Phil Hopkins | Fandor

phil fandor

In the middle of January, it was announced that video-streaming company Cinedigm had acquired the indie streaming service Fandor, which hasn’t acquired any new content since late 2019. In addition to the impending relaunch of the service with new content, it was announced that the Film Detective’s Phil Hopkins would be helping to run Fandor. The Film Detective – a site devoted to finding and restoring lost and forgotten films, many of which are public domain and only available in terrible transfers – was itself acquired by Cinedigm in October of last year.

Also, Fandor will relaunch its Keyframe site, which offered content and writing which did an amazing job of finding film historians, aficionados, and more to really dive deep into the films the service offered and put them into context for viewers. It’s a very exciting prospect, so we were equally excited to discuss what this new partnership will offer film fans by speaking with Hopkins…

 

STARBURST: How did you start the Film Detective? It’s always been such a fascinating thing, because what has always really been appealing about it is the idea that you’re taking a lot of these movies that are public domain, have been floating around, and popped up on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and things like that or appeared in any of the number of bargain DVD sets at Walmart and you’re making them into something watchable.

Phil Hopkins: Absolutely, and that’s the technology and the ability to get good material. You know, there was a wasteland of junky film prints for so long in the market and it’s wrong, because people got this weird perception about movies in terms of what was good and what was not good. Ultimately, a studio made every film. There was always a director, so it’s not like these movies just came out of the abyss and ended up in the wasteland, but the care and the love and the appreciation was hard to manage.

Back years ago, when I was collecting film prints – or even collecting movies that were not readily available – you’d have to go to shows like Chiller or you’d have to go to like flea markets and I remember spending probably $ 25 or $30 for a VHS copy of a Coffin Joe film because you just couldn’t get it. I spent a small fortune building up a VHS library of rare movies that I thought I’d never see, that I’ve read about in either Famous Monsters of Filmland or Fangoria or any of the publications that I used to get when I was a kid, going to the newsstand to absorb all this stuff.

It was a big deal to find any copy of anything back then and then when the home video explosion with DVD took place, nobody really bothered to make a huge effort to upgrade from your bootleg-quality VHS and to me it was sort of like, “Well, why wouldn’t you?” If you have the movies, why wouldn’t you try to make a better version, since DVD is supposed to look better than VHS? And then, when Blu-ray came out, everyone was sort of like, “Well, why do you want to spend the money on a PD [public domain] movie?”

I’m like, “Because it’s a great movie. It doesn’t matter if it’s PD or not. It’s still a famous movie that is probably more famous because of things like Mystery Science Theater or the fact that, in the case of Night of the Living Dead, there’s a hundred copies out there and it’s famous because it’s so circulated. It’s a strange proposition, but at the end of the day you’re still chasing the best material and trying to come up with something that’s going to look like the original and that, to me, is the best part of what I do, which is chasing down elements and trying to find an 80 or 90-year-old film and make it look great.

Seeing the restoration of Eegah on the big screen when they used it for the MST3K live tour was one of those cases. It was like, this movie looks great! It’s still a terrible movie, but it doesn’t look like it.” It wasn’t filmed poorly – it is a good looking movie – which is what you’re alluding to: the idea that so many of these movies like are downgraded simply because the only way you’ve been able to see them is from a copy where it looks like it was filmed in the dark or over-saturated or something like that. Is being able to put them out in a version like this, where you can actually see what’s going on, allowing folks to re-contextualise and re-evaluate their opinion of the film?

You’re spot on. Joel [Hodgson] – who’s a friend of mine – when I talked to him, he even said, “I gotta tell you: it was like seeing it for the first time,” because with the junky film print that they used when they did the original broadcast, it’s washed out and so you miss all of this information: you miss how cool the cars look or Arch Hall Jr.’s hair or his guitar even just sort of how insane Richard Kiel looks.

Everything just takes a different shape and form when you’re seeing it the way it was meant to be seen. I went to a couple of the live events and it was amazing, watching a theater full of people appreciate how good the movie looked and how much more they were able to enjoy it because of the quality.

If not for people like Mike Vraney over at Something Weird, who actually spent the better part of his life tracking down material and preserving and taking care of the stuff – these people are the custodians of all the genre and cult movies, who saved them, literally. Some of these people, including myself, have saved some film negatives out of going into the dumps.

That’s absurd, but when the movie labs closed, a lot of these films were orphaned. They were sitting there for years and people just didn’t know what to do with them and they were junking film negatives, in some cases. When Movie Lab closed, there’s a rumour about a lot of them getting dumped into the East River.

Cinedigm acquired the Film Detective towards the end of last year and now they’ve announced that they’re going to relaunch the streaming sevice Fandor. We know that the Film Detective and Fandor are going to be separate but we see them as dovetailing very nicely, considering that Fandor was known for being the one place where you could go to find all of these movies that nobody else was streaming – which ties in nicely with what the Film Detective does, because every time a new streaming service launches, one of the things that’s brought up is the fact that it really lacks historical depth, in terms of what’s available. Once you start getting past the ’90s, the amount of titles trails off precipitously.

