A few weeks ago I had a chat with actor Jonathan Lloyd Walker about his role in The Thing, the prequel to the 1982 John Carpenter, horror masterpiece. Jonathan is a pretty well known character actor who has been sharpening his chops for years in both television and film, while occasionally dabbling in screenwriting from time to time.

He had a lot of interesting insight into the new film, both on the production and quelling some of the rumors about the delay and re-shoots.

How did you get your start in the entertainment business? I know you are also a screenwriter as well as an actor.

Well, basically when I was growing up in England, was really where it started. I did some television commercials as a kid that was my earliest experience of it. Then I wasn’t involved in the business at all until the early 90s, when I just continued to think about getting back into it.

I started acting again, got an agent and got involved in film and television production and started to book work. It was a few years after that, that I thought while I was in-between acting jobs I would try my hand at writing. So I started writing spec scripts.

The very first thing I wrote was an episode of The Outer Limits, which I actually knew someone who was working on the crew and who managed to get it read by one of the producers. Low and behold they phoned me up and said they were going to buy my script.

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Last Saturday morning over coffee, I got to chat with Derek Linderman and Jake Matthews the director & producer of Calendar Girl. The film will be playing at the First Glance Film Festival October 13^th at 8pm at the Franklin Institute with a fresh new edit.

I had a lot of fun getting to know these guys who are definitely doing some great things in the Philadelphia film scene. I hope you enjoy what started out as a simple Q and A and turned into a great conversation about films and real indie filmmaking in the City of Brotherly Love.

So why make a slasher film in Philadelphia?

Derek Linderman – The script came from a great writer named Faith Brody. Our producer John Guarnere had pitched this idea to her about this girl that falls for this serial killer, and she did this great thing where she wrote it as if it were herself when she was a student at UArts, and how she would react to it.

It just fit so well and its not just about the setting, its about the characters as well and it just so happens that the setting itself proved to be so fantastic; the city itself almost becomes a small character. Also, filming anything in the city logistically is great for us, because it’s such a great community.

If you behave properly and keep everything clean like when you showed up people will let you come back. So we have a great love affair with making movies in Philadelphia and fully intend to do everything here.

Derek, I saw on the IMDB page that you’re also listed as co-writer on the project.

Derek Linderman – I did a small re-write because originally Faith wanted to get in the Wanamaker building, she wanted to get here, she wanted to get there and we couldn’t afford any of that. So we stripped away a lot of the settings and replaced it with a lot more characters. So instead of having this photography studio lets replace it with a photographer.  That was kind of what we did.

It was originally written as college kids but we fast-forwarded to what they were doing after college because nobody cares about college kids. You can’t make a movie about actors because no one cares about actors, nobody cares about writers, so you make a movie about people just starving to death and that’s a good movie because people care about that person. (Laughs)

So we said lets get them out of college when they have their loans taken care of and they don’t have anyone to send them money and let’s see where they are at.

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I’m starting October off right with an interview with the director of The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) Tom Six and the star film of the film, Laurence R. Harvey. The Human Centipede was one of those rare films that transcended being a simple genre curiosity and became part of the pop culture consciousness (like it or not) thanks to an insane premise that simply had to be seen to be believed.

With the viral success of the first film Tom set out to raise the bar he had already set pretty high with the sequel, and has succeeded with the film banned in the UK due to some pretty disturbing things. So disturbing in fact even the US theatrical edition will also be trimmed down.

It was great getting a chance to talk to one of the most controversial minds currently working in the horror genre today and his silent menace from the film; who is actually a really nice guy when you get to know him.

Why did you decide to shoot the film in black and white, was it simply for stylistic purposes or for content purposes as well?

Tom Six – Part one has those clinical colors and the camera rack is very steady and that really helps the story of Doctor Heiter. For the second film I wanted a complete opposite look. I wanted a film that was dark and has a dirty feel.

It’s all shot hand held and I think that really helps the story of Martin. It gives you a very uncomfortable feeling. So I really like the black and white.

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What happens when you combine the Dan Savage “Savage Love” podcast with NPR’s Car Talk? First, a hilarious mash-up. Second, a lot of attention.

This is exactly what happened to 2 Philly locals, Emily Luker and Aaron Moskowitz, the creators of Savage Car Talk – a simple enough idea (which basically has the questions from Savage’s podcast answered by Click and Clack from “Car Talk”) that has garnered some much deserved attention around the interwebz.

We got a chance to speak with Emily and Aaron for this week’s “Geek of the Week” feature.

How did Savage Car Talk come about?

