“Tron” movie called “sensitive” by Homeland Security, must be pulled from shelves

[ChoralScholar]

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/3/28/132751/380

BURBANK, CA - Reports are emerging from members of the movie industry that the Department of Homeland Security has designated the 1982 film TRON as "sensitive", and ordered Walt Disney Studios to turn over all copies of the film in its posession. Retailers are also receiving notices to remove all copies of the film from stock shelves and turn them over to Federal officials. The reports have industry insiders bewildered and outraged.

TRON is a science fiction film that takes place within a computer's circuits. Protagonist Kevin Flynn is pulled into the computer via laser by the malevolent Master Control Program. However, official concern reportedly centers around a portion of the movie's live-action sequence which was filmed at Shiva, a nuclear fusion research facility created at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Constructed in 1977 for research into generating fusion energy, Shiva used a battery of enormous lasers to smash tiny pellets of deuterium and tritium. It was hoped the resulting compression and shockwave would illustrate how to trigger fusion in the materials.

The facility was dismantled in 1981 after experiments were completed and its successor, Shiva/Nova, was built. However, as a government funded nuclear research program, it is subject to comprehensive national security guidelines, and it is this point that seems to have gotten the film into trouble.

"They said the scenes contained sensitive nuclear information," said a Disney employee tasked with locating copies of the film in the studio's archives. "I mean, the film's been out for 25 years. All of a sudden, there's something wrong with it? It's silly."

</snip>
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/3/28/132751/380

[ComerPerro]

1. I am all in favor of this. Tron was terrible. LMAO

[JoDog]

20. A Special Effects Landmark

filled with unfortunate acting, I agree.

[ComerPerro]

21. aren't they all? LOL. "the effects will compensate for plot and acting"

[IChing]

30. FBI agent is named """" Lirpa Sloof,""""""

Come on people.

[Karenina]

40. BWHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Watch this thread get a brazillion outraged posts!!! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

65. That many? Sheesh.

OK, I'm gamey.

[Richard Steele]

69. Thanks for that reality check.

Seriously, after six years of B*shCabal™, NOTHING is too
silly or pointless to be beyond belief. I was totally
buying this one.

[krispos42]

105. April Fools, spelled backwards!

"Use the Google" :-)

[AllegroRondo]

37. IIRC, every frame was hand painted

to get those glowing effects

[tridim]

32. I LOVED it. Sorry, I simply don't understand Tron bashing.

Now "Black Hole" on the other hand, that movie was pure crap.

Yes I own the Tron DVD, and no I'm not turning it over to the feds.

[ComerPerro]

33. you can have my TRON when you pry it from my cold dead hands, eh?

[tridim]

39. Well, I don't like it that much.

I don't want to be buried with it or anything. :)

[ComerPerro]

42. surely you've seen this family guy clip. Cracked me up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSGEbJLCRuQ

[tridim]

50. Of course I have and this follow up clip is pretty funny too..

The Tron guy on Jimmy Kimmel Live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsF2RUMmpqc&NR=1

[ComerPerro]

52. Emperor's New Groove? LOL

[Dervill Crow]

86. Oh Lord, this guy got a marriage proposal from a lady in Portland?

I cannot stand it. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[tblue37]

35. I loved it, too--and my copy is on videotape. (eom)

[proud2BlibKansan]

94. No shit

:rofl:

[ChoralScholar]

2. Commenting my own story here:

No one would have known the information was sensitive, had the bright folks at Homeland Security not made a big deal out of it.

So, if they didn't know, THEY DO NOW!

[file83]

53. Exactly. Talk about revealing a "secret".

The best thing they could have done is just shut up about it. What is DHS going to do with all the copies of TRON floating out there in the real world? Not only VHS and DVD, but pirated copies in home computers around the globe.

This has got to be the stupidest decision to come out of a bureaucracy EVER. (I know, there are probably better examples.)

This is an IMPOSSIBLE task, yet DHS believes it can acheive it. The empire is crumbling.

[fishwax]

77. to reveal more secrets

look at the name of the primary government source in the article. :)

[TechBear_Seattle]

3. This is an article from The Onion. Isn't it?

Please, tell me this is a parody and that the government is not really pulling general-release movies made 25 years ago as threats to national security.

What about "Hunt for Red October," which was filmed in part on an actual US submarine? "Contact" which had scenes done on a real space object tracking stations? When will this ridiculousness stop?

[ChoralScholar]

9. I suppose it could be an early April Fools Joke,

but It's been cited a bunch. I got it from http://www.dvorak.org/blog/ but if you Google Homeland and Tron, it's all over the place.

