Author: Maurice Mitchell

With all the over-hyped CGI of films like Transformers II, its nice to see it put to its intended use: creating aliens to chase someone around their house. If you have fond memories of 80’s films like Gremlins or Critters, then you’ll like the short film Furfangs. The story is a simple one. A guy is home relaxing when a bunch of fuzzy aliens invade his home. We had a moment to interview the director, writer and star of the film, Italian comic book creator and artist Andrea Ricca. Where did the idea for this film come from? In my shorts…

The force was with a man dressed as Darth Vader who held up a New York bank. A guy wearing a Star Wars Darth Vader mask, black gloves, shirt and cape, but wearing camouflage pants, went into a Long Island bank demanding cash. One customer thought it was a joke and tried playing along, but Vader proved he was the Master. “The customer thought it might have been a joke, and not a serious attempt at a robbery,” said Suffolk County police Detective Sgt. William Lamb. The Sith Lord shoved him to the ground yelling “This is not a joke!”…

Lindsay Lohan reports for prison to serve a 90 day sentence today. For all of her complaints of cruel and unusual punishment there are prisons worse than where she’s going. 1. Princess Leia’s Star Destroyer Prison Cell In Star Wars (A New Hope) Princess Leia is captured and taken aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer. There, she is held in a dark metal prison cell and tortured for information. It doesn’t get much worse when you have institutional torture droids working you over. Maybe they could find out if Lohan had a nose job while she’s in there. 2. The Matrix In the film, The…

One of the most imitated images in movie history is seeing Harrison Ford (Han Solo) frozen in a block of Carbonite from the science-fiction film Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. He’s on everything from soap to furniture. You could probably decorate your house with Solo if you wanted to. Here’s why: 1. We Love Han Solo Han Solo was the quintessential bad boy. He’s handsome, bold, lives by his own rules and has a vaguely criminal job. It was at the high point in his transformation from self-centered jerk to a bold, selfless hero that he was frozen in…

We asked you who was your favorite actoractress appearing in the science-fiction film Inception was. The winner is: Leonardo DiCaprio! Thanks to everyone who voted. This isn’t a huge surprise considering his following and acting prowess. What was surprising is that Joseph Gordon-Leavitt came in second (22%). Up until this film, I’d always seen him as a washed up child actor. The truth is far from that. You can see the results here. Do you feel Leonardo deserves to win this week’s poll?

My brother and I are huge fans of director Christopher Nolan. Besides his Batman films, his mind-blowing film The Prestige convinced us that smart science-fiction still exists. The science-fiction film Inception, about a group of thieves stealing from dreams, opens nation-wide July 16th. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing daily posts on the development of the film. PART 11 of 12 Ken Wanatabe, 50, plays Saito, also known as “The Tourist” in promotional material. He blackmails Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) to implant a memory in a dream. Wanatabe is a hugely popular actor in Japan, but first worked with director…

Last week, our post on David Prowse, the man behind the Darth Vader mask, went viral. We got over 80,000 visitors to the post and its been linked and tweeted all over the Internet. The story itself picked up steam and now, even without our post, the whole blogosphere knows what was once a sidenote. There has been a lot of speculation as to why LucasFilms asked companies not to invite David Prowse to appear at their events. These have ranged from Prowse calling Lucas a racist for using an African-American voice and appealing to a “black audience.” Some have…

My brother and I are huge fans of director Christopher Nolan. Besides his Batman films, his mind-blowing film The Prestige convinced us that smart science-fiction still exists. The science-fiction film Inception, about a group of thieves stealing from dreams, opens nation-wide July 16th. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing daily posts on the development of the film. PART 10 of 12 Tom Hardy plays Eames, known as “The Forger,” in the science-fiction film Inception. he’s most famous for playing the title role in the controversial film Bronson, Hardy is no stranger to controversy. He also says controversial things. When asked…

As if riding a motorcycle wasn’t cool enough, Universal Designs Ltd. is making it that much cooler with leather suits designed to make you look like a superhero. They’ve already been selling a suit to make you look like Wolverine (X-Men II) or boots to make you look like Batman (The Dark Knight). Now, they have a suit that will make you look like Iron Man. They call it the IRON MAN™ Mark V Motorcycle Suit. Here’s how they describe it. Devised from the latest advances in armor deployment technology, Tony Stark’s Mark V Armor is vastly more portable than…

LA Times Hero Complex is reporting that the superhero movies Captain America: The First Avenger (July 22, 2011) and Thor (May 6, 2011) will be shown in glorious 3-D. Knowing that audiences have scoffed at post-production 3-D in the past, Marvel is working to convince the fans. At the San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios will present their case to fans that three dimensions is the way to go. “We came to feel that in our case 3-D could be the very good friend of story and character for a different kind of experience,” Kenneth Branagh, the director of Thor, said.…

