Interview: Javier Badillo (writer/director) and Nat Marshik (writer) of Lupe Q and the Galactic Corn Cake

ROFFEKE: What do you find as the advantages and challenges of working with a co-writer as opposed to writing alone?

JAVIER BADILLO: It depends on the compatibility of the temperament and personality of each writer. In our case, I discovered Nat’s working style suited me just fine, so we became an excellent collaborative partnership. To be more specific on how we work together: after we’ve done the initial beat-sheet and structure, we usually chat about the scenes at length, openly, and without any edits. If we make each other laugh, or cry, or feel excited, we know we’re on the right track and we write the ideas down on a piece of paper. After that, I go into our screenwriting software and translate all our brainstorming into the proper script format, and add dialogue suggestions and rough action staging. Then Nat comes in the next day and rewrites what I wrote, improving the dramatic tension, polishing the dialogue, and generally making the whole thing better. Then we repeat the process until we’re satisfied, and move on to another sequence. Much better, more efficient, and more satisfying than writing alone!

ROFFEKE: What lifelessons did you learn from your abuela (or any other member of your family) ?

JAVIER: I learned to be humble and grateful for everything I have, and everyone I know. My grandma was a strict matriarch who loved her big family very much, and we owe her for a large part of our upbringing. Our parents had to work often, so me, my brother, and all our cousins would stay at our grandma’s house, under her care.

ROFFEKE: You are/will soon be shooting the feature length version of "Lupe Q and the Galactic Corn Cake". What did you do in the short film that you will NOT do in the feature film? What did you NOT do in the short film that you will do in the feature film?

JAVIER: The short film is focused mainly on the relationship between Lupe and her abuela, where we see Lupe resisting her abuela’s corn cake (arepa) cooking lessons. However, on the feature, we will focus more on Lupe’s relationship with her bandmates Toro and Pachi. We will also see Lupe’s abuela and Pachi’s mom playing important roles, but the main plot, and most of the drama and comedy, is centered around the coming-of-age awkwardness and secret crushes of the three teenagers, as they (incompetently) attempt to save the world from an alien invasion. In the short film we see Lupe suddenly battling a giant monster in what seems like a spaceship, without any setup or explanation, for comedic effect – but in the feature we will follow the band from the moment they discover their unexpected ability to destroy space monsters with their punk rock music, all the way to the moment they infiltrate an orbiting space station to rescue their parents, and have a face-off against a gigantic alien creature called the “Great Worm”.

ROFFEKE: Nat, you have written poetry chapbooks. What skills from writing poetry come in handy as you co-write screenplays?

NAT MARSHIK: I would say that poetry, in contrast to novel writing, forces you to be very economical with your words. And this is a skill that is very important in screenwriting. Every line of dialogue carries weight. The process of screenwriting is distilling big ideas into their short form.

ROFFEKE: In 2022, your crowdfunded first feature "Roads of Ithriyah" won a Leo Award. What advice would you give filmmakers who want to crowdfund their film?

JAVIER: Involve your community! If you work part-time jobs, like I do, involve them in your creative endeavors and fundraising efforts - you’d be surprised how many people are curious about filmmaking and want to help you succeed. Crowdfunding can be rewarding in more ways than just to raise money - it’s a great way to share your love for filmmaking with everyone. And it’s an excellent way to hone and practice your movie sales pitch, which is a skill that can be improved, and will serve you throughout your filmmaking career.

ROFFEKE: Optional question: Without getting too political, how are you feeling about the results of the recently concluded US elections? How do you feel about the coming months and years? How will your filmmaking/writing be affected?

JAVIER: I feel both saddened and disappointed that the US political landscape has slipped further into the far right. It has created a climate of fear and mistrust that is dividing families and friendships. Their political opposition isn’t doing much better either, platform-wise. I just hope that kind, educated, regular people “on the ground” organize themselves, resist the rising wave of hate, and protect each other until it passes. As an artist I can’t help but be affected by it, and it compels me to write characters and themes that explore the feelings of helplessness and frustration that people bottle up inside. Ironically, I feel a strange and unfortunate familiarity with all this that sends a chill down my back; my birth country Venezuela is currently suffering from an advanced stage of economic turmoil, with a populist dictator spewing far left inflammatory political rhetoric – and I see parallels developing in the United States, on the opposite end of the spectrum. I just hope the US doesn’t end up like Venezuela.

