Encore broadcast of “Rifftrax: Plan 9 from Outer Space” coming to theaters Oct. 8
The “Rifftrax Live!” event that was recently broadcast into theaters across the country, including several here in Oklahoma, is returning to theaters next month. If you missed it the first time, I highly recommend attending this extremely amusing evening of comedy. I know my friends and I had a great time.
If you’re not familiar with Rifftrax, it is the latest bad-movie-bashing project of three cast members from the late, great cult series “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” To see what they’re all about, go to www.rifftrax.com.
Here’s the press release for more information:
Back by popular demand, the stars of “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ and Fathom Events present “RiffTrax: Plan 9 from Outer Space ENCORE” on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. (local time). Sign up here for an email reminder when tickets go on sale.
Who knew that the worst movie ever made would be so popular! The original evening of live riffing captured on Aug. 20 will be rebroadcast to movie theaters nationwide for one night only. Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo) and Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot), now of RiffTrax.com, are even better on the big screen!
This encore event will feature the new short, “Flying Stewardess,” and non-stop hilarious riffing on a color version of “Plan 9 from Outer Space”- a 1959 science fiction/horror film written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood Jr. Don’t miss your last chance for an exciting evening of riffing, zombies, aliens, cheesy performances, wisecracks, laughable special effects and more!
This event is hosted by Veronica Belmont, the Host of Tekzilla on Revision3 and Qore on the PlayStation Network, with Musical Guest Jonathan Coulton—singer-songwriter and internet superstar—and a special segment by Rich “Lowtax” Kyanka of Something Awful.
Everyone Loves (More) Free Stuff…
All event attendees will receive free exclusive digital goodies including the “Flying Stewardess” downloadable short, an autographed digital photo of the guys, three songs by the RiffTones and an animated short of the failed Plans 1-8! A URL and code will be revealed on-screen at the end of the encore event.
Tickets go on sale Sept. 15 and are $10 each. Until then, I’m not sure which theaters here in Oklahoma will carry the event. I will try to post something about it when I know more.
—3D
Rifftrax to be in Oklahoma Theaters
Hey everyone. 3D here to let you know about an exciting opportunity to see Rifftrax Live here in Oklahoma theaters. Don’t know what Rifftrax is? Please read this press release:
Join the stars of “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ for the comedy event of the year!
Fathom Events presents “RiffTrax LIVE: Plan 9 from Outer Space,” an evening of live riffing on the Worst Movie Ever Made beaming into movie theaters nationwide on Thursday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. Oklahoma time.
Join Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo) and Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot), now of RiffTrax.com, as they are reunited in HD for the first time ever on the big screen! This event will feature the world premiere of a brand new, never-before-seen short and non-stop hilarious riffing on a COLOR version of “Plan 9 from Outer Space”- a 1959 science fiction/horror film written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood Jr.
This event will be hosted by Veronica Belmont, the Host of Tekzilla on Revision3 and Qore on the PlayStation Network, with Musical Guest Jonathan Coulton and a special segment by Rich “Lowtax” Kyanka of Something Awful.
Everyone Loves Free Stuff…
All event attendees will receive FREE exclusive digital goodies including a never before seen downloadable short, an autographed digital photo of the guys and a song by the RiffTones! A URL and code will be revealed on-screen at the end of the event.
This one night event will be broadcast live out of the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, Tenn., into your local movie theater. Don’t miss an exciting evening of live riffing, zombies, aliens, cheesy performances, wisecracks, laughable special effects and more!
To find out more about RiffTrax, visit www.RiffTrax.com.
The event will be broadcast into four theaters here in Oklahoma: Spotlight 14 in Norman, Cinemark Tinseltown U.S.A., AMC Quail Springs 24 and Cinemark Tulsa 17. So, get your tickets now; I know I’ve got mine!
—3D
“MST3K” alumnus Bill Corbett talks Rifftrax DVDs
Bill Corbett, who portrayed the golden, sarcastic robot Crow T. Robot on the last few seasons of the movie-riffing cult TV series “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” doesn’t miss the puppeteering portion of his old gig.
But he, Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy of “MST3K” fame are continuing their movie-mocking ways with Rifftrax. And Corbett spoke to Features Editor and Nerdage blogger Matt Price about the latest Rifftrax effort: DVDs.
Previously, the only Rifftrax commentaries were MP3s that fans synced up with their own or rental copies of the movies in question. And that could make for a pretty tasteless Netflix queue at times.
While the audio Rifftrax continue to be an option for fans, starting this week, the gang also is offering 10 Rifftrax DVDs, which feature them quipping such films as “Night of the Living Dead,” “House on Haunted Hill” and “Plan 9 From Outer Space.”
I have several of the audio Rifftrax and find them vastly entertaining, and I think my sister may just be the biggest Rifftrax fan of all. I’m looking forward to checking out these new DVDs.
