Doomed! The Untold Story Of Roger Corman's 'The Fantastic Four' (2015)
Yes, boys and girls.....a long time ago (1993).....in a Meta-Verse far far away.....a hardy little band of low budget filmmakers zipped out a low budgeted Fantastic Four movie.........
Constantin, a German outfit, co-produced it with the Emperor Of All Quickie Shlock himself, Roger Corman.......for the overwhelming sum of....one million dollars.......with special effects that looked borrowed from Saturday Morning cartoon shows......
Never heard of it? According to the late beloved Marvel Maestro Stan Lee, it was never meant to be seen......never should've happened.
And with the mighty power of 20th Century Fox (Marvel's designated proprietor of the "4") Stan buried it deep, deep, deep, deep deep in a vault somewhere.......(maybe resting comfortably next to Jerry Lewis's "The Day The Clown Cried" and the recently evaporated "Batgirl" movie.....)
Which makes the strange story behind this film the only Marvel movie where Stan Lee is far from an avuncular, beloved figure.
To explain, let us return to the early 1990's, when Marvel was not yet the corporate behemoth we know today. Without any option for creative control, Stan Lee would farm out Marvel characters to whatever studio wanted to cough up some cash to make a cheesy movie or TV show.....
Constantin's hold on 'The Fantastic Four' was due to expire in 1993, so they cut a deal with Corman to actually make a ultra-cheap, ultra quickie version........presumably for some fast quick cash......
Oh, they wanted cash back on their investment alright......but not from releasing the film. Their big bucks would come from the corporate entities who didn't want a cheapo "4" to see the light of day.....especially if they planned their own mega-budget blockbuster franchise starter entry....
This vital chunk of info was never revealed to all the creative and technical talent who assembled to make the low budget 'Fantastic Four'. With honest enthusiasm and a willingness to make their film with little or no money, these folks plunged ahead, doing their best to make a movie they really thought would hit the comic-cons and the theaters......
Little did they know.......and had their hearts broken and hopes crushed when 'beloved' Stan Lee (who often visited their set to offer encouragement) revealed the truth...... Marvel never meant the movie to exist......
But, (a little big of good news) the movie very much still exists, copied and bootlegged by some anonymous film lab buccaneer before Marvel and Fox seized it for oblivion.
"Doomed!" consists mostly of chatty, informative and sometimes downright funny recollections of the film's actors, director, and producer......even Roger Corman chimes in a few times.
For fanboys, film buffs and anyone who gobbles up cautionary tales of Hollywood lunacy and greed, seek out "Doomed!" for some fascinating viewing. (Stay tuned for a later post on the movie itself.....) For this weird and sad first adventure of the Marvel quartet, 4 stars (****).
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