George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 135

Super Bowl Sunday!

 It's here at last!  Super Bowl Sunday, the holiest day of the year... and this year, in the swamps of New Jersey, we will get the confrontation I have so long dreamed of, the SUBWAY SUPER BOWL, pitting the New York Giants against the New York Jets for all the....

Oh, wait.  That;s not this world, that's the alternate world I like to visit from time to time, the one where GAME OF THRONES has won three Emmys in a row, THE WINDS OF WINTER was finished a year ago, there's a base on the moon and a spaceship headed for Mars, and I don't have enough space on my mantle for all the Hugos, Pulitzers, and Nobel Prizes.

In THIS world, the real one, it's the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos.

Should be a pretty good game in any case.  Offense versus defense, the classic battle.  Can Eli's big brother win another ring, to match Eli?

Enjoy the game, folks.  Enjoy the commercials, if you're not a football fan.  Enjoy the pizza, beer, brats, chips & salsa, chile con queso, hot wings, etc.

Happy Super Sunday.

Zoe

Zoe Bell is great.

We had a wonderful Skype visit with her last night at the Cocteau, after the premiere of her new film, RAZE.   Now I want to get her to Santa Fe in person, to promote whatever film she does next.

And for RAZE... it's the feel-good movie of the season...

(Well, no, not really, but it's a powerful piece of film making, brutal as a club to the guts, and Zoe is terrific in it.  PASATIEMPO didn't like it, but the NEW YORK TIMES and Roger Ebert.com did, so there.  Those who have the taste for it can catch it all this week at the Cocteau, and hundreds of other theatres... but be warned, the violence here is turned up to eleven, and it's not the stylized slow-mo carnage of 300, or the sanitized "action" of bad action movies and network television.  This is raw and ugly and emotionally wrenching.  Our barkeep has introduced a special cocktail, the Knockout Punch, in honor of RAZE... have one if you come to catch the film, you'll need it.).

This Weekend at the Jean Cocteau

We have two new movies opening this weekend at the Jean Cocteau... PLUS a short film, and a very special guest as well!

At the early show, we will be debuting KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM, a comedy/ adventure about a group of LARPers who, ah, inadvertently summon an actual succubus from the pit of hell.  (Don't you HATE it when that happens?)  It stars Ryan Kwanten, Steve Zahn (TREME), Summer Glau (SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES), Margarita Levieva, and our own Peter Dinklage (GAME OF THRONES).



And with KNIGHTS, we will also be showing EVE ANGELIC, a short film by local filmmaker Luca Ceccarelli, part of which was actually shot in the basement of 418 Montezuma Avenue, right under the Cocteau.




The second feature debut will be RAZE, a gut-wrenching new film from Tribeca.  Think FIGHT CLUB for keeps.  Think HUNGER GAMES with teeth.  Think BATTLE ROYALE without subtitles.



Coolest of all, after the RAZE screening, star ZOE BELL will be dropping by the Jean Cocteau via Skype to talk about the film and answer questions, and...

And?  Yes, yes, there's more.  After both KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM and RAZE, I will turning up to hand out some door prizes, including a couple of tickets to a certain very special preview screening coming up in March.  So be there!  You have to be present to win!

Oh, and we have a late late show too.  This week, THE WALL.  No, no, not the Night's Watch's Wall.  Pink Floyd's.

See you at the movies.

One Billion Rising

 On Wednesday (January 29), the Jean Cocteau Cinema will be hosting a special event -- a reception and screening in support of One Billion Rising, a global initiative to fight violence against women and girls.

http://www.jeancocteaucinema.com/ai1ec_event/one-billion-rising-reception-screening/?instance_id=2042

Admission is free, and all are welcome.

Come join us, and lend your support to this world-wide movement.  Causes do not get any more worthy.

(And all those attending the One Billion Rising event will also receive a group discount for the feature film we will be showing afterward, REACHING FOR THE MOON).

Season One...

 ... is done.

Last night at the Cocteau we completed our screening of season one of GAME OF THRONES, with the showing of "Baelor" and "Fire and Blood."  Believe it or not, we had a dozen virgins in the house, folks who had never seen the show before, never read the books, and had no idea what was coming.  It's always cool to see someone experiencing the series for the first time.

