tagged w/ Idiocracy
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'It's set in the modern world, even though Beavis and Butt-Head look and act the same'
This year’s Comic-Con in San Diego featured Steven Spielberg and the stars of the new Spider-Man and Twilight movies – but the most joyously received guest was Beavis and Butt-Head creator Mike Judge, who is bringing the duo back to MTV in October. We caught up with him after his panel, where he debuted the first new footage of the duo in 14 years.
What led to Beavis and Butt-Head coming back to MTV?
They've been talking about it for years, especially about making another movie. They've been wanting a sequel since the first one came out, but I was just doing other things. But over the years I've entertained the idea here and there. I'd occasionally even write down ideas, and I even had two or three ideas for another movie.
This thing started with MTV coming to me recently and asking again if I wanted to bring the show back. King of the Hill was done. I've been working in animation for a while and been around the development process and people trying to come up with ideas for cartoons. I started to just think that I had some pretty good characters that were really fun to do. Who am I to turn that down? It was already a hit once, so if it doesn't go over this time then it's not a big deal.
How did MTV pitch it to you? I know that their initial idea was having them watch Jersey Shore and other MTV shows.
Yeah, that actually came up when they first pitched it – at least the way my manager told me about it. Part of the reason the show can't sell in syndication is because back in the day those videos were only cleared for MTV. No one was thinking that far in advance because they just thought that Beavis and Butt-Head were taking the place of VJs. But my manager was saying that the music business is so rough now that we could probably clear a lot of these videos. But after we started getting up and running, MTV said that we should really consider having them watch Jersey Shore and stuff like that.
Back in the day, I had tried to have them watch the Real World. It was kind of hard with dialogue over dialogue, and music videos were already working so well that I didn't really give it much of a try. But this time I felt like it really clicked. I really feel that between Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, we really hit our stride. It's just prime territory for Beavis and Butt-Head.
Besides them watching those MTV shows, are there any other differences between this new show and the original one?
It's set in the modern world, even though Beavis and Butt-Head look and act the same. It's a little bit different because of the animation. Back in the day it was all shot on film and ink, and now it's painted digitally – although it's all drawn by hand. It's just scanned in. So it gives it a different look. I actually think it looks pretty sharp. They still look the crappy way they did, but now it's just kind of beefed up – kind of like the movie was.
Do you ever find it challenging to write in the voice of two characters that are so incredibly stupid ? I'm sure you often think of great jokes, but they're just too smart for them to say.
Yeah. That happens a lot. It's definitely harder than it looks because it's also hard to describe what's right and wrong for these guys to say. Sometimes I'll cheat a little bit, like in some of the music video commentary where I have them saying things that are a little smarter than they ought to be – but I can usually find a pretty convoluted way of saying it that feels right.
So it's the same teachers? Same friends? Same world they were in before?
Yeah. A lot of those main characters are back. Same teachers. We have one new teacher that's in a couple of episodes, a female teacher. I never felt like we had a good female teacher character. There's a also a Middle Eastern guy that's a car salesman in one episode and tech support in another.
How many episodes are definitely going to be broadcast?
At least 12 half-hours. The episodes are 15 minutes, so there's there's 24 shows.
Do they watch any music videos, or is just programming off of MTV?
It's almost 50-50, I think. Or close to it. They are still watching some videos. Those turned out to be harder to clear than we thought. We also have them watching a couple of YouTube videos, but they're watching them on the TV though – which is something people are starting to do now anyway.
Do you see this going for years and years? Do you have a long-term plan for this?
Oh, not really. [Laughs] Figure, get in, get out, quick. I don't want to do it for years. I think a year or two. I wanted to just do a few more, so that if they do a syndication thing, they could play the music videos –because that was the stuff I was the most proud of. So it'd be good if it was playing in reruns if some of that stuff was on there, too. That's partly what I was hoping to get out of it.
You're really thinking of just doing a year or two? I'm sure it's going to be huge and MTV will want more than that.
Well . . . [Laughs] I guess I always just think like that. Kind of like alcoholics – "one year at a time." If I start thinking about several years, it's kind of crazy. I didn't think that King of the Hill was going to be 13 years.
It's funny just how little we know about these characters. You know virtually nothing about their parents, or anything else about their lives.
When we started out, I just always kept it vague. It got to the point where, if you show too much, maybe peoples imaginations are better than what's there. I kind of liken to to Charlie Brown. I don't think you ever saw Snoop's doghouse from the front. I don't think you ever saw Charlie Brown's house from the front. You never saw any of their parents, and their teacher's voice was just "wah wah wah." They couldn't even bring themselves to have an adult voice in it. I like that. There's also Leave It To Beaver. You never really knew what their dad did.
There's the occasional reference to Beavis' mother being a big slut or something, but that's about it.
I just remember that I knew this kid in the sixth grade and he had a single mom– I do imagine Beavis and Butt-Head having single moms – but you never saw this kid's mom ever. Like, I'd be at the grocery store with my parents and my brothers and sister and there's Steve, wandering around by himself. I think his mom worked the nightshift somewhere and slept all day. There were kids like that, or maybe they were on welfare. Who knows? But that's kind of how I look at it, I guess.
I've always assumed they were at Butt-Head's house because he's the leader, but I could be wrong.
No, I always imagined it was Butt-Head's house. We did one thing, I can't remember what it was, but we did show his bedroom once. It was obviously a complete mess, just like matches everywhere. We only did that once.
Can Beavis say "fire" now, or is that still banned?
Yeah, he can say it. In the clips we showed at Comic-con, we had a "fire" in the one where they work in tech support.
