Gotta Go! Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure Orlando

After spending a mad dash time at Disney World, we ventured to Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure the next day. There's two separate parks so again we opted for a Hopper that would get us into both. Like Los Angeles, there's a vibrant scene of restaurants and shops before the park. Unlike Disney World, these two parks were more or less connected so you didn't need to hop on a 15 minute shuttle bus ride. Right away you walk into a section of Beverly Hills streets and there's the Terminator 2 3D show Battle Across Time. This has closed in LA but was still packing them in at Orlando. It's been a couple years since I saw the show and I was impressed by how much pageantry and set up there is between the Cyberdyne waiting room with host, warm up video and pre-show in the theater with actors, pyrotechnics, giant props and the like. The finale fills the theater with fog and then your seats drop, it was truly shocking. Masters of the Universe director and theme park attraction specialist Gary Goddard worked closely with James Cameron to produce the immersive show that transports you to the Future War to take on a T-1 Million. Arnold, Edward Furlong and Linda Hamilton all reprise their roles from the 1991 summer blockbuster for a 12 minute short film that cost an alleged $24 million!

Walking around there were plenty of other movie and TV tie-ins like The Simpsons Land, a Men In Black ride along with the flying train and Delorean from Back to the Future III! The big noise however was for the recently opened Harry Potter land. There's a London looking facade but walk through the doors and you're transported to Diagon Alley, an intricate reproduction of one of the films' major settings. You had sweet shops, gift shops, wand shops and stands selling Butter Beer which was surprisingly tasty and not too sweet. There's a couple rides, a fire breathing dragon perched atop a building and you can take the Hogwart's Express to the other park but it was a long wait.

Between the parks was a Hard Rock Cafe which offered double Jameson's for just $3 bucks more next to a giant steampunk chocolate factory and restaurant. Straight out of Willy Wonka, it was a truly unique establishment even if I couldn't figure out the theme of the food. I'd long heard about Island of Adventure from Wizard Magazine as in the 90's they had a Marvel restaurant with props and suits way before any studio backed film had come out. Right away we hit Marvel land which had a Hulk roller coaster, a Spider-Man 3D ride, gift shops and a Captain America diner! Cyclops, Cap and Wolverine were strolling the streets and buildings had giant images of Captain America fighting MODAK! These were truly my people. Walking further and further in there were more lands with old school comics and cartoons like Flash Gordon, the Phantom and Blondie then there was Jurassic Park and a new attraction based on Kong: Skull Island. In the back was another Harry Potter land with snow capped buildings, more gifts and several more rides. The one we went on was kind of crazy, it's a car on a track but you're in a seat hoisted by hydraulics with giant video screens taking you through various locales in the HP canon. While we didn't spring for it, Universal offers a Front of the Line pass, it's not cheap but you can also basically walk onto any ride so it would be worth it if you wanted to save half a day.

Masters of the Universe Lives!

Ah Masters of the Universe, the first flick I ever saw in a theater and one of my favorites of all time. I've now seen the Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella starring film three times on the big screen, once in 1987 in small town Ohio, again at a midnight screening in 2009 in Los Angeles at the now defunct Fairfax Regent and this past September when I hosted a He-Man and She-Ra Celebration at The Egyptian Theatre where we welcomed cast and crew. Director Gary Goddard was on hand and mentioned that in the last few years, sentiment towards MOTU has gone from cheesy and negative to ahead of it's time and positive. No part thanks to the abundance of CGI heavy fantasy thrillers of late like Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and Marvel's Thor films. Playing out as a mini-epic of LOTR and Star Wars laced action, fantasy, design and nostalgia with a production so harrowing you appreciate the end result even more. You can catch the entire film on YouTube under Paramount's Vault as well as on Netflix. Just last week, He-Man World hosted a screening at Toronto's Rainbow Cinema where He-Man maker Mattel donated 200 items for a charity toy drive. Then a fan made trailer using the template of Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit the data waves making the film look even more classy and epic. This week also heralded a Kickstarter campaign for in production documentary Power of Grayskull.

Power should pair nicely with completed and readying for release documentary Toy Masters: How He-Man & Mattel Conquered the Universe, an entertaining and informative look at the origins and impact of the boy toy giant. I was lucky enough to tour The Goddard Group's offices this week, birthplace of theme park attractions, live tours, stage productions and much more. Sitting in the corner is an original video store stand for Masters that was sent in by a fan who had an extra. I also flipped through several drafts of the script, one of which featured bookend appearances by The Princess of Power, She-Ra! Goddard's Group has regained rights to properties Skeleton Warriors along with Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future so be on the look out for new interpretations. Even though I've seen the film a million times, all of this week's cues and reminders might equal a weekend viewing with a bucket of fried chicken.

Con-Man: Cosplay Expo & Designer Con

I'm a week late on these bad boys but the year of Cons keeps on trucking! It was a double event weekend as we attended the inaugural Cosplay Expo in Van Nuys at the Japanese Garden last Saturday then trekked to Pasadena for Designer Con on Sunday. Friend and photographer extraordinaire Jeremy Rafanan was holding a workshop on photography for the Cosplay set and I moderated for him. I had no clue the Japanese Garden existed right off the 405 north of Los Angeles but it was beautiful. The organizers are to be commended for setting up such a well run show in such a memorable location. There was free parking, food trucks and shuttles at the bottom of the hill, a few vendors out front of the gates and episodes of anime playing inside the administration building. We caught a few minutes of Free! a random yet surprisingly interesting show about a high school swim club where chicks dig muscular forearms. We did a lap around the Garden with it's beautiful ponds filled with fish and graveled paths next to well manicured trees and shrubs. Jeremy's workshop was located in the tea house where he talked all things photography like how he got into snapping pics, equipment he uses, navigating shows big and small, the differences between say a convention and a movie premiere and working with cosplayers. It was a fantastic show and great to a friend sharing his knowledge and experience. Down at the food trucks I opted for a burger and loaded fries from a truck I can't recall the name of...good stuff but the fries could have been a little crispier since they were covered with so much.

