In 1984, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels produced his first film, a sci-fi comedy titled Nothing Lasts Forever. Shot in both black-and-white and color, it tells the story of an aspiring actor in New York City named Adam Beckett (played by Gremlins star Zach Galligan). Beckett discovers a strange group of homeless people living underground, who inform him that the city is merely a dream world. His true purpose, they say, is to head to the moon on a jet-propelled bus in search of his soulmate.
Goofy premise aside, the movie had a lot going for it and was shaping up to be a hit. Also appearing alongside Galligan were Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, hot on the success of Ghostbusters, and veteran comedy stars Mort Sahl and Imogene Coca. The trailer referred to it as “The most spectacular film ever produced.” Director Tom Schiller was even told by the folks at the Cannes Film Festival that he’d “created a masterpiece” that would “be a sensation at Cannes.”
That makes it all the weirder that the movie never had a theatrical run. Initially scheduled for release in September 1984, MGM decided it lacked commercial potential and shelved it indefinitely. Outside of some individual screenings over the years, it was never officially released, and has yet to appear on home video. It was eventually shown on television in the UK a decade later.
Legal issues have prevented it from being released on DVD or Blu-ray, but it has since been shown on American television courtesy of Turner Classic Movies. There have also been several screenings in recent years, some attended by Galligan, Murray, and Schiller. And, of course, with the internet being the internet, it has been uploaded in its entirety on various platforms and subsequently removed by the copyright holders.
Check out the original trailer below.
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