Kevin Neece:
But what defines the Nature of a Cult Movie? My film mentor Josh Becker used to believe that the entire basis of what classifies a film as a Midnight Movie or Cult Movie was already total bullshit to begin with. Josh Becker believed that the Cult Classic terminology was made up by the Studios to sell movies that couldn't make the grade at the box office or good reviews with the film critics. Either a movie has an audience, or it doesn't. If a movie doesn't have an audience upon its initial release, eventually it will gain an audience over time because the movie isn't going anywhere and people will always have to watch something they haven't seen before to keep themselves busy. Taste in movies are entirely subjective and change upon person to person. One man's trash can be another man's treasure, which fully explains why film collectors and found footage editors enjoy going dumpster diving for obscure films at places such as Good Will Thrift Stores.
Skuld:
And more to that factor, what makes a Bad Movie classify as a Cult Movie? Typically Cult Audience films aren't known to achieve Box Office Success at the theaters, nor do they achieve critical success, and are regarded as bad movies upon their initial release. However, said films have been known to pick up a nostalgia factor with each passing decade and what may have been perceived as a bad movie back in their day, might actually be a better movie than what is being released into theaters now. Usually such bad movies later find their audience because they contain things that could be classified as Offbeat or Weird. Kevin Neece sat down and watched the entire Vinegar Syndrome collection, which was filled with hundreds of films that meet this criteria, but many of them are not famous enough to be labelled by the general public as Cult Classics. Are these Vinegar Syndrome releases really Cult Audience films, or are they simply unknown Horror Films made by Obscure Filmmakers that just appeal to people who are tired of watching the same horror movies with Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees? Ultimately, if you want to keep watching new horror films and expand your film education horizons, then you better be prepared to accept the fact that most horror films and independent cult films are not considered to be good movies, or even financially profitable. What differentiates a Bad Movie from a Cult Movie?
Boots Riley:
To that effect, let me ask you a question. Do you believe that all Bad Movies classify as Cult Movies, or is it just the Offbeat Psychotronic Elements? If these factors were all that it took to classify a Bad Movie as a Cult Movie, then pretty much every movie that failed to make its money back at the box office would already be defined as a Cult Classic. The Adventures of Pluto Nash was a Box Office Bomb and Critical Failure made by the same filmmakers that gave you Tremors, but nobody considers that film to be a Cult Audience film except for Kevin Neece himself. The film cost $100 Million and only grossed $7.1 Million worldwide. Nobody sets out to make an intentionally bad movie because there is a bottom line involved where they need the film to make its money back. Kevin Neece has never intentionally written a bad movie on Ah My Goddess, he always gives the discussions his all, something just gets lost in translation from script to screen due to the format.
Steven Spielberg:
Boots Riley has only directed two major films, Sorry to Bother You in 2018, and I Love Boosters in 2026. Sorry to Bother You made $18.3 Million Worldwide against a Budget of $3.2 Million while I Love Boosters made $9.7 Million against a Budget of $20 Million falling short of its break even budget of $50 Million for the advertising. Sorry to Bother You received widespread critical success. I Love Boosters was also a critical success. One movie made lots of money, while the other movie didn't make enough money. Both movies contain elements that could be described as Offbeat or Weird, and neither of them would be described as Bad Movies. And yet somehow, they both feel like they could be labelled as Cult Movies a few decades later, long after everyone has forgotten how they did at the box office.
Kevin Neece:
Then why is it that Cult Movies almost always get made by accident? Nobody sets out to make a bad movie by intention, unless your names are Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez producing a film called Grindhouse. They wanted to make a Parody of Cult Films, so Grindhouse bombed at the Box Office just like a Cult Movie would, and they couldn't believe how it happened to them. In order to make movies, you have to convince the investors that you have a Good Idea to make their money back. Why would any investor finance a film project if the director had intentions of sabotaging it from the very beginning? A lot of critically acclaimed directors working today have at least one or two movies sitting in their catalog that fall under the criteria of Cult Films, even if they are not considered by audiences to be actual Midnight Movies.
Skuld:
During the 1980s, Martin Scorsese made two movies back to back, The King of Comedy, and After Hours. The King of Comedy was a Critical and Commercial Failure, grossing $2.5 Million against a $19 Million Budget. The King of Comedy features offbeat and weird elements, such as the world's worst comedian Rupert Pupkin engaging in his imagination scenes that only take place in his own mind, with Celebrity Cutouts as his only friends. The film was an inspirational basis for Todd Phillips Joker which also featured Robert DeNiro in the Jerry Lewis role. After Hours was critically acclaimed and grossed $10.6 Million against a $4.5 Million Budget. After Hours was a success, much more than the King of Comedy, but for some reason, After Hours is looked back upon as a Cult Audience film due to its offbeat and weird elements, while The King of Comedy took decades to find its audience due to the nostalgia factor kicking in. But because Martin Scorsese has always been a Critically Acclaimed Director, he isn't really viewed as a Cult Audience Director.
Boot Riley:
The King of Comedy also features Actress Sandra Bernhard, who was also featured in Hudson Hawk, a film that was a critical bomb and financial disaster. Hudson Hawk only grossed $17 Million against a $65 Million Budget, yet somehow picked up a Cult Audience over the decades. It was directed by Michael Lehmann, who was famously known for another cult movie called Heathers. Heathers was not a critical hit, only grossing $1.1 Million against its $3 Million budget. But Heathers also contained offbeat dark elements that picked up its audience years later, and became the inspirational basis for a Musical.
Steven Spielberg:
Brian DePalma made at the very least one cult audience film with offbeat and weird psychotronic factors. Phantom of the Paradise was released in 1974, just one year before the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and contains many memorable songs by Paul Williams, and musical performance by Jessica Harper, who would later make the Cult Movies Suspiria, Pennies From Heaven, Shock Treatment, and even a small role as Anne Lively in my own film Minority Report. Phantom of the Paradise was a Critical Flop and only made $250,000 against its $1.3 Million budget.
Kevin Neece:
Brian DePalma would later make Scarface with Al Pacino, which grossed $66 Million against its $25 Million Budget. Not exactly a Box Office Flop, but the film was heavily criticized for its violence almost receiving an X-Rating. Steven Spielberg himself helped shoot the infamous final scene where Al Pacino is gunned down in his own mansion after taking everyone else down with him with his "little friend". Scarface later found its audience among the Rap Artist crowd, and at one point, the studio wanted to capitalize on it by re-releasing the movie with a Modern Day Rap Soundtrack. Scarface may have been controversial upon its initial release, but it was not a financial flop, it gained its audience over time, but does it really classify as a Cult Film. While Brian DePalma films do have their own distinctive audience, it's not necessarily because Brian DePalma is a Cult Director, it's because he has spent his entire career trying to mimic the stylings of Alfred Hitchcock, and every film critic knows it. What differentiates Brian DePalma from a filmmaker like Quentin Tarantino, who is known to steal elements from his favorite movies and make them his own, just as Brian DePalma tried to steal from Alfred Hitchcock?
Skuld:
Steve Martin once told everyone that he has been receiving bad reviews his entire career, and all of the films that he has made that are regarded as classics today were either critical or financial flops. The Jerk was a Commercial Success, but it received negative reviews. The situation was reversed on Pennies from Heaven. The film received good reviews for its musical numbers, but was a financial failure, earning $9 Million worldwide against its $22 Million Budget. Steve Martin says that the audience for Pennies from Heaven are divided into two groups, those who get it, and ignorant scum. Pennies from Heaven also features Cult Actress Jessica Harper and Christopher Walken has a dance number in the underworld scene called "Let's Misbehave". Three Amigos got universal bad reviews but grossed $39.2 Million against its $25 Million Budget, you could not hardly call Three Amigos a commercial flop, but it was still regarded by critics as a bad movie, and it still has a major audience today.
