Don Murphy
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| This article is about the film producer. For the vicious killing machine that feels no sympathy and no remorse, see Majin Zarak. |
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Don Murphy ( 1967ish<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a></sup> - ) is one of the producers of the 2007 Transformers movie.
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</td><td valign="top" style="padding:4px 10px 5px 10px;"> ...one of Don's great gifts is complete obliviousness to what anyone thinks about him.
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<td colspan="3" style="padding-top: 0"> <p style="font-size:smaller;line-height:1em;text-align: right"><cite style="font-style:normal;">—Jame Hamsher, Killer Instinct<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a></sup>, 1998</cite>
</td></tr></table> Don Murphy is best known among fans for hosting an open and frank discussion of on his web site forums about the pre-production of the 2007 Transformers movie; where no voice no matter how unpopular was shut out of the debate.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a></sup> The 4 year ongoing dialog included 2500+ posts or replies to fans on all aspects of the production. Mr. Murphy interacted with fans using the persona of the 'angry sheriff,' a voice of authority who was neither diplomatic nor tactful<sup id="cite_ref-personality_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-personality-3" title="">[4]</a></sup>, and would sometimes gently mock those whose opinions he disagreed with.
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</td><td valign="top" style="padding:4px 10px 5px 10px;"> I NEVER INSULTED HIS MOTHER EITHER. THE FACT THAT SHE DOES NOT LIKE HER OWN SON SO THAT HE HAS TO GO CHANGE HIS NAME AND SEEK ATTENTION ON THE WEB IS HIS PROBLEM NOT HERS.
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<td colspan="3" style="padding-top: 0"> <p style="font-size:smaller;line-height:1em;text-align: right"><cite style="font-style:normal;">—Don Murphy discusses <u>your mom</u><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a></sup>, The Don Murphy Forums, 2006</cite>
</td></tr></table> Prior to Transformers, Don Murphy produced the 1994 sci-fi ninja epic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dragon_%28film%29" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Double_Dragon_(film)">Double Dragon</a>, adaptions of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Hell_%28film%29" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:From_Hell_(film)">From Hell</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_League_of_Extraordinary_Gentlemen_%28film%29" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:The_League_of_Extraordinary_Gentlemen_(film)">The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen</a> that resulted in comic-book writer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Moore#Disputes" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Alan_Moore">Alan Moore</a>'s refusal to allow any future film adaptations of his work<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5" title="">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6" title="">[7]</a></sup> and to date the movie that finished <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Connery" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Sean_Connery">Sean Connery</a>'s screen career<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7" title="">[8]</a></sup>, and the 1994 movie <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_Born_Killers" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Natural_Born_Killers">Natural Born Killers</a> by screenwriter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Tarantino" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Quentin_Tarantino">Quentin Tarantino</a> who publicly disowned alterations to the movie and physically assaulted Don Murphy when they ran into one another at a restaurant 3 years later.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8" title="">[9]</a></sup>
Among Don Murphy's many talents is acting, he played 'Creep at Restaurant'<sup id="cite_ref-personality_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-personality-3" title="">[4]</a></sup> in the 1998 movie <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hairshirt_%28film%29" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Hairshirt_(film)">Hairshirt</a>.
Trivia
- During production of the Transformers movie, an oft-heard claim was that it would turn out to be Don Murphy's Street Fighter. However, this is inaccurate, as Murphy produced Double Dragon, which was released roughly a month and a half earlier than Street Fighter and brought in about $30,000,000 less. In actuality, the mockers should have stated, "TEH TF MVOIE WIL B UR NXT DBL DRGN!!1"
- Frequent posters on Murphy's internet message board have come to be referred to as "Stooges", a term originally used as an insult by a disgruntled former board member who was banned for, shall we say, "poor behavior" (this is a whole other messy business in and of itself—don't ask). As a parting dig at the offending poster, the remaining board members adopted the moniker as their own, and now proudly use it as an expression of honor and camaraderie. The disgruntled former board member's username has been stricken from every obelisk, pyramid, and temple, and much like Pat Lee, is now most often referred to as a variation of "He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named" or worse. Sometimes MUCH worse. We are not making this up.
