DHS ReDo (August 2014)

[Magenta Panther]

The conflicting thing about GMR for me is that, as much as I think it needs to be freshened up, I don't really want it to lose anything. Mary Poppins and Indiana Jones are fine, I think Alien is iconic enough of a film in its genre to warrant a place and The Wizard of Oz is timeless.

Sometimes I think the gangster segment could be replaced with something like The Godfather, a more recent and timeless film in that genre, but then I think people should know about James Cagney and his place in cinematic history. You could make an argument for getting rid of the musical segment right at the beginning but then that's cutting out an important era in cinematic history. Then there's deciding which more recent films would deserve a place.

Its a balancing act and one that will obviously be entirely redundant if the powers-that-be are planning on wielding the axe.

I think that whole lame Busby Berkley scene (looks cheap as hell) should be replaced with a tribute to the great silent movie comedians like Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy.

 

[PeterAlt]

Safe to say I disagree with you, as usual.

Avatar is not a classic, personally I think comparing it to The Wizard of Oz is ludicrous.

As for the man in a lion costume, you are aware it was made in the 1930's aren't you? Back then they didn't have the luxury of CGI and flashy special-effects to make up for a lackluster and derivative storyline.

And consulting me before a film becomes a classic...what are you talking about?

All I said was "let's see if it continues to resonate" with pop culture. I never predicted it was. I didn't predict it wasn't, either. So far, it's still resonating. If it continues resonating in the next several years, it's defined as a classic. That doesn't mean it's the greatest movie ever made or even of high artistic or cultural value. It would just mean that people continue to go gaga over it, like they do today with Harry Potter.

By the way, when you said you didn't agree with me "as usual", my eyes rolled to the back of my head. I had to shake my head around and jump up and down with one leg to get them back out and pop them back into their respective eye sockets! Lol

 

[FrankLapidus]

All I said was "let's see if it continues to resonate" with pop culture. I never predicted it was. I didn't predict it wasn't, either. So far, it's still resonating. If it continues resonating in the next several years, it's defined as a classic. That doesn't mean it's the greatest movie ever made or even of high artistic or cultural value. It would just mean that people continue to go gaga over it, like they do today with Harry Potter.

By the way, when you said you didn't agree with me "as usual", my eyes rolled to the back of my head. I had to shake my head around and jump up and down with one leg to get them back out and pop them back into their respective eye sockets! Lol

Its not resonating with pop culture now.

And you should probably see a doctor about that.

 

[twebber55]

Its not resonating with pop culture now.

And you should probably see a doctor about that.

what will be the excuse when it does a billion plus again

 

[FrankLapidus]

what will be the excuse when it does a billion plus again

We're talking about popular culture, not box office.

Films can make plenty of million without making much of an impact on popular culture.

I'm out of this discussion anyway, I keep out of the Avatar threads because I've said all I have to say about it and I don't want to derail this thread any more than I already have.

 

[71jason]

Does Universal own all of the rights to every classic horror or thriller movie ever made up to Alien?

Pretty much, yeah. All the "Universal" monsters (Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, Mummy, Bride, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Mummy) and Psycho. That's most people's definition of horror up until the 70s/80s slashers.

I was thinking about this watching the Universal nighttime show last night. They have all the classic horror characters, but also the rights to like 80% of the iconic crowd-pleasing movies late Boomers, Gen Xers and Millenials would want to see in a ride like this--basically everything not Lucas-owned or animated or a superhero movie. Blues Brothers, Beetlejuice, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Gladiator, ET, Jaws and everything else Spielberg...

 

[GLaDOS]

what will be the excuse when it does a billion plus again

A billion plus would mean the movie lost 50% of its audience between sequels. Executives would be committing seppuku over that.

 

[FutureCEO]

While I still support the (idea of, depending on the implementation) Avatar expansion, I'll just say that the only references to Avatar The Movie in probably 3 years, aside from the discussions on the WDW expansion on here, is in an article entitled "14 movies you thought were good, but were actually quite bad".
Aside from that, I've not heard or seen a single person talk about it after the original theatrical run ended. Yes, once the sequels are added, it may connect with people more as a small piece of a larger puzzle, but as of right now, it's basically dropped out of pop culture lexicon. Movies like Shaun of the Dead, Cabin in the Woods, Attack the Block, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe cannon, are recent movies that remain in pop culture. Avatar is not.

