a routine expedition when they go over a waterfall and end up in a strange place populated by dinosaurs, monkey people, and a slew of lizard men that gave a generation of kids nightmares that lasted for years.

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TCA Tour, Jan. 2009: “Eastbound and Down”

Danny McBride had a hell of a 2008, what with scene-stealing roles in “Pineapple Express,” “Tropic Thunder,” and…well, okay, maybe “Drillbit Taylor” wasn’t everything it could’ve been. But, still, the guy’s definitely on a roll, and although 2009 was already shaping up to be a good year for McBride, thanks to his co-starring role in Will Ferrell’s take on Sid & Marty Krofft’s “Land of the Lost,” he can now also claim ownership of a lead role in an HBO series.

HBO’s Sue Naegle was able to sum up the premise of “Eastbound and Down” in a single well-constructed sentence: the hilariously tragic story of Kenny Powers, a former major league pitcher whose bad-boy ways have him down and out and teaching phys ed. at his old middle school in North Carolina. As a man who’s spent his entire life within a 30-minute drive of the Tarheel State (though this is probably the first time I’ve ever referred to it as the Tarheel State), I admit to a certain affinity for the premise, particularly after hearing McBride talk about his reasons for doing the series.

“These guys both grew up in North Carolina,” McBride said, referring to his collaborators Jody Hill and
Ben Best, “and I grew up in Virginia, and we all met at film school down in North Carolina School of the Arts. We weren’t really happy with the way the South was portrayed in a lot of film and television. It seemed like it kind of stopped at the ‘Hee-Haw’ kind of deal, which is overalls and Billy Bob, so we kind of wanted to find new things to make fun of in the South.”

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