Farrellys' "South Park" Smackdown

Eonline ^ | December 14, 2005 | Josh Grossberg

[anonymous_user]

Armegeddon/Deep Impact

Triumph of the Will / Fahrenheit 911

[Welsh Rabbit]

I like the Farrelly brothers. King Pin is one of my favorite movies, but I think they should let this go. Even if SP did rip off the idea (which I doubt), it's not like people are not going to see the movie because they already saw the SP episode. Apples and oranges.

[sully777]

JackASS is a ripoff of America's Funniest Videos which was a rip off of That's Incredible/Stand Up America, a rip off of Candid Camera.

Looks like the liberals are shooting across the bow!

[TC Rider]

It is the sort of idea that is easily believable for Matt and Trey to have come up with on their own.

As if they developed two disabled characters over YEARS, for the sole purpose of ripping off their cheesy movie.

[Calvin Locke]

I think Josh Grossberg should go back to school: copied The Ringer, the brother's? That should be brothers',
if my parochial school education serves me.

Maybe the brothers would be more happy if SP did it with Cartman beefing up on 'roids for a cow curling contest during Cow Days?

[justshutupandtakeit]

There is no comparison between TotW and Mooer's crap. The former is a fantastic movie which should have scared the hell out of the rest of the world.

[HairOfTheDog]

But veteran producer Bob Kosberg (Twelve Monkeys), who pitched The Ringer to the South Park brain trust, tells the trade he never actually spoke to Parker and Stone about the screenplay

Wha? Shopped it to the "South Park Brain Trust" (whatever that is) and such "brain trust" didn't include Parker OR Stone?

Love that term... "Brain Trust" though.

[Alouette]

Ideas can't be copyrighted.

[dfwgator]

Count on Matt and Trey to rip the Farrellys a new one in an upcoming SP episode.

[anonymous_user]

There is no comparison between TotW and Mooer's crap.

I wasn't talking about art, but I see your point.

[justshutupandtakeit]

If you are speaking of both being propaganda then I agree.

[RightWingAtheist]

Ahhh, the Farrellys just got a little sand in their vaginas!

[anonymous_user]

If you are speaking of both being propaganda then I agree.

Yep. I haven't seen either movie, but I understand their purposes.

[murdoog]

I like the Farrelly brothers. King Pin is one of my favorite movies, but I think they should let this go. Even if SP did rip off the idea (which I doubt), it's not like people are not going to see the movie because they already saw the SP episode. Apples and oranges.

I like the Farrelly Brothers too. From reading the article, it looks like the main thing they are upset about is that they are being accused of stealing an idea.

I think it's entirely possible that nobody, neither Trey & Stone nor the Farrelly brothers, stole an idea. If Newton and Leibniz came up with calculus independently,certainly the parties involved here could have come up with their idea indepenently.

I hope all concerned can work it out amicably.

[Thoro]

I could have sworn that that particular episode was more of a spoof on an old ABC Afterschool Special that featured Ben Affleck as a steroid addicted high school athlete.

The Cartman angle was just a subplot.

I'm currently researching a link confirming it.

[Thoro]

"Affleck also starred in the 1994 HBO "Lifestories: Families in Crisis" installment, "Body to Die For: The Aaron Henry Story" about a teen whose life is imperiled when he becomes addicted to steroids."

Found it here, and a conversation about it here. Like I said, it's pretty much a scene for scene spoof. The Cartman subplot pretty much writes itself once Jimmy replaces Ben Affleck.

[gondramB]

"Let's see we have South Park that makes biting commentary on anything and everything, even the episode in question had to do with steriod use."

Exactly, if there is something topical then South Park and the Tonight show are pretty well guaranteed to touch on it.

[philman_36]

I like Johnny, but he's still a jackass, show or not.

Jackass!

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

"Per Daily Variety, the Farrellys claim a 2004 South Park episode, in which Cartman pretends to be mentally disabled to compete in the Special Olympics, blatantly copied The Ringer, the brother's upcoming movie about, yes, a guy who feigns a mental disability to win the Special Olympics."

Hell, Seinfeld did that, in a fashion-- the Mel Torme episode.