Mann’s Chinese Theatre, May 25, 1977
Mann’s Chinese Theatre, May 25, 1977
(Images via Jedipedia and Blogbusters)
Archive for January, 2013
Movie Theater Marquees: Star Wars (1977)
Published January 31, 2013 Movie Theaters/Marquees , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 3 CommentsMovie Theater Marquees: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Published January 31, 2013 Movie Theaters/Marquees , Sci-Fi Movies/TV Leave a Comment
The Capitol Theater, New York City, 1968. (Photo: Rory Monteith collection)
Ad for advanced ticket sales. (Photo: Rory Monteith collection)
If I had to choose a favorite movie of all time, it would be a tie between 2001 and It’s a Wonderful Life. Over the holidays I went to see the Kubrick exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). There was a separate room dedicated to each of his movies. It was wicked.
2001‘s world premiere was on April 2, 1968 at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C. It premiered at the Capitol Theatre in New York City on April 3, 1968. The Capitol was demolished later that year.
(Images via Rory Monteith via Cinema Retro)
Star Wars Flying Model Rocket Ads (1977, 1978)
Published January 30, 2013 Ads , Space Toys/Playsets , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 3 Comments
Remember when the kid in The Gate launched his big rocket at the giant four-handed demon lord thing and the giant four-handed demon lord thing exploded and closed the portal to hell and the kid’s dog came back to life? Yeah. That was awesome.
Okay, so the first video below shows what I think are the ’97 Estes re-issues (poor R2), as well as a custom built Y-Wing. The second video shows what happens when the chute on an original X-Wing doesn’t deploy. Oops.
EDIT (1/31/13): Lefty Limbo has a sweet Estes Iron-On Transfer on display here.
(Images via kenyatabks)
(Videos via Calvertfilm and proprioceptions3)
The Occult World of Doctor Strange Marvel Comics Calendar (1980)
Published January 29, 2013 Comic Books , Make Mine Marvel , Occult/Supernatural 3 Comments
The calendar cover art is by Dave Cockrum and Tom Palmer. The second illustration, from the month of April, is by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. Colan had an amazing run on Doctor Strange (vol. 2) with writer Steve Englehart. That was my introduction to Marvel’s trippiest character, and I still remember those books.
This is about the time I was really getting into comics. I wasn’t full-on collecting yet, but reading as many as I could get and trading them back and forth at school.
I saw the calendar originally at The Marvel Project. See the whole thing at Sanctum Sanctorum Comix, a Doc Strange fan site.
Wizards of the Coast Releases Digital Editions of D&D Classics
Published January 28, 2013 D&D , D&D Modules Leave a Comment
That’s right. Go to dndclassics.com to pick up the 1981 Basic Set Rulebook (currently $4.99), B2 The Keep on the Borderlands ($4.99), the first edition Fiend Folio ($9.99), and lots of others.
As of right now you can download In Search of the Unknown, the first introductory module (B1), for free. It’s a really nice scan.
Ethan Gilsdorf announced the move at Wired. Wil Wheaton talks about it here.
The Black Hole Concept Sketches (1978/1979)
Published January 28, 2013 Black Hole, The , Disney , Disney Movies , Sci-Fi Movies/TV , Sci-Fi Production Design , Sci-Fi/Space Art 2 Comments
According to the seller (Beach Parking/eBay), these are from the estate of a Disney animator. It’s a shame we don’t know his/her name or the history of the drawings, because I find them pretty interesting. The basic storyline appears to be in place, but instead of the gorgeously gothic vision we ultimately (and thankfully) got, the artist here presents much cheerier (i.e. typical Disney) fare.
In place of the dreary, massive, cathedral-esque Cygnus, we have the rotund, smiley-faced New Cosmos. And instead of lobotomized zombie slaves, we have a perfectly jovial crew traipsing about the amenity-laden ship like so many Eloi.
The miracle of The Black Hole is that its darker elements were allowed to shine through. That’s a big reason I’m so fond of the film despite the mediocre script.
UPDATE (4/3/13): Please see AcroRay’s comment and link below. These sketches appear to be of prequel stories designed for educational media kits. The kits are, naturally, very rare. If anyone comes across one or has more info, please let me know.
J.J. ‘Less Story, More Explosions’ Abrams to Direct the New Star Wars Movie
Published January 25, 2013 Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 2 CommentsMarx Toys: Galaxy Command Play Set (1979)
Published January 25, 2013 Marx Toys/Playsets , Space Toys/Playsets 3 Comments
Galaxy Command was an expanded version of the previous year’s Star Station Seven. Both sets share the same mats, and both reuse parts and figures from Marx’s popular space sets from the ’50s and ’60s—Tom Corbett Space Academy, Operation Moon Base, Cape Canaveral, etc. It took Star Wars to reignite kids’ interest in rockets and stars after the Apollo program ended.
Marx went bankrupt in ’79, but some of their trademarks and molds were picked up by other toy companies, including Mego. The last image above shows the Marx name covered by a Mego sticker (bottom right corner). The date on the sticker reads 1980.
The first three ads are from ’79 and ’80 issues of Model Retailer, a trade magazine for toy/hobby shop owners. The profit formula rings true enough. D&D displays and ads were mercilessly ubiquitous, the “full product line” would fill up the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and let’s not forget that the products themselves were pricey. I could get, what, 20 comics for the price of one module?
The last ad is from Toy & Hobby World, 1980. I’m not sure what’s going on at the top of the mountain. Is the dragon planting a sickle, and rocks are shooting off? Shouldn’t he/she be planting the flag? I feel sorry for “The Old Standby Game” and “Games For One Person Only,” but it’s kind of true that D&D rendered them unplayable.
I’m still intrigued by this ad (mentioned in a previous post), also from ’80.
My take is that the kids in the background are chatting about the Bee Gees or something equally awful (i.e. school), and aloof suspender guy is like, this is lame, I’m outta here, and I’m taking my totally awesome Basic Set with me. The problem is that he needs those other kids. You couldn’t play the game by yourself, as TSR proudly advertised.
The socially awkward, introspective loners were TSR’s bread and butter, but awkward loners, by definition, tend not to “hang around” with other people. So the company had to promote the social interactivity requirement (the cool kids had tons of friends) while also playing to the geeks.
My friends and I played the game as geography and rulebook availability allowed, but only two or three of us were really into it. Most of my time with D&D—and it was a good time—was spent rolling up characters, drawing dungeons, memorizing the rules, and crafting adventures that would never be played.
(Images via Alexander1968/Flickr and eBay)
Toy Aisle Zen: Voltron and Transformers (and Robotech Remembered)
Published January 23, 2013 Robotech , Toy Stores/Toy Aisles/Toy Departments , Transformers , Voltron 4 Comments
Circa 1984, when Voltron and the Transformers first appeared in the States. This shit was expensive, man. I had a couple of Gobots, the poor man’s Transformer, but by ’85 I’d moved on to the much more sophisticated Robotech.
The space opera format and those gnarly Veritech fighters had me at hello, and all the guys had mad crushes on Lisa or Minmei, or both. I vaguely recall Matchbox’s Robotech toy line, but I was moving away from action figures at this point.
I still remember the episode where Ben dies and Max, eyes closed in his darkened cockpit, makes the sign of the cross. Nobody had ever seen anything like that in a cartoon before.
Here’s the clip.
(Image via the NTFA Forums)
(Video via Malrenolds)
2 Warps to Neptune 