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The humble beginnings of Matt Stone and Trey Parker's "South Park" are nothing short of inspiring, with two friends crafting a stop-motion short film that would evolve into one of the most popular and longest-running shows in television history. "The Spirit of Christmas" was first released in 1992 (colloquially referred to as "Jesus vs. Frosty") and again in 1994 as a Christmas card (colloquially known as "Jesus vs. Santa" to differentiate) Fox executive Brian Graden had commissioned to send to his friends. Parker and Stone then developed the characters and the mountain town setting into what would become "South Park," and the rest is history.

This timeline certainly makes "South Park" sound like one of those dreamy Hollywood Cinderella stories in which two unknown comedy animators were plucked from obscurity to become billionaires and one award shy of earning Egot status. However, this narrative ignores the countless other projects -- both...

The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival — the longest running genre fest in America — kicks off its 49th annual event this Wednesday, February 14, and runs through Sunday, February 18, in Somerville, Ma.

Programming highlights include: the US premiere of Shatter Belt and a 10th anniversary screening of Coherence, both with director James Ward Byrkit; premieres of the documentaries Life After the Navigator and Life After The Neverending Story with director Lisa Downs; Faceless After Dark with director Raymond Wood and star Jenna Kanell (Terrifier); and a live Black Friday commentary by special effects legend Robert Kurtzman and director Casey Tebo.

Kicking off on Sunday at noon, the 24-hour marathon will feature Attack of the Crab Monsters, Black from the Past, Deep Blue Sea, Dredd, Lapsis, Mad Max, One Million B.C., Predestination, Ready Player One, The Matrix, Top of the Food Chain, Upgrade, and more.

Other events include: short film blocks, the Cyberpunk Sweethearts Ball,...

Actress Raquel Welch died on Wednesday following a brief illness, her rep confirmed. Welch, who rose to international fame in the 1960s, was 82.

A statement confirming her demise read: “Raquel Welch, the legendary bombshell actress of film, television and stage, passed away peacefully early this morning after a brief illness. The 82-year-old actress burst into Hollywood in her initial roles in “One Million, B.C” and “Fantastic Voyage”. Her career spanned over 50 years starring in over 30 films and 50 television series and appearances. The Golden Globe winner, in more recent years, was involved in a very successful line of wigs. Raquel leaves behind her two children, son Damon Welch and her daughter, Tahnee Welch.”

Read More: Raquel Welch, Actress And Pin-up Icon, Dead At 82

The actress featured in several small roles before she was cast as Cora Peterson in sci-fi film “Fantastic Vaoyage” which put her on the map. However, “One Million Years B.C....

Raquel Welch, the almond-eyed sex symbol who turned a doeskin bikini into one of the most iconic cinematic images of the 1960s, has died. She was 82.

Welch’s management company told The Hollywood Reporter that she died Wednesday morning following a brief illness. Her son, Damon Welch, confirmed that she died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles.

Her success in Hollywood was due partly to talent, partly to perseverance, but mostly to hitting the genetic jackpot. Although she turned in several respectable performances — as a scientist’s assistant in Fantastic Voyage (1966), as Lilian Lust in Bedazzled (1967), as a transgender revolutionary in Myra Breckinridge (1970) — it was her strikingly photogenic features and voluptuous figure that catapulted her to international stardom.

“The indelible image of a woman as queen of nature,” is how cultural critic Camille Paglia once described Welch’s onscreen appeal. The actress herself put it more succinctly. “I became,...

I can only imagine, in the annals of fearful films, how many times the words ‘Horror’, ‘Blood’, and ‘Monster’ have been used to title one; or in the case of a lot of independent movies, retitle. And then retitle again. Such was the way to milk more money out of the drive-in masses a few summers in a row; what were we supposed to do, Google it? Anyway, here’s Horror of the Blood Monsters (1970)...and Astro-Vampire, Creatures of the Prehistoric Planet, Creatures of the Red Planet, Vampire Men of the Lost Planet, The Flesh Creatures, and Space Mission of the Prehistoric Planet. Sure, it has a lot of titles, but it also has a lot of movies in it too. That’s the Al Adamson way.

