Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Back in the halcyon days of XF fanfic there were few writers more popular than Sheryl Martin (now Nantus). Happy was the day when she posted a story featuring her original character Jackie St. George, who joined Mulder and Scully on their adventures.
Good news! St. George is back (sans Moose and Squirrel) in an original novel titled The Second Line, which promises “corporate espionage, chocolate and vampires.”
And just in time for the holidaze!
It was announced late Friday evening that the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers would resume negotiations on November 26.
Thankfully, this news didn’t break in time to stop the halting of work on the sequel to The Da Vinci Code.
When Whedon’s not busy out walking the picket line or blogging in support of the strike, he can be found promoting the latest Serenity graphic novel. Perhaps the upside of this strike will be that he’ll have more time for the new one he’s hoping to finish in 2008.
Why do the studios need those pesky union writers when they can hire Alex Perez, Hollywood scab writer? Be sure to check out the vids, especially the romance one. Although, to be honest, he might have been able to improve upon:
Anakin: Don’t be afraid.
Padme: I’m not afraid to die. I’ve been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life.
Anakin: What are you talking about?
Padme: I love you.
Anakin: You love me? I thought we had decided not to fall in love. That we’d be forced to love a lie and that it would destroy our lives.
Padme: I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway. I truly… deeply… love you and before we die I want you to know.
The Writers Guild of America is officially on strike after last minute negotiations failed late on Sunday night.
The probably means that John Stewart and The Colbert Report will be going into repeats (is this really why Colbert has dropped out of the presidential race?) What impact the strike will have on television series and films will depend on how long it lasts (in 1988 writers walked the pavement for 22 weeks) and whether other entertainment industry unions follow suit.
In happier news, the BBC reports that Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has confirmed that he will be going the full monty in NYC when Equus comes to Broadway next year.
Except for maybe ComingSoon, which reports that the long-rumored second X-Files movie is due to start shooting in Vancouver (woot!) on December 10.
Rob Bowman is set to direct a script written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz (where, oh, where is Darin Morgan?!?).
Just in case you were wondering.
One of my two favourite economists found a couple gems today (thanks, Diane!). First, what is the real secret of Harry Potter? And, second, one French philosopher celebrates the release of Harry Potter et les Reliques de la mort there by asking whether Muggles represent the Thatchero-Blairite middle class clawing their way up from the lower middle class to the upper middle class, while Harry is… er, well, I’ll let you read it yourself. Bonus points if you can do it in the original French (and you already have yours, Paula).
In other news, filming of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is popping up all over England. And a certain set of twins were recently spotted sporting identical haircuts and red hair.
On the BBC news website anyway. That honour goes to “Monkeys kill Delhi deputy mayor.”
Still, it’s a hot topic around the rest of teh internets. From cat macros to After Elton to the Times of London to the Christian Broadcast Network, this is bigger news than homicidal primates.
Members of the Writers Guild have authorized their leaders to call a strike as early as November 1.
In mail balloting and at Thursday-night meetings on both coasts, members of the Writers Guild of America East and the Writers Guild of America West granted strike authority with 90.3 percent approval, representatives of the guilds said. About 5,500 of the roughly 12,000 writers covered by the unions’ contracts cast votes.
Given historically low turnout rates in guild elections, the tally was a strong show of support for the tough stance taken by guild negotiators in their discussions with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Issues of contention include residuals from DVDs and payment for content used on the internet and mobile phones.
J.K. Rowling revealed that Neville Longbottom marries Hannah Abbott and that Albus Dumbledore was gay during tonight’s reading and book signing at NYC’s Carnegie Hall.
Let the wank begin!