Hostel is a rip off of EuroTrip
- Thread starter Pen Cap Chew
- Start date
Capt Quirk
Veteran
What a steaming pile of debate I'm stepping into here. Gee, where to start... Everybody is wrong. And Right too.
If Cabin Fever is the same one I think it is, I enjoyed it. It wasn't a great movie, but it was entertaining- which is more than I can say about a lot of big budget studio fliks. There were several points in the Making of feature, where I really grew to like the crew. I laughed so hard, and thought "I'd really like to work with these guys!"
Of course, I also never realized that Roth was responsible for both of them. Hostel was also ok. Not great, not too bad, but not what I expected. Because of that, it isn't likely I'll watch Hostel2 if it should come out, but I won't discount it either. However, I won't go see Apocalypto, just on a personal basis.
But, before you folks start bashing anyone too hard, just remember- They do have at least one film that has been produced, distributed, and watched. Therefore, they must be doing something right.
If Cabin Fever is the same one I think it is, I enjoyed it. It wasn't a great movie, but it was entertaining- which is more than I can say about a lot of big budget studio fliks. There were several points in the Making of feature, where I really grew to like the crew. I laughed so hard, and thought "I'd really like to work with these guys!"
Of course, I also never realized that Roth was responsible for both of them. Hostel was also ok. Not great, not too bad, but not what I expected. Because of that, it isn't likely I'll watch Hostel2 if it should come out, but I won't discount it either. However, I won't go see Apocalypto, just on a personal basis.
But, before you folks start bashing anyone too hard, just remember- They do have at least one film that has been produced, distributed, and watched. Therefore, they must be doing something right.
Blah, incoming off topic.
Actually, they don't have to be doing anything right. It is about their name or who they are related to or who they know more than just doing something right.
And this is why I believe Roth is making films, not because he is doing something right.
Actually, they don't have to be doing anything right. It is about their name or who they are related to or who they know more than just doing something right.
And this is why I believe Roth is making films, not because he is doing something right.
spidey
Shogun Assassin
ELI ROTHS BLOG.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Wrapped!
Current mood: exhausted
I'm back in Los Angeles, having finally wrapped production. I'm going to start blogging at MTV.com, so this blog will be fairly boring and more about personal stuff (and crazy neurosis with spiders and sleep deprivation) and I'll talk about the film production over there. It should go up sometime this week, but they asked me to do it and it's great promotion for the film so I'll save this one here for more personal stuff.
My flight back was good, but I'm totally jetlagged and feel like I'm a weird Los Angeles daze. Gabe and I watched a great Luciano Martino sex comedy on the plane called LA DOTORESSA in the Military that my friend Riccardo gave me, and we ****ing loved it. Edwige Fenech was just so ****ing beautiful in those films, and I can't believe I was lucky enough to direct her in HOSTEL: PART II. Isn't it annoying that I write HOSTEL: PART II instead of just writing HOSTEL 2 or H2? Why do I do that? It's like some weird superstition or something. Anyway, after that I took a sleeping pill and conked out until I got to Los Angeles. I had an awesome Melanie Grifftith/Antonio Banderas sighting as I was exiting the plane, which reminded me that I was most certainly back in Hollywood. The last few days in Prague were really fun. With Jay Hernandez in town we really blew it out, HOSTEL-style, and rocked out with the KNB guys at Harley's Bar, which became our favorite hangout spot during the shoot. There was a lot of going crazy to AC/DC and MOTORHEAD, and Mike McCarty from KNB became so friendly with the DJ he was actually making mix CDs for them to play. And they actually played them. So we got to go crazy slam-dancing (that's early 80's moshing for anyone under 30) to Misfits and Devo and the music we wished people would play at bars more often. Prague goes all night and we pretty much took advantage of every minute of that once we wrapped. After HOSTEL DEUX wrapped we went right into shooting the GRIND HOUSE trailer which was absolutely ****ing nuts. It's seriously the most fun I've had shooting anything since 7th grade. My friend Jeff came over from Boston and we got to film this thing we've been dreaming of shooting since we were 18 years old. Gabe produced it and everyone who was in town made cameos in it. We basically had 2 days to cram in as much sex, violence and silliness as we could, and we just ****ing went for it. It was honestly the most fun I've ever had shooting anything. HOSTEL was a blast, as was HOSTEL PART II, but with the GRIND HOUSE trailer there were absolutely no rules. No continuity, no character development, just pure unadulterated, unfiltered violence and insanity. My D.P. Milan Chadima shot it, and he busted out lenses from the 1970's! It was too ****ing cool. I really want it to look like the trailer for THE PROWLER or MANIAC, and we shot it with the old school camera and lenses. Nobody shot with them in years, and Milan said the rental house dug them up out of the basement just for him. It was awesome. I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say that we made a mess in the center of a small town and it involved a lot of blood. We had about 200 extras, including about 40 screaming girls aged 4-9 dressed like majorettes (twirling batons and everything) and a panic-stricken riot with people dressed like Pilgrims and Indians. We were laughing so hard shooting it we nearly passed out, and a few times I actually thought people got really hurt. But we made it out unscathed, and even the screaming majorettes were showing off how much blood they got splattered on their white majorette costumes. The other stuff we shot is so absurdly disgusting I don't want to give it away, you'll have to see it in GRIND HOUSE. But between HOSTEL: PART II and the trailer let's just say I kept the KNB guys plenty busy. And they did a ****ing amazing job. God I love those guys.
