Guest Post by Eric Bresler

As a lifelong comic book collector and a connoisseur of oddball musical theater, I felt an obligation to attend Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark despite the impossibility of recapturing the pre-previews excitement of it all.

The show’s production problems, bad reviews, and bloodthirsty attendees are common knowledge at this point.  Recently a comic book writer was brought on board to touch up the book amidst rumors concerning the hiring of a new director. Thus my expectations were low, but I was still holding out hope for something along the lines of the grand spectacle of the Lord of the Rings musical or the over-the-top silliness of Polanski’s Dance of the Vampires.

Spider-Man instead turned out to be a harmless bore punctuated by some truly incredible set pieces and wire work that should please both children and comic fans. Theater majors need not apply.

The show opens with Mary Jane dangling from a building as Spidey scales it in slow-motion; a giant, laughing Green Goblin head watches from Stage Left. It’s actually pretty awesome and is useful in establishing the show’s creative shifts in perspective, picture an NYC more akin to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis than Woody Allen’s Manhattan.

The show’s overarching plot is introduced in the form of magical spider lady Arachne who spurs questions of fate versus coincidence in a story that would make J. Michael Straczynski proud. As the play continues, the audience is treated to a Cirque du Soleil-like aerial acrobatic show that is tough to be unimpressed by, a reggae-themed super villain beauty pageant.

The characters are portrayed loyally with the exception of Norman Osborn who first appears as a Dr. Moreau-like mad scientist. The hyped up score by Bono and The Edge is completely forgettable with very little emotional resonance; the theme tune is about as exciting as Joe Perry’s theme to the 1994 Spider-Man cartoon.

Comic readers like myself were originally wary of that wild concept of a singing and dancing Spider-Man brought to life by one of the great modern visual artists accompanied by the songs of arena rock stars. The concept is now a reality and it’s just as messy as predicted.

Spider-Man on Broadway [Marvel.com]

Over the past few years, Philadelphia has become one of most sought out locations for films. We’ve seen flicks like Transformers, The Happening, and most recently, Limitless shooting in our fine city. So what brings directors like Michael Bay into our backyard? Well, the Pennsylvania Tax Incentive for filmmakers, that’s what.

Ed Rendell encouraged this tax incentive around 2007, and this provided a massive growth in the film industry in Pennsylvania. Since 2009, however, it has been receiving heavy snips here and there. Now that Tom Corbett has taken office in Harrisburg, the tax incentive might be stricken from the budget all together.

So what does this mean? Well, first off—Pennsylvania might lose four big budget productions! Paramount recently pulled out of producing in Philadelphia and laid people off, because applications for the production haven’t been signed yet. The tax incentive debacle is halting the entire process. And what, pray tell, was the movie? Oh, just World War Z.

What are some other films being yanked away from our backyard? How about, Fox’s pilot Locke & Key and The Dark Knight Rises!

I know what you’re thinking, how can I help? Well here’s how! E-mail Mr. Corbett and tell him to keep the tax incentive for filmmakers in the 2011-12 budget! Send the link to everyone. Help filmmakers keep making wonderful cinema in the state of Pennsylvania.

For the past month, Tek Lado has been missing from your local honor boxes, taking a month long hiatus from the world of print. The bilingual magazine about the local and national techie scene is happily returning, but as a strictly online outlet.

Alas, it’s true. The print publication is going the way of many magazines, becoming an online-only product. Thanks to Area52 Media (a partnership between Tek Lado’s former publisher, Mel Gomez, and editor-in-chief / ultra crush Liz Spikol) the zine will continue online. Unfortunately Spikol can’t divulge any details about the shuttering of the print edition of the magazine.

In a press release issued from Area52, Mel and Spikol explained the reason for the hiatus and changes:

“By focusing on the print publication, we were limiting ourselves geographically. If we devote our energies to the digital product exclusively, we’ll be able to expand our reach.” – Mel Gomez

“We realized the website’s international potential when we started posting in Spanish about WikiLeaks. Suddenly, we had dramatically increased readership from pretty much every country in Latin America.” – Liz Spikol

We’ll miss you Tek Lado! We supported the launch of the magazine, and believed in the new print mag. It was a brave venture, leaping into print in the age of print media dying.

