1999 Hugo Awards Announced
he 46th Annual Hugo Awards were announced Saturday, Sept. 4, at the 57th World Science Fiction Convention in Melbourne, Australia.
The winners and categories are:
- Best Novel
- To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (Bantam Spectra)
- Best Novella
- "Oceanic" by Greg Egan (Asimov's, Aug 1998)
- Best Novelette
- "Taklamakan" by Bruce Sterling (Asimov's, Oct/Nov 1998)
- Best Short Story
- "The Very Pulse of the Machine" by Michael Swanwick (Asimov's, Feb 1998)
- Best Non-Fiction Book
- The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of: How Science Fiction Conquered the World by Thomas M. Disch (The Free Press)
- Best Dramatic Presentation
- The Truman Show (Paramount)
- Best Professional Editor
- Gardner Dozois
- Best Professional Artist
- Bob Eggleton
- Best Semiprozine
- Locus
- Best Fanzine
- Ansible
- Best Fan Writer
- Dave Langford
- Best Fan Artist
- Ian Gunn
- John W. Campbell Award
- Nalo Hopkinson
The Hugo Awards are named in honor of Hugo Gernsback, "The Father of Magazine Science Fiction," and are presented annually by the World Science Fiction Society. Both the nominees and winners are chosen by a popular vote of the WSFS.
Robocop To Return In Miniseries
igel Entertainment and Fireworks Entertainment have joined forces to bring the Robocop franchise back to TV.
This week Fireworks began production on four two-hour Robo telefilms that will be aired as the miniseries Robocop: Prime Directives.
The series takes place 10 years after the events of the original Robocop film and features Page Fletcher in the title role of Robocop, the cyborg created from the gunned-down remains of human police officer Alex Murphy. Maurice Dean Wint will play Delta City Security Commander John T. Cable, Maria Del Mar will play Sara Cable, Anthony Lemke has signed on as Murphy's son James, David Fraser will play the technical genius Edwin Hobley, and Geraint Wyn-Davies will play a villain in the series.
The first installment of Prime Directives is called "Dark Justice" and pits Robocop against a high-tech terrorist known as Bone Machine. When Cable--Murphy's friend and partner--links Bone Machine to a group of ambitious executives known as "The Trust," The Trust reprograms Murphy to kill Cable.
The second episode is called "Meltdown" and features Cable's return as a new high-tech Robocop who is programmed to kill Murphy. Meanwhile, The Trust sends in a squad of "robohunters" to destroy both of the cyborg officers, who are battling it out in the ruins of Old Detroit.
In the third installment, "Resurrection," The Trust manages to seize control of OCP, the company that created Robocop and Delta City. They turn all OCP operations over to an artificial intelligence known as SAINT, but a rogue OCP employee brainwashes Cable to deliver a virus to the system. Meanwhile, the robohunters return for another try at the cyborgs, this time enhanced with bio-boosters and led by Alex's son James.
Finally, in "Crash and Burn" Murphy has to fight his way past Cable in order to disable the now-infected SAINT system before it destroys the city. However, the only way he can defeat the computer is to set off an electronic pulse that will result in his own death.
Prime Directives is being produced and directed by Julian Grant from scripts written by Brad Abraham and Joseph O'Brien. Fireworks president Adam Haight said the series will have the edgy feel of the first movie, which was lost when the franchise made its first transition to TV. "We've pretty much cranked up the action on these," he added.
The series is currently shooting in Canada and will air on Canada's City TV in 2000. Prime Directives has also been pre-sold to several foreign markets but does not yet have a U.S. distributor.
Pern Series Gets The Green Light
lliance Atlantis Entertainment has given the green light to its Dragonriders of Pern TV show based on Anne McCaffrey's novel series of the same name.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the special-effects-laden show will go into production in early 2000 with a tentative launch scheduled for 2001.
Alliance has been working on Dragonriders for more than a year but only recently decided to move ahead with production. "The reason that we have taken so long to actually confirm our commitment is because we felt that in order to sell the show we needed to demonstrate that we could create dragons that are seamless and real utilizing computer-generated imagery," Alliance president Peter Sussman said.
