2/17/11

SHOCK WAVES: or How I learned to overcome zombie fatigue and love undead monster movies


(NOTE: The following post first appeared on the SF Signal website, when editor-in-chief John DeNardo asked me the question: What was the last science-fiction film that surprised you in a good way?)  

An optimist might say that we’re experiencing a zombie renaissance, with zombie-themed TV shows, literature, flash mobs and conventions.

A pessimist would point to the cliché novelties, crossover comics, books, gimmicky poetry, etc., as though the undead-merchandize is a zombie plague in itself, with mindless products walking (or running) across the multi-media landscape.

Having suffered from “zombie fatigue”, I was surprised and delighted by the movie SHOCK WAVES. (1977).

We’ve seen adaptations of “Tales from the Crypt” (anthology movies, feature films and the HBO series) but SHOCK WAVES is like a "WEIRD WAR TALES" movie!  The film’s faux-documentary opening sets the tone nicely:



2/11/11

Hey Tanzania, we got COMMANDO covered....

There's an excellent video that's making the rounds, aimed at subverting the stereotypes of Sub-Saharan African Communites.  What better way to illustrate that point than to showcase a 9-year-old boy recapping the plot of Schwarzenegger's 1985 classic COMMANDO?

A very cool project, no doubt. (Learn more about the project here)


But just for the record, my 2-year-old boy was reciting "kill lines" from COMMANDO way before this other video went viral.  I recorded it last year, as part of a short-lived series called "Diary of a Cool Dad."

Here's my kid doing his Arnold impression (he quits just before saying "Right now I'm very hungry and I eat green berets for breakfast right now.")


Calvin does Commando
Uploaded by KevinMaher. - Videos of family and friends from around the world.

1/28/11

F.A.Q. FOR THE GUY WITH THE HUGE NUTSACK (old comedy sketch)

Today's "old comedy sketch" was written for Giant Tuesday Night of Amazing Inventions and Also There is a Game, the weekly comedy-variety show created by Andres du Bouchet (who now writes, and frequently performs, on Conan.)  I wrote this routine and it was performed by Mike Birch, one of the most gifted comedy-actors I know. He can be seen performing in One Man Hamlet, which is the best showcase I've seen for Mike's awesome talents. But now let's go back to 2005 and a routine called...

Q&A WITH HANK

ANDRES: If you read the papers or watch the news, then you’ll recognize our next guest.  He has become an overnight sensation and darling of the media.  Ladies and gentlemen I give you the one and only Hank Robeson! 

(MIKE enters as HANK, a self-described “ordinary kinda guy”  He gently sits down on a chair, delicately holding the large hat-box which rests on his lap) 

HANK: Hi folks.  I’m Hank.  Hi.  I guess I said that already.  I’m not used to public speaking.  I don’t like to call a lot of attention to myself, I mean I’m just an ordinary kinda guy.  But I’ve been getting a lot of attention lately so I thought I’d save us all a little embarrassment by answering some of your usual questions about my incredibly huge nutsack. 

(HANK reaches into the box and takes out cards at random.  His delivery is very natural, never trying too hard; he’s gentle and “aw-shucks”-like) 


(reading card) Have you also got a huge cock or penis?
I didn’t realize there was a difference between cock and penis.  But, no, I was blessed with this super-huge nutsack, but my penis is pretty average.  If anything I guess it looks small next to my enormous nutsack. 


(reading) Does the nutsack speak?
No. But I’ve always thought it was a great listener. 


(reading) Where would you and your nutsack most like to live?
I’d like to move to a cold climate.  The cold makes my giant nutsack get smaller, hot weather makes it balloon up.  Also, I wouldn’t have to wear shorts. 


(reading) Did Macy’s really try to get your nutsack in the Thanksgiving Day Parade?
No.  They didn’t, that’s another rumor on the Internet. 


(reading) Dude, I bet you get a lotta chicks with that huge-ass nutsack.
Yes and no.  A lot of women are flirtatious, like, they really want to see my big nutsack, but the women I’ve been in relationships with really like me for who I am, not cause I’m the guy with the enormous nutsack. 


