Celebrate Your Geekdom
Duncan Lacroix (Murtagh) is a native of Welling in Kent, South East Greater London. His notable screen credits include HBO’s “Game of Thrones” Season 2, “VIKINGS” and Sky Television’s Series ‘Primeval.’ Lacroix is also passionate about theater acting. His credits include Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” “The Merry Wives of Windsor” and “Macbeth.”
From OUTLANDER:
New addition to the “Outlander” Clan today.
We are pleased to announce that Scotsman Graham McTavish will join the cast of Outlander as Dougal MacKenzie, the War Chieftain of Clan MacKenzie, secret supporter of the rebel cause against the British, and uncle to Jamie Fraser.
Graham McTavish (Dougal MacKenzie) is a familiar face in the film and television world, starring in titles such as “Rambo,” “24,” and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” He has also appeared on stage in multiple leading roles in prestigious UK theaters and has performed voices for animated films like “Dante’s Inferno,” “Wolverine and the X-Men,” and “The Avengers”.
More news: Colum MacKenzie has also been cast. Scottish native Gary Lewis will tackle the role of the MacKenzie Laird, clan leader, and maternal uncle of Jamie Fraser.
Gary Lewis (Colum MacKenzie) is no stranger to show business either. He is known for high profile roles in “Billy Elliot” and “Gangs of New York.” His most recent work includes “Libertador,” “The Strange Case of Wilhelm Reich,” and the acclaimed BBC One drama “Case Histories.”
From STARZ:
You asked for casting news. We have just that:
Tobias Menzies will take on the dual roles of Frank Randall and Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall in the anticipated new Outlander series. Frank Randall is Claire’s 20th century husband and a professional historian with a deep interest in the 18th century and his own genealogy. Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall is Frank’s ancestor from the 18th century. A Captain in the English Army posted in Scotland during a time when rebellion was rife.
SHARE the news with your friends! #CantWaitForOutlander
Meet Tobias Menzies (Frank/”Black Jack” Randall):Menzies is best recognized for his roles in “Rome” and Casino Royale. He was seen most recently as Edmure Tully in HBO’s “Game of Thrones”. He is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
From Diana Gabaldon:
IT’S OFFICIAL!
SAM HEUGHAN CAST AS JAMIE FRASER IN STARZ & SONY PICTURES TV’S “OUTLANDER”
New Original Series Based on Diana Gabaldon’s International Best-Selling Novels
From “Battlestar Galactica” Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore
Beverly Hills, Calif., July 9, 2013 – Starz in association with Sony Pictures Television has announced today that Sam Heughan will play the role of Jamie Fraser in the original series “Outlander,” adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books, which will premiere on STARZ in 2014. The chivalrous young Scottish warrior, Jamie Fraser, has been adored worldwide by fans of the seven-book series that has sold more than 20 million copies and has graced the New York Times best-sellers list six times.
Diana Gabaldon said, “Oh. My. God. That man is a Scot to the bone and Jamie Fraser to the heart. Having seen Sam Heughan not just act, but be Jamie, I feel immensely grateful to the production team for their painstaking attention to the soul of the story and c
haracters.”
“From the very beginning, I knew the part of Jamie Fraser would be difficult to cast,” said Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore. “I had no one in mind for the part. I knew that someone would just come into the audition and be Jamie Fraser. And that’s what Sam did.”
In “Outlander,” Jamie Fraser strikes up a passionate affair with Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743. Armed with sheer grit and enduring strength, he is a strapping young Scottish clan lord with a complicated past and a disarming sense of humor. He is intelligent, principled, and, by 18th century standards, educated and worldly, with a tenderness and compassion that stands out in contrast to his contemporaries. A natural leader of men, he has no political ambitions or desire for battlefield glories. Instead, he wishes to remove the price on his head and return to his family’s ancestral farm.