Boots Riley:
Steve Martin participated in Frank Oz Little Shop of Horrors Musical Remake, which only made $54 Million against its $25 Million Budget. Hardly a financial flop, but not the Moneymaking Hit that Studios believed it would be given the Talent involved. Talent like Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, John Candy, Christopher Guest, and Ellen Greene reprising her Stage Role. Little Shop of Horrors gained what Warner Brothers considers to be Cult Status because of its offbeat and weird nature, but even more because of the $4 Million Alternate Ending where everyone dies and the plant Audrey II attacks New York City like Godzilla. Frank Oz insists that they were unable to release the film given the low audience test scores, all of which were aimed at the Dark Ending and they had no choice but to reshoot to get a theatrical release. When they finally restored the Original Ending and released it into Theaters years later, the Little Shop of Horrors Directors Cut was Critically Acclaimed but Repertory Theaters still continued to show the Original Theatrical Release with the Happy Ending in fear of pissing off their audience.
Steven Spielberg:
Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange looks like a Cult Audience Film because it contains offbeat, weird, and psychotronic elements. But A Clockwork Orange was not a commercial failure. A Clockwork Orange grossed $26 Million against a Budget of $2.2 Million, the Critics were polarized over whether the movie was Anti-Violence, or if it celebrated the Droogs violence in the first half of the film. Everyone noticed that Stanley Kubrick intentionally cut the ending from the book that showcased Alex the Droog turning away from his life of crime as an Adult. Stanley Kubrick himself decided that the film should be banned in Britain so that the crime wouldn't be based on his movie. A Clockwork Orange later inspired films like Walter Hill's The Warriors and Mark Lester's Class of 1984 which are debatable as Cult Audience films.
Kevin Neece:
John Carpenter was known for making films that were critical and financial failures only to build up an audience years later. The Thing earned $20.9 Million against a budget of $15 Million. Not exactly a failure, but the critics didn't get it, they felt that John Carpenter replaced a good story with practical effects gore, and the audience didn't show up in droves to watch it. John Carpenter doesn't appear to care that The Thing has an audience decades later because he feels that he needed them at the Box Office when their votes mattered. Big Trouble in Little China earned only $11.1 Million against its $25 Million budget because the Studio didn't know how to advertise the movie. John Carpenter chose to move away from Big Studio films, and made Prince of Darkness making $14.2 Million against its $3 Million budget. Not exactly Steven Spielberg numbers but at least Prince of Darkness made more than its money back. Starman got good reviews and made $28.7 Million against its $24 Million budget, earning Jeff Bridges an Academy Award nomination. Do Starman and Prince of Darkness still classify as Cult Films if they turned a modest profit while films like The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China got overlooked at the Box Office?
Skuld:
Ernest Dickerson was known as the cinematographer on Spike Lee films like Do the Right Thing, Mo Better Blues, Jungle Fever, and Malcolm X, but he did direct a few interesting films that picked up an Audience over the years. He directed Tales from the Crypt Demon Knight with William Sadler, Billy Zane, and Jada Pinkett Smith. Tales from the Crypt Demon Knight was considered a disappointment because it made only $21.1 Million against a $12 Million budget, but horror fans still consider it a good movie and it still plays in repertory theaters every Halloween. Ernest Dickerson directed Bones with Snoop Dogg and Pamela Grier. Bones only made $8.4 Million against a $16 Million budget, which is far worse than Tales from the Crypt Demon Knight. New Line Cinema struggled to find ways to promote the film without coming across as stereotypical or racist as the film was an homage to blaxploitation films. Ernest Dickerson was the cinematographer on John Sayles' The Brother from Another Planet, which became a Cult Audience film despite earning $4 Million against a $350,000 budget, and is remembered for its social commentary. If I had to describe exactly what The Brother from Another Planet was, it would be comparable to a Black Audience version of The Man Who Fell to Earth that was confined to a Black Neighborhood like Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing.
Boots Riley:
Steven Spielberg for all of his success, has had his name connected to at least four different movies that almost meet the criteria of a Cult Audience. Not quite, but almost. Nobody would describe any of these movies as Psychotronic, but they are still oddities for your average film fanatics. They are certainly up for discussion since this is Steven Spielberg's house.
Steven Spielberg:
Back around the year of 1979, sandwiched between Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Raiders of the Lost Ark, I directed 1941, which was based on the Great Los Angeles Air Raid of 1942. While 1941 was regarded as a Critical Failure due to Mixed Reviews upon its initial release, and technically it didn't bomb at the box office, it wasn't the major commercial success that everyone was expecting it to be when compared to Jaws. 1941 made $94.9 Million against its $35 Million Budget, so it cannot be called a Commercial Failure. Nearly all of the actors featured in the movie, including those in supporting roles, later went on to make Cult Following films, this includes Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi from The Blues Brothers and Neighbors, Treat Williams from The Phantom and Deep Rising, Eddie Deezen from Critters 2 and Surf II, Christopher Lee from Lord of the Rings and Hammer Horror, Slim Pickens from Dr Stranglove and Blazing Saddles, John Candy from Little Shop of Horrors and Planes Trains and Automobiles, Nancy Allen from Dressed to Kill and Robocop. All of these actors went on to bigger and better things, and yet somehow, combining all of them into the All Powerful and All Knowing Steven Spielberg's epic War Comedy just didn't make a great movie. It's interesting to watch if you're a film student, but does it really classify as a Cult Classic when it doesn't feature any psychotronic elements and it made serious money at the Box Office?
Kevin Neece:
The next Steven Spielberg film that might meet psychotronic Criteria is Twilight Zone The Movie, not because of Steven Spielberg's segment "Kick the Can", but because of Joe Dante's segment "It's a Good Life" which features Nighmarish Practical Effects Puppets based on Looney Tunes. Once it gets going, the story is visually insane to look at. Twilight Zone The Movie made $42 Million against its $10 Million Budget, while the film got mixed reviews depending on which segment being discussed. So the film could not be described as a Box Office Failure. John Landis and Steven Spielberg were criticized, while Joe Dante and George Miller received Success. John Landis segment "Time Out" wasn't necessarily a bad idea, it just wasn't worth sacrificing the lives of three actors to make the movie. It seems like the only reason Twilight Zone The Movie gets discussed every year is because of the Helicopter Accident with Vic Morrow, Renee Shin-yi Chenn, and Myce Dinh Le. It's not a bad movie, but does it really count as a Cult Classic?
Skuld:
Another Steven Spielberg film that might have met the classifications of a Cult Audience is Robin Williams Hook. The film received Mixed Reviews by Critics, including filmmaker Kevin Smith on Clerks the Animated Series, and it was nearly disowned by Steven Spielberg himself, who claims that he cannot even finish the movie due to the death of Robin Williams. Hook still has an audience who grew up watching the film in theaters and home video, making it almost look like a Cult Audience film, but at the same time, Hook cannot be called a Box Office Failure as the movie grossed $301 Million against its $70 Million budget, making it the Fourth Highest Grossing film of 1991. How can Hook be considered a Cult Audience Film if it was a major studio film that made serious money. It couldn't be. Hook's fanbase just have a nostalgia for the film because they watched it in theaters when they were children. Aren't most Cult Audience films thought to be low budget horror films?