- Don Murphy has personal vendettas against about half the planet, including Wikipedia<sup id="cite_ref-wprev_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-wprev-9" title="">[10]</a></sup> and IDW Publishing<sup id="cite_ref-donidw1_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-donidw1-10" title="">[11]</a></sup>, whom he frequently refers to by "funny" nicknames such as "Shitipedia", "Wikipediots"<sup id="cite_ref-donwp1_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-donwp1-11" title="">[12]</a></sup> and "It Doesn't Work Comics"<sup id="cite_ref-donidw2_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-donidw2-12" title="">[13]</a></sup>. Despite his contempt for Wikipedia, he repeatedly sneaks back onto it to remove negative material from articles about himself and his projects, and to make unsubstantiated accusations that he's being attacked, only to be blocked repeatedly.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13" title="">[14]</a></sup> These conflicts resulted in Don posting the personal details of a Wikipedia admin (who had blocked him) on his public message board, coupled with an open call for cyber-stalking<sup id="cite_ref-donwp2_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-donwp2-14" title="">[15]</a></sup> (which he has attempted to repeat with other Wikipedia editors who challenge him<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15" title="">[16]</a></sup>), as well as a bizarre challenge to IDW editor-in-chief Chris Ryall to a "Q&A" session at Don's boards.<sup id="cite_ref-donryall_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-donryall-16" title="">[17]</a></sup>
References
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2;"> <ol class="references"><li id="cite_note-0"><a href="#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> None of Don Murphy's official biographies include his birthdate. The book Killer Instinct <small>(see below)</small> says he was in his mid-20s during the 1992-1994 production of Natural Born Killers. <li id="cite_note-1">[#cite_ref-1" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Killer-Instinct-Jane-Hamsher/dp/0767900758/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/002-1913954-2293612?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184012976&sr=8-4 Killer Instinct] is the 1998 book by Don Murphy's writing partner Jane Hamsher recounting the production of the 1994 movie Natural Born Killers. <li id="cite_note-2"><a href="#cite_ref-2" title="">↑</a> The accuracy of this statement is suspect. <li id="cite_note-personality-3">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-personality_3-0" title="">4.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-personality_3-1" title="">4.1</a></sup> By all 3rd party accounts the angry, difficult 'persona' Murphy claims to have been using has a 1:1 correlation to his actual personality. <li id="cite_note-4"><a href="#cite_ref-4" title="">↑</a> Don's affectionate nickname for this fan was 'goat-blower.' <li id="cite_note-5"><a href="#cite_ref-5" title="">↑</a> Moore became co-defendant in a lawsuit claiming that The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was plagiarized from another screenplay pitched to 20th Century Fox in 1993. The allegedly plagiarized elements were not from Moore's story, but had all been 'added' by the Fox's screenwriters. While charges of plagarism often lack merit, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen's pre-production (including writing) began before the first issue of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comic was published <small>(confirmed in an interview with Don Murphy from a DVD-extra,)</small> which looks... weird, and bad, and kinda icky. Fox settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum. <li id="cite_note-6">[#cite_ref-6" title="">↑</a> Moore refused to sell any further stories he held sole control of, and for those stories whose sale he could not block, he demanded his name be removed from the picture and his payment for those films instead be given to his collaborators (usually the artist he had worked with.) He then did a series of interviews prior to the launch of the film V for Vendetta telling people it was a terrible movie and not to go see it. <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?article=2153 Monday May 23, 2005 Lying in the Gutters column retelling of Moore's departure from Hollywood] <li id="cite_note-7"><a href="#cite_ref-7" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/crow/news/1787407/weekly_ketchup_the_crow_and_the_phantom_get_rebooted" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/crow/news/1787407/weekly_ketchup_the_crow_and_the_phantom_get_rebooted" rel="nofollow">[1]</a> <li id="cite_note-8">[#cite_ref-8" title="">↑</a> Tarantino attacked Murphy in the Ago restaurant on October 22 1997. <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/alt.showbiz.gossip/msg/02925d01f0b24111?dmode=source&hl=en Transcript of a Variety article detailing the confrontation] Don Murphy sued him for $5,000,000. <small>(Outcome of lawsuit unknown?)</small> <li id="cite_note-wprev-9">[#cite_ref-wprev_9-0" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://wikipediareview.com/blog/20070907/don-murphy-another-living-person-who-doesnt-want-a-wikipedia-biography/ Wikipedia Review article on Don Murphy's feud with Wikipedia.] <li id="cite_note-donidw1-10">[#cite_ref-donidw1_10-0" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.donmurphy.net/board/showthread.php?t=7840 One of Don Murphy's many, many anti-IDW rants.] <li id="cite_note-donwp1-11">[#cite_ref-donwp1_11-0" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.donmurphy.net/board/showthread.php?t=25042 One of Don Murphy's many, many anti-Wikipedia rants.] <li id="cite_note-donidw2-12">[#cite_ref-donidw2_12-0" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.donmurphy.net/board/showthread.php?t=26886 One of Don Murphy's many uses of the nickname "It Doesn't Work"] <li id="cite_note-13">[#cite_ref-13" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_sockpuppets_of_ColScott Wikipedia sockpuppets of Don "ColScott" Murphy] <li id="cite_note-donwp2-14">[#cite_ref-donwp2_14-0" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.donmurphy.net/board/showthread.php?t=26848 Don Murphy asking his "Stooges" to harrass a Wikipedia admin via e-mail.] <li id="cite_note-15">[#cite_ref-15" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.donmurphy.net/board/showthread.php?t=28938 Another cyberstalking campaign] <li id="cite_note-donryall-16">[#cite_ref-donryall_16-0" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.donmurphy.net/board/showthread.php?t=27027 Don Murphy's challenge to Chris Ryall.]</ol></div>
