| Midnight Madness | |
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 Poster for Midnight Madness |
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| Directed by | Michael Nankin David Wechter |
| Produced by | Ron W. Miller |
| Written by | Michael Nankin David Wechter |
| Starring | David Naughton Michael J. Fox Stephen Furst Maggie Roswell |
| Music by | Julius Wechter |
| Cinematography | Frank V. Ronald William Miller (born 1931 is a former professional American football player the son-in-law of Walt Disney, and a former president and CEO of The Walt David Walsh Naughton (born 13 February 1951) is an American Actor and Singer, perhaps best known for starring in the 1981 Horror Michael J Fox (born Michael Andrew Fox; June 9 1961 is a Canadian / American Stephen Furst (born Steven Nelson Feuerstein on 8 May 1954) is an American Actor and film and Television director Maggie Roswell (born November 14 1952 is an American voice actress. Phillips |
| Editing by | Norman R. Palmer Jack Sekely |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista |
| Release date(s) | February 1980 |
| Running time | 112 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Midnight Madness is a 1980 cult comedy film from Walt Disney Productions, starring David Naughton. Buena Vista was a Brand name frequently used for divisions of The Walt Disney Company, whose primary studios and offices are located on Buena Vista Street in The year 1980 in film involved some significant events Events April 30 - The Roger Daltrey film McVicar, opens English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) A cult film is a Film that has acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans. Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and Walt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company: Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner was established David Walsh Naughton (born 13 February 1951) is an American Actor and Singer, perhaps best known for starring in the 1981 Horror The film is about a group of college students who participate in an all night puzzle solving race. It is Michael J. Fox's first film role. Michael J Fox (born Michael Andrew Fox; June 9 1961 is a Canadian / American
Tagline: The most fun you'll ever have. . . in the dark.
DVD Tagline: A Wacky College Adventure
The film did poorly at the box office and was panned by critics, but later gained a cult following, and has served as the inspiration for many real-life puzzle and alternate reality games. A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of Pop culture. An alternate reality game ( ARG) is an interactive Narrative that uses the real world as a platform often involving multiple media and game elements to tell
Contents |
The game
Leon, a genius, summons five college students to his apartment and challenges them to participate in his latest game creation: The Great All-Nighter. He tells them about his game and instructs them to form teams. At first, the leaders refuse to play. However, rivalries between them lead all five to change their minds by the game's start time.
The game works like this:
- Teams are given an initial clue to solve.
- When the clue is solved, it will lead to a location.
- At that location they must find and solve another clue leading to another location and eventually the end.
Leon, as "game master," keeps track of the teams locations with a giant map, and various radio equipment. The teams also supposed to call and check in at each clue (though many of the teams end up skipping at least one location).
Starting at sundown, the five teams meet and are given envelopes with the first clue. They travel around Los Angeles, deciphering new clues in various locations, including the Griffith Observatory, a piano museum, the Pabst Blue Ribbon brewery, a restaurant, a mini golf course, the Los Angeles International Airport, and a video arcade. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Griffith Observatory is located in Los Angeles California, United States. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers Pabst Brewing Company is an American company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of Beer, though beer can be made in the home and has been for much of beer's history A restaurant is a retail establishment that serves prepared Food to Customers. Minigolf, or miniature golf, is a miniature version of the Sport of Golf. Los Angeles International Airport is the primary Airport serving Los Angeles, California, the second-most populated metropolitan area of A video arcade (also known as an amusement arcade in the United Kingdom in Japan or as an "arcade" is a venue where people play arcade video games The first team to reach the final destination wins the game.
