A new documentary entitled Wonder Woman: The Untold Story of American Superheroines, which focuses on the growth and development of superheroines through comics, war, feminism and the Riot Grrl movement of more recent years, will be showcased at the South By Southwest (SXSW) film festival.

While the documentary spends time on Wonder Woman, from the trailer which you can watch here below, it appears that the documentary is truly about feminism and how gender roles are displayed in popular culture depending on society’s attitude towards women at the time. [...]

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Coming to DVD
Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
Starring Jessie Misskelley, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, Lorri Davis, Mark Byers, Terry Hobbs, Burk Sauls, Dale Griffis, Natalie Maines, Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
HBO
Aired: January 12, 2012

The new documentary, Paradise Lost: Purgatory, third in the Paradise Lost series, attains a sense of closure in the case of the West Memphis Three. Recalling and reprising events from the previous two documentaries, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky also follow the developments of the preceding ten years, leading up to the release of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley in 2011. [...]

Peter Jackson‘s Wingnut Films have released the trailer for their forthcoming documentary focusing on the long-running case of the West Memphis Three. Titled West Of Memphis, the film follows the case from its beginnings in 1993, through to the modern era, exposing the problems and questions associated with the initial police work and the trials, the long 18 years the accused spent in prison, and questions who the real murderer may have been.

You can view the trailer at the bottom of this post. [...]

For a certain age group of young boys in particular the Canon Group shaped their expectations of action films. In the late 70s through the mid 80s they created action heroes (Chuck Norris, Jean Claude Van Damme) and pushed the boundaries of what could be done with a tiny budget. I always said the first superhero film I ever saw was Revenge of the Ninja. In that film ninjas climbed walls like Spider-Man, they had mind control powers, and better gadgets than Batman. Other similar classics include Missing in Action, The Delta Force, the Death Wish sequels, and Kickboxer. The Canon Group also dabbled in virtually every other genre of film too, including musical (Breakin’ and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo) and art house films [...]

Recently, Kickstarter has seen many a project. The site has become nearly overcrowded with creative people putting out their truly unique ideas in varying levels of quality and originality. Some are more interesting that others, and when I came across Brandon Jerwa‘s project about shooting a documentary that focused on the creator’s side of the comic book industry, believe me, it caught my interest. It caught my interest so much so that we felt like we would be doing a disservice to him and his fellow creators as well as the Geeks of Doom readership if we didn’t try to shine some light on his truly amazing project.

Brandon Jerwa is a comic book writer with credits to his name like G.I. Joe, Xena/Army of Darkness, Battlestar Galactica, The Shield, and many more. He’s using his connections within the industry, and experience as a creator in the unique comic book business to bring to us an intriguing look into a side of the comic book world that we normally don’t see as fans.

Luckily, I had the chance to get in contact with Brandon and discuss some of the details about his upcoming Kickstarter project, when we can expect to see a final product, and who all is involved. The interview follows here below.

But, before we get to that, for your convenience, we’ve embed the trailer for the project below the interview. So, if you’re interested in the project and want to check out some more of the details not covered in the interview and possible throw out a donation, make sure to go here and here to do so [...]

Well, isn’t this a nice piece of information? The folks at Gravitas Ventures have blessed us all with a free look at 2010′s Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods. The doc is now streaming for free online at Hulu; you can watch it here below.

The documentary on the popular comic book writer takes an inside look behind the scenes to show us more about the life of the man behind the creation of All Star Superman, The Invisibles, We3, and more. One of the greatest things about this documentary is that you actually feel like you get to know Morrison better.

In the film, Morrison talks about his childhood in Scotland, growing up with the threat of the nuclear bomb, and how he let his mind escape away from the threat. The documentary focuses mostly on his life and experiences, which in turn gives us a more in depth understanding of a lot of his comic book creations, but mostly his work on The Invisibles, Animal Man, All Star Superman, and Final Crisis [...]

Exit through the Gift Shop
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Banksy
Starring Banksy, Thierry Guetta
Ais
Release date: December 14, 2010

Don’t forget to exit through the gift shop after buying that fancy painting for some thousands of dollars at an art exhibit. Once in the gift shop you will be guaranteed to see a smaller version of the painting you just bought scaled down in size so it can be presented on keychains, postcards, and birthday cards; just a few more ways in which the artist can earn an extra buck. The artist on display will undoubtedly be wearing a smile that stretches from cheek to cheek as he is being interviewed by magazines and newspapers dying to understand his motivation and inspiration. He will present himself in an admirable light, disguising his true cut-throat mentality, so he can coax individuals he does not even know into buying his adaptation of Warhol’s Campbell Soup portrait which he turned into a large can of spray paint.