Logline: Aliens. Punk Rock. Corn Cakes. In space, only grandma's latin cooking will save you.

Synopsis: Lupe doesn’t care about her abuela’s cooking lessons, she just wants to rock with her badass punk band. But when Lupe finds herself battling an alien monster with her band, her abuela's lessons will remind her that punk rock is more than just loud music, and connecting with her Latin roots may just save their lives.

 

Interview: Daniel Lir and Bayou Bennett - directors of "Time is Eternal"

ROFFEKE: “Time is eternal” is a visually stunning work of art. The story behind the glory is usually inspiring so please share some of the challenges you faced as you were bringing this powerful film to life and also some lessons you learned?  

Daniel Lir and Bayou Bennett

DANIEL AND BAYOU: The performance genius of the film, actually, is that Berite Labelle plays five unique characters in "Time is Eternal". 

This challenge put our filmmaking to the highest test to show dialogue scenes where Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt seamlessly talks to women's rights activist and educator, Mary Wollstonecraft as well as elaborate dance scenes with Berite playing all roles. Bayou studied movies like Flashdance to see how to expertly work with body doubles and we perfected it in the film.  It took a great amount of technical skill, knowledge of lighting and correct composition and previsualization to make this flow together perfectly.   This taught us that exceptional filmmaking is about study, study, study, testing and an A list team

The second big challenge was in finding a location so stunning as to represent the world of the film.  It had to embody the worlds of both of these deep and fascinating historical characters.  The universe of the production really came together when we found the location of the Paramour which is a work of art. The owner traveled all over Europe and the world collecting high art paintings, furniture, design and art objects- it was naturally the perfect location for the home of the writer's character and the world of the film.  It was shocking for us as creators that some of the props that were in the script were naturally existing  at the Paramour-it was pure magic. 

For Daniel Lir having worked with fashion icons, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Bella Hadid, Patricia Field who does the clothing for the Netflix hit series, "Emily in Paris", it was a huge challenge to interpret Cleopatra in a novel way.  The film "Cleopatra" starring Elizabeth Taylor was such a work of art in the 1960's, how could we give her an imaginative modern twist and not be slaves to what came before?  It took the inspiration of Middle Eastern designer Zuhair Murad and a huge amount of visual research to re-imagine Cleopatra and interpret Mary in a highly memorable way.  With the genius of our stylist Wilford Lenov, we decided conceptually to represent both characters in gold. Cleopatra in a bold, shiny luxurious gold and Mary Wollstonecraft in a soft, delicate white gold with a custom gown co-created by designer Michelle Hébert.   We learned from all this again that study, study, study was key and working with the best and most talented artists allows you to reach the highest creative heights. 

Lastly, it was a big challenge as Directors to make every frame look like a painting which was our ultimate goal.  All with the purpose of alleviating the suffering of people from the pandemic through beauty. With the help of Michael Rizzi, our cinematographer, our art department team and the wardrobe styling of Wilford Lenov (Bebe Rexha, Saweetie), the visuals were awe-inspiring. 

 ROFFEKE:  “Text me” was your first film as a duo. If you had the experience and resources you had for “Time is eternal” what would you change about “Text me”? What would you not change?

DANIEL AND BAYOU: This is one of the very best questions we have ever been presented with.  Bayou feels she would have liked to film the characters in their own lives before they meet each other on their blind date so that we can better understand their journey and the pre-conceptions they had of each other before they met. 

We both would have liked to have a location that was a stable one for us to shoot in.  We loved the restaurant visually so much but there was something sketchy about the owner and we didn't really have money for a location fee along the lines of what is normally paid for location fees.  So during the production, the owner became really difficult to work with and put a lot of stress on the production which made creativity strained. The mafia theme of the film became real!!

"Text Me" is a film we still celebrate to this day and a film that has truly captured the texting and social media generation.  We are very grateful for having been the first ones to show texting on screen in a film and the minimalism of the film is perhaps what makes it so brilliant so in the final analysis, we love the film as-is. 

ROFFEKE: Bayou Bennett, in your Donut Princess interview “How to build your brand with your significant partner”, you said you were a teacher in Jordan, Amman. What did teaching teach you? What skills did teaching give you? What lessons did you learn?

