Slashdot Mirror
Ask MST3k Creator Joel Hodgson
As turkey day approaches, we have the chance to ask Joel Hodgson whatever you can think of. If you've lived without electricity since the 80s, you might not be aware that he was the creator and original host of what may be the funniest show in history - Mystery Science Theater 3000, as well as the upcoming Cinematic Titanic. I've still got my fan club membership card even after nearly 2 decades. Standard Slashdot interview rules apply: ask your questions here, and we'll pass a bunch of the highest scoring ones for Joel to answer.
What do you think about the other efforts led by Mike Nelson like Rifftrax & The Film Crew? Is there a reason that you, Pearl, TV's Frank & Dr. Forester have split from Mike, Brain Guy & Tom Servo? I'm overjoyed that there are multiple efforts but why?
My work here is dung.
My frustrations abound with my attempts to collect the Licensed DVDs of your MST3K material. Currently I have no method of acquiring the tenth box set ($250 on eBay?!) and Rhino has some insane pricing scheme which amounts to $10-$15 a disc. Why did Best Brains Inc. go with Rhino? Why after all that effort to make this material free online (at one time I think there was a dedicated server) are they so expensive and hard to get a hold of? Will Rhino go after me if I continue to own and share tapes and files of MST3K? The mantra always was to keep on circulating the tapes--and with the advent of bittorrent, that's never been easier--but now that they are one by one becoming licensed by Rhino, is that legal?
My work here is dung.
Did the idea for the show come from a single inspiration, or was it a process?
Physics is nothing like religion. If it was, we'd have an easier time trying to raise money!
I had heard rumors that Sci-Fi was the end of MST3K. I know people that have argued whether it was quality or requirements of a story arc in Sci-Fi's contract that caused the show's viewership to fall, why do you think the show eventually went off the air? What was your opinion of it at the end? What was the biggest mistake MST3K made?
My work here is dung.
Really, there's no shortage of bad movies still being made that deserve the MST3K treatment. Did you just get tired of mocking bad movies?
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
What is your opinion on public domain laws? As someone who creates content but also relies on making derivative works of other content, do you support it? What do you think is a desirable length for something to become public domain?
My work here is dung.
What trends have you seen in new movies that you feel are positive? Is there anything about movies today that you utterly detest? Do you ever notice similarities between new movies today and the MST3K movies? What are your feelings about today's movies? I've always wondered if you are capable of watching a movie today without making hilarious jokes in your head, is watching film a major part of your life?
My work here is dung.
We've all laughed at the choice of just inane productions you guys have lambasted over the years. However, there's new choices for great commentary being made every day (skipping personal suggestions). What sort of licensing issues do you guys run up against for acquiring certain content? Is there a "sweet spot" for movies to be in for it to be worth fighting for? How do you choose?
MST3K is still popular with its fans after all this time: people still watch the show, mimic it, repeat the jokes, build robots, etc. What I'd like to know is, how does that feel? Is it fun to think that people enjoyed something you did enough to stick with it after so long, or is it just strange to think that people fixate on it?
Bow-ties are cool.
So who which writer was the model rocket fan? I loved the reference to teh Cherokee D in Marroned.
Also if you could could give the MS3K treatment to any move which movie would it be?
My vote would go to the original Star Trek movie.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Obviously, a huge amount of energy went into writing a typical MST3K show so that it recreated the feel of a bunch of sharp-witted pals staying up late at night over beers and pizza making fun of a bad movie. Nevertheless, it seems like as a group of talented comedian/actors, after watching so many campy movies with such vast bounties of ripe, low hanging fruit, it would be just too tempting to blurt out something amusing that deviated from the script. How many of the remarks made during a typical MST3K show (i.e. during the featured movies) would you say were improvised and how many were scripted?
i\hbar\dot{\psi}=\hat{H}\psi
why did you go?
I came to the datacenter drunk with a fake ID, don't you want to be just like me?
The only two songs that I've been able to remember word for word in their entirety for my whole life have been the national anthem and the MST3K theme song.
Does it contain a subliminal message?
Just disrupt the deflector shield with a tachyon burst.
Has this caused limitations of content for your treatment?
What movie(s) did you really want to review but were denied for some reason?
One of my favorite parts of the show was the creative use of inexpensive materials for the set (except that Millenium Falcon on the door might be worth something now). Will your current project use the same creativity, or will it be more funded and "polished?"
What makes *you* laugh?
Did you guys ever find the first couple of episodes, and how did you lose them anyway?
I'm a little surprised no one else has asked this yet.
;-) What do you do when you're not lampooning bad movies? What do you do in the way of hobbies or relaxation? Favorite books? Heck, for that matter, what do you LIKE to see in terms of movies or animation?
We all know what a great job you did with MST3K, what the show was about, etc. HOWEVER -- I'm more curious about you!
And, perhaps most interestingly, are there any particular movies that you wouldn't dare lampoon?
Inquiring knows want to mind!
