In the not too distant future…Mike Nelson!
The College of Liberal and Performing Arts at Southern Arkansas University, Magnolia, is excited to announce that Michael J. Nelson has been selected as the 2006 Emerson-Thomas-Crone lecturer.
Nelson is best known to legions of fans as the host of cable television’s “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” He was head writer for the show since its early years and was then asked to also host halfway through the fifth season. Nelson, along with wise-cracking robots Tom Servo and Crow, had to endure some of cinema’s most painfully bad movies, with titles like “Devil Fish,” “The Thing that Wouldn’t Die,” and “Laserblast!” at the hands of mad scientists.
His silhouetted head, and those of the robots, has become one of the most recognizable icons of cult filmdom. When the show ended in 1999, Nelson went on to produce commentary for colorized DVD releases of the same type of bad movies for Legend Films in California, like “Plan Nine from Outer Space” and “Reefer Madness.” He recently joined the company as head of creative content and continues to riff cult classics just like the good old days.
As an author, Nelson has penned a number of books, including Mike Nelson’s Movie Megacheese, Mike Nelson’s Mind over Matters, and Mike Nelson’s Death Rat: A Novel. He also worked for a number of years as a stand-up comedian before joining the MST3K crew.
Nelson will speak at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31, in the Grand Ballroom of the Donald W. Reynolds Campus and Community Center located on the University campus. There will be an autograph signing session afterward, with some of Nelson’s books and DVDs available.
Admission is free and open to the public.
For more information, call Doug Waterfield at 870-235-5081.