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/exclusive-mike-judge-on-the-return-of-beavis-and-butt-head-20110803
More @ link'It's set in the modern world, even though Beavis and Butt-Head look and act... more
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http://judgian12365.wordpress.com/2010/09/11/conservative-liberal-democratic-republicanism-a-definition-reference/
Main Entry:
Idiocracy
(plural idiocracies)
English
Noun
id•i•o•cra•cy
Id`i*oc”ra*cy, n.; pl. Idiocrasies. [Idio- + Gr. ? a mixture, fr. ? to mix: cf. F. idiocrasie.]
Pronunciation: ‘i-dE ä-kr&-sE’
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -cies
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ydiote, from Latin idiota ignorant person, + -cratie -cracy
A nation incapable of recognizing or practicing a common sense.
government that is based upon abstract theory
Peculiarity of constitution; that temperament, or state of constitution, which is peculiar to a person; idiosyncrasy.
a body of foolish or stupid nonelective government officials b : a foolish or stupid administrative policy-making group
government characterized foolish functions, adherence to stupid and ineffective rules, and a hierarchy of incompetent authority
a system of administration marked by foolish officialism, or stupid red tape, and endless errors in judgement.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary. © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.http://judgian12365.wordpress.com/2010/09/11/conservative-liberal-democratic-republican... more
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Main Entry:
Idiocracy
(plural idiocracies)
English
Noun
id•i•o•cra•cy
Id`i*oc"ra*cy, n.; pl. Idiocrasies. [Idio- + Gr. ? a mixture, fr. ? to mix: cf. F. idiocrasie.]
Pronunciation: 'i-dE ä-kr&-sE'
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -cies
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ydiote, from Latin idiota ignorant person, + -cratie -cracy
A nation incapable of recognizing or practicing a common sense.
government that is based upon abstract theory
Peculiarity of constitution; that temperament, or state of constitution, which is peculiar to a person; idiosyncrasy.
a body of foolish or stupid nonelective government officials b : a foolish or stupid administrative policy-making group
government characterized foolish functions, adherence to stupid and ineffective rules, and a hierarchy of incompetent authority
a system of administration marked by foolish officialism, or stupid red tape, and endless errors in judgement.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.Main Entry:
Idiocracy
(plural idiocracies)
English
Noun... more
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The Obama administration is developing a "universal Internet ID" program that would watch, track, monitor and potentially control your activity on the Internet. These "trusted identities" are being touted as a way to increase safety and security on the Internet and as a way to eliminate the need for dozens of different usernames and passwords. But is a universal Internet ID that is issued and controlled by the U.S. government really a good idea? Right now, Obama administration officials are trying to make it seem as non-threatening as possible. They are insisting that it will not be mandatory. They are insisting that it would be impossible for hackers to steal the universal Internet identities. They are insisting that none of our personal information will be gathered or used by federal agencies. But in light of how regularly the government has abused our liberties and freedoms in recent years in the name of "security", should we really believe what they are saying about this new universal Internet ID?The Obama administration is developing a "universal Internet ID" program... more
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It's pretty ballsy to dis the president while he's talking. Joe Wilson, a representative from South Carolina, actually had the balls to yell "you lie!" to Obama.
What kind of future can we expect, when even our legislators don't respect procedure? It seems like we'll be living in an idocracy. Oh wait, it already seems like we are:
Jonah Ray discovered this page in the script from Mike Judge's Idiocracy.
"SOUTH CAROLINA WHATS UP!"It's pretty ballsy to dis the president while he's talking. Joe Wilson, a... more
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April 20th is Adolf Hitler's birthday.
How are you going to "celebrate" it? If I had the resources, I'd take a Nazi flag and burn it.April 20th is Adolf Hitler's birthday.
How are you going to... more
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How can you debate the fact that Sarah Palin is unfit to be president?
Seriously!
Are there any McCain supporters out there that can present some facts instead of insults or copied and pasted blah blah?
Ive actually seen people claim that she has just as much or even more experience than Senator Obama. Its no wonder that people dont trust politicians! We have john McCain looking America right in the eye and saying, "I am very pleased and very privileged to introduce to you, the next vice president of the United States. Governor Sarah Palin of the great state of Alaska!"
If john McCain wins this election (despite the incompetent, out of touch and dishonest train wreck of a campaign that undermines and insults every American voter), then this country is doomed beyond repair. Not just because of the things John McCain will do to destroy it, but because it will show how the republican party owns and runs this country with unlimited power to do whatever it wants without respectable resistance from the people.How can you debate the fact that Sarah Palin is unfit to be president?
Seriously!... more
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Authorities say a grandmother was arrested for driving around the parking lot of a Marathon grocery store with her 3-year-old grandchild sitting on the roof of the car.
Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to the Publix store Tuesday and arrested a 54-year-old woman after she was driving around with her three-year-old granddaughter on the roof of her car.
The grandmother was released from jail 15 hours later.
The woman said Thursday she would never let anything hurt her granddaughter. She says she was driving at "snail-speed" and holding the child's leg.
Authorities say the woman told police she was giving the child some air and letting her have fun.
She faces charges of child abuse. The child is back with her mother.
Authorities say a grandmother was arrested for driving around the parking lot of a... more
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Valleywag reports that attendees at ROFLcon, the Internet-in-joke gathering in Cambridge, Mass., received a complimentary can of Brawndo, "The Thirst Mutilator" - a new sports drink copped straight out of the movie "Idiocracy" by Redux Beverages. You may recall Redux as creators of the infamous (but non-narcotic) beverage "Cocaine".
Yes, you too can now enjoy Brawndo just as your great-great-great-great-grandchildren will. Just don't water your plants with it!
Valleywag reports that attendees at ROFLcon, the Internet-in-joke gathering in... more
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