In a panel discussion entitled “Worlds of Wonder?”, recorded at the British Library as part of their events season to support the exhibition ‘Out of this World’, authors Neil Gaiman and Peter F. Hamilton, scientist Rachel Armstrong and critics Kari Sperring and Farah Mendlesohn (chair) discuss the current state of science fiction around the world and its relationship with the latest advances in science fact.

Farah Mendlesohn, Neil Gaiman, Rachel Armstrong, Peter F. Hamilton, and Kari Sperring at The British Library. Photo by Marjorie Taylor

Listen to an additional 15 mins of Neil talking about SF around the world during the panel + a new interview about his work with Alex Fitch

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Original listing for the event on The British Library website
Write up of the event on the Margo’s Musings blog

Some half term entertainment as Alex Fitch talks to writer Tony Lee about Doctor Who’s continuing adventures in comic strips and to Superman expert Brad Ricca about the adventures of Clark Kent in Smallville and on the big screen. Also, Guardian cartoonist Martin Rowson introduces the Doctor Who comics exhibition at the Cartoon Museum, which continues until October 31st when Smallville Season 10 is released on DVD.

Cover of Smallville season 10 DVDs, Jimmy Olsen and Chloe Sullivan in Smallville and comics, Doctor Who: The Lodger comic and TV adaptation, Doctor Who Tesseract graphic novel by Tony Lee

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Buy Smallville Season 10
and Smallville Complete Seasons 1-10 on DVD from amazon.co.uk
Buy Doctor Who graphic novels: The Forgotten, Fugitive, Tessaract, Final Sacrifice, The Ripper and When Worlds Collide by Tony Lee
Info about the Doctor Who comics exhibition at The Cartoon Museum
Interview with Brad Ricca at www.clevelandmagazine.com

Alex’s interviews with Martin Rowson about his graphic novels and other Doctor Who writers and illustrators

Also, the pilot episode of SCI-FI-LONDON’s new video magazine show The Pulse is now online…

Lian, Lyndsy Fonseca, Alex Fitch and Shaun Tan, Rob Spence in The Pulse

Featured in the first episode are Chris’ interviews with Lyndsy Fonseca about John Carpenter’s The Ward and with bona fide cyborg Rob Spence who demonstrates his ‘camera’eye’ plus Alex Fitch catches up with Oscar winning animator Shaun Tan who talks about his short film The Lost Thing and his collection of sketches, The Bird King.

For more info, please go to www.sci-fi-london.com/pulse where you can also download longer edits of the three interviews.

In this edition, hosted by Chris Patmore, we really do take a reality check on two popular TV series that have just come out on DVD. For Fringe Season 3 we speak with Oxford University quantum physicist David Deutsch about the possible existence of parallel universes. For the release of The Event we speak with psychologist Dr Patrick Lehman about the fascination with conspiracy theories.

Promo images for Fringe and The Event

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Buy Fringe Season 3 and The Event

Also, the pilot episode of SCI-FI-LONDON’s new video magazine show The Pulse is now online…

Lian, Lyndsy Fonseca, Alex Fitch and Shaun Tan, Rob Spence in The Pulse

Featured in the first episode are Chris’ interviews with Lyndsy Fonseca about John Carpenter’s The Ward and with bona fide cyborg Rob Spence who demonstrates his ‘camera eye’ plus Alex Fitch catches up with Oscar winning animator Shaun Tan who talks about his short film The Lost Thing and his collection of sketches, The Bird King.

For more info, please go to www.sci-fi-london.com/pulse where you can also watch longer edits of the three interviews.

Listen to Alex’s previous interview with Shaun Tan

As the Autumn nights start to draw in, we have a couple of recommendations of DVDs worth staying in for, as Alex Fitch interviews a pair of directors who have both earned cult followings for their work in the SF genre. Duncan Jones talks about his new film Source Code, a time travel thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and about how themes in his new movie consciously and unconsciously reflect some of his concerns of humanity dislocated by technology in his debut Moon. Alex also chats, alongside SCI-FI-LONDON’s newest interviewer Lily Savy-Gorman, to John Hough, director of the classic Disney film Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), starring Ray Milland and Donald Pleasance. Hough followed his first family film with a couple more for Disney – Return from Witch Mountain and The Watcher in the Woods – and talks about how the company’s approach to live-action filmmaking has changed over the years.

In a glass brightly - Source Code and Escape to Witch Mountain

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Read a transcript of Alex’s interview with Duncan Jones
Info about the Escape to Witch Mountain screening at SCI-FI-LONDON

Recommended events:

New Science Fiction Reading Group

In discussion: Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon (we have some copies for loan).
1st meeting on Wednesday 21st September @ 7pm
Streatham Library
63 Streatham High Road
London SW16 1PL

For more info contact 020 7926 6768 and ask for Pat / e-mail: pdunne@lambeth.gov.uk

In a pair of Q and As recorded at Sci-Fi London 10 (April 2011), Alex Fitch talks to the directors of two very different SF movies about the pilots of spaceships and their relationships with the craft and crew. Nydenion, directed by Jack Moik is a new German ‘Space Opera’ that borrows from the aesthetics of Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica to create a crowd pleasing saga of ships and men in interstellar battle; and Atlantis Down, directed by Max Bartoli is a Twilight Zone influenced SF / Horror film about the crew of a space shuttle who on encountering a mysterious orbital event, find themselves on a planet full of death traps and and uncanny encounters. Alex talks to Jack and Max about their two films and the different ways they have re-imagined classic Science Fiction tropes in the 21st Century.

Images from Nydenion and Atlantis Down

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Official film websites – www.nydenion.com / www.atlantisdown.com
Info about SCI-FI-LONDON 10 screenings of Nydenion and Atlantis Down

NASA website about the actual Space Shuttle Atlantis

In a pair of on stage interviews recorded at this year’s Sci-Fi London festival, Alex Fitch talks to a couple of film makers about their recent takes on the apocalypse in film; Dekker Dreyer whose film The Arcadian stars Lance Henriksen and Brian Thompson, and mixes the iconography of shamanism with elements of the road movie in a post-apocalyptic setting and Maxì Dejoie whose film The Gerber Syndrome is an Italian take on 28 Days Later…, using a pseudo-documentary style to follow a member of a biohazard clean-up crew who is scouring the streets looking for the contagious and is the first overtly political zombie film in a long time. Alex and Maxi are also joined by Gerber producers Claudio Bronzo and Lorenzo Lotti (in Italian and English).

Stills from The Gerber Syndrome and The Arcadian

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Directors’ websites – www.dekkerdreyer.com and www.maxidejoie.com
Trailers: The Arcadian / The Gerber Syndrome

The second half of a Q and A recorded at last year’s Sci-Fi London Festival about the 40th anniversary of Britain’s most famous comic book character. John Freeman hosts a panel discussion on Dan Dare with Garry Leach, Rian Hughes, Gary Erskine and Rod Barzilay; with this recording focussing on Hughes’ illustrations for Dare in Revolver and Crisis magazines; Gary Erskine and Garry Leach’s illustrations of Dan Dare for Virgin Comics and Rod Barzilay’s small press magazine about space fleet as featured in The Eagle – Spaceship Away.

