I’ve interviewed quite a few people for Geekadelphia over the years. But once in a while I get to spend some time with folks I personally consider legends.

Michael Madsen is one of those individuals.

I still remember watching Reservoir Dogs on VHS when it first came out and it changed my life because it was like nothing I had ever seen. That was my introduction to Michael Madsen, who has had a career some actors really only dream of starring in such films at Species, Reservoir Dogs, Donnie Brasco, Kill Bill 1+2, Hell Ride,  and Free Willy.

I got to chat with him in anticipation for two films he recently completed Loosies and Infected. It was great chatting with Michael, he was extremely humble, down to earth and shared some great stories that I hope you will enjoy.

So since most of my readers probably know you as Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs, what first interested you in the role? It was a first film by a first time director.

Well I had worked on Thelma and Louise, but the scenes with Harvey (Keitel) and I got cut out of the movie for plot reasons, for time and just for the fact that it didn’t fit into the story. Him and I worked really well together and when I got the script for Reservoir Dogs they told me Harvey was signed on the play Mr. White.

I really wanted to work with him again and that was one of the main reasons I took it. I thought the script of Dogs was one of the best things I had ever read and I had only done about two movies about that time. My agent at the time told me not to do the movie, but I am such good friends with Harvey (he is godfather to my son Max) I had to do it.

I was the last person cast in the film, because I couldn’t make up my mind whether I wanted to do it or not. Then finally Quentin called me up and asked “are you going to do this or not?” I finally said yes and I was the last one to check in.

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The last time I attended Zenkaikon it was at the Valley Forge Convention Center, but since that is now a casino, they have had to relocate to the Expo Center at Oaks. You might remember Oaks as the site of GameX and Too Many Games; two gaming cons one sadly now defunct .

I am just saying I have been to cons there in the past, that made really effective use of the space, I mean you went inside and could tell there was an actual convention going on.

Zenkaikon… not so much.

What staff described as a “transitionatory space” was essentially a dark empty warehouse that was not really setup as a convention space at all. I had a few problems with this as both a con-goer and a parent. There were no real boundaries telling con-goers where they could and couldn’t go. When I first walked in honestly I didn’t know where the convention was until I was told sarcastically, “right here.”

This made for a really strange con experience, because folks just seemed to disperse unsupervised throughout the space, which was very badly lit. There was of course a dealer’s room that seemed normal. It was just badly setup for con traffic, as there was more space in-between the tables than in walkways for the actual foot traffic.

While the experience was far from optimal the con-goers as I have seen them do in the past made the best of the situation. I think my personal highlight was all the great Adventure Time cosplay I saw. Sadly since Zenkaikon is moving now to Lancaster, this will probably be the last time I attend this convention. I wish them luck with their new space and with that I leave you with some of photos of the con and some of the cosplay I came across.

The Chernobyl Diaries is yet another entry in the ever expanding reality horror sub-genre. This time the set-up is almost a mash-up of Hostel and Paranormal Activity with a group of 6 young American tourists going to Chernobyl for an “extreme tour” of the devastated post meltdown city. Things go wrong, of course.

The film is the directing debut of Bradley Parker who worked as a visual effects artist on films like Fight Club and Let Me In. The film writer’s have credits ranging from the original Paranormal Activity and the classic Titanic 2.

We have 50 passes for two to check this film out this Thursday, May 24^th at 9:00pm at the Ritz East Theater. Want to go? Simply go to www.gofobo.com/rsvp and enter the code GEEKADNYTQ. It’s first come, first served. Once they are gone they are gone. In the meantime, check out the trailer below!

Be aware you will not be allowed to bring in cameras, camera phones, or other recording devices into screening, so leave them in the car. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. Theatre capacity is limited and passes won do not guarantee seating. So please show up and line up early, this is a highly anticipated film and the screening will be packed so be warned.

YOU’RE TEARING ME APART, LISA!

If you’re a fan of bad cinema like me, you have probably heard of the insanity that is Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. The film is the story of a happy-go-lucky banker (Wiseau) that sees his world fall apart when his friends begin to betray him one-by-one. It’s one of those films that is simply so bad it’s good, that you have got to see for yourself to understand why.

It’s no surprise that the film by one of the most eccentric writer/director/actors around has turned into a midnight movie cult phenomenon. Folks show up in costume to not only interact with the film, but recreate their favorite scenes as the film plays as well. You can read more about that here.

I bring this all up because the film will be screening at the Colonial Theater on Friday, May 18^th at 9:45pm, sponsored by the folks at the You’ve Got Geek On You podcast.

I have 10 passes to give away to the screening courtesy of You’ve Got Geek. Want to win one? Just leave a comment with your favorite line from The Room with YOUR FULL NAME and 10 folks will be picked at random this Thursday night to be put on the guest list for a free ticket!

The most complimentary thing I can start my review of  Dark Shadows with, is that the film bares little to no resemblance to those horrible trailers that peg the film as a fish out of water comedy. I can happily report that Dark Shadows is first and foremost a horror film with some comedic, Tim Burton wackiness… that somehow still manages rack up a pretty decent body count.

Dark Shadows focuses on the story of Barnabas Collins, a wealthy playboy whose family owns almost the entire fishing town of Collinsport. After finally finding true love, a spurned servant who just happens to be a powerful witch kills the woman he loves, turns him into a vampire and buries him for 220 years.  He is then accidentally dug up in 1972 and must not only acclimate himself to his new surroundings, but battle the witch who cursed him and his family.

Dark Shadows is typical Burton fare and is one of his better films in recent memory. The film actually started as a passion project for Depp, who purchased the rights to Dark Shadows just so he could eventually play the role of Barnabas, a childhood hero of his.

The source material and Burton’s usual style of directing compliment one another, as the television show was known both for its bizarreness, cheesiness and also its overdone melodrama.

