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Happy New Year
Welcome to the January issue of The Sci Fi Reporter.
As the festive season hangovers begin to subside and our vacations come to an end I am already shaking my head at the impatience of commercialism with Easter being the next victim with products already making their way on to department store shelves.
The same impatience can be said for television stations that have been taking science fiction TV shows off the air without notice and without a due date for return!
Are you as frustrated at this practise as we are?
The writers strike in the US will effect foreign countries in the coming weeks as current TV show story stock piles begin to diminish and at this time there seems to be no common ground met between all parties involved.
We hope to have an interview shortly with one of the U.S. writers out on strike to gain a more detailed insight on the strike and just how damaging it is not just for the writers but ancillary staff that work at the television and movie studios.
We have a great new feature starting in this issue giving you the chance to have your say, and we have selected one of many articles that have been sent in to us to "get the ball rolling!"
The Sci Fi Reporter at Myspace is gaining many friends and we invite you to post your comments on one of our bloggs or join up as a friend and receive special updates throughout the month in between issues.
February will mark our second year in circulation and we are producing a very special birthday issue for you with our own feature of great SF birthday gifts for 2008.
What would you like for your birthday?
We would like to hear from you.
Have a great month ahead
Stuart and Maryanne
Want to receive Sci Fi Reporter regularly? Add your email address via the "Join Our Mailing List" section of this newsletter.
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Check Out ...
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Convention Listing Oz - valid @ January 2008 |
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Note: Only new or updated listings are given
Promoters: if your event is not listed here or you have new information advise us for inclusion.
Swancon 2008
The State of the Art
Perth - W.A. March 20 to 24
Featured Guests..
Zara Baxter, Ken Cornell, Glenda Larke and Ken Macleod
Swancon information
Serenity
One day conventions in Sydney and Melbourne
April 5 and 6
Special Guests
Ron Glass and Jason Palmer
Presented by The Hub Productions
Serenity information
Supanova
Melbourne - March 28 to 30
Royal Show grounds, Melbourne
Brisbane - April 4 to 6
RNA Show grounds
Australia's largest Pop Culture Expo
Activities for the whole family
Supanova information
Vegas Trek 2008
Departs Australia on August 5 - 2008
Tours in Los Angeles and Las Vegas including your five day pass to the Vegas Star Trek convention
Organised by Vortex Events
Tour information
Stop the Press!
Fanzone 2008 - By the fans!
February 10 from 11am to 4pm
Adelaide - South Australia
Presented by Adelaide's leading SF clubs
Open day for the general public
Costumes, Displays, Gaming demonstrations and more!
South Australian Writers Centre
Contact Event Co-ordinator on 0431262257
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Incoming
transmission! |
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 Have your say!
We are pleased to present a new column in our publication dedicated to you, our valued subscribers.
We would love to hear your thoughts on science fiction and fantasy, your likes, dislikes and where you think the genre is heading
Mr Martin Dunne - Secretary of The South Australian Dr Who Fan Club writes..
"What is Wrong with Science Fiction?"
Once again science fiction fans have seen successful television shows of their genre cancelled at the point when they seemed to become cohesive.
Will Bionic Woman return? Will Lost and Heroes survive the hiatus?
Fans of The 4400 or Firefly may be annoyed, but the apparent overall drop off in production is illusionary.
Searching the genre of "Sci-Fi" through the internet movie database IMDB.com over the last thirty years gives 1158 hits for 1978 to 1987, 1933 between 1988 and 1997 and 3595 for 1998 to 2007. Titles have tripled in as many decades, although longevity is at risk. Studios and commissioning networks appear more fickle than ever, preferring hypersensitivity to trends over commitment and risk.
Once the genre was monolithic in nature; there was a single or dominant medium which it came via and little other success. Periodicals, novels, radio, television and cinema have all been ascendant in turn and now new media threaten the status quo. This is the reason for the current writers strike in the US, another symptom of science fiction's adult teeth growing in.
The very same diversity of media and access leads to a fragmentation of audience. As with popular music, sales once guaranteed with any video clip must now be fought for with increasing efforts at promotion.
Science fiction literature has seen a slew of awards spring up and in the last year the Australian Dr Who fandom awards, the Double Gammas, were revived. With an audience sliced thinner the risk of self aggrandisement is real.
