Lesley

Happy Friday, MSTie pals! Lesley here with another thrilling MST3K & MIGIZI fundraising update. 

Because you’re all incredibly generous ANIMALS brimming with enthusiasm for the promise of new MST3K, I’m delighted to announce that we met our fundraising goal of $20,000 within a couple hours of the Comic-Con@Home MST3K panel going live (in case you missed it, you can still watch the panel here). This means you have locked in TWO new shorts to be riffed by Joel, J. Elvis, and Bill in their former roles as Joel, Tom Servo, and Crow. 

As I mentioned yesterday, the first short this crew of veteran professionals will be riffing is called “A Busy Day at the County Fair.” 

Since we’ve surpassed the second goal, I can now reveal the name of the second short: “Behind the Scenes at the Supermarket.” 

As of this writing, the fundraiser has passed $25k and is still going strong! We’ve got 29 days left on the clock, so we encourage you to keep donating to help MIGIZI rebuild. Remember that donating not only helps an organization do meaningful work, it also gets you VIP access to the streaming premiere of both new shorts! Win/win! Eventually the shorts will also be available here on mst3k.org for everyone to see, but you can be among the FIRST and the envy of all your friends.

We’re aiming to have the two new shorts done by the fall—and no, that doesn’t mean the day after Labor Day, nor does it mean exactly on the Autumn Equinox. Don’t try to pin us down; we’re the wind, baby. Know that we are as excited to make these new mini shows as you are to watch them, and we’re working on getting it done to your (and our) usual high standards.

We at MST3K want to offer a heartfelt thanks to all of you who have donated and/or shared this fundraiser, and helped us support MIGIZI in their mission to nurture the development of Native American youth. Let’s keep the momentum going! 

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Hey friends! Lesley here again. 

Yesterday, we told you about the MST3K & MIGIZI fundraiser, in which we are asking you to donate funds to help MIGIZI—a Native American community center in Minneapolis—rebuild after being damaged in the recent fires there. 

Hilariously, the fundraiser was only going to be officially announced during the San Diego Comic-Con@Home MST3K panel (featuring Joel Hodgson, Bill Corbett, and J. Elvis Weinstein) going live this evening at 6pm Pacific (that’s 9pm Eastern, for those of you who avoid math). BUT YOU COULDN’T WAIT THAT LONG, COULD YOU?

As usual, we asked MSTies to step up, and y’all delivered. We are delighted to announce that our fundraiser has already met the first goal A FULL NINE HOURS BEFORE THE PANEL ANNOUNCING IT IS EVEN ON THE INTERNET. You folks are amazing, and you absolutely deserve the good news that the first short promised in the fundraiser has already been unlocked. I’ll even tell you what it’s called: “A Busy Day at the County Fair”!

This is no reason to get complacent, however, because there is better news ahead. If we can hit $20,000 for MIGIZI, Joel Hodgson, Bill Corbett, and J. Elvis Weinstein will tackle a SECOND short film in their former roles as Joel Robinson, Crow T. Robot, and, of course, Tom Servo.

So donate, donate, donate! Spread the word! And watch the Comic-Con@Home panel tonight (the direct link is here, but remember it won’t work until after 9pm ET/6pm PT) to get the full exciting scoop.

Thank you all for proving yet again that MST3K fans are some of the most solid folks around.

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As announced at the MST3K San Diego comic-con “Panel-in-Place” with Joel Hodgson, J. Elvis Weinstein, and Bill Corbet, MST3K is planning a fundraiser for MIGIZI.

MIGIZI is a Native American nonprofit organization whose main facility was heavily damaged during the fires that coincided with the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis. The MST3K fundraising committee’s goal is to help MIGIZI secure funds to begin rebuilding. 

If the first fundraising goal of $10,000 is met, Joel, J Elvis, and Bill will reprise their original roles in the show as Joel Robinson, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot  and riff a short film, with a doorway sequence, silhouettes and all!

If you donate, you’ll receive a password to be a part of the VIP premier of the short with riffs from Joel and Tom and Crow. Later, the short film will have a world-wide premiere here at MST3K.org – in an effort to raise awareness for MIGIZI and, of course, accept more donations. We will update you periodically on our progress here on the blog, so check back to see how things go.

We hope you’ll be able to help us out in getting this needed and valued Minneapolis organization back on its feet, and getting yourselves a little new MST3K at the same time!

Visit the MIGIZI fundraiser >>

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Greetings and salutations, to confirmed MSTies and the newly riff-curious alike! Welcome to mst3k.org, a new official web outing aimed at enabling us to connect with fans like you, and helping you all connect with each other! This is our soft launch, and there is so much more to come.

I’m Lesley Kinzel, and I’ve been a part of the MST3K revival going back to the original Kickstarter campaign. I’ve worked as a writer and associate producer on the show, and contributed to both the Netflix and live tour iterations. I also have over a decade of experience in web publishing and online community management, but for y’all, probably more important than my resume is the fact that I, too, am a MSTie from way back — like way back, discovering MST3K around 1990 when I was thirteen and extremely impressionable. 

But before I say more, I’d like to throw it over to a guy you might recognize. That’s right, it’s the man who invented a little thing called Mystery Science Theater 3000, one of your top four favorite hosts ever — Joel Hodgson!

Thanks Lesley, so glad you’re going to be running the ship here at MST3K.org. Amazingly after 30 years, MST3K is a comedic artform that’s still going strong and has a really wonderful and unique fanbase too. I’m so looking forward to finding out what people want to see and how they want to participate with us in the not too distant future.  

 Thanks, Joel! 

So, a few more things to note: This site will be a work in progress, and while we have some truly grand ideas for what we will be sharing here, we will also be seeking your feedback as we go, so don’t be shy about letting us know what you’d like to see. We’re lining up some very cool, very vintage materials to showcase, some of which have been stockpiled by hardcore fans for a long time. We’ve also got some equally exciting surprises in store as we build things out over the next few weeks and months.

So welcome! And thanks for being here at the beginning as we, in true MST3K fashion, construct this space from the ground up, and riff on and invent what mst3k.org will someday become. 

Let the hat party begin!
Lesley

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