Michael J. Nelson

Writing

Biography

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. His first book, Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese, thrilled critics, including Richard Schickel of Time Magazine, who said of Mike, "He's more fun than a barrel of Val Kilmers... Smarter than a roomful of Patrick Swayzes... and almost as hilarious as Keanu Reeves." Mike's laugh-out-loud follow-up, Mind Over Matters, prompted Kirkus Reviews to enthuse, "From someplace called Minnesota comes a Nelson funnier than Ozzie, Ricky, Lord or Half," and even dared to compare him to another legendary writer, saying of his Serious Speech to Business People, "[It] could easily precede [Robert] Benchley's immortal Treasurer's Report." And Kirkus Reviews loved his novel, Death Rat!, saying, "Fast-paced, outrageous and funny, first-novelist Nelson's mockery of media mendacity is as biting as La Dolce Vita or Network--only funnier!" Nelson speaks all over the country, is a frequent guest on radio and television, and along with fellow former MST3K writers/performers Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy operate a podcast called RiffTrax, which, in a similar vein to MST3K, targets more mainstream films.

Feature Films (64)

Hollywood

6.6

In the not-too-distant future, the evil Dr. Forrester forces a temp named Mike into a series of experiments, where he's forced to watch cheesy movies so the mad scientist can monitor his mind. However, as Mike can't control where the movies begin or end, he'll try to keep his sanity with the help of his robot friends.

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Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie

1996MOVIE

Hollywood

8.0

At an abandoned old movie studio, security guards keep getting mysteriously murdered. The mystery: Why are there so many security guards for an abandoned old movie studio?! But forget that; the real secret is Hobgoblins! Cheap rubber puppets from outer space! Who vaguely resemble Gremlins! But not enough to bring on a lawsuit! Their power: they’ll make your wildest fantasies come true, and then you die, laughingly and embarrassingly. The studio’s new security guard, Kevin (no relation) quickly learns the secret of the Hobgoblins, and even more quickly lets them escape. Now it’s up to the inept Kevin and sexually-obsessed pals to thwart the Hobgoblins before they take over the world, or at least various neighborhoods in the Greater Los Angeles Area!

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RiffTrax Live: Hobgoblins

2021MOVIE

Hollywood

8.7

For those who missed it in theaters, this is a completely new riff of “Manos” The Hands of Fate, the Texas-fertilizer-salesman-directed classic made famous by Mystery Science Theater 3000. All new jokes, same old Torgo. See Mike, Kevin and Bill riff it all on stage in front of a live audience at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville! PLUS! Before the main event, a live riffing of two extra-demented shorts. At Your Fingertips: Cylinders, from the same insane child arts & crafts series that brought you Grasses and Boxes. And Welcome Back, Norman which introduced us all to revolting folk hero Norman, along with his now famous (and also revolting) catchphrase.

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RiffTrax Live: "Manos" the Hands of Fate

2012MOVIE

Hollywood

9.7

This classic 1968 horror film is where it all began. No, not the cronut trend, we’re talking about the omnipresent zombie craze! 28 Weeks Later, Resident Evil: Retribution, that Zack Snyder remake of Dawn of the Dead...We wouldn’t have any of them without Night of the Living Dead! (Pause to think about whether this is a good thing.) When she’s attacked in a cemetery by zombies, a young woman named Barbara flees to an abandoned farm house. There she’s joined by a ragtag group of survivors who band together to wait out the apocalypse, with the occasional light descent into madness. The rest of the movie plays out like The Big Chill, but instead of Glenn Close sobbing naked in the shower, they board up windows and occasionally get devoured alive. So in this respect, Night of the Living Dead is the slightly less depressing movie.

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