Terry Ziegelman – We Are Movie Geeks

““You either die the hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.””

The ‘First Friday’ event will be extra Bat-fun this Friday March 4th at the Saint Louis Science Center (5050 Oakland Ave.) Embrace your inner dark knight on the premier weekend of The Batman and celebrate the DC Comics Universe at Batman First Friday on March 4! The evening will include trivia, feature presentations, educational activities, and more including screenings of the new THE BATMAN movie in their Omni-max and a screening of the St. Louis-Shot THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS: AN EPIC FAN FILM (2016). Unless otherwise noted, all activities are FREE! For more information, go to the Science Center’s page HERE

5:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Building-Wide Game
Riddle Me This

The Riddler is on the loose in Gotham City and has left a trail of clues. Follow them to rescue the city!

7:00pm, Energy Stage
Feature Presentation

8:00pm, T. Rex Classroom
“The Dark Knight” fan film screening and Q&A with Wyatt Weed

Inspired by Frank Miller’s seminal 1986 graphic novel, local filmmaker Wyatt Weed (“Shadowland,” “Four Color Eulogy”) offers his unofficial fan’s take on the Batman mythos. Following the death of Robin at the hands of the Joker, Bruce Wayne (Weed) hung up the cowl and cape 10 years ago. But now Gotham City is in the grip of a violent crime wave, and the venerable 55-year-old billionaire has decided that the time might be ripe for the Caped Crusader’s return.

Ongoing Activities, 5:00 – 9:00 PM

Front Circle Drive-1

Check out Batman comics and more with Comic Grind

First Floor-1

Learn more about the physics of Batman’s tools with UMSL Technology Learning Center.
Discover the world of bats in the Life Science Lab.
Shop handmade products and art works from local artists and crafters.

GROW-1

Make a caped crusader pancake (or anything else you can dream up) with Dancakes presented by Anime St. Louis.

Second Floor-2

Create your own comic book panels in the Makerspace.
Visit local makers, tinkerers, and game developers near the Makerspace.

Planetarium-2

Test out rides in the Virtual Reality Transporter(cost varies by activity)
Discover more about space exploration with St. Louis Space Frontier, The Moon Society, and other astronomical groups.

Scheduled Activities

4:00pm, OMNIMAX/2
The Batman (TICKET REQUIRED)

Year: 2022
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 175 Minuteshttps://player.vimeo.com/video/677899113?h=bb8409b913&byline=0

Get Tickets Now

5:00pm – 8:00pm, Riddle Me This
Building-wide Game

The Riddler has been on the loose in Gotham City and has left a trail of clues. Follow them to rescue the city!
Start at the First Friday Info Table in the Main Lobby

6:00pm, Energy Stage/LL
Trivia

Prizes awarded for best in each round and overall winner

6:00pm, Planetarium/2
Telescope Viewing

Please check in for telescopes at the Planetarium ticket kiosk before or after the Star Show at 7:00pm

6:30pm, T. Rex Room/LL
FREE Batman: The Animated Series (1992) episodes

“Heart of Ice”
“Joker’s Favor”
“If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?”

7:00pm, Energy Stage/LL
Feature Presentation

7:00pm, Planetarium/2
FREE – Star Show: Live Sky Tonight

Relax under the clearest night sky in St. Louis as our skilled presenters lead you on tour of the best the night has to offer.

(45 minutes)

7:30pm, OMNIMAX/2 (TICKET REQUIRED)
The Batman

Year: 2022
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 175 Minutes

8:00pm, T. Rex Room/LL
“The Dark Knight” fan film screening and Q&A with Wyatt Weed

Watch a Batman fan film and dive into how to create your own

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS: AN EPIC FAN FILM screens Monday, Nov. 7 at 9:30pm at The Tivoli Theater as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Ticket information can be found HERE. Inspired by Frank Miller’s seminal 1986 graphic novel, local filmmaker Wyatt Weed (“Shadowland,” “Four Color Eulogy”) offers his unofficial fan’s take on the Batman mythos. Following the death of Robin at the hands of the Joker, Bruce Wayne (Weed) hung up the cowl and cape 10 years ago. But now Gotham City is in the grip of a violent crime wave, and the venerable 55-year-old billionaire has decided that the time might be ripe for the Caped Crusader’s return. It will shown with COMMITTED. In this DC Comics fan film from former St. Louisan Terry Ziegelman, the Joker and Harley Quinn take a time-out from battling Batman to explore their own issues in couple’s therapy.

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Review by Stephen Tronicek

It’s become widely accepted as a fact that levity is almost completely lacking from the new incarnation of the beloved character Batman in the DC Comics Extended Movie Universe. For all the surprisingly intense work put into the character by acclaimed writer/director/actor Ben Affleck, his appearances in both Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad have been morose and grating. The costume and conception of the character lack any of the necessary fun that Batman should embody. Wyatt Weed’s fan film THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, based on the Frank Miller classic graphic novel does an almost fascinating job of putting all the levity back in both its design and performance.

That’s actually a weird concept because Miller’s revolutionary book is one of those credited to the advent of more adult “dark” comics. Weed’s film running 44 minutes and covering the first act of the novel seems to be an almost word for word adaptation that puts a spin on the material as to makes it the same story that Miller created, but more, well as mentioned before fun. A sorely unappreciated thing about comic books, especially DC’s over their long history is that a lot of it is tongue in cheek. Marvel’s films do that to some degree but keep things under wraps enough so that the productions don’t come off as corny. This production disregards that. It is triumphantly corny as it is, but shameless in its entertainment. Director Wyatt Weed cast as Batman/Bruce Wayne is overdramatic as they come, but that’s perfect, calling to mind Christopher Reeves’s equally enthusiastic performance as SUPERMAN back in 1978.

The real show of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS is its ambition. This is a comic book film made by local filmmakers lacking the resources of a large Hollywood company, and yet they still make the Batman movie they wanted to. They have succeeded in making a better Batman movie than a reported $250 million could. The effects, look fittingly like a comic book, blurring the line between a realistic and a drawn sensibly that really works for the film. The Batcave is particularly impressive, as the filmmakers embrace the more comics-centric museum of artifacts version of the cave, and any Batman fan will appreciate this. THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS is a good live action Batman film for this year. That’s an achievement after the last two.

Tag: Terry Ziegelman