E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Poltergeist, Blade Runner, The Thing, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan… These are just a few of the genre classics that made their theatrical debut within months of each other in 1982! It’s widely considered the summer that shaped modern geek culture, and if anyone knows what it means to be a defining voice of that generation – it’s the great Mark A. Altman. The former boss of the iconic Sci-Fi Universe Magazine, the writer and producer of Free Enterprise, the showrunner of The CW’s Pandora and the best-selling author of definitive Star Trek and James Bond oral histories, Altman is perhaps the authority on all things genre. Indeed, his upcoming documentary 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever is shaping up to be his Magnum Opus.
Altman, along with director Roger Lay, Jr, Scott Mantz and Thomas P. Vitale will be premiering the documentary at the Sitges Film Festival later this fall. For us here at JoBlo, this is an especially important project, with our own JOBLO MOVIE PRODUCTIONS (Arcade Dreams) one of the executive producers. Many of us here at the site came of age watching all of these 1982 classics, so it was a dream for me to sit down with Altman to discuss the documentary and all things 1982. In this awesome chat, he previews some of the great interviewees he managed to get – including William Shatner (Star Trek II), Ron Howard & Henry Winkler (Night Shift) and many more. Plus, he gives some unexpected picks for what he thinks are the truly essential 1982 movies. As a lifelong geek who grew up on SciFI Universe, I also couldn’t resist picking his brain about the days, pre-internet, when that magazine was the gateway drug for all of us up-and-coming fanboys. Altman is a great guy to talk to with some amazing anecdotes from the early days of fan-journalism, so check out the interview (embedded above and edited by the great Kier Gomes). Find out more about 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever HERE!
Here’s the official synopsis:
Made by fans for fans, 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! will take viewers behind-the-scenes at a time when fandom was in its infancy, featuring rare interviews with genre superstars from in front of and behind the camera of the biggest and most influential movies ever made. From award-winning producers Roger Lay, Jr. (Star Trek: The Roddenberry Vault, The Twilight Zone 60th: Remembering Rod Serling, Aliens Ate My Homework), Mark A. Altman (CW’s Pandora, The Librarians, author, St. Martin’s bestselling “The Fifty-Year Mission” books) and Thomas P. Vitale (Nextflix’s Slasher, Pandora), will be a celebration of the single greatest geek moviegoing year ever including tidbits about E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial, Blade Runner, John Carpenter’s The Thing, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Poltergeist, Creepshow, The Dark Crystal, Tron, Conan The Barbarian, Paul Schrader’s Cat People and George Miller’s The Road Warrior. In addition to honoring the classics, the documentary will also revisit such cult films as Megaforce, Time Rider: The Adventures of Lyle Swann, The Sword & The Sorcerer, and Liquid Sky, a film about miniature aliens in New York who thrive on heroin and sex.
Follow the movie on Twitter and Instagram! What’s your favorite 1982 movie? Let us know in the comments!