The Wizard of Speed and Time (1988)

A Hollywood filmmaker (Mike Jittlov) makes a short for an evil film studio. Unbeknownest to him, the producer has placed a bet of $25,000 that he won't come up with anything with a use. ... See full summary »

Director:

Mike Jittlov

Writers:

Mike Jittlov, Richard Kaye (additional dialogue)

Stars:

Mike Jittlov, Richard Kaye, Paige Moore

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mike Jittlov	...	Mike Jittlov / The Wizard / Torch Carrier (Wizard Film)
Richard Kaye	...	Harvey Bookman
Paige Moore	...	Cindy Lite / Dancer / Pretty Hitchhiker (Wizard Film)
Deven Chierighino	...	Brian Lucas / Photographer (Wizard Film) (as David Conrad)
Steve Brodie	...	Lucky Straeker
John Massari	...	Steve Shostakovich / Photographer (Wizard Film)
Gary Schwartz	...	Canadian Thug
Frank LaLoggia	...	American Thug
Philip Michael Thomas	...	Policeman Mickey Polanko
Lynda Aldon	...	Policewoman Minnie Smith
Baron	...	Policedog Pluto
Arnetia Walker	...	Tina Dreem / Running Girl
Ben Kronen	...	C.C. de Schwartz
Angelique Pettyjohn	...	Dora Belair
Will Ryan	...	All the Unions / Mr. President (voice) (as William Z. Ryan)

Storyline

A Hollywood filmmaker (Mike Jittlov) makes a short for an evil film studio. Unbeknownest to him, the producer has placed a bet of $25,000 that he won't come up with anything with a use. Luckily, our film creator gets the help of his friends.

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Plot Keywords:

film within a film | stop motion animation | filmmaking | autobiographical | based on short film | 

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Taglines:

His Life Is a Special Effect...

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Musical | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Mike Jittlov's domain

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Czarnoksieznik predkosci i czasu

Filming Locations:

902 Maltman Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,535,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jittlov / Kaye Productions, Rochambeau Productions (I), Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The seal of one of the film unions is a vulture holding a twisted strip of film in its talons.

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Goofs

A character makes a continuity error. In Mike's film-within-a-film, the Wizard takes Cindy to Hollywood. She phones her friends back home, who all run out into the street hoping to see the Wizard, and Cindy is somehow in that group too.

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Quotes

Brian: Cash.
Bookman: Cash? Whaddaya mean, "Cash?"
Brian: You know.
[holds up a dollar bill]
Brian: This stuff.
Mike: It's green with little president's pictures on it.

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Crazy Credits

The last one is "The Moon copyright 4,538,000 BC, The Earth. World rights reserved."

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Connections

Referenced in Awkward Thanksgiving (2014)

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Soundtracks

Intimita
by John Massari

User Reviews

For anyone who has tried to make a movie in this town.

I first met Mr. Jittlov when this film was in script form, after Regis Philbin, hosting a more local talk show, implored on the air, after showing one of his amazing short films, for someone to give a man this talented more work. I also first saw "The Wizard of Speed and Time" in its original short film form. Both that and the feature film are unique works of entertainment that pre-date the imagery and style of Tim Burton's first feature, "Pee Wee's Big Adventure." Like Mr. Burton, Mike was an animator at Disney whose work went beyond their normal ranges of thinking. I am honored to have known such an amazing talent and grateful that this film exists and will live forever. Any work that acknowledges the only Oscar winning score by one of my favorite film composers, Bernard Herrmann, deserves additional praise beyond its own magnificent merits. It is a film that should be required viewing for all independent film makers who still possess that child-like wonder needed to truly appreciate the magic of motion pictures.