Escapay's Favorite Films Digest: Volume One
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 1:09 am
In the vein of Aaron and Laz's discussion series, I've started mine. 
Partly out of bringing shameless attention to myself and shameless plugging of DVDs in my collection. Oh, and of course, awareness of some films that some UD'ers may have never seen or even heard of. It won't be limited to one genre of films, since I've got quite a range of favorite films. I may cover a 1940s film noir title, or a 1980s fantasy film, even a 1950s biblical epic. For this thread, I'll limit myself to my (current) favorite 45 films in my DVD collection.
<center>Escapay’s Favorite Films Digest, Volume One
1 of 45 :
Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical
</center>
Director: Andy Fickman
Screenwriter: Kevin Mruphy & Dan Studney
Cast: Kristen Bell (Mary Lane), Christian Campbell (Jimmy Harper), Neve Campbell (Mis Poppy), Alan Cumming (The Lecturer, various other roles), Ana Gasteyer (Mae Coleman), John Kassir (Ralph Wiler, Uncle Sam), Amy Spanger (Sally DeBains, Statue of Liberty), Robert Torti (Jesus), Steven Weber (Jack Stone, George Washington)
Producers: Andy Fickman, Kevin Murphy, Dan Studney, Jan Korbelin, Jimmy Veres, Rose Lam
Music Composers/Lyricists: Nathan Wang & David Manning (original film score), Dan Studney (music), Kevin Murhy (lyrics)
Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Jan Kiesser, ASC
Film Editors: Jeff Freeman, A.C.E.
Production Designer: David Fischer
Art Director: Mike Diner
Costume Designer: Maya Mani
Choreographer: Mary Ann Kellogg
Estimated Budget: -
Gross: -
Filming Location(s): Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Filming Dates: April 2004
Production / Distribution Studio: Dead Old Man & ApolloScreen/Showtime Entertainment
U.S. Theatrical Release Date(s): January 2005 (Sundance Film Festival), April 20, 2005 (Showtime)
Advertisting / Promotional Tagline(s): "The feel-good event of the year!"
Filmed in: Widescreen / Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Major Awards Won: Premiere Award (Deauville Film Festival), Outstanding Music and Lyrics (Emmy Awards), Outstanding Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Kristen Bell (Satellite Awards)
Region 1 DVD Releases: November 8, 2005
Screen Format: 16:9 Widescreen
Languages: English (5.1 DD, 2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles: None
Closed-Captions: English
Scene Chapters: 14
Special Features: Original 1936 propoganda film, “Grass Roots: Behind the Scenes” featurette, Audio Commentary (Andy Fickman, Kevin Murphy, Dan Studney, Christian Campbell, Amy Spanger), Cast Biographies, Photo Gallery, Showtime trailers
Notable Facts / Trivia (from wikipedia, imdb, and other sources)
-The high school that Jimmy and Mary attend is named after Harry J. Anslinger, the United States' first "drug czar".
-The Lecturer refers several times to a newspaper written by William Randolph Hearst, whose real life newspapers featured exaggerated stories and anti-marijuana propaganda.
-The number 420, which is a euphemism for the consumption of cannabis and elements of its associated culture, appears several times throughout the film. Jack's house address is 420, and the church's hymnal listing lists 420 several times. Many more examples exist, including the film’s premiere on Showtime: April 20 (4/20).
-Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, and John Kassir all reprise their Off-Broadway roles. Robert Torti only reprises his role as Jesus, all of his other roles are played by Steven Weber. Christian Campbell has been in every official production of the musical, since its start in Los Angeles.
-This is one of the most complicated musicals filmed for television. The movie contains sixteen musical sequences, several complex large-scale dance numbers, and cast members that are proud to display their actual singing voices.
-Had its world premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
-The more than 800 costumes were created by a dedicated team of 12 dyers, sewers and cutters, in addition to a group of seamstresses in Lithuania that worked on costumes for several weeks.
-The credits list "Dead Old Man" as a production studio in conjunction with Apolloscreen. "Dead Old Man" is the name of a song in the original stage production.
-In 1997, writing partners Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, who had met while studying at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, were driving from Oakland to Los Angeles and listening to Frank Zappa's "Joe's Garage", when they heard a line about Catholic school girls smoking reefer behind the rectory. "So I started picturing it in my head," Studney recalls. "Frank Zappa's concept of a musical and then it just hit me. I turned to Kevin and said 'What about doing Reefer Madness as a musical?'" By the time the creative duo reached Los Angeles, they had already written the first song.
