Category: MST3K

Hello again, team! Lesley here with another fundraiser update. We are ten days out from the end of the MST3K & MIGIZI fundraiser and we are SO CLOSE to DOUBLING our original goal of $20,000! Over 1,100 of you have donated so far and we appreciate every single one of you.

Joel will be reaching out to those of you who have contributed with a personal note of thanks in the coming days, so look forward to that!

Also, there have been some questions about folks who donated anonymously, and how they will gain access to the two new shorts to be riffed by Joel, Josh, and Bill and… we’re figuring that out and will have an answer for you soon.

I’ll also remind y’all that these newly to-be-riffed shorts — “A Busy Day at the County Fair” and “Behind the Scenes at the Supermarket” — do not exist yet! We have to make them! But we expect them to be ready for you in the fall and we will keep you updated here every step of the way.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who has contributed and also shared the MST3K & MIGIZI fundraiser! With your help we will crush our $40,000 goal for sure, and help a fantastic organization to rebuild.

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Howdy pals, it’s your new friend Lesley again, just checking in, seeing how you’re all holding up, can I get you anything? Some tea? A pillow?

Well, it’s been a week since we launched the MST3K & MIGIZI fundraiser, and you all just can’t stop, won’t stop. We’re passed $35,000 with three more weeks to go, and not only have you unlocked both the brand-new shorts — featuring Joel Hodgson, J. Elvis Weinstein, and Bill Corbett in their original roles — you’ve continued to attack the current $40,000 goal.

I thought you might be interested to learn more about what MIGIZI does. Originally founded in 1977 with the purpose of confronting stereotypes about Native people in media, today MIGIZI’s focus is on building programs to nurture the creative development of Native American youth.

We believe all youth have a positive core, brilliance, boundless potential and sacred gifts to share. 

MIGIZI acts as a circle of support that nurtures the development of Native American youth in order to unleash their creativity and dreams – to benefit themselves, their families and community. MIGIZI puts youth first, supporting youth-driven activities that fully engage youth in a self-directed path to holistic wellness and to success in education and employment.  

Through the mutual support provided within the indigenous circle, individuals discover their talents and explore their dreams. The positive results fuel not only youth success but also collective impact, as youth give back to the circle and unleash new energy and ideas. In MIGIZI’s circle, adults and youth work side-by-side in culturally grounded, participatory leadership and operations. Everyone is a leader, a learner, a coach and a relative.

We can all get behind a vision like that. The money you donate will go not only to rebuild MIGIZI’s destroyed building, but will support their broader efforts to work with Native youth.

So wow, feel good about the help you’re contributing. And keep it up!

Thanks again to all of you who’ve donated to and shared this fundraiser. We know not everyone has money to spend right now, and even just tweeting about this effort (be sure to use the MST3K-specific fundraiser page!) is a help. It’s meaningful that you’ve chosen to support a good cause alongside us at MST3K.

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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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