28 December 2007

Films Added to Registry
The Library of Congress has announced twenty-five more films added national registry. Films of genre interest included in this year's batch include "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Back to the Future."

26 December 2007

DUFF Ballots
The ballot for the 2008 DUFF race for a North American fan to travel to Australia has been announced. This years race is between Steve and Sue Francis, from Louisville, Kentucky, and Murray Moore, from Toronto. Ballots are due on January 31 to Joe Siclari (North America) or Norman Cates (Australia).
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Obituary
Fan Joeseph Grillot (Joey) died on December 25 following a weeklong bout of pneumonia. Grillot was active in New Orleans fandom. Following Hurricane Katrina, Grillot lost everything, although he managed to escape the city. He has been in ill health for the past few years.

21 December 2007

Eaton Conference Returns Home
The Eaton Conference, founded by University of California-Riverside, home to the J. Lloyd Eaton Collection, will return to UC-Riverside in 2008. The conference, held from May 16-18 will have the topic "Chronicling Mars" and will present the first Eaton Award for Lifetime Achievement in Science Fiction, as well as host a student short story contest. Expected speakers will include Gregory Bear, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, David Brin, Howard V. Hendrix, Geoffrey A. Landis, Frederik Pohl and Kim Stanley Robinson.
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Obituary
Producer Frank Capra, Jr. (b.1934) died on December 19. In addition to being the son of the famous director, Capra produced several films, including at least five of genre interest. His first movie was "Marooned," and was followed by three "Planet of the Apes Sequels" (Escape from, Conquest of, and Battle for). His last genre-outing was in 1984 with "Firestarter."

20 December 2007

Mourning in Heaven
On December 19, astronaut Daniel Tani received the news that his mother, Rose, died. Tani is currently aboard the International Space Station when he received the news over a secure connection, believed to be the first time NASA has had to report a relative's death to an astronaut on a mission. Although Tani was originally supposed to return to Earth this week, faulty sensors on the shuttle's fuel tank mean that the earliest Tani can return to Earth will be in January. Tani's mother was killed when her car was hit by a freight train.

Baxter Joins Sidewise Jury
Author Stephen Baxter has joined the jury for the Sidewise Award for Alternate History for 2008. Baxter, who won the first Sidewise Award for Short Form for his story "Brigantia's Angels," and went on to become the award's first repeat winner for his novel Voyage, will join the panel comprised of Nicholas Gevers, Evelyn Leeper, Jim Rittenhouse, Stu Shiffman, Kurt Sidaway, and Steven Silver. Baxter has pulled all works to be published in 2008 from consideration.
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Denvention Song Contest
Denvention 3 has announced that it will sponsor a song-writing contest. Songs should reflect the Worldcon's theme "A Mile Closer to the Stars" and may be submitted as lyrics and an mp3 via e-mail or as lyrics and a CD/cassette via post. The deadline for submission receipts is May 31, 2008.
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18 December 2007

There and Back Again
Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have reached an agreement on all outstanding litigation and have announced plans to film two films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Jackson will combine principle shooting on the two movies in 2009 with an aim for release in December 2010 and 2011. The films will be co-financed and co-distributed by New Line Cinema and MGM with Jackson and Fran Walsh co-producing.
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13 December 2007

Obituaries
Producer Freddie Fields (b.1923) died on December 11. Fields was a talent agent who became a film producer. His genre films include "Millennium" and "Poltergeist II: The Other Side." Fields was an innovator in salary negotiations as well as in the layout of actor credits in films.

Susan Chandler, the widow of science fiction author A. Bertram Chandler, died in Australia in October. In 1990, Chandler co-edited From Sea to Shining Star, which included stories by her late husband. She also had co-writer credit with her husband for the story "The Long Way."

Golden Globe Nominations
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced the nominees for the Golden Globe Awards in 25 category spread over television and films. The Golden Globes will be presented January 13. Below are the categories with genre-related nominations.

Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Amy Adams – Enchanted
Nikki Blonsky – Hairspray
Helena Bonham Carter – Sweeney Todd
Marion Cotillard – La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page – Juno

Best Animated Feature Film
Bee Movie
Ratatouille
The Simpsons Movie

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
"Despedida" – Love In The Time Of Cholera, Music By: Shakira, Antonio Pinto Lyrics By: Shakira
"Grace Is Gone" – Grace Is Gone, Music By: Clint Eastwood Lyrics By: Carole Bayer Sager
"Guaranteed" – Into The Wild, Music & Lyrics By: Eddie Vedder
"That's How You Know" – Enchanted Music & Lyrics By: Alan Menken
"Walk Hard" – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Music & Lyrics By: Marshall Crenshaw, John C. Reilly, Judd Apatow, Kasdan

Best Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
30 Rock
Californication
Entourage
Extras
Pushing Daisies

Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series –Comedy Or Musical
Christina Applegate – Samantha Who?
America Ferrera – Ugly Betty
Tina Fey – 30 Rock
Anna Friel – Pushing Daisies
Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds

Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
Steve Carell – The Office
David Duchovny – Californication
Ricky Gervais – Extras
Lee Pace – Pushing Daisies

Cecil B. Demille Award: Steven Spielberg

12 December 2007

Pratchett Diagnosed
Terry Pratchett, who suffered a phantom stroke last year, has now been diagnosed with rare form of early onset Alzheimer's. He is continuing work on Nation and Unseen Academicals and expects to meet all current and future commitments. Pratchett asks that his fans "keep things optimistic."
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Obituaries
Seattle fan Anita Rowland (b.1956) died after a long battle with cancer on December 10. Rowland, who is survived by her husband, Jack William Bell, was active in con-running, running the con-suite for Potlatch when it was held in Seattle. Rowland was also an active blogger

Costume designer Marit Allen (b.1941) died of a brain aneurysm on November 26. Allen was nominated for a Saturn in 1987 for her work on the film "Little Shop of Horrors," and received Emmy nominations in 1995 and 1998. She died while in Australia working on the upcoming film "Justice League of America." Allen also worked on "Hulk" and "Thunderbirds."

10 December 2007

Wheel of Time Author Named
Brandon Sanderson has been announced as the author of the final novel in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Jordan died earlier this year, leaving the final book unfinished, but copious notes in the hands of his son. Sanderson, who is a two-time John W. Campbell Award nominee, was selected to work with Jordan's son to finish the series. The novel will be entitled A Memory of Light.

Obituary
Casting director Mali Finn (b.1938) died on November 28. Finn began work as a casting director in 1981, starting her own company in 1989. She was instrumental in casting such genre films as the "Matrix" films, "Batman & Robin," "Batman Forever," and "Terminator 2," among others.

9 December 2007

Aurealis Nominations
The nominees for the 2007 Aurealis Awards, presented to recognize the best of Australian science fiction, fantasy, and horror, have been announced. The winners will be announced on January 26, 2008 at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Brisbane.

Best Science Fiction Novel
Marianne De Pierres, Dark Space, Orbit
Jack Heath, Remote Control
David Kowalski, The Company of the Dead
Sean Williams, Saturn Returns, Orbit

Best Science Fiction Short Story
Simon Brown, "Lonely as Life"
Penelope Love, "Whitey"
Chris McMahon, "The Eyes of Erebus"
Cat Sparks, "Arctica"
Cat Sparks, "Hollywood Roadkill"

Best Fantasy Novel
Jennifer Fallon, The Gods of Amyrantha
Lian Hearn, Heaven's Net is Wide
Sylvia Kelso, The Moving Water
Glenda Larke, Song of the Shiver Barrens
Michael Pryor, Heart of Gold

Best Fantasy Short Story
R J Astruc, "The Perfume Eater"
Adam Browne, "An Account of an Experiment by Adam Browne"
Garth Nix, "Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz go to War Again"
Angela Slatter, "The Angel Wood"
Cat Sparks, "A Lady of Adestan"

Best Horror Novel
The panel of judges for this division declined to select a short list from the nominated works. However, the winning Novel will be announced at the ceremony.