Boots Riley:
The final Steven Spielberg film that contains offbeat and weird elements is AI Artificial Intelligence, which was also the final film production that Stanley Kubrick had his name attached to. The film couldn't be considered a Cult Classic based on its Box Office because it grossed $239 Million against a budget of $100 Million, but additional marketing expenses were between $60 Million to $80 Million so it didn't hit profits until it was released on Home Video. The film did receive Good Reviews, while other critics decribed it as Too Dark and Alienating compared to Steven Spielberg's other films, thanks to Stanley Kubrick's involvement. Now it is 25 Years Later and the film has been brought back up for discussion thanks to Real AI being criticized and protested all over Social Media and Filmmaking Society, which is depicted in the film.
Steven Spielberg:
But can a Cult Audience film ever be made intentionally? When we think of the word Midnight Movie or Psychotronic, the first movie that comes to mind is the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which failed at the Box Office in 1975, but later found its audience at Midnight Screenings in 1976, just one year later, and continues to play in theaters every Saturday Night up to today. Rocky Horror Picture Show couldn't be defined as a Financial Failure because it has the longest theatrical run in History, and yet somehow it gets labeled as a Cult Classic because of its offbeat and weird elements.
Kevin Neece:
Richard O'Brien and Jim Sharman both collaborated on a follow-up film to Rocky Horror called Shock Treatment, which they declared to be an Equal, not a Sequel. Shock Treatment was intentionally designed to copy all of the offbeat elements that they felt made Rocky Horror a midnight success. There was just one problem. Rocky Horror appealed to people because it was about Sexual Deviancy combined with Sci Fi Horror Movies. Shock Treatment was about 1980s Mindless Television Shows becoming a Religion. The musical numbers in Shock Treatment are just as good as Rocky Horror, the film features most of the same supporting cast actors. Everything suggests that Shock Treatment is the Real Cult Movie because it was less successful while Rocky Horror continues to play every Midnight on Saturdays. So technically, Richard O'Brien and Jim Sharman succeeded in intentionally making a Cult Movie out of Shock Treatment, the reason why it failed at the box office is because most Cult Classics fail at the Box Office, and the Audience Participation didn't come naturally from the Audience themselves, the filmmakers tried to force it on them by writing their own Audience Participation scripts.
Skuld:
Richard Elfman made an intentional midnight movie in 1980 called Forbidden Zone, which served as a showcase for the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, before Danny Elfman became famous for working with Tim Burton and Sam Raimi. Like Phantom of the Paradise and Rocky Horror Picture Show, Forbidden Zone is a Musical with offbeat and weird elements, taking inspiration film German Expressionism films like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. The film was made on a budget of $100,000, but its box office is unknown as it was only released as a Midnight Movie. The movie was co-written by Matthew Bright, who would later go on to make Freeway with Reese Witherspoon, based on Little Red Riding Hood, and Freeway II, based on Hansel and Gretel, and then he disappeared into the Jungle. Forbidden Zone got a lot of negative reactions upon its initial release because it was viewed as Offensive, featuring Black Face Performances. Years later after it picked up its audience, Richard Elfman colorized the film, which was his original plan to begin with during the film production, but he probably should have left it alone.
Boots Riley:
Ken Russell made a spiritual sequel to Tommy in Lisztomania with Roger Daltrey being cast, not just because he was the lead in Tommy, but because he actually physically looked like Franz Liszt in real life. Released in 1975, the same year as Rocky Horror Picture Show, Lisztomania was marketed as the film that "Out-Tommy's Tommy" and was intentionally designed to feature offbeat and weird elements. In some way the critics described the third act of the film as Ken Russell boarding a Rocket into Outer Space and never coming back. The Critics were divided and the film was a major Box Office Flop but is still considered to be a Cult Audience movie that took many years to get a DVD release.
Steven Spielberg:
One of the major Midnight Movies that predates Rocky Horror Picture Show was El Topo from 1970 by Alejandro Jodorowsky. The film grossed $1 Million against a $400,000 budget. El Topo is a western with offbeat and weird elements, but what separates El Topo from other Cult Audience films is it was never a one hit wonder. Virtually everything that Alejandro Jodorowsky made after El Topo is just a bizarre, and he never loses his touch with age. One of his latest films released into theaters was Endless Poetry and it is as much a Cult Audience film as El Topo was. Endless Poetry grossed $1.2 Million against a $2 Million budget, but by god, I would dare Francis Ford Coppola to use his Wine Money to make a movie that is even half as good as Endless Poetry was. Similar to El Topo, Zachariah from 1971 was described as the First Electric Western, featured offbeat and weird elements, and grossed $1.5 Million against a $1 Million budget. Zachariah had Don Johnson from the Apocalyptic Sci Fi film A Boy and His Dog.
Kevin Neece:
So why are Cult Audience films always believed to have bombed at the box office upon their initial theatrical release? Ridley Scott has made two different films during the 1980s that featured the elements of Cult Audience films: Blade Runner and Legend. Both of which were victims of studio executive interference and re-editing thanks to Sid Sheinberg, the same man that tried to butcher Terry Gilliams Brazil and got his ass handed back to him in front of the general public. Ridley Scott wasn't so lucky because he believed it was necessary to just give the studios what they wanted to advance his career, and look what happened to him.
Skuld:
Blade Runner made $40 Million against a $28 Million budget, and when that is not necessarily a flop, it wasn't the major hit that Studios were expecting either. The critics thought that the special effects production looked pretty, but the story itself didn't appeal to them in the theatrical release version. Legend made $23.5 Million worldwide against a $25 Million budget, and this was an early Tom Cruise movie I might add. Tom Cruise disowned the movie, but Tim Curry fans celebrate it because of his performance as Darkness. Once again, the critics loved the visuals, but felt the story was lacking.
Boots Riley:
George Lucas produced two different sci-fi films, Jim Henson's Labyrinth, and Howard the Duck, both of which picked up an audience decades later. Labyrinth only made $12.7 Million during its run in the United States against a $25 Million budget, but it did gross $34 Million worldwide. The critics were not fans of the movie, citing entertaining visuals, but a story that lacked actual suspense. You never believe that the characters are in any kind of danger because it is a Muppet Movie. Now Labyrinth plays in theaters almost every year thanks to Alamo Drafthouse and David Bowie. Howard the Duck was considered to be both a critical and commercial failure, only making back $37.9 Million against a $37 Million budget, meaning the film only broke even. George Lucas Willow couldn't possibly be considered a Cult Audience film because it grossed $137.6 Million worldwide against a $35 Million budget. That's the real reason why Howard the Duck was considered a failure, it's because it only broke even while Willow brought in $100 Million over its Production Budget.
Steven Spielberg:
Dino DeLaurentis from Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness was involved in Sam J Jones Flash Gordon, an intentional ripoff of Star Wars, which itself was inspired by Flash Gordon Serials. And while the real budget is unknown, it is estimated to be between $20 Million to $35 Million, with the film only grossing $27.1 Million worldwide. So the film was considered to be a disappointment compared to Star Wars, but decades later, Sam J Jones Flash Gordon found a new life thanks to Seth McFarlane's Ted films. Masters of the Universe famously bankrupted an entire studio, only earning $17.3 Million worldwide against a budget of $22 Million. Everybody went to see Masters of the Universe hoping for the cartoon universe, instead they got a movie that was based on the Action Figures, instead of the actual cartoon show. Masters of the Universe still has its fanbase today, so it could be considered a Cult Audience film.
