27 February 2005

Razzies Announced
In the lead up to the Oscars, the Razzie Awards for Worst films were awarded on February 26. The "winners" are listed below. Berry and her agent accepted their Razzie in person. She is the first Oscar winner to win a Razzie.
Worst Picture: Catwoman
Worst Actor: George Bush
Worst Actress: Haile Berry
Worst Screen Couple: George W. Bush & either Condoleezza Rice or His Pet Goat in Fahrenheit 9/11
Worst Supporting Actress: Britney Spears
Worst Supporting Actor: Donald Rumsfeld
Worst Director: Catwoman
Worst Remake or Sequel: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
Worst Screenplay: Catwoman
Worst Razzie Loser Of Our First 25 Years: Ah-Nuld Schwarzenegger (8 nominations, no wins)
Worst 'Drama' Of Our First 25 Years: Battlefield Earth
Worst 'Comedy' Of Our First 25 Years: Gigli
Worst 'Musical' Of Our First 25 Years: From Justin to Kelly

25 February 2005

Obituaries
Polish fantasy artist Zdzislaw Beksinski (b.1929) was found murdered with multiple stab wounds in his home in Warsaw on Tuesday, February 22, 2005. Beksinski was also a photographer and sculptor.

Author and poet Sonya Dorman Hess (b.1924) died on February 14, 2005 in Taos, New Mexico. Dorman published numerous stories in the 1960s and '70s. She won the Rhysling Award for her poem "Corruption of Metals" in 1978. Her story "When I Was Miss Dow" was included on the 1996 Retrospective Tiptree Award shortlist and was a Nebula nominee.

22 February 2005

Writers Guild Winner
The Writers Guild of America announced the winners of its annual screenwriting award on February 19. The film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," by Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry and Pierre Bismuth, was named the best original screenplay of 2004.

Norton Out of Hospital
Andre Norton has been released from the hospital where she was being treated for flu. She is now in hospice care.

Fan Ill
John Bangsund III suffered a brain haemorrhage on February 19. He is currently resting in hospital, although it is too soon to determine his prognosis.

Youth Art and Writing Contest
The Science Fiction Museum in Seattle has announced its first annual arts contest for aspiring young artists and writers. The top candidates from each category will be exhibited at Norwescon 28. Judges will include Michael Whelan and Michael Bishop. For more information, see http://www.sciencefictionexperience.com/education/kidsSpace.asp?categoryID=362.

21 February 2005

Norton Award Announced
The SFWA has announced the formation of the Andre Norton Award for young adult novels. The awards will be presented along with the Nebulas with the first award being presented in 2006. The award will be selected following the same procedure as the Nebulas and the first jury will include Sherwood Smith, Janni Lee Simner, Jean Rabe, Victoria McManus, Greg van Eekhout, Martha Bartter, and Catherine Asaro.

Man Booker Nominees Announced
The First Man Booker Award for a living author for "continued creativity, development and overall contribution to fiction on the world stage" will be awarded this June. The prize, will include £60,000 and be awarded every other year. An author will only be able to win once. Eighteen authors are on the first shortlist including the following who have genre credits to their name: Margaret Atwood, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Stanislaw Lem, Doris Lessing, and Philip Roth

World Fantasy Judges Named
The judges for the 2005 World Fantasy Award have been announced. Alis Rasmussen (Kate Elliott), Jeffrey Ford, Tim Lebbon, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, and Jessica Amanda Salmonson will select the winner to be presented at the World Fantasy Convention in Madison, Wisconsin in November.

Obituaries
Actress Sandra Dee (b.1942) died on February 20 from kidney disease. Dee, born Alexandra Zuck, is best known for starring in a variety of teen idol films in the 1950s and 60s, but in 1970 she appeared in the film "The Dunwich Horror" and made an appearance in the original film "Fantasy Island," which was darker than the series it spawned.

Actor John Raitt (b.1917) died on February 20. Raitt only appeared in a handful of films, but he created the role of Billy Bigelow in the Broadway production of "Carousel," about a carnival worker who comes back from the dead to oversee his daughter's life. Raitt's daughter is singer Bonnie Raitt.