As much as I love Star Wars, when George Lucas announced a planned live-action television show I was wary. They’ve been talking about a show like that since the original trilogy and, as a kid, I thought there couldn’t be anything better. Then, Lucas released the new trilogy and I realized its possible to ruin a good thing. In 2007, Lucas announced Lucas Arts is developing a show set in the universe between the trilogies. At a special screening, Lucas told why its been years since the announcement and there’s still no series. “The live action TV show is kind…

In May, Sci Fi Wire reached one million unique visitors. In June, Sci Fi Wire topped it with 1.4 million unique visitors. That’s impressive. Beginning today, one of our favorite science-fiction blogs “Sci Fi Wire” is rebranding and changing the name to Blastr.com. They’re promising a “daily curated smorgasbord of news, features, images, popular science, videos and guest bloggers.” I’ll miss the old name, just like I miss the name Sci-Fi. “SciFi Wire” told you everything you needed to know about the blog. Of course, with all their great content they could call it PimpleBuster.com and we’d still go read…

Creative fashions fans made using the Warner Bros. bags io9 asked an interesting question about the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con International 2010: Could there be a “nerd” riot? They said no. But, what if fans hear about free giveaways in limited quantities featuring their favorite geeky television shows? Let’s do the math: Attendance usually tops 120,000. There will be 125,000 giveaway bags. This sounds good until you realize that there are 11 different bags to collect. While not everyone will be shanking one other for a “Scooby-Doo” bag, there might be a scramble for the sexy totes with Maggie Q (Nikita) and…

My brother and I are huge fans of director Christopher Nolan. Besides his Batman films, his mind-blowing film The Prestige convinced us that smart science-fiction still exists. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing daily posts on the development of the film. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime. PART 9 of 12 Academy Award winner Hans Zimmerman (The Dark Knight,The Lion King, Gladiator) is a German film composer and executive score producer on dozens of films. Most recently, Christopher Nolan hired him to work on The Dark Knight and he’s hired him to write the score…

Star Wars wouldn’t be the same without Darth Vader. Darth Vader IS David Prowse. We know that David Prowse has been “uninvited” from Star Wars Convention V (C5) and you may be asking yourself: What can I do? Corporations own the name and licenses, but Star Wars exists because of the fans. Fans promote Star Wars. Fans buy the products. Fans can correct this travesty of justice and bring David Prowse back to Star Wars. If the fans decide they want to see David Prowse at a convention, then he will have to be there no matter what LucasFilm says. So, what can…

My brother and I are huge fans of director Christopher Nolan. Besides his Batman films, his mind-blowing film The Prestige convinced us that smart science-fiction still exists. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing daily posts on the development of the film. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime. PART 8 of 12 Ellen Page was nominated for playing a underage pregnant girl in Juno. Now, she plays Ariadne, an architecture student in Paris who is recruited by Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) for his corporate espionage team, which breaks into the dreams of billionaires using advanced technology.…

Matt Sloan and Aaron Yonda were kind enough to let us do an interview for our blog. They’re best known for their video series “Chad Vader,” a viral Internet sensation that has received over 25 million Internet downloads and counting (view it on YouTube). Chad Vader has won over a dozen film festival awards, including the “George Lucas Selects” award from the 2007 Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge. The series has been written about in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, TV Week Magazine, Chicago Sun Times, Washington Post and The Metro (UK), among others. It was featured…

My brother and I are huge fans of director Christopher Nolan. Besides his Batman films, his mind-blowing film The Prestige convinced us that smart science-fiction still exists. The science-fiction film Inception, about a group of thieves stealing from dreams, opens nation-wide July 16th. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing daily posts on the development of the film. PART 7 of 12 Michael Caine has played on three of director Christopher Nolan’s films (Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight). In the science-fiction film Inception he plays “a professor who’s teaching [Leonardo DiCaprio] science. He’s going off to…

My brother and I are huge fans of director Christopher Nolan. Besides his Batman films, his mind-blowing film The Prestige convinced us that smart science-fiction still exists. The science-fiction film Inception, about a group of thieves stealing from dreams, opens nation-wide July 16th. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing daily posts on the development of the film. Part 6 of 12 Inception’s official Facebook page is chock full of links to contests and give-aways. Some require you to sign up though. What do you think of Facebook viral marketing?

