This Saturday night, Kevin Maher will be reading from Leaping Lanny Poffo's poetry collection. Get tickets HERE. And here's Kevin's poem about Wrestling A - Z
KEVIN GEEKS OUT ABOUT... WRESTLING a multi-media show dedicated to the greatest sport on earth This Saturday March 23rd at 8:00 at the 92Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street Buy tickets HERE with special guests: BRIAN SOLOMON (telling stories about working with WWE for 7 years) MIKE EDISON (asking the question "Was Andy Kaufman the Greatest Wrestler Ever?") TENEBROUS KATE (celebrating Luche Libre cinema) BRANDON ROHWER (sharing the best and worst tWEEts -- wrestling twitter account) NOAH TARNOW (from "The Big Quiz Thing" doing a super-special wrestling quiz) plus: * a panel discussion on Wrestling rumors, myths and legends * rare TV and film clips * Kevin Maher reads from Leaping Lanny Poffo's book of poetry Buy tickets HERE
Kevin Geeks Out is the comedy-variety show hosted by writer-comedian Kevin Maher—a confabulation of vintage film clips and videos, new finds, guest experts, games and curiosities. To geek out with Kevin you don’t need to be a geek, you just need to love cool stuff.
This March, in anticipation of Wrestlemania, Kevin Geeks Out about WRESTLING, celebrating some of the weirdest, wildest moments in sports entertainment. The two-hour cultural cavalcade includes guest speakers presenting rare film footage and TV clips you won’t find on YouTube or Netflix.
The all-star line-up includes:
* Former WWE Magazine editor BRIAN SOLOMON shares his surreal retrospective "7 Years in the Tower: What I Learned Working for WWE" and presents a clip of Rowdy Roddy Piper discussing his role in John Carpenter's They Live!
* Author and raconteur MIKE EDISON grapples with that great existential conundrum, Was Andy Kaufman the Greatest Wrestler of All Time? * Cult-movie film blogger TENEBROUS KATE celebrates the odd sub-genre of Lucha Libre movies from the ‘60s and ‘70s.
* Pop Culture enthusiast BRANDON ROHWER looks at Wrestling’s Greatest tweets (or tWWEets) where the heels maintain their personas over social media.
These shows WILL sell-out, I advise you to purchase tickets in advance. Also, click on the BUY TICKETS links (above) for details on each show's line-up of guests.
My long-awaited web-series has finally launched. You can watch the videos HERE. Andrew 12-Sided Dice Clay is the nerd, dirty bad-boy of the comic book shop. His routines are obscene, obscure and often observational. But don't take my word for it -- JUST WATCH!
Thanks everybody who came out to see Brian Solomon and me hosting "THE PRICE IS RIGHT" Vincent Price double-feature. If you missed it, here's an episode of Brian's podcast where we talk about KILLER MACHINES, talking about everything from MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE to ELLO GOV'NOR. You can hear it all HERE
BONUS: Here's one of my all-time favorite clips, the evil truck climax from NIGHTMARES: This is a DUEL rip-off, but the breaching truck is pure JAWS. Curiously, director Joseph Sargent would go on to make JAWS: THE REVENGE. And here's the trailer for MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE: This made my list of 5 Awesome Trailers For Not-So-Awesome Films
While discussing Burger King at work, I mentioned The Duke of Doubt. It was another one of those moments where a bunch of people had no idea what the hell I was talking about.
I'm writing here to prove I didn't make this up.
In the 1970's when McDonald's had a menagerie of Krofft-like mascots including Grimace, Mayor McCheese, the Hamburgular and Ronald McDonald, Burger King offered it's own cast of characters including the Burger King and his royal foil: the Duke of Doubt.
Screenwriters say your movie is only as good as your villain, and the ongoing Burger King "story" features a disturbing putty-nosed bad-guy. The Duke bears a striking resemblance to the Child-catcher from CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG. (A connection that would make sense to children of the 70's who grew up with such movies. Again, when I made this comparison my co-workers had no clue what I was babbling about.)
Hamburgular was Ronald McDonald's number one foe because he stole other people's food. Even in his criminal activity, Hamburgular is reinforcing the message that McDonald's burgers are delicious; so much so that he will break the law to obtain them!
But the Duke doesn't covet food-stuffs. His principle role is to question the King. He's like a villain in a Jacobean drama, lurking in the shadows and plotting against His Royal Highness. (The Duke also reminds me of Grima Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings.)
What I find most surprising in this ad campaign is that skepticism is portrayed as a bad thing. Kids are inherently curious, even suspicious. Doubt is a healthy part of any free society, it shouldn't be portrayed as villainous.
Well I hope you've enjoyed this latest installment of me taking the wrong things seriously. Maybe I'll do an entire series about advertising mascot's straw-men nemeses.
Join Brian Solomon and me for a Vincent Price double-feature! Thursday February 21st we're screening two of his best films: THEATRE OF BLOOD and THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES. Plus some of my favorite clips and highlights from Kevin Geeks Out about Vincent Price, including Tim Burton's short VINCENT. It's all taking place in Bridgeport, Connecticut's BIJOU THEATRE (of Blood!)
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