The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

We've confirmed the 2nd U.S. screening of Alexei Fedorchenko's FIRST ON THE MOON (Russia, 2005) which had its U.S. Premiere two weeks ago at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's "New Directors / New Films" series. It's the story of the Soviet cosmopilot who flew a secret experimental mission to the moon in 1938 and the difficult aftermath of his return to Earth. All the documentary footage looks very convincing, so, as far as we're concerned, it's probably true.

With a bevy of unannounced surprises, besides the 5 serial chapters of 1943's THE BATMAN, this completes the lineup for the 23rd Annual 24 Hour Ohio Science Fiction Marathon. Subject to change, this is what I'm thinking for the sequence of films:

KING KONG
FORBIDDEN PLANET
FIRST ON THE MOON
GODZILLA FINAL WARS
SHORTS from the Science Fiction Museum
THE CRAZIES
BATMAN
THE INVISIBLE BOY
SERENITY
WESTWORLD

or

KING KONG
FORBIDDEN PLANET
THE INVISIBLE BOY
FIRST ON THE MOON
GODZILLA FINAL WARS
SHORTS from the Science Fiction Museum
THE CRAZIES
BATMAN
SERENITY
WESTWORLD

THE INVISIBLE BOY on the heels of FORBIDDEN PLANET makes sense since it's Robby's follow up and it's really a kids film at a kid-friendly time, but I hate pushing eveything else back a couple of hours more.

Kick this all around. I'm about 24 to 48 hours from having to make the final decision. Still don't have definitive info on which shorts we'll be getting from Seattle's SF Museum. They may wind up scattered rather than in a block. Kick away....

Reading about FIRST ON THE MOON, this movie sounds insane. This should be a great addition; something very different than what we usually see.

http://www.filmlinc.com/ndnf/program/films/firstonthemoon.html

Great addition! I vote for the second schedule with Invisible Boy early.

I'm more likely to fall asleep if INVISIBLE BOY is in the middle of the night. WESTWORLD is a great choice for an ender, but how about this: lead with FORBIDDEN PLANET and shift KONG to the end? That way the short films won't be pushed back too late in the schedule. Just a thought.

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I would end with Serenity.

I would like to see Invisible Boy follow Forbidden Planet!!

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How cool is it that we have the two, count 'em, TWO biggest screen stars in the world packed into a single marathon event this year? Of course, I'm talking about King Kong & Godzilla. I'll answer my own question: It's very cool.

I have to gracefully disagree with Terry, and say I really like the idea of ending with WESTWORLD. Good, good choice. End with a bang.

I'm excited about FIRST ON THE MOON. I know nothing about it, except the still photo from one of the links I followed. I like going in blind to this type of film, and seeing what happens. I had no idea what PRIMER was last year, but I was curious, and that makes it exciting, even when the film leaves me with a bunch of questions.

Bruce, I prefer the fist lineup arrangement over the second. That's my vote. However, in each arrangement, the films that matter most are right where they need to be.

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I'd say Invisible Boy after Forbidden Planet. Ending with Westworld is a must. Serenity around the early morning allows those of us who prefer not to show recent releases can try to sleep if we want. A too kid friendly movie at 5am might put eneryone to sleep. Great lineup.

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I think I like option #2 best. That mixes things up a bit more, rather than having the first several hours of the marathon be pre-1960. And once they're done, that's it. I don't think we ever go any farther back than 1973 for the rest of the 'thon, so I think it's fine to hold Invisible Boy until later and keep things a little more varied, temporally speaking. Besides which, we bookended Alien/Aliens and Terminator/Terminator2 and I think that worked great (barring Terminator 2: reel 2), so I don't see a problem separating Robby's two big movies. Although I do agree that as a kids' movie, it might be good to show it when people will actually be awake and kids are more likely to be in attendence, but I'll let the people who may be bringing kids speak to that. I still prefer a later showing of the Invisible Boy to having it paired with Forbidden Planet.

I'm psyched by First on the moon. I just wish Sergei (my son we adopted from Russia) was old enough to be able to come. Will it be dubbed or will it be subtitled? Either in the 3rd or 4th slot works, before the eyes get too tired if it is subtitles. I like the second option as well. Not sure if I'm too late to get the input in or not. The dialup at the in-laws farm is driving me nuts.

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