Where there is an audience, the entertainers will invariably follow. The troubled Dr Who spin off K9 will now be an Australian production, it has no less than six producing companies and half of these domestic. If it follows these trends it may not last, but will be replaced by something similar. The "Send Nuts to CBS" campaign to save Jericho may be the only such science fiction fan action to have ever succeeded, unless it was the ad campaign of tomorrow. And this may be where the creativity goes; same old stories with new ways to tell them.
There may be no more intriguing story to come from the future of science fiction than the history of the genre itself.
Thanks Martin, a very thought provoking piece indeed and for taking the time to write to us we have a gift being sent to you!
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Fan Club Focus
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Australian Costumers Guild
New members most welcome.
Costumers Guild are conducting workshops regularly in 2007 as well as attending costumed events around Australia.
Costumers Guild
Les aventures de Tintin
Tintin in cyberspace is a group for fans of the classic comic and cartoon Icon by Herge.
The group meets online as a resource for Tintin memorabilia and upcoming events.
You can contact the group here. Tintin in cyberspace
Terra Australis Garrison
The 501st TAG boasts over three thousand members worldwide and now have member bases in all states of Australia. Star Wars fans can feel right at home with this group of dedicated Storm Troopers and you can contact them via their website at.
www.501tag.com
"Out there Social club" Adelaide
You find a lot of queer things in outer space, so it's only natural to have a queer Sci Fi group for all the "Homo" sapiens who are out...there.
The group meets monthly to share a meal and indulge in a little Fantasy! Members range from 30+, Contact Rod on 0402027891, they are also located on Yahoo Groups at
Out There Sci Fi Group
SA Dr Who fan club
Club meetings
January 18 and February 16
Adelaide High School - 3pm till late
Pub Meeting - February 2
Buckingham Arms Hotel
Meeting at 5pm
SFSA info
Star Wars Costume Alliance of Australia
Actively recruiting new members around Planet OZ
Star Wars Costume Information
Austrek Club Events
Actively recruiting new members.
Club Meetings
January 20 and February 2
Club Away Mission
11am till 5pm
Logon to their website for regular updates and activities for 2008.
Austrek Events information
Dr Who Club of Victoria
Details contact Peter on Mob:0417322326 or e-mail Dr Who club on..peterrosace@hotmail.com
Star Walking
The Star Wars Appreciation Society of Australia. Ph 05005 Jedis
Club Meeting Sydney - TBA
Club Meeting Melbourne - February 9
See national website for meeting venues.
Starwalking Information
StarshipMawson.com - Adelaide's Sci Fi fan Organisation
Latest online newsletter out now
Pancake Meeting dates for Summer 2008
Feb 22, March 7, 14 and 21
From 730pm
Pancake Kitchen - off Hindley St, Adelaide
Starship Mawson is a member of The International Federation of Trekkers - The Official Star Trek fan association fully endorsed by the Roddenberry family and The Official fan club of Star Trek New Voyages.
Club Hotline is Ph: 0431262257
Explore the Starship Mawson website
Starship Mawson Information
Quest - sci fi fan club, Queensland
Activey recruiting in 2008!
Club Contact - President, Mary Kemp
Ph:0732904243
Colonial Defense Forces
Australian Battlestar Galactica Chapter
Free membership!
Part of the world wide BSG fan organisation.
CDF Information
Lost in Space association
One of the largest fan clubs in the world
Informative website and active e-mail group
Lost in Space Information
South Australian Fan Force
Very active Star Wars club with a great selection of bloggs!
SAFF Information
Aus sci fi
Shorleave Feb 10 at 4pm
Hillcrest Community Centre
27-31 Queensborough St - Hillcrest
Information at Ph: 08 83962517
E-mail: UFPclub2@bigpond.net.au
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In the next edition of The Sci Fi Reporter
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-- Our focus on new SF book releases!
-- Another exclusive interview!
-- Fantastic Manga review!
And a plethora of news ....
The Staff at the Sci Fi Reporter wish all our subscribers a fantastic month ahead and remember....If you like what we are doing, please forward a copy to your friends!
The Sci Fi Reporter...