Dan Dare and the Mekon in Revolver, Virgin Comics Dan Dare and Spaceship Away

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com / Listen to the podcast of the first half of the panel recording

Links: Original listing of the event at Sci-Fi London
Wikipedia page on Dan Dare
Spaceship Away magazine website
John Freeman’s British Comics news website – Down the tubes
Rian Hughes’ website www.devicefonts.co.uk
Gary Erskine online
Buy original Garry Leach art from artdroids.co.uk

Recommended events:

Comics @ SCI-FI-LONDON

A two day festival about the best of British Comics from the last 30 years in a lovely new space – The Blue Room – at BFI Southbank.

The event includes panel discussions, workshops, talks, a film preview and signings…

Guests include Al Davison (IDW Doctor Who comic), Tom Humberstone (Solipsistic Pop), David Hine (Batman), China Miéville (Kraken), Denise Mina (The Field Of Blood), Alice Duke (Self Made Hero), Mark Stafford (Cherubs), Ian Edginton (Victorian Undead), Martin Fisher (Battle among the stars), Huw J. Davies (Freeman), Edward Ross (Parasites!), Roger Mason (The Mice), Paul Collicutt (Robot City adventures), Phillipa Rice (My Cardboard Life), Alex Milway (The Mythical 9th Division), Eddie Robson (Doctor Who adventures), (Singer / songwriter) V.V. Brown, (film-maker) David Allain, (artist) John Spelling (all City of Abacus), Lee O’Connor (Ctrl Alt Delete unmasks corruption), Zarina Liew, Yuri Kore, Clio Millett (Manga Jiman winners), Matt Jones (BERG design) and Matthew Sheret (Paper Science)

The Blue Room, BFI Southbank, 30th April / 1st May, 10am – 5pm

More info at www.scifilondon.com/bficomics

Further information is available in the May BFI Southbank programme and at www.bfi.org.uk/southbank

Comics @ SCI-FI-LONDON is part of SCI-FI-LONDON 10, The London International Festival of Science-Fiction and Fantastic Film which takes place at various venues throughout London from 23rd April – 2nd May, full listing of events at www.scifilondon.com/festival

Continuing our month of shows about collectives and anthologies, we have a recording of a panel discussion from Sci-Fi London in 2010, celebrating the continuing popularity of the iconic British Space Hero whose first appearance in The Eagle was published in April 1950. Comics editor and writer John Freeman (The Science Service / Ex Astris) talks to a quartet of artists and writers who have created new adventures for the lantern jawed pilot in more recent years.

These include: Garry Leach, who drew Dan’s return to print in 2000AD, ten years after the end of the original Eagle, in the late 1970s and more recently covers for Virgin comics’ revival of the ‘Pilot of the future’ in 2008;
Rian Hughes, who drew the Eagle inspired comic The Science Service in 1989 and then the Mekon’s final revenge in the Thatcherite satire Dare in the adult comics Revolver and Crisis a year later;
Gary Erskine, who drew Dan Dare’s most recent official comic book adventures in the Virgin Comics periodical of the same name; and
Rod Barzilay, the editor and one of the writers of Spaceship Away, a small press Dan Dare magazine that has continued the original adventures of Spacefleet where the 1950s Eagle left off over the past decade.

This recording covers Dare’s appearance in print from the 1950s to the 1980s. (Recorded and edited by Alex Fitch)

Three anthologies featuring Dan Dare: The Eagle, 2000AD and 1980s Eagle comic

For more info about this podcast and a variety of formats you can stream or download, please visit the home of this episode at www.archive.org

Links: Original listing of the event at Sci-Fi London
Wikipedia page on Dan Dare
Spaceship Away magazine website
John Freeman’s British Comics news website – Down the tubes
Rian Hughes’ website www.devicefonts.co.uk
Gary Erskine online
Buy original Garry Leach art from artdroids.co.uk

Recommended events:

25 years of John Constantine: Hellblazer at SCI-FI-LONDON

To belatedly celebrate the 25th anniversary of the start of the ongoing Hellblazer comic, for the inaugural event of this year’s London International Science-Fiction and Fantastic Film Festival, Sci-Fi London is proud to present a panel of Constantine creators – Jamie Delano, David Lloyd, Andy Diggle and Peter Milligan – in an on stage Q and A about their experiences of working on the comic and related graphic novels.
The panel is followed by a screening of the movie Constantine (2005).
5pm, Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street, London.

Tickets / more info: www.sci-fi-london.com/festival

Comics @ SCI-FI-LONDON

A two day festival about the best of British Comics from the last 30 years in a lovely new space – The Blue Room – at BFI Southbank.

The event includes panel discussions, workshops, talks, a film preview and signings, with guests including Al Davison (IDW Doctor Who comic), Tom Humberstone (Solipsistic Pop), David Hine (Batman), China Miéville (Kraken), Denise Mina (The Field Of Blood), Alice Duke (Self Made Hero), Mark Stafford (Cherubs), Ian Edginton (Victorian Undead), Martin Fisher (Battle among the stars), Huw J. Davies (Freeman), Edward Ross (Parasites!), Roger Mason (The Mice), Paul Collicutt (Robot City adventures), Phillipa Rice (My Cardboard Life), Alex Milway (The Mythical 9th Division), Eddie Robson (Doctor Who adventures), (Singer / songwriter) V.V. Brown, (film-maker) David Allain, (artist) John Spelling (all City of Abacus), Lee O’Connor (Ctrl Alt Delete unmasks corruption), Zarina Liew, Yuri Kore, Clio Millett (Manga Jiman winners), Matt Jones (BERG design) and Matthew Sheret (Paper Science)

The Blue Room, BFI Southbank, 30th April / 1st May, 10am – 5pm

More info at www.scifilondon.com/bficomics

Further information is available in the May BFI Southbank programme and at www.bfi.org.uk/southbank

Comics @ SCI-FI-LONDON is part of SCI-FI-LONDON 10, The London International Festival of Science-Fiction and Fantastic Film which takes place at various venues throughout London from 23rd April – 2nd May, full listing of events at www.scifilondon.com/festival

Virtual worlds on the big screen vary from the most escapist to the increasingly relevant and in this episode of Sci-Fi London’s podcast we look at two very different representations of these on screen. Alex Fitch talks to Nicolas Alberny and Jean Mach, the directors of 8th Wonderland, a film about a virtual community declaring themselves to be a new country with rights and influence on the rest of the world, and the agit-prop antics of the members of this virtual country on film proved prophetic compared to recent events in the Middle East and demonstrations on the streets of London. Also, we have an extract from the Tron: Legacy press conference in which director Joseph Kosinski, stars Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde and others talk about their sequel to a VR film classic.
(Tron: Legacy is released on DVD 18/04/11 and 8th Wonderland in June)

Robert Bradford in 8th Wonderland / Jeff Bridges in Tron: Legacy

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Official 8th Wonderland and Tron: Legacy websites
Download 8th Wonderland from iTunes

Recommended events:

25 years of John Constantine: Hellblazer at SCI-FI-LONDON

To belatedly celebrate the 25th anniversary of the start of the ongoing Hellblazer comic, for the inaugural event of this year’s London International Science-Fiction and Fantastic Film Festival, Sci-Fi London is proud to present a panel of Constantine creators – Jamie Delano, David Lloyd, Andy Diggle and Peter Milligan – in an on stage Q and A about their experiences of working on the comic and related graphic novels.
The panel is followed by a screening of the movie Constantine (2005).
5pm, Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street, London.

