Dear Cinematic Titanic

[Action Batch]

I think what the good Doctor is saying is; Either say something, or don't. In the spirit of putting up or shutting up, I'll contend that after their fourth release, I can confidently say that I'm no longer interested in CT. Good luck to them, and all of their fans, of which I am not one.

Long live Rifftrax.

[bettertomorrowamy]

I think what the good Doctor is saying is; Either say something, or don't. In the spirit of putting up or shutting up, I'll contend that after their fourth release, I can confidently say that I'm no longer interested in CT. Good luck to them, and all of their fans, of which I am not one.

Long live Rifftrax.

You R SO queer.  No just kidding.  Mike is better, no Joel is, etc...........

[Action Batch]

Oh just shut up and kiss me ya big GAY yah!!!

[torgosPizza]

Shut the fuck up!

Intelligent wisdom at its finest.

[bettertomorrowamy]

Shut the fuck up!

Intelligent wisdom at its finest.

~insert gang sign here~

[daltysmilth]

I always got the impression that Joel's beef was with Jim, not with Mike.  It's possible that people are reading WAY too much into this, too.  Maybe Joel & The Gang* would be willing to do a Rifftrax, but they just haven't been able to get their schedules worked out.  I mean, has Joel or anyone else actually said in as many words that doing a Rifftrax would be completely out of the question?









*Not to be confused with Kool & The Gang**
**Not that a Rifftrax featuring Kool & The Gang would be in any way inferior to one with Joel & The Gang***
***Mike, Kevin, Bill, what will it take to make the Kool & The Gang Rifftrax happen?

[Invisible NanoGhost]

Joel has been somewhat exasperated a few times when people want to start asking about Rifftrax, while Joel is still trying to get CT up-and-running.  That's fine.

I'll also say that I've cut back on CT purchases, but that's because THEY HAVEN'T RELEASED ANY RECENTLY.

There's definitely a different "feel" to the CT releases, and I enjoy them too.  I refuse to get drawn into picking sides.

[Edward J Grug III]

From Ninjew on the CT Forum (http://cinematictitanic.com/wpmu/sf-forum/?forum=6&topic=1526&page=14):

I did see that they've been running an ad for one that says "It's MST3K meets Jaws." That kind of got me. I said "Whaaat? They can't do that." What's up with that? Jaws isJaws, but that's not "MST3K." They're really talented and really good at what they do, but that made me feel competitive. 

That is a shitty thing to say. Is he honestly trying to convince us that he doesn't understand what MST3K meets Jaws implies? It very fairly suggests it's jaws being riffed - which is exactly what it is.

... That said, I am a big fan of the CT DVDs (all of them) and will continue to be excited when they put out a new DVD. I just hope Joel can manage to stop being childish.

[daltysmilth]

One thing I've noticed about the CT DVD's is that they don't seem to have the same sense of camaraderie and chemistry that Mike, Kevin, and Bill have.  Maybe as they put more out and develop their persona's it'll be more like the old days at mst3k.

[FordPrefect]

I get the feeling that Joel & Co. are trying to focus all their energy on Cinematic Titanic live shows and occasional studio releases right now. If they ever take an extended break from live shows some of them might look into it, but I can understand why they'd want to focus on generating revenue for their own small business rather than stop everything and do something with Mike. It might happen in the future, but I don't feel like it needs to happen.

I have to admit, back in late 2007 when Cinematic Titanic was first announced, I wasn't nearly as excited as I thought I'd be. After I thought about it, I realized that this was in large part due to the existence of Rifftrax. Unlike some MST3K purists, I see RT as a more than worthy successor to MST3K. Not only that, I had fully accepted the idea that Joel, Trace, Frank, & Josh were never going to be riffing movies again a long time ago. So it was with a raised eyebrow and a small smile that I greeted the unexpected news of CT's arrival to the post-MST3K movie riffing landscape. I read about what they were up to on Satellite News and watched the online trailers over the course of 2008, but I never got around to purchasing any of their stuff. I had more than enough to keep me busy on this site and still do. Plus, none of my friends seemed especially interested in watching them with me. They liked seeing Rifftrax go after the more "watchable" movies and lean towards Mike a bit more.

My interest in Cinematic Titanic raised a great deal about four months ago when I discovered that they were going to be having a couple live shows a state away from me in Ohio. Still kicking myself for missing Kevin Murphy's rare appearance in Louisville (which I found out about the day AFTER it happened), I was determined to see five people from my favorite show riff a movie live. After making an effort to ask off work in advance (which is a story in and of itself) and talking my Dad into traveling on the road for several hours with me, we headed out to see "Blood of the Vampires". We had a great time. I got to meet Mary Jo after she made a surprise appearance at the Starbucks my Dad and I were hanging out at. I got to see a funny live performance surrounded by fans. Plus, I got to know Dave Gruber Allen (of "Crossroads" fame) and Mary Jo's husband Ronald. While I was there I had them all sign my copy of the ACEG and I finally bought a copy of Oozing Skull to take with me after the show.

