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Why the Zemeckis hate?

post #1 of 87
1/21/05 at 5:55pm
Thread Starter 
After reading Devin's attack on Zemeckis on the Beowulf news item, I really just had enough and felt that I had to stand up and ask why the seemingly immense hatred towards Zemeckis? How could you not possibly think that both Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit are absolute masterpieces? I'd stick up for any of his other films in a second but those two in particular you just can't argue against. If anything, he at least always tries to do new things that haven't been done before, so it's extremely aggravating hearing Devin constantly calling him a hack which brings him down to the level of someone like Paul Anderson. So again, why all the hate?
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post #2 of 87
1/21/05 at 5:56pm
Both of those movies came out two decades ago and his resume since has been full of shit.

Also, he has been quoted as saying that he likes to give away as much of the movie in trailers as possible because people like McDonalds because they know what they're getting, and he feels the same way about movies.
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post #3 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:03pm
Roger Rabbit is awful. Always was.
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post #4 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:11pm
Quote:
Also, he has been quoted as saying that he likes to give away as much of the movie in trailers as possible because people like McDonalds because they know what they're getting, and he feels the same way about movies.
Jeez. I've been pissed at him for his post-BBTF work (though I have a soft spot for DEATH BECOMES HER) and all of the combined minutes of my life that I had to sit through the POLAR EXPRESS trailer last year. Now I really hate him.

Yikes, has he gone to the dark side.
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post #5 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:13pm
Eh, I kind of like the guy. I think both Contact and Cast Away are good flicks, and I like What Lies Beneath too - but so many people HATE that flick, so it's hard to list. I thought it was a fairly nifty Hitchcock riff. Anyway, I really like some of the tech stuff he comes up with for his movies. Contact has some really nice special effects tricks in it. I don't think he deserves the hate. However, I didn't see Polar Express and Devin did. Also, Devin, do you have a link to his direct quote about trailers? Not a challenge - just like to read that crap first hand, if possible.
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post #6 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:18pm
Let's not forget the crap that is Forrest Gump. Maybe he didn't realize what he was making at the time (shut up and follow all the rules and you will succeed, don't and you will suffer), but that doesn't make him any better. And spare me the "QT saw it for what it really was!" bullshit.
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post #7 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:19pm
That quote was in print a bunch of years ago.
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post #8 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:21pm
He said it during the CAST AWAY press stuff, though,
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post #9 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:22pm
People get too overwraught about Zemekis. He's a talented guy who makes a lot of good entertaining movies.
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post #10 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guttenberg Fan Club
Let's not forget the crap that is Forrest Gump. Maybe he didn't realize what he was making at the time (shut up and follow all the rules and you will succeed, don't and you will suffer), but that doesn't make him any better.
Since I don't prescribe to that theory, nor was I inspired by the film to do so, I can enjoy Forrest Gump. Sometimes you just have to lighten up.
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post #11 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark
People get too overwraught about Zemekis. He's a talented guy who makes a lot of good entertaining movies.

Though Roger Rabbit isn't one of them.
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post #12 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark
Since I don't prescribe to that theory, nor was I inspired by the film to do so, I can enjoy Forrest Gump. Sometimes you just have to lighten up.
Or, like Forrest Gump does, just turn off your brain.
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post #13 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ockham
Though Roger Rabbit isn't one of them.
Exactly.
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post #14 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guttenberg Fan Club
Or, like Forrest Gump does, just turn off your brain.
Exactly.
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post #15 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:28pm
Plus he produced The Frighteners and Demon Knight so even haters have to like him a little for those.
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post #16 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:30pm
As if he did something as a producer. That title is often meaningless.
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post #17 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:32pm
He's certainly done some very good things, Roger Rabbit being one of them. However, his mistakes have been disasterous.
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post #18 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:34pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah I did remember Roger Ebert asking Zemeckis about his trailers for What Lies Beneath and Cast Away and he did say that for some reason he wanted to put the endings in there, which yeah I definitely disagree with but it's not enough to make me hate the guy.

I've never really understood the hatred some people have towards Forrest Gump either. Contact, as mentioned, had a lot of great and subtle effects work, not to mention it was a very good movie altogether. Polar Express I enjoyed very much seeing in IMAX 3D, but I'm not even going to bother trying to defend it because seemingly everyone here despises that movie to no end. What I basically tried to say was that you can dislike him all you want, even if I strongly disagree, but how can he be called a hack all the time by you guys when he's always trying to do something new?
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post #19 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:36pm
Thread Starter 
And oh yeah, forgot to mention producer on Frighteners, as well as his involvment with Tales From the Crypt.