Tickets / more info: www.sci-fi-london.com/festival

Currently on stage at the Lyric, Hammersmith until 28th February is Jeremy Dyson’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “Twisted Tales”, combining five of his black comedy short stories into an eighty minute play about man’s inhumanity to man and the awkwardness of commuting… In a Q and A recorded after a performance of the production, cast members Jonathan Danciger, Nick Fletcher, Selina Griffiths, Alexandra Maher, Larry McCartney, George Rainsford and Trevor White discuss their love of Dahl, the delicate art of getting the tone right as one tongue in cheek tale rubs up against another that is genuinely disturbing, and playing multiple roles within the production. Tales by Roald Dahl adapted for the production include The Landlady, William and Mary, Galloping Foxley, Man from the South and Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat… (Originally broadcast as part of a Clear Spot on Resonance FM)

George Rainsford and Jonathan Danciger in Twisted Tales plus the opening paragraph of The Landlady by Roald Dahl

(Twisted Tales goes on tour to Newcastle in March and Liverpool in April)

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: More info about Twisted Tales at the Lyric, Hammersmith
Wikipedia page on Roald Dahl
Observer review of the production
Read The Landlady by Roald Dahl at www.wattpad.com
Roald Dahl official website and fan site

Recommended events:

Upcoming screenings at the Alibi, Dalston

Alibi Film club…

Feb 28th // Total Recall
March 7th // Saw
March 14th // Mean Girls
March 21st // Bad Lieutenant
March 28th // Evil Dead

Join the facebook group…

The Alibi, 91 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, London E8 2PB
FREE, Mondays from 8pm

Young Graphic Novel Festival, Islington

Childrens’ workshops:

Gary Northfield – Thursday February 24, 10.30am – 12, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
John Barnes Library, 275 Camden Rd., N7 0JN 020 7527 7900
+ Thursday February 24, 2.30pm – 4, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
Finsbury Library, 245 St. John St., EC1V 4NB 020 7527 7960

Sally Kindberg – Saturday February 26 ,11am – 12, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
North Library, Manor Gardens, N7 6JX 020 7527 7840
More info: http://www.islington.gov.uk/Education/Libraries/whatsnewlibraries

Glenn Baxter in Cork Street
Beloved British newspaper cartoonist Glenn Baxter has a new exhibition in London of his inimical one panel gags of whimsy and surrealism.
Flowers Central Gallery, 21 Cork Street London W1S 3LZ
8th Feb – 3rd March 2011
More info at: www.flowersgalleries.com and www.glenbaxter.com

Sci-Fi London is proud to present a recording of the London press conference for a new Sci-Fi Comedy released on Valentine’s Day, as cast members Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Sigourney Weaver, Joe Lo Truglio, Jason Bateman and director Greg Mottola discuss the making of the film ‘Paul’, from interacting with the CGI lead character to the many SF and ‘geek-culture’ references that pepper the film. (Recorded and introduced by Alex Fitch)

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg in Paul

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Official Paul website
Article about Paul marketing
Simon Pegg’s website
Nick Frost fansite

Recommended events:

Upcoming screenings at the Alibi, Dalston

Alibi Film club…

Feb 21st // Freddy Got Fingered
Feb 28th // Total Recall
March 7th // Saw
March 14th // Mean Girls
March 21st // Bad Lieutenant
March 28th // Evil Dead

Join the facebook group…

The Alibi, 91 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, London E8 2PB
FREE, Mondays from 8pm

Young Graphic Novel Festival, Islington

Childrens’ workshops:
Steve Marchant – Monday February 14, 4.30pm – 6, Ages 12 – 16, 10 places
South Library, 115 Essex Rd., N1 2SL 020 7527 7860

Gary Northfield – Thursday February 24, 10.30am – 12, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
John Barnes Library, 275 Camden Rd., N7 0JN 020 7527 7900
+ Thursday February 24, 2.30pm – 4, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
Finsbury Library, 245 St. John St., EC1V 4NB 020 7527 7960

Sally Kindberg – Saturday February 26 ,11am – 12, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
North Library, Manor Gardens, N7 6JX 020 7527 7840
More info: http://www.islington.gov.uk/Education/Libraries/whatsnewlibraries

Glenn Baxter in Cork Street
Beloved British newspaper cartoonist Glenn Baxter has a new exhibition in London of his inimical one panel gags of whimsy and surrealism.
Flowers Central Gallery, 21 Cork Street London W1S 3LZ
8th Feb – March 2011
More info at: www.flowersgalleries.com and www.glenbaxter.com

Orbital Comics events

Pauls Cornell and Rainey panel

Paul Cornell (Action Comics / Captain Britain) and Paul Rainey (There’s no time like the present / The Book of Lists) will be involved in a panel discussion about their work in Orbital, preceeded by a signing of their work. Saturday 19th Feb, 4pm / 7pm

Mark Stafford exhibition

Artist Mark Stafford (Bryan Talbot’s Cherubs / Electric Sheep Magazine) is exhibiting his work in the Orbital gallery, including images from his forthcoming contribution to Self Made Hero’s H.P. Lovecraft anthology… 18th Jan 2011 – 13th Feb 2011

More info at www.orbitalcomics.com

Tom Hunter (Arthur C. Clarke Awards Administrator), Paul Graham-Raven (editor-in-chief of the science fiction webzine Futurismic), Paul Rainey (creator of serialised web and print comics Book of Lists and There’s No Time Like The Present), Gary Gibson (novelist – Nova War / Stealing Light) and Dave Bradley (Editor-in-Chief of SFX magazine) conclude their talk about the Future of Publishing in the iPad / Kindle age, looking at the synesthethic reaction to real books and the interative nature of downloaded / online content. Also features questions by Alex Fitch (Resonance FM) and John Freeman (Doctor Who Magazine)… (part 2 of 2)

Recorded live at Sci-Fi London 9, Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Spring 2010 (recorded and edited by Alex Fitch)

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com / listen to part 1

Links: Paul Rainey’s website
Gary Gibson’s blog
SFX magazine website
Paul Raven’s Futurismic website
Arthur C. Clark awards website

Listen to Alex’s interview with Paul Rainey about his work

Recommended events:

Screenings at The Alibi

The fun ‘Film Club’ at The Alibi in Dalston continues with more free, classic movies on the big screen in January. Now with an earlier start time of 8pm.

10th Jan // The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
17th Jan // Anchorman (2004)
24th Jan // Vengeance of the Zombies (1973)
31st Jan // American Movie (1999)

Free Every Monday from 7pm (film at 8pm)
The Alibi, 91 Kingsland High St

More info: www.thealibilondon.co.uk/filmclub

Call for Mechanical Elephant strips

As part of their ‘First Fridays’ events, Marine Studios in Margate are putting together an exhibition that looks at comics, graphic novels and sequential art.

