Nerd Girl of Note #140: Rebecca Ferratti

Between the name and the looks you would naturally want to think Rebecca Ferratti was an Italian actress, but Ms Ferratti is a Montana girl oddly enough. Apparently she competed professionally in martial arts, according to her IMDb Bio, was the June 1986 Playmate of the Month. and has several acting credits spanning from 1978 to 2007.

She is best known to me as "Talena" from the Gor movies which do show her to be quite athletic (if a bit stiff at times in the sword fights), and not a bad actor, particularly when sandwiched between numerous really bad actors and the awesomeness of Oliver Reed and Jack Palance.

Unfortunately, Ferratti's acting career did not go too far despite its longevity. She has twenty-five acting credits according to her IMDb entry, some of which are prominent  roles, but numerous others are credits like "Sexy Woman", "Game Show Hostess", "Playboy Playmate", or my favorite "Señorita Kissing Ned" — the unfortunate plight of the B Movie actress who finds her way into mainstream films like Beverly Hills Cop or Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. So, as is our want in the Nerd Girls of Note world, lets give the lady a look. Check out some of her films if you get a chance. Gor streams on Netflix (my review) and the MST3K version of Outlaw of Gor is on Youtube. You can also stream Cyborg 3 (Zach Galligan) on Netflix.

From a Playboy calendar

As "Talena" in Gor

A silly little video from Playboy featuring Ferratti. There is some nudity, but not egregious.

Gor (Fritz Kiersch, 1987)

You know how many of we B Movie lovers like to say some movies are so bad they are good? Well, I would be inclined to say that here, but instead I will call it like I see it and say this is a bad movie except in one regard. The stunt work is pretty awesome.

While technically a sci-fi movie "based on" John Norman's Tarnsman of Gor, deep down this is a barbarian movie that stands firmly with films like Conan the Barbarian, The Sword and the Sorcerer, and Deathstalker. It is sword-fights-a-go-go, and while the aforementioned films certainly have sword-fights in spades Gor stands out for the sheer energy and cartoonish nature of said scenes (I say cartoonish in a good way).

First, there are some pretty awesome stunt women in this one. Whomever is the stunt double for Rebecca Ferratti (Talena) is awesome. It is either Angel Castignani or Carmen Babnick as there are only two female stunt performers. Unfortunately there is little information on either, though it appears that Carmen Babnick was the double as the IMDb lists her as Ferratti's stunt double in the sequel, Outlaw of Gor (aka Gor II). Ferratti is fairly poor in the fight sequences that are clearly her, but when her double swoops in it is pretty magical.

Regarding the cartoonish nature, there is a series of scenes with Paul L. Smith, better known perhaps as Bluto from the Popeye movie or "The Beast Raban" from Dune. Every violent action he takes sends barbarian garbed extras flying off screen. At one point he turns over a table he was sitting at and the others seated go flying off like crazy. This seems silly, but it is so well done that I can't help but to enjoy it.

On the down/up side is the mixed emotions over the inclusion of the King of Awesome, Oliver Reed. Reed is our villain, Sarm, and is all Oliver Reed. He is all the menacing charm of his numerous bad guy roles, and does not phone it in, despite acting circles around the rest of the cast. You do get the feeling that he perhaps had a pretty staggering bar tab somewhere and took the job to settle up? The other is the inclusion of Jack Palance as Xenos. Palance is another one of those awesome actors that do not get cast in big things as often as they should, and more often wind up in low budget turds like this one.

Well, all this being said, the second half of the film falls off a bit. It is actiony, and we get a lot of Reed being malevolent, but as is typical of B Movies all the good ideas went into the first thirty minutes, then there is a bit of a scramble to get to the desired end. As for Jack Palance, he doesn't show up until the last ten minutes, only to foreshadow the sequel, which was likely shot immediately afterward.

If you love barbarian movies, definitely check it out. If you are a fan of the book, or not a fan for that matter, no worries as it is so far removed as to be unrecognizable. It is as though the writers were given some undefined terms from the book and charged with defining them for the film. It is not a good movie, but it is rather enjoyable, at least for a while, and they actually go against a lot of Norman's inferred ideas about freedom from the first Gor book. Deathstalker fans should definitely be pleased.