-The process of creating the dances was elaborate, complex and highly collaborative, involving everyone from the director to the production designer, costume designer and director of photography. Styles of dance ranged from swing to Bob Fosse-inspired jazz, Bollywood, hip-hop and Las Vegas-type show dancing. More than 400 dancers were auditioned in order to find the 30 used in the final production.
-The projectionist is named Blumsack. Gary Blumsack was one of the original producers of the stage production.
-Harry S. Murphey (Warden Harrah) originated the role of The Lecturer in the Los Angeles production.
-The role of Mr. Poppy was changed to Miss Poppy when Neve Campbell was cast in the role.
Disney Connections:
-Christian Campbell (Jimmy Harper), appeared as Bobby Warner #2 on the ABC soap opera All My Children from 2004 to 2005.
-Neve Campbell (Miss Poppy) was the voice of Adult Kiara in The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, and starred as Sydney Prescott in the Dimension-distributed Scream Trilogy.
-Alan Cumming (Lecturer) played Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids series as well as Rooster Hannigan in the Wonderful World of Disney production of Annie and Sandy Frink in the Touchstone comedy Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion
-Ana Gasteyer (Mae Coleman) portrayed Sra. Giovanna in the Wonderful World of Disney production of Gepetto, as well as Mel in the 1997 Paul Walker comedy Meet the Deedles.
-John Kassir (Ralph Wiler, Uncle Sam) has done voice work for various Disney tv shows and movies, notably Kim Possible, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, The Mighty Ducks (Animated Series), George of the Jungle 2, and the C.O.R.E-produced CGI film The Wild. He also voiced Meeko in Pocahontas and Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.
-Robert Torti (Jesus) has appeared in several episodes of the Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as their father, Kurt Martin.
-Steven Weber (Jack Stone, George Washington) had a recurring role in the Touchstone drama Once & Again, and did voicework in the Hercules animated TV Series.
What the Critics Have to Say:
-“Colorful, Campy, Fun...one whiff and I was hooked” - The Record
-“...lushly colorful, raucous romp” - USA Today
-“It’s Nutty, audacious, over-the-top” - The Detroit News
-“A Jokey Tokey Musical Treat” - Detroit Free Press
-“Get Ready to toe tap in this splashy, spoofy movie musical” - US Weekly
-“Even if you hate musical theatre – or maybe if you do – you might want to check out this very silly satire” - Now Playing Magazine
-“Maybe a few bong hits would make this thing funnier” - efilmcritic.com
-“Trimming down a couple of the musical numbers, tossing out a couple entirely, and keeping the runtime much, much shorter would've made it...I dunno, great! Instead, Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical is merely okay and really kind of tedious.” - DVDtalk
-“If this hasn't been made clear by now, Reefer Madness is not a movie for everyone, though it will likely enjoy a long life in the DVD players of sick musical theater enthusiasts and those with comedy palettes beyond offense.” - DVDVerdict
Escapay's Notes:
-The brown amaray case is *scented*
-Favorite character is Mary Jane (Kristen Bell)
-Favorite dance sequence is tied between "Down at the Ol' Five and Dime" and "Little Mary Sunshine".
-The animated sequence for "The Brownie Song" features a Betty-Boop inspired character made of...brownie
-Apparently the only sequence nobody ever likes to watch whenever we play this film is the Jungle Orgy, and yet there's nothing wrong with the Little Mary Sunshine S&M sequence.
-The film falls flat, IMO, after the "Romeo and Juliet (reprise)".
