News > Weinsteins Face Off with Filmmakers, Fans Over Fanboys

Written by David Morgan

It seems Harvey Weinstein messed with the wrong filmmakers when he decided to reshoot and reedit Kyle Newman's Fanboys. Fans of the indie comedy are threatening a boycott for this weekend's Superhero Movie if the original cut of Fanboys is not released in theaters, instead of the studio's version. Currently, neither has any release date.

The film is "about four diehard Star Wars fans who break into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch in order to see The Phantom Menace on the eve of its release." Shooting wrapped over two years ago with then-up-and-comers Seth Rogen, Kristen Bell, Dan Fogler, and Jay Baruchel. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the different versions stem from a "cancer subplot" that makes the film "a dramedy in the vein of Stand By Me," rather than the straight comedy that the Weinsteins are interested in. The filmmakers call the cancer subplot the "heart" of the movie, as a primary character's diagnosis is what sets off the adventure that follows.

Weinstein hired Steve Brill (Drillbit Taylor) to direct the reshoots, and has noted that this second version performed slightly better in test-screenings. TWC has recently announced that both version will be available on DVD, though this has far from satisfied his opponents.

A spokesperson for The 501st, the group name for the protesters, had this to say about the double-DVD announcement:

This is clearly a vain attempt by the Weinstein Co. to avert Star Wars fans' impending boycott of all of their films. It's not going to work, Darth Weinstein. There was never any doubt that you would release both versions of the movie on DVD, probably months apart, so as to leech as much money from Star Wars fans as possible. Our boycott will continue until the Weinstein Co. announces that they are returning control of Fanboys to the Star Wars fans who made it, releasing the original version in theaters and doing away with their anti-fan version of the film altogether.

The company has reportedly received over 300,000 emails on the subject. Wow. That's a whole lot of outrage from people who have likely never seen the film. At least the film they've arbitrarily chosen to boycott is only Superhero Movie. No great loss there.

I must say, however, I'm eager to see Billy Dee Williams play Judge Reinhold.