ARISE, SERPENTOR, ARISE! GENERAL HAWK, FLINT, SNAKE-EYES and the rest of the G.I. JOE team are ready for action in the explosive second season of G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero.  When the members of the G.I. JOE team are caught off guard after a vamped-up COBRA makes a surprise attack, they turn to SGT. SLAUGHTER and new recruits BEACHHEAD, BLOWTORCH and DIAL-TONE to help bring an end to COBRA and their new Emperor, SERPENTOR.

For the first time ever, the complete second season of G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero is available in a stand-alone DVD collection from Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Hasbro, Inc.  The box set contains 30 episodes of the epic G.I. JOE saga, beginning with the 5-part mini-series Arise, Serpentor, Arise!, and other exciting bonus content, including fan-favorite PSAs, archival Hasbro toy commercials and special featurette Greenshirt: The Legacy of G.I. JOE.  A must-have for heroes of all ages, G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero Season  2.0 4-DVD box set arrives in stores April 27, 2010 and is priced to own at $29.93. 

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO SEASON 2.0

Synopsis

After COBRA’s countless defeats by the heroic Special Forces unit known as G.I. JOE, the mad super genius Dr. MINDBENDER seeks to dethrone the maniacal COBRA COMMANDER by genetically combining the DNA of history’s most formidable conquerors. The result is a threat more menacing and power-hungry than COBRA COMMANDER can ever hope to challenge: the mighty SERPENTOR! Armed with a new master, a new army of Battle Android Troopers (B.A.T.s) and a new set of plans for world domination, COBRA seems unstoppable! That is, of course, unless GENRAL HAWK and his team of commandos have anything to say about it. Yo Joe!

Bonus Features Include:

• Greenshirts: The Legacy of G.I. JOE
• “Knowing Is Half The Battle” PSAs
• Archival Hasbro Toy Commercials

Shout! Factory and Warner Home Video, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Inc., announced a multi-property alliance to bring the highly anticipated Warner Bros. television series Max Headroom and The Norm Show to the home entertainment marketplace. Under its multi-year agreement with Warner Home Video, Shout! Factory will be the exclusive media company to distribute Max Headroom and The Norm Show DVDs for home entertainment releases in the United States and Canada. The announcement was made today by Shout! Factory founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos; and Jeff Brown, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Non-theatrical Franchise Marketing.

Production has begun to develop a wide range of bonus content for Max Headroom: The Complete Series DVD box set, as well as re-transferring the episodes from the original elements to provide the highest picture quality.

“Max Headroom is a uniquely sought-after television property, boasting a large fan following and consumer interests. We have been pursing this property with Warner Bros. for years, and we’re thrilled that it’s finally coming to fruition,” state Shout! Factory founding partners. “We’re pop culture fanatics at Shout!, and both of these shows are loved by fans of TV and are highly requested. We’ll do them justice with great extras and packaging.”

“It’s a privilege to partner with Shout! Factory and we look forward to combining our efforts to bring these two highly-regarded television programs to the home entertainment audience,” said Brown. He added, “We look forward with anticipation to the opportunity of creating a series of releases that will be innovative, original and stand out in the home entertainment market place.”

Starring Matt Frewer, W. Morgan Sheppard, Jeffrey Tambor and Amanda Pays, the U.S. television series Max Headroom, inspired by a British made-for-television movie 20 Minutes into the Future, aired on ABC from 1987-1988. Hailed by critics and fans as one of the most innovative science fiction series ever produced for American television, Max Headroom is considered to be the first cyberpunk television series, bolstered by its innovative premise, brilliant writing and fast-paced visual style. Unafraid to explore any subject, no matter how controversial, the series cynically tackles topical issues from the general television industry such as the exploitation of the TV ratings games, political advertising, tele-evangelism, news coverage and commercials. The world of Max Headroom is a satirically funny look at television of the not-too-distant future. There are 4,000 TV channels, cameras are everywhere, television sets can’t be shut off, ratings have been perfected to the point where programming decisions are made minute by minute, and Network 23, the ratings leader, is headed by a man who would literally kill for ratings. Enter investigative reporter Edison Carter and his alter ego, the first computer-simulated multi-media star, Max Headroom, played by Matt Frewer. Max Headroom is a production of Chrysalis/Lakeside in association with Lorimar Telepictures.

The Norm Show, starring Saturday Night Live veteran Norm Macdonald, chronicles the misadventures of former NHL hockey player turned dysfunctional social worker whose life has been thrown for a loop due to gambling and tax evasion. Brimming with edgy humor and smart repartee, The Norm Show was one of the top rated sitcoms in 1999 and ran on ABC for three seasons. The second season also brought about the shortening of the show’s title to simply Norm. The series also boasts a pedigreed ensemble cast including Laurie Metcalf, Ian Gomez, Artie Lange, Bruce Jarchow, Max Wright and Faith Ford. Norm is executive produced by Bruce Helford, Bruce Rasmussen, Rob Ulin and Deborah Oppenheimer, produced by Macdonald and created by Helford and Macdonald. Norm is a production of Mohawk Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Shout! Factory and Marvel Animation, Inc. announced today a new alliance to bring Marvel’s successful animated series The Super Hero Squad Show to the home entertainment marketplace. Under the multi-year deal, Shout! Factory will be the exclusive U.S. home entertainment distributor with licensing rights to the action-packed half-hour episodes of The Super Hero Squad Show, Marvel Animation’s highly successful animated series currently airing on Cartoon Network. The announcement was made by Shout! Factory founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos and Marvel Animation President Eric Rollman.

