Nomination Year: 1994

SYNOPSIS: From out of pretty much nowhere, a giant bird (or pterodactyl -- it's never quite clear) comes back from extinction and roosts in the top of New York's Chrysler Building. It then makes forays into the city for food: human beings. A jaded detective must discover the identity of this new "serial killer" and eventually comes to believe the evidence provided by a three-time loser informant. They take a SWAT team to the nest and first kill the egg and finally, after much struggle, defeat "Q."

Smithee Award Nominations

Oblivious
"Ah, It's Just a 60-Foot Flying Creature -- Fuggetaboutit!" The huge creature with, like, a 60-foot wingspan eats people and then flies overhead, dripping blood as it goes. Nobody sees it at all, despite a lot of folks being hit with drops of gore. They all look up and somehow never spot it. Or maybe they do spot it and don't care. It is New York, after all.	Sorry, this clip has not yet been made available!

Best One-Liner

Loose Head David Carradine and his partner are speculating as to how a decapitated window-washer's body could fall from the scaffolding with no apparent means of decapitation. All of his speculations get shot down one by one, until finally: David: "Maybe a big piece of glass broke off and sheared his head--" Partner: "Nope, we checked. There are no broken windows or anything." David: "Aw shit, maybe his head just got loose and fell off..."

Sorry, this clip has not yet been made available!

Worst Cover Copy

That's All You'll Have Time To Say Before Leaving the Theater in Disgust The cover sports not a photo, but a picture of a monster carrying a nude woman over the Chrysler Building. That never happened. And the monster didn't look like that. The tagline? "It's name is Quetzalcoatl... Just call it 'Q'... That's all you'll have time to say before it tears you apart!" How about calling it "Lame" instead?

Sorry, this cover has not yet been made available!

"Cutting Butter With A Chainsaw"
The SWAT Team Scrambles The cops finally believe there's a big bird. On a tip provided by the loser stoolie, they take a heavily-armed SWAT team up into the tower and, in a fit of jumpiness, cream the egg with about 12,000 rounds. The crazy guy ends by saying, "Dey didn't even get the bird. Dey got the egg."	Sorry, this clip has not yet been made available!

Directors

Director	Claim to Fame
Larry Cohen	Director of many a Smithee film, and writer of many, many others, including Q, The Stuff and the It's Alive and Maniac Cop franchises. Created TV shows like "Branded" and "The Invaders" (in COLOR!). Brief cameo in Spies Like Us.

Cast

Actor	Character	Claim to Fame
Michael Moriarty	<Not Yet in Database>
Candy Clark	<Not Yet in Database>
David Carradine	<Not Yet in Database>	Son of John Carradine, his expertise in martial arts nearly groomed him to be the next Bruce Lee. Nearly. Instead, he had a few TV shows and a LOT of Bad Movie parts.
Richard Roundtree	<Not Yet in Database>	"Shaft," can you dig it?
James Dixon	Lt. Murray	Pops up in small parts in a few B-Movies.
Mary Louise Weller	<Not Yet in Database>	Mandy Pepperidge in National Lampoon's Animal House; Claire Bonner in Forced Vengeance; and her breakout: Laurie Belman in The Evil.
Amir Aboulela	<Not Yet in Database>

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