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Americathon

Americathon is a 1979 American satirical comedy film directed by Neal Israel, depicting a dystopian future United States on the brink of bankruptcy in 1998, where the government organizes a coast-to-coast telethon to raise funds and avert national foreclosure by an oil-rich conglomerate.^[1]^[2] Starring John Ritter as the hapless President Chet Roosevelt, the film features supporting performances by Fred Willard as a slick television producer, Peter Riegert as a young media consultant tasked with staging the event, and Harvey Korman in a villainous role as the head of the threatening corporation, with narration provided by George Carlin.^[1] Produced amid the 1970s energy crisis and fiscal anxieties, Americathon lampoons American overreliance on consumer pledges, political ineptitude, and energy dependence, though its broad strokes of humor often veer into farce rather than sharp critique.^[1]^[3] Critically, the film met with poor reception, earning a 36% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a scathing half-star review from Roger Ebert, who lambasted it as a "puerile exploitation of one very thin joke" stretched over nearly two hours, reflecting its failure to coalesce its star-studded cast and topical premise into coherent satire despite pockets of prescience regarding national debt and resource scarcity.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Production Background

Development and Concept Origins

The concept for Americathon originated from mid-1970s satirical skits by Firesign Theatre members Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman, initially as the cabaret piece Gothamathon, which portrayed a telethon to rescue New York City from bankruptcy amid an oil shortage, later expanding into Americathon as a national effort to retire the U.S. debt.^[7]^[8] Neal Israel, fresh from directing the 1976 comedy Tunnelvision, attended a Boston performance of the Americathon skit and resolved to develop it into a feature film, securing initial studio interest despite rejections. The first draft screenplay, co-authored by Israel, Proctor, and Bergman, dates to October 8, 1976, with subsequent revisions leading to the final version credited to Israel, Michael Mislove, and Monica Johnson, based on the underlying Proctor-Bergman material.^[7]^[9] Scripting emphasized a tone merging outlandish comedy with prescient critiques of economic trends, including the 1973 oil embargo's lingering effects that fueled gasoline lines and energy rationing through the decade, alongside federal deficits that ballooned the national debt from $475 billion in 1970 to over $800 billion by 1979 amid Carter-era inflation exceeding 13% annually. Pre-production in 1978 prioritized extrapolating these realities into a dystopian 1998 scenario, warning of consequences from unchecked borrowing, welfare expansion, and petroleum dependency without proposing solutions beyond spectacle.^[10]^[11]

Filming and Technical Aspects

Principal photography for Americathon occurred primarily in Los Angeles, California, during 1979, directed by Neal Israel.^[1] The production utilized practical locations and sets to evoke a dystopian 1998 America, including Bunker Hill in Downtown Los Angeles, which served as the Oakwood Gardens housing complex for sequences involving skating and cycling amid derelict urban decay.^[12] A significant portion of the filming—nearly half the schedule—took place at the Hollywood Palace, where the central telethon sequences were shot to replicate the high-energy, improvisational feel of a live broadcast event.^[13] This venue choice allowed for authentic stage staging but imposed constraints on set modifications, contributing to the film's raw, unpolished aesthetic that mirrored its low-budget origins and satirical intent. Technical execution emphasized economical practical effects over elaborate visuals, such as stacking abandoned automobiles in Los Angeles parks to represent improvised housing in an energy-starved society.^[14] Cinematography relied on standard 35mm film stock with minimal post-production enhancements, reflecting 1970s independent filmmaking limitations and prioritizing narrative momentum through quick cuts and handheld shots during ensemble crowd scenes to convey telethon pandemonium without advanced rigging or VFX.^[15] These choices, driven by fiscal realities, amplified the film's cartoonish futurism while underscoring production challenges in synchronizing a sprawling cast across confined, multi-day shoots.

