Fanboys is a 2009 comedy film directed by Kyle Newman and starring Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel, and Kristen Bell. It was released in the United States on February 6, 2009, and in Canada on April 3, 2009.[2]
Plot
On Halloween night, 1998, Eric Bottler (Sam Huntington) reunites with his old high school buddies Linus (Chris Marquette), Hutch (Dan Fogler), Windows (Jay Baruchel), and Zoe (Kristen Bell) at a costume party. There is tension between Bottler and his old friends, due to Bottler being the only one that matured since high school. Bottler, now a successful car salesman, finds that his friends have not changed a bit since high school; the number one thing they still have in common is their love of Star Wars. The gang expresses their anticipation for the latest installment to the franchise, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Linus proposes an idea that Bottler and he had been plotting since they were children: to infiltrate Skywalker Ranch and steal a rough cut of the film.
The next day, Hutch and Windows meet Bottler at work and inform him that Linus has cancer. The doctors estimate that he only has roughly four months to live; Episode I comes out in six. To make peace with his former best friend, Bottler decides to go through with their plan and infiltrate Skywalker Ranch. They begin their trip to Texas, where they have to meet Rogue Leader, a girl Windows is having an online relationship with, for information into getting into the Ranch. While on the road, Hutch decides to take a detour to Riverside, Iowa (the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk) in an attempt to start a fight with some Trekkies. Hutch gets his wish after attacking a Trekkie by the name of Admiral Seasholtz (Seth Rogen) in retaliation to Seasholtz calling Han Solo a bitch.
After arriving in Texas, Windows meets Rogue Leader, who turns out to be a 10 year old girl (Allie Grant). The group encounters Harry Knowles (Ethan Suplee), who begins to beat up Windows, telling him to never talk to his niece, Rogue Leader, again. After explaining their situation Harry quizzes them to prove they are true fanboys, then gives them information on one of his contacts that knows how to successfully enter Skywalker Ranch. They are told to meet Harry's contact in Las Vegas, but before they get there they are arrested for fleeing a police vehicle and possession of peyote. Zoe arrives to bail them out of jail, and accompanies them on their journey. Once in Vegas, Hutch and Windows make an attempt to have sex with some girls while Bottler and Linus go to meet Harry's contact. They are shocked to find that his contact is none other than William Shatner. Shatner gives them the information they need and leaves. Upon his departure, Seasholtz and his Trekkie friends, who were attending a Star Trek convention in Vegas, attack them. Meanwhile, Hutch and Windows discover that the girls they were with are escort girls and their angry pimp (Seth Rogen) wants them to pay up.
The group escapes their adversaries and eventually arrives at Skywalker Ranch. Shortly after breaking in to the Ranch, they are discovered by security guards and are caught after a brief chase. The Head of Security (Danny R. McBride) tells them of their impending doom when he receives a phone call from George Lucas himself. Lucas tells him that he will drop all charges if they can prove to him that they are "fanboys." After a short quiz, the Head of Security confirms that they are fanboys and Lucas drops all charges. Being aware of Linus's illness, Lucas allows him to watch the film alone. After the film ends, Linus joins his friends around a campfire and mends his friendship with Bottler.
Six months later, Bottler, Windows, and Zoe emerge from their tent they used to camp out in while waiting in line for the first showing of Episode I. It is revealed that Bottler followed his and Linus's dream by becoming a comic book artist, Hutch has finally started his own detailing business, and Windows and Zoe are now in a relationship. Hutch arrives at the theater with beers he smuggled in, which they use to toast to Linus's memory. The movie ends with Bottler saying "Wait, what if the movie sucks?".
Cast
There are numerous cameos related to Star Wars and other science-fiction/cult-hit movies including Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Seth Rogen (playing three different roles), Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Jaime King, Danny R. McBride, Ray Park, Craig Robinson, Ethan Suplee, Will Forte, Danny Trejo, and William Shatner.
