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This coming of age film about filmmaking and a love of Star Wars was written and directed by Patrick Read Johnson (Spaced Invaders).

The story follows hopeful filmmaker Pat Johnson's (John Francis Daley) epic true story of growing up in rural Illinois, falling in love, and becoming the first fan of the movie that changed everything - Star Wars.

The film's title stems from the summer of 1977 release date of the original Star Wars film, with this year being its 45th anniversary.

Mvd Entertainment Group will finally debut 5-25-77 in select US theaters on September 23rd, 2022, then on VOD starting on October 11th this fall.

Check out the trailer:...

Exclusive: Mvd Entertainment Group has acquired worldwide rights to the autobiographical coming-of-age comedy 5-25-77, from writer-director Patrick Read Johnson (Spaced Invaders), slating it for release in North American theaters this fall, with an unveiling on digital and VOD to follow.

The film’s title stems from the 1977 release date of George Lucas’ original Star Wars film—which today celebrates its 45th anniversary. It’s inspired by the true story of a nerdy, alienated, hopeful filmmaker named Pat Johnson (John Francis Daley) about growing up, falling in love, and becoming the very first fan of the movie that changed everything. Austin Pendleton (My Cousin Vinny), Colleen Camp (Die Hard with a Vengeance), Neil Flynn (Scrubs) and Justin Mentell (G-Force) also star.

Gary Kurtz, Fred Roos, and Leigh Jones produced, in collaboration with Film.io Originals, with 5-25-77 marking Kurtz’s final film before his passing in 2018. Mvd...

March 2022 is a great month for blonde women with cold, dead stares on Hulu.

With its list of new releases for March 2022, Hulu is highlighting two major original series ripped straight from the headlines. The first is The Dropout, which premieres on March 3. This show stars Amanda Seyfried (taking over from the previously cast Kate McKinnon) as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. This story about high-level corporate fraud is truly wild, enough so to accommodate several books, podcasts, and even an upcoming film starring Jennifer Lawrence. Hulu is certainly hoping its version is the definitive one.

Read more TV Pam & Tommy Will Make You Hate Everyone But Pam By Alec Bojalad Movies Why The Princess Bride Is a Perfect Fantasy Movie By David Crow

The Dropout‘s spiritual counterpart will be The Girl From Plainville, which premieres on March 29. This is another story you might be familiar with. If not, just...

It’s been a few years since the film world lost Wes Craven; and while many reach for A Nightmare on Elm Street, or The Hills have Eyes, or Scream, some like to take the time to appreciate the under sung tunes in his catalogue. This is where I enthusiastically raise a mic and start warbling about Deadly Blessing (1981), an intriguing mix of slasher, the supernatural, and religious fanaticism that could only come from the busy, brainy mind of Mr. Craven.

Released in mid-August by United Artists stateside, Deadly Blessing received no favor from critics, but did bring in over $8 million against a $2 million budget; not too bad for Craven during this period, who found himself making (highly enjoyable) TV films to keep the lights on.

Our story opens in an Amish-like farming community called “Our Blessing”; but instead of the Amish, these are Hittites, a group that one person intones,...

The Toyman Toy Show in St. Louis has been going strong for over 26 years now and just keeps getting bigger and better! The fun takes place seven times a year at The Machinists Hall 12365 St Charles Rock Road in Bridgeton, Mo 63044. There are over 130 vendors at the Toyman Toy Show spread out over 225 tables. all selling vintage toys, comics, dolls, diecast cars, movie memorabilia, and more as well as cosplayers and artists. It’s an unbelievable amount of fun for only $5 and this next show, you’ll have the opportunity to meet a voice actor and an artist!!

The next Toyman Show is May 6th from 9:00a to 3:00p and Voice Actor Gregg Berger and artist Billy Tackett will all be in attendance! A Facebook invite for the show can be found Here

Meet Gregg Berger!

From Gregg’s own bio: Gregg Berger Voice / Actor Transformers, The Garfield Show,...

