Cosplay Shennanigans Vs the World!

A few weeks ago, Crystal from Crystal Rose Creations told me, "I'm gonna be Ramona Flowers (from Scott Pilgrim Vs The World) for Long Beach Comic Expo!" and this was a week and a half before the convention.  She needed a hammer, and... (this really happened, I swear), there were streamers and a disembodied voice screaming "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!"

Ellie's Brutal Guide to Being an Extra

Comic book movies are more prevalent today than ever. And where there's a comic book movie, there's a casting company needing to fill scenes with extras. And where there's a casting company needing extras, there's a horde of geeks ready to strike.

It's like "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie," but far more annoying for working professionals in film.

With Captain America choosing to shoot in my town of Atlanta, the geek community has been blowing up my Facebook and email. With that comes all manner of annoyance at the attitude being an extra is being treated with. So time to air some grievances, and give some tips for those of you insisting on applying.

Cosplay Shennanigans: Budget Energy Effect Parts

If you've been following my cosplay articles in the past, you might have noticed my Brother Warth and Captain Cold costumes. I love these costumes because I love gimmicks.  Brother Warth had a light-up LED power ring and parts of the costume lit up under camera flashes because of retro-reflective vinyl.  Captain Cold is slightly different: it had a cold gun that had a bright blue LED, which was also a miniature fog machine.

I thought to myself, maybe I should introduce a fresh new gimmick that’s very visually exciting, and just plain looks like fun.  Being a fan of action figures and miniatures, it is always a treat to have toys with translucent parts, and even cooler, add-on transparent parts. I started noticing that SH Figuarts even starts selling effect parts either specifically for certain toys SEPARATELY or just awesome general effect parts.  I, being myself, who doesn’t have a filter, thought it would be nice to have life-sized effect parts for my costumes.

Gaming Convention How-To: Theming Your Game by Justin Rhodes

Gaming conventions are ultimate meccas of nerdery, replete with so many wonderful distractions and remarkable pastimes. Previously, I wrote about making a memorable con-game and one of the nuggets of wisdom included theming your game. How can you do that? Here are some ideas:

Emmy winner Ryan Murphy challenges society...and I gladly accept! By Brian J. Patterson

Ryan Murphy with husband David Miller on Emmy red carpet.

The Normal Heart, directed by Ryan Murphy and starring Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, Julia Roberts, Joe Manello, Jonathan Groff, Denis O'Hare, Stephen Spinella, Corey Stoll, Finn Wittrock, and BD Wong, was nominated for 16 (yes, you heard that right, sixteen) awards for the 66th Annual Prime Time Emmys. I was ecstatic to watch, as it won it's only award for Outstanding Television Movie. This film, which depicts the story of the HIV/AIDS crisis of the early 1980s in New York City, meant so much to so many people due to it's raw and truthful subject matter which is both touching and moving. I won't even exhibit such hubris by attempting to put into words what this film accomplished and why. However, what I will do is honor it's powerful work by answering the call to action which director Ryan Murphy set forth.

Losing Your Mind in Crowdfunding

Hello there. It has been some time since I've graced this here website with an article, and I'm sorry about that, but I have been busy with creative endeavors elsewhere. That and Mike hasn't asked me to write an article since we got into that argument about who would win in a fight, Godzilla or Galactus. (Devourer of Worlds my ass -Ed) Chairs may have been hurled, egos bruised and an understanding on why us geeks don't fight each other: we get tried quickly and look ridiculous.

Anyway, my short hiatus was due to the fact that, aside from mocking films on the internet, I actually do try and make them myself in what spare time I have. My last film, Devil May Care was almost entirely crowdfunded, and went on to win some Best Of Awards at a couple of film festivals. I am currently in the middle of crowdfunding my next picture, a fantasy film-noir comedy called A Bad Luck Guy In A Bad Luck Town. Let me tell you, it's a freaking nightmare from which you cannot wait to wake up from.