Humor Archives

First he gave us his twisted vision of time-travel in FutureCop 2010.  Then he gave us chills with Wheelchair Werewolf.  He followed by blowing our minds with the action-packed Action City Bathroom!  Now, local film maker Joe Avella takes us into the world of inventors with his newest project Master of Inventions.

I've heard stories about how demanding Avella can be.  Some have likened him to a young James Cameron, a perfectionist who is always demanding more of his crew and pushing his actors to the limit.  In this clip, we get to see just how demanding he is on the set of his latest production:



You can learn more about this film at the Master of Inventions Facebook Page!

As another Gamer Tuesday comes to a close, I leave you all with 'World of Warcraft Kid.'  Now, if you've never seen this video before, it's one of those viral videos - akin to 'Star Wars Kid' - the story being that this teenager had his World of Warcraft account canceled by his mother, causing him to freak out:



The video seems legit until the bit with the remote. Is it staged? Many say it is. But it's pretty damn hilarious if you ask me! The follow-up? Not so much:



Hey, let's throw in Star Wars Kid for good measure!:



And the remix:

After my post of Sesame Street does Mad Men went over so well, I thought I'd share some more gems featuring everyone's favorite Muppets.  First up, Kermit the Frog (or is it Kermit D. Frogg?) gives us his rendition of Trent Reznor's Hurt:



I can't decide if I like this version, or the Johnny Cash cover better!

Next we have Cookie Monster in a rock-metal video where he sings about his favorite snack:


This is but a small sampling of the many creative and wonderfully imaginative videos you can find out there. Is there one that you enjoy that I may not have seen? Let me know in the comment section and please include a link if you can!

This week's pair of web comics comes from Chicago-based cartoonist George Gant.  The cyber-strips are titled "The Rest Button" and "On the Grind" with takes on two different worlds.

First you have The Reset Button with an eye towards the world of comics and gaming:

The Reset Button - Copyright George Gant

And then you have On the Grind with a sardonic look at life working in a coffee shop:

On The Grind - Copyright George Gant

Not only can you read George's web comics, but you can also find his art on-line!

Be sure to check out these funny and charming web-comics!  If you are a creator who has a creation you'd like to see featured here on the Geek To Me blog, just drop me a line! 

If you're like me, you grew up watching Ultraman, Inframan and Johnny Sokko and his Giant Robot; or perhaps you were part of the next generation to get into Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and Voltron.  Whatever the case may be, you're definitely going to enjoy Megabot, a new web series premiering on Atom.com. This fun and funky sit-com sends up those Saturday morning shows with loads of adult humor and snarky self-awareness.

With the premiere of the second episode days away, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, writer for the Megabot web series, called me from his home in Los Angeles.  Micah talked about where the idea for Megabot came from; the challenges they faced in filming the series; and which member of the crew you'll find wearing the Megabot costume:

Ugh.  This past weekend was a real kick in the nards.  I found myself working indoors in the office on a gorgeous Saturday, got lost in the city on Sunday morning and watched my fantasy football team get mauled Sunday night.  The fantasy team loss hurts the most because I fiddled with my lineup the Friday before and would have pulled out a couple wins had I left it intact. 

(After I finally sit him down, Lendale White decides to pick THIS WEEK to finally score a touchdown!?) I can hear Leo Ebersol's cackling even now...

That's what I get for following my questionable football instincts.  I should have just pulled a George Costanza:



So, did you make any choices this past weekend that you wish you'd done the OPPOSITE of?

Poor Felicia Day...

When we last saw The Knights of Good, they had just been one-upped by Wil Wheaton's gang of 'dark gamers,' lost a member and finally their leader.  Now Codex has assumed the mantle of Guild leader and is learning 'heavy is the head that wears the crown.'

Indeed.

<br/><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&vid=80a029bc-7a7a-4f6e-b63c-8c4e73975e20" target="_new" title="Season 3 - Episode 3: Player Down">Video: Season 3 - Episode 3: Player Down</a>

Really should have posted this yesterday, seeing that it was Gamer Tuesday, but no matter...

