Celebrate Your Geekdom
from “Weird Al” Yankovic:
Al’s new single “CNR” is available RIGHT NOW at iTunes, Amazon, and everywhere else that mp3s are sold! The video is on sale too! Check it out on YouTube! Or heck, you can even star in the video yourself!
Weird Al’s new single from the “Internet Leaks” collection. Video directed by JibJab.
from StarWars.com:
Star Wars: In Concert, a unique multi-media event featuring music from all six of John Williams’ epic Star Wars scores, begins its worldwide arena tour on October 1, 2009 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Narrated live by Anthony Daniels (the actor who portrayed C-3PO in all six films), the production features a full symphony orchestra and choir, accompanied by specially edited footage from the films displayed on a three-story-tall, high-definition LED super-screen — one of the largest ever put on tour. The live music and film elements are synchronized in order to create a full multi-media, one-of-kind Star Wars experience.
“We’ve taken the key themes from the music and cut together all the images that fit with each theme, so you can really get a sense of how the music played into the images,” said George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars Saga. “The whole soundtrack is a testament to John Williams’ creativity and his extraordinary ability to enhance the emotional aspects of the films.”
“Creating the music for the Star Wars films has been an exciting and wonderful experience for me, and I therefore have derived particular pleasure in assembling a compendium of themes from all of the films to be presented in Star Wars: In Concert,” said Williams. “The editors at Lucasfilm have created original film montages to accompany each of the musical selections, and in the process, I believe that a singular and unique Star Wars experience has been born.”
“This event has been crafted to present Star Wars from many points of view; for the first time, the full dramatic sweep of Williams’ iconic scores can be heard performed live in one evening,” said Another Planet Touring Producer Spencer Churchill. “The show is a new way of experiencing the epic scope of the saga.”
Accompanying the concert is an exclusive exhibit of Star Wars costumes, props, artifacts, production artwork and specially created behind-the-scenes videos from the Lucasfilm Archives. Many of these pieces are leaving Skywalker Ranch for the first time. The exhibit features many classic fan favorite artifacts, as well as several new and never-before-seen items, including:
For more information, please visit StarWarsInConcert.com.
Star Wars: In Concert is produced by Another Planet Touring in association with Lucasfilm Ltd. Performances will be conducted by Dirk Brossé and the production is directed and designed by Steve Cohen. Star Wars: In Concert had its world premiere at the 02 Arena in London on April 10 and 11, 2009 as Star Wars: The Musical Journey.
American Express Cardmembers can get advance tickets NOW! For tickets visit ticketmaster.com or call 800.745.3000. Click here for more information. Terms, conditions & restrictions apply.
from ghostgirl:
Author Tonya Hurley’s ghostgirl has just been released as an unabridged audio book by Recorded Books and is available in cassette and CD versions through the company’s website RecordedBooks.com and as an mp3 download by audio book specialty retailer audible.com. The New York Times best-selling young adult novel features an original score by legendary electronic music pioneer Vince Clarke of Erasure and is narrated by the acclaimed actress Parker Posey.
ghostgirl is the story of a misfit teenager who dies in a freak accident in Physics class, “wakes up” as a ghost in a parallel world only to find that she needs to finish school along with a motley crew of departed classmates all waiting to “graduate”. In this critically-acclaimed debut novel, Tonya Hurley has created a funny, romantic and bittersweet story that puts an original spin on the teen world view and the universal issues that define growing up — love, loyalty, friendship, rejection, fitting in and most of all, self-acceptance. Narrator Parker Posey delivers Hurley’s deliciously dark and insightful tale buoyed by Clarke’s atmospheric synths with a reading to die for.
Tonya Hurley is a New York Times best-selling author and creator, writer and producer of animated and live action hit television series, groundbreaking videogames and award-winning websites for teens. She has also written and directed several acclaimed independent films, which have been selected for the LA Independent, TriBeca and Edinburgh film festivals and also broadcast on ABC, PBS and IFC. Hurley has also been nominated for the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Award in Film.
Shout! Factory has recruited the Middleman and his cronies for The Middleman: The Complete Series, available today.
Based on the series of graphic novels by acclaimed writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost) and artist Les McClaine, The Middleman focuses on the titular superhero and his new protégé, an aspiring artist named Wendy Watson. Together they defend the Earth against “exotic problems” such as animated terra cotta warriors, menacing lucha libre wrestlers, extraterrestrials, trout-eating zombies and much, much more!
