30th November 2009

ZETA MINOR NEWS

A plea to those entering the competitions. Please, please make sure your entry has the correct email subject line, as stated on the competition page (in red text). This is so that entries can automatically be sorted into the right folders. I often get hundreds of competition entries a day, and I don't have time to weed through all the ones that aren't addressed properly. Your entry won't count if you don't follow the instructions! If you click on the link provided, your mail program should open up a new window with the correct subject, so I've tried to make it as easy as possible!

INCOMING

I've recently added information about several forthcoming titles to our Incoming database, including: the Blu-ray and DVD editions of District 9; DVD and Blu-ray editions of Canadian zombie movie Pontypool; the first UK DVD release for Hammer's bizarre Lost Continent; Thai martial arts movie Fireball, on DVD and Blu-ray; 80s cult horror favourite Night of the Comet; Australian psychological horror film Coffin Rock; the DVD debut of Sally Potter's The Gold Diggers, from the BFI (tying in with a Potter season at the BFI); and director Nobuhiko Obayashi's deranged fantasy House [Hausu], from the Masters of Cinema collection.

BOOKS NEWS

Not strictly a book, but a four-issue mini-series of comic books, Tank Girl: Skidmarks is now available from Titan Books. Alan Martin and Rufus Dayglo's strip, which originally appeared in the 2000AD Megazine, has been fully recoloured, and now features Tank Girl's uncensored vocabulary in all its glory!

24th November 2009

EVENT NEWS

A Nightmare on Elm Street star Robert Englund will be signing copies of his autobiography, Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street, at Waterstones' Piccadilly branch tomorrow at 4.30pm.

The stars of James Cameron's new film, Avatar, will be attending the Leicester Square premiere on Thursday the 10th of December. "Talent arrivals" at 5.30pm.

Signings at Forbidden Planet's Shaftesbury Avenue store, London, SE1 0UP:

26/11/09 - Authors David Devereux (Eagle Rising), Paul McAuley (Gardens of the Sun), Justina Robson (Chasing The Dragon), Adam Roberts (I Am Scrooge) and Chris Wooding (Retribution Falls) - 6-7pm

26/11/09 - Starhyke cast members Danny John-Jules, Jeremy Bulloch and Suanne Braun - 5.30-6.30pm. "Two items only; guests will sign the Starhyke DVD and one other item of the customer's choice".

12/12/09 - Robert Rankin (signing Retromancer) - 1-2pm

15th November 2009

EVENT NEWS

Dates for next year's Collectors Film Conventions, at Central Hall, Westminster, London SW1:

23rd January  (60 tables)

13th March  (80 tables)

8th May  (60 tables)

10th July  (60 tables)

11th September  (80 tables)

13th November  (60 tables)

All events open at 10am, and close at 4pm

BOOK NEWS

A re-edited and revised hardback edition of Frazer Hines' 1996 autobiography, now titled Hines Sight, has been announced. Here's the PR:

Frazer Hines is one of the UK's most charismatic stars of stage and screen. From his early days as a child actor in films such as X The Unknown, and appearances in Emergency Ward 10 and Coronation Street, Frazer became a household name playing the time-travelling Scot, Jamie McCrimmon, alongside Patrick Troughton in the BBC's cult series Doctor Who. In 1972 he was cast as Joe Sugden in the fledgling soap opera Emmerdale Farm, and became the housewife's favourite farmer for over two decades.

In this compelling and funny book, Frazer reveals his own thoughts and feelings when faced with stardom at an early age, the pressure of being an early 'media celebrity', his love of horses and cricket, and what it was actually like to date, marry and divorce some of the most eligible and beautiful women to have crossed stage and screen in the last 40 years.

ISBN: 978-1-84583-998-7

Price: £25.00 (plus p&p)

OTHER INFORMATION

Contains sixteen pages of black and white photographs from Frazer's personal collection covering his life and career.

The book has a foreword specially written by variety entertainers Ian and Janette Krankie.

The book is published as a 'Royal' format hardback with dust jacket.

Hines Sight is a re-edited and revised edition of Films, Farms and Fillies published by Boxtree in 1996.

This new edition of Hines Sight is being published by Frazer Hines himself, with the editorial and publishing assistance of David J Howe and Sam Stone. David is a writer of over thirty books and editorial director of Telos Publishing and brings many years experience of writing, editing and publishing to this new title. Sam is an author and poet and has worked with several editors on her own writing. She is also a qualified English teacher and so has brought those talents to bear while working with Frazer on the text.

The book is available to order from www.frazerhines.co.uk

A very smart new edition of Oliver Postgate's autobiography, Seeing Things, has been released. More PR...

Oliver Postgate's death last December was greeted with great sadness. For over forty years his name was synonymous with the best in children's television - Bagpuss, The Clangers, Ivor the Engine, The Pogles, Noggin the Nog, Pingwings.

Oliver wrote and narrated the stories, while Peter Firmin illustrated the characters and made the puppets. Their classic films are still loved by viewers of all ages, while their fans include Nick Park, Phil Jupitus, Jonathan Ross, Michael Rosen, Lauren Child, Charlie Brooker, Russell Brand, Anne Fine, Stuart Maconie, Patrick Moore and of course Stephen Fry.

In this moving autobiography Oliver Postgate describes how he came to create his stories and characters, developing innovative techniques of animation and puppetry alongside his friend and co-producer Peter Firmin. Amazingly, almost all of Oliver's films were made in a cowshed in Kent on a budget of next to nothing.

But the path to film-making was far from conventional, or even planned. Oliver Postgate was the grandson of George Lansbury, leader of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and his father was Raymond Postgate, who became famous as the founder and author of The Good Food Guide. Oliver followed in neither's footsteps. Before his first TV production, Alexander the Mouse in 1958, he had already been a war evacuee; a conscientious objector; a farm labourer; a relief worker in post-war Germany; an artist; an actor; and an inventor.

The story of Oliver Postgate's extraordinary and adventurous life, and the wonderful characters who populated it, both real and imagined, is witty, charming, beautifully remembered and beautifully told.

Publication will coincide with a documentary about Postgate and a day of special events at the BFI Southbank in London, and with an "Oliver Postgate Night" on BBC TV.

Although the new edition has a publication date of 8th of December, I saw copies on sale a couple of days ago, so it might be available in a bookshop near you now! The new edition is beautifully designed, and comes with a new introduction by Stephen Fry, and a moving afterword by Oliver's son, Daniel.

9th November 2009

ZETA MINOR NEWS

Apologies for the recent break in updates, which was caused by a number of factors, mostly related to a troublesome - nay disastrous - update to Windows 7.

New release news gets a bit thin on the ground this time of the year, as the labels have generally announced all their pre-Christmas titles, and there's a natural lull as they recoup, and start to focus on next year.

EVENT NEWS

Madeline Smith (The Vampire Lovers, Live and Let Die, Up Pompeii, etc) and Eunice Gayson (The Revenge of Frankenstein, Dr No, From Russia With Love, etc) will be attending a signing in the basement of The Vintage Magazine Shop, Brewer Street, London, on Saturday the 14th of November, between 12 and 2pm.

CULT TV

I have added some details of the music used in Catweazle to the Zeta Minor episode guide, which you can find here. I've also made some improvements to the navigation, and other minor tweaks.

HAMMER DVD GUIDE

The Hammer DVD Guide desperately needs updating, so if anyone has any details of recent releases, particularly foreign discs, please send them my way!

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

Previous Zeta Minor News entries can viewed here.