The movie focuses mainly on the struggle between the yellow and blue teams. The adventures of the other three teams are subplots, as well as the situation at Leon's apartment ("Game Control"). A subplot, sometimes referred to as a "B story" or a "C story" and so on is a secondary plot strand that is auxiliary to the main plot Here, along with his female assistants (Candy and Sunshine), Leon monitors the progress of the game. Already unpopular with his landlady, Mrs. Landlord is the owner of a House, Apartment, Condominium, or Real estate which is rented or Leased to an individual or business Grimhouse, for the amount of noise he makes, Leon faces eviction if any of the other tenants complain. Several of them do show up to complain, but as Leon explains the mechanics of the game to them, they become fascinated with it and help run it, much to the annoyance of Grimhouse.
The game culminates in race-to-the-finish at the Bonaventure Hotel, followed by a huge party. The Westin Bonaventure Hotel is the largest Hotel in Los Angeles California, USA
Teams
Teams are made up of characters who are broad stereotypes. A stereotype (from Greek: stereo + týpos = "solid impression" is a generalized perception of first impressions behaviors presumed by a group They wear matching sweatshirts, and ride in vehicles that also match their team color.
- The Green Team, also known as "Meat Machine," are made up of jocks from a school football team. The term jock is a classic North American Stereotype of a male athlete. They are led by Lavitas (Brad Wilkin). They antagonize members of both the Red and White teams into playing. The team vehicle is a VW Beetle. The Volkswagen Beetle, officially known as the type 1 and originally called ‘Käfer’ is an Economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen
- The White Team is made up of debate team nerds, led by Wesley (played by Eddie Deezen). Nerd is a term often bearing a derogatory connotation or Stereotype, that refers to a person who passionately pursues Intellectual activities Esoteric Eddie Deezen (born March 6, 1958) is an American Actor and Voice actor, primarily known for playing Nerd roles in The White Team rides matching mopeds which they eventually share with the red team after their vehicle is destroyed & an argument between Wesley & Donna. Mopeds are a class of low-powered (typically under 50 cc displacement) motorized vehicle generally two or three wheeled
- The Red Team is made up of four members of an unpopular sorority. Led by Donna (Played by Maggie Roswell). Maggie Roswell (born November 14 1952 is an American voice actress. Two of the members are a set of overweight twins (many of the jokes involving the red team come at their expense) and the other two are feminists. Overweight is generally defined as having more body fat (adipose tissue than is optimally Healthy Being overweight is a common condition especially where Twins are Offspring resulting from the same Pregnancy, either of the same or opposite Sex. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate The Red team's vehicle is a pickup truck which is soon destroyed by the green team. A pickup truck is a light Motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling
- The Yellow Team are all friendly, kind and attractive, they play fair and are the main heroes of the film. The yellow team are led by the protagonist Adam (Naughton), the yellow team picks up an additional member, Adam's troubled younger brother Scott (Fox), partway through the game. Adam learns that his brother is only acting out to get his attention. They also force the shy Flynch (Joel Kenney), whom Adam has been counseling, to play the game rather than allow him to go on a date with an ugly girl. Also on the team are Laura (Debra Clinger), Adam's love interest, and Marvin (David Damas), another friend of Adam's. The team vehicle is often mistakenly referred to as a Jeep (the actual vehicle is Toyota Landcruiser) owned by Marvin. Adam is the only team leader not to drive a vehicle.
- The Blue Team are all selfish, rude, unattractive, and cheat at every opportunity. They are led by overweight snob Harold (Stephen Furst), who is intensely jealous of the popular Adam. Stephen Furst (born Steven Nelson Feuerstein on 8 May 1954) is an American Actor and film and Television director Melio (played by future Hollywood director Andy Tennant) purposely instigates fights between Harold and his girlfriend, Lucille, who wants Harold on a diet just before the game starts. Andy Tennant (born 1955 is an American screenwriter film and television director and dancer "Blade," a Mexican-American who is constantly brandishing his switchblade knife, never speaks. See also History of Mexican-Americans Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican ancestry A switchblade (also known as automatic knife, switch, or in British English flick knife) is a type of Knife with a folding or An additional member, Barf (Brian Fishman), is apparently autistic. Language development. The terminology The team vehicle is a van equipped with a computer that can solve clues, however this device is destroyed early on when Harold hides a stash of marshmallows in the circuitry. A van is a kind of vehicle used for Transporting goods or groups of people
Legacy
Midnight Madness was rated PG—only the second film from the Disney company to receive anything other than a "G" (the first was The Black Hole). The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U For the 2006 film see Black Hole (2006 film The Black Hole is a 1979 Science fiction movie directed by Though produced by Disney, the company's name did not appear on the credits.
