Mark Edlitz likes Star Wars. At least, that’s the assumption one has to make after watching Jedi Junkies, Edlitz’s loving documentary about the intensity of Star Wars fandom.

The film examines the nature of fans from several angles. There are the compulsive collectors, including Blair Witch director Eduardo Sánchez and a gentleman who has so much Star Wars paraphernalia that he can’t fit a bed in his home. Then there are the craftsmen, like Bob Iannaccone, whose one-man outfit Advanced Light Weaponry makes steel lightsabers strong enough for dueling and high-quality enough to win customers from Australia to Germany and right here in the U.S.

There are also the convention-goers. Perhaps the most widely known breed of fan in any genre, these are the folks who attend conventions, often road-tripping for miles to make it to the show. They are folks like the NY Jedi, who function much the same way as our very own PA Jedi, studying the Jedi way and choreographing elaborate lightsaber duels, complete with character development and faux deaths. Jedi Junkies also covers the “Leia scene” that attracts women from all over to conventions throughout the year, donning their Slave Leia costumes and making the rounds.

Read on and comment for a chance to win a free DVD!

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In anticipation for the release of Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold I got to sit down with documentarian Morgan Spurlock, have a POM at the Hyatt in Philadelphia and chat about his new film. Morgan Spulock is probably one of the most well known documentary filmmakers out there thanks to his previous film Super Size Me and his television show 30 Days.

Much like his films he is very honest, thoughtful and pretty damn funny. Make sure you check out Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold this Friday when it opens at the Ritz here in Philadelphia.

Where did you get the idea for this film?

We had just finished our piece for Freakonomics and we were talking about what film we were going to do next. Later that night I watched a rerun of Heroes, you know that episode when Hayden Panettiere comes out of school and she is all sad and her Dad says “Honey your mom and I are really proud of you, and I got you a surprise”.

He then reaches in his pocket, as he does the camera cuts to the front of the car and dollys past the Nissan logo. The camera then cuts back to him holding the keys in front of her face and she goes, “The Rogue! The Nissan Rogue! Oh my God daddy! I can’t believe it, the Rogue!”

I was dumbfounded I had just watched a commercial right in the middle of this TV show. So I get to work the next day and I am so upset about what had happened in that show and I started talking with my producing partner, Jeremy about that episode, because he had seen it too.

We then started diving into all this horrible product placement we have seen in film and TV over the years. We said, God wouldn’t be great if we made a film that tears apart this whole realm of product placement, advertisement and get it paid for by the brands themselves. It was like the light went off and we steam rolled from there.

So it all stemmed from that episode, so thank you to NBC and Heroes.

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Heads up gamers. Too Many Games, the gaming convention that takes over the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks every year, is back for another fabulous weekend of games, vendors, artists, music, and networking.

The annual expo takes place the weekend of May 6th, and fill an 80,000 square foot space full of gaming goodness. Not to be confused with a traditional gaming convention, Too Many Games brings a ton of vendors hocking rare and unusual wares normally not found at other cons. Rummagers and collectors, take note. This is where you want to be.

Other highlights include chiptune artists George & Jonathan, X Hunters, Arm Cannon, and Geekadelphia favorite, Chipocrite performing over the course of the weekend, and one of the largest LAN parties on the East Coast, sponsored and hosted by GXL.

Tournaments, contests, raffles, panels, movie screenings, cosplay competition, arcade games… there’s a ton going on, too much to highlight in one post. So please, head over to Too Many Games’ official website, to get more details.

We’ll see you there.

Too Many Games
May 6th – 8th, 2011
www.toomanygames.com

In 1941, Captain America made his debut in Captain America Comics #1. It was a true first issue in that it featured the first appearance of a brand new character in an all-new series. When Cap was resurrected during the Silver Age in Avengers #4, he quickly joined Iron Man as the second feature in Tales to Astonish and with issue #100, he took over the book and it was renamed Captain America.

Why the history lesson? To try to prove a point. This July Captain America will relaunch with a “brand new” #1 for the SIXTH time.

Really? Are you kidding me?

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Welcome to Geek of the Week, where we highlight and profile a special geek… well, every single week.

Today we’ve got Melissa Morris Ivone of Operation Nice, a blog dedicated towards inspiring folks to be nice to one another. She offers up cute little tips and suggestions with a lovely smile and sparkling wit. Read up about her, the reasons she started the site, and more.

So! Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a Jersey girl all the way. Grew up in Toms River, went to The College of New Jersey, and moved to South Jersey after college. I love living close to Philadelphia. I get to experience great shows, lectures, exhibits, etc. whenever I want, but I still go home to ample parking and convenient grocery experiences. And I never have to pump my own gas. During the day, I work as a graphic designer for a company near Love Park.

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Out pals over at Hive 76 are offering up another 3D printing course in May, teaching us common 2D folks the way of the third dimension.

Visitors will learn how to print in 3D, using a program called SketchUp. The kind folks at the hackerspace will show you how to make simple stuff with the program, the basic process of FDM 3D printing, and the limitations of the Makerbot and RepRap machines.

The May 1st (Sunday) event runs 10am to 3pm, and tickets are only $25. Not only will you learn how to use all this cool stuff, but you’ll get to print and take home whatever it is you decide to create.

Our own Andrew Hill went to one of these classes and had a blast. Read about his experience, and go buy a ticket.

3D Printing @ Hive 76
Sunday, May 1st, 10am to 3pm
$25

Hive 76
www.hive76.org

We know that Geekadelphia isn’t your go-to website for sports news. That’s probably the 700 Level, or at least, it should be. However, when you inject some robots into your sports, you know we’re going to be there for you.