Best Horror Short Story
Terry Dowling, "Toother"
Richard Harland, "Special Perceptions"
Rick Kennett, "The Dark and What It Said"
Ben Peek, "Black Betty"
Anna Tambour, "The Jeweller of Second-Hand Roe"

Best Young Adult Novel
Kate Constable, Taste of Lightning
Anthony Eaton, Skyfall
Juliet Marillier, Cybele's Secret
Michael Pryor, Heart of Gold, Second Volume of The Laws of Magic
Scott Westerfeld, Extras, Simon Pulse

Best Young Adult Short Story
Deborah Biancotti, "A Scar for Leida"
Shane Jiraiya Cummings, "Yamabushi Kaidan and the Smoke Dragon"
Garth Nix, "Bad Luck, Trouble, Death and Vampire Sex"
Garth Nix, "Holly and Iron"
Tracey Rolfe, "Cast Off"

Best Children's (8-12 years) Long Fiction
Isobelle Carmody, A Mystery of Wolves, Penguin Books
Kate Forsyth, The Silver Horse, The Chain of Charms 2
Kate Forsyth, The Herb of Grace, The Chain of Charms 3
Kate Forsyth, The Cat's Eye Shell, The Chain of Charms 4
Kate Forsyth, The Lightning Bolt, The Chain of Charms 5
Kate Forsyth, The Butterfly in Amber, The Chain of Charms 6
Emily Rodda, The Key to Rondo
Carole Wilkinson, Dragon Moon

Best Children's (8-12 years) Short Fiction
Luke Edwards, Ock Von Fiend
Anna Fienberg & Barbara Fienberg, Tashi and The Mixed Up Monster
Marc McBride, World of Monsters
Briony Stewart, Kumiko and the Dragon
For More Information...

SMOFCon 2008
SMOFCon 2008 will be held in Columbus, Ohio. The date hasn't been set year, but will likely be the traditional first weekend in December at the Drury Inn. Columbus beat a bid from Boulder with a vote of 61-59, with one write in vote for Fresno and three blank ballots. This was only the second contested SMOFCon election.

Odyssey Workshop
The 2008 Odyssey Workshop will be held from June 9 to July 18 at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. Class meets for four hours in the morning, five days a week. Students spend about eight hours more a day writing and critiquing each other's work. Prospective students, aged eighteen and up, apply from all over the world. The early admission application deadline is January 31, and the regular admission deadline is April 10th. Tuition is $1800, and housing is $700 for a double room and $1400 for a single. In 2008, Nancy Kress will be the Writer-Residence with guest lecturers including Barry B. Longyear, Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, James Maxey; Craig Shaw Gardner, and Jenny Rappaport. Odyssey was founded in 1996.
For More Information...

5 December 2007

New SF Collection
The David J. Williams III Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Collection was dedicated at Kansas State University on December 4. Robert J. Sawyer was invited to give the keynote address. Williams, who lived in Richmond, Kentucky, left 3,000 items, including a complete run of Arkham House books. His sister, Sara Morgan, arranged for the library's acquisition.
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4 December 2007

Annie Nominations
The Annie nominations, recognizing the year's best animation across film, television, commercials, video games and short subjects, have been announced. The award will be presented on February 8, 2008. Categories with nominees of genre interest are listed below.

