About the Rifftrax movie choices, and related stuff.

[torgosPizza]

If the latter, were you being facetious, or were you being serious?

Completely facetious. Mike knows that it just got released as a double-disc set (I mentioned it to him myself) but.. well.. it's one of those things. Mike reads the forum now and then (and it's obvious Bill has been this whole time) so, maybe it will happen. I can't say anything for certain because, well, I don't make the decisions. Maybe it will happen - and if it does, it would probably be awesome. Would it sell well? Who knows.

[Edward J Grug III]

I know allot of you around here think I'm just some 'hammy Canadian', but let me add my 2 cents (two Canadian cents...which is worth pretty much the same as 2 American cents now).

I totally understand that the newer releases sell the best and margins are slim. But, ask any entrepreneur, they'll tell you that when you start a business, margins will be slim. No secret there.

Anyway, if RiffTrax only looks at riffing new releases, because they do the best, then its very narrow/short sited in the health of RiffTrax. My feeling is that you need to have a 'loss leader' every once in a while. This will add to the much talked about variety and keep some of the obscure-movie-liking folks happy and bring over-all good health to RiffTrax for years to come.
BTW, when I look at the list of releases, there is some good variety overall. Anyway, lets continue...

Also, I'm not totally sold on the fact that older stuff doesn't sell well....well I believe RiffTrax when they say that their past, older stuff doesn't sell, because they have hard facts to back that up. But I think its the choice of movies and because they were Mike solo's That they didn't do well. Perhaps older, but easy to obtain on DVD stuff would sell a bit better (notice I said a bit, because I know it wont sell as good as the new stuff). I'm thinking of titles like Titanic, The X-Files, Red Dawn....and I'm drawing a blank. But just imagine a huge long list of older, but easy to obtain movies, and then you feel satisfied that I've made my point 


Lets look at an example...in my mind it would look like this:
What about the X-Files movie?
Well...
-There are lots of X-Files fans on the forum, because I've seen several 'geek-out' threads on the subject
- Its been suggested in the suggest-a-thread
- The second X-Files is coming out soon, so there is already some buzz about the subject
- Its Sci-Fi, which obviously sells better
- It can be obtained easily on DVD (and pretty cheap at that too)
- If we bring in Kevin and Bill, it will sell even better

In conclusion, I know RiffTrax 'gets it' on the variety subject. Lets all be patient and respectful and enjoy anything that gets released. Because just over 2 years ago, we'd give our sternums just to get any riffing from Mike, Kevin and Bill...and now look at us....we have a plethora of Riffing to choose from 

Yeah, Riffing older movies that are about to get a sequel might help, and maybe older movies that are about to be re-released (you know, like the 20th anniversary this or that) are a possability too.

Ultimately, as they keep saying, they are exploring other ways to make this stuff work.

Hang in there!

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

I would also like to push for 3:10 to Yuma, don't know why, just throwing it out there 

[skenderberg]

How many people do you think were upset when Conor's name was added to the employee section as  "Writer."   I bet a section of the people think that only those doing the riffing are the ones who wrote the whole thing.

If so, they kept more quiet about it than the people who wrote to support@rifftrax.com about DisembAudio during the beginning weeks of RiffTrax!

Yeah, but you have to go looking for that information on the site.  If you really want the crazies to come out with their torches and pitchforks, get Mike to mention it in the next track.

[Bairman]

gammer's post made me think of something else as well.  RiffTrax fans are of varying ages and "old" is subjective.  To me, the 80s are not old but anything before 1962 is.  But really, I'm more inclined to be influenced by whether I like the movie or not.  (I almost said whether it was "good" or not, but that 's also subjective.)

For the record, I would buy and enjoy riffs of all three of gammer's examples... Titanic, The X-Files & Red Dawn... and I already own one of them on DVD.  But I have a hard time with crap like Crossroads, Glitter & Troll 2.

[BathTub]

And I would just like to chime in that with I am Legend, that makes 3 of the last 4 movies that aren't or weren't even available at the rifftrax release date.

and now that I bought Beowulf I've lost the DVD during the house shifting, sorry trumpysmagicsnout!

[Edward J Grug III]

And I would just like to chime in that with I am Legend, that makes 3 of the last 4 movies that aren't or weren't even available at the rifftrax release date.

and now that I bought Beowulf I've lost the DVD during the house shifting, sorry trumpysmagicsnout!

Yeah, I'm sure that probably effects the sales a little, but probably not that much. I wonder how much of their business comes from outside the US?

I buy them when they come out most of the time anyway, and just watch them later down the line.

