Apocalyptic Prophecy and Frenetic Action Reach a Stunning Climax in the Final Chapter of “20th Century Boys” Film Trilogy

from VIZ Media:

VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, concludes the epic sci-fi film trilogy based on Naoki Urasawa’s acclaimed manga, 20th Century Boys, with the release of the final film, 20th Century Boys 3: Redemption, on DVD on June 1st. The film, which will be distributed by VIZ Media in North America, will carry an MSRP of $24.92 U.S. / $35.99 CAN.

VIZ Pictures celebrates the release with a film screening of 20th Century Boys 3: Redemption for one-night-only at VIZ Cinema in San Francisco on Thursday, May 20th at 7:00pm. VIZ Cinema is the nation’s only movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and is located at 1746 Post St., in the heart of the city’s Japan-town. Tickets to attend the movie-only are: $10.00; or attend the film and take home the brand new DVD, a 20th Century Boys poster, and more for only $25.00. Trailers and more details are available at: vizcinema.com.

Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi and presented in partnership with Nippon Television, the 20th Century Boys saga begins in 1969 when a young boy named Kenji and his friends write “The Book of Prophecy.” In the book, they write about a future where they fight against an evil organization trying to take over the world and bring about Doomsday. Years later in 1997, a mysterious cult being led by a man only known as “Friend” has emerged and gained strong influence over society. A series of catastrophic events begin to occur, mirroring the prophecies made up by the young Kenji.

In the final film, the year is Friend Era Year 3 (2017 A.D.) and the World President, Friend, rules humanity. After a deadly virus ravages Tokyo, a wall is built around the city and inhabitants’ lives have been severely restricted. Friend tells everyone that on August 20th, aliens will destroy mankind and only those who believe in him will be saved. But a movement to stop Friend is in motion. Is protagonist Kenji really still alive? What is Friend’s plan for August 20th? Will the mystery behind the true identity of Friend be uncovered? All of the prophecies, schemes and plans will be finally revealed in the saga’s exciting concluding chapter.

“Fateful prophecies reach an exciting climax in the final chapter of the 20th Century Boys saga,” says Seiji Horibuchi, President and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “Our film screening on May 20th at VIZ Cinema will give fans a special opportunity to catch all the frenetic action on the big screen, and we invite audiences to explore all of the 20th Century Boys films as well as the manga series that inspired them. There is also a brief recap of previous stories on the very beginning of the movie, so people who haven’t watched Chapters 1 and 2 can catch up on the story.”

The 20th Century Boys trilogy is based on the critically-acclaimed manga series created by Naoki Urasawa (also published by VIZ Media, rated “T+” for Older Teens) and was a national phenomenon in Japan, selling over 24 million copies.

For more information on 20th Century Boys or other VIZ Pictures titles, please visit viz-pictures.com.

Geek Reading with Cory Doctorow: “For the Win”

from EFF:

Hear blogger and sci-fi author Cory Doctorow read from his new novel, For the Win, at EFF’s Geek Reading fundraiser on Wednesday evening in San Francisco. This is Doctorow’s first visit to the Bay Area in over a year, so don’t miss an opportunity to support EFF and hear him read from his ground-breaking new work. For the Win features a sprawling international cast of young characters in a dynamic depiction of the global economy and the meteoric rise and power of the online gaming community.

Geek Reading with Cory Doctorow: For the Win
Date: Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Time: 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Address: 111 Minna St. @ 2nd, San Francisco, CA 94105

Admission is $25 in advance and $30 at the door. No one turned away for lack of funds. Must be 21 or older to attend.

For more about the Geek Reading with Cory Doctorow: Calendar

News that Squishes: Squishable Narwhals, Pandas and Octopuses!

from Squishable:

Hey Folks!

If you wanted to celebrate spring by laying out on a beach, you wouldn’t want that beach to be covered with cold, icy news! No indeed! You’d want it to be covered in warm, soft, sandy, Squishy News! And here it is!

1) New Squishables! Wooooo!

Squishable Narwhal — A horn on a whale! It just makes sense! I mean, can you imagine how silly that horn would look on a horse? Us neither! Stick it on a whale where it belongs. (And yes, we know it’s a tooth).

Squishable Breast Cancer Research Piggy — 10% of the cost for this lovely rosy piggy goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to help find a cure! Support the ladies in your life and their excellent assets!

2) New Squishable Understudies!

Llama Understudy — Who doesn’t need a llama in their life! They’re larger than frogs! And if you didn’t get that reference, you should youtube the phrase “monty python llama sketch” right away!

Chipmunk Understudy — A rodent that won’t burst your eardrums with high-pitched singing!

Eco Elephant Understudy — An Elephant with the soul of an artist and the skin of an ecologist! And the face of an… elephant. That’s all I got.

