{"id":23356,"date":"2018-03-06T07:36:31","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T12:36:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=23356"},"modified":"2019-11-26T07:25:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T12:25:50","slug":"almost-all-of-them-flops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2018\/03\/06\/almost-all-of-them-flops\/","title":{"rendered":"Almost All of Them Flops"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This is a nicely printed flyer that was handed out at a comic book convention in the very early 1980s. On the opposite side of what’s pictured above was a list of horror and science fiction classics released by Universal Pictures from Frankenstein<\/em> up to The Birds.<\/em> The pictured side of the flyer showed Universal’s then upcoming slate of what they hoped would be genre classics and boxoffice blockbusters. Some of these are now considered classic while a number of these are completely and utterly forgotten.<\/p>\n

I saw most of these in the theater having read about them in magazines such as Starlog<\/em>, Fangoria<\/em>, Famous Monsters<\/em>, Premiere<\/em> and Cinefantastique. <\/em>This was supposed to be the fantasy and science fiction tsunami that followed the impact of Star Wars. If a project was weird or could be merchandised, it got the green light from the studio. Kids like this sci-fi crap. Let’s make MORE!<\/em><\/p>\n

None of these movies really set the world on fire. Conan The Barbarian<\/em> was supposed to start a wave of sword and sorcery pictures that never came. I thought American Werewolf in London was the greatest movie ever made when I first saw it. John Carpenter’s The Thing<\/em> is now rightly regarded as a classic, but in 1982 it was utterly swamped by the happy alien story E.T. Cat people <\/em>was an utter mess that probably killed the career of\u00a0Nastassja Kinski but had a great soundtrack.\u00a0<\/span>The rest of the listed flicks are hit or miss as far as being enjoyable, but at least they were original and all very different from one another. Nowadays if you plunk down the money for a movie you know exactly<\/em> what you’re going to get. It was a very interesting time in movies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a nicely printed flyer that was handed out at a comic book convention in the very early 1980s. On the opposite side of what’s pictured above was a list of horror and science fiction classics released by Universal … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31,120],"tags":[33,76,3183,195,480,336],"class_list":["post-23356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blast-from-the-past","category-curious-clutter","tag-1980s","tag-horror","tag-movies","tag-science-fiction","tag-usa","tag-vintage"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-64I","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15858,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2014\/03\/18\/the-greatest-store-that-ever-was\/","url_meta":{"origin":23356,"position":0},"title":"The Greatest Store That Ever Was","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"March 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I was digging through a dusty 4-drawer filing cabinet in my studio when I came upon this catalog for a sadly gone but not forgotten store\u00a0 -- Rocketships & Accessories! Rocketships & Accessories used to be on 623-625 South Fourth Street just off of South Street back when Philadelphia's hippest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/IMG_4193.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/IMG_4193.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/IMG_4193.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23165,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2018\/01\/24\/free-movies-catch-them-while-you-can\/","url_meta":{"origin":23356,"position":1},"title":"Free Movies – Catch Them While You Can!","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"January 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"There is a new station available for the Roku, and if you're interested, I would install it on your box and watch it's offerings as soon as possible. Time Machine Channel has a small but surprising selection of mostly A-list movies and TV shows along with a number of Saturday\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Weird World of the Roku"","block_context":{"text":"Weird World of the Roku","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/weird-world-of-the-roku\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-24-at-6.58.01-AM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-24-at-6.58.01-AM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-24-at-6.58.01-AM.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14443,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2013\/09\/23\/the-ultimate-experience\/","url_meta":{"origin":23356,"position":2},"title":"The Ultimate Experience?","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"September 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The early '80s was a curious time for movies with studios chasing down the movie that they would hope would be the record-breaking blockbuster. In the wake of Star Wars, science fiction and fantasy were in and all of the studios were chasing the next boxoffice bonanza that could be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/helmet.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/helmet.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/helmet.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11419,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2013\/01\/21\/altered-states\/","url_meta":{"origin":23356,"position":3},"title":"Altered States","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"January 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This was a drawing I did back in the late 1980s in the cursed Sketchbook from Hell. I created it as a belated birthday card for a girl I was pursuing who dodged my advances. Belated birthday cards featuring a self-portrait based on the plot of a science fiction film\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Altered_States.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":40441,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/04\/16\/in-space-no-one-can-hear-geeks-scream\/","url_meta":{"origin":23356,"position":4},"title":"In Space No One Can Hear Geeks Scream","author":"Joe","date":"April 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Pictured above is a Nostromo patch that was attached to a hat similar to what Harry Dean Stanton wore in Alien (1979). If you've never seen Alien which is hard to believe, the movie is about a crew of seven working class slobs manning a vessel that is tugging a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Collecting"","block_context":{"text":"Collecting","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/collecting-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"In Space No One Can Hear Geeks Scream","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/52819404536_780f65ee9c_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/52819404536_780f65ee9c_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/52819404536_780f65ee9c_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25869,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2019\/10\/06\/halloween-screenings-continue\/","url_meta":{"origin":23356,"position":5},"title":"Halloween Screenings Continue","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"October 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazon Prime is the gift that keeps giving this Halloween season with an incredible selection of low-budget but beloved (by me) horror and science fiction films. I just watched Earth VS The Spider which I haven't seen since the late great Doctor Shock would present these opuses on WPHL in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/earthvspider.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/earthvspider.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/earthvspider.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23356\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}