The show will reportedly be loosely based on the characters and stories from McCaffrey's numerous Pern novels.
Dragonriders Facts Take Flight
he official Dragonriders of Pern Web site is reporting more details about the upcoming Pern TV series in development at Alliance Atlantis Entertainment.
According to an interview with the creators of the show, Alliance is trying to remain as faithful as possible to Anne McCaffrey's Pern books, which the TV series is based on.
The show will center around the characters Lessa, F'lar, F'nor and Jaxom--as well as their dragons, of course--although none of the roles have been cast at this point. The story will take place at the time of the Ninth Pass and will definitely feature the legendary Threadfall.
The creators said they will be drawing on material from all of the Pern novels, with an emphasis on Dragonflight and All the Weyrs of Pern. The dragons themselves will communicate telepathically, will follow the basic rules laid out by McCaffrey, and will be rendered using computer-generated imagery in the "traditional" colors of gold, bronze, blue and green.
Although Alliance is not ruling out a possible Dragonriders movie, the company felt the epic scope of the novels was most suitable to an ongoing TV series. So far the most difficult part in adapting the books for the small screen has been dealing with the immense scope of time and place in the novels, as well as the dragons themselves.
New Who Series Canceled Already?
new Doctor Who TV series in development at the BBC may never see the light of day, according to a story in the U.K. paper The Independent.
The Outpost Gallifrey Web site said the paper is reporting that the BBC had invited Russell Davies to create a new Who series called Doctor Who 2000.
However, if the Who movie being developed by Paul Anderson makes it into production, the BBC may decide to scotch its plans for a series revival. Meanwhile, the Scottish Herald is supposedly reporting that a special effects company is interested in making computer models of police boxes in Glasgow, Scotland, for use in the Who film.
Blair Witch Heads Home On Oct. 22
rtisan Entertainment plans to release its hit film The Blair Witch Project to VHS and DVD at sell-through prices on Oct. 22.
Both formats will include never-before-seen footage from the movie as well as the SCI FI Channel companion special The Curse of the Blair Witch.
Curse will be available on VHS as part of a two-pack with the film or as a stand-alone cassette, while the DVD will feature the special as part of its bonus material. The DVD will also include audio commentary, testimonials by the filmmakers and exclusive access to Internet features such as a map of the Black Hills Forest near Burkittsville, Md., where the film was shot.
Invisible Man Cast Announced
incent Ventresca (Romy and Michele's High School Reunion) has been cast as the lead for SCI FI's upcoming Invisible Man series.
Ventresca will play the role of Darien, a small-time thief who avoids prison by "volunteering" for a surgical experiment that enables him to become temporarily--and often accidentally--invisible.
Rebecca Chambers will star alongside Ventresca as Casey, Darien's gorgeous girlfriend, who also happens to have a genius-level IQ. Joel Bissonnette will take on the role of Arnaud, an evil scientist who wants to capture Darien and use his invisible powers for no good. Paul Ben-Victor (Crazy in Alabama) and Eddie Jones (Lois & Clark) have also joined the cast.
The Invisible Man is an action/comedy series being executive produced by Matt Greenberg (Halloween: H20) and directed by Breck Eisner. Production began this week on the show's two-hour pilot. The series is slated to air in the first quarter of 2000 as part of SCI FI's Friday night SCI FI Prime lineup.
The Sixth Sense Is No. 1 Again
he Sixth Sense finished No. 1 at the box office during the Aug. 27 weekend, marking its fourth consecutive week in the top spot.
According to Variety, Sixth is the first movie to lead the box office for a month straight since Saving Private Ryan was in theaters last August.
Still more impressive, Sixth joined Titanic and Star Wars: Episode I as the only films to gross at last $20 million for four weekends running. Meanwhile, the low-budget powerhouse The Blair Witch Project squeezed another $4.1 million out of moviegoers to bring its 47-day total up to $128 million.
Finally, the new SF film The Astronaut's Wife hit the box office with just $4.0 million in ticket sales during its first weekend.
