Rickrolling is an internet trick, whereby someone posts a link to something like the most fascinating cat video ever!!… only to have the link actually send someone to a video of Rick Astley playing “Never Gonna Give You Up.” It was so popular that Astley “rickrolled” people live during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on a Cartoon Network float.
But it’s not just an internet meme. It’s the name of a movie. A movie that never got made, a movie about… internet memes.
With the new Wreck-it Ralph movie this weekend (and the aforementioned Thanksgiving prank) it seems the perfect time to remind people of the 2011 attempt to do something similar, only live action and without the direct commercialization. Instead it was to feature people who were some of the earliest Youtube stars, people responsible for early and notorious viral videos.
The writer/director attempted to crowdfund the actual film, but never made enough to even produce a second trailer. He did manage to get quite a few of the people responsible for some of the most recognized videos, though.
In case you’re curious about some of the people in the trailer…
A couple of brothers whose idea of a prank brought them fame.
A sportscaster, though not an especially good one.
An actual hero, however unexpected.
A nature lover.
A strangely happy dancer.
And perhaps the world’s most famous devotee of chicken.
Question of the night: what other “star” would you have expected to see in a live-action movie about the internet?
