Tag Archives: Duncan Jones

Pixel Scroll 1/22/17 How Do We Tell If A Scroll is Made of Pixels?

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By JJ:

(1) MOVING FORWARD. ScreenRant broke the news that Wonder Woman 2 will be the first film to adopt the Anti-Sexual Harassment Guidelines announced on Friday by the Producers Guild of America, prior to their annual awards gala.

As reported by Variety, the PGA’s board of directors voted unanimously to ratify the new guidelines, which were then issued to the organization’s 8,200 members. PGA presidents Gary Lucchesi and Lori McCreary said of the guidelines:

Sexual harassment can no longer be tolerated in our industry or within the ranks of the Producers Guild membership. We provide key leadership in creating and sustaining work environments built on mutual respect, so it is our obligation to change our culture and eradicate this abuse. While the PGA is a voluntary membership organization, the PGA’s Anti-Sexual Harassment Guidelines are sanctioned as best practices for our members.

The Wonder Woman sequel being the first film to officially adopt these guidelines certainly makes sense considering the character’s position as a role model for girls and women everywhere (though that might not necessarily be why it will be the first to adopt the guidelines). Additionally, Jenkins’ Wonder Woman broke records for movies directed by women, solidifying it as a major step forward for gender representation in terms of Hollywood directors. Further, it was reported last year while Jenkins and Gadot were negotiating their deals for the sequel that the actress refused to sign on for Wonder Woman 2 unless Warner Bros. cut ties with Brett Ratner’s production company RatPac for the film. (Ratner was accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women, including X-Men: The Last Stand’s Ellen Page.)

(2) THE WRITING BOAT IS OPEN FOR BOARDING: Dan Wells from the Writing Excuses podcast announced that applications are open for their 2018 Writing Excuses Retreat Scholarship:

The sixth annual Writing Excuses Workshop and Retreat makes a triumphant return to the Caribbean Sea! We begin in Houston, TX, on September 22; we’ll visit Roatan, Belize City, and Cozumel; and then we’ll end up back in Houston again on September 30. You can find all the other info, including our incredible guest list, here.

We are also delighted to report that we are offering more scholarships in 2018 than ever before: five! One of these is sponsored by the hosts of Writing Excuses, one by our amazing patrons on Patreon, and three (3) by our incredibly awesome alumni. They’ve been on the retreat (sometimes more than once), they love it, and they want to share it with as many people as possible.

As always, our scholarships come in two categories: three Out of Excuses Scholarships, awarded to those in financial need, and two Carl Brandon Society Scholarships, awarded to writers of color. Both categories have introduced us to some incredible writers in the past, and we can’t wait to see who we get to meet this year. Share this post with everyone you know, read the rules carefully, and apply!

Workshop presenters announced thus far include Amal El-Mohtar, Piper Drake, Maurice Broaddus, Kathy Chung, K Tempest Bradford, Valynne E Maetani, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler.

(3) I SEE YOU SHIVER WITH ANTICI

(4) FURY STILL TO BE UNLEASHED. On an update to the Kickstarter for the Hath No Fury anthology of fantasy, science fiction, and urban fantasy tales featuring lead characters inspired by women from literature, history, and film, editor Melanie R. Meadors announced that Outland Entertainment has committed to complete the anthology after the original publisher, Ragnarok Publications, shut down:

The good news is that Outland Entertainment has absorbed all the rights to Ragnarok’s anthologies. The books will continue to be in print, and Hath No Fury will be published as well. The files for the books are currently being processed so that they have the copyright and logo info updated, and Hath No Fury is being sent to the printer. There has been a super long delay with that, and Outland wants you to know they are really sorry about that. The money Ragnarok received for this Kickstarter had been used for other business expenses by Ragnarok, and so Outland had to figure things out in order to get backer rewards paid for out of their own pocket. The money to pay for all printing expenses and shipping, etc for the Kickstarter backers is now earmarked and ready to go, however, and the only delay right now is with printing – in order for printing to be done as efficiently as possible, Outland is doing a batch printing order with another project, and they just had to wait for that to finish up in order to submit the job.