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On Tuesday May 15th, The Awesome Fest is teaming up with the folks over at the Trocadero for a screening of Father’s Day, hosted by Mr. Troma himself Lloyd Kaufman. Father’s Day is the deranged tale of a serial killer/urban legend known as the Father’s Day Killer, that you guessed it kills exclusively fathers.  I will admit it’s a lot more sick and twisted then that, but coming from Troma I think you kind of expect it.

While the film is not for everyone, if you’re into exploitation throwbacks you might enjoy it. We’re giving away 2 pairs of tickets to check out the movie. Simply comment with your favorite Troma film by May 13th and two folks will picked at random thanks to Josh Goldbloom over at The Awesome Fest. Check out the trailer below. (more…)

The second annual Philadelphia Geek Awards are coming up this August and this year, instead of begging folks to enter into our new awards ceremony, I’m putting out an open call for entries.

After our first awardw show, I had quite a few folks ask how could they could enter next year. Well here is your chance to enter your film to be judged by the Geekadelphia Film Committee.

Want to submit your film for a chance to be nominated? Simply drop me a line at dan@geekadelphia.com with “Geekadelphia Film Submission” in the subject line and we will work out logistics and format. There is no charge (and there never will be) for entering your film.

Films do have to have a minimum length of 50 minutes, and be filmed/produced independently in Philadelphia. Those are the only rules.

Good luck!

If you’re not familiar with The Secret Cinema, they screen great 16mm films at various venues throughout the city and have been doing so for over 20 years. However this Friday, May 11th, at 7:00pm they will be doing something a little different with A Secret Cinema Blind Date: 35mm Archival Surprises at the iHouse.

Its called a blind date because they will be screening various 35mm films and shorts that they themselves haven’t seen, since the Secret Cinema hasn’t owned a 35mm projector for quite some time.

If you’ve been to any of their events you know you’re in for a treat and you are going to see some things you probably won’t see anywhere else. Tickets are a mere $9 for regular folks and $5 for iHouse members. Find out more on their Facebook page here. See you there!

The methodical development of Marvel’s The Avengers started back in 2008, when thanks to the success of Iron Man, Marvel was able to take out a 7 year, $525 million dollar loan from Merrill Lynch to fund what has come to be known as The Marvel Cinematic Universe. These funds were not simply used for production on the films, but were also used to bring back a much-needed Avenger into the fold, Captain America.

Captain’s film rights were tied up in limbo thanks to a lawsuit against Artisan Entertainment who owned the rights when the studio went under and was taken over by Lionsgate back in 2003.

Almost 4 years have passed and we have seen 4 more films under the new Marvel Studios banner. The films have all maintained a level of quality almost unheard of in franchises and have been both box office and critical success (some better than others, sorry Iron Man 2). So needless to say when all the pieces from Marvel’s master plan finally came together for The Avengers, the film was going to have to be nothing short of amazing.

I can safely say that Marvel’s The Avengers is a very worthy climax of all of that work and will definitely give Nolan’s Dark Knight Rises a run for the money this Summer. I have to admit even I doubted Whedon a little bit on this one. He had to seriously bring it or he would be forever known as the man who ruined The Avengers, and we would probably never see him direct another big budget film in Hollywood ever again.

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It’s time to dust off that Sailor Scout uniform and maybe break out that Eva plug suit, because it’s time for the Philadelphia area’s very own anime convention Zenkaikon.

The con, which runs May 11th and 12th, recently moved to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA. From the looks of it, this will be another great year of panels, cosplay and picking up some of your favorite anime related goods.

Zenkaikon has become kind of a Geekadelphia tradition. I am personally looking forward to taking some pics of some of the great cosplay, buying some DVDS/Blu-rays and will definitely be on the lookout for some Green Tea Kit-Kats.

Passes for the con are $30 for the weekend and can be picked up at the door.  You can find more info on their official website here.

 A few weeks ago, in co-operation with the Canadian Authorities, I was granted a supervised conference call with The Trailer Park Boys: Ricki, Julian and Bubbles. The call’s purpose was to discuss and promote their upcoming “Ricky, Julian and Bubbles’ Community Service Variety Show” gig Wednesday, May 9th at 7:30pm at the Keswick Theatre.

Due to phone visitation guidelines I had keep it brief, but it was great to hear what the boys were up to in Sunnyvale Trailer Park and they even dropped some news about possibly more Trailer Park Boys shows in the future.

A bit of warning this interview much like the boys is not for the easily offended, if you have seen the show you know what I mean. Tickets for the show are still available and can be picked up here.

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Dark Shadows is the newest film by Hot Topic auteur Tim Burton, starring his ever-present whipping boy Johnny Depp. This time the source material is the beloved gothic soap opera that featured the likes of zombies, werewolves, witches, warlocks and even time-travel.

Dark Shadows ran for 1,225 episodes and really didn’t hit its stride till about a year into its run when it introduced the vampire Barnabas Collins and a cult classic was born. There was already a film adaptation of the show made back in 1970 titled House of Dark Shadows, which featured most of the original television cast and was more of a stand alone condensed version of the Barnabas storyline.

Now Tim Burton is giving us his interpretation of the series. While I am looking forward to it, I am definitely cautiously optimistic.

We have 25 passes for 2 to a screening Monday, May 7^th at the Ritz East, want a chance to win? Simply comment with your favorite Johnny Depp film by May 4^th and 25 folks will be picked at random. Passes will go out digitally that Sunday, in the meantime check out the trailer below!

No cameras, camera phones, or other recording devices permitted in screening. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. Theatre capacity is limited and passes won do not guarantee seating. (So please show up early!) Theater is not responsible for overbooking. Ticket holder and guest must enter theater together.