Variety

Continuing the A-Z Challenge from Arlee at Tossing it Out

Today is V – Variety


When it comes to my life, I like stability - but as far as my entertainment and interests, I like variety! So I found some interesting tidbits for everyone -

Prinkipria is looking for book reviewers! In return for providing them with one honest review each month (of any new book fantasy, sci-fi, horror or related) they are willing to offer that person:
· A direct link to that person's blog or website that would appear at the end of each review
· A thumbnail photo
· A one-paragraph bio
· Free listing on the teleporter" page
· 50% off any available advertising slot
Prinkipria is a great new site, so check it out!

On May 20, I will have the honor of hosting science fiction author, David J. Williams, here on my blog. He has agreed to answer some questions for an interview and I will post it just prior to the release of Machinery of Light, the third book in the Autumn Rain series.





Arlee at Tossing it Out gave out an award to all of us participating in the A-Z Challenge – thanks!

Remember my review of How to Train Your Dragon several weeks ago? This is the little movie who could – it’s #1 at the box office again, quietly beating out all new releases, and now sits at $178 million in the USA, and $354,521,000 world-wide.

In case you missed it, Avatar came out last Thursday on DVD - and surpassed The Dark Knight as the fastest-selling Bluray DVD, selling more than 4 million total DVDs in its first day. (Its grand total at the world-wide box office is $2,717,023,267.)

You knew this was bound to happen! In the Tech World, Porn Leads the Way - an article about the porn industry capitalizing on the new iPad.
(Certainly not on MY iPad, though! And yes, I still love my new iPad.)

Fritz Lang’s 1927 classic, Metropolis, will be re-released with lost footage in theaters in May and on DVD later this year – visit JoBlo’s website for details.

And I finally got to see a semi-final draft of my cover art last week and posted it here - CassaStar

Any other interesting tips, news, or items you'd like to add? The more the merrier - and the greater the variety.

Avatar

I am participating in Tossing it Out's A-Z Blog Post Challenge. So I must post a minimum of 26 times this month from A-Z

Today is A - Avatar!

Why? Because last month I set up a poll - how much money would it make world-wide?

The majority selected $2.7 billion dollars. Guess what? If that was you, then it looks as if that will be the correct answer! (Give or take a couple million.) Right now Avatar is hovering at $2,690,916,066.

Avatar is more than just the biggest money-maker. It's changed the way we look at movies. It will change how movies are made, too. It will open up the doors for a lot of movies that were just never possible before. Sometimes science fiction and fantasy is limited by the level of special effects available, but now I forsee no barriers to those studios with enough cash.

Any books you'd like to see on the big screen that were impossible before? I wonder if they will ever adapt any of Terry Brooks' books... or Preston & Child? ( I don't count The Relic - they left out the main character!)

Oscars and Guest Blogger Tomorrow

Please stop by tomorrow when author & editor Marvin Wilson at The Old Silly offers expert writing advice!

And I am making my first guest appearance tomorrow at Southern City Mysteries

I've also begun keeping track of Avatar's world wide grosses - check the sidebar every day for the new total. Feel free to participate in the poll as well. How much money will it make?

Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday.

Avatar and The Hurt Locker both received nine nominations.

Inglorious Basterds received eight - thought that was a hoot!

And Star Trek and District Nine each received four.

Not sure how I feel about Up being nominated for both Best Animated and Best Picture...

Anyone care to place bets now...?

For a full list of the nominees, go to Oscar Nominees

Movie News Tuesday

News & rumors...

Avatar has now amassed $1.6 billion world wide in just five weeks. It also won Golden Globes Sunday night for Best Picture-Drama and Best Director.

J.J. Abrams says the Star Trek sequel will involve the Gorn from the original series. (He also mentioned a sequel to Cloverfield.)

Green Lantern rumors - in addition to Ryan Reynolds (as the Green Lantern) and Blake Lively & Peter Sarsgaard, Warner Bros. is looking at Jackie Earle Haley to play Sinestro. (That would be awesome! Caught him in the TV series Human Shield the other nite and he was great.)

Pandorum - staring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster - comes out today on DVD.

Recommended site...

And if you’re ever looking for a good laugh, visit Riff Trax
Riff Trax is the brainchild of those Mystery Science Theater 3000 guys, Mike, Kevin, and Bill.From bad movies to blockbusters, Riff Trax has them all!

Movie Trailer Disappointment

I caught Daybreakers on Sunday. Interesting concept for a vampire flick. Lots of gore - always a plus - but the ending did sag a bit.

What was really disappointing were the movie trailers accompanying this flick. Daybreakers is a horror film, so I expected to see horror movie trailers. But there wasn't a single one! The three trailers were all for thrillers. And the sad thing - I couldn't even tell you what they were! That's not a good sign.

Do you ever feel sometimes the movie industry just doesn't understand its audience?

In other news...
Avatar was #1 at the box office yet again, taking in over $50 million dollars this past weekend. It now sits at $1.3 billion dollars worldwide. That is just mind-blowing!

Movie News

Avatar continues to dominate...

As of Monday morning January 4, it had grossed $1.02 BILLION dollars worldwide. It took just seventeen days for this movie to cross a billion, and it is currently #4 highest grossing of all time. Titanic still holds the title with $1.83 billion dollars - but wouldn't it be ironic if Cameron beat his own movie?

Upcoming release dates-

The vampire flick Daybreakers, which is receiving good reviews so far, comes out this Friday, January 8.

The Book of Eli with Denzel Washington comes out January 15.

And on DVD, the movie with all the Oscar buzz, The Hurt Locker, comes out on January 12.

BTW - Have you seen photos of director Kathryn Bigelow? Kinda hot for a woman who's almost sixty!

Movie Trailers -

Inception has me intrigued! Any movie directed by Christopher Nolan is worth its weight in gold. Comes out this summer.
Visit Apple's site to check out the TRAILER

Avatar Totally Rocks!

Saw Avatar last night with friends and it blew me away!

Cameron is the master of great action scenes, upping the ante with every shot. The two big battles at the end were just incredible.

Pandora itself is amazing. It's a fully realized world - a complex ecosystem.

And then there's the aliens. Neytiri was hot! Saw an interview with Cameron and he told the artists the females had to look "blankable" - too funny.

The story is simple and nothing new, but it's the way Cameron tells it that makes all the difference in the world. And bottom line, the whole movie is a stunning achievement in film making. Using groundbreaking technology, Cameron has created a movie that uses the 3D technology to immerse viewers in the movie completely.

The best movie I've seen all year!

Video Awards and Avatar

Spike TV created an awards sh0w just for video games and I believe this was the first year for the event.

I watched about thirty minutes of it. Long enough to see Jack Black and Samuel L. Jackson. Long enough to realize it was more commercials than anything else!

And I don't mean the commercials in between segments - I mean during the show. The show claimed it was unveiling new footage of up & coming releases, but really - it was all just advertisement. At one point, viewers went almost fifteen minutes without seeing an actual award given.

In Avatar news...
(Which is much more exciting!)

Fox Studios won't give the bottom line price tag, but it's estimated this movie cost over $300 million to make - which makes it the most expensive film ever. (Beating out Pirates: At World's End, although I'm not sure where THEY spent that kind of money! Should've been on the script...)

Rotten Tomatoes just posted six new trailers for Avatar, all of which look amazing.

Five days and counting!