The website version of the magazine plans to continue covering gaming, gadgets, social media, and tech culture. You can read Liz’s column about the change, here.

It’s been a crazy year covering film for Geekadelphia. I’ve been lucky enough to not only review the films nominated for Oscars this year, but I also got to speak with quite a few of the people behind the scenes.

Since today is Oscar day, we thought we would post all of our reviews and interviews pertaining to the nominated films. Read up!

Toy Story 3: [An interview w/ the director Lee Unkrich]

Black Swan: [Review]

The Social Network: [Review] Q&As: [Jesse Eisenberg] [Armie Hammer] [Aaron Sorkin]

Blue Valentine: [Interview w/ the director Derek Cianfrance]

Dogtooth: [Review]

Tron Legacy: [Review]

Salt: [Review]

Well, the blockbusters for this year are finally starting to trickle out. First up is Battle: Los Angeles, which hits screens Friday, March 11th. You might recall this film as the one that Sony thought the crew from Skyline might have re-used some of the effects shots for… hopefully that will be the only connection between these two films that both seem to focus on an alien invasion of LA.

Battle: Los Angeles is directed by Jonathan Liebesman who like Neill Blomkamp director of District 9 also comes to us from Johannesburg, South Africa. Jonathan Liebesman whose previous gigs include Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Darkness Falls seems to be an interesting choice for a $100 million sci-fi epic given his genre background; he also has been tapped as the director of the Clash of the Titans Wraith of the Titans. (*Insert tired release the Kraken joke here*)

The film stars Michelle Rodriguez and Aaron Eckhart and promises a war documentary-like film about the alien invasion of Los Angeles.

Interested in checking Battle: Los Angeles out?  We have 25 admit two passes to an advance screening March 10th at the Ritz East. Comment with your favorite alien invasion film and why, and the top 25 will be checking the film out a day early for free! I’ll email winners by March 6th. In the meantime check out the trailer below.

Note: Mention Skyline and you will be permanently banned from all further Geekadelphia movie contests.

Matt Crespi is a native Philly boy, and according to the Food Network, one of America’s Worst Cooks. The show brings together the worst of the worst across the nation to a boot camp with Food Network personalities Chef Anne Burrell and Chef Robert Irvine to hopefully infuse the contestants with some cooking skills. Matt was clearly the nerdy one of the bunch, but was eliminated in week three of the eight week competition. We talked with him about his experiences, his geekiness, and his love of Philadelphia burgers.

What made you try out to be on Worst Cooks?

News of the Philadelphia audition had made its way around the Philly food blogs, and quite a few of my friends suggested–nay, insisted–I try out. I never thought I’d be chosen, and if the audition wasn’t a mere six blocks away from my apartment, I might not have even bothered. I honestly went in just hoping to get a good story from the tryout. Then they offered me a spot on the show, and as Amelia Earhart said, “When a great adventure is offered, you don’t refuse it.”

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever cooked?

The worst thing I ever cooked was pan seared salmon. Now, keep in mind that “pan seared salmon” is just the name of the dish, and it should in no way be confused for a description of the result. I didn’t use the right pan; I didn’t preheat anything; I didn’t use any oil; I kept tinkering with the burner intensity (as if that would help); and I did things with a spatula which, in retrospect, should have had me worried that the Food Police were going to kick down my door and read me Miranda.

My brother told me I made sushi-grade fish taste like cat food, but I think he’s just being nice because he’s my brother.

Conversely, what’s the best thing you’ve cooked since finishing the show?

Chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Even though I never attempted it at Boot Camp, I’ve actually developed a real knack for baking since my return. Baking, more so than almost any other kitchen activity, depends on precision, so it’s a natural fit for me. Since this is Geekadelphia, I don’t mind telling you that I even had a little Excel model I could use to convert pie recipes given in ingredient weights into volumetric instructions. But don’t tell any of the “cooler” blogs I did that; they’ll make fun of me.

