I will now adopt my best David Spade voice:
I liked “The Island” the first time… when it was called “PARTS: The Clonus Horror”.
Actually, that’s not true. I should say I liked the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode #811 where they made fun of Parts, the Clonus Horror because it contained some hilarious comments.
Obviously, any movie about people being raised as cloned spare parts for the rich and powerful is going to have some elements in common, but this one seems very close. All the clones are kept in peak physical condition by being told that they are going to be rewarded with a trip to America (“Clonus”)/The Island (“The Island”). We’re shown one clone being subjected to the parts harvesting while he thinks he’s being rewarded. Then one guy falls in love with a fellow clone, learns the secret of what really happens to them, escapes and is pursued by the cloners. That’s the story of “Clonus”. Or, add lots of explosions and special effects and you have Michael Bay’s “The Island.”
No, I’m not the first person to notice. Apparently, MST3K Info Club is besieged with people e-mailing them to point this out.
MST3K’s Paul Chaplin points out a few implausible bits about the premise of “Clonus”, a 1970s movie, and at least one of these nitpicks is still relevant to “The Island”:
Since the older clones (in the world of the film) are really getting on in years, some of them nearing forty and even fifty, evidently this top-secret project has been around since at least the 1930’s. Unless I’m mistaken, science in the 1930’s consisted almost entirely of spindly rockets rising twelve feet and crashing back to the ground.
So the movie’s implausible, I guess is my point.
Another thing: the great majority of these clones would never get used! Most of us go through life and never need a transplant of any sort, so what you’d have is a bunch of really old clones, hanging around, expecting to be entertained and fed. Which would be okay, they seem fairly easy to keep happy, but what would be the point? I ask you. — Paul Chaplin.
2 responses to “Does The Island owe someone royalties?”
The Emperor Is F$!@@$g Naked!!!
This is NOT Spam. It’s a rallying cry!
Ever get tired of the big guys trampling on the little guys? Ever want to poke the eye out of some smarmy bastard with billions and an army of lawyers who thinks they make the rules?
This is your chance!
On July 22nd, DreamWorks is releasing the film “The Island,” directed by
Michael (“Armageddon”) Bay and starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson.
Anyone who has seen the trailer or a sneak preview and has also seen the
film “Clonus” (also known as “Parts: The Clonus Horror”) — which appeared
on CBS twice, the SciFi Channel, and even Mystery Science Theater 2000 —
knows that the plots are waaaay too similar to be mere coincidence.
“Clonus” tells the story of Richard, a resident of a contained utopian
facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment, Richard hopes to be chosen to go to “America,” where everyone is happy. But Richard soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie. He and all his friends are actually clones whose only purpose is to provide “spare parts” for their original human counterparts. Realizing it is only a matter of time before he is “harvested,” he and a beautiful fellow resident named Lena plot an escape to the outside world they’ve never known. Relentlessly pursued by the forces of the sinister institute that once housed him, Richard engages in a race for his life to literally meet his makers.
Compare that with the summary for “The Island” on imdb.com!
It seems the main difference is the budget: “The Island” exceeded $100 million! That is 400 times the final budget of Clonus!! Of course, the big-budget film will have lots of chases and a happy ending tacked on — you don’t gamble that much money on a downer — but that doesn’t disguise its true origins. And many many others have made note of this; at this writing, if you Google “Clonus” and “The Island” together, you get around 10,800 hits, most commenting on the extraordinary similarity!
imdb.com is considered the definitive source for information about films;
on the imbd.com page for “The Island,” if you click “Movie Connections”
over to the left, it even says “Remake of ‘Clonus’ (1979),” and if you
click on “Movie Connections” for “Clonus” it says “Remade as ‘The Island’
(2005).”
Yet, amazingly, the original makers of “Clonus” (Director Robert S.
Fiveson, Producer Myrl A. Schreibman and screenwriters Bob Sullivan and Ron Smith) have been completely SHUT OUT, receiving no credit, no compensation, no anything including not being asked if it could be remade —
If one could trace the history of Clonus one would find that at the time it was made, many in the industry, including possibly some of the principles of DreamWorks, knew and saw the film. How do you think the Clonus filmmakers feel right now?
Adding lots of chases and a happy ending doesn’t make the idea original!
How can you help? How can you stick a fistful of money up the arrogant noses of overpaid ‘talent’ and lawyers… simple – unlock real the power of the Internet (no not porno!).
Pass this email on to as many people as you know who love movies and hate rich arrogant rip off artists who hide behind walls of money! If you don’t nothing bad will happen — but if you do something GOOD might happen!
Send this e-mail to everyone you know – or at least everyone you consider to be a fellow fan of films and fairness – especially anyone from
DreamWorks, any entertainment attorneys, and any reviewers who might be reviewing “The Island” when it comes out on July 22nd, so they can give the originators of this idea the credit they deserve!
Do it for films!
Do it for fairness!
Do it because it will feel really good to yell — Hey the Emperor is F$!@@$g Naked — and then shove their money right up their nose!!!
I saw the previews of The Island last night and I said “CLONUS RIPOFF!” I too prefer the MST3K “version”…but it definitely be a ripoff indeedy.