20 February 2005

Grandmaster Announced
SFWA President Catherine Asaro has announced that Anne McCaffrey will be named SFWA Grand Master at this year's Nebula Weekend in Chicago. McCaffrey's career began with the publication of "Freedom of the Race" in 1953 and went on to publish numerous novels and short stories. McCaffrey may have been the last authorial discovery by Hugo Gernsback.

Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. will receive an award for service to SFWA as well.

19 February 2005

DUFF Candidates Announced
The two candidates for the Down Under Fan Fund have been announced. The winner of DUFF will travel from North America to Australia for the Australian National Convention in Tasmania from June 10-13. This year's candidates are Chris Barkley and Joe Siclari. The ballot and voting information can be found at http://www.duff2004.com/vote/download/05ballot.pdf

Launch Date Announced
NASA has announced the launch date for the next space shuttle mission, STS-114. The space shuttle Discovery will launch on May 15 with a crew of seven led by Commander Eileen Collins. Two months later, on July 12, the space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for its return to flight. The full crew for STS-114 includes Pilot James Kelly, Wendy Lawrence, Charles Camarda, Soichi Noguchi, Stephen Robinson, and Andrew Thomas.

18 February 2005

Astronaut to Head NASA
Former astronaut Fred Gregory has been named to head NASA. Gregory, who has logged 455 hours on board the Challenger, Discovery and Atlantis, will be the first astronaut to head the agency and the first African American in that position. Gregory has served as deputy administrator since 2002. Even as Gregory's nomination was announced, the Government Accounting Office announced an investigation into waste by out-going NASA head Sean O'Keefe.

Obituaries
Author F.M. Busby (b.1921), died on February 17. Busby, who won the Hugo for best fanzine in 1960 for "Cry of the Nameless" and went on to write several novels, has been in the hospital for several weeks and was recently moved to a nursing home.

Actor Dan O'Herlihy (b.1919) died on February 17. O'Herlihy appeared in RoboCop and RoboCop 2 as the Old Man and played Grig in The Last Starfighter. He had the title role in The Cabinet of Caligari and as General Black in Fail-Safe. Over his career spanning more than fifty years, he appeared in numerous other genre films.

15 February 2005

Andre Norton Hospitalized
Andre Norton has been hospitalized with the flu and pneumonia. She is currently in the ICU, so she cannot receive visitors. Cards and notes are appreciated and in lieu of flowers, she has requested potted plants which can be replanted in the spring.

Nebula Ballot Announced
SFWA has announced the Nebula ballot. The awards will be presented in Chicago on April 30 during the Nebula Weekend (for registration information, see http://www.sfwa.org/awards/2005/). Neil Gaiman will be the toastmaster for the weekend).

Novels
Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by Cory Doctorow
Omega, by Jack McDevitt
Cloud Atlas : A Novel, by David Mitchell
Perfect Circle, by Sean Stewart
The Knight, by Gene Wolfe

Novellas
"Walk in Silence," by Catherine Asaro
"The Tangled Strings of the Marionettes," by Adam-Troy Castro
"The Cookie Monster," by Vernor Vinge
"The Green Leopard Plague," by Walter Jon Williams
"Just Like the Ones We Used to Know," by Connie Willis

Novelettes
"Zora and the Zombie", by Andy Duncan
"Basement Magic," by Ellen Klages
"The Voluntary State," by Christopher Rowe
"Dry Bones," by William Sanders
"The Gladiator's War: A Dialogue," by Lois Tilton

Short Stories
"Coming to Terms,"by Eileen Gunn
"The Strange Redemption of Sister Mary Anne," by Mike Moscoe
"Travels With my Cats," by Mike Resnick
"Embracing-The-New," by Benjamin Rosenbaum
"In the Late December," by Greg van Eekhout
"Aloha," by Ken Wharton

Scripts
The Incredibles, by Brad Bird
The Butterfly Effect, by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien

Philip K. Dick Award Judges Announced
The judges for the 2005 Philip K. Dick Award, presented to a paperback original, have been announced. This year's panel includes Charles Coleman Finlay, Kay Kenyon, Robert A. Metzger, Lyda Morehouse, and Graham J. Murphy.

