21st September 2009

INCOMING

Tartan is dead! Long live Tartan Palisades!

A company called Palisades Pictures (owned by parent company Palisades Media Corp) have acquired the majority of Tartan Film's four-hundred-strong film catalogue, and have launched a new company called Tartan Palisades, which will release a "distinctive and provocative catalogue of films", and re-introduce many titles from the Tartan library.

Their first title, Xiaogang Feng's thriller A World Without Thieves, is released today. Next week they will release a film based on the notorious Leopold and Loeb murder, Swoon. Further titles, which will include "DVD re-releases and exclusive DVD box sets" will be added to the Incoming database as we get details.

Good luck, chaps!

BBC AUDIO NEWS

BBC Audio has released the result of a fan poll launched to mark the launch of the Hornets' Nest series of Doctor Who CD releases. Here's their announcement...

To celebrate the release of BBC Audio’s Hornets’ Nest series BBCShop.com asked fans to vote for their favourite Doctor Who scene starring Tom Baker. The "Do I Have the Right" scene from Genesis of the Daleks was voted his top moment as the Fourth Doctor. In the pivotal scene the Doctor must decide whether to intervene and prevent the very creation of the Daleks, the Doctor’s most notorious enemies.

BBCShop.com hosted the poll which featured four clips from classic Fourth Doctor television series, City of Death, The Ark in Space and The Hand of Fear but the dramatic "Do I Have the Right" scene from Genesis of the Daleks was voted a firm favourite with 32% of the vote. Over three hundred fans voted in the poll which was hosted on the Hornets' Nest Landing page www.bbcshop.com/hornetsnest. The dedicated site contains exclusive content and material such as photographs from the recordings, audio clips and a Q&A with Tom.

Tom Baker holds the record for the longest reigning Doctor and holds a special place in fans hearts. Further suggestions of classic Baker moments included the sword fight in Androids of Tara, and the line "Now drop your weapons, or I'll kill him with this deadly jelly baby!" in The Face of Evil and "your evil is my good" in Pyramids of Mars. Tom’s return as The Doctor in the first instalment of Hornets' Nest has been well received: “Tom Baker is back as Doctor Who after 28 years. In this... brilliantly produced story” The Observer

The next four instalments of Doctor Who - Hornets' Nest will follow:

1. The Stuff of Nightmares: published on 3rd September

2. The Dead Shoes: published on 8th October

3. The Circus of Doom: published on 5th November

4. A Sting in the Tale: published on 3rd December

5. Hive of Horror: published on 3rd December

14th September 2009

EVENT NEWS

Stop-motion maestro Ray Harryhausen will be signing copies of the paperback version of his book An Animated Life at the Forbidden Planet store at 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, on 24th October, between 1 and 2pm. Co-author Tony Dalton will also be signing.

Also at Forbidden Planet, on Saturday the 26th of September, between 1 and 2.30pm, Ramsey Campbell and Bryan Talbot will be attending a signing of books published by PS Publishing, specifically Ramsey's book Creatures of the Pool. The flier I have suggests that Doug 'Pinhead' Bradley, Peter Crowther, Angus Mackenzie, James Hannah and Rio Youers might also be there - best check with the store if you're thinking of making a special trip.

You can order signed copies from FP's mail order department, on 020 7803 1900.

Dates for forthcoming National Collectors Marketplace events, at the Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way, London: 20th September and 1st November. Doors open at noon.

INCOMING

Recently added or amended titles include the terrific stop-motion animation film Coraline, which is being released in single-disc DVD, two-disc limited edition DVD (with 3D version) and Blu-ray versions - look out for etailer exclusives, too! Fans of British music of the 60s should check out the excellent biopic of legendary music producer Joe Meek, Telstar, which is being released on DVD only, sadly. I've also added the press release information for the eighth season of Smallville on DVD and Blu-ray. There are lots of new additions to browse - what are you waiting for?

7th September 2009

INCOMING

The Incoming database has been given a few tweaks this week, to improve its functionality, in the wake of changes made by some of the etailers. You may find that pages take slightly longer than usual to load, especially when there are several etailers linked.

Latest additions include the full spec's for Fox's Blu-ray and DVD editions of X-Men Origins: Wolverine; and additional - although still frustratingly vague - information about Network's The Prisoner Blu-ray set.

Last month's Zeta Minor News can be viewed here.

Previous Zeta Minor News entries can viewed here.