Americathon

Infobox Film
name = Americathon


image_size = 200px
caption = US VHS cover for the film
director = Neal Israel
producer = Joe Roth
writer = Phil Proctor &
Peter Bergman (play and adaptation)
Neal Israel &
Michael Mislove &
Monica McGowan Johnson (screenplay)
starring = John Ritter
Harvey Korman
Peter Riegert
Fred Willard
Jay Leno
Chief Dan George
Zane Busby
Meat Loaf
Elvis Costello
Howard Hesseman
George Carlin
narrator = George Carlin
music = Tom Scott
cinematography = Gerald Hirschfeld
editing = John C. Howard
distributor = United Artists
released = August 10, 1979 (USA)
runtime = 86 min.
country = U.S.A./West Germany
language = English
budget = Unknown
gross = $6,171,763
amg_id = 1:2079
imdb_id = 0078766

"Americathon" (also known as "Americathon 1998") is a 1979 comedy starring John Ritter, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, Harvey Korman, and Nancy Morgan, with narration by George Carlin, based on a play by Firesign Theatre alumni Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman. Others credited in the film include Elvis Costello, Jay Leno, Meat Loaf, Tommy Lasorda, and Chief Dan George.

The premise of the film is that, sometime in the then-near future (actually 1998), the USA has run out of oil, and many Americans are literally living in their (now stationary) cars and either jog or ride bicycles to travel. The federal government, housed in "The Western White House" (a sub-leased condominium in Marina del Rey, California), is near bankruptcy and in danger of being foreclosed by a cartel of Native Americans in control of Nike Inc. (which has been renamed "National Indian Knitting Enterprise"). President Chet Roosevelt (John Ritter) hires television consultant Eric McMerkin (Peter Riegert) to help produce a national raffle. Instead, they decide that the only way enough money can be raised to save America is to run a telethon, and hire TV celebrity Monty Rushmore (Harvey Korman) to host it.

The soundtrack features "It's A Beautiful Day" by The Beach Boys. Dorothy Stratten appears, uncredited, as one of the stage dancers. John Carradine was to have played "Uncle Sam" in this film, but his scenes were edited.

atirical Predictions

Since the storyline was set 20 years into the future, several satirical forecasts were made. Surprisingly, several of them came true:
* The People's Republic of China embracing capitalism and becoming a global economic superpower.
* Cliques of Native Americans becoming wealthy (although in reality much of their wealth would come from the gaming industry, mostly from tribal casinos).
* Nike becoming a huge multinational conglomerate (In 1979, their "Tailwind" running shoe was just starting to gain popularity).
* Vietnam becoming a major tourist attraction among Asia's wealthy and powerful.
* The continued existence and popularity of The Beach Boys in 1998.
* The creation of a "Western White House" (however it would serve as a vacation home).
* The collapse of the USSR.
* The depletion of US crude oil production.
* Jogging suits becoming fashionable as casual wear.
* A panhandler asks for "$25 for a cup of coffee" -- predicting expensive specialty coffee.
* The televised boxing match between a mother and son predicts reality television
* The President of the United States is a relative of a prior President

Cameos & Inside Jokes

* Director Neal Israel has a cameo as a protesting Rabbi holding a picket sign reading "The President Is A Yutz" (Yiddish for "a stupid, clueless person").
* In a narrated scene where people are riding bicycles to a take-out restaurant, a sign reading "Chang Kai Chef - Communist Chinese Food" can be seen in the background. The menu sign offers such items as "Mao Tse Tongue on Rye", "Great Wall Meat Balls", "Gang of Four Combo", and "Teng-Tang". The bottom of the menu sign reads "No Russian Dressing. Stamp Out Imperialism."
* In a scene where Eric McMerkin is reading a list of "Government Approved" performers, the names of "Proctor & Bergman" (the authors of the original play) can be seen fifth on the list, credited as "Comics".
* Harvey Korman's character "Monty Rushmore" is named after Mount Rushmore.
* The Del Rubio triplets can be seen performing "America the Beautiful" behind several posing bodybuilders.

Promotion

A photo novel of the film was also released in 1979.

To promote the movie, in 1979 Ted Coombs roller skated across the United States and back and gained a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Name usage

In 1984, New York City public radio station WNYC sponsored a marathon of American music dubbed, "Americathon '84". [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01E4DD133BF934A25751C0A962948260]

References

External links

* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0078766/ Americathon] listing at IMDB
* [http://www.badmovieplanet.com/3btheater/a/americathon.html Bad Movie Planet review]