Bubba Nosferatu
No, not Elvis as a semi-vampire, which seems (am I wrong?) to be the idea in Don Coscarelli's forthcoming Bubba Nosferatu.
I'm sorry but my Space Elvis idea (i.e., a script I wrote ages ago) is better: Elvis was kidnapped by aliens in August 1977 just before he died, and flown back to the aliens' home planet. He was restored, cleaned up, de-drugged, probed, kept in a large home (facsimile of Graceland) for 32 years, and then returned to earth in 2009 as the same 42 year-old he was before only much thinner and full of vim and vigor and ready to rock out. Except nobody believes he's the real Elvis (naturally) so the only gig he can get is performing as an Elvis impersonator.
AICN's Quint recently spoke about Bubba Nosferatu to Paul GIamatti, who will play Colonel Tom Parker to Ron Perlman's Elvis Presley. Ron Perlman? This isn't going to work.
I saw Coscarelli's Bubba Ho-Tep at Cinevegas three or four years ago, and it was immediately clear to me that Coscarelli is a great idea man but not much of a filmmaker. The movie was slow, not well shot, the absurdity of the plot overwhelmed the versimilitude, it had no story tension, it felt cheesy, etc.
Giamatti shared some of the details in the Quint interview. "I don't want to give too much of it away! So yeah, I'll be playing Col. Parker, who.. You know part of the great thing about this is not only are these wonderful genre movies, but he's actually taking a weird, interesting take on the whole Elvis myth and kind of investigating the whole Elvis myth in a really interesting way, so it's got a lot of stuff about Col. Parker being responsible for a lot of what happened to Elvis and kind of literally making him a vampire in some ways, you know? A kind of a blood sucker
"It plays on a lot of things, this movie, in a great way and it's got Sitting Bull in it and there's a peyote trip in it that is amazing and it's just a big leap beyond the other movie. It's ten times more insane and bizarre and it's great and hilarious, too. It's funnier than the other one is even. It still ends up being this great character study of this Elvis guy."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 30, 2008 at 10:59 AM
comment #1
Rich S.
says ...
I agree with your assessment of Bubba Ho-Tep, but you have to admit that Bruce Campbell, and especially Ossie Davis as JFK, were pretty damn great.
Posted by Rich S.
at October 30, 2008 12:29 PM
comment #2
Sabina E
says ...
what's up with filmmakers directing weird, campy musicals these days? First Stephen Soderbergh with the Cleopatra musical and now this? mmm
well at least now I know what movie to watch while I'm drunk and stoned.
Posted by Sabina E
at October 30, 2008 12:40 PM
comment #3
Abbey Normal
says ...
Why wouldn't Coscarelli bring back Campbell? Don't tell me Bruce turned him down...Old Spice commercials and Spider-Man cameos can't be keeping him too busy.
Posted by Abbey Normal
at October 30, 2008 12:44 PM
comment #4
TakeMeBackToManhattan
says ...
This is off-topic, but I haven't seen anyone link to this yet: Roger Ebert has blogged a hilariously scathing indirect evisceration of the new "At the Movies": http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/10/eberts_little_rule_book.html
Posted by TakeMeBackToManhattan
at October 30, 2008 12:51 PM
comment #5
televisiontears
says ...
I think it's moot to call a film about Elvis battling the Mummy cheesy. Sure, it's what Coscarelli was going for, but it failed to deliver the fanboy geekgasms of seeing Bruce Campbell as Elvis fighting a Mummy that you think would come naturally.
Coscarelli has an inexplicable level of respect among horror aficionados. He made one film even worth watching thirty years ago, and even then, I think the charm of Phantasm is completely unintentional. I just don't get the love that horror fans have for this man.
I guess I did have a bit of guilty fun with his "Masters of Horror" entry.
Posted by televisiontears
at October 30, 2008 12:57 PM
comment #6
SlyOyster
says ...
Ebert just assassinates Ben Lyons. Deservedly so, but it's also good advice for any other film reviewers/burgeoning journalists. Simply the best thing I've read all week.
As for Bubba Ho-Tep I remember thinking it was okay, sorta funny, humorous idea but not much else. Can't say a sequel excites me all that much.
Posted by SlyOyster
at October 30, 2008 12:59 PM
comment #7
actionman
says ...
I thought Bubba Ho-Tep blew goats. But that's just me.
Do Giamatti and Pearlman need cash-ola this bad?
Posted by actionman
at October 30, 2008 1:14 PM
comment #8
storymark
says ...
