On Disney XD’s newest series, Future-Worm, the life of optimistic 12-year-old Danny (Andy Milonakis), changes forever when he creates a time machine lunch box and is visited by a time-traveling worm, Future Worm (James Adomian). 

Created by Ryan Quincy, the very funny and extremely unique series debuted earlier this week.

Ryan took some time do discuss the genesis of the series, his influences and what’s in store for a boy, a worm and a Time Travel Lunch Box.

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FOG!: Hey Ryan, I loved the pilot.  I’m actually surprised that it’s a Disney series, because Future-Worm definitely plays to an adult audience.  Was that always the plan?

Ryan Quincy: Cool, thanks a lot! Glad you liked it. I worked on South Park and created my own animated show, Out There, for IFC. Both shows were geared toward adult audiences and had content that I couldn’t always share with my kids, who are ages 8 and 11. So when I started at Disney TV animation, my focus was to make a show that I could share with them and create a fun animated world that other parents could enjoy with their kids too.

What was the genesis of Future-Worm?

I wanted to do a show about two best friends framed in a sci-fi/comedy backdrop and I also wanted to do a time travel show that didn’t obey the “rules” of time travel and didn’t have to do the cliché going back in time and figuring out who knocked the nose of the sphinx or talking George Washington out of chopping down cherry trees.

As far as where the “Future-Worm” name came from, it was actually my wife’s email address when I first met her. I loved it so much that I got her blessing to use it as the main character’s name. I was also heavily influenced by 1980’s pro wrestling characters like Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, and Mr. T. I infused them with all those classic unique sidekick/got your back characters like Chewbacca, Jiminy Cricket, E.T., and Ricky Linderman. The end result was this tough guy pink worm with 24 titanium enforced abs.

What is your background and how did that lead to South Park?

I always loved drawing and making dumb sci-fi movies with my friends as a kid. I went to college and studied English and graphic design, then graduated and couldn’t find a job, so I moved out to L.A. to pursue animation.

Coincidentally, I moved right next door to Eric Stough, South Park’s animation director. They had just started season one and were fully staffed, but when it came time for production on the South Park movie, I got hired as an animator and then moved over to the tv show and worked there until 2012.

 You then created Out There for IFC.  Were there unexpected challenges in developing the series?

The biggest challenge with Out There was I was accustomed to the creative autonomy that South Park had established with that show’s production.

On South Park, we were able to make changes up to the last minute without much creative interference. On Out There, we had a smaller budget, a smaller crew, and were under the microscope a bit more because we were the first animated show on IFC. We didn’t have the luxury of having as much creative freedom that South Park had.

That being said, Out There was based on my high school years growing up in the Midwest and it was near and dear to my heart and I was pretty precious with a lot of things. I’m just happy and grateful to the folks at IFC and Fox that we were able to make 10 episodes.

With Future-Worm, was the time travel element there from the very beginning?  Will we see more of Danny’s inventions in addition to the Time Travel Lunch Box and Robo-Carp?  More Neil De Grasse Tyson?

I totally wanted to do a time travel show that didn’t obey the rules from the beginning. We will see a lot of Danny’s crazy inventions throughout the season! And YES to more Neil deGrasse Tyson, or as Danny and Fyootch call him, NDT!

 Who or what have been your biggest influences?  Favorite Time-Travel story?

I’m a child of the 70s and 80s so Star Wars, Doctor Who and Marvel comics were instrumental in my inspirations. My all time favorite time-travel tale is the 1978 Doctor Who “The Key to Time” series storyline.

What are you currently geeking out over? 

Stranger Things on Netflix, James Adomian stand up, Andy Milonakis stuff, Pickle & Peanut and anything my kids are doing.

Future-Worm airs Mondays at: 11:00 AM EST on Disney XD

This week watch the episodes: “How to Beat a Cold…With Fists! / Unsolved Histories I / Old Man Duck Head”

• “How to Beat a Cold…With Fists!” – When Danny is too sick to attend Sci-Fi-Fanta-Con, he accidentally creates a giant cold monster.  Jonathan Frakes (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”) recurs as Steak Starbolt.
• “Unsolved Histories I” – When Danny and Future Worm can’t get a burrito on Columbus Day, they travel back in time to rewrite history.
• “Old Man Duck Head” – Danny and Fyootch inadvertently make an old man with a duck on his head President.

Two friends in their early 20s (Jonah Hill and Miles Teller) living in Miami Beach during the Iraq War exploit a little-known government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on U.S. Military contracts.  Starting small, they begin raking in big money and are living the high life.  But the pair gets in over their heads when they land a $300 million deal to arm the Afghan Military—a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people, not the least of which turns out to be the U.S. Government. 

For your chance to download passes to the advance screening of WAR DOGS on Monday, August 15 at 7pm at AMC Loews Boston Common, click here: http://www.wbtickets.com/wOhbB47628

Remember seating is first come, first served and not guaranteed so arrive early!

It is that time again. The time when physically fit perfections of human beings compete on behalf of their country. As as these perfect specimens compete for Olympic gold, those of us with a tinge of nostalgia will brush off their VCR-duped-to-DVD copies of the 1980 animated classic, Animalympics.

Produced by Lisberger Studios (who is best known for their work on Tron) and released by Warner Bros., Animalympics was a trippy toon classic filled to the brim with Saturday Night Live and SCTV alums, soft rock sounds of the ‘70s and early ‘80s and many, many, many animal puns.

Like, all of them.

If you had HBO in the ‘80s, than you have seen this tribute to the Summer/Winter Games (back when they look place in the same year every four years). Featuring small vignettes of the different sports and animal athletes, Animalympics featured the voices of John Candy, Billy Crystal, Gilda Radner, Harry Shearer and Michael Fremer as hundreds of send-ups to popular figures in the sporting world. While the original broadcast was during the 1980 Winter Games, the toon got a lot of mileage as it was hauled out again and again over the next ten years.

Conceived in the mid-70s and produced in 1978, the original toon was meant for the small screen in two segments to match the upcoming 1980 coverage of the games. However, after the US ended up boycotting the Summer Games in protest of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the plan was chucked, with only the winter segment making it to broadcast TV.

Luckily, producer Donald Kushner and director Steven Lisberger took the toon on the road, premiering it at a handful of film fests and aiming for a theatrical release. By 1984, the film gained a following thanks to the celebrity voices and kaleidoscopic of strange imagery, which can only be chalked up to the easy and ability to get Quaaludes at the time.

For longtime fans (like myself), the toon stands out over the years thanks to the dreamlike sequences over soft rock sounds of the era. Graham Gouldman’s songs about winning and finding love were punctuated by a skiing dog who found his own Eden while lost in the mountaintops or a diving otter from California who swims with weird-ass fishies as he dives a perfect 10.

A few of the highpoints include:

• Opposing long-distance running Kit and Rene finding love after jogging hundreds of miles next to each other.
• All of otter Dean Wilson’s diving dream sequence
• Weiner dog champion skier Kurt Wüfner finding and losing love while hang gliding
• Henry Hummel’s Kissinger-esque narration of the entire event.
• The Contessa coming out of nowhere with no backstory and winning the fencing tournament.
• This was one of Brad Bird’s first early outings in the toon world.

So, before the upcoming shit-show (literally, given the early reports of rampant sickness) of Rio takes over, take a moment with your kids, or your nephews and nieces, favorite drug of choice, and enjoy the true genius of Animalympics.

Four devious criminals, one chilling scam: pose as cops, kidnap a victim, and if no ransom comes in 24 hours, the target dies. Tonight they caught a movie star (Andy Lau, INFERNAL AFFAIRS) and the countdown begins. Based on actual events.

And we’re giving away 3 copies on Blu-ray!

