Universal Still Banning GREAT WHITE - 26 YEARS LATER.... The JAWS Knock-Off You Might Never See!!!

GREAT WHITE is not a classic. It is, however, loads of fun, which makes it a gem for the annals of Adventure Without Shame.



It's a shameless rip-off of JAWS, directed by the great Italian director Enzo G. Castellari (THE BIG RACKET, INGLORIOUS BASTARDS, KEOMA, 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS). Rip-offs were nothing new to Italian directors of the day. They had rip-offs of every major success of the time. THE EXORCIST, THE FRENCH CONNECTION, THE WARRIORS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, THE ROAD WARRIOR, APOCALYPSE NOW, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, RAMBO, STAR WARS, ALIEN - all of these were given the sincerest form of flattery by Italian schlockmeisters in some truly memorable films. Even Italian productions were not exempt, as anyone who saw the many peplums, Spaghetti westerns or zombie films could attest. Some were even given deceiving titles - ZOMBI 2 is not a sequel to DAWN OF THE DEAD (which was released in Italy as ZOMBI) and ALIEN 2: SULLA TERRA has no connection to the Ridley Scott other than the attempt to make a quick buck. But don't confuse a lack of originality with a lack of quality. As a kid, I would search out exploitation films left and right through the less-frequented aisles of the local video store. Checking the credits and seeing familiar Italian names usually sealed the deal.

Not only were JAWS rip-offs nothing new, it wasn't even Castellari's first trip to the well. In 1979, he directed THE SHARK HUNTER which not only cribbed from JAWS but another Peter Benchley adaptation, THE DEEP. What separated GREAT WHITE from the pack was that unlike many other films of the day, it was forced out of theaters by the big studios. Specifically, Universal said this one was just too close to JAWS and sued indie distributors Film Ventures over the deal. It lasted in U.S. theaters for less than a week.

Universal is suing us for how much?!?

Man, that DiCaprio was delicious!

Aint It Cool News currently has a fascinating account up, showing that Universal does not forgive and forget easily:

Why Is Universal Still Blocking The Distribution of Enzo G. Castellari's GREAT WHITE?

Three weeks ago, The New Beverly Cinema hosted a special screening of Enzo G. Castellari's INGLORIOUS BASTARDS (timed to coincide with the movie's long-awaited DVD release). Severin Films, the movie's distributor, helped organize the event, which included a Q&A with the director and his stars, Fred "The Hammer" Williamson and Bo Svenson. As is customary at The New Beverly, a second feature was programmed: Castellari's audacious Nazis-in-London romp, BATTLE SQUADRON. Due to a late start for BASTARDS and a lengthy post-film Q&A session (which gave way to a lengthy autograph-signing session), BATTLE SQUADRON didn't fire up until close to midnight; as a result, Castellari's Nazis-in-London WWII romp played to a house that was maybe a quarter full. This was unfortunate for two reasons: 1) BATTLE SQUADRON is far superior to INGLORIOUS BASTARDS, and 2) BATTLE SQUADRON was the back-up title for the movie Severin Films really wanted to show.

Had all gone according to plan, The New Beverly Cinema would've presented the first North American screening of Enzo G. Castellari's GREAT WHITE in twenty-six years.

Though INGLORIOUS BASTARDS is suddenly a hot property again thanks to Quentin Tarantino, the opportunity to see GREAT WHITE in a U.S. theater would've easily been the highlight of the evening. This is, after all, the notorious JAWS knockoff against which Universal Pictures filed an injunction in the spring of 1982. Why? Well, Universal had their own JAWS knockoff in production for summer 1983: JAWS 3-D. And though these Italian-produced cash-ins were usually under-promoted grindhouse schlock, GREAT WHITE's distributor, Film Ventures International, was aggressively spending millions of dollars to sell the movie nationwide. When the picture opened to huge business on March 5, 1982, its fate was sealed: GREAT WHITE was deemed a threat to Universal's "original" killer shark franchise, and it went away for good.