That’s right, I’m back on the Adamson beat, and as usual, the story behind the film is as interesting as what...

Leapin’ Lizards! The original cavemen vs. dinosaurs saga is a winner — if viewer involvement trumps visual effects, it’s got a narrow lead over the Hammer/Harryhausen remake. Victor Mature, Carole Landis and Lon Chaney Jr. all made career hay out of their weeks spent running in loincloths, out in the desert. And Vci’s new disc is a terrific UCLA Archive restoration.

One Million B.C.

Blu-ray

Vci

1940 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 80 min. / Street Date September 12, 2017 /

Starring: Victor Mature, Carole Landis, Lon Chaney Jr., Conrad Nagel, John Hubbard, Nigel De Brulier, Mamo Clark, Jean Porter, Inez Palange, Edgar Edwards, Jacqueline Dalya, Mary Gale Fisher.

Cinematography: Norbert Brodine

Film Editor: Ray Snyder

Original Music: Werner R. Heymann

Visual Effects: Roy Seawright, Jack Shaw, Frank Young

Written by Mickell Novack, George Baker, Joseph Frickert

Produced and Directed by Hal Roach

In the late 1930s fantasy and science fiction movies were few and far between,...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in 2013 at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and...

“There are not many men yet. Just a few tribes scattered across the wilderness. Never venturing far, unaware that other tribes exist even. Too busy with their own lives to be curious. Too frightened of the unknown to wander. Their laws are simple: the strong take everything. This is Akhoba, leader of the Rock Tribe…”

So what’s brewing at Webster University’s Strange Brew award-winning cult film series this month? It’s Raquel Welch in the movie that made her a star! Raquel teamed up with a fur bikini, special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen, fellow 60’s starlet Martine Beswick, and Hammer Studios in 1966 for One Million Years B.C., one of the very best films of the 1960’s! The sexy prehistoric fun happens at Schlafly Bottleworks Restaurant and Bar in Maplewood (7260 Southwest Ave.- at Manchester – Maplewood, Mo 63143) next Wednesday, November 4th. The movie starts at 8pm.

Long before Spielberg...

Teresa Wright and Matt Damon in 'The Rainmaker' Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright vs. Samuel Goldwyn: Nasty Falling Out.") "I'd rather have luck than brains!" Teresa Wright was quoted as saying in the early 1950s. That's understandable, considering her post-Samuel Goldwyn choice of movie roles, some of which may have seemed promising on paper.[1] Wright was Marlon Brando's first Hollywood leading lady, but that didn't help her to bounce back following the very public spat with her former boss. After all, The Men was released before Elia Kazan's film version of A Streetcar Named Desire turned Brando into a major international star. Chances are that good film offers were scarce. After Wright's brief 1950 comeback, for the third time in less than a decade she would be gone from the big screen for more than a year.

Harrison Ford injured in plane accident (image: Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff in 'Ender's Game') Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark actor Harrison Ford was supposed to be in critical condition – later reports have upgraded that to "fair" or "stable" condition – following an accident with a small airplane on Los Angeles' Westside. Earlier this afternoon (March 5, 2015), a vintage, one-engine two-seater crash landed at the Penmar Golf Course, located in the Los Angeles suburb of Venice, not far from the Pacific Ocean and just west of Santa Monica Airport. Its pilot, 72-year-old Harrison Ford, was found "seriously" injured. He was alone on the plane. There were no injuries on the ground. As explained in the Los Angeles Times, "fire officials would not identify the victim of the crash but said he was conscious and breathing when paramedics arrived." Ford was later transported to an unidentified hospital. Eleven...

New York City may be battling freezing temperatures, but the stars at Saturday Night Live's 40th anniversary special made it the hottest place to be in freezing February.