The thing with Fandor is that it came out so early and the concept of editorialising and contextualising the films was so perfect but the reality was that it was still an early adopter, when even Hulu and Amazon Prime Video and whatnot were still looking to get studio titles and most of the studios wouldn’t give streaming companies content because none of them paid. It was all a matter of “Who’s going to participate and wait for your revenue?” so that was the big challenge, in terms of the entry point.

The studios were unwilling to participate early on in the on-demand game, so Fandor was in a great position to get cinephiles editorially and build something that really spoke to the genre and cinephile audience. Sadly, as a lot of these streaming platforms exploded, all of a sudden they’re owned by major media companies. They didn’t want content like this: they were making their own content. They were the new Hollywood studio, so we became nomadic. All of our indie friends that had shit up on Hulu and other platforms needed to go someplace.

Then, a couple years ago, my friend and mentor Sam Sherman reached out to me and said, “Listen: Fandor’s going under. They’re in receivership right now. They’ve got a transitional company. You should reach out to them. You should try to run Fandor. We can’t let them close: it’s one of the few places to go.”

So, I started talking to them two years ago and I spent the better part of the last two years trying to find investors and trying to roll up this whole concept of Film Detective managing Fandor and building a whole kind of indie coalition. Of course, all the major companies were just looking at Fandor as a liability asset that didn’t really have any growth potential but Cinedigm, thankfully, is really forward-thinking and they totally understood what the opportunity could be if it was handled with a little TLC and given some life support.

They agreed when they purchased Film Detective and I told them about what I’ve been trying to do with Fandor. They were very supportive and it was great timing. It was really a perfect situation. We’re really optimistic in terms of getting back to market as it’s been in limbo for two years, so there hasn’t been content added to it. There has been really no marketing and promotion, but there’s still a very impassioned group of people that want to see it continue, so we’re psyched.

It seems as though like a big part of this is – as you mentioned earlier – the contextualising of everything. A key part of that is the fact that Keyframe will also be returning and that is so crucial to older or international films: to be able to put it into context of the time or the place where it was made, and also where it fits in terms of a grander cinematic history. So many people, it seems, watch old movies and have that reaction of, “Oh, they’re doing that? That’s such a cliché!” because they don’t understand that was the first movie to do it and it had never been done: this is where it all came from and you have to look at it in that context.

Oh, absolutely. We did a restoration for Turner for Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe three or four years ago and I’m telling the kids at work, “Now, this is where Star Wars got the scrolling concept” and they’re like, “Oh, my god: you’re right! That’s so amazing!” so, immediately, you get 20-year-old millennial kids excited to watch a 1930’s serial because now they have a connection to it, opposed to, “Oh, it’s black and white.”

So many people are just like, “Well, but it’s black and white!” and you kind of have to be like, “You lost your mind over The Lighthouse! Why is something like Kiss Me Deadly all of a sudden a turn-off?”

Right? Why would you want to colourise something like Kiss Me Deadly? Why would you want to make it look like what you’re accustomed to seeing and not appreciate what film noir is and understand it. I appreciate the whole deliberate side of making something look interesting artistically, opposed to, “It’s in black and white and my brain is going to shut off.”

Looking at the success of something like the chrome edition of Mad Max: Fury Road or Logan Noir – when you take a colour movie and you put it out in black and white, it’s going to make you focus on all kinds of stuff that you didn’t know.

I think that’s not what the directors necessarily had in mind. With noir, it was all about light and shadow and kind of atmosphere and creating an anonymous feel for the movie. I think that the education and once you engage people and you come up with a clever way of introducing something, sky’s the limit.

It seems that you’re very excited about this, and it also seems that folks are going to be very excited about the fact that Fandor – much like the Film Detective – will have an ad-supported way to watch it.

I think so. I am, certainly, and I know that a lot of other fans of the platform will be – once we start getting out to all the producers and the rights holders in terms of making sure that they know now that they’ve got an alternative. They’re not beholden to Netflix or Hulu or Amazon to get an audience for their movies. We’re going to try to be a voice in the landscape to support the stuff that it will have.

It’s all about the curation because there’s so many platforms where you just have a sea of titles and nothing makes sense. You go onto the site and it’s just like, “How do you even navigate this stuff?” so I think the curation, the editorial – those are critical. Even more so now, because there’s so much competition and so much content and so much crappy content. Just because you can you can make something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worth making. I would rather watch like the worst Ed Wood movie than watch a superficial romantic comedy that’s formulaic that doesn’t have any meat to it. It has no depth.

Fandor will relaunch sometime this spring, and more information will be found at the service’s website.

Five Films to Check Out on Horror Channel This Week – 080221

horror 080221

To save you getting lockdown blues, we’re going to be giving you our picks of what to watch on Horror Channel each week. Here are some of our favourites this week:

Tuesday February 9th, 10.50pm – Ibiza Undead (2006)

We know most people are zombied out now, but since many of us haven’t had a holiday for so long, why not watch a bunch of obnoxious youngsters face off with the undead?

Wednesday February 10th, 9pm – When a Stranger Calls (2006)

A remake of the 1979 movie, or at least of the classic first 20mins. It’s cute to see all the old mobiles, but the phone-phobic of us will still have palpations with every ring. Spoilerific trivia: Lance Henriksen plays the voice on the end of the call, but not when we see him in person!