Production Categories
Best Animated Feature
Bee Movie
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up
The Simpsons Movie

Best Home Entertainment Production
Doctor Strange
Futurama "Bender's Big Score"

Best Animated Short Subject
Everything Will Be OK – Bitter Films
How to Hook Up Your Home Theater
Shorty McShorts' Shorts "Mascot Prep"
The Chestnut Tree
Your Friend the Rat

Best Animated Television Commercial
CVS Watering Can
Esurance "Homeowners"
Idaho Lottery: Twister
Oregon Lottery "Alaska"
Power Shares Escape Average

Best Animated Television Production
Jane and the Dragon
Creature Comforts America
Moral Orel
Robot Chicken Star Wars
Kim Possible

Best Animated Television Production for Children
Chowder
El Tigre
Little Einsteins
Peep and the Big Wide World
The Backyardigans

Best Animated Video Game
Avatar: The Last Airbender "The Burning Earth"
Bee Movie Game
Ratatouille
Transformers: The Game

Individual Achievement Categories
Animated Effects
Gary Bruins – "Ratatouille"
Deborah Carlson – "Surf's Up"
Ryan Laney – "Spider-Man 3" – Sony Pictures Imageworks
James Mansfield – "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater"
Jon Reisch – "Ratatouille"

Animation Production Artist
John Clark – "Surf's Up"
Michael Isaak – "Bee Movie"
Hyun-Min Lee – "The Chestnut Tree"
Natasha Liberman – "Growing Up Creepie "Creepie & The Candy Factory"
Jim Worthy – My Gym Partner's A Monkey "Meet the Spidermonkeys"

Character Animation in a Feature Production
Dave Hardin – "Surf's Up"
Alan Hawkins – "Surf's Up"
Michal Makarewicz – "Ratatouille"

Character Animation in a Television Production
Elizabeth Harvatine - Moral Orel "Nature 2"
Monica Kennedy – El Tigre
Eric Towner – Robot Chicken

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Sylvain Deboissy – "Surf's Up"
Carter Goodrich – "Ratatouille"

Character Design in an Animated Television Production
Jorge R. Gutierrez – El Tigre "Fistful of Collars"

Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Brad Bird "Ratatouille"
Ash Brannon & Chris Buck "Surf's Up"
Chris Miller & Raman Hui – "Shrek The Third"
Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi – "Persepolis"
David Silverman – "The Simpsons Movie"

Directing in an Animated Television Production
Seth Green "Robot Chicken Star Wars"
David Hartman - Tigger & Pooh "Turtles Need for Speed"
Raymie Muzquiz - Squirrel Boy "Gumfight at the S'Okay Corral"
Howy Parkins – The Emperor's New School "Emperor's New Musical"
Gary Trousdale "Shrek The Halls"

Music in an Animated Feature Production
Olivier Bernet – "Persepolis"
Danny Elfman, Rufus Wainwright & Rob Thomas – "Meet The Robinsons"
Michael Giacchino – "Ratatouille"
Rupert Gregson-Williams – "Bee Movie"
Amy Powers, Russ DeSalvo & Jeff Danna – "Disney Princess Enchanted Tales"

Music in an Animated Television Production
Alf Clausen & Michael Price – The Simpsons "Yokel Chords"
Evan Lurie, Robert Scull & Steven Bernstein – The Backyardigans "International Super Spy"
Drew Neumann & Gregory Hinde – Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure
Shawn Patterson – El Tigre "Yellow Pantera"
James L. Venable & Jennifer Kes Remington – Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends "The Bloo Superdude and the Magic Potato Power"

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Doug Chiang – "Beowulf"
Harley Jessup – "Ratatouille"
Marcelo Vignali – "Surf's Up"

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Don Hall – 'Meet The Robinsons'
Denise Koyama – "Surf's Up"
Ted Mathot – "Ratatouille"
Sean Song – "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"
Nassos Vakalis – "Bee Movie"

Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production
Ben Balistreri – Danny Phantom "Torrent of Terror"
Aldin Baroza – The Replacements "London Calling"
Dave Bennett – Tom and Jerry Tales
Steve Fonti – Family Guy "No Chris Left Behind"
Roy Meurin – My Friends Tigger and Pooh "Good Night to Pooh"

