"Fan Boys" trailer
 

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Could be good... could be very bad...

I wanted to see this last summer, but apparently it got pushed back so they could film some new scenes with Seth Rogen, and I believe Kevin Smith.

Actually, the movie was just test screened this past week.

They were actually trying to decide whether or not they should delete the main plot of the film, which is that one of the characters has terminal cancer. That is the entire reason for them wanting to steal the movie and break into Skywalker Ranch. They made 2 versions...one in which the character has terminal cancer and that is why they decide to go on their wacky adventure... And Version 2 has them doing it just for the hell of it.

From what is being reported, the Weinstein's have secured the rights (or maybe they had it all along) and are changing the movie because they feel the cancer side of the story is too morbid and not "funny".

I've been looking forward to seeing this for quite awhile. Hopefully whenever it does come out we will get a chance to see both versions on dvd.

Yeah, how awful would it be if a comedy had something realistic or serious in it. I wish they would have taken the pregnancy aspect out of "Knocked Up".

Seriously. There was a gentleman who used to come into a movie theatre where I worked who had terminal cancer and his only hope was that he'd live long enough to see Spider-Man 2. Sadly, he died about a month before release, but even though I didn't really know him well, if there was a way I could have gotten this guy an advance showing of the film, I would have done it... I think in the context of the movie 'Fanboys', they should definitely leave this setup as originally intended, because it'll make the desperation and lengths they go to more real, making the comedy funnier I'd bet....

I think the Weinstein's are underestimating their audience yet again.

This is why I want to see it:

http://www.givememyremote.com/remote...nboys-leia.jpg

I guess the comic genius of this movie is that they go through all the trouble to see something as bad as Episode I. Fanboys crying always make me laugh.

http://smiliesftw.com/x/inoutugh.gif

This looks really horrible, sadly.

Ive been waiting to see this since January '07 what's the deal? lol

Weinstein Company has it's claws dug deep into it.... 'Nuff said.

I remember reading about this film when it was just a screenplay that the writer was trying to make into a film before Ep. I came out. I'm wondering if the writer changed the reactions his characters have to the film after he saw Ep I himself.

"Star Wars" fans wield Force against Weinstein
By Gregg Goldstein and Borys Kit
Tue Mar 25, 9:24 AM ET

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The geeks have been heard.

Faced with a grassroots boycott of its films, bicoastal protests at screenings of its Friday opener "Superhero Movie" and a campaign calling its co-chairman "Darth Weinstein," indie studio Weinstein Co. said Monday that it now plans to release two versions of its "Star Wars"-inspired comedy "Fanboys."

Wenstein said it will release the two versions on DVD, and a studio source later said that is exploring two theatrical versions.

"Fanboys," about four diehard "Star Wars" fans who break into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch in order to see "The Phantom Menace" on the eve of its release, wrapped production two years ago and has been stuck in limbo as a tug-of-war between Harvey Weinstein and the filmmakers waged over competing versions of the movie.

The latest announcement did nothing to satisfy the filmmakers, who accuse the company of only putting out the announcement in order to sidestep a meltdown at this weekend's box office.

"This is more about avoiding picket lines at 'Superhero' than it was about making a decision about the release of our movie," said Kevin Mann, one of the producers.

Mann -- along with producer Matthew Perniciaro, director Kyle Newman and writer Ernie Cline, who originated the story -- worked on "Fanboys" in 2003 with Kevin Spacey's Trigger Street production company coming on board in 2005. The cast, including then up-and-comers Jay Baruchel, Kristen Bell, Seth Rogen and Dan Fogler, all signed up for a script that one year made the Blacklist, the annual industry ranking of the top scripts in town. Footage began making the rounds at "Star Wars" festivals, while 40 minutes of "Fanboys"' rough cut was screened at Star Wars Celebration and Comic-Con, where it was enthusiastically received by a standing-room-only crowd last year.

The Weinstein Co. picked up the project in late 2005, and following production slated "Fanboys" for release August 17, 2007. That got pushed back to a January 18 release. Then it went off the grid altogether.

Insiders said the root of the problem was Weinstein's issue with the underlying story in "Fanboys." The cross-country adventure is put in motion because one of the characters is facing cancer. Late last year, the company decided it would do reshoots, hiring Judd Apatow's producing partner Shauna Robertson to oversee a $2 million reshoot of four scenes done by director Steve Brill ("Drillbit Taylor"). That, combined with re-editing, created a version that excised the cancer subplot.

"Harvey feels it's hard to market, especially with this cast," an insider said. "He wants to market to a more teen audience. The filmmakers wanted a dramedy along the vein of 'Stand by Me."'