When we last left the Knights of the Good, they were being confronted by the 'evil' Wil Wheaton in front of a Game Stop.  Who knew that Wesley Crusher had a dark side?  Can Codex rally the troops?  Or will they be outsmarted, outdone and worse yet, CUT IN FRONT OF, in this latest episode of The Guild?:

Posted at 9:25 p.m. - Friday, July 31

In the Be-Careful-What-You-Ask-For category, here's my interview with Actor/Director/Writer Ted Raimi at San Diego Comic-Con.  When I asked Mr. Raimi if he'd like to sit down for an interview to talk about his cameo in Ed Brubaker's Angel of Death, he was kind enough to do the interview in his hotel room. If I only knew what was coming next:

Posted at 8:45 a.m. - Monday, June 29

So, I made yet another geek reference in the RedEye 5 on 5 today, putting out the offer of a 'no-prize' for the reader who can tell me where the reference came from, so comment below with your answer and I'll be reviewing all comments for a winner!

I just need to you tell me who used the term 'bantha poodoo,' what is it and who was it in reference to.

I think this is an easy one, but then again, that's just me.

Be sure to leave a valid e-mail address so I can send you your 'no-prize' if you get it right!

Good luck!

Posted at 10:45 p.m. - Tuesday, June 23

If you ask me, pro wrestlers are a special breed of people. They put their bodies on the line each night, enduring countless injuries performing for the sake of entertaining their fans.  Chicago can lay claim to a few stars of its own, among them Scott Colton AKA Colt Cabana.  Scott is currently plying his trade in the Ring of Honor wrestling promotion after a stint in the WWE.  While preparing for his Chicago Street Fight this weekend at the next ROH event, Scott took some time to talk about his career, his faith, what it was like to work in the WWE and what he looks for in a tag-team partner:

Geek To Me: So Scott, where are you from?

Scott Colton: Well Elliott, unlike you, I'm not from some crazy mythological planet.  I'm from Deerfield!  Currently I have a place in Wicker Park.  Well...I guess, Wicker Park is kinda like some crazy alien nation.  There's so many different types of eclectic people roaming around.  In a great way.  So it's kinda like some crazy awesome planet for the awesome...and crazy.

G2M: Does your faith/heritage have any influence on your work?

SC: I'm of the Jewish faith.  I'm Jewish.  I'm a Jew.  OY!  In the WWE I wrestled as Scotty Goldman.  Very jewey.  So that was influenced heavily by my faith and heritage.  Unless Vince McMahon thought Goldman was of the scientology faith...but I got a feeling he knew it was Jewish.  As a performer and an entertainer, I love using my Jewish humor and comedy in my wrestling.  By Jewish humor I mean more Spaceballs and less Caddyshack 2.

G2M: You go by the alias 'Colt Cabana,' can you tell us where that name came from?

SC: My last name is Colton.  Shhhhhh.  Don't tell anyone.  That's where the Colt comes from.  I always wanted part of my name to be in my wrestling name, hence the "Colt".  Picking a last name was hard.  I went through a list of them including McCullah, Nevada, Brooks and Hogan (ok maybe not).  Eventually I was thinking of the Barry Manilow Song, Copa Cabana.  It seemed to be a natural fit and COLT CABANA was born.  That was over ten years ago.

G2M: Can you give me a wrestling moniker?

SC: A nickname...huh.  How bout Nerd Eye Blind? No wait, ES Dorkenhiemer!  Or maybe the Iron Geek!  The Iron Geek sounds good.  IRAN number 1.  USA number Zero, Hacccchhh Tooooeeey.

G2M:  Awesome!  I'm going to make that my new Twitter handle!  When did you decide you wanted to be a pro wrestler?

SC: I've wanted to be a pro wrestler forever!  I literally popped out, slapped my doctor in the face and strutted around the room.  At least that's how I can only assume it went, right?  Since I was a little kid I've wanted to be a pro wrestler.  I was about three or four when I started watching.  In Jr High School, I used to research different wrestling schools that I could go to when I grew up. 

G2M: What does your family think about your chosen career path?

SC: My parents are cool with it.  My mom always supported me fully, but definitely wanted me to do something with more security and some kind of 401K or something.  My dad's just happy with whatever I want to do.

G2M:  Any other career choices you wish you had made?

SC: Well...I did actually go to college and got a degree in Business Marketing at Western Michigan University.  That being said, I really didn't have any desire in getting any kind of 9 to 5 as my desire to sleep until noon is way too great.  I would like to, along with my wrestling career, enter a different kind of entertainment.  I'd love to do some comedic acting and maybe some commercials.  I think I'd be a natural at that stuff as a lot of my wrestling persona was really built with my strong ability to cut promos and talk on the fly.

G2M: What did you think of Mickey Rourke's performance in The Wrestler?  On the mark or total fail?

