In Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Morgan Spurlock brings the same level of awareness he did to the Big Macs to product placement in all wakes of media. I have a sneaking suspicion that when people walk out of that theater, they will never look at any media the same way ever again.

The concept of the film alone is pure genius. In order to make a documentary about product placement in films, Morgan decides to create the first “Docbuster.” He does this by selling ad placement in his film to finace it and document the entire process from start to finish. The level of transparency in a process that is usually an after thought to consumers of media, is both refreshing and shocking to behold.

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You have probably seen the Legend of Zelda 1987 movie trailer or the God of War Indie Movie Trailer on YouTube. But did you know that these were both created by a bunch of Philly guys?

Nick Murphy, Michael Sadorf and Dominic Moschitti are the gentlemen behind these and other YouTube masterpieces and they all call the Philly area home. I recently had the chance to talk to them about the making of their videos and their creative process.

Who came up with the idea of doing video game trailers in the form of movie coming attractions?

Michael: There was a guy we work with that came up with the idea for Inglorious Plumbers, which is Super Mario Brothers and Quentin Tarantino. But they weren’t really sure how to execute that. They kind of just wrote the idea down.

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Surely you’re familiar with the Antique Roadshow, the televised showcase of folks getting their rare items / junk appraised, often to the surprise of the owner of said junk.

Well, the Wagner Free Institute of Science has a similar event, inviting guests to bring their natural history finds to the museum for identification. The Natural History Road Show.

The event kicks off on Saturday, May 7th, running from noon til 4pm. Guests can look forward to a panel of “experts specializing in shells, insects, fossils, rocks and minerals” identifying their items. The science institute has exhibitions, lectures, and presentations planned through out the afternoon.

For a full list of events and speakers, visit the Wagner’s official website. Good luck!

Wagner Free Institute of Science
1700 West Montgomery Avenue (19121)
(215) 763-6529
www.wagnerfreeinstitute.org

Did you know that the main character in Jurassic Park was, in fact, based on a real person? It’s true, and that man is heading to the Academy of Natural Sciences for a special lecture on Tuesday, May 17th.

Dr. John Horner, a leading authority on paleontology and the inspiration for Alan Grant, will discuss Dinosaurs: How to Get Rid of Some Old Ones and Make Some New Ones. The public is invited to a 6:30pm reception, followed by the lecture at 7pm.

To learn more about Dr. Horner, visit the Academy’s official website. To register for the free lecture, head over to the Academy’s Eventbrite.

Dr. John Horner @ the Academy of Natural Sciences
Tuesday, May 17th, 6:30pm
jackhornerdinosaurs.eventbrite.com

Since 2005, Philly’s own Zenescope Entertainment has slowly been building their brand as one of the premier fantasy/horror publishers in comics. Books like Grimm Fairy Tales, the Wonderland Trilogy, and Neverland have shown us the various worlds that make up the Zenescope universe and the characters that populate them. Now with the Dream Eater Saga, Zenescope is going to bring the various characters and worlds together for a massive, epic story. And it all begins here.

This #0 issue gives a new reader literally everything you need to enjoy the series. You get a 12 page prologue that shows us the origin of Baba Yaga, one of the main heavies of the Zenescope universe. We also get the first glimpse of The Dream Eater and what it could mean to the rest of the world. Gregory and Spay keep it simple and lay everything out in an easy to follow way for new readers and have something to make long time fans happy too.

Read on to learn how to score a free copy.

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This week in the Comic Roundup we read the milestone 900th issue of Action Comics, see if Thor is worth a new first issue and take some time to check in with the comic book version of Doctor Who.

Action Comics #900
By Paul Cornell, Pete Woods, Jesus Merino and more

In this age of jury rigged numbering, a truly legitimate, noteworthy anniversary issue can be hard to come by. Well, Action Comics #900 is about as noteworthy as you can get. The first issue hit the stands in 1938 and the book has been going strong ever since. No relaunches, no combined numbering, just 900 consecutive issues of Superman greatness. Unfortunately though, this won’t be remembered as one of those great comics.