Sector General Author Dies
ames White, the Irish SF author best known for his Sector General stories, died Monday, Aug. 23, according to an online report posted by Tor editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden.
White was born in 1928 and began publishing his Sector General saga in 1962 with the novel Hospital Station.
The Sector General series centers around a gigantic space hospital "far out on the galactic Rim" that is home to more than 10,000 staff members from a wide variety of species. White published the most recent SG novel, Mind Changer, in 1998, while a final volume, Double Contact, is due out in October.
White was also a well-known fan of the SF genre who edited the famous fanzine SLANT along with Walt Willis.
World Fantasy Nominees Announced
he nominees for the 1999 World Fantasy Awards have been announced.
This year's awards will be presented at the 1999 World Fantasy Convention, which will be held from Nov. 4-7 in Providence, R.I.
This 1999 nominees and categories are:
- Novel
- Someplace to Be Flying by Charles de Lint (Tor)
- The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich (HarperFlamingo)
- Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay (Simon & Schuster/Earthlight, UK; Viking, Canada; HarperPrism, US)
- Mockingbird by Sean Stewart (Ace)
- The Martyring by Thomas Sullivan (Forge)
- Novella
- "Cold" by A.S. Byatt (Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice, Chatto & Windus UK, Random House US)
- "Dragonfly" by Ursula K. Le Guin (Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg; Tor US; Voyager UK)
- "The Hedge Knight" by George R.R. Martin
(Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg; Tor US; Voyager UK)
- "The Summer Isles" by Ian R. MacLeod (Asimov's Oct/Nov 1998)
- "Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff" by Peter Straub (Murder for Revenge, edited by Otto Penzler; Delacorte)
- Short Story
- "Shoggoth's Old Peculiar" by Neil Gaiman (The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy, edited by Mike Ashley; Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions, by Neil Gaiman)
- "Every Angel Is Terrifying" by John Kessel (F&SF Oct/Nov 1998)
- "The Death of the Duke" by Ellen Kushner (Starlight 2, edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden; Tor)
- "The Specialist's Hat" by Kelly Link (Event Horizon, Nov 15, 1998)
- "Travels with the Snow Queen" by Kelly Link (Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet Vol. 1 No. 1, 1997/1998; The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Twelfth Annual Collection, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling)
- Collection
- The Night We Buried Road Dog, Jack Cady (DreamHaven Books)
- Black Glass, Karen Joy Fowler (Henry Holt)
- Last Summer at Mars Hill, Elizabeth Hand (HarperPrism)
- Manitou Man: The Worlds of Graham Masterton, Graham Masterton (British Fantasy Society)
- The Cleft and Other Odd Tales, Gahan Wilson (Tor)
- Anthology
- The Best of Crank!, edited by Bryan Cholfin (Tor)
- Dark Terrors 4, edited by Stephen Jones & David Sutton (Gollancz)
- Dreaming Down-Under, edited by Jack Dann & Janeen Webb (HarperCollins/Voyager Australia)
- Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg (Tor)
- Starlight 2, edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden (Tor)
- Artist
- Jim Burns
- Tom Canty
- Alan Clark
- Bob Eggleton
- Charles Vess
- Special Award, Professional
- Les Daniels (for Superman: The Complete History)
- Jo Fletcher (for editing)
- David Pringle (for Interzone)
- Robert Silverberg & Grania Davis (for editing The Avram Davidson Treasury)
- Jim Turner (for Golden Gryphon Press)
- Special Award, Non-Professional
- Richard Chizmar (for Cemetery Dance Publications)
- David Marshall (for Pumpkin Books)
- Stephen Pasechnick (for Edgewood Press)
- Jacob Weisman (for Tachyon Publications)
Three nominees in each category were chosen by a panel of five judges, while the remaining two nominees were selected by members of the 1998 and 1999 World Fantasy Conventions. This year's nominees for the Lifetime Achievement Award will be announced at a later date.
ASFA Announces Chesley Awards
he Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists presented the 14th Annual Chesley Awards at the North American Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, Calif., on Aug. 27.
