5/28/09

Bonus material from ROBOT Night!


Thanks to everybody who was part of last week's ROBOT Night!

We had a helluva turnout, enthusiastic geeks from all walks of life -- plus special appearances by Vlad Tsepis (host of TV's
Ghoul a Go Go), Professor Tom Henning, a game of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots and a Roomba.

Here’s some bonus material that didn’t appear during the show.

Trailer for the Andy Kaufman robot love story Heartbeeps

NOTE: HBO is showing Heartbeeps this month.

Robot Belt Buckles styled after The Phantom Creeps.

1978 cartoon, The Robonic Stooges

Here’s a clip of TV’s SMALL WONDER, where
V.I.C.K.I. beats up a drug pusher (note: skip ahead to 9:09 for the comedic violence.

John Lovitz and Phil Hartman discuss the URKLEBOT (skip to 1:44 - 3:10)

At last, your very own binary code translator

Asimo Falls Down

The makers of ROOMBA also produce militaristic warrior robots.

An article on soldiers and military robots .

A video about how robots will one day “Take care of us” one way or another.

From the gang at Overthinkingit.com comes this surprising Terminator Ballad

An old favorite, the music video for James Kochala’s “Monkey Vs. Robot”.

And a cut-down we featured at the show: The Harlem Globetrotters Vs. The New Invincibles.

5/14/09

Wednesday Night is ROBOT Night!



One day robots will enslave mankind.

Until then, we can laugh at them.

This Wednesday night, The Sci Fi Screening Room presents ROBOT Night!

Co-hosted by Kevin Maher and Victor Varnado (director of ROBOT SUPREMO)


See Lustful Androids…killer cyborgs…wisecracking robots and other remarkable machines you won’t see on Netflix or Youtube.

Featuring Tom Selleck, Bela Lugosi, Yul Brynner, Gumby, Asimo, Gilligan, King Kong, Urklebot and more!

Plus special guests, cheap beer, trivia prizes and the ultimate robot death match.

Wednesday, May 20th
7 PM
Just $7
UNDER St. Mark’s, 94 St. Mark’s Place (between 1st Ave and Avenue A)

5/13/09

VOTE for the summer film festival

Each summer HBO hosts the Bryant Park Film Series, offering the likes of Cat Ballou, Hud and Funny Girl, along with some obligatory classics starring Robert Redford and Jimmy Stewart.

But how about a film series celebrating the movies that made HBO.

Against my better judgment, I’m doing just that -- this summer at UNDER St. Mark's.


Here’s my list of nominees (in no particular order)

CAST YOUR VOTE in the comments section. Lemme know which ones you’d pay to see (regardless of whether or not you’re actually going to any of the screening.)


The Legend of Billie Jean
Super Fuzz
Modern Problems
Incredible Shrinking Woman
Excalibur
Turk 182
Hot Stuff
The Last Chase
C.H.U.D.
Cloak & Dagger
On the Right Track
Saturday the 14th
Eddie and the Cruisers


The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
The Philadelphia Experiment
DC Cab
Mr. Mom
TAG: The Assassination Game
Streets of Fire
Max Dugan Returns
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Over The Edge
The Outsiders
Grease 2
Strange Invaders
Electric Dreams
Red Dawn
Just One of the Guys
Cannonball Run 2


Teen Witch
Wargames
Xanadu
Under the Rainbow
Six Pack
Supergirl
Touched by Love
Soul Man
Rhinestone
Firestarter
Ice Pirates
Mannequin
Midnight Madness
Dreamscape
Flash Gordon (1980)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Popeye
Weekend at Bernie's
Heart Like a Wheel
The Beastmaster



Please note: The trick is finding a title that was:

1. In heavy rotation on HBO
2. Bad enough that it won’t be screened elsewhere in NYC
3. Entertaining enough that people would see it.

For example, Savannah Smiles and Kidco and Who’s Harry Crumb? were staples, but I can’t imagine anyone would pay money to see them.


Leave your thoughts in the Comments section. Thanks!

4/2/09

REVISED Screening Schedule



Due to an oversight, The BEST OF The Sci Fi Screening Room
was scheduled on the first night of Passover.

For our Jewish friends observing the holiday (and our friends who are die-hard fans of GARY, UNMARRIED) we will instead move the BEST OF show to June.

So here's the revised SCREENING SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, April 8th @ 9:00 PM - GRAB BAG Show!
A collection of outrageous clips presented by friends, filmmakers and other nerds. The night the audience will be given a pair of choices and then vote on which video they want to see. Clips will include evil trucks, giant bugs, deleted scenes and monologues where scientists deliver lengthy explanations of improbable happenings. Plus, I'll be sharing my favorite science-fiction parody from SCTV.


Wednesday, May 20th @ 7 PM - ROBOT Night!
Just in time for Terminator-mania, we've got an evening of killer cyborgs, lustful androids, wisecracking robots, and a collection of clips where Robots Fight Apes. Co-hosted by Victor Varnado
(director of ROBOT SUPREMO)


June date TBD -- The RESCHEDULED BEST OF SHOW
This greatest hits show will be even better because it'll feature the best bits from Robot Night and the Grab-Bag Show. Cult classics, weird-cartoons, and other oddities that must be seen to be believed. (for more details click here)


All shows will be seen at UNDER St. Mark's
94 St. Mark's Place (between 1st Ave and Avenue A)

As always we'll offer trivia, prizes, cheap beer and free snacks.

