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‘The Rusty James Show’: The idiot bastard son of Woody Allen and Firesign Theatre, starring Elvis?

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Fifty years ago—in the perfect pop culture year of 1966—Woody Allen did his first film project for American International Pictures, home to Roger Corman, monsters, bikers, acid heads and futuristic Death Races looking way forward to the year 2000. I say film project as he didn’t make his first film, he sort of stole it! Legally.

Basically Allen took the Japanese action film International Secret Police: Key of Keys and re-dubbed the dialogue, changing the plot to make it revolve around a secret egg salad recipe being fought over by rival James Bond-type spy characters. The film became What’s Up Tiger Lily? and was quite well received. The idea had been done before of course, on a smaller scale by Rocky and Bullwinkle creator Jay Ward for his Fractured Flickers TV series in 1963, and surely others had toyed with the concept, but not in a feature length film. The opportunities for juvenile, MAD Magazine humor were endless and very funny.

What’s Up Tiger Lily? created a model that has been followed by some of the funniest people in history. Here is the trailer in which Allen explains to an unsuspecting public what it is that he has done. (The entire film can also be found on YouTube.)
 

 

 
The next one of these dubbed comedies that comes to mind was in fact done by two of the funniest people to ever grace this planet, Phillip Proctor and the late Peter Bergman of Firesign Theatre fame. In 1979 Proctor and Bergman took clips from 1940s Republic Serials and overdubbed and rewrote an extremely stoned cliffhanger entitled J-Men Forever, starring themselves in newly filmed black and white bits that were inserted into the insane mess of rearranged reality. To top this off they used modern loud rock n roll music for the soundtrack.

To quote the blurb under the YouTube clip:

J-Men Forever became the signature for Night Flight’s stoned comedy audience in the 1980’s. This ultimate late night chronic high comedy was the most demanded rerun for the entire 8 years Night Flight was on the USA Network.

After the jump, experience the inspired insanity of ‘The Rusty James Show’...

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Posted by Howie Pyro
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01.30.2016
03:18 pm
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Finally, the death metal version of ‘Grease’ we’ve been waiting all our lives for
07.06.2015
09:09 am
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We’re grateful to Andy Rehfeldt for reminding us that most things can be improved with a little death metal. In this case, the classic 1978 musical Grease provides no exception to the rule. Rehfeldt worked up a death metal overdub for the climactic “You’re the One That I Want” scene late in the movie, and it’s fantastic!

The best thing about this version is that it lets us enjoy John Travolta’s idiotic facial expressions in a whole new way.
 

 
via Uproxx
 

Posted by Martin Schneider
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07.06.2015
09:09 am
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Career R.I.P. T-shirts


 
What a brilliantly nasty concept, a Tumblr with T-shirts announcing when Macaulay Culkin or Harrison Ford started, and more importantly stopped, being relevant. I’m not real clear if there are actual T-shirts to be purchased yet, if you “get in touch @CareerRIP” you’ll get “details on how to get your hands on a T-shirt.” 

As it says on the Tumblr, “CareerRIP is a tribute to our passed heroes whose careers have sadly left us. We celebrate their brightest hours through a series of limited edition T-shirts.”
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
via Das Kraftfuttermischwerk

Posted by Martin Schneider
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08.25.2014
09:45 am
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‘John Travolto’: Italy’s very own FAKE John Travolta!
11.14.2013
05:56 pm
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The Face with Two Left Feet
 
In 1977 Saturday Night Fever came out and the Bee Gees and John Travolta ruled the world. Probably the most intriguing and risible effort to cash in on Travolta-mania was Neri Parenti’s 1979 Italian movie John Travolto ... Da Un Insolito Destino (the title is a pun; in addition to including John Travolta’s name almost exactly, it translates to something like “John Overwhelmed ... by an Unusual Destiny”). The movie, released in the U.S. on DVD as The Face with Two Left Feet, pulls off a neat trick: ripping off John Travolta by concocting a plot that’s all about ripping off John Travolta.

The ace up Neri’s sleeve was Giuseppe Spezia, an Italian actor who indeed resembled Travolta—one commentator is convinced that Spezia underwent plastic surgery to supply the needed trademark Travolta dimple on his chin, and I’m in no position to disagree. The movie also featured an actress who would later garner world renown for different reasons—the female lead was Ilona Staller, AKA “Cicciolina,” the X-rated actress who would marry Jeff Koons and get herself elected to the Italian parliament.
 
