Disaster Movie


Disaster Movie is a 2008 American parody film written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Peter Safran, Friedberg, and Seltzer. It stars Matt Lanter, Vanessa Minnillo, Gary "G Thang" Johnson, Crista Flanagan, Nicole Parker, Ike Barinholtz, Carmen Electra, Tony Cox, and Kim Kardashian in her feature film debut. The film is mainly a parody of the disaster film genre, although it also references many other films, television shows, people, and pop culture events of the time.
Initially intended as a parody of Superbad, directors Friedberg and Seltzer transitioned the film as a satire of the disaster movie genre midway through production. The directors also reportedly used trailer footage to get an understanding of then upcoming films. Filming took place from April to June 2008, with the title getting revealed on the final day of the film's production.
The film was theatrically released by Lionsgate in the United States on August 29, 2008, and was universally panned by critics and audiences, with many considering it to be the worst "movie" directed by Friedberg and Seltzer. The film is often listed as one of the lowest-rated films of the 2000s, and one of the worst films of all time. It was also a financial disappointment compared to Friedberg and Seltzer's previous films, grossing $34.8 million on $20 million budget. At the 29th Golden Raspberry Awards, the film received six nominations.

Plot

In the year 10,001 B.C., a caveman runs away from a predator through a plain and immediately gets into a fight with Wolf. After defeating him, the caveman then encounters the predator, a saber-toothed, gasoline-drinking Amy Winehouse, who informs him that the world will end on August 29, 2008, and that their fate lies in a Crystal Skull.
The sequence is then revealed to be a dream of everyman Will in the present day. He then finds out that his girlfriend Amy is having an affair with Flavor Flav, and she breaks up with Will because he is not admitting his true feelings for her.
Later that day, Will has a "Super Duper Sweet Sixteen" party at his house, despite being 25. The guests include Juney, Dr. Phil, Will's best friend Calvin, and Anton Chigurh, among others. During the party, Amy arrives with her new boyfriend, a Calvin Klein underwear model. The party then comes to a halt when the room shakes and the lights go out. A bulletin on the radio claims there is a meteor shower and it is the end of the world. Soon after, the city starts to freeze over, and Will, Juney, Calvin, and Calvin's girlfriend Lisa retreat to a garage for shelter. When Juney mentions that the calamities are caused by global warming, Will realizes his dream as a caveman could be related. Later, Will is chided by the others for not committing himself to his relationship with Amy.
The gang leaves the garage and Will gets a call from Amy, where he admits his feelings for her before the call is dropped. He decides to go to rescue Amy. Lisa is later killed by a meteor. While the others comfort a distraught Calvin, Giselle, a prostitute, climbs out of a manhole and gets hit by a taxi. Calvin catches her, and they immediately fall in love with each other. Giselle's pimp, Prince Edwin, challenges Calvin to a dance fight for her love, but a tornado appears and Prince Edwin flees. Iron Man, Hellboy, and the Hulk attempt to fight it, but all are defeated by cows thrown by the tornado. After taking shelter, Will, Juney, Calvin, and Giselle encounter rabid knockoffs of Alvin and the Chipmunks, who attack the gang and kill Juney by eating her alive. The "Chipmunks" then go after Will and Calvin, but they trap them in a trash can, fatally suffocating them as they attempt to escape.
On their way to the museum where Amy is trapped, the group runs into Batman, who informs them that they must go to evacuation buses and that there will be no chance of survival if they go to save Amy. With time against them, Princess Giselle kills Speed Racer, and the group hijacks his Mach Five, which contains Michael Jackson and Bubbles in the trunk, to drive to the museum. At the museum, they save Amy, who reveals that the Crystal Skull is the only thing that can stop the end of the world. Calvin and the Princess then find that the museum doors are closed and all of the artifacts have come alive, including Po from Kung Fu Panda, who fights Calvin but is defeated. When Calvin makes out with the Princess, Calvin accidentally pulls her wig and discovers that she is actually a transvestite. While this happens, "Po" takes out a katana and simultaneously kills Calvin and the Princess.
Meanwhile, Will and Amy run into a nude Beowulf, who fights with Will. After Amy stabs "Beowulf" in the back, Will and Amy encounter Indiana Jones, who is revealed to be Will's father. "Indy" tries to put the Crystal Skull on the altar, but he flies through a stained glass window in the room. Will does it instead, and he averts further destruction. Will and Amy have a wedding ceremony performed by "The Guru Shitka", which ends with a musical number about all of the characters in the film dating each other parodying "I'm Fucking Matt Damon" by Sarah Silverman and the film closes with the "Chipmunks" getting crushed to death by a falling cow before the credits start to roll.

Cast

Parodies

Films and TV shows

On April 2, 2008, less than three months after the release of the duo Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer's previous spoof film Meet the Spartans, it was announced that the duo were in pre-production on a spoof of Superbad under the working title known as Goodie Two Shoes. The duo wrote the film as a parody of Superbad, but similar to the duo's previous films, it would parody some of the big blockbusters and popular celebrities from 2007 and 2008. Since many of the films being spoofed were not released at the time that the script was being written, Friedberg and Seltzer used trailer footage to get the basic idea of the films. By the time they finished writing, the idea had transformed into parodying the string of disaster movies that saw release in recent years, and not only that but also parodying the aforementioned pop culture of those years to an even greater degree than before.
On April 28, Matt Lanter, Vanessa Minnillo, Gary "G Thang" Johnson and Carmen Electra signed up to be the main cast members. Matt Lanter was cast as the lead character, Will, while Vanessa Minnillo played Amy. Gary "G Thang" Johnson took on the role of Calvin, and Carmen Electra portrayed the Beautiful Assassin. Filming took place in the state of Louisiana from April 28 to June 6. Oscar-nominated production designer William Elliott, did the production design for the sets. The Chamber of Commerce building in Shreveport was used for filming the natural history museum scenes in the film. After the filming had ended, Friedberg and Seltzer had confirmed the real title for the film was Disaster Movie.

Release

The film was released in theatres on August 29, 2008, and unlike the duo's previous directed films, which were financed by Regency Enterprises and distributed by 20th Century Fox, this film was financed by Grosvenor Park and was distributed by Lionsgate in the United States. The film's theatrical trailer debuted online on June 23, 2008. Around the same time, a contest was hosted by the studio where fans have to make posters parodying recent blockbuster movies. Only four posters―all of which have parodied original posters for The Day After Tomorrow, The Simpsons Movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Knocked Up―were made.

Home media

Disaster Movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Lionsgate Home Entertainment on January 6, 2009. Respectively, both releases included an Unrated "Cataclysmic" Edition and the theatrical version, both with the same extras. About 410,934 DVD units were sold, bringing in $8,447,690 in revenue as of 2009.

Reception

Box office

On its domestic theatrical debut, Disaster Movie grossed $2,023,130 on its opening day, $5,836,973 over the three-day weekend, and $6,945,535 over the four-day weekend. It ranked #7 for both the three- and four-day weekends. The film's takings for the weekend fell far short of the $17 million predicted by the Dallas Morning News. The film was not as commercially successful as previous Friedberg/Seltzer releases. On a $20 million budget, it grossed $14,190,901 domestically and $20,625,923 internationally for a worldwide total of $34,816,824, less than half the gross of Meet the Spartans.