Invisible Universe trailer 2008

Delany's 40th Anniversary of The Star Pit

The New York Review of Science Fiction Readings
and the
South Street Seaport Museum present
Samuel R. Delany
The 40th Anniversary Celebration of
The Star Pit

Tuesday, Oct 2nd -- Doors open 6:30 PM
Free Admission -- $5 donation if possible
South Street Seaport Museum's Melville Gallery
213 Water Street
(directions and links below)

"Two glass panes with dirt between and little tunnels from cell to cell: when
I was a kid I had an ant colony."

-- The Star Pit

Some 40 years ago, Samuel R. Delany narrated a radio adaptation of his
Hugo-nominated novella, The Star Pit, for The Mind's Eye Theatre, Baird Searles'
ongoing series of radio dramas at New York's listener-sponsored WBAI-FM. We will
celebrate the 40th anniversary of this landmark broadcast with a talk by
Delany about the making of the radio drama, and a performance of segments from the
original work.

The Star Pit was first published in the February, 1967, issue of Worlds of
Tomorrow and subsequently nominated for the Hugo Award. The ensuing radio drama
was a landmark: A sophisticated science fiction tale brought to the airwaves a
decade after most radio stations had given up on drama altogether.

Samuel R. Delany was a published science fiction author by the age of 20, and
quickly became recognized as one of the most prominent figures in literary
speculative fiction. He published nine well-regarded science fiction novels
between 1962 and 1968, as well as several prize-winning short stories (collected
in Driftglass [1971] and more recently in Aye, and Gomorrah, and Other Stories
[2002]). Among his most important novels are The Einstein Intersection, Nova,
and Stars in My Pockets Like Grains of Sand. His tenth and most popular
novel, Dhalgren, was published in 1975. His main literary project through the late
1970s and 1980s was the four-volume Return to Nevèrÿon series.

Delany has published several autobiographical/semi-autobiographical accounts
of his life as a black and gay writer, including his Hugo award-winning
autobiography, The Motion of Light in Water. He is also the subject of a recent
film documentary, "The Polymath, or The Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany,
Gentleman."

Since 1988, Delany has been a professor at several universities. He spent 11
years as a professor of comparative literature at the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst, a year and a half as an English professor at the University at
Buffalo, then moved to the English Department of Temple University in 2001,
where he has been teaching ever since. He has also published several books of
criticism, interviews, and essays, and a best-selling book, Times Square Red,
Times Square Blue (1999), about the effort to redevelop Times Square and what
it means for working-class gay men in New York City.

Press coverage: http://sfscope.com/2007/08/samuel-delany-to-celebrate-40.html

--
The New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series is in its 19th season
of providing performances from some of the best writers in science fiction,
fantasy, speculative fiction, etc. (The magazine has just published its 20th
anniversary issue.) The series takes place the first Tuesday of every month at
the South Street Seaport's Melville Gallery, 213 Water Street. Admission is
free, but $5 donations are encouraged to offset costs and buy dinner for the
readers. The producer and executive curator is radio producer and talk show host
Jim Freund.

Review of last event:
http://sfscope.com/2007/09/nyrsf-reading-di-filippo-and-s.html

---
WHEN:
Tuesday, 10/2/07
Doors open at 6:30 -- readings begin at 7

WHERE:
The South Street Seaport Museum's Melville Gallery
213 Water Street (near Beekman)
http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=213+Water+Street,+New+York,+NY

HOW:
By Subway
Take 2, 3, 4, 5, J, Z, or M to Fulton Street; A and C to
Broadway-Nassau. Walk east on Fulton Street to Water Street

By Bus
Take M15 (South Ferry-bound) down Second Ave. to Fulton Street

By Car
From the West Side: take West Street southbound. Follow signs to FDR
Drive Take underpass, keep right - use Exit 1 at end of underpass. Turn
right on South Street, six blocks.
From the East Side, take FDR Drive south to Exit 3 onto South Street
Proceed about 1 mile.

By Boat
http://www.nywaterway.com/ferry/terminals/wallstreet.asp

LINKS:
http://www.hourwolf.com/nyrsf
http://www.southstseaport.org
http://www.nyrsf.com

--
The New York Review of Science Fiction magazine is celebrating its 20th
anniversary!
Subscribe or submit articles to the magazine!
New York Review of Science Fiction
PO. Box 78, Pleasantville, NY, 10570
NYRSF Magazine: http://www.nyrsf.com

Invisible Universe doc seeks experienced researcher

We are seeking an experienced archive researcher to help complete the upcoming documentary about the history of representations of African Americans in the genres of fantasy, horror and science fiction literature and film.

Please forward resume and reel, if possible. References and affiliations also a plus.

Pay is negotiable.

For more info, please contact us.

