HBO's "Got No Game With Paul Mecurio" Launches

The new HBO Sports comedy series I've been writing for, "Got No Game with Paul Mecurio," launches today. The series is available on HBO.com, iTunes, and YouTube. New episodes premiere every Friday throughout August. Check out the interview with Michael "Let's Get Ready to Rumble!" Buffer, and a behind-the-scenes look at fight night in Vegas below.

Stan Lee's Best Cameos, Liberian Girl and More

Here's a bit of recent writing for AMC and AOL's Asylum you might enjoy...

Stan Lee's Best and Worst Marvel Movie Cameos

Actors Who Should Stop Singing

Best and Worst Woody Allen Stand-Ins




Michael Jackson's Video Vixens (featuring the '80s celeb-studded "Liberian Girl")

10 Celebrity Commercials We're Sold On (Shatner shilling for Commodore is classic.)

Also, Videogum posted the clip of Barbara Walters interviewing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that I featured in my recent column on the 25th anniversary of the franchise. Thanks to Tim Carvell for tweeting it.

Barbara Walters Makes Donatello Cry

I wrote my latest AMC TV column on the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and included this gem:



There's so much right here, I don't know where to begin. First off...

-The set. Since the interview, from one of Barbara's pre-Oscar specials, exists solely to plug Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of Extending Vanilla Ice's Career Past 'Ice Ice Baby', I'm going to assume she's visiting them on set. However, it looks pretty chintzy, even for a quickie sequel. Was the set constructed specifically for this interview? Did some poor union guy go from working on "Twin Peaks" or "Covington Cross" to building a fake sewer for Barbara Walters to chat with the Ninja Turtles on for three minutes? Right now some set designer could have "Underground sewer lair, Barbara Walters Special" on their resume.

-Babs calling Donatello, "Donatella." You might remember Donatello's later years as an Italian fashion designer with leathery, reptilian skin.

-The brilliant twist on the creaky "everyone cries on Barbara Walters specials" gag. That Jim Henson Creature Shop can do anything.

-Donatello shaking his head at Barbara's attempt to adopt Raphael's "urban" slang. Yes, Babs isn't hip enough to hang with a bunch of white guys in rubber suits.

Besides the occasional Muppet mingling with Matt Lauer, this kind of thing never happens on TV any more. I would kill for a DVD of journalists awkwardly interviewing cartoon characters and puppets. It's a rite of passage for news anchors: you're nobody in the TV news biz until you've bumped fists with Raphael or gotten hit on by Miss Piggy.

Summer Movies and Pig Sickness

With summer movie season in full swing, it's time for my AMC column to look at the season's comic book movie offerings. First up, I teamed up with pal Matt Manning (author of the new Wolverine guide from DK Publishing) for five fun facts about everyone's favorite pointy-haired mutant. How does he get his mutton-chops to stay so sharp?

Next up is a look at the secret comic book movies of summer. Turns out Transformers: Revenge of Michael Bay and the Hayden Panettiere career-killer I Love You, Beth Cooper have comic book connections.

Also in the summer movie vein is my look at the many terrible upcoming chick flicks that no man should be dragged to for AOL's Asylum.com. Oh, Nia Vardalos. What sort of cultural stereotypes will you perpetuate this time?

Finally, my piece on the 10 pigs we'll always love, swine flu be damned, has gotten love from everyone from Neatorama to The Pig Blog. Any excuse to make a U.S. Acres reference.

New AMC Columns

Fans of stupid movie villains (like Faye Dunaway's campy witch from Supergirl) and Megan Fox stalkers will want to check out my latest comic book movie columns for AMCTV.com First up, I look at the dumbest supervillains in comic book movie history. Poor noble Doctor Doom. He's only an almighty despot in the Marvel Comics universe. Three movies under his belt, and he's about as threatening as Snidely Whiplash.

Next up,comic book movie bad girls get their due as I separate the truly "bad girl" movies from the just plain bad movies. Seriously, Sheena is one of the greatest movies ever made. Where have you gone, Tanya Roberts?

On the AOL front, I recently put together fun galleries on famous geeks of yore and a potential cast for the live-action Thundercats movie.

As usual, check out my daily gossip and entertainment news roundups for AMC and AOL's Asylum.com. And should Faye Dunaway try to steal your Omegahedron, just distract her with a bright shiny object.

Come to Superhero Night

This Wednesday is no ordinary night...it's Superhero Night! I'll be cohosting Scifi Screening Room: Superhero Night live at Under St. Marks Theater on March 18th at 7pm. Kevin Maher (AMC's Scifi Department) and I have a ton of fun clips, guests, and special surprises planned. If you enjoyed the Batman Night we put on a few months back, this show promises to be even better. Details below. Hope you can make it!

SCIFI SCREENING ROOM: SUPERHERO NIGHT!

From the people who brought you HULK Night and KISS Night comes the ultimate video cavalcade of off-beat Superhero clips.

Featuring stuff you won't find on TV, YouTube or Hulu... including scenes from The 1979 cartoon show FRED & BARNEY MEET THE THING.

...scenes from The Spirit TV movie

...Roger Corman's Fantastic Four

...David Hasselhoff's Nick Fury TV movie

...and a view-master reel of Superman Vs. The Computer Crook.

Special guests include James Dean Conklin, the animator of WONDERMAN (TV Funhouse)
Professor Geoff Klock (who contribued to MOMA's Superhero fashion book)
Matthew K. Manning (writer for DC's Batman Strikes)
M. Sweeney Lawless (curator of BIGFOOT Night)
Jay Stern (producer of FRANKENSTEIN Night)
Craig Wichman (who played Batman in BATMAN Night's Fan Fiction)

It all happens this Wednesday, March 18th @ 7 PM.

UNDER St. Mark's
94 St. Mark's Place (between 1st Avenue and Avenue A)

Tickets are $7 (admission includes a Hostess Fruit Pie)

(We are already featured on a David Hasselhoff fan site. Come for the Hoff, stay for the fruit pies!)

Alan Moore Is Angry and Belinda Carlisle Is Still Crushworthy

With Watchmen finally hitting theaters on Friday, my latest comic book movie column for AMCTV.com explores the many reasons why Alan Moore hates the movies based on his work. Fingers crossed Watchmen changes Hollywood's track record of turning Moore's brilliant comics into unwatchable garbage. Early reviews seem to range from "this movie will change your life" to "meh," which is never a great sign.

Meanwhile, over at AOL's Asylum, you can check out my gallery of crushes from the '80s. Find out what Mia Sara and Kirk Cameron's girlfriend from Growing Pains have been up to. (Also check out the UK version of my piece, which tosses in Samantha Fox for good measure. Hey, naughty girls need love too.) I also put together a fun gallery of lesser-known Saturday Night Live Cast members from the '80s and '90s. Any excuse to work in a Danitra Vance reference.