The Osbourne Family Spectacle of Death

[Timekeeper]

I recently heard a rumor that Universal Orlando may theme one of their Halloween Horror Nights attractions on "The Osbourne Family Spectacle of Death." (The word "death" might be replaced with a different word of a "dark" nature, such as "horror" or "grotesque".) And in this case, the name "Osbourne" is in reference to the Ozzy Osbourne family (MTV show), something dark yet humorous in its own right.

Halloween Horror Nights seems to be highly geared towards Orlando locals. Last year's Bill & Ted (Excellent Halloween Adventure) show had a joke about I-4, for example. Also, Universal is no stranger to the Osbourne family, making them lead characters in that same B&T show. That said, locals are obviously familiar with the "Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights" name and tradition, and would "get" the joke. And as many of us know, Universal is no stranger to the parody of Disney creations (ala the posters in the Shrek 4-D queue.)

And with the lack of Disney's Osborne attraction this year, it may just add fuel to the fire of Halloween Horror Nights' themes of parody and darkness.

Has anyone else heard anything about this?

Tk

 

[Merlin0402]

Why was this posted here? This should have been posted in the Universal Orlando section.... tsk, tsk, tsk...

 

[Timekeeper]

"how many CM's does it take to screw in 500,000 lightbulbs?

...because it relates directly to a Disney topic of recent news and interest, that is, the lack of this year's Osborne lights and the demolition of Residential Street. Even girl scout cookies go into the cookie jar.

Tk

 

[PhotoDave219]

Hmmmmm.....


Ozzy + Halloween + Amusement Park = Pretty Cool Idea.

And Timekeeper, while you might have learned about Ozzy (The Prince of Darkness himself!) from MTV, most of us learned of him from a lil band from Birmingham, England called Black Sabbath.

 

[ACE]

Originally posted by PhotoDave219
Hmmmmm.....


Ozzy + Halloween + Amusement Park = Pretty Cool Idea.

And Timekeeper, while you might have learned about Ozzy (The Prince of Darkness himself!) from MTV, most of us learned of him from a lil band from Birmingham, England called Black Sabbath.

Only us old folks will know about Black Sabbath. Where's Tramp? :lol:

:wave: ACE

 

[GaryT977]

As long as there's no bloody bubbles!

 

[meeko_33785]

Originally posted by Timekeeper
I recently heard a rumor that Universal Orlando may theme one of their Halloween Horror Nights attractions on "The Osbourne Family Spectacle of Death." (The word "death" might be replaced with a different word of a "dark" nature, such as "horror" or "grotesque".) And in this case, the name "Osbourne" is in reference to the Ozzy Osbourne family (MTV show), something dark yet humorous in its own right.

That said, locals are obviously familiar with the "Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights" name and tradition, and would "get" the joke. And as many of us know, Universal is no stranger to the parody of Disney creations (ala the posters in the Shrek 4-D queue.)

Tacky, tacky, tacky. :brick: Between this and Shrek, let's rename Universal "The Tackiest Place on Earth".

 

[burbur]

Re: Re: The Osbourne Family Spectacle of Death

Originally posted by meeko_33785
Tacky, tacky, tacky. :brick: Between this and Shrek, let's rename Universal "The Tackiest Place on Earth".

dinorama at dak already has that titlle. be original!

 

[meeko_33785]

Re: Re: Re: The Osbourne Family Spectacle of Death

Originally posted by burbur
dinorama at dak already has that titlle. be original!

Hey, even with Dinorama, it's still part of the Happiest Place on Earth. At least Dino-Rama doesn't maliciously poke fun at Universal. Personally, I would rather ride those spinning Dinosaurs a million times in a row than sit through that horrable Shrek show. It just reminds me of those insecure bullies back in high school that would make fun of kids who were smarter then them. It's sad, really.

 

[Shaman]

I doubt Universal would do this...lights have nothing to do with Halloween...but it would be kind of interesting to see (if they do) how they would combine the two.

And yes, Universal has a habit of taking cheap shots at Disney...but that only shows that they aspire to become like Disney (which is ok, and to a certain extent they've made great strides towards that direction) but they also see that it is very hard to do that because Disney always seems to answer Universal's moves with better moves and decisions. ITs all a business, lets not forget that. Both companies are out for your money, and thats fine, I just choose to spend it at WDW. Just my opinion.:hammer:

 

[PhotoDave219]

Listen - Y'all overreacting. Its Ozzy. He goes with Halloween the way Santa goes with Christmas. Usually i'm not one to defend US but this is a great move by them. Its hillarious. Besides, theyre going for a different audience then MNSSHP.

Plus, not many people outside of hardcore Disney folks associate Osbourne with the christmas lights. Before i ran across this site lo these many months ago, i always associated Osbourne with Ozzy, the prince of ______________ darkness himself.

