The film that Cinefantastique founder Fred Clarke called, “The CITIZEN KANE of horror,” is back, newly remastered and in an edition that its director has dubbed the “final cut.” In THE WICKER MAN, a devoutly religious Scottish policeman (Edward Woodward) travels to an island-bound agricultural community to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. What he finds is a society reverted back to its pagan traditions, a challenge to his faith via the island’s lord (Christopher Lee), temptation in the form Britt Ekland, and a mystery that suggests the missing child may have fallen victim to the island’s curdled superstitions. 

Happy to commemorate the impending rediscovery of a horror classic, Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons welcome theofantastique.com’s John Morehead in a discussion that examines the film in the context of the time it was made, weighs its impact now, and explores the tortured distribution history that’s led to confusion about what cut could be deemed the official one. Plus: What’s coming to theaters next week.

Comment on the episode here or write podcast@cinefantastique.com or call 888-866-9010. 

The fourth season of The Chronic Rift public access show premieres with a Roundtable discussion of Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 series with our own Dan Persons and fan Al Cacioppo.  Keith reviews The Safest Place by Steve Ditko and David Nahmod is back as the Pollitcally Incorrect Critic.

Please take a moment by commenting on the episode here or by writingjohn@chronicrift.com, or by calling 888-866-9010.

John talks with author Kevin G. Summers about the writing process and how he came to be involved with Kindle Worlds, the shared worlds project from Amazon.

Comment on this episode here or by writing john@chronicrift.com or by calling 888-866-9010.  Please rate the episode using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

The Social Media Links

Kevin's Homepage

Kevin's Facebook Page

PODCAST PROMOS

The Roundtable Podcast Promo

Saturday B Movie Reel Podcast Promo

Kevin G. Summers was born in Washington, D.C. in 1974 and grew up in the Virginia suburbs. His interest in writing began at an early age. When he was a small child, his mother brought him along to her master-level writing classes at George Mason University, where Kevin sat in on lectures by John Irving, John Gardener and Susan Shreve.

Kevin is the author of the critically-acclaimed short story ISOLATION WARD 4, as well as several other stories set in the Star Trek universe. His short story THE BELL CURSE was the very first tale published in The World of Kurt Vonnegut under the Kindle Worlds imprint.

Kevin raises heritage hogs on his family farm and teaches writing at various colleges and libraries in Northern Virginia. He lives in an 100-year old farmhouse in Amissville, Virginia with his beautiful wife Rachel and their children Morwen, Ingrid and Roland.

Dan Persons says:

And you thought stop-motion figures taking swift kicks to the crotch defined the work of Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the people behind Adult Swim’s ROBOT CHICKEN and TITAN MAXIMUM. Not quite, Chuck-o — the studio is turning out an increasing variety of shows, including its most recent, FRIENDSHIP ALL-STARS OF FRIENDSHIP, a web series that tracks the genial relationships between such BFFs as John Lasseter and Luis Guzmán, and Batmen Michael Keaton and George Clooney.

The most high-profile face behind Stoopid Buddy is Seth Green, but joining him in piloting the company are Matthew Senreich, Eric Towner, and John Harvatine IV. I got to speak with Matt, Eric and Harv (as his friends call him) to discuss FRIENDSHIP’s sunny worldview, the pressures of Emmy season, and the Freudian implications of show titles.

Comment on the episode here or write podcast@cinefantastique.com or call 888-866-9010.

There's a new movie at the top of the box office and a metric ton of new TV on DVD releases this week that includes a long awaited Doctor Who story.  Michael Falkner reveals it all on a new The Weekly Podioplex.

Check out the full show notes here and comment on the episode or write weeklypodioplex@gmail.com or call 888-866-9010.  Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

It had a great lead actor, an interesting take on the Western genre, and was produced when Westerns were king on television.  So why did Frontier Gentleman only last a little less than a year?  It's the featured presentation this month and that and more will be discussed. Plus, we continue the current stories for Superman and The Avengers.

Please comment on this episodes here or write john@chronicrift.com or call 888-866-9010.

September 14, 2013
0:29 - The Revcast Roundtable Promo
3:50 - The Adventures of Superman - "Lighthouse Point Smugglers", part 4 - July 27, 1940
15:55 - Frontier Gentleman - "A Horse for Kendall" - September 14, 1958
41:03 - The Avengers - "From Venus with Love", part 4

Oh yeah, kid, you’ve got a bad case of sequelitis right there. Technically polished with occasional striking moments, INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 picks up the story of the Lambert family — Patrick Wilson as daddy Josh, Rose Byrne as mother Renai, plus kids including Ty Simpkins as the psychically tuned-in Dalton — immediately after their disastrous sojourn in the netherworld in the first film, and then pretty much repeats the beats with some painful expository writing  and awkward retconning to explain why the story didn’t just stop while it was ahead.

