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Octocon 2012
In a few hours I’ll be heading to Dublin for Octocon, the Irish National Science Fiction convention. It’s always a fun event and I’m looking forward to meeting people. Here’s my schedule: Saturday, 13 October Noon in the Abbey Room – Brains, Brains and Brains! With Emmet O’Cuanna, Derek Gunn, and Lynn Moran 1pm in the Pavilion Room – Masterclass in Modern Science Fiction. With Peadar Ó Guilín, and Carol Connolly 5pm in the Tivoli Room – Serialisation vs graphic novels. With C.E Murphy, Michael Carroll, Alan Nolan, and Rob Curley Sunday, 14 October Noon in the Tivoli Room – Why so violent? With Oisin McGann, Heather Turnbull, Celine Kiernan,…
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junior winners 2011
For the past few years I’ve been involved in judging for the Galway Junior Film Fleadh, which is a task I enjoy tremendously. I love witnessing the enthusism among young people for cinema. Previously I was part of the jury for the Script Pitching competition, which is a live event delivered in front of an audience – a feat that would make most adults nervous. This year I couldn’t be part of the jury due to a schedule clash, but I’m pleased to report that the 2011 winner is Amanda Honan Coyle from St Joseph’s Community College, Kilkee, Co Clare. Her project, titled “A World of Our Own”, wins her…
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thought bubble 2011
I’m heading out later today to travel to Leeds to attend Thought Bubble, the city’s Comic Art Festival – which runs in conjunction with its International Film Festival. The guest list is impressive, and I’m hugely excited at the propspect of meeting (however briefly) some of the great talents in the comic book industry at the moment. The unfortunatle timing of this convention means that I’m unable to be a judge for this year’s Script Pitching Contest at the Junior Galway Film Fleadh, which is taking place at the moment. Instead, I was asked to be one of the judges for the Short Film Competition in the Young Filmmaker category…
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dynamic trio
I utterly failed to post images last week, as I promised, so I’m endeavouring to do better this week. This dynamic trio is Wonder Woman, Catwoman and Hawk Girl, and was a small splurge on my part while I was in Dublin last week. I was smitten with the expression on Hawk Girl’s face in particular. There is also a Harley Quinn in this set, but alas she sold out first (no surprise). I was up in Dublin last week for the 2011 ZeBBie Awards Ceremony, the annual awards voted upon by the members of the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild. It’s an event that honours Irish writers of radio,…
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Script Frenzy 2011
Fancy a challenge for the month of April? The annual Script Frenzy kicks off on the 1st of April (it’s no joke!), and the aim is to write 100 pages of original scripted material during the 30 days of April. (Screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, and graphic novels are all considered.) Writers can join the web site, find other writers who are striving toward the same goal and thus encourage one other. Script Frenzy is a donation-funded non-profit and doesn’t charge a fee for participation. There are also no valuable prizes awarded or “best” scripts singled out. Every writer who completes the goal of 100 pages gains the…
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Golden Blasters 2011
Octocon, the Irish National Science Fiction Convention (15-16 October, 2011), has announced details of this year’s Golden Blasters Short Film and Short Script Festival. The Golden Blasters Short Film competition is now open to short film submissions from filmmakers from anywhere in the world. The science fiction, fantasy or horror films should be 12-15 minutes long, and can be live action, animation or a mixture of media. The shorts can be filmed on 35mm, 16 mm or video but entries must must be on DVD. Two copies will be required. A short-list of films will be selected prior to Octocon and will be screened for the attendees of the festival.…
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Little Crackers
Over the past couple of years the satellite broadcaster Sky has been venturing into commissioning original television programmes, which is generally a good thing as I’m always happy to see screenwriters getting work. Even though Sky is part of the Murdoch MegaCorp, it can have its benefits (as long as you avoid the news channels). This holiday season Sky has been airing a series of short films by male and female comedians called Little Crackers. Most of them are autobiographical, or at least represent the essence of the comedian (and the comedians usually appear in the short as a character). I’ve seen five of them so far and they are…
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WexWorlds 2010
From the 26th – 28th November I’ll be a guest at WexWorlds, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction Festival in Wexford, Ireland. A .pdf of the programme is available for download, and it looks like it’s going to be a weekend packed with lots of fun events – WexWorlds is primarily focused on young people, but there will be plenty for older people to enjoy as well. It’s ideal for households of adults and children who love science fiction and fantasy literature, television and cinema. I’ll be involved in the following events: Whites Hotel: Saturday 13.00-13.50 Recommendations of the best Sci-Fi and Fantasy books of 2010 I’ll be moderating the…
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Übermensch
If you would like to watch ‘Übermensch’, which won the Golden Blaster for Best Short Film at Octocon, here it is: https://dailymotion.com/video/xdm0p6?width=480&iframe=1&additionalInfos=0&autoPlay=0&hideInfos=0 ÜbermenschScreenplay by Daniel Poole, adapted from a short story by Kim Newman; Director: Simon Temple. For those who were at Octocon you can now watch the closing title sequence in full, which I recommend.
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blasted winners
I took the above picture of graffiti and tags in Temple Bar in Dublin today. Despite being in the vicinity I never got a chance to drop by to Octocon‘s Dead Dog get-together in the Porterhouse as I was busy in the afternoon. Since I was on the jury for the Golden Blasters Short Film Competition with Michael Carroll and Dave Lally I figured I should mention the winners of the competitions: Golden Blaster Award for Best Short Film (Jury Award): ‘Ubermensch’, directed by Simon Temple and written by Daniel Poole, based on a short story by Kim Newman. Silver Blaster Award for Best Short film (Audience Award): ‘The Astronomer’s…
