I like to think that early in the history of Snakes on a Plane, there was a conversation that went something like this:

Director: “So yeah, then the guy needs to fly to LA, but there are a bunch of poisonous snakes on the plane, and chaos ensues.”
Studio exec: “I see. And what are you calling this picture?”
D: “Well, the working title is Snakes on a Plane.”
SE: “I see.” (Here the exec rubs his forehead, as if imploring the Deity for the strength to deal with such witlessness.) “There is absolutely no way that anyone will see this. The only way that this film will make any money whatsoever is if some kind of weird subcultural thing happens and people are driven to the theaters by some dark, improbable mixture of high camp and mass hysteria, and you get the Rocky Horror crowd to show up. It’s a better idea than Jackass and Freddy Got Fingered, but that isn’t saying much.”
D: “. . .”

More from the premiere at the Metreon after the jump!

Well, there’s your weird subcultural thing. There were at least five people with laptops out before the show, a troop of people wearing the hardcore math nerd Snakes on a Plane shirt, and all kinds of plastic snakes flying around the theatre. Curiously, I didn’t see any people wearing the TopatoCo shirt, especially considering that the man himself wears it in the music video (about 2:15 in). Perhaps it’s just that I found out about it through Overcompensating.

Anyway, here’s what the theater looked like before the show:

Apparently one of these people was the Chronicle reviewer. I’m not certain I agree that the movie would have been worth seeing without the crowd, but it certainly wasn’t terrible. And yes, Samuel L. Jackson tasers snakes in the face. Several times.

According to the Onion, one of his current projects is an audio version of the Bible. Guess who he plays? Hint: it’s another role that involves snakes.

Thanks to Nicole for letting me know she had a spare ticket!