“We are thrilled with this exciting opportunity to work closely with Marvel Animation, a globally recognized studio for its fantastic productions and pop culture content. This strategic partnership with Marvel continues to build on our continuing success in distributing some of the most premiere brands to the marketplace,” stated Shout! Factory founding partners. “The Super Hero Squad Show has become one of the most popular animated series on television. There’s a lot of interest from loyal fans, and we plan to do a great job with upcoming releases. We hope that this is just the start of a mutually beneficial relationship.”

“We have found a tremendous and passionate partner in Shout! Factory who bring some of the most innovative DVD releases to market, and always with unique bonus features and packaging that deliver the best value to the fans,” stated Eric Rollman, President of Marvel Animation. “We have some great ideas for the upcoming Super Hero Squad Show DVDs and look forward to continuing the Super Hero Squad experience from Cartoon Network to our fans on DVD.”

The Super Hero Squad Show launched on Cartoon Network US in October 2009 to tremendous ratings and continues to deliver impressive numbers in its regular M-F 8:30am and Saturday 7:30pm time slots.

Boasting a stellar ensemble of voice talent from Hollywood, The Super Hero Squad Show animated series features super-stylized versions of Marvel’s popular characters (including Captain America, Silver Surfer, Thor, Hulk, Wolverine and Iron Man) with a comedic twist. Marvel has attracted some top voice talent to play the roles of Marvel’s iconic heroes and villains of Marvel Super Hero Squad, including Tom Kenny (aka Spongebob) as Iron Man, Captain America and M.O.D.O.K., Grey DeLisle (Fairly Oddparents) as Ms. Marvel and the Enchantress, Alimi Ballard (NUMB3RS) as the Falcon, and Charlie Adler (Cow & Chicken, Transformers 1 & 2) as Dr. Doom. In addition, superstar guests have joined the cast to play various villains and heroes from throughout the Marvel universe, including Shawn Ashmore (X-Men films) as Iceman, LeVar Burton (Ali, Roots) as Rhodey, Taye Diggs (Private Practice) as the Black Panther, Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) as Dormammu, Greg Grunberg (Heroes) as Ant-Man, Mark Hamill (Star Wars) as the Red Skull, Lena Headey (Sarah Connor Chronicles) as the Black Widow, Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as Sif, Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Ugly Truth) as Stardust, Wayne Knight (Seinfeld) as Egghead, James Marsters (Smallville, Buffy The Vampire Slayer) as Mr. Fantastic, Jennifer Morrison (Star Trek, House) as the Wasp, Adrian Pasdar (Heroes) as Hawkeye, Kevin Sorbo (Hercules, Meet The Spartans) as Ka-Zar, George Takei (Heroes, Star Trek) as Galactus and Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl) as the Valkyrie. The cast is also joined by comics legend Stan Lee (co-creator of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor and many other Marvel characters) in a recurring role as the Mayor of Super Hero City.

When the greatest heroes on the planet unite to face the world’s greatest villains, you get the biggest, most family-friendly Super Hero team-up in TV history… The Super Hero Squad Show. It’s no small job protecting Super Hero City from the wild, weird (& even wacky) villainy of Villainville’s infamous baddies… but Iron Man, Wolverine, the Hulk, the Silver Surfer, Thor and the Falcon are always up for the job. Shouting “Hero Up!” as they rush into battle, the Squad must keep Dr. Doom’s minions from gathering pieces of the Infinity Sword. Otherwise, Doom will use the Sword to rule the universe! Luckily, the City is filled with Marvel super-hero guest-stars to help out in a pinch. These brave heroes totally deliver the action – but with plenty of humor on the side.

Shout! Factory plans a strategic rollout of The Super Hero Squad Show home entertainment product-line later this year, utilizing the same sales and marketing strengths that has made them one of the leading independent studios in the entertainment industry.

Gabba gabba hey! Two hugely popular Roger Corman rock films that have long been out of print will hit the home-entertainment shelves on May 4, 2010: the Rock ’N’ Roll High School 30th Anniversary Special Edition DVD and Suburbia Collector’s Edition DVD, the first two titles launching the highly anticipated Roger Corman’s Cult Classics home entertainment series from Shout! Factory. Newly remastered and available for the first time in Anamorphic widescreen (16:9), Rock ’N’ Roll High School Special Edition and Suburbia Collector’s Edition provide the outrageous candor of teenage angst and nostalgic reverie of a counterculture rock movement that captured the hearts of many generations. With explosive musical performances from the Ramones, T.S.O.L., The Vandals and D.I., and extensive bonus content including all-new interviews and commentary with cast and crew, rare behind-the-scenes footage and much more, these two definitive home entertainment releases from Shout’s Roger Corman’s Cult Classics line are a must-have for Roger Corman fans and film aficionados as well as anyone who remains young at heart. Each DVD title is sold separately and has a suggested retail price of $19.93.

Executive produced by Corman and directed by Allan Arkush (Heroes), Rock ’N’ Roll High School boasts performances by the Ramones and stars P.J. Soles (Halloween) in the lead role of Riff Randell, Vince Van Patten (Hell Night), Clint Howard (Grand Theft Auto), Dey Young (Spaceballs), Mary Woronov (Death Race 2000), Dick Miller (Piranha) and Paul Bartel (Hollywood Boulevard).

