George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 130

Gathering No Moss

Life just keeps getting weirder and weirder.



(I wish I COULD buy five copies for my mother, but alas, she passed away in 1998).

This is pretty cool.  Even without the cover.

For The Record

I seem to have to repeat this every year or so.  Okay, sure.  There are always folks who come in late, who never got the memo.

Anyway...

I AM NOT ON FACEBOOK.

I AM NOT ON TWITTER.

I have a website, and I have this Not A Blog, right here on Live Journal, and every so often (rarely)  I post on other people's blogs and websites, or on certain bulletin boards and news / discussion sites.  But that's it for my internet presence.

There are accounts on Facebook and Twitter that carry my name, I know.  Some just repost the things I post here.  Others are more actively malignant, making up all sorts of crap and trying to make them seem like my own words.  They're not.

Accept no substitutes.  This is where I hang out, nowhere else.

Big Significant Harry

Viserys Targaryen is helping to kick off the Santa Fe Film Festival this year.

The festival proper runs from May 1 - 4, and the Jean Cocteau Cinema will be one of the main venues, along with the CCA's two screens on the other side of town.  But to open the festivities in grand style, we're having a special One Night Only screening of a terrific new road movie on the evening of April 30.

BIG SIGNIFICANT THINGS is the tale of a young man who sets off on a quest across America, in search of adventure, meaning, and... ah... Big Stuff.



The film stars HARRY LLOYD, better known to GAME OF THRONES fan as the late great Beggar King, Viserys III, last having molten gold poured over his head by Khal Drogo.



Harry will be on hand personally come Wednesday night, to introduce his new film, meet the fans, and answer your questions... about BIG SIGNIFICANT THINGS, his new TV series MANHATTAN (now filming outside Santa Fe), DOCTOR WHO, GAME OF THRONES, or whatever.  He's really a MUCH nicer guy than Viserys, so do come meet him.

BIG SIGNIFICANT THINGS will be playing ONE NIGHT ONLY at 7pm, Wednesday, April 30.   We will have big drinks and big snacks and we expect a big crowd, so get your tickets early at the Cocteau website:  http://www.jeancocteaucinema.com/

Hugo Nominations!

The Hugo nominations for 2014 have just been announced as Eastercon in the UK, and other conventions around the world.  You can find the full list here:

http://loncon3.org/2014hugos.php

GAME OF THRONES has been nominated in Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form this year, for "The Rains of Castamere," the infamous Red Wedding episode, scripted by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and directed by David Nutter.  Congratulations, all.  The nomination is just the latest confirmation that David, Dan, T'Other David, Richard Madden, Oona Chaplin, Michelle Fairley, and the rest of our cast and crew did an amazing job on this one, creating a moment that will live in the annals of television for a long, long time.  No novelist has ever been more fortunate in the people who came forward to translate his work from the page to the screen.

I would love nothing better than to have David, Dan, David, Bryan, and a whole contingent of our cast drop by this year's Hugo Awards.  London is not that far from Belfast, after all.  Whether that will happen or not, I cannot say, but I'll do my best.  It would be great to have them all at worldcon.

(Mind you, however, I think the odds of GAME OF THRONES actually winning this year are remote.  "The Rains of Castamere" is up against an episode of ORPHAN BLACK, and four (4!!!) episodes of DOCTOR WHO, which has dominated Short Form since the category was created.  Last year, in San Antonio, "Blackwater" broke DOCTOR WHO's long streak of victories, but I suspect that only served to rouse the Whovians, and this year the con is on their home ground in the UK, where they are legion.  So GOT is a long shot at best, but hey... it IS an honor just to be nominated).

Speaking of which... I am REALLY jazzed to be able to reveal, at last, that Jet City's MEATHOUSE MAN has also been nominated, in the Graphic Novel category.   MM the graphic novel is the work of the amazing and talented Raya Golden, my sometime assistant and all-around minion, and long-time friend and quasi-goddaughter, based on a novelette that I originally wrote for Harlan Ellison's THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS back in the dawn of time (well, mid-70s) and eventually published in Damon Knight's anthology ORBIT 18.  Written at one of the lowest points of my life, the novelette "Meathouse Man" is probably the darkest and most twisted thing I've ever written, a story so personally painful to me that I can hardly stand to re-read it even now... that Raya chose this tale, out of all my stories, to adapt and illustrate as a graphic novel, producing a work capable of earning a Hugo nomination... well, that's just bloody incredible, and a real testament to her dedication, her talent, and her madness.  Bravo!

And that's my Hugo news.

As for the rest of the ballot... well, the good news is, more people nominated this year than ever before.

And the bad news... well, you guys are smart, you can figure that out for yourself.  And if you can't, there a hundred blogs that will tell you.  I expect it will only be a matter of hours before someone starts talking about "Hugofail."  Prepare for the internet to go to war again.

I will leave that to others.  I am just thrilled for David and Dan and David, for HBO, and most of all for Raya.  (FWIW, a couple years back, James S.A. Corey was nominated for Best Novel [should have been nominated again this year, actually], and James S.A. Corey is half Ty Franck, who was my assistant at the time.  And now Raya is nominated.  I think I may be the first writer to have two assistants to be nominated for the Hug.  Cool).

Author, Author!

 We have a couple of really exciting author events scheduled for next week at the Jean Cocteau.