And check out Matt’s story by clicking here.
-BAM
DVD review: “Cinematic Titanic Presents Blood of the Vampires”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Cinematic Titanic Presents Blood of the Vampires”
The movie mockers of Cinematic Titanic take on a real challenge with the dreadful “Blood of the Vampires,” an alleged horror film that manages dull, cheesy and offensive but never accomplishes scary.
Former “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ riffers Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Mary Joel Pehl and J. Elvis Weinstein rapidly toss out references to Twitter, “I Love Lucy,” “Sesame Street” and more in the most successful installment in their new DVD series.
“Blood of the Vampires” offers plenty of cinematic awfulness to ridicule: The 1966 film is set in 19th century Mexico, performed by Filipino actors and badly dubbed into English. As Weinstein quips, “That’s always a good sign, when English is your movie’s third language.”
The movie centers on the wealthy Escodero family. Dying patriarch Don Enrique Escodero (Johnny Montero) orders his family’s mansion to be burned upon his passing, much to the consternation of his grown children Eduardo (Eddie Garcia) and Leonore (Amalia Fuentes).
Dad’s motives become clear when they learn their late mother (Mary Walter) isn’t really dead but is a vampire their father keeps chained in the basement. (Why Dad doesn’t just stake Mom through the heart isn’t explained.) Unfortunately, Mom manages to turn Eduardo into a wimpy vampire, who then transforms his girlfriend, several servant girls and, in a rather incestuous manner, his sister.
The horrid plot is quip-worthy enough, but the gang gets the most hilarity out of the film’s racist overtones. All the servant characters wear messy blackface, prompting Hodgson to joke, “I’ve gotta be careful not to sweat off my ethnicity.”
- Brandy McDonnell
DVD review: “MST3K Volume XIV”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
MST3K fans will find plenty to adore in this four-DVD set packed with hilarious jokes, nonsensical sketches and fun special moments.
The cult TV show centered on a hapless man and his wisecracking robot sidekicks (portrayed by puppets) who are trapped on a spaceship and forced to watch horrid B-movies, which they gleefully deride.
The four episodes span MST3K’s 10 seasons on national cable. Two episodes feature series creator and original host Joel Hodgson and date to the show’s Comedy Central run. The other two star Mike Nelson as the host and come from the Sci-Fi Channel years.
“Mad Monster” is just the third episode the MST3K crew filmed after the show made the leap from a small Minneapolis cable access station to Comedy Central. It features original performer J. Elvis “Josh” Weinstein, who played mad scientist Dr. Laurence Erhardt and initially voiced smart-alecky robot Tom Servo. Weinstein left the show after its first season on Comedy Central, so it’s entertaining to hear him ridicule this abysmal werewolf flick.
Season 4 episode “Manhunt in Space” boasts the more familiar lineup of Hodgson, Kevin Murphy as Tom Servo, Trace Beaulieu as the voice/puppeteer of sarcastic robot Crow, and Beaulieu and Frank Conniff as baddies Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV’s Frank. It includes uproarious skits about beanbag pants and musical robots that help elevate the movie, a painfully cheap and dull 1956 space “adventure” about a Buck Rogers wannabe.
The 1990 “horror” film “Soultaker” which is scary for all the wrong reasons, was mocked in the 10th and final season. The movie stars Joe Estevez, Martin Sheen’s brother, but for diehard MST3K fans, the real stars of the episode are Hodgson and Frank “TV’s Frank” Conniff, former cast members who make a cameo.
Also from the 10th season, the 1985 spaghetti Western “Final Justice” – which follows a renegade Texas lawman tracking an Italian gangster on the island of Malta - features Joe Don Baker, a favorite MST3K target.
Bonus features: New interviews with Estevez and “Final Justice” writer-director Greydon Clark, “Mad Monster” trailer, MST3K on an episode of ESPN Classic’s “Cheap Seats Without Ron Parker” and four mini-posters.
- BAM
DVD Review: “Cinematic Titanic Presents Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Movie mocking has a new silhouette these days with “Cinematic Titanic,” the latest project from Joel Hodgson, creator of the cult hit TV series “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” and former MST3K cast members Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Mary Jo Pehl and J. Elvis Weinstein.
The group is still mocking old B movies, though they appear in a different silhouette than the trademark MST3K view of the host and the robot puppets in the bottom right corner of the screen.
For its first Christmas DVD, the “Cinematic Titanic” crew makes the bold move of riffing on “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,” which Hodgson and the MST3K gang gleefully ridiculed back in the show’s third season.
The horrible 1964 sci-fi film follows a group of Martians, all dressed in hideous skin-tight green outfits and outlandish headgear, who set out to kidnap Santa. The film is so bad its claim to fame is that it stars Pia Zadora as a Martian child.
