March 2008

Match It For Pratchett: “Not official”

31 March 2008 (17:37) Comment!

Terry Pratchett issued a statement on The Cunning Artificer’s about the Match It For Pratchett campaign. The campaign is organized by fans to match Pratchett’s recent half-a-million-pound donation to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust in the U.K. To quote Pratchett’s post:

As far as we are concerned this is not official, and if we don’t think its official, it aint. I hate to appear to be in any way negative about what appears to be very good intentions, but I could wish that the gentleman concerned had got in touch with us first before going ahead.

I have to say there are certain things that worry me about this project, not because they are in any way fraudulent, but raising and distributing money for charity can involve rather more problems than seem apparent at the start – especially in the loveable volatile world we know as fandom.

Most of the £13,000 raised since last Thursday has been sent to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust (https://www.committedgiving.uk.net/art/public/donor.aspx?id=cc) directly, which at least has the benefit of being straight forward.

Luggage auction ends at £3,667.42

30 March 2008 (11:31) 1 Comment

The charity auction for the one-off replica of the Luggage used in the Colour Of Magic ended on Monday March 24, with a bid of £3,667.42. All £3,667.42 of that goes to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust in the U.K. The Luggage was filled with the complete set of Discworld books, signed by Terry Pratchett, and the new film tie-in edition of The Colour Of Magic, signed by some of the actors in the movie.

Colour Of Magic premiere report; Terry Pratchett, Sean Astin, and David Jason on video

27 March 2008 (0:51) 1 Comment

BBC has a video report on the premiere of The Colour Of Magic, which includes interviews with Terry Pratchett, Sean Astin, and David Jason.  Terry Pratchett says seeing the film is “like wandering around on the inside of my own head,” while Sean Astin and David Jason bring the on-screen double-act into real life, bantering about David Jason’s daughter’s impressions on the film as well as other things.

The premiere took place March 3, and the Colour Of Magic adaptation aired for the first time last Sunday and Monday in the U.K.

Terry Pratchett on Alzheimer’s: “I’ve never felt more alive.”

27 March 2008 (0:04) 2 Comments

In the wake of Terry Pratchett’s 500,000 pound donation to Alzheimer’s research, BBC has posted a video interview with Terry Pratchett. In the fairly long (fifteen minutes long) interview, Terry Pratchett is asked about his life since the diagnosis, what his plans are for writing in the future (”I’ve started the next book.”), his access to medicine, what he feels about Alzheimer’s underfunding compared to cancer, and a whole myriad of other interesting topics.

Also made available by the BBC website: Terry Pratchett’s donation speech, including the preliminary banter about the evolutionary reasons for Alzheimer’s.

Terry Pratchett audio interview on Arthur C. Clarke

26 March 2008 (23:46) Comment!

Arthur C. Clarke died at age 90 recently, and accordingly, BBC interviewed Terry Pratchett on Clarke’s contribution to the science fiction/fantasy genre. The audio of the interview can be found on the BBC website. In the two-and-a-half minute clip, Terry Pratchett speaks about the effect of Clarke’s Space Odyssey, his astonishingly accurate predictions, and how he “put some science into science fiction.”

The Colour Of Magic finishes airing; early reviews good

25 March 2008 (8:10) Comment!

As you all know, The Colour Of Magic, the TV adaptation of the first two books in the Discworld series, finished airing for the first time March 24 in the U.K. The reaction fans so far has been excellent, and the early reviews so far have been similarly good. To quote a TimesOnline.co.uk article on The Colour Of Magic:

The two-parter was better than Sky’s previous Discworld adaptation, the story more clearly told (I could understand it) and David Jason happier as the hopeless wizard Rincewind than as Albert in The Hogfather [sic]. It also benefited from an excellent villain in Tim Curry. It looked good, in an over-glossy, Hallmark Productions kind of way …

Another article, from The Scotsman, said, “this was a good-looking production that proper fans probably appreciated.” However, criticisms were also evident in both articles:

Every now and again the budget (tight, it was implied, by the accompanying “Making of” documentary) looked stretched. If it could show characters falling off the edge of the world, make a trunk walk and blow up the Broken Drum Inn, why is it impossible for the skeleton Death to open its mouth when it speaks?

And:

The opening instalment, based on Pratchett’s first and possibly worst Discworld book, was far too long, dragging out its attempts at satire with leaden direction and script.

The Guardian.co.uk some preliminary viewing figures for the adaptation:

• The second part concluded with almost 1 million viewers last night, with an average of 967,000 viewers and a multichannel share of 4.7%. The viewer numbers peaked at 1.1 million viewers at 7:15.
• The first part (which aired Sunday March 23) attracted 1.5 million viewers and an 8% multichannel share.