Contact: M. Asli Dukan
E-mail: info@invisibleuniversedoc.com
URL: http://www.invisibleuniversedoc.com

Zoe Saldana cast as Lt. Uhura in new Star Trek film

Been away for all doing the film networking thang, but in my absence it has been announced that Zoe Saldana will be playing Lt. Uhura in J. J. Abrams' new Star Trek movie.

CHANGE OF DATE!!! Invisible Universe Documentary

Date Changed from: Friday, September 14, 2007
Date Changed to: Saturday, November 17, 2007
Time and Location: TBA

For further inquires please contact: Shay Sellars @
POC Doc Film Development, Inc. phone: 917.776.5022
e-mail: pocdocinstitute@yahoo.com

Invisible Universe fundraiser postponed!!!

Hello Supporters,

The Invisible Universe fundraiser scheduled for Friday, 14 September
2007 at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem
has been officially postponed until a later date, tba.

We apologize for any confusion and will keep you updated.

Many thanks to all our supporters and please keep spreading the word
about the Invisible Universe documentary.

http://www.invisibleuniversedoc.com

M. Asli Dukan



--
M. Asli Dukan
Producer/Director/Editor

Invisible Universe trailer

Invisible Universe trailer by M. Asli Dukan (4:59 min)

Invisible Universe Fundraiser information

Please join M. Asli Dukan/The Invisible Universe Foundation and POC Doc Film Development, Inc. to support the completion of the new documentary film

Invisible Universe: a history of blackness in speculative fiction

Friday, September 14, 2007
6:30 to 8:30pm
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue @ 135th Street)
New York, New York 10037

Cocktails ● Hors d’oeuvres ● Sneak preview of the film with director M. Asli Dukan and special guests.

Please print and return this form with your check or go to Purchase Invisible Universe Fundraiser Tickets here! for ticket purchase.
Advance reservations only. No ticket sales at door. No tickets will be mailed.

 Executive Producer ● $5,000 ● 8 tickets, program listing, screen credit
 Hyper Giant Star ● $2,000 ● 4 tickets, program listing, screen credit
 Super Giant Star ● $1,000 ● 2 tickets, program listing, screen credit
 Bright Giant Star ● $500 ● 1 ticket, program listing, screen credit
 Giant Star ● $250 ● 1 ticket + program listing
 Star ● $100 ● general admissions
 I/We would like ___ ticket(s) in the categories checked above
 I/We would like our gift to be anonymous.
 I/We cannot attend. Please accept my/our fully tax-deductible donation of $_____________.

NAME (as you would like it to appear in the program) ___________________________________________________________

ADDRESS ______________________________________________________________________________________________

CITY, STATE, ZIP _______________________________________________________________________________________

TELEPHONE _______________________________ E-MAIL ___________________________________________________

 Enclosed is my check for $_________________
 Enclosed is my completed Matching Gift Form.
 Please contact me about donating silent auction items.
 Please contact me about potential donors to the film.

IMPORTANT! Please make check payable to our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas with “IU” written in the “in behalf of” memo field, and return by mail to: M. Asli Dukan/The Invisible Universe Foundation, (contact for address) Contact for IU address

For more information, contact Shay Sellars at Poc Doc Film Development, Inc. at (917) 776-5022 or by e-mail at For more Invisible Universe info Check out our website at Invisible Universe website

If you can not attend the fundraiser and would still like to donate via credit card, please visit the Invisible Universe Foundation webpage at our fiscal sponsor’s website at Invisible Universe donation page

Invisible Universe is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of Invisible Universe may be made payable to Fractured Atlas. The value of admittance is $50.00. Any contribution above that amount is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Universe: a history of blackness in speculative fiction explores the relationship between the Black body and popular fantasy, horror and science fiction literature and film and the alternative perspectives produced by creators of color. This documentary features interviews with major writers, scholars, artists and filmmakers and explores comics, television, film and literature by deconstructing stereotyped images of Black people in the genres. The Invisible Universe documentary ultimately reveals how Black creators have been consciously creating their own universe.

Invisible Universe needs your help! In order to continue this important work, we will need to secure considerable financial support. Your contribution of any size will help make this groundbreaking documentary a reality. Since 2003, the filmmakers have been traveling to conduct interviews nationwide and have been incurring mounting expenses for travel, equipment and supplies to finish this project, most of it coming out of the filmmakers' pockets. We have already accumulated hours of footage and believe with your help, we can bring this feature length documentary to life!