One thing that was weird to get back to other than a Close Encounters-mud-tower-sized pile of mail was the barrage of ads for TURISTAS bashing HOSTEL. Now, I was aware of TURISTAS while we were making HOSTEL. I know the writer Michael Ross. It's not a ripoff of HOSTEL any more than HOSTEL is a ripoff of TURISTAS. They shot right after us, but it's just a coincidence we were making movies about Americans traveling in another country. For some reason Fox held onto the movie and released the film 11 months after us, but they were both shot fairly close to each other. Fox Atomic (the new "teen" division of Fox) decided to use this film as their first release, and the film did not do well this weekend. It's sad that they had to resort to negative campaigning to attempt to get anyone to see it. I have not seen it, nor do I plan to, after they had quotes like "Better and scarier than HOSTEL" in their advertising. It's not exactly a strong vote of confidence in your film when you have to bash me to make your film look better. The horror fans smelled that Fox Atomic was panicking for some reason and stayed away. Negative campaigning does not help anybody. I'm happy for Michael Ross that he got his film made and released, which is a very, very difficult thing to do, and I hope the failure of the film (and it is by industry standards an Atomic bomb) will serve as a lesson that perhaps bashing other movies is not the best way to attract audiences. Fans don't like it when you take swipes at other films. It was strange to see HOSTEL mentioned in nearly every single review of TURISTAS, sometimes positively, sometimes negatively. But either way, if you have people talking about your film, you must be doing something right.
I'm not sure if I should go back to sleep or eat breakfast. It's like 3 in the morning for me. And my head's still at Harley's bar with the KNB boys. That said, I CANNOT WAIT to dive into the editing room on Monday. good night!
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Wrapped!
Current mood: exhausted
I'm back in Los Angeles, having finally wrapped production. I'm going to start blogging at MTV.com, so this blog will be fairly boring and more about personal stuff (and crazy neurosis with spiders and sleep deprivation) and I'll talk about the film production over there. It should go up sometime this week, but they asked me to do it and it's great promotion for the film so I'll save this one here for more personal stuff.
My flight back was good, but I'm totally jetlagged and feel like I'm a weird Los Angeles daze. Gabe and I watched a great Luciano Martino sex comedy on the plane called LA DOTORESSA in the Military that my friend Riccardo gave me, and we ****ing loved it. Edwige Fenech was just so ****ing beautiful in those films, and I can't believe I was lucky enough to direct her in HOSTEL: PART II. Isn't it annoying that I write HOSTEL: PART II instead of just writing HOSTEL 2 or H2? Why do I do that? It's like some weird superstition or something. Anyway, after that I took a sleeping pill and conked out until I got to Los Angeles. I had an awesome Melanie Grifftith/Antonio Banderas sighting as I was exiting the plane, which reminded me that I was most certainly back in Hollywood. The last few days in Prague were really fun. With Jay Hernandez in town we really blew it out, HOSTEL-style, and rocked out with the KNB guys at Harley's Bar, which became our favorite hangout spot during the shoot. There was a lot of going crazy to AC/DC and MOTORHEAD, and Mike McCarty from KNB became so friendly with the DJ he was actually making mix CDs for them to play. And they actually played them. So we got to go crazy slam-dancing (that's early 80's moshing for anyone under 30) to Misfits and Devo and the music we wished people would play at bars more often. Prague goes all night and we pretty much took advantage of every minute of that once we wrapped. After HOSTEL DEUX wrapped we went right into shooting the GRIND HOUSE trailer which was absolutely ****ing nuts. It's seriously the most fun I've had shooting anything since 7th grade. My friend Jeff came over from Boston and we got to film this thing we've been dreaming of shooting since we were 18 years old. Gabe produced it and everyone who was in town made cameos in it. We basically had 2 days to cram in as much sex, violence and silliness as we could, and we just ****ing went for it. It was honestly the most fun I've ever had shooting anything. HOSTEL was a blast, as was HOSTEL PART II, but with the GRIND HOUSE trailer there were absolutely no rules. No continuity, no character development, just pure unadulterated, unfiltered violence and insanity. My D.P. Milan Chadima shot it, and he busted out lenses from the 1970's! It was too ****ing cool. I really want it to look like the trailer for THE PROWLER or MANIAC, and we shot it with the old school camera and lenses. Nobody shot with them in years, and Milan said the rental house dug them up out of the basement just for him. It was awesome. I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say that we made a mess in the center of a small town and it involved a lot of blood. We had about 200 extras, including about 40 screaming girls aged 4-9 dressed like majorettes (twirling batons and everything) and a panic-stricken riot with people dressed like Pilgrims and Indians. We were laughing so hard shooting it we nearly passed out, and a few times I actually thought people got really hurt. But we made it out unscathed, and even the screaming majorettes were showing off how much blood they got splattered on their white majorette costumes. The other stuff we shot is so absurdly disgusting I don't want to give it away, you'll have to see it in GRIND HOUSE. But between HOSTEL: PART II and the trailer let's just say I kept the KNB guys plenty busy. And they did a ****ing amazing job. God I love those guys.