Generations of SNL alumni, from Chevy Chase (1975-1977) and Eddie Murphy (1980-1984) to Will Ferrell (1996-2002) and Amy Poehler (2001-2008), returned to studio 8H to pay tribute to the show that launched many of their careers. Et caught up with the parade of amazing talent that graced the late-night sketch comedy show during its 40-year run.

TV Recap: 13 Lingering Questions About the 'SNL 40' Anniversary Special

"It's like comedy fantasy camp right now," Poehler said. "It's like getting to meet everybody that you grew up loving -- and also getting to hang with your very funny friends. So it's really a dream."

"It's never not surreal being on the show and so to get to do it for seven years it just kind of means everything," Ferrell gushed...

One of my fondest memories growing up as a young horrorphile was catching as many scary movies and fright-filled specials as I could during the month of October in order to prepare for Halloween night. With the hundreds of channel options out there for viewers these days, I thought it might be fun to break down where genre fans can catch various movies, specials and even Halloween-themed cartoons over the next 31 days so that you can start planning out your viewings in advance.

Here are some of the thrills and chills coming to your televisions this October. Please keep in mind that full schedules have not been announced everywhere yet, so we’ll be sure to update you guys with any additions to the calendar. All times listed are Et/Pt:

Wednesday, October 1st

2:00pm – The Dead (SyFy)

4:30pm – Dead Season (SyFy)

6:30pm – Halloween II (2009) (SyFy)

9:...

The craft stores know something you don’t know. That’s right. It’s time for the 2014 Halloween Season TV Preview! This is where we let you know about the time and channel for everything we can find on TV having to do with Halloween or Horror for the month of October and sometimes late September. This will include holiday specials, horror movies, TV show premier dates and Halloween episodes of your favorite series as well as documentaries that might be considered scary. Anything and everything that might get your ghost good.

I always start with TCM because you can tell they take such care in developing their lineup. Be sure to check out their Thursday nights. This is truly a unique year for that station.

A quick note: We are not going to be able to get it all. So many different markets and channels and providers… it’s...

Requiem for a Cave Man: Franco’s McCarthy Adaptation Displays Growth

On a similar directorial trajectory as, let’s say, Joe Swanberg, where quality vs. quantity tends to have adversely affected the end product of many a project, actor/screenwriter/director James Franco has shown surprising growth with his latest directorial effort to hit theaters, an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Child of God. Begrudging as many may be toward the film, especially rabidly committed fans of the source material, one has to admit that considerable growth has been evidenced in this recent sampling of Franco’s cycle-stomping over his literary idols, veering haphazardly over Faulkner, McCarthy, and Bukowski. Certainly, there are a few issues to haggle over, but there’s a captivating performance and a queasy ambience to the film that at least makes it a sober sort of hillbilly horror. Yes, perhaps this is sacrilege to those...

"Cave Man" By: Liam Brazier

Found this art work that I need on my wall by Liam Brazier, who is phenomenal with his collection of pop culture cubist art. Check out this series of superhero pieces and visit his site for many other pieces for other film franchises and television shows.

 

"Man Made" By: Liam Brazier

"Front Man" By: Liam Brazier

"Mad Man" By: Liam Brazier

 "Running Man" By: Liam Brazier

"Hang Man" By: Liam Brazier...

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

The second candidate in the ‘Destroy Washington D.C.’ bid for box office, Roland Emmerich’s White House Down proves to be even more insane than its recent competition, Olympus Has Fallen. That film, that saw Gerard Butler battling North Korean terrorists in order to save U.S President Aaron Eckhart, looks positively sensible and low-key when compared to Emmerich’s overblown action miasma that finds the time for Jamie Foxx’s Commander-in-Chief to fire a rocket from the back of a limo during a car chase across the White House lawn. Channing Tatum and Foxx carry the movie with cheerful banter and star appeal, but White House Down ultimately ends up being the one thing you wouldn’t expect; boring.

