The real HBO Summer Film Series (schedule)

Each summer HBO programs a film series at Bryant Park, showing stuff like Cat Ballou, Funny Girl and obligatory "classics" starring Robert Redford or Jimmy Stewart. But how about a summer film series celebrating the movies that made HBO?

This list started as a joke, then became a reality. The movies were picked by fans of The Sci Fi Screening Room (ballots at shows, emails to me, and votes via Facebook)

Each show starts at 7 PM, with an introduction by Kevin Maher.

Plus cheap beer, trivia-prize intermission and the occasional special guest.




C.H.U.D. (1984)
Monday July 6
7PM
New York City’s homeless population are mutating into homicidal monsters that terrorize the city. The B-Movie horror classic pits Daniel Stern and John Heard against the Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. (96 minutes)








RED DAWN (1984)
Wednesday July 15
7 PM
It’s the Brat Pack versus the Commies in this insane bit of Reagan-era propaganda where Soviets invade America. The movie holds the record for the highest body count in cinema history. See bloodshed with Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Grey and Harry Dean Stanton. (114 minutes)








UNDER THE RAINBOW (1981)
Monday August 3rd
7 PM
Chevy Chase stars in this screwball comedy inspired by the making of The Wizard of Oz. The film features midgets, Nazis, dead dogs, racism and Carrie Fisher in her underwear. It will unlikely be on DVD. (97 minutes)





THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI (1984)
Monday August 10
7 PM
Inspired, incoherent science-fiction epic teams the always-creepy Peter Weller with the always-intense Jeff Goldblum as they battle evil creatures from another dimension. Visually referenced by Wes Anderson. (102 minutes)






FLASH GORDON (1980)
Wednesday August 19
7 PM
The best adaptation of Alex Raymond’s comic strip is also the gayest, thanks to its Queen soundtrack and kinky aesthetics. Super-producer Dino Di Laurentiis helmed the Barbarella-esque Space Opera between making King Kong and Dune. (111 minutes)





UNDER St. Mark's
94 St. Mark's Place (beneath the tattoo parlor)
Between 1st Ave and Avenue A

$5 tickets
All shows start at 7:00 PM

with an introduction and intermission.
Plus trivia, prizes and cheap beer.

At Last: The Best of the Sci Fi Screening Room

This is it.

The Sci Fi Screening Room’s Greatest Hits.

We’ve collected the funniest/funkiest clips from all the previous shows.

The best stuff from:

Frankenstein Night
Batman Night
Video Game Night
Robot Night
Superhero Night
Sci Fi Musicals Night
Bigfoot Night
KISS Night
Damnation Alley Night
Rock & Rule Night
Hulk Night
The Apple Night
and even Grab Bag Night

Never seen the show? Here’s your chance to catch up with an epic 99-minute video cavalcade featuring footage you won't find on YouTube of Netflix.


Plus: New clips that didn't fit into previous theme nights.

Along with Music, Trivia, Prizes, Free Snacks, Cheap Beer and... a chance for two lucky audience members to challenge our PAC-MAN Champ.


Come see the show that has been featured in The New York Times, Scientific American and a David Hasslehoff Fan blog.




THE BEST OF THE SCI FI SCREENING ROOM

Wednesday June 17th @ 7 PM

UNDER St. Mark's
94 St. Mark's Place (between 1st Ave and Avenue A)

Still just $7





“Prepare to be annihilated with glorious geekyness.” – NY PRESS

“…not quite a scientific conference, but it was entertaining, nonetheless.” – SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

“This show kicks seven different kinds of ass!” – Ernie Cline, FANBOYS screenwriter

“Kevin knows way too much about this shit.”- Bob Balaban, Actor/Director

“Kevin Maher is a shining example of truly Independent humor and spirit. Not only that, but he’s actually funny, too!” - Lloyd Kaufman, President of Troma and creator of The Toxic Avenger



* Photos by Matthew Glasson

Kevin needs food badly

This cracked me up!

note: The Vegas link really works.

Bonus material from ROBOT Night!

Thanks to everybody who was part of last week's ROBOT Night!

We had a helluva turnout, enthusiastic geeks from all walks of life -- plus special appearances by Vlad Tsepis (host of TV's
Ghoul a Go Go), Professor Tom Henning, a game of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots and a Roomba.

Here’s some bonus material that didn’t appear during the show.

Trailer for the Andy Kaufman robot love story Heartbeeps

NOTE: HBO is showing Heartbeeps this month.

Robot Belt Buckles styled after The Phantom Creeps.

