Ted V. Mikels is one of America’s foremost independent cult filmmakers whose career has spanned over a half a century. His films have broken records for raising the bar high in camp, but also, in the early 1960′s, he was in the forefront of artists raising the social and national consciousness to the racial inequalities in American society. His 1966 film “The Black Klansman” was instrumental is putting one of the first cracks in that social injustice.
Ted has worked with such cinematic icons as John Carradine, Wendell Corey and the wonderful character actor William Bagdad.
Some of Ted’s other cult films include “The Astro Zombies,” co-written with a very young Wayne Rogers of “M*A*S*H” fame, the very campy cult favorite “Corpse Grinders” and “Bloody Orgy of the She Devils.” Michael Ansara, best known by sci-fi fans as the Klingon Captain Kang from the original Star Trek series and years later on Deep Space Nine and Voyager, worked with Ted on his movie “The Doll Squad” which dealt with an elite army of female assassins.
Ted talks about his famous one-time home, the Glendale Castle, what it takes in the way of personal and financial sacrifice to put together an independent cult film and that many times, the payback isn’t monetary but the satisfaction of seeing your creations well received and still being talked about over 40 years later.
Our interview with Ted went so well that we just couldn’t stop talking with this giant of indie filmmaking, so after this program, Ted will return for Part 2 on a future Slice of SciFi show.
In the News:
On the rest of the show we have an update to our story from last week’s show about the movie “Wanted.” One young engineering genius has invented a device that allows a person to be like Superman and leap tall buildings with a single bound. The Hi-Def cable channel INHD is about to get a name change and new look — can I hear you say MOJO? Finally, we have important and breaking news about that James Cameron discovery over in the Middle East.
Movie Talk:
This week we take a look at two movies written by young screenwriter Mark L. Smith. The first comes from director Nimrod Antal (Kontroll), entitled “Vacancy” and stars Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale. The second Smith film deals with college kids trying to rid their dorm of ghosts in “Seance.”
On DVD comes the 2004 release of zombie film “Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill.”
TV Talk:
On the small screen we talk a little about two new David Eick productions. The re-imagined “Bionic Woman” and “Them,” the story of an extraterrestrial terrorists cell. “Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer will star in this new Fox SF thriller. Katee Sackhoff, ‘Starbuck’ on BSG will be a major guest star on the new NBC “Bionic Woman” show.
Keifer Sutherland’s production company and the SCI FI Channel are working together to bring “Phenomenon” to television. This will center on a group of highly specialized investigators led by a mystery prodigy as they check into bizarre events that defy the known laws of physics.
Future Talk:
Summer gazes into the crystal ball and what does she see? Pet zombies! We take a look at the new film about zombies called “FIDO.” Various countries have already seen it and this is one you will not want to miss when it hits U.S. theaters this June.
We have the wonderful Ted V. Mikels, great news from all across the genre and a whole cast of characters in the studio, so come join us for the Slice of SciFi Show #102 ready for download this Wednesday, March 28, 2007 and airing on XM Satellite Radio, The Sonic Channel, one week later. We’ll see you then.
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