SciFi Surplus Podcast #020
February 24, 2008
Interview: Mur Lafferty - Topics: Kristin Kreuk, Saturn Awards, Blu-Ray, Akira, TOR, Old Man’s War, John Scalzi
Thank you for joining us for show number 20. We’re going to be talking with New Media pioneer and sci-fi writer, Mur Lafferty. In the news is the Saturn Awards, Blu-Ray, Akira, Kristin Kreuk, and that satellite that was shot down my the U-S military.
One of the other things we’re going to talk about the publishing company, TOR, and it’s free ebook giveaway. If you’d like to get a free copy of Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, go the show notes at SciFi Surplus dot com and you’ll find a link. It’s time to get the show started so let’s get our geek on!
Anti-witness News
Blu-Ray is Victorious
Source: hollywoodreporter.com
Source: thestreet.com
Casey: Blu-Ray has won the High Definition Optical Disc war. Last week we told you that Wal-Mart will stop selling HD DVD players and Toshiba will stop making them. This week, the last of the big hold-outs, Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios, threw in the towel and announced that they are glad the format war is over. They say a unified platform is ultimately better for consumers.
Saturn Nominees Announced
Source: saturnawards.org
Vince: “300,” “Harry Potter,” and “Sweeney Todd” are ahead of the pack in the Saturn Awards nominations. “300″ has the most, with ten, chances to win, while “Potter” and “Sweeney” have 9 and 8 respectively. The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films is a non-profit organization devoted to honoring, recognizing and promoting genre entertainment. This year’s show will take place on Tuesday, June 24, in Universal City, California.
Akira produced by Leonardo DiCaprio
Source: hollywoodreporter.com
Casey: Akira is getting set for a live action feature. Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company, Appian Way along with Warner Brothers are working to get the Manga hit onto the big screen. The proposal is to create a 2-movie “epic” with the first film due in theaters in 2009.
Knight Rider Rates Well
Source: scifi.com/scifiwire
Online Episodes: nbc.com
Vince: NBC is touting a success for the Knight Rider revival. 12-point-7 million tuned in to watch Mike Traceur and a black Mustang take over where his father, Michael Knight left off. Good ratings should mean that starting up a new series or another movie in the fall is an option for the network.
Kiristin Kreuk in Streetfighter Movie
Source: variety.com
Casey: Smallville’s Kristin Kreuk is cast to star in the upcoming movie, “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.” This is the second attempt at making a hit movie with the “Street Fighter” video game franchise.
U.S. Navy shoots down satellite.
Source: nytimes.com
Casey: On Wednesday, February 20th, the U.S. Navy shot down an inoperable spy satellite in order to prevent the potentially catastrophic release of it’s toxic fuel. The modified Standard Missile Three launched from the U.S.S. Lake Erie impacted with the satellite’s fuel tanks, causing the complete destruction of the satellite. The Pentagon reports that no piece larger than a football survived, and all remains will burn up on reentry within the next 40 days.
Report on TOR Free Ebook Giveaway
I would like to thank Simon Owens, from Bloggasm.com for sharing the details of TOR’s free ebook giveaway. Click here for the link to his article.
Click here to get your free eBooks from www.TOR.com. - Please note that at the time this was posted the TOR website required that the “www.” be at the beginning of the URL.
Interview with Mur Lafferty
A huge thank you goes out to Mur for taking time to talk with us! You can find Mighty Mur at MurLafferty.com and soon at MurVerse.com.
