Blimey. Would you look at that. Classic kids show Knightmare is being turned into a live show, which is going to premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. Original producer and creator Tim Childs has apparently even given it his blessing. In case you need a reminder, here you go:
Hey, but guess what. They need cash, apparently. They’re trying to raise £6,000 on Kickstarter to fund the project, although they’re already halfway there. Give them some cash and maybe they’ll let you wear the helmet. Isn’t that exciting?
Although most of the public information films of the 1970s were largely concerned with everyday dangers, such as rabies, water, fridges and electricity sub-stations, there was one every-present concern that trumped all of these: the end of the world. The end of the world and general apocalypse was something that dominated the thinking of people in everyday life and in movies and TV – look at the popularity of Soylent Green, The Omega Man, Logan’s Run, Survivors, et al. Why? Because the world really did seem doomed, thanks to the Cold War and nuclear weapons.
Here in the UK, if the USSR had launched nuclear weapons at us, we’d have had precisely four minutes’ notice before the warheads exploded over our cities. Warnings would have sounded and we’d have had just those few short minutes to prepare ourselves for the end of civilisation as we knew it – assuming we survived, of course.
Fortunately, there was a public information booklet, radio series and accompanying films to explain how we could maximise our chances of survival in the event of Armageddon. The infamous Protect and Survive incorporated all manner of useful information for British citizens, such as how to dismantle doors to create a make-shift fallout shelter. Assuming, of course, you didn’t have a ‘fallout room’ in your house.
Watch these films to learn more on how to protect yourself in the event of the prospective annihilation of the human race, including how to build a fallout room, what to put in it and what to do with casualties and the dead after the attack. Remember – never keep a dead body in the house for more than five days.
Usually, you have to wait until the DVD release before you get a director’s commentary on his movie. Occasionally, just occasionally (as with Looper), you get a director’s commentary at the same time as the movie is released, so you can listen to it while you’re at the cinema. But often do you get the director’s commentary on his or her movie before it’s actually out in cinemas?
Anyway, here’s Joss Whedon narrating a scene from Much Ado About Nothing. I wonder what he’ll do next.
This is a true story, apparently. Once upon a time, US law enforcement seized a LA beachhouse from a drug dealer. However, rather than sell it, the agency decided to keep it as a safehouse. More than that, they decided to let other agencies use it, and before you knew what had happened, suddenly you had a whole bunch of undercover operatives from the DEA, FBI et al, all living together under one roof.
Graceland, which comes to us from USA favourite Jeff Eastin (White Collar), is a fictionalised version of the real Graceland, although it claims many of the stories told are real events. In it, preppie FBI graduate Mike Warren (Aaron Tveit) moves into Graceland and has to get to know and befriend the house’s existing residents, so that he can learn how to be a proper FBI undercover agent. In particular, he has to befriend the Zen-like surfer Paul Briggs (Daniel Sunjata), who’s also to be his training agent, with the help of “Charlie” DeMarco (Vanessa Ferlito from CSI: NY). Why does he have to do this? Well, that’s a secret.
Now, if all of this sounds familiar to some extent, it’s because it’s Point Break. Except not as good.