Development
After George Lucas was given an advanced screening of the rough cut of the film, he enjoyed it and gave it his "stamp of approval" and even offered the original Star Wars sound effects for use in the movie. Filmmaker and Star Wars fan Kevin Smith also viewed an early version of the film and asked for (and was given) a cameo in the film.[3]
The film was originally to be released on August 17, 2007. The movie was pushed back once more to January 2008 because director Kyle Newman was given more funding to shoot additional scenes that the original budget did not include. Getting the cast back together would only be possible in September 2007, thus the movie's release date had to be moved to 2008.[4]
The movie was again pushed back because the reshoots could not take place before November/December 2007. These reshoots were directed by Steven Brill and not by Newman. On January 14 The CineManiac reported that the movie was being re-edited to remove the cancer plot from and replace much of it with raunchy, vulgar humor.[5] Ain't It Cool News picked up the story and confirmed that the two different versions of the movie (with and without the cancer subplot) were screened to different test audiences in Burbank, California, in January 2008 to see which one would rate higher.[6] As for a new release date, Newman stated in a Movie Geeks United! interview that the movie would hopefully come out in April 2008.[7] Upon hearing about the changes being made to the movie, an internet campaign was begun to protest the plot changes and demand that the original version with the cancer storyline be released in theaters.[8][9]
Steven Brill retaliated in a derogatory manner, calling fans "losers"[10] in online correspondence which ended up in the public domain. In one exchange, Brill called a fan "dumb" and threatened to "hunt him down" in a profanity-laden emailed response[10] to a letter of complaint. In an interview[11] Newman chastised Brill's behavior saying:
| “ |
If you're going to go in and recut someone's film even though you're not even a fan of the subject matter, just because you want a paycheck, you're not passionate about it, then do that. But don't go opening your mouth and alienating the core audience of that movie. I just thought that was the most low class thing that you could do, especially considering there are so many people that worked years and years and years on this.[11] |
” |
A rough cut of the full film (that included the cancer storyline) was shown in public for the first time at Star Wars Celebration Europe on July 14, 2007. The screening was followed by a Q&A session with Newman and received standing ovations.[12]
On July 9, 2008, Newman confirmed in a TheForce.net interview that the cancer plot would be included in the final cut of the movie.[13]
| “ |
The motivation was stripped [out] of the movie so it was more like, 'Hey, we're drunk. You wanna go break into Skywalker ranch?' It ultimately didn't work and that's why it, I think, came back to us, the original team to at least restore it as much as we could in the time given."[11] |
” |
Newman was given just 36 hours to reassemble his film, and edit back in the key motivational cancer plot line.
The final cut of the film was screened on July 24, 2008, in San Diego at Comic-Con.[14] It was announced there that Fanboys would be released to theaters on September 19, 2008,[15] but soon after, the official Weinstein Company website announced that this had changed to November 26, 2008. [16] The final release date was finally pushed to February 6, 2009.[17]
Release
Fanboys was released on February 6, 2009, in eight US markets.[18] The film expanded into 10 more cities on February 20, 2009, including a special screening in Columbus, Ohio that day, followed by a Q&A session after the film with Kyle Newman, Ernie Cline, Matt Perniciaro and Kevin Mann.[19] According to Cline's pre-show speech, he wanted to hold a special screening with fans in his home state, since he grew up in nearby Ashland, Ohio, and the story was set in a fictional town similar to Ashland.
The film expanded its release to seven more markets on February 27, 2009, to 13 more on March 13, 2009,[20] and an additional 9 on March 20, 2009. On April 3, 2009, it was released in Canadian theaters.[21] The movie was also released on May 7, 2009 in Denmark and showed for approximately three weeks. Release date for Germany is currently set for July 30, 2009.[22]
The DVD version was released on May 19, 2009, the day of the tenth anniversary of The Phantom Menace. The DVD and Blu-ray was also released in Canada on June 2, 2009. [23]
Reception
Fanboys met with mostly negative reviews with critics. Roger Ebert gave it 1 1/2 out of 4 stars, calling it "an amiable but disjointed movie that identifies too closely with its heroes. Poking a little more fun at them would have been a great idea."[24] James Berardinelli gave it 2 1/2 out of 4 stars, saying it was "mostly a middling road picture that doesn't do a lot more than any average, forgettable entry into the tired genre."[25] Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz of At the Movies recommended for moviegoers to "Skip It", with Lyons saying, "It was a great premise; it just unfortunately did not come together," while Mankiewicz commenting that "it devolves into nothing more than a silly road trip movie."[26] It is currently rated at 31 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.[27]
Sequel
Dan Fogler has mentioned that the director has thought about a sequel involving Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
References
- ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=fanboys.htm
- ^ Fanboys Triumphant: Kevin Spacey Crashes Fan Movie Awards
- ^ White, Cindy (2007-04-19). "Lucas Gives Fanboys F/X Help". Scifi.com. http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=41158&type=0. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ Dustin (2007-05-17). "Fanboys Pushed Back to January 2008". theforce.net. http://www.theforce.net/latestnews/story/Fanboys_Pushed_Back_To_January_2008_105913.asp. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
- ^ The CineManiac: Fanboys News - UPDATED!
- ^ ::: www.chris-marquette.com ::: A Chris Marquette Fansite
- ^ Internet Radio, Citizen Broadcasting, Social Media Podcasts - Blog Talk Radio
- ^ Stop darth Weinstein
- ^ The Most Dedicated FANBOYS have Targeted The Weinstein Company for crimes against FANBOYS! - Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news
- ^ a b "The 'Fanboys' Situation Gets Real Nasty". Cinematical.com. Mar 26th 2008. http://www.cinematical.com/2008/03/26/the-fanboys-situation-gets-real-nasty//. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Kyle Newman: Fanboys". SuicideGirls. February 4, 2009. http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Kyle+Newman%3A+Fanboys/. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ^ A Brief History of Fanboys... (and the skinny on the release date)
- ^ Force-Cast: July 11, 2008
- ^ Trigger Street Production FANBOYS To Finally Screen And Be Released
- ^ SDCC Update: Cinematical Has Seen 'Fanboys'!
- ^ Official Weinstein Co. website
- ^ Official Weinstein Co. website
- ^ TheForce.net - Contact Weistein Co. To See Fanboys In Your City
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ Roger Ebert - Fanboys
- ^ Reelviews - Fanboys
- ^ At the Movies - Fanboys
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes - Fanboys
External links
