Recently, I got to sit down and chat with one of my favorite directors and the co-founder of Troma Entertainment, Lloyd Kaufman about the newest book in his Make Your Own Damn Movie series, Sell your Own Damn Movie. During the filming of my short film I have found these books a great source of real, usable knowledge from one of the greatest minds in independent cinema.

Troma is one of those studios that as long as I could remember was always at the cutting edge of both technology and social trends, so it was great to chat with Lloyd about not only his book, but what its like to produce content in this digital age.

What was the inspiration behind the Make Your Own Damn Movie series of books and DVDs?

Michael Herz and I, as you know, operate the longest running independent movie studio in history… Troma. When we became fairly secure about 15 or 20 years ago, we decided to devote a lot of our time to supporting independent art and commerce everywhere; because we saw that the entertainment industry was becoming more and more consolidated in to these giant conglomerates. We felt that we should speak out and preserve independent art and thought.

That is why I decided to do the Make Your Own Damn Movie kind of film school, with my books and the series of DVD box sets.

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Of all of Jim Henson’s myriad creations, I always felt that Fraggle Rock was the one that didn’t seem to be on most people’s radar. Ask any geek or child of the 80’s about The Dark Crystal or Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas and you usually get a knowing nod of the head and a smile.

But mention Fraggle Rock and most times you just get a confused, blank expression. And that is a shame, because Fraggle Rock always was about a lot more than just Muppet fun. It always provided positive messages to its young audience about prejudice, tolerance and dealing with conflict.

Thankfully, Archaia is bringing the Fraggles back to the forefront of popular consciousness with their incredible Fraggle Rock comics. Fraggle Rock: Tails and Tales is the second collection of the anthology style series and include everything you remember about the Fraggles and their world. The “Fraggle Five” are there, as well as Uncle Traveling Matt, The Doozers and Marjory the Trash Heap. Done by a who’s who of talent, the stories all evoke that distinct Fraggle feeling and will no doubt put a smile on your face. (more…)

Founded in 1997, The Philadelphia Cartoonist Society has since become the home to some of the most talented artists in the City of Brotherly Love. Created by Jeffro Kilpatrick and Andrew Hart, it has allowed artists of all types to network, find freelance opportunities and learn from each other. Mr. Kilpatrick was nice enough to answer a few questions and become this week’s Geek of the Week.

How long have you been drawing?

I have been drawing since I was 4 years old. My first memory of drawing was sitting at the kitchen table with my Dad. He would scribble randomly all over a paper and tell me to look at it and turn it into something with the pencil. It was kind of like the game you play looking at clouds, and identifying them as recognizable shapes, but with a pencil and paper. (more…)

The summer season is at its halfway point and the same can be said of this year’s big crossover events from Marvel and DC Comics. Both Marvel’s Fear Itself and DC’s Flashpoint have reached their midway points and fans have been greedily reading both the main series’ and the many tie-in books. But has either miniseries been any good? Are the tie-ins worth the time and money? Let’s look over the first half stats and see.

Fear Itself

For Marvel’s big crossover, they went with a Thor/Captain America centric event that featured the lost Asgardian God of Fear known only as the Serpent and the return of Steve Rogers to the role of Captain America. On the creative side, Matt Fraction is writing the miniseries, which is a break from the Brian Michael Bendis/Mark Millar cycle of the last few years, with the artwork being handled by Stuart Immomen.

Honestly, Fear Itself has been a huge surprise for me. I went in not expecting much and instead got what could be one of my favorite Marvel miniseries of the last decade. Fraction is writing a tight, story driven series that is grand in scope yet also gives the small moments room to breathe. Immomen’s art has also been a revelation; I had no clue he was this talented. His Thor looks regal and massive while his Captain America seems like the everyman we know he is. I knew the man was good with a pencil but this is way beyond what I thought he was capable of. (more…)

It’s hard to believe in anything beyond this workaday world, trapped as we are in our fluorescent tombs–the places where imagination goes to die, its passing briefly noted in a spreadsheet of no particular use or function.

But look around you. Take a peek.

The middle-aged guy sitting to your left, who runs the office’s fantasy football league? He hunts Bigfoot on the weekends. And the blond hottie on your right? She’s into astrology. Not you though, right? Laugh it up; you’re too educated, too smart, to believe in any of that nonsense. Thing is, you’re the weirdo. Two out of three Americans hold some sort of belief in the paranormal. So maybe a little humility is in order. (more…)

Say what you will about The Green Lantern, most will agree the best part of the film was Ryan Reynolds and his comedic chops. Now Ryan is returning back to his comedy roots with Jason Bateman (who really can’t seem to do anything wrong) with The Change-Up.

Here is the official synopsis:

Growing up together, Mitch (Reynolds) and Dave (Bateman) were inseparable best friends, but as the years have passed they’ve slowly drifted apart.  While Dave is an overworked lawyer, husband and father of three, Mitch has remained a single, quasi-employed man-child who has never met a responsibility he liked.  To Mitch, Dave has it all: beautiful wife Jamie (Leslie Mann), kids who adore him and a high-paying job at a prestigious law firm.  To Dave, living Mitch’s stress free life without obligation or consequence would be a dream come true.