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My favorite American horror actress is Danielle Harris, bar none. Danielle started out acting in film fairly young at the age of 11 as Jaime Lloyd in Halloween 4, a role which started her on the path to becoming one of the most recognizable female faces in horror today.

I got to speak to her for a bit in support of her role starring in Hatchet 2, which recently came out on both DVD and Blu-ray. You’ll learn that she is so much more than just a scream queen and definitely has a lot of offer the genre.

So what’s it like for you as an actress coming into a pre-existing role like Marybeth in Hatchet 2? Are you ever concerned about joining a pre-established franchise?

I have such an amazingly loyal fan base, that I am really lucky that I don’t think I was judged too much. They are a little lenient with me, which is awesome and I am grateful for it. Since Hatchet 2 immediately picks up where the first leaves off, I wasn’t recreating the character. I just had to sort of take it from where she left it and then go from there.  The stakes were raised so much from that point on that it wasn’t as difficult for me to do.

I was definitely a fan of the first movie anyway and I watched it quite a bit before I did the film to kind of get the accent down. I am not sure mine was too similar to hers, but I think mine was definitely more put on than hers.

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Skynet. HAL. Artificial Intelligence. The Matrix.Wall-E. Yes, we’re all doomed. But I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.

If you aren’t already aware, Jeopardy! just broadcasted a 3 night special pitting Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter against Watson, IBM’s supercomputer. To clarify, Watson is slightly different than the AI built in to the Jeopardy! iPhone app. There are no built in answers, no easy or difficult settings.

IBM has created a computer that can analyze the questions, recognize the wordplays, puns, and subtleties, and spit back an original answer in the form of a question. On top of that, it has intricate knowledge of Pop Culture, Art, History, Science and more. If you aren’t overwhelmed by the magnitude of that, go back and read the last two sentences again. I’ll give you a moment to allow it to sink in.

Stephen Baker was essentially embedded at IBM from the first concept, and this book is the result of his and Watson’s 3 year journey. If you are reading this blog, you are probably fascinated by engineering, machines, and science fiction. This book delivers on all three, but there is no fiction. It’s a fascinating read whether you are just jumping on the watson bandwagon or have been following the latest developments in artificial intelligence for years.

Just remember in 20 years from now, when we are all enslaved by Watson’s progeny, that you had the chance to read up on the danger ahead of time. Interested in a copy of the book? Name your favorite evil supercomputer, from film or literature, and we’ll select one of you at random. Good luck.

WARNING: Video Might Be Slightly NSFW

Jeff Mach successfully pulled off another wonderful Wicked Faire in Somerset New Jersey. The freaks came out to play, and boy were they in full form. Dressed to the nines and ready to explore various methods of expression, Wicked Faire was the perfect playground for the out of the ordinary.

They day started with casual greetings and various costumes sprinkled throughout the lobby floor. The theme, Fairy Tales Gone Awry. Various Riding Hoods, Peter Pans, Snow Whites, and Mad Hatters made their way through the convention. The characters came in all different shapes and sizes, and everyone felt at home.

The place started to get a little mischievous once the sun went down. Voltaire wooed the crowd with his gothic sounds. Dave Ghoul from Philly’s Zombie Prom also lent his services to the evening; bringing all of the deviants to the dance floor. There was a late night screening of Repo! The Genetic Opera as well as a meet and greet!

By the end of Saturday nigh the theme for the 2012 Wicked Faire was announced; HALLOWEEN! So start thinking of your costumes now! You definitely need to dress to impress at this convention!

Don’t forget to check out Jeff Mach’s Alternative Living Expo on March 5th and Sunday March 6th a The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks Pennsylvania.

Guest Post by Sarah Solomon

“I’ve been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

We’ve all read The Great Gatsby. Whether it was in high school lit class, on the commute to work because you’re cheap and download books in the public domain, or to keep up with your more pretentious friends. Whatever your purpose may be, you’re guaranteed to crack up over the NES Great Gatsby game.

You control Nick Carraway as he fights butlers, drunks, and of course attains wealth en route to catching up with Jay Gatsby. The solemn eyes of T.J. Eckleberg no longer serve as metaphor… but as a giant beast you must fight on a hobo infested train car.