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In two more days, Twitter and Facebook will surely be aflutter with quips about Star Wars. Why? It’ll be May 4th.

May 4th (May the 4th Be With You) has long since been associated with the beloved science fiction franchise as the unofficial Star Wars celebration day. And luckily for Philadelphians with kids (or if you’re just one of those people classified in the “children of all ages” category), the Please Touch Museum is hosting a special Star Wars day this Wednesday.

Star Wars characters (including our friends the PA Jedi) will hangout with museum visitors, and the Please Touch Museum will have vintage Star Wars toys from their permanent collection on display through out the Memorial Hall. Special storytime sessions with Princess Amidala, sci-fi dance parties, Imperial marches… there’s a lot going on.

Visit the Please Touch Museum’s official website for full details.

Oh, and May the 4th Be With You.

Please Touch Museum
4231 Avenue of the Republic (19131)
www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/events/may4th

Since their creation in 2007, Robots and Racecars have been working the music circuit all around the Philadelphia area. With their album We Can’t All be Astronauts, and their EP Fighting Nessie under their belts– they’re ready to start bringing some new nerdrock to their fans. So, they put up a Kickstarter in an attempt to fully fund their next album.

So what exactly is Nerd Rock? Well, Robots and Racecars is the perfect definition. “We write songs about what we like!” Singer and guitarist Matt Herb raves about singing about all things nerdy. “High Water Mark is about crashing a spaceship into the sun. Press Start to Continue is about Mario. The chorus is ‘Your princess sits inside a different castle.’”

As bassist and singer Nick Reed succinctly puts it, “We like time machines, Dr. Who, and robots.”

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At last. It’s here, and geeks around Philadelphia are getting ready to celebrate. There are ton of shops around Philadelphia worthy of your free-swag-grabbing hands, but Brave New Worlds, our favorite local comic book shop, is offering up a seriously sweet shopping special:

• Spend $25 – Get a free Godzilla #1 variant, featuring Godzilla destroying Brave New Worlds.

• Spend $50 – Get a free Brave New Worlds pint glass.

• Spend $100 – Get the Godzilla #1, the BNW Glass and $20 Store Credit towards your next purchase.

Along with these deals, guests can look forward to meeting the creators of Moongirl (Tony Trov, Johnny Zito) and interact with local artists who will be working on free sketches through out the day. Bring a camera! Spider-Man will be posing with visitors and dancing in the shop, thanks to the Broadzilla DJs.

Be there. Know of another shop with great specials? Let us know.

Free Comic Book Day @ Brave New Worlds
Saturday, May 7th, 11am – 8pm
45 N. Second St (19106)
www.bravenewworldscomics.com

Everyone’s favorite local Jedi are back with a bevy of Spring events, all of which seem to be going down this week. The sci fi cosplayers sure are going to be busy over the next few days, dishing out plenty of opportunities to scope ‘em out.

• Wednesday, May 04, 2011: For those of you who have children, young cousins, nieces, nephews, or are just big kids at heart, join the PA Jedi for the Please Touch Museum’s May the Fourth Be With You event, a celebration of the unofficial Star Wars day with activities related to “space” and a display of vintage and contemporary Star Wars toys.

• Thursday, May 05 – Sunday, May 08, 2011: Visit the National Haunter’s Convention. If you are a pro or amateur haunter, a Halloween home or yard haunter, or just plan the coolest Halloween parties among all your friends, then this convention is for you. The PA Jedi will be there, showcasing their outfits.

• Friday, May 06 – Sunday, May, 08, 2011: Too Many Games event at the Valley Forge Convention Center in Oaks, PA. Here you’ll find Jedi doing a variety of performances and meeting fellow geeks and gamers at the longest running indie classic video game convention on the East Coast.

• Saturday, May 07, 2011: Free Comic Book Day! The Jedi will be trouping around the Plymouth meeting area. Keep an eye out for a Correlian Jedi.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Jedi, head over to their official website. They’ve got photos, videos, and even information on how to join up.

PA Jedi [www.pajedi.com]