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Darth Weinstein
Harvey sucks the heart out of Fanboys, an homage to Star Wars geeks
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Nothing fuels anticipation of a film like a good controversy, unless, as in the case of the film Fanboys, the controversy drags on for a year. In February of 2008, the blog Cinemanic.com broke the news that the studio owning the film, The Weinstein Company, planned to push back the film’s release and alter it unimaginably. Set in 1998, the story is about Star Wars fans on a road trip to the famed Skywalker Ranch with the intent to steal Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace before its release. In the original plotline, the impetus for the adventure is the terminal illness of a friend who may not live to see the movie in theaters.
The part Weinstein and company decided to cut? That whole bit about terminal cancer. To develop the weightless version of the story, a director and a producer from the Apatow camp were brought in. The studio then reported slightly higher returns on audience reaction to a screening of the raunchier, cancer-less version of the film.
Then the real fanboys got involved, especially members of the 501st, a Star Wars costuming fan group. The fans viewed the removal of the cancer plot (as it has crudely come to be known) as warping the film into a mockery of their love of all things Jedi. Fanboys screenwriter Ernie Cline told Wired Magazine, “The Weinstein Company can do whatever they want. They put up the money. But it is against our wishes and it’s done purely for monetary reasons. The cancer version had heart. It’s now a forgettable road comedy….” The movie would no longer be a love letter to fans, as director Kyle Newman often described it. A website launched. Harvey Weinstein, head of the enemy studio, was dubbed Darth Weinstein.
In May, The New York Times reported that the final cut of Fanboys would be made by the original director, Kyle Newman. Newman was lucky enough to complete the work at Skywalker Ranch’s studios. In July, Kevin Spacey (head of the film’s production company, Trigger Street) announced that the movie would be released in the version the fans had demanded and the original creative team had intended. Fanboys was on track for a theatrical release in September. The Stop Darth Weinstein! Campaign declared victory and grew quiet on both its website and Myspace page.
All seemed well. Then the Weinstein Company started showing signs of trouble. In October, their films slated to release in the fourth quarter of 2008 were pushed to 2009, including Fanboys. In November, the company laid off 11% of its global staff, or 24 employees. A year after the plot change controversy arose, with its studio now in trouble, the future of Fanboys still looks shaky.
So does its integrity. With the February 6th release date looming and five foiled release dates behind it, the plot summary on the film’s website matches that of the butchered, brainless, Weinstein-lite version of the film. Even more, the two previews mention nothing of the cancer plot. The film’s original poster, a spoof on a Return of the Jedi promotional poster, was trashed for a spoof on the 40-Year-Old Virgin poster, a reference which has nothing to do with Fanboys. In advertising and promotion, the Weinstein Company is still winning for the dark side.
Regardless of the fact that the treasure at the end of the Fanboys odyssey, Episode I, isn’t all that great, everything else about the film looks amazing, from cast to homage to endless cameos to great writing. Hopefully, Fanboys will become the ultimate revenge of the nerds.
In theaters February 6.