HONORARY COMMITTEE

Linda Addison
Author, Being Full of Light, Insubstantial

Steven Barnes
Author, Lion’s Blood & Zulu Heart

Angel L. Brown
Founder, Our Story Productions

Allison Caviness
Founder, Lesida Film Center

Pete Chatmon
Ceo, Double 7 Film Productions

Sandi Dubowski
Director, Trembling Before G-d

Frances Gateward
Professor of Cinema Studies
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

William & Louise Greaves
William Greeves Productions

Eileen Gunn
Board member, Clarion West Writers Workshop
Editor & Publisher, The Infinite Matrix

Dr. Charles Johnson
Professor, University of Washington

Imagenation Film and Music Festival
Moikgantsi Kgama, Founder & Executive Director
Greg Gates, Executive Producer

Edna Lima
Mestranda (Master), ABADA-Capoeira

Zola Mumford
Curator, The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival

Sheree R. Thomas
Editor, The Dark Matter anthologies, Black Pot Mojo

Cecil Washington
Writer, Cecilwashington.com

Yumy Odom
Founder, 1st World Komix, Inc., ECBACC

William H. Foster III
Professor, Historian, Looking For a Face Like Mine

Maurice Waters,
Founder, ECBACC
Moderator, BlackSciFi.com

HOST COMMITTEE

Shenelle Easton-Foster

Rachel Kadushin
BestFriendsProductions.com

New York Movie Pirate First to be charged with Tougher Camcorder Law

I produced a short film earlier this year about the results of the city of New York being bought out by a major corporation and becoming a police state. Is New York City actually in the early throes of becoming a real police state? What with all the undercover operations, quality of life laws and tougher laws, fines and imprisonments, especially when commerce is at play, I think it is easy to imagine.

And on another Black SF level… please notice that an apparently African man (or Pirate) is the first to "die" in this new dystopian nightmare.

***

From The Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting

August 1, 2007 - A New York area man was arrested by New York City police officers prior to the July Fourth holiday for illegally camcording Dreamworks/Paramount’s Transformers on its opening day in a Bronx movie theater. The defendant is the first to be charged under an amended law passed by the City Council and signed into law May 1 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg that increases penalties for individuals caught recording theatrical films in New York City. The defendant, Kalidou Diallo, faces up to six months imprisonment, fines ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 and a civil penalty up to $5,000.

“Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council have provided New York City police officers with a critical tool to help put movie thieves out of business,” said Dan Glickman, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). “The New York City economy has much to gain by tackling the monumental problem of movie piracy, and we are especially grateful to the members of the NYPD's Organized Crime Control Bureau for pursuing these crimes with the diligence they require.”

Increased security and surveillance in movie theaters throughout New York City for the summer blockbuster movie season led to the arrest of Diallo who was observed camcording the film by security personnel in the American Theater. Police officers detained Diallo and seized a camcorder and other equipment that he had concealed inside his jacket. Diallo had recorded the entire film and admitted to having illegally recorded other films in the past.

“This tough new law gives us stiff penalties that fit the severity of the crime,” said John Feinblatt, the Mayor’s Criminal Justice Coordinator. “We’re going to keep the heat on the pirates so that the artists who make up our film industry can continue to thrive.”

The MPAA estimates that in 2006, New York City theaters were the origin of 43% of camcorder-source pirated DVDs tracked in the United States, and 20% of pirated movies seized globally.

“Movie piracy is a crime that hurts the City’s economy and the thousands of individuals of who make their living in the film industry,” said Commissioner Katherine Oliver of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting (MOFTB). “The swift action on this recent illegal camcording activity clearly demonstrates the City’s commitment to eradicating this crime.”

According to a recent study commissioned by the MPAA, the New York motion picture industry suffers an estimated $1.49 billion in lost output annually resulting in 22,986 fewer jobs and $903 million in lost earnings as a consequence of global and local piracy of motion pictures. The MPAA-commissioned study found that $637 million in total annual retail sales in New York are lost due to global and local piracy, resulting in a loss of $50 million in State and City sales taxes.

Race, the final frontier article in the Boston Globe

Small mention about the Invisible Universe documentary.
***
Race, the final frontier
Black science-fiction writers bring a unique perspective to the genre
The Boston Globe
By Vanessa E. Jones, Globe Staff | July 31, 2007

Earlier this month at Readercon, a convention for fans of fantasy/science fiction at the Burlington Marriott, Marlin May was one of perhaps two blacks in the room. But that didn't intimidate May. He had just made arrangements to meet a science-fiction writer for dinner, showing how much comfort this fan had found in this world.

"They're the most accepting group of folks I've ever been with," says May, 47, of Lowell.

But Eon Harry, a black man who lives in Somerville, has had a different experience. "I don't feel particularly embraced," says Harry, 41. No sense of community enveloped him when he attended Readercon for the first time last year, though he's not sure whether race or some other factor is to blame.

"I find that readers are an insular lot," Harry says. "It may have had as much to do with the fact that I was a new face."

The June release of "Acacia," the first of a planned trilogy of fantasy books by black historical-fiction writer David Anthony Durham, brought attention to the small number of black writers toiling in what is sometimes called speculative fiction, and the people who read their work. The media took note of Durham as one of only a handful of black authors in the genre. That small group includes veteran Samuel R. Delany and the late Octavia Butler, as well as younger voices such as Nalo Hopkinson, Steven Barnes, and Tananarive Due, and respected writers who have also dabbled in speculative fiction such as Walter Mosley and the late W.E.B. Du Bois.