SC: That movie was boss.  I'm not really trying to bring back the word "boss", but it was used because Springstein sang the main song for the movie.  Maybe I should bring back "boss", and rad.  I've been thinking about bringing back "raising the roof" too.  "Raising the roof" catches a bad rap in my book.  Mickey definitely hit it on the head.  The company I work for right now, ROH, was a huge part in that movie.  The Necro Butcher is a big star in ROH and he was the guy staple gunning Mickey.  ROH was also where Mickey wrestled at the end.  So the movie parallels the real life underground wrestling circuit, legitimately.  They didn't even make up wrestlers or promotions, they used the real thing.

G2M: What's the weirdest thing you've ever had to do in a match?

SC: I once lost to a Little Person in front of 10,000 people in Indianapolis.  I did it with pride and a huge smile on my face.  Me and CM Punk also once raffled off a lap dance for one lucky woman.  I think we hit her from each side while Whodini's Freaks Come Out At Night blasted on the speakers.

G2M:  Most painful experience?

Mentally it would probably be being fired by WWE.  I'd never been fired from anywhere...ever.  I've had some random jobs including teaching, counseling and selling lemonade on North Beach, but I've never been fired.  In terms of physical pain...I've torn both AC joints in both shoulders.  I've torn my quad.  I've torn my MCL.  I've broke my nose, broke fingers, chipped teeth, broke a cheek bone and so on...and so forth.

G2M: You were once part of the WWE roster, what was that like?

SC: It was pretty sweet while I was there.  I was most proud of the internet show that WWE gave me on WWE.com.  I originally named it, "What's Crackin with Scotty Goldman".  The "man" later renamed it "Good as Goldman".  They're floating around on youtube.  Doing that was a blast.  I got to come up with my own stuff and have fun while becoming a cult star on the internet just like the dude with the tight crotched Tron outfit and the guy who cried "It's still real to me!". 

G2M: Is Vince McMahon as tough a boss as he appears to be?

SC: I went into his office to have a talk and I almost shat myself.  He's an intimidating dude.  At the end of the day though, everybody's just a person, right?  He's takes poops just like you and I.  His probably smell worse though because of all the protein and supplements he takes.  He's like 62 and jacked.  Definitely in better shape than me, and I work out all the time.

G2M: Honestly, are those chair shots really all that bad?

SC: Yeah man.  Having someone swing a chair at you hurts no matter what.  If I'm wrestling someone and I'm gonna hit them with a chair, if I don't do it, the fans can tell and will call you out on it.  People come to the shows to believe and get sucked into this crazy world of pro wrestling.  If you don't crack someone good, the fans know and then you're not doing your job correctly.

G2M: What advice do you have for all those kids who are thinking about becoming pro-wrestlers.

SC: You have to be tough.  You have to heart and a desire to do this.  If you don't, wrestling will eat you alive and spit you out.  Kind of like that giant plant from Little Shop of Horrors.  The key is to go to a school and learn from the best.  Wrestling schools are just like trade schools.  It's like ITT Tech but sweeter.  ROH has a great school in Philadelphia.  That's in Philadelphia though.

G2M: You've got a street fight match coming up this month at "Ring of Honor", tell us more about it.

SC: Ever since I came back to ROH, there's a group called the Embassy led by Prince Nana who's kinda been on my case the whole time.  Nana just came back to the company himself, along with former TNA star Jimmy Rave.  I guess they both don't like that I've taken their spotlight.  Things have gone down, things have broken down, and basically it can only be settled one way.  Chicago street Fight baby!  Come live, it should be nuts.  I'm gonna bring some dudes with me and we're gonna take on the Embassy full fledged!

G2M: Need a tag-team partner?  Hey, you just gave me a new moniker, why not ME?

SC: Colt "Boom Boom" Cabana and The Iron Geek...together?!?!  This could be history.  Pros:  You seem nice.  Cons: You seem nice, Being good at THQ's SmackDown v. Raw 2009 won't actually help you in the ring, reading and writing comic books don't ACTUALLY give you comic book hero strengths.  Cons are outweighing the Pros...but I'll think about it.

G2M: I'll be waiting by my phone!

Check out Colt Cabana in his Chicago Street Fight this weekend, Saturday June 27th at the Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge.  Also, get a chance to meet the legendary "Nature Boy" Ric Flair!  Visit the Ring of Honor website for information and to purchase tickets!

You can also check out Scott's MySpace page at myspace/coltcabana where he has t-shirts and DVDs for sale.  COOL SWAG!