I, of course, have read the books and seen the show... but I hadn't watched these particular episodes for a couple of years, and it was very gratifying to see how well they still held up.  David and Dan and the cast and our incredible crew have done an amazing job.

And speaking of David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, they joined us after the episodes for an hour's worth of Q & A with the fans, via Skype.   Aside from the usual technical problems that we encounter every time we try to use Skype, it was a great time.  Thanks, guys.

Next week, the marathon continues with the first three episodes from season two... and a special Skype visit from our very own Sansa, SOPHIE TURNER.

See you at the cinema!

A Foreshadowing

HBO will be unveiling a behind-the-scenes preview of season four of GAME OF THRONES on February 9.

Can't wait?

Here's teaser for the preview.  A taste of the foreshadowing.



The new season arrives on Sunday, April 6.

Beagles and Unicorns

You can't say enough about Peter S. Beagle.  One of the great masters of modern fantasy, author of THE LAST UNICORN, A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, LILA THE WEREWOLF, GIANT BONES, I SEE BY MY OUTFIT, and so much more... classic novels, moving novellas, terrific short stories... and he's just as wonderful a storyteller in person as he is on the page.

We were honored to have him as our guest at the Jean Cocteau Cinema last Saturday.  We screened the animated film of THE LAST UNICORN thrice to big crowds, and Peter and I talked about fantasy, his books, his film career, and his life for the better part of an hour.

You shoulda been there!


photo by Tara Gibbens


photo by Tara Gibbens

After each screening, Peter signed books, comics, artwork, and merchandise for his fans.  The man is tireless... and always charming.  A delight all around.  I suspect he signed his name hundreds, maybe thousands, of times on Saturday... but before we let him go, we made him sign a few more items for the cinema.  So we do have some autographed Peter S. Beagle books available at the Jean Cocteau for those who missed the event... while the supply lasts.  It won't last for long.  (We also have lots of signed books by yours truly, a few by Neil Gaiman, Michael Chabon, and Pat Conroy as well).

Beagle is a real rock star of fantasy, and he tours like one.  The day before he brought his travelling LAST UNICORN tour to Santa Fe, he was in Tucson... and as soon as he was done, he and Freff and Cat and the rest of his faithful minions packed up their vans and hit the road for Fort Collins, Colorado.   Check out the tour details at http://www.conlanpress.com/ and find out when Peter and Schmendrick and the Red Bull are coming to your corner of the lilac woods.

He is not to be missed.

Thanks so much, Peter.

The Amazing Maisie

If you weren't at the Jean Cocteau Cinema on Monday night, you missed out on all the fun.

We had a great day.  People started lining up as the sun was coming up, and the queue grew longer all day.  We sent out coffee and donuts to make sure no one froze or starved to death while waiting in line.  Doors opened at 6:00, with the show starting at 7:00pm, but Maisie Williams and the wolves turned up at 5:00 or so to meet the fans.  Maisie is amazing... not only a talented young actress, but a delight in person.  I think she spoke to everyone in line, signed their books and Funko Pop dolls, posed for pictures.   Not everyone got into the theatre, alas, but everyone in line got to meet Maisie...

 ... and the wolves. Flurry and Zorro, the wolf ambassadors from Wild Spirit, were great hits as well.







Maisie is on her way back to LA now... but I think she liked Santa Fe, and one day we hope to have her back again.

Meanwhile, the GOT marathon continues next Monday night at the Jean Cocteau.  Next time we will be screening episodes nine and ten from season one -- "Baelor" and "Fire and Blood."  And we'll be joined by executive producers and showrunners DAVID BENIOFF and D.B. WEISS, who will be Skyping in after the episodes to answer your questions.

Line up early.  It's sure to be another epic crowd.

The Last Unicorn

Monday's big GAME OF THRONES extravaganza with Maisie Williams and the wolves is not the only special event we'll be having this week at the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe.

So come on Monday by all means... but then mark your calendars and come back again a week from today, on Saturday January 25, when Peter S. Beagle will be visiting Santa Fe for a special one-day show featuring his animanted fantasy masterpiece, THE LAST UNICORN.

