The next big feature coming to the Jean Cocteau Cinema.
Opening on June 12, with a sneak preview on June 11:
<lj-embed id=”575″/>
Advance tickets available on the Jean Cocteau website at
http://www.jeancocteaucinema.com/
See you at the movies.
Can it really be June already?
Guess so. Where do the days go? Where do the months go?
I’ve been so busy since getting back from Kansas City that I’ve hardly had time to breathe, let alone blog.
In broad strokes —
— the trip through Kansas was a lot of fun. The highlight was our visit to the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas. For those of you who have not heard of it (most of you, I assume), this is an air and space museum second only to the Smithsonian. Truly an amazing collection. They have a V-1 and a V-2. They have the backup Sputnik. They have a Bell X-1… not the original, no, but the one used in THE RIGHT STUFF, which is almost as cool. They have a Blackbird. And they have, yes, the original genuine Liberty Bell 7 and Apollo 13, as well as all sorts of other amazing stuff. I know that Hutchinson, Kansas is not on many “places you have to see” lists, but the Cosmosphere makes a visit there well worth the while. (The salt mine on the other side of town is pretty damn cool as well),
— Conquest was cool. The KC fen throw a great con. And I was heartened by all the people who came up to thank me for my posts about the Hugos. Even in the nation’s heartland, it seems, there is considerable fannish anger about the Sad and Rabid Puppies pooping on our awards,
— Yes, Puppygate has continued, though I’ve been too busy to post about it. The Sad Puppies continue to be clueless, moving their goalposts almost daily. The Rabid Puppies continue to be venomous. Lots of other people are reading the Hugo nominees and reviewing the finalists. That’s what I am doing myself, though I am way behind in my reading,
— MAD MAX:FURY ROAD did some great business for the Cocteau, despite showing on eight other screens around town. Third highest-grossing picture we’ve had since I reopened the theatre, behind only INTERSTELLAR and THE INTERVIEW. We’ve very pleased.
–Last Sunday, we hosted “Remembering Roger,” a moving and memorable day in remembrance of our friend Roger Zelazny, one of the great SF writers of all time, who left us twenty years ago. Parris McBride, Walter Jon Williams, Melinda Snodgrass, John Jos. Miller, Shannon Zelazny, Jane Lindskold, Stephen Gould, and Trent Zelazny spoke and gave readings from Roger’s work, Joe and Gay Haldeman and Steven Brust joined us via Skype, and Neil Gaiman read one of Roger’s stories on video from London. We also played an audio of Roger himself reading from SIGN OF THE UNICORN, paired with a slide show of Amber art and Roger’s own life and times.
And that evening, the Cocteau presented a marvelous staged reading of GODSON, the musical play that Roger wrote not long before his passing. It was an incredible performance, and got a terrific reaction.
We hope to stage a couple more performances in the weeks to come. Watch this space, and the Cocteau website, for further announcements.
Mad Max is coming to Santa Fe this weekend.
The long awaited fourth movie, MAD MAX:FURY ROAD, opens this weekend in hundreds of theatres acrpss the nation. One of them is our own Jean Cocteau Cinema.
<lj-embed id=”572″/>
Most places will open the film on Friday, but we’re getting a jump of them with two Thursday night sneaks, one at 7:30 and one at 10:00 pm. As an extra added attraction, we will have Max’s car, the last of the V8 Interceptors, on hand outside the Cocteau THURSDAY and FRIDAY only.
Max himself may also be on hand, along with his old buddy the Gyro Captain (who isn’t in the new movie, I realize, but what the hell, he’s my favorite character).
You can buy advance tickets on line at the Cocteau website: http://www.jeancocteaucinema.com/buy-tickets/
And with every advance ticket, you get a FREE POPCORN!
We have the best popcorn in town, by the way. Organic, popped in su
So come see Max at the Jean Cocteau. I’ll see you there.
Santa Fe has a new movie theatre.
A brand-new Violet Crown multiplex opens today in the Railyard, with 11 screens, big loungers, gourmet food (including pizza), and beer and wine.
Parris and I attended their “soft opening” yesterday, meeting and mingling with Bill Banowsky of Violet Crown, VIPs from the Railyard Corporation and the local film community, and various dignitaries from the city and state… including former Governor Bill Richardson, whose administration really helped to put New Mexico on the map in television and film.
It was a gala event, and the Violet Crown is a gorgeous facility. They are only two blocks down from the Jean Cocteau, but we’re friendly neighbors, and between us we hope to make the historic Railyard distinct THE place to see a movie in Santa Fe. There are plenty of great movies out there (old and new) for all of us.
The Violet Crown will be opening to the public today with AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON.
Down the street, at the Jean Cocteau, we will be showing ROAR.
<lj-embed id=”570″/>
See you at the movies!!
Roger’s son Trent, a fine writer in his own right, is organizing the event for us, and other members of Roger’s family are also expected to attend, along with lots of us from the New Mexico science fiction community and Albuquerque fandom. I will be there, as will Jane Lindskold, Melinda Snodgrass, Walter Jon Williams, John Jos. Miller, and many many more. We have lots of folks coming in from out of town as well. Neil Gaiman is trying to make it, if his schedule allows. Joe Haldeman is flying in. So is Michael Cassutt. And many folks who cannot come to New Mexico in person will be Skyping in to join us, or sending video greetings and readings. Joe Lansdale, Steven Brust, Howard Waldrop, and others will be heard from.