Featuring work from a range of local and international artists and writers, live talk from guest speaker Paul Gravett, more comics than you can stand, and the chance to discuss your work and ideas.

To kick start proceedings prior to the show they are inviting submissions for a two page comic under the title: ‘Mechanical Elephant’. All ideas are welcome to inspire, amuse, terrify and entertain. There are no limits other than sticking to the two page rule (206 x 280 mm each, in either portrait or landscape), and of course, don’t forget the Mechanical Elephant!
Send your entries (jpeg, pdf, tif, eps or mov format) with the subject ‘Mechanical Elephant’ to: Kam [at] hkd.uk.com or Rick [at] hkd.uk.com

The deadline for entries is 21st January 2011. Marine Studios will display the finished artwork and as much of the preparatory work as possible in their show beginning 4th February 2011 at Marine Studios, Margate.

More info at www.marinestudios.co.uk/gallery/events/

Laydeez do Comics January meeting

Guest Speakers:

Corinne Pearlman: Cartoonist, designer and illustrator.
Co-coordinator of Cartoon County, the Sussex Association of Cartoonists and Comic Strip Artists.
Creative Director of Comic Company, and Myriad Editions

Erica Smith: Editor and Creator of Girl Frenzy, the UK’s only underground girl zine. First Published in ’91.

Ilya: British comic book writer and artist.
Creator of Bic who appeared in a self-published series of comics (now collected as Skidmarks). His first (not graphic) novel The Clay Dreaming was published in 2010.

Monday 24 January 2011, 6.30-9.30pm, The Rag Factory, Henage Street (off Brick Lane), London E1 5LJ

More info at: www.laydeezdocomics.com

Tom Hunter at Sci-Fi London, photo (c) 2010 Craig Grobler

In a Q and A recorded live at this year’s Sci-Fi London Oktoberfest, Alex Fitch talks to British director Gareth Edwards about his genre crossing feature film Monsters, which features a photo journalist escorting a spoilt rich girl across Mexico following an alien invasion.
Alex and Gareth discuss the latter’s use of special effects that vary from the obvious – creating bio-luminescent floating giant squid – to the invisible – distressed posters advertising the quarantine zone – and the pros and cons of shooting guerrilla style with a small cast and crew South of the Border.

Scoot McNairy in Monsters

To download / stream this radio interview in a variety of formats, please visit www.archive.org

Links: IMDb page on Monsters
Official website
Watch Gareth Edwards’ 48 hour film challenge short Factory Farmed
More info about Sci-Fi London Oktoberfest

Listen to Chris Patmore’s interview with Gareth concentrating on the Special Effects of Monsters

Recommended events:

Christmas screenings at The Alibi

Elf (2003) on 13th December
Die Hard (1988) on 20th December
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) 27th December

Free screenings of some classic movies at a friendly bar – The Alibi, 91 Kingsland High Street, Dalston – at 8pm every Monday!

More info: www.thealibilondon.co.uk/filmclub

Help the Comic Book Alliance raise money for charity

The Comic Book Alliance (CBA) are offering comic fans some very special Christmas treats this week with their very first fundraising auction — including the chance to star alongside Batman in his new comic, Batman Inc!

Grant Morrison will write the winning bidder into an issue of Batman Inc. featuring their name and likeness, courtesy of DC Comics.

Not only that, but Frank Quitely, winner of four 2010 Eagle Awards and one of the hottest artists in comics (All Star Superman, Batman & Robin) will draw a personalised portrait of a winning bidder!

Plus, there are dozens of signed books, comics and graphic novels from high profile creators like Alan Moore (Watchmen), Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys), Charles Vess (Stardust), and John Wagner (Judge Dredd).

And there’s original comic art and signed limited prints by the cream of British artists including zombie art work by Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), Bryan Talbot (Grandville), Sean Phillips (Criminal), John McCrea (Hitman), David Lloyd (V for Vendetta), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Rufus Dayglo (Tank Girl) and Garen Ewing (The Rainbow Orchid).

The auction starts at 19:00 on Thursday 2 December and runs until at 19:00 on Saturday 11 December on www.ebay.co.uk

Tom Hunter (Award Administrator for the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction Literature) chairs a panel on the future of publishing in the digital age:

The publishing industry is coming under assault from all sides. Are Kindles, iPads and smartphones signalling the end of traditional paper publishing? How will the publishing industry re-shape itself for 2050?
Panelists include: Paul Graham-Raven, a freelance writer, editor and webgeek, genre fiction reviewer and editor-in-chief of the near-future science fiction webzine Futurismic; Paul Rainey, a cartoonist, illustrator and creator of serialised web and print comics The Book of Lists and There’s No Time Like The Present; novelist Gary Gibson, Nova War is his fourth book and his second Dakota Merrick title, following 2007’s Stealing Light; Dave Bradley, Editor-in-Chief of SFX magazine, Europe’s best-selling sci-fi and fantasy periodical. With questions addressed to the panel by John Freeman (Doctor Who Magazine) and Alex Fitch (Panel Borders). (part 1 of 2)

Clockwise from top left: comics by Paul Rainey, Futurismic blog by Paul Graham-Raven, SFX magazine cover, various novels by Gary Gibson

Recorded live at the Apollo Piccadilly cinema, Spring 2010 (recorded and edited by Alex Fitch)

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Paul Rainey’s website
Gary Gibson’s blog
SFX magazine website
Paul Raven’s Futurismic website
Arthur C. Clark awards website

Listen to Alex’s interview with Paul Rainey about his work

Recommended events:

Demons screening

Prior to its DVD re-release from Arrow Video, Midnight Movies presents a special screening of Dario Argento’s classic gory 80s horror Demons on Friday 26 November 2010 at Curzon Soho. One fateful night in a Berlin cinema, art imitates life as one by one the audience are possessed by blood-hungry, puss-filled demons. More details on Curzon Cinemas’ website.

Erika Moen – Signing and Exhibition

Erika Moen (Dar Comics) will be in London for the opening of her show at Orbital Comics! Come see her paintings in real life and maybe get a book signed or something!

Orbital Comics, 8 Gt Newport Street, London WC2H 7JA, United Kingdom
Thursday, 30 December 2010 17:00

Comica, London week four

Paul Gravett: From Escape To Now
Paul Gravett gives an illustrated talk about his lifelong passion for comics, from the 80s Escape Magazine to now.
The Rag Factory, 16-18 Heneage Street, London E1
Monday, 29 November – 6.30pm to 9.30pm

Great British Comics: Steve Bell and Bryan Talbot
Two of Britain’s most brilliant graphic storytellers swap tales of their prolific careers.
ICA, The Mall, London SW1
Wednesday, 1 December – 6.45pm to 8.15pm

David Bircham: Alien Ink
Mingle with the rising talent of the UK, experience talks and attend a comic masterclass. Book Tickets…
London Print Studio, 425 Harrow Road, W10
Saturday, 4 December – Noon to 5pm

More info / book tickets at www.comicafestival.com

In this edition of the Sci-Fi London Podcast, SFL web editor Chris Patmore guest hosts to bring interviews with two people working and different ends of the special effects budgetary scale. First we speak to Paul Franklin, visual effects supervisor on Chris Nolan’s Inception, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, as well as on the two latest Harry Potter movies.