Eco Sting-ray Understudy — His adorability is matched only by his love for the planet. No, seriously, organic materials. Nifty!

3) Pandas and Octopuses are back in stock! Thank goodness, perhaps now the crowd of protesters outside our window will go home!

4) Squishable Facebook Icons — Our hardworking intern has gone without sleep for weeks to bring you the Most Freakishly Adorable Facebook Icons Ever. Show your squishy pride!

And incidentally, we release other random stuff like coupons and previews on Facebook from time to time. You say you haven’t checked it out yet? Well you should! You already have? Well… good!

5) Oodles of thanks to everyone who sent in a picture for the picture gallery to help support Dress For Success! A confident lady is a very cool thing! And from now until the end of June, for every picture of you and your Squishy you send in, we’ll be donating a dollar to GirlStart to empower girls in math, science and technology. Let your Squishy be a diva! Send ’em to HugMe@Squishable.com! Woo!

Thanks folks!

Zoe and Aaron
Squishable.com

J!NX: 72 hour sale — 25% off all products!

from J!NX:

New J!NX Classics Tee: Plasmids
Living among the citizens of Rapture can get a little intimidating. All those Big Daddies and Little Sisters running around with their fancypants genetic modifications can make you feel down and depressed. J!NX has got the cure for you, with J!NX Brand Plasmids! Now you, too, can feel like part of the family. Don’t settle for those “other” brands. J!NX Brand Plasmids are the only ones that come with a guarantee to have no horrible disfiguring side effects. Natch!

72-Hour Sale!
For a limited time, you can get 25% off of your entire order when you enter the promotional code: MINIBOSS. Now is the perfect chance to snap up those new IDentity tees you’ve been eyeing! Sale ends Wednesday (11:59pm EDT), so quit draggin’ them heels!

Your Dr. Grordbort’s VIP Newsletter is here!

from Weta:

Nandy? Seriously!
The Nandy Duke, discovered on Venus in 1919 by discredited biologist Sir Hubert Remington Nandy is famed for its vivid pink skin pigment and delicately subtle patterning. 50 numbered specimens now available to purchase on a first come, first served basis. The Nandy Duke will take pride of place on the wall next to your Blue Sacked Pillock. And don’t forget to leave room for more fantastical creepy-crawlies from Venus and its inhospitable environs. Order yours here!

Aliens make Ray Weaponry!!
The May installment of Dr. Grordbort’s Raygun Shootout has started with a revelation. Aliens designing state-of-the-art ray weaponry! Who knew?! Voting is already underway — if you haven’t entered your design — do so immediately! Don’t forget, you will be in the run to win a trip to New Zealand and a chance to meet Richard Taylor and Greg Broadmore at Weta Workshop. And on the way there, you can win spot prizes and monthly prizes! Even if you are quite happy to render artwork in the traditional two dimensions, you can always vote for the creations of your betters! Hazzaah!

Dr. Grordbort’s word of the day: Concealment
Whether it be on a strip of rocky shore in Sussex or mountain mud pool on Venus, the summer season makes concealment a top-of-mind concern. Anyone who’s tried propping an Unnatural Selector (or even a relatively minute Goliathon 83) in their bathing britches will appreciate the need for lighter and smaller sidearms when the jacket comes off, the cravat is loosened and the trousers rolled up for leisurely sun-smitten frolics. You may recall, we have just such a contraption available to the discerning seaside sophisticate — the nicely rounded and thoroughly femalised Victorious Mongoose Concealable Ray Pistol. It’s all in the name, really, a tiny, easily hidden firearm with a nasty bite. Quite aside from that — it’s also an absolutely beautiful piece of hardware in a protective case of embossed leather and silk lining. Comes highly recommended by stout sportsmen and scantily clad minxes across the solar system. Get yours promptly!

No more rayguns strewn across the coffee table!
We are about to receive in our many warehouses the first shipment of Dr. Grordbort’s Universal Gun Stand! This long-awaited accessoire will allow you to line up any of Dr. Grordbort’s full size handguns, including the light-weight Righteous Bison, the shiny Pearce 75, the hefty Goliathon 83, the sleek F.M.O.M., the snub-nosed ManMelter 3600zx and the ickle Victorious Mongoose with little effort and a minimum of space required. It is arguably a purchase decision for which no brain power is actually required… So send your wife or manservant to get one now!

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Travis Gordon on “Spellfury” — A Comedic Fantasy Adventure


(Teaser Clip of Spellfury, Episode 1)

KoldCast.tv is an online network that offers dozens of original series created exclusively for the web in a multitude of genres. One of those web series is a fantasy comedy called Spellfury. I recently offered up my opinion of the show on KoldCast’s blog (you can read it by clicking here). To sum it up, Spellfury is funny and entertaining, and succeeds where many previous attempts at mixing comedy and fantasy failed.

