# Countdown: Just 9 days to "Snakes on a Plane" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092 "2006-08-10T01:33:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/41 "2006-08-11T01:48:40Z")
I’m very happy to report the sigthing of a _ **Snakes on a Plane Aerial Banner** _ over San Jose this afternoon. It really made my day! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/42 "2006-08-11T04:06:08Z")
[QUOTE=mr. jp] What do you reckon the inevitable sequel will be called? My vote is Pterodactyls on a Ferry. [/QUOTE] I was thinking of adapting a [true story](http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/09/jetski.sturgeon.ap/index.html) A popular doper who is an MD at a prison decides to ride a [Jet Ski](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=383302) on the lake by his house. **Sturgeon on a Surgeon** ---
**Author:** ![Carlyjay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Carlyjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carlyjay)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/43 "2006-08-11T13:00:34Z")
[QUOTE=JThunder] “Snakes on a Plane”? What’s it about? [/QUOTE] You, sir, just made me snort tea. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/44 "2006-08-11T13:13:24Z")
[QUOTE=mr. jp] What do you reckon the inevitable sequel will be called? [/QUOTE] If I had my way, I’d make a movie about people watching “Snakes on a Plane” as an in-flight movie. I’d call it “Snakes on a Plane on a Plane”. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/45 "2006-08-11T13:46:41Z")
Samuel L. Jackson is headed to Mars on a rocket full of snakes. Reptiles on the Projectile Hit them mutherfuckin’ retrorockets. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/46 "2006-08-11T13:53:08Z")
> [@](#): > > What do you reckon the inevitable sequel will be called? **Ladders on a Plane** But only the British will get it. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/47 "2006-08-11T14:05:24Z")
This masterpiece isn’t as well known by the general public as it is by Dopers. The shorts were shown before a movie I watched a couple of weeks ago - most of the audience laughed at it. I think they believe it is a comedy. I fear it will really, really tank. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/48 "2006-08-11T16:21:58Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Only if the movie takes itself seriously, and I’m not sure that’s going to happen. [/QUOTE] The previews make it appear it really does take itself seriously, and not in a funny way. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/49 "2006-08-11T16:51:46Z")
[QUOTE=dropzone] The previews make it appear it really does take itself seriously, and not in a funny way. [/QUOTE] I disagree; from interviews with the production team, it seems to me like they’re plaing it camp, camp, and more camp. I think the creative forces are aware that a lot of people are coming to see it because it sounds like the cheesiest thing since “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”. There was an article a few months(?) ago about how they went in for reshoots to add more nudity, violence, and lines like “I want these motherfuckin’ snakes off this motherfuckin’ plane!” Seems to me like they’re playing with it. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/50 "2006-08-11T17:06:57Z")
Thank goodness for that, cuz the previews make it look like it sux. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/51 "2006-08-11T18:32:56Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] **Ladders on a Plane** But only the British will get it. [/QUOTE] Don’t the British call it “Chutes and Ladders”? Or have I been whooshed? ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/52 "2006-08-12T01:22:41Z")
[QUOTE=kimera] At comic con, a huge convention for comic fans, Samuel L Jackson, a snake handler and the producers spoke to a packed room about their movie. [/QUOTE] I was at Comic-Con for that session about the movie. This was in a hall that seats 6500, and I think it did fill up. One correction to what **kimera** wrote; it was the director that spoke, rather than producers. Anyway, I wanted to mention one thing about that session. Namely, that a 10-minute long clip from the middle of the film was shown on the hall’s video screens. My reaction to the clip was that I thought it was VERY intense, and it really impressed me. Based on that inspiration, I’m definitely planning to get to a screening ASAP after it opens. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/53 "2006-08-12T02:03:09Z")
