December 2007

Updated Colour of Magic cast list, poster

27 December 2007 (12:53) 3 Comments

RHI Entertainment has updated its library section to include The Colour of Magic. The new section includes a poster and a synopsis, which gives some clues to the changes the film adaptation has made to the books it is based off of, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. To quote the synopsis:

Failed wizard Rincewind (Bafta Winner Sir David Jason, Hogfather) is so bad at magic he only knows one spell. And he doesn’t even know what it does. This goes some way to explaining why he is expelled from the Unseen University for Wizards. Despondent, he contemplates throwing himself into the river that flows through Ankh-Morpork, the Discworld’s biggest city. However, his attention is diverted by the arrival of Twoflower (Oscar Nominee Sean Astin, Lord of the Rings), the Discworld’s unreasonably optimistic first Tourist. But most of all, his attention is diverted by the tourist’s Luggage which is not only full of pure gold but is also able to walk by itself…. Rincewind’s departure also seems to have excited the Octavo, the greatest spell book of all, chained because of its danger in the dungeons of the University. And this disturbance has not escaped the attention of ambitiously evil wizard Trymon (Emmy Award winner Tim Curry, The Rocky Horror Picture Show) who plans to become Archchancellor of the University and discover the Octavo’s secrets. (Full synopsis.)

Additionally, RHI’s extensive cast list has allowed us to update our cast list, with the additions of

• Roger Aston Griffiths as Lumuel Panter
• Will Keen as Ganmack Treehallett
• Peter Copley as Spold
• Andy Robb as Third Rank Wizard
• Ian Burfield as Ymor
• Arthur White as Rerpf
• Pia Mechler as Weems
• Andy Linden as Blind Hugh
• Nigel Planer as Arch Astronomer
• Adam Ewan as Master Launch Controller
• Philip Philmar as Astrozoologist 1
• Terry Pratchett as Astrozoologist 2
• Thomas Morrison as Dim Student
• Joe Sims as Big Star Man/Star Refugee

Terry Pratchett continues the tradition started in Hogfather with another cameo in this adaptation as “Astrozoologist 2.”

Good Omens a good re-read

26 December 2007 (14:04) Comment!

A study by Costa for the 2007 Costa Book Awards on the re-reading habits of UK readers has come up with a list of the most re-read books. Fantasy and science fiction have a good showing in the list, which includes the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series, as well as The Hobbit, 1984, the Hitchchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Good Omens (by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett) in fifteenth place, beating out the Bible, at sixteenth.

Happy Hogswatch!

25 December 2007 (14:01) 1 Comment

A happy Hogswatch to all the denizens of Discworld!  (Yes, that includes you.)

Reminder: Hogfather, Johnny and the Bomb rebroadcast in U.K.

24 December 2007 (13:08) Comment!

Another reminder for our U.K. fans: Sky One and HD are showing Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather tonight and tomorrow (December 24 and 25) at 8 p.m.

Also, the BBC dramatization of Johnny and the Bomb is being broadcast on CBBC January 3 at 4 p.m.

Terry Pratchett at 2008 Bath Literature Festival

22 December 2007 (12:10) Comment!

Terry Pratchett will be appearing at the 2008 Bath Literature Festival (“Origins & Identities”) on Saturday, February 23 at 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. To quote the event (titled “Terry Pratchett: 25 Years of Discworld”) description:

For a brilliantly insightful representation of human life, stretch out a hand, pick up a book, and find yourself in the Discworld. The corruption of politicians, the power of money, the vainglory of celebrity, the optimism of youth, and the ubiquity of Death – all is there in the Discworld. We’re delighted to welcome Terry Pratchett, reinventor of ancient myths into modern form and storyteller par excellence, back to the Festival for an inaugural event to kick off the celebrations for the twenty-fifth year of Discworld.

More information and tickets are available online.

Hogfather 3rd U.S. re-airing

21 December 2007 (20:54) Comment!

Ion Television is re-airing Hogfather for the third time in the United States, as part of RHI Movie Weekend on Sunday, December 23 at 7/6c. This will be Hogfather’s third U.S. airing in less than a month since its U.S. debut November 25.

Reminder to our British fans: As we reported previously, Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather will also be airing in the U.K. December 24 and 25.

The DVD is already available in the U.S. at Borders. Its general release date is set for March 2008. It is already widely available in the U.K.

Terry Pratchett writes more

20 December 2007 (8:37) Comment!

Terry Pratchett has posted another letter on Sandra Kidby’s site in response to the fan outpouring of sympathy. He says:

My good friend Sandra Kidby of PJSM Prints is allowing me to use her website because I am proverbially too busy to run one of my own. We have hardly the time even to read the thousands of messages that have come in here, let alone reply to them, but thank you all.