Kevin Neece:
Terry Gilliam is infamous for his disastrous film productions that have offbeat and weird qualities labelling them as Cult Audience films, to such a degree that his Monty Python co-star Eric Idle had a rule never to work on Terry Gilliam's films. Watch them yes, but never ever work on one of them. Eric Idle finally made the mistake of working with Terry Gilliam on The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and it went down in history as one of the greatest cinematic disasters of all time. And it was totally worth it too. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen grossed $8 Million against a $23.5 Million budget that skyrocketed to $46.6 Million because Terry Gilliam didn't know what the fuck he was doing, but you can see every penny of that budget onscreen with practical effects. A studio producer wouldn't label this a good movie, but I love it. John Neville would later co-star in films like Urban Legend, a slasher movie knockoff of Wes Craven's Scream, and Luc Besson's The Fifth Element, and both of those films have their fanbase.
Skuld:
John McTiernan was responsible for directing hits such as Predator, Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October, and Medicine Man. Shane Black was responsible for writing The Monster Squad, Lethal Weapon, and The Last Boy Scout. Arnold Schwarzenegger had an entire archive of successful action films under his belt from the 1980s. All of these factors suggest that Last Action Hero from 1993 should have been a guaranteed hit. The film grossed $137 Million against an $85 Million budget, and yet somehow, everyone is under the belief that Last Action Hero was an Audience Disappointment. Kevin Neece remembers reading about Last Action Hero in one of his High School Economic Books about Box Office Failure. Last Action Hero was a comedy spoof of all the action film stereotypes depicted throughout Arnold Schwarzenegger's career, and it does have it's audience today. If Last Action Hero made so much profit at the Box Office, why is it considered to be a Cult Classic derived from Cinematic Failure?
Boots Riley:
John McTiernan would later become infamous for the remake of Rollerball in 2002. Rollerball grossed $25.9 Million against a $70 Million budget, and yet somehow, this did not result in the film gaining a Cult Audience decades later as no amount of nostalgia could ever salvage that miserable piece of shit movie. Instead, the film production is notoriously remembered for landing John McTiernan a prison sentence after he got caught lying to the FBI over a telephone call and insulted the Judge under the belief that his status as a Major Hollywood Director should have given him a free pass. John McTiernan's defense is that he was jet lagged when he received the phone call, and his only answer to the FBI was one word before he hung up on them, "No". The Prosecutor Thomas J McCarthy was also called under suspicion for being a failed screenwriter whose true motivations were seeking revenge against John McTiernan. Despite all of these factors, John McTiernan spent most of his amassed fortune fighting for his freedom in court, but ultimately served out his Prison Sentence anyways, which took an extreme toll on his Physical Health and Appearance.
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Charlie Morningstar:
Does Disney have any Cult Audience Films?
Vivienne Medrano:
The first one that comes to mind is Midnight Madness from 1980, which only grossed $2.9 Million against an unknown budget that Disney considers to be disappointing. Midnight Madness was a film about a carefully plotted out Scavenger Hunt released without the Disney credits on the Advertising or Film to try and trick teenage audiences into believing it was just a normal movie and their ruse failed. Midnight Madness featured David Naughton from An American Werewolf in London, Eddie Deezen from Critters 2, Stephen Furst from National Lampoon's Animal House, National Lampoon's Class Reunion, and Up the Creek. Midnight Madness also featured a very young Michael J Fox before he went on to co-star in Class of 1984 and Back to the Future. The character Leon, who designed the Scavenger Hunt dubbed The Great All Nighter, was played by Alan Solomon, who actually had a background in designing Strategy Games for Game Shows in Real Life, just like his character in the movie.
Vaggie:
Return to Oz from 1985 was considered to be just a Dark and Disturbing for children as Ridley Scott's Legend, contrasting the original happy technicolor Wizard of Oz. Before the movie even begins, Dorothy is outright threatened with Shock Treatment. And it only gets worse from there. Return to Oz grossed $11.1 Million against a $28 Million budget, earning its Cult Audience Status. Fairuza Balk would later grow up to co-star in The Craft, and invest in her own Witchcraft Shops, while Nicol Williamson was famous for playing Merlin in John Boorman's Excalibur. Stephen Norrington, who played Gump, would later direct the cult audience films Death Machine and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Gump's other actor Lyle Conway designed the Audrey II puppet for Frank Oz Little Shop of Horrors and the Special Effects for Deep Rising.
Charlie Morningstar:
The Black Cauldron from 1985 was practically vaulted until 1998 due to parental complaints over the witchcraft and necromancy featured in the film. The Black Cauldron grossed $21.3 Million against a $44 Million budget, putting Disney Animation's future into jeopardy. This being the same Disney Animation that kept recycling and tracing over older animation from previous film productions during the 1970s.
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Steven Spielberg:
Do Famous Studio Films sometimes Overshadow the Real Obscure Cult Movies? John Hughes Home Alone is considered to be a seasonal classic since it was released in 1990, and a box office hit, so there is nothing that could be considered psychotronic or cult about the film itself. However, Vinegar Syndrome distributed a foreign film that is thematically similar to Home Alone called Deadly Games Dial Code Santa Claus which was released in 1989, just one year before Home Alone. Macaulay Culkin has never publicly discussed the film, but he does acknowledge the similarities between the two movies. They both take place at Christmas, they both feature a child attempting to protect their home from intruders with a house full of booby traps. The director Rene Manzor threatened to sue the makers of Home Alone for Plagiarism claiming they had remade his film, but he didn't follow through with the lawsuit. Deadly Games Dial Code Santa Claus grossed $1.5 Million against a $1 Million budget, while Home Alone grossed $476.7 Million against an $18 Million budget. So it is entirely understandable that Rene Manzor would be pissed. From an artistic standpoint, the Rene Manzor film is a much darker and much more interesting film, and yet Kevin Neece had never heard of it until Vinegar Syndrome released it, all that he knew was Home Alone from his childhood.
Kevin Neece:
Julie Brown's Earth Girls are Easy was released in 1989, with an All Star Cast, and features elements that are offbeat, musical, and weird which could be thematically applied to a Cult Audience films. Earth Girls are Easy grossed $3.9 Million against a $10 Million budget, so it is applicable to the Box Office failure that is applied to Cult Audience films. However, Voyage of the Rock Aliens was released in 1984, it was a similarly themed musical film, and it grossed $1.5 Million against a $2 Million budget. While Earth Girls are Easy featured an All Star Cast, Voyage of the Rock Aliens only featured cult actors such as Ruth Gordon, from Harold and Maude or Where's Poppa, and Michael Berryman from The Hills Have Eyes. Julie Brown specifically co-wrote Earth Girls are Easy just so she could give herself a major role and she's pretty much been riding off of that film despite her extensive amount of work, as if she never topped herself with that movie. Earth Girls are Easy has always been readily available on DVD, while Voyage of the Rock Aliens was only available on Foreign Region DVD for decades until Vinegary Syndrome stepped in and distributed it for a new audience.
Skuld:
Julie Brown does have other Cult Audience films in her name. She had a small role in the horror movie Bloody Birthday from 1981, about murderous children born under a Solar Eclipse. Bloody Birthday grossed $1.2 Million against a $1.5 Million budget. During that exact same year, another slasher horror film called Happy Birthday to Me was released grossing $10.6 Million against a budget of $3.5 Million. So Happy Birthday to Me wouldn't classify as a box office failure applied to Cult Movies, but it does have its audience and a truly fucked up twist ending. Julie Brown was also in Shakes the Clown from 1991, featuring Bobcat Goldthwait, Adam Sandler, and Robin Williams in supporting roles. Shakes the Clown grossed $115,103 against a $1.4 Million budget, so it classifies for Cult Audience Status. Julie Brown also co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in Attack of the 5 ft 2 Women, a TV movie from 1994, which parodied the subject of Tonya Harding decades before Margot Robbie did it in I Tonya. Attack of the 5 ft 2 Women grossed $1.5 Million against a $1 Million budget but somehow faded into obscurity. Meanwhile Margot Robbie's I Tonya was a theatrical film that would years later gross $53.9 Million against an $11 Million budget. Julie Brown would also have a small role in Amy Heckerling's Clueless from 1995, an audience favorite but not exactly a cult classic. Clueless grossed $88 Million against a $12 Million budget, and Julie Brown would later go on to produce the Clueless television series from 1996 to 1999.
