Tag: Roger Corman

Geekscape 373: The Team Behind The ‘Doomed’ Documentary Returns!

by Jonathan

The team behind the ‘Doomed’ documentary triumphantly returns to Geekscape after two years to talk about the finished film, premiering this week at the San Diego Comic Con! What revelations laid in store for the team and what were some of the highlights of making the documentary? Executive Producer Mark Sikes regales us with some of his new insights while the original Thing Carl Ciarfalio tries to calculate just how much weight he lost in that damn suit! Kenny and Jonathan talk say ‘Terminator Genisys’ is better off terminated and we give you some last minute advice for SDCC!

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First ‘Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s “The Fantastic Four”‘ Trailer Debuts Online!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: We cannot wait for this to come out.

All the way back in April of 2013, we hosted a ‘Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four Reunion‘, which featured some of the film’s prominent cast and crew, as well as documentary producer Mark Sikes. The group was just about to start production on the Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s ‘The Fantastic Four’, and today, the first trailer for that documentary was released.

I still haven’t had an opportunity to watch Corman’s version of The Fantastic Four, but have read up on its troubled production extensively, and am very excited for the documentary to release. You can take a look at the trailer below, which features some excellent interview clips with Corman himself, as well as a multitude of cast and crew members.

Be sure to let us know what you think, and if you’re excited to see the full feature!

Back in 1994, legendary B-Movie filmmaker Roger Corman produced one of Marvel’s first movies. It was a feature film adaptation of The Fantastic Four, which at the time never saw the light of day. It has since been bootlegged and leaked, and has gained a cult following over the years. Director Marty Langford has created a documentary called DOOMED!: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s “The Fantastic Four,”  which gives us the full behind the scenes story of the film’s troubled production and release.

Geekscape 287: The Roger Corman ‘Fantastic Four’ Reunion!

by Jonathan

Almost 20 years ago, one of the most notorious comic book films of all time was produced: Roger Corman’s ‘The Fantastic Four’! For most of its existence, this unreleased gem, which fans either loved or bemoaned, was only available through bootleg fan copies at comic book conventions. A VHS or DVD copy was the Holy Grail of Geekdom! Now, on the eve of production on the documentary ‘Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s “Fantastic Four” Movie’, original cast members Rebecca Staab, Joseph Culp, Carl Ciarfalio and documentary producer Mark Sikes (who was a casting assistant on the film) talk about what it was like making the film, being in the film and looking back 20 years later! Geekscapist Satori claims “This is a really great ep, probably my favorite since you’ve been on Toadhop.” and “This is BRILLIANT!!!!” Who are we to argue with a longtime Geekscapist? Enjoy!

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:18:17 — 31.4MB)

Thursday Night On Geekscape: The Roger Corman ‘Fantastic Four’ Reunion!

by GeekscapeStaff

You may have seen the event on Facebook. You might have even seen the tweets about it. We’re here again to remind you that this week’s Geekscape episode is going to be amazing (and if you’re new to the Geekscape show, you can watch it via live streaming)!

If you’ve been to any comic conventions in the past 15 years, you’ve likely picked up (or at least been offered) a bootleg of the 1994 Fantastic Four movie. Produced by low-budget guru Roger Corman, The Fantastic Four production was so troubled that it was never officially released, dooming it to a life as the low quality, illegitimate bootleg that we know and love today.

This week, only on our ToadHop Network live broadcast at 6pm PST, we’ll be talking to three of the film’s prominent cast members, and one crew member who is now working on a documentary exploring the entire Fantastic Four event. Here’s who is confirmed so far:

-Rebecca Staab, who played Sue Storm/Richards.

-Carl Ciarfalio,  The Thing himself.

-Joseph Culp, the man behind Dr. Doom.

-Mark Sikes, casting assistant on The Fantastic Four, and producer of the upcoming feature length documentary Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s ‘The Fantastic Four’.

The show is going to be a blast, and it’s going to be incredibly interesting to hear stories about the film’s production from these four. Again, watch the show live on The ToadHop Network tomorrow at 6PM, and don’t forget to call in at 323-622-8623 if you’ve got questions!

Need a refresher before the show? Watch all 90 minutes of The Fantastic Four below, and get those questions ready!