[bettertomorrowamy]

Netflix refuses to send me Cloverfield.  It's been at the top of my queue since February.  I almost broke down and bought it. 

[gammer]

Guys, do any of you remember that last time RiffTrax was accused of "too much".

It was when they did a whole whack of Star Trek releases...again, I'm sure they sold really well, so they riffed a bunch of them, but by the time they did the last one there were similar complaints to what I'm reading today...

Just an observation, is all.

[ShadowDog]

I'd hate to see this thread get bogged down with an endless six page argument between 3-4 people to the point where Bill doesn't have time to wade through it to answer questions.

With that in mind, I'm going to make my points and give my feedback in one longer than average post and then get the hell out of this thread so that it's not 15 pages long when Bill comes back in tomorrow.

Another Option:
There's another option here I haven't seen anyone make yet.  It goes something like this:

1) Start a thread that decides amongst ourselves an old movie (80s, 90s, whatever) we really really REALLY want to see them riff.  Hash it out for a while until we all (or most of us) are sold on one specific movie.

2) All of us go to the "donate" button on the home page which allows you to donate money to Rifftrax.  Each of us donates whatever we can spare.  $1  $5  $10  Hell, $50 if you feel strongly enough about it.

3) In the comment section, write in something like "I am donating this money in the hopes you will riff (name of movie we all pick)"  They monitor these boards so they will see this coming, but this will drive the point home.

I see the most people online today was 84.  Let's say that's 25% of the people who post here at least once a day and who might donate (and I KNOW that number is low, but let's be conservative here), so let's say 320 people would donate money.  And let's say that each person donates an average of $5.  (I think that's a fair number because I know I'd throw $20 into the pot and I wouldn't blame a lot you for just putting in $1.  Every little bit helps)  That's $1,600 donated in one day with the same message.  Not only would that get their attention, that would leverage their costs for risking doing that particular film.  Hell, they might do a film if they received ONE THIRD of that amount because they appreciate their fans.

So I think this plan would work and I think we should try it just to see what happens.  But I'm still fairly new here so I'm just throwing this out there.

My Purchasing Habits:
This isn't speaking for anyone else, but here are my reasons for buying, or not buying, particular rifftraxs (keep in mind that I have the Blockbuster $21 rental plan which allows me to rent as many movies I want for that one price per month.  I can rent 6 different movies a day if I don't mind paying for the gas of running back and forth or keep one for the entire month, my choice.  So for one low price I can pretty much buy any rifftrax I want and enjoy it whenever I want without having to buy the movie if I don't want to):

1) If the Dream Team (Mike, Bill, Kevin) all riffed it, I'm buying it no matter what.  I don't care what the movie is.

2) If MIke and Bill or Mike and Kevin riffed it, I'm probably going to buy it no matter what the movie.  The only exceptions are the older movies I don't want to buy for keeps and which are not available at Blockbuster.

3) If Mike and one Special Guest riffed it, I might or might not buy it.  It depends on the guest and on the movie.  Spiderman 3 sold me because of the movie (and then I fell in love with Lieks or whatever his name is, he was awesome but I had never heard of him before this).  Jurassic Park sold me on the movie and on Weird Al.  But I didn't buy Missile to the Moon because it's not a movie I wanted to own, Blockbuster didn't have it, and I'm not all that wild about Fred Willard.  Nothing wrong with him, just not my cup of tea.

4) If just Mike (or hypothetically someone else) by himself riffs a track, I'll never buy it no matter what the movie is.  I own Fifth Element but I'm never buying the trax because solo riffs leave me cold.  I'm sure they are all very funny and the writing is just as top notch, but there is just something missing for me personally.  I need the chemistry and magic of at least two (and preferably three) people interacting to make it work for me.  I've tried solo riffs and I just don't like them.

Again, this is just one fat guy's feedback, but maybe that sheds some new light on the fact that it might not just be movies, there are probably other factors in play.

And finally, thanks so much for starting and participating in this thread, Bill.  You're awesome and we all love your "smartass riffing tone"!!!

[a pretty girl is like]

How many people do you think were upset when Conor's name was added to the employee section as  "Writer."   I bet a section of the people think that only those doing the riffing are the ones who wrote the whole thing.

If so, they kept more quiet about it than the people who wrote to support@rifftrax.com about DisembAudio during the beginning weeks of RiffTrax!

Yeah, but you have to go looking for that information on the site.  If you really want the crazies to come out with their torches and pitchforks, get Mike to mention it in the next track.