Boots Riley:
Diane Franklin is most famous for her role as The French Exchange Student in Savage Steve Holland's Offbeat Comedy Masterpiece Better Off Dead from 1985. But Better Off Dead grossed $10.3 Million against a $3.5 Million budget, and John Cusack was embarrassed by his performance in the movie, which he felt made him look like an idiot. Everyone loves Better Off Dead, but it isn't exactly classifiable as a Cult Audience film even if it is universally loved. The Real Diane Franklin Cult Audience film was Terrorvision from 1986, produced by Charles Band, directed by Ted Nicolaou from The Dungeonmaster, and features performances by Gerrit Graham from Phantom of the Paradise and Child Play 2, and Mary Woronov from Eating Raoul, Rock n Roll High School, and Steve Miner's Warlock. Terrorvision only grossed $320,256 against a $1 Million budget, securing it's Cult Audience Status.
Steven Spieberg:
James Cameron The Terminator from 1984 classifies as a Horror Movie that found its origins in Harlan Ellison and Roger Corman productions, grossing $78.3 Millon against a $6 Million budget. Not an actual classifiable Cult Movie as it went on to become a Big Budget Studio Franchise that still continues to this day, and even had its own theme park show. However, The Terminator did result in Foreign Knock Offs that were admittedly plagiaristic and yet somehow still fun to watch thanks to Mondo Macabre and Alamo Drafthouse. Lady Terminator from 1989 was an Indonesian Witchcraft Possession take on the idea, grossing $2 Million against a $1 Million budget. Bruno Mattei's Terminator 2 Shocking Dark from 1989 was a combination of plot elements from both James Cameron's Aliens and Terminator, grossing $200,000 against a $1 Million budget, a significant financial loss making it applicable for Cult Audience Status. American Cyborg Steel Warrior from 1993 was one of the last productions from action producers Golan and Globus, and directed by Boaz Davidson, who would later produce films for the Expendables and Rambo franchises. American Cyborg Steel Warrior grossed $447,784 against a budget of under $1 Million. American Cyborg Steel Warrior never got a proper DVD release in America and is only available on Foreign Region DVD.
Kevin Neece:
John Landis most famous film is The Blues Brothers from 1980 with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. It features offbeat and weird elements. It's a musical like some of the best Cult Audience Films are. But The Blues Brothers was never considered to be a financial or critical failure. The Blues Brothers always had an audience from the very beginning. The only people that didn't like The Blues Brothers were the Studio Execs that financed it because they viewed it as a Black Audience film. The Blues Brothers grossed $115.2 Million against a $27 Million so those Studio Execs were crying all the way to the bank. But that doesn't mean that The Blues Brothers classifies as a Cult Audience film. The Real Oddity was the followup film by John G Advilsen called Neighbors from 1981, which only grossed $30 Million against an $8 Million budget. Based on how much money The Blues Brothers took in, the Box Office draw for Neighbors was a serious drop. What makes Neighbors so unique is that it was specifically written for the personality types of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, but they both decided to switch roles at the last minute so they could play against type by playing each other. And then the studio switched out the film soundtrack. If Neighbors had stuck to its original plan, it may have been perceived as a much better film, but it's still an interesting film to look at.
Skuld:
Back to the Beach from 1987 was an attempt to update Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello from the Beach Party franchise of the 1960s into the aesthetic of the 1980s. Sadly, Harvey Lembeck had already died and was unable to return, so he was replaced with punks and cameo appearances by Vintage Television Actors from Gilligan's Island, Don Adams from Get Smart, and even Pee Wee Herman himself singing Surfin Bird. Like the Beach Party series, Back to the Beach is a Musical. The film grossed $13.11 Million against a $12 Million budget, which wasn't Steven Spielberg box office numbers, but it did barely make its money back. All of these elements would make Back to the Beach perfect for Cult Audience Status. However, in 1983, there was another beach movie with offbeat and weird elements called Surf II, which grossed $1.5 Million against a $3 Million budget. Surf II featured Eddie Deezen as the villain, cameo appearances by Cleavon Little from Blazing Saddles and Once Bitten, Ruth Buzzi, and Eric Stoltz before he got fucked out of the role of Marty McFly by Michael J Fox in Back to the Future. Surf II has as much Cult Audience Appeal as Back to the Beach, so why has nobody ever heard of it beyond the most die hard film collectors. Because Back to the Beach was released on DVD by Paramount in 2004 and Surf II didn't get a proper restoration and physical media release by Vinegar Syndrome until 2021. Both Back to the Beach and Surf II are perfectly good Cult Audience films, but one got more attention than the other for nearly three decades, to the extent that nobody had even heard of Surf II until Vinegar Syndrome released it.
Boots Riley:
Everyone knows about Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but only true film fanatics know that in 1991, Gale Anne Hurd produced an HBO TV movie called Cast a Deadly Spell, which could only be described as a Witchcraft Version of the Detective Formula depicted in Roger Rabbit and Chinatown. Fred Ward from Tremors played a Detective named H.P. Lovecraft, Clancy Brown from Highlander, David Warner is the Villain, and Julianne Moore is in the film too. The film was directed by Martin Campbell from Goldeneye and The Mask of Zorro, and it features practical effects puppet demons as stand ins for the Toons from Toontown in Roger Rabbit. The film was made on a $6.2 Million Budget, far lower than the intial planned $25 Million Budget. As there was no theatrical release, Cast a Deadly Spell cannot claim to have bombed at the box office, but to date, there have been no American Region DVD releases either, only Foreign Region DVD Releases. Gale Anne Hurd is famous for The Terminator, Aliens, and Tremors, but Cast a Deadly Spell will always have a special place in our hearts.
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Charlie Morningstar:
Can Belated Physical Media Releases sometimes hurt Cult Audience Status?
Vivienne Medrano:
The Beatles Yellow Submarine features offbeat and weird elements that are perfect for Cult Audience appeal. The film was theatrically released in 1968, but didn't receive an official physical media release until 1999 on VHS followed by DVD in 2002. Yellow Submarine grossed $1.3 Million against a $250,000 budget when it was re-released into theaters in 2018. Robert Zemeckis planned to direct a motion capture remake of Yellow Submarine in 2012, but the remake was cancelled due to the poor performance of Disney's Mars Needs Moms.
Vaggie:
Ivan Reitman's Heavy Metal was released in theaters back in 1981, and featured offbeat and weird elements applied to Cult Audience films, and Ralph Bakshi's Adult Animation films, which made use of Rotoscoping, were cited as an influence as Ralph Bakshi and Disney were the only Main Animation studios making theatrical films at that time. Heavy Metal grossed $20 Million against its $9 Million budget. Despite this success, Heavy Metal didn't receive a physical media release until 1996 due to soundtrack licensing issues. The film flaunts John Candy and Harold Ramis on the main credits, but was released in theaters before John Candy became a famous name at the Box Office as a Leading Man.