Compare these numbers to Hogfather’s: 2.4 million for the first part (a record-breaking number) and 1.5 million for the second.

Update: Another highly enthusiastic review.

Reminder: The Colour Of Magic aired 6 p.m. on Sky One tonight

23 March 2008 (17:57) Comment!

The headline says it all, really.  Viewers in the U.K. had the opportunity to see the first part of the much-awaited Colour Of Magic adaptation tonight at 6 p.m.  Part two airs tomorrow, also at 6 p.m.  Don’t forget to check out the official site, where galleries and videos can help you pass the time until tomorrow!  FromRimToHub.com’s Colour Of Magic section will also help pass the time.

David Jason, Sean Astin, Tim Curry, Terry Prachett on Colour Of Magic

22 March 2008 (14:41) Comment!

An extensive article from TimesOnline.co.uk includes quotes from David Jason, Sean Astin, Tim Curry, and Terry Pratchett about the coming Colour Of Magic two part adaptation, which will be broadcast this Sunday and Monday at 6 p.m.  To quote Sean Astin in the article:

It’s a little weird…. Some guy has a brain fart and I’m wearing big furry feet for two years. Another guy has an acid tablet and I’m in a pond in the back of Pinewood…. Terry obviously loves Tolkien and fantasy but he also loves to … take the piss out of it.

Tim Curry, with some less colorful language, also speaks about the Discworld series:

Terry’s big on satire and drawing conclusions in his worlds that you can take into this one…. I don’t think class has passed him by, or the advancements of technology.  Trymon is such a wonderfully double-dealing slimeball–he’d be totally at home in Brussels.  I’ve had a lot of extremely uncomfortable pointy shoes to wear, and lots of great hats.

And finally, Terry Pratchett himself also speaks:

Hogfather was more serious; The Colour of Magic is about humour…. It’s a buddy movie except that one of the buddies [Rincewind] doesn’t want to be a buddy. It’s a road movie although roads are probably the last thing they manage to travel on most of the time.

[On signing over the rights to The Colour Of Magic and The Light Fantastic] I tried to conceal the fact that I really wanted them to do it but really would like to be paid a lot of money…. The nice thing is that The Colour of Magic really had no plot. It was a series of episodes and we could, like a smorgasbord, pick what we wanted. So it wasn’t quite the slaughter job that I thought it would have to be.

Terry Pratchett also addressed the concerns of many fans on the casting of David Jason as Rincewind, since many consider Rincewind to be younger and skinnier:

It was mainly the book cover illustrations that did that…. I’m very good at not describing characters. David Jason has got three amazingly good attributes. Firstly, he is an excellent actor. Secondly, he’s Sir David Jason, and that name counts for something. And thirdly he’s a Discworld fan and about 15 years ago he declared that he wanted to play Rincewind. I thought, ‘Wonderful!’ 

The article also has a set-report aspect to it, as it describes the filming of the scene where Rincewind is close to being swept over the edge of the Discworld.  To quote the article:

“I don’t want to leave this world!” gurgles David Jason. Britain’s Most Popular Actor [sic] is clinging to a log in the middle of a foaming torrent of water, which swirls through his red robes and greying beard and plasters his hair across his face. “DON’T MIND ME - I’VE GOT A BOOK TO READ,” deadpans a skeletal figure in a deckchair on a nearby rocky outcrop. Slowly, Jason’s grip relaxes on the log and he disappears beneath the surface.

“Cut!” barks a voice through a megaphone. A bedraggled Jason re-emerges, and is shepherded by a squad of frogmen to the edge of Pinewood Studios’ 100-square metre water tank, as the huge compressed air generators that were creating the torrent wind down. It’s an overcast August afternoon near the end of the 11-week shoot for The Colour of Magic, Sky One’s multimillion- pound Easter adaptation of the first two books in Terry Pratchett’s supernaturally successful Discworld series…. In this scene [Rincewind] is attempting to avoid being swept over the Discworld’s oceanic rim and into space, which will be represented on the vast blue screen behind him. His travails are observed by the sardonic Death, whose vocal duties have passed from the late Ian Richardson to Christopher Lee, who voiced him in the Pratchett animations Wyrd Sisters and Soul Music.

The article also informs readers that the fight with Tim Curry has been filmed in addition to the upside-down fight in the Wyrmberg.

Don’t forget to watch The Colour of Magic on Sky One at 6 p.m. this Sunday and Monday!