He may be a nerdy professor on the outside, but he's a second rate John Carter on the inside!

She's a little stiff, but Rebecca Ferratti certainly looks the part.

"I can't believe I waxed my chest for this."

Good form.

"Oli, you smell like whiskey."

The obligatory "rule with me" scene.

Three shrouded prisoners. One was Talena. Whodathunkit?

No idea where this other girl came from, but she was integral to the plot for ten minutes.

"I used to be an adventurer, until I took an arrow to the neck."

Cue the Whitesnake power ballad.

Palance creeping around backstage.

The Pope of Disney Village

Nerd Hope: John Carter (Andrew Stanton, 2012)

Here is me being cautiously hopeful for the pending Disney release of John Carter, based on the character from Edgar Rice Burroughs.

John Carter's adventures on Mars, or 'Barsoom' in the language of the books, span decades of writing and are in my opinion the most influential science fiction stories ever produced. They are easily accessible pulp fiction that call back to the time of knights and chivalry. The first book, A Princess of Mars is the semi-basis for this movie, detailing Carter's advent on Barsoom and his meeting/falling in love with Dejah Thoris, the titular Princess. Likely, most of you have already heard of the film, and Burroughs fans are likely with me in a sense of anticipation mixed with the deep-seated assurance that it will be woefully inaccurate. Here is my plan for going into the film.

First, as the John Carter stories are so ingrained in the science fiction genre the hero is now more archetype than character. Just as Superman and Batman can be molded by different artists, so can John Carter. As long as Disney sticks to the basic attributes we should be fine. Carter is honest, brave, trustworthy, fierce, loyal and kind. I worry they will try to give him a bad-boy edge, but since he inspired both Conan and Elric I guess it is not completely out of line (just mostly). Fortunately, writer/director Andrew Stanton is a Disney institution with writing credits for most all of Disney's recent hits including all three Toy Story films. I think if he can make Woody and Buzz Lightyear true-blue good guys which the public adores, he will not have a problem with John Carter. So, while I hope they keep Carter in character I do not intend to nit-pick.

Second, I am going to go into this hoping that Disney and Stanton honestly want to make a great film of this. For all his ubiquity, John Carter was not on everyone's radar in recent years, and most of the books, I believe, are not in print. The stories were started one hundred years ago, and people have been trying to film them ever since. I think they were wise to copy the Michael Whelan style for the tharks, or Green Men of Barsoom (pictured right). There are certainly things that must be avoided. For one thing, most everyone runs around Barsoom nude, and not even the pulp artists who have done book covers go all the way with this, but from what I have seen the visuals are much of what I see in my head.

Lastly, we finally have a big screen, big budget attempt and a beloved character. I know I will not say "it was just like reading the book" at any point, but movies are a different medium. Frankly, I refuse to think it will be horrible, and even if they stray wildly from the book, if they can keep the basics in line I think we will have an enjoyable re-telling of a great story. Hopefully it will engender a new love for the old books and bring new fans to the Burroughs world.

If you are unfamiliar with Burroughs, he is also the creator of Tarzan. You can find many of his works free in various formats at Project Gutenberg, here.

Premature Book Review: Tarnsman of Gor (John Norman, 1966)

Superficially, this is an Edgar Rice Burroughs, Princess of Mars clone. The hero, Tarl Cabot, is transported from Earth to Gor. Gor is called the Counter-Earth by Cabot's father, as he believes it to be in our Earth's solar orbit, but in opposition. If this is the case, then Gor's existence is unknown to man of 1966 as the sun is always between us and the Counter-Earth. The similarities to Burrough's Martian tales are not limited to the transport between worlds. There is a Priest-King caste that rules all religious aspects of Gor, like the Holy Therns of Barsoom, and when a man becomes too aged to be useful he will often make the journey to their sacred mountains; a journey none have returned from; this is similar to the Barsoomian journey down the River Iss. There is also a strong class/caste system which is more detailed by Norman than by Burroughs. In the Martian tales, Burroughs is recreating tales of knights and chivalry, so the warriors are the primary class of interest. In the Gorean saga we have a stronger sense of class warfare, particularly over Tarl Cabot's opposition to the Gorean institution of slavery.