Its only natural to having him do a halloween thing - after all, i wouldn't want to see Mickey bite the head off a bat!

 

[surfsupdon]

I commend Universal for taking a stab at Disney and the Lights. I enjoy the satire and comedy of the Spectacle of Death b/c the Osborne Lights are dead this year at Disney, and I want people to realize this and see it. With all of the power, prestige, and wealth that Disney has, they surely can replace the Osborne Lights in a different part of their huge property while construction and demolition are running rampant in their past home. The Osborne Lights are dead, and I enjoy Universal's un tacky attempt at having their own light show for competition and having a name that either puposely or coincidently explains the death of the Osborne Lights at MGM this year.

Maybe I'm bitter they wont be up.

 

[Timekeeper]

"mama i'm coming home"

For now, I'm not going to give the Universal rumor very much weight. This is because it has passed through a couple generations and not directly from source A to B. No doubt planning for HHN has been well under way, but construction doesn't start for another 2 months, so I'll believe it when I see it. I think it would be a funny idea, but the trend in Universal's haunted attractions has been to go for more of a generic theme (i.e. "scary tales") rather than a specific one. Then again, part of the "fun" in their theming comes from turning something normal and comfortable into something dark and eerie. Who knows.

Tk

 

[wdw100]

And as many of us know, Universal is no stranger to the parody of Disney creations (ala the posters in the Shrek 4-D queue.)

What do the posters say or look like?

 

[JLW11Hi]

Heh, thats pretty funny....

One thought though...wouldn't that specific name possibly be infringing on some sort of trademark on the name of the light show? Perhaps not...but it could be...

I wish I had seen the Osborne Lights when I had the chance. Oh Drat!

 

[KevinPage]

I wouldn't expect anything less from a FRENCH owned company!!!

LOL

 

[Mary Poppins]

Originally posted by objr
I doubt Universal would do this...lights have nothing to do with Halloween...but it would be kind of interesting to see (if they do) how they would combine the two.

:

The original poster was talking about Ozzy Osbourne. Not the Osborne Spectacle of Lights.

 

[Timekeeper]

"a parody walks into a bar..."

Originally posted by JLW11Hi
One thought though...wouldn't that specific name possibly be infringing on some sort of trademark on the name of the light show?

Well, "parody" is an exception to just about all copyright and related laws. Saturday Night Live, for example, can use actual names and logo's of real tv programs (such as 20/20 and The View) because they meet the parody exception. Weird Al is another example of someone who creates paradies. He made the song "Omish Paradise" while Coolio (Gangsta's Paradise) objected. (Weird Al was in his propper rights to do so.) Parody, however, is not a cover-all and the work must meet specific guidelines in order to qualify as a parody.

In laymen's terms, the work (parody) must actually poke fun at the original, and not just be a variation on the original - as a mere variation would qualify as an infringement. (The popular band "The Verve" learned this the hard way when they released their smash hit Bittersweet Symphony, having "sampled" from another song. Fun fact: Bittersweet Symphony is one of the songs on the loop for the exterior music at Aerosmith RnRC.)

Tk

 

[PhotoDave219]

Okay two things:

First - It's OZZY!! Having him at a halloween event is a truly great idea. Why no one came up with this idea eons ago is beyond me. Don't you see, theyre not ripping off Disney, theyre doing something that has been long overdue. I'm not sure if all you youngins realise this but Ozzy has been part of the dark & spooky world of the macarbe long before you were born. Having Ozzy & Halloween together is like Santa & Christmas, they just go together. It doesnt appear to have anything to do with the Osbourne lights, except for the name Osbourne.

Now i cant stand Universal and i'm the last one to ever defend them, but y'all blowing this waaaaaaaaaaay out of proporation.

Second: The Verve actually asked to use the Rolling Stones song that they sampled. The Stones management said no, and then they did it anyways. Then basically the Stones Management negiotated a deal where The Verve wouldnt be sued if they gave basically over everything up to their immortal soul. Personally i'd have held out, those British Courts have been known to give some whoppers of a judgement.... Sampling happens all the time, you just need permission - Which the Verve was denied.

 

[Timekeeper]

"it's a bittersweet symphony - that's life"

Originally posted by PhotoDave219
Then basically the Stones Management negiotated a deal where The Verve wouldnt be sued if they gave basically over everything up to their immortal soul. Personally i'd have held out, those British Courts have been known to give some whoppers of a judgement.... Sampling happens all the time, you just need permission - Which the Verve was denied.

Yup. That's right. "We won't sue you if you give us everything." Sounds kinda like a "under the table" lawsuit. Ha ha. I have to admit, I love the song. There's a remix version that's very catchy too.

:sohappy:

Tk

Although this could probably start it's own thread; so many people point at other competitors (parks) as "copying" Disney, but has Disney ever filed suit against those parks for unlawful use?

(If not, doesn't that suggest that the others are actually *not* copying Disney?)

Tk