Based on Arkush’s own high school fantasy, the 1979 cult film takes place at Vince Lombardi High School — the wildest, most rockin’ high school around! That is, until a thug of a principal, Miss Togar, comes along and tries to make the school a totalitarian state. With the help of the Ramones, the students of Vince Lombardi battle Miss Togar’s iron-fisted rule and take their battle to a truly rockin’ conclusion!

Rock ’N’ Roll High School quickly developed a devoted following after its release in 1979 and became a mainstay of the midnight movie cult circuit. As with films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, audience members began to dress up like the cast and the Ramones for screenings.

Arkush, a self-described “unabashed rock ’n’ roll fanatic,” chose the Ramones to star as the film’s musical heroes, as he felt they epitomized pure rock ’n’ roll. As Arkush remembers, “We staged a live, marathon show at the Roxy Theatre that consisted of 22 hours of nonstop Ramones,” and the tireless quartet also wrote two songs for the film: “I Want You Around” and “Rock ’N’ Roll School.” The Ramones were fans of Corman as well. Johnny Ramone said in an interview at the time, “When we found out Roger Corman was behind the picture, we said, sure, we’ll do it because we knew he had a reputation and we knew he made good movies.”

ROCK ’N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL 30th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION
EXTENSIVE SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:

• New Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer (1.85:1)
• Special Introduction And “Thank You” From Director Allan Arkush
• Audio Commentary With Director Allan Arkush, Producer Mike Finnell And
• Screenwriter Richard Whitley
• Audio Commentary With Roger Corman And Dey Young
• New Audio Commentary With Director Allan Arkush, P.J. Soles And Clint
• Howard
• Back To School: A Retrospective Including All-New Interviews With Allan Arkush, Roger Corman, Joe Dante, Dey Young, Marky Ramone And More . . .
• Staying After Class: A Roundtable Interview With P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten And Dey Young
• Interview With Roger Corman Conducted By Leonard Maltin
• New Interview With Director Allan Arkush Including A Look At Rare, Behind-The-Scenes Stills From His Personal Collection
• Audio Outtakes From The Roxy – Audio Recording Of The Ramones Shooting
• The Final Scene
• Original Radio Ads And TV Spots
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Original Theatrical Trailer With Commentary By writer/director/actor Eli Roth Courtesy Of Trailers from Hell.
• Additional Roger Corman Trailers
• And more TBA!

Written and directed by Penelope Spheeris (Wayne’s World), featuring live performances by T.S.O.L., The Vandals and D.I., and starring Bill Coyne, Chris Pederson, Jennifer Clay and Christina Beck, 1984’s Suburbia deftly explores the punk rock generation and follows the unforgettable journey of two teenage boys who escape their unhappy home and join a group of runaways, punks who have banded together to form their own family. Dubbing themselves “The Rejected,” (aka T.R.), the teens have taken squatters’ rights in a filthy, abandoned house, and are bound together by tragedy and punk rock until they’re confronted by the “Citizens Against Crime,” a group of irascible adults from the suburbs who blame the punks for the ruin of their town. During the course of filming, the production used real kids for many parts in addition to professional actors (and includes the acting debut of Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea).

SUBURBIA COLLECTOR’S EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:

• New Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer (1.85:1)
• Audio Commentary With Director Penelope Spheeris
• New Audio Commentary
• Theatrical Trailers

Following the release of the Rock ’N’ Roll High School 30th Anniversary DVD and Suburbia Collector’s Edition DVD, Shout! Factory will continue to present Roger Corman’s Cult Classics home entertainment releases on a monthly basis. Upcoming highlights include Death Race 2000, Battletruck (aka Warlords Of The 21st Century), Deathsport, Forbidden World, Galaxy Of Terror, Attack Of The Crab Monster, Not Of This Earth (1957), Piranha and Humanoids From The Deep, among others.

Independent filmmaker-producer Roger Corman’s storied career ranks as one of Hollywood’s most amazing success stories. Having produced more than 350 films and directed 50 others, his influence on American film goes far beyond his own energetic, creative low-budget movies. He is arguably one of Hollywood’s most gifted and masterful filmmakers.

Noted for his keen ability to spot young talent, Corman’s most lasting legacy will undoubtedly be the legion of producers, directors, writers and actors he has fostered, among them: Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Ron Howard, Peter Fonda, Jonathan Demme, Gale Anne Hurd, Diane Ladd, Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Bruce Dern, Talia Shire, Charles Bronson, Joe Dante, Peter Bogdanovich and Sally Kirkland.

Few figures in popular culture have endured in our collective consciousness as has multi-Grammy® Award–winning artist Elvis Presley. Crowned as the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, Presley’s revolutionary rockabilly music and captivating performances were as much a part of his legend as his uninhibited hip swivels, blue suede shoes, his charm and good looks. There have been motion pictures, television specials and books chronicling the roller-coaster life of Elvis Presley, and one of the most successful of these properties came in the acclaimed 1979 film ELVIS, starring Golden Globe® nominee Kurt Russell in the title role, directed by John Carpenter.