The Weinstein Co. this year began testing both versions. Unprompted by the filmmakers, "Star Wars" fans began uniting to oppose the noncancer version, led by the 501st, a "Star Wars" fan group named after a fictional battalion. The group created the Web site http://committed.to/stopdarthweinstein that provided updates on developments while also lampooning Harvey Weinstein by Photoshopping him in Darth Vader drag.

The test screenings yielded a minuscule win for the noncancer version -- one insider said the difference was only two test points -- but that only emboldened the geeks. And some of the producers remained unmoved.

"The original reason we wanted to get involved with this script was because it was a comedy with heart," Mann said. "In my opinion, when the cancer was taken out, the heart went with it."

The fans' ire was raised even more when they discovered that Brill had joined a chat session under the screen name "GL," which fans interpreted to be George Lucas. The online discussion turned nasty with threats from both sides.

The new announcement still leaves the movie up in the air. It still has no release date, only a promise that both versions will be available on DVD. Late Monday, a Weinstein source said, "We're making a very strong attempt to make both films available theatrically as well."

The 501st was unimpressed with the Weinstein Co.'s move.

"This is clearly a vain attempt by the Weinstein Co. to avert 'Star Wars' fans' impending boycott of all of their films," the group said. "It's not going to work, Darth Weinstein. There was never any doubt that you would release both versions of the movie on DVD, probably months apart, so as to leech as much money from 'Star Wars' fans as possible. Our boycott will continue until the Weinstein Co. announces that they are returning control of 'Fanboys' to the 'Star Wars' fans who made it, releasing the original version in theaters and doing away with their anti-fan version of the film altogether."

The company Monday acknowledged that it had received more than 300,000 e-mails, which factored in its decision.

"While the later version tested very well with audiences, the grassroots support we have received for the first version simply cannot be ignored," a Weinstein spokesman said.

The filmmakers had a more measured response than the fans, hoping to be given a chance to work the film some more.

"If they want to excise the cancer or reshoot again, I'll cooperate," Trigger Street producer Dana Brunetti said. "One tested better than the other, so I see both sides to it.

"We're too close to the movie to be objective, but we know which we consider better," he added with a laugh. "I've always been content with the (original cut of) the movie."

Harvey Weinstein has a history of tangling with filmmakers over their films' edits, earning him the moniker "Harvey Scissorhands" in some circles, but he seems to have met his match with a legion of "Star Wars" fans.

The possibility of a theatrical release was encouraging to both Newman and Brunetti.

"It will be interesting to see what version comes out theatrically, if it does at all," Brunetti said. "We're hoping to meet somewhere in the middle between the two."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

For those attending San Diego Comic-Con in less than 2 weeks, there's a very strong rumor that they will be screening this movie finally. No day or time has been firmed up. If I hear any news, I'll post it.

In true Star Wars fashion -- release the original cut, then go back in 20 years and digitally erase the cancer -- make it walkie talkies or a giant slug.

Does anyone find this oddly ... stupid? It's not like much money went into the film. Just leave it alone and release it. It's been 2-3 years now. Am I right? Or did I miss the part where the Weinsteins paid $20mil for the rights? Is the $2mil reshoot the most expensive part of the production?

I understand getting worried about spending $20mil-plus on a dud. Morgan Creek spent a ton on The Exorcist prequel. But I don't understand this one.

I'm not really into Star Wars. But this looks funny.

i'll admit, the only reason i'm still interested in this film is kristen bell.

Frankly, they've screened and altered this movie soooo many times in the last two years that it's not even funny anymore. I'd be surprised if it's anything more than a direct to dvd film

...fixed, and AGREED.





-Doc

Info re Fanboys screening

Here's the latest for those interested. In a nutshell: Tickets will be given away to the first 300 people in line at the Lucasfilm’s 7th Annual Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge Awards, held on July 24th at 8:30pm in Ballroom 20 at the San Diego Convention Center. During the Awards Ceremony director Kyle Newman will introduce select footage from the film, providing fans a sneak peak of the full-length feature to be shown at 10:30pm that same evening.

Release it already, damn.

Here's how it'll go, probably: The Weinsteins will release the original version in theaters, but with very little promotions (on purpose). The film will bomb, and they can sit back and say "Told you so" in regards to which version should have been released, as if it would have helped at all.

Wow, the kid with cancer must have sucky friends. He's dying and they take him to ep1?? :D


Funny how Star Wars people try to say Trekkies are nerdy. Ever seing before Ep1, SW fans seem to be just as nerdy if not more. Never seen a Trek fan sit outside a movie theater for months.