Dress up and win an iPod and every Discworld audiobook

20 March 2008 (20:16) 1 Comment

TimesOnline.co.uk is offering a contest to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Colour Of Magic, the first novel in the Discworld series. To win, send a photograph of “yourself dressed as your favourite Pratchett character” to books@timesonline.co.uk and explain why he or she is your favorite character.  Things to note about the contest:

• Only residents of the U.K. and Eire aged 16 and over are eligible.
• Each person is allowed only one entry.
• Include “Pratchett” in the subject of your entry.
• The email should include the picture of yourself dressed up, the name of your character, why he or she is your favorite (in less than 50 words), your name, your age, your phone number, and your email address.
• The photograph must be in jpeg format and less than 10 megabytes.  Dimension specifications: “a minimum pixel width of 450 for landscape photographs or 450 pixels for portrait photos.”
• The deadline is midday May 19, 2008.

 The full terms and conditions can also be found on the site.

FromRimToHub.com’s 1st birthday!

20 March 2008 (11:10) Comment!

One year ago, FromRimToHub.com first squeezed from its virtual womb; now, it’s squealing and crying and learning to crawl. One year ago, almost no one visited FromRimToHub.com or even knew it existed; since then, visits have boomed. We thank all of you for your dedication to our site and hope you’ll stay with us as we continue to grow and learn to toddle about the internet. Here’s to another year for FromRimToHub.com!

Colour Of Magic airs 6 p.m. March 23 and 24; more Colour Of Magic trailers

19 March 2008 (21:19) 2 Comments

SkyOne has finally announced the air date in the U.K. for The Colour Of Magic: 6 p.m. March 23 and March 24, on SkyOne and SkyOne HD. In addition, two new trailers have been posted to YouTube.

Trailer 2, length 32 seconds:

Narrator: From the dawn of time, they have always been there: the eight great spells. Now, one of them is missing.
Trymon: Well, that’s rather badly organized.
Narrator: And only one wizard–
Rincewind: I never really completed my training.
Narrator: –can bring it home. David Jason, Sean Astin, and Tim Curry take you to the very edge of the Discworld. Terry Pratchett’s The Colour Of Magic. This Easter. SkyOne and SkyOne HD.

Trailer 3, Theatrical, length 93 seconds:

Narrator: In a distant and secondhand set of dimensions, from the very dawn of time, they have always been there: the eight great spells. Now, one of them is missing. One of the eight spells is missing.
Trymon: Well, that’s rather badly organized.
Narrator: And there is only one wizard–
Rincewind: I’m the worst wizard this side of the Circle Sea!
Narrator: –who can bring it home. From the makers of Hogfather. SkyOne presents a pigment of your imagination.
Twoflower: All my life I’ve wanted to see dragons.
Rincewind: Don’t be ridiculous. Dragons don’t exist.
Rincewind: I won’t. (?)
Rincewind: What are you grinning at?
Death: Oh, I’m sorry. I can’t help it.
Rincewind: He says he’s a tourist.
Broadman: What’s that mean?
Twoflower: Smile!
Rincewind: I think it means idiot.
Narrator: David Jason, Sean Astin, and Tim Curry–
Trymon: Fantastic.
Narrator: –take you to the very edge of the Discworld.
Twoflower: And I thought everything was going so well!
Rincewind: Well, you thought wrong.
Narrator: Terry Pratchett’s The Colour Of Magic. This Easter. SkyOne and SkyOne HD.

You can find more videos on YouTube (though all are repeats from what can be found on the site) on Sky’s YouTube channel.

Terry Pratchett tributes science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke

19 March 2008 (17:23) Comment!

Arthur C. Clarke’s recent death at the age of 90 recently has prompted tributes from scientists and authors, including Terry Pratcett and Sir Patrick Moore.  To quote a Guardian.co.uk article on the subject

The science fiction author Terry Pratchett praised Clarke as a “great man” who “put some science into science fiction”.

“Most notably, I think he was probably the first science fiction writer to break out of the science fiction ghetto,” Pratchett told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. “He became a national treasure like Patrick Moore.”

The film version of 2001: A Space Odyssey - in which Sir Arthur was closely involved - was “totally, totally new”, Pratchett said.

“What I particularly recall is Arthur complaining that the reason why the apes never won the Oscar for best make-up was that they were so good the judges thought they really were apes.”

Terry Pratchett has previously said, “There is a tradition in the science fiction and fantasy genre of ‘paying forward.’ At the first convention I attended in my youth was Arthur C. Clarke [and other authors] I thought of as gods. They signed books for me and let me into their conversations, even if they thought of me a bothersome little tit. You can never pay back something like that but you can pay your way forward by making your own contribution.” (AdelaideNow, March 2007)

Terry Pratchett opens Winchester planetarium

19 March 2008 (17:11) Comment!

Last month we told you that Terry Pratchett would be opening Britain’s largest planetarium at INTECH’s Science Centre in Winchester.  ThisIsWinchester.net reports that Terry Pratchett said at the event, “I thought it was amazing.  My imagination got fired by going to the planetarium when I was a child.  I think it’s quite important to get kids interested in who we are and why we’re here.”