Thanks to Scott Colton for his time, humor and generosity, and a special thanks to Marc Kruskol of MJK Public Relations for setting up the interview.

Posted at 8:55 a.m. - Thursday, May 21

Courtesy of the folks of Atom Films. WARNING: ADULT HUMOR! (Or at least sophomoric.)

Handjobs For The Future

Posted at 10:20 p.m. - Thursday, May 14

Now this is bloody brilliant!  While I did enjoy J.J. Abrams take on Gene Roddenberry's creation, some of the camera work was a bit...shiny.  This video shows what an episode of the classic series may have looked like if lit by Abrams' D.P.

Know of any more clever vids like this one out there that I may not have seen? Gimme a shout and let me know!

Posted at 8:30 a.m. - Friday, May 8

Before you head off to your local mutliplex to see the new flick by JJ Abrams, check out this oh-so-geeky animated short that comes to you courtesy of Atom.Com:

Special Features: Trek Yourself

Posted at 8:00 a.m. - Wednesday, April 1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cash4Gold To Meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

Florida Company Plans to Mint New Global Currency Featuring Likeness of

Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert

Pompano Beach, FL – April 1, 2009 --  Cash4Gold, the nation’s #1 buyer of precious metals direct from consumers, has unveiled an ambitious and self-serving plan to mint a new global currency known as The Colbert.  The company hopes to present its proposal to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner this week.
 
The new golden coin features the likeness of bespectacled, multi-Emmy Award winning Comedy Central news personality Stephen Colbert on its face.  The Colbert is minted at Cash4Gold’s Pompano Beach, FL headquarters using a proprietary gold-nickel-molybdenum alloy known as Truthinessium.  It is inscribed “In God We Trust, Everyone Else Pays Cash.”
 
“Stephen Colbert embodies a rare combination of publicity-hungry egomania and confidence-inspiring truthiness that makes him the perfect figurehead for the new global currency,” said April Fulstay, Vice President of Comic Genius Relations, Cash4Gold.

 

Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, and PBS’ Jim Lehrer were each considered for the honor, but were passed over because the prototypes for their coins proved to be too volatile, brittle, and dull, respectively.
 
About Cash4Gold

Cash4Gold.com is the #1 American buyer of precious metals including gold, silver and platinum from the general public, and one of the largest refiners of precious metals in the nation.  Through an efficient and proprietary process, the company has revolutionized its industry with innovations in marketing, customer service, refining, and logistics.  Hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers have received millions of dollars from Cash4Gold since its inception in 2007.  Please visit www.Cash4Gold.com or call 1-877-GOLD590 for more information.

# # #

HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY EVERYONE!

Posted at 9:00 p.m. - Tuesday, March 31

Courtesy of Marvel.com:

Pretty funny stuff, even though you do get more biting humor from Robot Chicken.

Jimmy Fallon should be glad he doesn't have a reprogrammed Sentinel as a sidekick!

Posted at 10:30 p.m. - Thursday, March 5

This is...different.

For those who have read the comic, you'll see that there are a bunch of nods and winks to certain elements of the plot.  Once you see the film on Friday Night, watch this clip again on Saturday morning and you'll get the irony.

Comments?

Posted at 9:45 p.m. - Friday, January 23

Saw this on the 'net, courtesy of Boing Boing :

Yes, it's a BARACK OBAMA CHIA PET!

I thought I'd seen it all when they created Obama condoms, but this just takes the proverbial cake.

So I have to ask:  Who, out there in America, wants to have a bust of our first African-American President growing herbs on his scalp?

I mean, really?

Well, if you've just gotta have one, you can order it online on the Chia web site.

And if you DO order one, I'd love it if you could take pictures of it in the most interesting places you can think of and upload the photo to the Mr. Geek Gallery!

Comments, comments, comments please!

Posted at 8:20 a.m. -Monday, January 5

Ok, this is the very essence of awesome geek-film making:

A bunch of Evil Dead fans get together and create their own version of Army of Darkness via Be Kind To Rewind.  You just have to appreciate the energy and sincerity in the effort.  Oh, and the 'This is my BOOMSTICK!' scene?  With the characters from 'other' geek/nerd franchises?  HILARIOUS!

Thanks to DEADITES ONLINE for uncovering this gem!

Posted at 1:40 p.m. - Thursday, January 1

My recent feature on the Svengoolie show makes mention of the scripts that Rich Koz hand-writes for each episode, and was to include some images of the script itself, but couldn't due to space considerations.  But now, via the wonder that is the internet, here's a look at a Svengoolie show script:

The cover to episode #680 (the episode I got to see them taping) courtesy of Rich Koz.  The Sven image is drawn by Koz himself, an image he's drawn over 680 times!