That Universal would take such a hard-line against Castellari's movie now strikes me as overzealous; it's been viewable for free on the internet for years, and it's really only remembered by completist geeks like me (who'd just convinced their parents to take them to see the film on the very weekend it was banished from theaters). The DVD release of the movie might cause a smattering of hype, but it's not like there's an ongoing JAWS franchise to be damaged (although I'm constantly hearing rumors of a JAWS remake/reboot in development at Universal). Time to ease up on that injunction, Universal. In 2008, GREAT WHITE is, at most, a curio.

I recently exchanged emails with Severin's Carl Daft, and he gave me this update on The New Beverly flap and the possibility of GREAT WHITE ever receiving a commercial release in the United States:

The only contact with Universal came from The New Beverly Cinema and they received a letter back citing the injunction itself whereby it was agreed that GREAT WHITE would never be shown again in the U.S without the prior written approval of Universal. And in this event Universal were not prepared to give that written approval to allow us to screen the film at The New Beverly. They also cite that the injunction stands in other territories but without naming which territories. Since getting wind of Universal’s position the company we were going to license the title from have got cold feet and now there is no deal to be done in the U.S, even if we were prepared to take on the risk. The film is of course out in Scandinavia without any problems and I am hopeful that we can strike a deal for UK rights to the movie and release it there without any fuss.

So there you have it: GREAT WHITE, starring James Franciscus and Vic Morrow, is safe for Scandanavia and nowhere else. This is unfortunate, as there's a Tarantino/Castellari interview in the can for an eventual DVD.

This news is a shame, since Severin has done such a great job with the INGLORIOUS BASTARDS DVD (not to mention their GWENDOLINE release which I'm still swooning over two years later). Oh well, the headline is misleading in one way. If you really want to see GREAT WHITE, you can. It just takes some extra effort to track down and it might not be in the most pristine condition when you find it. Hence why a restored DVD would have been welcome.

And we still love you Mr. Castellari. In fact, I would rather watch 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS over the happy-go-lucky Walter Hill film THE WARRIORS any day of the week.

FUN WITH PROMO ART: Warner Bros. Runs Out of Ideas

Every now and then, the inherent lack of originality amongst mainstream entertainment is enough to make your head spin. We have grown largely apathetic when it comes to things like this. Yes, this shit doesn't even begin to phase us anymore - AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM. We have grown so accustomed to this stuff that we don't blink an eye even when the most unoriginal stuff rears its ugly head. But sometimes, they just get too damn lazy.

This week, a new straight-to-DVD film was released on DVD. It's called CHAOS THEORY and it stars Ryan Reynolds, thus insuring I won't be seeing it. Now, when this came out I got a truly depressing case of deja vu. See, I didn't just wake up from a year-long blackout. Therefore, I was present two weeks before when the new John Heder film (again, no chance in hell I'll be catching this one) came out. Let's just look at these two covers side by side.




Huh. Let's check out the stark similarities. Each of them has a red background, and no having a slightly different shade doesn't give you any points for being unique. Each of them has their title written on the left mid-upper field with the tagline written underneath. While we're at it, the above-title star billing is written much the same as well. Each cover has the main character standing uncomfortably at the right. Again, no it doesn't give you much to hoot about just because you Photoshopped Anna Faris over Napoleon Dynamite's shoulder. Each person in the pic is even holding a sign - Ryan is holding a really lame sub-Fortune cookie bullshit written on an oversized piece of paper while John is holding "I love my mommy" on a paper bag which I assume holds the last shred of his dignity which has now been consumed, passed and held captive by other Mormons.

Now, this would typically be unfortunate. But we could always chalk it up to coincidence. Or maybe we could even point out how competing companies are ripping each other off. If it was the Asylum, it would even be a little bit adorable at this point. But therein lies the problem. These two films did not come out of competing companies. They did not even come out of one of our beloved low budget companies. These two films were released by WARNER BROS. and even then only TWO WEEKS APART!

Hell, it doesn't even matter which film came out first (MAMA'S BOY did, just to remind you), since each was in production at the same time. This can only be chalked up to "Man, do we really need to rev up Photoshop to devote another two hours to this shitty film we've already spent $10 million on? Naaah, just reshape the MAMA'S BOY cover for 15 minutes. Voila! New Ryan Reynolds shitfest. The sheep will rent it anyway."