Reel-Important People is a monthly column that highlights those individuals in or related to the movies that have left us in recent weeks. Below you'll find names big and small and from all areas of the industry, though each was significant to the movies in his or her own way. Joe Alaskey (1952-2016) - Voice Actor. He took over voicing Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck when Mel Blanc died and can be heard as those characters and more in the movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action, as well as many TV and video game works. He also voiced Yosemite Sam and Foghorn Leghorn in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (hear him below), President Nixon in Forrest Gump and Grandpa Lou Pickles in the Rugrats movies. His other film credits include Spaced Invaders...

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This week on Off The Shelf, Ryan is joined by Brian Saur to take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the week of September 15th, 2015, and chat about some follow-up and home video news.

There are some audio problems towards the very end of the episode, when Skype decided it had enough of our shenanigans.

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Episode Links & Notes Follow-up Refresh, refresh, refresh William Becker Arrow’s Free Shipping Exploitation.tv Apple TV Ripping discs MakeMKV Handbrake The Wirecutter’s recommendation Don Melton’s scripts News Scorpion Releasing – Grizzly & Where the Boys Are ‘84 up for pre-order at Screen Archives Shout / Scream Factory: Garbage Pail Kids cover art New Releases American Experience: Walt Disney The Beast The Big Picture Billy Two Hats Blind Chance Disneynature: Monkey Kingdom Eaten Alive Fast & Furious 1–7 Collection Furious 7 Hanna-Barbera Specials Collection Hidden Agenda House of the Long Shadows...

There aren’t a lot of horror and sci-fi titles hitting DVD and Blu-ray shelves on September 15th, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some fun releases to look forward to on Tuesday. Scream Factory is resurrecting another cult classic in HD—The Legacy, starring the always badass Sam Elliot—and for those of you David Duchovny fans out there, season one of Aquarius is being released by Anchor Bay this week, too.

There are also a handful of "B Movies" coming our way in various forms courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment, and for those of you who didn’t pick up the Halloween box set last year, September 15th is your chance to finally own the Producer’s Cut of Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers, as Lionsgate is giving it a standalone Blu-ray release.

Aquarius: Season One (Anchor Bay Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)

Los Angeles,...

We may remember Independence Day, The Matrix, The Phantom Menace. But what about these forgotten 90s sci-fi films? And are any worth seeing?

Think back to the science fiction cinema of the 1990s, and some of the decade's biggest box-office hits will immediately spring to mind: The Phantom Menace, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Men In Black, Armageddon and Terminator 2 were all in the top 20 most lucrative films of the era.

But what about the sci-fi films of the 1990s that failed to make even close to the same cultural and financial impact of those big hitters? These are the films this list is devoted to - the flops, the straight-to-video releases, the low-budget and critically-derided. We've picked 50 live-action films that fit these criteria, and dug them up to see whether they're still worth watching in the 21st century.

So here's a mix of everything from hidden classics to forgettable dreck,...

Halloween is finally upon us, and a lot of you have been holding down your own horror movie marathons. We're sure you've included the classics, but not many of them actually take place on All Hallow's Eve. And the ones that do? Well, quite a few are not very good. John Carpenter's 1978 Halloween is of course a classic. 2009's Trick 'r Treat is a new perennial favorite that grows its cult base every year. And you simply can't go wrong with The Nightmare Before Christmas between now and New Year's Eve. But you may want to seek out new and interesting films that revolve around this terrifying treat-filled holiday. The following list of movies is not for you! This is a warning: Do not invite your friends over for the following 13 fright flicks, as they are the worst Halloween movies of all-time. That said, they are not without their merits.

"If the Martians land, they're gonna need a place to stay. Just like everybody else."

