harlan ellison Tagged Articles at Cinematical

While geeks the world over are eagerly awaiting Avatar, the return of James Cameron to the original sci-fi territory he's proven a master over with The Abyss and Terminator/Terminator 2, fans of obscure science fiction novellas from 1957 are being struck with deja vu. A reader tipped off genre champions io9 to the story Call Me Joe by Poul Anderson, a story that sounds remarkably like Cameron's supposedly original script that revolves around humans that use the bodies of an alien species via a mental connection as physical avatars, and proceed to use said avatars to exploit the resources of the alien's home world.

From the io9 post, "Like Avatar, Call Me Joe centers on a paraplegic - Ed Anglesey - who telepathically connects with an artificially created life form in order to explore a harsh planet (in this case, Jupiter). Anglesey, like Avatar's Jake Sully, revels in the freedom and strength of his artificial created body, battles predators on the surface of Jupiter, and gradually goes native as he spends more time connected to his artificial body."

Read the rest over at SciFi Squad

I first encountered author Harlan Ellison's writings in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine, when I was in high school. I enjoyed his "Watching" series of movie essays, and in fact I still do -- I have the collected book of them, and I sometimes reread them when I want to remind myself of certain things I like about film criticism. So naturally I was excited about Dreams with Sharp Teeth, Erik Nelson's documentary about Ellison that screened at SXSW this week. I wasn't disappointed, but obviously I was already a fan of the author.

The movie sets out to show you various facets of Ellison's life, without resorting to a linear biography. Various friends, colleagues and well-known acquaintances of Ellison talk about him -- Robin Williams perhaps most surprising among them, reviewing a list of the crazy stuff Ellison has allegedly done, and Ellison responding on whether the stories are true. Neil Gaiman and Battlestar Galactica producer Ron Moore also make appearances. The film also includes some vintage interviews with Ellison, such as Tom Snyder's interview from the 1970s. In between these stories about his life, Ellison reads excerpts from some of his best or best-known work.

A couple of weeks ago, SXSW released info on a handful of films that would be screening at the film festival this March, including the opening-night film, 21. Today, the Austin-based festival let a few more titles slip, including one well-known comedy: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. That might not sound like your typical festival fare, but it'll provide a nice balance with documentaries and low-budget indie dramas.

Although the full SXSW lineup won't be released until Feb. 5, the fest also released details on five other movies that will be screened: Battle in Seattle, a feature about the 1999 WTO demonstrations in Seattle that is actor Stuart Townsend's directorial debut; Mister Lonely, Harmony Korine's movie about a Michael Jackson look-alike meeting a Marilyn Monroe look-alike; The Promotion, a comedy about rival supermarket managers that stars John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott; Crawford, a documentary about how the Texas town has been affected by George W. Bush's home there; and a live-action/animation feature called The Toe Tactic.

Finally, more speakers were announced for a series of "Conversations" panels (the kind where it's generally one famous person and a moderator): Helen Hunt, Michael Eisner, and Harlan Ellison. No word yet on whether any of the Harold and Kumar filmmakers or crew will be at SXSW this March, although writer-directors Hayden Schlossberg and Jon Hurwitz were at Austin Film Festival last fall to talk about their experiences writing both films.

It seems like just a few months ago we were enjoying the sights, the sounds, the smells and the cinema of South By Southwest 2007, but guess what? Now that it's January, the festival's only about nine weeks away! Awesome! So today we caught some slightly early news on what SXSW is cooking up for this March, and I must say I'm pretty impressed with what they snagged for their opening night film.

And that film is: Robert Luketic's 21, which is based on the book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. (You may remember Mr. Luketic from flicks like Legally Blonde, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, and Monster-in-Law.) Adapted by Ben Mezrich's book by screenwriters Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb, 21 stars Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess. (Check out the trailer right here.)

And if that world premiere isn't cool enough, festival chief Matt Dentler has also divulged the following titles for SXSW '08:

At the Death House Door (Steve James & Peter Gilbert) "A sobering and powerful story of the wrongful execution of Carlos DeLuna and the Death House Chaplain, Pastor Carroll Pickett, who spent the last day of DeLuna's life with him."

Dreams with Sharp Teeth (Erik Nelson) "A documentary portrait of acclaimed author Harlan Ellison, as he looks back on his fabled and influential career as one of the world's top science fiction writers."

Flawless (Michael Radford) "In 1960s London, a talented but overlooked diamond executive (Demi Moore) is convinced to participate in a jewelry heist when a veteran janitor (Michael Caine) hatches a plan."

Run Fatboy Run (David Schwimmer) "An out-of-shape divorced father (Simon Pegg) makes one last attempt to win back the respect of his son, his ex-wife (Thandie Newton), and the community around him. All he has to do is finish his first marathon."

Wild Blue Yonder (Celia Maysles) "Celia Maysles had no idea her father and his brother Albert were pioneers of verite documentary filmmaking. Determined to uncover the secrets surrounding her background, Celia sets out on a quest to rediscover her father by using his own artistic process."

Expect a few more flashy surprises before the full SXSW slate is announced on February 5! Until then, feel free to browse through the SXSW website and decide if THIS is the year you're finally going to take my advice and attend the dang festival. (You do know it's a movie AND music fest, right? Interactive, too, and I do believe I've mentioned the indigenous BBQ more than once.)