Thursday February 11th, 9am – The Bay (2012)

Noted ‘serious’ director Barry Levinson (Good Morning, Vietnam) turns his hand to found footage horror with this tale of a small seaside town whose water supply is having disturbing and horrific effects on them. One of the better shaky-cam films

Saturday February 13th, 9pm – The One (2001)

Jet Li travels through parallel universes to do away with other versions of himself in order to be the titular ‘One’ – a super-powered being. It’s got crazy, high velocity action and Jason Statham. What more do you want?

Sunday February 14th, 9pm – Village of the Damned (1995)
John Carpenter take on the classic John Wyndham tale The Midwich Cuckoos (previously filmed in 1960) may not pack as much of a punch as his take on The Thing, but is still a chilling watch. It stars Christopher Reeve (in his last role before his tragic accident), Kirstie Alley, and Mark Hamill and was made in the same town that Carpenter filmed The Fog.

Tune into Horror Channel on Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 68, Freesat 138.

Five Japanese Live Action Fantasy Movies You Need to Watch

Godzilla may be the most famous Japanese fantasy film, but there are plenty of other live-action fantasy movies from Japan that you should check out. Here are five of the best you need to watch.

 

Image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/evlkOfkQ5rE

 

Daimajin

When the feudal lord of a village dies, an evil chamberlain seizes control and forces all of the village’s men into slavery. Some of the former lord’s children have survived, though, and the lord’s daughter offers her life in exchange for the help of a deity called Daimajin. A statue of Daimajin rests half-buried in the mountainside, but after the lord’s daughter’s plea for help, the statue comes to life and descends upon the tyrannical chamberlain and his men. There are three Daimajin movies, but the first from 1966 is the best.

Death Note

デスノート, which translates as Death Note, is a 2006 supernatural film based on the popular manga series of the same name. You may be more familiar with the 2017 American production, but the original Japanese picture is the best. The plot involves a Tokyo college student attempting to change the world into a utopian society by massacring the world’s criminals with the help of a supernatural notebook that kills everyone who is listed in its pages. After watching the Death Note movie, check out the sequel that came out in the same year, Death Note 2: The Last Name. But the Death Note action does not have to stop there. You can also watch the Japanese 2006 to 2007 Death Note anime series. And if you are looking for more Japanese anime adventure, check out the Koi Princess slot game, which is available at カスモ (Casumo) online casino.

Bakko Yokaiden Kibakichi

Set during the Edo period of Japan, the plot of the 2004 movie Bakko Yokaiden Kibakichi involves a werewolf wanderer called Kibakichi arriving at a gambling town that is run by the demons of Japanese folklore known as the yokai. The demons have made a deal with a local feudal lord to kill and eat criminals who arrive in the town in return for being able to gamble in peace. When Kibakichi arrives in town, a full-on battle between supernatural entities and humans unfolds.

The War of the Gargantuas

The sequel to Frankenstein Conquers the World, this Japanese and American co-production is one of the best creature-features ever made. The 1966 film begins with a trawler being attacked by a giant octopus. Another massive creature then rises from the ocean to fight the octopus. It is not long before the two monsters are battling it out on the mainland, in Tokyo, as scientists try to discover the origins of the creatures. Released in 1966, The War of the Gargantuas has since become a cult classic and is admired by such great directors as Tim Burton, Guillermo del Toro, and Quentin Tarantino.

Ugetsu

This 1953 romantic fantasy film is based on the stories in the 1776 book of the same name by Ueda Akinari. It is directed by seminal Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi and is one of his most celebrated movies. In fact, most critics consider Ugetsu to be a masterpiece of Japanese cinema. Set in Japan’s Azuchi–Momoyama period of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the plot involves a peasant farmer who leaves his wife and young child during the civil war. He is soon seduced by a spirit, who threatens his life. Meanwhile, the man’s friend chases his dream of becoming a great samurai warrior. Ugetsu helped to popularize Japanese films in the West and influenced many Japanese movies. It won various honours upon its release, including the Silver Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival.

[Ended] Win Roger Corman’s THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH on Blu-ray

We’ve teamed up with StudioCanal to giveaway three copies of Roger Corman’s classic The Masque of the Red Death on Blu-ray.

The release is out now and is packed with special features, and boasts two versions of the film, including a brand new 4K restoration of the unseen extended version of the film. All you have to do for a chance to win a copy is read on and enter the competition below.

Synopsis: A stunning new 4K restoration from The Film Foundation and The Academy of Roger Corman’s 1964 classic THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH. This is the first ever fully uncut, extended version of the film to be available. Vincent Price stars as evil Prince Prospero who sells his soul to the devil and then enjoys the latter’s patronage by living the most decadent and lavish lifestyle he can manage. He derides even more pleasure from the perverse satisfaction he takes in seeing his impoverished subjects fall victim to a painful and devastating plague that is sweeping the land.

masque win

SPECIAL FEATURES

– New: Colour and Censorship in The Masque of the Red Death: Interview with Professor Keith Johnston

– New: Audio Commentary with Kim Newman and Sean Hogan

– Roger Corman: In Conversation with Kim Newman at the BFI

– Behind the scenes stills gallery

– Booklet written film preservationist at The Academy Tessa Idlewine

– Art cards

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Masque of the Red Death is out now on Blu-ray from StudioCanal.