Mars. No other planet has inspired as much speculation about the possibility of extraterrestrial life as the Red Planet. There are currently five functioning spacecraft on the surface of Mars, or in orbit above it, searching for signs of life and, while we've yet to find any of the little green men of popular fiction, the latest data from Nasa's Curiosity rover indicates that Mars once supported a network of rivers capable of supporting life. But, enough about theoretical microbial Martians. More than anything, Curiosity's discovery got us to thinking about "real" Martians, the kind that thrill and terrify us in popular sci-fi movies, whether they be three-breasted mutant prostitutes, noble savages of a dying planet, or the icky, invader-y type.

Rate the Top 10 Best Mars & Martians Movies >>

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Link | Posted 3/19/2013 by BrentJS

Mars Attacks!

Whether you were one of the first to see it back in '77, or whether you were born well after the pop-culture bomb built by the man named George Lucas blew sky high, chances are Star Wars has impacted your life one way or another. Pretty much every movie fan has a story about the first time they saw the uber-classic space opera, but no one, and I mean no one, has a story like writer/director Patrick Read Johnson (Spaced Invaders, Dragonheart, Baby's Day Out), as recounted in his new film 5-25-77 (which is the date Sw was released for anyone who doesn't know).Pat (Freaks And Geeks' John Francis Daley) is a 70s-era small town teen, who makes films in his backyard with his family...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Another Friday has passed and that means two titles never before released on DVD have been announced by the Scream Factory. You may not remember The Vagrant but odds are you remember The Horror Show and have been wondering if it would ever see the light of day again.

The big title of this week’s Scream Factory announcement is unquestionably The Horror Show, or as it is known in some foreign circles, House III. I never understood how anyone came to the conclusion that film could be released as a third installment of the House franchise, but then I also have never understood how a movie about killer radioactive tree roots could be marketed as Troll 3.

In much the same way Hollywood gave us dueling volcano films (Volcano and Dante’s Peak) and dueling celestial doomsday flicks (Armageddon and Deep Impact), 1989 saw the release of dueling fright flicks about...

As Jurassic Park and its sequels arrive on Blu-ray, we caught up with Ariana Richards, who starred as Lex Murphy, about her role in the film…

Having already appeared in films such as Tremors, Spaced Invaders and Timescape, young actress Ariana Richards landed her most prominent role in the 1993 classic, Jurassic Park. While Stan Winston’s realistic dinosaurs were understandably the main draw for audiences, their presence wouldn’t have been the same without a vital, human dimension – and Richards’ performance as Lex Murphy brought a great sense of adventure and fear to a visually stunning movie.

With Jurassic Park out now on Blu-ray, we spoke to Ms Richards about her role in the film, the impact it had on her career, and what it was like to work with Steven Spielberg…

How have you enjoyed revisiting your time making the film as the promotion for this re-release has gone on?...

After witnessing a mysterious train crash, a group of kids making a film in the summer of 1979 begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small town, and begin to investigate into the creepy phenomenon as military make their presence known and people start to go missing in the 2011 summer blockbuster Super 8.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last year or so, you have more than likely heard of Super 8 and have it on your movie radar. I like many had been waiting a long time for this film and found myself at the first showing on opening day. While I had a blast with this flick, it has its fault and is not the second coming of the monster sub-genre many hoped it would be. Nevertheless, what we are given is a very solid and ultimately family friendly sci-fi flick that is idea...

Although the thought of a new comedy starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost should be enough to get most people excited, the first couple of international trailers for Greg Mottola's Paul have seemed a little bit broad and not particularly inspired. The upcoming movie stars the British duo as two sci-fi nerds on a pilgrimage to various UFO sites across the U.S. who encounter a real-life alien (voiced by Seth Rogen). A new domestic trailer has finally hit the web this week over at Apple.com [1], and although it's not laugh out loud hilarious, it definitely seems to be a step in the right direction. In addition to some clips that we've seen before, we also get a glimpse of Kristen Wiig as another fellow nerd who helps them along the way, plus Jason Bateman and Bill Hader as FBI agents on their trail. I could still see this movie going either way,...