Charlie Morninstar:
The theatrical competition for Heavy Metal was considered to be Rock & Rule in 1983, a post apocalpyptic musical with mutant rats and demon invocations. Rock & Rule did receive a VHS release in 1984 followed by a Laserdisc release in 1986. Rock & Rule only grossed $30,379 against an $8 Million budget, making it more of a Cult Audience film than Heavy Metal which was a theatrical success. Today, used DVD copies of Rock & Rule Two Disc Set are priced as high as $170 and the bluray releases appear to be out of print.
Vivenne Medrano:
In 1982, Ralph Bakshi released an animated film called Hey Good Lookin' that was a parody of high school street gang movies like John Travolta's Grease. If you thought that Grease was offensive, you haven't seen anything yet. Back in 1975, Ralph Bakshi originally wanted Hey Good Lookin to be animated characters over live action photograph backgrounds, but studio intervention forced him to remake the entire movie animated, and they also forced him to use a 1980s music soundtrack that did not match the time period when it was finally released in 1982. The original 1975 version of Hey Good Lookin has never been seen by the general public. Hey Good Lookin had a $1.5 Million Budget, but there are no records for how the film did at the box office. While the film did pick up a Cult Audience through Cable Television Broadcasts, and there were General Home Video releases, Hey Good Lookin didn't receive a DVD release through Warner Brothers Archive until recently.
Vaggie:
Hayao Miyazaki from Studio Ghibli released one of his best films, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind from 1984, into American Theaters through New World Pictures under the title Warriors of the Wind in 1985. The film was heavily re-edited in a manner not unlike Sid Sheinberg's Love Conquers All Version of Terry Gilliam's Brazil, and Hayao Miyazaki was not amused. Warriors of the Wind grossed $9 Million against its $1 Million budget so it wasn't a financial failure, just a studio intervention creative dispute. When Disney took over theatrical distribution and english dubbing of Studio Ghibli's films, Hayao Miyazaki's producer sent a samurai sword to Harvey Weinstein with a note reading "No Cuts". The significance of Nausicaa as a Cult Audience film is the movie feels like one of the anthology stories featured in Ivan Reitman's Heavy Metal, as if the two films were connected and Nausicaa functions as a sequel. But is Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind really considered to be a Cult Audience film when it still gets released into theaters every year as a Repertory Celebration of Studio Ghibli's usual line up?
Charlie Morningstar:
George Lucas produced a unique animated movie called Twice Upon a Time from 1983, which only grossed $5,000 against a $3 Million budget making it ripe for Cult Audience Status. Twice Upon a Time features voice acting by Lorenzo Music, known as the voice of Garfield the Cat and Peter Venkman on The Real Ghostbusters. The only reason that Kevin Neece remembers Twice Upon a Time is because it was broadcast on Cartoon Network when he was a child. Twice Upon a Time is considered to be a Cult Audience film due to its unique animation style, but did not receive a physical media release until VHS in 1991 followed by DVD in 2015. The film is currently distributed by Warner Brothers Archive.
Vivienne Medrano:
Chuck Jones The Phantom Tollbooth from 1970 grossed $1.5 Million against a $2.5 Million budget and features offbeat, weird, and nightmarish elements attributed to Cult Audience films rather than Children's movies. The Terrible Trivium could be described as a Real Life Demon that actually does haunt people rather than the metaphorical monster that is depicted in the film by Daws Butler. Kevin Neece was introduced to the film through Cartoon Network as a child, and it appears to have had no trouble finding physical media releases through Warner Brothers Archives due to Chuck Jones reputation as a Looney Tunes director. Chuck Jones name has marquee value.
Vaggie:
One of Kevin Neece's favorite childhood films that he actually saw in theaters was Freddy as F.R.O.7 from 1992, the only film written and directed by Jon Acevski, who literally made nothing else. The film featured Ben Kingsley as a secret agent frog battling a sorceress. Freddy the Frog was criticized for offensive elements such as blackface crows, not so different from the african american crows seen in Ralph Bakshi's Fritz the Cat, and because of these offensive elements, the film was released in various censored cuts. Freddy the Frog grossed $1.1 Million against an $18 Million budget, and despite being released into American Theaters by Miramax films, the only physical media DVD release you can find today is from Hungary in Region Free Format. You simply cannot get more obscure than this movie for what it is and that is what makes it a true Cult Audience Film.
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Boots Riley:
Do they still classify as Cult Movies if they get co-opted and exploited by the Major Distribution Studios after the fact, which is the overall point being made in Ready Player One? Sam Raimi's Evil Dead Franchise may have started out as a Cult Movie in the 1980s, but once it got picked up by Anchor Bay Distribution, its Cult Status began to fall into Question as Evil Dead was released into Walmarts and K-Marts everywhere, and T-Shirts, Video Games, Comic Books, and Todd McFarlane Action Figures were made. Anchor Bay kept making nonstop release after release, including alternate bootleg directors cut, or necromonicon bindings, until it began to annoy everyone. Exactly how many DVD copies of the Evil Dead Trilogy was Anchor Bay expecting their fans to buy? At one point the sequel to Freddy vs Jason was going to feature Bruce Campbell until he asked the producers if Ash was going to cut their heads off with a chainsaw. The filmmakers finally came back with the Ash vs Evil Dead television series, which only lasted for three seasons, and the modern day scary Evil Dead Reboots without Bruce Campbell. The Real Cult movie that Sam Raimi made during his original Evil Dead period was Crimewave, because the film was never a financial hit or even an audience hit due to studio intervention, yet it contained all of the offbeat and weird elements that made Sam Raimi and the Coen Brothers famous. Even if Crimewave is a bad movie, it is still a fascinating movie to look at for film students showcasing that even the most talented filmmakers can make mistakes after they achieve success. Remember, Sam Raimi stated that he was never going to make another Evil Dead film before he made Crimewave. If it had not been for the failure of this movie, then we may have never gotten an Evil Dead 2 and Sam Raimi might have had a different career.
Steven Spielberg:
Walter Hill's The Warriors was once considered to be a Cult Movie for its offbeat and weird character designs and costumes for the Gang Members, but is it really a Cult Classic when it grossed $22.5 Million against a $4 Million Budget? The film was clearly inspired by A Clockwork Orange, and like that movie, it was heavily criticized and was blamed for Real Life Violence by Street Gangs. Since then, the Warriors was released in a Director's Cut that made the transition scenes look like a Comic Book, it has been sampled by Rap Artists, and it has been the subject of Video Games. And why wouldn't it be? A Movie about Street Gangs running around and fighting other Street Gangs is as much a Video Game format plot as the Grand Theft Auto series. The Warriors is more of a Halloween Costume film, or a Video Game than a Cult Audience film. It has the elements of a Cult Movie, but commercialism may have ruined it.
Kevin Neece:
Rob Reiner made his own alleged Cult Audience film in The Princess Bride, but it wouldn't be described as offbeat or weird. The film grossed $30.9 Million against a $16 Million budget, but was labeled as a box office failure, and didn't find its audience until the VHS release. Now the Princess Bride is everywhere. Cary Elwes even wrote a book about the making of the Princess Bride. The film also features actors who went on to star in other Cult Movies. Fred Savage was in Little Monsters. Cary Elwes was in Robin Hood Men in Tights, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Shadow of the Vampire, before making a comeback with James Wan's SAW franchise. Robin Wright would star in Robin Wright at the Congress which was an offbeat and weird film about Actors being replaced with Digital Likenesses that turns into an acid trip animated movie similar to The Beatles Yellow Submarine. Chris Sarandon made Fright Night and Child's Play. Christopher Guest did Frank Oz Little Shop of Horrors. Mandy Patinkin was in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. Hey man, they can't all be winners. The Princess Bride is so famous that its virtually everywhere, so how could it possibly be labelled as a Cult Audience film?