The Middleman harkens back to the clean-cut comic book heroes of the 1950s while spouting rapid-fire references to modern pop culture. Think Torchwood (without all the kinky stuff) meets Get Smart.
Both smart and exciting for fans of all ages, The Middleman scored big with sci-fi fans and critics alike when it debuted as a live-action television series on ABC Family in June 2008. Now the complete series is available in one collectible 4-disc box set that is chockful of action, suspense, wit and bonus features brought straight to you by the cast and creators of The Middleman themselves!
Bonus Features:
Booklet Insert, “Getting to know your… Truth Bomb User Manual”:
You’ve seen the series, now read the 13th episode! ABC Family revealed in a press release earlier this year:
Fans of the ABC Family cult hit series can revisit the weird world of The Middleman and his trusty side-kick Wendy Watson when the “lost” series finale episode appears in comic book form this summer.
In a deal with Viper Comics, The Middleman — The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse graphic novel is to be written by creator/executive producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Hans Beimler, with illustrations done by Armando M. Zanker and layouts by Les McClaine. The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse special collector’s comic book edition will be released in July 2009 to coincide with the annual Comic-Con Convention in San Diego.
The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse
$7.95, 72 pages, ISBN: 978-0-9802385-8-7
Order now at Amazon.com:
The Middleman: The Complete Series
The Middleman: The Collected Series Indispensability
Or order directly through the Shout! Factory website.
The Middleman: The Complete Series is distributed by Shout! Factory. For more Middleman information, please visit Viper Comics’ Middleman Website, The Online Headquarters of The Middleman, and The Middleblog.
from I Can Has Cheezburger?:
OMG!?! A MusicLOL inspired by I Can Has Cheezburger?
Two Cheez Frends, Katherine and Kristyn, have written an original musical called I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL! which is based on I Can Has Cheezburger.
If you are in the New York area, the musical will be part of the New York International Fringe Festival and will be performed on August 14, August 15, August 18, August 26, and August 28 at the Cherry Lane Theater. Click here for more information about I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL! and to purchase tickets for the musical!
Shout! Factory reaches into the B movie vaults again to pull out Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV. This time around, the episodes are all from The Comedy Channel/Comedy Central seasons, before Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie and the show’s run on Sci Fi Channel, which is great for latecomers to the MST3K phenomenon.
The revolving crew of the Satellite of Love returns in their awe-inspiring 15th collection of the most hilarious episodes from Mystery Science Theater 3000. Join Joel, Mike, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot as they supply their own playful brand of commentaries on some of cinema’s most misunderstood “masterpieces.” Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV contains these classic episodes: The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy, The Girl in Lovers Lane, Zombie Nightmare, and Racket Girls.
Season 1’s The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy is the oldest Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode to be commercially released, and is only the second episode in the entire series (if you don’t count “Season 0” on KTMA-TV, the Minnesotan public access station where Mystery Science Theater 3000 got its experimental start). The clumsy, anticlimactic battle that results when the film’s obligatory mad scientist sends his cardboard creation to steal the mummy’s ancient, magical pieces of costume jewelry is a true WTF moment, as is an early version of Tom Servo voiced by original MST3K cast member J. Elvis Weinstein. This episode features the short Radar Men from the Moon, Part 1: “Moon Rocket”, the first installment in the Radar Men from the Moon serial, part two of which appears on Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XIV‘s The Mad Monster. It was the first short to be sent up by MST3K, and reintroduced pop culture to the cornball sci-fi adventures of Commando Cody. Bonus features on this disc are Glimpses of KTMA: MST3K Scrapbook Scraps I and The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy Promos. The scrapbook is a selection of host segments from the KTMA season that reveal the prototype designs of the ‘Bots and the Satellite of Love set. Crow is the most evolved puppet at this point, just needing moving eyes and a straightening of his downward-curving bowling pin nose to match his future self, but Gypsy’s version 1.0 looks more like copper scaffolding than her ultimate purple model and is apparently dumb as a post. Tom Servo, shaped roughly like his later incarnation, is named “Beeper” after his wordless manner of speech, and even Joel looks different with his longer, 70s-styled hair. The promos for The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy are ads that ran on TV to announce MST3K‘s premiere on the The Comedy Channel.