It's an area of fiction that has allowed writers to tackle sensitive issues of race and culture.

"It has always been the safe genre to talk about those issues," Harry says, "or it had been for years until there was a lot more tolerance for bringing those things up in the mainstream."

But some in the speculative-fiction community complain that a number of their white contemporaries no longer tackle these subjects. Durham, a former Shutesbury resident, was inspired to move into fantasy writing because he saw potential there that others failed to tap into.

"In epic fantasy," says Durham, 38, whose novel is populated by a diverse crowd that includes blond warriors and olive-skinned beauties, "there is a lot of racism and sexism I don't think the good people who are writing it are aware of."

In the last decade, sci-fi/fantasy fans of color have begun creating their own communities. These spaces are necessary in a world where they stand out as geeks among blacks, and as "the other" in the speculative-fiction world. There are conferences such as 2004's "Black to the Future: A Black Science Fiction Festival" in Seattle, and Web communities such as SciFiNoir (groups.yahoo.com/group/scifi noir2), the Carl Brandon Society (carlbrandon.org), and Afrofuturism (afrofuturism.net). The books "Dark Matter" and "Visions of the Third Millennium" show that the black contribution to science fiction goes beyond the well-known names of Delany and Butler. M. Asli Dukan is finishing a documentary about this unique community called "Invisible Universe: A History of Blackness in Speculative Fiction."

"It's tiny," says Nalo Hopkinson, 46, from her Toronto home, of the black sci-fi community. "And it's happening in an environment in which, particularly in the US, to talk about race is to be seen as racist. You become the problem because you bring up the problem. So you find people who are hesitant to talk about it."

It's also complicated. In his essay in "Dark Matter" titled "Racism and Science Fiction," Delany writes about how race constricts black writers. He describes being paired with Hopkinson during a book signing at Readercon in 1998, and how grouping blacks together can affect how they're perceived. "One of [racism's] strongest manifestations is as a socio-visual system in which people become used to always seeing blacks with other blacks and so -- because people are used to it -- being uncomfortable whenever they see blacks mixed in, at whatever proportion, with whites," he wrote.

The tendency to lump all black speculative fiction writers together also fails to acknowledge that these authors don't always tackle racial issues in their work. Robert Devney, 55, a longtime fan who attended the Readercon convention, calls Delany's "Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand" one of his favorite novels. But Devney, who is white, says of Delany's approach to race, "It's occasionally a point he wants to make and many times it isn't a point he wants to make."

But it's hard to ignore the impact that perspectives of color bring to the genre.

"There's not all that many writers yet who can write from the perspective of another race," says Lis Carey, vice president of the New England Science Fiction Association, "and really capture the different kinds of experiences and the different perspectives. If someone is using characters of a different race than themselves and it matters, there's a good chance of it feeling slightly off."

Harry discovered the world of black sci-fi writers accidentally. Friends suggested that he read Butler and Delany, but he hadn't heard about Durham's "Acacia" or about the various websites catering to black sci-fi fans. Harry believes part of the problem is that bookstores often don't prominently display the works of non-white writers in the genre.

"I sort of felt like, 'Wow, I would actually read these people if, A, I knew they were black authors and, B, they were given some shelf space,' " says Harry.

"Black authors bring certain elements into their writing, be it a black protagonist or the situations they find themselves in or even their backgrounds [that] I find easy to relate to," says Harry. "It's not only the blackness of it . . . they often strike really familiar chords that the other authors, because those things aren't part of their own experience, don't hit for me when I'm reading them."

He offers as an example Butler's "Parable of the Sower," whose strong black heroine, Lauren Olamina, battles the ills of society by creating a new faith. "When I read it," says Harry, "I remember thinking the way [Olamina] spoke and the way she held herself reminded me of my aunt and a lot of her opinions."

That connection may not be felt when reading white writers in the genre. While Ursula Le Guin populates her books with diverse characters, writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert Heinlein have been castigated for depictions that some consider racist. "The main mythic story is going to a foreign culture and colonizing it," says Hopkinson. He adds that blacks are part of a growing speculative writing community that includes gays, women, the working class, and other people of color, all of whom offer new takes on the colonialist perspective.

In fact, "Acacia" had been in the back of Durham's mind since the late 1990s. What spurred him to embark on the project was "The Lord of the Rings" films. Durham watched the three movies multiple times, and became increasingly irritated by the almost mono-racial cast of characters.

"I did not love it," Durham says, "that the only people of color who didn't have speaking lines were the minions imported for the dark lords."

URGENT!!! PICTURE NEW YORK!!!