On Sunday we made it to Pasadena in seemingly record time for Designer Con, a decent sized show I've never heard of that's been going strong for several years. Like an expanded Artist Alley, DCon was basically set up to showcase custom art, sculptures, toys and clothing. A lot of it was based on existing brands like Disney, Marvel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or He-Man but there was an abundance of original characters and very unique offerings. In the lobby was a Back to the Future themed art show along with a stage for panels. There were 300+ exhibitors on site and I was amazed at the range of items on display and for sale from prints to custom action figures. One of my favorites was comic book covers recreated using Legos and another that was TMNT-centric from the film and original comic strip by Eastman and Laird. I rounded a corner and noticed a giant Captain Power display before realizing it was a booth from Gary Goddard's company! Of course I had just worked with Gary and Roger during the Masters of the Universe celebration so it was a terrific surprise to catch up with filmmaker Roger Lay, Jr. The Goddard Group is known for their theater and theme park attractions but they're now boosting their original content with new takes on Captain Power and Skeleton Warriors in the works.With two more shows, I think my tally is 21 for the year, phew!

Animated Goods: King Arthur & the Knights of Justice

For your second heap of 90's awesomeness, let's take it back to 1992 for syndicated animated series King Arthur and the Knights of Justice. I grew up watching this show and really dug it, one year I fashioned a Sir Gallop costume for Halloween out of cardboard, string, sweat pants, PVC pipe and a couple of baseballs. It's been ages since I'd watched the show but a friend had recently rediscovered it and I'm now 6 episodes back in. After a rollicking electric guitar heavy, 90's rock theme song, the series starts with King Arthur and his Knights having been captured by the evil Queen Morgana and imprisoned within some diamonds in a cave. Wizard Merlin is unable to free the ruler and gazes into the future, coming across Arthur King, a likable quarterback from modern times and his football team The New York Knights. On their way home from a victorious game, the 12 football players take a shortcut in the rain and end up transported to Camelot. Merlin enlists them to free the true King Arthur which will require finding the 12 Keys of Truth. Being a bunch of city boys, the football team can't fathom how they'll be able to protect the kingdom while they search for the keys. Luckily the magic round table gives them each armor, weapons, a specialty item that can be summoned and the skills to fight and ride.

The team pledges "fairness to all, to protect the weak and vanquish the evil" in order to receive a He-Man-esque transformation and go out to kick Morgana's forces in the pants. Lord Viper leads the huge and powerful if dumb Warlords who have names like Axe, Bash and Blackwing. Both sides have armored steeds decked out with projectile spears, battering rams, smashing wrecking balls and catapults. Each episode sees the Knights go on a mission to help nearby townsfolk or locate a key of Truth. The characters are pretty broad with the fair and leveled leader of Arthur, big dumb guys Trunk, Brick and Phil then the I-talian builder Tone, geeky Asian Zeke and fast talking Sir Breeze among them. Tone was always my favorite for some reason, it must have been it his overblown accent and ability to build the Brooklyn Bridge in half an hour. The action is entertaining as swords clang, stuff gets launched everywhere, Warlods knocked off horses, etc. No beheading action but you know, this is Saturday morning stuff here. The fantasy aspect is played up with a magical unicorn who talks through mind bullets, dragons in caves and the like. Then you get some basic morals as one knight finds his courage, kids stand up to overwhelming odds, Arthur puts himself into knowing danger for the benefit of others, etc. Sure a lot of it doesn't make sense (why would you take a shortcut during a horrible storm? Why are there only 12 players? Why would one of them be the bus driver? Why are they so cool with being forced into Merlin's plan?) but it's a cartoon, folks, just go with the randomness and enjoy it.

King Arthur and the Knights of Justice ran for two 13 episode seasons in 1992 and 1993. I can't recall season 2 where they face off with Asian influenced enemies so it will be cool to watch or rewatch with nearly fresh eyes. I remember some really ugly figures from Mattel of Viper, Arthur, Lancelot and Darren which seemed like rejects from Masters of the Universe. Then again the line did reuse the Slime Pit and one of the vehicles so I'm probably not far off. Marvel Comics put out a three part series and a SNES video game hit in 1995. You can pick up the entire series on DVD for a cool $8 from Amazon and relive the glorious 90's with me. "Knights, Knights, Knights! Yeah! Knights, Knights, Knights! Break it down!"

Con-Man: Mastering the Universe Part I

After Friday night's successful screening and panel of Masters of the Universe, it was time for Saturday's big event, an entire day of mini-convention, screenings, Q&A's and the west coast premiere of Toy Masters! Our vendors like La-La Land Records, Scrooze Toys, Animation, Inc., collector Steve York, artist Dave Woodman and Super7 were joined by Skeletor and She-Ra voice actors Alan Oppenheimer and Melendy Britt. I was happy to see a line was forming before we opened doors and thanked everyone for showing up and for their patience as we prepared. Energy was great, the He-Man fans were very enthusiastic and checked out all of the glorious toys and displays Mattel and Pretty In Pink provided. Programmer Grant had somehow unearthed two episodes from the second season of Masters of the Universe on 16mm to add to our pre-show lobby con and had them screening in the theater.

Erika Scheimer helped kick things off with her boundless energy and enthusiasm as we discussed her involvement with Filmation. Run by her father, animation pioneer Lou, who kept work in America and also created a new market for cartoons as He-Man went straight into syndication with a 65 episode order, effectively leading the way for She-Ra, G.I. Joe and Transformers. Erika got involved in the family business after graduating from Stanford but finding herself without a job. Working for dad as a voice actor, she gave the audience a taste of her characters Imp and Loo-kee and explained how she'd picked up a guitar at age 12 so writing and performing "I Have the Power" for The Secret of the Sword was a real treat. The worldwide popularity of He-Man shocked the family as they traveled to conferences in Europe. A fan in the audience said he met his partner through their love for He-Man and Erika expounded on the impact the show had on viewers which touches her heart to this day. It was an honor and a pleasure to have Erika and her partner Amy there as well as a great way to start off the day. Heritage Auction House will be putting some of Lou's private collection up for bid to get items into the hands of the loving fans.

