Saturday, February 15, 2003

Movie mash-ups go mainstream with Mike Meyers' DreamWorks deal This is fascinating. Rip, Mix, Burn is going mainstream, and a big movie studio is going to clear all the legal hurdles for Mike. If his project becomes a hit, you can sure bet other studios will jump in, and then it's just a matter of time before DVDs come with masher software built-in. Kenny sez: "Mike Myers has inked an unusual production deal with DreamWorks in which the actor will insert himself, other actors and new plots into existing films to create new properties." The idea isn't new; Woody Allen (news) created new dialogue for a Japanese film and released it as "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" in 1966. More recently, commercials have altered old movie footage starring John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart and Fred Astaire (news) to promote beer, soda and vacuum cleaners. Myers is already known for his homages to pictures. In his previous film outings, including the "Austin Powers" trilogy and even "Wayne's World 2," Myers has re-staged or spoofed scenes from pics including "The Graduate""The Thomas Crown Affair" and the James Bond franchise. But the new deal with DreamWorks will have him take the tweaking to a new level. Myers' pact, which isn't a traditional first-look production deal but specific to the films made from sampling, will have DreamWorks acquiring the rights to films so the actor can use advancements in technology to digitally alter them. Link to Reuters story, Discuss [Boing Boing] 11:44:57 AM