Following a limited release and bad reviews, the film achieved a small cult following after it began airing on the HBO cable network. A cult film is a Film that has acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans. After a 2001 DVD release from Anchor Bay Entertainment, Midnight Madness was re-released in 2004 by Disney DVD with the "Walt Disney Pictures Presents" logo—the first time that Disney has officially associated itself with the film. Anchor Bay Entertainment is a home entertainment company and a division of Starz Media, which is a unit of Starz LLC.
Midnight Madness has inspired many spin-offs and other Alternate Reality Games (ARG). A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new Organization or Entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a Television series based on a pre-existing An alternate reality game ( ARG) is an interactive Narrative that uses the real world as a platform often involving multiple media and game elements to tell Among some of the more popular recreations are:
Midnight Madness (Hot Springs, Arkansas) - Played every December
Midnight Madness (Austin, Texas) - The Austin game is played biannually and was created by several Austin transplants including, two veterans from the Hot Springs game. Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the US state of Arkansas, the County seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot
Midnight Madness Brevard (Brevard County, Florida) - Played on a regular basis, with multiple games being held each year.
The Game - a non-stop 24-48 hour puzzle solving race that is currently active in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Seattle Area
The stop motion animation program Robot Chicken (shown on Adult Swim) has featured brief homages to Midnight Madness, two in "Episode 1-10: Badunkadunk", and one in "Episode 2-6: 1987". The Game is a non-stop 24-48 hour Treasure hunt / Puzzlehunt / Road rally that is currently active in the San Francisco Bay Area and Stop motion (or frame-by-frame) animation is an Animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own Robot Chicken is an Emmy -Award Winning American Stop motion animated television series created by Seth Green and Matthew Adult Swim, (usually stylized swim with its signature square Brackets, is an adult-oriented Television network sharing channel space with Cartoon In the first episode, two scenes from the film are reenacted, one where Leon reveals himself to the team leaders, another where Blue Team member Barf assembles the letters of a clue into the nonsense word "Fagabeefe". In the second, the chant of "Meat Machine" is reenacted.
Trivia
- Michael J. Fox's first film. Since most of the film was shot at night, the producers needed someone of legal age (18) who could work all night, but still look the part of Adam's younger brother. His name appears as "Michael Fox" in the opening credits, and "Michael J. Fox" in the closing.
- Adam at one point drinks Dr Pepper, for which Naughton was a spokesman. Dr Pepper is a soft drink marketed in North America, South America and Europe by Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
- Paul Reubens (better known as Pee-Wee Herman) has a small part as the "Pinball Proprietor. Pee-wee's Playhouse is a Children's television program starring Paul Reubens as the child-like Pee-wee Herman. "
- The Star Fire game in the video arcade that provides the clue to the final destination was an actual arcade game of the period. Star Fire, released 1979 is considered to be a groundbreaking Shoot 'em up Arcade game by Exidy that brought a number of new innovations to The game play was real; however a special open cabinet for a standing player had been created for the movie, since the real game cabinet was an enclosed cockpit in which the player was seated.
- The movie was novelized in a 1980 paperback, Midnight Madness, by Tom Wright (Ace, 1980) ISBN 0-441-52985-2
See also
External links
- Midnight Madness at the Internet Movie Database
- Roger Ebert's 1980 review
- Comprehensive Synopsis/Review at 3B Theater
- DVD review at Digitally Obsessed
- Midnight Madness
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