Heh, the censors probably didn't realize that "Flesh" and "Flash" were different things. That's hilarious. I love the old Flesh Gordon. Zarkov's last name was rendered as "Jerkoff" and Flesh kept blurting it out loudly in moments of stress.
The real question is who would do the soundtrack? I would love to see a Flash Gordon movie that was actually fun and paid homage to the style of the old episodes in much the same way the the Indiana Jones movies did. In fact, Flash Gordon should really be an Indiana Jones in space.
But when the Aliens turned up in Crystal Skull, wasn't the worst part? Meanwhile now that Aliens are in play, doesn't that retroactively discredit the entire notion that God is real, and what was really in the Ark was just some radioactive engine part form a spaceship.
Here's the problem, some might think that the first two movies in the Inidana Jones saga are "modern". If there's a grey area inbetween a classic golden age and a ruthless modern cut throat money orientated greedtography... 1983 is well inside the limits of the classic golden age, and the Crystal Skull is a poisonous piece of poo.
Okay, so I guess the Flesh Gordon challenge falls to me, then? Let's get this done: Flesh Gordon: Matthew McConaughey (possibly funnier alternates in order: Tom Cruise, Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen) Dale Ardor: Kaley Cuoco Flexi Jerkoff: Will Ferrell (obv.) Emperor Wang the Perverted: Zach Galifianakis Queen Amora: Sasha Grey Prince Precious: Owen Wilson Amazon in Red Boots: Christy Mack* I think that about does it. * of whom I have heard strictly through Twitter, just so we're clear.
I know he worked with them and others, but I don't know of any of his specific credits from memory. I was first reading about him during the 60s, probably in Forrest Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, which was about the only popular source for genre information in those days. The wiki article on Middleton doesn't mention it, but I'm pretty sure one source said he was once a schoolteacher. He didn't get into film until his mid-40s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Middleton_(actor)
It is pretty good, come to notice it. Either or both. Mercury has marriage equality, but Mongo doesn't. The usual suspects who work for Fred Olan Ray. For all that's on cable and in movies now, the culture has become remarkably prudish. I actually saw Flesh Gordon in the early 80s at a Drive-In near Hartford-- it was part of a triple feature of genre-related erotica, but I don't remember the other two movies. Of course, back in the 20s and 30s, it was possible to see nudity on newsstand magazine covers, so it's not always accurate to think of the past as more oppressive. It's always been a struggle between the people with blood in their veins and the people with a stick up their ass.
O.K., maybe I should have adked if the moviegoing public would want one. I think there's probably three groups - Fans of the character in his various incarnations. People familiar with and put off by the rather camp movie and the badly dated original series. People who have never really heard of Flash Gordon but might go to a scifi movie. I reckon groups one and three could be attracted to a new movie, but feel that group two could be the largest of the three...
"Flesh Gordon" or "Flash Gordon"? I remember there was a Flash Gordon animated movie back in the early 80s, and they had action figures for that. Later, they would have Flash Gordon appear in "Defenders of the Earth" with The Phantom and other 'super' heroes with action figures for that show as well. I'm sure the Happy Meals will have similar figures. (I don't know, but the toys for today's Happy Meals seem kinda....boring. Or, maybe it's because I'm an adult...lol) Interesting!
Does anyone recall the animated adaptation Filmation created around 1980 (or thereabouts)? The original plan was to be a 2 movie (80 to 90 minutes without commercials) for prime-time television. But NBC changed its mind and requested Filmation to restructure it as a Saturday morning series. Filmation expanded upon the major scenes of the movie, creating enough new material for 16 half hour episodes. And like the famed 1930s movie serials starring Buster Crabbe, each episode ended upon a cliffhanger. NBC was not thrilled with that aspect since it meant all 16 needed to be presented, and in sequential order for a single overall story to be told. NBC did order more episodes, but the network demanded they be self contained. Far more annoying to many fans, NBC insisted upon a "cute animal" mascot character (ala Scooby Doo) to appeal to younger viewers. We got a pink dragon hatchling. If one ignores those later segments, Filmation's version probably comes closest to the original Alex Raymond newspaper strips, from which all later interpretations sprang. Well, I should say the 2 hour prime-time movie. You see, it was presented as a period piece, set in 1938 just as the Nazis invaded Poland. Well, the movie spends only 10 minutes on Earth, so it doesn't really affect later events, but it was nice Filmation made it that much closer to the source material. NBC finally did air in 1982 as a late night presentation but was never repeated. Sincerely, Bill
Sorry, Joel. When the topic veered towards "Flesh Gordon", I started to just skim the posts. I feel like a right bloody twit now. Sincerely, Bill
Actually, there was a regime change at NBC after the telefilm had been completed and the new people weren't interested in it/didn't know what to do with it/wanting to put their own 'touch' on the schedule. Sadly shelving the film and allowing the series- which had already been ordered by the old guard, to debut before the film. The show got a 2 season order upfront. Ratings for season one weren't spectacular, and I can't recall reading if they were outright disastrous, but as it remained on the schedule for the entire 1979 season and didn't get pulled, I'm inclined to believe it did well enough. Given the higher than normal budget, more was expected from it, so in that regard, it might have been viewed as more of a disappointment than if it had been made on an average budget. It was shown in prime time...a wonderful movie. I wish it could somehow be released on DVD. There was a early VHS release when the home video boom hit. I'm not even sure who owns the rights to it. The series was released by a British company called BCI (after buying the Filmation library), later renamed Classic Media, later purchased by Dreamworks. If you haven't seen it since its broadcast, the whole movie was on YouTube in 2 versions, one in multiple segments, another, a full 90 minutes. It's a vcr recording of the original NBC broadcast.
I sure do remember it...loved the show...Thun the Lion man was my favorite action figure (yeah, they had some based on the cartoon). I felt (at least back then) -- the first season was great. though even back then, at the age of 7 & 8...I kinda knew that they had gotten into "stock scenes"...such as where they would have some Hawkmen getting vaporized the same way every couple of episodes (such as a Hawkman riding a giant bird with a big gun)