Geekscape’s Sundance 2013 Review: ‘Virtually Heroes’

by Georg

VIRTUALLY HEROES is a fun comedy about the sarcastic and self-aware hero of a first person shooter, Sgt Brooks.  It is actually the first Roger Corman produced film to be programmed at Sundance in the festival’s history.  The director, G. J. Echternkamp, and screenwriter, Matt Yamashita, were given the task by Corman of coming up with a story that could make use of 11 Vietnam War action films in his vault that were all produced in the 1970’s & 80’s. Their first attempt was a story about a Rambo inspired character who goes on a brutal mission in the jungle while taking time to pursue his passion for bird watching.  No joke, they revealed this tidbit at the Q&A after the screening. Fortunately for us, Corman passed on that treatment and the guys wrote a video game inspired script that became this film.

 

VHeroes3

 

The movie starts with Sgt Brooks realizing his life in a rut. Yes, video game heros have feelings too.  He and is partner, Nova, are playing the same levels over and over again as they tirelessly try to advance in the game.  The attractive female at the end of every level constantly eludes Brooks because right as she is freed from the level boss, another villain appears to take her to the next stage. Amidst severe depression and in search of his true self, Brooks abandons the missions and seeks counsel from an elusive monk thought to be a flaw in the programming code.

 

VHeroes2
Teabagging in RL…

 

The filmmakers craft an engaging story mixing the footage they shot with all the fighting, explosions, and action sequences taken from those 11 films in the Corman archive. While it is evident that they shot in the canyons outside of LA, clever editing and filmmaker cheats blend the scenes together nicely.  Sprinkled in are countless video game references to such classics as Call of Duty, Streetfighter, World of Warcraft, and even Contra. The cast’s performances are solid and Robert Baker owns the role of Sgt Brooks. Unfortunately for you die hard Corman fans, there is no gratuitous nudity.  For the scene in which it would have been most appropriate, the director hired his girlfriend and her BBFs as extras and it would just have been to too awkward for him…bummer for us. The good news is that  there is a sweet cameo by Mark Hamill.

 

Expect this laffer to come to DVD and VOD soon and if it does well, I bet Mr. Corman can find another bunch of films in his archives to convert to a modern day video game.

 

Cast and Credits

Director: G. J. Echternkamp

Screenwriter: Matt Yamashita

Executive Producer: Roger Corman

Coproducer: Dwjuan Fox

Cinematographer: James Mann

Producer, Editor: G. J. Echternkamp

Principal Cast: Robert Baker, Brent Chase, Katie Savoy, Mark Hamill, Ben Messmer

 

Vheroes

Guilty Pleasures: Piranha 2: The Spawning

by Saintmort

This Friday we will see the release of Piranha 3DD. This is the Summer Release of the Summer to me. Fuck Spiderman, Avengers and Dark Knight Rises because guess what I promise those movies won’t have 3-D titties. I can not define my excitement levels for seeing this movie and I’m pissed that I won’t see it until Sunday Morning (stupid Philadelphia Wizard World).

So what movie should I pick for this week’s guilty pleasure? Well Obviously I had but one option. You see Piranha and Piranha 3D were both critical hits as well as cult favorites. However Piranha 2: The Spawning was critically despised and has only a small following (if one at all), yet I like it more than the original.

Most people only know one thing about this infamously bad horror movie, that it’s James Cameron’s directorial debut. I’m going to go as far as to say it’s my favorite of all his films. Sure you can have your The Abyss or The Terminator or Avatar (seriously though if Avatar is your favorite Cameron film shoot yourself) but for me he doesn’t get better than piranha flying around and attacking a beach resort.

Yes, you read that correctly. The plot-line surrounds what happens when a mad scientist mixes Piranhas and Flying Fish to create the most horrifying creature known to man. The writing is not as funny or quick witted as the original Piranha but the fish effects and gore have taken a major in the right direction.

Most of the cast members are italian with minimual english and the characters are bizarre creatures including a stuttering man who’s constantly insulted an harrassed, a woman who needs to get laid and two teens in love. When the Piranha attack the resort there’s nowhere to hide.

The original plot-line from the original director explained that the flying fish/piranha combo came from Kevin McCarthy’s character at the beginning of the film. Sure you saw him get eaten in Piranha (Spoiler alert?) but original director Miller Drake felt that he could survived (just badly deformed) and those driven to get vengence for his disfigurement.

Drake didn’t last too long on the project before he was replaced by special effects artist James Cameron who is mostly ashamed of this film. He occasionally jokes around that he made the “best flying fish horror comedy of all time” in interviews and on commentary tracks, but the film is quite good (specifically by Roger Corman standards).

The film itself feels a little more like a Troma film than a Corman film. It’s a little more blantly tongue in cheek, over the top and uses quite a few goofy sound effects typical of a more Kaufman style horror-comedy.

It’s a good film to throw on with friends and look for moments the remind you of Cameron’s much more successful career.