davejt1

FYI - This was stated in the recent issue (5/23 - "The Top 50 Cult Movies") of Entertainment Weekly on p. 42:

"Fox is now anxious to release a special edition DVD with extras like the original 'Milton' shorts [featured on Saturday Night Live], but [Mike] Judge says the studio wants to stiff him on the deal, so he won't sign off. Rather tactfully, all a studio spokesperson will say is that 'discussions are ongoing.'"

Brain Stew

I can't help but feel he is being a little greedy about this. I mean, is Mike Judge really that hard up for money? He must have received some money from Time Life for the Beavis and Butthead sets and King of the Hill is even doing well (Season 1 out in June), so why does he need this money so badly? I think he is trying to get more out of Fox than he deserves. I mean, with Office Space he is lucky to get anything they give him. Although he can argue that there is cult appeal, the movie did horribly at the box office.

SCHMEGGA

I pass on the current one everytime I go into the store. Even at $9. I guess if I want an SE I will have to wait.

shill66

I'm still waiting.

redskull47

Where are you seeing it for $9? Cheapest I've seen it is $15.

fnordboy

I think he is aware of what he can get for this and won't settle for less than his idea, hell the original shorts might be the only thing he owns anymore. I don't know if he would have gotten much from Beavis and Butthead Time Life sets, if I remember correctly wasn't he burned really badly by MTV in his original dealings with them and Beavis and Butthead. Wouldn't surprise me if they got all the proceeds from the sets.

The Milton shorts were shown on Liquid television (MTV), were they also shown on SNL? I don't remember them being on there personally.

B.A.

I guess I can keep waiting.

greatjedi

I want Office Space badly. But I have absolutely no plans on buying the current edition. C'mon Fox give us our anamorphic SE already.

Chrisedge

Having read the article, it sound like Fox is trying to screw him. They want a sequel, the SE, but treated him like $hit when they originally made/released the film so....He's holding out. I don't blame him.

I bought the barebones and would gladly upgrade. I have watched it at least 20 times.

hgar78

it might not be a money issue. they might not be interested in what he thinks the dvd should be. it's his creation, he has every right to see it done his way. even if it is a money i don't blame him for fighting it. i'm sure the big-wig execs will try to give him a crappy deal.

rfduncan

Bear in mind that this quotation can be completely misinterpreted out of context from the rest of the article. I, for one, happen to agree with Judge's decision based on how FOX treated him during the making of the film. As punishment, I'd make FOX pay for any supplements that involved MY input if I were Judge.

Please read the entire EW article before further pursuing this line of commentary on Mike Judge. Great issue BTW!

davejt1

Me neither. I wondered the same thing myself. I pretty much watch SNL hit-and-miss whenever I get around to it, so I wasn't sure if this was a typo or not. I, for one, don't ever remember seeing them on SNL.

From the EW article:

"Judge never really wanted to make the movie, based on his animated Saturday Night Live shorts about an oily automaton named Milton and his suspender-slick boss, but his producers at Twentieth Century Fox talked him into it."

Found this little tidbit on the 'net:

"Office Space started as an animated short featuring Milton Waddams as the main character. The short was later picked up by Saturday Night Live for a short period of time and listed as 'Milton' when shown during the Saturday night variety show."

Geez, I don't remember this at all. Where the hell was I? Anyway, if anyone has screen caps from these shorts can you please post them - maybe it will help me refresh my memory?

majorjoe23

I remember seeing them on there, seems like they were on during the Chris Elliot/Jeneanne Garaffalo years. I don't remember ever seeing them on Liquid Television.

nodeerforamonth

Judge was on Howard Stern a few times saying how he hardly made anything off Beavis & Butthead.

uteotw

While this could delay things a bit, hopefully it'll get done soon enough. These things usually have a way of getting worked out to each party's "mutual satisfaction." While I'd like an SE, in the meantime I'm OK with the copy I've got.

Brain Stew

My point is that although Judge has some leverage on this SE there is not a lot of wiggle room. He may feel like since they can't make the SE without him, they will give in. I personally don't think he has the upper hand in this battle. Sure he has a point to a certain to a degree, but what this comes down to is dollars and cents. Judge could try justifying his payment by citing a hypothetical sales number based on the (rather large) cult following. To the suits at 20th Fox though, these hypothetical sales could not be enough for them to justify paying him a lot. 20th Fox may only be considering the poor money during theatrical run. It all depends on how nice/understanding the management is.