The movie certainly oozes enough awfulness to warrant a second round of ridicule, and Hodgson and the gang get in plenty of funny zingers. But “Cinematic Titanic” doesn’t offer the hilarious skits that made MST3K so fun.
-BAM
MST3K Quote of the Day
In honor of the cult TV show’s 20th anniversary, we’ve been celebrating “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ Week here at the blog since Monday. Here’s your giggle-inducing, bad movie-related quote of the day, the final of our MST3K festivities:
Dr. Forrester: Ah, Joel. A hearty hello to you and yours. Let me say this about today’s invention exchange; let them eat chocolate.
TV’s Frank [dressed as an executioner] : That’s right Joel. Our invention this week is based on one’s natural inclination to bite the heads off of chocolate bunnies.
Dr. Forrester: That’s right Frank.
[steps aside to reveal guillotine]
Dr. Forrester: That’s why we’ve invented the chocolate bunny guillotine. Eliminate the guess work in biting the heads off bunnies. Ready Mr. Executioner?
TV’s Frank: Yes my liege.
Dr. Forrester: [producing a scroll] You have stolen painted eggs in a time of famine. Off with their head Frank.
[Frank cuts the string]
Dr. Forrester: And no chocolate mess. Well poopsies?
Tom Servo: [crying] What about the pardon from Fanny Farmer?
Crow T. Robot: His only crime was being born delicious!
- From “Manos: The Hands of Fate”
-BAM
BAM’s Top 5 MST3K episodes
The cult TV series “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ is celebrating the big 2-0 with the release of the “Mystery Science Theater 3000 20th Anniversary Edition.
In honor of the big occcasion, check out the list of my favorite MST3K episodes:
1. “The Leech Woman”(No. 802): “Hmm, that’s good pineal!” This movie tells the tale of a woman despised by her husband for not being 20, who turns to copious amounts of booze to drown her sorrows. But she finds a potential fountain of youth from an aged African woman who advises her that the secret of smooth-skinned longevity is to stab men in the pineal gland and ingest their juices, which are apparently about as tasty as all the hooch she gulps down.
Besides all the witty one-liners at the movie’s expense, the episodes features Crow’s crusade to rid the Satellite of Love of its prairie dog infestation before the “beefaloes” get their legs stuck in the holes, Pearl’s emergence as the Lawgiver of the sentient apes, and a nanite labor dispute that erupts in civil war.
2. “MST3K: The Movie”: Yes, I know it’s not really an episode of the TV series, but the feature film still is one of my favorite MST3K efforts.
If you watch interviews with the cast, especially Mike Nelson, it’s noted that reporters on the publicity tour for the film were offended at the choice of “This Island Earth,” claiming it was too good for riffing.
The movie actually is just cheap and cheesy enough to get in lots of riffs on it. But it isn’t as horribly, painfully low-quality as many of the films covered in the series, so it’s easier to watch. That brings us to …
3. “Manos: The Hands of Fate”(No. 424): MST3K managed to make this repugnant film a cult classic, so it’s difficult to imagine a Top 5 list without “Manos.” The movie, created on virtually no budget on a bet, is just ripe for riffing, and Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank actually famously apologize to Joel and the ’bots for the badness of the movie.
4. “Killer Shrews”(No. 407): James Best, better known as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane of “Dukes of Hazzard,” and others are terrorized by giant shrews, also known as small dogs with carpet remnants glued to them. At least Joel and the ‘bots get a catchy song out of it.
5. “Laser Blast”(No. 706): You gotta love this episode, the last on Comedy Central. Mike takes on the persona of Capt. Janeway of “Star Trek: Voyager” (Kate Mulgrew) to save the SOL from getting sucked into a black hole.
Honorable mentions: “Hercules Unchained,” “Daddy-O,” “Diabolik.”
So, fellow MSTies, Feel free to share your favorite MST3K episodes, moments, random quips, etc.
-BAM
MST3K Quote of the Day
In honor of the cult TV show’s 20th anniversary, it’s “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ Week here at the blog. Here’s your giggle-inducing, bad movie-related quotes of the day:
Gypsy: Crow?
Crow T. Robot: Yes?
Gypsy: I don’t get you!
Crow T. Robot: Oh.
Gypsy: Are you mad?
Crow T. Robot: [gruffly] NO!
[normal]
Crow T. Robot: No.
Gypsy: Good. Because I want to like you, but I just don’t understand where you’re coming from.
Crow T. Robot: Sure… Uh… What’s not to get, though Gypsy? I just am. I hang out.
Gypsy: Ohh. Oh. I know. It’s just that, well, you know, I don’t really get you.
Crow T. Robot: Well, okay… Maybe I can help. To start with, uh, I’m a robot. I use cyber-based bubble memory. Is THAT what’s confusing you?
Gypsy: Uhh… No.