This highly regarded production captures the essence of The King at a time when his many fans were still mourning his passing. Hailed by audiences as one of the most powerful and moving biographical films, ELVIS garnered a Golden Globe® nomination and multiple Emmy® nominations, including one for Kurt Russell as Outstanding Lead Actor for his incandescent performance as the King of Rock ’n’ Roll. The film also marked Carpenter and Russell’s first collaboration in what would become a legendary pairing.

Timed closely to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth, Shout! Factory, in association with dick clark Productions, present ELVIS on DVD for the first time March 2, 2010. This collectible DVD features the main presentation of the movie restored from the original film elements as it was meant to be seen, as well as an array of bonus features including: “Bringing A Legend To Life,” a featurette with archival interviews of Kurt Russell and John Carpenter (1979); commentary by “The Voice Of Elvis,” Ronnie McDowell, and author Edie Hand; rare clips and captivating photo gallery. Even 33 years after his passing, Presley continues to burn a powerful image of rock stardom and still conquers new legions of fans through his indelible mark in worldwide pop culture. Available for the first time in the home entertainment marketplace, this long-awaited DVD debut of the film ELVIS is priced to own at $19.97.

Directed by John Carpenter, the biopic of Elvis Presley stars Kurt Russell and features the voice of ’70s country music hitmaker Ronnie McDowell re-creating Presley’s signature vocals. Tracing Presley’s life from his impoverished childhood to his meteoric rise to stardom to his triumphant return to Las Vegas, this film boasts an all-star ensemble including Academy Award® winner Shelley Winters (A Place In The Sun) as Elvis’ mother Gladys; Season Hubley (All My Children) as his wife Priscilla; Kurt Russell’s real-life father Bing Russell (The Magnificent Seven) as Elvis’s father Vernon Presley; Pat Hingle (Batman) as Colonel Tom Parker; Robert Gray (Murder She Wrote) as Red West; Golden Globe nominee Joe Mantegna (Searching for Bobby Fischer) as Memphis mafia member Joe Esposito; and Golden Globe nominee Ed Begley Jr. (St. Elsewhere) as D.J. Fontana.

IN-DEPTH DVD SPECIAL FEATURES

• “Bringing A Legend To Life” Featurette With Archival Interviews Of Kurt Russell And John Carpenter (1979)
• Commentary By “The Voice Of Elvis” Ronnie McDowell And Author Edie Hand
• Rare Clips From American Bandstand
• Photo Gallery

MST3K - Volume XVII

Welcome to the Satellite of Love, the orbiting home of legendary hosts Joel Robinson and Mike Nelson, along with their robotic companions — Crow T. Robot, Tom Servo and Gypsy. Join them as they embark on their 17th, and perhaps most impressive, volume of gut-busting riffs on the classic cinematic missteps of yesteryear when Shout Factory, in association with Best Brains, Inc., proudly presents Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XVII 4-DVD box set on March 16, 2010. The 17th DVD collection of the famed MST3K features the long-awaited episodes The Crawling Eye, The Final Sacrifice, The Beatniks and Blood Waters of Dr. Z, along with a wealth of bonus content including The Crawling Eye special introduction by Joel Hodgson, Mystery Science Theater Hours wraps on The Beatniks, The Main Event: Crow Vs. Crow at Dragon*Con ’09, a brand-new interview with The Final Sacrifice star Bruce J. Mitchell, Blood Waters of Dr. Z photo gallery, original theatrical trailers and more! This collectible 4- DVD box set is priced to own at $59.97.

MST3K: THE CRAWLING EYE
Things start to look eerily familiar to scientists Crevett and Brooks when mountain climbers begin losing their heads in the Trollenberg Mountains. Can the two investigators finally uncover the answers they’ve been seeking since encountering similar tragic accidents in the Andes?

The loyal MSTies asked for it, and now they’ve finally got it! The very first episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 following its departure from KTMA is now on DVD, complete with the introductions of Doctors Forrester and Erhardt, Deep 13 and Joel’s very first Invention Exchange seen on the Comedy Channel!

MST3K: THE BEATNIKS
When a hold-up carried out by his two-bit hoodlum friends goes tragically awry, Eddie Crane’s bright future as a recording artist from the mean streets could be in jeopardy.

With a sadistically hilarious game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, a Tony Travis-themed slumber party and a full-fledged dramatization of a nobody’s transformation into a 1950s rock star (and back) starring none other than Tom Servo — Joel and the crew of the SOL certainly know how to usher in this Turkey Day favorite’s DVD debut!

Also includes the second segment of the short “General Hospital.”

MST3K: THE FINAL SACRIFICE
With the help of a mysterious map and a truck-driving drifter named Rowsdower, young Troy McGreggor sets out on a dark adventure across Alberta in search of the answers behind the hooded cult responsible for his father’s grisly murder.

MSTies have long believed they’d never see this Tjardus Greidanus–directed student-film-turned-MST3K masterpiece on DVD, so we’re especially proud to serve it up! This long-awaited episode also features “The Canada Song,” a treasured song by Tom Servo in one of the host segments. Join Mike and the ’bots of the Satellite of Love as they skewer the beloved “cult” classic that became one of the most requested episodes in the history of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

MST3K: BLOOD WATERS OF DR. Z
Seeking revenge against those responsible for stripping him of his tenure and the denial of human research subjects, Dr. Z mutates himself into a hideous — and murderous — half-human-half-fish-like creature!