Is it any wonder that the sum total of creative output these days is looking at what expensive properties they've paid for, after which they try to eek out the most profitable margin possible after hiring countless writers? Is it any wonder that when one of said properties turns out to be good (i.e. Chris Nolan's recent BATMAN outings as opposed to say Schumacher's), we all breathe a collective sigh of relief?

Again, originality doesn't happen because of Hollywood, it happens in spite of it.

Case in point, lazy cover art now devolving into self-plagiarizing lazy cover art. Never let them get away with this stuff. Unless - and this is very important - they manage to be incredibly charming.

THE GATE OPENED AGAIN, AND IT'S NOT A REMAKE!

First thing's first. Sorry I've been away so long. Things have been pretty hectic here, and I let my work on the site slide a bit. I wish I could say it would never happen again, but that's just probably not going to be true. Still, if you stick with me, I'll stick with you. Keep checking back and you'll see updates. Sometimes several a day, sometimes only a couple every few weeks. But I'll try to make it as regualr as possible. Right, now onto the big skinny.

In 1987, a small little horror film made a pretty good dent at the box office. Although THE GATE has mostly faded into obscurity, it had a few things to peak interest back in 1987. For one thing, it was one of the first horror films to get a "PG-13" rating. Sure, we had other films that fit that mold. But unlike those films, THE GATE did not appear to be a GREMLINS knock-off, nor did it seem to be a sedate ghost story, nor did it seem to blend its horror roots within a less threatening fantasy or sci-fi setting. No, THE GATE looked like a bona fide horror film, and it was a pretty fun one at that. The film gained some press by opening the same weekend as the much-hyped and now infamous bomb ISHTAR, and this low-budget shocker gave that bloated Hope and Crosby vehicle a severe run for its money. It was a rare moneymaker for short-lived indie studio New Century/Vista.





Now comes word that THE GATE is getting the sequel treatment. According to the Hollywood Reporter and Bloody Disgusting, a sequel has just been announced at Cannes. Originally, the plan was to do a remake of THE GATE in 3-D. However, someone must have realized that horror films are being made left and right and even the 3-D thing is not a completely original selling point, since the MY BLOODY VALENTINE and PIRAHNA remakes are already going down that same road.

Instead, we are getting THE GATE: 20 YEARS LATER. Expect the title to change, mainly because it has already been 21 years since THE GATE and will be even farther away once the film is actually finished and released. No word on if the original film's director, Tibor Takacs, is on board in any capacity. Recently, Takacs has had a career resurgence of sorts making those Sci-fi Channel films - most of which are nowhere near as entertaining as they should be.

In the director's chair this time will be first-timer Randall William Cook. Don't fret about inexperience as he does seem to know his way around a set and has studied closely with at least one low-budget horror pioneer. Cook is a three-time Oscar winner for his effects work on Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. Something BD's article that does not mention however is that Cook was also special effects supervisor on the original GATE, as well as Takacs' I, MADMAN and DEATHLINE. So, he knows the material. Cook's other effects credits include CAVEMAN, GHOSTBUSTERS, 2010, FRIGHT NIGHT and POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE. It looks as though he was also a big player in the effects work for Charles Band's Full Moon label.

It is unclear if this film will be a direct follow-up to the original, or make some mention of 1993's overlooked THE GATE II.

GETTING SCREWED ON PROM NIGHT... Panic At the Disco, Circa 1980 and Beyond

The immense success of PROM NIGHT this weekend may keep horror films coming out for some time. But it also encourages more remakes, more studio formula and more PG-13 rated fare in order to bring the kiddies in the theatre, whether its appropriate or not. So, PROM NIGHT has screwed us, but this should come as no surprise. Truth be told, PROM NIGHT has been ruining the day for nearly thirty years.

The original PROM NIGHT was a blatant cash grab. The slasher genre was really picking up steam, thanks to HALLOWEEN a couple years prior. In a bit of serendipity, a small film called FRIDAY THE 13TH had been released two months before PROM NIGHT and proved that masked killers would not be vacating theaters anytime soon. The Canadian producers even insured that their production would be more high profile than most by snagging HALLOWEEN's star, Jamie Lee Curtis. But even this was not enough for the intrepid producers. No, they had to make sure their film had a tie-in that has now become common but was at least a little more rare back then. I'm talking about the music tie-in, shoehorned in so haphazardly that half the time it seems as though we're watching a knock-off of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, not HALLOWEEN.

