Ham on a Bar

[ciphergoth]

I strongly suspect that they didn't allow the critics in to review "Snakes on a Plane" because it doesn't deliver. People say that the genius of the title is that you immediately know whether or not you want to go and see it. Only the thing is, they weren't planning on making a movie with that title. They made "Pacific Flight 118" and then tried to turn it into "Snakes on a Plane" at the last minute. Unless some unknown hand of comic genius is on the tiller - and that's not impossible, of course - the chances are they won't have succeeded in turning a lame thriller into the comedy blockbuster the title promises. The studios are afraid that the critics will warn people: the title, and the hype, is better than the movie.

I mention this because two people today have independently proposed a different theory: that they did not allow the critics in because it's not for critics.

Note also the top 20 movies on IMDb if they had been named in the same absurdist manner as Snakes on a Plane:

1. Honor in the Mafia
2. Escape from a Jail
3. Revenge in the Mafia
4. Destruction of a Ring
5. Warriors in a Village
6. Jews on a Train
7. ...

(note that the order of movies may have changed since this list was compiled)

Comments

[foibey.livejournal.com]

I was under the impression that it was originally "Snakes on a plane" until producers decided that it sounded too obvious, at which point it briefly became "Pacific Flight 118" before some amount of protest from Samuel L. Jackson and a bunch of bloggers (spurred on by some movie insider blog) at which point they admitted that it was a dumb name, but the dumb name was possibly the only thing that redeemed a fairly dumb movie concept.

Aside from that, Jews On A Train sounds like an awesome title.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

No, "Snakes on a Plane" was always the working title; they were always planning on giving it some dull lifeless title to reflect what the film was supposed to be like.

[adjectivemarcus.livejournal.com]

Well, it's certainly neither dull nor lifeless. The interviews SLJ has given indicate he was possibly (he thinks0 a majorr influence in punching it up from Flight n+1 to SoaP, but if he did then I say hooray!