(reading) What’s your favorite movie? 
"The Princess Bride."  I could recite the whole thing, but I don’t want to bore you. 


(reading) Can you get an operation to fix your enormous nutsack?
Well if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  Also, my health insurance won’t pay for it. 


(reading) Does having a monster nutsack hurt?
Only when I laugh.  Or when I get punched in the nutsack. And one time when a guy tried to put a cigarette out on it.


(reading) Do you support capital punishment?
That’s not really a question about my nutsack, so I’m not going to answer. Well I did answer the Princess Bride question, so – (pause) – uh, I feel uncomfortable discussing politics.  And realize, I’m used to a lot of discomfort, so I’m gonna pass. Sorry. 


(reading) Is there a website for your mega-nutsack?
I haven’t gotten around to it.  A friend of mine offered to make one for me, but I couldn’t find a good name.  There’s a lot of Big Nutsack sites out there that are just gross or it’s porn or some kind of fetish freak show.  My goal is to promote understanding, which is why I do this. 


Okay, we’ll do one more question. 


(reading) Do you have a big cock too?
Sorry.  One more. 


(reading) Is one ball bigger than the other?
I don’t think it’s bigger, but the left nut hangs a little lower by about two inches. 


You guys have been great, have a great night. 


(HANK gets up, holding the hatbox in front of his crotch.  He walks off-stage as though its contents are at once heavy and delicate.) 


ANDRES: There he goes, Hank the guy with the huge nutsack! (possible joke about how HANK can be seen on the upcoming ABC reality show "The Bachelor with the Huge Nutsack") 

1/27/11

THE SWEET SMELL OF CESS (old comedy sketch)


Today's script was written as an exercise in style, I was going for the pace and self-importance of Ernest Lehman's The Sweet Smell of Success.  For better or worse, this sketch was never produced. Photograph by Herman Yung.





“THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCKED CESS”


(E.G. KREELY, walks out onto his Penthouse balcony.  KREELY wears a smoking jacket and holds a drink.  He surveys the city like a King overlooks his Kingdom.)

KREELY: God-damn, will you look at this beautiful, god-awful city.  I hate it.  And I love it.  I’m complicated that way.

(CHAUNCY walks out of the shadows)

CHAUNCY: Yes, Kreely, you’re quite the enigma.

KREELY: (still looking outward) Chauncy, when I invite a guest to my penthouse I don’t expect him to call me an ass-cleansing solution.

CHAUNCY: That’s an enema, Kreely.

1/26/11

AUTOMATIC PILOT (old comedy sketch)

Here's an early script that was performed in the stage show "Children with Hands", directed by Oliver Butler at the wonderful UNDER St. Mark's.  Will Carlough played Pete and Paul Thureen played Felix.  Each actor did excellent work and it was delightful for me to see someone else play parts that I would've messed up.  (Spoiler: Paul did an amazing job at making the crying very real and laugh-out-loud funny; whereas I would've probably played it for laughs or made it too pathetic.)

“AUTOMATIC PILOT”

(PETE and FELIX sit side by side, holding the controls of a commercial airplane)

PETE: Confirm cabin pressure to altitude.

FELIX: Check.

PETE: Then we can kick back ‘til Fort Worth.

(PETE visibly relaxes and seems much more comfortable.  FELIX begins to sob, gently.)

1/25/11

THE FORTUNE TELLER sketch (old comedy sketch I wrote)

So I'm starting to post old comedy sketches.  It's an attempt to catalog early writings, as I've discovered that a lot of my early stuff isn't saved anywhere.  As I continue to post my old work, I'll present pieces as they were written.


Here's "THE FORTUNE TELLER"

(Stage is set with 2 chairs; one is occupied by MADAME KRISTA, an old gypsy woman. Next to her is a small sign that reads “PALM READINGS, $5”) 

(DAN walks through the curtain and sits down.  He hands the woman a five-dollar bill.) 

