Explain the phenomenon of Friedberg/Seltzer.

[Thrifty]

The guys behind Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, and most recently, Disaster Movie.

I guess I can understand the travesty that keeps them in directing deals.  I made the mistake of going to see Date Movie in the theater, thinking "hey, romance movies and chick flicks are stupid, they deserve to be spoofed".  Needless to say, I was very disappointed when it turned out to be nothing more than a stream of references without jokes.  It was the ONLY movie I ever walked out of (sometime around the appearance of the "Meet the Fockers" references).

But I remember the theater was full of teenagers who laughed and loudly exclaimed how hilarious the movie was.  So I guess there's an audience.

What interests me the most, though, are these two facts:

1) Each successive movie they produce is somehow worse than the last one.
2) The funniest part about their work is the reviews.  Movie critics can be very clever.  It's like, because they're terrible comedies, they can't be riffed, but you can get fun out of insulting them.

I keep thinking of renting these movies out of morbid obsessive curiousity.  I have seen bits and pieces of Epic Movie on one of the premium movie channels before.  Never could sit through the whole thing though.

[Petey Wheatstraw]

Their last movie bombed. I don't think they will be coming back.

[Moleman]

I don't know but their first movie Spy Hard with Leslie Neilson was pretty good.  Not the best film and the James Bond genre has already been spoofed quite a bit but it was definitely enjoyable.  Who wouldn't like a movie with an evil Andy Griffith and a Weird AL theme song?

After that they did Scary Movie which has some great moments but a bit too vulgar for my tastes.  I don't know something about  a transexual with a scrotum hanging out just doesn't do it for me although I laugh every time I see that bum say "I said a dollar, bitch".  I felt Shriek if you know what I did last Friday the 13th did a much better job parodying the same films.

After that.  What the flying 3#@& is this?  Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, and Disaster Movie are 4 of the worst movies ever made.  Good for 1, maybe 2 laughs per movie.  And I LOVE parody movies, I own almost every one ever made but man this stuff totally bastardizes the whole spoof genre.

What's sad is recent Zucker works like Superhero Movie and An American Carol weren't that great but they were still worlds better than these.  I actually enjoyed Superhero Movie enough that I bought it.  It just makes me wonder though....Is the spoof genre dying?

[Moleman]

Their last movie bombed. I don't think they will be coming back.

Well according to Wikipedia:


Date Movie

Budget    $20 million
Gross revenue    $48,546,578 (USA)


Epic Movie

Budget    $20 million
Gross revenue    $39,737,645 (USA)


Meet the Spartans

Budget    $30,000,000
Gross revenue    $84,558,676


Disaster Movie

Budget    $20,000,000
Gross revenue    $31,681,876



I'm afraid they aren't going anywhere.

[Petey Wheatstraw]

I don't know but their first movie Spy Hard with Leslie Neilson was pretty good.  Not the best film and the James Bond genre has already been spoofed quite a bit but it was definitely enjoyable.  Who wouldn't like a movie with an evil Andy Griffith and a Weird AL theme song?

After that they did Scary Movie which has some great moments but a bit too vulgar for my tastes.  I don't know something about  a transexual with a scrotum hanging out just doesn't do it for me although I laugh every time I see that bum say "I said a dollar, bitch".  I felt Shriek if you know what I did last Friday the 13th did a much better job parodying the same films.

After that.  What the flying 3#@& is this?  Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, and Disaster Movie are 4 of the worst movies ever made.  Good for 1, maybe 2 laughs per movie.  And I LOVE parody movies, I own almost every one ever made but man this stuff totally bastardizes the whole spoof genre.

What's sad is recent Zucker works like Superhero Movie and An American Carol weren't that great but they were still worlds better than these.  I actually enjoyed Superhero Movie enough that I bought it.  It just makes me wonder though....Is the spoof genre dying?

Just a quick correction there: Scary Movie was entirely written by the Wayans Brothers. Friedberg/Seltzer wrote an earlier draft that was not filmed. They exploited the regulations to get people to see the first few of their crappy spoofs.