Disc one also carries a trailer for The Film Crew — Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy (“Tom Servo”), and Bill Corbett (“Crow T. Robot”)’s short-lived follow-up project to MST3K before founding RiffTrax — which Shout! Factory has available on DVD or free online via their YouTube Channel:
The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark (DVD, YouTube)
The Film Crew: Killers from Space (DVD, YouTube)
The Film Crew: Wild Women of Wongo (DVD, YouTube)
The Film Crew: The Giant of Marathon (DVD, YouTube)
Season 5’s The Girl in Lovers Lane is infamous for fans’ divided reaction to it. A “troubled teen” film about two drifters and their comic misadventures in a small town, the laughs develop an uneasy undercurrent in the last act when the love interest of the main drifter suffers a brutal demise. Despite the attack scene itself being edited from the movie, the fate of the leading lady would be quite the downer in the hands of less skillful comedy writers. The musical number in this episode, “What a Pleasant Journey”, which sees Joel and the ‘Bots trying — and hilariously failing — to perform a train song, ably deflects the anvil The Girl in Lovers Lane tries to drop on an otherwise enjoyable outing, as does the host segment at the end where Joel challenges Crow and Tom to come up with one positive thing they took away from the movie. The bonus feature on this disc is Behind the Scenes: MST3K Scrapbook Scraps II, candid and fascinating footage of the writers and production crew as they go about a typical day of creating the show.
Season 6’s Zombie Nightmare, the only colour film in Volume XV, is generally regarded as one of host Mike Nelson’s strongest episodes. Shot on the cheap in Canada, it’s the type of 80s teen horror flick that begs to be riffed on, much like the classic MST3K episode Soultaker. Adam West (Batman) stars as the corrupt police captain, and Tia Carrere (Relic Hunter) makes her feature film debut as one of the teenagers targeted by the vengeful zombie. Stereotypical representations of voodoo abound, the most amusing being the neighbourhood voodoo priestess’ “mystical” voice. The bonus feature on this disc is Zombie Nightmare = MST3K Dream, interviews with stars Frank Dietz (“Detective Sorrell”) and Jon Mikl Thor (“Tony Washington”) in which they reveal their inner MSTie. Dietz’s cheerful, fanboy enthusiasm is endearing as he describes how mortified, yet simultaneously flattered, he was to have his “bucket of cheese” movie pop up on MST3K‘s radar.
Season 6’s Racket Girls is preceded by the popular educational short Are You Ready for Marriage?, in which naive high school sweethearts from the 1950s are lectured about the evils of rushing into marriage. After watching the counsellor explain relationships with the aid of a rubber band, you’ll never hear the word “boing” the same way again. Racket Girls has a nominal gangster plot, but is obviously just an excuse to ogle scantily clad, real-life women wrestlers. The long, tedious bouts in the ring are only made bearable by Mike, Crow and Tom Servo’s ringside commentary. Bonus features on this disc are Kevin Murphy and Trace Beaulieu in a Sneak Peek from the Upcoming Hamlet A.D.D. (they voice cartoon robots, appropriately enough, alongside Star Trek‘s Majel Barrett-Roddenberry), and a Racket Girls Promo (in which the film is referred to by its alternate title of Blonde Pickup).
As in previous sets, the DVDs are packaged in slimline cases and come with mini-posters of the illustrated covers. The animated menus, individualized for each film, are of the usual high quality, especially the Zombie Nightmare hot tub scene that incorporates sound clips of the ‘Bots. Topical humour is cleverly employed in the box set description on the back of the slipcase:
Global recession got you down? Here’s one investment worth making: spend some time watching Joel, Mike, Tom Servo and Crow suffer through their own crisis as they are forced to watch movies with even less value than your 401(k). Yes, the Satellite of Love is launching another orbit of four more of cinema’s own toxic assets, where the market for wisecracks is as robust as ever. If laughter were currency, you’d be set for life.
Shout! Factory is open to suggestions for which titles to include in future box sets, so e-mail them your lists of favourite episodes or post them on Shout! Factory’s Cult Faves message board. The official MST3K website teases, “Watch for a most special Volume 16 this fall, but meanwhile, enjoy the remaining weeks of summer and we hope you include a little MST3K in your plans.”
