‘The Expanse’ Premiere and Book Signing with James S.A. Corey

November 30, 2015 at 7:05 pm

[Ogre Jenni here! This Thursday Jean Cocteau Cinema will celebrate the release of Syfy's newest show, The Expanse, based on the hit sci-fi series by James S.A. Corey.

At 4:00 p.m. Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, the authors who make up the pseudonymous James S.A. Corey, will sign books from their New York Times bestselling series, The Expanse. The author event is only $10, and we will have all of the books from The Expanse series available for purchase.

Later on at 8:30 p.m., Alcon Television Group and the Cocteau will present a free sneak peek of the first two episodes of Syfy’s new television series based on the books. The first fifty patrons who attend the book signing will be given priority seating at the public premiere!

ABOUT THE SHOW (FROM ALCON TELEVISION GROUP):

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Set 200 years in the future, The Expanse follows the case of a missing young woman that brings a hardened detective (Thomas Jane, Hung) and a rogue ship’s captain (Steven Strait, Magic City) together in a race across the solar system that will expose the greatest conspiracy in human history. Emmy^®winner and Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Saddam, House of Sand and Fog) also stars as Chrisjen Avasarala. Rounding out the cast are Dominique Tipper (Vampire Academy), Cas Anvar (Olympus), Wes Chatham (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay) and Florence Faivre (The Following). Paulo Costanzo (Royal Pains), Chad Coleman (The Walking Dead) and Jay Hernandez (Suicide Squad) will appear as guest stars throughout the series’ first season.

Academy Award-nominated screenwriting duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men, Iron Man) wrote the pilot and serve as writers as well as executive producers. Executive producer Naren Shankar (CSI, Farscape) joins Fergus and Ostby as showrunners. Award-winning director Terry McDonough (Breaking Bad, Suits, Better Call Saul) directed the first two episodes of the series.

JUST FOR FUN:

If you haven't watched this interview by Geek & Sundry: Sword and Laser with James S.A. Corey, you should check it out. They get into the nitty gritty of working as a duo, and they answer a number of fan questions from the Geek & Sundry Goodreads Forum. The extended interview with James S.A. Corey is also a fun listen. They tackle the important literary issues—like why there aren't space cats in The Expanse. Enjoy!

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Tags: alcon television group, daniel abraham, james s.a. corey, jean cocteau cinema, leviathan wakes, syfy, the expanse, ty franck

Signing, Signing, Signing

November 24, 2015 at 3:54 pm

I spent a goodly chunk of yesterday afternoon at the Jean Cocteau with pen in hand, signing books.

We’d sold out of our original stock of A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS, so we got a hundred more. I scrawled illegibly in all of them. I also signed copies of A GAME OF THRONES, A CLASH OF KINGS, A STORM OF SWORDS, A FEAST FOR CROWS, and A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, all of which are now available from the JCC in hardcover, trade paperback, and mass market. We were down to about three copies of the adult coloring book, so we got more of that one too, and a big stack of FEAST OF ICE AND FIRE, the official Westerosi cookbook. All of these can be found on the Signed Books page of the JCC website.

Of course, we also have a lot of great books in stock by the other writers who have visited us. Here are a few of those:

All these, and many many more titles, can be found at http://www.jeancocteaubooks.com/

Autographed books make great Christmas presents… but to be sure of getting your books by Christmas, it would be wise to order now.

Tags: jean cocteau cinema, signed books

More on the Refugees

November 23, 2015 at 11:29 am

John Oliver lays out the actual facts about the vetting process, and destroys the fearmongers in hilarious fashion.

Oliver nails the heart of the issue here. We should not allow ourselves to be ruled by fear. But there’s no need for me to paraphrase, he says it all better than I could.

Tags: politics

More Pain

November 22, 2015 at 5:03 pm

Another woeful Jets loss this morning, this one to the Texans and their third-string quarterback.

Gang Green’s defense hung in there valiantly, but the offense looked awful. Way too many dropped passes by our wideouts, a couple of them sure touchdowns. And Revis got hurt… after being beaten a couple of times.

Houston’s offensive coordinator had a lot to do with the win. Very creative playcalling, mixing in the wildcat, and a couple trick plays that caught the Jets completely flat=footed.

I had feared that last week’s painful (and unnecessary) loss to Buffalo might send the Jets into a tailspin, and so it proved. But this is a case where I hate to be proved right.

The Giants had a bye. Thanks for that much.

Tags: nfl

And Now For Something Completely Different

November 21, 2015 at 4:09 pm

Okay, this was a hoot and a half.

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Tags: game of thrones, politics, television

My Position On the Syrian Refugees

November 20, 2015 at 2:27 pm

[

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

Those words, of course, are by Emma Lazarus. Her poem, “The New Colossus,” appears in bronze on the base of the Statue of Liberty. A statue given to the United States by France, our nation’s oldest friend and ally… a bit of history that seems especially important just now, in light of the recent horrors in Paris.