We won’t be showing DAMNATION ALLEY, no… but we may screen the trailer, just for hoots and giggles. We will have other films and videos, though. A slide show, maybe… so if you have some good pictures of Roger, send jpegs to me or Trent. Artwork too. Most of the evening will be taken up with readings from Roger’s work: his poems, his stories, favorite passages from his books. We expect there will be tears; we hope there will be laughter too. And Roger’s own voice will be heard: he recorded the Amber audiobooks himself, and we hope to play some of that.
The evening’s final offering will be a play. If you’re read my memorial, above, you’ll know that one of the last things Roger ever completed was a short musical play called GODSON. He read it aloud in my living room a few weeks before he died, but to my knowledge it has never been staged or performed. Until now.
GODSON will have its long LONG awaited premiere on the stage of the Jean Cocteau on May 31. Its the story of what happens when Death adopts a child, and it’s pure Roger. We are in rehearsal now. Advance tickets for the evening will be on sale shortly; watch this space for announcements. All box office proceeds will be split with the Zelazny family and the actors and director who are bringing us GODSON. The Cocteau has only 130 seats, so if you want to be part of this, do not hesitate when tickets are made available. This is a one-time only event. (Though we would consider further performances of GODSON if the play is well received and there seems to be sufficient demand. Roger would like that, I am sure).
If you knew Roger, or even if you only knew his work, and you would like to help or be a part of this, please get in touch with Trent Z at trentzelazny@juno.com
We want to make this an evening worthy of one of greatest science fiction writers who ever lived.
I’m VERY excited to announce that Mad Max is coming to the Jean Cocteau Cinema.
Remakes are often problematic, but this one looks as though it could be something special. And I say that as a fan of the original Mel Gibson trilogy. The first MAD MAX was just okay, I will admit, but BEYOND THUNDERDOME was damned good, and I rank the middle film, THE ROAD WARRIOR, as the best post-holocaust film, and one of the best SF adventures, ever made.
The reboot looks as though it is drawing more on THE ROAD WARRIOR than the other two. But hey, take a look for yourself:
<lj-embed id=”564″/>
(Ignore that last frame about 3D. The Cocteau does not have 3D. See it in gorgeous 2D!!!)
We’re going to try and make FURY ROAD’s run at the Cocteau a real event. We are making arrangements to bring in Max’s V8 Interceptor to park in front of the theatre, and we hope to have the Gyro Captain, the Humungus (Ayatollah of Rocknrollah), and Max himself on hand. (No, not the actual actors, sorry). (Not sure whether the Gyro Captain actually appears in FURY ROAD, but he’s my favorite characters from ROAD WARRIOR, so he’ll be here anyway).
FURY ROAD will open at the Cocteau on the night of Thursday, May 14. Advance tickets are available for purchase right now at the Cocteau website. And as a special bonus for all you Warriors of the Wasteland, anyone who purchases an advance ticket to FURY ROAD, any showing, before May 10 will also get a FREE SMALL POPCORN. Real butter and special toppings, no charge.
“Remember lingerie?”
We had another cool author event at the Jean Cocteau Cinema last night.
Bestselling novelist STUART WOODS came in to join us, to talk about his new thriller HOT PURSUIT.
Trent Zelazny conducted the interview, and we had a lively Q & A with our guest afterwards.
And of course we made Stuart sign a big stock of books before we let him leave, so autographed hardcover copies of HOT PURSUIT are available through the Jean Cocteau website… along with signed books by Junot Diaz, Lisa See, Joe Lansdale, James S.A. Corey, Dennis Lehane, Sam Sykes, Diana Gabaldon, aand yours truly.
We have a couple of interesting, offbeat movies at the Jean Cocteau Cinema this week.
SPRING is a romantic horror movie that’s won all sorts of acclaim on the festival circuit.
<lj-embed id=”561″/>
And then there’s KUMIKO THE TREASURE HUNTER, which is… kind of hard to characterize.
<lj-embed id=”562″/>
Check them out. I intend to.
See you at the movies.
I felt strongly that I had to speak up about Puppygate, and I have. I am glad I did. But do not think for a moment that I’ve enjoyed it. Though I have done my best to keep the discussion civil, there’s still a whiff of venom in the air. (You should see some of the comments I’ve deleted). It gives one a headache.
With all that being said, it’s nice sometimes to restore one’s faith in humanity, and I did some of that last night at my theatre. Magician Francis Menotti was performing at the Cocteau, and I went down to catch his act. Francis was wonderfully entertaining, and the crowd was great too. Old people, young people, kids, black people and white people and brown people, men and women, all ooohing and aaahing at the magic and laughing at the jokes, enjoying adult beverages (well, not the children) like our famous Burning Tumblewheel and our new White Walkers. They all came out smiling, and lots of them stopped afterwards in the bar to chat with me and Francis. One young couple were making their first visit to Santa Fe; they had just gotten engaged, and the two of them were bright-eyed and excited and glowing. Made me feel good just to meet them.
That’s what worldcons used to be like. Should be like. Could be like again.
Last night restored my faith in people, a little. It’s not fandom that’s toxic. It’s the internet.
We have more magic coming up at the Jean Cocteau.
On April 10 and 11th, we will be presenting three shows with the renowned illusionist FRANCIS MENOTTI.
Here's a small taste:
<lj-embed id=”558″/>
Advance tickets are now on sale on the Cocteau website.
This blog is the only place for official communication from George R.R. Martin. For press inquiries, please contact David Moench