To enter, please send an email with the subject header “MR. WU” to geekcontest @ gmail dot com and answer the following:

Saving Mr. Wu star Andy Lau also appeared in Infernal Affairs which was remade into this Martin Scorsese movie?

Please include your name and address (U.S. Residents only. You must be 18 years old).

Only one entry per person and a winner will be chosen at random.

Contest ends at 11:59 PM EST on August 21st, 2016.

Being ill recently, I’ve not had much dedicated gaming time and it’s been a while since I’ve played a new release. However, my husband bought us Doom last week, it was on offer and a free update had just been released. That, and he has always enjoyed the franchise. Unlike my husband, my own history with Doom is admittedly limited, I played the first one in 1998 (it was originally released 1993) but I never played any of sequels or spin-offs. Surprisingly, what struck me when I began playing this new version was how (excuse the pun) alien it felt. I felt like I was playing the original again.

As with most modern day shooters the controls were intuitive (if you’ve played one FPS, you’ve played them all) but it was the actual gameplay that hindered me because I had forgotten what it was like to circle strafe, something that was once ingrained in me as a gamer. Most first person shooters today rely on cover based attacks and utilise regenerative health so at first picking up health packs, having to strafe and not relying on cover felt weird, it was completely different to what I’ve become accustomed to. The movement felt incredibly fluid too, like I was gliding through each level. Probably because there was no bobbing of the camera when you stood still, which is practically standard in most current day shooters.

Gaming has evolved in such a way that certain skill sets that were once deemed as standard norms for gamers are no longer active. These long forgotten skills are lying dormant because we too, have evolved along with the games we play. For me this was clearly evident in Doom, I had to relearn (luckily it didn’t take too long) the particular formula of the game, force myself to circle strafe, to stay on the move and to remember I wasn’t carrying health packs but instead had to search them out in each map and walk over them. While it wasn’t difficult to re-adjust, it was incredibly disorientating.

I’ve experienced this feeling in other genres too, over the years I appear to have lost my ability to play real time strategy games as well as I once did. I no longer have the reaction times I used to (though that’s probably down to age) and the rules of newer titles are now unfamiliar territory. Gaming has its own unique language, we learn it with each new game we play. The more you play a certain type of game the more you will be attuned to its nuances so as they change over time, if we haven’t also adapted and evolved with them then it’s only natural we’ll find ourselves losing or forgetting skill.

But it’s not just circle strafing and my waning RTS reaction times that have changed, there are plenty of other skills lying dormant due to the evolution of gaming. Think about top down racing games, like me you might have once been a pro at Micro-Machines or the original GTA but driving games today almost never work in this way because it is now deemed as unintuitive. When I go back to top down games (of all genres, not just racing games) I find it’s harder to visualise where I am going and I need to get used to the over head perspective, in essence I am having to re-learn or recollect a skill that has been dismissed long ago by my brain as I naturally evolved.

Our brains are programmed to use this method, they hold on to only those things that are absolutely necessary and repress skills and memories that we no longer need or use. This is why you don’t remember anything from when you were a newborn baby (lucky really, newborn babies are dull, they just cry, eat, poop, sleep and repeat) or why you have to practice and persevere in order to be good at anything, master musicians are only great because they continued levelling up a particular skill set.

Using our brains less is another thing I’ve noticed about modern day titles, not that they don’t require brainpower but there now seem to be tutorial levels in every game and this lessens our need for deductive reasoning. Couple that with the way gaming has changed socially and you actually don’t need to think at all. If you get stuck in a game, rather than spend time figuring it out or deducing what comes next, you can turn to YouTube for never-ending tutorials, walkthroughs and Let’s Plays. Sure you can still buy game guides and when I was growing up there were magazines with all the answers but today, the solutions are everywhere in excess.

In my earlier gaming years, if I couldn’t progress through a level or work out what to do next in a point and click game I had to either give up or forget about the game until years later (I’m looking at you, Ecco The Dolphin, you too Castlevania – you tricky bastards!)

Serious patience, memory and careful planning are no longer skills that we need to hone. Gone are the days of having to familiarise yourself with enemy and environmental patterns to get through a certain level or stage. Of course, some games do still require these skills but in general, not so much. Nowadays we have auto-saves or checkpoints and you can even utilise multiple saves.

If you had to get to the end of a level in a retro game, you wouldn’t respawn next to your corpse or at a nearby checkpoint. There were no checkpoints, you had to start a level over entirely. I remember having to restart Alex Kidd in Miracle World over and over because when I first had my Sega Master System I couldn’t save, I had to keep playing it until I memorised the entire game. The day I completed it felt amazing because of the hours I had put into it. I have incredibly fond memories of Alex Kidd, it was the first game I ever completed.

In modern titles, you’re no longer required to spend very long in one particular area (unless like me, you need to explore every crevice or hint of shininess on a map in which case, you’re my kind of gamer). One could even argue that in modern day titles you no longer pick up on the details of a game and you take it for granted because you are simply moving from one checkpoint to the next.

However, not all gaming skills of the past have been entirely lost. For all the times we complain about franchises never changing, they do keep alive a particular skill set. Nintendo is a prime example of this, I often bemoan them for regurgitating the same games year after year. Yet in doing so, their demographic can play games from past and current titles with the same intuitive ease.

Looking forward, imagine cover based shooting games died out or motion control was completely abandoned then, a decade or two later there was a resurgence due to nostalgia and a revival of the features we are all so accustomed to today. We’d suddenly find it disorientating and realise we’d forgotten how to do something that was once so natural.

When you swim after not doing so in many years, you don’t forget, you’re able to stay afloat but as I learnt all too recently, your muscles certainly freak the hell out. The only way to fix this is to keep on swimming. In the same vein then, to keep our gaming muscles strong, we need to flex them regularly and continue playing not just new titles but retro ones too. So next time you feel like starting a new game, why not check out some older titles instead?

Welcome  to Graphic Breakdown!

Let’s look at some of the more interesting comics currently out.

We’re going to start off with a complete surprise.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Book 1

(collecting issues 1-5)
Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sarcasa and Illustrated by Robert Hack
Published by Archie Comics

My god, was this fantastic. This book was something else.

Roberto Aguirre-Sarcasa took a concept that was basically lame and would make anyone cringe, and created with Robert Hack one of the most involving, shockingly good books on the market. It’s definitely one of the best books of the year.

Sabrina Spellman lives with her two aunts who are both witches. She goes to high school. Has a boyfriend.

Yet, on her sixteenth birthday, she has to make a decision: live a normal life or become a witch.

Aguirre-Sarcasa fills each page with power. Emotion.

He turns this silly concept into something that is almost in the Suspiria universe.

The horror that comes through each page is palatable. The tension is high. The heart and emotion poured into it is evident. The story is fantastic.

The art by Hack is awesome. Purely awesome. I pored over it. It was like reading an old EC horror comic book but with something modern. It’s beautiful.

Archie Comics have been killing it with their comic book line. Killing it. They have another hit on their hands with this. Another feather in their cap. Keep it going. You took a concept and a TV show I reviled and turned it into something great.

RATING: A+

Bone: Coda  

Written and Illustrated by Jeff Smith
Published by Cartoon Books

Jeff Smith is a genius. A pure genius.

Bone was one of my favorite books growing up. I actually picked it up from the very beginning and loved it.

When it ended, I was sad, but the entire run was so brilliant, it felt complete. He went on to do Rasl, which I loved, and later Tuki, which I liked.

When word came down that for Bone’s 25th anniversary he would be drawing a new Bone story, well, I flipped.

I was excited. And Smith didn’t disappoint.

It was so nice to see Fone Bone, Smiley, and Phoney Bone.

I nearly cried.

The story is a simple lark, nothing that impacts the main story. Smith hasn’t missed a beat with these characters. It’s just wonderful to read and see them interacting again.