I know you folks have been itching to get your hands on the books, and communications have been sparse. I apologize for that. Outland wanted to be sure to try to get accurate information out there instead of giving a lot of false starts and dates based on hopes. I don’t have an exact date yet (the head of the other project’s mother just passed away, so as soon as he’s back to work, I can get more details on that), but it WILL be this spring, and the money for the printing and processing IS earmarked and will not be going anywhere. I’m really grateful to Outland for helping to make all this happen, especially for absorbing such a huge cost to them for fulfilling the Kickstarter. More details are forthcoming as far as what is shipping when, and when folks can expect to get surveys. Again, I apologize for the delays and the gaps in communication, but going forward we should see some real progress.

The Kickstarter had more than doubled its $14,500 goal, receiving $32,047 in pledges.

(5) KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY MAUSOLEUM. Tina Romero, daughter of the grand master of zombie horror George A. Romero, will be directing zombie movie Queens Of The Dead, according to ScienceFiction.com:

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as it now looks like Tina Romero is going to be directing a new feature film titled Queens of the Dead. With George A. Romero creating the modern zombie and his son Cameron busy at work with Rise of the Living Dead, it seems like the undead are becoming a family affair. Tina had previously announced that she was working on a new horror web-series with Tom Savini but now that partnership will also have a new movie as well.

There is no news if this movie will be part of the Night of the Living Dead universe or set in her own world and will just be paying tribute to her father’s work with the title.

As to what the movie will be about and what inspired her to do it?

“Queens of the Dead is a fusion of two huge parts of my world: zombies and Gay nightlife. It’s a tribute to my father as well as my entrée into the genre he grandfathered. I can’t say too much yet, but what I can tell you is that this film will have all the hallmarks of a George A. Romero classic: farce, politics, heroes, assholes, and most importantly, herds of silly and slow-moving walkers that you can’t help but love. But I’m doing it Tina-style, and bringing the glitter, choreography, queers & queens.”

Basically, it boils down to showing us “the zombie apocalypse, seen through the eyes of the patrons at a drag nightclub.” Now, that is an idea which hasn’t been done before and could prove to be full of humor and heart.

(6) DARKNESS FALLS. All 1,225 Episodes of vintage TV series Dark Shadows have been released on Amazon Prime Streaming, says Bloody Disgusting:

Depicting the lives, loves, trials and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinsport, Maine, where a number of supernatural occurrences take place, the American gothic television series “Dark Shadows” aired from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971 on ABC. The show ran for five years, delivering a staggering 1,225 episodes.

As of this week, you can stream EVERY episode through Amazon Prime US & UK!

The Wikipedia entry for the cult series offers this description:

The series became hugely popular when vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) appeared ten months into its run. Dark Shadows also featured ghosts, werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, and a parallel universe. A small company of actors each played many roles; as actors came and went, some characters were played by more than one actor.

Dark Shadows was distinguished by its vividly melodramatic performances, atmospheric interiors, memorable storylines, numerous dramatic plot twists, adventurous music score, broad cosmos of characters and heroic adventures.

(7) SETTING PRIORITIES. The NASA History Office came up with this gem right before they turned out the lights:

(8) GOODNIGHT EARTH. In a lengthy piece, “What Happens to Astronauts During a Government Shutdown?“, The Atlantic verifies that the astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) won’t be completely abandoned:

As the wheels of the U.S. government ground to a halt Friday at midnight, thousands of federal employees prepared to face days or weeks without work or pay until their offices reopened.

Some employees will continue working through the government shutdown, however, including the three with the longest commute: NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Joseph Acaba, and Scott Tingle. Despite the political tussle that closed most of the government on Saturday, the American part of the International Space Station remains open for business. Mission-control staff, considered “essential” personnel, will keep working, too, to support the astronauts.

Phew. And, well, obviously! After all, NASA can’t exactly press pause on the work of keeping humans alive in microgravity 200 miles above Earth, even if Congress missed the deadline for the government running out of money.

