3/22/2008

'VELLY INTELLESTING'


For some reason, the past 24 hours has me channeling my inner Arte Johnson.

Anyway, here's an interesting little tidbit. It may be that the PR gaffe occasioned by PZ and his pals in Minnesota has already had some unintended consequences.

My friend Mark was considering attending the Santa Clara showing of 'Expelled', but as he describes here, that's no longer possible:

But it was all for naught, I'm afraid. I've just received an email notifying me that the Santa Clara showing of "Expelled" has been canceled "due to technical issues". A quick peek at the Expelled RSVP site shows that Santa Clara has been removed from the list of screenings.

Well, that intrigued me no end, so I compared the current (as of 12:15 AM PST) 'Expelled' RSVP site with Google's cache of said site taken on March 16th.

There are significant differences. Not only is the Santa Clara showing absent, but 'pending' screenings for Portland, OR and Seattle, WA are nowhere to be seen, either. Makes you wonder.

******UPDATE*******

Since I posted this a few days back, this has become the all-time most viewed post in my blog's modest history. There has also been a more radical reworking of the Expelled RSVP site. Whereas earlier a few screens were absent, pretty much all of the previous screenings have been cancelled. Seems that the producers have problems attending those screenings. Or something.



14 comments:

Calladus said...

Huh. I didn't think of a cache comparison.

Could they not withstand the heat?

Kristine said...

Thank you Scott! I had added this to my repository of links.

The Science Pundit said...

I think that they got a threatening letter from Harvard as soon as word leaked out that they had used a clip from "Life of a Cell."

I could be wrong but that's the only explanation that really makes sense to me.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating. Being a researcher into wingnuttery (that must mean I have a cast iron stomach) I've ended ended up on a number of xitan marketing lists. I received an e-mail from Motive Entertainment on Friday afternoon - "03/21/2008 3:34 PM" Eastern time announcing one of the upcoming screenings. The RSVP page was still active then with future showings listed.

Whatever caused them to change their plans must have occurred late Friday. So far, no e-mail has arrived rescinding the invitation.

Kate said...

;) I actually took screen shots of some of the RSVP pages.... I kinda figured this would happen.

Anonymous said...

They also cancelled the showing that I had signed-up to attend in Livonia, Michigan! It looks like they've cancelled all the upcoming showings. The only ones that are left are ones that have already happened.

Engineer-Poet said...

Oh, goodness.  Could we be treated to a total meltdown of the film under copyright actions?  Another "own goal" by the creobots and Ben Stein (who should know better)?

Slow-motion train wreck, not unlike the SCO debacle.  I'll make popcorn for anyone who wants to watch with me!

The Science Pundit said...

It looks like PZ and Abbie have rung in with an update on the Expelled animation. It turns out that it's a clever clone of the Harvard animation, which I'm pretty sure is still a copyright violation. However, now I must look more seriously at the competing hypotheses for why the showings have been pulled.

A) The financial backers got spooked at the bad publicity surrounding the "expelled from Expelled."
This is plausible because after all, the DI did pull Dembski and others from the witness list at the Dover trial once they read the writing on the wall. However, I still think that they're too arrogant to think that this will affect them too much.

B) Mathis didn't want a repeat of the embarrassment, so all future showings will be invite only.
While it might seem that there's an easier way to do this than to cancel all the shows, cancellation is certainly the quickest and most reliable. So until I hear more about the whole Harvard animation situation, I think this will be my pet theory.

Anonymous said...

They probably had to cancel because people signed up "PZ Myers" up for every event and they couldn't afford enough rent-a-cops and PR flacks to be ready to toss him out at every event.

Anonymous said...

I think someone should check directly with the theaters involved to see if the showings have actually been canceled. I suspect it's more likely that they've been switched to invitation only.

Even so, such a defensive stance just demonstrates again that Mathis et al. are afraid of *any* informed criticism of their film.

chezjake (posting anonymously because the open ID gizmo refuuses to accept my LJ URL)

Nate said...

I am going to check with the Livonia theater to see if they are still playing the film. I already reserved a ticket, and they have not rescinded the invitation yet. I have a feeling it will be cancelled by Wednesday though.

Scott Hatfield . . . . said...

Hey, all you people, thanks for stopping by. Your thoughts are most appreciated! Let me and the rest of the net know whatever you find!

Peace...SH

Anonymous said...

The Expelled marketing folks emailed me today regarding the forthcoming private screenings. Seems they have had to be rescheduled "due to unavoidable changes in the travel plans of the producers." They promise to notify those who RSVP'd the new show dates.

Scott Hatfield . . . . said...

wheatdogg, thanks a bunch for that update!