Kier-La Janisse HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN and Paul Corupe founder of Canuxploitation.com are launching their new anthology book Spectacular Optical Book One: KID POWER! on Saturday October 25th at 4pm at The Royal Cinema.

Chock full of essays and interviews that celebrate the cool, tuff and sassy kids of cult film and television, the launch will be accompanied by a rare 35mm screening of the one and only, original BAD NEWS BEARS!

They dont make em like this anymore! KID POWER contributor Jesse Hawthorne Ficks summarizes BAD NEWS BEARS as follows: Walter Matthau whips a ragtag 'tween team of foul-mouthed outcasts into one of the tuffest brigades this side of Vietnam. This mid-70s time capsule will truly shock and surprise you at how true-to-life little league really can be! Also starring Tatum O'Neal, Vic Morrow and amazing kid character actor-turned Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley!

BAD NEWS BEARS is just one of the films discussed in KID POWER!, a 260-page full-colour tribute to the tots, tweens and teens that have inspired a generation of cult film fans. From the 1940s antics of Curley and his Gang to the overwrought denim-clad melodrama of The ABC Afterschool Special, from the surreal fantasies of The Peanut Butter Solution to the pre-teen bloodsucking dramedy of Canadian TV show The Little Vampire, KID POWER! is a heavily-illustrated collection of film writing by a diverse array of some of genre criticisms most unique voices.

KID POWER! is the inaugural book from Spectacular Optical www.spectacularoptical.ca, Kier-La Janisses new, Toronto-based small press of collectible film and pop culture books with an emphasis on supporting Canadian genre film writers and designers.

Contributors to KID POWER! include author/film producer Zack Carlson DESTROY ALL MOVIES!! THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO PUNKS ON FILM and THE AMERICAN SCREAM, FANGORIA Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Alexander, underground comic legends Rick Trembles MOTION PICTURE PURGATORY and Robin Bougie CINEMA SEWER, Canuxploitation.coms Paul Corupe, film scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas RAPE REVENGE FILMS: A CRITICAL STUDY performance artist/pop culture historian Robert Dayton CANNED HAMM, THE CANADIAN ROMANTIC, film programmers Bret Berg CineFamily, Jesse Hawthorne Ficks MiDNiTES FOR MANiACS and Briony Kidd Stranger With My Face Horror Film Festival and writers Owen Williams EMPIRE and Cheryl Singleton FANGORIA as well as Spectacular Optical Editor-in-Chief Kier-La Janisse HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN. PLUS! cover and key art by Portland-based illustrator/graphic artist Austin Sellers.

FULL CONTENTS:

Its a Yorkshire Thing: An Interview with David Bradley of KES - by Kier-La Janisse

An in-depth talk with the star of Ken Loachs beloved British classic

After-School Shootout: The Lowry Brothers HAWK JONES by Paul Corupe

Paul Corupe interviews the director of the all-kid 80s cop action movie

Bad Hair Day: Producer Rock Demers on THE PEANUT BUTTER SOLUTION by Bret Berg

The CineFamilys Bret Berg talks to the man who prompted a million childhood nightmares

Curley and his Gang: The Laughably Short Life of Hal Roachs Second Kid Comedy Crew by Zack Carlson

Destroy All Movies!! co-author Zack Carlson takes Hal Little Rascals Roach to task over his flubbed follow-up

They Can See In The Dark: An Interview with Richard Nielsen, Writer/Producer of THE LITTLE VAMPIRE by Cheryl Singleton

A rare conversation with the creator of the strange, short-lived Canadian-German TV series

Motherless Child: The Power and Poetry of THE UGLY LITTLE BOY by Chris Alexander

A personal remembrance of coming-of-age with Isaac Asimovs moving tale, adapted for the small screen with 70s series Classics Dark and Dangerous.

They Let Me Keep a Crocodile: A Conversation with Stephen Rosenberg, Child Star of 1978s JACOB TWO-TWO MEETS THE HOODED FANG- by Zack Carlson

Zack Carlson tracks down the star of the DIY Canadian classic adapted from Mordecai Richlers celebrated kids book.

THE CHILDREN OF TIMES SQUARE by Robin Bougie

Robin Bougie interweaves his own history with that of Curtis Hansons seedy, streetwise 1986 TV movie.

Dear Judy: Australian Childhood Mythologized in SEVEN LITTLE AUSTRALIANS - by Briony Kidd

Briony Kidds love-letter to the feisty, tragic character at the center of Ethel Turners classic 1894 novel, as seen in the 1973 TV miniseries.

The Dark Side of Disney: An Interview with Directors John Hough and Paul Hough by Kier-La Janisse

We talk to John Hough director of The Watcher in the Woods and the Witch Mountain films and his son, filmmaker Paul Hough, about the implications of making and watching childrens entertainment in the 1970s.

Cosmic Rays and Mind Travel: Anthony Reads CHOCKY Trilogy by Owen Williams

Owen Williams looks at Anthony Reads odd and scary television adaptation of John Wyndhams final novel, Chocky, and its subsequent sequels.

Knowing is Half the Battle: An Interview with ABC Afterschool Specials Producer Martin Tahse by Kier-La Janisse

A Whos Who of ABC Afterschool Specials by Kier-La Janisse

An A-Z of our favourite familiar faces from the series in the 70s and 80s.

Stinky: Abbott and Costellos Resident Man-Child by Robert Dayton

Robert Dayton, the Canadian Romantic himself, asks, Who is Stinky? And what does he mean?

Motion Picture Purgatory: KENNY, THE KID BROTHER 1988- by Rick Trembles

Trembles legendary comic-form movie review takes on the half-bodied hero of Claude Gagnons unforgettable docu-drama.

Kids Flicks Are No Laughing Matter by Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

From Song of the South to Bugsy Malone and Rich Kids, Jesse Ficks looks at the life lessons imparted by classic family films.

Ann Turners CELIA: They Kill Rabbits, Dont They?- by Briony Kidd

Briony Kidd talks to Rebecca Smart, the child star of Ann Turners terrifying and genre-defying coming of age film.

Nicoletta Elmi: Italian Horrors Imp Ascendent by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Craig Martin

The most memorable child actress from the heyday of Italian horror films gets a retrospective appreciation from Oz most astute and enthusiastic scholars.