| Archives of Nolan's Pop Culture Review | ||
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 THIS WEEK'S MOVIE REVIEW "Finding Neverland" by Mike Smith | ||
COUCH POTATO CONFESSIONS Neil Gaiman's Return To Comics....Black History Month Notes....Numb3rs vs Murder in Suburbia....Super Bowled....And Now The Couch Potato Super Bowl Commercial Awards by Vinnie Blesi | ||
SPLASH PAGE Let's Review: I Killed The Maverick?....More on Mike....Check Your Pocket For Change by Brandon Jones | ||
CREATURE'S CORNER I'm Back....King Kong (Dark Horse Comics)...."The Boogeyman"....Creature Productions: "The Incredible Comic Book Murder" and Film Fest #1 by John Lewis | ||
MATT'S RAIL Back On The Couch....Rondo Picks Up Steam.... Super Bowl Pooo-bahhh .... Welcomings by Matt Drinnenberg | ||
MIKE'S RANT Super Bowl Notes....School House Love....José It Ain't So....Welcome Back....Hello There, Ladies and Gentlemen....Passing On....Jaws: The Story, Part 5 by Mike Smith | ||
LETTERS | ||
Established A.D. 2000, March 19. Now in our sixth calendar year!
Number 255 (Vol. 6, No. 6). This edition is for the week of February 7--13, 2005.
Nolan Radio Update For access to any previous episode, please see the Nolan Radio Archives.
The Return of Couch Potato Confessions William Moriaty and I watched some of the Super Bowl from the local Hooters, and we commented on how tame this year's spots were, of course due to the unwarranted hubbub over last year's "wardrobe malfunction". We did not see the half-time show, but later I saw clips of Paul McCartney performing "Get Back" and must admit it brought a lump to my throat. I've since heard from several friends he did a great show, sorry I missed it.
The Shape of Things To Come La Floridiana The Ray Dennis Steckler interview update! Filmmaker Joe Davison joins Crazed Fanboy Coffeehouse Film Series Review Reminder At PCR "presstime", the only confirmed film showing I'm aware of is the official premiere of Icon Film Studio's SEVER, starring Jereme Badger and Natali Ragan.
"Brain Robbers From Outer Space" released! Ostensibly mounted as a sequel to Ed Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space" and using its original title, this extraordinarily strange film stars b-movie legend Conrad Brooks together with local indie film notables as Joel D. Wynkoop and Gus Perez in a low-budget tour-de-force concerning extraterrestrial invasion. When Gus appeared on my old public access show, The World of Nolan, if memory serves, we played a few clips from the ongoing production.
Recently, according to Gus, several hours of original footage was cut down to about three hours the last he heard, but obviously it's been fine-tuned since then. It is being released as a DVD and, I believe, is targeting film festivals as well.
Right now, to get your own copy of "Brain Robbers", log onto The Collector Zone, and order a copy from its official distributor, John Matrulla.
A hearty personal congratulations to Garland Hewlett, Conrad Brooks, Joel, Gus, and the whole cast and crew of "Brain Robbers From Outer Space" for completion of this monumental labor of love. We fans of outré video are in your debt!
Shake-ups and Surprises
Also
....Coffeehouse Film Review Reminder
..."Brain Robbers From Outer Space" completed!
First of all, let me apologize for the delay in getting up Tuesday's "under construction" page and subsequently, Wednesday's front page, I know a few of you were alarmed. My odious night job at the hell-pit of despair robbed me of two days off I normally have because a couple people quit at the same time leaving a void in the schedule. Suddenly, I became "Mr. Valuable" (as opposed to much more hateful terms they usually reserve for me). I haven't had a day off for a week until today (Wed).....PCR day. I'm doing my best to catch up.
I'd like to remind everyone to please regularly check the Nolan Radio section in the upper right-hand corner of this homepage as updates will be happening more frequently now. The current episode features Chris Woods and Simon Lynx from Icon Film Studios in a very personal and entertaining recounting of their careers in independent film. This is the seventh completed N.R. episode to date, and I feel it's getting better and better.