Mike Nelson and the crew of the Satellite of Love — Crow T. Robot, Tom Servo and Gypsy — take on one of the most laughable treasures ever to grace the MST3K screen with a disgusting new habit for Crow, a day of fishing for the crew and — GASP — an unforgettable appearance by Brain Guy and Bobo!

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 series was created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Jim Mallon. After a year on KTMA TV in Minneapolis, its national broadcast life began in 1989 on the Comedy Channel (later to become Comedy Central), where it ran for seven seasons. The show’s final three seasons aired on the Sci-Fi Channel. The premise of the series features a hapless man who is trapped by mad scientists on a satellite in space and forced to watch old B-movies of questionable worth. To keep sane, he’s built two robot sidekicks, and together they do a running commentary on the films, affectionately mocking their flaws with inspired wisecracks and acting as a demented movie theater peanut gallery. Series creator Hodgson originally played the stranded man, Joel Robinson. When he left in 1993, series head writer Mike Nelson replaced him as the new B-movie victim Mike Nelson, and continued in the role for the rest of the show’s run. The format proved to be popular. During its eleven years and 198 episodes (including one feature film), MST3K attained a loyal fan base and critical acclaim. The series won a Peabody Award in 1993, and was nominated for writing Emmys® in 1994 and 1995.

Roger Corman

Shout! Factory and New Horizons Picture Corporation have entered into an extensive multiyear alliance to release a vast library of classic and new films from legendary producer-director Roger Corman, recipient of a 2009 Honorary Academy Award®, to the home entertainment marketplace. Under the terms of the agreement, Shout! Factory has secured the exclusive North American home entertainment rights to over 50 highly sought-after Roger Corman film properties. This announcement was made today by Shout! Factory founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos, and filmmaker Roger Corman.

“Roger holds an incredibly rich legacy in Hollywood. His cinematic works, spanning decades, continue to influence filmmakers worldwide. Many of his iconic films have been unavailable or long out-of-print in the home entertainment marketplace. There’s a lot of consumer interest in these films,” state Shout! Factory’s founding partners. “We’re thrilled and honored with this opportunity to work with Roger and New Horizons to bring his cinematic treasures back to their original luster and share them with movie fans.”

“We’re delighted to collaborate with Shout! Factory to make New Horizons’ historic library of films available for home entertainment,” said Corman. “We look forward to working closely with the entire Shout team for great DVD and Blu-ray releases ahead.”

Shout! Factory and New Horizons Pictures are working closely to remaster a number of great Corman titles that have been long out of print, some never-before-available on DVD and Blu-ray™. Moreover, Shout! Factory is currently producing a wide range of bonus content for special editions and double features for the launch of Shout! Factory’s Roger Corman’s Cult Classics home entertainment series.

The first titles to be made available from Roger Corman’s Cult Classics presented by Shout! Factory are the much anticipated cult thrillers Piranha Special Edition DVD, Humanoids From The Deep, Up From The Depths and Demon Of Paradise in April 2010; Piranha Special Edition Blu-ray, the memorable 1979 classic Rock ’N’ Roll High School Special Edition DVD and Blu-ray and the punk rock drama Suburbia in May 2010. Other Corman classics slated for 2010 release include Death Race 2000, Warlords Of The 21st Century, Deathsport, Forbidden World and Galaxy Of Terror, among others.

The saga of independent filmmaker-producer Roger Corman ranks as one of the most amazing motion picture success stories. Having produced more than 350 films and directed 50 others, his influence on American film goes far beyond his own energetic, creative low-budget movies. He is arguably one of Hollywood’s most gifted and masterful filmmakers.

Noted for his keen ability to spot young talent, Corman’s most lasting legacy will undoubtedly be the legion of producers, directors, writers and actors he has fostered, among them: Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Ron Howard, Peter Fonda, Jonathan Demme, Gale Anne Hurd, Diane Ladd, Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Bruce Dern, Talia Shire, Charles Bronson, Joe Dante, Peter Bogdanovich and Sally Kirkland.

Shout! Factory and legendary rocker Alice Cooper have announced an exclusive alliance to bring Cooper’s brand-new Halloween single, “Keepin’ Halloween Alive”, to the digital music entertainment marketplace. The announcement was made today by Shout! Factory founding partner and COO Bob Emmer.

Under its agreement with Cooper, Shout! Factory will be the exclusive digital media distributor for “Keepin’ Halloween Alive”, as well as the track’s bonus karaoke (a.k.a. “Cooperoke”) version for digital music downloads

Alice delivers the song with the garage-punk snarl he is best known for, ensuring that it will soon be a Halloween classic.

“At home my family all gathers around an old spooky tree decorated with skulls and bones in the living room, and we exchange gifts,” says Cooper. “It’s our holiday. We even all have matching black-and-orange Halloween sweaters! I wanted a theme song for people like me, and for us Halloween never ends. In the chorus I say, ‘I’m keepin’ Halloween alive, baby, 3–6–5′… and I mean it!”

“Keepin’ Halloween Alive” was co-written and co-produced by Cooper with Piggy D. (a member of ROB ZOMBIE’s band), who played rhythm guitar/backup vocals. Dave Pino (POWERMAN 5000) is featured on lead guitar, and David Spreng (BOB DYLAN, THE BRAVERY) on drums.

Of the recording, Cooper says, “We played it live as a band to capture the vibe. It was the easiest work I think any of us have ever done, not to mention a blast!”

