Pong! the Movie
| Pong! the Movie | |
|---|---|
 Poster for the movie film. | |
| Directed by | George Lucas |
| Starring | Marlon Brando Robert Downey Jr. |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Nintendo |
Release date | 2005 |
Pong! the Movie was released in early 2005 with Marlon Brando and Robert Downey Jr., which followed the plot of the original Atari video game Pong!. Although this film followed suit with the wildly popular video game genre, such as The Super Mario Bros. movie and Resident Evil, it did not play out as well in the box offices. A new remake is in the works, slated for release in 2011.
Plot
Robert Downey Sr. (played by Robert Downey Jr.) and Brandon Marlo (played by Marlon Brando) are two average sientists who have average lives until one of their experiments blow up and create by accident a black hole that sucks them in. In the black hole, these two characters are suddenly turned into white lines and have to get hit by a square for the rest of their lives. The rest of the film is just footage taken straight from the Pong videogame, with a few scenes shoved in between which features Angelina Jolie showing her cleavage to keep the audience entertained.
Cast
While doing research for his role, Robert Downey Jr. discovered hardships in conveying his character:
- "I don't know if it is the pressure to perform or the wild regimen of illegal drugs I am on, but this was much more difficult than I thought ..."
Part-way through shooting, Downey was charged with drug possession, specifically a combination of PCP and kittens. Later, pledging to clean up his act, Downey vowed to stop his kitten huffing drug binges cold turkey. To this day he has not touched a single kitten.
Marlon Brando, after finally dropping 7000lbs. in March 2005 was excited to be playing a part in Pong! the Movie.
- "I'm so lucky to be part of something so wonderful. This movie is going to make history. Also, too bad I'm dead."
Reviewers later lashed out against Brando's statement, claiming that it would be a boon to him to appear in anything that didn't suck in the last 25 years. One reviewer replied:
- "I think the last time I saw him in anything was for a commercial for Tide ... or maybe it was a porno starring MC Hammer. I forget. What is important is after seeing this movie I wanted two hours of my life back."
Reception
After Pong! the Movie 's opening night's screening, many critics and reviewers found harsh words for the film. A small scale riot occurred shortly after the film ended, when actor Robert Downey Jr. tried to start a fight with the director, apparently not aware he was being portrayed as a mentally retarded savant from the Bronx trying to make it in the world. However, the fight ended when the police showed up and claimed they thought they had seen Downey somewhere before, at which time he took flight from the area.
Some critics' statements about the movie:
| “ | The content was so dry it made me want to kill myself. Why they marketed this thing as a zombie/romance/comedy I have 'no idea. | ” |
- ~ The New York Times
| “ | After watching the first ten minutes of the movie I just closed my eyes and hoped no one would notice. In fact, I think out of everyone there I got the most out of the film. I'm pretty sure at the movie's conclusion more people yelled death threats to the actors than applauded. | ” |
- ~ Oscar Wilde
| “ | I believe the only time someone laughed was when the producer was mistaken for a movie theatre employee. Personally I coulda sworn that Brando was actually a hobo trying to keep warm in the screening room. | ” |
- ~ SF Chronicle
| “ | This is possibly the greatest film ever made. If by 'made' you mean 'congealed from monkey feces'; and by 'greatest' you mean ... well, 'only'. | ” |
2011 remake
Many had already asked about a follow up or possibly sequel to Pong! the Movie. The rumour mills had been wild about some recently leaked comments by Universal Studios about a sequel entitled King Pong featuring giant pong paddles battling against dinosuars and gorillas on a remote jungle island. Only time would tell for sure, but things didn't look not too good as return actor Marlon Brando would probably have to either claim he had become pregnant or admit he was gaining weight again.
It woulnd't be until much later, when Mel Brooks from the The Producers fame had been commissioned to develop a new entry in the Pong film series, titled Pong! the Musical. With an anticipated budget of $100 million, this production has gone in history as the costliest musical endeavour ever made. Brooks indicated that Paris Hilton had been approached to play the Robert Downey Jr. role and Queen Latifah for the Marlon Brando role. Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys was writing the music with Stephen King providing the libretto.
The surprise expressed at the choice of Stephen King was responded with King's comment, "Writing for a musical is just the same as writing a horror story except there's no blood." Contacted about the budget, Brooks responded with a shrug, "Don't worry, I'll just sell pieces of the musical to all my rich friends. There's plenty to go around."
Official game
There is a plan to release a Pong! the Movie video game, where players can relive the memories of that epic Downey–Brando battle.
See also
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This article is part of UnfilM The preferred oeuvre of Drive-Ins everywhere. |