Creative Team and Influences

The screenplay for Americathon was credited to Neal Israel, Monica Johnson, and Michael Mislove, with the story adapted from an earlier stage play by Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman, members of the Firesign Theatre comedy troupe known for their experimental audio satires critiquing American society.^[16]^[3] Neal Israel also directed the film, marking an early feature effort that built on his prior work in low-budget comedies emphasizing absurd extrapolations of contemporary trends.^[1] The writing team drew from observable 1970s economic patterns, including the U.S. national debt's rise from $371 billion in 1970 to $829 billion by 1979—fueled by persistent federal deficits averaging 2.2% of GDP annually and expansions in welfare programs under both Democratic and Republican administrations—to project a future of fiscal collapse.^[17] This approach prioritized direct causal chains between policy choices, such as unchecked entitlement growth outpacing revenue, and national insolvency, rather than ideological framing. Production was handled by Lorimar Productions, with Joe Roth serving as producer; Lorimar, founded in 1969, specialized in television content before venturing into films that often lampooned cultural excesses.^[1] Roth's involvement aligned with the company's interest in timely, provocative comedies, though Americathon represented a riskier satire amid post-Watergate cynicism toward government institutions.^[18] The creative team's influences extended to Firesign Theatre's prior works, like their 1960s-1970s albums that mocked bureaucratic inefficiency and consumerist folly through layered, non-linear humor, adapting such techniques to visualize policy-induced decline without partisan favoritism.^[15] Reviewers noted the film's intent to highlight bipartisan complicity in debt accumulation, eschewing softened critiques in favor of stark depictions of overspending's logical endpoints, such as asset sales to foreign powers amid domestic welfare bloat.^[11] This unvarnished reasoning echoed earlier dystopian satires like Network (1976), but grounded in quantifiable fiscal data rather than abstract media conspiracies.^[3]

Cast and Roles

Principal Performers

John Ritter portrayed President Chet Roosevelt, a caricature of ineffective leadership in a bankrupt America, relying on his signature physical comedy and timing honed from starring in the sitcom Three's Company (1976–1981) to convey the character's flustered desperation amid fiscal chaos.^[16] His casting amplified the film's cautionary satire by embodying a well-meaning but comically outmatched executive, drawing parallels to real-world political figures through exaggerated ineptitude rather than malice.^[11] Harvey Korman played Monty Rushmore, a slick presidential advisor entangled in the telethon's machinations, leveraging his experience with bombastic characters from The Carol Burnett Show (1967–1978) and Mel Brooks films to underscore themes of bureaucratic self-interest and corruption within government.^[16] Kornan's over-the-top delivery heightened the comedic critique of insider scheming, portraying Rushmore as a fast-talking enabler whose opportunism mirrors potential real-world policy distortions driven by personal gain.^[5] Peter Riegert depicted Eric McMerkin, the opportunistic television consultant who orchestrates the Americathon to avert national default, bringing a straight-man intensity from his early dramatic roles to contrast the surrounding absurdity and drive the plot's media-driven solution.^[16] This choice emphasized the film's warning about reliance on spectacle over substance, with McMerkin's ambition highlighting how entertainment industry figures might exploit crises for profit.^[18] Fred Willard appeared as Vincent Vanderhoff, the duplicitous White House chief of staff colluding with foreign interests to sabotage recovery efforts, utilizing his improvisational flair from Second City and later mockumentaries to satirize internal betrayal and elite corruption.^[16] Willard's smarmy persona intensified the cautionary portrayal of self-serving officials undermining national solvency, reflecting plausible causal chains of graft in debt-ridden governance.^[15]