BAYOU BENNETT: It taught me that all people have different needs, points of view and cultures and you have to really understand these aspects to do the best job as a teacher.  I arrived as a young WOMAN in a culture often dominated by men, there was inherent prejudice.  I learned to be the best I could be despite obstacles and deliver the best and most caring education I could and viewpoints shifted and changed.  I was accepted and loved and seen for who I am.  That is the magic of education in that you break down barriers and open minds to new ways, new methods of living and a bright new future. 

ROFFEKE: You are a couple, parents and co-workers. In the same Donut Princess interview, Bayou, you said that you navigate this situation by wearing different hats (mother, wife, co-worker) at different times. How else do both of you maintain your work-life balance? How do you take care of your mental health?

DANIEL AND BAYOU: Yes, this is so very important.  We do many things to achieve sanity and balance in this wild, rushing and demanding world.  We eat very healthy, nutritious food, we surround ourselves with a very inspiring, able and positive team and don't associate with negative "it can't be done people", we exercise frequently with Daniel doing martial arts and also follow the wonderful Way to Happiness which helps us to make the right choices in all areas of life. 

https://www.thewaytohappiness. org

ROFFEKE: Your thoughts on artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, the metaverse and the future of filmmaking?

DANIEL AND BAYOU: This is an area we are just entering and are fascinated by it. William Gibson's novel "Neuromancer" changed Daniel's life and he also worked for legendary director Ridley Scott who directed "Alien" and "Blade Runner" after graduating from NYU Film School.  Ridley has been a giant influence on Daniel as a Director and successful business person.  I think in the next couple of years you will see a science fiction project from us but as with every project by the Dream Team Directors it will be thought-provoking, inspiring and open your eyes in new directions.  Thank you so very much for this interview and for featuring our film "Time is Eternal" in your amazing film festival. 

Interview: Jesse Dorian - Screenwriter of "Sven"

ROFFEKE: In your writer statement, you say: “If the first two acts of this story feel tedious at times, and make the reader/audience deeply uncomfortable during others – Good.” Yes, there are definitely some cringe moments in the screenplay, which make the ending like a breath of fresh air after the harrowing claustrophobic atmosphere. Did you set out to make the reader uncomfortable or did that aspect just naturally appear as you were writing? Did the darker elements appear during the manic episode you mentioned or did you add them in later?

JESSE DORIAN: Okay, this is a great question. I’m pretty sure that that part of my writer statement is just my way of irritably responding to some of the negative feedback I had received from a few festivals for “SVEN,” regarding its first two acts. And as far as setting out to make the reader uncomfortable — no, actually. I don’t set out to make the reader uncomfortable, intentionally. All I’m setting out to do really, is tell a story, regardless of if the reader/audience becomes uncomfortable or not. 

I find that both readers and viewers will be able to sense if a writer has that sort of an agenda. I find that what makes a lot of “cringe” moments or elements in a story, is when those particular moments are either noticeably disingenuous… or, those particular moments are noticeably relatable to the audience. 

The other part of this question that I find great — also because you’re the first to ever ask it — “Did the darker elements appear during the manic episode… or did you add them in later?” And I think you sorta hit the nail on the head with what that question is suggesting, and the answer is — Yes. 100%. Because I wasn’t necessarily on the right path toward recovery from the manic state I was in at the time, when I started the very first draft of “SVEN” back in 2012. And I believe that — for me, being in that state of mind, is absolutely what pressed this story forward into the uncomfortably dark places that the central character must persevere through.

Being in a manic state at the time, made me draw the conclusion that maybe — it’s okay to take the audience, psychologically, to some new places that no other story or film prior has ever taken them… it’s okay to trigger the audience; challenge them. As long as I’m not disrespecting the intelligence of the audience, or underestimating their intellect, then it’s okay to inadvertently toy with them. 

For quite a while now, my philosophy as a screenwriter is: no matter how smart I may think I am, the audience is always smarter.

ROFFEKE: In your bio, you mention a gothpop music project. Share a little more about that?

JESSE DORIAN: That would be my solo music project Imitate Invertebrate. It’s been a work-in-progress for about 6 years now. What’s thoroughly frustrating, is that I’ve done so much — and worked so hard — on this music project but have publicly released so little. 

