I just had to give Bottle Rocket some love, cuz nobody's posted here for several days. But I do really wish that Criterion would release a director-approved version of BR. I'm sure I'm not the only one. In fact, I bet that most of us have signed that online petition about this matter, right? If I weren't such a three-toed sloth, I'd post the link to it.

As of a couple of months ago, Criterion had no plans to do it because they couldn't get the rights to it. Hell, just give a Special Edition with some commentary and deleted scenes... oh yeah, and some interviews!

the petition:
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://rushmore.shootangle.com/bottlerocket/">rushmore.shootangle.com/bottlerocket/</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END-->

"Dignan needs a bigger bag!"

One awesome inspirational read (if you have time). i read it once, guess what i found (i mentioned it in Luke's thread):

C'mon make the Criterion Collection already. I'm in the movie for pete's sake!
Luke Wilson
Hollywood, CA USA - Wednesday, July 17, 2002 at 16:38:53 (CDT)


<p>"Say a prayer for Surf Boy. Wherever he is."</p>

I wish people would stop demanding a Criterion of this title! Criterion is great, but they can't get the rights to everything, and even if they did I could list a ton of studio special editions that blow most Criterions out of the water. I hope Columbia puts out a cool SE and I'll be fine with that.

edit: Some how doubt Luke would post under the subject "C'mon make the Criterion Collection already. I'm in the movie for pete's sake!" :lol <p><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mycollection.asp?alias=SolidSnakeASS">My DVDs</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--></p>Edited by: Raleigh St Clair at: 11/28/02 10:21:36 pm

yeah i'm with you on that one raleigh, I think luke probably has more efficient channels than online petitions. <p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END--> If Gabriel wants to roller-blade, then Gabriel roller-blades! </p>

I didn't imply that Luke signed the petition, just found it funny, and the petition is fairly long, so i thought i'll post it here just for fun.

Another thing, i think this petition is well beyond just asking for Criterion edition. It's more of a media to complain that BR deserve a better edition than bare bones, and the owners of the barebones edition will buy any new special edition BR DVD, not just from Criterion.
<p>"Say a prayer for Surf Boy. Wherever he is."</p>

Yeah, I know I use "Criterion" as a shorthand for "special-edition-with-things-I-like-such-as-director's-commentary-and-an-on-set-documentary." I guess it's 'cuz for so long Criterion was the only game in town for special editions. <p>"How interesting! How bizarre!"</p>

sorry jude it looked like you were bringing that up as if luke had actually signed it. <p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END--> If Gabriel wants to roller-blade, then Gabriel roller-blades! </p>

It would be cool to have a Criterion with the BR short on it.

<!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END--> <p>Sic transit gloria </p>

I've been having a weird day. All day long I've been thinking about this site, and about Wes Anderson and the Wilson fellows. I saw The Two Towers, and I couldn't wait to come back here and check out what everyone had to say. And then I decided that it was time to watch Bottle Rocket again, which I got pretty excited about. So I went into my favourite rental place (Revue Video on the Danforth [Toronto, Cananda]), and what, WHAT was playing on their screen? Rushmore, goddamnit! And I recognized the music before I got quite inside, and I froze. Then, I realized that I knew the guy behind the counter, and I told him that I was kind of freaking out because I'd been thinking about Wes Anderson and the like all day, and I'd come to rent Bottle Rocket, and my friend Joel said "That's weird, we were going to watch Bottle Rocket, but we decided on Rushmore."

Whew. I'm sure that's not as crazy to anyone else who didn't experience it, but I felt quite strange.

Anyhow, I guess we've become really spoiled with dvds, because I found myself feeling really gypped that there were no special features. Not that the film isn't a special feature in itself. ("What are your specials here?" "Everything is special.")

<p>"all my lies are always wishes/I know I would die/if I could come back new"</p>

I've had one of those, EmberCat, but I've never seen Rushmore, or any other Wes film for that matter, rolling at my video place.

Did you feel like you sort of "outed" yourself? :)

I did rent Bottle Rocket a few times in a concentrated period, and the kid behind the counter, who must live there, asked me why I liked it so much. The next time I rented (not BR, though), he was telling me, as someone else helped me out, how much he loved it, and everybody around asked, "Which movie is that?" and he started telling other customers about the movie. One guy offered that he'd seen it and he hated it, and rental man retorted, "That's because you don't get it."

Contagious, his films, more than any other contemporary directors' films, based on my own experience.

And I think you're right, EmberCat, I wouldn't mind a special edition BR, I'd buy that sucker in a second, but I really love the film, bare bones. Gives me enough to think about and enjoy.

But I wouldn't trade that JS part on the Rushmore commentary about Murray's carrot-eating for nothin'. I like the commentary tracks.

Whoa, Embercat! I'm in Toronto too, and guess what i heard another day in one big store... they were playing Ooh La La. You can imagine how i felt, and also it was the first time i heard this song since my car accident (the Rushmore ST was playing when it happened).
<p>"Say a prayer for Surf Boy. Wherever he is."</p>

Yeah. It's funny sometimes, eh? Occasionally I find coincidences difficult to take at face value. And then (as I found out while I was responding in a different thread) my little apartment began to flood. The drain in the kitchen floor was overflowing. Weird, weird day. <p>"all my lies are always wishes/I know I would die/if I could come back new"</p>

I hate to be a pessimist, but I don't think there's going to be a BR SE any time soon (if ever). The one thing that any BR SE must have is the short (obviously). The short, however, contains music that the studio will likely never get the rights too. I'm thinking specifically about the Vince Giraldi music during the "shopping for guns" scene. I understand that the rights to this music is held by the widow of Charles Shultz, and she is extremely protective of it and the overall image of the Peanuts. I'm sure it was difficult for Wes to get the rights to use it in TRT for a fairly benign scene (Margot's moving out). Can you imagine trying to convince Shultz's widow to allow the use of the music for a scence where a group of criminals are illegally purchasing a gun? (this is no doubt how many non-fans would view the scene). The other option, of course, would be to not use the music, but that would mean comprimising Wes's vision and work. The use of the Peanuts music is, in my opinion, genuis and absolutely necessary for the work as a whole.

Does any of this make sense?

you have a drain in your kitchen floor? <p>Dudley Heinsbergen: You wanna play some word games, or do some experiments on me or anything? </p>