Aaron: The idea is pretty old. I’m a lifetime listener of Car Talk but have little interest in cars. I thought it would be interesting if they just took sex/love/relationship calls and thought I’d record fake callers. I told Emily about the idea and she suggested we just use Dan Savage’s callers. I wasn’t that familiar with The Stranger Podcast (Savage’s podcast) but it was clear the callers have questions I could never have written and great deliveries. The authenticity of the calls adds a lot to Savage Car Talk.

Emily: I thought that Aaron’s original idea was really inspired. Because I’ve been reading and listening to Dan for years, my brain kind of automatically inserted him into the equation. I think that the juxtaposition between his callers’ sincerity/desperation and Tom and Ray’s utter flippancy can make for some pretty funny moments.

And is it true that Dan Savage knows about the broadcasts?

Aaron: He posted a link to our tumblr on his blog; so we assume he does…it might just
be one of the tech-savvy, at-risk youth who posted it.

Emily: I sent him an email about it soon after we set it up; I think we’d only done two episodes by that point. Within a few hours of my sending it, he had posted a link to us on his blog, though he never responded to my email directly. I think initially I had fantasies of him mentioning us on his podcast but that dream hasn’t been realized.

And I understand you were asked at one point by Tumblr to take the site down?

Aaron: Yeah a few weeks ago we got an email from Thomas at Tumblr telling us we’ll need to take down all the clips! This was followed up with an email saying we could work something out with Car Talk.

We posted a disclaimer and Emily talked to Doug “the subway fugitive, not a slave to fashion, bongo boy frogman” Berman (creator or Car Talk). He said it was “hilarious” and “really clever” though many listeners found the abortion episode offensive.

Emily: That’s pretty much the gist of it. He said that the guys at Car Talk like the show and that they don’t have any problems with it personally, but that they are getting complaints from their listeners about some of the material; I guess the abortion stuff is touching some nerves. He said he doesn’t want us to have to remove the clips because he can see that we are just having fun and he doesn’t want to get in the way of that. I said that we’re happy to post a disclaimer. He doesn’t anticipate further problems now that CT has claimed its distance but he’s keeping my number on hand in case we need to revisit this issue.

Wow, you guys causing drama? Ha ha, so how long have you been living in Philadelphia?

Aaron: I’ve been here since 2004 and Emily has been around since 2003

What are some of your favorite spots in Philly?

Aaron: We mostly hang out in Northern Liberties. We frequent Dos Segundos, Abbaye, N3rd and North Bowl for pinball (and air hockey!). We’re at Go Vertical more than a few times a week too.

Emily: I could probably subsist entirely on tacos from Segundos.

Bellflower opens this Friday at the Ritz and in anticipation for its release I got a chance for a quick Q & A with the film’s director and star Evan Glodell. Evan started out his path to Hollywood while in college for engineering. One day he decided to just drop everything he was doing and to move to Hollywood to become a filmmaker.

The road to Bellflower’s release was not an easy one; Evan had a hard time raising funding and awareness for his film. But he continued to pursue and ended up doing it on his own terms for basically next to nothing, creating almost everything in the film with his own two hands.

Being interested in filmmaking myself I had a great time talking to Evan about the challenges of making his film and the lengths he went to get it completed.

First off tell me a bit about Bellflower, what was the origin of the project?

I got the original seed for the idea after a really intense relationship and breakup.  I started writing the script in 2003, and finished the first draft in early 2004.  I have been sort of working on collecting props for it and actors, and just trying to figure out how to get it made since then. We didn’t start shooting till 2008.

There seems to be a rich mythology in the film, from Lord Humongous to the gang of Mother Medusa; how thought out was that and how did you come up with a lot of it?

Its one of those things where the first version of the script really just focused on the relationship of the two friends, between mine and Jessie’s character who were building a flamethrower.  That is where it started and after years of rewriting the script sort of evolved into the gang, the Medusa car and Tyler and Aiden’s obsession with Lord Humongous.

There are clearly things we referenced, but we were afraid we would just dilute it. Everything that he talks about that Lord Humongous is supposedly like is all kind of a joke too.  They are saying Lord Humongous is like the perfect man and they are just making up their own rules as to who he actually is.

So the name Lord Humongous is just a way to joke and talk about it.

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Hayley J. Williams is the next British rising star. HeR craft is tightly woven in Sci-Fi and Horror. Recently, Hayley was featured in the BBC Radio Drama Torchwood: The Lost Files. Hayley co-starred as Sian Pearce. In her episode, The Devil and Miss Carew, Hayley had the pleasure of working alongside Torchwood cast members John Barrowman and Eve Myles.

A self-described Horror Junkie, her love of horror led her to aspire to be the next Scream Queen—a title she would wear proudly! I jumped at the chance to interview Hayley. It’s always great to see a rising female horror star! So I got to ask her a few questions about her experiences working with Torchwood, and her horror movie dreams.