Cameo Appearances and Guest Stars

The film incorporates numerous cameo appearances by celebrities, primarily within the telethon sequences, to underscore its parody of celebrity-endorsed spectacles as a substitute for addressing underlying fiscal decay. These brief roles feature performers engaging in exaggerated acts designed to generate pledges, reflecting the era's real-world telethon formats—such as Jerry Lewis's Muscular Dystrophy Association events, which raised funds through star power from the 1950s onward but here are scaled up to national bankruptcy proportions for satirical effect.^[1]^[19] Key cameos include Meat Loaf as Oklahoma daredevil Roy Budnitz, who performs a jousting stunt against the nation's last operational car, symbolizing desperate resource scarcity.^[19] Jay Leno appears as a stand-up comedian delivering jokes amid the fundraising chaos, poking at comedic reliance on humor to mask policy failures.^[1] Elvis Costello provides a musical performance, contributing to the telethon's variety-show excess with his punk-inflected set.^[1] Additional guest spots feature Tommy Lasorda, the Los Angeles Dodgers manager, in a promotional baseball-themed segment, and Chief Dan George, the Canadian actor, in a Native American cultural nod tied to pledge incentives. Howard Hesseman briefly appears as a performer, further amplifying the ensemble of entertainment figures paraded for viewer donations. These elements collectively critique the causal dependency on transient fame rather than structural reforms, as evidenced by the film's depiction of faltering acts failing to resolve the $400 billion debt crisis.^[1]^[20]

Narrative and Setting

Plot Summary

In 1998, the United States confronts national bankruptcy exacerbated by a total depletion of oil reserves, forcing citizens to rely on bicycles, roller skates, jogging, and imported camels for transportation while abandoned cars serve as makeshift homes.^[5]^[1] The government has accrued a $400 billion debt to Sam Birdwater, a wealthy Native American footwear magnate who demands immediate repayment or threatens to foreclose on and repossess the entire country within 30 days.^[5]^[1] President Chet Roosevelt engages young television producer Eric McMerkin to orchestrate Americathon, a coast-to-coast telethon designed to solicit pledges and raise the requisite funds, with McMerkin recruiting host Monty Rushmore and navigating bureaucratic absurdities, including interactions with a malfunctioning government computer and the president's flirtatious daughter.^[1]^[3] Preparations unfold amid subplots such as McMerkin's budding romance and chaotic rehearsals featuring eccentric performers.^[5] Foreign adversaries, including agents from the United Hebrab Republic—an improbable Arab-Israeli alliance—attempt sabotage by infiltrating the production to book inferior acts and incite disruptions, aiming to precipitate failure and enable a cheap acquisition of the indebted nation.^[3] The telethon broadcasts a succession of celebrity appearances, musical numbers, and escalating pledge drives, culminating in a frenzy of last-minute donations from viewers and high-profile backers.^[5]^[1] The narrative, presented via flashbacks narrated from a post-1998 perspective, resolves with the telethon surpassing its target through massive public contributions, thereby staving off repossession and averting immediate fiscal collapse.^[1]^[3]

Fictional World of 1998

The film's portrayal of 1998 depicts a United States ravaged by chronic fuel scarcity, with global oil reserves exhausted, rendering internal combustion engines obsolete and confining most transportation to foot, bicycle, or rudimentary alternatives. Citizens, unable to afford housing amid hyperinflation and devaluation of the dollar, inhabit their immobilized automobiles as makeshift dwellings, a direct consequence of the 1970s energy crises extrapolated into systemic collapse.^[5]^[21]^[1] Economic ruin permeates society, as unchecked federal borrowing—totaling hundreds of billions—has subordinated the government to foreign and domestic creditors, including a $400 billion debt to a Native American conglomerate poised to repossess national assets. Infrastructure lies derelict, with urban centers featuring overgrown lots, shuttered factories, and skeletal highways unused for vehicular traffic, underscoring the tangible fallout from decades of deficit spending and resource mismanagement.^[15]^[1] Geopolitical realignments amplify America's decline, as the People's Republic of China transitions to state-directed capitalism, ascending to dominate international finance and trade, while traditional adversaries consolidate power blocs that eclipse U.S. influence. This creditor leverage manifests in policy paralysis, with fiscal sovereignty eroded by repayment demands, highlighting causal chains from domestic profligacy to external dependency.^[22]^[23]