This book is coupled with a history of Bone book that is pretty hit or miss plus an interview with Smith which is pretty good. But the main attraction is that new story. It was great but went by too quick.

I understand Smith wants to move onto other things. And he should. But next time, instead of giving us 36 pages, give us 200 or so. This is a great appetizer…but now I want more. Jeff Smith loves these characters. We love these characters. Why not see more of them?

RATING: A+

Usagi Yojimbo V. 30: Thieves and Spies

Written and Illustrated by Stan Sakai
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Stan Sakai is something of a marvel. His book Usagi Yojimbo has been fantastic. It’s fantastic now. I have a feeling it’ll always be fantastic. Years ago I started reading this. 2012 to be exact. And I couldn’t put it down. Sakai’s blending of history and comic books always leaves me floored.

This book has a few stories in it. All of them are complete unto themselves but paint a bigger picture. Usagi travels and comes across old friends and new conspiracies. It’s fun, well told, and classic fun. There is not a book or creator with the track record Sakai has. He is one creator of legend.

Read this book to find out why. I implore you. Sakai is one of the best this medium has. Come laugh, cry and follow the adventures of a samurai rabbit and his friends. This is always such a pleasure. Every year, it’s a gift these collections.

RATING: A+

Imperium V.4: Stormbreak

(collecting issues 13-16)
Written by Joshua Dysart and Illustrated by Khari Evans
Published by Valiant Comics

I love Joshua Dysart’s writing, plain and simple. This is no exception. Imperium has been something of a novelty book for Valiant Comics. It’s brutal. Off the cuff. And features some of the best plotting comic books has to offer.

This book follows the character of Livewire finally going to confront her former boss Toyo Harada. It’s a simple set up with tons of ambiguity in it. It kind of reminded me of the TV show Homeland (when it was good) and some really great cyberpunk stories for some reason.

Dysart writes some of the best characters in comics. It’s nice to see him teamed up with Evans with whom he did Harbinger with.

I heard this may be the last Imperium book. I hope not, as it’s a consistently great read which rewards it’s readers. I love it and want more.

RATING: A

Here’s the first look at Blue Beetle: Rebirth #1 on shelves August, 24th, brought to you by storytellers Keith Giffen & Scott Kolins with Romulo Fajardo Jr. on colors.

Lost in the desert with no memory of the past few years, teenager Jaime Reyes must find his way home again—but when he reaches his town, he’s shocked to find it abandoned and in the hands of government officials…officials who are very interested in the Blue Beetle and the scarab that gives him his power! How can Jaime find his family and uncover the secret behind the town’s seizure—and why Kord Industries is helping keep the world from learning the truth?

For Tommy (David Schwimmer) and Dion (Jim Sturgess), two friends on the brink of losing everything, a dusty pipe dream of opening an upscale restaurant in their hometown of the Bronx is all they have left to turn their lives around. Together, Tommy and Dion take on the insanity of the New York restaurant world, navigating its underbelly of petty criminals, corrupt officials, and violent gangsters.

From the Executive Producer of “Dexter” and “Nurse Jackie” comes a sizzling new series serving up a dose of drama with a side of danger when Feed the Beast: Season 1 arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) and DVD (plus Digital) on October 11 from Lionsgate. Feed the Beast: Season 1 stars David Schwimmer (TV’s “American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson,” TV’s “Band of Brothers,” TV’s “Friends”) and Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe, Cloud Atlas) as two friends who risk it all when they open a restaurant in the Bronx. With three all-new featurettes as well as audio commentaries on select episodes, the Feed the Beast: Season 1 Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $29.97 and $29.98, respectively.

BLU-RAY & DVD SPECIAL FEATURES

• “Fate, Friendship and Food: Crafting Season 1” Featurette
• “The Food Behind The Fancy” Featurette
• “Building The Beast” Featurette
• Audio Commentary with Cast & Crew on Select Episodes

From the author of The Postmortal, a fantasy saga unlike any you’ve read before, weaving elements of folk tales and video games into a riveting, unforgettable adventure of what a man will endure to return to his family

When Ben, a suburban family man, takes a business trip to rural Pennsylvania, he decides to spend the afternoon before his dinner meeting on a short hike. Once he sets out into the woods behind his hotel, he quickly comes to realize that the path he has chosen cannot be given up easily. With no choice but to move forward, Ben finds himself falling deeper and deeper into a world of man-eating giants, bizarre demons, and colossal insects.
 
On a quest of epic, life-or-death proportions, Ben finds help comes in some of the most unexpected forms, including a profane crustacean and a variety of magical objects, tools, and potions. Desperate to return to his family, Ben is determined to track down the “Producer,” the creator of the world in which he is being held hostage and the only one who can free him from the path.

At once bitingly funny and emotionally absorbing, Magary’s novel is a remarkably unique addition to the contemporary fantasy genre, one that draws as easily from the world of classic folk tales as it does from video games. In The Hike, Magary takes readers on a daring odyssey away from our day-to-day grind and transports them into an enthralling world propelled by heart, imagination, and survival.

And we’re giving away 3 copies!

To enter, please send an email with the subject header “THE HIKE” to geekcontest @ gmail dot com and answer the following:

The Hike is Drew Magary’s third book, but second novel.  What is the title of his memoir?

Please include your name and address (U.S. Residents only. You must be 18 years old).

Only one entry per person and a winner will be chosen at random.

Contest ends at 11:59 PM EST on August 21st, 2016.

Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” forever changed the landscape of children’s literature; Disney’s animated “Alice in Wonderland” embraced this fantasy world filled with peculiar characters; and Tim Burton directed a visually-stunning, live-action film that mesmerized audiences worldwide. On Oct. 18, 2016, the enchanting and beloved franchise that has captivated generations of adventurers continues when Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass” arrives home on Digital HD, Blu-ray™, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand.

In “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” the all-star cast from the 2010 blockbuster is back with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter who’s desperately searching for his family; Anne Hathaway as Mirana, the kind, mild-mannered White Queen; Helena Bonham Carter as Iracebeth, the short-tempered, big-headed Red Queen; and Mia Wasikowska as Alice, the heroine at the heart of the story. Sacha Baron Cohen joins the ensemble as Time, a magical being that is part human, part clock, and the late Alan Rickman—to whom the film is dedicated—is the voice of Absolem, the blue Monarch butterfly who metamorphosed from the blue caterpillar “Alice in Wonderland.”

Fascinating, in-depth bonus features invite in-home audiences to further explore the whimsical world of Underland. Three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood reveals the creative process behind the film’s ornate costuming; P!nk provides on-set access during production of her “Just Like Fire” music video; Sacha Baron Cohen showcases his quirky new character, Time; and Director James Bobin offers insightful audio commentary and introduces five, never-before-seen deleted scenes.

Bonus features include*:

DIGITAL HD/SD & BLU-RAY:

• A Stitch in Time: Costuming Wonderland – Three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Memoirs of a Geisha”) explains how costuming helps shape the curious characters of Underland and reveals hidden Easter Eggs within the cast’s ornate outfits.
• Music Video: “Just Like Fire” by P!nk – “Watch this madness, colorful charade” in P!nk’s music video for “Just Like Fire,” the hit song featured in “Alice Through the Looking Glass” that powered to the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
• Behind the Music Video – Go on set with P!nk for production of her “Just Like Fire” music video, featuring fantastical imagery, aerial stunts, Underland character cameos, and guest appearances by P!nk’s family.
• Behind The Looking Glass – Jump back and forth through time during this in-depth look into the making of “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” hosted by director James Bobin.
• Time On… – Delight in this discussion with the unpredictable and witty Sacha Baron Cohen who plays Time, the keeper of the Chronosphere, a metallic sphere that powers all time.
• Alice Goes Through the Looking Glass: A Scene Peeler – View a side-by-side comparison of raw production footage and final scenes, as Alice enters Underland through a magical looking glass.
• Alice Goes Through Time’s Castle: A Scene Peeler – View raw production footage alongside final scenes, as Alice enters Time’s castle of eternity.
• Characters of Underland – Get to know the quirky and colorful supporting characters in Underland, such as the tubby twins known as the Tweedles (Matt Lucas) and Absolem (Alan Rickman), the blue caterpillar turned blue Monarch butterfly.
• Filmmaker Audio Commentary by James Bobin – Director James Bobin delivers scene-by-scene insight into the creation of “Alice Through the Looking Glass.”
• Deleted Scenes with Director Commentary – Bobin introduces five never-before-seen scenes that didn’t make the final cut of Disney’s spectacular adventure.