What is it about the horror and Sci-Fi genre that draws you in as an actress?

I love being scared! Halloween is my favorite holiday. I’ve been interested in the paranormal since I was about 10, and anything ghostly, weird or wonderful fascinates me and I have this urge to find out more!

I watched Nightmare on Elm Street on my 13th birthday during a girlie sleepover and I remember my friend Carol and I were the only ones who managed to make it through the whole thing. All of the other girls hid behind the sofa, and it was then that I realized how powerful the genre was! I became a junkie and rented every horror video I could find, and since then it was always my dream to be in a horror movie.

I got my dream role playing the lead in the spooky ghost story The Shadow Within. I didn’t get to do much screaming, but I did get a great fight scene, an underwater scene, and I got to work with special effects for the first time! I think that’s what I like most about making films in general… all the cool things you get to do! It brings out my inner child…especially when you get to play with blood and gore. How much fun is that? (more…)

If you’re an active reader of Geekadelphia (or just friends with any of us IRL), you’ve likely heard us talking about Britt Miller. Whether its here on the website, on our Twitter feeds or Facebook, we try to shout out this talented gal whenever we can.

Over the past few years, her Philadelphia-inspired art has become a staple of the city’s First Friday scene, regularly appearing in just about every gallery you can imagine in Old City. One of her pieces was even featured on a Teuscher’s chocolate box. Delicious.

Sadly, this brilliant talent (and close friend) is leaving Philadelphia to study abroad, traveling to Paris and across Europe in pursuit of her MBA. While we are all rather proud of her, it’s always sad to see a gifted Philadelphian leave the city.

In the tradition of Technically Philly’s Exit Interviews, we sat down with Britt Miller to talk about her leaving Philadelphia. Unfortunately, due to a surprise power outage and WordPress malfunction, that interview was lost forever. What follows is a JPG and GIF interpretation of the conversation that took place.

Good luck Britt!

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Have you seen them? Strange tiles embedded in the asphalt throughout Philadelphia that read “TOYNBEE IDEA IN KUBRICK’S 2001 RESURRECT DEAD ON PLANET JUPITER.”

Where did these things come from? What do they mean? Who is responsible for putting them there? Such questions vexed Philadelphians Jon Foy, Justin Duerr, Colin Smith and Steve Weinik so much that their shared obsession resulted in Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles. Like Eraserhead and 12 Monkeys before it, the film perfectly captures the sense of weirdness that seems to permeate life in our city.

Yet it is also a surprisingly moving experience that offers insights on topics ranging from the oft-ignored magic of daily life to the nature of obsession. At the heart of the film is Duerr, a charismatic and intelligent staple on Philly’s art/music scene whose fascination with the tiles and their creator gives the film much of its emotional resonance. He is joined on his quest by Smith and Weinik, artists in their own right, and together the men embark on a shared journey that leads to a suitably strange and wonderful resolution of the central mystery.

Premiering at Sundance earlier this year, the movie earned first-time director Jon Foy the prestigious Directing Award in the film festival’s documentary category. After an ambitious rollout onto various VOD platforms last month, the film will make its hometown debut at International House for nightly screenings this Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday that will be followed by Q&A sessions featuring all four of the men (each of whom are artists in their own right) as well as executive producer Doug Block. As a longtime tile devotee myself, I jumped at the chance to meet with Foy, Duerr, Smith and Weinik at Old City’s Café Ole for a roundtable discussion about everything from the tiles themelves to Philly’s indie film scene.

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Tony DiGerolamo has been on the comics scene for years now in print (Jersey Devil and The Simpsons comic among others) but is now more widely known for his webcomic projects.

As co-creator of comic strip Super Frat and writer and co-founder of the a href=”http://www.thewebcomicfactory.com/”>Webcomic Factory web site, Tony has embraced the digital age of comics. Residing just minutes outside Philly, I was able to talk to Tony about his work, Philadelphia and he geek tendencies.

You have a full boat so to speak, with many projects going on simultaneously. Let’s start with Super Frat – how did that get started?

I actually wrote the script as a pitch for a print comic in 1999. Chris Moreno did some pin ups and I pitched it to some companies. Most of them said it was too dirty and vulgar and that no one wanted to read about superheroes that didn’t have costumes or use their powers very often. Then I was at a convention with Chris Moreno promoting the Travelers and we saw the guys from Penny Arcade selling $20 t-shirts all day. When I complimented them on their amazing sales, they said something like, “This was the worst show we’ve ever done. We’re never coming back.” I was just floored. I turned to Chris and said, “We have to do a webcomic. Now.”

