MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (Gary Goddard, 1987)

[Jox]

http://midwestfilmnerds.com/the-langell ... la-system/

The Langella System Chapter I: Rise of the Langella System

What defines a great performance? Surely the slew of awards heaped upon actors for their roles would qualify. Every year, dozens of actors stand judged by their peers and Hollywood aficionados for performances that are deemed the best in their category. Alternatively, critical reviews tend to help define strong performances, with heaps of praise being thrown at thespians like Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks every year. Perhaps it’s just the audience themselves who hold the ultimate definition of a great performance, the ones that last well beyond the lifetime of the actor and create an indelible mark on cinema forever.

My definition of a great performance varies from what many in the industry typically offer up little golden trophies for. As I sit here basking in the epic tale of He-Man and his quest to reclaim the throne of Eternia, I’m reminded of that definition. Before you jump to the conclusion that I’m writing about the wonderful 80s beefcake antics of Dolph Lundgren in Masters of the Universe, remind yourself of one thing: Frank Langella. If you’re unfamiliar with that name, shame on you. Seriously though, Langella is one of the greatest actors of his generation. He’s been working as an actor since the 1960s, and has recently received a ton of critical recognition for his work in films like Frost/Nixon, in which he was nominated for multiple of those aforementioned golden trophies.

Langella’s performance as the villainous Skeletor in Masters of the Universe is my definition of a great performance. Here’s an actor who knows what the movie is. He knows it’s geared towards kids, who at the time were gobbling up anything with the name “He-Man” on it. He knows that the script is ridiculous, that most of the actors, including Lundgren, have very little actual experience (Lundgren found it hard to even speak English clearly at the time). Many actors of Langella’s caliber have taken roles that their critics would consider “beneath them”. They often do it for the quick paycheck, and it’s soon forgotten about entirely. I’ve seen dozens of weak, phoned-in performances by actors who’s “I’m too good for this” bravado bleeds through to the audience.

In truth, Frank Langella took the role for his young son. Being a fan of He-Man (as many young boys were at the time), Langella’s son inspired him to sign on for the role. He could have easily shown up on set and read his lines like a bored actor, giving a dull and forgettable performance. He could have been a prima-donna and complained about the lengthy make-up process he underwent to become the skeletal villain. Frank Langella did none of those things. He worked hard and brought his best to the role, despite the fact that just for showing up to work, he could have given himself a pat on the back and said “job well done”.

So as I sit here listening to Langella as he unleashes one of his many delightfully evil monologues, I think back to the performances I define as “great”. I’ve created for myself what I refer to as the “Langella System”, and I’m going to use it to rate some of my favorite performances. Read on after the jump.

The rules are loose, but are generally as follows:

The actor should generally be highly-esteemed by critics and audiences.
The role should be in a film that deviates from “critically acclaimed”, often times being considered a bad film altogether.
The actor needs to bring it. Most of these films were made on low budgets and/or under strict time constraints, yet despite the production difficulties that come with those things, the actor brings out their best.
Some other trends of these performances include:

Based on a cartoon, video game, or comic book
A villainous role
Garish costuming
Some form of sorcery
A little ham and cheese
Most (if not all) scenery must be chewed

[Jox]

Rare interview with writer David Odell with a weird anecdote
http://thecoachellareview.com/film/conv ... odell.html

I don’t think I can really do justice to everything you’ve done, but maybe you wanna talk about Masters of the Universe [1987]?

Some French guy called me up and said he was writing a book about Dolph Lundgren and would I share my reminiscences.

My only reminiscence, really, about Dolph Lungren, except for the way he liked to make fun of the underdevelopment of Sylvester Stallone's calves, were Dolph's attempts at screenwriting. These characters land from another world on our Earth, and are sort of fish out of water, and they’re looking for the cosmic key or something like that, and Dolph said [Lundgren accent], David, here’s some pages I’m writing, I think it’s a good joke, you put this in, it will get lot of laughs. I’m wandering around after the scene where we steal the food, and I see this garbage truck going down the street, and one of us says, “Hey look, armored personnel carrier, we have to seize that and use it,” and so we climb into the back of the garbage truck and I say it stinks in here and how do we steer this thing? And then the truck collects some garbage and all the garbage is dumped on our heads.

Dolph lets go with a big hearty laugh. I tell him next they should kill the garbage man, cut off his head, and use it for a hood ornament. Dolph never spoke to me again.

[punisher55]

Masters of the Universe 1987

[Jox]

This is the studios where a lot of MOTU was filmed I believe:

Historic Culver Studios To Shutter After Sale; Condos Next?