I'm extremely pleased to announce the return of our friend Vinnie Blesi to these pages after a long absence. His Couch Potato Confessions was sorely missed by the staff and fandom alike while Vinnie sorted out his feelings regarding the re-election of George W. Bush (previously documented, not rehashing it here). "Confessions", previously a weekly column (or darn close to that), will be a monthly feature for the foreseeable future (much like La Floridiana). It is worth noting that Vinnie has been a regular poster to the Message Board the whole time---visitors there have had more regular access to his thoughts and opinions. Nevertheless, welcome home, Vinnie!
Super Bowl Ads
One thing I'd like to comment on in his month's issue of Couch Potato is Vinnie's "Super Bowl Commercial Awards".....I pretty much agree with his choices down the line, particularly about GoDaddy.com. But one of my favorite ads, just on a fanboy level, was a credit card commercial featuring a woman in distress and a horde of familiar super-heroes showing up for the rescue. I seem to remember Captain America and Thor were in there. But the appearance of Underdog(!) at the end was unexpected and a great touch.
Andy Lalino called to advise that there would be no Oddservations for this week due to his computer being attacked again by malware/spyware. Long-time readers may recall Andy and I both had fits over episodes with that insidious stuff last summer. Andy is purging the demons from his system and effecting repairs as we speak and, hopefully, will be rejoining us soon.
When William Moriaty's "La Floridiana" returns, it will be with a bang. Long-time readers know how deeply William and I have been involved with paranormal/UFO research. There is one incredible personal story he's recounted several times to close personal friends, but never shared with the public....until now. Stay tuned, as very soon (possibly next week?), William will reveal this wild true story from his past. Believe me, you won't want to miss it!
The long-awaited interview of cult filmmaker Ray Dennis Steckler by ED Tucker, delayed from last summer due to Ray's health problems, arrived in the CF offices earlier this week! Fortunately, Ray's health has improved and he was able to help ED fine-tune the final product. Like all of ED's special columns, this will be a no-holds-barred, graphics-intensive special feature that is destined to become an instant classic. Unfortunately, due to my overwhelming work schedule this week, I cannot possibly due it justice under current time constraints, BUT look for it first thing in next week's PCR!
Boy, just when I thought my email box couldn't get any weirder, I start getting emails from former Tampa boy and independent filmmaker Joe Davison (Afterlife, Unearthed), currently living in England, but whom I haven't heard from in, like, 2 years! Formerly a regular correspondent with the now-defunct Legion Studios website, Joe found his situation in England changing a bit and wants to once again unleash his particular brand of lunacy, this time on the Crazed Fanboy audience.....Well, that's fine by me! Welcome aboard, Joe, glad to have you! It is worth noting Joe did make several entertaining contributions to the pre-crash CF Message Board '04 (I think regarding indie films), so he has a little bit of a history with us already. Just arrived are some intense fiction pieces I'll be posting and linking from this page later this week or next week. I think you're really going to get a bang out of them. Meanwhile, we're in negotiations about a regular column for PCR!
TOO Productions will celebrate one year of Coffeehouse Film Review on Thursday, February 10, from 8 – 10 p.m. at Studio 1515, located at 1515 Seventh Avenue in Ybor City. Coffeehouse Film Reviews showcases independent films made by local filmmakers. Coffeehouse Film Reviews is held every second Thursday of the month and is free.
This is indeed a red-letter day for fandom! Ladies and gentlemen, I've been following the progress of this film for about ten years now. I remember strange ads in the paper calling for a crew with Hi-8 cameras, and transportation to Brandon, FL, for one of its stars, Conrad Brooks. I remember irregular appearances on public access television by any one of many character actors over the last ten years claiming the completion of the film was "imminent". I remember speaking with exec producer, writer, and director Garland Hewlett at various functions about the film. And yes, I even remember speaking with Conrad Brooks once or twice about it.