Could I make a small comment, however? Lots of people are sending me plot ideas. Please, I have a lot of ideas. There is no shortage of ideas and ideas sent to me, even with the very best of intentions, are carefully filleted out of the correspondence before they even get to me. I know they are sent in an effort to help, and I appreciate this, but I advise you not to waste your time.

I am also getting a lot of requests for interviews. I am not giving any because everything I have got to say or that can be said is in the bulletin below. There is no point in saying it again, but in a different order.

Can I remind everybody that I still aten’t dead, even today.

Thanks again for all your good wishes.

Terry Pratchett

Discworld translations

14 December 2007 (23:54) Comment!

Terry Pratchett’s agent Colin Smythe has sent us the following information about soon-to-be published translations of the Discworld novels and related publications.

“Goldmann will be publishing Lu-Tze’s Yearbook of Enlightenment as their 2009 diary, as will Talpress, who will also be publishing the illustrated version of Eric.

“Karisto (Finland) will be publishing The Last Continent.

“Dela Vision (Hungary) are acquiring a licence for Soul Music, and Conrad (Brazil) for Small Gods.

“In January 2008 Ediciones Altaya in Spain are market testing news-stand editions of The Colour of Magic, Mort, Sourcery, Wyrd Sisters and Pyramids.

“Proszynski (Poland) have published the graphic novel of The Colour of Magic, which will be followed by The Light Fantastic. They have also acquired a licence for Night Watch.”

We’ll let Terry Pratchett tell you.

12 December 2007 (19:27) Comment!

Folks,

I would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news. I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer’s, which lay behind this year’s phantom “stroke”.

We are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism. For now work is continuing on the completion of Nation and the basic notes are already being laid down for Unseen Academicals. All other things being equal, I expect to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments but will discuss things with the various organisers. Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there’s time for at least a few more books yet :o)

Terry Pratchett

PS I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should be interpreted as ‘I am not dead’. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think - it’s too soon to tell. I know it’s a very human thing to say “Is there anything I can do”, but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry.

Hogfather to re-air; Pratchett interview

10 December 2007 (18:48) Comment!

Newsday.com is reporting that Ion Television will re-air the Discworld miniseries Hogfather tomorrow and the day after (Tuesday and Wednesday) at 9 p.m. The South Florida Sun-Sentinal is reporting the same along with an interview with Terry Pratchet, in which he tells them, “the nice thing about working with a television company is that .. you get more space — we had three hours of screen time with Hogfather…. Because there’s less money sloshing around, and money always gets in the way, I as the author had quite a lot of input into it.”

Hogfather to broadcast December 24, 25

9 December 2007 (14:43) Comment!

Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather will again be broadcast in England this year on 24th and 25th of December at 8 p.m. on channels 106 and 175 (SkyOne and HD). Here’s to hoping the miniseries proves wonderfully lucrative again! Thanks to Colin Smythe for the tip.

Terry Pratchett video interview

8 December 2007 (13:01) Comment!

Book Zone interviewed Terry Pratchett in Cambridge on his Making Money tour. In the video interview, Terry Pratchett is, of course, asked about writing Making Money and the premise of the book, but also talks about the writing process. To quote Terry Pratchett:

“Sooner or later it’s you and the cursor flashing on the keyboard and you’ve got to do that book and with any luck you’ll be able to make it better than the last one although you absolutely know that sooner or later, by the sheer laws of mathematics, it’s going to be impossible. And that is quite terrifying.”

Thank you to Colin Smythe for the heads-up.

Hogfather U.S. DVD to be available March 4

7 December 2007 (18:44) Comment!

TVShowsOnDVD.com is now reporting that the general release date for the Hogfather United States DVD is set for March 4, 2008. Remember that the DVD is already available, but only at Borders stores.

Terry Pratchett on chapters, Wee Free Men film

2 December 2007 (18:55) Comment!

HarperCollins has released a transcript of an interview with Terry Pratchett conducted in September. Terry Pratchett makes some interesting comments about the new chapters in Going Postal and Making Money:

Going Postal, and indeed it’s successor Making Money both have a somewhat Victorian feel to them so I thought it might be fun to go back to the glorious era of chapter headings which were practically an index to the book! In the same way I found you could have fun with footnotes, I have now learned that chapter headings can be quite amusing.

He also lets drop a hint about the Wee Free Men movie to be directed by Sam Raimi, saying, “I have got on very well with Pamela Pettler who is the script writer, so right now I am feeling quite optimistic.”