My local theater has a great poster that I can’t find anywhere on the net. It’s a huge, subway-style poster that has panels, drawn like the panels in those emergency booklets they have on planes, you know the ones that show you to use the seat cusion as a floatation device, or to tuck your head between your legs. This one had things like (paraphrasing) Use your tray table to catch and hold snakes (showing a drawing of a guy doing just that) Use caution when stepping over dead bodies And several others I can’t remember. It was very very cute. I looked around for a picture of it but I can’t find one. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/54 "2006-08-12T02:03:46Z")
My local theater has a great poster that I can’t find anywhere on the net. It’s a huge, subway-style poster that has panels, drawn like the panels in those emergency booklets they have on planes, you know the ones that show you to use the seat cushion as a floatation device, or to tuck your head between your legs. This one had things like (paraphrasing) Use your tray table to catch and hold snakes (showing a drawing of a guy doing just that) Use caution when stepping over dead bodies And several others I can’t remember. It was very very cute. I looked around for a picture of it but I can’t find one. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/55 "2006-08-12T02:07:15Z")
Oh, sorry about the double post. It was taking forever to post so I used the opportunity to correct a typo then hit Submit again. Silly me. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/56 "2006-08-12T02:27:13Z")
[QUOTE=MrSquishy] Don’t the British call it “Chutes and Ladders”? Or have I been whooshed? [/QUOTE] Actually the Brits _do_ call it Snakes and Ladders. [Hasbro’s Chutes and Ladders®](http://www.hasbro.com/miltonbradley/myfirstgames/default.cfm?page=browse&product_id=8626) is an American version. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/57 "2006-08-12T18:55:15Z")
Here’s a good rule of thumb I’m paraphrasing from Scott McCloud: If there’s great buzz on an event still in the future, it’s the real deal. If the buzz is limited to the immediate present, it’s merely hype. This movie is hyped out the yang, has been for months, and there’s no way to match it. There is no way to make _Snakes On A Plane_ that will satisfy people unless you do a brilliant job showing what’s expected while simultaneously delivering some real surprises in plot, characterization and dialogue and skewering some expectations as well. It’s not impossible. But nothing I’ve seen in the support cast or fillmmaking talent suggests this is likely to happen. Everyone will have their hand in making this movie, including the fans: it will sound and look like it. At its finest moments, this film will be absolutely mediocre. A campy approach would be box office death for a movie like this, unless it managed to be entertainingly hyperviolent as well as campy. Camp hasn’t been profitable since _The Rocky Horror Picture Show._ I’m going to give this movie one and a half stars. I’m prepared to grade downward from there. I agree: this movie has been brilliantly marketed. –Askia ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/58 "2006-08-13T00:55:03Z")
[QUOTE=Askia] Camp hasn’t been profitable since _The Rocky Horror Picture Show._ [/quote] RHPS wasn’t profitable when it came out, but there have been tons of cult movies since then. Sight unseen? > [@dropzone](#): > > The previews make it appear it really does take itself seriously, and not in a funny way. I’ve seen them. Maybe I’m being too charitable, but it isn’t funny if they give the camp away in the previews. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/59 "2006-08-13T02:53:04Z")
I think I came at this dilemma (“is the movie actually gonna be any good”) in the wrong way in that last post, and I think the people who are saying “the movie can’t be as good as the hype” may not understand why people like me are so intent on seeing this thing. Let me try putting it this way: the movie will be more amusing for normal moviegoers, like the friends I’ve roped into this, if it’s self-mocking and self-aware. But whether it’s a self-aware B movie or a regular B movie, it’s still a B movie, which means a lot of us will have fun with it. If it’s not campy, I’ll have a ready supply of jokes. No matter how they actually make the movie, it’s still _Snakes on a Plane_. That’s why it’s bulletproof, and that’s what drew a lot of us. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092/60 "2006-08-13T04:33:52Z")
Hate to do this, but I meant to respond earlier… [QUOTE=mr. jp] What do you reckon the inevitable sequel will be called? [/QUOTE] _Snakin’ 2: Electric Bugaloo_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-just-9-days-to-snakes-on-a-plane/368092.md?page=4)