Artist and He-Man co-creator Mark Taylor was our next guest and He-Man World creator John Atkins took the mic for an informative, educational and hilarious panel. Did you know that the price of toys covers the cost of legal action in case someone is hurt or killed by them?! I didn't...Mark is a terrific talker, knowledgeable and engaging as he discussed the psyche of He-Man and Skeletor, the importance of Joseph Campbell and telling a story through any piece of work whether it's a piece of art or a painting. Originally working freelance, Mattel invited him to work in house on Barbie and Shogun Warriors. His uncles had served in the war and Taylor wanted to create a hero who was strong and brave, tinged by Tarzan, Prince Valiant and Greek literature. A hero didn't need a lot of armor or sit in a tank to him, the guy who just goes out there and does it, prevailing against all odds. Nobody wanted to work on He-Man back then as Barbie was the successful brand that could launch a career. Battlecat came from the Tarzan line Mattel had already done but his back was too broad for He-Man figures so the saddle was created. Kids responded so well to the toys, test groups tried to steal them. Mark ended up working on Hot Wheels as well as in Japanese animation. A truly fascinating individual and his wife Rebecca is a sweetheart as well.

Two classic episodes screened before the Filmation panel of artist/director Tom Sito, writers Larry DiTillio, Marc Zicree and Brooks Wachtel along with voice actors Alan Oppenheimer and Melendy Britt took the stage. Unfortunately I had to miss most of this panel as I was running things in the lobby but caught snippets about how He-Man was actually a pretty bad hero since he's totally reactive to Skeletor's scheming versus being proactive. Oppenheimer had no idea the cartoon would live on as long as it has and make such an impact. Oh yeah, when we met, he totally went into Skeletor and Mer-Man voices without even trying, it was awesome. Part II coming up!

Ask Me a Question: Masters of the Universe

My two part experiment to mash a convention with repertory screenings kicked off Friday night at the historic and beautiful Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood with 1987's Masters of the Universe. Mattel had really come through, providing display cases full of figures from the 1980's through today, Castle Grayskull, Snake Mountain, 6 foot character displays and a 15 foot tall He-Man statue that barely fit inside the lobby! Pretty In Plastic kicked in with an awesome mounted bust of Battlecat, one of less than a dozen in existence and valued at a cool 8 grand. We had a solid turnout for the evening and one by one our guests arrived. Myself, programmer and voice actor extraordinaire Grant along with editor at large Jim Branscombe spliced together a pre-movie clip show of beautiful randomness that included the credits to Dolph Lundgren's awe-inspiring workout video Maximum Potential, He-Man toy commercials and a fan edited version of 4 Non Blondes What's Up featuring Prince Adam and Cringer.

Mattel had provided a dozen rare figures from their Matty Collector line to give out as prizes and we got right into the film. The 35mm print looked solid for being nearly 30 years old and the audience was enthusiastic, cheering, clapping and laughing at all the appropriate moments. Starting on war-torn Eternia, the evil warlord/wizard Skeletor (Frank Langella) has taken Castle Grayskull, where mystical forces are housed and give the power to become the Master of the Universe. With keeper of the house The Sorceress (Christina Pickles) captured, it's up to a small band of Eternian heroes to save her including the ultra heroic He-Man (Dolph Lundgren), troop commander Man-At-Arms (Jon Cypher), his daughter Teela (Chelsea Field) and locksmith/inventor Gwildor (Billy Barty). You see, Gwildor has invented a music based Cosmic Key that can open a doorway to anywhere, which Skeletor used to infiltrate Castle Grayskull and take over. During a botched rescue attempt, Gwildor frantically opens a doorway our heroes escape into, landing on...Earth! There, with the help of two local teens (Courtney Cox and Robert Duncan McNeil), He-Man and his crew battle Skeletor's pursuing mercenaries (including Robert Towers as Karg and Anthony De Longis' Blade) while dealing with earthly customs like eating fried chicken and ribs and trying to get back home, free The Sorceress and save Eternia.

This was the first film I ever saw in a movie theater and I've loved it ever since. The last time I saw it was in 2009 or so at the now defunct Regency Fairfax down the street from the New Beverly which played the film a couple of years ago, both times screening at midnight. It's become my staple to not only spread the gospel of the 80's and 90's but also take midnight back to prime time. For me, much of MOTU still works. The Castle Grayskull set is huge, impressive and immaculate, the costumes ornate and unique, the action crackles with a kinetic swashbuckling energy while the cast is terrific and most of the matte painting, laser blast, pyrotechnics and space door special f/x look great. Bill Conti's epic score gives the flick a Star Wars meets Superman scope, Dolph is picture perfect as a living action hero while Frank gets to dig his teeth deep into the fiery yet sorrowful Skeletor. Plus the message of there being only one of you in the universe is still a great message.

After the film, I called down our panelists of director Gary Goddard, production designer William Stout, Teela Chelsea Field, Karg Robert Towers, Blade Anthony De Longis and armor suit makers Robert Short and Max Cervantes:

- Goddard has a background in large scale theme park attractions as well as theater. Always wanted to be a filmmaker, made films in high school, never gave up and his mother always encouraged him.
 - Chelsea Field was a dancer before auditioning seemingly twenty-five times for MOTU and it was her first acting role. Auditions had no scenes per se, acting out action, fighting with swords and laser guns. Had met Goddard to discuss Conan stage show previously and he remembered her.
- William Stout originally hired as storyboard artist but hit it off with Goddard, both loved Jack Kirby while hired production designer didn't see eye to eye with director or have faith in film.
- Anthony De Longis worked on Conan the Barbarian stage show, worked with William Stout on a Roger Corman flick after Masters. Played Blade and doubled Frank Langella for final battle where Skeletor is in a huge helmet the size of the New York skyline.
- Robert Towers knew Goddard from Conan as well. Went through lots of auditions as Goddard was adamant performance had to come through prosthetics. Had a great time with Billy Barty who always brought great energy and told dirty stories. Went through 3.5 hours of make up and could barely eat.
- Robert Short's shop produced 300 some suits of armor in 30 days.
- Grayskull was biggest set Hollywood had seen in 40 years, two stages with wall knocked down.
- Goddard described the difficulties of the film that included costumes, contact lenses that almost made wearers blind, make up, pyrotechnics, fights, stunts...everything but rain. Cannon Films also going out of business, was told three times that there was no money. Would tell cast and crew that they were already there, go ahead and shoot day and figure it out. Producer went to Mattel for money.
- Field hasn't seen film since opening, only 2nd time, lots of 30ish guys walk up and freak out about Masters. Best summer of her life, most fun she ever had on a shoot. Night shoots felt like they went on forever, was only 6 weeks, only getting about 4 hours a night on Whittier streets. Fond memories of working with James Tolkan, Jon Cypher, Cox, McNeil, etc.
- Frank Langella was in town and wanted to come but had to head back to New York early, drat!
- Great to work with, 2-3 hours of make up and anchors the film. Goddard spread story to more characters versus giving all to He-Man and somewhat telling story through villain's eyes.
- Big film for Cannon but still a skeleton crew, department assistant Josh Olson would go on to write Oscar nominated A History of Violence.
- Strapped Dolph to a truck for the Air Centurion sequence, had him 30-50 feet up a ladder.
- Towers kept some costume pieces and wig, Goddard has Skeletor's sword, Field kept memories, Stout has 200 paintings, Max has some armored suits and revamped for Alien Halloween costume, Short has a garage full of molds and suits, De Longis has a sword, donated one to charity.
- It was William Stout's birthday, we wished him a hearty "Good journey!" and I passed out cupcakes after.
- Field warned her son that it would be very cheesy but was surprised how well it held up. Everyone gave massive props to Goddard for making for such a great experience, keeping things rolling even though Cannon was falling apart behind the scenes.