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Subject: Press Release - “Picture New York” Formed In Response to Mayor's Plans to Limit Cameras

For Immediate Release
Contacts: Lisa Guido (917) 573-2282 Julie Talen (through July 31) (212) 226-4651

PICTURENEWYORK.ORG
email Picture New York

Artists Band Together to Fight Restrictions on Street Photography

"Picture New York" Formed In Response to Mayor's Plans to Limit Cameras

YouTube "Video Public Comments" to be Submitted to Mayor's Office

NEW YORK CITY: Picture New York WITHOUT pictures of New York. The most photographed city in the world is about to be shut down visually by proposed regulations which would basically make it illegal to film or tape in NYC without a permit and a million dollars of insurance.

An overnight, massive grassroots fight against these proposed regulations has sprung up under the name 'Picture New York.' Fighting back with YouTube videos, petitions, handwritten letters, a website, Flickr space and a rally and press conference this Friday in Union Square, this ad-hoc group of working artists, photographers and filmmakers vow to stop the regulations going into effect as scheduled in September from the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting (MOFTB).

Albert Maysles, Patti Smith, Michael Stipe and Amy Arbus are among the celebrated artists who have already signed on to demand the MOFTB extend the period of public comment, currently ending August 3, and eliminate the proposed regulations: 11 pages of single-spaced rules where none existed before.

Jem Cohen, the critically-acclaimed filmmaker whose alarmed e-mail prompted the first formal meeting of concerned filmmakers, says, "Because street photography is, by its very nature, inextricably born out of free and random movement through the city, street photographers cannot know exactly where and when they intend to work, or for how long. One cannot regulate an art form or activity by negating its very premise. The proposed rules, in refusing to recognize the spontaneity which is at the core of street photography, are untenable for that reason alone."

"I already have a permit for my camera," says another of the group's founders, Beka Economopoulos. "It's called the First Amendment."

Since the Mayor's Office has asked for public comments, Picture New York has come up a new form: the Video Public Comment. The first - perhaps ever - Video Public Comment has already been posted to YouTube by artist Juliana Luecking and more will follow. Picture New York wants to invite anyone who loves the city and their camera to make one and post it. (To learn how to make a Video Public Comment, please see the website at pictureny.org.)

The proposed regulations will affect every kind of filming and photography in the city, aside from artists. Industrials, fashion, wedding and architectural photographers will need a permit and insurance for anything that takes more than a half hour and two people to shoot. A film school graduate with a camcorder, four friends and a dream will now have to pay the same fee to New York City to shoot as HBO does – because the regs include anything that takes more than 10 minutes to shoot with a tripod. Even parents making home movies in public parks would fall under the new rules.

As the Daily News says the regulations "are, in a word, nuts. . . "They were written as if small bands of rogue photographers were running amok. And they won't withstand court challenge unless the cops come down equally on everyone taking pictures, including mom and dad filming junior and pals at the playground." The conservative New York Sun agrees: "It would be a sad day if New York became a place where a family has to get a permit before making a home video."

The proposed rules are reminiscent of the MTA's failed attempt to ban photography in the subways two years ago. "If we can take photographs underground without permits," points out television producer Susan Marcoux, "we certainly should be able to take them above ground."

"This is micro-management of public space taken to an absurd level. What are the police going to do – time people holding cameras?" asks Eileen Clancy of I-Witness Video who has written about conflicts between police and camera people after September 11th. "These new rules give the police another excuse to arrest anybody they don't like with a camera."

These regulations violate the First Amendment right to photograph in public places, points out the NYCLU, and follow a slew of recent laws that already restrict rights in New York City to parade, dance, meet, bike, shout, and assemble. Draconian noise ordinances and the new parade and assembly laws make constitutionally-protected dissent almost impossible. Now, with regulations on street photography, New York City adds yet another infringement on civil liberties and free expression, which is why Picture New York will be participating in a press conference and First Amendment-themed rally at Union Square at 6:30pm this Friday, July 27.

* Friday, July 27, 2007 6:30pm - First Amendment Rally with Rev. Billy north end of Union Square Park

PICTURENEWYORK.ORG
email Picture New York
Mayor's Office on Film proposed regulations text

View signatures on ePetition
Union Square Rally: Friday, July 27 PICTURENEWYORK.ORG

Daily News and The NY Sun editorials links:
NY DAILY NEWS

Juliana Luecking's YouTube response to the proposed regulations

Invisible Universe video podcast seeks on-air host!!!

The Invisible Universe Foundation is producing a video podcast and is seeking an on-air host to cover conferences, conventions, book readings/signings and to be the in-studio host of the show!

Candidate must be enthusiastic and personable! Female or male. Any age. Any ethnicity. Must live in the New York City area. Having an interest in SF in general would be a plus!

If you are interested, please send headshot and resume to info@invisibleuniversedoc.com.

Eventual eligible candidates will need a video sample of their work in the future.