Now, the Gorean Saga has the reputation for being a BDSM version of the Martian tales, and I have seen mentions that Norman is pro-slavery. Thus far this is not made clear in the book, though I must assume that Tarl Cabot's point of view is predominantly that of Norman, and two passages seem to indicate his disgust for the nature of Gor.

Regarding slavery:

"The caste system was socially efficient, given its openness with respect to merit, but I regarded it as somehow ethically objectionable. It was still too rigid, in my opinion, particularly with respect to the selection of rulers from the High Castes and with respect to the Double Knowledge. But far more deplorable than the caste system was the institution of slavery. There were only three statuses conceivable to the Gorean mind outside of the caste system: slave, outlaw, and Priest-King."

Regarding caste:

"I was pleased to note that my own caste, that of the Warriors, was accorded the least status; if I had had my will, the warriors would not have been a High Caste. On the other hand, I objected to the Initiates [clergy] being in the place of honor, as it seemed to me that they, even more than the Warriors, were nonproductive members of society. For the Warriors, at least, one could say that they afforded protection to the city, but for the Initiates one could say very little, perhaps only that they provided some comfort for ills and plagues largely of their own manufacture."

To my mind, these passages indict both slavery and religion as institutions. Once Tarl Cabot is given his first (perhaps last) slave, he immediately frees her and returns her to her family. There is some discussion of the various nature of slaves. Cabot speaks of pleasure slaves and how they seem ill-fitted for any other use, where the slave he frees he sees an a worthy person (whom it appears was a slave through capture and conquest). While this might indicate Norman's advocation of sex slavery, it might also indicate his belief that this state exists in our enlightened world despite the fact that we rarely call it by that name.

As for the BDSM aspect, I have not reached anything standard in this regard, though most reviewers seem to point it out. Also, this [right] is the current cover for the book, so it seems the publishers feel the same. Norman also wrote a sex manual, Imaginative Sex which details male dominant role play among couples. I have not read this, and will not comment much, though I will say that the use of "role play" indicates that Norman would not necessarily be a misogynist, no more than Anne Desclos (aka Pauline Réage, Story of O). People's predilections are not always our own, and as I hope is typical of me I will not judge.

In all, the book is nicely written pulp sci-fi. I am a mere 37% into it at the time of this writing, but the Martian tales comparisons are already falling away, though they will certainly return, particularly as the second book seems to deal with the Priest-Kings, just as the second Barsoom book dealt with the Holy Therns. It is hard to not imitate Burroughs. Everyone has been influenced by the man's writings. Thus far I find it to be an enjoyable bit of pulp, with a slight philosophical edge to it. It doesn't ask much of the reader, though you can certainly think about it a great deal if you are so inclined.

Nerd Girl of Note #139: Emilie Autumn

I came across Emilie Autumn by accident, and completely forget where on the interwebz, but have grown a bit fond of her. Currently she has two albums out and a new one coming this year. The one I am familiar with is Opheliac, a gloomy Victorian meets '80s new wave collection full of heavy synth as well as harpsichord and violin.

Autumn's style sits somewhere between Gothic and "Steam Fop" with a touch of Otaku-friendly style. The songs on Opheliac are predominantly dark and tend to be heavy on suicide and child abuse, as well as songs like "Thank God I'm Pretty" which are a tad more ironic and/or attacks on society.

I do have to wonder a bit about her intent. She is a pretty talented violinist and singer, and her music is generally well produced... though at times it feels like pandering to the socially awkward. I guess a similar claim could be made regarding most pop stars, be it Lady Gaga or Amanda Palmer. Certainly she is not cranking out material like mad; only two album releases since 2003. But at her website the first thing I noticed was the link to her biography at her web shop, and a large "Get Shopping" link. Obviously she needs to support herself as an artist, but this kind of marketing seems at odds with the fringe persona she portrays. Conversely, her web shop is a disaster, filled with "Coming so, so soon...please check back!" mentions that lead me to believe the shop is necessary, yet an afterthought.