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Janeane Garofalo – Voice of Collette – "Ratatouille"
Ian Holm – Voice of Skinner – "Ratatouille"
Julie Kavner – Voice of Marge Simpson – "The Simpsons Movie"
Patton Oswalt – Voice of Remy – "Ratatouille"
Patrick Warburton – Voice of Ken – "Bee Movie"

Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production
Scott Adsit – Voice of Clay Puppington – "Moral Orel"
Madison Davenport – Voice of Sophianna – "Christmas is Here Again!"
Tom Kenny – Voice of SpongeBob – SpongeBob SquarePants "Spy Buddies"
Eartha Kitt – Voice of Yzma – The Emperor's New School "Emperor's New Musical"
Eddie Murphy – Voice of Donkey – "Shrek The Halls"

Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Brad Bird – "Ratatouille"
James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, David, Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder & Jon Vitti – "The Simpsons Movie"
Don Rhymer and Ash Brannon & Chris Buck & Christopher Jenkins – "Surf's Up"
Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud – "Persepolis"

Writing in an Animated Television Production
C.H. Greenblatt & William Reiss – Chowder "Burple Nurples"
Gene Grillo – Back at the Barnyard "Cowman and Ratboy"
Ian Maxtone-Graham & Billy Kimball – The Simpsons "24 Minutes"
Christopher Painter – Squirrel Boy "I Only Have Eye For You"
Tom Sheppard – My Gym Partner's A Monkey "The Butt of the Jake"

Windsor McCay Award Winners (career contributions to the art of animation)
John Canemaker
Glen Keane
John Kricfalusi
June Foray (significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation)
Jerry Beck

Ub Iwerks (technical achievement)
Jonathan Gay, Gary Grossman and Robert Tatsumi – the creators of FLASH computer software

Special Achievement Annie Award
Edwin R. Leonard - leading the adopton of Linux as the primary computer operating system for use in feature animated film prodution.

Certificate of Merit
Marcus Adams
Jo Jo Batista
Steve Gattuso
Jon Reeves
Gemma Ross
Woodbury University
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Obituaries
Peter Handford (b.1919) died on November 6. Handford was a sound recorder who worked on the "Tales of the Unexpected" television series and the films "Mysterious Island," "From Beyond the Grave." He won an Oscar in 1986 for his work on "Out of Africa" and was nominated again in 1989 for "Gorillas in the Mist."

Actress Jeanne Bates (b.1918) died on November 28. Bates appeared in "Wonder Woman," "Topper Returns," "The Twilight Zone," and numerous Westerns and soap operas over a career that spanned nearly six decades. She was married to Lew C. Lansworth, for whose mystery series "Whodunnit" she provided the signature scream.

1 December 2007

Copyright Committee Formed
The SFWA has announced that a Copyright Committee will be formed based on the recommendation of an exploratory committee which was led by John Scalzi after the Electronic Piracy Committee was disbanded earlier this year. Nearly all the exploratory committee's suggestions have been adopted by the SFWA

Aeon Ups Rates
Aeon Speculative Fiction has announced that they will double their word rates from 3 to 6 cents a word effective with the magazine's thirteenth issue. Aeon is a quarterly magazine, now in its fourth year of publication. It is published by Quintamid and is co-edited by Bridget McKenna and Marti McKenna.

Dragon Accepting Fiction
Wizards of the Coast has announced that Dragon magazine will once again be accepting fiction. The announcement notes that they will pay 6 cents a word, which will purchase all rights to the story.

Obituary
British author Colin Kapp (b.1928) died on August 3. Kapp was the author of the Cageworld series as well as a series of short stories featuring the unorthodox engineers. Capp's first short story, "Life Plan" appeared in New Worlds in 1958 and his first novel, The Dark Mind was published in 1964, although serialized the year before.