Hopefully, that’ll change soon because I plan to return to Imitate Invertebrate in early 2023, to begin completion on all, if not most of the 22+ songs that I’ve started writing and recording over the past several years. Fans of the genre will notice within no time that I’m a huge fan of industrial metal and industrial rock/pop from the 1980s and 1990s. 

Imitate Invertebrate is inspired; its a contemporary throwback project but it’s definitely its own thing. Probably because working on music is therapeutic for me in a way that film is not, Imitate Invertebrate is the only project I have that really makes any sense to me.

ROFFEKE: The “locked in a room” trope is common in thrillers and horrors but you give it a new spin, largely due to the unique characters. What inspired you to come up with these two main characters? How much time did you spend on character development or did the characters appear “fully formed”?

JESSE DORIAN: The “locked in a room” trope is a concept mostly reserved for filmmakers with no money, and few resources. It’s a great trope though, that can really test the strengths and range of a writer/filmmaker’s creativity, without necessarily exposing their limitations. 

I recently did an extensive in-depth interview with Festigious Los Angeles about the origins of “SVEN” as an original concept. The two main characters originated from a no-budget unscripted internet series that I had created back in 2008 (which was also the very first time I applied the “locked in a room” setting).

ROFFEKE: A ROFFEKE interviewee said: “I think it’s important to address the fact that a lot of artists, struggling or not, are not mentally healthy and have problems that they are actively dealing with though their chosen medium…what happens when you sacrifice yourself for something and it works? What about the moment after? What about when it doesn’t work? What are we really doing to ourselves? Why are we doing this to ourselves?” Please comment on part or all of this, answer one or all the questions asked, give your take on the views expressed, etc. 

JESSE DORIAN: Well, I see exactly what they’re tapping into with those questions, and they’re certainly not wrong. So, okay. I’m probably going to go on a rant — and hopefully, somewhere along the tirade, at least several of these questions are reasonably answered. 

As everyone already knows, a lot of artists are not mentally healthy. The outright neglect of my mental health has cost me a lot of my friendships throughout the years, while I was doing my best to remain hyper-focused on the completion of certain projects. 

When I first started writing the first draft of the feature script for “SVEN” in December 2012, I was a huge substance abuser at that time; arguably, at my absolute worst. I don’t think I had ever openly admitted that I sorta believed that I needed to be intoxicated to write, but also — I hadn’t yet been diagnosed ADD/ADHD. 

It wasn’t until around the time I turned 30 and I was finally diagnosed, that I realized that the number one cause of my depression during adulthood was due to my inability to focus; my inability to complete the same ambitious projects that I could so easily begin. 

Focus wasn’t necessarily always a problem for me when I was a teenager but as I became an adult, my attention span began to work against me, and before I knew it — even the things that I loved to do such as write, and work on music — I no longer had the attention span to really carry those projects out to completion. It was really hard for me to get anything done. And since I had always used alcohol as a way to coexist socially, that was really all I felt that I had at the time to give me enough drive to express myself creatively. 

For some reason, I had become convinced that achieving something that mattered, was simply grounded in how motivated someone either was, or was not. It had never occurred to me back then, why I was really purchasing prescription stimulants from acquaintances of mine who had prescriptions, throughout my early twenties. And not until many years after my manic episode, would I come to discover that I, in fact, DID need to be on prescription stimulants — daily; in order to be a fully-functioning part of society.

Once I was prescribed, all urges to abuse alcohol and other habit-forming drugs went away entirely. That was over 6 years ago.

However, I’ve also come to learn that artists or writers or whatever — let’s just say "creative people,” do not necessarily have to sacrifice their mental health, or even their sobriety to be just as good creatively as if they were using substance as a creative force, by abusing it — maybe those creative people who believe they need to be in a place of poor mental wellness just haven’t quite hit rock bottom yet… 

But I’m not going to lie — having the prior life experience that a substance abuser has had, or having the life experience of a person that is not quite “mentally healthy,” is in and of itself, life experience — that surely doesn’t hurt to already have. It certainly helps to have it. Especially, if they are in fact, a creative force. And yeah, in the end… sometimes, it’s perfectly okay to just feel something organically. 

And sorta touching back onto your earlier questions, regarding dark themes and the influence that a manic episode could have on the tone or atmosphere of a finished project… the most recent completed screenplay of mine, is called “Morituriosis.” 

