George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 127

Fundraiser Continues

Over at Prizeo, my fundraiser on behalf of the Food Depot and the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary continues to soar.  As I write, my fans and friends have donated $390,000 -- and we still have 33 days to go!!




The grand prize -- the visit to Santa Fe and helicopter trip to the wolf sanctuary -- will be determined at the end of the fundraiser, by a drawing.  Everyone who donates will have a chance to win.

A lot of the secondary prizes and extra rewards have been snapped up, however.  Have no fear!  We're adding more.  I am donating more books and collectibles, two more breakfasts (one at San Diego Comicon, one when I am in NYC this October),  and even a couple pair of my infamous suspenders (braces to you Brits).  So keep a careful eye on the Prizeo site.  We plan to add new prizes every Wednesday, for as long as the drive is ongoing.  More details can be found at:

https://www.prizeo.com/prizes/georgerrmartin/a-wolf-sanctuary-tour-and-helicopter-ride

Father's Day Finale

Tonight the Season 4 finale of GAME OF THRONES on HBO.

Longest episode of the season.  One of the things I love about HBO is that you can take as long as you need to tell your story, you're not locked into the rigid 46-minutes-and-change-to-the-second of the broadcast networks.  This one will go 116 minutes, it says.  Cool.


credit: Helen Sloan/ HBO

Strongest episode of the season?  Might be.  Clearly David and Dan think so, since they've chosen "The Children" to represent GAME OF THRONES in the writing category of the Emmy Awards.  We've had a LOT of powerful episodes this season, so that says something.  I have not seen the episode myself yet, but I am looking forward to it.


credit: Macall D. Polay/ HBO

Oh, and it's on Father's Day as well.  How... ah... special.

Anyway, it's hard to believe that season four is over so soon.  Still wish we had three more episodes to look forward to.



credit: Helen Sloan/ HBO

(I am closing comments on this post.  Some of you refuse to believe me when I say that I don't want discussion of the series here.  Please take your comments and reactions to Tower of the Hand, Westeros, Winter Is Coming, and the myriad TV sites.  Thanks, appreciate that).

Great Times at the Jean Cocteau

We had a great weekend at the Jean Cocteau.  Joe Lansdale was in town, his own self, to host our showings of COLD IN JULY and BUBBA HO-TEP, and sign books as well.  The bar was serving Good Ol' Boys, another one of Nicole's great specialty cocktails.  And on Monday we had Joe's daughter, fast rising country star Kasey Lansdale, entertaining us a great set of songs off her new album.

Couldn't make it?  Damn.  You missed out.

But you still have two more chances to catch COLD IN JULY, tonight and tomorrow, before it goes away.  You should.  A terrific little film, that got rousing ovations at Cannes and Sundance.  You also have two more chances to catch our Danish superhero film ANT BOY, this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon.  And before he left, Joe Lansdale signed lots of copies of his novels, so if you're looking for an autographed Lansdale book, head on down to Montezuma, right beside the railroad tracks.

On Friday, a whole new slate of films debuts.  We have the soccer movie NEXT GOAL WINS, and the drama LULLABY.  And for our midnight movie (starts at 11pm) Friday and Saturday, straight from the 70s, we've got UNHOLY ROLLERS:



See you at the movies.

Battle Is Coming, Blood Will Flow

Tomorrow night, on HBO.

Neil Marshall returns, with a battle even bigger than "Blackwater."  Should rival or surpass any battle ever seen before on television.

Keep your swords sharp.

And be afraid.  Be very afraid.

(No, I haven't seen the episode yet).

Holy Direwolves, Batman!

The response to our fund-raising campaign on Prizeo has been nothing less than mind-boggling.

One day into the campaign, the original $150,000 goal and the subsequent $200,000 goal have both been met and surpassed.  As I type, donations stand at $231,000, and we have raised the goal to $400,000.  And we still have 58 days to go!



Every donations helps, whether large or small.  You guys have made me very proud.

Once again, the link is
https://www.prizeo.com/prizes/georgerrmartin/a-wolf-sanctuary-tour-and-helicopter-ride

I am told this is the fastest-rising campaign in the history of Prizeo.

GAME OF THRONES Rules

Hey, hey, hey.

We're number one.




For the details:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/05/game-of-thrones-sopranos-ratings/

I loved THE SOPRANOS.  But I gotta admit, it's good to be the king.