MADAME KRISTA: Yes, yes, let Madame Krista look into your future and see your fate.  Give me your hand…

(She turns his hand over to reveal thick black hair growing from his palm.)

MADAME KRISTA: Well…uhm…eh…it says you really like to whack-off. 

PAUSE. 

DAN: Does it say anything about my painting career?  Or where I’ll meet the love of my life?  Or if I’ll win the pie-eating contest?

MADAME KRISTA: No. Just a lot of whacking-off. 

DAN: Huh. 

(MADAME KRISTA squints.) 

MADAME KRISA: Also…you were born in a test-tube…conceived from the frozen seed of Adolph Hitler. 

DAN: No kiddin’ lady.  Why’da’ya think I pump the baloney so much? 

SFX: Wont-waaaant. 

The End.

12/30/10

KEVIN GEEKS OUT ABOUT GENRE BUSTERS - recap and bonus material

Thanks everybody who came to last week's show, KEVIN GEEKS OUT ABOUT GENRE BUSTERS.  The 92Y Tribeca hosted us in "the big room" and we got a wonderful audience on a cold, wet Wednesday night.


We had a delightful evening with some authors who bring the A-game to disrespected genres.
First up, Ben H. Winters talked about being recruited to write Quirk book's follow-up to someone else's mash-up novel PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES, explaining how he was chosen for the job and what it took to make SENSE & SENSIBILITY & SEA MONSTERS.  When faced with the task of writing a second mash-up novel, Ben realized it wouldn't work if he was revisiting authors who are already funny (say, Charles Dickens), so he chose a man with no sense of humor at all: Tolstoy.  And that led to the science-fiction, robot and UFO masterpiece ANDROID KARENENA  Ben came all the way in from Boston and he did not disappoint!  Follow him online here.

12/17/10

Who owns "They Live"? : a half-assed essay

Author Jonathan Lethem has a boner for the movie They Live (1988).  So much so that he's just written a book about it.  And this week he's hosting a screening of the film, followed by a conversation with John Hodgman. 

It's curious that over 20 years after its release, this B-movie movie has gotten the attention of academic-types.  They Live is an excellent combination of form and content: if you want to make a message-movie for blue-collar audiences (about how they're being systematically screwed) make a sci-fi action movie starring a professional wrestler.  But if you attend Lethem's screening at the  Greenwich Village IFC theater, do you expect the audience to be made up of "haves" or "have-nots"?

John Carpenter's They Live has something in common with George Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978): both feature bit characters that reflect the bearded Lefty intellectuals (they're not wearing leather-elbow patches, but they might as well be.)  In both cases, these talky apparitions appear mostly in TV screens (as if they exist inside the television and not in the same world as the characters, the same way some would criticize academics who live inside the Ivory Tower.) Their ideological ramblings are fragmented throughout each film.  In They Live, a character listed as "bearded man" hacks into network television signals and gives a direct-address about how "They" have created a repressive society that's turning "us" into livestock  (watch a clip here, from 2:01 - 3:55)  Dawn of the Dead's nameless, bearded "TV Commentator" insists on the need for logical behavior, and then calls the studio audience "dummies!" (watch a clip here)

12/10/10

My video series, OLD PEOPLE NEWS: The Tech Report

Remember my video OLD PEOPLE NEWS ?  Comedy Central and Atom.com liked it so much, they wanted more.  Here are the 8 new episodes -- our news team is back and older than ever, with THE TECH REPORT. 


see 7 more after the break....

12/7/10

The trouble with Superman II: The Richard Donner cut

This past week I finally saw SUPERMAN II: The Richard Donner Cut.   Donner directed the first Superman (1978) as well as The Goonies and Lethal Weapon.  During the making of Superman II he was famously fired and replaced by Richard Lester.

I won't list all the differences between the two films, but I will mention one thing that grabbed me. 

Okay, you remember the basic premise of Superman II is that Kal-El gives up his super-powers, so that he can be with Lois Lane.  

And shortly thereafter, Clark Kent and Lois Lane go to a truck stop where a mean sunuvabitch trucker whups Clark's butt.   

