The Guy Behind the Movie Guy

On Thursday and Saturday nights on 23/7, he's The Movie Guy. During the day he's Gary Copeland, professor of telecommunication and film and communication studies at The University of Alabama.

He is one of the two professors who teach the Motion Picture History and Criticism class at the University. He also regularly teaches the other introductory course for the department of telecommunication and film and for the last couple of years a Ph.D. seminar with the improbable name of Epistemology and Theory Construction. From time-to-time, he also teaches the science fiction film course.

The Movie Guy was born and raised in Modesto, California where he lived one block over from George Lucas. He has two degrees from California State University, Fresno and a Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. He came to teach at The University in 1982 and answers "Alabama" when asked where he is from.

The co-author or co-editor of six books that he recommends as an antidote for anyone having a sleepless night and numerous academic journal articles that are useful as items for impossibly hard scavenger hunt lists.

He has three adult children (though they never claimed he was an "adult" parent) the younger two married and are living in California and Arizona. The eldest is still in Tuscaloosa.

A long time member of the Kiwanis Club of Tuscaloosa, he likes to make pancake batter and play Santa Claus on goodwill trips to other countries.

He has been heard to say, "God gave us television so we don't have to go to theatres to see a movie." He loves a large and salty bowl of popcorn while watching a movie.