The new Switch / Steam game Dungeons & DoomKnights doesn’t just look retro, it’s 100% authentically the real deal. The game was developed in Assembly language on the original NES by Adam Bohn, better known as “Artix,” and Dale Coop (who’s been behind Kubo and other major NES homebrew releases). We caught both of them for an interview about the making of this game and what inspired it.
As we enter the final weeks of 2018, I find myself reflecting on the milestones I hit in 2018 with Pop Geeks. I reached my 100th article for the site with my Pleasant Gehman interview, which was also the 100th unique interview I’ve done. I also made a dream come true this year by interviewing Sherri Stoner, my biggest influence as a writer. Coming up soon will be interviews with Loretta Swit and Aki Aleong. As I hit these milestones, though, I thought of the talents I never had the chance to interview. There’s so many, but these 10 Talents I Never Got The Chance To Interview really stood out for me.
My next interview subject has many nicknames. Some call her the Love Goddess. Others call her The Petite Flower. Still others refer to her as the Princess Of Panty Shields or the Empress Of Elvis Impersonators. Simply put, she is Judy Tenuta, comedienne, actress, musician and a talent I find to be very underrated. 2017 marks the 30th anniversary of the HBO special Women Of The Night, a comedy special that introduced much of the world to Ms. Tenuta, as well as many other formidable comedic voices. To mark the 30th anniversary of that special, and also because I’m a fan of her work, I reached out to her press representative, B. Harlan Boll, about an interview with Judy. He set it up, and we spoke on February 13th.
My interest in the pop culture of the past not only involves movies, music and television, but also books and magazines as well. In 2015, I liked the Facebook page for the book 6200 Carbon Canyon Road by Terri Lenee Peake, a former Penthouse Pet and and actress. Ms. Peake sent me a friend request shortly afterwards. At Christmas of that year, I sent out Christmas greetings in group messages to three groups of people, and Ms. Peake fell in the celebrity category. As she made mention of several other stars I included in the message, I was intrigued. I purchased and read 6200 Carbon Canyon Road last year, and I loved it. Upon completion of the book, I wanted to go further into Ms. Peake’s show business career, evidenced by a filmography at the beginning of her book. I spoke to her on Monday, January 16th, and I hope you all enjoy getting to know this wonderful talent.
When I attended Chiller Theatre in October of 2016, I met many interesting people, all of whom were very friendly. In addition to all the veteran stars, I also met several up-and-coming talents as well. One of them is a versatile talent named Laura Madsen.
You never know who you’ll meet when you’re at an airport. On September 13th, me, my brother and our family friend were flying to Florida for a Walt Disney World vacation. While waiting to board the flight, we found out that a band was among our fellow passengers. The band was an 80s tribute band called Jessie’s Girl, and I struck up a conversation with their drummer, Michael Maenza. Relating stories about the 80s talents he’s performed with, I knew he would make for an interesting interview subject. We spoke on October 10th, and I hope you all enjoy an introduction to this talented drummer.
Several years ago, I asked Lisa, my good friend and fellow lover of retro pop culture, whom she would like to see me interview. She suggested Kristine DeBell. Ms. DeBell is known to film audiences for her work in projects like the classic 70s comedy Meatballs, the Jackie Chan film Battle Creek Brawl, and, more recently, interesting films like Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance and A Talking Cat?. I sent Ms. DeBell an interview request several years after Lisa suggested her, and we spoke on September 26th. I hope you all enjoy getting to know this talented actress.
NSFW Advisory: Although there is no nudity in this article, there is frank discussion of sexuality. I would recommend you be 18 or over to read this. Reader discretion is advised.
Destiny developer Bungie hasn’t discarded the idea of adding matchmaking to raids in the hit sci-fi shooter, according to an interview with world design lead Steve Cotton. Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Metro at Gamescon earlier this week, Cotton made clear that the studio was listening to feedback from fans and was still discussing the idea of adding matchmaking to the Raids in the game.
Earlier this year, I sent an interview request to the representative of a retro talent I admire. Although that talent has not yet agreed to an interview, the PR firm she uses had offered several different interview subjects. The first came in July when I did an e-mail interview with Jean Louisa Kelly. The second happened on Monday, August 8th when I spoke to up-and-coming actress Sarah Minnich.