Bruce Lane, KC7GR,
Blue Feather Technologies
All of the on-line biographies of you gloss over your "formative years" and seem to concentrate on your prop comedy stand-up work in the Twin Cities as being the impetus for MST3K. However, having grown up in the Green Bay area myself, I can't help but think that some of MST3K (especially its connection to irresistibly awful movies) was inspired in part by WLUK's TJ and the ANT show. Can you comment or elaborate on whether you enjoyed this show as a teenager?
Did you suffer any significant loss of bone mass as a result of your long-term spaceflight? (Are you aware that you currently hold the record for the longest continuous space flight? By a human I mean. Some would give that credit to Valeri Polyakov but you seem to have her beat by about four years...)
Bow-ties are cool.
While you were at MST3K, was there ever a mis-interpreted gag that caused an uproar with some of the fans? Maybe something that sounded unintentionally naughty? Just curious. I remember all those nice letters that were read at the end of each show. Made me wonder if you ever got nastygrams.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
on sites like the Digital Archive Project. I know many current and former MST3k staffers have shown support, but I am interested in what you think about the early stuff(KTMA era and season 1 era) episodes being available for all to see. In the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide there are a couple of statements telling us not to go seek those out because they aren't very good, but fans have encoded them anyway. Does it still bother you? And also, can we please have the master tapes for the first 3 KTMA episodes? Please!
Monstar L
Can you fill us in on your projects and work after MST3K? Also, it seems everybody focuses on a show that you left many years ago... does that irritate you or gratify you?
How do you all eat and breathe on the satellite?
Has any actor/writer/director been legitimately peeved by your often acrid, yet so very accurate commentary?
Bill Griffith, the creator of Zippy the Pinhead, often complained that Hollywood wouldn't let him make a Zippy movie the way he wanted. But when I saw MST3K, especially the host segments, I thought cable TV would be the best place for Zippy because MST3K had a similar style of humor and was thriving in the cable world. Did Bill Griffith ever tell you what he thought of MST3K, or if he wanted Zippy to follow a similar model?
Recently on my college campus there has been a huge rise in popularity of MST3K among people who have never seen an episode before. I think this is due to the ease of illegally watching episodes online. Do you think that this trend is good or bad?
Alternate question: What is it like to watch regular movies with those jokes going on inside your head?
Also, there have been some new introductions to the DVDs licensed by Rhino and I've watched them all. At the beginning, they often talk with or about trying to contact the actors/directors of the films. Oftentimes, it's kind of sad when they show the actors or actresses as they really poured their heart into the movie. For Time Chasers, Mike opens up saying that they invited the original cast to see the movie together with them. I guess they thought it was going to be more friendly
That said, I have spent considerable amount of time and resources researching Manos and although this is off-topic from your question, I must point out that it was written, directed, produced and starred in by the same man. Hal P. Warren, a fertilizer salesman from El Paso Texas. You can find considerable material on that movie including that the camera had no sound function and couldn't hold more than 60 seconds worth of film which resulted in many cuts and bad editing and three people doing the voices. The film crew was not allowed to do anything artsy and soon dubbed the production "Mangos: Cans of Fruit." The unfortunate story of Torgo is that he was supposed to look like a Satyr but instead put the metal leg inserts in backwards (supposed to make his legs look like that of a goat's) and, as a result, had hilariously large knees. This caused him great pain and, whether he was addicted to pain killers or shamed from the movie I can't say, but he committed suicide shortly there after. Rest in peace, Torgo. After I found out about that, I did feel a touch bad for him, considering his short life.
My work here is dung.
Dear Joel... I'd imagine that the show was a lot of fun at times, especially in the gag-writing. But as the laws of averages goes, not every movie that comes down the pike is as ripe for jokes as others. They can't all be gems, which became more obvious after you left the show (I mean it seems there were more "blah" movies to work with, not a statement about the MST3k actors). Some you can just look at and come up with a hundred things to say, others are just kind of "meh" and you have to work harder to come up with something others would find funny to say about. What tricks did you employ to get through the mediocre films, beside musical numbers at intermissions or talking about something unrelated to what was happening onscreen at the time? Bigger question, what films did you have the hardest time riffing on because of so-so content?
Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
First off, thanks for a great show... Were you ever hassled by any of the actors/directors who may have seen their movies on an episode of MST3K? You must have met a few of them at some point, I wonder how they handled it.
Hi Joel,
Always liked you more than Mike.
Live action facsimiles of MST3K have been popping up (most notably, at least for Austin, Mr. Sinus Theater (which had to change its name)) lately, and with technology improving, have you considered doing a live action tour? Perhaps with a Jazz band opening act? or TMBG?
Why is this expectation so prevalent among fans?
What, he was supposed to do the same thing forever? He wanted to go other places with his career.
He doesn't owe you crap.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
So, what was it like growing up watching the Teletubbies?
I didn't think your generation was big enough to be on the net yet. Welcome!
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
It seems that cable channels are becoming just as timid as network stations (who of course own nearly all of them). Could MST3K get on the air today?
http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
Which do YOU prefer, Joel or Mike?
____________________
Clouds in the Sky,
Water in a bottle
Why did they send the movies on U-Matic tapes? That format only has a running time of up to an hour and no way to increase that by long-play. It wouldn't make sense as someone would need to exchange the tape in the middle of most movies.