VERMITHRAX PERJORATIVE
SMAUG
DROGON
Gotta love them dragons.
I have long maintained that Vermithrax Perjorative was the coolest dragon ever put on film… but Peter Jackson's version of Smaug, from the second HOBBIT film, may have stolen his laurels.
And I gotta say, our own baby Drogon is growing up fast.
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Making movies is an art, a science, a business… but most of all it's a challenge, especially for young film makers, independents, minority members, and all those who find themselves outside Hollywood and the studio system.
The New Mexico Film Foundation is a brand-new non-profit organization whose goal it will be to help New Mexico film makers with a mutual support, education, networking… and grants. It's headed by Dirk Norris, a former member of the state Film Commission, and a long time member of the local and state film community.
RIght now Dirk is trying to raise some start-up funds with an Indiegogo campaign. You can find the details here:
Go check it out, and if you have a few bucks, give. Robert A. Heinlein once said he could not possibly pay back all those who helped him when he was starting out, so he believed in paying forward, and helping those who came after him. That's what the New Mexico Film Foundation is all about.
It's a good cause, and we may get some good films out of it.
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For you poor benighted souls who do not [yet] have HBO, here's the Foreshadowing that was broadcast earlier tonight, just before the latest [terrific] episode of TRUE DETECTIVE:
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Enjoy.
But, as with past previews, please do not analyze or dissect or argue about the preview here. That's what Tower of the Hand and Winter Is Coming and Westeros and Television Without Pity are for. (And lots of other swell sites and blogs and bulletin boards as well, sorry I could not mention you all).
For more, alas, you will need to wait until season four debuts on April 6. (Unless you happen to live in Santa Fe… )
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… to the Jean Cocteau.
And no, I don't mean the Roger Zelazny novel, I mean the one by Horatio King. Who is me. Sort of. But not really.
This PRINCE OF CHAOS is a fictional fantasy novel by a fictional author who is not me (not at all, no sir, definitely not), as seen in THE CALLBACK QUEEN, a new romantic comedy out of Ireland that debuts tomorrow at the Jean Cocteau Cinema.
How this came about? Well…
Hundred of actors auditioned for roles both large and small in HBO’s Only a handful were cast. Thousands more tried to get auditions, but were never given the chance to read. In the old days, aspiring stars sent off resumes and 8×10 glossies to directors, producers, and casting directors. They still do that. . . but these days some also upload their own auditions on YouTube, Vimeo, and similar sites on the internet.
Amy-Joyce Hastings was one of those, as I discovered one day when dozens of my fans and readers began to send me emails with links to a reading by a lovely young red-haired Irish actress that I’d never heard of. They liked what she’d done, and so did I, when curiosity drove me to click on one of those links and take a look. So I dropped her a note, told her the name of our casting director, wished her luck. . . and thought no more of it, until I heard about The Callback Queen.
Amy-Joyce never got to audition for GAME OF THRONES. That’s something she has in common with thousands of other actors from all over the world. Unlike all the others, however, Amy-Joyce took life’s lemons and made lemonade; she shared her experiences with her friend Graham Cantwell, an Irish filmmaker, who took her tale about a young actress attempting to land a role in an epic fantasy, and turned it into a movie… a romantic comedy about moviemakers and aspiring actors that pokes fun at the whole casting carousel… starring Amy-Joyce Hastings.
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So now the tale comes full circle. We're delighted to be able to present the North American Premiere of THE CALLBACK QUEEN right here in Santa Fe, tomorrow evening. Amy-Joyce Hastings and writer-director Graham Cantwell are flying in from Ireland for the event, and will introduce the film and answer questions afterwards, and we'll also be having a small post-screening reception at the Cocteau's new bar, where you can meet Graham and Amy-Joyce and sample a "Call Me For Comfort," our special CALLBACK QUEEN cocktail.
So see you there. But don't ask me to sign your copy of PRINCE OF CHAOS. I am not Horatio King. (They never even asked me to audition for the role).
((THE CALLBACK QUEEN will be playing for four days only, February 7 – 11.))
P.S. And yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, the role of the director in THE CALLBACK QUEEN is being played by Mero, the Titan's Bastard. Someone must have sewed his head back on after Daario hacked it off. It's a small world, it is, be it Hollywood or Westeros.
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It's here at last! Super Bowl Sunday, the holiest day of the year… and this year, in the swamps of New Jersey, we will get the confrontation I have so long dreamed of, the SUBWAY SUPER BOWL, pitting the New York Giants against the New York Jets for all the….
Oh, wait. That;s not this world, that's the alternate world I like to visit from time to time, the one where GAME OF THRONES has won three Emmys in a row, THE WINDS OF WINTER was finished a year ago, there's a base on the moon and a spaceship headed for Mars, and I don't have enough space on my mantle for all the Hugos, Pulitzers, and Nobel Prizes.
In THIS world, the real one, it's the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos.
Should be a pretty good game in any case. Offense versus defense, the classic battle. Can Eli's big brother win another ring, to match Eli?
Enjoy the game, folks. Enjoy the commercials, if you're not a football fan. Enjoy the pizza, beer, brats, chips & salsa, chile con queso, hot wings, etc.
Happy Super Sunday.