Also, what's wrong with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I can't even imagine somebody not enjoying that movie.
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post #20 of 87
1/21/05 at 6:40pm
To be honest, I've never understood all the hate for Cast Away, Forrest Gump, or for that matter, Zemeckis himself..I enjoy the man's work.
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post #21 of 87
1/21/05 at 7:11pm
I think Contact did a nice job at making a book that was dry into an entertaining flick. It's one of the few movies where the changes from novel to big screen did not annoy me at all.
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post #22 of 87
1/21/05 at 7:24pm
I like Romancing The Stone, Back to the Future trilogy, Roger Rabbit, and Contact. These are entertaining movies, though it is true the majority of his work is nothing to celebrate, but for the gems I just mentioned he really doesnt deserve such vitriol spilled in his direction. Although having said that, wanting to put the ending of his films in his trailers is a pretty fucked up thing to want...
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post #23 of 87
1/21/05 at 7:24pm
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~jgm8530/Trail...TICIPATION.txt

Q. Having seen the trailer for"What Lies Beneath,"I already knew some
of the big surprises. What amazed me when I went to see the movie was
how long it took to get to them. If the studio is determined to reveal
the surprises before you go into the theater, it doesn't seem fair to
make you wait an hour.

Kelly MacNamara, Chicago
A. I've always assumed the heathens in the marketing department were
responsible for the spoilers. Reading David Poland's column on the Web,
I find I'm living in a fool's paradise. He quotes"What Lies Beneath"
director Robert Zemeckis:"We know from studying the 1 marketing of movies,
people really want
to know exactly everything that they are going to see before they go see
the movie. It's just one of those things. I relate it to McDonald's. The reason McDonald's is a tremendous success is that you don't have any
surprises. You know exactly what it is going to taste like. Everybody
knows the menu."
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post #24 of 87
1/21/05 at 7:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cognizant
I like Romancing The Stone, Back to the Future trilogy, Roger Rabbit, and Contact. These are entertaining movies, though it is true the majority of his work is nothing to celebrate, but for the gems I just mentioned he really doesnt deserve such vitriol spilled in his direction. Although having said that, wanting to put the ending to his films in his trailers is a pretty fucked up thing to want...
Most of those movies were made before many of the members of this forum were alive, or out of diapers. It's one thing if he stopped making movies at that point, but he's been churning out shit now for two decades, and shit, as that quote in the post above shows, aimed at the lowest common denominator.

And honestly, if people can't get why FORREST GUMP is so awful I don't know if there is much middle ground for discussion.
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post #25 of 87
1/21/05 at 7:31pm
Yep, thats a pretty fucked up quote, not a nice filmmaking attitude, though I'm sure someones going to shout in my face, spittle flying everywhere that "ITS A BUSINESS, DUDE!!!", etc.
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post #26 of 87
1/21/05 at 7:33pm
FORREST GUMP is utter shit. Zemeckis lost the plot for me a while back.

CAST AWAY could have actually been good if the last third wasn't such a turd.
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post #27 of 87
1/21/05 at 7:41pm
Polar Express Hate--Deserved.
What Lies Beneath Hate--Deserved, especially with that "Give away as much of the film in the trailer as you can" blurb in mind.
Cast Away Hate--Deserved....more so since A: the above reason, B: To make it worse, he gave away the goddamned ENDING in this trailer...and C: unlike the previous film, I actually would've enjoyed it a hell of a lot more if not for that.
Contact Hate--Deserved.
Forrest Gump Hate--Don't agree, but I understand.
Death Becomes Her--Haven't seen it in years, but I seem to remember not hating it.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit--I pity anybody with a heart black enough to hate this movie.
Back To The Future trilogy--Still gold.

So, long list short, he's done good things, yeah, but Zemeckis has not been very kind to the eyes and ears of the world in the last 10 years.
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post #28 of 87
1/21/05 at 7:58pm
As an adult, hate on Polar Express all you want. It's a fluffy Christmas flick aimed at kids and families. I took both of mine (kids not families) to see it and enjoyed it for what it was. And trust me, I've had to struggle through some really terrible children's flicks and this wasn't one of them. Frankly, unless you had kids or were especially interested in animation, I'd question why an adult would want to go see it in the first place.
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post #29 of 87
1/21/05 at 8:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark
Roger Rabbit is awful. Always was.
Oh, you can just go to hell.
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post #30 of 87
1/21/05 at 8:22pm
To be guilty of "Forrest Gump" is to be guilty of crimes against humanity. John Lennon getting the inspiration for "Imagine" from Forrest? Blasphemy I say! BLASPHEMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
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post #31 of 87
1/21/05 at 8:27pm
Quote:
Who cares what he's quoted as saying about movie trailers, if his movies are good?
Oh, and his movies of late blow. That's the other reason I. . .wait, I really thought about it and I don't actually hate him. I think very little of him. Like almost nothing of him one way or the other. Honestly.

