RiffTrax Kickstarter campaign nets over a quarter of a million dollars
http://www.examiner.com/article/rifftrax-kickstarter-campaign-nets-over-a-quarter-of-a-million-dollars
RiffTrax Kickstarter campaign nets over a quarter of a million dollars
March 27, 2013
By: Chris Griffy
When the guys from RiffTrax announced a Kickstarter campaign with the goal of leasing the rights to “Twilight” from Summit for an upcoming RiffTrax Live event, they set a modest goal of $55,000 to get funded. That goal was shattered in the first two days and when the campaign closed today, March 27, the former Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumni pulled in $264,860 from fan donations.
RiffTrax has released audio riffs of all four “Twilight” films and they have consistently been held up by fans as the finest work the trio has ever done. In an interview I conducted last summer with Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett, they explained what they thought was the appeal of the “Twilight” series to RiffTrax fans:
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Bill: One thing is it takes itself so seriously, and it’s some very solemn and very dopey romantic stuff. Even a lot of the people who love the books will acknowledge that to you with the movies. Technically for us, it leaves a lot of space for jokes because they spend so much time looking at each other moon eyed.Kevin: I don’t think there’s ever been a more dull or moronic female lead in a movie…
Mike: You mean mustache dad, right?
Kevin: *laugh* Of course!
So far, the negotiations to obtain the rights to Live Riff “Twilight” are still ongoing and there is no guarantee of success, something they made clear at the outset of the campaign. In a post commenting on the closed Kickstarter campaign, RiffTrax stated that, in addition to negotiating with Summit, they are in contact with other major studios for backup options from their “Worst Movies of All Time” list.
The RiffTrax Live presentation of “Twilight” or whichever film they are able to obtain rights to will be held in August at Nashville’s Belcourt Theater and simulcast live across the country. The Belcourt is no stranger to RiffTrax Live presentations, hosting several of them in the past including recent showings of “Manos: The Hands of Fate” and “Birdemic: Shock and Terror.”