[TechBear_Seattle]

16. I just realized that, see post #13 n/t

[librechik]

90. bingo-- "said FBI agent Lirpa Sloof",

:think:

[krispos42]

106. FBI Agent: Lirpa Sloof, or April Fools spelled backwards

I'm guessing it's bullshit.

[davekriss]

99. That was my thought too

This can't be the U.S. of my grade school civic lessons. I've awaken to a nightmare, haven't I?

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. My husband has the game and the movie

[Rockholm]

89. One of my favorite video games ever!

[AnneD]

5. I am heavy into Sci Fi

and I found it interesting. But my question is...why is it sensitive and who gives them the authority. I think the plug needs to be pulled on homeland security.

[seemslikeadream]

6. OMG

:crazy: :silly: :eyes: :silly: :crazy: :silly: :eyes: :crazy: :silly: :eyes: :silly: :crazy: :silly: :eyes:

[Gman]

Somebody has absolutely nothing better to do

the things people won't do to generate "work" and justify their position.

[Hobarticus]

7. Actually the DoD has built Recognizers...

And they are now being deployed in the field.

[soothsayer]

8. cool,buyt it now that it will be collectable!

[bryant69]

10. oy that's a wierd story

Tron is a goofy movie, kind of entertaining in bits.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[flamingyouth]

11. LMAO

This is tagged as "Fiction." I saw "Tron" when it came out and though it was pretty silly, but was about 12. Oy. :eyes:

[Fenris]

12. Holy Crap these people are stupid.

By these people, I'm talking about myself, because I actually believed this.

[TechBear_Seattle]

13. DOH!! Look at the calendar

I think someone has decided Sunday comes early this week. :eyes:

[ChoralScholar]

15. I'm not so sure. EOM

[wicket]

22. The FBI agent's name in the store is Lirpa Sloof aka APRIL FOOLS

n/t

[DCKit]

29. OK, fine, busted. But would you put it outside the realm of possibility?

Really, consider the mentality.

[wicket]

64. Oh, definitely

I wouldn't put it past them.

[CJCRANE]

14. Good to see DHS officials have been hard at work

watching movies.

[shadowknows69]

17. They'd better grab the Star Trek Technical Manual too

Warp power in the wrong hands could be devastating. Just look at how much trouble the Borg has been.

[Richard Steele]

70. RESISTERANCE IS FUTILITOUS!

"YOUR COUTURE WILL BE ASSIMMA..ASSUMEA...OSAMA...OH SCREW IT.
LOOK, WE'RE GONNA TAKE ALL YOUR STUFF, GET IT? HEH HEH HEH!"

[ChairmanAgnostic]

76. extraticate, micturate, excrementate!

capacitors are useless!

[Canuckistanian]

93. LOL! I am "Seven of Three", the Decidinator!

You will be enumerated!

[Richard Steele]

101. Actually, I kinda called him "SlowPOTUS of Borg"...but "7 of 3" works nicely too! :)

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

18. The FBI agent quoted in the article is Lirpa Sloof

Spell the name backwards...

[ChoralScholar]

23. Good find. Why so early, though?!?!

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

34. My only guess is that whomever is updating the website ins't there on Sunday

Perhaps not even the entire weekend.

[TechBear_Seattle]

28. Excellent catch!

:cry: <-- That is because satire has died a brutal, lamented death under this administration, given that they actually have done stuff just as stupid and pointless as this.

On the other hand, sharing this article with a co-worker has taught me a new Orwellianism: Department of Homeland Security in Newspeak is MiniSafe.

[file83]

56. Not only that, but the author is titled: "By ewhac in Fiction"

So, the article is considered fiction from the outset. They had me there for minute. :blush:

[TechBear_Seattle]

59. Yeah, but who reads by-lines?

Honestly, look at how many people caught the FBI agent's name when the by-line was staring them in the face?

[rug]

72. Here's the author's homepage:

http://ewhac.best.vwh.net/

[gollygee]

19. Who needs The Onion or Jon Stewart

when we have these folks? LOL

[JuniperLea]

24. This is silly

What about all the copies in private homes?

[anarch]

25. "FBI Agent Lirpa Sloof" lol

[AndyA]

26. Has to be a joke.

Amazon still selling TRON DVD's for under $12 bucks.

Although, I could see our current government doing something like this.

Hey, there's a 1962 Doris Day/Cary Grant film titled That Touch of Mink. In it, Doris travels to the Bahamas with Cary Grant and they share a suite with only one bed!

THEY AREN'T MARRIED!

Oh my gosh what will the children think if they see such a thing!

Better pull that one off the shelves, too. It's just too suggestive of sex outside of - *GASP* - dare I say it? Sex outside of MARRIAGE!

[DCKit]

27. Obviously they had scientific input of the highest caliber

when they made this pea-brained decision.