Order now at Amazon.com:
Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XIV
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV
The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark
The Film Crew: Killers from Space
The Film Crew: Wild Women of Wongo
The Film Crew: The Giant of Marathon
Or order directly through the Shout! Factory website.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 and The Film Crew are distributed by Shout! Factory. For more Mystery Science Theater 3000 information, please visit The Official Mystery Science Theater 3000 Website and Satellite News: The Official Mystery Science Theater 3000 Fan Site.
from Split Reason:
This month was busy as we’re still hooked on Fight Night Round 4 and Red Faction; excellent titles that warrant serious playtime. Let’s not forget another title update for Gears of War 2, Worms 2: Armageddon on XBLA, and a laughable sequel to Transformers. All while trying to crank out another wave of new T’s. Nothing we can’t handle. Extend awake hours, reduce sleep, and get a few extra battery packs to charge controllers in rotation.
Before we move on to new products, no newsletter would be complete without a way to shave a few bucks off the price tag. It’s hot out there so we’re going to put some change into your Slurpee fund. Save 10% by entering promo code SLURPEE at check-out. We’re also running a nifty contest this month to give-a-way a Nintendo DSi, click this link for your chance to win!
Also, check out this footage of giant alien robots nuking Tokyo.
from Stargate.MGM.com:
Check out the NEW Official Stargate Website Now!
New on DVD
Re-live the action packed fifth season of Stargate Atlantis whenever you want! As Woolsey becomes the new leader of the Atlantis team, McKay, Teyla, Ronon & Keller must work out their own struggles while battling their new adversaries. Grab the Stargate widget now!
Bonus: The Stargate Atlantis, Season 5 DVD includes extended versions of the last two episodes!
Buy it Now! Stargate Atlantis: The Complete Fifth Season
Join Stargate Command
And be the first in the know!
Follow Stargate Command on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter now and never miss out on all the Stargate news, web-only exclusives and special offers! Plus, when you follow SGC, you’ll gain access to your favorite Stargate Universe cast & crew!
Enter Now for Your Chance to WIN*!
No adventure is complete without the right tunes to guide you through every step of the way! Enter now for your chance to win a copy of the Stargate: The Ark of Truth or Stargate: Continuum original motion picture soundtrack, autographed by composer Joel Goldsmith!
*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Subject to Official Rules.
from “Weird Al” Yankovic:
Al’s new single “Skipper Dan” is available RIGHT NOW at iTunes, Amazon, and everywhere else that mp3s are sold! The video is available too! Check it out on YouTube!
Weird Al’s new single from the “Internet Leaks” collection. Video directed by Divya Srinivasan.
The aptly titled At Last is Lynda Carter’s first release since her debut effort, Portrait, which came out way back in 1978 (and is much overdue for a rerelease). Lynda Carter composed three of the songs on her first album, but At Last is composed entirely of cover songs, “a classic collection of standards that will delight both old and new fans alike”.
Playlist:
1. You Send Me
2. Where Did Our Love Go
3. Deed I Do
4. Million Dollar Secret
5. Cry Me a River
6. Secret of Life
7. Blues in the Night
8. Come Rain or Come Shine — Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man of Mine
9. At Last
10. Summertime
11. Cloudburst
12. The Way You Look Tonight — The Very Thought of You — As Time Goes By
Lynda Carter’s strong, sultry voice provides the perfect background music for a romantic evening or an elegant dinner party. The songs on At Last, including two medlies, are quite spare and subdued, really recreating the feeling of a live jazz and blues session — not surprising, since At Last is composed entirely of songs that were featured in the sold-out cabaret show tour, “An Intimate Evening with Lynda Carter”.
Those who know Lynda Carter only as Wonder Woman will be surprised to learn just how far back her musical roots go. According to the Histography on her website, she began singing on stage at the age of five in a local talent show, twenty years before being cast as Wonder Woman in 1976. The notes for At Last sum up her distinguished career, saying, “Lynda Carter is an accomplished singer who has performed to rave reviews before sell-out crowds around the world. In addition to her long acting career, Lynda has had the distinction of producing and starring in five highly rated network televisions specials. She has appeared onstage with Ray Charles, Tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Bob Hope, George Benson and Ben Vereen.” In 2005, she even spent an eight-week run as corrupt jailer Matron “Mama” Morton in London’s West End production of Chicago.
With a new Wonder Woman movie in development, it would be wonderfully appropriate to hear a song by Lynda Carter on the soundtrack, especially as there’s no word yet if she will be making an appearance in the film, either in a cameo or larger role such as Wonder Woman’s mother, Queen Hippolyta. (A bit of trivia: when asked who should succeed her in the iconic role of the Amazon Princess, she reportedly singled out Catherine Zeta-Jones and Cindy Crawford as favoured candidates.) The Wonder Woman theme song is so ingrained in fans’ memories of the classic TV series, it would be a thrill to hear the original Wonder Woman sing it on the big screen, and Lynda Carter’s new CD definitely proves that she has the ability to do it justice.