Songs and Musical Numbers:
"Reefer Madness"
"Romeo and Juliet"
"The Stuff"
"Down at the Ol' Five and Dime"
"Jimmy Takes A Hit"
"The Orgy"
"Lonely Pew"
"Listen to Jesus, Jimmy"
"Mary Jane/Mary Lane"
"The Brownie Song"
"Little Mary Sunshine"
"Romeo and Juliet (reprise)"* name changed to avoid song title being a spoiler
"Murder"
"The Stuff (reprise)"
"Tell 'Em the Truth"
"Reefer Madness (reprise)"
<center>A Few Photos
(Coming Soon)
</center>
Partly out of bringing shameless attention to myself and shameless plugging of DVDs in my collection. Oh, and of course, awareness of some films that some UD'ers may have never seen or even heard of. It won't be limited to one genre of films, since I've got quite a range of favorite films. I may cover a 1940s film noir title, or a 1980s fantasy film, even a 1950s biblical epic. For this thread, I'll limit myself to my (current) favorite 45 films in my DVD collection.<center>Escapay’s Favorite Films Digest, Volume One
1 of 45 :
Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical
</center>Director: Andy Fickman
Screenwriter: Kevin Mruphy & Dan Studney
Cast: Kristen Bell (Mary Lane), Christian Campbell (Jimmy Harper), Neve Campbell (Mis Poppy), Alan Cumming (The Lecturer, various other roles), Ana Gasteyer (Mae Coleman), John Kassir (Ralph Wiler, Uncle Sam), Amy Spanger (Sally DeBains, Statue of Liberty), Robert Torti (Jesus), Steven Weber (Jack Stone, George Washington)
Producers: Andy Fickman, Kevin Murphy, Dan Studney, Jan Korbelin, Jimmy Veres, Rose Lam
Music Composers/Lyricists: Nathan Wang & David Manning (original film score), Dan Studney (music), Kevin Murhy (lyrics)
Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Jan Kiesser, ASC
Film Editors: Jeff Freeman, A.C.E.
Production Designer: David Fischer
Art Director: Mike Diner
Costume Designer: Maya Mani
Choreographer: Mary Ann Kellogg
Estimated Budget: -
Gross: -
Filming Location(s): Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Filming Dates: April 2004
Production / Distribution Studio: Dead Old Man & ApolloScreen/Showtime Entertainment
U.S. Theatrical Release Date(s): January 2005 (Sundance Film Festival), April 20, 2005 (Showtime)
Advertisting / Promotional Tagline(s): "The feel-good event of the year!"
Filmed in: Widescreen / Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Major Awards Won: Premiere Award (Deauville Film Festival), Outstanding Music and Lyrics (Emmy Awards), Outstanding Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Kristen Bell (Satellite Awards)
Region 1 DVD Releases: November 8, 2005
Screen Format: 16:9 Widescreen
Languages: English (5.1 DD, 2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles: None
Closed-Captions: English
Scene Chapters: 14
Special Features: Original 1936 propoganda film, “Grass Roots: Behind the Scenes” featurette, Audio Commentary (Andy Fickman, Kevin Murphy, Dan Studney, Christian Campbell, Amy Spanger), Cast Biographies, Photo Gallery, Showtime trailers
Notable Facts / Trivia (from wikipedia, imdb, and other sources)
-The high school that Jimmy and Mary attend is named after Harry J. Anslinger, the United States' first "drug czar".
-The Lecturer refers several times to a newspaper written by William Randolph Hearst, whose real life newspapers featured exaggerated stories and anti-marijuana propaganda.
-The number 420, which is a euphemism for the consumption of cannabis and elements of its associated culture, appears several times throughout the film. Jack's house address is 420, and the church's hymnal listing lists 420 several times. Many more examples exist, including the film’s premiere on Showtime: April 20 (4/20).
-Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, and John Kassir all reprise their Off-Broadway roles. Robert Torti only reprises his role as Jesus, all of his other roles are played by Steven Weber. Christian Campbell has been in every official production of the musical, since its start in Los Angeles.
-This is one of the most complicated musicals filmed for television. The movie contains sixteen musical sequences, several complex large-scale dance numbers, and cast members that are proud to display their actual singing voices.
-Had its world premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
-The more than 800 costumes were created by a dedicated team of 12 dyers, sewers and cutters, in addition to a group of seamstresses in Lithuania that worked on costumes for several weeks.
-The credits list "Dead Old Man" as a production studio in conjunction with Apolloscreen. "Dead Old Man" is the name of a song in the original stage production.
-In 1997, writing partners Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, who had met while studying at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, were driving from Oakland to Los Angeles and listening to Frank Zappa's "Joe's Garage", when they heard a line about Catholic school girls smoking reefer behind the rectory. "So I started picturing it in my head," Studney recalls. "Frank Zappa's concept of a musical and then it just hit me. I turned to Kevin and said 'What about doing Reefer Madness as a musical?'" By the time the creative duo reached Los Angeles, they had already written the first song.