Peter S. Beagle, for those unfamiliar with his work, is one of the great living masters of fantasy, winner of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the  Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire.    He's been writing the stuff a lot longer than johnny-come-latelys like me.  In 1960 (eleven years before I made my first professional sale), he published A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, a delightful story about a man who lives in a graveyard, which remains a personal favorite of mine.   Other titles by Beagle include I SEE BY MY OUTFIT, THE INNKEEPER'S SONG, LILA THE WEREWOLF, TAMSIN, GIANT BONES, and many many more, all of them terrific... but his best known work, to this day, remains THE LAST UNICORN, a classic fantasy about Schmendrick the Magician, the Red Bull, Madama Fortuna, Molly Grue... and, of course, the last unicorn.




First published in 1968, the novel became an instant classic, and remains so to this day.   In 1982 it was made into an animated film, with a screenplay by Peter himself, and the voices of Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, and Christopher Lee featured.  The movie was popular as well, but subsequent legal disputes made it unavailable for long periods of time.   But now it's back, and Peter has it and will be bringing it to Santa Fe and the Jean Cocteau for ONE DAY ONLY next Saturday.

We've scheduled three screenings: a matinee at noon, an evening show at 6:30 pm, and a late show at 9:00 pm.  Peter Beagle himself will be on hand for all three screenings to introduce the films and answer questions, and afterward he will be signing book, videotapes, and other merchandise, plenty of which will be on hand in the Cocteau concession area.  Tickets for these special screenings will be $12 (the usual discounts apply).

In addition, at 5:00 pm, I will be joining Peter on stage, for a dialogue about fantasy, writing, live, love, what have you.  A combined ticket -- any show of THE LAST UNICORN plus the PSB/ GRRM dialogue -- will go for $20.

You can purchase advance tickets at the Cocteau website at http://webtixs.easytixs.com/JeanCocteauCinema/TicketingStartPage.aspx?635256716192656250  .  Or you can take your chances at the door. (But I would not advise the latter.  These author events have all been selling out).

((YES, our website's advanced ticketing system sucks bigtime.  I know, I know, I know, no one has been bitching louder than me.  It is ugly, hard to navigate, user unfriendly, and you have to go through eight bloody pages before you actually obtain a ticket.  We're working on it.  "Working" here meaning "scrapping the damn thing and starting over."  But these things take a while, so all I can say for now is, please persist.  You will get a ticket in the end if you don't give up.  And if you want a screening AND the dialogue, the 'Combined Ticket' function has been a major pain, so just buy separate tix for each event, and we will refund you the difference at the door.  And again, my apologies)).

Oh, and if Peter S. Beagle and THE LAST UNICORN are not enough for us, we also plan to mount a special Last Unicorn Art Show in the Cocteau gallery.  Prints and artwork will be for sale.  Along with pizza, candy, and the best popcorn in New Mexico.

(And the real movie fans can stay for the midnight show, and catch THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE).  Which has no unicorns whatsover, but did you expect?  Peter Beagle got the last one.

The Wolves Are Coming

Arya Stark may have been parted from her direwolf Nymeria, but come Monday in Santa Fe she'll be meeting two new wolves.

Maisie Williams won't be the only guest at Monday's GAME OF THRONES marathon session at the Jean Cocteau Cinema.  Our friends from the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary down in Candy Kitchen will be on hand as well, and they'll be bringing two of their "wolf ambassadors" to meet Maisie and the fans.

Parris and I have long been supporters of the Sanctuary, dedicated to the rescue of abandoned and abused wolves and wolf-dog hybrids.  They do great work.  You can find out more about them at http://www.wildspiritwolfsanctuary.org/

The ambassadors will not be members of the new 'Westeros Pack,' since those wolves are still a bit too wild and unsocialized to mingle with the public in an uncontrolled environment.  They won't be direwolves either, alas, for the direwolves are all gone (for now).  But I think they are bringing Flurry, and he's almost direwolf sized, and a real charmer to boot.

We're expecting a huge turnout for Monday's marathon session.  The show starts at 7:00 pm, and the doors open at 6:00, but people will be lining up by early morning, if the past two weeks are any indication.  The Cocteau has only 125 seats, so not everyone will be able to get in... but Maisie and the wolves should both be arriving early, to meet some of the fans in the line.  So even if you are not one of the lucky 125 to get into the theatre, you may be able to say hi to Arya and a couple of members of her pack.

Oh, and this week we're screening episodes six, seven, and eight from season one -- "A Golden Crown," "You Win And You Die," and "The Pointy End."

See you at the cinema.