For previews of the songs on At Last, visit the Official Lynda Carter YouTube Channel.
Order now at Amazon.com:
At Last (CD)
At Last (MP3)
Or order directly through Lynda Carter’s Official Website.
At Last is distributed by Potomac Productions/Thirty Tigers.
from Free Press Release:
Web series creators and stars of the unique new show, Safety Geeks: SVI appear at this years San Diego Comic-Con, produced by Pith-e Productions and sponsored by KoldCast TV. All professional actors from traditional media, this marks the cast’s first appearance at the convention where the comic style and subject of the show seems ideally suited for the Comic-Con audience. Safety Geeks: SVI was recently cited in a New York Times article on the coming of longer web series and has been quickly building a following among comedy and science fiction fans, self-professed geeks, and lovers of Monty Python and Adult Swim. This live action series plays like a living comic book using special effects to create a “funny” Sin City-type world. The cast, writers and producers are there this year to meet fans and make new fans at the autograph table and on the floor of the Comic-Con Convention, here is their schedule:
Safety Geeks: SVI Comic-Con Autograph Table Schedule:
Thursday, July 23rd — Table AA14 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Friday, July 24th — Table AA11 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Sunday, July 26th — Table AA11 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Some sample DVDs of the first five episodes and cast autographed pictures are available at their autograph table and on the Comic-Con free table. Convention attendees can even order a T-shirt at the booth and enter a drawing for a gift card, if you sign up free for the fan list and watch Safety Geeks: SVI online. Watch the series now online at KoldCast and then come to the convention to get a chance to meet the sexy stars of the series, and even Brittney Powell.
Also, David Beeler and Tom Konkle have a film, Star Wars: The Fate Of The Duel as a finalist in the 2009 Star Wars Movie Challenge Awards on Friday, July 24 from 8:30 – 10:30 PM in Ballroom 20.
Safety Geeks: SVI is a live-action, innovative 12 episode program that combines the familiar form and structure of investigative shows with the fresh anarchic free form of Adult Swim while drawing on the dryness of British humor, yet with a more “in your face” American feel and lots of visual gags created with the post production artistry of Konkle, Thor Melsted and Mike Smith.
According to show creators Tom Konkle and David Beeler, the show plans to use innovative technologies and ideas to create 100 percent of the surreal sets and vehicles. The production team includes Roger Tonry, Michael Sherwood and casting director Liz Paulson.
It stars David Beeler as Reginald Syngen-Smythe, Tom Konkle as Budwin Yaker and Brittney Powell as Dr. Randi Minky, Benton Jennings as Hopkins, Mary Cseh as Sparky Van Der Graff, with Jim Woods, Mark Teich, Steve Tom, Ransford Dougherty, Chanel Ryan, Laura Hayes, Frank Payne, Adria Tennor, Ben Wang and many others.
The Dave and Tom-created Safety Geeks: SVI and Invention with Brian Forbes comedy series are posted on Koldcast.TV, and merchandise and music will be for sale through KoldCast’s ShowShops with distribution also on TivoCast, Zune and iTunes as part of Koldcast’s overall deal with those companies.
For more information:
Tom Konkle
daveandtom.com
www.koldcast.tv
Visit our website: http://daveandtom.com/safetygeeks.html
Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek‘s Uhura, co-stars in the upcoming web series The Cabonauts.
It’s 2183 AD and humans have finally conquered the stars. But the inky blackness that separates the galaxies and the hundreds of thousands of human outposts and colonies is vast and needs a firm hand to navigate. Which is why Cabonauts Inc. is so handy — you can just call a cab.
Harry’s learning to get his hack license and Cyril is his instructor. They’ve been friends forever, but the crappy economy has forced them to work together. We follow them as they take their passengers (played by iconic sci-fi actors & actresses) around the galaxies.
And did we mention each episode breaks into a full original song & music video?
It’s the single-most most unique web series ever produced; a sci-fi musical comedy starring all your sci-fi favorites in brand new roles — and singing and dancing as well. Think Hitchhikers Guide meets Flight of the Conchords, and you’re halfway there.
The Cabonauts. All Hail!
The Cabonauts premieres later this year on dailymotion.com.