DVD:

• A Stitch in Time: Costuming Wonderland

*Bonus features may vary by Digital Retailer

Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass” is a spectacular adventure, featuring the unforgettable characters from Lewis Carroll’s beloved stories, in which Alice returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter. Directed by James Bobin, who brings his own unique vision to the visually-stunning world Tim Burton created on screen with “Alice in Wonderland,” the film is written by Linda Woolverton and based on characters created by Lewis Carroll. The producers are Joe Roth, Suzanne Todd, p.g.a. and Jennifer Todd, p.g.a. and Tim Burton. John G. Scotti serves as executive producer.

“Alice Through the Looking Glass” reunites the cast from Burton’s 2010 worldwide blockbuster phenomenon, including Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Matt Lucas and Helena Bonham Carter and introduces new characters played by Rhys Ifans and Sacha Baron Cohen. Also back are the talented voices of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Barbara Windsor and Paul Whitehouse, who are joined by Matt Vogel.

Four-time Oscar nominee and GRAMMY winner Danny Elfman (“Milk,” “Big Fish”) returns to compose the film’s score, which includes melodies from 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland” and additional themes inspired by both new and developing characters. The film also features “Just Like Fire,” an original, hit song performed by GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter P!nk.

Cover by JUAN GIMENEZ

It has all been building to this! The epic conclusion to the blockbuster ongoing series! Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca’s critically acclaimed Darth Vader comes to a close later this year in the oversized DARTH VADER #25. To commemorate this monumental issue, Marvel is rolling out the red carpet with covers from some of the best and brightest artists in the industry.

In addition to a main cover by legendary artist Juan Gimenez, DARTH VADER #25 will also include a stunning array variant covers rendered by the industry’s best. Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada, Chris Samnee, Michael Cho, Sara Pichelli, Cliff Chiang and more lend their artistic prowess to the Dark Lord of the Sith!

Who lives? Who dies? Find out as it all comes crashing down later this year in the highly anticipated DARTH VADER #25!

CLIFF CHIANG (JUN160938)

MICHAEL CHO (JUN160932)

Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER (JUN160940)

ADI GRANOV (JUN160930)

SALVADOR LARROCA (JUN160939)

JAMIE MCKELVIE (JUN160931)

SARA PICHELLI (JUN160937)

JOE QUESADA Sketch Variant (JUN160934)

JOE QUESADA (JUN160935)

CHRIS SAMNEE (JUN160936)

KAMOME SHIRAHAMA (JUN160933)

To find a comic shop near you, visit www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook. 

From animation studio LAIKA, makers of the Academy Award-nominated “Coraline,” comes an epic action-adventure set in a fantastical Japan. Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson of “Game of Thrones”) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato (George Takei), Akihiro (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), and Kameyo (Academy Award nominee Brenda Vaccaro). But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara), to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family, and fulfill his heroic destiny.

For your chance to download passes to the advance screening of KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS on Tuesday, August 16^th  at 7pm at AMC Loews Boston Common click here:

http://www.gofobo.com/jcboo80357

Remember seating is first come, first served and not guaranteed so please arrive early!

Revenge is a bitter deal in the gritty period Western, Traded starring Michael Paré, country music star Trace Adkins and Country Music Hall of Famer, Golden Globe-winner and American icon, Kris Kristofferson. Following its limited theatrical release, the frontier thriller is now available on Blu-ray and DVD, only from Cinedigm and Status Media.

In 1880s Kansas, sharpshooter turned rancher, Clay Travis (Paré), goes from happily married father of two to a man on a mission after the disappearance of his 17 year-old daughter, Lily.  Determined to protect what little family he has left, Clay leaves his quiet ranch and heads to Wichita where, after confronting the ruthless Ty Stover (Adkins), he discovers that Lily’s been traded away into an underground sex ring in Dodge City.  And it’s there, with the help of an unlikely companion — hardened old barkeep Billy (Kristofferson) — that Clay makes a stand to bring his daughter home, leaving a trail of gunsmoke and bodies in his wake.

Filled with dramatic vistas and sweeping panoramas, “Traded looks authentic. From the Rusty Spur Saloon and the drab 1880s couture and cuisine, to the characters’ imperfect skins, these look like real people in real places at a particular historical moment.”  The gritty Western, directed by Timothy Woodward Jr. (Weaponized, 4Got10) was shot in California and New Mexico, utilizing locations in the Yucca Valley, Paramount Ranch and Big Sky Movie Ranch that have been the backdrops to westerns such as Gunfight at the OK Corral, The Virginian and many other classics of the genre. Traded co-stars include Tom Sizemore, Martin Kove, Quinton Aaron and, in her theatrical debut, Kris’ daughter, Kelly Kristofferson.

And we’re giving away 3 copies!

To enter, please send an email with the subject header “TRADED” to geekcontest @ gmail dot com and answer the following:

In 1973, Kris Kristofferson played this iconic Western legend opposite James Coburn?

Please include your name and address (U.S. Residents only. You must be 18 years old).

Only one entry per person and a winner will be chosen at random.

Contest ends at 11:59 PM EST on August 21st, 2016.

Stormlight Archive Companion Download
For fans of Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive, the ebook companion is now available to download for free.

Most Beautiful Library
A state by state look at 50 beautiful libraries.

Next Oprah Pick
Oprah has selected her next book club pick, The Underground Railroad.

Target Starts Carrying Kindles Again
After a four-year hiatus, Target and Amazon have come to terms once more.

The Professor and the Madman
Mel Gibson is adapting the book by Simon Winchester, planning to star opposite Sean Penn.

Book4Tat
In Portland, Oregon a library is pairing up people’s tattoos with some book recommendations.

The Magic’s Still There
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child sells 2 million copies in 2 days.

Gifts For Writers
24 gift ideas for any occasion.

The Most Anticipated Books For Fall
Looks like 2016 is going to end on a high note for readers.

Regular readers, both of you, may recall that one of my interesting little quirks is a fondness for watching or listening to live RPG gaming sessions. While sitting at my computer all day, I have another screen nearby playing such shows as Acquisitions Incorporated, Critical Role, Titansgrave, Force Grey Giant Hunters, and many more.

And now…

And now there is HarmonQuest.

HarmonQuest?

Like… like in Dan Harmon? That guy from Community and Rick and Morty? That guy who has his own podcast show featuring improv-comedy and roleplaying games? That documentary?

Yeah, that guy.

I suppose it comes as no surprise that someone who created a hit animation show, and had a rather popular roleplaying game podcast managed to combine the two to create HarmonQuest, a half live-action and half animation comedy roleplaying ten-part series.

In each episode, Dan, along with regular partners Erin McGathy and Jeff B. Davis join game master Spencer Crittenden for a sweeping fantasy adventure in which they must defeat the Heralds of the Manticore, restore the magic rune stones that keep a dimension of demons at bay, and defeat the Great Manticore. While the specific game is hardly mentioned, they’re playing Pathfinder–or a variant thereof. You don’t need to know the specifics of the gameplay mechanics. When you get right down to it, most RPGs are pretty much the same.