Satirical Themes

Critique of Fiscal Irresponsibility

The film Americathon depicts the United States facing national bankruptcy in 1998, attributable to decades of excessive government borrowing and energy policy failures that rendered the dollar nearly worthless and forced widespread reliance on bicycles and communal living arrangements.^[21] This economic collapse manifests as a $400 billion debt to a foreign entrepreneur, symbolizing the perils of fiscal overextension without productive offsets.^[11] Central to the satire is the expansion of welfare entitlements, which the narrative links causally to voter dependency and reduced incentives for self-sufficiency, exacerbating budget shortfalls amid persistent oil shortages that crippled transportation and industry.^[21] The government's telethon initiative—framed as a desperate appeal for private donations to avert foreclosure—underscores the inadequacy of such measures as mere palliatives, diverting attention from root causes like revenues chronically lagging expenditures.^[3] These elements draw direct parallels to 1970s realities, including inflation peaking at 12.5% by 1974 and national debt rising from $371 billion in 1970 to $914 billion by 1980, fueled by oil embargoes and deficit-financed programs that mirrored the film's warnings of structural imbalances.^[24]^[25] Narratives minimizing these deficits often invoke temporary stimuli, yet the film's portrayal aligns with causal mechanics wherein borrowing sustains consumption but compounds interest burdens, eroding fiscal sovereignty over time.^[21] Subsequent U.S. debt trajectories, reaching $38 trillion by October 2025, validate the film's emphasis on dependency risks, as entitlements and borrowing have outpaced economic output, with annual additions exceeding $2 trillion in recent years.^[26] Proponents of the satire argue this trajectory confirms unchecked spending's inexorable path to crisis, while detractors at the time labeled it exaggerated, overlooking empirical precedents of currency debasement from fiscal laxity.^[21]^[27] The film satirizes presidential incompetence through the character of President Chet Roosevelt, depicted as a dimwitted, New Age enthusiast who resorts to hosting a national telethon from a rented California house to avert bankruptcy, underscoring leadership failures amid fiscal collapse.^[15] Bureaucratic bloat is lampooned via the government's $400 billion debt to Native American magnate Sam Birdwater, who threatens foreclosure, illustrating how entrenched inefficiencies and borrowing from private entities exacerbate national vulnerability.^[15]^[3] This critique extends to both ideological flanks, targeting left-leaning welfare dependencies implied in the societal breakdown from prolonged economic mismanagement and right-leaning corporate cronyism through Birdwater's outsized influence over sovereign fate.^[28] Social commentary focuses on media sensationalism and celebrity worship as mechanisms diverting attention from substantive reforms, exemplified by the telethon's parade of contrived spectacles—like destroying the last automobile or staging a mother-son boxing match—hosted by the debauched Monty Rushmore, which mocks television's prioritization of ratings and sponsorships over genuine problem-solving.^[15]^[3] Celebrity cameos and provocative performers, such as a scantily clad pop star, further highlight how entertainment commodifies civic crises, reducing complex governance issues to exploitable entertainment.^[28]^[15] While the satire achieves insight into the causal chains of policy inertia—where decades of unchecked spending culminate in existential debt—the execution falters with overly broad stereotypes and scattershot humor, often prioritizing sophomoric gags over incisive analysis, which alienated contemporary audiences and diluted its critical edge.^[3]^[28] Critics note that, despite prescient jabs at geopolitical meddling (e.g., an Arab-Israeli alliance's sabotage plot), the film's uneven structure undermines its potential to provoke reflection on real-world governance dysfunction.^[3]^[15]

