Ask Slashdot: an Interview with Joel Hodgson

[Chaos]

Several months ago (3-4), Slashdot announced that it was taking questions for an interview with Joel Hodgson. JUST YESTERDAY, the interview was finally released:

http://interviews.slashdot.org/article.pl?no_d2=1&sid=08/01/25/1457218

Of note: Joel writes his own intro and responds to it as though the interviewer had written it, and he refuses to answer a question about RiffTrax. Oh, and when they said "keep circulating the tapes," they didn't really mean for anyone to share them, they just wanted to try to get people to get more networks to carry the show. Interesting read, nonetheless.

[Compound]

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?

No, I loved working on the show -- I created it. It was the perfect job. I left the show because I was not getting along with my partner in the venture. After the fifth season, he and I were on the verge of a fight that I think would have threatened the survival of the show.

Interesting. This is a bit different from his old "I felt it was time to move on and try different things" reply.

[ChrisHanel]

I was more interested that Slashdot left Joel out to dry twice. The writer for Slashdot didn't have to point out that Joel wrote his own intro, or leave in a question that Joel didn't answer. They made him look a bit bad on both occasions.

I'm disappointed that Joel didn't answer the Rifftrax question, but he's there to promote CT, not to give free time to what really adds up to his competition. Slashdot probably felt that this was more about connecting Joel with fans than it was about promoting a product, and treated it as such. Who wants to bet that Joel didn't get to read the final version of that article before it went live?

[Chaos]

Mike's never refused to answer a question about Cinematic Titanic in any of his interviews. *shrug*

I guess it just comes down to class. Or, for that matter, common sense on his part. It looks far worse to say nothing than it does to say something kind of off-handed, even if you don't really mean it.

And I'm not surprised at all that the guy from Slashdot would do that... they are a bit of the archetypal "mean-spirited nerds" over there (which is much different than your run-of-the-mill nerds).

[Invader_quirk]

Grrr. I hate to say it but Joel's starting to tick me off a bit. I wish he'd acknowledge Mike's existence. It's just weird and off-putting.

[Chaos]

Yes, it comes off as small and petty to me.

Don't get me wrong, I like the guy. I'm one of those fans that enjoyed both the Joel and Mike years (though I freely admit that most of my favourite episodes are numbered during the Mike years, I started watching during the Joel years and have very fond memories of the show from that time period). But the whole "they don't exist" thing is kind of sad.

[Dim of the Yard]

I was more interested that Slashdot left Joel out to dry twice. The writer for Slashdot didn't have to point out that Joel wrote his own intro, or leave in a question that Joel didn't answer. They made him look a bit bad on both occasions.

I'm disappointed that Joel didn't answer the Rifftrax question, but he's there to promote CT, not to give free time to what really adds up to his competition. Slashdot probably felt that this was more about connecting Joel with fans than it was about promoting a product, and treated it as such. Who wants to bet that Joel didn't get to read the final version of that article before it went live?

I thought mentioning Joel's intro was especially weird, since it (Joel's intro, not the intro to the intro) read like it was written with playful banter in mind, or something along those lines.  The first paragraph was pretty neutral in tone, and it read to me like Joel wanted (expected?) the interviewer (for lack of a better word, I guess) to take credit for that part.  Slightly jarring.

And I wasn't too surprised about the fact that Joel didn't give an answer to the RiffTrax question.  Sure, I was a touch annoyed that he didn't mention Mike, Bill, and Kevin, but Cinematic Titanic's barely out of the docks, so to speak.  Give it time to settle in a bit, to see if the show's going to make it beyond the first few episodes, before looking at the opposition.  At least, that's the way I see it.

[AmandaGal]

I guess I have a mean-spirited nerd's sense of humor.  I thought it was hilarious that ole Taco not only told us Joel wrote the intro but left in his response.   Yeah, it made Joel look like a bit of a putz, but hilarious anyway.   

Not quite as funny that he left in the rifftrax bit, but in some ways, not answering the question answers the question more honestly than answering the question would.  Figure that sentence out

[BathTub]

The thing is Joel didn't write the intro, Fnord did, I guess that wasn't clear to CmdrTaco.

[Dim of the Yard]

Not quite as funny that he left in the rifftrax bit, but in some ways, not answering the question answers the question more honestly than answering the question would.  Figure that sentence out

At this time of night?  Lady, you're crazy.

[Chaos]

I guess I have a mean-spirited nerd's sense of humor.  I thought it was hilarious that ole Taco not only told us Joel wrote the intro but left in his response.   Yeah, it made Joel look like a bit of a putz, but hilarious anyway.   

Not quite as funny that he left in the rifftrax bit, but in some ways, not answering the question answers the question more honestly than answering the question would.  Figure that sentence out

Oh, I thought it was funny too. It's just the sort of thing I would expect the folks on Slashdot to do. They don't like people putting spin on things, so they're likely to put everything down word for word, or outright call you on it, if you try to manipulate the interview or article to look better. Which is exactly why he said it was Joel's intro, and then included Joel's response to himself, as well as leaving in the blank question.

