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    The Drexel Theatre Prepares for Future Shock at the Sci-Fi Marathon

    Columbus’s longest running movie marathon returns for its 31st event this weekend, bringing body snatching aliens, a one-eyed Kurt Russell, robots, cannibals, and Princess Dragon Mom with it.

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    The 24 Hour Science Fiction Marathon invades the Drexel (2254 East Main St.) at noon Saturday (3/15). Dubbed “Future Shock”, the event looks at many different predictions of our (usually pretty bleak) future.

    Marathon coordinator, programmer, and soothsayer Bruce Bartoo fielded some questions on the event.

    Columbus Underground: Are you the one constant across all 31 years of this marathon?

    Bartoo: Yes. Now that Jeff Frank has moved on from the Drexel, I guess that I am the last link to the beginning of the Columbus marathons. I brought the idea with me when my wife and I moved here in 1986 from Boston, where I had been running the sci-fi marathon at the Orson Welles Cinema in Cambridge. Don’t forget that without Jeff and his enthusiastic embrace of the marathons, none of this would have happened. But at this point, basically yes, it’s all my fault.

    CU: What’s the draw for you?

    BB: In general – and this is the thing we keep trying to convey to those who’ve never attended – it really is a unique experience to come into a theater and spend 24 hours with the same group of like-minded folks, sharing the same highs and lows, the ecstatic and the goofball, the sublime and the ridiculous. Things that would have little meaning in a normal context can become great fun in the depths of a 24 hour spin of the planet. The audience really develops its own identity over the course of the marathon. We can only hope that this incredible power will be used for good.

    CU: What are you most looking forward to sharing with them?

    BB: While I still enjoy sitting back and watching a classic like METROPOLIS properly presented on a big screen, what excites me is when the audience comes to life over a surprisingly satisfying minor film like THE HIDDEN. And since I’m putting together most of the vintage trailers, shorts and cartoons that show before most of the features, I’m always eager to see how those are received.

    CU: How does the programming come together?

    BB: The programming is usually handled by a very small group of dedicated experts, which at this point primarily includes myself, Joe Neff, and our fellow Marathoid, Dave Zecchini. We listen to all suggestions and try to put together a lineup that includes some classics, some solid things that many may not have seen, a balance of fast-paced action, thought-provoking drama, and a splash of cheese.

    “Future Shock” is the chosen theme this time around, with attention paid to some of the many ways that things can go truly wrong in the days ahead. Perhaps we might learn something from all these fictional apocalypses. Of course, with everyone nodding off, it’s doubtful much of this wisdom will sink in.

    CU: What’s the brightest gem of this year’s program?

    BB: It’s been 22 years since we showed METROPOLIS. Since then, the restoration discoveries and reconstruction have made the film’s storyline so much more comprehensible, and the recreation of the original score is terrific. The DCP of that should look and sound great, so I’m looking forward to that.

    Another returning veteran is INFRA-MAN, a Hong Kong kiddie picture ripping off Ultra-man, the Six Million Dollar Man, and the Banana Splits. A bionic superhero is created to battle the invading monsters of Princess Dragon Mom, in 35mm Cinemascope. At the first Sci-Fi Marathon, some of the crowd flipped out and began cart-wheeling down the aisles in fits of kung-fu-saturated sci-fi frenzy.

    CU: What else should we expect?

    BB: Plenty of old trailers, cartoons, shorts and four of the features on 35mm film. The 31st Annual Costume Contest has a first prize of assorted quality swag plus $100 cash, with plenty of prizes for anyone else willing to stand up in front of these maniacs.

    CU: Any surprises?

    BB: If I told you, they wouldn’t be surprises! But seriously, the best surprises erupt from the chemistry of the marathon throng and what’s happening on the screen. We can only try to stoke those fires.

    CU: It’s been 31 years. How much longer will you do this?

    BB: Well, I’m 64, and they still seem to need me and still feed me. A couple of heroes of my Cleveland youth – Jim Brown and major marathon influence Ghoulardi – had the sense to get out of town while the gettin’ was good, at the top of their games. I’m afraid that moment has passed for me as far as the marathons are concerned.

    CU: Last words?

    BB: Klaatu Barada, Ohio!

    The 31st Annual Ohio 24 Hour Science Fiction Marathon runs noon Saturday, March 15 until noon Sunday, March 16, 2014.

    Tickets are $35 in advance. $40 at the door. They are available at the Drexel Theatre, Laughing Ogre (4258 North High St.), and via PayPal at www.scifimarathon.com.

    A full slate of movie reviews is available on my website www.maddwolf.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @maddwolf and like me on Facebook at facebook.com/MaddWolfColumbus.

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    Hope Madden
    Hope Maddenhttps://columbusunderground.com
    Hope Madden is a freelance contributor on Columbus Underground who covers the independent film scene, writes film reviews and previews film events.
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