And here's a page from the script.  As stated in the feature, Koz eschews a word processing program and writes each one by hand.

Visit the WCIU website for lots of great behind-the-scenes webisodes, including one that features my visit to the Svengoolie set!

Posted at 10:15 a.m. - Tuesday, December 30

In advance of my feature on Svengoolie tomorrow, I'm posting this video that we took on the 'svet' of Rich Koz' alter-ego's program:

For those who are unfamiliar with the GNAT (Geek Nerd Analysis Test) that ran in the RedEye a while back, here's a link to it and what the final categories are.

And yes, I do realize that I screwed up and didn't add up the A's and B's correctly.  (You can even see by the look on Sven's face that he realizes I've goofed, but is too nice to correct me.)

Check back later this week for another video where we take a look at Sven's coffin and I throw an idea out to Sven involving the Chicago artistic community that can make television history!

Posted at 11:15 a.m. - Thursday, December 25

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you've been getting all the geeky gifts you asked Santa for. Santa left me a lump of coal and a severe head cold with a sinus headache, so I'm lying in bed, reading me e-mails and seeing what the rest of Geek Nation is up to this holiday. Ok, now my geeky brother sent me a link to this video that he spotted out on the 'internets,' which is if you ask me, some really clever image manipulation and photoshop trickery.  But even more than that, this geek-above-others has the Hollywood-type trailer editing technique down to a science:


Be sure to check out this geek's You Tube page, but not before you comment below!

Posted at 9:15 a.m. - Wednesday, December 24

Every year I make it a point to watch this animated feature.  The cast of Scrubs re-enacts 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and gives it all the warmth and heartfelt good cheer that only they can give.



To all my readers, I hope that this becomes a holiday tradition for you as well. Merry Christmas everyone!

Posted at 7:35 p.m. - Thursday, December 11 It's always nice to come home from abroad to find goodies in your inbox. Today's fun comes from local filmmaker and friend of Geek To Me, Joe Avella:

Action City Bathroom from Joe Avella on Vimeo.
Action City Bathroom was featured recently in a local cinema festival and has all the quirky humor that Joe is known for. Check it out and comment below!

Posted at 10:35 p.m. - Tuesday, November 25

Robert Kurztman has been working in the horror movie genre since his college days, starting off as an effects artist on Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series before going on to building an impressive resume on a number of different genre features, including The Rage, a movie he directed and co-wrote with John Bisson.  The Rage will be shown as part of the MonstersHD Thanksgiving Day of the Dead Marathon.  Kurtzman spoke with me about the marathon, his experiences in film and what it’s like to work in Bollywood.

Geek To Me: Where did the idea of having a monster movie marathon on Thanksgiving come up?

 

Robert Kurtzman: I would guess,[it's like] when I was growing up there was the ‘monster movie weekend,’ you had the late night horror host on Friday night, Saturday horror host – afternoon super host – and then your afternoon movie which was always a genre movie.  Most of the time King Kong played on the holiday weekend, y’know on Thanksgiving.   So when I was a kid I was looking forward every year as I got to watch King Kong.

 

So I would suppose that they [Monsters HD producers] had a similar thing when they were growing up, so they’re thinking ‘hey, Thanksgiving weekend marathon! Plus, it’s a zombie marathon and you eat a lot!’

 

G2M: What are some of the projects you’ve worked on that you look back on with the most fondness?

 

RK: Probably working on the Evil Dead movies, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness.  I’m most fond of the ‘hey day’ movies when creature effects was kind of the burgeoning industry, y’know in the eighties, that’s when I got into it.  Movies like that, Bride of Re-Animator and films like that, I really enjoyed working on.

 

Army of Darkness is probably the best time I’ve ever had working on a film.  You’re a big kid out there, you get to play with skeleton puppets, and guys on horseback with swordplay.  That’s great.

 

The second one (Evil Dead 2) was a blast to work on too.  We were kids, I was probably about twenty, and they stuck us in this ‘Texas Chainsaw’ type house, the effects guys were all in this house out in the country, a scary barn with the pillars out front.  We all stayed in the house while making a movie, being shot in an abandoned middle school, which is were they built all the stuff for Evil Dead, all the cabin sets and interiors.  It was three months in North Carolina, with Sam Raimi who’s a big kid, having a blast with a bunch of rubber monsters.