And why did they do this? Because PROM NIGHT was a truly mediocre film. It moves at a snail's pace, where nearly an hour passes before the killer even appears. The setting is a generic high school with a generic name. The characters are thinly written and dialog could be interchangeable In the lead, Curtis has never had to do less and in fact does not seem all that important to the storyline - a big problem when you're talking about the main character. It's the type of performance where Curtis is not made to act, but react to what is happening around her and she is made to react with passive bewilderment. The identity of the killer, while considered shocking to some, really makes no sense when you think about it for more than two minutes. There is very little blood, even smaller amounts of skin and an overall feeling that every moment of the film is padding. One extended chase scene towards the end of the film redeems it somewhat, but even that is something we have seen before. The film even looks bland and the D.P. glazes everything over in a nauseating soft focus as if the hide this fact.

If Curtis were not in the film, it's hard to imagine anyone would remember PROM NIGHT. There were other slasher films around that time, many of them much better. In fact, I hold a very special place in my heart for J. Lee Thompson's HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, Joseph Zito's THE PROWLER, Armand Mastroianni's HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE, George Mihalka's MY BLOODY VALENTINE and Roger Spottiswoode's TERROR TRAIN (which also starred Curtis, but to better effect). The only thing that makes the original PROM NIGHT stand out is the marketing. The then-burgeoning star power of Curtis is coupled with many scenes of disco dancing and phoned-in teen angst. The whole thing focuses very little on story, just so it can get from point A to point B and hopefully make a few bucks. And it worked.

Maybe that's why producers went back to the well and remade PROM NIGHT recently. Like the original film, it was a slap-dash effort and like the original, it made it's budget back in record time. Now, I need to point out here that I have not seen the 2008 version of PROM NIGHT, hence I will not be reviewing it per se. I will be looking at the marketing of the film and what it signifies to the rest of the genre however.

The very title is an obvious marketing ploy. The fact that it is a horror film centered around the event of PROM NIGHT is reportedly the only connection with the previous film. The lead actress, while not riding immense buzz in genre circles, is certainly known to the young teen crowd the filmmakers which to attract. It's Brittany Snow, who did a decent job in HAIRSPRAY and presumably okay in JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE, a film I could not watch more than five minutes of without retching I have nothing against Snow. She's a local around these parts and I would rather not get slapped for something I know nothing about thankyouverymuch.

The film also uses the music tie-in as a marketing ploy. Rather than use music as a driving force in many films today, it's simply to get tickets sold and maybe a few soundtrack CDs as well ( fat chance on the latter ). Alt-pop covers of 80s songs are big, so some insipid cover of "Time After Time" plays in the trailer. A quick look at the IMDB shows that songs from Rhianna, Britney Spears and Timbaland also appear. Thus, the film is aiming for the same appeal as the disco soundtrack of the original PROM NIGHT which had it's own ridiculous tunes like "Love Me 'Til I Die."

Paul Lynch, director of the 1980 PROM NIGHT has stayed active over the last 28 years, working mainly in television. Conversely, the remake's Nelson McCormick makes his feature debut after spending 15 years in... you guessed it, television.

Everything about this stresses a lack of originality and feedback both within genre circles and with the public at large are reflecting this. But the money has been made and it looks like PROM NIGHT will earn around $40 million before disappearing. Don't be surprised if a sequel, probably straight to video, is already in the works. Maybe that's where the hope lies. Lynch's PROM NIGHT spawned a few in-name only sequels of varying quality. The first one at least, HELLO MARY LOU: PROM NIGHT II was much more entertaining than it's predecessor.

As for director Nelson McCormick and writer J.S. Cardone (who every now and then does something good like BLACK DAY BLUE NIGHT) on a new project.... a remake of 1987's THE STEPFATHER. We're not out of the woods yet, people. The money train is rolling again, originality need not apply.