Christian Beranek, who was still running Silent Devil with his brother, was very supportive. We started webcomics on the Silent Devil site and got some great hits.

And to follow the webcomic phenomenon, what about Webcomic Factory?

After working for a few years trying to get the Super Frat movie rolling in Hollywood, Christian Beranek, who had been working with me back since the Silent Devil days, left L.A. for greener pastures. I had been pushing the webcomic angle at Silent Devil for years, but he hadn’t quite been sold. Now, with a potential for a whole new project, he embraced the idea of The Webcomic Factory. (more…)

Alle Shops wo Sie handys bestellen auf rechnung sicher von zuhause.

Kyle Cassidy is a fantastic photographer, who has traveled the world taking pictures of a wide-array of subjects. His work has covered punks to politicians, homeless kids in Romania to archeologists in Giza and has been featured in the New York Times, Vanity Fair (DE), the Sunday Times of London, Marie Claire, Photographers Forum and numerous other publications. He has written several books on technology and a book of photographs of gun owners in their homes, in addition to several other photography projects.

Also, he lives in Philly!

Kyle took the time to chat with me and answer a few questions about his life as a photographer.

What made you first pick up a camera?

I grew up in a time where journalists were very heroic figures. They were tumultuous days and a time before the press had caved into the government and started accepting all sorts of restrictions about how they’d cover wars. You had people like Larry Burroughs who would find some helicopter pilot at a bar somewhere in Saigon and say “Can you take me out with you next time and drop me off?”

At the same time you had Woodward and Bernstein being played by Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford in the movies – how much more dashing does it have to be? I had this great desire to experience everything – or at least as many things as I practically could, and journalists always got the front row seats. That’s what started it, but the thing that kept it going is that I realized that parts of my life were just vanishing.

You know, ask me what I was doing on October 16, 1998 – I’m sure it was something, it might have been a great day, but it’s been completely erased from my memory – I don’t know who I saw, who I talked to, but having a photographic record makes it feel like it’s not so ephemeral. (more…)

Last month, Archaia Entertainment entered the world of prose novels with it’s first book, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes. Written by Andrew E.C. Gaska and including a cover by comic book legend Jim Steranko, the novel tells the story of what was happening behind the scenes of the original 1968 film Planet of the Apes. The book also includes a total of 49 illustrations by a who’s who of top industry talent such as Leo Leibelman, Tom Scioli and many more.

Mr Gaska was nice enough to talk with me recently about the book and the Planet of the Apes phenomena.

What, for you, is the attraction of returning to the world of Planet of the Apes?

I’m not sure I ever left…

I first became an apes fan as a child. I remember catching the first two movies on TV and being surprised to see the story continue in the third film (spoiler alert) after the world blows up in the second movie! As a child I watched multiple viewings (the movies were repeated on TV all the time), and I would find questions that seemed to remain unanswered between each film. As an adult, I know that these were continuity errors. As a child, I used my imagination to fill in the blanks and cover up the mistakes.

The POTA license is something I pursued on my own with FOX, and after writing the first two drafts and securing most of the art, I brought the nearly completed first book to Archaia. The plan for this series of novels has always been to finish what I started as a kid: enhance the greater story of the entire POTA saga by filling in the holes that the feature films left wide open.

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The food scene in Philadelphia has undergone quite a transformation in the last few years. From food trucks being on every corner to Philly having its own Iron Chef in Jose Garces, it has never been a better time to be a foodie in the City of Brotherly Love. And now we have an all-new podcast to add to the mix.

Cleaning Plates is the brainchild of Shao Zhi Zhong and Christine Eriksen and will have your stomach rumbling as they talk about restaurants and the food they are cooking for themselves at home. They were nice enough to answer some questions for this amateur foodie about the new podcast and food in general.

Why did you guys decide to start a podcast in addition to the blogs you both already write?

CHRISTINE: My blog has a personal collection of recipes and little stories which is nice, but I wanted to talk about eating at restaurants too. Every time I ran into Shao at parties, we ended up dominating each others time by talking about everything food related from whisks to jicima to the latest restaurant we ate. People started listening and wanted to join in on the conversation. There are no Philly food podcasts that I’m familiar with. Why not start the dialogue?

SHAO: Christine approached me with the idea and I just couldn’t say no. Every time I talk to Christine about food her face lights up and so does mine hearing about what she loves and what she hates. I wanted to work with her and this was the perfect project. The podcast will also give me an opportunity to discuss some of my favorite Philly places to eat. I love going out and trying new places, but I never write about those experiences on my blog. I’m looking forward to sharing some of my favorite meals with our listeners. (more…)