 

G2M: And beating the crap out of Bruce Campbell.

 

RK: Yeah, that’s the other thing.  Sam’s whole thing is ‘the innocent must suffer.’  Which is great because that’s the great things about the Die Hard films too, John McClane gets his ass kicked.

 

Then there’s other movies like Dances With Wolves and Misery, films like that, more main stream, aren’t so much genre movies, but I enjoyed them as well.

 

G2M: What is it about zombies that you think really strike a chord with people?

 

RK: Probably just the primal fear of having your flesh eaten by another human being and being eaten alive.  And the taboo of eating human flesh, it all plays into the thing, the phobia.  [It] continues to resonate over the years, as do vampires and werewolves for various reasons.

 

G2M: There are those that say that the zombie genre is played out, that there's nothing new you can do with them.  What are some of the challenges that you find as a creator to make these types of archetypes, like zombies, effective and resonate with people?

 

RK: There are two kinds of [approaches]: the very realistic approach to them, [recreating] what they would really look like decaying which is what you always try to make using the technology and make-up effects, creature effects and advances and that. You just try to make them more realistic and more anatomically correct.

 

And then you have the fantasy element, which [are] the goofier movies that are [created] really to be more fun than anything. 

The genre is never dead because someone eventually puts a twist on it and revives it somehow and comes up with a new idea.  Same with vampires and whatever, they get into that rut where it kind of overused and everything’s kind of similar, and then, you know, it dies out for a few years, and then – bam – somebody comes up with something real interesting.

 

I don’t think it ever truly dead.

 

G2M: Have you seen any of the current work in comic books being done with Zombies, like Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead or Garth Ennis’ Crossed?

 

RK: I don’t really follow [them].  I’d been dabbling with the comics with The Rage release, but I really don’t collect them anymore.  Stopped doing that when I was in my teens, unfortunately.  Couldn’t afford it.

 

G2M : Speaking about The Rage, what do you felt worked best about that project?

 

RK: We set out to make a really fun kind of b-movie, roller coaster ride.  It has a lot of things, elements from films I grew up on, everything from Re-Animator to the old 40’s and 50’s (Bela) Legosi movies; mad doctor films and mix it in with some mutant animals, some living dead mutants; kind of a mix of everything where we just have fun with it.

 

It’s totally kind of a fun throwback movie.  We made it on a shoestring budget.  We kind of did it to experiment.  Me and John [Bisson] kind of wanted to experience the process that they did on Evil Dead when they went out and raised money and shot a movie outside the system kind of on their own in the back yard.  So we put a film crew together, in our home town, on my studio and everything and we made the movie.  Even though we’d made other films over the years, we went ‘hey, let’s go back and make a movie like we were making our first film.’  We basically did everything ourselves.  I was the DP (Director of Photography), John was production designer, and he was also writing and storyboarding the film.  We were doing a little of everything, built our own sets and it was that kind of guerilla movie.

 

G2M: Do you think you would want to re-visit The Rage like Sam Raimi did the Evil Dead movies?

 

RK: If there’s an opportunity, we already have ideas for spinning it off. It just depends on what’s going on at the time, what the market is and raising the financing again.

 

G2M: What do you think is going to be the next thing in horror that is going to strike a chord with fans of the genre?

 

RK: I think it’s going to be somebody coming up with an original concept that doesn’t use any of those creatures like vampires, werewolves and things.  They have been so overused. I think coming up with a new mythology for something, or experimenting with other cultures’ mythology. I just finished a film called ‘Hiss’ which is an Indian production, its all wrapped around their Snake Woman legend.  So there’s things that we’re not familiar with over here that might be a new inspiration for films over here like a golem-type film.

 

[‘Hiss’] is an all Hindi movie which definitely a different thing, working with an Indian crew and translators was an experience.  It was really cool.

 

G2M: Do scary movies go over in India?

 

RK: Yeah, they actually have a lot of horror films that come out, even our [American] films come out.  They had their 'Hammer Films' period over there too.  They made fifty of these snake movies, but they never had any with real transformations and snakes or special make-up.  They’ve been making these types of movies for a long time: supernatural movies and movies with witches.

G2M: Robert, thanks so much for taking this time to speak with me.

RK: Thank you.

******************************************

Visit MonstersHD.com for more info on their Thanksgiving Day of the Dead!

Posted at 4:05 p.m. - Friday, November 21

Or at least part of me...