Sam Heughan is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, he was a 2003 nominee for the Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Performance for his work in the program. Last year, he originated the role of Batman in the DC/Warner Brothers and Waterlane production of “Batman Live,” an international tour which opened at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles and went on to tour in South America and throughout Europe. In 2010, he was nominated for a British Soap Award for “Villain of the Year” for his role as Scott Neilson in the BBC soap opera “Doctors.” He has also had roles in a range of television series including, “River City,” “Island at War,” “The Wild West,” “Midsomer Murders,” and, most recently, “Any Human Heart” as Lieutenant McStay. His TV movie credits include, “Breaking the Mould” for BBC Television, “A Very British Sex Scandal” for Channel 4 and “First Light” for BBC2. He was nominated for a “Grace award” for his performance as Prince Ashton, the son of Sir Roger Moore, in “A Princess for Christmas” for Hallmark Channel. His film credits include the short film Small Moments, and the feature films Alexander the Great from Macedonia and Emulsion. He will also be seen in the upcoming film Heart of Lightness. On stage, Heughan has performed at a variety of theatres in such productions as “King John,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Vortex,” “Hamlet,” “Macbeth,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and more. At the Royal Scottish Academy, Heughan starred in productions including “Crime & Punishment,” “The Seagull,” and “Prometheus Bound.” He is repped by United Talent Agency in the US and United Agents in the UK.
The series adaptation for “Outlander” will be written by Ronald D. Moore (“Battlestar Galactica,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation”). Ronald D. Moore and Jim Kohlberg are executive producers of “Outlander,” which is produced by Tall Ship Productions, Story Mining & Supply Company and Left Bank Pictures in association with Sony Pictures Television.
The series will begin filming in Scotland this fall.
“Outlander” Online
Facebook: www.facebook.com/outlandertvseries.starz
Twitter: @Outlander_Starz – join the conversation with#Outlander and #STARZ
The popular novel Outlander – TV Series is coming to a TV near you!
Today, STARZ and Sony Pictures Television announced plans for a new original series adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling books. Outlander is a grandiose tale of action, adventure, time travel, and romance. SHARE to spread this exciting news!
I can’t tell you how awesome this news is for fans of Diana Gabaldon’s series of books. A blend of history, time travel, magic, mythology and romance, OUTLANDER follows the adventures of nurse Claire Randall who finds herself bound to young Jamie Fraser after somehow traveling from 1946 to 1743. While I don’t care for romance novels in general, the main theme of the first two books is the Second Jacobite Uprising in Scotland that culminated in the battle of Culloden in 1745. A friend of mine who knew my family were Jacobites gave me the first book as a gift and I’ve been a fan ever since.
How could a card carrying geek like me like a ‘romance’ series? Well, how could I NOT love a series that was inspired by the Doctor Who episode “The Highlanders” in with The Doctor meets Jamie (played by actor Frazer Hinds), who went on to appear in more episodes than any other companion. Hopefully that will be enough geek cred to get skeptics to tune in along with the millions of fans who can’t wait for the premier.
Aluna, the Latin American superhero created by actress Paula Garces and her creative partner, Antonio Hernandez will be released as a trilogy starting with book one this Fall.
Aluna is the story of a young woman, taken from the New World by the Spaniards and raised as royalty in Spain during the 1500s. As if by fate, she is forced to travel back to the New World, only to discover that she has great powers that she must harness to defend her new homeland.
The creators tapped Seattle based Allegory to develop and publish the series.
“I’ve always been a fan of comic books but felt that strong female Latina leads were lacking, so along with my creative partner, Antonio Hernandez, we created Aluna. We’re so happy with how well the character has been received by fans playing the Aluna character in Heroes of Newerth that we can’t wait to release the first of three books this Fall” comments Paula Garces.
Allegory’s publishing imprint will develop the books and will eventually produce a portfolio of digital products and merchandise based on the title.
“We’ve wanted to create a compelling female heroine for two years now. A character who is strong and has a complex back story. When Paula and Tony shared the story of Aluna with us, we knew we needed to be apart of this franchise. This is a groundbreaking book and we feel honored to be apart of it” said Chad Smith, CEO of Allegory.
Dooma Wendschuh and Corey May, founders of sekretagent Productions, have been attached to write all three books. This writing duo is the creative force behind such popular game titles as Assassin’s Creed and Army of Two.