1978 cartoon, The Robonic Stooges

Here’s a clip of TV’s SMALL WONDER, where
V.I.C.K.I. beats up a drug pusher (note: skip ahead to 9:09 for the comedic violence.

John Lovitz and Phil Hartman discuss the URKLEBOT (skip to 1:44 - 3:10)

At last, your very own binary code translator

Asimo Falls Down

The makers of ROOMBA also produce militaristic warrior robots.

An article on soldiers and military robots .

A video about how robots will one day “Take care of us” one way or another.

From the gang at Overthinkingit.com comes this surprising Terminator Ballad

And an old favorite, the music video for James Kochala’s “Monkey Vs. Robot”.

Wednesday Night is ROBOT Night!

One day robots will enslave mankind.

Until then, we can laugh at them.

This Wednesday night, The Sci Fi Screening Room presents ROBOT Night!

Co-hosted by Kevin Maher and Victor Varnado (director of ROBOT SUPREMO)


See Lustful Androids…killer cyborgs…wisecracking robots and other remarkable machines you won’t see on Netflix or Youtube.

Featuring Tom Selleck, Bela Lugosi, Yul Brynner, Gumby, Asimo, Gilligan, King Kong, Urklebot and more!

Plus special guests, cheap beer, trivia prizes and the ultimate robot death match.

Wednesday, May 20th
7 PM
Just $7
UNDER St. Mark’s, 94 St. Mark’s Place (between 1st Ave and Avenue A)

VOTE for the summer film festival

Each summer HBO hosts the Bryant Park Film Series, offering the likes of Cat Ballou, Hud and Funny Girl, along with some obligatory classics starring Robert Redford and Jimmy Stewart.

But how about a film series celebrating the movies that made HBO.

Against my better judgment, I’m doing just that -- this summer at UNDER St. Mark's.


Here’s my list of nominees (in no particular order)

CAST YOUR VOTE in the comments section. Lemme know which ones you’d pay to see (regardless of whether or not you’re actually going to any of the screening.)


The Legend of Billie Jean
Super Fuzz
Modern Problems
Incredible Shrinking Woman
Excalibur
Turk 182
Hot Stuff
The Last Chase
C.H.U.D.
Cloak & Dagger
On the Right Track
Saturday the 14th
Eddie and the Cruisers

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
The Philadelphia Experiment
DC Cab
Mr. Mom
TAG: The Assassination Game
Streets of Fire
Max Dugan Returns
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Over The Edge
The Outsiders
Grease 2
Strange Invaders
Electric Dreams
Red Dawn
Just One of the Guys
Cannonball Run 2

Teen Witch
Wargames
Xanadu
Under the Rainbow
Six Pack
Supergirl
Touched by Love
Soul Man
Rhinestone
Firestarter
Ice Pirates
Mannequin
Midnight Madness
Dreamscape
Flash Gordon (1980)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Popeye
Weekend at Bernie's
Heart Like a Wheel
The Beastmaster


Please note: The trick is finding a title that was:

1. In heavy rotation on HBO
2. Bad enough that it won’t be screened elsewhere in NYC
3. Entertaining enough that people would see it.

For example, Savannah Smiles and Kidco and Who’s Harry Crumb? were staples, but I can’t imagine anyone would pay money to see them.


Leave your thoughts in the Comments section. Thanks!

REVISED Screening Schedule

Due to an oversight, The BEST OF The Sci Fi Screening Room
was scheduled on the first night of Passover.

For our Jewish friends observing the holiday (and our friends who are die-hard fans of GARY, UNMARRIED) we will instead move the BEST OF show to June.

So here's the revised SCREENING SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, April 8th @ 9:00 PM - GRAB BAG Show!
A collection of outrageous clips presented by friends, filmmakers and other nerds. The night the audience will be given a pair of choices and then vote on which video they want to see. Clips will include evil trucks, giant bugs, deleted scenes and monologues where scientists deliver lengthy explanations of improbable happenings. Plus, I'll be sharing my favorite science-fiction parody from SCTV.


Wednesday, May 20th @ 7 PM - ROBOT Night!
Just in time for Terminator-mania, we've got an evening of killer cyborgs, lustful androids, wisecracking robots, and a collection of clips where Robots Fight Apes. Co-hosted by Victor Varnado
(director of ROBOT SUPREMO)


June date TBD -- The RESCHEDULED BEST OF SHOW
This greatest hits show will be even better because it'll feature the best bits from Robot Night and the Grab-Bag Show. Cult classics, weird-cartoons, and other oddities that must be seen to be believed. (for more details click here)


All shows will be seen at UNDER St. Mark's
94 St. Mark's Place (between 1st Ave and Avenue A)

As always we'll offer trivia, prizes, cheap beer and free snacks.

