Sea It Now
Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus Trailer: Something's Fishy
“That’s a pretty expensive joke!” writes a commenter at MTV Movies, which this week unleashed the trailer for a Z-grade monster flick known as Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. The mini-sensation has grown formidably on the strength (or, rather, the weakness) of spellbindingly primitive CGI and a redoubtable power-tandem of Lorenzo Lamas and Deborah Gibson. And while there can be no doubt about the inspiration-by-the-ounce that went into the rendering of a great white gnawing on the Golden Gate Bridge, are we in the minority who will doubt it’s anything but an MTV stunt? But for what?
Don’t bother piecing together a story out of this; it’s hard enough to write about beyond wondering its provenance. If there is an actual 90-minute feature to stretch this into, then it comprises a fistful of bites (ahem) and shots crafted seemingly with just a trailer in mind. Gibson is awfully game for a scientist on the trail of such dark, deep-water nemeses (“Thrilla in Manila!” she cries). And Lamas… well, you know. If you were casting your shark vs. octopus pseudo-opus, who would be at the top of your list?
But if it’s fake, it’s a hell of an elaborate ruse. See the film’s IMDB and Amazon pages, the latter of which will actually sell you this DVD on preorder for May 19. Except that MTV lists the street date as May 26 — a few days before the MTV Movie Awards. And cult filmmaker Jack Perez (who directed no less than the pilot for Xena: Warrior Princess but is here credited by several sources as “Ace Hannah”) previously shot the 2004 horror comedy Monster Island for… MTV Productions. And why would MTV have an exclusive on a straight-to-DVD genre trailer anyway? So many questions — none more pressing either way than, “Does Lorenzo survive?” Gibson alone shouldn’t reap the big sequel payday.
· EXCLUSIVE: Feast Your Eyes On The Amazing ‘Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus’ Trailer!! [MTV]
More interviews
Lost
Sundance
Oscars
Avatar
Obsessive compulsive: all topics, one link!
Lost Sundance Oscars Avatar
Past Virtual Newsstands
More reviews, scored
More in An Alan Smithee Column
- Lost Premiere: How's That Flash-Sideways Deal Working Out For Our Favorite Castaways?
- Movieline Investigates: Why Did This Year's Grammys Do So Well?
- Leno On Oprah: The Ten Quotes Meant To Convince Us He's Not A Monster Who Stomped On Coco's Dreams
- Movieline Counterpoint: How To Make A Second Season Of Jersey Shore Work
- Bye Bye, Coco: Livetweeting The Final Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien
More videos
- Help Us Help You Understand the Bill Murray/Anthony Bourdain Power Summit
- A Look at the Matthew Bomer Superman That Might Have Been
- Seriously, A**hole: Mel Gibson Has Changed For the Better
- Deadly, Giant Polar Bear Mascot Latecomer to Animated Short Oscar Race
- Notorious Phantom Menace Critic Unloads On Avatar
More in TVLine
About | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Information | mail.com | Hollywood Life | Deadline Hollywood
Copyright © 2009 Movieline LLC All rights reserved.
Posted 13 May 2009, 12:35 PM
This is frightening.
It's most likely viral PR for the Awards (Genius!) But the dread is that if that's ALL it is then goes on to become a hype driven feature they end up making due to the interest (even if it's only a lark), then we're in for a scary road ahead. Development will be gone and studios might opt to make trailers first to gauge public responses for smaller, non-tent pole movies.
Ouch if that's the future.
Posted 14 May 2009, 9:22 AM
Awesome. How do you not love a giant shark jumping out of the ocean to snag a plane? Seriously. I mean it's not like somebody paid money to make a movie about a boisterous playboy who gets visited by the ghosts of his ex-girlfriends only to discover his one true love has been right in front of his eyes all along.....
They did?
Wait, all his girlfriends are ghosts? Is he a serial killer? I may have to see that.
Posted 13 May 2009, 1:21 PM
In a world where Shark Attack 3: Megalodon and Snakes On A Train saw release, I'm voting - hoping - it's for real. And some of the lines wouldn't be out of place in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen.
Posted 13 May 2009, 3:19 PM
Love it! At least with these SHARKS and OCTOPUS movies there is no false advertising! Now if they could just get NuImage (who really makes these kinds of films) to take over MTV, that would be great. At least they understand branding!
MTV hasn't been "music television" in such a long time. MTV is in need of some serious new juice. Out with the stupid reality shows about clueless teens and dopey jackass guys with too much time on their hands. Bring back music videos!
Posted 13 May 2009, 5:00 PM
it's real - i've worked with jack perez and the asylum
Posted 13 May 2009, 6:13 PM
Of course, this is just an uncredited remake of Tentacles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0cEXCv7Woc
Back then the climax wasn't CGI but sock puppet Orcas vs a very live (and very unfortunate) octopus.
Posted 13 May 2009, 11:09 PM
I don't think MTV has the exclusive rights to the trailer as much as they're the only ones who picked up on it. Anyway, it's real:
http://www.theasylum.cc/product.php?id=155
Apparently, you've never seen the gems churned out by The Asylum.
