|
|
FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS
Compiled by Mrs. E. Johnson, Institute Archivist
What is the Banzai Institute?
The Banzai Institute For Biomedical
Engineering and Strategic Information is an independent,
non-profit, research organization founded in 1972 by Dr. B. Banzai..
Who are the Blue Blaze
Irregulars and what are the membership requirements?
At the moment there are no less than 6,000 active
Blue Blaze Irregulars world wide - men, women, and children who
attend selected symposia at the Banzai Institute, who submit
their bodies periodically to rugged physical training at such
places as the desert survival school in Nevada, the mountaineering
school in Alaska, and a half-dozen others around the globe; who
are required yearly to make certain educational advancements;
who are "on call" twenty-four hours a day to help B.
Banzai in a pinch, or their neighbors in a natural disaster.
Blue Blazes are, when all is said, ordinary and yet extraordinary
people.
Where can I find the docudrama on DVD?
You mean you haven't heard that MGM Home Video has released The Adventures
of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension on DVD?!
It's available at video retailers, as well as on-line at retailers
such as Amazon.com and Blockbuster.
What is that watermelon
doing there, anyway?
The following explanation was written by the director
of the 1984 docudrama, W.D. Richter, for the April 1986 edition
of the World Watch 1 Newsletter: "I can only imagine
Buckaroo trying to grapple with this question. When cornered
(as I feel now), he often quotes H.L. Mencken's nasty remark
about how every complex question always has a simple answer...that
is usually wrong. But it is high time poor New Jersey's honest
inquiry be answered. Let me rephrase the question first one way,
then another. "Why is a watermelon trapped between those
monstrous pressure plates deep within the Institute's Critical
Stress Laboratory?" Team Banzai botanical agronomists have
been for years hard at work on the problem of hunger in Third
World countries under constant revolutionary turmoil. A nonpolitical,
humanitarian effort, their goal has been to find ways to feed
starving peoples in remote areas where traditional food delivery
systems prove woefully inadequate. Often, the only way to get
the nourishment into the bellies of the needy is to hit and run,
avoiding all petty ideological side-taking. What you see in the
Critical Stress Lab is a revolutionary watermelon capable of
withstanding impact pressures of 300,000 pounds per square inch!
Sweet, juicy and vitamin-packed, this remarkable fruit can be
dropped from the bomb bays of low-flying aircraft into the backyards
of disenfranchised villagers in the remotest backwaters of this
angry planet. Just another Team Banzai effort to cut through
all the unnecessary crap around us and help people help themselves.
Look for high-impact, low cholesterol eggs next... and sooner
than you think, shatter-proof whole-wheat taco shells. (Note
from Mrs. Johnson: More behind-the scenes information about the
anomalous watermelon can be found in an "Easter
egg" that is hidden on the Buckaroo Banzai DVD.)
Where can I find the Buckaroo Banzai novel?
After years of being out of print, we're delighted
that Pocket Books has reissued Earl Mac Rauch's
classic novel, now with a full-color photo section. The new edition
is now available in bookstores, as well as online at retailers
like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
When is the next Buckaroo
Banzai novel coming out?
Reno tells us that he's had a number of meetings with
his collaborator, Earl Mac Rauch, on exactly this subject. The
two have been spending quite a bit of time going through Reno's
journals, as well as through Institute archives, gleaning material
for the next volume of Dr. B. Banzai's adventures. But as to
when it will see print, both Reno and Rauch have proven maddeningly
evasive whenever this topic is raised.
Where can I get the soundtrack
for the docudrama?
Unfortunately, the soundtrack album for The Adventures of
Buckaroo Banzai was never released, despite years of clamoring
by fans of the good Doctor. GNP Crescendo Records has, however, released
the film's opening and closing theme music on their Science
Fiction's Greatest Hits, Volume 4 disk.
Where does the blue sky
go when the sun goes down?
As the Earth's rotation
spins our globe away from the sun, the light refracting off our
atmosphere is blocked by the planet's mass. We are then able
to see our universe through the crystal clear atmosphere without
it being obscured by the light that creates the blue sky.
What is the status of the
proposed BB TV show?
Earl Mac Rauch and W.D. Richter, in collaboration
with Reno Nevada, have written a pilot script for Buckaroo
Banzai: Ancient Secrets and New Mysteries, a proposed TV
series for Fox TV. A short promotional trailer (with a computer-generated
Jet Car) was even made for the project by the visual effects
wizards at Foundation Imaging. Unfortunately, the pilot was shelved
by a network management change, although another outlet has reportedly
expressed some preliminary interest. In the meantime, you can
see the amazing Jet Car trailer on the DVD edition of The
Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai.
What about the Banzai Institute
talk show?
Actually, W.D. Richter and Earl Mac Rauch have developed
a number of different approaches for a possible Banzai television
series. One such concept is a Banzai Institute talk show that
would feature a wide variety of guests from all walks of life,
from musicians to scientists to magicians. It would be as varied
as the denizens of the Institute itself. One cable outlet has
indicated interest in this concept, although it is far too early
to tell if this will be the format that will finally return Banzai
to the screen.
Do memories begin as electricity?
And if so, why are no two brains alike? Or are they?
An excellent question. Or three. This is but one of
the many burning issues being actively studied at the Banzai
Institute. For more such questions, feel free to check out our
list of Topics on the Table. Afterwards, you can share your thoughts
at the Bunkhouse, the Institute's
message board.
What happened to the secure
archives?
They're now available to all in the Institute
Archives on this website. The only exception is the two video
clips, which were retired, now that higher quality versions are
available on the DVD.
Who was involved in the
making of the docudrama? Can you tell me who was the Director
of Photography? Who played the part of John Bigboote? What does
a gaffer do?
We get a lot of questions about the docudrama and
about 95% of these fall into the above category. As Institute
archivist I am, unfortunately, unable to keep track of a lot
of the details about the docudrama as they have little to do
with the daily running of the Institute itself. The Boss would
be none too pleased if I spent all of my time answering these
questions rather than taking care of the latest emergency in
the east wing. The good news is that there is a fan-run Buckaroo
Banzai Frequently Asked Question list maintained by Blue Blaze
Irregular Figment. The site is located at http://www.figmentfly.com/bb/bbindex.shtml and
this web page contains answers to many of the questions we receive
about the docudrama. More information about the docudrama itself
can be found on the MGM
Home Video website.
When is Buckaroo Banzai
Against the World Crime League going to be made?
Real soon.
|
|