These yokels need to go back to thumping their bibles and leave us non-creationists alone.

[angstlessk]

31. I would suggest anyone getting residuals from TRON is AKA

Lirpa Sloof!

[MGKrebs]

36. I'm glad this is a joke, but...

it's only a credible joke because of the nearness to possibility.

Once we have accepted the mindset that we have to take our shoes off in order to board a plane, in other words EVERYONE is a suspect, it is only a very small step to things like this joke becoming reality or to have to cary ID with us at all times. We develop the mindet of tolerance to oppression. This must be resisted.

[Yavin4]

38. Aren't We Waaaay Overdue for a TRON Re-Make?

As well as a "Logan's Run" re-make?

[shadowknows69]

41. Both were supposedly in the works

With Bryan Singer in talks to do Logan's Run. Geek anxiously awaiting here.

[tridim]

46. There was a remake in the works a few years ago.

I think it's dead though, which IMO is a good thing. NO REMAKE!

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050113-4521.html

Tron, version 2.0
By Ken Fisher | Published: January 13, 2005 - 07:20PM CT

The 1982 computer sci-fi hit Tron is apparently going to be, um, reloaded in the form of a remake. The original movie featuring Jeff Bridges was, for many people, Computer Architecture 101 set to a story, but never mind the fact that the architecture itself was more fantasy than reality. Set within the surreal world of a computing mainframe, Tron featured a number of frankly butt kickin' scenes, the top of which for me has to be those smooth Lightcycles. Why don't we have those yet?

I digress. The word is out that Disney has hired Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal to remake the original Tron, and as you might suspect, there will be some changes. Right now there are few details, but one of the writers has this to say to Variety:

"We are contemporizing it, taking these ideas that were ahead of the curve and applying them to the present, and we feel the film now has a chance to resonate with a young audience," said Klugman

I am both enthused and terrified. Of course, I'm one of those people who never fears a remake: the original is still the original, and as a scholar of the ancient world, I know that remakes are inevitable. That said, a Tron remake has a lot going for it and quite a bit working against it. Perhaps our hero will be trapped in a P2P network, and John Ashcroft can be Sark.

In all seriousness, the original Tron was so ahead of its time that Klugman and Sternthal have a lot of work on their hands if they want to impress geeks they way they were impressed more than 20 years ago. Part of that equation will require truly amazing special effects (that was half of the smoothness of Tron, was it not?). They would also do well to consider that the Tron sequel never got off the ground: following up such a movie isn't a sure thing, despite was Ben Stiller says. Can they pull it off? Who knows, but without a release timeframe, we expect we won't know for probably a couple of years.

End of Line.

[LunaSea]

43. Hey, Chertoff.....

My pristine laserdisc copy is hereby for sale.
Cash only, pallets preferred.

Also have a copy in the rare VCD format.
(sorta like the 8-track of video)
Will trade for a Gulfstream 4.

[shadowknows69]

45. Showing the terraists how to make a light cycle now?

Why do you hate america?

[LSK]

44. but it was ok to leave Saddams entire nuclear program on the web for a year????

These people are beyond pathetic.

[stirlingsliver]

47. Bastards!

The level of paranoia in this country has really gotten out of control.

We need to rein in The Department of "Homeland Security " -- and quickly.

Who knows what is next on their list?

[seriousstan]

87. The level of gullibility in the DU has gotten out of control.

:rofl:

[crispini]

48. Bwahahahahahahaha.

That's ridiculous.

Edit: Okay, BUSTED! :rofl:

[opusprime]

49. This guy is pissed....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3609OtM138c

[hughee99]

51. Might Howard the Duck or Spies like Us be next?

Both of which also featured Lasers.

[sniffa]

54. tron suit guy is pissed

[tridim]

58. Is he pissed at Screech?

That is Screech isn't it?

[sniffa]

60. i have no idea

:shrug:

[Tom Joad]

55. I can't believe the DU'ers took this as serious....then again, i can..

Look at the author and catagory:
By ewhac in Fiction

The same people who took this seriously also think that Rosie is a vital source of info on 9/11 attacks.

[onenote]

57. the gullibility of some people (including some DUers) makes we want to cry

or maybe just laugh.

And, no, I don't buy the argument that with everything else that is going on this is a believable story. Only someone who would be taken in by it would also find it believable. I didn't need to see the backwards April Fools reference to know this wasn't real.

Some people really do need to get a grip. There are bad things happening, but if you assume everything that you hear is true you're going to be pretty ineffective in convincing people about those things that really are happening.

