I’ve just received final confirmation that our next episode will feature an interview with novelists/podcasters Tee Morris and Philippa Ballantine.  They’ve both got books coming out on August 8th and are doing a bit of a podcast tour.  We’re extremely pleased to have them on the show.  We’ll be talking about Tee’s new book, Billibub Baddings and the Case Of the Pitcher’s Pendant, as well as Philippa’s, Digital Magic.  We’ll be talking movies as well as exactly what a podcast novel is.  It should be a good time!

I’ve just finished listening to Mr. Morris’ Billibub Baddings and the Case Of the Singing Sword and absolutely loved every minute of it.  I’ve just started Ms. Ballantine’s Chasing the Bard and I’m already enjoying that as well.

You can find out more in the meantime by clicking the banner to the right or going to the Official Double Trouble page.

Hopefully, by now you’ve seen the first episode of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.  Episode will be releasing tonight at midnight EST.  I’ll be checking it out in the morning, but enjoy if you’re up when it comes out!

In the next three years, we have a Jason Bourne sequel, a 300 prequel, a National Treasure three-quel and another shot of Star Trek, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, James Bond, The Transformers, John Conner, the Madagascar critters, the Toy Story action figures, the Ice Age dinos, Inspector Clouseau, Wolverine, Harry Potter, the Hobbits, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Robin Hood AND The Wolf Man in store for moviegoers. I’m all for Iron Man II, but do we really need another Night at the Museum? Dwayne Johnson in Race to Witch Mountain could be fun, and maybe Hoodwinked 2 will be better than the original, but do we really need Anchorman 2 or another round of those dull Narnia kids being upstaged by CGI creatures? Why would we sit through Jumper II or Wild Hogs Ride Again when the originals were, to be polite, less than classics? Here are ten sequels that AREN’T being made, but dangit, they should be!

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RUN, don’t walk over to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and check out Episode 1, which went live this morning.  Neil Patrick Harris is great as Dr. Horrible.  He’s a character who wants to be accepted into the legion of supervillians, but is also in love with a girl at the local laundromat.  With great musical numbers and Nathan Fillion hamming it up gloriously, this is a must watch!

Tell us what you think of it below!

I’ve really made a point of not bringing video games to ScreenGeeks too often just because it isn’t our focus.  This news, however relates directly to movies, tv, and home viewing.  I first read about this over at Major Nelson’s Twitter page and it’s been posted officially by XBox 360 Fanboy that Netflix is partnering with Microsoft to bring content to XBox Live.

This is HUGE news for those of us who have both XBox Live and Netflix.  Details haven’t come out about how it’ll be downloaded, download limits, etc., but my guess would be that you’ll be able to access a good chunk (if not all) of the current Netflix Watch It Now library, which has titles that number well over 10,000.  And now it’s becoming official why Microsoft has been dragging their feet on putting out a Bluray drive.  It’s never been a secret that Microsoft wants to work toward digital downloads as opposed to an HD media, and this just shows that they’re ready to start working down that path.  Oh, and I’m psyched for it!

If there’s ever been a complaint from DVD collectors in the US, it’s that the good editions never come out here.  Japan and the UK both got an amazing version of the Alien Quadrilogy stored in an alien head, Japan and the UK also got a really cool version of I Robot complete with a bust of Sonny that holds the discs, and Japan got the 6-disc Grindhouse experience.  I’m the proud owner of the Korean Limited Edition Big Fish that is a little different than the US version.  Why can’t we ever get good stuff like that here?  Things have gotten better with the special releases of The Office and even the glorious Office Space box set, but we’ve still been getting the short end of the stick for years.

Apparently, those days are over.  The Digital Bits put up an article about a bunch of uber-dvd sets that will be coming out, and they look amazing.  If the Batman Begins set price point of $28.99 is any indication, these could also be VERY affordable.

I’ll let you click the link to check it out, but I’m posting my personal favorites below:

It was confirmed on July 3^rd on scifi.com that the long-running Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton will be closing September 1^st. Having had the time of my life two weeks ago at The Experience, I can’t convey enough what a genuine shame this is. For die-hard or even casual Trekkies, this attraction is an absolute must and I urge anyone who knows what a Tribble is to make a weekend trip and check it out.