12 February 2005

BAFTA Winners
The winners of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards were presented on February 12. The awards which went to genre films are listed below.
Best Original Screenplay: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Best Editing: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Best Achievement in Visual Effects: The Day After Tomorrow
Orange Film of the Year (People's Choice): Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

11 February 2005

Obituary
Author Jack Chalker (b.1944) died on February 11. Chalker suffered from congestive heart failure on December 7 and underwent a series of surgeries. Chalker began publishing with the novel A Jungle of Stars in 1976, and went on to write numerous books. He was perhaps best known for Midnight at the Well of Souls and its sequels. Chalker was twice nominated for the Hugo (best amateur magazine and best nonfiction book). In 1980, he received the Skylark Award and in 1992, the Readercon Award for The Science Fantasy Publishers: A Critical and Bibliographic History: Third Edition.

10 February 2005

Clarion Midnight Auction
The Clarion Midnight Auction raised $4,200. The Clarion Writer's Workshop lost funding from Michigan State University a few years ago and has been exploring alternative methods of fund raising. This year's Clarion will be the final one held on the campus in East Lansing before relocating to a new site for 2006.

Richard Biggs Memorial
I-Con in Stony Brook, NY will host memorial for Babylon 5 actor Richard Biggs during the weekend of April 8-19. Biggs died in May 2004. In addition to fans, the memorial will be attended by Jason Carter, Eugene Roddenberry, Jr., and Robert Lee Shock.

Obituaries
Writer and producer Phil DeGuerre (b.1944) died on January 24 from cancer. DeGuerre was an executive producer on both "Max Headroom" and the revival of "The Twilight Zone."

Missouri fan Richard A. Husband (b.1953) died on February 9. Husband had been suffering from esophageal cancer, which was in remission. Paramedics believe he choked while taking medication.

Saturn Nominations
The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror films was founded in 1972 by Dr. Donald A. Reed to recognize the high achievements of genre filmmaking, television and home entertainment. The Saturn Awards are presented annually to honor and recognize the genres of the fantastic. This year's 31st Annual Saturn Awards will take place on Tuesday, May 3, at the Universal City Hilton Hotel.

Science Fiction Film:
The Butterfly Effect
The Day After Tomorrow
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Forgotten
I, Robot
Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow

Fantasy Film:
Birth
Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban
Hellboy
House Of Flying Daggers
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Spider-Man 2

Horror Film:
Blade: Trinity
Dawn of the Dead
The Grudge
Open Water
Saw
Shaun Of the Dead
Van Helsing

Action/Adventure/Thriller Film:
The Aviator
The Bourne Supremacy
Collateral
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
The Manchurian Candidate
National Treasure
The Phantom Of The Opera

Best Animated Film:
The Incredibles
The Polar Express
Shark Tale
Shrek 2

Best Actor:
Christian Bale in The Machinist
Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Tom Cruise in Collateral
Matt Damon in The Bourne Supremacy
Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland
Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 2

Best Actress:
Nicole Kidman in Birth
Julianne Moore in The Forgotten
Blanchard Ryan in Open Water
Uma Thurman in Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Ziyi Zhang in House of Flying Daggers

Best Supporting Actor:
David Carradine in Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Alfred Molina in Spider-Man 2
Gary Oldman in Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
Giovanni Ribisi in Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow
Liev Schreiber in The Manchurian Candidate
John Turturro in Secret Window

Best Supporting Actress:
Kim Basinger in Cellular
Irma P. Hall in The Ladykillers
Daryl Hannah in Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Angelina Jolie in Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow
Diane Kruger in National Treasure
Meryl Streep in The Manchurian Candidate

Best Performance by a Younger Actor
Cameron Bright in Birth
Perla Haney-Jardine in Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Freddie Highmore in Finding Neverland
Jonathan Jackson in Stephen King's Riding the Bullet
Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban
Emmy Rossum in Phantom Of the Opera

Best Director:
Alfonso Cuaron for Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban
Michael Gondry for Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Michael Mann for Collateral
Sam Raimi for Spider-Man 2
Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Yimou Zhang for House Of Flying Daggers

Best Writer:
Stuart Beattie for Collateral
Brad Bird for The Incredibles
Charlie Kaufman for Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Steve Kloves for Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban
Alvin Sargent for Spider-Man 2
Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Best Music:
Danny Elfman for Spider-Man 2
Michael Giacchino for The Incredibles
Edward Shearmur for Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow
Alan Silvestri for The Polar Express
Alan Silvestri for Van Helsing
John Williams for Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban

Best Costume:
Alexandra Byrne for The Phantom Of the Opera
Stella McCartney for Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow
Wendy Partridge for Hellboy
Gabriella Pescucci & Carlo Poggioli for Van Helsing
Jany Temine for Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban
Emi Wada for House Of Flying Daggers

Best Make-Up:
David Anderson, Mario Cacioppo for Dawn Of the Dead
Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight for Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban
Jake Garber, Matt Rose for Hellboy
Valli O'Reilly, Bill Corso for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Paul Jones for Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Greg Cannom, Steve LaPorte for Van Helsing

Best Special Effects:
Peter Chiang, Pablo Helman, Thomas J. Smith for The Chronicles of Riddick
Matthew Butler, Neil Corbould, Karen Goulekas, Greg Strause for The Day After Tomorrow
Roger Guyett, Tim Burke, Bill George, John Richardson for Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban
John Nelson, Andrew R. Jones, Erik Nash, Joe Letteri for I, Robot
John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier for Spider-Man 2
Scott Squires, Ben Snow, Joe Letteri, Thomas L. Fisher for Van Helsing

Television:
Best Network Television Series:
Alias
Angel
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Lost
Smallville
Star Trek: Enterprise

Best Syndicated / Cable Television Series:
Dead Like Me
The Dead Zone
The 4400
Nip/Tuck
Stargate: SG-1
Stargate: Atlantis

Best Television Presentation:
The Dead Will Tell
Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars
5ive Days To Midnight
Legend of Earthsea
The Librarian: Quest For the Spear
'Salem's Lot

Best Actor on Television:
Richard Dean Anderson in Stargate: SG-1
Ben Browder in Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars
Matthew Fox in Lost
Julian McMahon in Nip/Tuck
Tom Welling in Smallville
Noah Wyle in The Librarian:The Quest For the Spear

Best Actress on Television:
Kristin Bell in Veronica Mars
Claudia Black in Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars
Jennifer Garner in Alias
Anne Heche in The Dead Will Tell
Evangeline Lilly in Lost
Amber Tamblyn in Joan Of Arcadia

Best Supporting Actor on Television:
Kyle MacLachlan in The Librarian: Quest For the Spear
James Marsters in Angel
Dominic Monaghan in Lost
Terry O'Quinn in Lost
Michael Rosenbaum in Smallville
Michael Shanks in Stargate: SG-1

Best Supporting Actress on Television:
Amy Acker in Angel
Erica Durance in Smallville
Torri Higginson in Stargate: Atlantis
Samantha Mathis in 'Salem's Lot
Amanda Tapping in Stargate: SG-1
Sonya Walger in The Librarian: Quest For the Spear

DVD:
Best DVD Release:
Bionicle 2: Legends Of Metru-Nui
Ju-On: The Grudge
The Lion King 1 ½
The Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra
Starship Troopers 2: Hero Of the Federation
Ripley's Game

Best DVD Special Edition Release:
The Chronicles of Riddick (Unrated Director's Cut)
Hellboy (Director's Cut)
King Arthur (Extended Unrated Version)
The Lord Of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Cut)
Shrek 2
Spider-Man 2 (Special Edition)

Best DVD Classic Film Release:
Aladdin
Dawn Of the Dead (Ultimate Edition)
Duel
The Fearless Vampire Killers
Freaks
THX 1138

Best DVD Collection:
The Best of Abbott and Costello (Vol. 1 – 3)
The Ultimate Matrix Collection
The Marx Brothers Silver Collection
The Monster Legacy Collections
The Star Wars Trilogy
The Tarzan Collection

Best DVD Television Programming:
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 2 & 3)
Farscape (Season 4)
The Simpsons (Season 4 & 5)
Smallville (Season 2 & 3)
Star Trek: Voyager (Season 1 – 7)
A Wrinkle In Time

Best DVD Retro Television Release:
Jonny Quest
Land Of the Lost (Season 1 & 2)
Lost In Space (Season 1 & 2)
My Favorite Martian (Season 1)
Night Gallery (Season 1)
Star Trek: The Original Series

4 February 2005

Enterprise Cancelled
UPN has announced that it will cancel the television series "Star Trek: Enterprise" on May 13 after it concludes its fourth season. Enterprise becomes the first Star Trek series not to complete seven seasons since the original series was cancelled after three seasons. A total of 98 episodes will have aired by the time of the show's cancellation.