This is what has become of the community of graffiti artwork that many enigmatic figures hold dearly to their hearts. Exit through the Gift Shop, an immensely entertaining and interesting documentary, details the particulars that played a part in getting the underground art into the commercial world. These figures involved with graffiti art were content with their graffiti portraits remaining ineffectual in the commercial realm [...]

Until The Light Takes Us
DVD | 2-Disc DVD | Blu-Ray
Directed by Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell
Starring Gylve “Fenriz” Nagell, Varg Vikernes, Jan Axel “Hellhammer” Blomberg, Kjetil “Frost” Haraldstad
Factory 25
Released: October 19, 2010

It was the early 1990s, and for metalheads, change was in the air. “Alternative” was the buzz word being bandied about by music marketing, Grunge had taken over the charts, new bands and new sounds were coming… but among metal fans there was a desire to search and find something new and something different — and many were looking for more extreme and brutal movements.

Enter the Norwegian Black Metal movement. A lot of metal fans were first introduced to this scene when news hit international media of Varg Vikernes (Burzum) being arrested and tried for burning a number of churches across Norway. The media across the world had a field day with the story, labeling the initially underground movement of Black Metal being driven by “Satanic” influences.

The crimes, the deaths, and the church burnings quickly became identifiable with the Black Metal movement from Norway; but it opened up a new surge of followers that established the sound of Norwegian Black Metal as an integral and significant part of the history of metal in general [...]

In honor of the 75th Anniversary of DC Comics, Warner Bros. and DC Comics have put together a documentary about the history of the company called Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics narrated by Ryan Reynolds, who will be playing Green Lantern in the upcoming Green Lantern movie.

The documentary focuses on not only the beginning of the comic book company, but its entire history. It has interviews with artists and writers talking about how comics have impacted the world.

The box art for this DVD has Superman in the front and center of it and at the top it shows various characters like Batman and Dr. Manhattan (see box art here below). This DVD is a big must for comic book fans out there. The DVD releases on November 9, 2010.

You can watch the trailer for it right here below! [...]

Recently, a documentary was released to YouTube in three parts about what was a proposed movie called Blackstar Warrior, an all-black take on the Star Wars Universe that features what would have been the first appearance of the Lando Calrissian character.

The documentary uncovers the sad tale of Frederic Jackson, Sr., an African-American businessman who attempted to self-finance Blackstar Warrior. The documentary also has interviews with Jackson’s son and reveals the obstacles and trials that prevented Blackstar Warrior from ever being completed.

You can watch all three parts of the documentary here below, the third part of which has what is being touted as actual footage from Blackstar Warrior. There’s been some talk that this documentary is a parody or a hoax, but Geeks of Doom had a chance to speak with Matt Haley, a comic book artist involved with this documentary, who helped clear up the situation for us. Check out our interview with Haley here below [...]

Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage
Directed by Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen
Starring Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart
Release date: June 7, 2010 (Europe), June 10, 2010 (US & Canada)

‘What kind of band is Rush? It’s Rush!’ – Gene Simmons

The number three plays an increasingly significant part in the world of rock music. It is the number of chords in Status Quo’s famous three-chord boogie, the amount of sixes in the number of the beast, and the brain cell count of most drummers. It is also the amount of members of mega-selling Canadian rock trio, Rush. Three also happens to be the band’s place on the list of consecutive gold- or platinum-selling albums behind The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. On June 7, 2010, selected cinemas in Europe were host to a screening of a new music documentary about the lives and careers of these Canadian rock giants. For one night only, Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage made it to the big screen. Cool, eh?

Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage recounts the band’s expansive history through home movies, TV footage, and interviews with each band member and people who have been involved in or inspired by the music — from their modest childhoods in Canada to millionaire rock stars in the world’s biggest cult band [...]

E! Online has received some interesting news. Apparently Joss Whedon — creator of popular titles like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, and Dollhouse — is getting ready to tag team with documentary film maker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?) to make a documentary about the super geeks that attend Comic Con every year.

Reports are that Whedon and Spurlock will find a bunch of different people who take their geekdom very seriously. They want those of you who not only own, but often dress up in your favorite movie or TV show character’s costumes — and none of that Halloween costume crap, the real-deal outfits — to follow around for a few months.

Click on over to see a video of the folks I imagine these gentlemen are seeking!

They want to follow people for about three months leading up to this year’s Comic-Con, and then they want to film them there. They’re looking at all types of people. [...]