Posted 13 May 2009, 11:16 PM
I want to see this movie sooo bad.
Im not even joking.
Posted 14 May 2009, 12:40 AM
Well it looks good for the campiness of the entire thing, which is why B Horror films were well liked in the 70s not for the realism but for the camp value.
Posted 14 May 2009, 12:46 AM
Why are people thinking this is a fake?
It's a very low-budget movie made by the infamous production company The Asylum, called a mockbuster production company because of their usual movie copying some blockbuster films... Like the Transmorphers, Snakes on a Train, Da Vinci Treasure and the oh-so-burdening Monster (mock of Cloverfield).
More info on The Asylum here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Asylum
And info on Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Shark_Vs._Giant_Octopus
Posted 14 May 2009, 1:49 AM
Trust me, its real, I've seen it.
Why on earth would you think its NOT real??
If you don't believe me.....
wait a while, watch it....
then tell me it doesn't have a megalodon
jumping out of the ocean and eating an
f'ing PLANE, a passenger jet no less.
Posted 14 May 2009, 5:26 AM
MTV? really S.T??
Hard to take you seriously as a writer if you can't even be bothered to do some simple research.
I'm surprised you stumbled upon the IMDB and amazon entry were they linked off MTV.com?? Actually reading them or even googling the title would have told you it's produced by Asylum, and looking at their film roster would have cleared this all up.
Of course, that might have killed the premise of your article which seems to be "ZOMG! MeGaSHark v GIANT OCT! Is this for the REELZ?!?!"..
Stick to twittering and leave real movie blogging to the grown ups.
-Al
Posted 14 May 2009, 9:38 AM
@Al: By way of explanation (and perhaps a slight self-defense), you're right: The Asylum connection bears noting, but only inasmuch as its attachment plays into the completeness of the hoax. Were it a hoax. Which it doesn't have to be. I'm just saying.
But thanks for reading! Off to Twitter...
Posted 14 May 2009, 9:24 AM
I hate to say this, but I think it may be real. It's listed as being released on DVD May 19th on Asylum's website, which I don't consider too convincing, but also on IMDB, which I have more faith in.
Posted 14 May 2009, 10:45 AM
This movie has, in fact, been made and has also been leaked via torrent to the internet. I know this because I know. I, of course, would download this movie via torrent because that would be immoral, illegal, and irresponsible.
I can tell you, however, that this movie is every bit as awful as you think it is and the best parts are in the trailer. The movie focuses on the shark (CG is probably easier on a shark than an octopus) and features a Japanese marine biologist and a man with the worst Irish accent I've ever heard (and he actually is Irish). Also, Lorenzo Lamas is a racist military commander with a douchebag ponytail.
All of the glamour and glitz you'd expect from a production like this.
But, of course, I've never seen it. I'll be waiting until the DVD release date.
Posted 14 May 2009, 1:01 PM
This article is ridiculous. Of course the movie is real.
It is up for download on all the torrent sites too, BTW.
Posted 14 May 2009, 1:12 PM
I don't know if this is real or not, but my 5 year old son is REALLY hoping it is.
Posted 14 May 2009, 3:13 PM
It's all ready out there on the webs torrent pages...
"someone I know" downloaded it yesterday, and saw it as well. It's a stinker, but hilarious in all it's hamfistedness. A widespread use of stock photos, bad CGI, reused scenes, filler scenes, and sets that looks like they were set up in somebodies basement.
Posted 15 May 2009, 11:00 PM
It's real I worked on the trailer.
Posted 16 May 2009, 6:16 PM
Not just available at torrent sites. It is available on Usenet as well. Check:
http://newzleech.com/?group=&minage=&age=170&min=150&max=5000&q=mega+shark&m=search&adv=1
Posted 18 May 2009, 3:11 PM
I viewed this thing over the weekend, and it's a hoot. The dozen-or-so bad CGI sequences are repeated--then reversed and repeated--over and over to pad the running time. To show that serious scientist-types are at work here, several scenes depict Gibson & friends paying close attention as colored water is poured back and forth into beakers and test tubes.
I guess I haven't seen much of Lorenzo Lamas' work. He's a TERRIBLE actor! Now that the looks are gone, there really is no reason to hire this guy. His son AJ is pretty enough to be a girl, so please hire him instead from now on.
@ KELLY - A friendly parental warning: The guy who wrote this on the back of a Jäger-soaked napkin thought it would be cute to have Debbie Gibson drop an f-bomb or two. And at one point, the glowing, fluid-filled beakers work Debbie into such a lather that she can't resist dragging her coworker into a broom closet for some boot-knockin'.
Posted 23 May 2009, 7:00 PM
i have something big for you debbie
Posted 24 May 2009, 8:14 PM
I suspect that my enjoyment of this movie would be directly proportional to the amount of alcohol I consumed beforehand
Posted 07 Sep 2009, 6:10 AM
The true horror is this film actually exists. SyFy (formely SciFi) channel decided to show it this labor day weekend. One can clearly see why Debbie Gibson has not had much of an acting career. Add in to poor graphics and wretched storyline, and you have something which can easily make the top ten "Worst Movies ever" discussion lists.