[hughee99]

61. I agree, but that doesn't mean

we can't have a little fun with it amongst ourselves. ;)

[redqueen]

62. NO! NO FUN ALLOWED! THIS IS SERIES!!!111!

:P

[ChairmanAgnostic]

66. I feel like a moran

No Text. And this time I mean it.

[ChoralScholar]

67. This IS series... as evidenced by the presence of serious cat:

[onenote]

75. I agree that this was something to have fun with

Its the posters that didn't realize it and took it seriously that worry me!

[ChoralScholar]

71. Well, good for you.

Your astuteness amazes and perplexes me.

The rest of us had a nice giggle about it.

I would have posted it - true or not.

[ContraBass Black]

95. I suggest laughing.

:D

[ends_dont_justify]

104. Hey, c'mon :( I'm intoxicated

But still it only took me 5 minutes to realize :/

[freethought]

63. This is gotta be an April Fools prank.

I remember "Tron", I went to see it more than once when it was initially released. Thought it was the nads at the time, then again I was 15 then. I even remember the scene where Flynn gets "downloaded" into the computer. All I remember is he sitting at a keyboard around some structure.

I would have figured the FBi may flag the film as subversive. Special effects/animation aside, the plot of the movie revolved around a group of revolutionary computer programs that fought against the oppressive regime of the MCP. The light cycle sequence was great!

I can just hear someone at some keyboard somewhere going "HA! APRIL FOOLS!!!"

[DarkTirade]

68. I sincerly hope this is a joke...

I mean, I can picture the government doing a lot of STUPID things. Between the beauracracy that can easily breed stupidity, and the stupidity up at the top sending conflicting and often stupid orders to said beauracracy below, well, there's a huge potential for stupidity there. But this much?

[pnorman]

73. Thanks for the 'heads up'.

I just put it on order at Amazon (20th Anniversary Edition, $14, incl. S&H). Wish me luck!

pnorman
On edit: It looks as though I fell for an elaborate April Fool's joke! You ASSHOLE, you!! (just kidding; I may end up enjoying that film).

[EstimatedProphet]

74. That's it! Bush is actually the Master Control Program!

It all makes sense now!

[karlrschneider]

78. Smile, you're on...I mean you're un-yunn'd

:rofl: :D

[global1]

79. "Pinnochio" Disney classic called “sensitive” by Homeland Security, must be pulled from shelves....

It deals with lying and remind people too much of *Co.

[lies and propaganda]

80. am i horrible to be ROFLMAO!!!

i am positively crying!

Dungeons and Dragons better WATCH OUT!

[blondeatlast]

81. THAT'S why they shut down the PeopleMover in Anaheim.

Easy recon missions; especially since they did away with the lettered tickets!

[pitohui]

82. i would take this w. a large grain of sodium chloride

this site has been over-run for trolls for at least a couple years now

[AlCzervik]

83. if you google the name of "Fbi agent Lirpa sloop" i think you'll see this is an early

aprils fool joke.

[lala_rawraw]

84. but only if we can

ban every single Western... i mean you have outlaws who are heroes, they have weapons, they attack people... seems like terra to me

[knight_of_the_star]

85. Is this a joke?

This wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't, but is it? There's no way this is for real.

[Generic Brad]

88. Then they'd better destroy all copies of "The China Syndrome" too

The Iranians could steal our nuclear technology from that movie. :crazy:

[ThoughtCriminal]

91. Next: DHS siezes every copy of...

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065566/

[Swamp Rat]

92. April fools!

:)

[petronius]

96. "Disney's plans were communicated to the FBI as a matter of long-standing routine..."

That's brilliant! :rofl:

[Vidar]

97. "Wargames" is sure to be next on their banned list.

[frogcycle]

98. it is a sad testament to the state of our country

that so many are willing to believe this. Oh, they say it is stupid and outrageous, but they BELIEVE (correctly) homeland security IS stupid and outrageous enough to do this - well, almost

[JackRiddler]

103. Homeland Security IS stupid and outrageous enough to do worse.

CODE ORANGE - EVERYONE BE VIGILANT ALL AT ONCE BECAUSE SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN SOMEWHERE REAL SOON.

Regardless, cute joke.

[tjwash]

100. A great April Fools joke would be...

... for Skinner to make an announcement that he just sold DU to a bunch of investors in the religious right unknowingly and the pandemonium that would then follow.

"Lirpa Sloof" :rofl:

It's been a while since I actually used the old rule of if there's a suspicious-looking name in a story, spell it in reverse...

[InvisibleTouch]

102. Had me going there for a minute!

I don't remember anything about the movie except that I liked it all those years ago, and that it had super-cool special effects. When I first read this, my first thought was, "Damn, I'd better find a copy online quick, or I'll never get to watch it again." I guess I have some time, still. :)