“This story is full of action, but it also has pretty epic romance elements. Aluna is a badass. She’s tough as nails given everything she’s been through. We’re going to help her find her softer side”, remarks Dooma Wendschuh.
Ibraim Roberson, whose recent credits include X-Men, Hellraiser and mostly recently, Max Brooks’s, The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, has been attached to create the art.
“Ibraim Roberson is just the right artist for Aluna. His work on The X-Men and Clive Barker’s Hellraiser has consistently demonstrated a pacing and organic style that is a perfect mesh to Dooma’s writing. Giving the adventures of Aluna a whole new level of realism, action, and drama. Plus, the artwork produced by Ibraim is going to be lush and beautiful and will perfectly capture the majesty of the old world” remarked Lee Koshe, Allegory’s Creative Director.
Additionally, S2 Games, the creators of the popular online game series, Heroes of Newerth have partnered with Paula Garces’ Further Lane Productions and Allegory to develop an ongoing portfolio of avatars for the Heroes of Newerth game based on the Aluna character. The first avatar, Stardust Aluna, was recently released by S2 games. The second avatar will be released at Comic Con International this July and will be followed by future avatars.
About Paula Garces
Paula Garces is well known as “Maria” from the hit 2011 film, “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas”, starring in all three installments of the Harold & Kumar franchise. Ms. Garces can been seen as Flora Hernandez in Marc Cherry’s new series “Devious Maids” on Lifetime network. Paula will also appear as Lea Marquez on the legendary soap, “All My Children,” premiering on Sunday June 23rd at 10pm on Hulu.com. On the small screen, Paula began her career on the daytime drama, “Guiding Light”, and later earned Alma Award nominations for her portrayal of Officer Tina Hallon on FX’s “The Shield”.
About Allegory
Allegory is a transmedia company engaged in several aspects of entertainment including publishing, children’s education, games, applications, television and digital platforms. Allegory employs some of the most talented artists, writers and developers in the entertainment and interactive industry. Allegory is headquartered in Seattle and maintains offices in New York and San Diego.
Allegory is committed to design driven experiences and exceptional storytelling with a purpose. For more information about Allegory, please visit www.allegorymedia.co.
About sekretagent Productions
sekretagent Productions creates and/or produces the characters, worlds and stories behind some of the best selling and most critically acclaimed filmed and interactive entertainment on Earth. In the business of imagining and producing new, original IP, sekretagent works with the world’s leading publishers, studios and corporations, providing content creation, screenwriting, interactive development and film /video production services in the motion picture, video game and advertising industries. For more information about sekretagents Productions, please visit www.sekretagents.com.
About S2 Games
S2 Games is a game publisher and developer with a mission to identify, develop, evolve and unleash the future of online multiplayer games. Since its inception in 2003, S2 has been focused on driving innovation into the global online game space, through identifying and solving industry issues, listening closely to its passionate gamer base and incorporating features that gamers truly want.
Active in sponsoring and helping drive many global tournaments for their flagship title Heroes of Newerth, S2 is focused on providing the best online multiplayer gaming experience and opportunities for its fans to shine. For more information about S2, please visit www.s2games.com.
from ARCANA Comics:
Arcana Comics is thrilled to announce a special partnership with Award Winning Actor, Director, and Producer, Bill Paxton (HATFIELDS & McCOYS, BIG LOVE, TITANIC), who is bringing us Seven Holes For Air, an engrossing and entertaining celebration of an iconic Western hero’s battle with forces beyond his control.
Written by John J. McLauchlin with art from Mick Reinman, 7 Holes for Air introduces us to Bob Rourke, the kind of man they don’t make anymore. He’s a tough son of a bitch; a fifty-year-old steelworker who smokes, drinks, and never complains, even when he’s in pain.
When Bob is facing the end, disease ravaging his body, he soldiers on at home, at work, and in an alternate Spaghetti Western reality in which his real-life antagonists become actual villains.
Now, Bob will stare down death the only way he knows how – with grit and determination – as he struggles against the ghosts of his past and the desire to leave something behind for his wife and daughter.