Is it sad that I've only seen like 2 of those movies?

Edit: I've actually seen 5. That's how great the movies were. (sarcasm if you didn't know)

 

[twebber55]

A billion plus would mean the movie lost 50% of its audience between sequels. Executives would be committing seppuku over that.

it wont make 2.8 billion but it will do well... Frozen 1.3 billion world wide success, global phenomenon, Avatar 2 1.3 billion failure? come on

 

[GLaDOS]

it wont make 2.8 billion but it will do well... Frozen 1.3 billion world wide success, global phenomenon, Avatar 2 1.3 billion failure? come on

When a sequel makes 1/2 as much as the first movie, it's looked at as a failure. If that's how much Avatar makes, Fox will not be happy.

 

[twebber55]

When a sequel makes 1/2 as much as the first movie, it's looked at as a failure. If that's how much Avatar makes, Fox will not be happy.

i disagree..i think exces know that 2.8 billion is not happening again ...billion dollar investment 4.5 billion box office 3.5 billion...id take it, im sure they will...at least i know what the excuse will be here

 

[GLaDOS]

i disagree..i think exces know that 2.8 billion is not happening again ...billion dollar investment 4.5 billion box office 3.5 billion...id take it, im sure they will...at least i know what the excuse will be here

You assume movie executives are a rational breed of human being. They are not.

 

[omurice]

I still enjoy GMR (for pure nostalgia?), but it's noteworthy after 25 years the newest film in ride scenes is Raiders of the Lost Ark from 1981 (some clips in the end montage are newer). But if they do attempt to freshen up, do a change or restoration to GMR, let's hope it does not end up like this restoration...

 

[PeterAlt]

Its not resonating with pop culture now.

And you should probably see a doctor about that.

Lol

 

[DisneyGentleman]

I still enjoy GMR (for pure nostalgia?), but it's noteworthy after 25 years the newest film in ride scenes is Raiders of the Lost Ark from 1981 (some clips in the end montage are newer). But if they do attempt to freshen up, do a change or restoration to GMR, let's hope it does not end up like this restoration...

View attachment 62703

Wow - the Maelstrom upgrade summed up in one image.

 

[Bocabear]

No, that was the Alien Encounter redo...lol

 

[elchippo]

Since the front of the park is apparently staying the same in all of this alleged re-do, I've been thinking about this...this would be a prime time to add Oswald somewhere, maybe in Animation Courtyard.

 

[ctxak98]

I still don't understand why everyone thinks the GMR needs an update with different movies?! Everything in there is a classic now and is thought of as very important to the film world!

The ride is called the GREAT movie ride, not the NEWEST movie ride! Yes the ride needs some upgrades to the show scenes, but it's in no way out of style! Like I said that ride is actually one of the few things in our world today keeping classic films alive! Besides TCM of course!

 

[ctxak98]

The conflicting thing about GMR for me is that, as much as I think it needs to be freshened up, I don't really want it to lose anything. Mary Poppins and Indiana Jones are fine, I think Alien is iconic enough of a film in its genre to warrant a place and The Wizard of Oz is timeless.

Sometimes I think the gangster segment could be replaced with something like The Godfather, a more recent and timeless film in that genre, but then I think people should know about James Cagney and his place in cinematic history. You could make an argument for getting rid of the musical segment right at the beginning but then that's cutting out an important era in cinematic history. Then there's deciding which more recent films would deserve a place.

Its a balancing act and one that will obviously be entirely redundant if the powers-that-be are planning on wielding the axe.

Yes I agree with you! There are a few movies I would be okay with the. Adding like gone with the wind, original King Kong, titanic, and Star Wars! Every they classic of the new age I can think of is at universal! Which sucks cuz jurassic park and E.T are classics

 

[doctornick]

Since the front of the park is apparently staying the same in all of this alleged re-do, I've been thinking about this...this would be a prime time to add Oswald somewhere, maybe in Animation Courtyard.

I think a new Toontown in DHS would be a perfect fit. Personally, I've advocated putting it in the space between RNR and Animation Courtyard (you'd have to remove the CM dining area to enable a path to the courtyard) which would open up that space and provide better flow in the park.