SCHMEGGA

They have it at my local used/new store for anywhere from $9 to $14 all the time. Both used and new. Just depends on what specials they are running for the week.

angryyoungman

There's not much theoretical about sales numbers. According to DavidDVD's Sunday update re: Office Space: The one-time box office dud is now among the top 20 all-time best selling DVDs for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.. I think this was right out of the EW article.

The real issue was not about Judge not getting paid a lot, but not really getting paid anything at all, as has happened to him in the past.

Pants

How anyone could take Fox's side in this is beyond me.

Hollywood is about power not money. Now, that power is usually measured in money, but it all has to do with the power to get the next project rolling and to maintain control over the last project you made.

The creator and director of the film, Mike Judge, is just an employee. The day he turned in his cut negative and collected his paycheck Office Space became a FOX movie. They control where it plays, how it's sold, and what the DVD is going to be like. Now contrary to how FOX would like the world to work, fans and potential buyers don't see it as a FOX film but rather as a Mike Judge film. The special edition we all want won't happen unless the director is involved (face it, we don't want a commentary from the head of Fox films or Rupert Murdoch). By giving Judge the oportunity to participate in the DVD, Fox will be giving the director another chance to exercise authorial control. They don't like that becase as a studio they like to see the film as belonging to them. They hate to admit they need the director at all. They'll have to play ball with Judge to get a SE made, so they may pass on a special edition all together in order to avoid having to admit that the participation of the director is essential.

Judge has every right to be mad at Fox. Fox dropped the ball on Office Space. They all could have made a fortune if they'd marketed the film properly. It took two years for this film to find its audience. Slowly, grudgingly, the fans finnally found it. It shouldn't be that hard for a film that's that good, but thank God it happened.

atari2600

i have the regular version and would also upgrade. great great movie.

MasterCXtreme

I think a Beavis & Butt-head Do America SE would be cool too. For those of you waiting out for a SE of Office Space, just get the regular one now if you know you'll watch it many times. I must have viewed mine about 50 times. It's a great movie that deserves a SE that Judge can deliver. If yous till wanna wait for a SE, check it out on Comedy Central. O yea, and the "Milton" SNL shorts were on sometime through 1993-1996, the years with Farley, Sandler, Myers and so on... They are also on Comedy Central repeatedly, so you could still catch them. The cartoon isnt as funny as the film, but it's nice to know where the movie came from.

kevin75

i can agree with that statement. i was one of the few people who actually saw this in the theater. i remeber when i left, i thought that it was just okay. it was only after repeated viewings on dvd that it just got better and better. sometimes, there are those movies that just aren't very good in the theaters but after time they just get better.

madcougar

What does Mike Judge's financial situation have to do with any of this? I'm sure the guy is doing OK and probably better than either one of us. Does that mean he shouldn't be properly compensated for his contribution to a SE of this movie?

Your comment about him being lucky to get anything out of Office Space is just plain dumb. This obviously isn't some sad movie that no one remembers that will NEVER be requested as a SE by anyone. It's a cult favorite that probably millions of people (OK maybe thousands) want to see in SE form. So Judge must have done something right. He can't just ARGUE about cult apeal, EW did a freaking 3 page story on it, while the other 50 films on its list recieved a few paragraphs a piece.

Michael Corvin

typo. That should read Chris Elliot/Jeneanne Garaffalo year. Not years. She was on half a season and him for one. Ironic how they are both funny but that was quite possibly one of if not THE worst year ever for SNL. And if Milton was on during that year, that is why no one saw it. SNL was in the dump.

I remember seeing one or two. I think there were only a few shorts. Maybe 6? I remember one with the stapler though.

SergeantPinback

You pass on one of the funniest films ever made...

For anyone else waiting, I'll tell you this. The movie is not anamorphic, but I use the expand setting on my WS Mitsubishi and it looks great. So you have the movie, in 5.1 DDS and the trailer. For $9.00, it's more than worth it. (It costs $7.00 minimum just to go to the theater and see one movie...)

Yeah... So you should just go ahead and get it and laugh, m'kay.....