Bombmeister

[basti007]

I know that F.P. Wilson once worked on the script to "Bombmeister", an interactive movie i think Interfilm produced (togehter with Matt Costello, i think).

I saw the trailer to bombmeister some time ago and it looked great to me. The film, however, has never been released, as interfilm seemed to go bankrupt in the mid 90ies.

You can find the trailer however on the DVD "I'm your Man" from Planet Theory, that wanted to republish the interfilm movies on DVD-format. However, Planet Theory went bankrupt after publishing I'm Your Man as well (seems, that they really only published I'm Your Man).

So, who owns the rights to that project? Is there still any chance that the movie is made available on DVD or CD-ROM?

Here are some screenshots - remembers me a little bit to "Blown Away":

(click to enlarge)

[fpw]

Originally Posted by basti007

So, who owns the rights to that project? Is there still any chance that the movie is made available on DVD or CD-ROM?

Damfino. I'd really love to see this put together.

The problem is that the footage was never edited. But it needs more than editing -- since it's interactive, it must be programmed. If you've spent any time on this site you know I'm not one for hype. If anything, I'm anti-hype.

But...

I was there at the shoot, I have all the raw footage, and let me tell you, Bombmeister would have not only kicked ass, it would have saved Interfilm. (If you've seen I'm Your Man, you know why Interfilm is no more.)

[Keith the Elder]

Several years ago I read that this guy had a mansion he wanted to demolish and offered it up to anyone shooting a movie that needed a mansion blowing up. Never heard any more about it. Is this that place.

Speaking of blowing up things:

I saw a trailer once or twice several years ago for a project called "Blowed Up"
with George Takei saying "Oh my" in the way that only he can. Can't find anything about it anywhere. Problem is, I was drinking wine on these occasions.
Was this real, or was I "schnooked" by an Energizer Bunny or Geico or some other faux commercial?

k the e

[fpw]

Originally Posted by Keith the Elder

Several years ago I read that this guy had a mansion he wanted to demolish and offered it up to anyone shooting a movie that needed a mansion blowing up. Never heard any more about it. Is this that place.

This was a scale model -- maybe 15 feet wide -- of the real mansion used for the exterior shots. I was there when it blew. Didn't look like much in real time, but on tape the slowed close-ups were, like, wow, dude, bitchin!

[Marc]

Originally Posted by fpw

The problem is that the footage was never edited. But it needs more than editing -- since it's interactive, it must be programmed.

What type of interactive program was this? A game? An interactive movie?

[fpw]

Originally Posted by Marc B.

What type of interactive program was this? A game? An interactive movie?

A theatrical interactive movie. Theaters were retro-fitted with a 3-button remote for each seat. At certain points -- quite a few of them -- the audience was given 2 or 3 options.

eg.:
1) turn right
2) turn left
3) straight ahead.

Or, in the case of Bombmeister:

1) open the cabinet
2) go to the kitchen
3) go upstairs

The movie then followed the option that received the most votes (multiple presses weren't only allowed, they were encouraged). It was kind of cool to hear kids yelling out, "Go 3! Everybody go 3!" This made the first 2 films fun despite their hokey, crappy stories with no emotional involvement.

Bombmeister got you involved with the characters. They were locked in a booby-trapped mansion and their lives were in your hand. Some of them you wanted dead and some you wanted to survive. Make the wrong choice and one of the good guys bought it. John Lafia (who recently directed the TV mini-series 10.5) did a fine job, I thought.

[basti007]

Originally Posted by fpw

The problem is that the footage was never edited. But it needs more than editing -- since it's interactive, it must be programmed. If you've spent any time on this site you know I'm not one for hype. If anything, I'm anti-hype.

But...

I was there at the shoot, I have all the raw footage, and let me tell you, Bombmeister would have not only kicked ass, it would have saved Interfilm. (If you've seen I'm Your Man, you know why Interfilm is no more.)[/SIZE]

Good damn it... :-( Sounds great. I heared you name when i first searched for that movie at imdb.com as soon as i saw the great trailer.
If anyone is interessted in it, i uploaded it here right now:

http://www.filefront.com/?filepath=/...ombmeister.zip

I hope it's allowed to upload the trailer.

To me, it still looks great and deserves a publishing. I'm studying "meda & communication" in Germany any my studies are all about interactive storytelling (just doing my B.A. study about it at the moment) so i collect everything i can get - but interactive movies have always been my personal love and i try to get my hands on that in particular (and there are over 400 titles in my personal library now, especially interactive movie footage, of course - but also adventure games or interactive audio books...). Bombmeister is still on my list but this one will be more difficult i guess.

Man, if the footage would be released as open source/public domain, i would be the first to edit and program it for the public just to give it a chance... :-)

Thanks for answering FPW... You worked with Matthew J. Costello on the project, right?


Greetz,
Basti

(Germanys largest website in Adventure Gaming )

[Marc]

Originally Posted by basti007

I hope it's allowed to upload the trailer.

As long as your not making a profit from the download it's doubtful anyone will throw a stink... especially something like a preview.

Thanks for answering FPW... You worked with Matthew J. Costello on the project, right?

I was thinking the same thing. Now... if you could get a programmer involved too maybe something could be accomplished... not for theaters but something for the on-line community or something. It would probably have to be reworked a little but, in the end, could still be very cool.

[Dignan]

This sounds like it could've beena damn fun time. Of John Lafia's work, I think I've only seen Child's Play 2 and Man's Best Friend, and I must admit, despite the fact that the latter sucked way hard, the guy knows how to direct action sequences and build tension. Child's Play 2 had a wonderfully twisted, childlike atmosphere seemed really unnerving. Plus the sequence in the factory was money, as well.

[basti007]

Now... if you could get a programmer involved too maybe something could be accomplished...

You mean me or FPW?

Anyway...
Programming shouldn't be the problem. As long as it doesn't need any special VR or real-time 3D programming, i think even i could do it (the Interfilm's are just multiple choice anyway - that could be established in any authoring software. Besides university, i'm also doing multimedia learning software (especially video producing, editing and integration in programs). However, i'm only used to do editing on digital media... anyway, that shouldn't be the problem as long as the footage would be "ready to edit and integrate".)

The problem is still the legal rights, i guess - as i believe, some studio might still have the copyrights somewhere in their archives without even knowing it... as so often in this business.

not for theaters but something for the on-line community or something.

Yeah, the best thing would be, if studios at least sometimes just made their properties public, they're not willing to do or sell anyway. The programming for interactive movies like IYM or Bombmeister is really not that difficult and you could just do some fan work with it and publish it as free download via the internet. Therefore at least the work and the people behind it would get acknowledged - if not for profit, though.