“To protect the life of the crew as well as the assets themselves, we would continue to support planned operations of the ISS during any funding hiatus,” states a NASA plan, published in November, that outlines protocols for a potential government shutdown.

(9) HOUSTON, CAN YOU READ ME? Former ISS Commander Chris Hadfield reminisces about the last time the lights went out:

(10) QUICK, WHILE THEY’RE NOT LOOKING.

(11) SAY, ARE YOU RELATED TO…? Author and Filer Laura Resnick posted a diary of an unnamed convention where she was a guest, exposing the sordid truth concealed behind the glamorous myths about a midlist writer’s life. Here’s a spine-tingling excerpt:

At dinner, am required to sit at assigned table and be available to interested attendees.

Overhear attendees say, “All the good seats are taken, I guess we’ll have to sit here,” a moment before they sit down at my table.

Table gradually fills up with disappointed attendees who had hoped to sit with someone better than me at this meal.

No one at table sits next to me. The chairs are empty on either side of me. I suggest someone might like to sit closer to me. No response.

Nearest person on left asks me, “Are you any relation to Mike Resnick, the science fiction writer?”

I respond, “Yes, he’s my dad.”

Ten minutes later, nearest person on right asks me, “Are you any relation to Mike Resnick?”

(Old man will enjoy this. Must make sure he never finds out.)

Otherwise, not much said to me throughout meal.

(12) A FUTURE INFORMED BY BLACKNESS. Mic, a digital news media site, discusses revolutionary Afrofuturistic elements in “Black Panther isn’t just another Marvel movie – it’s a vision of a future led by blackness.”

Wakanda is more than just a fun spectacle; it represents something much more magnificent and powerful – a version of Africa unaffected by the external world, one that was allowed to pursue its own march toward spectacular progress.

When the most recent trailer for the movie was released in October, people weren’t just excited, they were jubilant. Now, it’s an event pretty much every time there’s a new Marvel movie but – no disrespect to Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, etc. – those blockbusters don’t normally have an entire culture of people impatiently awaiting their release. So what makes Black Panther especially noteworthy?

The secret sauce of Marvel’s Black Panther is Afrofuturism – an arts form that combines science fiction with black culture to create a future informed by blackness. On its face, Black Panther masquerades as Marvel’s latest superhero flick. Dig deeper and you’ll find the movie’s true identity: an Africa-set, Afrofuturist film – made for black people, by black people – powered by a Disney budget.

(13) CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. New York native Frederick Joseph’s GoFundMe campaign to set up screening of Black Panther for children has gone viral, says ABC News.

Joseph knew he wanted to give back to his community in some way and with the highly-anticipated Black Panther hitting theaters next month, he decided to try and raise funds to send a few hundred kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem for free.

But what has happened over the last few days since his GoFundMe page launched is something straight out of the pages of Marvel Comics.

Joseph’s original goal of $10,000 has been well surpassed and now stands at around $25,000 and climbing. More than 500 people have donated. The campaign also boasts support from Chelsea Clinton, J.J. Abrams and ESPN’s Jamele Hill.

After seeing his goals exceeded so quickly and enthusiastically, Josephs issued the #BlackPantherChallenge:

… start a @gofundme to buy tickets for kids in your city to see Black Panther. If you’re a teacher, buy tickets for your entire classroom. If you’re a coach, take your team. If you’re a community leader, do some organizing and get the kids and parents in your community to the theater. 10 campaigns that answer the #BlackPantherChallenge will receive a $100 donation from GoFundMe.

Comicbook.com reports that rapper Snoop Dogg has announced that he will fund one of the NYC screenings and a screening for kids in Los Angeles, as well as donating funds to Joseph’s GoFundMe campaign.

Joseph’s GoFundMe now stands at $42,642 of $10,000 goal.

(14) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

(15) FINALLY NAMING NAMES. Compulsive list-maker and Filer James Davis Nicoll has made the first in a new series of posts over at Tor.com, Fighting Erasure: Women SF Writers of the 1970s, A Through F.

