This Thursday the Pioneer Theater in New York City will kick off the first-ever "Mormonsploitation" festival, a week of schlocky, LDS-themed movies that might be offensive if they weren't so silly. The films being screened include "A Mormon Maid," a 1917 silent melodrama about a pioneer gal wooed by two different Mormon suitors; "Man's Search for Happiness," a Mormon propaganda film made for the 1964 New York World's Fair; and "Primer," the 2004 Sundance award-winner about inventors making a time machine in their garage. Says the event's Web site, "Although not openly Mormon, 'Primer' features two guys in white shirts and ties with crazy ideas about the future and the past."
The centerpiece is the premiere of Ian Allen's "Trapped by the Mormons," a remake of the 1922 cult horror classic about a British lass ensnared by a nefarious LDS missionary. Allen hopes to screen his movie in Salt Lake City next year, presumably not at a theater owned by Larry H. Miller. Stay tuned.
For the snob who has everything: Looking for a Christmas gift for that hard-to-please person on your list? Got a few extra hundred thousand dollars lying around? Neiman Marcus, the high-end retailer, has issued its annual Christmas Book catalog of fantastic, and fantastically expensive, gifts for the snob who has everything.
Forget the autographed Pelé soccer jersey ($779), the crystal-encrusted iPod case ($840) or the bejeweled music box that plays Pachelbel's Canon in D ($4,500). To really impress your finicky Aunt Kitty you must turn to page 84, where the so-called Wow! gifts begin. (They don't call the store "Needless Markup" for nothing.)
Consider these:
A custom-built treehouse designed by Roderick Romero, who has installed them for such clients as Donna Karan and Sting. Roderick makes house calls. Prices start at $50,000.
A six-foot levitating sculpture that hovers in the air on magnetic waves and never crashes to the floor. If only they could do the same for Dick Cheney's approval rating: $90,000.
A mini-railroad, big enough for people to ride, complete with locomotive, cars, caboose, station and 1,000 feet of track. It runs on propane and can be installed in your backyard, assuming your yard is half the size of Texas: $200,000, not including delivery and installation.
A private 90-minute concert by Elton John - excuse me, Sir Elton John - for you and 500 guests, to benefit his AIDS foundation. Includes a red baby grand piano. Travel and production costs are extra, and I'm guessing Sir Elton won't be flying coach: $1.5 million.
A prototype M400 Skycar, a personal airplane that can hover like a helicopter and is designed "to elevate individual drivers above the headaches of commuting." The Skycar runs on alcohol and can reach speeds of 350 mph. A limited number of M400s will supposedly be available within the next three years, but you can own the prototype now. Operators are standing by: $3.5 million.
Well, all righty then. I sure hope my uncle likes that Banana Republic sweater I'm getting him. It cost $58.
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Contact Brandon Griggs at griggs@sltrib.com or 801-257-8689. Send comments to livingeditor@sltrib.com.