"Cavemen show not a racial metaphor…"

Thought this article might be of some interest to you all…

By LYNN ELBER
AP Television Writer

Producers: `Cavemen' Not Racial Metaphor

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- The producers of ABC's new "Cavemen" said Wednesday the comedy is much more than the insurance company commercials that inspired it, but isn't designed to be an ambitious allegory about race.

Check out the rest of the story at this link here:

Cavemen story at AP

-mad

L. A. Banks at Harlem Book Fair/Hue-man Bookstore in Harlem

This weekend L. A. Banks will be in my old homestead, Harlem, New York City promoting her new novel in the Vampire Huntress Legend Series, The Cursed. The Cursed is the 9th novel in the series and here begins Armeggedon in the world of Damali, the Neteru. Check her out at the Harlem Book Fair on Saturday, 21 July 2007 (time/place: ???) and at the Hue-man bookstore in Harlem on Sunday, 22 July 2007 at 2pm.

In the meanwhile, check out these great videos inspired by the world of the VHL!!!









-mad

Samuel R. Delany to appear at Clarion Summer Reading Series

(from Clarionwest.org)

http://clarionwest.org/website/cat_readings/

The 2007 Clarion West Summer Reading Series

Come hear our 2007 instructors read Tuesday evenings in June and July as part of Clarion West's Annual Summer Reading Series. Admission is now free - so be sure to take advantage of this great chance to hear live presentations of new and forthcoming work from some of speculative fiction's top authors and editors.

All readings start at 7:30 p.m. and take place in the JBL Theater in the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame at 325 Fifth Avenue North, near Seattle Center.

Samuel R. Delany is arguably the most daring, wide-ranging, word-drunk, idea-besotted writer of science fiction and fantasy that the U.S. has ever produced. In his 45-year professional career, he has extensively explored issues of language, gender, race, sexuality, power, and otherness. Author of Dhalgren, Babel-17, and numerous novels, stories, and critical and philosophical works including his new novel Dark Reflections, he never fails to deliver a dynamic evening. One of a handful of African American SF authors, he has won numerous national and international awards including the Hugo and Nebula, and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2002. Delany is Clarion West's 2007 Susan C. Petrey Fellow.

Appearing Tuesday, July 24.

An Un-Flashy new Flash Gordon Series

SCI FI Channel, Reunion Pictures and RHI International are in production on a new incarnation of the Flash Gordon Series, set to air on SCI FI Channel sometime this summer. The new series stars Smallville's Eric Johnson as Flash Gordon, who describes the character not as a superhero but as a "regular guy trying to do the right thing." In an interview with Entertainment Weekly.com, Johnson goes on to describe the other changes written into the storyline that the execs and writers thought would make a 1930's originated Flash character more relevant to a modern day 2007 audience. Flash's claim to fame professional Polo career has been forfeited for that of a marathon athlete, as well as making Flash a car lover who works on them probably as a hobby. Flash's historical adversary, "Ming the Merciless" is still present. This time, however, due to modern day "racial sensibilities", the alien character Ming will no longer be known as "the merciless" and will be portrayed as white by white Canadian actor, John Ralston. (Note: Ming the Merciless was portrayed by white American actor, Charles Middleton in the serials and white Swedish actor, Max Von Sydow in the 1980 film version) As SCI FI Channel's executive vice president, Mark Stern, put it, they wanted to stay away from any of the issues of race in the new show. Stern goes on to describe the original Ming character as thin and one dimensional and said they wanted to replace him with someone charming and blond. How quaint!

And how convenient the paradigms of racism and double standards are in the world SF entertainment. SF often reflects the moods and thoughts of the time in which it was created and Flash Gordon is no different. First of all the original justification of the character's adventure and the hero worship of Flash Gordon was premised on a racist stereotype. Ming the Merciless is a character originating in American and European mythology, as a figure of the Asian as a physical, social, sexual and/or racial inferior type, bent on overrunning Western autonomy. The thin and one dimensional character type, though technically an alien in the series was created in the minds of white men because of their fear and hatred of Asians and which came to be known as the Yellow Peril. It was based on earlier, character types created by white writers, that eventually culminated into the infamous, "Fu Manchu" character, the role model of Ming the Merciless. Ming is still and will always be grounded in a racist thought and be a reminder of that ignorance. It's like exclaiming "nigga" is not the same as saying "nigger." It doesn't really get to the reason of why the terminology was created in the first place. My opinion is if the executives responsible for the creation of the new and "re-imagined" version of Flash Gordon were really honest with their intentions to not offend the "racial sensibilities" of todays modern audience, they would take a leap and re-imagine Flash Gordon as a non-white character. How about Flash Gordon as an citizen of the United States of Chinese or Japanese descent? I honestly don't know if that really would justify bringing the series back either.