Thanks to everyone for supporting the show.

The Best of the Sci Fi Screening Room

Big news: April 8th marks the 15-month anniversary of the Sci Fi Screening Room.

So I'm doing a GREATEST HITS Show, featuring the greatest clips from the series.

We're talking the best from Bigfoot Night, Video Game Night and Batman Night!

Plus favorites from Frankenstein Night, Superhero Night and Sci Fi Musicals Night.

Still not enough? Hows about scenes from Damanation Alley Night, Hulk Night and Kiss Night!?

If you've missed shows in the past, this is your chance to catch-up with an epic 99 minute video cavalcade featuring footage you won't find on YouTube of Netflix.

Plus: New clips that didn't fit into previous theme nights.

A chance for two lucky audience members to challenge our PAC-MAN Champ.

Music, Trivia, Prizes, Free Snacks, Cheap Beer and...a special surprise guest making his Sci Fi Screening Room debut.

Come see the show that has been featured in The New York Times, Scientific American and a David Hasslehoff Fan blog.


THE BEST OF THE SCI FI SCREENING ROOM

UNDER St. Mark's
94 St. Mark's Place (between 1st Ave and Avenue A)

Still just $7

NOTE: THIS SHOW HAS BEEN MOVED TO JUNE. CHECK BACK HERE TO DETAILS.

Coming Soon...

My new short PUPPET RODEO played at Philadelphia's Backseat Film Festival where it won the award for Staff Favorite.

It's coming soon to Atom.com -- stay tuned for details.

The Backseat guys will be screening the Kevin Maher/TV Head classic
Family Dinner Party at their evening at the Philadelphia Cinefest.

SUPERHERO Night!

It's a bird...

it's a plane...

it's... SUPERHERO Night!

Yes, from the people who brought you HULK Night and KISS Night comes the ultimate video cavalcade of off-beat Superhero clips.

Featuring stuff you won't find on TV, YouTube or Hulu... including scenes from The 1979 cartoon show FRED & BARNEY MEET THE THING.

...scenes from The Spirit TV movie

...and a view-master reel of Superman Vs. The Computer Crook.

Special guests include James Dean Conklin, the animator of WONDERMAN (TV Funhouse)
Professor Geoff Klock (who contribued to MOMA's Superhero fashion book)
Matthew K. Manning (writer for DC's Batman Strikes)
M. Sweeney Lawless (curator of BIGFOOT Night)
Jay Stern (producer of FRANKENSTEIN Night)
Craig Wichman (who played Batman in BATMAN Night's Fan Fiction)

and co-host Nick Nadel (from the AMC super-hero blog)


It all happens this Wednesday, March 18th @ 7 PM.

UNDER St. Mark's
94 St. Mark's Place (between 1st Avenue and Avenue A)

Tickets are $7 (admission includes a Hostess Fruit Pie)

FANBOYS interview

Here's a one-off video I did for AMC. I wanted to help spread the word about FANBOYS. Screenwriter Ernie Cline is one of my favorite SPOKEN NERD artists. You should check out his stuff at http://www.ernestcline.com/

Also, you can find ALMOST all the AMC videos here (http://www.amctv.com/videos/scifi-movies/) They are missing two episodes.

VIDEO-GAME-MOVIE Night!

February’s SCI FI SCREENING ROOM is a celebration of movies inspired by video games. Featuring cartoons based on arcade classics, vintage commercials, fan films, and other gimmicky media that tried to cash-in on America’s Pac-Man Fever.

With:
Live Chiptune music.
Video-Game Haikus.
Footage from THE LAST STARFIGHTER musical.
Plus special surprises and trivia prizes.

The evening will include a mini-video-game tournament (just like in THE WIZARD).


Co-Host Will Carlough will show a video-tape of his world-record-breaking game of ICE CLIMBER. And we'll screen an official video on Secret video Game Tricks, Codes and Strategies.


After the show we’ll go to Criff Dogs for some RC Cola and Spy Hunter.


The Sci Fi Screening Room
Monday, February 9the @ 9 PM
UNDER St. Mark’s
94 St. Mark’s Place (betw 1st Ave and Avenue A)
$7

The End of The Road

The final episode of THE SCI FI DEPARTMENT.

We had a great run -- 72 episodes! Thanks to anyone who watched the show.