One thing that was weird to get back to other than a Close Encounters-mud-tower-sized pile of mail was the barrage of ads for TURISTAS bashing HOSTEL. Now, I was aware of TURISTAS while we were making HOSTEL. I know the writer Michael Ross. It's not a ripoff of HOSTEL any more than HOSTEL is a ripoff of TURISTAS. They shot right after us, but it's just a coincidence we were making movies about Americans traveling in another country. For some reason Fox held onto the movie and released the film 11 months after us, but they were both shot fairly close to each other. Fox Atomic (the new "teen" division of Fox) decided to use this film as their first release, and the film did not do well this weekend. It's sad that they had to resort to negative campaigning to attempt to get anyone to see it. I have not seen it, nor do I plan to, after they had quotes like "Better and scarier than HOSTEL" in their advertising. It's not exactly a strong vote of confidence in your film when you have to bash me to make your film look better. The horror fans smelled that Fox Atomic was panicking for some reason and stayed away. Negative campaigning does not help anybody. I'm happy for Michael Ross that he got his film made and released, which is a very, very difficult thing to do, and I hope the failure of the film (and it is by industry standards an Atomic bomb) will serve as a lesson that perhaps bashing other movies is not the best way to attract audiences. Fans don't like it when you take swipes at other films. It was strange to see HOSTEL mentioned in nearly every single review of TURISTAS, sometimes positively, sometimes negatively. But either way, if you have people talking about your film, you must be doing something right.
I'm not sure if I should go back to sleep or eat breakfast. It's like 3 in the morning for me. And my head's still at Harley's bar with the KNB boys. That said, I CANNOT WAIT to dive into the editing room on Monday. good night!
Staven
Well-known member
jpeck said:
Not sure of where you're going with that one. I'm actually starting to really wonder why the hell people are so down on him?
Cabin Fever's script bounced around for something like 3 years before someone gave him enough financial backing to get it made.(this is all off the top of my head so it may not be 100% accurate but close)
Roth worked on sets for over 10 years before getting his first break with Cabin Fever.
He claims he had to live off his credit card and was over $17 thousand in debt even though Cabin Fever made over $100mil for Lionsgate.
Cabin fever was an indie film made for $1.5mil... but the producers were constantly trying to find the money while filming was happening, and there were numerous times that they thought the production would have to close down. They hit up everyone to get it completed, even family and friends.
The film was shut down by the Union which put the production in jeopardy - for no reason other than to extort money out of them - Roth's words, and the reason he doesn't wish to make films in the States.
(so what I'm saying is it wasn't a cakewalk to get the movie made or for him to start his career).
Read this on imdb:
"Peter Jackson stopped production on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) three times to screen this movie for the entire crew. Jackson was so enthusiastic about the film he gave director Eli Roth publicity quotes."
Some people liked Cabin Fever.
Roth moved to LA and started talking with producers and studios. He was offered several horror remakes but wanted to do his own thing. So instead he wrote his own script and they went to Europe to make Hostel... which was another financial success, which has lead up to the point where most people seem to hate him.
I understand how people can question the angle of him being a horror master with the Eli Roth presents stuff - but that is merely a marketing ploy devised by the people promoting the films. Other than that I just don't get the negative hype.
Back to the original idea for this thread:
hated Eurotrip - loved the song "Scotty Doesn't Know"!!
asphaltplanet
Member
I actually really loved CABIN FEVER. I saw it in the theater with a few friends and it was one of the most fun times I've ever had at the movies. HOSTEL didn't do a whole lot for me, but I still think it's better than most of the other torture-horror flicks. And I thought the first act was a lot of fun.
I think he is directing Stephen King's CELL next.
I think he is directing Stephen King's CELL next.
chromeboy007
Well-known member
nice to hear some informed and rational opinions here.
J.R. Hudson
Spirit Animal
Rational ?