DEPTH PERCEPTION: THE 10 BEST UNDERWATER MOVIES

underwater

Just when you thought it was safe to open your browser…

We take a look back at the best films from our favourite genres that are based underwater. So, take a deep breath, you’re gonna need it!

  1. JAWS (1975)

Tagline: The most terrifying motion picture from the terrifying No.1 best seller

Seriously? You expected anything else to be here? Spielberg’s classic horror film about a great white hunting the town of Amity in the lead up to the 4th of July weekend made a few changes from Peter Benchley’s source material, and had some of the worst production issues ever to befall a film (who’d have thought that saltwater would play such havoc with an electronic shark?), but it remains a true classic nearly 50 years later. If any other film is going to take the top spot, it needs to bring a bigger boat.

  1. THE ABYSS (1989)

Tagline: A place on earth more awesome than anywhere in space

Ah, 1989. The year of the underwater movie experience! No less than four films were released in this calendar year that would be relevant to be included in this list, but James Cameron’s The Abyss trumps them all. What could be considered a dry-run, technologically speaking, for Terminator 2, this is probably our only entry where the humans face off against more benevolent beings. The true horror comes from within the Cold War-era paranoia that the Navy SEALs (led by Cameron alum, Michael Biehn) have against the aliens at the bottom of the Mariana Trench as they try to recover a crashed nuclear submarine. This was a project that was close to Cameron’s heart, the director having since manned a submersible personally down to the depths of that very trench.

  1. THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954)

Tagline: Sheer, stark terror grips you underwater in 3D

The OG underwater horror film from Universal is the only black and white entry on this list, but ignore the fact that it is also the oldest one and go watch this classic. So many of the well (water) trodden tropes were introduced here, including the legs dangling down into the water for the creature to reach up and grab. Considering that the costume department back then would have little of the knowledge that we do today, that costume would have been incredibly heavy in the water, so it makes sense to find out that they used a stuntman rather than the on land actor. That stuntman, Ricou Browning also went on to co-create Flipper.

  1. AQUAMAN (2018)

Tagline: He’s not from around here

The DCEU may be a little hard to follow sometimes, and the tentpole ensemble pieces maybe a little dark for some tastes, but the decision to allow James Wan to direct the character who was previously the butt of all the jokes in the JLA was inspired. Bright and vibrant, even considering a lot of the action was underwater, Aquaman had a lot of fun with its premise. Jason Momoa seems to effortlessly embody Arthur Curry, whose ability to talk to the fishes is used as a strength rather than a gag here. We still wait to see if the horror spin-off, The Trench, comes to fruition.

  1. BELOW (2002)

Tagline: Six hundred feet beneath the surface terror runs deep

This horror flick may have sunk under many a radar but is well worth a viewing. A Lieutenant has to steer his submarine back to safety after the Captain mysteriously dies. Picking up some hitchhikers along the way, the crew starts to disappear and the puzzle needs to be solved before it’s too late. Claustrophobic, tense, and creepy as hell, Below is on the up and up.

  1. DEEP RISING (1998)

Tagline: Full scream ahead

Okay, after Below, we need to surface with some light-hearted brevity, and it comes in the form of the Treat Williams led Deep Rising. When a group of mercenaries plan to rob the passengers of a cruise liner on its maiden voyage, they don’t include a creature attacking the vessel from the depths into their plans. Pure popcorn entertainment, this one doesn’t take itself too seriously and, although it was a flop on release, it has rightfully garnered a cult following.

  1. THE SHALLOWS (2016)

Tagline: Not just another day at the beach

We haven’t had a shark entry for a while, let’s remedy that. Blake Lively stars as a keen surfer who travels to a secluded beach that her mother visited when she was pregnant with her and discovers that it won’t be the relaxing trip she hoped it would be. With a very small cast, the tension is ramped up as Blake’s character is stuck on a small piece of rock after being attacked by a shark. Only a short distance away from the safety of the beach, the problem is that the tide is coming in and the shark is not going away any time soon. Full of tension, albeit not specifically realistic in some parts, any film that has a co-star called Steven Seagull gets our vote.

  1. LAKE PLACID (1999)

Tagline: You’ll never know what bit you

As we’ve seen with the Black Lagoon, not every aquatic genre film has to be set in the depths of the oceans. Set at the fictional location of Black Lake (that’s got to be a homage, no?), a 30-foot crocodile terrorises the locals and wildlife. The decision to capture or kill is where all the drama comes from in Lake Placid, with a pretty decent cast and enough jump scares to keep you entertained.

  1. PIRANHA 3D (2010)

Tagline: This summer 3D shows its teeth

A horror comedy remake of Joe Dante’s original Jaws rip-off, this is the second 3D movie on this list, The Creature from the Black Lagoon was also released in this format. Directed by the mind behind Haute Tension, this wouldn’t be the first film you’d pin on Alexandre Aja, and it has its issues, but it’s also quite fun. Beginning with what is clearly supposed to be Matt Hooper from Jaws, an earthquake releases hundreds of prehistoric piranhas into Lake Victoria just as Spring Break begins, serving up a smorgasbord of nubile victims to the carnivorous fish. It’s completely over the top and self-aware enough to ensure that you never take it seriously. The sequel, Piranha 3DD was set in a waterpark and starred David Hasselhoff as a lifeguard – now where have we heard that before?