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Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons have no shortage of opinions on how things went wrong (or in some cases, right) with INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2, and sit down to talk about how supposedly scary spirits wind up looking silly instead, why it may not be a good idea to take inspiration for your Big Reveal from MOMMY DEAREST, and, once again, why the police in horror movies are so dumb.

Plus: What’s coming to theaters next week.

Comment on the episode here or write podcast@cinefantastique.com or call 888-866-9010. 

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After a summer hiatus, Cyborgs: A Bionic Podcast returns with all new episodes.  First up, John and Paul sit down for their next Case File.  They interview actor Rick Lenz (SMDM: "The Return of The Bionic Woman" and BW: "Welcome Home, Jaime", and "The Vega Influence") about his career and his memoir, North of Hollywood.

Comment on the episode here or write abionicpodcast@gmail.com or call 888-866-9010.

Hal Erickson of All Movie Guide says Rick Lenz “has steadfastly avoided pigeonholing as a ‘type,’ playing gunslingers, victims, villains, patient husbands, insensitive fools, intellectuals and even a wimpy murder-mystery fanatic in the (Hallmark) remake of Hitchcock’s Shadow Of A Doubt.”

One of the workingest actors of the late-20th century, Lenz has starred in movies with Peter Sellers, Walter Matthau, Lauren Bacall and Elizabeth Taylor. He was Goldie Hawn's boyfriend in Cactus Flower, Melvin's lawyer in Melvin And Howard and the obsequious journalist in John Wayne’s The Shootist.

On television, he has guest-starred in recurring roles on The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Murder, She Wrote, The Practice, Dynasty and more. He was superspy Benjamin Baxter on Fox’s The New Adventures Of Beans Baxter, Eddie Albert’s law partner on a few episodes of Green Acres, and starred with Richard Boone as Police Chief Oliver Stamp on Hec Ramsey in the NBC Mystery Movie rotation.

On various stages, including Broadway, Lenz has starred opposite Jill Clayburgh, Marcia Mason, Tyne Daly, Blythe Danner, Alan Alda and Paul Sorvino. He jumped on the other side of theatrical production and became a successful playwright with his Off-Broadway production Swung in 1979. He followed with Clean As A Whistle (also Off-Broadway) and The Epic Of Buster Friend, which began at the American Shakespeare Theatre, moved to the Lucille Lortell Theatre and was subsequently produced by PBS. Furthermore, his play So Long, Mr. Broadway was published by Dramatists Play Service and West Coast Plays, and he won Los Angeles Dramalogue Awards for playwriting for both Familiar Places and Last Class. In 2002, Sharon Gless and the late John Ritter performed Lenz’ Felony Audition at the Playwright’s Kitchen Ensemble.

All of the actor/playwright’s experiences are recounted in his new gut-wrenchingly honest memoir North of Hollywood (Feb. 15, 2012, Chromodroid Press). The book is a start to his budding career as an author, planning also the debut of his first novel in 2013 called Redeeming Norma Jean.

Originally from Michigan and having acted across the country, Lenz lives in North Hollywood with his wife. They are parents to three children, and have recently become proud grandparents.

Links

Rick Lenz's website

Rick Lenz's artwork website

Order North of Hollywood from Amazon

IMDB listing

Facebook page

Twitter

The Summer of the Rift concludes as we feature this interview with author Orson Scott Card from Lunacon 1993.  Also, Keith reviews The Underworlder Letters by Nathaniel Torres and The 1,001 Nights with Bacchus by Eddie Campbell.  Plus, Dan Persons and David Namod talk about the Festival of Horror and Science Fiction at the Film Forum in New York City.

Please take a moment by commenting on the episode here or by writing john@chronicrift.com, or by calling 888-866-9010.

Dan Persons says:

A guy who's been in every film from COOL HAND LUKE, REPO MAN, ALIEN and PARIS, TEXAS, and worked with everyone from John Huston, David Lynch, Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp has to have some stories to tell. And in HARRY DEAN STANTON: PARTLY FICTION, director Sophie Huber has found a way to get the famously reserved actor to reveal himself, through the medium of song. Both a career retrospect and an unusual performance film, PARTLY FICTION both follows Harry through his favorite haunts and in encounters with colleagues that include David Lynch, Kris Kristofferson, and Debbie Harry, and sits him down with a simple, guitar accompaniment to demonstrate his unique reads on such songs as Everybody's Talkin'.

Sponsor: Audible.com 30 Day Free Trial. Get John Badham on Directing at Audible.com.

I was able to meet up with Harry and Huber to talk about the film and about Harry's career, in possibly one of the most unique interviews I've conducted. Click on the player to hear the show.

OFFICIAL SITE: http://www.adoptfilms.com/harry

Comment on the episode here or write dan@mightymoviepodcast.com or call 888-866-9010.