For me, Lady Liberty and the words on her base represent the best of what this nation of immigrants is all about. One has to wonder if all the governors (including our own governor here in New Mexico, I am ashamed to say) and congressmen voting to keep out the Syrian refugees have ever visited the Statue, or read the words on her base. If so, they surely failed to understand them.

Of course, most everyone knows the part about ‘your tired, your poor, your huddled masses,’ but let me draw your attention to some other lines of the poem:
— a mighty woman with a torch… her name Mother of Exiles,
— from her beacon hand, Glows world-wide welcome,
— send these, the homeless, tempest-tost, to me.

Emma Lazarus had it right. Donald Trump and thirty-one governors have it wrong, wrong, wrong.

The Syrian refugees are as much victims of ISIS as the dead in France.

Let them in. Santa Fe, at least, will welcome them.

Tags: politics

Seveneves at the JCC

November 20, 2015 at 12:35 am

Next week should be epic at the JCC.

Yes, we have Sibel Kekilli and WHEN WE LEAVE on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thursday, well, Thursday is Thanksgiving. Turkey and football and (I hope) Melinda’s epic apple pie. (Pumpkin pie has its fans, I know, but I’m an All American apple pie guy. With a slice of cheese on the side, please. ‘Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze,’ my mother used to say). That will be fun… but it won’t be at the JCC.

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we have another very special event. That afternoon, at 3:30, NEAL STEPHENSON will be dropping by for a visit, to talk about his new novel SEVENEVES.

I haven’t had the chance to read SEVENEVES myself, though I am looking forward to it. There’s been a lot of critical buzz about this one, and some great reviews; right now, it looks as if SEVENEVES will be a strong contender come Hugo time. Neal Stephenson is no stranger to that, of course. He’s won (and lost) Hugos before, and his wins include ‘the Big One,’ the Hugo for best novel. We will also have a good selection of his backlist available for sale… and signing… at the JCC.

So if you’re in New Mexico this Sunday, come by and meet him, enjoy a cocktail, and hear how it happened that the moon broke up.

Tags: hugo awards, jean cocteau cinema, signings

Sibel Is Coming…. Back

November 18, 2015 at 7:23 pm

Big doings at the Jean Cocteau next week.

Starting on Tuesday, when the amazing SIBEL KEKILLI visits Santa Fe once again. Last time she was here, I introduced her to margaritas and chile con queso, so of course she had to return.

GAME OF THRONES fans know Sibel best as Shae, of course, but she’s much much more than that. In her native Germany, Sibel has twice won the prestigious Lola Award (the ‘German’ Oscar) as Best Actress.

Last time she visited us, we screened the first of her Lola-winning films, her feature debut in HEAD ON. So this time it seemed only right that we show the second, WHEN WE LEAVE.

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We’ll be showing WHEN WE LEAVE only twice, on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday, and Sibel will be on hand to introduce the film and answer your questions afterward… about WHEN WE LEAVE, about GAME OF THRONES (yay Shae!), about her current starring role in the hit German crime series TATORT, about her work with Terre des Femmes, or whatever. You might even be able to persuade her to sign your GAME OF THRONES books, who knows?

Advance tickets can be purchased on the Cocteau website.

See you at the movies!

Tags: awards, films, game of thrones, jean cocteau cinema

You Missed It

November 17, 2015 at 4:42 pm

Hiya kids, hiya, hiya.

Hey, you missed the fun. Last night’s appearance by the Suicide Girls at the Jean Cocteau was amazing. Sellout crowd, and an amazing sexy raucous nerdilicious show. Planet of the Apes, Star Wars, Thriller, Rocky Horror… oh, and a bit with a girl and three dragons.

Tonight the Suicide Girls will be performing down in Albuquerque, at a much bigger venue… but they seemed to like the intimacy of the Jean Cocteau, and our audience certainly loved it.

After Albuquerque, they have dates in Tucson, Phoenix, Las Vegas (Nevada, not New Mexico), and San Diego before winding up their current tour.

http://blackheartburlesque.com/

If they come to a city near you, check it out. (And no, burlesque is not just for dirty old men any more. In fact, there were probably more women than men in our auditorium last night. Lots and lots of couples. And everyone went out hooting and hollering and smiling).

We hope to welcome to Suicide Girls back to Santa Fe again next year.

Tags: burlesque, jean cocteau cinema

More Signed Books

November 17, 2015 at 3:34 pm

Since my post last week, the JCC has sold out on its stock of autographed copies of A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS. Sorry. But don’t fret, we have ordered more, and I will be defacing them with my illegible scrawl as soon as they come in.

We do, however, still have signed copies of the coloring book and Andy Weir’s MARTIAN still available by mailorder (while the supply lasts), along with lots of other cool titles.

Including: