For those who may have missed the news elsewhere, author, webmaster, and all-around fantasy enthusiast Shawn Speakman has announced a couple of cool new projects. One is the publication of his new novel, The Dark Thorn, in hardcover and special leatherbound editions. Along with that, he is producing an anthology entitled Unfettered featuring short stories from some of the best-known fantasy authors out there, all of whom are contributing in order to help Shawn pay off a rash of medical bills resulting from cancer treatment. With a limited print run of only 500 copies, interested readers should act fast. Head on over to the Grim Oak Press website to check out the full press release.
So, my youngest brother had the upcoming Blu-ray release of the Star Wars saga on pre-order. I asked him if he had heard about the latest round of “tweaks” Lucas has decided to apply to these beloved films. He hadn’t, so he promptly went online to read about them for himself. My favorite quote from the reviews he ran across…
“George Lucas is to Star Wars what Michael Jackson was to his own face.”
In my opinion, the man has every right to modify and re-release his films as he sees fit. But, like many, I take issue with the notion of revising history by burying the originals altogether. Lucas himself seemed to make this case rather emphatically in his remarks to Congress in 1988, found here.
As some may already know, HBO’s Game of Thrones series, based on George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, has raked in a truckload of Primetime Emmy nominations for its inaugural season. Popular Hollywood blog Deadline posted today a Q&A with showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. If you’re a “Thrones” fan, it’s worth checking out. For the direct link, click the image below.
I still remember meeting with agent and producer Ralph Vicinanza at L.A. Con IV in Anaheim back in August of 2006. We sat down in a hotel lobby just a stone’s toss from where his business partner, fellow producer Vince Gerardis, was coordinating a meeting between their client, George R.R. Martin, and screenwriters David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. David and Dan were pitching George on allowing them to adapt his books for cable television. Though it might seem laughable now, I remember thinking at the time (with more than a little envy): “Great! But they better not mess it up.” Congrats to all involved on a masterful job.
I know the summer travel season is nearing an end, but with Labor Day Weekend looming, here’s a small tip to those who may be thinking of hitting the road…
If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let ’em go, because, man, they’re gone.
After struggling for some time, it seems that Borders, the nation’s second-largest “brick and mortar” book reseller, has officially called it quits. Just ran across the company’s official liquidation announcement on The Wall Street Journal website here. Whether or not you ever shopped at their stores, it’s a sobering moment for book fans everywhere. Will be interesting to see what the long-term ramifications might be on the overall industry.
Anyone out there familiar with the Luke Cage character from Marvel Comics? I’m not. But a close friend of mine, Eric Thomas Wilson, is. Avid enough to assemble a team of filmmakers recently to shoot a teaser trailer for a prospective film, featuring himself in the lead role. Now, it turns out he’s not the first to do so. The “Old Spice” guy (Isaiah Mustafa) and a slew of hopeful amateurs seem to have beaten him to the punch. But, for my money, none of them pack the force with that punch that he does. Admittedly, I’m biased. Not only because of what I know of Eric’s talent and passion, but because the final version was written and directed by my brother Neil, and edited by another close friend, C. Eric Powell. Despite that full disclosure, I gotta say, they and the entire production team did some solid work on this, especially considering how quickly they threw it together. So I’m here to spread the word. Those of you with two-and-a-half minutes to spare, check it out, and judge for yourself. Should producer Neil Moritz and the powers that be at Marvel give this team due consideration for a crack at putting together the proposed Luke Cage feature? And, by all means, check out the competition, and tell me this isn’t the best crew currently angling for the job.
For the two people on earth who don’t already know, HBO’s adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” premieres tonight. Meaning no disrespect to those third-run movies that play on an endless loop each month, or to acclaimed original series such as “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood,” “Rome,” and others, which I hear are quite excellent, tonight is when I finally understand why HBO was invented in the first place.
Today marks the official launch of Lytherus.com, which aims to be the official hub of all things fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Here’s a teaser from the official welcome message on the site:
Welcome to Lytherus, your new hub for everything science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Yes, we mean everything. We are geeks and consumers of all walks of life who enjoy reading, reviewing, discussing, and theorizing. Books? We read ‘em. Video games? Hardcore gamers. Movies? Been watching since we were born! Zombies? RUN!
The site has been developed by Mike Macauley. Many of you may know him as the founder of Shurtugal.com, the #1 fansite for Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance cycle, and as the author of The Inheritance Almanac. I’ve known Mike for a few years now, and have seen firsthand the quality of work that he and his team are capable of. I would not at all be surprised to see this new site become the absolute best of its kind. You may even catch me blogging over there from time to time, on a variety of different topics.
Regardless, if you’re looking for the latest news in all avenues of speculative fiction, give Lytherus a peek!