Skuld:
The Real Rob Reiner Cult Audience film is Elijah Wood's North. The film grossed $12.2 Million against a $50 Million budget, and had Bruce Willis from Hudson Hawk, Jason Alexander from The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Julia Louis-Dreyfus from Steve Miner's Soul Man, Jon Lovitz from Little Nicky, Alan Arkin from Wait Until Dark, Dan Aykroyd from Neighbors, Reba McEntire from Tremors, John Ritter from Bride of Chucky and Bad Santa, Scarlett Johansson from Lost in Translation and The Avengers, Ben Stein from Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Mask, Kathy Bates from Misery, Graham Greene from Maverick and The Green Mile. The film is offbeat and weird, and feels like a collection of Saturday Night Live sketches loosely connected by the plot, and it's not a coincidence. The co-writer Alan Zweibel worked on Saturday Night Live from 1975 to 1987 which explains why Dan Aykroyd is in the movie. Somebody that worked at Vulcan Video in Austin Texas put a label on the movie that they had grown up living in random foster homes and they were brutally offended by the movie depicting a child traveling the world to choose his own parents instead of being grateful for the parents that already wanted him.
Boots Riley:
Richard Kelly came to success with Donnie Darko, which made a worldwide gross of $7.5 Million against a budget of $4.5 Million, and received Mixed Reviews. While technically Donnie Darko was not a Box Office Failure, you couldn't exactly call it the next Terrifier or Obsession now could you? Donnie Darko contained offbeat and weird elements, and developed a fanbase, but when Richard Kelly released the Director's Cut, everyone disturbingly realized that Richard Kelly didn't understand what made his own movie work so well and were turned off by the explanations in the Director's Cut and the Alternate Music Soundtrack. The opening song "The Killer Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen was replaced by "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS.
Steven Spielberg:
Richard Kelly's success with Donnie Darko led to his Real Cult movie offering, Southland Tales. The film was produced on a budget of $17 Million but only grossed $374,743 worldwide which classifies as a significant financial loss. Southland Tales also received mixed to negative reviews. The film features many offbeat and weird elements, including a supporting cast of Actors from Saturday Night Live. Whether you like Southland Tales or not, all of these psychotronic elements bring it closure to Cult Movie Status than Donnie Darko does.
Kevin Neece:
Do A-List Award Winning Actors sometimes get their start in Cult Audience Films? Troma Films frequently boasts about all of the Actors that were featured in Troma Distributed movies before they became famous. For example, Kevin Costner got his start in Sizzle Beach USA and went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director on Dances with Wolves. Kevin Costner found Cult Audience credibility in two different starring role films, Waterworld and The Postman, both of which took place in two different variations of the Post Apocalypse. Waterworld grossed $264.2 Million against a $175 Million budget but was considered to be a bad movie, and yet somehow it still has an audience decades later. The Postman grossed $30 Million against an $80 Million budget, but decades later found a revival when the President threatened to financially cut off the Post Offices.
Skuld:
Vincent D'Onofrio had a small comic relief role in Troma's The First Turn On, before he co-starred in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket and the villain role in Men in Black, produced by Steven Spielberg.
Boots Riley:
Bill Nunn from Do the Right Thing and Spiderman, Samuel L Jackson from Pulp Fiction and The Hateful Eight, Kadeem Hardison from White Men Can't Jump and Wes Craven's Vampire in Brooklyn, they were featured front and center in Troma's Def by Temptation by James Bond III, a Succubus film for Black Audiences.
Steven Spielberg:
Matt Stone and Trey Parker made Cannibal The Musical before South Park made them a household name. Cannibal The Musical was distributed by Troma after being rejected by all of the Film Festivals and Major Studio Distributors. Then Matt Stone and Trey Parker gave Lloyd Kaufman a role in Orgazmo. When South Park Bigger Longer and Uncut received an Oscar Nomination for Blame Canada, Matt Stone and Trey Parker showed up at the Academy Awards in dresses worn by previous actresses to flip them off, and then they cameo appeared in Lloyd Kaufman's Terror Firmer as Hermaphrodites. They had the Oscar Nomination, they had the Celebrity Status, they had everything, and they threw it all out the window just to show appreciation to Lloyd Kaufman because he took a change on them when nobody else would.
Kevin Neece:
James Gunn got his career start writing Tromeo and Juliet, and advanced to making Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel Films and later became the head of DC Comics Studios. He still gives Lloyd Kaufman cameos in his major studio films.
Skuld:
Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger made Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Next Generation before they were famous. Renee Zellweger was Oscar Nominated four times throughout her career, including Chicago and Bridget Jones's Diary, winning Best Supporting Actress for Cold Mountain and Judy. Matthew McConaughey won Best Actor for Dallas Buyer's Club. Both Actors tried to have Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Next Generation permanently vaulted after they became famous because they were embarrassed by the movie. The film only grossed $185,898 against a $1 Million budget, making it the lowest grossing entry in the series. The film has sense achieved Cult Audience Status due to its showcase of Leatherface as a Transgender Woman and the celebrity appeal of its two actors.
Boots Riley:
George Clooney got his career start in Grizzly II Revenge from 1983, Return to Horror High from 1987, and The Return of the Killer Tomatoes from 1988, which could be described as offbeat and weird, and labeled as a Midnight Movie. George Clooney insists that Return of the Killer Tomatoes was a terrible movie, and he was terrible in it, but there must have been something appealing about the film because nearly all of the characters in it inspired a Saturday Morning Cartoon series just like The Toxic Avenger inspired The Toxic Crusaders Animated Series. John Astin from The Addams Family and Peter Jackson's The Frighteners played a Mad Scientist named Professor Gangreen that later appears in the Animated Series. The Return of the Killer Tomatoes grossed $5 Million against a $1 Million budget, so it wasn't a commercial failure like most Cult Audience films. George Clooney then made a movie called Red Surf in 1989 which was later distributed by the Vinegar Syndrome label.
Steven Spielberg:
George Clooney got his cinematic big break in Robert Rodriguez mexican vampire film From Dusk Till Dawn in 1996, which grossed $25.8 Million against a $19 Million budget. Since then From Dusk Till Dawn has gained Cult Status among Horror Fans, most notably for the inclusion of Harvey Keitel from Bad Lieutenant, Salma Hayek from Desperado, Horror Special Effects Artist Tom Savini as Sex Machine, and Fred Williamson from the Blaxploitation Era. From Dusk Till Dawn still plays in Theaters every year for Halloween Lineups. Then George Clooney fucked up all of his good will with Joel Shumacher's Batman & Robin. George Clooney has since been Oscar Nominated 8 times, winning 2 Oscars for Best Supporting Actor in Syriana, and as co-producer for Ben Affleck's Argo.
Kevin Neece:
Brad Pitt got his start in a high school slasher movie from 1989 called Cutting Class, which grossed $1.3 Million against its $1.5 Million Budget, and later got a release from Vinegar Syndrome. Cutting Class also featured Roddy McDowell from Fright Night and Class of 1984 in a supporting role. In 1991, Brad Pitt got his big break wiht Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise, however, also released that same year was Tom DiCillo's Johnny Suede, followed by Ralph Bakshi's Cool World in 1992. Johnny Suede was about an aspiring singer with no talent and a wicked hairdo, that could only be described as offbeat and weird. Johnny Suede grossed $90,091 against a $500,000 budget securing its Cult Audience Status. Tom DiCillo's next film in 1995 was equally offbeat and weird, a film within a film nightmare called Living in Oblivion with Steve Buscemi as an Indie Director, Cathrine Keener from Being John Malkovich and Death to Smoochy, and Peter Dinklage is featured in a Before He Was Famous Dream Sequence scene. Living in Oblivion grossed $1.1 Million against a $500,000 budget. Both Johnny Suede and Living in Oblivion had the same $500,000 budget, one clearly did better than the other, but both movies are equally offbeat, weird, and worthy of Cult Audience Status. Ralph Bakshi's Cool World was described as a Dark and Dirty Roger Rabbit, and despite a terrible screenplay that doesn't make any sense, it is still remembered for its offbeat and weird animation backgrounds and characters. Cool World grossed $14 Million against a $28 Million Budget securing its Cult Audience Status.