I completed the first draft of “Morituriosis” in 2016 but it was the first screenplay that I had ever written entirely while sober. Personally, I think it’s the darkest thing I’ve ever written. “Morituriosis” takes you straight to Hell; it’s my most genuine attempt at assaulting the senses of the entire audience, inspired by a real life experience I had, while I was at my most vulnerable. With “Morituriosis,” I’m making the audience go somewhere that they really don’t want to go, for nearly the film’s entire runtime. I see “Morituriosis” as my nihilistic show stopper. And it should come as no surprise that — mentally, I was in a reasonably good place when I wrote it. I wrote it at a time right after a pivotal moment in my life; a moment when I made a personal breakthrough. It was at a time when I was finally able to make some kind of peace with myself as a person. 

The reason I bring up my screenplay “Morituriosis,” is because I was able to use the memories of all of my horrible life experiences with substance abuse, all leading up to one major horrible life experience I had, that would become the sole inspiration for the main theme in “Morituriosis” — without actually having to neglect my mental health. And it’s because my mental health was finally in a good place, and I was properly medicated for ADD — I was focused, and therefore able to coherently tell the dark story I was wanting to tell. But I wasn’t intoxicated when I wrote it. Because I didn’t need to be.

ROFFEKE: Screenwriting: What has your screenwriting journey been like? What came first: the screenwriting or the acting/editing/directing? How do your skills as an actor, editor and director influence and enrich your screenwriting? 

JESSE DORIAN: The screenwriting came first. I completed my first screenplay over 20 years ago. I was 15  years-old. Because screenwriting was what I had consistently worked at, even though it wasn’t what I was most passionate about — that has always been acting — screenwriting is gradually what I became the most skilled at. 

Unfortunately, I went most of my life being too afraid to take acting as seriously as I had always wanted to. Plus, I’ve also always been aware of how easy it is to fail as an actor who can’t write. It’s sorta like failing as a singer that can’t write — it’s too easy. 

I actually starred-in a feature film that I also wrote and directed back in 2011 that was never technically released. Currently, there is a two-hour rough cut of the film though. Long story short, that’s when I realized exactly how much I truly loved acting, and much preferred it to screenwriting and directing. Sadly though, I haven’t attempted to professionally act in anything else since.  But that’s all about to change. 

The return to acting is going to become my top priority within 2023-2024.

Synopsis of "Sven"

"A 6-foot tall humanoid-primate from the Amazon rainforest, called a "chilamasman," the last of its species - an an intense, deeply troubled, mentally unstable American adult male are both held captive by a U.S. government-funded program performing a psychological experiment, forcing the two of them to live together inside a single, maximum security containment habitat - and replica - of a modern day condominium apartment."

Check out Jesse Dorian's Linktree HERE

Interview: Riker Lynch - writer, director, actor, producer of "Aliens on Halloween"

ROFFEKE: I really enjoyed watching your interview on Hollywood Approved (Episode 7). You said: “I do a lot of improvisation with my actors and I let people take the words and throw them out and put their own little vibes on it.” One of my favourite fun scenes (and “Aliens on Halloween” is full of fun scenes!) is the one where Titus Makin Jr.’s character meets the aliens. How much of that fun dialogue was from your script and how much was Titus just putting his unique spin on it?

RIKER: This is one of my favorite scenes too. Just trying not to laugh while we were filming made it even funnier. Titus is an incredible actor and he’s always working on something whether it be film, TV, or music. We were lucky enough to have him for a few hours in his busy schedule so I basically told him the lines do not matter. I really only needed him to mention “Halloween" and establish that he’s the owner of the house. I had written the character to be one of those people that just talk a lot and fast and don’t really listen and Titus was absolutely hilarious. I would say 90% was total improv. We did 2 takes and cut together the best of the best. It was all so good Gordy and I had a ton of fun working on that scene in the editing room.

ROFFEKE: You also said: “I put my friends’ music in it…I sent them texts, ‘Hey I’m doing this movie. Can I use your music?” What criteria did you use to pick the songs? Was it the lyrics? The vibe? The genre?

RIKER: I pretty much just went with the friends of mine that had songs that fit the vibe that I was going for. I’m great friends with the band New Beat Fund and their song Halloween Birthdaze was obviously a perfect fit. On a small-budget short film like this, you’re kind of looking for anyone who will give you permission to use their work as a favor so I knew all my friends would help me out in that regard. I’m very fortunate to have very talented friends in the music industry. 

