Firefly

23RD ANNUAL 24 HOUR OHIO SCIENCE FICTION MARATHON!

Greetings, Marathoids! The 23rd Annual 24 Hour Ohio Science Fiction Marathon is set for April 22nd through 23rd at the Drexel Gateway Theater in Columbus, Ohio. Held as a 24-hour film marathon that features new and classic films, sci-fi movie trailers, contests, prizes and more, the event starts at 12:00 noon on Saturday, April 22 and runs until 12:00 noon on Sunday, April 23rd. Everyone who attends the entire "Marathon" recieves a glossy silver certificate if they can survive the entire 24 hours!

See below for ticket and venue information.

Films announced to date:

FORBIDDEN PLANET: Special 50th Anniversary Screening Starring Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly

MGM’s first big-budget science fiction film, FORBIDDEN PLANET combined state-of-the-art special effects with a storyline based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In the 23rd century, Commander J. J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen) goes on a rescue mission to planet Altair-4 where years earlier, Earth ship Bellerophon disappeared. Only the ship’s philologist, Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) survived. In the intervening decades, Morbius created an Edenlike world for the benefit of himself and his nubile young daughter, Altaira (Anne Francis) - a private paradise zealously guarded by Robby the Robot, a piece of technology far in advance of anything on Earth. When Adams and crew land on Altair-4, Morbius announces he has no intention of being rescued. Unknown to Adams, Morbius has made an incredible discovery, and has no intention of sharing it (or his daughter) with anyone...

GODZILLA: FINAL WARS Starring Godzilla, Masahiro Matsuoka, Rei Kikukawa, Akira Takarada

Versus director Ryuhei Kitamura brings us the final futuristic installment of the long-running kaiju series. In the near future, Earth is being decimated by monsters that have been mysteriously unleashed in every major city from New York to Sydney, and as the world population falls into a paralyzing state of panic, the Earth Defense Force must stage a daring initiative by seeking out their only hope which lies frozen in the Antarctic...

After a giant u.f.o. suddenly appears and vaporizes the beasts, the citizens of Earth are comforted to hear that the newly arrived alien race is seeking to make peace with humankind. All is not as it seems, however, and as the nefarious aliens reveal their true nature, it’s up to GODZILLA to take back the planet — or die trying.

BATMAN Starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Jerry Hall

Gotham City is a haven for criminals, held in the corrupt grip of crime boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance), and terrorized by a sadistic vandal and murderer known as The Joker (Jack Nicholson). But it isn’t long before a dark, mysterious caped crusader, who goes by the name of BATMAN, is on their trail and trying to thwart their evil doings. In this darkly entertaining retelling of the DC comic classic, ace photojournalist Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) is also on the trail—she wants to find out who Batman really is. Based on the popular comic book character created by Bob Kane for DC Comics and inspired by Frank Miller’s graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, Tim Burton’s BATMAN features imaginative special effects and gothic sets, a brooding performance by Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader, and the beginning of a modern classic of epic proportions.

SERENITY Starring Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, Ron Glass, Chiwetel Ejiofor

SERENITY centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. Leading a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family, Mal takes on two new passengers - a young doctor and his unstable, telepathic sister - and learns the pair are fugitives from the coalition dominating the universe who will stop at nothing to reclaim the girl. The crew find themselves caught between the unstoppable Universal Alliance and the horrific, cannibalistic fury of the Reavers, savages who roam the very edge of space. Hunted by vastly different enemies, they begin to discover that the greatest danger may be on board Serenity herself.

Plus, don’t miss the entire BATMAN serial from 1943, a rare screening of SPACEBOY, everyone’s favorite "educational" film GRAVITY, DUCK DODGERS classics, the Annual Costume Contest, and much, much more! More films, special premieres and special guests to be announced shortly!

Tickets are on sale now at the Drexel Business Office (614) 222-0947 for phone orders only (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Tickets are also on sale online, at all Drexel Theatres, and The Laughing Ogre (4258 N. High St.)

The Drexel Gateway Theater is located at 1550 N. High St. in Columbus, Ohio - across from the Ohio State Campus in the S. Campus Gateway. You can see a close-up map with brief directions here.