imdb.com
A report that originally appeared on the Ain't It Cool News website claiming that Disney execs were "totally horrified" when they screened the upcoming Miramax film Bad Santa has been picked up by a number of British newspapers. "[Billy Bob] Thornton Film Shocks Disney," headlined one report. Another said that it "shows Father Christmas drinking, stealing and chasing girls." A third reported: "Gobsmacked executives rubbed their eyes at scenes of the filthy Father Christmas bonking while kiddies are left queuing outside his grotto." Most of the reports carried a quote from an unnamed source close to Disney chairman Michael Eisner that was cited in the AICN article: "Nothing appears sacred anymore. This is just not in the spirit of Walt Disney." However, a Disney spokesperson told today's (Tuesday) New York Daily News: "No one [at Disney] has expressed any complaints to us. Over time there have been great stories about bad Santas who have redeemed themselves. This is one of them. The humor in the film speaks for itself."
oh wow, this is the most shocking movie ever made!

This movie seems more based on reality than fiction. Santa tends to be a bastard when he drinks too much.

I call bullshit.

Has Disney ever really "freaked out" about a film from one of its baby studios? Did they really make any stink over Miramax's Trainspotting, which destroyed my childlike view of glaswegians as happy drunks who wear kilts or Celtic shirts?

It's rated R... are they really worried that all the kids are going to go see it, expecting a jolly Christmas tale?

I'm sure I'll be turning away a lot of puzzled parents this Friday at the movie theater, though...

Sounds like they are covering themselves for when this movie tanks. And it will.

i thought it came out next friday, not tomorrow? and after the trailer ran during scary movie 3, alot of the kids told their parents that they want to see that movie. imagine their horror. Also disney freaked out about the second Deuce Bigalow movie as well.

One would think they knew something of the movie's content before green-lighting it, especially with the name Bad Santa. This is just for publicity.

Such as . . . ?

Since this is being directed by Tery Zwigoff (Crumb, Ghost World), I'm interested in how it will turn out.

And the story(not the script itself) is by the Coen Brothers. Of course, their idea for the story might not have been much more than "What if there was a Santa who wasn't very nice?"

I'm very excited to see this movie simply due to the Coen involvement.

I'd liek to see this movie cause the director made the nice little ghost world, billy bob is a good actor too. Will this movie bomb? Well, I don't think anyone expects this movie to make 100 million dollars so...I don't think it's that big a deal. And i'm doubt Disney is fretting over this movie. Average people don't associate miramax with disney, otherwise disney prolly would have been stamping their feet over Kill Bill, which to me, is prolly more objectionable.

my thoughts exactly.

I saw this story on imdb and I laughed out loud.

Although I'm a Disney fan they're full of shit. I seem to remember a certain group trying to tell folks long ago that Disney has lost it's "Family Roots".

I know someone in Spain, and the normal public, being extremely religious, is freaking out about this. They are making it sound like the bad stuff is being perpetrated by Santa, not some mall santa. I figured it was some nutty reporters looking for a story, not Disney execs...

This movie looks like a good dark comedy to me. It will probably not do well because too many stupid parents will think this is Santa Clause 3 or something like that, but I have the feeling it will get a good following after a while, especially on home video.

She is in the first scene in the trailer in the "santa classroom", but she gets no love in being mentioned in the credits? Why o why?

Have you seen the film? How do you know that she isn't in the credits? And the IMDB isn't always complete....

Maybe that's the only scene she's in.

That of course could be a cut scene as well....so many possiblities

I've seen it. She's not in the final film.

That said the movie is extremely funny and I totally recommend checking it out.

And no I'm not a studio shill. Just a critic who happens to see things early from time to time.

Meanwhile in other news, Disney execs apparently feel no shame for producing Haunted Mansion.

Exactly.




Actually "Bad Santa" is probably the first x-mas related movie i have wanted to see since "Christmas Vacation".

Eisners just pissed because he hasn't been able to buy up the rights to the character.

well, yes and no. neither kids nor dogma was actually released by a disney studio. while kids got its own studio, dogma was shuffled over to sony.

Didn't Billy-Ray Valentine dress up as Santa for a bit? Or maybe it was Winthorp.