Skuld:
Jack Nicholson famously got his start working on Roger Corman film productions, such as the Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven and The Terror from 1963, or the Hippie Horror films Psych Out and The Trip from 1968, before he achieved commercial success with The Monkee's Head and Peter Fonda's Easy Rider in 1969. Since then Jack Nicholson has been Oscar Nominated 12 times throughout his career, winning 3 Oscars, 2 for Best Actor and 1 for Best Supporting Actor. Jack Nicholson still made Cult Audience films throughout his career, such as Ken Russell's Tommy, or Tim Burton's Mars Attacks, which grossed $101 Million against a $70 Million budget, was considered to be a financial disappointment and bad reviews. Consider that Mars Attacks was based on a Trading Card Series, it did achieve Cult Audience Status decades later.
Boots Riley
Do some Cult Movies made by B-Movie Directors classify as Better Films than the Big Budget Audience Fare that Steven Spielberg has been making his entire life? Taste in different directors are Apples and Oranges. Nobody walks into a Steven Spielberg film and expects a film that looks like it was made by Stuart Gordon or Frank Henenlotter or Alejandro Jodorowsky. Steven Spielberg produced a film with the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre called Poltergeist and everyone on the internet argues that Steven Spielberg himself was the one who directed it. As if Steven Spielberg's involvement somehow overshadowed Tobe Hooper's image like Kevin Feige on a Marvel Cinematic Universe production. It doesn't matter what director works on an MCU film because they all look the same. I don't believe that Steven Spielberg has made anything as unique as Stuart Gordon's From Beyond or Fortress, or Frank Henenlotter's Frankenhooker or Brain Damage, or Richard Elfman's Forbidden Zone. I don't believe that Steven Spielberg is ever going to make something like Brian DePalma's Phantom of the Paradise or Jim Sharman's Rocky Horror Picture Show, but that doesn't mean that Steven Spielberg's movies lack entertainment value as a filmmaker. How can anybody expect a man like Steven Spielberg to make Cult Classic films when everything he produces is a Major Studio Budget Release Film with A-List Actors.
Steven Spielberg:
Is a Cult Movie Director automatically ruined by Financial Success on a Technical Critical Level? Sam Raimi consistently made the same offbeat and weird movies from The Evil Dead and Thou Shalt Not Kill Except to Darkman to The Quick and the Dead, but once Sam Raimi got career serious and made A Simple Plan and the Gift, his Cult Status diminished. Sam Raimi was the perfect person to make Spiderman, but there was a time where his A-List Director status prevented him from making the same quality Cult Films that he made as a Teenager. Something just got lost with his fame and celebrity. Drag Me to Hell and Send Help were both good movies, and Drag Me to Hell does have its audience, but there is nothing about Drag Me to Hell that looks like a Cult Movie. The film received critical and audience acclaim, it was made on a budget of $30 Million and brought in $90.8 Million worldwide, then they turned around and acted like it underperformed at the box office during its opening weekend. That's not a Cult Movie. That's a normal studio horror film.
Kevin Neece:
Peter Jackson's early career came from making low budget gore films like Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, and Dead Alive. All three of those films classify as Bad Movies, but they still have offbeat and weird aspects that classify them as Cult Audience films. Once Peter Jackson hit it big with Lord of the Rings, he never went back to making low budget films ever again.
Skuld:
Kevin Smith from View Askew had a good thing going for at least five movies that featured Jay and Silent Bob. Clerks was his indie success that broke him into the film industry, where he had the convenience store all to himself without a film executive standing over his shoulder. Mallrats was his first major studio film where he stumbled just as Sam Raimi did on Crimewave. Chasing Amy was Kevin Smith getting his groove back as a credible director. Dogma was his controversial film like Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ or Monty Python's Life of Brian. And Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was Kevin Smith finally admitting that if Jay and Silent Bob were the glue that held all of his movies together, then perhaps he should just bite the bullet and make an entire movie about Jay and Silent Bob. But Kevin Smith needed to prove to himself that there was more to his movies than just Jay and Silent Bob, so he set out to make the Non-View Askew Universe films such as Jersey Girl, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Cop Out, Red State, Tusk, Yoga Hosers. And somewhere in between those movies, Kevin Smith kept going back to the well with sequels to Clerks or Jay and Silent Bob, as if he were unable to escape them. I wouldn't call Kevin Smith's attempts to branch out on his own a failure, its more like what Burt Lancaster used to do during his career heyday. Burt Lancaster would consistently make one artistic dramatic film for himself, and one major studio film for the audience to pay the bills and keep the machine rolling. One for him. And One for us. And everybody wins. Now that it's all water under the bridge, I can't think of any Kevin Smith films that didn't feature Jay and Silent Bob that are actually classifiable as bad movies outside of Yoga Hosers. They may have received bad reviews or mean comments from the fanbase on social media, but they are not bad movies. Not even Jersey Girl or Cop Out.
Boots Riley:
Lloyd Kaufman from Troma Films, is one of the few working Cult Directors that has consistently been making the same quality offbeat and weird movies, starting from the Four Sexy Comedies, all the way up to Shakespeare Shitstorm and the Macon Blair Toxic Avenger Remake that had a $50 Million budget. Lloyd Kaufman started out by choosing a genre, Sex Comedies, and he did very well at making those sex comedies which took inspiration in the Women's Liberation Movement. But that wasn't enough for him, so instead of adhering to specific genres, Lloyd Kaufman went out and invented his own genre with The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke Em High, and he was able to wield that genre so well that he supported himself, and everyone else underneath him, outside of the Hollywood Film Industry for nearly 50 years. Lloyd Kaufman just doesn't direct bad movies. Not even the Toxic Avenger Sequels. They may have looked like bad movies upon their initial release in the 1980s, they may have suffered censorship at the hands of the Ratings Boards back in their day before Troma started releasing them uncut, but Troma has picked up a certain Nostalgia Factor over the years and Vinegar Syndrome has restored many of their second hand release films which make them look better today than their initial release.
Steven Spielberg:
Terry Gilliam consistently made great offbeat and weird movies from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Jabberwocky, to the Fantasy Trilogy Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, to the second Fantasy Trilogy The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But then it was over for him on a creative level, and his films became extremely hit or miss. The Brothers Grimm may have sounded like a Good Idea on paper, but in execution it was Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus with Heath Ledger was interesting, but Tideland was virtually unwatchable. The Zero Theorem with Christoph Waltz was interesting, but after years of trying to get the film off the ground, The Man Who Killed Don Coyote just didn't have the magic. These are just my opinions of one of my favorite childhood filmmakers over the years, so to each his own. From the 1970s up to the late 1990s, Terry Gilliam just couldn't miss, until he crossed over into the 2000s and he started making completely different movies. Terry Gilliam once complained that it irritated him when his fans would meet him and declare Time Bandits to be their favorite movie, as if he hadn't done anything else with his film career in the decades since then. Somebody once declared that Terry Gilliam was one of Hollywood's Greatest Visionaries, to which he responded, "I'm not even a Hollywood Director!" Well to each his own.