 On Monday, April 21, we will be welcoming the  Pulitzer-Prize-winning novelist JUNOT DIAZ, author of THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE HER and THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, and other titles.



The evening will start at 7:00 pm with a 90-minute interview of Junot, conducted by Doctors Shante Paradigm Smalls and Santiago Vaquera-Vasquez of the University of New Mexico.  Dr. Smalls is a scholar and artist who works at the intersection of popular culture and critical theory.  She is a professor at UNM in American Studies.  Santiago Vaquera-Vasquez is "an unrepentant border crosser, ex-dj, writer, painter, and academic," and a professor at UNM in the department of Spanish and Portuguese.   After the interview, we will adjoin to the lobby and bar, where Junot will sign copies of his books.

A few days later, on Thursday April 24, the bestselling mystery writer and historical novelist ANNE PERRY will arrive in Santa Fe, and the Cocteau will have the privilige of hosting her as well.  Ms. Perry's awe-inspiring bibligraphy includes 19 volumes in her William Monk series, 28 in the Thomas Pitt series, as well as fantasies, YA novels, stand-alones, and Christmas books.   Anne is on tour, promoting her lastest, DEATH ON BLACKHEATH.




The event will start at 7:00 with an interview and dialogue, as usual.  This time I'll be doing the interview myself.  That will be followed by an audience Q&A and a booksigning, and we expect to have a WIDE selection of Anne's novels on hand.

Admission to both events is FREE with the purchase of a hardcover book, $5 with the purchase of a paperback, $10 without a book purchase.  Most of our past author events have been sold out, so if you'd like to hear Junot Diaz or Anne Perry, call the Cocteau at 444-5528 and reserve your place now.

Movies are the heart and soul of the Jean Cocteau Cinema... but we love books too, and our author evenings have been hugely popular and will continue to be an important part of our schedule.   In the months to come, we will be hosting MELINDA M. SNODGRASS, comic book stars CULLEN BUNN and BRIAN HURTT of SIXTH GUN fame, mystery/ horror/ SF star JOE R. LANSDALE and his daughter KASEY, author, editor, and country-signing sensation, DANIEL ABRAHAM (who is also half of JAMES S.A. COREY), Hugo-winning novelist JO WALTON, CHERIE PRIEST, JOE ABERCROMBIE, DENNIS LEHANE, and NEIL GAIMAN & AMANDA PALMER.   If you'd like to know the dates and details,  go to our website at http://www.jeancocteaucinema.com/ and sign up for our email newsletter, to keep abreast of what's coming up on Montezuma Street.  All of these events are first come, first seated, and we do tend to fill up quickly.

See you at the booksignings.

Words of Wisdom

In our genre, established writers like to give a hand to aspiring newcomers.

http://www.wofford.edu/sharedworlds/handinhand.aspx

Aegon Is Coming...

 ... tomorrow morning.

 We're putting up a sample from THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE on my website, to join the samples from the next Wild Cards book (LOWBALL) and of course from WINDS OF WINTER (Mercy).  It's a short excerpt from the section of Aegon's Conquest, complete with some kickass art.

And by the way, those of you who read only this Live Journal  -- and there are a lot of you -- should check out my actual website some time.  There's loads of interesting material there, from news stories to biography and bibliography and sections on my toy knights.

Anyway, do hope you all enjoy the Aegon piece.  It will be up on the morrow.

John Hodgman Returns...

 ... later that same night.

As previously announced here (see below), John will be coming to the Jean Cocteau to perform  his stand-up show I STOLE YOUR DAD, "presenting new observations on subjects including how to dress like a young and relevant person, fax machines and other obsolete technology, marihuana and Downton Abbey, the state songs of Tennessee, the film criticism of Ayn Rand, and how to spend your time when the world did not end like you were certain it would on December 21st of last year."



John's appearance is scheduled for 7:00 pm on Monday, June 2... but though the show is still six weeks away, we've had such a demand for tickets that we're almost sold out.  The Cocteau, please recall, has only 125 seats.  As of this morning, we had sold 108 tickets.  We expect the last few to be gone by week's end.

So it thrills me to announce that John Hodgman has agreed to do a second show for all his fans in Santa Fe.  The second show will also be on Monday, June 2, but starting at 9:00 pm.  Tickets to the late show will be available from the Cocteau website    http://www.jeancocteaucinema.com/   starting today.  You can also call the theatre at 505-466-5528 or drop by the box office in person.

If you want to snag one of those last dozen or so tickets to the 7:00pm show, I'd advise you to act ASAP.  Meanwhile, for the night owls and those shut out of the early show, we now have the 9:00pm performance.  Admission is $20, with discounts for students and seniors.

John Hodgman is an author and performer best known as the “Resident Expert” on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, his COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE trilogy, and for his podcast and New York Times Magazine column, Judge John Hodgman.

See you at the show.

Season 4... in Spain

Canal +, which broadcasts A GAME OF THRONES in Spain, has done some interesting and unusual TV spots for season four.

I thought you folks might like a look at them, even if (like me) you don't speak any Spanish.





Pretty cool, I thought.

Hey, Cool

We finally have a "book trailer" for WILD CARDS.

It's from Brazil, and it's in Portugese.



Got to love those Marc Simonetti illustrations.