MD Poll: Goin' South

When it comes to movies adapted from TV shows, Movie Dearest readers prefer them "Bigger, Longer and Uncut".

That's right, South Park reigned in a narrow victory over The Fugitive, while Sex and the City and Star Trek tied for third place. See the comments section below for the complete results.

An Enterprising Operetta

Los Angeles' Crown City Theatre Company is taking Gilbert & Sullivan to where no light operetta has gone before with their current production of USS Pinafore.

Billed as an "outer space musical", the new production is a hilarious mash-up of HMS Pinafore and the Star Trek universe, complete with Tribbles, Vulcans and an alien lizard man played by Movie Dearest's own James Jaeger!

USS Pinafore continues through June 27.  Click here for more information, and click here for a special video preview.

MD Poll: As Seen on TV

With movie versions of The A-Team, MacGruber and Sex and the City set to debut in the coming months, the latest MD Poll takes a look back at the best of the "boob tube-to-big screen" adaptations and asks, "What is your favorite movie based on a TV series?"

Aim your remote control at the choices found in the poll located in the right hand sidebar and make your selection. And be sure to tune back in on June 5 for the results!

UPDATE: This poll is now closed; click here for the results, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

Monthly Wallpaper - May 2010: As Seen on TV

In recognition of this summer's premieres of The A-Team and Sex and the City 2, May's movie calendar wallpaper is a salute to movies inspired by the "boob tube".

Our "As Seen on TV" tribute features the families Addams, Brady and Simpsons; the adventures of Richard Kimble, George of the Jungle, Charlie's Angels and the crew of the Starship Enterprise; and the comedic stylings of the Sex girls, Wayne Campbell and the residents of South Park, Colorado.

All you have to do is click on the picture above to enlarge it, then simply right click your mouse and select "Set as Background". (You can also save it to your computer and set it up from there if you prefer.) The size is 1024 x 768, but you can modify it if needed in your own photo-editing program.

Reverend’s Preview: Anaheim Comic Con

There will be more characters than usual roaming around the Disneyland Resort area this week, as the Anaheim Convention Center hosts the inaugural Anaheim Comic Con April 16-18. No doubt, a sizable number of GLBT comic book and pop culture fans will be among them.

One might think the massive Comic Con International held each summer in San Diego would have the southern California market cornered when it comes to superheroes, graphic novels, role-playing games and fantasy movies, as well as related toys and other memorabilia. Not so, according to the Anaheim event’s producer, Wizard Entertainment; as publisher of the pop culture magazine Wizard, the company knows well how keen interest is in more Comic Cons both locally and nationally. Wizard Entertainment presents several other such gatherings across the country each year.

Anaheim’s first Comic Con will be smaller than the San Diego event, but I welcome this as someone who has covered Comic Con International for several years now. Limited convention center space, parking and hotel rooms have made San Diego’s con increasingly difficult to attend. A formal proposal has been submitted to move Comic Con International to Anaheim in the future for at least one year, since the Anaheim Convention Center is a larger facility.

At press time, at least 150 celebrities and pop culture icons were confirmed to appear during the Anaheim Comic Con’s three days. They include Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner; Marvel Comics’ superhero creator, Stan Lee; Oscar-nominated actors Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica and Independence Day) and Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight); The Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner; and Ilya Salkind, producer of Superman: The Movie and its first two sequels.

Other celebrities of more specifically GLBT appeal set to attend are the fabulous Julie Newmar and Lee Meriwether, both of whom played Catwoman on the campy Batman TV series in the 1960’s (the late Eartha Kitt also served as the show’s feline femme fatale); Star Trek actress and GLBT supporter Nichelle Nichols; The Bionic Woman herself, Lindsay Wagner; Kathy Najimy of Sister Act and Hocus Pocus fame; sexy actor Kaj-Erik Eriksen (The 4400); pop music diva Taylor Dayne; and Linda Blair of The Exorcist, Roller Boogie and Chained Heat fame.

More than 400 exhibitor, celebrity and creator booths will be set up, giving attendees ample opportunity to peruse collectibles and pursue autographs. As at Comic Con International and other such conventions, guests are not only allowed but strongly encouraged to dress in costume as their favorite comic book, film, TV, game or other characters. There will be a costume contest on Saturday, April 17. Please note: There will be children present, so costumes must be kept “PG-13” with no nudity or anything too revealing. I anticipate there will be more than a few costumes inspired by Tim Burton’s current box office hit, Alice in Wonderland.

A feature unique to the Anaheim Comic Con will be a Horror Pavilion. Billed as “a celebration of all things gory and grisly,” the pavilion will feature writers, artists, actors and musicians who have contributed to the horror genre in comics, movies and TV. There are plenty of GLBT horror fans who will want to check the Horror Pavilion out … but don’t do so alone!

For complete information about the event and to purchase tickets, visit the official Anaheim Comic Con website.

Preview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.