Howdy there, Scream Freaks! After ’bout a year of video silence, we proudly return with our greatest triumph yet, provin’ once ‘gain why we’re the web’s #1 animated horror host show. Just as memorable as our epic season long crossover with Charles Band, as awesome as sharin’ the QnA stage with the likes of Kane Hodder, and as special as gettin’ worldwide recognition from Joe Bob Briggs on Shudder’s The Last Drive-In, we now cross paths with ‘nother icon of horror whose arrival sent shockwaves through the world of cult cinema that’s still enjoyed today. We’re talkin’, ‘course, ’bout Killer Tomatoes.
We originally planned on a Screaming Soup! special on the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes movies to be our swan song after 100 episodes, but once we accepted the reality of our tedious production schedule, and the fact the talents involved with makin’ the Killer Tomatoes aren’t gettin’ any younger, we decided 50 episodes and the validation we achieved from receivin’ Joe Bob’s Silver Bolo Award in 2021 was a good ‘nough time to cross this off our bucket list. We’re still producin’ ‘nother 50 Screaming Soup! episodes, mind ya, we’re just sayin’ this passion project of ours got significantly bumped up.
As filmbuffs and lifelong fans of the Killer Tomatoes franchise since first seein’ the cartoon while gobblin’ action figures up with our Killer Tomato toys, we always hated how there were never any behind-the-scenes featurettes or tell-all books ‘yond the makin’ of the first Attack of the Killer Tomatoes movie from 1978. IMDb, magazine articles, online interviews . . . it was all the same decades ol’ scraps of information and movie plot synopsis. Nothin’ answered the real burnin’ questions we had fer how this cult flick oddity by a gang of nerds outta San Diego managed to explode into a pop culture phenomenon as a toy sellin’ Saturday mornin’ cartoon ’round the world. Frustrated by this constant lack of knowledge, we finally took it upon ourselves to collect these factoids for the sake of Killer Tomato fans everywhere, and be the first EVER to share the WHOLE story behind this underdog franchise.
It all started with us contactin’ producer/writer Steve Peace who fans know better as their favorite parachute draggin’ Tomato War vet Lt. Wilbur Finletter. Steve and his filmmakin’ partners producer/writer/director John DeBello and writer/Killer Tomatoes creator Costa Dillon formed Four Square Productions when they began their film careers as teenagers makin’ Super 8 movies, and we managed to dig up a phone number fer that business online. “You’re lucky I even picked up. This may very well be the last workin’ landline in the world,” Steve laughed after feelin’ a strange compulsion to answer our call. Fillin’ him in on us bein’ horror hosts and expressin’ our interest in doin’ a retrospective that finally paints the whole picture ‘hind the history of the Killer Tomatoes, Steve was more than accommodatin’ and connected us with DeBello and Costa who happily granted us our first interviews for the retrospective which greatly helped lay the bones for the Killer Tomatoes timeline additional interviews with cast and crew from each movie could add meat to.
With help from Four Square, IMDb Pro, and good ol’ fashion gumshoe work, we managed to round up and interview most everyone involved with the series fer the retrospective. Recordin’ our conversations over Zoom, we had an incredible year yakkin’ it up with Olympic gold medalists, Miss Universe winners, soap opera stars, folks who worked on sets like Super Mario Bros. and Married . . . With Children, stand-up comics, heavy hittin’ talents ‘hind The Real Ghostbusters cartoon, and not to mention — John “Gomez Addams” Astin which was the most unbelievable two hours spent durin’ all this as he shared nearly a 100 years worth of stories in the entertainment biz from Hollywood to Broadway. All these folks are such amazin’ talents and the nicest, funniest people anyone could hope to talk with ’bout killer veggies. Woulda been nice to say we got to chew the fat with George Clooney, ‘course, but believe you us — if there’s anyone missin’ from this sucker, it ain’t fer lack of tryin’! It either means we couldn’t reach ’em at all or they plain said, “No.”
So, that brings us to now. After ’bout a year editin’ twenty plus hours of interview footage down to a hair over three, we’re proud to present the most in-depth, be-all end-all tell-all retrospective on the ENTIRE history of the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes series includin’ Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Return of the Killer Tomatoes, Killer Tomatoes Strike Back, Killer Tomatoes Eat France, and both seasons of the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes cartoon series that originally aired on Fox Children’s Network. We cover Four Square’s first studio picture Sour Grapes aka Happy Hour, Elvira’s ribbin’ the original flick on late night TV, the unofficially licensed video games, the tomatoes’ resurgence thanks to the Muppet Babies, the reason why no restaurant wanted to use killer tomatoes for an ad campaign, the real story ‘hind the cartoon’s cancellation, and MORE!
And to provide as much Killer Tomato history as possible, we do include a few snippets of information gathered from home video bonus features and other content creators’ web shows, but all sources have been properly credited and handled much the same way as a research paper with links to their original work in the description of the video. The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Retrospective is strictly a non-profit documentary made for the purpose to educate and inform fans interested in the history of the Killer Tomatoes franchise under Fair Use (Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976) as well as a creative reunion of sorts for the talents who are excited to see one another after decades apart. Everyone involved with this video from Screaming Soup! HQ to the interviewees participated in this out of the goodness of their heart for no other gain than to laugh at rememberin’ the best times they ever had makin’ these movies.
Now, enjoy this love letter to one of our favorite movie franchises of all time! It ain’t perfect, but we gave it all we got and then some. TOMATOES!!!!
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