Coming at the Cocteau

October 31, 2013 at 3:56 pm

Even though I'm going a little nuts getting ready for the trip to Australia and New Zealand, my crack team at the Jean Cocteau is carrying on as usual.

THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS and ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW wrap up today, so if you've been meaning to see those, this is your last chance. We're holding over THE WICKER MAN for another week. We're also holding over ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN for two more weekend matinees, since Bud and Lou and the monsters have been filling the hall. Kids under twelve STILL free for Abbott & Costello.

And we have some cool stuff coming up tonight for Halloween — in cooperation with the Santa Fe Film Festival, we're screening a restored 3D print of the Vincent Price horror classic, HOUSE OF WAX, one night only, and starting a late night run of (yes!) THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Costume contests for both, with prizes.

Two new movies debut tomorrow, one old and one new. The new film is a quirky new SF movie from Magnolia called MR. NOBODY. Take a look:

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The old film is an indy classic, KING OF HEARTS, where the inmates really do take over the asylum. Like this:

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Seeing as how I'm plugging our coming attractions, I want to mention one more for all my gamer friends, since I'll be travelling in Australia when it screens and might not get to mention it elsewise. Starting on Friday, November 8, we will be showing the RPG dramedy ZERO CHARISMA:

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We're going to be offering a special 1d6 discount on all ZERO CHARISMA admissions. That's right. We'll have a six-sided die at the Cocteau box office, so when you turn up for the movie, ask for a roll, and you'll get somewhere between one buck and six bucks off the cost of admission… depending, of course, on how well you roll. (We did consider using a d20, but then we would have ended up owing YOU money).

See you at the movies.

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Tags: jean cocteau, movie theatre, movies

Heading Down Under

October 31, 2013 at 10:44 am

Things are pretty hectic here. A million things to do, and in less than a week, I will be headed off Down Under.

Details of my tour have been available for ages on the Appearances page of my website, but I know that some of you never visit my website (bad on you), so in the hopes of avoiding the "why don't you ever visit X" emails that inevitably seem to turn up whenever I've just gotten back from X, let me hit the highlights here for all my fans and Not A Blog readers in Australia (and New Zealand):

I'M COMING TO AUSTRALIA (and NEW ZEALAND).

First stop will be Brisbane, where I will be appearing at the SUPANOVA convention, November 8 – 10. I will be doing signings, panels, signings, Q&As, signings, maybe a reading, signings, interviews, and signings. It's a big big convention with lots of cool guests, so I'll be joined at some of these events by Lena Headey (Queen Cersei), Mark Addy (King Robert), and Jerome Flynn (Bronn) from HBO's GAME OF THRONES, along with stars from TRUE BLOOD, SPARTACUS, and many other actors and writers.

Then on to Sydney. On November 11, I will be speaking at the Sydney Opera House. I'm informed that Lena will be on hand as well, along with Michelle Fairley (Lady Catelyn). This will be an interview and Q&A, I believe. I promise not to attempt to sing opera. ('Kill the wabbit! Kill the waaaaabit').

On Wednesday, November 13, I will be in Melbourne, appearing that evening for a similiar event at the Wheeler Centre. The sponsors tell me that Michelle will be on hand for that one as well.

Afterwards it's on to Adelaide, and another SUPANOVA, November 15-17. As with Brisbane, there will be a full lineup of signings, panels, interviews, and other events. Mark Addy, Jerome Flynn, and Lena Headey are supposed to join me for that one as well.

For my fans elsewhere in Australia… I am sorry, but no, I am NOT appearing in Darwin, Townsville, Cairns, Canberra, Hobart, Alice Springs, Perth, Kangaroo Island, or any of the other cool towns and cities in your lovely country. If you want to see me, hear me, or get your book defaced, you will need to travel to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, or Adelaide. You can find my details, and links to the SUPANOVA webpage and other events, on the Appearances page of my website, so get yourself hither if you'd like to buy tickets. Some of these events may sell out. Some may be sold out already.

Last stop on the trip will be New Zealand. Or, rather, Wellington, where I am scheduled to do a signing at Whitcoulls booksellers at 12:30 on Friday, November 22. That will be my only public appearance in NZ; the rest of our time there will be private.

Parris and I love Australia and New Zealand and have lots of friends there, so we're looking forward eagerly to returning. (Though I do rather wish it wasn't coming up so fast, I have so much else to do).

See you Down Under.

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Tags: conventions, signings, travels

More on the Art Show

October 30, 2013 at 4:51 pm

James Monosmith of Seattle's LTD Gallery has sent me a list of artists who will exhibiting in the WINTER IS COMING art show next March.