I’m proud to say that a good portion of this game was developed in our very own Philadelphia. One of the developers, Charlie, was a good enough sport to answer some questions about gaming, Gatsby, and 8 bits to glory.

How did the project come about?

Oh well it started with mocking up that first landing screen, that wonderful old Gatsby bookcover into the NES color pallet and resolution. And I just loved it, it made me laugh just thinking about it. So I pitched the idea to Pete, who was sort of uniquely suited to this project as a horrible NES nerd and Brown Graduate with a degree in English. So we just started in on it over a few weekends to start and soon it was like, “crap, this is actually coming together, and oh man, it’s actually fun to play.” Which we never really had in mind to start with, we just thought it would be funny.

Did yourself and the development team hope to turn a profit, or if this purely a labor of love/amusement?

All for love.

Any chance of this turning into a series? I’d love to see an 8 bit “The Beautiful and Damned.”

Ha, it’s funny, so many people have thrown out these other old classics. We initially were thinking of doing a Literary Classic Arcade, and have this and like, Pride and Prejudice or something and some other games. But I think that, for reasons beyond my understanding, Gatsby just sort of… it actually kind of works as a video game.

There’s something about it where you start playing and you sort of buy it, I think. I think that I’m out of the 8-bit game for a while, but the source code is free and open and available online so I’d love to see someone run with the idea!

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Folks at Make:Philly take in a lecture

Back in November, award-winning and internationally acclaimed designer Peter Bressler (who you local design nerds might recognize from Bresslergroup), spoke at Make:Philly about product design for startups. Well, he’s back to reprise his talk, swinging by Make:Philly’s March 2nd meeting.

According to a press releases from the folks at Make:Philly, he will be “giving a talk entitled “Product Design in Entrepreneurial Ventures” in which he will explore the following questions: What is the value of design to an entrepreneur? How should an entrepreneur use design? Can an entrepreneur afford design? In the process he will share experiences and case studies from his over 30 years of design experience spanning the consumer, medical, and industrial spaces.”

To learn more about Bressler and Make:Philly, visit MP’s official website.

Peter Bressler @ Make:Philly
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011 @ 7PM

University of the Arts
211 S. Broad Street, Terra Hall, 5th Floor

Wednesday marks the return of the wild wild west (no Will Smith included) with Outlaw Territory Volume 2 hitting comic book shops.

Outlaw Territory is an American Western anthology that hosts a wealth of creators from Robert Kirkman (of The Walking Dead
fame) to Philly local M. Sean McManus. At a whopping 248 pages, this graphic novel is sure to top the previous installment of gritty tales. I had the chance to chat with M. Sean McManus about his involvement in this project as well as his love of all things Philadelphia. We’re also giving away a huge prize pack full of comics. Read on to find out how you can win.

How did you get involved with Outlaw Territory?

M. Sean McManus: I got in involved in Outlaw Territory way back in 2000-something. The editor Mikie Woods and I know each other from various comic conventions and message boards and when he put together Outlaw Territory volume 1, he asked me to contribute. Of course I jumped at the chance– a short format comic? No rules, no holds barred? –Perfect.

My first contribution was called “Nora” named after the NJ based metalcore band, and for Outlaw Territory Volume 2 I wrote “Redeemer,” which is named after the album by Norma Jean, also a metalcore outfit. The two stories have nothing really to do with the music but they inspired the emotional rhythm of my writing so I wanted to tip my hat to those guys. Once I contributed my stories, Mikie took care of the rest.

I think both stories I worked on came out great. I’m very proud that my work, my artists work and of these volumes as a whole they really are just loaded with great comics.

Do you game? What’s your current gaming obsession?

Halo. I’m a huge sci-fi nerd/geek/whathaveyou and I seriously cannot stop playing that game. I don’t care which version. Halo 2, 3, Reach. They are all awesome. I don’t think I can be any clearer than that.

I don’t usually play the campaign and just go straight for the online multiplayer although recently I’ve been investing all my time in Forge, where you can build your own maps and then upload them to the server so other people can play them. Recreating old maps has become a bit of an obsession.

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