If you think comic book and sci-fi fans get all worked up about regular movies, you’ll be blown away by the fervor over the movie that shares their name. Fanboys, a comedy-drama about four Star Wars fans who travel to Skywalker Ranch to see The Phantom Menace before its release. It’s been delayed and re-edited and reshot countless times, but now it seems it’ll be seen in its original form, and screened especially for the audience that loves it most.
Tomorrow, during the first day of Comic Con, Fanboys will screen for the first 300 people in line at the Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge Awards, whatever those are. IESB.net reports that director Kyle Newman will introduce some select clips before showing the entire film, which stars Jay Baruchel, Sam Huntington, Dan Fogler and Kristen Bell, among others. The movie’s producer Kevin Spacey specifically thanked “Jedi Knight Harvey Weinstein” for allowing the movie to screen in its original form, and added, “Trigger Street is proud to have produced this film and to have kept the dark side at bay.”
The brou ha ha involved a decision by the Weinstein Company to edit out a plot in the original cut, which had the friends traveling to Skywalker Ranch so their friend could see the movie before he died of cancer. Seeing that as too depressing for a teen movie, the Weinsteins edited out the plot, sorely underestimating the ability of real-life fanboys to complain, and complain loudly. You’d think by now they would have learned not to mess with a guy in a Chewbacca mask.
It’s a very smart move for them to screen Fanboys during Comic Con, given that it’s Geek Mecca, and maybe also a sign that the movie really will get released in its original form. Or, who knows? Maybe the real-life fanboys will see the movie and find out they’re not so crazy about it, giving the Weinstein Co. free reign to dump it whenever and wherever they like. Unlikely, yes, but stranger things have happened at Comic Con I’m sure.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Fanboys-Screening-For-Fanboys-Only-9607.html