“We are thrilled to be working closely again with the legendary Alice Cooper on his new Halloween-themed single and adding to Shout! Factory’s expansive digital audio library,” said Bob Emmer, Shout! Factory founding partner and COO. “Throughout his long and storied career, Cooper has always been a master entertainer and a consummate showman. His connection to the dark and spooky holiday is definitive. It’s great to be working with him as he is crowned the King of Halloween.”

In addition to releasing the new single, Cooper is busy hosting his “Nights With Alice Cooper” radio program, now syndicated on more than 100 stations worldwide and staying on the road with his “Theatre of Death” world tour.

Susanna Hoffs is best known for her work as a member of one of music’s most loved and enduring all-girl groups, The Bangles. The group arrived on the scene in the early 1980s and ruled the charts with such classic songs as “Manic Monday,” “Walk Like An Egyptian,” “Hazy Shade of Winter” and “Eternal Flame” which launched them to super-stardom and earned them legions of fans worldwide. In the 1990s, the band members went their separate ways and would see Hoffs take on a solo career where she would release two critically praised albums. In the late 1990s, Hoffs reach out to the other members of The Bangles to record the single ”Get the Girl” for the second film in the Austin Powers franchise. It didn’t take long for the creative juices to start flowing and the band announced their decision to reunite full-time in 2000. Together again, Susanna Hoffs, Vicki and Debbi Peterson set out once more to create what would become the band’s fourth album, ‘Doll Revolution’, which was released in 2003.  With well over two decades behind them, The Bangles show no signs of fading away as they continue to tour and are currently working on their fifth album.


In 2006, music fans were in for a real treat as Hoffs teamed up with power-pop master Matthew Sweet for one of her most memorable projects to date. The duo set out to create a powerful album of their favorite songs of the 1960s which was titled, “Under the Covers, Vol. 1″. With the success of that album and the fact that they had so much fun creating it, it was only a matter of time before the duo would reconvene to create ‘Under the Covers, Vol. 2.’ This time around they have set out to explore the diverse sounds of the ’70s from power-pop, glam rock, progressive and classic rock. Jason Price of Icon Vs. Icon recently sat down with Hoffs to discuss her past, her influences, her collaborations with Matthew Sweet and the status of the upcoming album from The Bangles.



How did music first come into your life?


My Mom says that as a baby, I had would rock and move around in the crib when I heard music and she would find the crib across the room. I have always been totally affected by music and I have always loved music. I think it was in elementary school that I got my first guitar. My uncle was a really good guitar player and he started to teach me how to play. I started writing songs when I was eight years old. I was always transfixed by music. I don’t know what it is about it but it has always moved me.


What drove you to make music your career?


When I was growing up I was very, very much involved with dancing, theater and all of the arts really. I was sort of exploring all of them. I was a very dedicated ballet dancer, starting in elementary school and into high school. I ended up going to UC Berkeley after high school and I started in the theater department. Then I switched to dance and then I ended up in the art department. It’s funny that a lot of musicians go to art school, but that is my story too. I think it was a combination of things. I think it was what was happening in the late seventies with punk rock. There was something about bands like The Ramones coming to prominence that made it feel like it was an obtainable goal, I think. [laughs]  As opposed to earlier stuff in the seventies where you would go to these giant stadiums to see bands like The Who or Led Zeppelin, where it seemed so far away and unreachable. There was something about the bands that were starting to emerge in the late-seventies that made you feel like “Wow! I could do that! I know four chords!” It was something that I had always dreamed of in away but I didn’t think that I could go for it until then. At that time, with a lot of those bands coming out of New York, it didn’t feel like it was about the music business or anything like that. It felt like it was coming out of an art movement. So for me, as a student of art, I connected with that. For me being in a band was kinda like doing an art project. I sorta thought of it in those terms. I never thought “I need to make a demo and get signed.” I wasn’t thinking about it in that way. I was thinking about it as an art form and how to express myself and using it as an extension of everything else that I had been studying and exploring.


Who and what were some of the influences that have helped shape you, the musician, that we know today?


I would say the Beatles have been one of the biggest influences all the way through. My parents were always into music. My mother particularly was into pop music and my father was more into classical. She brought home all of those records right when they came out, so my brothers and I were very obsessed with the Beatles. Growing up in Los Angeles, you are in the car a lot. You find yourself going from one end of town to the other, stuck in traffic and listening to the radio. My mom always played Top 40 radio, which was pretty amazing in the sixties! I got to hear everything from Bob Dylan to the Beatles to a lot of the great female singers like Petula Clark, Lulu, Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick singing all the great Burt Bacharach songs. I was influenced by a lot of things. In the seventies, I graduated into more rock stuff but also lots of singer/songwriter stuff. That is one thing that Matthew Sweet and I discovered in covering songs of the sixties and now the seventies on Under The Covers Vol. 2, is that the seventies were a very diverse era for music. It really covered everything. Including disco! [laughs] Rock, more mellow singer/songwriter stuff, punk rock and progressive rock, that decade it had it all. When we decided to cover the Yes song, “Your Move/All Good People,” that was a turning point in our way of looking at the record. We ended up recording 39 or 40 songs because we wanted to dive into all of those different genres. It was very difficult to figure out how to put them all together and which songs would end up on the record. We have a bunch of bonus tracks that will be coming out over the next month because we have covered so much material.


Under The Covers Vol. 2 is your second collaboration with Matthew Sweet. How did the two of you first get together?


