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:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on a three-minute demo reel Mike Jittlov made in 1977 in an attempt to get a job at Disney Studios.

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Goofs

In a shot of the studios from the air, the name is misspelled across the roof of one of the buildings ("Hollywod Studios" instead of "Hollywood Studios"). However, this misspelling is repeated in signs within the studio itself (ex. "Hollywod's Greatest Defects"), showing this not to be an error in the movie, but an intentional mistake to further demonstrate the incompetence of the studio.

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Quotes

[Mike tries to join the Directors' Union:]
Mike: Hello, hi.
Directors' Union Clerk: Can I help you?
Mike: Yes, how do I join the Directors' Union?
Directors' Union Clerk: You need to bring in a copy of the deal memo by your studio producer before you can pay your initiation fee and be cleared by Union Council, thank you...
Mike: Uh, excuse me, what is the initiation fee?
Directors' Union Clerk: Seven thousand dollars, with a hundred dollar application fee, two hundred dollars every quarter, and ten percent of your salary.
Mike: Uhhh, seven thousand dollars, what is that for?
Directors' Union Clerk: That's the ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The copyright notice explains that the movie is protected by the laws of the United States and other countries, and that unauthorized distribution, copying, etc would be unlawful. It then states: "And violators may be forced to see this movie day and night unto perpetuity." Then that: "The same above penalty shall apply to any transgressions against the creators of this movie." Finally: "And, have a nice day."

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Connections

Spoofs Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

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Soundtracks

It Ain't Necessarily So
(uncredited)
Composed by George Gershwin

User Reviews

A rare gem of a movie.

I first saw this movie back in 1989 with some friends of mine, we were in the habit of going to the video store and TRYING to find a movie none of us had seen. One trip brought us this rare gem. We watched it and were thoroughly amused by this story of Mike Jittlov vs. Hollywood. The stop-motion effects were simply amazing, executed with skill that would make ILM green with envy. The story was funny in a poking-fun-at-Hollywood-and-ourselves kind of way. NOTE: Our rental copy included the movies own hilarious trailer, this trailer does not seem to be included in copies available today (5 YEARS in the making! 5 DAYS in the theaters! ect). Watch it, love it, share it with your friends.