The studio where the Atlanta fire scene in Gone With The Wind, Citizen Kane and X-Men: First Class were made has new owners today after a long sale process. While Culver Studios declined to comment on the upcoming finalization of ownership to Hackman Capital Partners or the future of the production property, sources tell me that the 13 soundstages will be likely shuttered for good over the next 18 months to two years after existing productions wrap. ABC’s Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., CBS’ Extant and other productions now in residence there will see their current agreements and leases honored, I’m hearing. Speculation is that the 14-acre lot at 9336 W. Washington Blvd will be turned into either office space or condos after that. The property is currently owned by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc who were among a group who purchased the studio from Sony in 2004. Hackman Capitol Partners paid just over $80 million for Culver Studios. The almost new owners and privately-held investment firm specialize in industrial real estate and has several properties nearby.

We’re also hearing there have been layoffs already at Culver Studios involving studio employees.

The studio was built in 1918 by silent movie producer Thomas Ince and through the years was owned by Cecil B DeMille and RKO Pictures (at one point that studio was owned by Howard Hughes), Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball’s Desilu Productions, and Grant Tinker and Gannett, who renovated the property in 1986. Sony acquired it in 1991 and held on to it for 13 years. The facility currently offers production and executive office space, conference rooms, a commissary and a fitness center. Stay tuned on this one.

http://www.deadline.com/2014/03/culver- ... ndos-next/

EDIT:
Head sculpts to make custom troopers from the movie
http://www.warlordsoftheuniverse.com/

[Jox]

[Jox]

BLADE official action figure in the MOTU CLASSICS collection out April 15

http://www.mattycollector.com/DRHM/stor ... zPqNa1dVQQ

[Jox]

One of the best comments I've read from a MOTU fan

During my time on 'that other forum' I defended the 87' film from so maybe poor, unjust and unfair critiques. Eventually I came to the conclusion that every He-Man fan that hated this movie was coming from some juvenile fantasy of wanting a live action movie with costumes that looked like the He-Man Macy's Day Parade float. It would not have worked. It would have been a visual disaster.

Overall, this film was awesome. It took MOTU in a completely different direction and showed that a crudely drawn children's show with pink talking bunnies, happy comets, and other ridiculous concepts often overlooked or forgotten by the Filmation purists and diehards could exist as a fun, well written, respectable sci-fi film. Just listening to Gary Goddard's heart and determination to make this film speaks volumes.

Sadly this film was just marketed poorly, and even worse, poorly received by a quick to judge fan base, that in my opinion, just wasn't ready to see their MOTU in a different light. I doubt the Transformers movies would have done so well if they were released as they are now during the 80s. Their designs would have been completely rejected by the fans. Or imagine if the TF movies were authentic G1 designs? Optimus Prime would have been a 40 tall stack of CGI blocks. All the arguments about it being a Star Wars rip-off are weak at best. By that line of thinking, virtually any sci-fi/fantasy movie, video game, comic etc that blends technology, laser blasters, and has an enigmatic villain with an army could be considered a Star Wars rip-off.

The entire cast were so comfortable in their roles and Frank Langella and Meg Foster were probably two of the most compelling onscreen villains to ever come out of a children's franchise. They owned their roles and I sincerely doubt any other incarnation of these villains will ever compare.

I really don't care for the inclusion of Earth argument either from the 87' film haters, since Earth was an integral part of the original Filmation series, and there was no shortage of 'annoying human kiddie characters' in Filmation, or talking plants, or big fat 'crying like a baby' dragons. For all of Granamyr's awesomeness, Filmation still gave us Sorrowful.

The human story was used appropriately, gave the opportunity for humor, and did not distract from the fact that Skeletor is a major threat who will cross dimensions to kill He-Man, seize power and become Master of the Universe!

http://www.hemanworld.com/forum/forum/c ... f-all-time



And here are some recent pics of the centurions miniature used for the film

[Jox]

FAN COMIC CONCEPT ARTS INSPIRED BY THE MOVIE
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Masters- ... 24?fref=nf

[Jox]

BIGFOOT AND THE HENDERSONS director William Dear briefly attached to MASTERS?

I had been attached loosely to Masters of the Universe before it was made. That was kind of scary because the story was driven by a promotion of a toy. I think that kind of lingered.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/m ... -20-585619

[Jox]

David J. Moore's retrospective article and Gary Goddard interview in FILMFAX, 2012

[savagesketch]

On a different, but slightly related note, Jon Chu, who was once attached to direct the MOTU reboot, is now attached to directing another adaptation of an '80's property -- JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS.

http://www.superherohype.com/news/29995 ... rams-movie

Between this and those STEP UP movies, perhaps it's a good thing that the MOTU reboot fell through... at least with Chu at the helm.

[Jox]

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=635&start=75#p32864

[Jox]

Ghana hand-painted poster

[Jox]

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Masters Of The Universe
http://whatculture.com/film/10-things-d ... erse.php/1

[Jox]

Argentine trailer


VHS