FLASH GORDON and me

I took my kids to see FLASH GORDON (1980) on the big screen!

My boys are roughly the same age I was when I first saw the movie (over and over) on HBO.  So I was  really excited for them to see it.  But I was worried that the guys would be bored by the slow pacing of the campy film. So before the film I talked it up and brainwashed them into thinking they already loved the movie.

As the film played I wasn't worried about them being bored but I was worried about some of the sexy stuff. Even when FLASH GORDON isn't overt it's a kinky space opera. Being a young boy watching FLASH GORDON is kind of like climbing the rope in gym class.

I'll admit I'm one of those Dads who tries to recapture the best aspects of his childhood and share it with his kids. When Dino DeLaurentiis made the movie, he was trying to recapture his childhood influences.

He's made KING KONG and then FLASH GORDON (and he'd also wanted to make a feature film version of MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN starring Jack Nicholson.)  Now we're onto the third-generation, with me sharing those movies with my kids.
My older son is wearing the FLASH t-shirt I won during the pre-show Prince Vultan sound-alike contest. I won! (I think my full-beard helped.) You can't hear him, but he's shouting "YEAH!" just like Flash does at the end of the movie.  Fun-fact: when they filmed the ending, it felt kind of flat. So actor Sam Jones came up with the idea that Flash should shout "Yeah!" and leap into the air. that was all him.

Lastly, FLASH GORDON holds a special place in my heart because it was the subject of my first AMC web-show "The Sci Fi Department" -- you can see it below.

JAWSFEST 2012 and the BROOKLYN OBSERVATORY screening

This summer I did two performances of KEVIN & MATT GEEK OUT ABOUT SHARK MOVIES:  One show at the Brooklyn Observatory and another at JAWSFEST in Martha's Vineyard. 

Here are some photos from the events: (including winners of our JAWS 2 COLORING BOOK Contest) 

Also, here's New York Magazine's piece on JAWSFEST including a chat with Matt. 

Coloring Book Contest at KEVIN & MATT GEEK OUT ABOUT SHARK MOVIES

This Thursday night, Matt Glasson and I will celebrate Shark Cinema. 

Here's a contest for you! 

Print one of these coloring book pages and color it in. 

Bring your page to the show and we'll give a prize to the best page.

You could win passes to the New York Aquarium and other shark-related prizes. 

JAWS joke

Did you know the swimmer from JAWS had dandruff?


They found her Head & Shoulders on the beach. 

Countdown to JAWSfest

I'm counting the days until JAWSfest in Martha's Vineyard. (I'll be there to co-host a Shark Movie Geek Out at Flatbread Pizza on Friday Night's Shark After Dark.)

To get ready I've been re-watching the JAWS movies and reading Patrick Jankiewicz's excellent book JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE: A JAWS COMPANION.

Here are some "fun facts" that demand to be shared:

Universal had wanted Charlton Heston to play Quint.

In Peter Benchley's novel, Hooper is having an affair with Ellen Brody and he is eaten by the shark.

Mrs. Kitner's poster notes that her son Alex was killed by the shark on June 29th -- the same day Quint says the Indianapolis sank.

"You're gonna need a bigger boat" was ad-libbed by Roy Scheider.

Director Jeannot Schwarc was hired to direct JAWS 2 based on the strength of the earthquake scenes he directed in William Castle's BUG

An early draft of JAWS 3-D revealed that the shark was the same burnt-faced shark from JAWS 2. 

Actor Mark Gilpin (Sean Brody in JAWS 2) remembers his co-star Donna Wilkes: "Donna had a lot of pressure, because she's the one who had to freak out so much in the film. Donna kept to herself on JAWS 2, because she had to constantly psych herself up."