 It was a beautiful night paying tribute to one of my favorite films and a warm up for the next day which would include 12 hours of setting up, hosting and running a mini-convention, 4 screenings and 4 panels, phew! Until then, don't say goodbye, say "Good journey!".

Ask Me a Question: Electric Boogaloo

It's going to be a crazy weekend with the two part He-Man event and things kicked off in appropriate fashion with a screening of Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films over at the Landmark Theatre. On the way in, I introduced myself to the American Ninja himself, Michael Dudikoff! Joe Armstrong was looking sharp, still in shape and very gracious. Cannon trailers for Death Wish sequels, Invasion U.S.A. and more warmed up the audience where you could spot familiar faces at every glance. Written and directed by Mark Hartley and produced by Veronica Fury and Brett Ratner, Boogaloo tells the story of two movie loving Israeli immigrants Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus who changed Hollywood with their Go-Go approach to movie making with a focus on product and hype versus story and taste. Over 100 former executives, script readers, actors, directors and producers were interviewed for the flick that is a breezy, funny and informative 100 minutes that serves as both an inspirational and cautionary tale. Schlock is always a term used to describe Cannon's output of titles that usually involved sex, nudity, horror and action. Films like The Last American Virgin, Breakin', Death Wish 2-5, Missing In Action, Lifeforce, Over the Top, Runaway Train, Bloodsport and Masters of the Universe would define their eclectic output of big and small titles, always looking to break out.

Interviewees look back with a sense of fondness and hilarity at the ridiculousness of the era where junk bonds financed Cannon's slate and the two cousins were known as charming, overly passionate film fans and expert salesmen. So much that the Cannes film festival was nicknamed the Cannon film festival during their heyday as they promoted so many films and closed so many deals. Stars like Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris anchored their stable of stars that would also include Dudikoff, Lucinda Dickey, Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Forster, Franco Nero, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone and many more. While filmmakers like Sam Firstenberg, Tobe Hooper, Michael Winner, John Frankenheimer and Cassavetes and Franco Zeffirelli spent their cash. While in those days studios were putting out 8-12 films a year, Cannon cranked out dozens, many of the low budget and near exploitation variety. Even when they had a good movie like Runaway Train or Otello, people wouldn't give them credit. But the lack of quality control and never stopping to assess the situation seemed to spell their doom. After expanding too quickly, buying up cinema chains and financing films that flopped, Cannon eventually could not keep up with their debts and Golan and Globus parted ways in a less than amicable split. The film does a great job of setting up who the two mini-moguls were, their personalities, vision, success and eventual failure. More than one participant had to put their foot down to get paid from time to time but the money was never going into the pockets of the producers, rather back into the film. Boogaloo is a terrific look back at a long bygone era that produced some truly memorable movies. The flick hits DVD on Tuesday, 9.29 and comes with 30 minutes of Cannon trailers along with 20 some minutes of deleted scenes. Can't wait!

After the film, producer and financier Brett Ratner took the microphone and introduced an awesome panel that included director Hartley, editor Mark Helfrich, director Sam Firstenberg, actress Dickey and Michael Dudikoff. A shoutout to audience members and Cannon alumni like Sheldon Lettich, James Bruner and Diane Franklin among many more. Ratner has always seemed like a chill guy but his asking the panel to tell a story not in the film was not the greatest way to moderate:

- Ratner loved Diane Franklin in The Last American Virgin so much, he ended up dating lookalike Rebecca Gayheart for 13 years and nearly marrying her.
- Mark Helfrich was an assistant editor who would go in and fix things at night the actual editors messed up. Lead to a career long association with likes of Ratner and Craig Baxley.
- Firstenberg worked with Golan and Globus at their company prior to Cannon as a messenger and worked his way up to directing Revenge of the Ninja, Ninja III, Breakin' 2, American Ninja 1 & 2.
- It always sounded like Golan and Globus were arguing in Hebrew when they were usually just talking about what to eat for lunch.
- Lucinda Dickey was a gymnast and classical dancer turned green actress who signed a deal with Cannon but retired after the Breakin' series and Ninja III to raise a family. Apparently did not get along overly well with Sho Kosugi or her Breakin' co-stars at the time.
- Michael Dudikoff had been a contract player at Paramount doing comedy, got called in to Cannon's offices, which were quite dingy and sloppy, became one of their poster boys and would be "James Dean" of the company. Had to play hardball to get paid for a few projects but overall felt like he was part of the family and treated well.
- Cannon always wanted to be first when it came to similar movies and would push projects into production at the drop of a hat. If you landed a meeting, there was a 90% chance you'd leave with a deal. One filmmaker threatened to cut his fingers off if his film wasn't made.
- Boaz Davidson, John Thompson and Avi Lerner would go on to build a modern Cannon Films, Nu Image. Lerner offered Ratner $10 million bucks to direct a Hercules movie but wouldn't specify how much would be left to make the movie. Ratner declined and set up his own Hercules project with The Rock. Lerner asked him to shoot it at their studio in Bulgaria, when Ratner declined, Lerner said he was going to "fuck him" by making his own Hercules movie and releasing it first.
- The Cannon renaissance is upon us as Firstenberg has provided a half dozen commentaries and the cult fan base is still alive and well.

