MST3K Reunion Show, Robot Movie Trivia, Top Grossing Films Ever, 2016 Music Roundup, and Ninja News

I had the honor of a guest post at Anne R. Allen’s Blog on Sunday, June 12!
She and Ruth Harris maintain a top notch site for writers – one of Writers Digest’s Top 101 Sites for Writers. If you’re a writer, you need to check it out.

MST3K Reunion Show

We are just two weeks away from the MST3K Reunion show!

Why is this such a big deal? Outside of a Con appearance or two, these guys have not been seen together for fifteen-twenty years.

The originator of the show, Joel Hodgeson, is in the middle of relaunching the series with new actors. He hopes to draw from the most popular MST3K episodes, which include a mix of Joel and Mike as hosts. The new host, Jonah Ray, will also be part of the reunion tour.

Writers since the first season or two and the ones to continue and complete the series - Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett, Mary Jo Pehl, and Bridget Jones Nelson – have continued with the famous RiffTrax riffs, movies, and live shows.

Trace Beaulieu, and Frank Conniff, who played Dr. Clayton Forrester and the first Crow T. Robot and TV’s Frank respectively, have worked on other projects after the show.

Noticeably absent is Jim Mallon, producer and the one who played Gypsy.

But spanning the years, this is the core cast. No fringe members. (Such as Josh Weinstein who did a poor turn as Tom Servo in season one.) These are the ones who matter.

And for two hours, they will be trading off and on as they riff a selection of really bad shorts for millions across America. Pure MST3K joy!

Tuesday, June 28 at 8:00 pm – don’t miss it! Get your tickets HERE - many theaters have already sold out.

The Semi-Annual Music Roundup

It's time for my Semi-Annual Music Roundup! (That I just started.) 2016 has been a great one for music, with enough rocking variety to blow your pants off. So without further ado...

Baroness – Purple: Already reviewed but still in heavy rotation. Early contender for album of the year?

Megadeth – Dystopia: Just when I think that Megadeth is swirling the drain, Dave Mustaine pulls out an amazing heavy record. Best stuff in over ten years.

Serenity - Codex Atlanticus: This really didn't click the first couple listens, but I really dig it now. It's a symphonic rock concept album about Leonardo Da Vinci. Cheesy....you bet, but also very catchy.

Dream Theater - The Astonishing: It is...astonishing. (Reviewed this one previously.)

Omnium Gatherum - Grey Heavens: While not as great as their last effort, the song Skyline is Scandinavian metal at its finest.

Redemption - The Art of Loss: Criminally underrated. This is such a great release. If you are a fan of heavy prog rock, give it a listen.

Amon Amarth – Jomsviking: Got to hand it to these guys, every album is about Viking mythology and culture. You'd think it would grow boring and stale, but this album rocks. Great music for working out. (Or looting and pillaging.)

Kvelertak – Nattesferd: These guys are all over the map musically and I dig it. Not as good as the debut but a step up from their sophomore release.

Ninja News

Today’s Themes That Rocked the Challenge feature at the A to Z Blog is J.A. Scott and his rocking theme of childhood television shows and commercials!

The WEP August Challenge is Gardens.
Post prose, poetry, images… up to a thousand words.
See the site for more details.

Steps Along My Shore by Elsie Amata
Elsie Amata shares her personal account of how she healed from the Relational Trauma caused by discovering her husband’s sex addiction.
Find it at Amazon
And through June 15, it’s free!

You. I. Us. by Annalisa Crawford
Find it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and Book Depository

Movie Trivia

Robot movies! Guess the movie from the robot’s name.

1 – V.I.N.C.E.N.T. and B.O.B., 1978
2 – Evil Robot Us-es and Good Robot Us-es, 1991
3 – Bishop, 1986
4 – Hector, 1980
5 – Gunslinger, 1973
6 – Dot Matrix, 1987
7 – Bubo, 1981
8 – Huey, Dewey, and Louie, 1972

Answers next week!

The Billion Dollar Money Makers – Are They Worthy?

Box Office Mojo now lists twenty-six movies that have crossed the billion dollar mark. Avatar is number one at approximately 2.8 billion and The Dark Knight is number twenty-six at one billion. Jurassic Park is the oldest film in the bunch – 1993, while Titanic was the first to cross one billion.

One thing that is interesting is the domestic to foreign dollar ratio. Most of the billion dollar movies are one third domestic (USA) and two thirds foreign. (Notable exceptions are the two Dark Knight movies and the two Star Wars films on the list.) In order to have a shot at a billion dollars, a film has to do well in foreign markets. Some do really well, making only a quarter of their profit in the USA.

But when you look at the list, you have to wonder how some of those films managed to do so well. Inflation means newer movies are more likely to cross the mark, and a strong foreign market can offset a low domestic take.

The results – films such as Transformers: Age of Extinction cross a billion dollars. (Which has the highest foreign percentage at 77.8%.) In fact, there are two Transformers movies on the list. In contrast, there is only one Harry Potter and one LOTR movie over a billion dollars. What!?

I don’t want to debate which movies deserve to be a billion dollar films based on personal opinion. (Because for one, I thought Alice in Wonderland was awful. It doesn’t surprise me its sequel is tanking.) But based on quality, appeal, and popularity, what films really should be in the billion dollar club?

Here are the films, from top to bottom:
Avatar, Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, Marvel's The Avengers, Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Frozen, Iron Man 3, Minions, Captain America: Civil War, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Skyfall, Transformers: Age of Extinction, The Dark Knight Rises, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Toy Story 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Jurassic Park, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Alice in Wonderland (2010), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Zootopia, The Dark Knight

What do you think? Even if the quality was mediocre, was the subject matter appealing enough anyway? Are those all billion dollar films?

Going to the MST3K Reunion show? What are your favorite albums of the year so far? Posting for WEP in August? Know any of the robot movies? And what films should and shouldn’t be in the billion dollar club?

Don’t forget to visit Anne R. Allen!