Gareth David-Lloyd was excellent as Ianto Jones in Torchwood and Doctor Who, and I am looking forward to seeing him as Watson in next year’s Sherlock Holmes. But he has another project that launches at 9PM GMT today called Girl Number 9. Gareth isn’t the only Torchwood alumni associated with the project, since it was written by James Moran, veteran writer of episodes of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Spooks. It is a 6-part online thriller, and the good news is it is not region locked, so everyone should be able to watch it. The rest of the episodes will be along next week, the schedule is posted on the Girl Number 9 Facebook page. They will stay online until they have the DVD with all the extra features ready for sale (they are estimating about a month), and you can learn a bit more about it in the SFX Interview.
The AFI Fest runs from October 30th to November 7th, and kicks off with the world premier of the animated The Fantastic Mister Fox, followed up on the second night with Halloween Horror Films. Just because that wasn’t enough, this year the AFI Fest is Free, at least mostly.
If you thought the UK Festivals were over, that would be a no; the Screen Writers Festival started yesterday and runs through the 29th. What makes this Fest special is it includes its own Doctor Who Sessions, with a ton of panel members covering both the classic and new Doctor Who series. And yes, Steven Moffat will indeed be there along with all the others. There is also a panel of the non-TV releases (and news that Tom Baker is to return to the studio for some new 4th Doctor audio episodes for Big Finish), a panel on the new K9 series, and a special screening of Girl Number 9 before its online premiere Friday.
Ongoing festivals include the Austin Film Festival through the 29th, the 53rd BFI London Film Festival also through October 29th, and the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival through November 11th. Details can be found in my previous Festival entries.
I loved Daywatch and Nightwatch and am waiting for the third in the trilogy to be released. I also enjoyed Wanted, and the man who directed all three of them, Timur Bekmambetov, is at it again. This time the Russian movie he is creating is called Chernaya Molniya, in English Black Lightning, kind of Batman Meets Transformers. It is hard to believe looking at the trailer that he made the movie for only 8 million dollars; and now I need to find out where to buy a flying car like that! Also, BBC America has posted some Water of Mars trailers on their video server, but much like the UK BBC online offerings it seems to be limited to viewing from a single country.
Sci-Fi London is holding their Oktoberfest Film Festival this weekend! It kicks off on Friday with the Royal Observatory Greenwich (home of Greenwich Mean Time) unveiling the Sci-Fi Universe planetarium program for the first time anywhere. There will also be Aliens, Anime, and MST3K all-night film marathons and much more. Of course, the 53rd BFI London Film Festival continues until the 29th, so the UK looks to be the place for movies in October.
In Melbourne, Au, the Atom Awards Presentation will take place Friday, and while the films are more Science than SciFi, there are some interesting entries.
Also this weekend, the South Asian International Film Festival will be taking place, with entries like ALADIN for the Disney-entranced, and BUBONIC FILMS GONZO TRAILER EXTRAVAGANZA for the terminally warped (pretty much the Hindi version of Troma Studios TrailerFest).
In the US, the Austin Film Festival runs from the 22nd to the 29th, and it is the first time I have heard of Caprica showing on the big screen at a festival (probably because I wasn’t paying attention the last time). Other Sci-Fi like films include 31 Minutes, The Ballad of Friday and June, and The Bake Shop Ghost, for the first few letters of the alphabet. Many of the movies are oriented around Art and Music, the main two driving forces that define Austin (yes, it is the state capital of Texas, but that is a small part of what happens there). Other films worth paying attention to for this fest include Give The Dog A Bone, the Incredible Story Of My Great Grandmother Olive, followed by Leonardo, and then Lo. Other offerings include NASA and the Space Pen, The Mouse That Soared, Mighty Mutant Mollusks, Missy and the Maxinator, and about 20 more. This is my kind of Film Fest!
Opening on the 23rd and running to November 11th in Florida, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival kicks off with a Sci-Fi romantic comedy called Timer in an opening night gala event. Other draws include the live stage presentation of Repo: The Genetic Opera and the film Seventh Moon.
It’s that time of year again; this week New Scientist has their Science Fiction Special on the newsstands. In honor of that they have posted Sci-Fi: The Fiction of Now. They have Flash Fiction from Steven Baxter, Nicola Griffith, Ken MacLeod, Ian McDonald, Paul McAuley, Ian Watson, and more. The also have book reviews on some favorite authors, as well as their usual collection of cutting-edge science news. And in honor of Talk Like A Pirate Day, there is now a Pirate Talk App that looks like silly fun.
If you are at all a fan of Doctor Who, with a weakness for Shaun of the Dead, and find The IT Crowd worth a visit, have I got a movie for you! The film Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel looks to be a serious hoot, and would probably make a great double feature with Cyborg She. It was in theaters in the UK back in April, and now released on DVD in the UK; I am hoping for a US release soon.