The adventures start out in Earthscar Village with Fondue Zoobag the half-orc fighter (Harmon), goblin rogue Bone Weevil (Davis), and barbarian warrior Biaro Shift (McGathy) failing to protect magic rune stones from attacking cultists. This sets them on a journey to warn other villages of the breaking of a protective seal between dimensions, and a quest to get the stones back and restore the seal before all hell breaks loose.

Each week they’re joined by a featured guest star who plays a special player character in that game’s episode. Guests have included such folk as Chelsea Peretti, John Hodgman, Kumail Nanjiani, and Nathan Fillion. The guests’ roles are limited to their own specific part of the story, but sometimes bring with them special clues or abilities that allow the adventure to go forward. Sometimes they even survive their experience with the adventurers.

Improv comedy plays a big role in HarmonQuest. While the regular players may be more than familiar with roleplaying games, the guest stars are not always. While all get into the spirit of the game, some of the guests’ game choices may seem a bit odd. Funny, but odd. Always entertaining, though.

The show’s format introduces the players as themselves sitting at a table in front of a live audience, then moves into an animated version of the group’s adventure. The production values are professional. The characters all look vaguely like their players. A special shout-out has to go out to game master Spencer Crittenden. Not only does he look like a guy who has been playing RPGs all his life, he sounds like it and runs the game like a real pro. I would not mind gaming with this guy.

It’s a fun show. Really fun.

So… how to view it?

Officially, you’d be watching it using a Seeso subscription.

Seeso launched in January of this year as a digital branch of NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises specializing in streaming comedy video. When they started out, it was mostly just some NBC programming, remastered British comedies, and some stand-up comedy specials. It is slowly adding more original programming and does show some decent potential to becoming an innovative streaming service aimed at geeks with an appreciation for humor. It can be watched on most mobile devices via an app, or on Amazon Prime. The subscription rate is $3.99 per month which may have seemed a little high at the beginning, but is proving to worth its value as it continues to grow.

Oh… and no ads. How about that?

The entire first season was released July 14 of this year, but, alas, there is no word yet on a second season. The show seems to be quickly attracting a following, so I’m fairly confident this is not the last we’ve seen of this merry band of adventurers.

The first full episode is available on YouTube, as well as some trailers and other vignettes. I noticed a couple of less-than-official additional episodes posted by folk other than Seeso, so there’s a chance you can view later episodes without a subscription, but I’d recommend going with the official channel.

Cheers!

In latest book, Killfile, we meet author Christopher Farnsworth’s newest invention, John Smith, who is gifted with telepathy which he offers to the highest bidder.  This electric thriller deals with such timely issues of privacy and technology that resonates long after you’ve finished the book.

Chris took some time out of his busy schedule to discuss Killfile, his influences and what’s to come.

###

FOG!: How would you describe your new book, Killfile?

Christopher Farnsworth: Killfile is a man-on-the-run thriller featuring John Smith, a former CIA operative who now works for the One Percent, cleaning up problems for billionaires. John has one special advantage over his competition: he reads minds. The CIA helped him weaponize his natural telepathic gift, and now he can access people’s thoughts, dodge a punch when it’s still just a bad idea, and even plant pain and nightmares into other people’s heads. But he’s constantly dealing with our mental chatter, and he hates it. So he takes pills, drinks heavily, and saves his money for the day when he can walk away from the rest of humanity.

Everett Sloan brilliant investor and stock trader offers him what seems like the answer to all his problems: a private island. To get it, John will have to erase the memory of the investor’s former protégé, a tech genius named Eli Preston, and recover some valuable intellectual property. But Preston wants to keep his secrets locked inside his skull — and he’s willing to kill to do it.

Basically, imagine a Jason Bourne who can read minds going up against a psychopathic Mark Zuckerberg.

You’ve written three novels featuring Cade, a vampire who serves the President and now, in Killfile, we meet John Smith, a psychic-for-hire. Before writing do you establishing the rules of how their abilities work, or do you see where the story takes you?

Vampires and telepaths aren’t exactly new in fiction. This is ground that’s been covered by a lot of other writers, so I wanted to make sure I was very clear about what they could do, and to try to establish a new spin on the old tricks. For Cade, that meant deciding what was real about the vampire myth, and what was only folklore in his world.

With John Smith, I established the rules of telepathy right up front. John explains to a client what he can do, and what he can’t. For starters, he can’t control anyone’s mind. He calls that the “Vegas Act” — everyone expects him to be able to make people cluck like a chicken, as if he was some kind of lounge-room hypnotist.

He says he doesn’t like this analogy, but he’s more like a hacker. If your brain is a computer, he can read your email, mess with your apps, and even run some of your processes — but he can’t rewrite you from the command line up. People are more complex than that, and while he can meddle with their thoughts, he can’t change who they are. It would be a pretty short book if he could.

The downside is, he always gets a percentage back of whatever pain he inflicts on someone else. It’s the cost of doing business for him. For me, it’s important that these gifts are never free. There’s always a catch.

Otherwise, life for a guy like John would be way too easy.

In a post Snowden world, information is a commodity. How does that play into Smith’s gift and background?

In the real world, a guy like John Smith would be the perfect CIA employee. There would be no secrets from him. He’d be the perfect interrogator, the perfect spy. As his mentor, Cantrell, says in the book, the problem isn’t knowing what people are doing — the intelligence agencies can tell you what every world leader had for breakfast today, they can train their spy satellites on Syria and see ISIS terrorists doing target practice — it’s knowing what they’re thinking. We have to connect the dots, to know what people are planning. That’s still the missing piece. A guy like Smith could provide that.

This might be the most intense book of yours yet. What kind of research did you do and were there any creative influences for Killfile?

I did a lot of research on the real-world attempts of the U.S. to find or create actual psychic spies, starting with Jon Ronson’s The Men Who Stare At Goats and my friends John Whalen and Jonathan Vankin’s The 80 Greatest Conspiracies Of All Time. The CIA and military were obsessed with psychic soldiers for years. Google Project Star Gate or MKULTRA and you’ll see how far they went looking for someone like John Smith. The idea that we could end or prevent a war by changing how people think is both fascinating and terrifying. That’s really where John Smith comes from — our actual attempts to control minds.

I also delved into things like algorithmic trading, which uses computer software to find patterns in the stock market, and researched how to break into a computer server farm.

Creatively, Killfile owes a lot to Octavia Butler’s Patternist series, as well as countless other novels about telepathy. I also re-read Richard K. Morgan’s Takeshi Kovacs novels while I was writing it, trying to get a little of his deadpan humor and talent for violence into my scenes.

What else do you have coming up? Is there the possibility that we might see Smith and Cade team-up?

I hadn’t thought of that, but that’s a great idea. Now I’ll have to find a way to make it work.

In the meantime, there will be another John Smith novel next year. I just finished the first draft and turned it into my editor. The working title is Flashmob. Smith goes up against someone who has figured out a way to weaponize social media.

What are you currently geeking out over?

Everyone should read Claire North’s The Sudden Appearance of Hope. Brilliant and beautifully written. I just finished Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter, and it’s great. And I’m reading Harry Potter with my 8-year-old daughter.

As for TV, I am a die-hard Archer fan, and cannot wait for the next season. It just keeps getting better. Very stoked that my friend Beau Smith’s creation Wynonna Earp has just been renewed for a second season on SyFy. I was a huge fan of what Emily Andras did in the first season, and I’m glad to see she gets to continue the story. Also geeked for Luke Cage, which looks perfect.