You may have been annoyed by recurrent comments from a certain surprisingly flammable Waterloo-region reviewer. He complains about the erasure from SF memory of women writing SF back in the 1970s – but has that reviewer ever bother to name names? Suggest books? I think not. It is time to confront the erasure directly. Forward! Excelsior!

In an attempt to keep this list to a manageable length, I will focus on women authors who first published in the 1970s. That means skipping some significant authors who were already active at the time. I also reserve the right to cheat a bit by including a few works published after the 1970s. I am also going to break this list into several installments, beginning with A through F. Which should tell you just how many women have been erased. Whole binders full of women.

(16) SO THAT’S WHAT’S UNDER THERE. In a comment on File770, RedWombat (aka Ursula Vernon) says:

I went through what I called an “objectified Scotsman” phase about two months ago. A very specific, very silly genre, mostly tied to kilts, existence thereof, and what may or may not be worn underneath them.

You have to be absolutely in it for the romance, there is no comedy of manners, and they run INTENSELY formulaic (and I say this as one who respects romance enormously as a genre, couldn’t write it, and believe it deserves an immense amount of respect) but they are hella fun for comfort reads.

Structure goes as follows:

Act One: Arranged Marriage
HIM: I hate the English.
HER: Goddamn.

Act Two: Love
HIM: I still hate the English, but this one’s mine.
HER: Hot damn!

Act Three: The Clans Go To War
HIM: Let’s kill those other English!
HER: Oh, damn.

(17) THE TOR BOYCOTT HAS SUCCEEDED.

(18) NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT. Angered by what he apparently perceived to be too many “girl cooties” ruining his childhood in The Last Jedi, a Mens’ Rights Activist released last week a version of the 152-minute movie called “The Last Jedi De-Feminized Fanedit”, with the female characters almost completely excised. The resulting movie is (wait for it…) 46 minutes long. Dorkly’s Tristan Cooper takes one for the team and reports on the result.

I know. Part of you kind of wants to see this tragic, insecure shitshow. Don’t worry, you don’t have to scrub through the sketchier side of the internet just to satisfy your morbid curiosity – I’ve already done that for you. I watched the De-Feminized Fanedit of The Last Jedi, and I can tell you with authority that it’s even worse than you think…

In response, Twitter user Logan James released his own gender-edited films:

https://twitter.com/LoganJames/status/953750374804021250

https://twitter.com/LoganJames/status/954134191062601729

(19) MOTOR CITY COMIC MADNESS. SFF Author Saladin Ahmed has a new comic book, Abbott, debuting on January 24, set in 1972 Detroit. The Detroit Free Press gives us the lowdown:

Whether she’s arriving at a crime scene, standing up to her boss or just listening at home to John Coltrane albums, Elena Abbott is cool.

So cool that the fictional newspaper reporter is the title character of a new comic book series set in 1972’s “two Detroits: one white, one black” – a place where “the former would rather leave the city than truly share it with the latter.”

(20) BUT WAIT UNTIL AFTER THEIR BEDTIME. I’m Going to Outer Space by Timothy Young is a picture book for your little SF lover – and for the adults who will delight in spotting the Enterprise, a Space:1999 Eagle, and the Jupiter-Two among the spacecraft in the illustrations, and Bender, Robby, “the Robot”, Daleks, Maria, and many other old friends among the robots in the illustrations. An Amazon reviewer describes it as “the Where’s Waldo? for science fiction fans”.

(21) THAT’LL TAKE THE WIND OUT OF YOUR CAPE.

(22) FOLLOWING IN HIS FATHER’S STARSTEPS. Director Duncan Jones, whose film Moon won a Hugo Award in 2010, has produced another science-fiction movie Mute, which will debut on Netflix on February 23. Jones is better known in some quarters as the son of The Man Who Fell to Earth, David Bowie.

 [Thanks to Andrew, Bonnie McDaniel, Chris M., Cora Buhlert, Hampus Eckerman, James Davis Nicoll, lauowolf, Laura Resnick, Lee Billings, Mark-kitteh, Paul Weimer, RedWombat, Robin A. Reid, and ULTRAGOTHA for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 Contributing Editor of the Day JJ.]