It's Here-- The Giant Spider!

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by RJDiogenes, May 20, 2013.

  1. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    This week sees the world premiere of Christopher Mihm's latest independent film, The Giant Spider. As many of you know, Chris (Captain Euphoria on TrekBBS) has been producing homages to old Drive-In B-Movies for several years now, at the rate of about one a year. He's had quite a bit of success with them, as they routinely win awards and are shown at conventions and film festivals around (and occasionally outside) the country.

    Here is the trailer for The Giant Spider:

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejDnbWC2ehI[/yt]

    And here is Chris's website.

    This year I get to attend the premiere in person for the first time. As a bonus, Chris has invited me to be a guest on his pre-premiere podcast, which will be recorded tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to it, since his podcasts are always a blast. :bolian:
     
  2. Spaceman Spiff

    Spaceman Spiff Intrepid Explorer Administrator

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    It looks fun! How was the podcast?
     
  3. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    We're recording it tonight. I'm leaving to catch my plane in a few minutes. I'm not sure how long it will take for the podcast to make it online-- probably a week or so. I'll keep you posted.

    The DVDs are now available for pre-order and will probably start shipping later this week.
     
  4. Pingfah

    Pingfah Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Looks fantastically awful :lol:

    Are these films available for rent from anywhere, like i-tunes type thing?

    Oh hey, I just found one of your reviews on his site RJ.
     
  5. Roshi

    Roshi Admiral Admiral

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    Wow, Spiff, long time no see!
     
  6. Spaceman Spiff

    Spaceman Spiff Intrepid Explorer Administrator

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    Ah, I'm always around. Arguing on the Internet's just not as much fun as it used to be. ;)
     
  7. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    ^^ Tell me about it. :rommie:

    That's pretty much the idea. The elements of awfulness from the old drive-in B-movies are the DNA of Chris's films, like the palette of colors a painter may use.

    Not to my knowledge. As far as I know, you can only see them on DVD, or if they happen to be shown at a film festival near you. Or if Dr Cryptosis is on a local channel, because he has shown some of them.

    Yeah, Chris loved my "home-made" cookies analogy. :rommie:

    Well, I'm back and I had a great time. The podcast was a lot of fun and was more than I expected. When my cab arrived, I was ambushed by a guy with a camera, which I assumed was one of Chris's friends fooling around (they do that ;))-- but it turned out the podcast was being covered by the local ABC affiliate. They interviewed Chris and myself and a couple of other out-of-towners who were there for the podcast, and they filmed part of the podcast. The TV guys were real nice. I got to make my "support independent creators" speech. I don't know if or when any of it showed up on TV (I tend to doubt it did-- the next day there was a horrible accident in St. Paul in which two kids were killed-- I'm sure they didn't have time to bother with human interest fillers).

    I got to meet not only Chris, but his wife and his friends Rhuby and Haider, who host the podcast and who participate in the movies (on-screen and behind the scenes). Very warm and hospitable people; I felt right at home from the moment I appeared in the driveway. I also got to meet several of the actors briefly, and one of the actors, Dan Sjerven (veteran of several of Chris's movies) not so briefly. He gave me a lift back to Minneapolis to save me cab fare because I was "a guest in his city." He was a real sweetheart. Pretty much the first thing he said when we met was to ask about the Marathon bombing.

    Seeing the movie, The Giant Spider, on the big screen in an old-fashioned theater was fantastic. The place was packed; some of the women dressed up in period gowns and such. I got just about everybody's autograph-- not the spider, though, who was played mostly by Chris's son's pet tarantula.

    And, of course, the movie was a hoot. As usual, it was set in the same universe as the others and several of the characters are carry-overs from previous films (e.g., General Castle from House of Ghosts). In fact, this one could almost be considered a direct sequel to Terror From Beneath The Earth, considering the origin of the jumbo arachnid-- which helped to get us straight into the monster action. The plot this time involves a local reporter who has just asked his fiancee to marry him-- and is interrupted to cover the giant spider story. When the army fails to stop the monster, Dr Edwards (seen previously in Terror) and his colleagues come up with a plan for the reporter to risk his life to save the town. Is that final scene in the church a wedding or a funeral? As always, the humor and B-Movie imagery (the giant spider attacking a drive-in theater is a classic), is there to serve a genuine story about believable and likeable characters. As I've said in the past, the thing that really makes Chris's films work is the sincerity-- these are loving homages, not parodies, and the characters are always of central importance. So if you like those old movies and wish there were more of them-- buy this. Just as Steampunk evolved from a desire to see more work in the vein of Verne and Wells, Chris has genetically engineered a genre built from the DNA of old-school drive-in movies. :bolian:
     
  8. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Six of them are available for rent from Amazon. Giant Spider is not available yet, but that's because it just came out last week.
     
  9. OmahaStar

    OmahaStar Disrespectful of his betters Admiral

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    I missed doing the podcast, as I wasn't able to make it to MN til Wednesday. I hear you guys had fun, though.

    As always, the premiere was a blast. LOVED the call-back to a rather popular set of characters from the first two movies. I also took home the set of cards featuring the call-backs, and the flashlight Cookie used in the previous movie, House of Ghosts.

    I wish I had known you were going to be there. Next time, seek me out. I'm always there.
     
  10. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Will do. I figured you'd be up at the table, but the place was kind of a madhouse after the show. :rommie: But I definitely plan to return next year if I can.

    The podcast was definitely fun. I just wonder if we'll ever get to see the footage that Nick and the camera guy took (I can't remember his name).
     
  11. Captain Euphoria

    Captain Euphoria Commander Red Shirt

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    It was a blast having you both at the premiere and I'm glad you guys liked the film! I'm very proud of the final product!

    Also, here's the news story:

    http://kstp.com/article/stories/S3045396.shtml

    The podcast should be available around the 15th of June!
     
  12. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Hah! That's awesome. Nick got to do his story. :D I just wish they had included my independent creator speech; that would have tied in with that new bill they were talking about. :rommie:

    I wonder if Nick could give you a copy of all the video they took. That was a great night.

    Thanks again for having me, Chris. I can't wait for the Podcast. :bolian:
     
  13. Harry Palmer

    Harry Palmer Admiral Admiral

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    Burt I. Gordon would be so proud.
     
  14. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    One would hope so. William Castle, too, especially since one of the characters is named after him.
     
  15. Set Harth

    Set Harth Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I actually thought this would be a Superman thread.
     
  16. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Is there a giant spider in the new Superman movie?
     
  17. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    And the podcast is now online!
     
  18. P0sitr0nic

    P0sitr0nic Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Lmao me too xD