Movies in Fifteen Minutes
Encyclopedia
Movies in Fifteen Minutes (known as m15m for short) is primarily the name of a set of Internet-based movie parodies by Cleolinda Jones
(a pen name
). The parodies first appeared in 2004 on Jones' LiveJournal
, but have now been moved to a LiveJournal community of their own.
if she was interested in writing a book of the parodies. She was, and the book, Movies in Fifteen Minutes: Hollywood Blockbusters For People Who Can't Be Bothered was released in October 2005. It contains "the ten biggest movies ever," parodies not published online. The book is not currently available in the United States
, though it has been published in Europe, where it met with praise.
Jokes are made at the expense of plot holes, inconsistent character arcs, and bad dialogue amongst other things. The world of Internet fanfiction is also made fun of, with Jones making straight-faced, ridiculous claims about the characters even wilder than those made by the fanfic authors themselves.
Cleolinda Jones
Cleolinda "Cleo" Jones is an American writer and blogger. She is the author of the Movies in Fifteen Minutes series of film parodies, which have a large cult following on the internet....
(a pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
). The parodies first appeared in 2004 on Jones' LiveJournal
LiveJournal
LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
, but have now been moved to a LiveJournal community of their own.
Background
Jones wrote the first parody, Van Helsing in Fifteen Minutes, for fun; it appeared on her personal blog on 9 May 2004. Van Helsing in Fifteen Minutes proved surprisingly popular with readers on the internet. Jones' blog became so popular because of the m15m that she ran out of space for members, so she created a community for the parodies that would accept more members; she then posted subsequent movie parodies in this community.Book
In 2004, Jones was asked by British publishing company Orion BooksOrion Publishing Group
Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It is owned by Hachette Livre. In 1998 Orion bought Cassell.-History:Full history of the group can be found on Orion Publishing Group is owned by -Imprints:...
if she was interested in writing a book of the parodies. She was, and the book, Movies in Fifteen Minutes: Hollywood Blockbusters For People Who Can't Be Bothered was released in October 2005. It contains "the ten biggest movies ever," parodies not published online. The book is not currently available in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, though it has been published in Europe, where it met with praise.
Characteristics
The parodies, written in the style of a screenplay, have a wide appeal, at once scathing and affectionate, with plenty of references to pop culture, Internet fan culture, movie trivia, and just about anything else. Font sizes and punctuation are used inventively (perhaps most memorably in The Matrix in Fifteen Minutes).Jokes are made at the expense of plot holes, inconsistent character arcs, and bad dialogue amongst other things. The world of Internet fanfiction is also made fun of, with Jones making straight-faced, ridiculous claims about the characters even wilder than those made by the fanfic authors themselves.
Popularity
The parodies are popular on the Livejournal site especially, despite being famous Internet-wide. This has caused various other people to write their own parodies, sometimes under the "Movies in Fifteen Minutes" name. Jones is the owner of the trademark ("Movies in Fifteen Minutes") under the common laws of the United States, and has said she is not comfortable with people using the name for their own parodies.Online
- Dracula (1979)
- Hannibal (2001)Hannibal (film)Hannibal is a 2001 psychological thriller film directed by Ridley Scott, adapted from the Thomas Harris novel of the same name. It is a sequel to the 1991 Academy Award-winning film The Silence of the Lambs that returns Anthony Hopkins to his iconic role as serial killer Hannibal Lecter...
- Van Helsing (2004)Van Helsing (film)Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
- The Day After Tomorrow (2004)The Day After TomorrowThe Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
- Hidalgo (2004)Hidalgo (film)Hidalgo is a 2004 film based on the legend of the American distance rider Frank Hopkins and his mustang Hidalgo, and recounts Hopkins' racing his horse in Arabia in 1891 against Bedouin riding pure-blooded Arabian horses. The movie was written by John Fusco and directed by Joe Johnston...
- Troy (2004)Troy (film)Troy is a 2004 epic war film written by David Benioff and directed by Wolfgang Petersen based on the events of the Trojan War. Its cast includes Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector.It was nominated for the Academy Award for Costume Design.-Plot:...
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by Chris Columbus, David Heyman and Mark Radcliffe...
- King Arthur (2004)
- The Phantom of the Opera (2004)The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film)The Phantom of the Opera is a 2004 film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux....
- V for Vendetta (2006)V for Vendetta (film)V for Vendetta is a 2005 dystopian thriller film directed by James McTeigue and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, who also wrote the screenplay. It is an adaptation of the V for Vendetta comic book by Alan Moore and David Lloyd...
- The Prestige (2006)The Prestige (film)The Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century...
- 300 (2007)300 (film)300 is a 2007 American fantasy action film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller. It is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film was directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant...
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
- The Golden Compass (2007)
- Cloverfield (2007)CloverfieldCloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...
- The Happening (2008)The Happening (2008 film)The Happening is a 2008 science fiction thriller film written, co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan that follows a woman, her husband, the husband's best friend, and the friend's daughter as they try to escape from an inexplicable natural disaster. The plot revolves around a mysterious...
- Wanted (2008)
- Twilight (2008)Twilight (2008 film)Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
- 2012 (2009)2012 (film)2012 is a 2009 American disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, and Woody Harrelson. It was produced by Emmerich's production company, Centropolis Entertainment and was distributed by Columbia Pictures...
- New Moon (2009)New Moon (2009 film)The Twilight Saga: New Moon, commonly referred to as New Moon, is a 2009 American romance fantasy-vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's 2006 novel New Moon. It is the second film in The Twilight Saga film series and is the sequel to 2008's Twilight. Summit Entertainment greenlit the sequel in...
- Eclipse (2010)Eclipse (2010 film)The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, commonly referred to as Eclipse, is a 2010 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's 2007 novel, Eclipse. It is the third installment of The Twilight Saga film series, following 2008's Twilight and 2009's New Moon. Summit Entertainment greenlit the film...
- Clash of the Titans (2010)Clash of the Titans (2010 film)Clash of the Titans is a 2010 fantasy and action remake of the 1981 film of the same name . The story is very loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. Directed by Louis Leterrier and starring Sam Worthington, the film was originally set for standard release on March 26, 2010...
Book
- Jurassic Park (1993)Jurassic Park (film)Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
- Braveheart (1995)BraveheartBraveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
- Independence Day (1996)Independence Day (film)Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
- Titanic (1997)Titanic (1997 film)Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
- The Matrix (1999)The MatrixThe Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
- Gladiator (2000)Gladiator (2000 film)Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released in the United States and India as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The film is the first instalment in the Harry Potter film series,...
- Spider-Man (2002)Spider-Man (film)Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
- Attack of the Clones (2002)Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the ClonesStar Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...
- The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)The Lord of the Rings film trilogyThe Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...