Much more was talked about and several audience members who worked at the studio shared quick stories. One saying it was a truly harrowing yet educational experience that taught him more than any school ever could. It was a great night that put the spotlight on many unsung heroes of my cinematic upbringing. Now bring on Masters of the Universe!

(Almost)Ask Me a Question: Masters of the Universe

It's finally He-Man week! The blonde barbarian celebrated his birthday on September 5th and this Friday the 18th, we kick off a two day celebration of the pop culture powerhouse. Join us at The Egyptian Theatre for a 35mm presentation of the 1987 mini-classic Masters of the Universe, a film that blends Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian and Steven Spielberg style 80's Americana. A bevy of guests are slated to join us:

Director Gary Goddard, former Disney Imagineer who struck out on his own and created large scale attractions like Terminator 2 3D, Jurassic Park: The Ride and Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular. Goddard has also worked extensively in theater on and off Broadway and recently helmed the first ever 3D play. Masters of the Universe would be Goddard's only foray into film but audiences will also remember his work on shows Captain Power and Skeleton Warriors.

Production Designer William Stout joins us once again to tell tales from his varied and awesome career. Known for his work in comic books, fantasy and paleontological art, Stout also drew album covers for the likes of The Rolling Stones and The Who. His film and TV career includes stints as Production Designer, artist and illustrator on the likes of Conan the Barbarian, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Living Dead and MOTU. He's also a photographer and explorer, being one of the few selected to travel to Antarctica to dive, hike and detail the landscapes and wildlife. Like Goddard, Stout spent time at Walt Disney Imagineering working on projects for Disneyland and World before designing for Lucasfilm, Universal Studios and GameWorks.

Actress Chelsea Field began her Hollywood career as a dancer on hit show Solid Gold before popping up in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Commando and landing the role of warrior Teela in MOTU. Her 80's and 90's credentials would be solidified with appearances in genre classics Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man and The Last Boy Scout. Field has also keep busy on television with roles on Time Trax, Tales from the Crypt, Cold Case, Without a Trace and NCIS.

Actor and weapons master Anthony De Longis has been swinging swords, cracking whips and kicking ass since the 70's. A Jack of all Trades when it comes to stunt work and acting, De Longis has appeared in the likes of Circle of Iron, MOTU and Road House while training Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Michelle Pfeiffer and many more. He's recently appeared opposite Jason Patric in western short The Weight of Blood and Bones. On MOTU, De Longis trained Dolph Lundgren to use a sword while appearing as the dual blade wielding, eye patched and spiky shoulder pad wearing...Blade.

Robert Towers played Skeletor's mercenary leader, Karg, the pimp, alien looking guy with white hair and a short white cape. Towers has been seen and heard for decades in Doctor Dolittle,Star Trek: The Next Generation, Angel, Frasier, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and played Albert Einstein on an episode of Hanna Montana!




We also have SFX lead Max Cervantes joining us to introduce the film. Max worked on the armored suits Skeletor's crack troops wore and still has his crew jacket! We're working on more guests but get ready for an amazing evening that could only be brought to you by the magical 1980's!

Dolph Days: The Long September

We're just over a week away from Masters of the Universe on the big screen at The Egyptian Theatre where we'll be joined by several several members of the cast and crew. It's been a busy summer for the big Swede as Lundgren was recently in the news when photos from the Vancouver set of Kindergarten Cop 2 hit the web, Thor screenwriter Christopher Yost had been hired to take a crack at the MOTU reboot set up at Sony and passion project Skin Trade hit Blu-Ray shelves. But that's not all, folks. This past Labor Day weekend saw the El Rey Network playing the Rocky marathon on repeat hosted by Sylvester Stallone and Robert Rodriguez which means you got to see The Iron Man in all his 80's yoked and flat topped glory punching bags, killing Apollo Creed, training with high tech equipment, doing roids and fighting the Cold War against Rocky set to Vince DiCola's glorious synth soundtrack at least twice a day.

Tonight at the Hollywood Arclight, Dolph is expected to attend the premiere of War Pigs, the World War II action flick co-starring Luke Goss (Blade 2), former UFC champion Chuck Liddell and Expendables co-star Mickey Rourke. Ryan Little directs from a script by Adam Emerson, Andrew Kightlinger and Steven Luke. I'm a sucker for WWII men on a mission flick and a lot of love and work went into the project so here's hoping for an action packed and entertaining 90 minutes. Next week you can catch Dolph on the big screen three days in a row! On Thursday, 9.17, Warner Brothers premieres the long awaited documentary, Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films at the Landmark Theatre on the west side. Roger Corman, Lucinda Dickey, Mark Helfrich and the American Ninja himself, Michael Dudikoff are scheduled to attend for Q&A. The following night, you can catch Cannon's mini-epic Masters of the Universe at The Egyptian with me while War Pigs hits select theaters the same night.

If that weren't enough Dolph for ya, the actor, karate expert, chemical engineer and filmmaker takes the stage for TEDx Fulbright Santa Monica to discuss Human Trafficking. This is an independently organized event to bring people together in TED like environments to spark discussion and connection. More information HERE and tickets over HERE. Phew, I'm tired just trying to keep up with him, see ya at the shows!

Workout of the Day: Month Out

September is shaping up to be a busy month with theme park visits, outdoor movies, conventions and my very own He-Man & She-Ra Celebration so it's time to lift it up another notch. Standing in front of a crowd next to someone like Dolph Lundgren is pretty solid motivation so I'll be focusing on keeping up weight workouts as well as cardio because when you feel good, you look good then you do good, right?! Right. I've been keeping it pretty basic in August with weight sessions or early morning cardio but with the rising heat, it can be hard to get motivated to get even sweatier. To change things up I've already started implementing circuit training, swimming and shadow boxing to go along with a few weight workouts a week.