Then we speak with Gareth Edwards about his debut feature Monsters, and how he got to make it, and doing special effects on his home computer. Gareth was the winner of the first SCI-FI-LONDON 48 Hour Film Challenge, and his feature film is garnering rave reviews around the world. Gareth will be holding a director’s masterclass after the screening of Monsters at Oktoberfest 2010 (see below).

Paul Franklin contemplates the VFX of Inception, Gareth Edwards prepares to shoot Monsters

Links: Interviews with Paul Franklin about Batman Begins and Inception
Pre-order a special Limited Edition of Inception on DVD/Blu-ray (December 6) from Play.com

Read an interview with Gareth Edwards about Monsters

Recommended events:

Sci-Fi London Oktoberfest

Sunday 10th October

Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (42 day) screening

To those of us who got beyond banging the rocks together, 42 is represented in binary as 101010. And so, just in case nothing remarkable happens on the tenth of October 2010, SCI-FI-LONDON will be showing the film.

10AM Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street

Thursday 14th October

Evening event at Royal Greenwich Observatory: Life, but as we know it?

A SPECIAL NIGHT investigating Extraterrestrial life in science, fiction and comedy.

We start the evening with a live Planetarium show: Astrobiology – the new science of life in the universe, created in conjunction with astrobiologist Dr Lewis Dartnell, this unique planetarium show will take you on a tour of the planets and moons of our Solar System to ask: are we alone?

On the night we will also be screening a special preview of MONSTERS by Gareth Edward on the planetarium dome. Seats are limited and we will be picking ticket holders to the Astrobiology show at random and offering them a chance to also see the film!

Also: Join some of the activities around the Observatory site. / Touch some real-life visitors from space with a tour of the Observatory’s meteorite collection. / Find out the latest news from NASA’s mission to detect Earth-like worlds and watch a live demo of how we might scan them for signs of life. / Good monster/bad monster – scientists and writers discuss what makes a believable alien lifeform. With Simon Guerrier and Dr Zita Martins / Weather permitting, a chance to see Jupiter’s moon Europa – most likely home of alien life in our Solar System. / Alien Among Us – a real-world game. You’ll need to think, plan, sneak, and escape. It’ll be a blast… REGISTER ON THE NIGHT

6:30PM Royal Greenwich Observatory, Greenwich
More…


Friday 15th October

Rise of the Machines at The Royal Society, London

THE ROYAL SOCIETY plays host to an unashamedly robotic evening of discussion, demonstrations and drama. Tom Hunter is joined by Tony Ballantyne, author of Twisted Metal and Prof. Dr. Kerstin Dautenhahn, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Hertfordshire.
Kerstin is a pioneering researcher in robot social learning and imitation whose research interests include Human-Robot Interaction, Social Robotics, Socially Intelligent Agents and Artificial Life. Kerstin and her colleagues will also introduce us to two KASPAR robots (Kinesics and Synchronisation in Personal Assistant Robotics).

Following the discussion: We will be treated to a rehearsed reading of extracts from Karel Capek’s 1921 play R.U.R. (ROSSUM’S UNIVERSAL ROBOTS), which is noted for introducing the term, ‘ROBOT’.
SCI-FI-LONDON has commissioned a modernisation of the work for the 10th annual festival in April 2011. This will be the first public preview of the work-in-progress.
This fabulous evening is in collaboration with the Royal Society’s 350th anniversary celebrations in 2010.

6:30PM The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG (FREE!)

Technotise: Edit and I

Serbia’s first animated feature film – an eye-popping cyberpunk ride that’s calibrated to knock your socks off. Think GHOST IN THE SHELL meets WALTZ WITH BASHIR.

7:30PM Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street

Dougal and the Blue Cat

We are delighted to screen a newly-restored cult classic of a spin-off from the children’s television series, THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT, but this feature is an altogether darker affair (+ FREE BEER!)

9:30PM Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street

Saturday 16th October

Robots

Saturday morning kids screening of the popular CGI cartoon.

10:30AM Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street

Alien Encounters: Superior Fan Power Since 1979

Documentary about Ridley Scott’s classic Alien film and its contiuning legacy

1:00PM Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street

Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Live action version of the brilliant anime time travel film.

3:00PM Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street

Monsters

Preview of the new British Sci-Fi film by Sci-FI London shorts alumni Gareth Edwards followed by a director’s masterclass hosted by Alex Fitch.

6:00PM Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street

TRON

Screening of the Disney SF classic with a special 8 min preview of the forthcoming Tron: Legacy in 3D, plus special video introductions, short film and an accompanying exhibtion…

9:00PM Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street

SFL All-Nighters

For many people the highlight of our twice yearly festival – all night screenings of your favourite genre films with as much ice cream and energy drinks as you can consume…
Choose from:
Anime / MST3K / the best of Guillemo Del Toro / Studio Ghibli All Nighter

11.30PM Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street

More info at www.sci-fi-london.com

To coincide with the release of his new zombie novel for young adults, The Dead, Alex Fitch talks to comedian turned novelist, Charlie Higson about his survival horror novels set in London, whose locations take in such notable locations as Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, the Imperial War Museum and Waitrose! Alex and Charlie discuss what led him to write the first book in the series, The Enemy and how that led to a prequel, his disappointment at the cancellation of Randall and Hopkirk (deceased) on TV, the difference in writing novels such as King of the Ants for adults and writing about zombies for younger readers plus his fascination in giving nightmares to children…

Originally broadcast 17th September 2010 as part of a ‘Clear Spot’ on Resonance 104.4 FM

Extracts of the covers from The Enemy and The Dead by Charlie Higson

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Wikipedia page on Charlie Higson
Charlie Higson’s website / The Enemy website
Listen to Alex’s interview with director Stuart Gordon, who adapted Charlie’s novel King of the Ants for the screen

Recommended events:

Orbital BECKY CLOONAN EXHIBITION EXTENDED TO SEP. 30th

Due to the big success of Becky Cloonan‘s show at the Orbital Gallery, we have extended the exhibition dates until the end of this month.
The show features original artwork from Demo, Pixu, the upcoming series Wolves and East Coast Rising, as well as limited screenprints, postcard sets and a hand-painted guitar.
The Orbital Gallery is open on our usual shop hours, from 10:30 to 19:00 Monday to Saturday and 11:30 to 17:00 on Sundays.

Orbital comics, 8 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JA

Film Screenings:

Free MEGA SHARK vs GIANT OCTOPUS screening @ THE ALIBI

Skill Wizard proudly presents the original, contemporary mockbuster from Asylum – the makers of MEGA PIRANHA – ignore the groan-worthy other oversized beast movies, all you need is MEGA SHARK vs GIANT OCTOPUS (2009).

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa7ck5mcd1o

The Asylum really know how to make an entertainingly bad, pacy and non-ironic B (actually, more like Z) movie, just add beer.