I recently spoke with creator Travis Gordon about his inspiration as a filmmaker and what influenced his creation of Spellfury.

ÜberSciFiGeek (ÜSFG) Who were your influences in filmmaking?

Travis Gordon (TG) George Lucas. Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are my favorite three films.

(ÜSFG) Did you always plan on doing Spellfury as a web series?

(TG) We’d worked for about 6 years on a feature-length film called Mass Stupidity that we’re submitting to festivals now so I had lived with this heavy burden of carrying this huge film from script to post production and I told myself I wouldn’t be doing another film for a long while so I decided I wanted to do something easier. A web series provides more freedom for a writer, a film is very structured, a series can be a little looser, I do have the characters and story arcs worked out for the show for a few seasons but a web series allows the characters to grow and take on a life of their own. I can watch an actor play the character and go, oh, that was interesting, I’d love to see more of that and try and work it into the storyline. There’s a lot more collaboration with the actors, I have more flexibility in the storytelling, I’m enjoying that.

(ÜSFG) You have several other projects that have gotten some acclaim. Tell us a little bit about them.

(TG) We received a Bronze in Dramatic Shorts at The Houston International Worldfest Film Festival in 2008, it was very exciting for all of us, it was the first time we had won an international award for filmmaking. It was for a sci-fi short called Revelation about a woman struggling with her predetermined destiny, it also starred Julie O’Halloran, Robbie Drebitt and Penu Chalykoff from Spellfury and was shot entirely in front of greenscreens.

(ÜSFG) When can we expect more episodes of Spellfury?

(TG) I’m going to wrap up episode 9-12 in the next few months and that will be the end of season one. After that I might take a little break and make a DVD with extras, commentaries and lots of behind the scenes stuff and then start into season 2.

(ÜSFG) What are your hopes for the future of Spellfury?

(TG) My hopes are we can grow our audience and actually make a profit on the show in season 2. My dream is that the show can be sustainable enough that I can actually start to pay the actors and crew for their hard work, they’ve been so supportive of the show from day one! That’s the trouble with making a web series, there isn’t enough money coming in to pay for the episodes. I think things will change soon though. More and more people are watching video online nowadays, the advertising dollars are shifting from television to online.

(ÜSFG) For anyone watching Spellfury, what’s the one thing you most want them to take away from the experience?

(TG) I want them to think “wow, that was fun”.

You can watch Spellfury on the official website and at KoldCast, then check out these other links:

Spellfury Official Website
Spellfury on KoldCast
Spellfury on Facebook
Spellfury on Twitter
Travis Gordon on Twitter
Travis Gordon on Funny or Die

“Tunla” Teaser Trailer

Tunla the Series — Teaser Trailer from Tunla the Series on Vimeo.

Tunla is a new web series currently in production and set to premiere this fall. I had the privilege of being on set for the shoot of the pilot, so keep an eye out for some behind-the-scenes fun with the cast and crew. In the meantime, check out this teaser and get a first glimpse at the town of Tunla.

Now available from RiffTrax: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!

from RiffTrax:

Widely considered to be one of the five or six best Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire is a breath of fresh air for a series that desperately needed one. Casting aside the familiar tropes of the first three movies in favor of bold new innovations such as Quidditch, a sinister new faculty member and dragons, The Goblet of Fire leaves the viewer wanting more! And then continues for another hour and a half…

Get it here.

“Star Wars: In Concert” Tour Returns to North America!

from StarWars.com:

Star Wars: In Concert, the unique multi-media event featuring music from all six of John Williams’ epic Star Wars scores has returned to North America! This return kicked off on May 13, 2010 in Ft. Myers, Florida, the start of a 40-city leg of the worldwide tour that will include dates in the United States, Mexico and Canada. This leg concludes in London, Ontario on July 25. Over 350,000 Americans attended Star Wars: In Concert during its three-month inaugural 47-city North American tour last year, which Pollstar rated as the 9th biggest tour of 2009 in January.

Star Wars: In Concert also plays Orlando, Memphis, Baton Rouge, Bossier City (Louisiana), Wichita, El Paso, Tucson, San Diego, Las Vegas, Ontario (California), Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Fresno, Spokane, Nampa (Idaho), Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Regina, Green Bay, Des Moines, Moline, Madison, Milwaukee, St. Paul, Grand Rapids, Ft. Wayne, Washington DC, Raleigh, Uncaseville (Connecticut), and Hamilton (Ontario).

The tour returns to North America following a month in Europe with stops in Dublin, Liverpool, Glasgow, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon, Milan, Antwerp, Hamburg and the O2 Arena in London, where it began one year ago.

