Proving that Warren left no sci-fi film rock unturned, comes this Official Magazine all about the all-star blockbuster film Meteor!I remember my Dad taking my sister and I to see Meteor, and other than some vague memories of scenes in NASA or something, I don't recall a single thing that happened in it. Obviously, though, it was a big deal at the time, judging by the big-time movie stars in it and all the attendant publicity.
First up is a brief rundown of the cast: Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Martin Landau, Henry Fonda(!), Brian Keith, Joseph Campanella, Trevor Howard, and Karl Malden.
Next is a series of exclusive cast interviews starting with this exciting blurb:
Nothing against Joseph Campanella, a fine journeyman actor who has been in the business for over fifty years, but I just find it funny Warren added the !, as if this was the most exciting thing ever. Warren Publications never did anything small.Next is an interview with Martin Landau, and then "Meteor: The Story", which is a basic rundown of the plot, including a six-page color insert complete with pull-out centerfold! How many kids must have ruined there copies for all time by pulling this out and pinning it up on their wall? (The answer is None, actually)
Then director Ronald Neame (The Odessa File, The Poseidon Adventure) is interviewed, followed by two pages of "Meteor Trivia." Oooh, exciting!
Next is an article on the movie's special effects, and then an interview with Natalie Wood, which ends with this less-than-enthused note:
Er, sorry we asked, Ms. Wood!
...Meteor merchandise!
After that is two fact pages about meteors, and then it all ends with what you can only take as tragedy + time = comedy:
Lo, the poor merchandisers, in their Mego-esque hope that this film would be the newest sci-fi blockbuster that spawned a generation of kids to want Meteor posters, t-shirts, and iron-ons, and maybe even--dream of dreams--action figures. And lo the poor kid who showed up to school wearing a Meteor t-shirt, when all the other kids had Star Wars and Close Encounters stuff. I can picture it now, the guidance counselor taking one look at your Meteor t-shirt and jotting down "not college material."
The research I did on the movie tells me that my Dad, my sister, and I were apparently among the few people that actually saw the movie--it was universally panned by critics and cost the studio millions. And with it, the hopes and dreams of merchandisers the world over.
Well, Warren gave it a good try, and we can at least be sure that no other comic book publisher would be foolish enough to get anywhere near this turkey...
The research I did on the movie tells me that my Dad, my sister, and I were apparently among the few people that actually saw the movie--it was universally panned by critics and cost the studio millions. And with it, the hopes and dreams of merchandisers the world over.
Well, Warren gave it a good try, and we can at least be sure that no other comic book publisher would be foolish enough to get anywhere near this turkey...
3 comments:
I remember when the license and synopsis came into the office for this and another unknown movie Marvel was adapting. Larry Hama said he read through them, and "Meteor" was the obvious sure fire hit. It was a big budget SFX piece with a ton of major movie stars. The other one, which Larry was convinced was the dumbest idea ever, was about an professor/archeologist who goes on various adventures. "Oooo, an heroic 'archeologist'! How exciting is THAT gonna be?" Of course, the other movie was "Raiders of the Lost Ark"! LOL
"Meteor" sucked, and "Raiders'' was, well.....
Goes to show, on paper something may sound stupid, but in the right hands....
That's a GREAT John Berkey painting, though!
Without the craptacular "Meteor," you don't get "Never Say Never Again," "The Name of the Rose," "The Untouchables," or best of all, Sir Horace Gentleman.
Sean Connery had to go back to Bond for big paydays after this stinker. And, after 20-odd years of viewing "NSNA" on basic cable, it's kind of crummy, the music is lacking, and really not as hellzapoppin' as "Octopussy."
But it was the first Bond film I got to see in theaters. With the tough guy from "Goldfinger," although he talked like all the old guys with dentures at church.
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