Reality Check: Virtual Worlds on film

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

Reality Check: Virtual Worlds on film [ 32:03 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m ready for my close-up: Guerrilla film-making and fleeing Monsters

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

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Reality Check: Inception / Monsters special effects special

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…
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Reality Check: Inception / Monsters special effects special [ 52:44 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download