At the end of tomorrow's presentation of BERSERK! starring Joan Crawford, your truly appears as the 'hand at the door' that Sven talks to for his last gag.

Did it in one take, baby!  Now that's something not even Robert DeNiro can claim!

So watch WCIU - TV, Channel 26 on Saturday @ 9:00 pm!

Be sure to check it out and also be on the lookout for my feature on the Svengoolie show in the REDEYE in the weeks ahead!

Posted at 9:45 p.m. - Wednesday, November 19

A couple weeks ago, I spent an afternoon on the set of WCIU's Svengoolie show to research a feature for the REDYE.  I interviewed Rich Koz aka 'Sven' took some video and even administered the GNAT to Koz.

While the feature won't see print for another week or two, the folks over at WCIU have posted a video documenting my visit.

CHECK IT OUT!

Posted at 6:30 p.m. - Monday, November 10

Allow me introduce you to one of my new favorite local filmmakers: Joe Avella.  Joe gave me a shout via geek-mail about a month ago and has been sharing his film shorts with me.

Here's what he had to say about himself: 'My name is Joe Avella and I'm an independent filmmaker. I've lived in or around Chicago all my life. Most of my videos are comedies. The first movie I ever made was a zombie move. Hopefully I'll make another one someday. I'm also in a sketch comedy duo called Teenager of the Year. We're legit.'

You can check out his web site to learn more about him, but I wanted you to check out one of his short films: Timecop 2010.  (Geek credits to the viewer who can tell me where the sfx were lifted from.)

If you are a local film maker who'd like me to check out your stuff, drop me a line!

Posted at 9:15 p.m. - Friday, November 7

I've got some cool stuff for the Redeye in the works, which has kept me away from the blog for a bit, but it won't be for much longer.  So until I can get back into the groove, here's a little sumthin'-sumthin from the dorks over at Geek Pad.

Sigh.  Will they ever learn...

Posted at 9:15 p.m. - Tuesday, November 4

Posted at 1:55 p.m. - Tuesday, November 4

Using the very best that modern technology has to offer, the votes have all been tallied and the next President of the United States has been determined...

Ok, not really, but Geek To Me readers may recall the Rock The Vote 'election' that took place on-line to determine who would be our next toon leader.

This is from the Peanuts Rock The Vote site:

The red states, blue states, swing states, dog states and cat states have all had their say. The votes have been tallied across the country. And today, the balloons are dropping from the ceiling of the doghouse: Snoopy has been declared the winner in the online (mock) Presidential election at www.peanutsrocksthevote.com.

The fiercely contested five-way race also featured strong showings by Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and Sally, who offered diverse platforms and campaign slogans (such as Charlie Brown’s “Equal rights for blockheads!” Linus’s “Improving education—about the Great Pumpkin” and Lucy’s “Crabbiness you can count on!”). Voters were also encouraged to register to vote in the real Presidential election on November 4.

Several thousand participants nationwide voted in the Peanuts election, with California boasting a particularly strong turnout. Snoopy was the golden boy in the Golden State, beating the next runner-up, Linus, by more than 2 to 1.  Yet the blanket-clutching, thumb-sucking philosopher found his own independent-minded constituency in New England, winning both Vermont and New Hampshire.

Voters in Nebraska, Montana and Maryland know a real man when they see one, giving Charlie Brown a victory over his own dog in those states. He also made a strong showing in non-wishy-washy South Dakota.

A strong female candidate played well with voters in New Mexico, Delaware and Michigan, who cast their ballots for Linus’ bossy big sister, Lucy: She won New Mexico, tied Snoopy in Delaware, and came in a strong second in Michigan.  While Sally didn’t win any states outright, Charlie Brown’s little sister did come in second to Snoopy in the Sunshine State of Florida—and as the youngest of the group, Sally’s political light may be just beginning to shine.

So...a female President in our future?  Time will tell...

Posted at 12:5o p.m. - Wednesday, October 29

With All Hallow's Eve approaching, local film maker Joe Avella sent me a link to his 'horror movie trailer'...

I must say, it's a take on werewolves that I have never seen before, and it simply sent chills down my spine!  Move over John Carpenter!  There's a new horror movie sheriff in town!

Posted at 9:35 a.m. - Tuesday, September 16

If you've taken your GNAT, or Geek-Nerd-Analysis-Test, and want to share your score with the rest of the Redeye Geek To Me readers, this is the place to do so.  Tell us how you scored, what you think about the test, and even come up with more GNAT questions!

