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HOLLYWOOD AND THE PROFESSOR by Dr. Albert E. Millar (published posthumously by his daughter, Dr. Heather E. Millar) tells the story of a man and an alien; of a self-published pamphlet and a big-budget blockbuster; of a college professor and a corporate law department.
When Dr. Millar published a small pamphlet with 33 similarities between the story of the E.T. movie and the life of Christ, it hit during the wave of popularity for the little alien . . . and the wave of pirated products. Which led to a cease and desist letter that included the threat of a lawsuit. What followed was the early-80s version of going viral and a fleeting brush with fame he never expected and never wanted.
He wrote about his experience, but never did anything with the manuscript. But his daughter has published the book.
On October 16, 1950 the beginning of the Narnia series was first published, and it affected many people’s lives . . . incluing little 3rd grade Benjy Avery. Now, 75 years later Ben found a new facsimile edition of that first volume.
In this episode, Ben: Reminisces about his early exposure to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Reviews the facsimile edition Rants a little about reading order for the Narnia books Talks about his thoughts from his most recent reread of the book Also, here is the mailing list sign up page if you’d like to be kept up to date about the release of Ben’s new anthology, PARABOLIC ORBITS: http://benavery.com/orbits
Back in the 80s and 90s, John Jacobs and the Power Team traveled the world, wowing audiences with feats of strength and inspiring audiencs with testimonies and messages of hope in Christ!
And they also produced comic books, apparently.
So Ben got some from eBay and here he unboxes them and reads them and, of course, talks about them.
Ben and Evan take on the new Jurassic Park/World movie. What did they think? How does it hold up to other movies in the series? More importantly . . . what did YOU think of Jurassic World: Rebirth?
You can also watch our conversation on Youtube! (Don’t forget to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!)
You’ll believe a man can fly, but you won’t believe #3!!! (Isn’t that what you’re supposed to say when you rank things?) Ben decided to rank the Superman movies and explores all of them, from Superman and the Mole Men to 2025’s Superman! You WON’T agree with this list! But if you do, Ben would love to hear from you . . . Anyway, agree or disagree, it’s fun to talk about, so let us know what YOUR rankings would be in the comments!
You can also watch on Youtube! (Don’t forget to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!)
Ben and Evan take on the new Superman movie. As two lifeling fans of Superman, what did they think? How does it hold up to other versions of the character? More importantly . . . what did YOU think of the new Superman movie?
You can also watch our conversation on Youtube! (Don’t forget to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!)
Ben noticed a handful of comics that were clearly released for the new Superman movie and . . . they got him. Or he got them. Or he got them because they got him? Some were at Dollar Tree, one was at Wal-Mart AND his local grocery store, and one was a facsimile comic from his local comic shop. So he got them and he read them in preparation for the new Superman movie!
You can ALSO watch this as a video on Youtube here:
Ben recently discovered an omnibus edition containing Zenna Henderson’s THE PEOPLE stories, a fascinating collection from a writers he was unfamiliar with. And now that he has read the book, he is a fan! What did she write that made him seek out her other stories? Hove you read The People stories? What did you think about them? Also, this is the book that creates a bridge between C.S. Lewis and Captain Kirk!
This book became a giant of Christian publishing and inspired young and old readers. Ben was one of those YOUNG readers . . . now as an OLD reader, he asks the question: is it worth reading? Listen now to find out!
Or watch on Youtube here (please like and subscribe!):
Is “THE GREEN HILLS OF EARTH” by Robert Heinlein the Best Science Fiction Short Story of all time? The answer: probably not, but this episode explores why it’s in the running! It also presents the episode of X-Minus One that adapted the story to a radio play format.
“The Green Hills of Earth” by Robert Heinlein is one of Ben’s favorite sci-fi stories because it explores the depths of humanity (especially through nostalgia and longing for home) on a canvas of the vastness and grandeur of a science fiction universe! It also projected science fiction to a broader audience when it was published by The Saturday Evening Post and was even quoted from while astronauts from Apollo 15 were on the moon.
Ben sits down with the writer and director of Angel Studio’s THE SHIFT, a Twilight Zone styled sci-fi tale featuring a multiverse, a mysterious man with mysterious powers, and Sean Astin.
Websites: The Shift official: https://angel.com/theshift
The Shift novel: https://angel.com/shiftnovel
The Shift Special Edition: https://angel.com/shiftspecial
Ben sits down with the creators, cast, and crew of THE CHOSEN ONES, a TV series in development right now. It’s a contemporary sci-fi superhero series, and Robert Rivera Jr. and his team are taking on an ambitious project by mounting this production!
They are currently in the crowdfunding phase to raise money to shoot their pilot episode. Links to follow their project and to be a part of the crowdfunding can be found below:
Websitehttps://www.thechosenones.net/
Seed & Spark: The Chosen Oneshttps://seedandspark.com/fund/the-chosen-ones#story
Facebook Page: The Chosen Oneshttps://www.facebook.com/thechosenones.tv/
Facebook Group: The Chosen Ones Fandom Communityhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/thechosenonestv
IMDb: The Chosen Oneshttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt33512296/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
Seed & Spark: The Chosen Oneshttps://seedandspark.com/fund/the-chosen-ones#story
Their Spanish Facebook is “Aquellos Escogidos” and IG is @aquellos_escogidos — they have not yet had the links created for those social media accounts.