[darkside]

I was more interested that Slashdot left Joel out to dry twice. The writer for Slashdot didn't have to point out that Joel wrote his own intro, or leave in a question that Joel didn't answer. They made him look a bit bad on both occasions.

I agree the intro thing was childish, but other than that Joel has no one to blame but himself for coming off bad in the interview.  I love that Joel is riffing again and I want CT to do well, but he is giving an impression that he is either dismissive or downright jealous of the stuff Mike has done.

Joel needs to grow up and he needs to respect the work of the competition.  Mike kept this thing alive after Joel left MST3K and definitely after MST finally went off the air.  If there was no commentaries on Legend DVDs, no Film Crew attempt and especially if there was no Rifftrax you can bet there would have been no Cinematic Titanic.  Mike is the main reason the MST gang has stayed in the minds of the fans.  He has been active and has kept the MST formula alive.  Joel coming back now and dismissing him is down right offensive. 

I want CT to succeed though I doubt their business model has a chance of doing so.  However, I mostly want Joel to grow up and respect what the competition is doing.  I think he is a fool for not doing a Rifftrax with Mike to help cross promote Cinematic Titanic and give the idea to the fans that this is just another source for great riffing.  Instead he seems to act like Rifftrax is competition and if true it is competition that will bury him.  $16 movies you have to wait 2 weeks to get delivered will never compete with $4 instant downloads to mostly mainstream films.  Not to mention they will be lucky to put out a CT episode every 2-3 months compared to Mike's ability to do a weekly track if he really wants to. 

Good luck Joel. 

[Isaac S.]

Thoughts:

I've got to admit, the writing his own intro made Joel look like kind of a tool, especially as I'm sure Slashdot would have written up a really nice intro.

The question about sharing MST3K episodes seemed more about sharing Rhino episodes ("they're too expensive, waaaaaaaah!"), which is a strict no-no in MSTie communities, and Joel's answer seemed to be directed primarily at that.

And the not answering the RiffTrax question struck me as very strange.  I'm beginning to tire of the CT gang's approach toward RiffTrax.  It's getting really old and starting to make them look like jerks.  Hate to say it, but it's true.  I don't expect them to advertise for RiffTrax, but they could acknowledge their existence and say there's no hard feelings between them.  Joel could at least say he's proud of what they've done or something, given that he worked extensively with Mike and Kevin.  I thought for sure there weren't any hard feelings on the CT end, but their complete refusal to acknowledge the existence of RiffTrax has me second guessing that now.  Please don't make me choose a side, Joel, because Mike and co. are much more gracious and I do enjoy the RiffTrax style better, at least based on the first CT outing...

And did Joel write the "Question Unsurprisingly Left Unanswered" bit or did the Slashdot writer?  It was italicized as if Joel had written it.  I'm not sure if that would be more or less jerky, but I just wonder.

That wasn't the only question Joel didn't answer, by the way.  His answer to the second half of the next question was silence:

Tell me about [CT]. When, how much, and where. Are you enjoying yourself again? Do you think that with video on demand and the increasing number of channels that you may get a broadcast distribution, or is your intent to keep it like this?

Cinematic Titanic is a new movie riffing show involving the original cast of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. As you probably know, we all left MST at one point or another and are now gathering to do it all again, in a new form. To get an idea of what we're up to, check out the trailer at CinematicTitanic.com -- it Roqs! Our first feature length show clocks in at about 80 minutes. The first film we're riffing on is called "The Oozing Skull", and it is one humdinger of a doozy! It's available from CinematicTitanic.com and the DVD costs $15.94. Yes, thanks for asking, working on Cinematic Titanic is a pure and potent kind of fun.

He answered the first part, but completely left out the latter portion.  Is it their intent to keep it like that or not?  I suspect not, but he could have at least acknowledged that the question was asked, even if he couldn't give an answer due to ongoing negotiations or something.

I don't know, guys, I like Joel, but he's beginning to irk me...

[bettertomorrowamy]

If there is such a rift between Rifftrax and CT, where are Mary Jo's loyalties.  She did Glitter.  I really think this whole thing is either a misunderstanding, or an elaborate joke being played on Msties to get back at them for the whole Joel vs. Mike war.

[AmandaGal]

Joel irks me a bit too, but I get the feeling that he's just not as, well, "goofy" as the rifftrax crew?  I've never really liked the way he comes across, even back in the mst3k days, but maybe he's just coming across bad.  He seems a bit of a control freak and that often sounds condescending and snobbish but it's not really.  I don't think that makes him a jerk.

Business wise, I really don't blame him for not wanting to work with Mike.  I'd rather have my own company and do things my way too.

In the same vein, there are some people I really like but wouldn't want to work with.  Not wanting to riff with Mike doesn't automatically mean Joel hates him or anything.

They could hate each other. Who knows?  Well, I'm sure someone does. I, personally, do not know anything.  I just like to try to be even handed.  Even though Rifftrax rules!