If you haven't seen it yet, you can click here.

Here's a sample question:

I would rather hang out with:

A) Han Solo on the Millennium Falcon

Or...

---

---

---

 

B) Jean Luc Picard on the Starship Enterprise.

Take the test and use the following scoring legend:

4- 6 answers from Column A: Your subject is a Geek, preferring the fantastic to the mundane; geeks are more apt to favor lightsabers over laser pointers and comic books over text books.

 

4-6 answers from Column B: Your subject is a Nerd, with tendencies towards the real world, even if it is a world of computers and quantum physics. Talk to this person when your desktop crashes or need someone to explain what the big deal about the Large Hadron Collider is.

 

3 answers from each column: You subject is a Neek, that rarest of breeds that is lives comfortably in two worlds, much like people who insist they are fans of both the Cubs AND the White Sox.

Posted at 2:30 p.m. - Sunday, September 14

Video: New Family

The second Microsoft spot with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates is, to me, a marked improvement over the first.  The key to making it work is that the whole scenario, as unlikely as it may be, makes sense after the set-up.  Bill Gates going to a discount shoe store?  Not so much.

Posted at 9:20 p.m. - Saturday, September 13

Coming Via The Geek Media Blog is the 'rejected' poster for Kevin Smith's new comedy 'Zack & Miri Make a Porno.' 

Now, as someone who has been psyched to see RED STATE since Smith announced it at Wizard World Chicago 2 years ago, I'm finding it hard to get excited about yet another raunchy Kevin Smith comedy.  I want to see Kevin do HORROR.  And let's see if he comes up with another poster that the MPAA will prohibit for a ludicrous reason.

Posted at 4:50 p.m. - Saturday, September 13

[Video Courtesy Jet Studios]

As if we weren't getting enough Mel Brooks, now comes a new Spaceballs animated series to run on G4 the gaming channel.

Now, I'll admit that I was never a fan of the original movie, as it just came off to me as a collection of Mad Magazine jokes done ten years too late.  This new interpretation also seems to be a bit broad in its approach as well but...well...just tell me what you think.

Posted at 8:30 a.m. - Thursday, September 11

[Obama Cowbell Image courtesy of ThePeoplesCube.Com]

Here's a neat gimmick for those of you who have a little too much time on your hands:

The MoreCowbell.DJ App.  Take any MP3 file on your hard drive, upload it to the site and it adds MORE COWBELL!

Just where do they get all these wonderful toys?

(A prize to the G2M reader who can tell me who I am paraphrasing there.)

Oh, thanks to the wonderful folks at BoingBoing.Net for the heads up!

Posted at 11:30 a.m. - Friday, September 5

A computer nerd and a stand-up comedian walk into a shoe store...

I can almost guarantee that you can come up with a better punchline to that joke than the folks at Microsoft did...and it wouldn't cost you millions to do so.

I am talking, of course, about the new television spot starring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates to promote Windows Vista...

And oy vey...it was bad.  It was really, REALLLY BAD...

Posted at 8:30 a.m. - Monday, September 1

One of the great things about the internet is that it allows for individual creators to create their own work and get it out in front of an audience without having to deal with publishers or television/movie execs.  The drawback is that there are so friggin' many web comics, films and tv shows that it's easy for the really good stuff to get lost in the shuffle.  For instance, take this cartoon called On The Bubble News:

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom

This little gem has been on AniBoom for a while and I just now found out about it.  Is there anything else really cool out there that I've been missing?  Please let me know by dropping me a line or let us all know in the comment section.

Posted at 7:00 a.m. - Monday, August 25

Fanboys are often criticized for their lack of social skills when it comes to - ahem - the opposite sex.  There are those who blame this on the fixation we have (yeah, I said 'we' cuz I'm a fanboy too) on the female characters we see in our fave comics, movies and television shows.

Don't short-change these gals, though, as they are some of the most compelling characters in geek-fiction.

While we'll admit that these women have been the source of more than a fantasy or two, fanboys (and some fangirls) should consider what it would be like to actually date any of these fantastic femmes of fiction...

Posted at 10:10 p.m. - Saturday, August 2

No...I'm not talking about the 80's rock band.  I'm talkin' about the Insult Comic Dog...

Posted at 10:19 p.m. - Tuesday, July 29

So I'm walking down the terribly crowded aisles of Comic Con and this guy asks me a peculiar question...

Posted at 8:30 a.m. - Thursday, July 10

I've gotta say, health clubs would do more business if they had this kind of program!