7 Holes for Air will debut at San Diego Comic Con 2013, and Bill Paxton will make a special appearance with some of the creative team on Thursday, July 18th at 2pm to sign copies of the book!
Ben Dobyns- Head of www.zombieorpheus.com
Q: Zombie Orpheus- There are a ton of webseries under that umbrella. Fill me in on the projects.
We’ve grown from a company creating a single webseries, JourneyQuest, to a cooperative of producers who work together to help everybody succeed.
JourneyQuest is the brainchild of Matt Vancil, a fantasy comedy set in the fictional world of Fartherall. Launched in 2010 under a new distribution model, the show was released for free online under a Creative Commons license. Fan contributions paid off all season one expenses in under a year, allowing us to launch a season two Kickstarter campaign that raised $114,000, an unprecedented amount for a web series at the time. Season two expanded the size of the world, introducing new characters, epic new locations, and a major leap in production values. Continuing the Fan Supported, Creator Distributed model originated in season one, season two saw Fran Kranz (Dollhouse, Cabin in the Woods) and Bob Sapp (Conan, The Longest Yard) join the Seattle cast.
In addition to JourneyQuest, ZOE produces a semi-weekly webseries entitled Rude Mechanical, which fictionalizes the backstory of our production company, allowing all of us to play warped mirror versions of ourselves as we keep the fans up to date on happenings at the company. Featuring a transdimensional traveler named Zoe Adastra, who brainwashes the members of Zombie Orpheus into believing that she founded and owns the company, the show is a unique blend of news and farce, like 30 Rock with 100% more aliens, academic adventurers, and off-the-wall sci-fi.
We also provide production resources and help co-produce several local shows, most notably &@, the literary id of the World Wide Web, which just premiered its most recent masterpiece, &@ Hamlet.
Beyond ZOE’s productions, our cooperative of shows has grown to include
Although each is produced independently, the ZOE collective promotes each others shows to the fan base, shares booths at conventions across North America, uses a common base of technology and a common cooperative philosophy, and operates FanSupported.net, a fulfillment resource that offers the best net return to producers for sales on the web. With the idea that equal cooperation can reduce costs, the group has been able to drop the cost of fulfillment below the amount it would cost for each producer to handle independently, putting those additional revenues back into more production.
Embracing crowdfunding and giving the fans the power to keep shows that they love alive, ZOE cooperative shows renewed so far for second (and third!) seasons by the fans include JourneyQuest, Chop Socky Boom, Standard Action, Transolar Galactica, Aidan 5, and Gamer Chick.
Q: What makes Zombie Orpheus different from shows on Hulu or cable TV?
Our shows are entirely ad-free. We focus on creating a phenomenal viewing experience for the fans, who show their support with contributions that far exceed what traditional advertising pays per thousand impressions.
Additionally, our shows are entirely owned by their creators. No third party exists who cancel them, empowered the fans to keep the shows they love alive. Our motto is No Studio, No Network, No Cancellation, which is our promise to the fans that we won’t put the fate of our shows into the hands of third parties. This gives the creators of each show an unprecedented freedom to produce with a unique and unfiltered voice, rather than attempting to appeal to a mass market.
Q: Journeyquest 2 City of the Dead just hit DVD April 24th. Can anyone pick this up and follow what’s going on?
Yes. We designed the season carefully to stand on its own, although people familiar with the first season will certainly have more of an investment in the characters and ongoing story. We highly encourage people to check out Season One for free online.
Q: What was it like working with higher profile people like MMA fighter Bob Sapp and Cabin in the Woods star Fran Katz?
Bob and Fran are both collaborative and giving professionals. Working on set with them was a joy. Fran especially, with his massive television experience, was able to lead by example and teach us a ton about how to keep the filmmaking process fun and cooperative within the context of quickly paced shooting schedules.
Q: Why do you think the fan support for your projects has been so strong?