First off- what is it? The short answer is that, what Graceland is to Elvis fans, The Experience is for anyone who has ever been enthralled by Star Trek. There’s a thorough museum, with the history of mankind’s involvement in the space program that leads into Trek lore, and has every costume, animatronic monster, and random film and television prop you’d ever want to see (Kirk’s glasses from The Voyage Home? Check.  Spock’s coffin from The Search for Spock? Check.). You have the option of two rides, both of Disney caliber- Borg Invasion 4D and the Klingon Encounter. The former is the scariest 3D movie I’ve ever been assaulted by (you read that right- the movie goes to great lengths to simulate what being made into a Borg would feel like. Creepy stuff). The latter is as good, if not better, than Star Tours and the build-up to going on the ride, involving time travel, is a lot of fun (you even get to stand on the bridge of the Enterprise!).

There’s also the world’s biggest Star Trek store: everything from shirts, action figures, dvd’s, cards, stuffed Spock teddy bears, and the Sulu BBQ sauce I bought for SG Dave. Next to that is Quark’s Bar and Restaurant, with reasonably priced food, a slick sci-fi setting and the delightfully weird gimmick of characters dressed like Quark, a Klingon warrior or Sarek (Spock’s papa) walking around your table while you eat.

I went with my brother, Marty, and his girlfriend, Magan. Like her, I’m a fan of “old school” Trek, while Marty finds Star Trek fairly ridiculous and more a fan of The Force (make that “old school” Star Wars, without the New trilogy). That said, we all had a great time- Marty and I laughed non-stop through the intergalactic probing we suffered through at the hands of the Borg and Magan, like myself, took her time to enjoy the meticulously laid out Trek lore of the museum and, like the rest of us, cowered when an actor dressed like a Borg warrior stalked the hallways.

If you’ve gotten this far in the article and think this sounds like a great deal of fun, then seriously, get yourself to Vegas! Whether by bus or plane, when you initially arrive in Vegas, you’ll get a “24/7” magazine, a free listing of Vegas attractions that is flush with coupons; it contains a discount for purchase of two The Experience tickets that will allow you to return the following day, all day long and give you access to all the rides and attractions for as many times as you’d like. The Hilton is pricy, but there are a lot of cheap hotels and motels nearby that are accommodating to families and those with no interest in Vegas sleaze (the town has seriously cleaned up its act). Finally, for those who want a Vegas wedding but don’t want it to look like a picture of desperation (like in “What Happen in Vegas”) or a reunion of Elvis impersonators (like in “Honeymoon in Vegas”), you can get MARRIED at Star Trek: The Experience! They have reasonably priced theme weddings, complete with Federation and Borg attire (!).

That this Vegas attraction couldn’t make it until the opening of J.J. Abram’s new Star Trek next summer is a genuine shame. Yet, those who still want the ultimate in Trekkie fun, you have a few months! Live long and prosper.

The Look Reports that Paula Félix-Didier, head of film museum Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires, discovered an uncut version of the 1927 classic Science Fiction tale of class struggle in an oppressive society. Fritz Lang’s original uncut version ran 210 minutes and was only seen in that form in Germany. When the film was shown in other countries is was trimmed down by almost half. Currently the most complete version clocks in at 118 minutes with title cards replacing lost bits of narrative.

This amazing find will give us a new chance to see this film which can/will change the mood, tempo, character development and perhaps some of the meaning of the film itself.

In 1927, Fritz Lang presented the film in Berlin after producing it in the city’s Babelsburg Studios. It was at the time the most expensive film in Germany. it was not well received at the time which led to the extreme edits for other countries. The complete version has long been thought to be lost forever. The impact this film has on science fiction can still be seen today.

Even Superman has shown the love for Lang’s work with the Superman’s Metropolis Elseworld Tale.

It will take some time for the complete copy to get into our hands but that is just fine… what a great day to be a ScreenGeek!

Flynn

UPDATE

Merrick from Ain’t It Cool News has some pics posted from the missing segments of Metropolis.. also if you happen to be in Buenos Aires today you could actually see the film!

The most common complaint about The Polar Express is cold, dead eyes of every single character in that movie.  Well, checking Marc Lougee’s Twitter page has shown up what can only be called amazing.  It’s a CGI man doing some basic tests of the face and neck.  I don’t know that it’s completely perfect.  But it’s fascinating to take a look at.  Mark found it over at the Groovy Like A Movie Blog. 

This is crazy awesome!

Any geek who was a teenager through the 90’s knows all about Mystery Science Theater 3000.  We all know the glory of that show with Joel Hodgson and then the continuing greatness with Mike Nelson.  Ever since that show went off the air, there has been a void.  A void of awful movie mocking.

Coming back to our rescue a few years ago was Mike along with some previous MST3K people to form The Film Crew and then Riff Trax.  I proudly own the Night of the Living Dead DVD with commentary by Mike.

 Well, our good friend Timelord from over at Jonja.net had a chance to talk with Mike Nelson and really had a fun chat with him.  It’s well worth checking out.