Enter GRASP. The General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception Laboratory at Penn is a $10 million research center that makes robots that do awesome stuff.

One of GRASP’s robot creations will be launching the first pitch as the Phillies take on the Brewers this Wednesday April 20th at 1:05pm. Rumor has it that the robot has been signed to a three-year contract and will be replacing Joe Blanton as the fifth member of the Phillies rotation.

The robot is an output of the ongoing research at GRASP, whose loftier goals with the technology involve creating machines to operate in common human situations where a lot of dexterity is required.

In addition, it’s “Science Day at the Ballpark”, where on the concourse they’re going to have demonstrations and science experiments. We don’t have specific details about the experiments, but I imagine that it will include:

• “Measuring the Rotational Inertia of a Gyrating Phanatic”

• “Calculating the Number of Bases You Need to Run to Burn Off a Tony Luke’s Cheesesteak”

• “Renewable Energy? Harnessing the Power of Cliff Lee’s Fastball”

Phillies Science Day at the Ballpark
Wednesday April 20 at 1:05pm
Citizens Bank Park

This weekend was the Clean Air 5K run. Geekadelphia participated in this wonderful event… by driving a car.

I got the chance to check out the 2011 Chevy Volt at the Clean Air 5k this past weekend, and while the dreary conditions were less than pleasant, the driving experience was definitely enjoyable.

The car’s response was as quick as promised. Kirk, my Chevy-sponsored tag-along (hereon in referred to as the nice, pleasant man who stopped me from going on an Italian Job-style joyride down the Art Museum steps), said that the electrical engine’s delivery of torque was more instantaneous than traditional motors.

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This week in the Comic Roundup, we go for a run on the road to Flashpoint with The Flash, pack our bags for an Infinite Vacation and check out the (kinda) new Journey into Mystery.

The Flash #10
By Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul

I have never been a big Barry Allen fan. The first time I ever read a comic he was in was Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 where he died so I don’t really have a connection to the character. For me, whether in the New Teen Titans or his own book, Wally West has always been the Flash. I don’t think anyone was as unhappy as I was when I heard DC was brining back Barry. That may be why I haven’t really warmed to the new Flash series despite Johns being at the helm.

With this and the last issue, the The Road to Flashpoint has begun. Barry gets to meet himself from another earth, has a talk with Kid Flash and checks out a crime scene. All in all pretty standard stuff considering this is the lead in to DC’s big summer event. Nothing particularly exciting happens and the reader is left wanting for more. When compared to Johns work on Green Lantern leading into Blackest Night, it’s surprising how… boring the issue is. I wouldn’t even consider this a good regular Flash comic when held up against Johns work on the Wally West Flash series. The art my Manapul is great and he works wonders with the script he is given, but it’s still a very lackluster issue.

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SUPER. This is the film Kick Ass wished it was, plain and simple. I’ve been looking forward to this film for quite some time now. The film delivered on the hype of being fantastic and absolutely crazy. You must give this great independent film a chance.

Before you assume anything, this film isn’t cashing in on the whole “real superhero” trend that seems to be taking over our cineplexes. SUPER is a project over 9 years old and is nothing like the films that came before it.

SUPER is the story of Frank (Rainn Wilson) a sad lump of a man who works as a short order cook at a diner. One day Frank’s way too beautiful (Liv Tyler), recovering drug addict wife Sarah leaves him for the local crime kingpin played by Kevin Bacon. This really pushes the already troubled Frank over the edge… and he decides to become a superhero to take down the crime lord and get his wife back.

Read on to score free tickets and prize packs!

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Hey there Geeks.

You might have noticed some changes around here. Welcome to the new Geekadelphia 4.0. Tim and I have been hard at work getting this thing ready. There’s the new header, a pretty new layout, some cute fancy fonts… and really, that’s about it. Hope you enjoy your sta…

• Oh wait, that store button on the right. Yeah, get ready for some cool news in the coming days. Or maybe weeks. We’re finally going to have some shirts, stickers, and other misc. swag that you’ll be able to pick up and sport around town. We figured that hey, instead of nagging you to buy ads… we’ll pester you to buy shirts to keep us going.

• Oh! And those new ad windows over there. You’ll note the larger one up on the top (currently reserved for Lebowski Fest, sorry kids), and other options around the blog. For information on ad rates, check out our ad page. It’ll give you some details.

• OH! And the interviews page! At last, all our interviews have been collected in one spot. Took forever, but you’ll note some of our biggest Q&A’s rounded up on one page, complete with thumbnails. We also have a review page up, aggregating all our product and movie reviews. It’ll get a little flashier soon. Promise.

• GAH! How could I forget. You’ll also note the social media widgets over there. Remember to follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and stalk through our pictures on Flickr.

Alright, that’s it. We’ve got some more stuff coming your way. Any ideas, suggestions, etc? Let us know. Enjoy your stay, and thanks for sticking with us. <3

Eric & Tim

Tomorrow night, the Dock Street Brewpub out in West Philly re-launches their movie screenings, starting with Tron Legacy. The screening starts promptly at 8:30pm.

During the screenings, the Brewery will be serving up discounted pizza ($1 off small, $2 off large), and a select beer will be $1 off all night long.

Next up, in honor of the Bard’s birthday, Dock Street will be screening Hamlet 2 on April 26th. Be there, drink good beer, watch good movies, and seriously, get the brie pizza. It. Is. Fabulous.

Dock Street
701 S. 50th Street (19143)
(215) 726-2337
www.dockstreetbeer.com