“WINNER EATS ALL!” We have have some truly awesome MEGA PIRANHA merch to giveaway for the ‘Guess the Deaths’ game and for the most witty Heckle…

- Several Full sized glossy posters / A decent trucker cap / XL t-shirt
*** ALL signed by TIFFANY and PAUL LOGAN (stars of Mega Piranha)***

Mon 20th SEPT, the Alibi, 91 Kingsland High St, London E8 2PB
8pm – 2am (FILM AT 9pm) with DJing Schlock rock and metal…
FREE ENTRY

FilmBar 70 presents Tam Lin (aka The Devil’s Widow)

If you haven’t been to any of the FilmBar 70 nights yet, you’re missing out on an excellent evening of old adverts, trailers, music and some excellent films! One of our favourite nights of the month, check out www.youtube.com/Filmbar70 for the trailer!

Tam Lin (aka The Devil’s Widow) dir: Roddy McDowall (1970)

“Scum! You must treat them like scum!”

Filmbar70 is very proud to present a neglected and under-appreciated classic of British cinema – the magical and mysterious Tam Lin. The only directorial effort from Roddy McDowall (yes, Cornelius from the Planet of the Apes series), the film was unfairly critically mauled upon its release in 1970 and is ripe for re-evaluation. With an unbelievable cast headed by super suave Ian McShane and the alluring Ava Gardner, Tam Lin is sensuous, lyrical and unrepentantly romantic cinema of the highest order.

The indefinably wealthy and enigmatic Michaela (Gardner) lives a life of endless sensual gratification with her young lover Tom (McShane). With an entourage of swinging hipsters in tow, they head north from London for yet more decadent shenanigans. But when Michaela discovers that Tom has fallen for a provincial pastor’s daughter (Stephanie Beacham) and yearns for a simpler, more sedate life, the mood of the party threatens to turn from the celebratory to the downright sinister. As Tom learns the secret behind Michaela’s glamorous façade and the true price of the promise of eternal hedonism, he realises that he too may face the fate met by her myriad former lovers – madness, despair and destruction.

(£3 cover charge / FREE to members)

Roxy Bar and Screen, 128-132 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB

Robert Rankin signings

ROBERT RANKIN will be signing The Japanese Devil Fish Girl at the Forbidden Planet London Megastore on Saturday 18th September 1:00pm – 2:00pm and The Book of FICTS at The MAGPIE and CROWN public house, Brentford from 7pm

The pickled Martian’s tentacles are fraying at the ends and Professor Coffin’s Most Meritorious Unnatural Attraction is no longer drawing the crowds. It’s 1895; nearly a decade since Mars invaded Earth, chronicled by H.G. Wells’ THE WAR OF THE WORLDS.

Saturday 18 September 13:00 – 14:00, Forbidden Planet London Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR

THEN…come on over to the MAGPIE and CROWN public house for 7pm to celebrate the launch of “The Bumper Book of FICTS”, and buy copies of this 96 page, hardbacked, illustrated wonder… Robert and co-author Neil Gardner will be signing them personally and you’ll even get a limited edition exclusive book plate to commemorate the event.

Saturday 18 September 19:00- 23:00, The Magpie and Crown, 128 High Street, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 8EW

Continuing our month long look at British creators who have written and drawn superhero comics, (in a panel recorded in front of a live audience at the London Science-Fiction Film Festival) Alex Fitch concludes his talk with a quartet of Marvel UK luminaries who were responsible for some of the best British action / adventure titles in the 1980s and 90s.
Alex discusses with artist Gary Erskine and writers Dan Abnett, Simon Furman and John Freeman, the decline in fortunes of Marvel UK as a publisher in the 1990s – despite their creation of memorable titles such as Knights of Pendragon, Dragon’s Claws and popular Transformers spin-off title Death’s Head – due to changing market pressures. (Part 2 of 2)

4 covers of Marvel UK titles from the late 80s and early 90s - Dragon's Claws #1, Death's Head #9, The Knights of Pendragon #6, Warheads #1

For more info about this podcast and a variety of formats you can stream or download, please visit the home of this episode at www.archive.org / Listen to part one of the Marvel UK panel

Links: Wikipedia pages on Marvel UK, Dan Abnett, Simon Furman, Gary Erskine and John Freeman
John Freeman’s website on British comics news: www.downthetubes.net
Gary Erskine and Simon Furman’s blogs
Dan Abnett’s website
Gallery of Marvel UK covers at the Grand Comics Database
Marvel UK fanblog: It came from Darkmoor
Read Dan Abnett and Simon Harrison’s unpublished Warheads / Death’s Head II graphic novel Loose Cannons
Interview with Gary Erskine in The Guardian about working in the British comics industry

Listen to Alex’s interviews with Chris Claremont and Alan Davis / Paul Cornell about Captain Britain
Listen to Alex’s interview with Simon Furman about Transformers: part one / part two

Recommended events:

Orbital BECKY CLOONAN EXHIBITION EXTENDED TO SEP. 30th

Due to the big success of Becky Cloonan‘s show at the Orbital Gallery, we have extended the exhibition dates until the end of this month.
The show features original artwork from Demo, Pixu, the upcoming series Wolves and East Coast Rising, as well as limited screenprints, postcard sets and a hand-painted guitar.
The Orbital Gallery is open on our usual shop hours, from 10:30 to 19:00 Monday to Saturday and 11:30 to 17:00 on Sundays.

Orbital comics, 8 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JA

Film Screenings:

Free MEGA SHARK vs GIANT OCTOPUS screening @ THE ALIBI

Skill Wizard proudly presents the original, contemporary mockbuster from Asylum – the makers of MEGA PIRANHA – ignore the groan-worthy other oversized beast movies, all you need is MEGA SHARK vs GIANT OCTOPUS (2009).

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa7ck5mcd1o

The Asylum really know how to make an entertainingly bad, pacy and non-ironic B (actually, more like Z) movie, just add beer.

“WINNER EATS ALL!” We have have some truly awesome MEGA PIRANHA merch to giveaway for the ‘Guess the Deaths’ game and for the most witty Heckle…

- Several Full sized glossy posters / A decent trucker cap / XL t-shirt
*** ALL signed by TIFFANY and PAUL LOGAN (stars of Mega Piranha)***

Mon 20th SEPT, the Alibi, 91 Kingsland High St, London E8 2PB
8pm – 2am (FILM AT 9pm) with DJing Schlock rock and metal…
FREE ENTRY

FilmBar 70 presents Tam Lin (aka The Devil’s Widow)

If you haven’t been to any of the FilmBar 70 nights yet, you’re missing out on an excellent evening of old adverts, trailers, music and some excellent films! One of our favourite nights of the month, check out www.youtube.com/Filmbar70 for the trailer!

Tam Lin (aka The Devil’s Widow) dir: Roddy McDowall (1970)

“Scum! You must treat them like scum!”

Filmbar70 is very proud to present a neglected and under-appreciated classic of British cinema – the magical and mysterious Tam Lin. The only directorial effort from Roddy McDowall (yes, Cornelius from the Planet of the Apes series), the film was unfairly critically mauled upon its release in 1970 and is ripe for re-evaluation. With an unbelievable cast headed by super suave Ian McShane and the alluring Ava Gardner, Tam Lin is sensuous, lyrical and unrepentantly romantic cinema of the highest order.