ROFFEKE: You said about Ted Lasso: “…I think is the greatest show to ever touch television because we all need this in our lives, we all need this energy and this positivity…I want to spread as much optimism and positive energy as possible…” Apart from “Aliens on Halloween” - which I think definitely does spread optimism and positive energy -  and your various creative and artistic ventures, how else do you spread optimism and positive energy?”

RIKER: I do my best to just be an uplifting spirit in whatever I’m doing. To radiate enthusiasm and positivity everywhere I go. My music is a big part of that because I believe music can change your mood almost quicker than anything. My latest song “Remedy" is all about being the remedy for someone who’s having a tough time. I hope my music can have a positive impact on people’s spirits. 

ROFFEKE: Your top three memories from your 2016 Safari in Kenya?

RIKER: Oh that’s tough to pick. The whole thing was truly amazing. I was there with my four brothers and my dad. The first game drive early in the morning was just so surreal because I really didn’t know what to expect and seeing all these amazing animals up close in person is so spectacular. We saw a ton of elephants on our first day. 

Another time we saw a momma lion playing with her cub. That was so cool. We were in a jeep-like truck with no doors and we kept getting closer and closer to watch them and at one point the cub kind of wanders closer to us and gave us a little baby roar. He walks on and then the mom gets very close to us and I remember our safari guide says, “just stay calm and don’t look her in the eye.” I could’ve reached out and touched her, she was THAT close. Did I mention there were no doors in our truck? Such powerful animals.

We also got to play some music for these kids in one of the tribes there. I’m not sure if that’s correctly how I should describe them but they were such lovely humans. They were very interested in our guitars. This was back in 2016 so my band R5 was still going strong and we played “All Night” and “Dark Side” for them.

ROFFEKE: I interviewed Gordy De St. Jeor (director of The Thrill), who was also part of “Aliens on Halloween” and happens to be your cousin. He gave a thought-provoking answer to my question about whether the artist’s struggle is worth it. Please comment on, add to (or even dispute) his answer:

RIKER: Gordy is so talented. I’m so fortunate to be able to collaborate with him. He’s someone I deeply care about. Not only family but one of my greatest friends. 

I totally understand his view on the struggle. For me, the “why do I do this” well it’s because I believe it is my purpose on this planet and in this life to bring people joy through film, television, music, through stories. And on the "struggle for the art", I don’t really feel that I have a real “struggle” or sacrifice I guess. Sure I feel struggle if I’m stuck on a scene or a line or I’m not feeling inspired but that’s all part of the process. I love the quote, “Nature never hurries but everything is accomplished.” I really believe in that and I’ve also come to simply enjoy the journey that is life. There is no destination, it’s all about the journey, and part of the journey is going to be struggling. I know that. And it’s ok. Part of the journey is also going to be the most magical thing you’ve ever experienced. At the end of the day no matter how much struggle there is, I love what I do and I feel so grateful I get to do what I do. 

Hollywood Approved - Episode 7

Review: Nice Shoes - Written and Produced by Tommy Mack, Directed by Jonathan Lawrence

Reviewer: Tetley

This epic music video has a captivating plot, making reference to over 40 popular Sci-fi movies and shows. A guy abducts an alien during its autopsy and takes it back to its mother-ship in an attempt to rescue it. Touching on space exploration and human experience with complex character exploration from the cast.

There’s nothing fancy about the lyrics. The line,“…At the end of the day, I am everything and I am nothing…” was what saved the otherwise crappy lyrics of the song. Regardless, this epic music video definitely makes your to-watch-before-I-die list.

Reviewer: Love Kassim (June 3rd 2020)

The video is captivating. Definitely in trend considering Space X trials to the moon and over are ongoing. I like the Sci-fi theme, in this case, the shoes being either the aliens or the astronauts. Rammstein meets Limp Bizkit type of vibe. Music is thought provoking; that line "I am everything and I am nothing." 

I love the inclusion of the Star Wars characters. Other Sci-fi references I noticed include Back to the Future, Men In Black, and Terminator.

Note from ROFFEKE: In this poster, there is reference to ET and Lexx. Top left is of course Men In Black. What are the other two Sci-fi shows/movies in this poster? In the music video, the opening is a parody of The Twilight Zone. Check out the whole music video here and see how many Sci-fi references you can list!