Over 20 SciFi and Fantasy films entered in Seattle International Film Festival

Seattle, WA - The 36th Seattle International Film Festival will open on May 20 with the Seattle Premiere of the sophisticated comedy The Extra Man - directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. The film will screen at Seattle's Benaroya Hall, kicking off the nation's largest film festival set to take place from May 20 through June 13, 2010.

The Extra Man stars Paul Dano (There Will be Blood) as the ever-so-proper Louis Ives, a lonely dreamer who imagines himself the protagonist of a modern F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. He moves to Manhattan to pursue a writing career and rents a room in the tiny Manhattan apartment of playwright Henry Harrison, a wildly eccentric social entrepreneur (Kevin Kline) who happens to work evenings as an "extra man" - an escort for wealthy widows. The unexpected bond of the two men creates the hilarious heart of the film; its pathos comes from their realization that within the other's idealistic fantasy persona lurks their own litany of insecurities.

Academy-Award® nominated co-directors/screenwriters Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (American Splendor, The Nanny Diaries) manifest the edgy spirit and droll dialogue of the celebrated novel by Jonathan Ames (writer of HBO's Bored to Death) with a perfectly balanced blend of warmth, intellect, and humanity. Paul Dano and Kevin Kline (surpassing his memorable Academy Award® performance in A Fish Called Wanda) are sublime in their portrayal of the two gentlemen about town, each imbuing their edge-of-the-envelope characters with depth and empathetic distinction. Also appearing are Katie Holmes as Louis' sweet co-worker and unrequited love interest (and whose wardrobe Louis secretly desires...), and John C. Reilly as Henry's mysterious (and very hairy) downstairs neighbor. The Extra Man is a magical, multi-dimensional comedy–sophisticated, elegant, goofy, and ultimately satisfying.

The Extra Man debuted at Sundance earlier this year to rave audience reviews and was recently picked up by Magnolia Pictures for US distribution. Excellently cast and revealing humor, wit, and class, The Extra Man is an exciting selection to launch the 2010 Festival with more than 250 feature films, 100 shorts, special events, workshops, and forums that will take place from May 20 through June 13 at various venues city-wide.

"After seeing its debut at Sundance this year, I knew I wanted The Extra Man to open the 36th Seattle International Film Festival," says SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence. "We always strive to choose a film that not only combines stellar storytelling and captivating characters, but one that connects with Seattle's film-savvy audiences. This unique film is both laugh-out-loud funny and smart, and is the perfect film to kick off the 2010 Festival."

This represents the first time Seattle International Film Festival will host its Opening Night Gala at the beautiful Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. The event, taking place on Thursday, May 20, will also feature a red carpet welcome for directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. Members of the cast are also expected to be in attendance.

The Extra Man
A Magnolia Films Release

Directors:
Shari Springer Berman
Robert Pulcini
Screenwriters:
Robert Pulcini
Jonathan Ames
Shari Springer Berman
Based on the novel by Jonathan Ames
Producers:
Anthony Bregman
Stephanie Davis
Principal Cast:
Kevin Kline
Paul Dano
John C. Reilly
Katie Holmes
Marian Seldes
Celia Weston
Patti D'Arbanville
Dan Hedaya

For more information about the 36th Seattle International Film Festival or the 2010 Opening Night film selection, The Extra Man, please contact the SIFF Press Office at press@siff.net or 206.315.0807.

About the Seattle International Film Festival
The 36th Seattle International Film Festival runs May 20 through June 13. The complete SIFF program schedule will be available Thursday, May 6, at www.siff.net, and as a special pullout grid in the May 6 edition of the Seattle Times. The SIFF Box Office opens to SIFF Members May 6, and to the general public on May 7. Tickets will be available online at www.siff.net, by phone at 206-324-9996, or at the Pacific Place Box Office (600 Pine Street, second level). Members of the press can find and download more information, including press kits, photos, press releases, and full film descriptions at press.siff.net.

Now in its 36th year, the Seattle International Film Festival is the largest and most highly-attended film festival in the United States, showcasing more than 400 films from over 60 countries to an audience of 150,000 attendees annually. Listed by Variety as one of the world's "50 unmissable film festivals," SIFF continues to be recognized as one of the top festivals in North America. SIFF combines the best aspects of a casual film marketplace with our well-established reputation as a great audience festival filmmakers love to attend.

SIFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. In addition to the Festival, SIFF operates SIFF Cinema, its year-round flagship theater at McCaw Hall. In 2011, SIFF will open the SIFF Film Center at Seattle Center's Alki Room, thereby fulfilling its long-standing vision of creating a permanent home where SIFF's successful film, education, and community outreach programs can thrive.

Source: http://www.siff.net/

Discussions at SF-Fandom:

Poster for the 36th annual Seattle International Film Festival

19 Fantasy Films featured at 2010 Seattle International Film Festival

9 SciFi Films featured at 2010 Seattle International Film Festival

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Amazing videos inspire Legend of the Seeker fans

The Seeker Fan Video project is getting underway as I write this. So what is it all about? Quite simply, Seeker fans want to show their unity and support for Legend of the Seeker. The two videos below are examples of the kind of video the fans are hoping to produce.

This first video is absolutely amazing, to me. I'm sure I'll share it on many occasions. (ON EDIT: It's too wide to fit within this blog's format. Here is a link to the YouTube page).



This video was produced as part of Starbucks' Red project to raise awareness of AIDS in Africa. People around the world sang "All You Need Is Love" at the same time and their videos were spliced together to create this incredible montage.



So what are the Legend of the Seeker fans doing? They're organizing. You can send an email to LOTSvideo -at- gmail -dot- com if you have the ability to record yourself (a Webcam or cell phone may be all you need).

I'll track the project's progress at Save The Seeker.

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RIP Frank Frazetta

Science fiction and fantasy fans woke up to the sad news this morning that Frank Frazetta has passed away. If you don't know who Frazetta is, he is the book/poster artist who inspired a generation of pseudo-realistic fantasy artists. Frazetta's warriors, wizards, and women established a pattern of realistic cover art that revolutionized the SF book industry.

I wrote more about Frazetta's impact on SF art at the Wordpress blog.

If you want to leave a comment in the SF-Fandom forum, you'll need to register for free. Gmail and Hotmail users will have to contact the Administrators for help with registering. We have blocked automatic registering for Gmail and Hotmail because link spammer abuse.

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Dear TrekWeb, Seeker has NOT been cancelled

Overzealous fans are out in force asking people for help in assuring there will be a third season of Legend of the Seeker. To show their support for the campaign, the good folks at TrekWeb published a brief article about the campaign to Save Our Seeker.

In their lead, they mentioned that Legend of the Seeker has been cancelled -- which is not true. The show has NOT been cancelled. Entertainment Weekly's Mike Ausiello (who is widely followed in media and fandom) started the rumor by saying he had heard from reliable sources at ABC that the should would not be renewed for a third season.

Nonetheless, there has been no confirmation from ABC and apparent support for the rumor by members of the show's cast and crew have been retracted. Studio executives and publicists have equally fallen silent BECAUSE NEGOTIATIONS FOR A THIRD SEASON ARE ALLEGEDLY IN PROGRESS.

Whose rumor is more true today doesn't matter. By saying the show is cancelled when it has not, in fact, been cancelled, you give people the wrong impression. If you're willing to support the show on your Website please do so by reporting the facts and not substituting rumors as facts.

As of this writing, Legend of the Seeker has not been cancelled.

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SyFy's Craig Engler gets down and dirty with SciFi fans

If you're favorite genre television show has just been cancelled or is about to be, Craig Engler of SyFy has some advice for you: Do the television network's job for them and build their audience share.

So, what do you think about that? Are you ready to make millionaires of people who won't pay you a dime for your hard work? Don't be so quick to rush out there and tell all your friends to watch the show.

In an article published on Boing Boing Craig says that all the Fluff fans of Law & Order: Criminal Intent send to the USA Network is wasted because it doesn't translate into increased audience share. If fans would only bring in a few hundred thousand more viewers for the networks ..., he muses.

It's that kind of sloppy thinking that gets people into trouble. Sure, put the burden of responsibility for bad marketing on the audience. It's the fans' fault that the studios and networks don't reach out and engage with them?

Like I say in a classic, lengthy Michael Martinez rebuttal to Craig, it's not the fans' responsibility to do the marketing for a television show.

Yes, we're willing to spread the word about shows we like but the shows that succeed have more than just word of mouth working for them -- they have actors, writers, directors, and business executives reaching out to fans in as many ways as possible.

Telling the fans they have to get out there and hustle to make your shows a success is about as limp an excuse for bad marketing strategy as one can think of.

If Legend of the Seeker fails and never comes back, the fault lies not with the fans, but with the idiots who didn't do their part to build the audience share like they should have.

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