Abbey -
Yes, Bruce Campbell passed on this months ago.
Posted by storymark
at October 30, 2008 1:14 PM
comment #9
actionman
says ...
And, as usual, Ebert's piece is fucking awesome.
Posted by actionman
at October 30, 2008 1:16 PM
comment #10
lbeale
says ...
Someone needs to tell Abbey Normal that Bruce Campbell has a very nice recurring role in the hit USA series 'Burn Notice.'
Posted by lbeale
at October 30, 2008 1:34 PM
comment #11
DarthCorleone
says ...
Am I the only one here itching to read Space Elvis?
Posted by DarthCorleone
at October 30, 2008 2:22 PM
comment #12
Deathtongue_Groupie
says ...
Someone needs to tell Ibeale that it's actually a third billed series regular role Campbell has on "Burn Notice"
Posted by Deathtongue_Groupie
at October 30, 2008 2:22 PM
comment #13
DarthCorleone
says ...
TakeMeBack>> Thanks for sharing that link. A very good read. This was my favorite bit...
As Robert Altman once told me, "If you never gave me a bad review, what would a good review mean?" He was a great man. He thought over what he had said, and added: "But all your bad reviews of my films have been wrong."
Posted by DarthCorleone
at October 30, 2008 2:27 PM
comment #14
BurmaShave
says ...
'Cleopatra does the nasty." Anyone who doesn't see the low-fi joy in BUBBA HO-TEP has either watched too many movies or not enough.
Posted by BurmaShave
at October 30, 2008 2:28 PM
comment #15
Rothchild
says ...
Bubba Ho-Tep and its score are two of my favorite things of all time, but he turned down Bubba Nosferatu several times. Weird. It's cool that Coscarelli and Giamatti are still moving forward.
Posted by Rothchild
at October 30, 2008 2:29 PM
comment #16
CitizenKanedforChewingGum
says ...
Phantasm rocks.
Yeah, that's about the only good thing I got to say about Don.
Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum
at October 30, 2008 2:42 PM
comment #17
erniesouchak
says ...
Charlaine Harris has done some pretty entertaining things with the "Elvis-as-Bubba-the-Vampire" idea in her Sookie Stackhouse novels. He's brain-damaged, too.
Posted by erniesouchak
at October 30, 2008 3:24 PM
comment #18
The Winchester
says ...
I second Darth's emotion about wanting to read Space Elvis. C'mon Wells, that seriously sounds like a fun read.
Posted by The Winchester
at October 30, 2008 3:31 PM
comment #19
Circumvrent
says ...
Campbell passed because the guy barely made scale on a movie that was wildly successful because of his presense, and nobody was willing to make that right for the sequel. He was wise to pass, especially since he kicks so much ass on Burn Notice.
BUBBA NOSFERATU is a much better script, and will lead to a much better film... but Perelmen, I don't know.
The Rock was loosely attached to the Sitting Bull role, but that was a couple of years ago. Wonder if that still holds today...
Posted by Circumvrent
at October 30, 2008 3:36 PM
comment #20
tjfar67
says ...
The Space Elvis script would be the best Halloween treat ever.
Posted by tjfar67
at October 30, 2008 5:39 PM
comment #21
nemo
says ...
"... Paul Giamatti, who will play Colonel Tom Parker to Ron Perlman's Elvis Presley. Ron Perlman? This isn't going to work."
Did they flip a coin to decide which one plays Elvis?
Posted by nemo
at October 30, 2008 9:08 PM
comment #22
Edward
says ...
One of my guilty pleasures is Beast Master, but I know one of the guys who played one of the bald priests. The movie is so wonderfully cheesy that my friend actually died twice. I guess they figured no one would notice which priest died when.
Posted by Edward
at October 30, 2008 10:26 PM
comment #23
DarthCorleone
says ...
It's settled then. Set Space Elvis free!
Posted by DarthCorleone
at October 30, 2008 11:15 PM
comment #24
WinslowLeachtheComposer
says ...
Don's great idea was to make a film out of Joe Lansdale's terrific story. He did a decent enough job with the lowly budget (it's one of those times when everyone claims its bargain-basement quality is a stylistic virtue) that Joe his own self says he's happy with it, but that's mostly because the film is very faithful to the original. Most that is funny and audacious is - to Coscarelli's credit - retained from the story.
Posted by WinslowLeachtheComposer
at October 31, 2008 12:30 AM
comment #25
janee
says ...
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Posted by janee
at May 18, 2011 7:03 AM