Buckaroo Banzai Trilogy: Difference between revisions
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(Peter Weller, the actor who played the title character, went on to have a career as an A-list actor, spurred on by his two wildly successful characters of Banzai and ''Robocop''; in this reality, the writers/producers retained the tone of the first film in the second and third, as well as keeping the cast as intact as possible and focusing on the plot point of 'Murphy' attempting to come to grips with his 'lost humanity'. ''Robocop 2'', by working this theme in a surprisingly sensitive manner that resonated with critics and moviegoers alike, was lauded as a superior film and was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award, as well.)
The success of ''Buckaroo Banzai'' (or ''Eighth Dimension'', as the fans refer to it) spawned an equally successful 1987 sequel - ''Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League'' - and led to the 1990 third film in the series, ''Buckaroo Banzai and The Reel World Marauders''. The fourth film in the series, released in 1993, was ''Buckaroo Banzai And The Forever Voyage''. Two more ''BB'' films were released; the last scheduled film - ''The Fall of Team Banzai'' was released on Christmas Day, 2007. However, because of the fan outcry and box-office grosses far above expectations, two more Buckaroo Banzai films were announced. The latest film - ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Team Banzai Reborn!'' - was released on Christmas Day, 2011. The next in the series, ''Buckaroo Banzai and the Soldiers of Infinity'', is scheduled for a 2015 release.
Plans have also been announced by BBC Television and the American pay-television network ''Starz!'' to produce a television series based on the adjunct collection of individuals worldwide known as ''The Blue Blaze Irregulars'' - the men, women and children who Team Banzai can call on for assistance and support in any crisis or misadventure. The first eight-episode series, tentatively titled ''The Return of The Lectoids'', is scheduled to air on the BBC and ''Starz!'' in late November of 2012. (Because of financial and copyright issues, the series was pushed back; it is now scheduled for a Summer 2014 airdate.)
The series was inspired by a tradition that began with a humorous celebrity cameo in ''World Crime League'' by former U.S. Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, who was a Blue Blaze Irregular and assisted Team Banzai in cutting through legal 'red tape'. The cameo was so lauded that it became a tradition for top-name celebrities from all walks of life to do unannounced cameos in Buckaroo Banzai films, using their actual real-world skills (so to speak) to assist Team Banzai. Two of the most famous cameos were Carl Sagan and Steven Hawking (in ''The Quantum War'') and James Randi (in ''Reel World Marauders'').
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