Thanks to everyone for supporting the show.

3/29/09

The Best of the Sci Fi Screening Room


Big news: April 8th marks the 15-month anniversary of the Sci Fi Screening Room.

So I'm doing a GREATEST HITS Show, featuring the greatest clips from the series.

We're talking the best from Bigfoot Night, Video Game Night and Batman Night!

Plus favorites from Frankenstein Night, Superhero Night and Sci Fi Musicals Night.

Still not enough? Hows about scenes from Damanation Alley Night, Hulk Night and Kiss Night!?

If you've missed shows in the past, this is your chance to catch-up with an epic 99 minute video cavalcade featuring footage you won't find on YouTube of Netflix.

Plus: New clips that didn't fit into previous theme nights.

A chance for two lucky audience members to challenge our PAC-MAN Champ.

Music, Trivia, Prizes, Free Snacks, Cheap Beer and...a special surprise guest making his Sci Fi Screening Room debut.

Come see the show that has been featured in The New York Times, Scientific American and a David Hasslehoff Fan blog.


THE BEST OF THE SCI FI SCREENING ROOM

UNDER St. Mark's
94 St. Mark's Place (between 1st Ave and Avenue A)

Still just $7

NOTE: THIS SHOW HAS BEEN MOVED TO JUNE. CHECK BACK HERE TO DETAILS.

3/26/09

Coming Soon...



My new short PUPPET RODEO played at Philadelphia's Backseat Film Festival where it won the award for Staff Favorite.

It's coming soon to Atom.com -- stay tuned for details.

The Backseat guys will be screening the Kevin Maher/TV Head classic
Family Dinner Party at their evening at the Philadelphia Cinefest.

3/12/09

SUPERHERO Night!




It's a bird...

it's a plane...

it's... SUPERHERO Night!

Yes, from the people who brought you HULK Night and KISS Night comes the ultimate video cavalcade of off-beat Superhero clips.

Featuring stuff you won't find on TV, YouTube or Hulu... including scenes from The 1979 cartoon show FRED & BARNEY MEET THE THING.

...scenes from The Spirit TV movie

...and a view-master reel of Superman Vs. The Computer Crook.

Special guests include James Dean Conklin, the animator of WONDERMAN (TV Funhouse)
Professor Geoff Klock (who contribued to MOMA's Superhero fashion book)
Matthew K. Manning (writer for DC's Batman Strikes)
M. Sweeney Lawless (curator of BIGFOOT Night)
Jay Stern (producer of FRANKENSTEIN Night)
Craig Wichman (who played Batman in BATMAN Night's Fan Fiction)

and co-host Nick Nadel (from the AMC super-hero blog)


It all happens this Wednesday, March 18th @ 7 PM.

UNDER St. Mark's
94 St. Mark's Place (between 1st Avenue and Avenue A)

Tickets are $7 (admission includes a Hostess Fruit Pie)




FANBOYS interview



Here's a one-off video I did for AMC. I wanted to help spread the word about FANBOYS. Screenwriter Ernie Cline is one of my favorite SPOKEN NERD artists. You should check out his stuff at http://www.ernestcline.com/

Also, you can find ALMOST all the AMC videos here (http://www.amctv.com/videos/scifi-movies/) They are missing two episodes.

2/3/09

VIDEO-GAME-MOVIE Night!


February’s SCI FI SCREENING ROOM is a celebration of movies inspired by video games. Featuring cartoons based on arcade classics, vintage commercials, fan films, and other gimmicky media that tried to cash-in on America’s Pac-Man Fever.

With:
Live Chiptune music.
Video-Game Haikus.
Footage from THE LAST STARFIGHTER musical.
Plus special surprises and trivia prizes.

The evening will include a mini-video-game tournament (just like in THE WIZARD).


Co-Host Will Carlough will show a video-tape of his world-record-breaking game of ICE CLIMBER. And we'll screen an official video on Secret video Game Tricks, Codes and Strategies.


After the show we’ll go to Criff Dogs for some RC Cola and Spy Hunter.


The Sci Fi Screening Room
Monday, February 9the @ 9 PM
UNDER St. Mark’s
94 St. Mark’s Place (betw 1st Ave and Avenue A)
$7

2/2/09

The End of The Road



The final episode of THE SCI FI DEPARTMENT.

We had a great run -- 72 episodes! Thanks to anyone who watched the show.

1/21/09

LABYRINTH sing-along



This was a lot of fun. The 92Y invited me back to host a screening. Check back for updates.

1/7/09

Old People News

Old People News

Here's my new web-show, produced for Atom.com and Comedy Central.

OLD PEOPLE NEWS stars a talented cast, including Arhur Anderson, the last surviving member of Orson Welles' Mercury Players.

The video has already won a major award -- it was the audience favorite at the Iron Mule Comedy Film Festival.

12/19/08

Christmas on Mars



Wayne Coyne is a real gentleman. You can read a longer version of this interview here

and be sure to check out showtimes at Cinema Purgatorio.com.

Five Freaky Frankenstein Films



After the success of FRANKENSTEIN Night! I wanted to do a video that captured some of the fun-facts from that show.

Thanks to BODIES: The Exhibition, they were really generous -- and they gave me that shirt, which made for a good movie reference. (2-in-1, really.)