Release and Promotion

Marketing Campaigns

Promotional trailers for Americathon highlighted the film's depiction of a dystopian 1998 America facing bankruptcy and energy scarcity, featuring clips of the absurd telethon fundraiser, John Ritter's lead role as a TV consultant, and celebrity cameos to underscore the satirical spectacle.^[29] These trailers positioned the movie as a timely farce amid the 1979 energy crisis, with gas rationing and long lines at pumps evoking the film's premise of oil-dependent societal collapse.^[30] TV spots similarly emphasized star power from performers like Fred Willard and guest appearances by musicians such as Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf, aiming to draw audiences through recognizable names rather than high production values.^[31] A notable stunt involved roller-skater Ted Coombs, sponsored by distributor United Artists, who traversed 5,193 miles from Los Angeles to New York City and back starting June 1, 1979, as a publicity protest against the ongoing fuel shortages.^[32] Backed by the filmmakers with $1,000 in gear, Coombs' journey earned a Guinness World Record and garnered media coverage linking the endurance feat to the movie's themes of resource desperation and fiscal improvisation. This low-cost guerrilla tactic reflected the production's modest budget constraints, ironically mirroring the film's narrative of cash-strapped ingenuity to avert national repossession. Marketing efforts leaned on print ads and novelizations, including a photo-novel tie-in that adapted key scenes to extend buzz, though overall promotion remained restrained compared to major releases, prioritizing event-driven publicity over extensive media buys.^[20] By framing Americathon as prescient commentary on mounting U.S. debt—then exceeding $800 billion—and economic malaise under President Jimmy Carter, campaigns sought to capitalize on public frustration without direct political endorsements.^[33]

Theatrical Distribution

Americathon was theatrically released in the United States on August 10, 1979, by United Artists.^[34] The film received a wide release during the peak summer movie season, coinciding with major competition from blockbusters such as Apocalypse Now and Alien.^[35] This timing positioned it for initial screenings primarily in urban and metropolitan theaters, aligning with United Artists' strategy for mid-budget comedies seeking broad but not exclusively prestige venue exposure.^[34]

Commercial and Critical Response

Box Office and Financial Outcomes

Americathon grossed $6,171,763 in North American box office receipts following its release on August 10, 1979.^[36] Produced on a reported budget of $2.2 million, the film recouped its production costs but generated limited profits after distributor shares and marketing expenses, marking it as a commercial underperformer amid the era's high-grossing releases.^[13] The picture faced stiff competition during the 1979 summer season, when blockbusters such as Alien ($106 million worldwide) and Moonraker ($162 million worldwide) drew audiences toward spectacle-driven science fiction and action fare, sidelining niche satirical comedies like Americathon. This timing contributed to muted attendance, as theaters prioritized proven crowd-pleasers over dystopian humor that critiqued fiscal policy and cultural decay—elements potentially unappealing to mainstream viewers seeking escapism amid economic stagflation.^[37] Despite the shortfall from blockbuster expectations, the low-budget approach mitigated significant losses for distributor United Artists, allowing the project to break even operationally without the overruns plaguing higher-stakes 1979 films like Apocalypse Now (budget escalated to $31.5 million).^[13] Early trade reports pegged domestic earnings at $4.2 million by late September 1979, underscoring gradual accumulation rather than rapid uptake.^[13]

Contemporary Reviews and Critiques

Americathon received largely negative reviews upon its August 1979 release, with critics praising the film's prescient premise of fiscal collapse while lambasting its uneven execution and reliance on juvenile humor. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rated it half a star out of four, calling it "a puerile exploitation of one very thin joke during 98 very long minutes" and faulting the satire for failing to develop beyond superficial gags.^[5] Janet Maslin's review in The New York Times similarly acknowledged the concept's potential, stating the premise was "strong enough to sustain a 15-minute skit," but criticized the feature-length expansion for diluting its bite through protracted pacing and inconsistent tone.^[27] Gene Siskel, Ebert's Sneak Previews co-host, echoed these sentiments, deeming the film a major disappointment amid 1979's summer releases due to its inability to sustain comedic momentum.^[38] While mainstream outlets highlighted flaws in the script's delivery—such as overlong sequences and sophomoric elements that undermined sharper commentary on entitlement and bureaucracy—some responses noted the timeliness of its debt critique during the Carter administration's economic challenges, though this did not offset widespread perceptions of missed opportunity in translating bold ideas into effective satire.^[5]^[27]

