Gorilla Interrupted (partially lost original cut of sci-fi comedy film; 2003)

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Ray Grabowski (Rich Evans) dances while a UFO's laser beam lights up the Daley Plaza Menorah.

Status: Partially Lost/Found

Shot in 2002 and originally released in 2003, Gorilla Interrupted is an amateur sci-fi comedy film. It features the founding members of RedLetterMedia (Mike Stoklasa, Jay Bauman, and Rich Evans), in their first major collaboration. Deliberately "schlocky" and loosely plotted, the film features a punk rocker, a scientist, a safari hunter and a man who is given the power to transform into a gorilla getting tangled up in an alien invasion.

The film remained largely obscure until 2013, when RedLetterMedia released a remastered cut on DVD and digital download. This was a completely new edit created from the original source tapes, featuring newly created special effects and a replacement soundtrack among a myriad of other changes. While some changes were made for creative reasons, others were made for copyright concerns. The original cut featured various copyrighted images and audio, including images of Hell taken from Google Image Search[1] and a scene in which characters watch the 1988 Bette Midler film Beaches[2].

By far the most extensive change, however, was the removal of an entire sequence for music licensing reasons. The scene shows Rich Evans' character dancing in the Chicago streets whilst miming along to a song from the 1971 Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar as the alien saucers destroy the city around him.

While the 2013 cut is available from the RedLetterMedia website, the original 2003 cut is not. According to the video description of the original trailer[3], the 2003 cut was available on MySpace at some point, though the link is now dead.

The documentary accompanying Gorilla Interrupted, entitled How Not to Make a Movie, features the only available footage of the original cut. The DVD release also features a short "outtakes" segment for How Not to Make a Movie, which includes discussion of the lost Jesus Christ Superstar musical number.

Due to aforementioned copyright reasons and the obscurity of the film on original release, it is unlikely that the original 2003 cut will be released in future.

Gallery

Stoklasa, in-character as Mr. Plinkett, gives an overview of the film's production.

References