Crow T. Robot: Is it that I work off UNIX and can use a variety of operating systems?
Gypsy: Uhh… I guess that’s a start…
Crow T. Robot: Well… I’ve undergone a complex personal evolution wherein painful confusion has given way to what I like to think of as some degree of wisdom culminating in my current Zarasthustrian sense of self. Is that it?
Gypsy: Nooo… If that helps you, its good, but…
Crow T. Robot: Gypsy! I don’t know what… Is it that I often panic when making sandwiches?
Gypsy: Yeah! Well maybe its that kind of thing…
Crow T. Robot: Is it that I smell conspiracy in everything and I don’t know what I mean most of the time?
Gypsy: Uh, that’s perhaps a small piece of the puzzle… but…
Crow T. Robot: Gypsy… Is it an odor?
Gypsy: No. Well… No. Well… maybe it’s TOM I don’t get!
Crow T. Robot: [losing it] Ohhhh brother! Like a Zippo lighter without any flint!
___
Tom: Nobody does. I’m the wind, baby.
- From “Monster A Go-Go”
-BAM
Extended Q&A: Trace Beaulieu of MST3K
This is an extended Q&A version of my recent phone interview with Trace Beaulieu, one of the original cast members of the cult TV show “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” Joel Hodgson created MST3K back in 1988, so the show is marking its 20th anniversary. The “Mystery Science Theater 3000 20th Anniversary Edition” box set was released this week to commemorate the milestone.
From 1988-96, Beaulieu played the evil scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester, who scheme of world domination involves shooting a hapless guy (first creator Joel Hodgson, later head writer Michael J. Nelson) up into space and forcing him to watch horrible B movies until his spirit is shattered. Beaulieu also operated the puppet and provided the voice for the sardonic robot character Crow T. Robot.
In the interview, Beaulieu not only reminisced about MST3K, he talked about the new riffing project “Cinematic Titanic,” which involves Beaulieu, Hodgson and fellow former MST3K cast members J. Elvis “Josh” Weinstein, Mary Jo Pehl and Frank Conniff.
For those of you who read my expanded Q&A with Hodgson, which was posted Thursday, you might note that Beaulieu seemed more open to the prospect of a “Cinematic Titanic” crossover with RiffTrax, the movie-mocking audio commentaries created by Nelson and former MST3K cast members Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett.
Q: Where am I calling you at?
A: I am in Minnesota. I am on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border, as a matter of fact.
Q: Is this like your house?
A: This is like my house, yeah. (with amusement in his voice)
Q: It’s like your house or it is your house?
A: It is my house.
Q: Just making sure you weren’t standing on the border with your cell phone on a dare.
A: No. It’s an exact replica of my house in cardboard. So it’s like my house. And you’re in Oklahoma, I’m assuming.
Q: I’m in Oklahoma City, yeah. I’m in a building that’s very much like my office. And I just wanted to talk to you about the 20th anniversary of MST3K, which sounds funny to me. When you started this did you ever imagine that it would become the kind of phenomenon that would warrant a 20th anniversary celebration?
A: You know, really I was surprised we’d make it through the first week. We were doing it in this little crummy TV station, and nobody was getting paid much. It was just fun to do. It was such a lark at the time that (I) never thought that we’d be talking about it now.
Q: So it was just fun to do?
A: Yeah, exactly. You know, it was guys hanging around that liked each other and having fun. It was such a great idea that everybody just kept saying yes to it. And that’s a huge factor in its success, I think, because there’s so many people in the world that are ready to say no. “Oh, you can’t do that.” And had we pitched the idea rather than just made it, I don’t think it would have taken off because it’s a fairly hard concept to explain it to somebody.
Q: I remember the first time somebody had to explain the concept to me, and I believe my comment was like “Why is there a reindeer and a gumball machine watching this weird movie at 2 a.m.?” It was one of those conversations with my friend who became my boyfriend who became my fiancé who is now my husband. He was like, “Oh, that’s “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” and I was like “I have no idea what you just said.”
A: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. (laughing)
Q: What is it about the show, is it the idea that caused it to touch a chord with so many people? Because I thought I was going to have to fist-fight some people over the box set when it arrived in my office. [Yeah, I mean you, my sister and my colleague Matt Price.]
A: Oh, really? You know, at first I said it was a bunch of people having fun together and making a fun thing, and I think that really carried through out into the world, and into your TV set, and out into your living room. Or wherever your TV set might be. I think that spirit of having fun carried through.
And it’s something that everybody has done; everyone has talked back to the television set. We just, we put it on TV.
Q: So you talked back to the TV while on TV?
A: Yeah, but you know, everybody’s done that. You know, the TV common room in a dorm or in the student hall on campus, that’s what people did: They’d watch soap operas and make snarky comments back to ‘em. Except for people who were there just to watch the soap opera, then it was really annoying for them.