  1. LEVIATHAN (1989) / DEEPSTAR SIX (1989)


Tagline: How long can you hold your breath? / Not all aliens come from space. Save your last breath…. to scream

Kind of a cheat for the final entry. Remember we told you that 1989 was crammed with films that could make this list? Well, here are two more. Leviathan covers an underwater mining crew finding a scuttled Russian ship and trying to ascertain what happened. A seemingly innocent bottle of vodka sets events into motion that leads you to think that the screenwriters’ favourite film is The Thing. Leviathan takes itself very seriously, which is its undoing, something that cannot be said for Deepstar Six. A similar storyline sees a crew in an experimental deep-sea facility attacked by a creature that may or may not be of this planet. Deepstar Six may rip-off Alien, but there’s something about the production that wants to have a little more fun than Leviathan.

Worthy Mentions:

There are, of course, innumerable films that we could have included in a potentially never-ending list, especially with new low budget films released so often, but here are a few extra films you may want to add to your Watchlists along with those above. You might say they’re bubbling just below the surface!

  • SPHERE (1998)
  • ROGUE (2007)
  • DEEP BLUE SEA (1999)
  • THE MEG (2018)
  • CRAWL (2019)
  • UNDERWATER (2020)

TITANS OF TELEPHEMERA: GLEN A LARSON – PART 1

Ah, telephemera… those shows whose stay with us was tantalisingly brief, snatched away before their time, and sometimes with good cause. Dedicated miners of this fecund seam begin to notice the same names cropping up, again and again, as if their whole career was based on a principle of throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. What’s more, it isn’t all one-season failures and unsold pilots, there’s genuine gold to be found amongst their hoards; these men are surely the Titans of Telephemera!

GLEN A LARSON

Glen A Larson had a hit with the first show he ever created, 1971’s Alias Smith & Jones, and went on to create The Six Million Dollar Man, Quincy, Battlestar Galactica, Magnum PI, The Fall Guy, and Knight Rider. He was a true titan of not only telephemera, but of telefantasy, period. But Larson had his share of failures, too…

Part 1: Remember these?

Galactica 1980 (ABC, 1980): It’s worth remembering that, despite its position as one of TV’s premier science-fiction TV shows, Battlestar Galactica ran for just one season, over the winter of 1977 and 1978, before being cancelled after losing out in its timeslot to CBS’s All in the Family, although Larson later claimed that ABC wanted his lucrative timeslot for Mork & Mindy. Fans of the show launched a letter-writing campaign and ABC acquiesced, contacting Larson for a continuation of the series.

Feeling he’d wrapped things up nicely anyway, Larson came up with a sequel set five years after the original, and set on Earth, where a reformed Count Baltar has travelled to the past, trying to advance civilisation enough to defend itself against the inevitable arrival of the Cylons. Wanting to leave Earth to discover its own destiny, Commander Adama instead sends Apollo (Richard Hatch) and Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) to stop Baltar’s interference.

There was a problem with Larson’s plan, however: Benedict had signed on to film Ruckus, a feature film about an unstable Vietnam veteran, and Hatch took one look at the script and turned it down. Instead, Larson advanced the plot thirty years and created a pair of new characters – Viper pilot Troy and Los Angeles detective Dillon (played by Barry van Dyke) would instead try to stop the machinations of Doctor Xavier, who after some initial time-traveling would focus his efforts in the present day.

Shorn of most of its stars – Lorne Greene and Herb Jefferson Jr remained, although Larson also jettisoned Maren Jensen, Noah Hathaway, and Muffit the robot daggit – the show was a ratings failure, and after just ten episodes it was cancelled. The tenth episode, titled “The Return of Starbuck,” finally brought Dirk Benedict back to the Galactica, but it wasn’t enough and filming was halted while production was underway on episode eleven. Footage from five of the episodes was edited together as a feature film, Conquest of the Earth, which got a theatrical release in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, but by that time Larson had already moved on to the adventures of Thomas Magnum, Private Investigator…

Manimal (1983, NBC): Few shows made as great an impact in as short a period of time as Manimal, the story of Dr Jonathan Chase, a British professor of animal behavioural sciences who is engaged by the New York Police Department to help solve crimes. Oh, and he can also change into any animal the case might require to solve it (as long as it’s a hawk or a panther).

Larson co-created the series with Donald Boyle, who had cut his teeth on the Ruby-Spears show Bigfoot & Wildboy, and its backstory was simple: Jonathan Chase learned the secret of animal transformation from his father in Africa, and first manifested his gift while serving in Vietnam, when he transformed to help he and US Army buddy Tyrone escape from a prisoner of war camp.