Me and the Wolves

How would you like to visit Santa Fe, spend a day with me, see my collection of toy knights and medieval miniatures, sample some green chile and carne adovada, then take a helicopter down to Candy Kitchen, New Mexico and the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary to meet the Westeros pack?

Well, now's your chance.

I've teamed up with the good folks at Prizeo.com to raise some funds for two of my favorite charities -- the aforementioned Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, and the Food Depot here in Santa Fe, where they feed the hungry people of Northern New Mexico.  Win the grand prize, and we'll fly you in from wherever you may be in the world for the day described above.  Every donation has a chance to win... but there are all sorts of other cool premiums and prizes as well, for various levels of donations.  T-shirts, signed maps, signed books,a signed script,  breakfast at worldcon or comicon.  You can die horribly in WINDS OF WINTER... and I'm even donating my well-worn Greek fisherman's cap!


.

For more details, go to
https://www.prizeo.com/prizes/georgerrmartin/a-wolf-sanctuary-tour-and-helicopter-ride

Win or lose, it's all for a good cause, or rather two good causes. 

Help the wolves, and feed some hungry people.

You'll have my thanks.

Venus In March

Venus is lovely in the spring.

The Old Venus, that is.  You know, the steamy, swampy Venus of the SF pulps, with its web-footed Venusians (Venerians), teeming jungles, dinosaurs, and those infamous dens of inquity in Venusburg.   The Venus of Leigh Brackett, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Roger Zelazny, C.L. Moore, and Isaac Asimov.

Those who miss the place (like me) will be able to return there next spring.  OLD VENUS, an original anthology of retro-SF stories set upon the lost Venus of old, will be released by Bantam Spectra in hardcover on March 3, 2015.  We just got our first look at the cover:




The final lineup:

INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
FROGHEADS, by Allen M. Steele
THE DROWNED CELESTRIAL, by Lavie Tidhar
PLANET OF FEAR, by Paul McAuley
GREEVES AND THE EVENING STAR, by Matthew Hughes
A PLANET CALLED DESIRE, by Gwyneth Jones
LIVING HELL, by Joe Haldeman
BONES OF AIR, BONES OF STONE, by Stephen Leigh
RUINS, by Eleanor Arnason
THE TUMBLEDOWNS OF CLEOPATRA ABYSS, by David Brin
BY FROGSLED AND LIZARDBACK TO OUTCAST VENUSIAN LEPERS, by Garth Nix
THE SUNSET OF TIME, by Michael Cassutt
PALE BLUE MEMORIES, by Tobias S. Buckell
THE HEART'S FILTHY LESSON, by Elizabeth Bear
THE WIZARD OF THE TREES, by Joe R. Lansdale
THE GODSTONE OF VENUS, by Mike Resnick
BOTANICA VENERIS: THIRTEEN PAPERCUTS BY IDA COUNTESS RATHANGAN, by Ian McDonald

If you enjoyed OLD MARS (our Locus Award nominee from last year), you'll like this one even better,  I think... and there's one story in there that's so bloody good that if it doesn't win the Hugo and Nebula both, I'll count it as a major injustice.  Which one?  Ah, I will leave you guys to figure that out.  But first you'll need to read the book.

March 3.  Mark the day on the calendars.

I'll meet you on Venus.

Antboy Is Coming

So Marvel has dismissed director Edgar Wright from the long-awaited (by me, anyway) ANT-MAN movie he was helming.

Very distressing.  I love Ant-Man (and the Wonderful Wasp).  I am still outraged that they were left out of THE AVENGERS film.  They were founding members of the group, after all.  Which can't be said for their replacements, Hawkeye and Black Widow.

But hey, hey, have no fear.  If you're feeling a serious lack of ant-based superheroics, the Jean Cocteau Cinema is coming to your rescue.  Marvel won't be giving us ANT-MAN until 2015, if ever, but this weekend the Jean Cocteau is debuting the first Danish superhero movie:

ANT-BOY



Come and check it out!  Showtimes on our website.

And we have lots more excitement at the theatre this weeked too.  More about that later.

Opening Friday

Opening on Friday at the Jean Cocteau... and many hundreds of other screens across America... is COLD IN JULY, a film by Jim Mickle, based on the novel by the one and only JOE R. LANSDALE.

This one's a wild ride, and has won all sorts of acclaim at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals.

Don't miss it, whether it's at our theatre, or one near you.

And read the novel too.  Lansdale is an incredible writer, with a unique voice.  Compulsively readable.