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News In the Arts: Lawler Goes To The Mat For Return of Wrestling Show

Posted: Jun 6th 2010 By: CMBurnham

After a months-long hiatus, professional wrestling returns to local Saturday morning television today with the debut episode of "Jerry Lawler's Memphis Wrestling."

"I didn't want there to be any confusion as to just what the show was going to be," said Lawler, explaining the title.

The program airs at 11 a.m. on the ION Media Network, Channel 50 on UHF-TV and DirecTV, and Channel 12 on Comcast Digital Cable.

Lawler said a Saturday morning without wrestling in Memphis is like a Graceland souvenir shop without an Elvis ashtray.

"We have been without Saturday morning wrestling here in Memphis for a little over six months now," said Lawler, who is the show's producer as well as one of its stars. "I just woke up one Saturday morning and said, 'This is just not right.' "

The program will feature interviews and wrestling bouts taped for the series at The Vine at 1819 Madison, as well as highlights from outside events and even footage from World Wrestling Entertainment matches. Lawler, who is a WWE color commentator, said this is the first time the global pro-wrestling company had allowed an independent program to use WWE material.

The series will be hosted by Jonesboro pop/rock radio disc jockey Brandon Baxter ("our Lance Russell," Lawler said) and local actress and singer Lauren Jenkins.

Lawler said the wrestling set in The Vine actually can accommodate not just the ring but seating for about 200 spectators, making it larger than past local TV wrestling studios.

From Bueller to Bogart

The Orpheum's annual summer movie series returns at 7:15 p.m. Friday with a screening of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," the beloved 1986 teen comedy directed by the late John Hughes.

The series continues with another 14 classics and audience favorites through Sept. 17, when "Casablanca" (1942) with Humphrey Bogart screens at the historic Downtown theater.

Doors open an hour before each show, and most movies will be preceded by trivia and costume contests, fashion pageants, Wurlitzer organ concerts, vintage cartoons and other attractions.

Admission for most films -- cash only -- is $7, or $6 for moviegoers 12 and under. However, all tickets to the family-friendly morning screenings of "Mary Poppins," "Back to the Future" and "E.T. : The Extra-Terrestrial" are $5 each.

Tickets go on sale two hours prior to showtime at the Orpheum box office at 203 S. Main. In addition, 10-ticket packs may be purchased for $50 in advance at the the Orpheum or at Davis-Kidd Booksellers, 387 Perkins Ext.

Movies are at 7:15 p.m. only, unless otherwise noted. Between "Ferris Bueller" and "Casablanca," the lineup includes "Gone with the Wind," June 12; "The Philadelphia Story," with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, June 17; "North by Northwest," June 18; "Caddyshack," July 9; "Mary Poppins," at 10:30 a.m. and 7:15 p.m., July 14; "Sabrina," with Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, July 15; "The Godfather," July 16; "Back to the Future," 10:30 a.m. and 7:15 p.m., July 21; "E.T." 10:30 a.m. and 7:15 p.m., July 28; "The Sound of Music," July 29; "The Wizard of Oz," July 30; and the ultimate audience-participation cult classic, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," at 8 p.m., Aug. 20.

For more information, visit orpheum-memphis.com.

Scotland lights up

The Memphis-made "Cigarette Girl" screens June 22 at the 64th annual Edinburgh International Film Festival in Scotland.

Directed by Mike McCarthy, the movie -- which had its Memphis premiere in August -- stars Cori Dials as a woman fighting for independence from her criminal underground employers and from her own addictions. The setting is a dystopian future in which cigarettes are illegal except in designated urban "smoking sections.

The movie will screen as part of the festival's "Under the Radar" series devoted to recent maverick independent productions, including "The Black Panther," described as a "stunning black-and-white noir from Mexico," and "CrimeFighters," a vigilante comedy.

Tags: Jerry Lawler, WWE