Which, actually, is why I hate him because his work used to be inspirational (or at least entertaining) and now I barely give it a second thought.
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post #32 of 87
1/22/05 at 5:10am
ok, now not to abandon my usual jaded cynicism... but i saw Polar Express in 3D on an IMAX screen recently.. and i was quite impressed.

tho granted, id have been quite unmoved had i seen it in an ordinary theatre or on a tv.
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post #33 of 87
1/22/05 at 5:48am
Fuck Zemeckis. Sans Contact and Back to the Future II (which I don't care too much for anyway), I don't give a damn about any of his work.
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post #34 of 87
1/22/05 at 6:09am
FORREST GUMP is a disgusting movie.
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post #35 of 87
1/22/05 at 7:51am
It always makes my day to hear that Contact is a smart movie... it's a borderline-stupid, sugar-coated film about smart themes, there's a difference.
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post #36 of 87
1/22/05 at 3:43pm
Zemeckis is slated to do Beowulf with a script co-written by Roger Avery and Neil Gaiman.

http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/journal.asp
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post #37 of 87
1/22/05 at 3:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aine_grrr
Zemeckis is slated to do Beowulf with a script co-written by Roger Avery and Neil Gaiman.

http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/journal.asp
Wow! That's hot news! They should put that on the main page!
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post #38 of 87
1/22/05 at 4:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquafresh
To be guilty of "Forrest Gump" is to be guilty of crimes against humanity. John Lennon getting the inspiration for "Imagine" from Forrest? Blasphemy I say! BLASPHEMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
That would expain why it's such a lame-ass song, though.
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post #39 of 87
1/22/05 at 4:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Populationrob
Wow! That's hot news! They should put that on the main page!
See me suitably shamed. Clearly I am not up to speed, but I still think it is great news.
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post #40 of 87
1/22/05 at 6:25pm
Could someone please throw together a quick thesis statement explaining exactly why FORREST GUMP is so vile and reprehensible?

I mean, I enjoy the film, but I'm clearly wrong in doing so.

Is it because all of his innocent friends/loved ones die around him while he plods through life on a generally conservative path? I can see that, I guess, but I'd like to hear some elaboration on this seething hatred of the film aside from "FORREST GUMP repossessed my home, fucked my wife and gave my dog cancer!".
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post #41 of 87
1/22/05 at 8:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Gistmeister
Could someone please throw together a quick thesis statement explaining exactly why FORREST GUMP is so vile and reprehensible?

I mean, I enjoy the film, but I'm clearly wrong in doing so.

Is it because all of his innocent friends/loved ones die around him while he plods through life on a generally conservative path? I can see that, I guess, but I'd like to hear some elaboration on this seething hatred of the film aside from "FORREST GUMP repossessed my home, fucked my wife and gave my dog cancer!".
He has webbed feet.
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post #42 of 87
1/22/05 at 9:27pm
Forrest Gump is the Angel of Death, incarnated into human form.
The thing they never showed you in the movie, is that after school, his son gets run over by the bus., because everyone he encounters dies or is maimed in some way.
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post #43 of 87
1/22/05 at 9:34pm
Gist, basically Gump says that if follow the rules, love your mama, and always do what your told, you will have success, riches, and win the love of the girl you adore. However, if you question the status quo, you're doomed for a life of lap dances, heroin addiction, unwed pregnancies, and an eventual death from AIDS.
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post #44 of 87
1/23/05 at 12:55pm
...I love Forrest Gump...with a passion
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post #45 of 87
1/23/05 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PsYcHwArD101
...I love Forrest Gump...with a passion
Aren't you joining the military soon?
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post #46 of 87
1/23/05 at 1:01pm
Does that mean he'll get shot in the but-tocks?

God I hate that fucking movie.
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post #47 of 87
1/23/05 at 1:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Populationrob
Aren't you joining the military soon?
Already did...why?
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post #48 of 87
1/23/05 at 1:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles B
Does that mean he'll get shot in the but-tocks?

God I hate that fucking movie.
Hey Charles, I just got this, but did you get the handle from Charles Bukowski?
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post #49 of 87
1/23/05 at 1:04pm
Nope. The handle is my own name.
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post #50 of 87
1/23/05 at 1:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles B
Nope. The handle is my own name.
oh ok...just a really big coincidence...

(heh) Coincidentally, have you read Bukowski?
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