-The process of creating the dances was elaborate, complex and highly collaborative, involving everyone from the director to the production designer, costume designer and director of photography. Styles of dance ranged from swing to Bob Fosse-inspired jazz, Bollywood, hip-hop and Las Vegas-type show dancing. More than 400 dancers were auditioned in order to find the 30 used in the final production.
-The projectionist is named Blumsack. Gary Blumsack was one of the original producers of the stage production.
-Harry S. Murphey (Warden Harrah) originated the role of The Lecturer in the Los Angeles production.
-The role of Mr. Poppy was changed to Miss Poppy when Neve Campbell was cast in the role.
Disney Connections:
-Christian Campbell (Jimmy Harper), appeared as Bobby Warner #2 on the ABC soap opera All My Children from 2004 to 2005.
-Neve Campbell (Miss Poppy) was the voice of Adult Kiara in The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, and starred as Sydney Prescott in the Dimension-distributed Scream Trilogy.
-Alan Cumming (Lecturer) played Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids series as well as Rooster Hannigan in the Wonderful World of Disney production of Annie and Sandy Frink in the Touchstone comedy Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion
-Ana Gasteyer (Mae Coleman) portrayed Sra. Giovanna in the Wonderful World of Disney production of Gepetto, as well as Mel in the 1997 Paul Walker comedy Meet the Deedles.
-John Kassir (Ralph Wiler, Uncle Sam) has done voice work for various Disney tv shows and movies, notably Kim Possible, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, The Mighty Ducks (Animated Series), George of the Jungle 2, and the C.O.R.E-produced CGI film The Wild. He also voiced Meeko in Pocahontas and Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.
-Robert Torti (Jesus) has appeared in several episodes of the Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as their father, Kurt Martin.
-Steven Weber (Jack Stone, George Washington) had a recurring role in the Touchstone drama Once & Again, and did voicework in the Hercules animated TV Series.
What the Critics Have to Say:
-“Colorful, Campy, Fun...one whiff and I was hooked” - The Record
-“...lushly colorful, raucous romp” - USA Today
-“It’s Nutty, audacious, over-the-top” - The Detroit News
-“A Jokey Tokey Musical Treat” - Detroit Free Press
-“Get Ready to toe tap in this splashy, spoofy movie musical” - US Weekly
-“Even if you hate musical theatre – or maybe if you do – you might want to check out this very silly satire” - Now Playing Magazine
-“Maybe a few bong hits would make this thing funnier” - efilmcritic.com
-“Trimming down a couple of the musical numbers, tossing out a couple entirely, and keeping the runtime much, much shorter would've made it...I dunno, great! Instead, Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical is merely okay and really kind of tedious.” - DVDtalk
-“If this hasn't been made clear by now, Reefer Madness is not a movie for everyone, though it will likely enjoy a long life in the DVD players of sick musical theater enthusiasts and those with comedy palettes beyond offense.” - DVDVerdict
Escapay's Notes:
-The brown amaray case is *scented*
-Favorite character is Mary Jane (Kristen Bell)
-Favorite dance sequence is tied between "Down at the Ol' Five and Dime" and "Little Mary Sunshine".
-The animated sequence for "The Brownie Song" features a Betty-Boop inspired character made of...brownie
-Apparently the only sequence nobody ever likes to watch whenever we play this film is the Jungle Orgy, and yet there's nothing wrong with the Little Mary Sunshine S&M sequence.
-The film falls flat, IMO, after the "Romeo and Juliet (reprise)".
Songs and Musical Numbers:
"Reefer Madness"
"Romeo and Juliet"
"The Stuff"
"Down at the Ol' Five and Dime"
"Jimmy Takes A Hit"
"The Orgy"
"Lonely Pew"
"Listen to Jesus, Jimmy"
"Mary Jane/Mary Lane"
"The Brownie Song"
"Little Mary Sunshine"
"Romeo and Juliet (reprise)"* name changed to avoid song title being a spoiler
"Murder"
"The Stuff (reprise)"
"Tell 'Em the Truth"
"Reefer Madness (reprise)"
<center>A Few Photos
(Coming Soon)
</center>