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Interview with Stephen on The Flintstones and his other movie Friends and Lovers
Thanks to Kathleen for the above picture. Visit her great 'The Young Riders' site Riders Coming!
Visit the official site of this movie at http://www.vivarockvegas.com
The film is based on the popular 1960's animated television series. More directly, this is a prequel to the first live-action Flintstones film starring John Goodman.
Here is a positive review from Mr Showbiz.
A Brit as all-American Stone Age icon Fred Flintstone? A Baldwin as Fred's dumpy, dopey sidekick, Barney Rubble? It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the spot-on casting of the lead roles is the most agreeable of several pleasant surprises that spring from The Flinstones in Viva Rock Vegas, an amusingly silly riff on the classic prime-time 'toon. Mark Addy, best known to American audiences as the chunkiest of The Full Monty's bumpin' 'n' grindin' blokes, reads his lines without a hint of his native accent and absolutely nails original Fred voicer Alan Reed's oft-impersonated baritone into the bargain. The resemblance is positively uncanny when he declares, "Barney, tonight we shower," or blusters to a snooty socialite, "I'm Fred Flintstone, of the Fredozoic Flintstones." Equally nifty is the tapping of Stephen Baldwin (brother to Alec, Daniel, and Billy) to play Barney — the youngest Baldwin's goofy chuckle and blank-faced charm are perfect, and both he and Addy demonstrate fine comic timing.
The plot is much more of a romp than the convoluted saga of adoption and office politics that weighed down 1994's The Flintstones. Brian Levant, who also helmed that film, has a lot more fun here by imagining Fred and Barney as swingin' bachelors on the make, and showing us their first encounter with vampy drive-in waitress Betty O'Shale (Jane Krakowski, Ally McBeal's gossipy office secretary) and disaffected young heiress Wilma Slaghoople (Kristen Johnston of 3rd Rock From the Sun). Will callow casino magnate Chip Rockefeller (Dharma and Greg's Thomas Gibson) woo Wilma away from bronto-crane operator Fred? Will Betty's fling with (groan) "rock" star Mick Jagged (Alan Cumming) become a permanent arrangement?
Naturally not, but the consistently quotable quips and imaginative effects work (courtesy of Rhythm and Hues and Jim Henson's Creature Shop) belie the familiarity of the inane plot twists. Best of all is the inclusion of the Great Gazoo, a Flintstones staple entirely left out of the 1994 film — Cumming also plays this role, inheriting the mantle of TV Gazoo Harvey Korman (who has a cameo as Wilma's doting dad), and he's a scream. Kids are certain to love The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, but Mom and Dad won't mind going along — it's a yabba-dabba-delight.
--Cody Clark
Premise: Quoting the press release, this flashback/prequel is... "the story of everyone's favorite Stone Age family, taking a step further back in time when Fred Flintstone, the boy from the wrong side of the rocks, courts the beautiful, young heiress Wilma Slaghoople. Along with best friend Barney Rubble, and his future fiancee Betty, Fred and Wilma head off for a romantic weekend in Rock Vegas, the hottest rock resort on the continent."
Where's Dino?: It's rumored that Dino will appear (computer-animated) as Fred's puppy.
Filming: This movie started filming on April 12th, 1999 in the Los Angeles area.
Genres: Kids, Comedy, Eye Candy
Greg's Preview Thoughts: Following the sequel boom of the 1990's, it looks like a new trendlet for the 2000's might be the "prequel", as new movies on the way (or in the works) include everything from the Star Wars films to the Dumb and Dumber prequel being written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, to the rumors that Scream 3 will include a prequel segment. One obvious reason that franchises turn to prequels is that this allows them to introduce new (younger) actors into the roles of familiar characters in a way that makes sense within the franchise. Also, a prequel can avoid the problems of "been there, done that", if the concept is removed far enough from the original film. And so we have The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, which promises to show us the origins of the Flintstones clan.
Mark Addy stars as the younger Fred Flintstone, in his first major American role following his breakthrough performance in The Full Monty. It should be interesting to see how Addy portrays the young Fred, as besides the obvious physical similarities, he comes across as being less boisterous than either the cartoon or John Goodman. (though I honestly base that description mostly on the shy man seen in The Full Monty.) The most dead-on casting decision in this film probably has to be Kristen Johnson, whose regal bearing and snappy demeanor seem perfect for the young Wilma. Joan Collins as the younger version of the role Elizabeth Taylor played (though she's really only one year younger than her) sounds like a good fit as well. Rounding out the cast are Stephen Baldwin as the young Barney (who looks like he's having fun with this part) and Jane Krakowski as a Betty who is a near living image of the original cartoon version.