-mad

See links:
Flash Avoids Stereotypes
EW.com's First Look: Flash Gordon
On Yellow Peril Thrillers
Wikipedia's Flash Gordon page
Flash Gordon press release

Vampire Huntress Legends Video Contest!!! deadline extended

I think this is a fabulous idea!!! (from Banks' July newsletter)

L. A. Banks is extending her Vampire Huntress Legends - video contest!

THE VAMPIRE HUNTRESS LEGENDS™ Video Contest – It is still not too late !!!!!! Enter to win Today. Deadline Extended to September 20, 2007 !

Enter to win Today!

Have you ever read one of the VHL books, or one of the gripping scenes in the series and felt like it should be a movie? Well here's your chance to shine! Whip out your digital video cameras and open up your creative imaginations--we want to see what comes out of the minds of VHL readers! In our first ever VHL video contest, you have a chance to win a VHL Oscar for a short film posted on YOUTUBE from 30 seconds to 2 minutes long. We'd like to see your creative take on any characters from the series that are your favorites, any scenes that you'd like to recreate, or even a montage of scenes from the whole series--it's your video. Rules of the contest can be found at:

http://www.vampire-huntress.com/vhlvideocontestrules.html

Winners will receive a VHL Award, will be listed on the website, and also receive mention in the acknowledgment of the next book forthcoming in the Vampire Huntress Legends series. This contest runs from May through June 15th, with winners being announced late in October, 2007. Once you've made and uploaded your video and read the rules, go to the VHL Video Contest Entry Page and enter all the required details and submit.

Invisible Universe 5 minute trailer

Invisible Universe trailer

Pre-Release Speculation :: I Am Legend :: Will Smith

I Am Legend Poster, 2007 In December of 2007, the latest cinematic version of Richard Matheson's novel, I Am Legend, is due to be released. This time the protagonist, Robert Neville, is played by Will Smith. The director will be Francis Lawrence, director of Constantine. The story follows the struggles of Dr. Robert Neville, apparently the last and the only person uninfected from a virus that causes sensitivity to electro-magnetic radiation or sunlight and bloodthirsty and murderous tendencies.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, 1954 Matheson's book published in 1954, takes place in his future of 1979. A pandemic breaks out caused by a bacterium and results in the human population essentially displaying the characteristics and the behaviours of vampirism. Having survived the initial outbreaks and seemingly unaffected by the disease, Neville spends his nights barricaded inside a fortified house and his days killing the vampires while they sleep.

I Am Legend was previously made into two other film versions, one in 1964, called The Last Man on Earth and starring the irreplaceable Vincent Price. The second film adaptation, starred Charlton Heston and was called The Omega Man in 1971.

Where the first film was more in line with Matheson's story and plot, the second film veered down another path. In Heston's version, the pandemic was caused by biological warfare and Heston's character, a military scientist, applied an experimental vaccine to himself that saved him from becoming infected. The infected are mentally crazed albinos, who have formed a cult around their predicament, that they call The Family.

The Last Man on Earth, 1964 From some accounts that I have read, the new version, after several different producers, budgets and re-writes, will be closer in spirit to the 1970's version.

One of the most obvious changes though is that the main character, Robert Neville will be played by an African American actor, Will Smith. Will is definitely one of the biggest box office draws out there with films and franchises like Bad Boys, Independence Day and Men in Black under his belt. Will has also been in his good share of speculative films including his role in The Legend of Bagger Vance and as Del Spooner in I, Robot.

The Omega Man, 1971 I wonder what racial commentary could be made of Will Smith's new role. Originally, the Robert Neville character was written to be imagined as a white man. The book focuses more on Neville's psychological temperment more so than on the social, political and racial ramifications of his ethnicity. The Omega Man, being produced in era when racial issues were closer to the forefront of daily news, starred African American actress, Rosalind Cash as Lisa, one of the infected survivors and the eventual lover of Charlton Heston. The inter-racial lovers were to grace the screen in a full kiss only 3 years after Star Trek's exploration into that unknown territory. It also starred Eric Laneuville as Lisa's younger brother, Richie, who is saved from turning by Neville's vaccine, only to eventually be murdered by The Family. I always felt that Richie needlessly sacrificed his life for the benefit of Neville's character, which is common in SF film (Yaphet Kotto in Alien, Paul Winfield in The Terminator and Joe Morton in Terminator 2: Jugement Day) however it could also be attributed to Richie's youth and naiveness of the human condition.

Honestly, I doubt the producers, writers or director of I Am Legend or that, Will Smith for that matter will cross the line into racial commentary. With a reported budget of over $100 million dollars and Will Smith's past portrayals which tend to lean to the side of the popular comedy, there is too much money and reputation to lose, respectively. In my opinion, though there is room a plenty for racial commentary. For instance, what if the bacteria or biological agent only affected white people and Will Smith's character and the other survivors (mostly Blacks, Black Latinos other dark skinned people) did so because of the melanin content or genetic variations inherent in people of direct African descent. Or how about if it were the other way around and the agent affected dark skinned people of more direct African descent because of the those differences? All kinds of comments could be made about why Will's character survives and is immune. Comments that go all the way back to places like slavery, rape, miscegenation and the Tuskegee Experiment in the United States.