Bakka-Phoenix Moving
Bakka-Phoenix Books of Toronto has announced it will be moving from its current location on Yonge Street to 697 Queen St. West. The move will occur on March 1. On February 26, Phoenix-Bakka will host its final book launch at the Yonge Street location for Caitlin Sweet.

Obituaries
Actor John R. Vernon (b.1932) died on February 3. Although best known for his role as Dean Worner in "Animal House," he has been associated with science fiction films since his first role, as the voice of Big Brother in the original version of "1984." Other work has included voice work as Prince Namor in "The Sub-Mariner" and other Marvel based cartoons, "Killer Klowns from Outer Space," and voice work for various video games.

Actor Ossie Davis (b.1912) died on February 4. Davis appeared in a handful of genre works including the Eddie Murphy remake of "Doctor Doolittle," "The Stand," a voice in Disney's "Dinosaur" and the film "Bubba Ho-Tep." In 2004, Davis was the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor. He was a featured speaker at the funerals of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. He is perhaps most recognizable as the voiceover saying "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" in ads for the United Negro College Fund.

1 February 2005

Arthur C. Clarke Award Short List
Finalists for this year's Arthur C. Clarke Award, for best SF novel with its first British publication in 2004, have been announced. The winner will be announced on May 11 at the English Heritage Lecture Theatre in London.
River of Gods, by Ian McDonald
Iron Council, by China Miéville
Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell
Market Forces, by Richard Morgan
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
The System of the World, by Neal Stephenson

Milford Conference
The 2005 Milford SF Writer's Conference will be held at the Trigonos Centre in Snowdonia, Wales from August 13 to 19. Milford is a gathering of professional authors, loosely linked by science fiction or fantasy writing. There will be a cap of 15 members, all of whom should have at least one professional credit.

Annie Award Winners
The Annie Awards for excellence in Animation were presented on Sunday, January 30. A complete list of the winners follows.

Production Categories
Best Animated Feature: The Incredibles - Pixar Animation Studios
Best Home Entertainment Production: The Lion King 1 1/2 - DisneyToon Studios
Best Animated Short Subject: Lorenzo - Walt Disney Pictures
Best Animated Television Commercial: United Airlines Interview - Acme Filmworks
Best Animated Television Production: SpongeBob SquarePants - Nickelodeon

Individual Achievement Categories
Animated Effects: Martin Nguyen - "The Incredibles"
Character Animation: Angus MacLane - "The Incredibles"
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production: Tony Fucile - "The Incredibles"
Character Design in an Animated Television Production: Patrick Matè - "Father of the Pride"
Directing in an Animated Feature Production: Brad Bird - "The Incredibles"
Directing in an Animated Television Production: Shaun Cashman & Phil Cummings - The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy "Attack of the Clowns"
Music in an Animated Feature Production: Michael Giacchino - "The Incredibles"
Music in an Animated Television Production: Robert J. Kral - "Duck Dodgers"
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production: Lou Romano - The Incredibles
Production Design in an Animated Television Production: Richard Daskas, - Samurai Jack "Season of Death"
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production: Kevin O'Brien - "The Incredibles"
Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production: Wendy Grieb - Disney's Dave the Barbarian - "The Maddening Sprite of the Stump"
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production: Brad Bird - Voice of Edna Mode "The Incredibles"
Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production: Brittany Murphy - Voice of Luane Platter - King of the Hill - "Girl, You'll Be A Giant Soon"
Writing in an Animated Feature Production: Brad Bird - "The Incredibles"
Writing in an Animated Television Production: Etan Cohen, - King of the Hill "Ceci N'est Pas Une"

Juried Awards
June Foray Award - Significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation: Bill Moritz
Winsor McCay Award - Recognition of lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation: Don Bluth, Virginia Davis, and Arnold Stang
Ub Iwerks Award: Dr. Ed Catmull
Special Achievement : Disney's "On the Front Lines"
DVD Certificate of Merit: DreamWorks Animation SKG and Sivert Glarum