John Travolto da un insolito destino
 
As far as I can figure out the plot of this movie, Spezia plays “Gianni,” a hotel cook who’s a bit of a sad sack; he sits in the disco while all the sexy people get it on on the dance floor. The DJ of the establishment, hilariously called “John’s Fever,” is played by La Cicciolina. His co-workers notice that he looks so much like Travolta that he might be able to parlay that resemblance into success at the disco. There is the inevitable makeover (which is awesome), and then he returns to assume his rightful place as the king of John’s Fever. I think there is also a side plot in which rumors spread that John Travolta himself is in town or something.
 
Travolto/Travolta
A coworker uses a magic marker to convince Gianni of the possibilities that await him
 
Here’s the makeover scene, which is silly and campy and everything you would imagine such a thing to be. The tone reminds me a bit of La Cage aux Folles, which had come out a year earlier.
 

 
Here’s the climactic scene in which Gianni recapitulates the legendary dance scene of Saturday Night Fever. The pre-closing credits bit where the entire cast assembles on a fountain and ostentatiously either does or does not wink at the camera to signal the end of the movie is a perfection all its own. Both of these scenes are well worth watching, but you can buy the full movie too.
 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Shit sandwich Christmas music video re-teams John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John

Posted by Martin Schneider
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11.14.2013
05:56 pm
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Shit sandwich Christmas music video re-teams John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
12.05.2012
04:37 pm
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“Summer lovin’ happened so fa-ast…”

“You Might Like It” is the title of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John’s new Christmas song. I predict you won’t like it very much at all. On YouTube the dislikes outnumber the likes by a 3 to 1 margin. Expect that gap to widen as the day goes on.

Posting it here, I feel like someone going “This smells like shit, smell it.”

As D-Listed’s Michael K put it:

“The cover of John and ONJ’s holiday album is what you would see if you put a magnifying glass up to a unicorn’s fart bubble after it ate all of the Christmas candy, and the video for their first (and last) single is just as special.”

He hit that nail squarely on the head. The celebrated Mr. K goes on to refers to Olivia Newton-John’s face as “looking like an inside/out rubber cat mask.”

Look what’s happened to poor Danny and Sandy. How long did it take them to make this video? An hour? Less? Christ does this suck!
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Thi$ Chri$tma$: Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta puke up a Christmas album

Posted by Richard Metzger
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12.05.2012
04:37 pm
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Thi$ Chri$tma$: Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta puke up a Christmas album
10.02.2012
02:45 pm
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Just look at them!

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta have reunited for a Christmas album, called—how creative—This Christmas.

This Christmas will feature a new duet written for the pair by songwriter John Farrar (who wrote “You’re the One That I Want”) and guest appearances by Kenny G, Sir Cliff Richard, Tony Bennett, James Taylor and Chick Corea. And Barbra Streisand! Why did Barbra Streisand get involved with something this fucking… uh… greasy?

This Christmas will either sell nothing at all or else be a huge, huge massive hit. No inbetween. I’d like to believe that I personally don’t know even one single person who would purchase this product or even be tempted by it.

It’s like wrapping up puke and asking the public to buy it. The Grease-loving public, I should say. Can you imagine buying this? Actually listening to it?

*Shudders*

Posted by Richard Metzger
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10.02.2012
02:45 pm
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Bruce Springsteen in a video he’d probably prefer you didn’t see
07.31.2011
01:22 am
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“Danskins In The Dark.”
 
Raw footage of Bruce Springsteen lip-syncing and hip swinging to “Dancing In The Dark” for a video that, until now, never saw the light of day. Jeff Stein had been hired to shoot the video, but when Bruce saw the rushes he wasn’t happy. Brian De Palma replaced Stein and shot a radically different version of the video: live footage of Springsteen performing the tune with an appearance by Courtney Cox.

In the Stein footage, Springsteen seems to be taking a cue from George Chakiris in West Side Story or John Travolta in the Sylvester Stallone directed sequel to Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive, which was released a few months before this video was shot.

Springsteen’s mid-80s flirtation with synthy new wave music was a real blow to the guy’s street cred and may be a glitch he’d just as soon forget.

This could have made for a nice exercise video: “Sweating In The Dark: New Jersey Aerobics with the E Street Muscle.”

 
The version that made it to the airwaves:

 
Update: Special bonus video after the jump…

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Posted by Marc Campbell
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07.31.2011
01:22 am
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Battlefield Haiti!
01.19.2010
01:45 am
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Well, that’s just what Haiti needs right now—Scientologists!

John Travolta has announced that he will fly “volunteer ministers” from the Church of Scientology to Haiti, to help victims of the country?

Posted by Bradley Novicoff
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01.19.2010
01:45 am
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