Support has been strong because we explicitly empower the fans to support content that they love. So many people were burned in the prior decade by the cancellations of beloved shows. We participated in the time and effort that fans put into saving doomed series like Firefly and Jericho and, from that experience, learned that there is no reasoning with studio and network executives. By putting the power to keep shows they love back into the hands of the fans, we show that we trust our fan base, that they do have the power to get an entire story told, and that the process can be mutual and collaborative, rather than run by top down decree. Also, we’re producing quality work with a unique and appealing vision. Our production values are outstanding for the budget level at which we work. We take the time and care to get the scripts right, to craft extraordinary performances, and to design and build immersive and believable worlds. And despite the fantastic genres in which we work, we keep everything grounded in accessible and honest human emotions and desires.
Q: What projects or developments should people pay attention to in the next 6 months.
We’ll soon be launching ZOE Phase II. In the works for over four years, this is the next step in crowdfunding and sustainable support. Taking the lessons we’ve learned from accepting direct fan contributions and through our four successful Kickstarter campaigns, we’ve created a support model that will allow us to remain in production constantly without becoming a financial hardship to our fans and supporters.
In conjunction with Phase II we’ll be launching a number of exciting new projects:
Q: What is the one geek related item you possess that you would fight 16K Bob Sapps for?
We wouldn’t fight Bob Sapp for anything. But we might stare sternly at him if he ate the last cookie at craft service. Or go make more cookies.
DVD and Blu-ray Disks, On-Demand Viewing, Digital Downloads and Soundtrack CDs are Now Available to Purchase on www.ProjectLondonMovie.com
Thanks to the support of 590 Kickstarter Backers, the independent, feature-length effects marvel Project London is now available to the world on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as through digital download and streaming on-demand, all through the Project London website. In addition, prospective Project London fans around the world can watch for free the first 90 seconds of the movie.
“The entire concept of Project London is enough to make anyone excited, from science-fiction fans to software engineers, from movie buffs to post-production artists, and it has,” said Phil McCoy, Project London Executive Producer and founder of Spiral Productions LLC. “An undertaking like this film wouldn’t be possible without a storyteller like Writer/Director Ian Hubert, the support of many talented Blender artists, the more than 250 worldwide volunteer artists, the craft people who joined our team, and, most notably, the fans who backed our fundraiser campaigns.”
The virtually no-budget, live-action science-fiction film features 774 vivid, intense visual effects and animations that help drive a compelling story about a boy battling with a moral dilemma in a present day sci-fi epic. Unique to the film’s production is the use of the open-source software, Blender, for the core of all animated visual effects in the film. As Jawbone.tv called it, Project London is likely one of the “most ambitious no-budget effects movie ever.”
Along with the recent and successful Kickstarter campaign, which made it possible for Project London to be released on disk and through download, other items from the Project London Universe are available on www.projectlondonmovie.com that include a soundtrack album, prequel novella and graphic novel.
PROJECT LONDON SYNOPSIS
This is a story about Nebraska Higgins plunging into a world of intrigue and struggle when the Joint Command kills his father, a hero known by his exosuit, Arizona. Seeing a prime opportunity, the London Underground, a rugged band of revolutionaries, recruits Nebraska to join the resistance against the Joint Command. Will Nebraska, who is dealing with the loss of his father, help the government and rat out his father’s associates or join their cause and work to put an end to a secret initiative sponsored by the military wing of the government? Earth’s fate depends on the potential in this young man’s heart.
After over a decade, the world-renowned, multi award-winning graphic novel series, Les Cités Obscures (The Obscure Cities) returns to the United States with The Leaning Girl, a classic story translated into English for the first time.
Writer Benoît Peeters and artist François Schuiten, the creative team behind The Obscure Cities series, have teamed up with US publisher Stephen Smith’s Alaxis Press to bring one of their most important stories, The Leaning Girl, to the English-speaking audience for the first time.
Smith, a longtime fan of the series and of the creators, licensed the rights to the entire series from Casterman Editions, Belgium, owners of the classic international comic series TinTin, and publisher of Les Cités Obscures since the debut volume, Les Murailles de Samaris (The Great Walls of Samaris) in 1987. He then proceeded to translate the volume himself.