Film is scheduled for release on 14 December 2007.

Filming Locations (from IMDB)
Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, USA
Dumbo, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Herald Square, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Kingsbridge Armory - 29 West Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Los Angeles, California, USA
New York City, New York, USA
Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Tower Records, West Fourth Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Technical Specifications (from IMDB)
Color info: Color
Camera: Arriflex Cameras / Panavision Cameras and Lenses
Negative format: 35 mm
Process: Super 35
Aspect ratio: 2.35 : 1

See trailer here: I Am Legend

-mad

Sister from Another Planet

Sister from Another Planet
The Gay City News, Vol. 6 Iss. 24 | June 21-27, 2007
By: NICK FEITEL

Throughout American history, it has been a comfort in times of discomfort to turn to fantasy or science fiction. A world much removed from your own where magic, an agent of the impossible, can exist might lend some hope for magic in this world. A sci-fi story might portray a complicated or imperiled version of the future, but in doing so, it implies that there is a future for us, giving us some comfort for posterity. These worlds of science fiction and fantasy are, or have within them, essentially utopias, places that embody peacefulness and perfection. And for the large part, they're a whites-only affair. And someone started asking why.


M. Asli Dukan is a filmmaker and a teacher at the City University of New York. "As a kid I saw a lot of movies, read a lot of science fiction," she told me. "It was just my interest. 'Blade Runner,' 'Alien,' stuff like that. But then I read the works of Octavia Butler and I realized that black people were just not being represented adequately in white science fiction."

Dukan, who is a black lesbian filmmaker, attempted to remedy the issue first by introducing her own works. As a film student at New Jersey City University and then the City College of New York, she made films from her own perspective, shorts that veered into the topics of a more representative future. But having made her personal films, she realized that there might be a larger problem at stake here. "There was a panel of African-American science fiction writers at Howard University and it blew my mind to think that other people were into this. So I contacted the professor organizing it and asked if I could film it."

The panel led Dukan to think more broadly about the state of science fiction and the segregation of utopias. "Essentially, white people were imagining better futures through science-fiction, futures that just didn't include black people. It was demeaning to our humanity," she said. Given the prompt of the panel, she decided to use her bent as a filmmaker to explore the place of African-Americans in the collective imagination of the future. She decided to call the film "Invisible Universe."

(left, filmmaker M. Asli Dukan with SF writer Samuel "Chip" Delany)

Her search for characters in mainstream science fiction, outside of black writers like Samuel Delany and Octavia Butler, turned up to be grim in its repercussions. "Most black characters in science-fiction tend to veer towards problematic portrayals," she explained. "Taking the example of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' you have Geordi, the blind prodigy, Worf, the animal-man, and Guinan, played by Whoopi Goldberg, who functions as the mystical black woman advisor. This is supposed to be the future, but the same stereotypes still apply." She stopped to consider for a moment. "Even the Orcs in 'The Lord of the Rings' represent a sort of darkness and savagery that is problematic in its implications.

Dukan thinks that some interesting portrayals exist within fiction, most outside what we might imagine. "Blade," the vampire hunter, is an interesting figure. The product of a mixed marriage, his story examines the dilemmas of being biracial in its own way. Also, Storm of 'X-Men,' written by Stan Lee, a white writer, is an unusually complex portrayal.

She is a powerful woman, a leader, with really, some of the strongest powers on the team." She smiled. "Obviously, though, there are some problems with her having blue eyes."

As M. Asli Dukan compiles interviews with writers, filmmakers, and actors for her documentary, she is getting to examine both a topic she grew up with and questions she has had throughout her life. "I think that all I wanted growing up, all I want for my generation is to leave hope for the future. There's hope inherent in science fiction, in fantasy. All I want is to find that part of it that includes the black community, that leaves an image with authority and posterity."

©GayCityNews 2007

Invisible Universe's new Associate Producer!

Invisible Universe welcomes Shay Sellars, our new associate producer to the family! Shay is a graduate of The New School of Management and Urban Policy, with a concentration in Arts Fundraising and Development. She is the founder and CEO of Poc Doc Film Development, Inc., a documentary film development company committed to supporting, producing, and distributing ethnographic films and videos that are of and about the cultural heritage of the African Diaspora. Her company assists filmmakers and producers by providing website design, production strategy, development strategy, fundraisers/event planning, marketing consulting, and artistic development.

Look out for big moves in the coming weeks for the IU project!!!

Invisible Universe rough cut to screen at LHAAFF 2007!!!

Hello All,

After months of editing, I am finally ready to screen a 60 minute rough cut of Invisible Universe: a history of blackness in speculative fiction at the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival in Seattle, Washington.

Here's the info:
Tuesday, 24 April 2007
7:30pm @ the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center