Availability and Preservation

Home Media Releases

The film received its initial home video release on VHS in 1985 through Karl-Lorimar Home Video, featuring a slipcase edition that catered to the era's growing demand for prerecorded tapes.^[39] Warner Home Video later reissued it on VHS in the early 1990s, incorporating Lorimar's branding elements, which helped maintain availability during the transition from analog formats.^[40] These VHS versions, now out of print, preserved the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio and full runtime, serving as primary archival copies for enthusiasts before widespread digital migration.^[41] A DVD edition followed as part of the Warner Archive Collection on November 30, 2010, produced as a manufactured-on-demand disc without bonus features, emphasizing straightforward transfer of the 1979 source material.^[42] This release marked the film's entry into optical media, offering improved durability over tape and modest enhancements in playback quality, though limited to standard definition.^[43] No official Blu-ray edition has been released as of October 2025, restricting high-definition access and underscoring the film's niche status in physical media catalogs.^[44] Digital distribution has supplemented this through rental and purchase options on services like Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home, with occasional streaming inclusions that support on-demand viewing without physical ownership.^[45] These formats have collectively ensured the film's survival beyond theaters, facilitating private screenings that highlight its role in 1970s satire preservation.

Current Accessibility

As of October 2025, Americathon remains accessible primarily through digital rental or purchase on select platforms, including Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home, where it can be streamed for a fee typically ranging from $2.99 to $3.99 or bought for around $9.99.^[45]^[46]^[47] These options provide on-demand viewing without subscription requirements from major services like Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+, reflecting its status as a niche title outside mainstream catalogs.^[45]^[48] Physical copies, such as used DVDs, circulate via secondary markets like eBay and online retailers, often from out-of-print releases, sustaining availability for collectors despite no recent official reissues. Unauthorized uploads appear sporadically on video-sharing sites like YouTube and Dailymotion, though these risk removal due to active copyright enforcement by rights holders, originally United Artists and now managed under MGM/UA legacies.^[49]^[50] The film's limited digital footprint stems from its age and satirical content, which has not prompted broad restoration efforts or wide licensing, constraining dissemination beyond paywalled or secondhand channels. This scarcity has fostered a persistent, albeit underground, interest among audiences drawn to its prescient critique of national debt, with discussions in fiscal policy forums highlighting its relevance amid ongoing U.S. fiscal debates, though formal archival access remains absent from major institutions.^[4]

Enduring Impact

Cultural Legacy

Americathon has achieved niche recognition as a cult item among viewers interested in its satirical foresight on U.S. fiscal insolvency, particularly following its initial commercial failure in 1979.^[7] The film's depiction of a bankrupt America resorting to a national telethon resonated during the 2010s debt ceiling debates, with commentators noting its prescient critique of unchecked government spending and dependency on foreign creditors.^[21]^[51] Libertarian-leaning outlets highlighted the movie's relevance to real-world debt crises, portraying it as an early warning against normalized fiscal profligacy.^[21] Despite this, the film's legacy remains limited by its era-specific comedic style, derived from sketch comedy origins, which critics and audiences have found uneven and dated, contributing to its obscurity outside specialized circles.^[7]^[52] It has not demonstrably influenced subsequent political satires, though its themes of economic decline and cultural decadence continue to draw comparisons in discussions of causal factors in national debt accumulation, such as persistent deficits and entitlement expansions.^[23] Conservative perspectives often credit the film with prophetic insight into debt dynamics, while broader cultural dismissal attributes its marginal status to stylistic flaws rather than substantive irrelevance.^[53]

