Get to know the comedy stylings of RiffTrax before they take the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival by storm with their one-night-only live commentary for the cult classic, 'The Room.'
It’s true—it is possible to love bad movies, thanks to our friends at RiffTrax. After the cult series Mystery Science Theater 3000 was prematurely (and unjustly) canceled, comedians Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett started RiffTrax to continue to share hilarious quips and observations about bad cinema with comedy lovers and movie fans everywhere.
On MST3K, the trio was restricted to low-budget B-movies due to budgetary constraints. As RiffTrax, the group is able to comment on any film they want—beloved franchises, supposed classics, summer blockbusters, science fiction favorites, and of course, many very, very bad movies. Because of copyright issues, viewers must use their own methods to obtain the films, but they are able to download commentary tracks right off the RiffTrax website.
The hysterical team tours the country performing RiffTrax Live in accompaniment to films like Sharknado and Birdemic. And this Friday night at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, It’s the RiffTrax Live world premiere of Tommy Wiseau’s The Room! Then on May 6th, RiffTrax will present The Room live from Nashville and beamed to hundreds of movie theaters coast to coast (with an encore on May 12th)! For tickets and locations: http://www.fathomevents.com/event/return-of-rifftrax-live-the-room/buy Other live RiffTrax events coming this year include: SHARKNADO 2 - July 9th
MIAMI CONNECTION - October 1st
SANTA AND THE ICE CREAM BUNNY - December 3rd
ABOUT MICHAEL J. NELSON
Michael J. Nelson is the former host and writer of the Emmy-nominated, Peabody Award-winning Mystery Science Theater 3000. Since that time, he has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, penned a regular column for TV Guide, and authored best-selling books for both HarperCollins and Abrams.
In 2006 Nelson partnered with Legend Films to found RiffTrax, debuting with a solo commentary track which could be downloaded and played along with the film Road House. It proved a great success and Mike was soon joined by his former co-star/writers Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett. Together they have produced more than 150 titles for blockbusters such as Twilight, Harry Potter, Star Wars and Star Trek. They also continue to tackle classic b-movie fare such as Plan 9 from Outer Space, Carnival of Souls, and House on Haunted Hill (which are available as video on demand as well as DVD), as well as many hilarious educational shorts from the 50's, 60's, and 70's.
Mike takes the stage several times a year to perform RiffTrax Live!, which is beamed via satellite to 500 theaters nationwide.
@MichaelJNelson on Twitter
ABOUT KEVIN MURPHY
Kevin Murphy has cultivated the act of talking back to the movies into an art form and a career. For ten years Kevin co-wrote and directed the Peabody Award-winning series Mystery Science Theater 3000, and starred as the plucky red robot Tom Servo. Classic episodes of MST3K, as its legion of fans call it, continue to be huge sellers on Shout! Factory DVDs and streaming on Netflix.
In 2002 Kevin created the ultimate movie-lover's marathon by going to movie theaters around the globe every single day for a year, chronicling the event in the bestselling book A Year at the Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey. Covering Kevin's movie-watching adventures in over a hundred cities in ten countries on three continents, the book became a top 100 seller on Amazon and won national critical praise. Time's Richard Corliss called the book "brimful of intelligent passion about films and filmgoing" while The Onion AV Club described it as "Lively, entertaining, diverse, sometimes fascinating, and deeply telling." Publishers Weekly declared Kevin "a highbrow man of the people."
With his RiffTrax partners Mike Nelson and Bill Corbett, Kevin continues the MST tradition by riffing on all manner of film, from old cheesy genre films to today's biggest blockbusters. Musically inspired by the movies they've skewered, Kevin also produced The RiffTones' first album, "Music for Riffing."
Kevin's movie commentaries have been a regular feature on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday, and his eye for bad film earned him the "Bottom Shelf" column for Total Movie Magazine. Kevin lives and works in Minnesota but continues to travel the world, watching movies everywhere he goes.
@KWMurphy on Twitter
ABOUT BILL CORBETT
Bill Corbett is a former writer for MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 and also a performer on the show, providing the voice of the robot Crow (v.2.0) and playing various other strange characters -- including the all-powerful but clueless alien The Observer (a.k.a. "Brain Guy").
Corbett is also a screenwriter and playwright. Corbett's screenplay STARSHIP DAVE, co-written with Rob Greenberg, was made into the movie MEET DAVE starring Eddie Murphy, released by 20th Century Fox. His plays have been produced internationally. Corbett's comedy THE BIG SLAM has been produced at numerous theaters across the U.S., including Woolly Mammoth in Washington, D.C.; ACT in Seattle; and actor Jeff Daniels' Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea, Michigan. Other plays include HATE MAIL, THE STUFF OF DREAMS, and his comic book holiday mashup SUPER-POWERED-REVENGE CHRISTMAS #1.
He has been a contributing writer to National Public Radio's PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION and ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, and is co-creator of the animated web series POKER NIGHT on Icebox.com.
Corbett has also been an actor in the resident acting companies at the Guthrie Theater and the Berkshire Theater Festival, and has taught playwriting and screenwriting at Kenyon College in Ohio, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, and many other universities and schools.
He's a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, where he earned an MFA in playwriting and screenwriting. Before that, he received a BA from Yale College. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., he now lives in Minneapolis with his wife Virginia, their two children, and a feisty Jack Russell Terrier.
@BillCorbett on Twitter