Circuits can get a good pump in minimal time with:
Kettlebell Swings - Chins - Push Ups - Battling Ropes - Dips - KB Curls
That's 6 exercises in quick succession to get the entire body running. You can always swap out exercises here with Clean and Press for Swings or add in more specific exercises to target your body like Squats or Step-Ups for legs, Curls and Pushdowns for Arms, Shoulder Raises, etc. Jean-Claude Van Damme once said he got into his best shape during the production of Kickboxer by training his entire body 3 times a week.

As far as straight weights go, today was Chest and Biceps:
Incline Dumbbell Press/Preacher Curls - Decline DB Flys/Incline DB Curl - DB Pullover/Hammer Curls - Forearms - Neck - Calves - Intervals on Elliptical
Doing supersets for Chest and Biceps is one of my training foundations, leaving alternate days for Back/Triceps, Legs and then Shoulders/Arms before starting over. Doing everything in superset style had me finishing weights in 30 minutes with 10 minutes of interval cardio to make me feel better about that big Burger King lunch yesterday.

Nutrition and exercise form a kingdom so remember to try and eat whole foods in smaller portions throughout the day rather than 3 large meals. Aim for 3 meals and 2 snacks and you can experiment with eating in a 10-12 hour window, not eating carbs after 2:00 PM or reducing calorie dense protein like red meat in favor of chicken and fish if available. There's plenty of information out there so keep educating yourself and experimenting to figure out how to make fitness a daily habit. Keep lifting!

(Pre)Ask Me a Question: He-Man & She-Ra Celebration

Dammaged Goods Presents is back! With our biggest and craziest line up yet, a He-Man and She-Ra Festival! That's right, we've teamed up with The American Cinematheque and He-Man World for  a night and a day of all things He-Man, She-Ra, Skeletor and The Masters of the Universe! Cannon Films' 1987 classic Masters of the Universe starring Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella kicks things off Friday night, September 18th at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood; home to Dolph Night, An Evening With Carl Weathers, The Sunbow Animation Celebration and most recently, Conan the Cinematic Barbarian. A clip show of animation, commercials, oddities and rarities will precede the film. A stellar line up of guests join us for pre and post Q&A including director Gary Goddard, production designer William Stout, actors Chelsea Field, Anthony De Longis and Robert Towers as well as SFX lead Max Cervantes!

On Saturday, September 19th, the theatre lobby will be transformed into Eternia as a mini-convention with displays, guests and exhibitors including Mattel, Pretty In Plastic, Super7 and La-La Land Records along with voice actors Alan Oppenheimer (Skeletor) and Melendy Britt (She-Ra) continues the event. The nostalgic fun doesn't stop there as a full day of programming and panels follows beginning with a very special appearance by Erika Scheimer who will discuss all things Filmation, her iconic father Lou as well as voice acting and song writing on He-Man, She-Ra, Ghostbusters and BraveStarr. Then it's on to the origins of He-Man with co-creator Mark Taylor and prolific brand designer Errol McCarthy. Filmation Animation is highlighted next as we screen clips from the original 1983 after school phenomenon and hear from storyboard artist and director Tim Sito, writer Larry DiTillio, writer Marc Zicree along with voice actors Oppenheimer, Britt and Diane Pershing.

But wait, there's more! Much more! 1985's theatrical release and She-Ra introducing film The Secret of the Sword gets a rare repertory screening, on 35mm no less. Our day closes with the west coast premiere of documentary Toy Masters, Corey Landis and Roger Lay Jr's amusing look at the iconic toy and cartoon series. The duo will be on hand for a post film Q&A as well.

Tickets are on sale now, going for the astoundingly low price of $11.00 for Friday night and $15.00 for all day Saturday. You have the power! And Good Journey!

Con-Man: San Diego '15 Friday

 
Phew, another fun yet long and crazy day at San Diego Comic-Con 2015! Checked out the floor and found some amazing Predator themed Mini-Mates where you can get plastic versions of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Glover and Carl Weathers as Dutch, Harrigan and Dillon respectively. Crappily, they were coming soon and not yet available...It was off to the 75th Anniversary of The Shadow and Doc Savage with artist/publisher Anthony Tollin and writer/producer Michael Uslan. The duo discussed their early encounters with Shadow and Savage and how the two pulp heroes have influenced their lives and careers since. Tollin's Sanctum Publishing has republished nearly 200 Shadow novels and almost as many of Savage. Uslan's first writing job at DC Comics came when The Shadow was canceled but retroactively revived after final sales numbers came in. With no script, Uslan saw his opportunity and pitched a Shadow tale that saw him fighting smugglers using barrels going over Niagara Falls to move drugs across country lines. The two also discussed just how much Batman ripped off The Shadow in the 30's as writers back then thought comic books and pulps were so disposable they figured no one would notice. An attendee was dressed in a terrific Shadow costume that looked straight from the 1994 flick while the Shane Black scripted Doc Savage in development was teased and producer Uslan was visibly excited at the progress. As an added bonus, we got a copy of some collected The Shadow stories along with new issues of the Doc Savage/Shadow/The Avenger team up Justice, Inc. from Dynamite that Uslan is a writer on.

Next it was time for From Novel to Comic to Film: Turning Books into Other Forms of Pop Culture that had a stacked panel including author Hugh Howey, comic book writer and artist Jimmy Palmiotti, Guardians of the Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman, Book of Eli scribe Gary Whitta and literary agent Kristin Nelson. This was a fun and very informative panel as everyone was very versed in the comic book, novel and movie worlds. Lots of talk about studios being risk adverse and everything needing to be based on something existing and successful. Mention of defunct Radical Entertainment where writers could pay to have their scripts turned into comic books and plunked into stores in order to use to pitch to studios. The most famous result being the high watt yet uneven Cowboys and Aliens. Surprisingly, no mention of Whitta's work on upcoming Star Wars flick Rogue One but I did snag a copy of his first novel, Abomination. The panel reiterated writing whatever because you want to, not because you think it will sell to Hollywood. In a bit of insider sharing, apparently Los Angeles comic stores Meltdown and Golden Apple organize their titles by what has been optioned and what hasn't so producers can find properties faster. Howey is in the midst of a career high with Wool becoming an international best seller that's been optioned by Fox and Sand that will hopefully become a TV series. Some interesting talk about translating a property for the media and not being shackled to the source material finding success with Game of Thrones veering from the novels or lackluster with too faithful Watchmen or in Palmiotti's Jonah Hex case, 100 + issues a not a thing made it to the screen. Hollywood!