Featuring an almost slavish adherence to giant explosions, decimation of symbolic American landmarks, pop-culture quipping, and rampant, xenophobic cliché, White House Down observes a tried...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away last month at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson,...

Raquel Welch wigs vs. Ray Harryhausen monsters: One Million Years B.C. [See previous post: "Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan Dies."] Without Charles H. Schneer as producer, Ray Harryhausen created the visual effects for the 1966 camp classic One Million Years B.C. — though, admittedly, his work in that movie played second fiddle to Raquel Welch’s physical effects as a blonde-bewigged (?) cavewoman parading around Earth’s pre-history in a cleavage-enhancing fur bikini. Whereas in producer Hal Roach’s 1940 effort One Million B.C., lizards made up as dinosaurs made life difficult for Victor Mature and Carole Landis, in the creationist-style pre-history of the 1966 (sort-of) remake, Raquel Welch and fellow caveman John Richardson had to square off against Harryhausen’s stop-motion models of giant reptiles. (Photo: Raquel Welch One Million Years B.C.) [Please scroll down to check out TCM's beautiful Ray Harryhausen tribute.] Starring James Franciscus and featuring Earth vs. the Flying Saucers‘ Richard Carlson, The Valley of Gwangi (1969) was Harryhausen’s next-to-last mid-level effort. Both The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), with John Phillip Law,...

As the Academy celebrates 85 years of great films at the Oscars on February 24th, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is set to take movie fans on the ultimate studio tour with the 2013 edition of 31 Days Of Oscar®. Under the theme Oscar by Studio, the network will present a slate of more than 350 movies grouped according to the studios that produced or released them. And as always, every film presented during 31 Days Of Oscar is an Academy Award® nominee or winner, making this annual event one of the most anticipated on any movie lover’s calendar.

As part of the network’s month-long celebration, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has graciously provided the original Academy Awards® radio broadcasts from 1930-1952. Specially chosen clips from the radio archives will be featured throughout TCM’s 31 Days Of Oscar website.

Hollywood was built upon the studio system, which saw nearly ever aspect...

Hard for cinema to compete with Mo Farah and Tom Daley on a sunny Saturday, and Step Up 4: Miami Heat came a cropper

The winner #1: Olympics

The Olympics closing ceremony may have surpassed the more creatively adventurous opening in the UK TV ratings, at least going by viewer averages (23.2m v 23.0m) rather than peak viewers, but it doesn't seem to have impacted the box office more than the event has in general. Sunday takings for top film Ted were only marginally behind Friday, and were ahead on Sunday in the case of runnerup title The Dark Knight Rises. For family films such as Brave, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift and Dr Seuss' The Lorax, which are not reliant on late-evening showtimes, Sunday offered the best of the three days' takings. Overall, the Olympics almost certainly negatively impacted all films in the market, with Saturday evening offering the...

Super-8 Movie Madness at the Way Out Club will be held on Tuesday July 3rd from 8pm to Midnight. These are Super-8 Sound films condensed from features (they average 15 minutes in length) and will be projected on a large screen at the Way Out Club. Admission is only Three Bucks!!!!

The films on the July 3rd are: The Poseidon Adventure, Dick Dastardly and Muttley in The Wacky Races, Jimmy Stewart in Flight Of The Phoenix, Lon Chaney in The Mummy’S Ghost, Victor Mature in One Million B.C., Logan’S Run, Minnie Pearl in Country Music Humor, John Wayne and Katherine Hepburn in Rooster Cogburn And The Lady, Sssssssssssss, The Three Stooges in We Want Our Mummy, an educational film: Dealing With The Discomforts Of Pregnancy, Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger, Battle In Outer Space, and a ’70s Vampire Trailer Reel

There will be lots of posters and T-Shirts and stuff given away.