Chase was played by the very British Simon MacCorkindale (quite what a British professor was doing in Vietnam is anyone’s guess), who had moved to Hollywood after making it big in the 1978 film of Agatha’s Christie’s Death on the Nile, and Larson saw dollar signs when he cast him, thinking he’d discovered the next big thing, despite networks’ reticence about his sheer Britishness.

With special effects by Stan Winston, Manimal debuted on Friday September 30th 1983 on NBC, opposite the CBS juggernaut Dallas. This, of course, brought low ratings, and the show was cancelled after only four episodes had aired, although the remaining four were shown after a month’s break. It wasn’t alone; eight of NBC’s Fall season debuts were also cancelled before their first season had run its course as the network’s president of entertainment Brandon Tartikoff sought to steady a sinking ship.

Manimal gained some cult cache when it was shown in the UK, but it has long been widely regarded as one of the worst TV shows of all time. Larson did seek to bring the show back in the late-1990s, using an episode of superhero drama Night Man as a backdoor pilot, but even after all those years the stink of failure clung to the show like the scent of a newly-transformed panther.

Automan (1983, ABC): At the same time that Manimal was failing to find an audience on NBC, Larson had four other shows on the air. While three of the shows played to huge audiences, the proto-ER Trauma Center struggled in the ratings and was cancelled after its thirteenth episode had aired in December 1983, and was replaced by another Larson show, this time about a man who was also a car. Or something.

Automan had its roots in TRON, a Disney movie released in 1982 which saw a man zapped into a computer, illustrated by state-of-the-arts graphics by Donald Kushner and Peter Locke. Larson’s conceit was that the titular character – a crime-fighting AI created by police scientist Walter Nebicher (Desi Arnaz Jr) – would instead be zapped into our world, and Kushner and Locke’s effects would bring him, and his vehicles, to life.

Nebicher and his creation – who adopted the pseudonym Otto Man (get it?) and was played with a hunky alien air by rookie actor Chuck Wagner – would team up to solve crimes, aided by Automan’s computerised sidekick Cursor, and the token love interest, Roxanne Caldwell (Heather McNair – it was illegal not to have a blonde actress called Heather in a show at that time).

Scheduled on Monday evenings, opposite ratings hit The Scarecrow & Mrs King, Automan fared no better than Trauma Center, and was cancelled after just twelve episodes had aired, its meagre audience not sufficient to justify its expensive special effects. The unaired thirteenth episode did air as part of the BBC run in Summer 1984, and was later added to repeats on various US cable channels, by which time Chuck Wagner had returned to his first love, musical theatre.

Team Knight Rider (1997, UPN): By 1997, Glen A Larson had not enjoyed a hit show for almost a decade. After trying out various projects, some of which made it to series or were killed at the pilot stage, he returned to one of his former glories, expanding the concept from a lone wolf to a pack of cubs and created Team Knight Rider.

The original idea for the new series came from Rick Copp and David A Goodman, two writers who had met while working on The Golden Girls, and they worked with Larson to update his 1982 hit for a new generation. Instead of Michael Knight and KITT, the Foundation for Law Enforcement and Government (FLAG, not FLEG) recruited fiveyoung agents, each with their own AI-imbued vehicle

Named Dante, Domino, Kat, Plato, and – erm – Attack Beast, these vehicles would aid the agents in thwarting the nefarious schemes of spies, assassins, and terrorists. For freedom! The new agents were played by a collection of unknowns, most of whom – save for Nick Wechsler, who later appeared in Roswell – would return to bit parts and TV movies, although David McCallum did turn up to voice TKR’s arch-villain, Mobius.

Released into syndication, with a first airing mostly on local UPN channels across the US, Team Knight Rider ran for a full season of twenty-two episodes, with the final episode ending on a cliffhanger, ready for season two. Due to low ratings, that second season didn’t happen, and so viewers never got a resolution to the apparent return of Michael Knight. The Glen A Larson era seemed well and truly done, but four years later he’d again go back to one of his old projects, and this time Battlestar Galactica would find its audience…

Further Reading from STARBURST:

TITANS OF TELEPHEMERA: GLEN A LARSON – PART 2

TITANS OF TELEPHEMERA: GLEN A LARSON – PART 3

TITANS OF TELEPHEMERA: GLEN A LARSON – PART 4

TITANS OF TELEPHEMERA: STEPHEN J CANNELL – PART 1

[ENDED] Win ELYSIUM Starring Matt Damon in 4K Ultra HD

win elysium

MATT DAMON IS ON A LIFE THREATENING MISSION IN ELYSIUM, AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON 4K ULTRA HD ON MONDAY.

AND WE HAVE 3 COPIES TO GIVE AWAY!

We’ve teamed up with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment to give you a chance to win one of three copies of the 4K Ultra HD version of Elysium, directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9). Enter the competition below.

In the year 2154, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) will stop at nothing to preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium—but that doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in by any means they can. Max (Matt Damon) agrees to take on a life-threatening mission, one that could bring equality to these polarised worlds.