Finally, for comics I’m reading Ninjak religiously, as well as Wynonna Earp (the comic book version), John Allison’s Bad Machinery and Giant Days, and just caught up with the entire run of The Wicked and The Divine.

Killfile will be released tomorrow via print and digital platforms.
For more information visit chrisfarnsworth.com

Produced by Gillian Armstrong, Damien Parer,
Graham Buckeridge, Michael Wrenn
Written by Katherine Thomson
Directed by Gillian Armstrong
Featuring Darren Gilshenan, Deborah Kennedy,
Louis Alexander, Nathaniel Middleton, Lara Cox,
Kelly Ann Doll, Colleen Atwood, Kym Barrett,
David Chierichetti, Marc Eliot, Jane Fonda,
Ann Roth , Angela Lansbury, Leonard Maltin

I wholeheartedly believe that if they were put on the spot, a large proportion of self-proclaimed cineastes couldn’t come up with two or more famous costume designers after uttering the name, Edith Head.

It is for that reason that I must applaud Australian director Gillian Armstrong for her decision to begin her documentary, Women He’s Undressed, about three-time Oscar winning costume designer, Orry-Kelly by having another Oscar winning costume designer, Ann Roth (The English Patient) break the fourth wall by asking Armstrong directly on camera, “You say nobody knows who he is? Who doesn’t know who he is?”

I applaud this decision because by Armstrong’s own admission in her honest and touching director’s statement, she herself had no idea who Orry-Kelly was herself when producer Damien Parer approached her a few years ago with the proposal to do this documentary. I expected no less than that level of honesty from Gillian Armstrong.

To be completely candid, I have long been a fan of Armstrong’s work since seeing her seminal 1979 debut feature film, My Brilliant Career, which introduced American audiences to the extraordinary talents of Judy Davis and Sam Neill. That film, like all of her subsequent efforts over the years, was made with the same bold honesty that is contained within her director’s statement and her new documentary, Women He’s Undressed, which may be a bit too abrasive at times for some audiences expecting the standard bio-doc but remains similar to the rest of her body of work in that it has been created with a frankness that doesn’t overwhelm any of the complexity and humanity of her main protagonist.

Veda Ann Borg and Orry-Kelly from 1937

One thing, in fact the most important thing, that comes through in Women He’s Undressed is that Orry-Kelly was one miraculously talented costume designer.

Armstrong and producer Parer gathered some of the finest costume designers of the last fifty years in the form of Colleen Atwood, Kym Barrett, Deborah Nadoollman Landis, Michael Wilkinson, and the aforementioned Ann Roth as well as actresses, Jane Fonda and Angela Lansbury, and a sea of notable film critics and historians to sing praises of the man who came from the coastal New South Wales town of Kiama to Hollywood in the 1930s to design and stitch together costumes for over two hundred and fifty films over his illustrious thirty career. Even if you aren’t a cineaste, you have most likely seen Casablanca, Some Like It Hot, Oklahoma, or The Maltese Falcon, which are just some of the immortal titles that bear the costuming talents of Orry-Kelly. You watch in awe as this bio-doc flashes film after film before your eyes, all ones that our famed costume designer worked on during his career, but when Armstrong allows costume historian Larry McQueen to closely analyze an Orry-Kelly creation, the one worn by Natalie Wood in the 1962 musical comedy-drama, Gypsy, Women He’s Undressed reaches its maximum success. Now, it is my turn to be honest about my ignorance: Until I saw a McQueen’s breakdown of Orry-Kelly’s thought process when the designer was creating that particular costume, I had no idea how paramount this art is to the production of a film.

Actor Darren Gilshenan as Orry-Kelly

As a narrative device, Armstrong employs a technique similar to one used by Mark Rappaport for his 1995 docu-drama, From The Journals Of Jean Seberg, where an actor assumes the persona of the deceased protagonist and recites their dialog directly into the camera–dialog that is derived from what seems to be the protagonist’s personal memoirs.

In Women He’s Undressed, actor, Darren Gilshenan plays the part of Orry-Kelly and does a convincing job in not only conveying the late costume designer’s own words but also the emotions found within Orry-Kelly’s memoir, which I had the fortune to read shortly after seeing Armstrong’s film. Drawn directly from Orry’s memoir are his struggles living with his father, his issues with the bottle, his conflicts and joys in New York City and Hollywood, and the thread that will most likely be talked about the most after a viewing of this film: the long and sometimes even volatile relationship that the gay designer had over the years with his one-time roommate, Cary Grant.

Though the nature of that relationship is presented somewhat ambiguously onscreen, what is abundantly clear is that the time spent with and without Cary Grant caused Orry a great deal of distress for decades. There is a lot to be covered regarding this pairing of such large personalities in the film, and although my curiosity was piqued when the subject was broached, I found the inclusion of these moments to be a bit too plentiful, and, more often than not, their insertions into the narrative were somewhat mistimed throughout, which caused a conflict when delving into the central thesis of Women He’s Undressed. (Though, Armstrong later explains her choices for what was included from Orry’s memoirs in the interview that I conducted for this piece that you can read after this review.) Her documentary is indeed a story of the ups and downs of the legendary costume designer, and it remains watchable throughout, but for me, more balance needed to be achieved between Orry’s creative world and how his personal life actually affected his decisions when he was creating his art.

Despite my feelings towards the way the Grant/Kelly relationship is explored in the narrative, Women He’s Undressed stands as a consistently fascinating portrait of one of the finest artists of the twentieth century. At its core, it is the story of an immensely gifted man who came to Hollywood during in a time when dazzling talent, panache,and hustle were still placed at a level above in the hierarchy. Women He’s Undressed is also a sometimes heartbreaking portrait of a gay man who was allowed a little more freedom to express his sexuality as he worked behind the camera than his friends in the LGBT community who had roles in front of the camera. Luckily for all of us, Orry-Kelly had the presence of mind to write all of his experiences down during a time when they couldn’t be said in public, and we are also lucky that these experiences have now been adapted to film for all of us to see as there was indeed a great deal of love and pain that went into Orry-Kelly’s costumes.

Gillian Armstrong – Photo by Tim Baure / Interview conducted on 8/3/16

FOG!: So much of your work, and here I am thinking about Oscar and Lucinda, My Brilliant Career, and even Little Women, are period pieces, which require a tremendous amount of costume research and production. Was your natural interest in costuming the spark for this project?

Gillian Armstrong: Yes, my admiration for costume designers was really my inspiration for this documentary as I myself have worked with some the finest costume designers in the world like Colleen Atwood and Janet Patterson, who did the costuming for Oscar and Lucinda, and Luciana Arrighi who right from the beginning was nominated for an Academy Award. I also try to work with the best sound people and cinematographers as well, but I felt that costume designing is a very misunderstood art. I think that most people have no idea how clever costume designers are and how important the costumes are to the actor and the storytelling. So many people think that good costuming is when you notice something, but the truth is the opposite: the best costuming is when you don’t notice.

The best costume designers can change the shape and the character of your actor and help them bring their character alive. So yes, that was part of the reason of why I was so interested in Orry’s story, and I am just as strict as he was as far as authenticity, like how clothes should never look so new, and even in a contemporary film, whether someone has one button or two buttons undone, or whether a shirt is wrinkled or not, says so much subliminally to an audience. Your character can simply walk onto a scene without saying a word, and just by seeing their costume, the audience can gain an understanding of their being and that comes so much from hair, makeup and costume.

As the version of Auntie Mame with Rosalind Russell is one of my favorite films, and as Orry-Kelly’s costuming for Russell truly represents its own character, I could spend the entirety of a documentary just watching him create those particular costumes that were so perfect for the characters and the actors. You particularly spent substantial screen time illustrating Orry-Kelly’s creative process when he was making Gypsy, which does contain some of his finest work, but it is also a film where he won one of his three Oscars. Is that why you selected that film for such study?

