MST3K versions of Sea Monster and Megalon

[Tyler]

Could the MST3K versions of Sea Monster and Megalon ever be released on DVD and/or Blu-ray? Officially, I mean. The Gamera films they did are getting a boxset from Shout! Factory, so I was just wondering about this. I've never seen them so a double feature DVD or something would be neat.

[wataru]

I dont see the harm. Theyve already been aired out the ass when Comedy Central showed MST3K.

[Goji]

I think the issue is that the ones releasing the films would have to have the rights to both MSTK, AND the Godzilla film they're releasing. In the case of SEA MONSTER, Sony would have to have the license to release MSTK3000, which they don't. With Shout! Factory, it was mere coincidence.

I'm not sure that Toho would even allow official releases of these. I don't think they allowed them to be on the show in the first place, considering MEGALON was in the public domain at the time, and the producers of the show thought that SEA MONSTER was as well. They were lucky they didn't get sued by Toho back then, actually. The MSTK version of MEGALON did technically have an official release at one point, but it was pulled from the box set and replaced with THE GIANT GILA MONSTER. If that's anything to go by, I doubt we'll ever see an official release unfortunately.

[wataru]

I'll say it again in this thread..

It's not about the movie, it's about the characters. Toho has copyrights to the names Godzilla, Megaon, JJ, Gigan, etc etc and everytime a public domain of GvsM came out, Toho was losing money out the ass.

If Toho gets the rights to GvsM back - Im sure theyll let MST3K put out GvsM and EHOTD but they might get a release with Toho getting some profit. You might pay $19.99 for a single movie instead of $11.99 - $14.99.

[Legion1979]

Toho would never let a company release a DVD of a show explicitly making fun of it's own product. SHOUT Factory was able to work it out because they had licensed MST3K AND Gamera.

[Tyler]

Damn you, Toho.

[wataru]

Toho would never let a company release a DVD of a show explicitly making fun of it's own product. SHOUT Factory was able to work it out because they had licensed MST3K AND Gamera.

Well there IS GFW...

[HayesAJones]

It'd be awesome if they were released.

[Showa Gyaos]

Not that I know much about such business affairs, but can't Toho do whatever they want with their films since they are the company who made them? I thought giving a company the rights to said film wouldn't affect Toho's ownership?

[wataru]

Toho would never let a company release a DVD of a show explicitly making fun of it's own product. SHOUT Factory was able to work it out because they had licensed MST3K AND Gamera.

Legion - I dont agree with this. Godzilla is more famous in America for being cheesey.

[o.supreme]

Should they? Absolutely. But "power to the fans" really dosen't make much sense because unfortunately the fans have no power. I know one of these two films is easily viewable/searchable on google.com video (cant remember which), and one of Rhino's old MST DVD sets (volume 10) had a very limited release of G vs M before it was forced to change (replaced by the Giant Gila Monster V 10.2). I've seen them on ebay occasionally, but they are expensive. Man I really need to get my MST3K VHS tapes back from the friend who borrowed them and convert these to DVD.

[Legion1979]

Toho would never let a company release a DVD of a show explicitly making fun of it's own product. SHOUT Factory was able to work it out because they had licensed MST3K AND Gamera.

Legion - I dont agree with this. Godzilla is more famous in America for being cheesey.

So? Toho is protective of their property either way. The last thing I see them doing is allowing SHOUT Factory to release the MST3K versions of two of their Godzilla films. Keep in mind that this is the same company that forced Rhino to recall MST3K volume 10 to remove Godzilla vs Megalon. Yes, Godzilla is famous for being cheesy, but Toho isn't going to allow a product to be legally available on the market that makes fun of him.

[wataru]

I believe the forced recall of Rhino's release had nothing to do with it making fun of it. I believe it had more to do with Toho owning the character/actor/actress names and not getting paid for them.

If Toho cared about their property being made fun of - they would have their lawyers force TKT to close.

Any publicity is good publicity.

[Legion1979]

If Toho cared about their property being made fun of - they would have their lawyers force TKT to close.[/quote]

Isn't TKT just a website? How exactly does that have anything to do with a company selling something like MST3K on DVD?

Any publicity is good publicity.

Not as far as Toho is concerned.

[Hellspawn28]

They could try to pay for the rights for it then I doubt it since Toho would likely change them a lot of money. Maybe Toho will let do RiffTrax of the other Godzilla movies instend.

[Tyler]

But "power to the fans" really dosen't make much sense because unfortunately the fans have no power.

That's the joke.

The last thing I see them doing is allowing SHOUT Factory to release the MST3K versions of two of their Godzilla films.

I was just using Shout as an example.

[omgitsgodzilla]

Toho would never let a company release a DVD of a show explicitly making fun of it's own product. SHOUT Factory was able to work it out because they had licensed MST3K AND Gamera.

I don't see this set on their site. All I see is a set of the Gamera movies.

[gvamp]

Toho would never let a company release a DVD of a show explicitly making fun of it's own product. SHOUT Factory was able to work it out because they had licensed MST3K AND Gamera.

I don't see this set on their site. All I see is a set of the Gamera movies.

It's not out yet, it's in the works.

[Gawdziller]

From what I've been told from my fellow MST fans, the reason Godzilla vs. Megalon was pulled from Volume 10 is because Krypton International told Rhino that they owned the rights to the English print. That, however, turned out to be false. Toho may have had a hand in it, though, since they owned the characters, and in a gag on the replacement Gila Monster disc, Frank Conniff joked that "When Toho said 'Noho' I thought they meant yes."

The big stepping stone in getting Gamera released was Shout acquiring distribution rights to the original Gamera series. Early on, they stated that Kadokowa, who currently owns the character, were initially against the release of the MST episodes because they didn't like the mocking treatment MST delivered. Whether or not Shout convinced them or not, I'm not sure. If the Japanese distributors have a say in it (and I think they do, especially if the character itself is company owned), they'd have to get their okay to go ahead.

If they want Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, they have to go through Sony. So far, no Sony films have been licensed for MST on DVD. What is interesting about the print of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster used is that it was made by a company that I am not aware of, and includes footage of Son of Godzilla in the opening (which is also owned by Sony). But if they need permission from someone else to use this exact print, I'm not certain. I imagine not.

As for Godzilla vs. Megalon, Shout has already begun rereleasing episodes Rhino lost the rights to, but single disc and only through their own website. If they wanted Megalon, they'd have to find out who has it and get their permission. We already know it's not Krypton, but that leaves hundreds of other companies to check out.

And then there is going through Toho. That would be like pushing a rock uphill.

[daijinryuu775489]

Frankly, I already own these episodes. Even if the episodes aren't released mainstream by Shout Factory, it's relatively easy and cheap to obtain the mst3k versions online. My ownership of the episodes wouldn't be possible unless fans had been spurred on to tape them. "Keep circulating the tapes"...