Ice Pirates had a release date of March 16, 1984. It was originally intended be a serious sci fi movie penned by Krull writer Stanford Sherman with a 20 million budget. When a new budget was set at 8 million, Stewart Raffill rewrote it as a comedy. It is very loosely based on Jason and the Golden Fleece from mythology and pirate movies. It was one of the rare movies that warned of the dangers of Space Herpes. New studio head Frank Yablans had been accused of making it a difficult shoot. It has also been said the original ending had been cut without telling the director pryor to release. The film performed poorly, but has since has taken on a bit of a cult status. ("Ice Pirates", Sci Fi Movie Event)