Following a drunken night out together, Mitch and Dave’s worlds are turned upside down when they wake up in each other’s bodies and proceed to freak the &*#@ out.

We have 30 passes for 2 to a screening Tuesday, August 2^nd at the Ritz East. Wanna check out the The Change Up on us? Simply comment with who you would change bodies with and why, and the best answers by July 31st will be checking out this film! Check out the trailer below!

The excitement over the final installment of Harry and friends has begun to settle down and Pottermore won’t be fully online until October, so what’s a die-hard Harry Potter aficionado to do?

Answer: make some Sugar Mice and wash them down with a glass of refreshing Pumpkin Juice.

Dinah Bucholz, a Philly resident, has something to get you through this trying time. She’s followed up her popular Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook with The Unofficial Harry Potter Sweet Shoppe Kit.

The kit comes with pretty bags for your sweets, candy molds and mini broom sticks for lollipops, as well as a recipe book filled with recipes for treats from Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. There’s a fantastic section in the beginning that teaches you how to temper chocolate, which came in handy when I tested out the candy molds.

I really liked that most recipes included a brief intro to remind the cook where exactly the treat appeared in the book. It was fun to read through and remember when Hagrid bought Harry a giant ice cream cone during his first trip to Diagon Alley, or that Fred once gave Ron an Acid Drop that actually burned a hole in Ron’s tongue.

The instructions are easy enough to follow, but be warned – it’s suggested for ages 8 and up and a lot of the recipes require candy thermometers or ice cream makers.

Want to win a copy? Just leave a comment about your favorite Harry Potter character. We’ll select one of you at random sometime next week. Oh, and the publisher was nice enough to let us print the recipe for Acid Drops here – let us know if you make them! (more…)

This week in the Roundup we check out the return of the original Bad Girl, Avengelyne, see how Iron Man is doing against Fear Itself (here’s a clue: not well) and look at the latest issue of Fly.

Avengelyne #1
By Mark Poulton and Owen Gieni

When the infamous “Bad Girl” craze swept over comic books in the 90’s, Avengelyne was there, front and center giving everyone a little T&A. The book was never much of a comic, just bad storylines and dialogue mixed with incompetent art and photo covers featuring Cathy Christian. There was a seed of a good idea, but it was lost under all the boobs and big swords. (more…)

The summer blockbuster season is slowly coming to a close, delivering the final Marvel film for the year with Captain America: The First Avenger. This will be the last Marvel film to hit our cinemas until Whedon’s Avengers hits screens May 4th, 2012. This film introduces the final member of the team, culminating almost 5 years of films from Marvel Studios.

Captain America (for those of you unfamiliar with the comic) is the iconic story of Steven Rodgers (Chris Evans) a man who despite his physical challenges wants to fight for his country against the Nazis, at any cost. Steven eventually is recruited for a very risky super soldier program and becomes Captain America. This film focuses on his battle with the Nazi super soldier Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) and Hydra, the Nazi sect obsessed with using an artifact from Odin’s vault to take over the world.

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Alright, you guys know the deal. Dock Street Brewery screens movies on Tuesday, you go there, enjoy tasty brews and delicious pizzas. Got it? Good.

Over the next three weeks, Dock Street will be screening Dazed & Confused, Riding Giants and the classic 80′s flick, Stand By Me. Check out the schedule below.

• July 26th: Dazed and Confused

• August 2nd: Riding Giants

• August 9th: Stand By Me

During the screenings, select beers will be discounted, and you can score $1 off small pizzas / $2 off select large pies. Movies start at 8:30pm, show up early to get your seat.

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

Heads up, history and book geeks. Dr. Margaret Thorell, author of Swedes of the Delaware Valley, is visiting the American Swedish Historical Museum on Wednesday, August 10th.

According to a press release from the museum, during her talk at the museum, “using historic photos and documents, Dr. Thorell will tell the story of the Swedes’ often overlooked contributions to the Philadelphia area.”

A freelancer writer and academic, she “frequently writes on Swedish arts and culture” and “is currently writing a book about Karin Larsson, wife of Sweden’s most beloved painter, Carl Larsson.” (more…)

I had the great opportunity to be invited out to GM’s Main Street in Motion event this past Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. At this free event, folks had the chance to drive more than 70 vehicles, including 25 competitive models. I’d highly suggest this event if you’re in the market for a new car. Imagine being able to complete more test drives in one afternoon than you’d be able to complete in a whole month. In addition, there’s pop-up showrooms with friendly, knowledgable staff. It’s family-friendly too. Non-licensed drivers and even kids can hop in for a ride with one of the General Motors reps.

I was happy to see new models like the Cruze and the all-electric Volt available for test drives. My favorite part was definitely driving a Corvette. I was even encouraged to push the iconic sports car to its limits. All I can say is that those cars definitely grip the road. For city driving though, I’d rather stick to something a bit more practical, like a Camaro.

Check out my photos from the event below, or on Flickr.