Regardless, I like her music and if her baring of soul is merely a character, well she would not be the first and at least the character is interesting.

Web Site



One of my favorites from Opheliac:

Premature Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Ransom Riggs, 2011)

Ransom Riggs' first novel, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a hybrid of sorts. The story revolves around children with special gifts and is inspired by odd photographs which the author assures are actual, untouched photos except for some minor modifications. That is not to say the photos depict real things. Certainly these are photographic illusions, but are purported to be old camera trick photographs. You know. Before there was photoshop.

One of the creepier photos, though these two do not seem to appear in the story.

Our hero is Jacob Portman, a young suburban rich kid who idolizes his grandfather who showed him photographs and told him stories of the wonderful children in them, and the place they are from. Most of the family thinks the old man is either nuts, or the stories are his way of dealing with the trauma of being a Slav in late 1930s Poland. Either way, Jacob eventually disbelieves the stories which leads to the tarnishing of the image he has of grandpa. After his grandfather dies, theoretically from an animal attack during a psychotic episode, Jacob is sent to a psychiatrist to help deal with the problems. Eventually this leads him to the island his grandfather told the stories about, and to the beginning of the real story.

I must say, this was an extremely enjoyable book. I finished it in several days, which for me is the typical duration of a comic book (I am a slow reader). The story is fast moving and coherent. The pictures are included at appropriate points, and with appropriate breaks so that you do not need to find where to stop reading to view it. There are several characters which are well developed, and several that are secondary but developed sufficiently to give them character when they appear, but not creating a ton of less-than meaningful text.

Now, while the protagonists are predominantly teenagers, it is not exactly a young-adult book. The language gets a tad salty, if I may use so archaic a term. It is not sexually charged, and not entirely inappropriate for teens, but it is also not a youth book that adults could enjoy as much as it is an adult book that could be enjoyed by teens, like Catcher in the Rye or Treasure Island. If you like a bit of fantasy and a bit of horror it is well worth your time.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher, 2011)

Normally I miss the "big thing" books and movies, and certainly would have avoided this one were more in control of my movie-going schedule. My favorite example is The Silence of the Lambs, which I have not read, and did not see on film until probably 1999, eight years after its release. I am, however, happy I did get to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. this past weekend.

I have not seen all of the Swedish version of the film, but the wife says it is similar with a few modifications. Frankly I was concerned that Hollywood would tone it down a bit. There are some particularly disturbing scenes in the original which I thought a version intended for US audiences would have shied away from. Also, I was afraid it would be too slick. Warning, the opening credits looks like a Bond film with the only music they could come up with to indicate Sweden; Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" performed by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and Atticus. When this came on I literally covered my face and wondered just what in the hell I had gotten myself into. Fortunately, once the opening credits ended, so too did the overly polished feel.

I will say that Daniel Craig was an excellent choice for protagonist Mikael Blomkvist, and while I preferred Noomi Rapace's portrayal of co-protagonist Lisbeth Salander, Rooney Mara was quite good if a tad overly sensuous for the role. Craig did not force a Swedish accent (few of the actors did) and easily shed his James Bond image to become a serious, if overly attractive, investigative journalist.


Fortunately I did not know the story so well that I predicted the ending. As is always the case with murder mysteries you know that if the butler didn't do it then the least likely candidate did, but they did a nice job of not tipping their hand. The story has a bit of a Phillip Marlowe feel... a sort of creeping paranoia that lacks direction and is not so strong as to make it the sole point of the movie.

In all it was pretty enjoyable. There were some things I might have changed, but not much. It is a nice looking film and hearkens back to the '70s and '80s in many ways. If you like a good serial killer investigation movie, and don't mind a little rapiness then I recommend it.