The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

I think people have me wrong on the "cheesefest" debate. It's not that films I am advising are cheesy in anyway. Just not on DVD or VHS most them which I thought would make for a good turnout for people to see things not available on DVD(or even VHS) like in the older days of the marathon. As much as I loved the showings of Logan's Run and Battelstar Galactica they are easily watchable on DVD as The Green Slime,Without Warning or TerrorVision are not. MANY people still have not see the Japanese Starman movies or Voyage Into Space or even maybe something like Troll but I'm sure most have seen Robocop or Forbidden Planet.
I think even TV movies like The Phoenix or The Power Within or even some of the Planet of the Apes TV films(made up from the Tv series)would be nice and rare showings. Nothing wrong with that is there?

Nothing at all. I just think too many films like that and you lose more people than you gain. But a couple are always welcome.

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"I came here to chew bubble gum and kick a**. I'm all out of bubble gum."

I doubt more than 2 or 3 people could look down a list of films and say "those first 4 are available on dvd but that 5th one isn't". Only the hardest of hardcore sci-fi film buffs, and those guys are likely all coming to the marathon anyways.




Precisely. Obscure films from 1962 that nobody has ever heard of aren't going to make anybody buy a ticket for a marathon. If you want to grow attendance, the best way to do it is with more mainstream fare.

Like I mentioned earlier in this thread, I'm bringing a new person this year, and of the films listed so far, the one he's most interested in is Star Trek, despite just seeing it in the theaters last year.

But like Meatfetish said, a couple are always welcome. "Go for the Star Treks, stay for the King Dinosaurs." (Though I just checked on amazon, and I see that King Dinosaur is indeed available on dvd. You get the point though. Nobody is going to go out of their way to buy a ticket for a showing of King Dinosuar or to buy it on dvd.)

(For the record, I sold my friend on the marathon before any films were announced. The idea of 24 straight hours of sci-fi movies of all varieties really is the selling point for most folks, not specific titles. Though sometimes specific titles help. I remember a group of college students sitting right behind us at the 2006 horror marathon were talking before it started and I overheard them mention that they showed up because they really wanted to see From Dusk Till Dawn. By far the most mainstream of that year's films.)

I can see Infrakid's point here. With home theatre setups today rivaling the theatre experience and most everything available on DVD/ Blu-Ray, I would prefer to see some more obscure films as well.

But... when it comes down to it, it is the experience of seeing these films with all of you that makes it something I look forward to every year.

Whether the films are available on DVD or not, the marathon can be a unique opportunity to see films that you would normally never get a chance to see in a theatre with an audience that is into it as much as you are. Some of my best marathon memories include experiencing "The Creature From The Black Lagoon" in 3D, "Galaxy of Terror", "Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster", "Chopping Mall", "Night of the Comet", etc. Films that I never expected to see in such an epic way. For the same reason, I enjoy the trailers and shorts almost more than I do the films.

I'm psyched, people! See you soon!

The Green Slime is a cheesey sci fi flick. It was used for the pilot episode of MST3K. During the KTMA season. I did see one of Japan's Starman movie on Wolfman Mac Chiller Drive In Theater on RTV. (WCMH DT2) It wasn't that great. Having a mix of well known movies with obscurities is the best thing.

Confession time! After each marathon, I actually try to get my hands on a copy of all the movies, good or bad (yes that means I own a copy of automatons, lol).

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Remember ... no matter where you go, there you are.

I too confess. (except for Automatons!) and I WOULD go out of my way to buy a ticket for a showing of King Dinosaur...Even more so than for Star Trek. These are the films you haven't seen on the big screen in a theatre (and most likely will never get that chance other than in our marathon.) The films I'd most like to see are gems like "The Man Who Fell To Earth", "A Boy and His Dog", "Phantom of the Paradise", and any classic sci-fi, cheesy or not.

Keep in mind, the lineup is probably not quite complete. There could possibly be 2 or 3 more films that might surprise and delight us all.

No matter what, I REALLY appreciate the efforts of all involved in making the marathon happen. I treasure it, I applaud you, and I will be there with bells on.

No way is the lineup complete. We only have 8 movies and 1 short. Star Trek is the only one that hits the 2-hour mark. By my math, the 9 titles announced so far add up to 14 hours.

A quick look at last year's lineup shows that it was about 300 minutes longer than what's been announced so far for this year.

So unless the next movies added are the uber-long versions of The Abyss or Dune, we're probably looking at 3 more movies to be added to this year's lineup.



Absolutely. Thank you Bruce & co.

I don't think anyone thinks this year's lineup is complete. I'm just worried that with next weekend quickly approaching and no new confirmations that the rest of the lineup will be "filler" stuff or nothing special. I sincerely hope my fears are wrong and they will surprize me in the next couple of days.

I mean, it's crunch time. They have to lock in the full lineup sometime real soon, don't they?

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

Bruce and CO. are waiting to make sure that the movies that they're trying to get will be screen. I don't think anyone want to see last minute replacements if they announce any films that will fall through the proverbial cracks.

Since the lineup is a big improvement over last year, witch I was a vocal critic.

I can't wait to see Godzilla vs. Mothra. I'm guessing that they will release the rest of the lineup by Friday or no later than Monday.

An additional "film" has been added:
http://www.scifimarathon.com/films.html

I am waiting for confirmation on atleast two more films...so as many of you have noted, nope...the lineup isn't complete yet, but Bruce, Jeff, and co. are working on it.

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Six side is heaven/Nine side is go

Interesting. Any word on whether this film will be shown all at once, or broken up into separate segments? I wouldn't mind if it gets broken up, so long as we don't have to wait until 10 AM for the final bit, since half the audience is likely to miss it.

Of course, having never seen this, I have no idea if it works better in pieces or all at once.

Sounds like something I might enjoy though.

Not sure...I poked Jeff about it the other day and I think it's still in discussions as to how it will be shown. ^_^ I would guess, given past experiences, it will be broken up/serialized....but I can't say for sure.

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Six side is heaven/Nine side is go

Stingray Sam have a short runtime of 61 minutes. This year we may end on time.

Hmmm... ultra low budget, shot in black&white, featuring tiny robots...

...


...uh oh.

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"