I met Matthew in the nineties. I was a big fan of his music, particularly the Girlfriend record. I thought it was an astounding record, the sound, the songs and everything about it. The voice and the production were amazing. I had an opportunity to work with Fred Maher, who produced Girlfriend. I think I met Matthew in the studio and we just stayed in touch over the years. I was working on a solo record with Greg Leisz , who is all over the Under The Covers records. He is a phenomenal player who plays great pedal steel and lap steel. Matthew was doing a little acoustic show and Greg was playing with him. They invited me to come sing with them and I thought to invite Mike Meyers to see the show because I had a feeling that Mike would really like Matthew’s music. It turned out that I was right about that and Matthew, Mike and I started a little band, Ming Tea, just for fun. That band ended up being a way for Mike to work out his Austin Powers character. We approached the band as if it were in the sixties where we all had pseudonyms. It was a funny little thing but we ended up doing quite a bit of music for the Austin Powers movies. My friendship with Matt grew from that. The Bangles were doing a show for a charity at that same little venue where we had seen Matthew, called McCabe’s, we invited him to come sing with us. Matthew pulled me aside and said that he had heard, funnily enough, a couple of cover songs that I had done way back in 1983 or 1984. I had done a couple of Velvet Underground songs. One was a song that had been written by Bob Dylan and the Velvet Underground had done back in the sixties called “I’ll Keep Up With Mine.” He had heard that song when he was in high school. He said that he had always had the idea that he wanted to work with me. I said “That’s fantastic! I would love to work with you on something!” It morphed from there to “Lets definitely make a record together!” and that became this series of cover records.


You have quite a few talented guest musicians on the new album, what can you tell us about that and how it came about?


When we started approaching the song  “Your Move/All Good People,” we started to have this fantasy “Wouldn’t it be great if we could get Steve Howe from Yes to play the guitar parts!” Those parts are so specific to him, so difficult and he is so amazing. So, Matthew decided to explore on the internet and see if he could somehow find Steve that way. He went on the internet and found a site called something like “The Steve Howe Appreciation Society” and he wrote them an email. Sure enough, he got a response and it went from there. We were able to send the tapes to England and Steve played. It really felt good when he responded to our track and our vocals. We had all of the vocals on there and scratch guitars, but everything else was on there. It was so exciting for us! When we got the music back from him, it was just so magnificent, what he did. To me, only Steve Howe could play those parts. That started us thinking about getting in touch with Lindsay (Buckingham) who both Matthew and I know. Lindsay came over to my house, where I have a little studio, thanks to Matthew. He helped me put together a little studio at home so that I could occasionally work independently on our record. With the technology now, you can actually email stuff back and forth. It is quite amazing compared to how things were in the eighties. Things have really changed! Dhani Harrison (son of George Harrison), who I have known for a number of years because he came to a bunch of Bangles shows in England to our great delight and surprise, is on the album. I have stayed in touch with him through the years and have gotten to know him a lot better in the last year. I called him up and asked him if he would want to perform on one of his Dad’s songs, “Beware Of Darkness,” and he was so happy to come over and play guitar on that. It worked out really well!


Could we expect to see an Under The Covers Vol. 3 in the future?


I would love it! That would be great!


Will you and Matthew be hitting the road in support of the album sometime soon?


The record comes out on July 21st, 2009 and we are singing and doing a Q&A at The Grammy Museum in LA. I have never actually been there before but they tell me that it is a very nice place. It is going to be a kinda of ‘Inside The Actor’s Studio’ type thing. That will be our first performance and we will be playing six or seven songs. Then we have a short run of shows, starting in September. We will be doing New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. We are also going to Chicago next week to play an acoustic thing. So far it is all very intimate venues with me, Matthew and probably one other guitar player, so we are approaching it as an acoustic thing right now and we’ll see what happens. Last time, when Under The Covers Vol. 1 came out, we played with a whole band and that was a lot of fun! This time we are just starting out with the acoustic shows and hopefully there will be more!


I understand that you are also headed to the studio to work on a new Bangles album. What can you tell us about that?


Yeah, The Bangles have been touring on and off for almost the last ten years now, but we have been focusing on playing live and not recording. We made a record in 2003 but it has been quite a few years now and we realized that we really have to buckle down and focus on it. We have been collecting songs for years for this record. We started the record a few months ago and we are about three songs in and are sorta doing them in batches of three and are about to dive into the next three. It is going incredibly well. I don’t know, I don’t want to put a deadline on it because I am going back and forth between doing the stuff with Matthew and doing Bangles stuff and doing my own stuff and I have got two kids so it is kind of a busy time! [laughs] Hopefully by the end of the year, at least the recording part of it will be done.


I am sure you have seen a lot over the years and probably have a tale or two to tell. Will we ever get an autobiography out of you to share any of those stories?


No one has ever asked me that! That is a really interesting question! Maybe! It is funny how you start to see things differently as you get older and you do have more perspective. I find myself realizing that I am forgetting stuff, so it is probably a really good idea to start writing stuff down before I do forget everything! [laughs] The Bangles have worked with many of the same crew that has been on the road with us for 25 years and sometimes one of them will say something like “Don’t you remember meeting Keith Richards?” and I’m like “Really? I met Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones?!!!” and he is like “Uh yeah, don’t you remember?!!!” I don’t know! [laughs] A lot happened! That was a very busy time for The Bangles! It could potentially become an absolute blur if I don’t think about it. It’s a good idea. Maybe Vicki, Debbi and I could write “The Bangles Story” or something. It’s an interesting question!