The end of April is typically the calm before the summer storm, but Hollywood has become more and more aggressive with the timeframe as the years have progressed. This year, for instance, with Iron Man 2 set for May 7, high-profile A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) launches at 3,332 theaters on the April 30-May 1 weekend. Five Years Ago - 2005 This weekend was one of the industry's most significant bids to start the summer season early with the release of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and XXX: State of the Union, but it failed. Hitchhiker's Guide blasted off with a chart-topping $21.1 million at 3,133 sites, which was solid by sci-fi comedy standards but perceived as somewhat of a letdown for such a long-awaited book adaptation. The Vin Diesel-free XXX sequel opened in third with a disastrous $12.7 million at 3,480 sites after giving a generic Tom Clancy treatment to the extreme James Bond of the first movie.

Traditionally, late April hasn't been the most exciting time at the box office, but Hollywood has been making more and more attempts to capitalize on the days leading up to the summer movie season. Five Years Ago - 2005 The Interpreter topped the box office with $22.8 million at 2,758 theaters. It was one of the biggest-grossing debuts for a political thriller at the time. In second, The Amityville Horror (2005) had a solid second weekend hold by horror standards, while Sahara held well in third. The other nationwide debuts were a bust: A Lot Like Love opened to $7.6 million, Kung Fu Hustle mustered just $6.7 million and King's Ransom was ignored with $2.1 milllion. * Weekend Report Ten Years Ago - 2000 Trying to offer summer excitement in April, U-571 emerged with a chart-topping $19.6 million at 2,583 sites. That was and still is the highest-grossing debut ever for a submarine thriller, although it didn't pack quite as many...

Before 2001, movies really didn’t mean a lot to me. Sure, I loved the general mainstream fair that blew up the box office and showed enough sex and violence to keep my demented, testosterone-saturated mind happy, but the Art of Cinema was completely lost on me. Movies like Under Siege and Commando dominated my late nights in front of the television, and I can distinctly remember seeing a trailer for Fargo and thinking, “What the goddamn fuck?” (I also remember begging my stepdad to let me watch Showgirls so I could “see the boobs.” Hey, I’m not proud. My attitude might not have changed, but at least I’m a little more subtle now.) But what do you expect? I was sixteen and far more interested in John Grisham novels and The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time to really care too much about what was playing at the local movie theater. I...

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)

When I interviewed Berke Breathed a few years back, I asked him if there would finally by a comprehensive Bloom County collection like the recently available Calvin & Hobbes and Peanuts volumes. Breathed was dismissive of the idea, claiming that no one wanted to read the strip, that it was no longer relevant, and it just wasn’t going to happen. Well, a few years have gone by,...

Aug 12, 2009 As the buzz continues to build for the Peter Jackson-produced, alien-apartheid thriller District 9, it's been fun to see how much movie-going audiences actually love science fiction films, how excited they get at the prospect of a "good" sci-fi movie hitting their local multiplex. But, while the enthusiasm for the genre is inspiring, it's hard to deny that sci-fi is a difficult genre to pull off on film. For every Blade Runner or Solaris, there are fifty Adventures of Pluto Nash or Spaced Invaders. Maybe that's why it's so ...Read more at MovieRetriever.com...

This week plays host to a release slate so big that when it's finished doing the rounds in theaters we expect it to climb out of the sea and attack Japan.

Download this in audio form (MP3: 14:50 minutes, 13.6 Mb) Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]

"Act of God"

Following "Manufactured Landscapes," her compelling 2006 portrait of photographer Edward Burtynsky and the paradoxical beauty of his images of industry, Canadian documentary filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal turns her attention to one of nature's most dynamic phenomenon. Collecting a multitude of testimony from lightning strike survivors and witnesses, Baichwal explores a host of ideas and explanations for this awe-inspiring experience, from the miraculously divine to the maddeningly random.

Opens in Chicago.

"Adam"

With an actual medical condition taking the place of the now-nearly-obligatory dose of quirk, writer/director Max Mayer's gentle story of boy meets girl -- his first film since 1998's...