Movie Roles Kiss Turned Down - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Steve M. · 03-21-2012, 09:40 PM

Kiss could have been in theatrically released movies, but the stars of the TV movie "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" turned the offers down. It was the right thing for the freaky foursome to do in one instance.

They were offered the role of the Future Villain Band in the Beatles-related Sgt. Pepper movie. George Martin, who produced the soundtrack, recalled that the original idea was to have Mick Jagger play the villain rocker in this movie, but the producers couldn't get him. So they approached Kiss. They turned it down because they thought it wouldn't be good for their image. Well, of course - they were being asked to play the bad guys, and Kiss wanted to play good guys!

The role then went to Aerosmith. Aerosmith, therefore, was the third choice to perform the Abbey Road tune "Come Together" in this movie.

Eveyone came out smelling like roses from this. Kiss avoided being in a bad, commerically disastrous movie. Aerosmith received plaudits for their cover of "Come Together" - one of the very few good things to come out of the Sgt. Pepper movie. And the world got spared the sound of Kiss covering a Beatles song.

Aerosmith in Sgt. Pepper:

Vahan · 03-21-2012, 09:42 PM

I like the 1978 version of Sgt. Pepper. To me, it's my favorite "So Bad, It's Good" film.

Steve M. · 03-21-2012, 09:49 PM

Kiss was also approached to appear in the 1977 George Segal thriller Rollercoaster, about an amusement park ride inspector (played by Segal) on the trail of a pscyhopathic saboteur (Timothy Bottoms, who later played George W. Bush) who blows up rollercoaster tracks and causes the cars to fall off the rails. The guys in Kiss were asked to play themselvves as the rock and roll act at the grand opening of a new rollercaoster at the Magic Mountain theme park in Valencia, California. They said no. So, Sparks got the role.

Speaks was a band led by a pair of two brothers from California, Russell and Ron Mael, who were more successful in England than in their homeland. In the movie Rollercaoster, they are seen "performing" (actualy miming) their songs "Big Boy" and "Fill'er Up." Russell is the singer. I saw that movie, and I liked it. So things worked out pretty good for Sparks, I believe. Not so much for Kiss.

Sparks in Rollercoaster (Russell Mael shown at left, Ron Mael off-camera):

Steve M. · 03-21-2012, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vahan

I like the 1978 version of Sgt. Pepper. To me, it's my favorite "So Bad, It's Good" film.

Ha ha, to me it's just plain bad. IMHO.

JamesG · 03-21-2012, 09:56 PM

Sparks later said that accepting the role in Rollercoaster was their biggest career regret.

Steve M. · 03-21-2012, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesG

Sparks later said that accepting the role in Rollercoaster was their biggest career regret.

Really? Wow, I didn't know that. I don't think Sparks's segment was any worse (or better) than the "Another Girl" segment in the Beatles movie Help!

Oh, well, I liked Sparks's appearance in Rollercoaster. Some Sparks fans credit that movie to how they first learned about the band.

Steve M. · 03-22-2012, 04:17 PM

Russell Mael on Sparks's appearance in Rollercoaster:

"Yes, you did see Sparks performing "Big Boy" and "Fill'er Up" in the film Rollercoaster during your last airplane trip. No, we didn't know that the film was going to turn out like that. [The] Rollercoaster movie proves that you have to be continually careful of what you do . . .. You never know what's going to last and what's going to fall by the wayside, and man, does that last!"

03-21-2012, 09:40 PM	#1
Steve M. Back on the road to reality Forum Superstar Join Date: Nov 07, 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 33,274	Movie Roles Kiss Turned Down Kiss could have been in theatrically released movies, but the stars of the TV movie "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" turned the offers down. It was the right thing for the freaky foursome to do in one instance. They were offered the role of the Future Villain Band in the Beatles-related Sgt. Pepper movie. George Martin, who produced the soundtrack, recalled that the original idea was to have Mick Jagger play the villain rocker in this movie, but the producers couldn't get him. So they approached Kiss. They turned it down because they thought it wouldn't be good for their image. Well, of course - they were being asked to play the bad guys, and Kiss wanted to play good guys! The role then went to Aerosmith. Aerosmith, therefore, was the third choice to perform the Abbey Road tune "Come Together" in this movie. Eveyone came out smelling like roses from this. Kiss avoided being in a bad, commerically disastrous movie. Aerosmith received plaudits for their cover of "Come Together" - one of the very few good things to come out of the Sgt. Pepper movie. And the world got spared the sound of Kiss covering a Beatles song. Aerosmith in Sgt. Pepper: Attached Images
	__________________ I don't really get out a lot. When I do go out, I couldn't be happier. I love being in a nice milieu. I'm as happy as a clam. Just as long as I'm not in some club playing hip-hop. You hear that sort of thing in a lot of places. That's not my milieu. Rock and roll is good-time music. I love rock. So did my parents. Last edited by Steve M.; 03-22-2012 at 04:18 PM.

03-21-2012, 09:49 PM	#3
Steve M. Back on the road to reality Forum Superstar Join Date: Nov 07, 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 33,274	Kiss was also approached to appear in the 1977 George Segal thriller Rollercoaster, about an amusement park ride inspector (played by Segal) on the trail of a pscyhopathic saboteur (Timothy Bottoms, who later played George W. Bush) who blows up rollercoaster tracks and causes the cars to fall off the rails. The guys in Kiss were asked to play themselvves as the rock and roll act at the grand opening of a new rollercaoster at the Magic Mountain theme park in Valencia, California. They said no. So, Sparks got the role. Speaks was a band led by a pair of two brothers from California, Russell and Ron Mael, who were more successful in England than in their homeland. In the movie Rollercaoster, they are seen "performing" (actualy miming) their songs "Big Boy" and "Fill'er Up." Russell is the singer. I saw that movie, and I liked it. So things worked out pretty good for Sparks, I believe. Not so much for Kiss. Sparks in Rollercoaster (Russell Mael shown at left, Ron Mael off-camera): Attached Images

03-21-2012, 09:42 PM	#2
Vahan Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 14, 2008 Posts: 2,712	I like the 1978 version of Sgt. Pepper. To me, it's my favorite "So Bad, It's Good" film.

03-21-2012, 09:56 PM	#5
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,039	Sparks later said that accepting the role in Rollercoaster was their biggest career regret.

03-22-2012, 04:17 PM	#7
Steve M. Back on the road to reality Forum Superstar Join Date: Nov 07, 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 33,274	Russell Mael on Sparks's appearance in Rollercoaster: "Yes, you did see Sparks performing "Big Boy" and "Fill'er Up" in the film Rollercoaster during your last airplane trip. No, we didn't know that the film was going to turn out like that. [The] Rollercoaster movie proves that you have to be continually careful of what you do . . .. You never know what's going to last and what's going to fall by the wayside, and man, does that last!"