Miss Cast Away
Encyclopedia
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (also known as Miss Cast Away and as Silly Movie 2 as titled for re-release in 2008.) is a 2004 American
spoof
anarchic comedy
B movie
written and directed by Bryan Michael Stoller
, produced on a $
2 million budget. It features Michael Jackson
in his final scripted film performance.
) and co-pilot Mike Saunders (Schlatter
) have to take care of their passengers, while avoiding the dangers of Jurassic Pork (a giant prehistoric pig) and a group of apes busy trying to relaunch Noah's Ark.
An R2D2-like droid projects an image of agent M.J. (Jackson
) who has been assigned by the Vatican to manipulate the castaways for the Vatican's own purposes.
was able to get famous actors, such as Jerry Lewis
, Pat Morita
, and Bernie Kopell
to appear in cameo roles for the movie.
Michael Jackson
's scenes were filmed on Neverland Ranch
, where Jackson lived during that time.
was given permission to shoot Michael Jackson's scenes at Neverland Ranch. He later said that while this was exciting to be given such a rare privilege, it presented its disruptions to the filming process at times. In an MTV interview, he said:
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls was due to be released in theaters in the summer of 2004, but Jackson's legal problems during that time made the movie's distributors wary of releasing the movie. Director Stoller explained in a news release: "We've sort of had to put things on hold. It's a shame because Jackson has an amazing vision." The movie release date was also put in doubt due to worries of executives at 20th Century Fox
that the title was too close to Tom Hanks' hit film Cast Away
.
The film was shown in three film festival
s during 2004, was shown on television in Russia in 2005, and was finally released to DVD in the United States in July 2005.
In July 2011, it was announced in a press release that the film will have its world premiere on My Family TV
, Retro Television Network
and Tuff TV
in Fall 2011, followed by a special limited DVD release featuring 20 minutes of unreleased footage of Jackson's involvement in the film. Curiously, the press release did not mention the film by name, only that it was described falsely as "Michael Jackson's last movie" (while this film was Jackson's last scripted appearance, his actual last movie was his concert film, Michael Jackson's This Is It
, in 2009). The press release only gave away the fact that it was Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls by its description: "The film is a comedy that spoofs movies and television programs like Miss Congeniality, Planet of the Apes, Cast Away, Love Boat, Gilligan's Island, The Sixth Sense, Jurassic Park, Men in Black and more. Michael Jackson plays the role of Agent MJ. Jackson's scenes were shot at his Neverland Ranch home."
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
spoof
Parody film
A parody film is a comedy that satirizes other film genres or films. Although the genre is often overlooked, parody films are commonly profitable at the box office...
anarchic comedy
Anarchic comedy film
Anarchic comedy is a genre of cinema using nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness humor. Films of this nature stem from a theatrical history of anarchic comedy on the stage. Jokes and visual gags are utilized, usually in a non sequitur manner that eschews narrative for sheer absurdity...
B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
written and directed by Bryan Michael Stoller
Bryan Michael Stoller
Bryan Michael Stoller is an award winning independent filmmaker whose popular films include Turn of the Blade, The Random Factor, Miss Cast Away, Undercover Angel, and Light Years Away....
, produced on a $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2 million budget. It features Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
in his final scripted film performance.
Plot
A plane carrying beauty contestants crash lands on a deserted island. Captain Maximus Powers (RobertsEric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
) and co-pilot Mike Saunders (Schlatter
Charlie Schlatter
Charles Thomas "Charlie" Schlatter is an American actor. He has starred in numerous TV series and films, and is well-known for his role in the series Diagnosis: Murder as Dr. Jesse Travis with Dick Van Dyke, and for his role in the film 18 Again! with George Burns...
) have to take care of their passengers, while avoiding the dangers of Jurassic Pork (a giant prehistoric pig) and a group of apes busy trying to relaunch Noah's Ark.
An R2D2-like droid projects an image of agent M.J. (Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
) who has been assigned by the Vatican to manipulate the castaways for the Vatican's own purposes.