Assessment of Prophetic Elements

The film Americathon, set in a dystopian 1998, forecasted a U.S. bankruptcy precipitated by chronic overspending and foreign debt, alongside the exhaustion of oil reserves leading to societal collapse into pedestrianism and vehicular habitation.^[2] Empirical data confirms the persistence of escalating U.S. national debt as a core causal risk: in fiscal year 1979, public debt stood at approximately $827 billion, rising to $5.5 trillion by 1998 and exceeding $35 trillion by October 2025, driven by sustained deficits from entitlement expansions, military outlays, and fiscal policies unconstrained by balanced budgeting.^[54] ^[55] This trajectory validates the film's depiction of fiscal entropy—unrestrained borrowing compounding interest burdens—though averted default has hinged on the dollar's reserve currency status rather than resolution of underlying profligacy.^[54] Further prescience lies in anticipating geopolitical shifts: the film's portrayal of a weakened Soviet Union aligns with its actual dissolution on December 25, 1991, attributable to economic stagnation, failed central planning, and nationalist fractures rather than external conquest as satirized. ^[56] Concurrently, the narrative's nod to China's emergence as an economic powerhouse materialized through Deng Xiaoping's 1978 reforms, which introduced market mechanisms, special economic zones, and foreign investment, propelling GDP growth averaging over 9% annually and lifting 800 million from poverty by integrating capitalist incentives into a state-directed framework.^[57] ^[58] Contrasting inaccuracies include the predicted total oil depletion by the late 20th century, which did not occur; global proven reserves have expanded via technological advances like hydraulic fracturing and deepwater drilling, sustaining production peaks into the 21st century without the film's envisioned scarcity-induced apocalypse. ^[59] While dependency vulnerabilities echoed real 1970s crises, U.S. net energy independence by 2019—via shale innovations—debunks absolute exhaustion narratives, underscoring how innovation mitigates resource Malthusianism absent in the film's pessimism. Overall, Americathon's economic prophecies hold causal realism in debt dynamics and power realignments, but overstate energy determinism, highlighting empirical divergences where policy adaptability forestalled collapse in select domains.^[54]^[57]

