I recently saw a trailer for Michael Bay’s latest crapfest, The Island. Something about the premise was awfully familiar, then I remembered an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 where they gave the movie, Parts: The Clonus Horror the MST3K treatment. Here’s the plot summaries for both movies from the IMDb.
The Clonus Horror (1979):
A young man escapes from a govenment run project called Clonus only to find out that Peter Graves (Jeff Knight) a candidate for Presidency is a conspirator to keep Clonus a secret. Top government officials are aware of it and support the super secret project, because they are cloning themselves to live longer and better lives, at the expense of their clone counter-part, who is no more than a “slave” as far as human rights are concerned. The ethical and moral values are explored as the escapee (Tim Donnelly) known as Richard returns full circle back to Clonus, only to find his girlfriend lobotimized for government security purposes.
The Island (2005):
Given Michael Bay‘s track record, I don’t expect The Island be any better than The Clonus Horror.Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor) is a resident of a seemingly utopian but contained facility in the mid 21st century. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to the “The Island” – reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie. He and all of the other inhabitants of the facility are actually human 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,” Lincoln makes a daring escape with a beautiful fellow resident named Jordan Two-Delta (Johansson). Relentlessly pursued by the forces of the sinister institute that once housed them, Lincoln and Jordan engage in a race for their lives to literally meet their makers.
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!!!