With live narration by Anthony Daniels (the actor who portrayed C-3PO in all six films), the production features a full symphony orchestra and choir, accompanied by specially edited footage from the films displayed on a three-story-tall, high-definition LED super-screen — one of the largest ever put on tour. The footage actually runs in sync with the live music to create a full multi-media, one-of-kind Star Wars experience.

“We’ve taken the key themes from the music and cut together all the images that fit with each theme, so you can really get a sense of how the music played into the images,” said George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars Saga. “The whole soundtrack is a testament to John Williams’ creativity and his extraordinary ability to enhance the emotional aspects of the films.”

“Creating the music for the Star Wars films has been an exciting and wonderful experience for me, and I therefore have derived particular pleasure in assembling a compendium of themes from all of the films to be presented in Star Wars: In Concert,” said Williams. “The editors at Lucasfilm have created original film montages to accompany each of the musical selections, and in the process, I believe that a singular and unique Star Wars experience has been born.”

“This event has been crafted to present Star Wars from many points of view; for the first time, the full dramatic sweep of Williams’ iconic scores can be heard performed live in one evening,” said Another Planet Touring Producer Spencer Churchill. “The show is a new way of experiencing the epic scope of the saga.”

Accompanying the concert is an exclusive exhibit of Star Wars costumes, props, artifacts, production artwork and specially created behind-the-scenes videos from the Lucasfilm Archives. Many of these pieces are leaving Skywalker Ranch for the first time ever. The exhibit features many classic fan favorite artifacts, as well as several new and never-before-seen items, including:

  • Full costumes for Jedi Masters Kit Fisto and Plo Koon will be on display.
  • For the first time ever, pages from John Williams’ original hand-written sheet music for Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace will be exhibited for the public.
  • Also on display will be various never-before-seen props from the films, including blasters and helmets from Coruscant, Tatooine and other iconic Star Wars locations.

For more information, please visit StarWarsInConcert.com.

What the critics are saying:

“Star Wars: In Concert is more a multi-media, sensory overload extravaganza, than a mere concert… the crowd was stoked from the get-go. Host Anthony Daniels had the crowd in the palm of his hand.” — Timothy Mangan, The Orange County Register

“Dazzling! It gives the audience a new way of experiencing the story, bringing cheers and a standing ovation from the audience.” — Scott Iwasaki, The Salt Lake City Deseret News

“The biggest revelation was John Williams’ still stirring, romantically inspired, emotionally satisfying, compelling and exciting score — one simple story, well told, elevated by the dynamic symphonic music that revolutionized the way films are scored.” — David Burger, Salt Lake City Tribune

“A 90-minute laser streaked, crashing-cymbals, living color extravaganza, made and approved by its originators.” — John Timpane, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Star Wars: In Concert is produced by Another Planet Touring in association with Lucasfilm Ltd. The production is directed and designed by Steve Cohen. Star Wars: In Concert had its world premiere at the O2 Arena in London on April 10 and 11, 2009.

Weta Product Update: NEW “District 9” Miniature Gun

from Weta:

District 9 Miniature Guns range!
We promised — and we delivered! Awesome, solid metal, incredibly detailed and of course straight from the clutches of the Weta people who made the full size guns for the District 9 movie. First out the the Assault Rifle. The full scale Arc Generator gun sold out in only 4 days, so don’t wait too long before you order. (Did we tell you that you can still put your name on the waiting list for the Arc Generator?) We also have very cool postcards and embroidered patches available. They make great presents for the District 9 fan. Even if it’s you.

US$150 off Weta Legs… but not for long!!
We launched Weta Legs a few weeks ago to a very warm-hearted reception. Now we’re celebrating by offering an Early-bird discount of US$150. If you are a performer, costumer or just want to change into a new creature, then Weta Legs will help you take your creativity to a whole new level (literally!) Order your Weta Legs by 25 May. The YouTube video has already been viewed over 30,000 times in the last 3 weeks. Our good friend Meredith Yayanos will be showing them off at the Bay Area Maker’s Faire on 22-23 May in the US. These are the first digitigrade legs ever made available for the public. Here’s what Coilhouse Magazine had to say about them.

More pendants in stock!
After we announced these last week, we’ve had to order a whole new batch of pendants as they were snuffled up. Choose between the Gandalf Rune, Arwen’s Coronation Crown and The White Tree of Gondor. They make an excellent gift in their soft leather pouches. Get a pendant now.

Comic-Con updates!
San Diego Comic-Con 2010 is approaching fast. Weta will of course be there, cohabiting as usual with our friends at Dark Horse Comics. The planning has already been going on for months in the workshop and there are rumours of BIG things happening. Make sure you read all communications in our email, on Twitter and Facebook. And don’t forget to discuss on the forum on The Shadow and Flame!

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