Suggestions for our next issue - tell us!
Website coming soon - what would you like to see?
Need to unsubscribe?
Simply click on the "safe unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the newsletter and you will be removed from our mailing list.
The contents of this newsletter are copyright 2007 The Sci Fi Reporter. All Rights Reserved. No material contained herein may be duplicated without express written consent of the owners.
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Back to
school, with Chris Rankin!
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The Sci Fi Reporter embarked on a journey to Hogwarts recently, with roving reporters - Eugenia and Gerri having the chance to catch up with one of the School's most colourful characters.
We present our exclusive interview with Mr Chris Rankin.
SFR: You are a New Zealander. How does it feel to be back down under?
Chris: It's great! It's been 18 years since I left N.Z. I was six when I left in 89 and I haven't been back since.
SFR: Do you feel like a New Zealander? Do you feel like you are from down here and that you are coming home?
CR: I support the All Blacks! I have a Kiwi passport. So I'm official. So yes, if people ask, generally I say I'm a Kiwi.
SFR: So you have to get the vowels right now?
CR: I do. Next week I'll be after "fish and chups".
SFR: So we'll ask the first Harry Potter question. How did you land the role of Percy?
CR: By accident, not accident, luck I guess. There was something on the news on television saying they were auditioning for Harry Potter films and they wanted kids that hadn't been to stage school, they just wanted ordinary everyday school kids to come to an open audition for it. So Yeah, I'll do that, why not, I loved the books. I'd read all the books up to that point of the audition. Absolutely loved them, so I thought I'll go along and I was in the right place in the line I guess.
SFR: Did you win the role after just one audition?
CR: Yeah, no I auditioned in London one day, then a casting director - Janet Yagenska, said we'd like you to come back and meet with the producer and director next week. I did that and then two days later she called and said "you start next Monday". And there, it was done. That was seven years and three weeks ago.
SFR: You've grown up a lot since then, In more ways than one?
CR: Yep, I was sixteen. It's all changed now, ha ha! I do this all for a living now you know. I'm a full time actor. A lot has changed but a lot hasn't changed at the same time. It's nice.
SFR: Would you like to continue in films or try a TV series?
CR: I'd like to keep it kind of spread around. I've done TV, I've done film and I've done theatre. It's kind of keeping a nice mix of them all because it keeps you on your toes. I did eight months of theatre last year and as much as I love theatre, after eight months you kind of want to do something else.
SFR: Repeating those lines...
CR: Yeah. Well exactly... I did a bit of TV now I want to do another film and I find in the middle of that I'm doing some more theatre. Bit of everything keeps the balance right? It keeps me sane really.
SFR: So what does Chris Rankin do for down time?
CR: I enjoy hanging out.. I enjoy music and going to concerts and seeing live music and live performance.
SFR: Is there anyone you particularly like?
CR: I love a bit of everything... Aerosmith, The Beatles. I went to see Damien Rice recently.
SFR: When did you decide that this is what you wanted to do for a career?
CR: When I started working on Potter I realised that I was now doing it as a career, and you know... that was great. I was young and I was making money and making a film all my friends were either happy or really jealous and then I kinda thought... yeah, actually you know I just don't want to do Harry Potter, I want to... actually take myself seriously and do this properly. Which has been hard for the first few years because Harry Potter takes eight months... basically eight months to film, which does not leave you much time to do anything else! But now, over the last couple of films, Percy's role has become, I mean he is still there but he is not there as much as he has been in the first few, which has given me a chance to basically... kinda, as I am only working on Potter some of the time, means I can go out and do other stuff, which is great, as it keeps the variety going and it also means that I'm not getting typecast, which is every actors nightmare. You don't want to end up playing a "ginger" high school prefect for the rest of your life.
SFR: You want a challenge!
CR: Yes, exactly... we want to be challenged, and we can be very challenging sometimes! (laughs).
SFR: If you weren't an actor, what career would you have pursued?
CR: It would have been something in the Arts, somewhere, probably, I don't know, I have produced before, I've done lighting design, stage design, something like that. Something to do with theatre definitely.
The Sci Fi Reporter wishes Chris continued success and you can view the official Chris Rankin website via the link below.
More on Chris Rankin |
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