Later, Superman gets his powers back, saves the world, erases Lois' memory (keeping his identity a secret) and then he goes back and pounds the asshole trucker. 

In Richard Donner's cut, we get all that, but the ending is very different.  Instead of kissing Lois and erasing her memory of the past week's events, Superman flies into the sky and circles the Earth, making it turn in the opposite direction, causing time to move backwards.  Yes, the same trick he used in the first film -- only here, instead of going one hour back in time, he goes several days back in time, essentially un-doing the events of the movie.  The whole thing is very Donnie Darko. (And by now I would've expected someone to upload the sequence to YouTube complete with the "Mad World" song) It would've been funny if instead of Superman un-doing all the events, it was Richard Lester (ha ha.)  

So by the end of Richard Donner's cut, the three Kryptonian super-criminals never arrived on Earth, Lois  never learns that Clark Kent is Superman, and (presumably) the kid with the negligent parents plummets to his death in Niagra Falls. 

But here's the kicker:  Clark goes back to the truck stop and beats the hell out of the truck driver.  

Even though, by the film's logic, the truck driver never messed with Clark Kent.  Superman hurls that trucker down the countertop and smashes his head into a pinball machine.  

The truckers and wait-staff must have wondered what the hell promoted this Bernard Goetz-looking mo-fo to come in and assault a patron for NO GOOD REASON.  

As the website says, Superman is a jerk.

11/28/10

Leslie Nielsen (1926 - 2010)

I just heard that Leslie Nielsen died of pneumonia.

On a personal note: I was hired on a basic-cable show, the money was terrible but I'd get to write for Leslie Nielsen.  I wrote a script for his humor and delivery, but then they couldn't get him.  So instead they hired Chris Wilde.

On a broader note: my favorite Leslie Nielsen performance is in the rarely-seen teleplay THE VELVET ALLEY (1959).  Nielsen played Edward Kirkley, the alcoholic TV producer.  Watch as he downs multiple "special" bloody marys and delivers a great monologue (written by Rod Serling.)  I challenge you to find a more expressive strand of bobbing hair than the one in this clip:





11/23/10

Something Old, Something New



ABOVE: The latest video I made for Comedy Central/Atom.com, the first in a webseries called OLD PEOPLE NEWS: THE TECH REPORT  (Note: this is a follow-up to the video Old People News)


BELOW: One of the earliest films I made, just added to YouTube.  "Family Dinner Party" was part of the sketch show TV Head Goes Nutzoid (1999)





11/17/10

Kevin Geeks Out About Genre Busters

Kevin Geeks Out About.... 
GENRE BUSTERS!
Wednesday, December 1st @ 8:00pm
92Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street, NYC

What's Kevin Geeks Out? 
A live variety show where we dive deep into an obsession-worthy topic. 

But what's a GENRE BUSTER? 
Genre Busters are those brave artists who bring their A-game to a disrespected genre. 

The December 1st show brings together 5 authors doing amazing work in Comic Strips, Young Adult novels, Romance Books, Wrestling magazines and "mash-up" literature.  The multi-media variety show will include mini-lectures, music, readings, video clips, trivia prizes, audience Q&A and more. Here's what you can expect from the 90-minute show:  

"A MASH UP MASTERCLASS
Ben H. Winters (author of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and Android Karenina) defines and defends the hybrid genre known as the "mash-up novel," and explains why adding robots to Anna Karenina is more like adding smooth chocolate to creamy peanut butter than putting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.   The reading will include prizes to those who can correctly identify which passages are his, and which from the original, un-mashed-up books. 


9/2/10

GENRE BUSTERS: part of the Brooklyn Book Festival

Join us for an exciting, literary event like no other....

An evening with GENRE BUSTERS: Writers who refuse to phone it in

Saturday, September 11 @ 8pm

The Studio of Adam Frank Incorporated
203 Columbia Street (between Sackett and DeGraw)  
Brooklyn, NY

F, G trains to Carroll Street (view map)
It's FREE!