The indefinably wealthy and enigmatic Michaela (Gardner) lives a life of endless sensual gratification with her young lover Tom (McShane). With an entourage of swinging hipsters in tow, they head north from London for yet more decadent shenanigans. But when Michaela discovers that Tom has fallen for a provincial pastor’s daughter (Stephanie Beacham) and yearns for a simpler, more sedate life, the mood of the party threatens to turn from the celebratory to the downright sinister. As Tom learns the secret behind Michaela’s glamorous façade and the true price of the promise of eternal hedonism, he realises that he too may face the fate met by her myriad former lovers – madness, despair and destruction.

(£3 cover charge / FREE to members)

Roxy Bar and Screen, 128-132 Borough High Street, Lo

This year’s cinematic interest in comic book adaptations shows no sign of slowing down with adaptations of Scott Pilgrim vs. the world and Tamara Drewe hitting screens over the next few weeks. To coincide with this, we have the next in our series of podcasts recorded in front of a live audience at this year’s Sci-Fi London festival – Alex Fitch talks to cartoonist Woodrow Phoenix and film maker Howard Webster about the dialogue between comics, film and TV, looking at Woodrow’s work adapting his comic Pants Ant for the Cartoon Network and Howard’s interactive webcomic The Many Worlds of Jonas Moore. The podcast also features a brief appearance by Marcus Gilbert (Biggles / Army of Darkness) talking about his roles in Howard’s comics…

Clockwise from top left - Dragon Soccer and The many worlds of Jonas Moore directed by Howard Webster, Rumble Strip by Woodrow Phoenix and Pants Ant by Woodrow Phoenix and Louise Evans

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Woodrow Phoenix‘s website
Buy Rumble Strip from Myriad Editions
Louis (Felt Mistress) Evans’ felt renderings of Woodrow’s Pants Ant featured on her flickr pages

Howard Webster‘s website featuring the Dragon Soccer promo starring Marcus Gilbert
The Many Worlds of Jonas Moore website featuring the latest ‘Nazi Germany’ promo starring Colin Salmon

Recommended events:

Becky Cloonan at Orbital Comics

The art of American comic book artist Becky Cloonan is on display at Orbital Comics from 20th August to 20th September. Best known for her collaborartions with writer Brian Wood, the exhibtion curated by Tom Humberstone includes around 20 original pieces of work on show as well as some limited screenprints, postcard sets and a hand-painted guitar (only on display the first weekend of the show).

8 Great Newport Street
London WC2H 7JA
www.orbitalcomics.com

Hypercomics events at the Pump House Gallery and nearby

Sunday 22nd August, 12 noon – 6pm: Comiket – a small press comics fair being held in a marquee outside the venue which also features a drop in workshop for kids on character design. FREE

Thursday 26 August 6.30pm (Clapham Picture House): Film Screening - A Scanner Darkly

Film screening with an introduction by Nick Kaplony, Pump House Gallery.
A SCANNER DARKLY plays like a graphic novel come to life, with live-action photography overlaid with an advanced animation process. Ticktes £8.50 / £7 concessions

Sunday 19 September 1:30pm – 3:30pm: Masked Adventures in Comics!
Draw inspiration from the Hypercomics exhibition to design your own story’s masked heroes and villains. Get behind their masks to discover your characters’ unique personalities and use the Pump House Gallery
setting to bring them to life in a gripping story and leave with your own self-published comic book! This workshop will be led by comic artist Sarah McIntyre. FREE

Thursday 23 September 6:30pm – 8:00pm: Dave McKean Comics Masterclass
Award-winning author, artist and film-maker Dave McKean explains his working practices and processes in the creation of his comics in their various forms, including his new gallery project for Hypercomics.

N.B./ Tickets £15 Booking essential: call 020 8871 7572…

Filmbar70 at The Roxy Bar and Screen

Filmbar70 is the brainchild of two cinema and beer enthusiasts who want to share the joy of wrongfully obscure trash/class world cinema with monthly screenings at the brilliant Roxy Bar and Screen.

The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh (1971)
Director: Sergio Martino
Starring: Edwige Fenech| George Hilton| Ivan Rassimov + ads and action packed trailers!

Wednesday 25th August 2010 – groovy music from 7pm, programme starts 8pm – a night devoted to the wonderful Edwige Fenech and the sinister and sexy world of the giallo…

More info at www.filmbar70.com

Partially broadcast 23/07/10 as part of an episode of I’m ready for my close-up on Resonance 104.4 FM

Alex Fitch talks to actor David Hewlett about the four films he’s made with director Vincenzo Natali – Cypher, Nothing, the cult classic Cube and their new film Splice, which is in cinemas now. David also talks about his interest in William Gibson’s Neuromancer and his directorial debut A Dog’s Breakfast…

The cast of Splice by Vincenzo Natali - Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Simona Maicanescu and David Hewlett

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Wikipedia pages on Splice, Vincenzo Natali and David Hewlett
Official Splice website
Splice trailers at apple.com
David Hewlett’s website – www.dgeek.com
Read Alex’s reviews of Splice and Cube
Read an interview with Vincenzo Natali about Splice at www.sci-fi-london.com

Recommended events:

HOUSE OF MIRTH: Edinburgh previews finale

Featuring: JOSIE LONG!!! with a FULL PREVIEW of her brand whipping new EDINBURGH show: “Be Honourable!”…

1999 BBC Best New Comedy Award Winner and 2006 If.Comedie Edinburgh Best Newcomer Winner!

“Britain’s bright new hopes of the comedy scene” Sunday Times

“there’s a lovable romantic sensibility here, reminiscent of Daniel Kitson’s, but without the accompanying acidity…heartfelt and eccentric.” Guardian

Star of ‘You Have Been Watching’, ‘The Bubble’, ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’ , ’8 out of 10 Cats’ and ‘Girl Friday’ amongst mega-loads of other things… She’s just signed a book deal. NEED WE GO ON? No.

And… DAVID WHITNEY

One of the stars of Channel 4′s FoneJacker…

“His trajectory is perfect. He squeezes the laughter out of audiences. He is the squeeze person.” Eddie Izzard
“dunked in a tongue-in-cheek laddishness that lends a playful spirit to the posturing. With bags of confidence and mainstream sensibilities, it probably won’t be too long before he’s a fixture on the bigger clubs” – Chortle

All brought to you by your regular hosts and SARA PASCOE and JESSICA FOSTEKEW! LIVE fighting guaranteed. With words though, only with words (and kicks).

Recommended by Time Out and Londonisfunny.com …

SOLD OUT every month since DECEMBER so BOOK NOW, HERE!

JULY 27TH 2010
Doors 8pm, £5
THE BETSY TROTWOOD
56 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3BL

Alex Fitch talks to a couple of actors who initially found fame working in TV productions created by Joss Whedon – Morena Baccarin, in an extract from a Q and A recorded at the Apple store in London to celebrate the arrival of the first season of the remake of V becoming available on iTunes – and, in a Q and A recorded after a screening of the new SF comedy Drones at this year’s Spring Sci-Fi London festival, Jonathan Woodward talks about what it’s like playing a human in an office full of aliens.