Part of the reason was that Larry McQueen, the historian who appears in the documentary, had that particular costume. So few of these costumes still exist, and one of those wonderful people who find and restore costumes had that beautiful orange dress that Natalie Wood wore in Gypsy, which was a rare find, and as we had access to it, we could show you the trickery involved as we could show you the inside as well as the outside of the garment with Larry explaining it all.

What is interesting to me was that a lot of people who saw my documentary said to me that they had thought that they would’ve been bored by a film about a costume designer, but then they would remark that they were in awe of that scene when they realized the creativity and the artistry that went into to making that particular costume–the process that someone uses who makes costumes, making someone look taller, or creating a costume that narrows the shoulders of an actor when they naturally have broader shoulders but their character should have narrow shoulders.

No human being is perfect and so there is a lot of artistry that goes on behind the scenes to make them look more like the character.

Women He’s Undressed and our interview today inspired me to read Orry-Kelly’s memoir, which your publicist kindly sent over. I found what I have read so far fascinating and frankly, a bit disturbing as well. You of course center the film on Orry-Kelly’s magnificent career as a costume designer, but there is a substantial part of the film that is dedicated to his relationship with Cary Grant. What I found disturbing in the memoir is that despite their friendship, that Grant even once punched Orry-Kelly so badly during an argument that he lost some teeth. Given that their relationship was long, complicated, and tumultuous to say the least, how did you decide on the parts of their interactions that you wanted to include in the film?

The short answer is that, in the end, this is a story about what made Orry-Kelly great. Who was he? What was the talent, and what were the ups and downs of his life? When we finally saw the memoir, which only came to us about six weeks before we began shooting, we realized that there was a whole other movie that could be made about Orry-Kelly’s friendship with Cary Grant.

Actually, I think that I could make another full narrative film about that story. It is interesting about the memoir, which Orry-Kelly did have lawyers go over, which we know from his letters to Marion, is that he stated that the publishers wanted him to get it printed, but the lawyers said, “No,” so it remained shelved. He (Orry-Kelly) did write about their friendship which was indeed long, and they were buddies who helped each other out, so we had talk about that.

Another thing to consider was how much time Orry spent with the underworld when he was in Australia before he left, which was also a part of the memoir, but we had to get him to Hollywood, so we made a choice. Really, the Orry and Cary story, which constituted their nine years together in New York, is almost its own movie, so we would never have been able to do his Hollywood life had we focused more on his relationship with Cary Grant. So, you have to make these kind of decisions when making a documentary. Lastly, those scenes with Cary would’ve meant major drama.

That said, I think that Orry was very hurt about Cary never mentioning him all of those years, but you’ve got to say that considering that Orry liked to drink and spout off a lot that it was commendable that he did keep his mouth shut about Cary and their relationship. Orry wrote this memoir as an older man, near the end of his life during the 1960s, and yet he wrote it very carefully.

Obviously, it was still the 1960s, and you couldn’t say that you were gay, or you would most likely get arrested, but Orry’s memoir is still a great insight into these two young men who were just starting out in Hollywood. There is even another scary story in the memoir where Orry suggests to Cary that he should consider getting a speech and drama teacher to help him work on his English accent, and Cary pushed him out of a moving car in Los Angeles! That’s why I feel that people should see my film about him, and they should also go out and read his memoir if they want the full story.

I read your director’s statement and I understand that you did not know that Orry-Kelly was a fellow Australian before beginning this project. After the years of research you have done to make this documentary, what is the takeaway in terms of Orry-Kelly, the Australian. How do you see his Australian-ness come through in his life and work?

The very key thing for us early on when we read a number of comments about him that Orry was rude and that he had offended people and so on, and I thought, “Oh, he’s just an Australian.” We are very direct, no bullshit people, and also we share this very sardonic humor. And I know myself from when I am in LA, and I have said something, and I get these very blank looks from people, I am prompted me to say, “No no no, that was a joke, I was only kidding.” So, I think that this typical Australian characteristic was something that I could clearly see in Orry, that sometimes when he offended people, he may have only been trying to be funny, but they didn’t get the joke.

My final question for you also comes with a heartfelt compliment. I feel obliged to say that I saw your first feature, My Brilliant Career, when I was teen back in the early 1980s and have gleefully followed your career ever since. I love your whole body of work, but my absolute favorite of yours is The Last Days Of Chez Nous, especially because of the performances you received from Lisa Harrow, Kerry Fox, and Bruno Ganz. I have always wondered about one thing since seeing it over twenty years ago…I saw the film in the early 1990s, and at that point I only knew Bruno Ganz from his work in German language films, specifically Wim Wenders’ The American Friend, but the character who he plays in your film, JP, is a Frenchman who can be rather unpleasant to his wife. I think that your decision to cast him was brilliant, but what film did you see Ganz in that made you feel that he was a good fit for that role?

Thank you so much. Well, I always thought that Bruno was adorable, and that was the most important thing when casting for the role of JP as this was the story of a marriage breaking up, and we wanted the husband to be sympathetic. So, Jan Chapman, the producer of that film, and I went to France, and we saw all of the top French actors as the character of JP, but all of them had an arrogance about them that we felt audiences wouldn’t have liked.

Bruno happened to be in London at the time that we were casting, but we thought that we might be stretching it as he (Ganz) is Swiss, but he came in to audition, and we both thought that he was so charming and loveable, and being that I was a fan of Bruno’s from his work with Wim Wenders, we asked him if he would leave the Berlin winter to come to Sydney in the summer and shoot this film in a little hot house, and he nearly died doing it (laughs) as he was not used to that kind of heat, but he was wonderful in the film. He is an extraordinary actor.

Women He’s Undressed arrives on DVD and VOD tomorrow, August 9th

In 2016, a new exhibit on the work of visionary director Guillermo del Toro will open at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) before moving on to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and the Minneapolis Museum of Art (MIA). Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters, releasing on August 30, 2016, is the perfect accompaniment to the exhibition, which focuses on del Toro’s creative process, including the well-defined themes that he obsessively returns to in all his films, the journals in which he logs his ideas, and the vast and inspiring collection of art and pop culture ephemera that he has amassed at his private “man cave,” Bleak House.

Filled with imagery from the exhibition, including art selections curated by del Toro himself and pertinent pages from his own journals, the book will delve further into the director’s world with an exclusive in-depth interview and commentary from notable figures in the art world. Forming a perfect companion to the exhibition, Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters will deliver an engrossing look into the mind of one of the great storytellers of our time.

For more details visit insighteditions.com

Specializing in world-class television from Britain and beyond, the upcoming Acorn DVD release calendar features hit international crime dramas, mysteries and period dramas.

August 9th

LINE OF DUTY, Series 3 (DVD Debut)

“Thrilling entertainment. It is gripping, superbly acted and spectacularly watchable…It has an explosive opening…A tremendous watch.” –The Times

BBC’s can’t-miss, smash hit thriller returns. In Series 3, DC Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure, Broadchurch, The Secret Agent) and DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston, Monarch of the Glen, The Great Train Robbery) of AC-12 investigate the conduct of Sergeant Danny Waldron (Daniel Mays, Mrs Biggs, The Great Fire) of the Armed Response Unit. Adrian Dunbar (Ashes to Ashes) and Polly Walker (Rome, Prisoners’ Wives) also star, with Keeley Hawes (MI-5, Ashes to Ashes) reprising her role as enigmatic DI Lindsay Denton. (DVD 3-disc set, 6 eps. plus behind-the-scenes featurette, $39.99). Series 1 & 2 on Acorn TV.

