Ah, for the days when a lightsaber was just your flashlight...

I don't think you could ever say any of the Python guys were ever IN the Hollywood system, at least not long enough to get fed-up with it (apart from the usual wanting control of whatever they're involved in, and not getting it). That said, a look at those who did bolt would be interesting, as well as those who came in late after making their mark elsewhere.

I just listened to the Cinefantastique podcast on the movie (and if nothing else, this film let me discover that magazine still exists in some form), and had fun comparing their criticisms to my own and yours. Something they touched on, and I agree with, is the "ritual" of the film... doesn't exist in modern real world horror movies, or at least not to a great extent. It's mocking something that hasn't been around for twenty years, and was old when "Scream" first created the rules of horror film. The group of teens is a sub genre, yes, kept alive in some form either for nostalgia reasons or to be made fun of, but it's the kind of thing that mainly applied to the Friday the 13th movies. An easy target, in other words. I liked the film, and will probably see it again, but it's more fun then great.

The original script for this, iirc, had the police and FBI being very professional and doing all the right things, only to find out that the criminal's plan intended for them to do that. Some of that is still in there, but once filming started the director decided to turn the cops into comedy relief.

I saw this today, the only one at the noon showing (a huge flock of teen girls were getting tickets for something, though). I liked it, but... it would have been better if people didn't keep saying "don't read spoilers!" It's a straightforward tale where you know what's going on for the most part by the time the eagle shows up. The expected big twist never really came, at least for me.

As a teen I found a great book by an ex-con man that told stories of all the classic bits. Most relied on not just fast talking, but letting the mark think THEY were the one doing the conning. Not only are you playing on their greed, but they really won't want to go to the cops afterwards.

If you haven't, go watch The Sting. A classic.

There's more then that, as there's rebellion and the entire empire is falling apart. Enough, at the very least, to compress into a fun film.