Since then I've gotten more of my friends into the first four DVDs and I just got SCCtM in the mail today. If you're not a huge fan of their early DVDs, I still think you should check out their newer stuff on the EZtakes website. The prices there are pretty reasonable and their whole "watch on your computer or burn to a blank DVD" setup is surprisingly user friendly. (I'm glad Rifftrax is starting to get into the download to DVD game with Planet of Dinosaurs.) If you get a chance to go see them live, by all means don't pass it up.

I like the fact that both Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic are options for us. They both fill a different niche for the fans and in a sense they compliment each other. Cinematic Titanic has the fun of a live show and the convenience of an occasional DVD. Rifftrax has a wide variety of enjoyable tracks from the pros and the future pros, for when you want to see anything and everything get riffed. It's all good. 

[TheUnabeefer]

Yeah the "Mike/Joel" "Rifftrax/Cinematic Titanic" thing always seemed silly to me, really....  Like we couldn't have BOTH or enjoy both.  As if we HAD to pick one side or another.

It's about as dumb as the "Coke/Pepsi" argument.  (How many times have you heard someone say that they DON'T drink one of those SIMPLY because they are fans of the other?!)   I find them both enjoyable, and I like Dr. Pepper better than either of those.   

Silly little arguments when there is joy to be had in all of the riffing ventures.


[edit]  I think this marks the FIRST serious post I have ever made on this forum....  I didn't mention Miley Cyrus ONCE  [/edit]

[Action Batch]

There's definitely a different "feel" to the CT releases, and I enjoy them too.  I refuse to get drawn into picking sides.

(not that your quote was directed at me) I'm not really picking a side, if Rifftrax didn't exist I still would have lost interest in CT. I guess the group no longer reflects my taste in humor.

[ShadowDog]

Well put, Action.  I'm the same way, but I hadn't really formed it in my mind that way.  But you're right, if Rifftrax didn't exist then I still wouldn't be a CT fan.  I'm glad enough people like it to keep Joel and Co in business though. I love those guys.

I can fully understand why Joel and Mike wouldn't really do anything together ever again, but still probably don't actually have anything really against each other.  It's kept to very small doses of polite contact when necessary (ie conventions) but any more than that would just pull up the old feeling of "Yeah, now I remember why we don't do anything together"

Yeah, one phone call with this one guy and I want to ax murder him.  LOL  And he's a super nice guy who has never even talked trash about me that I know it.  It's just something that can happen.

[Natureboy]

Well. it seems I started a shit storm here....so I will clarify.  I met the CT crew at Crimanal Records in Atlanta for a Q&A .  Joel made several references to him being pissed about the lines such as "MST3K meets Jaws" for example from Rifftrax.  He also said that Mike was "just an employee of MST3K and had no right to use the MST3K moniker.  Listen folks, yes, it is a little eeary to hear this kind of stuff......but Joel was fantastic to the fans and he and Mike can work this out later.  Hell, if me and Frank can put our political flame war aside......they can work it out too.  I have talked to torgo's pizza about this, so Mike is aware of the problem.

I also talked to Mary jo and and her husaband......Mary jo said about RT....they are my friends.....I spoke to Team RAD (i know his name by I don't want it posted unless he says ok) that there is a problem and that he would not expect crossovers for quite a while......that is what I know.

[Darth Geek]

Well. it seems I started a shit storm here....so I will clarify.  I met the CT crew at Crimanal Records in Atlanta for a Q&A .  Joel made several references to him being pissed about the lines such as "MST3K meets Jaws" for example from Rifftrax.  He also said that Mike was "just an employee of MST3K and had no right to use the MST3K moniker.  Listen folks, yes, it is a little eeary to hear this kind of stuff......but Joel was fantastic to the fans and he and Mike can work this out later.  Hell, if me and Frank can put our political flame war aside......they can work it out too.  I have talked to torgo's pizza about this, so Mike is aware of the problem.

I also talked to Mary jo and and her husaband......Mary jo said about RT....they are my friends.....I spoke to Team RAD (i know his name by I don't want it posted unless he says ok) that there is a problem and that he would not expect crossovers for quite a while......that is what I know.

But what about Trace? And Frank?

The more I hear about it, this little sissy fight reminds me about something they said at the 20th reunion. About how Jo Don Baker didn't hate them until 50 reporters asked him about MST3K and he just got irritated by it. Joel is trying to get Cinematic Titanic up and running (which from it's nature sounds more time consuming and difficult than Rifftrax) and whenever he tries to promote it everyone is bringing up a separate subject.