August 23rd

CLEAN BREAK (DVD Debut)

“Gorgeously cinematic crime drama.” — The New York Times

“Incredibly compelling Irish thriller.” — Boston Herald

The thrilling, atmospheric four-part crime drama explores just how far desperation and greed will drive the residents of one small Irish town. Adam Fergus (Being Erica) stars as a car dealer whose life is falling apart around him. Before he loses everything, he devises a reckless kidnapping plan to fix his money problems while also getting revenge on the people making his life miserable. Written by award-winning writer Billy Roche (The Eclipse), Clean Break co-stars Aidan McArdle (Mr. Selfridge, Ella Enchanted), Damien Molony (Being Human, Suspects), Sean McGinley (Republic of Doyle), and Ned Dennehy (Dominion Creek) (DVD 2-disc set, $39.99). Premiered and available on Acorn TV.

August 30th:

19-2, Season 2 (DVD Debut)

“One of the best cop dramas ever” – Tribune News Service
“The writing is sublime…in the tradition of shows like ‘The Wire” – The New York Times

Winner of ‘Best Dramatic Series’ at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards and on par with the best American police dramas like The Wire and Homicide, 19-2 returns for an even more thrilling and gripping second season. Stars Adrian Holmes (Arrow, Smallville) and Canadian Screen Award winner for Best Actor Jared Keeso (Falling Skies) are captivating as partners in the Montreal Police Department who must put their differences aside as their lives intertwine professionally and personally. Season 2 begins with a riveting—and devastating—story as the partners try to stop a shooter at a high school. As the station recovers after the shooting, the race to find a mole in the department borders on desperation, and Nick gets in too deep (DVD 3-disc set, 10 episodes plus bonus featurettes, $49.99). Premiered and available on Acorn TV.

MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES, Series 1-3 Collection(DVD/Blu-ray)

“If you’re a Sherlock fan, check out Miss Fisher.” — tellyspotting

“This is television at its most entertaining, stimulating best.” — The Philadelphia Inquirer

Armed with a razor-sharp wit (and a ladylike pistol), Essie Davis (Game of Thrones, The Babadook, Australia) stars as the glamorous Miss Phryne Fisher, a lady detective in 1920s Australia with a fabulous sense of fun and a flair for solving crimes. The first three seasons are available in a value-priced collection. Based on the popular detective novels by Kerry Greenwood, the series is filmed on location in Melbourne with stellar period detail and production values. This Australian hit sparkles with wit and intrigue and has become a breakout hit with U.S. viewers and media. (Blu-ray 8-Disc set, DVD 11-Disc, 34 episodes plus bonus behind-the-scenes featurettes, cast interviews, and more, $119.99 each). Series 1 & 2 available on Acorn TV

September 6th

BEING POIROT

After 25 years of playing one of television’s most beloved characters, David Suchet attempts to discover why fans have gravitated toward the great Hercule Poirot for all these years and shares his experience of portraying the iconic, enigmatic detective (Documentary, DVD Single, $14.99). Previously only available as part of the complete series DVD collection. Available on Acorn TV.

FOYLE’S WAR REVISITED

Two-time Emmy and Golden Globe nominee John Mahoney (Frasier) hosts a behind the scenes look at the series. Learn about the creation of Foyle’s War, the decision to set it during World War II, the research that goes into each episode and the casting of Michael Kitchen as DCS Foyle (Documentary, DVD Single, $14.99). Previously only available as part of the complete series DVD collection.

September 13:

SUSPECTS, Series 3 & 4 (DVD Debut)

“Refreshing and innovative, stealing fly-on-the-wall-style filming back from spoof reality television to thrilling dramatic effect…sassy, gritty and cynical…all the acting was sterling” –The Telegraph

Acorn TV’s unscripted British crime drama returns. Filmed from an eyewitness perspective with improvised dialogue, this one-of-a-kind procedural delivers an immersive, authentic look at police investigations. Detectives Martha Bellamy (Fay Ripley, Cold Feet, New Tricks), Jack Weston (Damien Molony, Being Human, Ripper Street), and Charlie Steele (Clare-Hope Ashitey, Children of Men) are back to solve a series of all-new mysteries in contemporary London (DVD 2-disc, 4 eps., $49.99) Premiered and available on Acorn TV.

September  20:

MIDSOMER MURDERS, Series 18 (DVD/Blu-ray Debut)

“Simply the most entertaining mystery series in TV history…Absolutely addictive” — ICv2

Six new, standalone mysteries of Acorn’s #1 series of all-time. Neil Dudgeon (Life of Riley) stars as the capable DCI John Barnaby, with Gwilym Lee (Land Girls) in his final episodes as his partner. Series 18’s mysteries include disappearing bodies, the death of a forest ranger in a UFO-sighting hotspot, the murder of a champion cyclist, the death of a wealthy eccentric, an archaeologist buried alive, and the death of a man drugged with ketamine and trampled by a horse at an equestrian center (3-disc set, $49.99, $59.99). Premiered and available on Acorn TV.

September 27th

JERICHO (DVD Debut)

“Satisfyingly set-up potboiler…cinematically epic” —Forbes

Acorn TV’s new British Western stars Jessica Raine (Call the Midwife, Wolf Hall, Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime) as Annie Quaintain, a widowed mother-of-two who is forced to start a new life in the remote town of Jericho in the rugged Yorkshire landscape. She is able to find a home for her family, but must also provide lodging for the rowdy railroad workers passing through. When handsome worker Johnny Jackson (Hans Matheson, The Tudors) shows up on her door, he brings with him a load of trouble that could threaten Annie’s new life. Love, loss, and intrigue abound in this British western set in 1870s Yorkshire. The atmospheric 8-part period drama co-stars Clarke Peters (The Wire) with guest star Mark Addy (The Full Monty, Game of Thrones) (3-disc set,. $59.99). Premiered and available on Acorn TV.

THE DISAPPEARANCE (DVD Debut)

“France’s answer to UK dramas like Broadchurch and The Missing“ –Deadline Hollywood

When it premiered in France in 2015, Acorn TV’s critically-acclaimed, eight-part thriller was a huge ratings hit, winning its night with more than five million viewers. The series follows the disappearance of Léa, a teenage girl in inner-city Lyon, and the subsequent police investigation to find her. As more of Léa’s secrets come to light, her family wonders how well they really knew their daughter. Alix Poisson (The Returned) and Pierre-François Martin-Laval star as Léa’s parents and François-Xavier Demaison as the police commander investigating the case (2-disc set, 8 eps., $49.99). Premiered and available on Acorn TV.

Coming in October/November:

Murdoch Mysteries: A Merry Murdoch Christmas, Winter: The Complete Series, Janet King Series 2, Agatha Raisin Series 1, Capital, The Syndicate: All or Nothing, Wentworth Season 1, and Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music

About:

An RLJ Entertainment, Inc. brand (NASDAQ: RLJE), Acorn specializes in world-class television from Britain and beyond on DVD/Blu-ray. 2016 releases include Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, hit AMC series Humans, Aussie legal drama Janet King, heist thriller The Last Panthers, award-winning Canadian cop drama 19-2, British Western Jericho, as well as returning favorites Line of Duty, The Fall, A Place to Call Home, Vera, Jack Irish, Murdoch Mysteries, and Detectorists, among many others. Acorn’s DVD sets are available from select retailers and catalogs, and direct from Acorn at (888) 870-8047 or AcornOnline.com.

Emmy®-nominated Acorn TV is the premier North American streaming service for world-class television from Britain and beyond. Acorn TV streams a deep library of first-rate international programs at Acorn.TV and on most devices.  Facebook: OfficialAcornTV – Twitter @AcornTV

Additionally, Acorn DVD is releasing more seasons of innovative British detective drama SUSPECTS and Acorn’s #1 series MIDSOMER MURDERS, as well as documentaries on two of our finest series, FOYLE’S WAR REVISITED and BEING POIROT.