I was just curious if you personally or The Bangles have been approached for any reality television projects, especially with something like the recording of a new album.


I have been many, many, many times! [laughs] I have never really wanted to do it. There was a period of time where Charlotte Caffey, Kathy Valentine, Vicki Peterson and I had an idea where we wanted to do a television show related to all girl bands. It was a concept that we had and were working on for a little while. We are good friends with those girls. It always struck us as strange that there weren’t more all-girl groups. I don’t mean girl singing groups, I mean bands that play and sing, write their own songs and play the instruments. I don’t know why there haven’t been that many. It is just so strange to me. You can count them all on one hand, the all-girl bands that have survived in the music business. I am not sure why it hasn’t become more of a natural thing. We never thought it was that big of a deal to be girls in a band. And we never thought of it as a novelty thing by the way. But yes, I have been approached but it is not something I want to do, at least not right now.

Looking back on your experiences with The Bangles, to what do you attribute the longevity of the band?


I think that it is because there is a certain chemistry between all of us and we have been so lucky that the records that we have made have somehow managed to stay in the culture. They represent something that continues to mean something to people. It is interesting to me, now that I have more perspective, how the eighties and songs like “Walk Like An Egyptian,” “Manic Monday,” “Hazy Shade of Winter,” and “Eternal Flame,” have a certain nostalgia that people have very strong memories toward, and a whole new generation of kids are discovering all of the songs from that period and they are very intrigued by it and the whole feeling of that era. That is a phenomenon that I have been noticing, because I have a 14 year old and a 10 year old son, and they are very aware of songs  because they keep resurfacing. The Bangles are constantly getting requests for the use of their music on things like ‘Family Guy’ and other things like that, ya know? They are out there and they are still played on the radio, so it’s great for us. There is a connection to the music and I think that there is something about that time period and the eighties that is kinda fun, fairly light hearted and a bit escapist. I think that now with things like the economy and the different situations going on in the world, people are looking for entertainment.


I would definitely agree with you on that.


Times are hard and I think that when times are hard there is something really appealing about escaping into fun music. I recently got satellite radio in my car and they have so many choices, ya know? For the sixties, the seventies and the eighties and so many cool stations. I find myself drifting to the eighties channel and I never thought I would say that because I am so obsessed with music from the sixties and seventies! Maybe it is a cyclical thing. I remember back in the seventies, there was this whole fascination with everything from the fifties. There were shows like ‘Happy Days’ and I remember that there would be school dances with fifties night and everyone would dress up in bobby socks, saddle shoes and the skirts. I don’t know, I wonder if it isn’t because things tend to go in cycles like that.


What is the best piece of advice you could give to those who are just starting out and considering making a career in the music industry?


I was talking about this recently and it ties into the covers records actually. I think for me, I came to music because I loved it and I am a music fan. I never really took lessons. I always kinda learned music, I don’t read music, and I learned by the old fashioned folk way of singing along to your favorite songs and learning to play songs that I liked. In a way, it was by learning to play covers of things that I liked that I figured out who I was. I taught myself that way, so I always suggest to people that if there are songs that you love, learn them! I think for Matthew and I, we sort of experienced music very much the same way. He was obsessed with music as a kid. In doing these covers records, we have gotten to deconstruct many of our favorite songs and figure out what they are all about and how they work, instead of just sitting back and listening to them. Now we have a new way of seeing them because of the way we had to learn and record them. Matthew played all the bass parts and it was really an interesting learning experience and process. So again, I always recommend to people that they learn how to play their favorite songs and it will help you when you sit down to write a song, having sort of studied your favorite songs.


Thanks for taking the time out to talk with us, Susanna!


Thank you so much! 


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Want more of Susanna Hoffs and The Bangles?

Check out all the latest happenings with Susanna Hoffs and The Bangles by visiting their official site at www.thebangles.com.

Check out the official Myspace page for both volumes of ‘Under The Covers’ at www.myspace.com/sidnsusie.

Children of the ’80s rejoice! The classic animated adventures of The Transformers and G.I. Joe are alive, well and headed for DVD!

Shout! Factory and Hasbro, Inc. have announced a multi-year, multi-property alliance to bring the original animated TV series The Transformers and the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero animated series to DVD.

The announcement was made by Shout! Factory founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos, and Lisa Licht, General Manager, Entertainment & Licensing, Hasbro.

Shout! Factory’s first release under the agreement will be The Transformers: The Complete First Season — 25th Anniversary Edition.

The set is slated for June 16, 2009, a week before the big-screen debut of the Michael Bay-directed feature film sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which hits theaters nationwide on June 24, 2009.

The $29.99 three-DVD set will include the original broadcast versions of all 16 episodes from the 1984 season in the intended storyline order, with remastered picture and a new stereo soundtrack created from the original audio. The Rhino releases featured incomplete work prints of episodes and modified sound effects.

Tentative extras include the featurette “Triplechanger: From Toy to Comic to Screen: The Origins of the Transformers,” a printable script, rare PSAs, toy commercials and a limited-edition Autobot magnet.

Foos said Shout! Factory would follow the release with special complete-series sets of “The Transformers” and “G.I. Joe” later this summer.