Cast
- Eric RobertsEric RobertsEric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
as Captain Maximus Powers - Charlie SchlatterCharlie SchlatterCharles Thomas "Charlie" Schlatter is an American actor. He has starred in numerous TV series and films, and is well-known for his role in the series Diagnosis: Murder as Dr. Jesse Travis with Dick Van Dyke, and for his role in the film 18 Again! with George Burns...
as Mike Saunders - Joyce GiraudJoyce GiraudJoyce Giraud is a Puerto Rican actress and model. She is a two time Miss Puerto Rico and the second runner up in the 1998 Miss Universe pageant. She had previously represented Puerto Rico at Miss World 1994....
as Julie - Stuart PankinStuart PankinStuart Pankin is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Pankin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Dickinson College, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Columbia University.-Career:...
as Noah - Evan Marriott as Joe Millionaire
- Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
as Agent M.J. - Eugene Greytak as Your Holiness (as Gene Greytak)
- Richard Halpern as Groovy Guy
Cameo appearances
Director Bryan Michael StollerBryan Michael Stoller
Bryan Michael Stoller is an award winning independent filmmaker whose popular films include Turn of the Blade, The Random Factor, Miss Cast Away, Undercover Angel, and Light Years Away....
was able to get famous actors, such as Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
, Pat Morita
Pat Morita
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
, and Bernie Kopell
Bernie Kopell
Bernard Morton "Bernie" Kopell is an American television character actor who is probably best known for his roles as Dr. Adam Bricker in The Love Boat and KAOS agent Siegfried in Get Smart...
to appear in cameo roles for the movie.
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's scenes were filmed on Neverland Ranch
Neverland Ranch
Neverland Valley Ranch is a developed property in Santa Barbara County, California, most famous for being a home of American entertainer Michael Jackson from 1988 to 2005. Jackson named the property after Neverland, the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan, a boy who never grows up...
, where Jackson lived during that time.
Film production and release
Bryan Michael StollerBryan Michael Stoller
Bryan Michael Stoller is an award winning independent filmmaker whose popular films include Turn of the Blade, The Random Factor, Miss Cast Away, Undercover Angel, and Light Years Away....
was given permission to shoot Michael Jackson's scenes at Neverland Ranch. He later said that while this was exciting to be given such a rare privilege, it presented its disruptions to the filming process at times. In an MTV interview, he said:
"It's his home. It's all normal to him that there's a train running around the property tooting its horn," the director recalled of a noisy interruption that appears among the DVD's bonus features. "[Another time] his staff brought us soup, so we were sipping soup and talking, and these two elephants walk by outside. Michael's continuing to sip his soup like a fly flew by, and I turn to Michael and look at him and he's not even acknowledging the elephants.
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls was due to be released in theaters in the summer of 2004, but Jackson's legal problems during that time made the movie's distributors wary of releasing the movie. Director Stoller explained in a news release: "We've sort of had to put things on hold. It's a shame because Jackson has an amazing vision." The movie release date was also put in doubt due to worries of executives at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
that the title was too close to Tom Hanks' hit film Cast Away
Cast Away
Cast Away is a 2000 drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks as a FedEx employee stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific. The film depicts his successful attempts to survive on the island using remnants of his plane's cargo, as well as his...
.
The film was shown in three film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s during 2004, was shown on television in Russia in 2005, and was finally released to DVD in the United States in July 2005.
In July 2011, it was announced in a press release that the film will have its world premiere on My Family TV
My Family TV
My Family TV is a United States general entertainment television network jointly owned by ValCom and Luken Communications, and based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.-History:...
, Retro Television Network
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
and Tuff TV
Tuff TV
TUFF TV is a digital broadcast network geared to men created by Lou Seals of Seals Entertainment Company LLC in a joint venture with Henry Luken of Luken Communications, the company that owns and operates RTV. Besides broadcast and cable distribution, TUFF TV Media Group, LLC plans to distribute...
in Fall 2011, followed by a special limited DVD release featuring 20 minutes of unreleased footage of Jackson's involvement in the film. Curiously, the press release did not mention the film by name, only that it was described falsely as "Michael Jackson's last movie" (while this film was Jackson's last scripted appearance, his actual last movie was his concert film, Michael Jackson's This Is It
Michael Jackson's This Is It
Michael Jackson's This Is It is a 2009 American documentary–concert film directed by Kenny Ortega that documents Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, but canceled due to his death eighteen days prior on June 25. It...
, in 2009). The press release only gave away the fact that it was Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls by its description: "The film is a comedy that spoofs movies and television programs like Miss Congeniality, Planet of the Apes, Cast Away, Love Boat, Gilligan's Island, The Sixth Sense, Jurassic Park, Men in Black and more. Michael Jackson plays the role of Agent MJ. Jackson's scenes were shot at his Neverland Ranch home."