The 4K Ultra HD edition features the following bonus features:
4K ULTRA HD DISC

  • Exoskeletons, Explosions and the Action Choreography of Elysium
  • The Hero, The Psychopath and the Characters of Elysium
  • The Art of the Elysium Miniatures
  • Bugatti 2154
  • Theatrical Trailers

BLU-RAY DISC™

  • Collaboration: Crafting the Performances in Elysium
  • Engineering Utopia: Creating a Society in the Sky
  • Extended Scene
  • Visions of 2154 – An Interactive Exploration of the Art and Design of Elysium
  • In Support of the Story: The Visual Effects of Elysium
  • The Technology of 2154
  • The Journey to Elysium

                       Envisioning Elysium

                       Capturing Elysium

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ELYSIUM 4K Ultra HD released February 8th, 2021

Best Online Slots Based On Movies

It’s no secret that many people love movies. Whether they prefer the classics, the contemporary, or the blockbusters from this summer, there’s something to be said about sitting back and watching a good movie. That’s why you can find games based on those movies — which should come as no surprise. Today, we’re going to talk about five slots games based on movies that you can find online: Game of Thrones, Deal or No Deal, Avengers, Iron Man 3 and King Kong. Let’s get started!

1, Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is, without a doubt, one of the hottest shows on television right now. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you’ll be missing out on what could be the best show since The Sopranos. But that’s not why we’re here. No, we’re here because the online slots game based on this show is something else entirely. This slot machine has everything you could want from a slots game: a blood-pumping soundtrack, great graphics and, most importantly, action! You’ll feel like you’re watching the show as you play this game. You can play this game at all casinos that have partnered with Microgaming including online slots ideal.

2. Deal or No Deal

Though Deal or No Deal was, at its core, a game show on NBC, it’s become quite popular as a slot machine. It’s fun to play because it’s so easy to get into. You basically just spin the reels and see what you win. It’s really that simple! Though the premise is simple, there are some great bonuses that you can trigger.
For instance, if you win the game within the first five rounds, you’ll get the “Deal” bonus in which you have to guess a correct case. If you don’t get it right on your first try, then you lose it all. The odds are in your favor with this slot machine, so give it a go!

3, Avengers

If you’re looking for a slots game that has a superhero theme to it, then it’s hard to go wrong with Avengers. This slot machine has a great soundtrack, but the best thing about it is its neat graphics.
The characters look just like their movie counterparts, which is cool and all, but it also makes the slots game feel more authentic.

4. Iron Man 3

When you think of slots games, Marvel may not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, you wouldn’t be wrong if you thought to yourself, “There’s an Iron Man 3 slots game?” That’s because there is and it’s really cool. This slot machine celebrates the third installment of Tony Stark’s superhero franchise and it does so with aplomb. This game is a bit more complex than the previous ones we’ve talked about, but there’s nothing intimidating about it. It’s just fun to play and it pays off on a regular basis. Come on, who wouldn’t want to see themselves win money when they spin for free online?

5. King Kong

There are a lot of different slots games based on King Kong, but the one we’re interested in is the one that was created by Net Entertainment. They created several slots games based on movies and this is one of them.
What makes this slot machine so great is that it has a lot going on. It’s got a great soundtrack and it’s really easy to trigger bonuses when you play it online. The new King Kong (KingKong vs Godzilla) is coming out in two months and we’re likely to see new slots based on it.

What makes a great slot game?
There are many different types of slots games out there. You can find slots featuring subjects from history, slots based on video games and even slots based on television shows. No matter what kind of game you want to play, it’s out there. But what makes a great slot game?
That’s not an easy question to answer, but we’re going to break it down for you. Here are three things every slot player should look for in a great slots game:

1. Soundtrack
No slot game is complete without an awesome soundtrack. It’s what sets the tone for the entire experience and it’s what makes you feel like you’re part of a movie or show when you play it online.

2. Graphics
The graphics of a slots game are often what draw people in. It’s usually what makes people say, “Wow, I really want to play that game. It’s got great graphics.” So if you’re looking for a great slot machine, then you should keep your eyes peeled for one that has great graphics.

3. Gameplay
The gameplay of a slot machine is equally important as its soundtrack and its graphics. If a slots game doesn’t play well, then it won’t be worth playing.
If you’re looking for an immersive experience, you want the gameplay to be solid and for there to be a lot going on with the game.

Top Finnish Online Casinos to Play Starburst Slot for Free

As gambling has become one of the world’s most popular hobbies, the internet has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities. Many people are wary to gamble on their computers, but Finnish online casinos have come to offer an alternative to those who prefer not to venture out into brick-and-mortar establishments.

Finnish online casinos, or nettikasino as they’re locally referred to as, have yet to face pressure from anti-gambling advocates as their numbers are nowhere near as large as those in countries such as Canada or France. Top Finnish online casinos to play Starburst slot for free

Starburst is one of the most popular online slot games, and can be found at many Finnish online casinos. As far as slots go, Starburst has simple graphics and sound effects, but the game is incredibly addictive. That’s why it’s no surprise that Starburst can also be found at brick-and-mortar casinos in Finland. Of course, it’s important for Finnish online casinos to offer games with original and innovative features and fun themes. Here are the best casinos where you can play Starburst

1.  El Royale Casino

When you play Starburst slot at El Royale Casino, you will be taken back to a bygone era of glamour and sophistication. Finnish online casinos are generally easy to use, but El Royale Casino is by far the easiest-to-navigate Finnish online casino on the web. El Royale Casino offers its players a number of bonus features, including the ability to play as many free games as you’d like. Finnish online casinos are also known for their flexible deposit and withdrawal options, which can be used to make deposits in a variety of currencies.