Again I meant to tackle more panels but ended up walking around the floor and going over to schedule my annual volunteer shift of directing traffic at 6:00 AM. After a little break at the Comic-Con'do, it was back to the show for the best time to walk the exhibition floor, the final hour before closing. It's empty so you can see everything and get to what you want. Well except Funko who closed their booth early because they sent their staff to work an event...great business plan...And MTV who had a shaved headed Manu Bennett signing to promote new show The Shannara Chronicles. I ran into artist and now friend of Dammaged Goods William Stout and checked out more great art, statues and comics. Fox was hosting a game show on the floor asking if you could Beat the Geek at movie trivia. After answering a few questions from the sidelines contestants couldn't, I was put in for Cult Classics, not knowing Edward Scissorhands and Fight Club trivia but winning out thanks to my knowledge of Speed and Commando! My prize? My choice of digital download of several Fox titles, I picked Aliens. Because you know, James Cameron, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen! After dinner plans fell through I walked over to Petco Park where an interactive zone with Peanuts and Point Break were set up among others and a zombie themed run had taken over the stadium. Up several blocks was Skeletor's Lair Pop Up Shop from Mattel with Convention exclusives like tee shirts, Chia Pets, figures and more. The place was decked out with Skeletor art, felt like villain wall paper and a bust of Battlecat!

It's an early morning tomorrow filled with volunteering, more floor walking and panels so no partying tonight. Have fun and see you Saturday!

Ask Me a Question: The Last Starfighter

Space Invaders: Sci-Fi in the Arcade Age blasted off this past Thursday at The Egyptian in Hollywood with a double feature of alien filled adventure with 1984 and 83' awesomeness; The Last Starfighter and Krull. Starfighter is the story of one Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), a smart yet frustrated teen living in a small trailer park in California mountain country. His mom manages the park and works as a waiter.  He's too busy fixing outdated electrical grids and antennas to hang out with his friends at the beach or have fun. Aspirations to attend non-community college are dashed when a loan isn't approved, his sweet ladyfriend Maggie (Catherine Mary Stewart) tries to cheer him up but Alex finds solace in the one thing he's really good at; flying/shooting arcade game Starfighter. One night Alex breaks the record and is soon visited by Centauri (Robert Preston), a recruiter for the inter-galactic defense network The Star League. You see, Star League is under attack by the evil Rylons and it's up to Alex and his co-pilot Grig (Dan O'Herlihy) to take out the armada. The video game was an elaborate plan by Centauri to find Starfighters to which he collects a referral fee.

The Last Starfighter is pure 80's goodness. You've got the put upon lead who just wants to do something more with his life but looks doomed to small town mediocrity (Luke in Star Wars, Marty in Back to the Future and Kevin from Masters of the Universe). You've got the quaint community filled with interesting and zany characters then an the opportunity for otherworldly adventure. To me, the core message is simple, "if that's what you think, that's all you'll ever be". The 80's really taught us to believe in ourselves as it was a cinematic time of optimism and exploration via Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Directed by Nick Castle with a script from Jonathan R. Betuel, The Last Starfighter gives us heart, humor and action that all still holds up today. Sure the then cutting edge computer graphics are vastly outdated but overall it's still a funny, fun and rousing time at the movies you don't see too much today. Craig Safan's score is bombastic and memorable, giving it an even bigger feel even if some of the sets look a little cheap. Guest is convincing as Rogan, the mixed up kid who isn't sure he's up to the challenge of saving the galaxy. Preston knocks it out as the fast talking, pseudo space con-man and Robocop's O'Herlihy is terrific as the mentor with a huge laugh Grig.

After the film, a giant panel was introduced that included director Castle, stars Guest and Stewart, composer Safan as well as producer Gary Adelson, f/x coordinator Jeffrey Okun and actors Chris Hebert and Peter Nelson.

- 3 sets of leads were under consideration before Guest and Stewart were cast
- Robert Preston was a real movie star, oozed charisma and kissed Stewart's hand when they met
- Preston's character was based on his role in The Music Man and producers were elated to land him
- Funded by Lorimar and Universal, Adelson convinced them they could do the f/x with computers even though he didn't know how
- Was cutting edge of technology and some days didn't know if they could do it
- Budgeted at $15 million, went over
- Shot quickly in northern California where it was very cold
- Nick Castle fostered a great working environment for the actors, fun and open
- The Playboy little brother Lewis flips through was real
- Sequel rights reverted back to writer Betuel who with Castle drafted a script and storyboarded it, got studio interest and then it all fell apart
- Sequel would deal with grown up Alex and Maggie and their kids who become next generation of Star League fighters
- Rights tied up with Universal, Betuel and Warner Brothers who bought Lorimar
- Castle had never worked with visual effects before and the film had everything else going on, drama, comedy, costumes, make up, etc
- Grig's mask was made from plastic, always pushing designers to allow more expression and O'Herlighy's performance show through
- Safan had a full orchestra for a week, scored it to temp f/x of dots on a screen
- F/X crew heard the score and worked hard to make visuals match quality of the music
- F/X took a huge room of computers to accomplish 2 gigs of info, today could be done on cell phone
- Studio executive changed during production who didn't believe in film until first test screening reaction which was overwhelming positive
- Opened in wake of Ghostbusters and Gremlins but did better than studio expected
- Really found audience on video and HBO

It was a great night and the panel was terrific. With another movie playing they couldn't go on for too long which was a shame. Everyone there looked like they reflected on the experience with nothing but fondness and you could tell many of them were still close. It was a great start to the weekend of movie madness and bro'ing out.

Con-Man: Star Wars Celebration 2015 Saturday

 
While our limited time at Star Wars Celebration on Friday was fun, Saturday showed some of the cracks of this near regular gathering. First off for some unknown reason, everyone had to enter through a queue that took you to the far end of the convention center, downstairs through an empty area then back up onto the exhibition floor. Mind you this was after the 10:00 AM doors opening. Then since your badges were already mailed to you, it was an effort to try and find a program or lanyard. To be fair, there's an app you could download for the program but it's nice to have a physical copy. Then they ran out of lanyards yesterday or early this morning so we kept having to pull badges out of our pockets. If you're not going to have enough lanyards to pass out, then consider putting a clip on the badge.