Morena Baccarin becomes a US citizen in V while Jonathan Woodward works in an office full of Drones

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Wikipedia pages on V, Morena Baccarin and Jonathan Woodward

To download the hour long version of the V Q and A, also featuring Elizabeth Mitchell and Scott Wolf, please visit the iTunes store, where you can also buy the entire first season

Morena Baccarin’s website

For more infomation about Drones, please visit the offical homepage: www.dronesmovie.com

Jonathan Woodward’s website

For more info about all things Joss Whedon related, please visit www.whedonesque.com

Recommended events:

‘Magical realism and social realism’ in comics

Prisoner writer Ian Rakoff talks about Social Realism and Magical Realism in comics, concentrating on Corto Maltese, Love and Rockets and Little Orphan Annie in a talk at the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Sacklet Centre.

1.15 pm, 21st July
Cromwell Road Entrance, London SW7 2RL
More info at www.vam.ac.uk/activ_events

With another season of the show currently over, Alex Fitch looks at the enduring legacy of Doctor Who in a trio of interviews originating at a ‘Who’ convention in the Home Counties. Alex talks to former Doctor Sylvester McCoy, former Time Lord nemesis (and honorary Doctor) Michael Jayston, and also to San Franciscan cosplay expert Johanna Mead about her creating Who inspired costumes and contributing to the anthology ‘Chicks dig Time Lords’.

A soslovie of ersatz Doctors gather outside a replica TARDIS at the Time Quest 2 convention in Theobalds park

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Wikipedia pages on Sylvester McCoy and Michael Jayston, a.k.a. The Valeyard

Listen to the accompanying podcast featuring an interview with Doctor Who writer Rob Shearman also recorded at Theobalds park

Doctor Who audio trailer archive

Johanna Mead‘s website – www.skaro.com

Buy Chicks dig Timelords featuring Johanna Mead from www.madnorwegian.com

Buy He Jests at Scars starring Michael Jayston and ‘season 27′ starring Sylvester McCoy at www.bigfinish.com

In the first of this year’s podcasts recorded at the most recent Sci-Fi London Festival, Graham Sleight and Alex Fitch talk to nominees for this year’s Arthur C. Clarke awards for SF literature and Graham also discusses this year’s short list with critic Niall Harrison. Authors discussing their work include China Miéville, Gwyneth Jones and Adam Roberts…

Three of the Clarke Award nominees: Spirit by Gwyneth Jones, Yellow Blue Tibia by Adam Roberts and The City and The City by China Mieville

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Clarke Awards website
Graham Sleight’s website
Niall Harrison‘s magazine Vector
Adam Roberts’ website
Gwyneth Jones’ website
China Miéville’s author’s page at Pan / MacMillan
2009 / 2008 Clarke Awards podcasts…

Alex Fitch discusses the cruelty of Daleks, short stories in the style of Roald Dahl and the disappearance of Luxembourg with Doctor Who writer and World Fantasy Award winner Rob Shearman! Alex and Rob talk about his various scripts such as Jubilee which was adapted for TV as ‘Dalek’ starring Christopher Eccleston, his short story collections ‘Tiny Deaths’ and ‘Love songs for the shy and cynical’, why there’s no such thing as ‘radical’ Doctor Who and his love of the series from the 1960s to the present day.

Rob Shearman and his World Fantasy Award for Tiny Deaths

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Rob’s website: www.robertshearman.net
Buy Love songs for the shy and cynical at www.bigfinish.com
Wikipedia page on Rob
Doctor Who audio trailer archive
Listen to Alex’s first interview with Rob, recorded shortly after the first broadcast of Dalek

Recommended events:

Sci-Fi London 9: Life in 2050 from Wednesday 28th April – Monday 3rd May features a variety of comics panels, on topics such as 60 years of Dan Dare, British Female Manga creators, Comics and film and Marvel UK with guests including Kate Brown, Rian Hughes, Gary Erskine, Emma Viecelli, Dez Skinn, Woodrow Phoenix, Garry Leach, Karen Rubins, Dan Abnett, Cyriak Harris and many more. More info at www.sci-fi-london.com

Sci-Fi London 9: Life in 2050, April 28th - May 3rd, 2010

Solipsistic Pop 2 launch party

MUSIC FROM: SLEEPING STATES // TRISTRAM // DOGTANION
WE ARE WORDS + PICTURES DJ SET

COMEDY FROM ROBIN INCE // LIVE DRAWING
BUY THE BOOK AT A REDUCED PRICE
MEET THE ARTISTS // FREE SCREENPRINTS FOR THE FIRST 20 CUSTOMERS

7PM WEDNESDAY 28TH APRIL // £3
THE CROSS KINGS, KINGS CROSS, 126 YORK WAY

SOLIPSISTIC POP 2
Contains 64 pages of sequential art from some of the best comic artists, illustrators and designers working in the UK today. With a 12 page newspaper insert, gorgeous gatefold cover and specially designed tote bag, it’s a must have for any comic fan.

CONTRIBUTORS
Kristyna Baczynski, Becky Barnicoat, Adam Cadwell, Stephen Collins, Joe Decie, Marc Ellerby, Sally Hancox, Anne Holiday, Tom Humberstone, Philippa Johnson, Daniel Locke, Lizz Lunney, Jack Noel, Mark Oliver, Luke Pearson, Octavia Raitt, Anna Saunders, Julia Scheele, Matthew Sheret, and Matilda Tristram.

More info at www.solipsisticpop.com

In the last of our podcasts recorded at last year’s Sci-Fi London: a Q and A recorded before and an interview recorded after a screening of The City of Lost Children . Alex Fitch talks to Marc Caro about co-directing the film with Jean-Pierre Jeunet , the art of making children cry on screen and the risk of burning his actors with the lights of an over eager cinematographer! Please note: the show is in English and French with translation by Virginie Sélavy.

Clockwise from top left: Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children, co-directed by Marc Caro, Dante 01, directed by Caro, Vidocq, designed by Caro

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Wikipedia and IMDb pages on Marc Caro
Buy Marc’s books from www.amazon.fr
French illustration and comics blog – Doury is dead
Listen to Alex’s panel discussion with Marc and four other directors about low budget SF filmmaking at Sci-Fi London

Sci-Fi London 9: Life in 2050, April 28th - May 3rd, 2010

In the second half of a panel discussion recorded live at last year’s London Science-Fiction and Fantastic Film Festival, Alex Fitch discusses the challenges of creating engaging and convincing SF scenarios on film with a quintet of eminent low budget film directors – Marc Caro (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children), Cory McAbee (Stingray Sam), Gerald McMorrow (Franklyn), Stuart Hazeldine (Exam) and Richard Jobson (A Woman in Winter). The panel was sponsored by The Directors Guild of Great Britain and Mr Caro’s translator was Virginie Selavy. In this second part, the panel discuss the importance of lighting and sound to low budget cinema and the need to double up crew members [part two of two]…

Stills from Franklyn, A woman in Winter, Exam, Stingray Sam and The City of Lost Children

Originally broadcast as the second half of a ‘Clear Spot’, 17/03/10 on Resonance FM

For more info, please visit the home of the podcast at www.sci-fi-london.com

Sci-Fi London 9: Life in 2050, April 28th - May 3rd, 2010