References

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Rating 36% (13) Americathon, from 1979, starring John Ritter as President Chet Roosevelt. America's credit rating has been downgraded and the brilliant politicians decide to ...
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Americathon movie review & film summary (1979) | Roger Ebert
Rating 0.5/4 · Review by Roger Ebert“Americathon” is a puerile exploitation of one very thin joke during 98 very long minutes. It is accompanied by a short subject that is part of the National ...Missing: plot | Show results with:plot
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Mostly this book consists of transcripts of the GOTHAMATHON and AMERICATHON skits that so impressed Mr. Israel. Both are somewhat difficult to read, being ...Missing: development origins 1978
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Americathon (also known as Americathon 1998) is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Neal Israel and starring John Ritter, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, ...
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America Now Too Bankrupt Even For a Telethon - Reason Magazine
Dec 16, 2010 · Set in the then-future year of 1998, "Americathon" depicts the United States as flat broke, and the mortgage is coming due. No one can afford a house, so ...Missing: concept inspiration energy crisis<|separator|>
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He set a Guinness World Record for roller skating across the United States in 1979. ... "It's the Skate of the Union for Coast-to-Coast Roller Ted Coombs".
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Americathon - 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting
Americathon is a weird and uneasy mix of sophomoric and biting, witless and charming, dated and eerily prescient.Missing: reception | Show results with:reception
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Release Schedule 1979 - The Numbers
Domestic Release Schedule for 1979 ; August 10 · Americathon (Wide), United Artists ; Sunburn (Wide), Paramount Pictures.
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https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr3245756933/
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Americathon - Box Office Mojo
Box office. Domestic. Market, Release Date, Opening, Gross. Domestic, Aug 10, 1979, –, $6,171,763. Latest Updates: News | Daily | Weekend | All Time | ...
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Movies Released in 1979 - The Numbers
The revenue listed is the worldwide box office combined with the domestic home market revenue to date. See also: Top 1979 Worldwide - Domestic Release ...<|separator|>
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Meatballs, Sunburn, Americathon, Hot Stuff, The Concorde
Jan 6, 2020 · Two major turkeys on this show. If they did a separate “Worst of 1979” show, The Concorde and Americathon would've gotten a lot of mention.Missing: film | Show results with:film
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Americathon | VHSCollector.com
May 18, 2013 · Karl Lorimar Home Video. Year of Release. Release Year. 1985. Country. United States. Format Details. VHS | N/A | Slipcase. Running Time. N/A ( ...
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https://closinglogogroup.fandom.com/wiki/Lorimar_Home_Video
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Lorimar Home Video - Closing Logo Group - Fandom
Availability: Extremely rare. Found on VHS releases of Money Hunt and Americathon as well as the first releases in the Jane Fonda's Workout series, among others ...
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Americathon DVD (Warner Archive Collection) - Blu-ray.com
Americathon DVD Release Date November 30, 2010 (Warner Archive Collection). DVD reviews, news, specs, ratings, screenshots. Cheap DVD movies and deals.<|control11|><|separator|>
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Amazon.com: Americathon
30-day returnsThe solution: a telethon to save Uncle Sam from bankruptcy. And with this way-out-there premise as a launching pad, Americathon explodes into comic outer space.Missing: 1979 | Show results with:1979
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Americathon streaming: where to watch movie online? - JustWatch
You can buy "Americathon" on Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango At Home as download or rent it on Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango At Home online.Missing: DVD Blu- ray
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Watch Americathon | Prime Video - Amazon.com
Rating 4.3 (191) · 30-day returnsIn 1998 the world's oil supply is exhausted. The U.S. Treasury is empty and in deep debt to a billionaire businessman who'll foreclose on the nation in 30 days.Missing: DVD Blu- ray
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Watch Rent or Buy Americathon Online | Fandango at Home (Vudu)
Looking to watch rent or buy Americathon online? Purchase, rent, or stream this movie and more for free on Fandango at Home. Start streaming now.Missing: streaming | Show results with:streaming
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Americathon (1979): Where to Watch and Stream Online | Reelgood
Rating 45% (12) Americathon featuring John Ritter and Harvey Korman is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV, available for rent or purchase on Prime Video, and available ...
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Americathon - YouTube
Sep 7, 2013 · In 1998 the world's oil supply is exhausted. The U.S. Treasury is empty and in deep debt to a billionaire businessman who'll foreclose on ...Missing: home VHS DVD Blu- ray<|separator|>
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Americathon 1979 ‧ Comedy/Satire ‧ - video Dailymotion
Mar 27, 2024 · The United States treasury is empty and a billionaire is about to foreclose on the nation. The president decides to organise a telethon to raise money.
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Americathon: Made in 1979 for 2011 | Cinezine Kane
Jul 30, 2011 · Made in 1979 during the middle of an oil crisis, it was set in 1998 in a world where there was only enough energy left to power televisions.Missing: concept 1970s
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Americathon (1979) - Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
Dec 10, 2015 · It's definitely a misfire, but I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that the movie has a small cult following for all that. Share this ...Missing: cultural legacy
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7 Films Which Eerily Predicted The Future – Page 5 - WhatCulture.com
Dec 14, 2013 · Americathon And The US Debt. Americathon is a little known cult comedy from 1979, set 20 years into the future and stars the likes of John ...Missing: collapse borrowing creditors<|control11|><|separator|>
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U.S. National Debt by Year - Investopedia
The Growing National Debt ; 1970, $371, Recession ; 1971, $398, Wage-price controls ; 1972, $427, Stagflation ; 1973, $458, Nixon ended gold standard; OPEC oil ...National Debt: Definition... · Debt-to-GDP Ratio · U.S. Debt by President: Dollar...
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Historical Debt Outstanding | U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data
Historical Debt Outstanding is a dataset that provides a summary of the U.S. government's total outstanding debt at the end of each fiscal year from 1789 to ...
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Collapse of the Soviet Union | Causes, Facts, Events, & Effects
Sep 29, 2025 · Sequence of events that led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 31, 1991. The former superpower was replaced by 15 independent countries.The end of Soviet communism · Yeltsin, Post-Soviet, Russia · Aftermath of the coup
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China Overview: Development news, research, data | World Bank
Since China began to open up and reform its economy in 1978, GDP growth has averaged over 9 percent a year, and more than 800 million people have lifted ...
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China's Post-1978 Economic Development and Entry into the Global ...
Oct 10, 2023 · In sum, since China's opening and reform movement began in 1978, there has been significant progress toward moving to a market-oriented economy.
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Fossil fuel reserves aren't running out | Gapminder
They will never run out, just become more expensive to extract, and if we continue to burn them as we have been, scientists predict catastrophic climate change.