Walking around the floor, I realized that it wasn't actually that big. There were plenty of toys, props and artwork to check out but the floor was really missing a full Artist Alley where local vendors could show off their artistic and crafty wares. There was swag galore from all eras of Star Wars licensing with Underoos, Pepperidge Farm Cookies, goblets and lots of stuffed toys. Posters and prints were everywhere and one stand had an awesome array of original film programs! These were full color, magazine sized advertisement/press kits for various flicks like Willow, Buck Rogers, Rocky IV and more. I was really hoping to see one for Masters of the Universe but no luck. Of course Saturday's are always the busiest days at conventions and Star Wars sold out along with 4 Day badges. It was kind of like Disneyland, everything had a line. The escalators, food stands, bars, the Star Wars store (only one?!), Art Show, Arena, etc. While some areas felt spaced out and comfortable, some of the rows of vendors seemed crammed together which made walking, viewing and shopping a little frustrating. I even got my toes partially run over by a wheelchair at one point.

Cosplay wise there wasn't as much as you'd imagine but it is a brand specific show so who knows. The Muppets' Waldorf and Statler as Imperial Officers was great as were some of the Star Wars and Disney mash ups. There's an exhibit of costumes from The Force Awakens but the wait had already stretched to two hours quickly after opening. We checked out a couple of panels in the main hall, the first was ILM and how their work has grown and changed through the years as a ground breaking special effects company. Going from stop motion animation to computer graphics, creating water and fire, miniatures and matte paintings, ILM has kept on the cutting edge of movie making magic. Surprisingly, Star Wars: Episode I had the most miniatures ever used in an ILM feature but the flick's FX scale was even more daunting as a typical blockbuster film employs 400 some shots while E:I had 2,000! Also surprising was the abundant use of fake environments used in flicks today from woods whipping by to highways Transformers fight on. In a nice touch, each room was cleared after each panel so you wouldn't get people just taking up space waiting for the next session.

Next up was Star Wars: The Force Awakens Dream Team that brought together four production designers and artists to talk their careers and the new flick. A stacked group of guests who help facilitate the vision of directors like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Zack Snyder and Roland Emmerich. You know, guys who make big movies. They were tight lipped about the new film but did mention simplifying the story, getting to the core of the characters and not using the whiz-bang of technology simply because they could. It was time for a break but our WonderCon oasis at the Marriott, NFuse, dried up into a shitty hotel bar as they weren't filling the joint and making peeps wait an hour! Guess they don't like money, pfft, later! Mark Hamill's spotlight was packed beyond capacity so we opted for some more floor walking and watched the first part of Empire Strikes Back. It was very cool of the show to screen all six movies over three nights. Only crappy part was that the screen wasn't high enough so if someone tall or with big hair sat in front of you, you were screwed. The new trailer screened again to thunderous applause and the audience was great, waving lightsabers and cheering for each iconic line and character introduction. One thing I really noticed about Empire is how much acting Harrison Ford does by pointing at someone. He's still the OG though.

Some more dranks were had and we dug through some bins on the floor picking up a few little figures and knick knacks like a Chewbacca goblet. A fun show for sure but I'm glad it's not every year. There's just not quite enough going on to keep you busy and standing in line for a couple hours should not be expected of attendees. Next year's show has already been lined up for April in London so I guess we'll have to find a new show to check out. Until then use your harpoons!

Con-Man: WonderCon 2015 Friday

We only got about an hour of floor walking in for Friday but it proved very lucrative. It didn't seem too packed around the Anaheim Convention Center yet as most people were walking out as we were headed in. Lots of cosplayers outside by the fountains with Elvira, Xena, Rocket, Groot and Wheeljack from Transformers among them. Inside seems extra cavernous this year but having wider aisle ways isn't a bad thing, at all. Ran into the vendor I bought my Bishop from Aliens from at Long Beach Expo that Lance Henriksen signed. This time they had Neca's Robocop VS The Terminator figures for cheap so it was my first buy of the night. More walking around and we ventured into Warner Brothers' San Andreas Experience which was basically the trailer with 4D f/x, aka The Rock, Carla Gugino, Mr. Fantastic and that guy from Sideways surviving a huge earthquake complete with vibrating and moving chairs. I'm still not sold on the flick but it was a nice addition to the floor. Elsewhere I picked up some issues of awesome movie magazine Cinefantastique with Demolition Man, Captain America, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Robocop II in their extremely deeply researched and reported sights.

Moving onto more of the floor there were big set ups for Valiant and IDW like at last week's Emerald City Comicon along with Image which has several panels this show to highlight their creative owned genre divisions. Boutique Bait had some awesome Street Fighter shirts along with Bruce Lee and Voltron socks! They were right next to Nerdist who had quite the display set up for interviews and podcasts while La-La Records has a show exclusive Masters of the Universe soundtrack featuring 2 CD's of music from the beloved Filmation cartoon. I'm on the fence about picking it up but the bastards also had scores to The Flash from 1990, The Warriors and The Phantom on sale! Arrrgh, choices. I ended up with The Phantom and will contemplate the other titles over the weekend, don't wanna blow my wad on the first night, amirite? Ran into La-La representative and #MovieBro Mike Joffe whom I met through my #ActionBro David J. Moore at Conan the Destroyer as we chatted about all the awesome soundtracks La-La puts out.

It was time to eat but nobody told this guy a frigging Mighty Ducks AND Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Game were going on so getting over to Orange staple The Lazy Dog Cafe seemingly took forever. Luckily their Whiskey Ginger (Jameson & Ginger Beer) along with lots of mac n' cheese, edamame and a burger solved all our problems. Our Lyft driver back was a cool guy, a vegan chef inbetween gigs who loved sci-fi movies too boot. We talked Aliens, Blade Runner, DC versus Marvel, Masters of the Universe and how Dolph Lundgren was a perfect He-Man. Tomorrow will probably be crazy but I'm stoked to walk the rest of the floor as well as check out some panels on writing, pulp heroes, Warner Brothers' presentation and Capcom! See you at the show!