My brother and I are huge fans of director Christopher Nolan. Besides his Batman films, his mind-blowing film The Prestige convinced us that smart science-fiction still exists. The science-fiction film Inception, about a group of thieves stealing from dreams, opens nation-wide July 16th. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing daily posts on the development of the film. PART 5 of 12 Richard King is an Oscar-winning sound designer for War of the Worlds, Master and Commander, and The Dark Knight. On Inception, he told Wired how he created the sound effects for a pivotal scene where a train…

My brother and I are huge fans of director Christopher Nolan. Besides his Batman films, his mind-blowing film The Prestige convinced us that smart science-fiction still exists. The science-fiction film Inception, about a group of thieves stealing from dreams, opens nation-wide July 16th. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing daily posts on the development of the film. PART 4 of 12 Joseph Gordon-Levitt faced massive challenges on the film, training for weeks to shoot a long fight sequence that takes place along walls and ceilings. “It was also, probably, the most pain I’ve ever been in on a…

One of our intrepid readers sent us this list of 100 Classic Sci-Fi movies you can watch online for free. “We just posted an article, ‘100 Classic Sci-Fi Movies You Can Watch Online For Free’ http://www.associatedegreeonline.com/blog/2010/06/100-classic-sci-fi-movies-you-can-watch-online-for-free/ I thought I’d bring it to your attention in case you think your readers would find it interesting.” – Amanda My favorite thing about this list is that it’s sorted by decade for context. This is an awesome list of great science fiction films and I admit to a touch of jealousy that I hadn’t written it. Here are some highlights: 1. A Trip to…

My brother and I are huge fans of director Christopher Nolan. Besides his Batman films, his mind-blowing film The Prestige convinced us that smart science-fiction still exists. The science-fiction film Inception, about a group of thieves stealing from dreams, opens nation-wide July 16th. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing daily posts on the development of the film. PART 3 of 12 As part of their viral marketing strategy, Warner Bros launched an online game called Inception: Mind Crime. As it progressed through four stages, fans could unlock and reveal all sorts of hidden goodies. Here’s how Nolanfans describes it: This…

Lynda Carter weighs in on the new costume debate. [Pic of the week from funkship.com]The colossal news last week was that DC has changed Wonder Woman’s costume in issue #600. They put her in leather pants and a jacket and got rid of the swim suit . “She’s been locked into pretty much the exact same outfit since her debut in 1941,” New writer J. Michael Straczynski said. “If you’re going to make a statement about bringing Wonder Woman into the 21st century, you need to be bold and you need to make it visual. I wanted to toughen her…

My brother and I are huge fans of director Christopher Nolan. Besides his Batman films, his mind-blowing film The Prestige convinced us that smart science-fiction still exists. The science-fiction film Inception, about a group of dream thieves, opens nation-wide July 16th. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing daily posts on the development of the film. Part 2 of 12″It was a very well written, comprehensive script,” Mr. DiCaprio said, “but you really had to have Chris in person, to try to articulate some of the things that have been swirling around his head for the last eight years.”During filming, Mr. DiCaprio said,…

My brother and I are huge fans of director Christopher Nolan. Besides his Batman films, his mind-blowing film murder mystery Memento convinced he that smart science-fiction still exists. The science-fiction film Inception, about a group of dream thieves, opens nation-wide July 16th. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing daily posts on the development of the film. Part 1 of 12When director Christopher Nolan was developing his latest film Inception, he took encouragement from the tradition of hit fantasy movies like Star Wars that hinted at vaster worlds. The challenge of bringing a film of such a massive scale…

Here’s an exciting press release we got from humor writer, producer and teacher Ira Nayman. he has recently won the 2010 Swift Satire Competition for his poem “Love Amid the Construction.” E L O Q U E N T B O O K S WHAT ONCE WERE MIRACLES ARE NOW CHILDREN’S TOYS News You Can Abuse (On Booze) Better than Slitherian toothpaste! Cheaper than having your arms replaced by computer-enhanced toaster ovens! Makes more sense than Pat Robertson in a blender! Yes, the second collection of author Ira Nayman’s Alternate Reality News Service articles, “What Were Once Miracles Are Now…

If you’ve ever wanted to hear Darth Vader’s heavy breathing over the phone, this is your day. Right before the opening of the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back they had the idea of using a free recorded phone message to promote the movie. Recently, Craig Miller, Lucasfilm’s first director of fan relations, found some old cassette tapes of the recordings and posted them to StarWars.com. Here’s what they would have heard accompanied by, possibly inappropriate, heavy breathing: “They managed to rescue the princess and destroy the Death Star. But, this time, the rebels won’t be so lucky. The power…

First off, I’d like to give my sincere apolgies to the makers of the mini-series The Phantom when I said it would be horrible. I was wrong. It was just boring. The SyFy television mini-series, based on the iconic Lee Falk comic strip “The Phantom”, clocked in at a drudging four hours long. Most of this time was spent setting up characters and conflict in the typical “Heros Journey.” Kit Walker (Ryan Carnes) lives an unimpressive life until he is approached by a group that tell him he is the adopted son of a legendary hero from Africa known as “The Phantom” or…

Because even the Dark Side can be cute. Pic of the week from http://www.myspace.com/yodanzThis week’s news prove that Iowa grows more than corn, one kid makes the best science project ever and we answer the question “Does ‘Stretch Armstrong’ Have the worst superpower?” At a Star Trek Convention in Iowa, 159 fans set out to break the London Guiness world record for the “most costumed Star Trek fans.” The record was previously set by a London group of 99 in February of this year. Maurice: One of the main motivations of this drive was to set the record in the…