Jimmy Castor has died, aged 64. The soul and funk bandleader passed away of currently unknown causes in Las Vegas on January 16, reports Rolling Stone. The saxophonist and percussionist led the Jimmy Castor Bunch, who had several hits in the 1970s. He was nicknamed 'The Everything Man'. Their hits included 'Troglodyte (Cave Man)' - which was sampled by Nwa - and 'It's (more)...

From the pages of Deep Red in 1986, Joe Dante interviews a real monster’s monster.

It was 1986 and Godzilla had just made a comeback picture called Godzilla 85: The Legend Reborn.

He didn’t usually give interviews, due to his speech impediment, but the lure of a few drinks with an old pal (I directed him in my first picture, Hollywood Boulevard) got him to open up. I wouldn’t say he was bitter, exactly, but he’d been though a lot. I have no idea what he’s up to today, but I ran across this interview while cleaning out the garage, so here’s where his head was at 25 years ago…

I met with Godzilla at a Ginza sushi bar on a recent visit to Japan. Although in seemingly good health, he pretended not to remember me as the director of his only American picture of the past 30 years,...

I understand it’s an important find and all, but you’ve gotta admit this “gay caveman” story that made the news last week is also pretty hilarious. A gay caveman? That’s a stand-up comedy routine, not an archaeological discovery!

AfterElton.com already took on the problems with how the media reported the story, plus we also provided our own proof that us ‘mos have always been around – even during the Stone Age.

Nevertheless, since the word “caveman” somehow never fails to bring to my mind the image of a hot Abercrombie & Fitch model posing in a loincloth, the story inevitably got me to thinking of the dozens of Hollywood-ized interpretations of early humans that moviegoers have been treated to over the past several decades.

True, the majority of these interpretations aren’t exactly, shall we say, accurate (to my knowledge, they didn’t actually have laser-whitening capabilities back...

10 Underrated Men & Why You Should Date ThemGuys You Often Overlook When DatingThe availability of single men is largely about math. If there are 10 single men at a party and you disqualify 9 of them, your probability of meeting Mr. Right shrinks to below 10% (the reason it's 'below' is because, don't forget, he needs to not disqualify you). When you take this same concept and apply it to our daily lives, the result is that very few women meet and then, subsequently, date men. The average number of dates my female clients have before working with me is 3-5 per year (and I'm beginning to think this is the rule and not the exception). To increase the number of men you date, there are 2 basic things you can do: 1) Expand your social circles. 2) Open your mind to new men. Today we're focusing on #2 - the following list includes the 10 types of men...

The wait is over, as Cave Story arrives across Europe on WiiWare this Friday. This anticipated retro-designed WiiWare game is an adventure of epic proportions. The intriguing population of Mimiga await your arrival, but can you save them in time? If you would like to have a play before you download the full game, then you’re in luck as a WiiWare demo of Cave Story is also available for you to enjoy!

The Snes classic Super Bonk is on Virtual Console this week. Meet Cave Man Bonk and watch him transform into fun shapes, including a dinosaur. This colourful action-platformer game will be sure to keep you and your family entertained this Christmas.

Don’t forget to also check out Nintendo DSi Shop this week. Whether you fancy signing along to Christmas classics in Just Sing! Christmas Vol. 2, controlling serious tank battle action in Go Series: D-Tank or tackling...

“Only a sick society could bear the hoardings, let alone the films.”

- Derek Hill (in regards to Hammer films and their output), Sight and Sound 1958-59

The above quote, which opens Marcus Hearn’s Hammer movie-poster book, The Art of Hammer, is indicative of the content contained within. Judging by the artwork Hearn has collected, it’s not hard to see how Hammer gained such a tawdry reputation. From half naked women to fully-nude women to ghouls, vampires, murderers, psychopaths, mummies and any other monster one could possibly imagine, the posters’ single aim seems to be at appealing to the most lurid and primal impulses. As such, I – of course – found myself quite taken with the collection.

The Art of Hammer focuses primarily on artwork produced from 1950 to 1979* for the production company; a majority of which are British or American in design with a sampling of Belgian, Italian and French posters as well.