The winners and categories are:
- Best Cover Illustration, Hardback Book
- Kinuko Y. Craft for Song for the Basilisk
- Best Cover Illustration, Paperback Book
- John Jude Palencar for Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos
- Best Interior Illustration
- Brian Froud for Good Fairies/Bad Fairies
- Best Three-Dimensional Art
- Lisa Snellings for "Short Trip to October"
- Best Cover Illustration, Magazine
- Bob Eggleton for The Magazine of F&SF
- Best Monochrome Work, Unpublished
- Beryl Bush for "Bottom & Titania"
- Best Color Work, Unpublished
- Marc Fishman for "Salvation"
- Best Product
- Donato Giancola for "Archangel" (Magic card package art)
- Best Gaming Product
- Todd Lockwood for Dragonlance Classics 15th Annual Game Module
- Best Art Director
- Arnie & Cathy Fenner for Spectrum Design & Underwood Books
- Award for Contribution to ASFA
- Jeff Watson for for creation & maintenance of the ASFA Web site
- Award for Artistic Achievement
- Bob Eggleton
The Chesleys, named for the great astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell, were started by ASFA in 1985 as a means for the SF and fantasy art community to recognize individual works and achievements during a given year.
Children's SF Awards Announced
he 1999 Golden Duck Awards honoring children's science fiction were presented at the North American Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, Calif., on Aug. 27.
This year's winners and categories are:
- Middle Grade
- Young Jedi Knights by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
- The Young Adult "Hal Clement" Award
- Alien Dreams by Larry Segriff
- Illustrator
- Emma Chickster for Noah and the Space Ark, written by Laura Cecil
The Golden Duck Awards were created in 1992 after it was "suggested that there should be a 'Hugo-like-object' for children's SF." The Young Adult category is named after SF author Hal Clement, who taught high school while writing hard science fiction stories and novels that often featured young adult protagonists.
Prometheus Awards Announced
he Libertarian Futurist Society presented its annual Prometheus Awards, which honor libertarian SF, during a short ceremony held Aug. 27 at the North American Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, Calif.
John Varley earned the Prometheus for his novel The Golden Globe, while H. Beam Piper and John McGuire received the Hall of Fame Award for their novel Lone Star Planet.
The prize for both awards is "a gold coin representing free trade and free minds." Jerry Pournelle accepted the award on behalf of Piper and McGuire, while Victor Koman accepted for Varley.
Sidewise Awards Announced
he 1998 Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were announced at the 57th World Science Fiction Convention in Melbourne, Australia.
The awards are given annually to the best alternate history publications that received their first English-language or American publication during the calendar year prior to the year in which the award is to be presented. The 1998 winners are:
- Long Form
- Making History by Stephen Fry
- Short Form
- "The Summer Isles" by Ian R. MacLeod
The Sidewise Awards were created in 1995 and are named after the 1934 short story "Sidewise in Time," written by Murray Leinster.
- The controversial Buffy episode "Earshot" has finally been added to the WB Television Network's schedule. It's slated to air on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. Central).
- Warner Bros. has reportedly changed the name of its upcoming Val Kilmer SF film Mars to Red Planet in order to avoid confusion with other Mars projects in development.
- Dominic Monaghan has been cast as Merry in Peter Jackson's upcoming Lord of the Rings film trilogy, according to various online reports.
- Patrick Stewart told Variety that he is "excited about reuniting" with his former Royal Shakespeare Co. buddy Sir Ian McKellen on Bryan Singer's upcoming X-Men film. Stewart will play Prof. X in the movie, while McKellen will play the arch villain Magneto.
- Trimark Pictures has picked up the rights to the Blair Witch parodies The Blonde Witch Project, The Griffith Witch Project, The Watts Bitch Project and The Big Foot Project. The studio plans to premiere the flicks on its CinemaNow Web site by the end of the month.
- Former Babylon 5 star Claudia Christian has reportedly auditioned for the lead role in TNT's on-again, off-again supernatural series Witchblade.
- Star Wars: Episode I passed the $300 million mark at the overseas box office during the Aug. 27 weekend, making it the 11th highest grossing film of all time outside of North America.