“I have been surrounded by the very best in commercial and fine art throughout my career,” Smith said. “But after seeing the film, HUGO, I realized it was important to bring the incredible European comic strip art form to the US and to the English-speaking public.”
Smith launched a Kickstarter campaign on Monday evening, May 23rd, with the goal of raising $30,000 in 45 days. In his first four days, the campaign was at $12,500, just $2500 away from the halfway mark.
“This is my opportunity to share these great stories and beautiful art with the American market,” Smith added.
When the earlier volumes were published in English, the graphic novel format was still considered very much a lowbrow medium relegated to comic book shops. Following the successes of Pulitzer prize winner, Maus, by Art Spiegelman, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, the graphic novel has become an accepted literary form. The Obscure Cities is an excellent almost Kafka-esque storytelling by internationally acclaimed author and biographer, Benoît Peeters, and stunning visuals by François Schuiten, whose visual sensibilities contributed to the looks of such films as Taxandria, The Perils of Gwendoline, The Golden Compass and the 2012 science fiction masterpiece, Mars et Avril.
The Leaning Girl is the first graphic novel to be produced under Smith’s new imprint, Alaxis Press and will release in October 2013.
For more information, visit www.theobscurecities.com and www.facebook.com/alaxispress
The Kickstarter link is:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/51096880/the-leaning-girl-translated-graphic-novel-project
Witness The Beginning of The Three Thousand Year War Of Vampire Hunter D In This Exciting Novel By Famed Horror/Sci-fi Author Hideyuki Kikuchi
VIZ Media’s Haikasoru literary imprint delivers a bloodthirsty new chapter of the legendary Vampire Hunter D saga with the North American release of NOBLE V: GREYLANCER, now available in stores. The new fantasy novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi, carries an MSRP of $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN. The release also includes a bonus novelette titled, “An Irreplaceable Existence.” An eBook edition is also available for the Amazon Kindle, Apple’s iBooks Store, and the Barnes & Noble’s Nook Books Store.
Haikasoru publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences, and is the first imprint based in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction and fantasy in translation.
Internationally acclaimed writer, Hideyuki Kikuchi, author and creator of the famed novel series, Vampire Hunter D, delves into the past with his latest addition, NOBLE V: GREYLANCER, It is the year 7000 by Noble reckoning, and the vampire rulers of the world have grown complacent. When the Outer Space Beings (OSBs) invade, the Noble warrior Greylancer must pit his skills and magic against the technology of the OSBs, quash an anti-Noble rebellion, and, when he is critically injured, turn to mere humans for help. The Three Thousand Year War of Vampire Hunter D begins here!
“Hideyuki Kikuchi is one of Japan’s top horror and science fiction authors in the proud tradition of Robert Bloch, Fritz Leiber, H.P. Lovecraft, and Stephen King. His Vampire Hunter D setting has been attracting fans in the U.S. for more than twenty years,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru’s editor. “NOBLE V: GREYLANCER reveals the mysterious history of the Nobility and follows the exploits of the powerful Noble warrior Greylancer as pushes his own immortality to the limit. Kikuchi is an ardent fan of many classic horror tropes, and his new novel exquisitely combines the danger and violence of traditional literary vampires with the nobility and dark attraction of modern vampire iconography.”
Hideyuki Kikuchi was born in 1949 in Chiba, Japan and, inspired by the work of writers such as H. P. Lovecraft, began writing supernatural fiction in the early 1980s. His first novel, Demon City Shinjuku, debuted in 1982. Horror films, most notably 1958’s The Horror of Dracula, had a tremendous impact on Kikuchi and inspired him to create the legendary Vampire Hunter D series, which has spawned more than 17 novels and a host of novellas and related short stories. One of the world’s most prolific authors, Kikuchi has published over three hundred books and still produces multiple novels per year. He has enjoyed tremendous international success as a novelist and much of his work has been also been adapted into manga and anime, including Vampire Hunter D. Wicked City, A Wind Named Amnesia, and Dark Wars: The Tale of Meiji Dracula.
For more information on NOBLE V: GREYLANCER and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit the dedicated website at www.haikasoru.com.