It's interesting to note that Universal Pictures is actually launching two live-action adaptations of popular 1960's cartoon TV shows for release during the summer of 2000, with the other being Rocky and Bullwinkle. With both of these high-profile family-oriented films on the way, Universal is clearly making a strong bid for the family audience that Disney has the reputation of having a strong grip on. Additionally, both films obviously benefit Universal's theme parks well, as both films have corresponding attractions in Florida.
With its focus on familiar characters going back to the roots, complete with a newly imagined world that is more sparkly than the original, this new Flintstones looks to be one of the strongest choices for family viewing, complete with a premise and cast that you don't have to worry about being too "grown up" for the younger kids. With its dinosaurs and other prehistoric visual keystones (get it?), this film should be one to watch in the months ahead, as we hopefully get more glimpses at what's heading our way. Stay tuned!
Christy recently worked as an extra on the set. Thanks for sharing you story with us.
Greetings fellow Stephen Baldwin fans!
I recently had the opportunity to work as an extra on the set of Stephen’s new movie The Flintstones, Viva Rock Vegas. The set was really awesome! They had crated a bedrock themed Vegas out in Sun Valley. Even though the days were long (13 hours each day) everyone from cast members down to craft services were so nice. A few of us got the opportunity to chat with Stephen as he visited our tent for pictures. Stephen plays the part of Barney Rubble, and was doing an excellent job! The costumes were great! My costume was a tight red leather dress with purple fur on the top and bottom. The wonderfully talented hair and make-up people made my hair into a giant bee-hive. The best part of my outfit was NO SHOES!!. The movie is scheduled to open summer of 2000. So be sure to check it out!!
There was recently a story about the film on 'Entertainment Tonight'. The set looks amazing. It even had 'Melrock Place' which looked like a stone-ages version of the Melrose apartment building. Here are some pics of Mark and Stephen on the set.
The movie is a prequel. You can see Stephen in quicktime or real video giving a short interview at the oscars about the film. It takes approx 10 min to download the software. For those who can't be bothered, here is the transcript.
STEPHEN: I'm doing THE FLINTSTONES for Universal and I start in about three weeks.
TED: and who do you play?
STEPHEN: I play Barney Rubble. It's called a prequel, it's kinda like the Star Wars thing, it's a sequel but in story time it's what happens before, it's when Fred and Barney meet Wilma and Betty.
TED: but you wouldn't know anything about being a caveman would you?
STEPHEN: (points to his wife) I'll have to direct you to my wife to answer that question actually.
FLINTSTONES MOVIE ARTICLES
Stone Age Collins
Joan Collins will take Elizabeth Taylor's role in Viva Rock Vegas
Dynasty star Joan Collins is to head an all-new cast in a follow-up to The Flintstones, which starts filming in April.
The 64-year-old actress will play Pearl laghoople, thepart taken by Elizabeth Taylor in the original. Full Monty star Mark Addy plays Fred Flintstone with Stephen Baldwin co-starring as Barney Rubble. The film, called Viva Rock Vegas, is a prequel to the 1994 hit and sees newly-weds Fred and Wilma in Stone Age Vegas. John Goodman and Elizabeth Perkins played Fred and Wilma Flintstone in the first film, while Rick Moranis and Rosie O'Donnell played Barney and Betty Rubble. The Hanna-Barbera cartoon series ran for six years from 1960. It is still repeated around the world today.
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Alan Cumming, who won a Tony for his performance in ``Cabaret'' on Broadway, has signed to play the Great Kazoo in ``The Flintstones -- Viva Rock Vegas'' for Universal. He joins Mark Addy as Fred, Stephen Baldwin as Barney, Kristen Johnston as Wilma and Jane Krakowski as Betty. The Great Kazoo was the alien who popped in on Fred's shoulder from time to time to offer his wisdom. Cumming's other credits include ``Romy & Michele's High School Reunion,'' ``Emma,'' ``Goldeneye,'' ``Circle of Friends'' and the upcoming ``Urban Folk Tales,'' ``Eyes Wide Shut,'' ''Plunkett & McLean'' and ``Titus Andronicus.''