Their last movie bombed. I don't think they will be coming back.

Well according to Wikipedia:


Date Movie

Budget    $20 million
Gross revenue    $48,546,578 (USA)


Epic Movie

Budget    $20 million
Gross revenue    $39,737,645 (USA)


Meet the Spartans

Budget    $30,000,000
Gross revenue    $84,558,676


Disaster Movie

Budget    $20,000,000
Gross revenue    $31,681,876



I'm afraid they aren't going anywhere.

This doesn't account for the costs of advertising. And I think those costs might have been doubled, considering that the movie gave rats cancer.

[BBQ Platypus]

I put the blame squarely on a Faustian bargain of some sort.

Either that or they slept with some bigwig executives and proved themselves to be really, really good in bed.

[jewishcarpenter]

I always thought they had some "Producers-like" scam going, Uwe Boll wannabe's.

[bratpop]

They wrote the Scary Movies. Therefore, obviously being total hacks, they just kept doing that because it's a cheap buck. Probably the cheapest buck in Hollywood. End of story.

[Petey Wheatstraw]

They wrote the Scary Movies. Therefore, obviously being total hacks, they just kept doing that because it's a cheap buck. Probably the cheapest buck in Hollywood. End of story.

Again, no, they did not. Marlon and Shawn Wayans wrote the first two Scary Movie entries. Friedberg and Seltzer were credited on the first movie because they had written an earlier draft that was not used. This happens all of the time in Hollywood. For instance, Terry Gilliam and Tony Grisoni wrote the filmed screenplay of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but because two Alex Cox and Tod Davies had written an earlier draft, the WGA credited them as well.

[mrbasehart]

They wrote the Scary Movies. Therefore, obviously being total hacks, they just kept doing that because it's a cheap buck. Probably the cheapest buck in Hollywood. End of story.

Again, no, they did not. Keenan Ivory, Marlon and Shawn Wayans wrote the first two Scary Movie entries. Friedberg and Seltzer were credited on the first movie because they had written an earlier draft that was not used. This happens all of the time in Hollywood. For instance, Terry Gilliam and Tony Grisoni wrote the filmed screenplay of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but because two Alex Cox and Tod Davies had written an earlier draft, the WGA credited them as well.

Yeah, but that doesn't matter.  What's perhaps more important is that they got credited for that movie. 

Moleman illustrated why they were allowed to make a series of movies that were basically as bad as each other, but I'm not entirely sure they'll be gone forever.  The difference between their first few hits and now is that a) their reputation is known and b) there are many similar movies either competing theatrically or coming out straight to DVD.  It's a tougher market to sell your crap in, when there's a whole bunch of crap being released at the same time.  I think if House Bunny hadn't been released around the same time, Disaster Movie would've probably made a similar amount of money as the others.

[bratpop]

I didn't say anybody saw what they wrote for the Scary Movies, I only said they wrote them. I'm sure they used that credit to get their own movies, regardless of what was shot.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the "people" behind Disaster Movie are in fact hideous half-human, half-insects. They have a parasitic life and must take cinematic offerings of others. Once they find a high-rated box office target, they attack the film, suck the life and laughter out of them until not a shred of depth, amusement, or entertainment remains, pile up the discarded husks, deficate upon them, and lay eggs in them. This grotesque pile is then ground up and mixed with the raw materials for celluloid and the result is the next Bloated Parody Franchise Movie.

What? It's the truth! You surely can't be jaded and cynical enough to believe actual actors, writers, and directors would participate in these travesties, are you? No. That's how they get made. It doesn't matter if its a flop. The actual cost to make, say, Meet the Spartans, is only the price for the celluloid used to create the original film reel and a few gallons of replacement bacilloplasm for the bubbling green vats that the film's creators rest in during the day.
Unfortunately, sunlight does not kill them, it only weakens them and prevents the use of their more potent psychic talents and black magic.