AFTER THE GAME. Wow. Didn't expect that. They must be dancing in the streets in Seattle. Great defense beats great offense, once again. Wasn't much of a game, though. Denver looked awful.
On to the NFL Draft!
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Zoe Bell is great.
We had a wonderful Skype visit with her last night at the Cocteau, after the premiere of her new film, RAZE. Now I want to get her to Santa Fe in person, to promote whatever film she does next.
And for RAZE… it's the feel-good movie of the season…
(Well, no, not really, but it's a powerful piece of film making, brutal as a club to the guts, and Zoe is terrific in it. PASATIEMPO didn't like it, but the NEW YORK TIMES and Roger Ebert.com did, so there. Those who have the taste for it can catch it all this week at the Cocteau, and hundreds of other theatres… but be warned, the violence here is turned up to eleven, and it's not the stylized slow-mo carnage of 300, or the sanitized "action" of bad action movies and network television. This is raw and ugly and emotionally wrenching. Our barkeep has introduced a special cocktail, the Knockout Punch, in honor of RAZE… have one if you come to catch the film, you'll need it.).
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We have two new movies opening this weekend at the Jean Cocteau… PLUS a short film, and a very special guest as well!
At the early show, we will be debuting KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM, a comedy/ adventure about a group of LARPers who, ah, inadvertently summon an actual succubus from the pit of hell. (Don't you HATE it when that happens?) It stars Ryan Kwanten, Steve Zahn (TREME), Summer Glau (SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES), Margarita Levieva, and our own Peter Dinklage (GAME OF THRONES).
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And with KNIGHTS, we will also be showing EVE ANGELIC, a short film by local filmmaker Luca Ceccarelli, part of which was actually shot in the basement of 418 Montezuma Avenue, right under the Cocteau.
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The second feature debut will be RAZE, a gut-wrenching new film from Tribeca. Think FIGHT CLUB for keeps. Think HUNGER GAMES with teeth. Think BATTLE ROYALE without subtitles.
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Coolest of all, after the RAZE screening, star ZOE BELL will be dropping by the Jean Cocteau via Skype to talk about the film and answer questions, and…
And? Yes, yes, there's more. After both KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM and RAZE, I will turning up to hand out some door prizes, including a couple of tickets to a certain very special preview screening coming up in March. So be there! You have to be present to win!
Oh, and we have a late late show too. This week, THE WALL. No, no, not the Night's Watch's Wall. Pink Floyd's.
See you at the movies.
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HBO will be unveiling a behind-the-scenes preview of season four of GAME OF THRONES on February 9.
Can't wait?
Here's teaser for the preview. A taste of the foreshadowing.
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The new season arrives on Sunday, April 6.
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… is done.
Last night at the Cocteau we completed our screening of season one of GAME OF THRONES, with the showing of "Baelor" and "Fire and Blood." Believe it or not, we had a dozen virgins in the house, folks who had never seen the show before, never read the books, and had no idea what was coming. It's always cool to see someone experiencing the series for the first time.
I, of course, have read the books and seen the show… but I hadn't watched these particular episodes for a couple of years, and it was very gratifying to see how well they still held up. David and Dan and the cast and our incredible crew have done an amazing job.
And speaking of David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, they joined us after the episodes for an hour's worth of Q & A with the fans, via Skype. Aside from the usual technical problems that we encounter every time we try to use Skype, it was a great time. Thanks, guys.
Next week, the marathon continues with the first three episodes from season two… and a special Skype visit from our very own Sansa, SOPHIE TURNER.
See you at the cinema!
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You can't say enough about Peter S. Beagle. One of the great masters of modern fantasy, author of THE LAST UNICORN, A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, LILA THE WEREWOLF, GIANT BONES, I SEE BY MY OUTFIT, and so much more… classic novels, moving novellas, terrific short stories… and he's just as wonderful a storyteller in person as he is on the page.
We were honored to have him as our guest at the Jean Cocteau Cinema last Saturday. We screened the animated film of THE LAST UNICORN thrice to big crowds, and Peter and I talked about fantasy, his books, his film career, and his life for the better part of an hour.
You shoulda been there!
photo by Tara Gibbens
photo by Tara Gibbens
After each screening, Peter signed books, comics, artwork, and merchandise for his fans. The man is tireless… and always charming. A delight all around. I suspect he signed his name hundreds, maybe thousands, of times on Saturday… but before we let him go, we made him sign a few more items for the cinema. So we do have some autographed Peter S. Beagle books available at the Jean Cocteau for those who missed the event… while the supply lasts. It won't last for long. (We also have lots of signed books by yours truly, a few by Neil Gaiman, Michael Chabon, and Pat Conroy as well).
Beagle is a real rock star of fantasy, and he tours like one. The day before he brought his travelling LAST UNICORN tour to Santa Fe, he was in Tucson… and as soon as he was done, he and Freff and Cat and the rest of his faithful minions packed up their vans and hit the road for Fort Collins, Colorado. Check out the tour details at http://www.conlanpress.com/ and find out when Peter and Schmendrick and the Red Bull are coming to your corner of the lilac woods.
He is not to be missed.
Thanks so much, Peter.
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This blog is the only place for official communication from George R.R. Martin. For press inquiries, please contact David Moench
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