So far they have committments from:

Aaron Jasinski

Alexander Laccarino

AMOK

Augie Pagan

Barry Blankenship

Brian Rood

Bruce Yan

Camilla d'Errico

Carl Faulkner

Carolina Eade

Craig Drake

Cris Griffin

Dave Perillo

David Kloc

Donato Giancola

EMILIZ TOLIBAS

Gregory Manchess

Jae Drummond

Jarreau Wimberly

Jason Engle

Jen Zee

Jessica Deahl

Jim Burns

John Picacio

Jon Foster

Jonathan Bergeron

Joshua Buddich

Kali Ciesemier

Ken Wong

Levi Hastings

Maj Askew

Marc Simonetti

Marco Cardonna

Mark Englert

Mark Evans

Mick Minougue

Mike S Miller

Mikeatron

Paul Shipper

Ruel Pascual

Sam Bosma

Scott Campbell

Siolo Thompson

Snaggs

Stacey Aoyama

Steve Thomas

Steven Daily

Ted Nasmith

Tim Doyle

Tom Kidd

Tomasz Jedruszek

Yoann Boissonnet

It's a pretty impressive list, and it is by no means complete.

It should be quite an exhibition.

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Tags: art collecting, artwork, song of ice and fire

Winter Is Coming… to Seattle

October 29, 2013 at 4:54 pm

Fans of Ice & Fire… and of great fantasy art in general… have a treat coming next winter.

Seattle's famous LTD Art Gallery, a premiere fine art gallery that specializes in the works inspired for the many icons of contemporary pop culture, will be hosting WINTER IS COMING, a showcase of original artwork inspired by A SONG OF ICE & FIRE. James Monosmith, owner and director of the gallery, declares that the show will be "an unparalleled collection" by "today's top fantasy and pop artists."

The show will be open on March 1, 2014, and run through March 23rd, at the Ltd Art Gallery, 307 E. Pike Street, in Seattle. There will be an opening reception at the gallery on Saturday, March, 1, and a final special engagement at Emerald City Comicon, March 28 – 30th.

It's no secret that I love fantasy art, so I'm very excited about this show. I've had the honor and privilege of working with incredible artists like Michael Komarck, John Picacio, Gary Gianni, Marc Simonetti, Charles Vess, Jeff Jones, John Howe, Marc Fishman, Donato Giancola, Stephen Youll, Tom Kidd, and many many more in the past, and it's my hope that some of them will be sending brand new original pieces for inclusion in the show… along with many new artists, some of whom may very well win places in my personal pantheon. I look forward to seeing all sorts of wild, new, exciting visions of my world and characters.

You can check out the gallery website at http://www.ltdartgallery.com/

Artists who would like to submit their work for consideration for inclusion in the show should contact James Monosmith at the gallery email.

(At this date, I can't promise that I will be able to attend the gallery opening. But if I can, I will).

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Tags: art collecting, artwork, fantasy, song of ice and fire

The Dragons Are Here

October 29, 2013 at 10:14 am

It's publication day!

The long-awaited mass market paperback of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS hits the bookstores today. (Yes, we know you folks in the UK, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand, and like places have had the UK mass market for ages, thanks, you can stop gloating now).

And yes, the paperback of DANCE does include a sample chapter from THE WINDS OF WINTER. A lot of folks have been clamoring to know which one, and now it can be revealed: we've included the first Ser Barristan chapter from the novel-in-progress, wherein we glimpse the beginning of the Battle of Meereen. I hope you will all enjoy it.

The dragons are not flying alone, either. Also hitting the racks (and virtual racks) this morning in both the US and the UK is THE WIT AND WISDOM OF TYRION LANNISTER, a little hardcover stocking stuffer collecting most of the Imp's best (and worst) lines from the five novels published to date, illustrated by Jonty Clarke.

This one is meant as a Christmas book of sorts, small enough to slip into a stocking (if you have very big feet). We hope you get a kick out of it.

US edition

UK edition

And who knows, if our little venture meets with favor, perhaps next year we will do THE WIT AND WISDOM OF HODOR.

DANCE and WIT & WISDOM are both available at a bookstore near you, or from your favorite online retailer.

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Tags: a dance with dragons, publications

Happy Halloween

October 28, 2013 at 2:40 pm

Speaking of things that go bump in the night….

If a creature who looks like this shows up at your door trick or treating, don't be fooled. It's not me. That's my friend and associate and co-editor Gardner Dozois dressed up in his GRRM costume for Halloween.

You can give him candy if you want, but not cheese doodles or, god forbid, jellybeans. He puts those up his nose.

Actually, though, Gardner looks so good as me that I am thinking of sending him to Australia next month in my place, to make all my public appearances while I stay home and write. (Don't everyone agree at once, please). So if you run into "me" in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, or Adelaide… well, you better take care that it's really me. (If he rips open his shirt to expose his breast, it's Gardner).

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Tags: everyday life, friends, travel

Feetsballin’

October 28, 2013 at 1:04 pm

I missed yesterday's NFL action. I was up on Melinda's mountain with my Wild Cards writers, hammering out the plot of HIGH STAKES, our next mosaic novel. Didn't see a single play.

Probably a good thing.

The Jets lost ignominiously to the Bengals. After a great game against the Pats, Geno Smith reverted to being terrible. And Andy Dalton and guys in stripes shredded and embarrassed the vaunted Jets D.

The Giants won over the Iggles and their third-string QB. Hard to celebrate this one. They did not even score a TD, winning with five (5) field goals. And yet somehow at 2-6 there are people talking about the G-Men making a run for the playoffs. Hoo hah. Yes, they are "only" two games out, but only because everyone else in the NFC East is terrible as well. Even those two recent victories have not been encouraging… the Giants played badly in both, and only won because the other team played even worse. So, no, I do not think Big Blue is about to make a Super Bowl run. If you do, I have some great real estate on Mars I would like to sell you.

I'm off to Australia and New Zealand shortly, for almost a month of appearances down there, so I'm going to miss pretty much all of the NFL action in November. The way this season has been going, I don't think I'm going to miss much at all.

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Tags: nfl

Kids Free at the Cocteau

October 25, 2013 at 7:49 pm

The film we're offering is a classic… a great comedy, and a terrific horror film… ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.

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If you can't make tomorrow's debut, we'll be showing the film again on Sunday (27th) and Thursday (the 31st) at 2:00 pm. Children under twelve will be admitted free to those showings as well.

For grown-up fans of Bud and Lou, like me, we've also scheduled an evening showing on Tuesday (29th) at 8:30. Kids are welcome at that one too, if it's not past their bedtimes, but they have to pay like everyone else.

In honor of Halloween week, we have a full slate of fun monster and horror flicks. WICKER MAN and ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW have both been held over, we debuted THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS tonight, we have ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW coming up on Halloween night, and we have a special one-time only screening of the original HOUSE OF WAX 3D, starring Vincent Price. More on that one later.

See you at the movies.

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Tags: films, jean cocteau, midnight madness, movie theatre

For Lovecraft Fans

October 24, 2013 at 7:05 pm

We've got a great lineup of scary stuff coming up for Halloween at the Jean Cocteau Cinema.

Including a real treat for H.P. Lovecraft fans (like me):

Whisperer-poster

This small-budget thrilled was made by the H.P. Lovecraft Society, and Cthulhu aficionados are giving it high marks.

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The Whispering begins on Friday.

See you at the movies!

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Tags: horror, jean cocteau, movie theatre, movies

Media Access Award

October 22, 2013 at 12:57 pm

Last week I made a quick two-day visit to Los Angeles to attend the 2013 Media Access Awards at the Beverly Hilton, where I was pleased and proud to accept the 2013 "Visionary Award" on behalf of GAME OF THRONES.

The Media Access Awards honor films and television programs that champion disability as a feature of humanity — and as a component of great storytelling. In recent years, this industry-wide, multi-guild celebration has spotlighted talents including Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, the casting office of Glee, actor Marlee Matlin, The Sessions writer-director Ben Lewin, and others who have continued to support and encourage the intersection of disability and visibility in media.

David Radcliff, of the Writers With Disabilities Committee of the Writers Guild of America, West, wrote to inform me of this honor, saying, "Game of Thrones seems a natural fit for this recognition. Since its earliest episodes, your gripping series has introduced us to a paralyzed boy with a supernatural gift, has endeared us to a Little Person defined not by his height but by his wit, and has regularly mined the lives of “cripples, bastards, and broken things” to celebrate their strengths and complexities. In fact, it is a fantastic credit to your work that Game of Thrones is not commonly thought of as a show that “deals with” disability — it is something even better: a show that embraces the reality that no one is easily definable."

The award was presented at a breakfast at the Beverly Hilton. It was a great event. Paul Chitlik, an old colleague of mine from my days on THE TWILIGHT ZONE, presented the award to me, and I had the chance to meet some terrific actors, writers, and directors.

For more about the awards, and a full list of this year's honorees, see:

http://mediaaccessawards.com/

This is one I am very proud of… but really, though it may be my name on the award, David Benioff, Dan Weiss, Brian Cogman, our amazing cast and crew, and our incredible directors won this just as much as I did. Would that all of them could have been there. And none of this would have possible without the support of HBO.

Thanks, all.

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Tags: awards, game of thrones, hbo

Not a Blog

Coming at the Cocteau

Heading Down Under

More on the Art Show

Winter Is Coming… to Seattle

The Dragons Are Here

Happy Halloween

Feetsballin’

Kids Free at the Cocteau

For Lovecraft Fans

Media Access Award

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