Fantasm: Kyle Kuchta Discusses Horror Fan Convention Documentary
Fantasm is a new documentary currently in production. It is directed by Kyle Kuchta, and it tells the story of horror conventions, and more specifically, the fans that attend them. Kuchta is originally from Niantic, CT, where he always had a love for the movies, primarily horror films. His grandparents would let him watch Universal [...]
Kirk Hammett on the Inspiration of the Horrific
Kirk Hammett has a new video out promoting his book Too Much Horror Business. Not only does the viewer get a look at some of Hammett’s pieces in his collection, but the commentary associated with it is of interest. Along the way Hammett notes the influence of Bob Wilkins, the Bay Area horror host of [...]
Podcast Interview at ComicAttack.net
I am the guest in a podcast interview with Jeff Jackson of ComicAttack.net in his column “Comics Are My Religion.” In the podcast Jeff and I discuss my background and approach to the fantastic, the spiritual significance of science fiction and its fandom, and new books worth picking up that probe the fantastic more deeply. [...]
Forthcoming Dungeons & Dragons Documentary
Dungeons and Dragons is one of the most influential, and controversial games of the 20th century. A forthcoming film aims to tell the story in Dungeons & Dragons: A Documentary, produced by Andrew Pascal, Anthony Savini, and James Sprattley. See the story on the film and some background on D&D in an essay in WIRED [...]
Shatner’s Insight on “Get a Life!”
William Shatner’s latest documentary was recently released, William Shatner’s Get a Life!. The title comes from the (in)famous Saturday Night Live episode in 1986 where Shatner poked fun at Star Trek fans and their devotion to the series and Trek universe. Yet with the passing of years the actors seems to not only have come [...]
New Fan Convention Documentary – Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope
Documentaries on geek culture in connection with fan conventions are a continued item of interest for TheoFantastique. In addition to those explored in previous posts we are pleased to add Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope to the list. The film synopsis from the official website: Have you ever imagined a place where Vulcans and [...]
Trek Nation: Documentary on a Fatherhood and Pop Culture Legacy
The documentary Trek Nation debuted on the Science Channel on November 30, presenting an interesting personal quest to understand the life and legacy of Gene Roddenberry. While many books and television programs have been done exploring Roddenberry and the Star Trek phenomenon he created, the unique aspect of Trek Nation comes in the form of [...]
Fantasy and Science Fiction Conventions as Transformational Festivals
I feel some level of justification as to my intuitions on aspects of science fiction and fantasy conventions and their subcultures. I recently came across a post at The Wild Hunt blog which referenced a lecture by Jeet-Kei Leung on transformational festivals like Burning Man. Jason Pitzl-Waters of The Wild Hunt mentioned that a similar [...]
Fan Culture Exploration – MTV’s True Life: “I’m a Fanboy”
Tags: True Life, MTV Shows In my ongoing research on fantastic fan cultures I came across this episode of MTV’s True Life that focuses on the phenomenon titled “I’m a Fanboy.” Although the program seems to include and reinforce some stereotypes of “fanboys,” no doubt basted upon MTV’s selection process in fan submissions rather [...]
Fan Culture Documentaries: Back to Space-Con, and Four Days at Dragon*Con
This weekend I had the opportunity to watch two documentaries, Back to Space-Con, produced and directed by Tom Wyrsch of Garfield Lane Productions, and Four Days at Dragon*Con, produced and directed by Jack Walsh of Public Broadcasting in Atlanta. Taken together, these films tell the story of the development of science fiction and fantasy conventions, [...]