Sir Patrick Moore also attended the event, saying “The young enthusiasts of today are our researchers of tomorrow. The planetarium is a great thing for the area and the country.”

INTECH Director Phil Winfield said, “Terry Pratchett was inspired by astronomy as a young person and that’s exactly what we want to do at INTECH - inspire young people.”

The 176-seat planetarium will be open to the public starting on March 21, 2008.

Sky begins major advertising for The Colour Of Magic

18 March 2008 (21:06) Comment!

MarketingWeek.co.uk reports that Sky’s multimillion-pound advertising campaign for Terry Pratchett’s The Colour Of Magic is kicking in gear this week, which “includes TV, press, online and outdoor executions as well as the rerelease of Pratchett’s book of the same name, part of the Discworld series.” To quote the article:

Sky is also partnering with online bookseller Amazon, as well as homepage takeovers on MSN, Yahoo! and AOL. Interactive ads will run across sites, such as TVGuide and Yahoo! linking to the sky.com/magic microsite.

National press advertising will run in titles including The Sun, The Guardian, New Statesman and listings sections and TV spots will air across Sky Networks. Sky is also launching a Bluetooth zone at Victoria station, which will give mobile users the opportunity to download video clips, ring and text tones and screen savers.

Sky is also involved in viral and social network promotion for the adaptation.

Terry Pratchett interview from Sky

17 March 2008 (21:17) Comment!

The Sky News blog posted a video interview of Terry Pratchett recently, in which Terry Pratchett talks about his recent half-a-million-pound donation to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust in the U.K.  In the minute-long video clip, Pratchett calls the organization “somewhat of a Cinderella charity compared to the cancer charities” and explains a little more about his diagnosis.

Match It For Pratchett: Donate 1 pound to Alzheimer’s research

16 March 2008 (10:03) Comment!

Pat Cadigan started an online campaign (dubbed “Match it for Pratchett” by participants) on her blog to get half a million Discworld fans to each donate a pound (that’s about two dollars in U.S. currency) to Alzheimer’s research, thus matching the half-million pounds/a million dollars donation Terry Pratchett made yesterday to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust in the U.K. Cadigan says on her blog, “So whaddaya say, guys? … You can spare that much. Go here and make your donation. Tell them it’s in honour of Terry Pratchett.”

Edit: The Match It For Pratchett site, www.matchitforpratchett.org, has been set up for more information. A Facebook page has also been set up by the originator of the initiative, which includes a letter from the Alzheimer’s Research Trust.

Buy the Luggage, support Alzheimer’s research

15 March 2008 (18:37) 5 Comments

A charity auction on eBay is in process to support the Alzheimer’s Research Trust. Terry Pratchett and the Colour of Magic crew worked together to provide this “unique opportunity” to own the only replica of the Luggage used in producing The Colour of Magic adaptation. To quote the item description:

A unique opportunity to own a one-off replica of the luggage as featured in Sky One’s adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s The Colour of Magic. This quirky ‘suitcase’ is filled with the full library of Discworld novels, plus the production designs used to build the luggage as seen in the film. Both the books and the designs have been signed by Terry Pratchett.

Also included in this money can’t buy piece of memorabilia is a copy of the Discworld 25th anniversary edition of The Colour of Magic which hits book store shelves on the 10th March. This brand spanking new reissue not only features the stars of Sky One’s magical adaptation, Sir David Jason and Sean Astin, on the front cover, but the two actors have also signed the novel.

Fifteen bidders have bid the price up to £2,000.00.  The auction ends on March 24.

More Colour of Magic official site updates: “Tourist Guides” and more!

14 March 2008 (19:27) Comment!

The official Colour of Magic site from Sky has been updated to include more fun descriptions of the creatures, characters, and places of Discworld. In the Video section, four out of eight “Tourist Guides,” hosted by the Librarian of the Unseen University and a goofy assistant have been uploaded. The videos include glimpses of the Rimfall and Wyrmberg, the dragon-filled, upside-down mountain. You can watch them to see a small clip of Twoflower using his phrase book to speak with a bemused Broadman, an odd interaction between Rincewind and Twoflower, and a particularly creepy speech from Trymon.  Watch the slightly nutty videos to learn about Discworld’s geography, wizards, cuisine, inhabitants, religions, plants, and entertainment.

Four out of seven “Behind the Magic” videos are also on the site, where you can hear Sir David Jason and Sean Astin speak about The Colour of Magic.

You can visit the official Colour of Magic site for wallpapers, interviews, trailer, production notes, and more goodies.