As oppossed to those opinions you do not agree with you mean.
As oppossed to those opinions you do not agree with you mean.
chromeboy007
Well-known member
John_Hudson said:
Yeah thats correct! ;-)
here is a good example of an irrational comment:
"it was more 85% porn or whatever and then the last 15 minutes was gore."
wrong and wrong.
GageFX
Carbonite Member
Hostel was about what I expected. I didnt expect much, hadn't really heard of Roth (although I had seen Cabin and wasn't a fan). I didn't buy into the Tarantino branding even though I'm a Tarantino fan.
I finally saw Hostel when it came out on DVD and enjoyed it. Not a great film, not my favorite and it annoyed me at times, but I enjoyed the "porn" and I enjoyed the gore. I didn't like certain story elements. I thought some of the performances were incredible. YES, I said some of the performances in HOSTEL were "INCREDIBLE". There was some real emotion (or what really looked like it) going on in some of the torture scenes.
I also really enjoyed the BTS footage.
Found it all inspiring. Overhyped? I dont think so. I never got the impression of Roth hyped at all. Is he the greatest or even up there? I dont think so. But I do think there is a glimmer of talent in there and I think he will get better. I look forward to seeing what else he brings.
(And I saw Eurotrip.... enjoyed it - especially the Trachtenbabe - and saw zero connection between the two. I remember the Eurotrippers going to Eastern Europe and there was some of that in Hostel, but beyond that, I dont remember anything that would make Hostel a "ripoff" of Eurotrip. Did we see the same Eurotrip? (Or maybe I just think of Michelle dancing in that low cut top and little else.)
-GageFX
I finally saw Hostel when it came out on DVD and enjoyed it. Not a great film, not my favorite and it annoyed me at times, but I enjoyed the "porn" and I enjoyed the gore. I didn't like certain story elements. I thought some of the performances were incredible. YES, I said some of the performances in HOSTEL were "INCREDIBLE". There was some real emotion (or what really looked like it) going on in some of the torture scenes.
I also really enjoyed the BTS footage.
Found it all inspiring. Overhyped? I dont think so. I never got the impression of Roth hyped at all. Is he the greatest or even up there? I dont think so. But I do think there is a glimmer of talent in there and I think he will get better. I look forward to seeing what else he brings.
(And I saw Eurotrip.... enjoyed it - especially the Trachtenbabe - and saw zero connection between the two. I remember the Eurotrippers going to Eastern Europe and there was some of that in Hostel, but beyond that, I dont remember anything that would make Hostel a "ripoff" of Eurotrip. Did we see the same Eurotrip? (Or maybe I just think of Michelle dancing in that low cut top and little else.)
-GageFX
Eastside Parkway
Well-known member
John_Hudson said:
Eli Roth went to my high school.
How many points do I get?
J.R. Hudson
Spirit Animal
chromeboy007 said:
LOL
I didn't catch that one ! :tongue:
At least 1 !
Pen Cap Chew
Carbonite Member
GageFX said:
Well you would need to see EuroTrip again now that you've seen Hostel to see the connection between the two.
EuroTrip is about some friends who take a trip to Europe (duh lol). While in Europe, on the train, a creepy guy enters their private booth and makes homsexual advances towards one of the guys, putting his hand on his leg, etc. (an exact scene from Hostel; the scene is even set-up exactly as in EuroTrip: all the characters in both movies are sitting in the exact same places (it's like deja vu): creepy guy to the right, blond guy to the left, main character with black hair sitting on the right on the adjacent seat). Anyway, as EuroTrip progresses the friends go to Amsterdam. The blond guy meets all these hot women who are not quite what they seem. Soon the blond guy is locked in this room and handcuffed. All the windows are slam shut as the room morphs into a darkened cavelike torture chamber. Then we see an array of "torture" tools while the blond guy is screaming. The scene ends as the blond guy is screaming for mercy while a drill with a dildo ... well you get the idea.
I happened to have watched both movies only days apart so it was obvious to me that Roth had used EuroTrip as a source of inspiration.
Eastside Parkway
Well-known member
-zach- said:
He graduated before me, so I didn't know him too well. I did meet him after Cabin Fever though, and he was a bit of a jackass.
Capt Quirk
Veteran
Pen Cap Chew said:
Seee? There's your confusion right there. You are comparing the two movies because of that scene, but that is just the way the trains in Europe are. Don't ride the train
Pen Cap Chew
Carbonite Member
Capt Quirk said:Seee? There's your confusion right there. You are comparing the two movies because of that scene, but that is just the way the trains in Europe are. Don't ride the train
Those two scenes are the same. Are you saying everytime you take a train ride in europe you can expect a creepy guy to crash your private booth and make homosexual advances towards you? Maybe so LOL.
Yeah, and don't forget the torture scene in Eurotrip. Just see the friggin movie.