I have to confess I was one of those Disembaudio haters at the beginning.  However, having seen (or is it heard?) more Rifftrax and noticed the evolving ways Disembaudio is used, I'm now on his Squadio.  I even have the t-shirt to prove it.

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

I'd hate to see this thread get bogged down with an endless six page argument between 3-4 people to the point where Bill doesn't have time to wade through it to answer questions.

With that in mind, I'm going to make my points and give my feedback in one longer than average post and then get the hell out of this thread so that it's not 15 pages long when Bill comes back in tomorrow.

Another Option:
There's another option here I haven't seen anyone make yet.  It goes something like this:

1) Start a thread that decides amongst ourselves an old movie (80s, 90s, whatever) we really really REALLY want to see them riff.  Hash it out for a while until we all (or most of us) are sold on one specific movie.

2) All of us go to the "donate" button on the home page which allows you to donate money to Rifftrax.  Each of us donates whatever we can spare.  $1  $5  $10  Hell, $50 if you feel strongly enough about it.

3) In the comment section, write in something like "I am donating this money in the hopes you will riff (name of movie we all pick)"  They monitor these boards so they will see this coming, but this will drive the point home.

I see the most people online today was 84.  Let's say that's 25% of the people who post here at least once a day and who might donate (and I KNOW that number is low, but let's be conservative here), so let's say 320 people would donate money.  And let's say that each person donates an average of $5.  (I think that's a fair number because I know I'd throw $20 into the pot and I wouldn't blame a lot you for just putting in $1.  Every little bit helps)  That's $1,600 donated in one day with the same message.  Not only would that get their attention, that would leverage their costs for risking doing that particular film.  Hell, they might do a film if they received ONE THIRD of that amount because they appreciate their fans.

So I think this plan would work and I think we should try it just to see what happens.  But I'm still fairly new here so I'm just throwing this out there.

My Purchasing Habits:
This isn't speaking for anyone else, but here are my reasons for buying, or not buying, particular rifftraxs (keep in mind that I have the Blockbuster $21 rental plan which allows me to rent as many movies I want for that one price per month.  I can rent 6 different movies a day if I don't mind paying for the gas of running back and forth or keep one for the entire month, my choice.  So for one low price I can pretty much buy any rifftrax I want and enjoy it whenever I want without having to buy the movie if I don't want to):

1) If the Dream Team (Mike, Bill, Kevin) all riffed it, I'm buying it no matter what.  I don't care what the movie is.

2) If MIke and Bill or Mike and Kevin riffed it, I'm probably going to buy it no matter what the movie.  The only exceptions are the older movies I don't want to buy for keeps and which are not available at Blockbuster.

3) If Mike and one Special Guest riffed it, I might or might not buy it.  It depends on the guest and on the movie.  Spiderman 3 sold me because of the movie (and then I fell in love with Lieks or whatever his name is, he was awesome but I had never heard of him before this).  Jurassic Park sold me on the movie and on Weird Al.  But I didn't buy Missile to the Moon because it's not a movie I wanted to own, Blockbuster didn't have it, and I'm not all that wild about Fred Willard.  Nothing wrong with him, just not my cup of tea.

4) If just Mike (or hypothetically someone else) by himself riffs a track, I'll never buy it no matter what the movie is.  I own Fifth Element but I'm never buying the trax because solo riffs leave me cold.  I'm sure they are all very funny and the writing is just as top notch, but there is just something missing for me personally.  I need the chemistry and magic of at least two (and preferably three) people interacting to make it work for me.  I've tried solo riffs and I just don't like them.

Again, this is just one fat guy's feedback, but maybe that sheds some new light on the fact that it might not just be movies, there are probably other factors in play.

And finally, thanks so much for starting and participating in this thread, Bill.  You're awesome and we all love your "smartass riffing tone"!!!

[Bill Corbett]

In all seriousness, I'd be willing to answer your questions as well.  I don't know if you'd rather hear it from Bill or not, but I've been around since day 1 and could shed some light on whatever needs light shedding upon.  Would have to wait til tomorrow to find out some specific data, but if you want, I can help.  Don't want to overstep Bill on the thread though.

Conor -

Take my thread.  Please.

Seriously, just pitch in and answer any questions you want.  You're there on the ground, on the front line, and you've been there since this damned war started.   

....Will it ever end?  Look, Colonel Potter... this Conor's a young guy with a sweet girlfriend, what's he doing here in Korea getting shot at?!  WHO STARTED THIS MADNESS??!

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

Madness?


THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RVR II]

WHO STARTED THIS MADNESS??!

Crow 2.0