2. Super Slots

Super Slots is one of the newest online casinos on the Finnish market, but it is already competing with the best of them. One of their biggest advantages, however, is their unique welcome package. New players at Super Slots receive an impressive 400% bonus on your first three deposits as well as 50 free spins: These free slots have no wagering restrictions attached to them and can be redeemed at Starburst slot

3. Wild Casino

The graphics at Wild Casino are incredibly realistic, and the free games feature is impossible to miss. The welcome package at Wild Casino is also impressive, offering new players a huge 300% bonus on your first three deposits. Finnish online casinos are known for their incentives, but that’s nothing compared to the free 250 spins that you can get at Wild Casino, ten at a day.

4. Vegas Casino

The graphics at Vegas Casino are nothing short of breathtaking, and the Finnish online casino’s welcome package is equally impressive. New players to Vegas Casino receive a 500% bonus on your first three deposits, as well as 50 free spins. The free slots have no wagering requirements, which is a very attractive feature to many players.

5. Red Dog Casino

Many Finnish online casinos offer a welcome package to new players, but Red Dog Casino takes it one step further. New players receive a whopping 400% bonus on your first three deposits, and the free games that you get at Red Dog Casino are some of the most entertaining available today. At Red Dog Casino, you’ll also find more than 300 slots to play for free.

Starburst is beginner-friendly

The world of online slot games can be overwhelming, with many different slots to choose from and a variety of features to get lost in. Starburst is a fantastic choice for beginners because it is easy to understand and has classic gem symbols used on the reels instead of complicated video game characters or cartoon images.

It is also a very fast-paced game, with no complicated animations or fancy graphics to slow down the action. Plus, there are plenty of ways to win big here.

While you may find more advanced games offer better odds and bigger jackpot prizes, Starburst is the perfect starting point for players who want an easy-to-understand game that offers plenty of thrills and fun moments along the way.

4 Slots with the Best Sci-fi Themes

Quick question: What do Godzilla, Star Trek, Interstellar, and Back to the Future have in common? They’re all great sci-fi movies that will leave you wondering whether there’s anything larger than life. Sci-fi films often explore the boundaries of science, and, without a doubt, there’s something strange and wonderful about each of them. The sci-fi genre is full of mystery, mystery that continues to fascinate people. The themes and storylines vary, but the science behind them is remarkably similar. In all of them, scientists are doing research on a new planet or a new star system. In most cases, these scientists will go through intense physical and mental challenges as they try to find out more about this mysterious world. Just like sci-fi movies, casino slots based on these movies are thrilling. You never know where the reel will stop spinning. They’re mysterious, thrilling, and even a little bit scary.

If you want to play games with sci-fi themes but you’re not a fan of sci-fi movies, then these games are for you! They can be played online and offline, so your options are endless. There’s something for everyone in this list, especially those who like to spin the reels on casino slot machines. You can find detailed reviews of these and other slots on sites like KasynoHEX

1.  Star Trek slot

A true classic, Star Trek has the best of both worlds. It combines the technological advances of today with the old school roots of the show. The graphics are stellar and right out of the movie. If you like sci-fi or games based on TV shows, you’ll love this slot game. Even if you’re not a fan but like space themes and games with bonus rounds, then this is the game for you. When it comes to bonuses, this one has all kinds. There’s a bonus round with the Borg, a scatter symbol, and prizes.

2. Transformers

If you don’t know anything about Transformers, then this is the slot game for you. It doesn’t matter if you know who Bumblebee is or that Optimus Prime is an alien robot from outer space. There are symbols like Bonus Free Spins and Wild Symbols that make this an enjoyable game for everyone. The symbols on both online and offline slot games are easy to see when playing a casino game like this one. Moreover, the online version has a leaderboard (depending on the casino) that keeps you up to date on who is winning and what they’re winning. This game has everything you can hope for in a game.

3. The Big Bang

This slot machine takes you through the origins of life as we know it! The graphics are awesome, the symbols are easy to read, and it has everything you’d expect from such a theme. You’ll never guess where the reel will stop or what symbol it will land on next. You have three rows to play, so if you know what your playing for there’s a good chance you’ll win big! This slot machine also comes in different versions. You can play with 3-5 reels, or opt for 6-10. The higher number means the more chances you have to win. If you like space themes and bonus rounds, this is the slot machine for you.

4. Battlestar Galactica

If you have a thing for sci-fi or perhaps the classic miniseries from the ’70s then this is your best bet! It’s easy to see what symbol will come up with all of the explosions and space ships flying around, but there’s a lot more to this game than meets the eye. You’ll enjoy how it combines luck and skill in gameplay, along with three rows of symbols that are easy to read. You’ll love the logos, and you might even find yourself racing home to play. This video slot game is worth mentioning for three reasons. It’s a great way to spend a few hours doing something that doesn’t make you exhausted, it’s easy to win money on, and it’s very eye-popping; especially the reels.