Gloria

11:30 AM   Sci Fi Channel

Guests: Craig Engler (General Manager of SciFi.com and of Sci Fi Magazine), Scott Edelman (Editor in Chief for two magazines -- Science Fiction Weekly and Sci Fi Magazine)

This panel was to discuss current and possible projects to be picked up or worked on by the Sci Fi Channel. (Both guys were great conversationalists and quite funny.)

1. Taken:  A 10 night mega series at 2 hours a pop.  Deals with 3 families -- an alien hybrid family, a military family, and a skeptic family from the time of the Roswell incident to 30 years later.  Actors include Matt Frewer, James McDaniels, Heather Donahue, and Julie Bench.  This is a Dreamworks coproduction with the Sci Fi Channel.  There will be a Taken Experience 8 city tour to be announced soon and to take place from September to December.  UFO experience testimonials, props from the show, UFO pieces.  Lots of advertising and marketing glitz.  Visit http://www.scifi.com/taken.html for more info, trailers, downloads. Each 2 hour chunk was directed by a different director.

Though there were some technical problems with the 90 second trailer they tried to show us, the series looks pretty cool.

2. Children of Dune:  This 6 hour mini series will combine the books Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. Should show sometime in March 2003.  Filmed in Prague, it will feature many of the same cast as the original miniseries and also a number of new faces.  (Susan Sarandon, Alec Newman, Alice Kreig (Borg Queen)) It has a different director, one known more for his close-ups than large spanning vistas as in the previous series.

Note:  Found out from the guys that if the Sci Fi Channel does not own the show, they have no rights over the DVD or VHS releases and can only show the piece when allowed.

3. X-Files the series will air on the Sci Fi Channel as of October 1st.

4. Terminal Invasion:  Will feature Bruce Campbell.  He is a criminal who escapes in an airport and takes hostages in the middle of a snowstorm, only to become embroiled in an alien invasion.  This will play on September 14th.

5. Saint Center:  From Clive Barker.  2 hour feature.  The lead is a monk from the 15th/16th century who accidentally unleashes 2 she demons.  The demons send themselves into the future to kill people and have demon fun.  So the monk finds a way to get himself into the future as well and hooks up with a female cop to hunt them down.  Sex and violence. For release in October.

6. Interceptor Force 2: Sequel to Interceptor Force.  Vengeful alien, whose mate was killed by the heroes, goes into a nuclear plant in Russia.  Heroes go after it.  The alien has both chameleon and invisibility powers.  The movie features the biggest gun ever -- a tool for rock cutting full of chains and cutters.  Will be given away to a lucky contestant through the Sci Fi site.  Release in November.

Note: Sci Fi Channel owns Science Fiction Weekly, but the magazine covers more than just items on the Sci Fi Channel and is also run independently of it.

7. The Dream Team (Reality Show):  An analyst will analyze people's dreams on TV.  Craig had seen a sample and thought it actually looked quite interesting.  Slated for January.

8. Scare Tactics (Reality Show): Real people put in SF settings and getting the %^#&# scared out of them.  After this happens, they get the victims to sign a waver so it can be aired on TV.  Slated for March 2003.  To be hosted by Shannon Dougherty.  (He gave us an example of one of the tricks and it was nasty!)

9. In Search Of:  A totally new version of the old show staring Leonard Nimoy.  This one will star Mitch Pillegi (Skinner from X-Files).  All new episodes, same format as before.  They have 13 episodes so far.

10.  Riverworld: Based on the series of books. 2 hour pilot.  If it does well, they might do a series.  Richard Burton will no longer be the protagonist, however.  Probably a fictional actor.  Cerebral movie full of action.

Note: If the Sci Fi Channel buys a discontinued series, it is very rare that they would have the ability to get everyone back to do an ending or continuation.  Extremely difficult.

11.  EarthSea: They have a script but it is not going anywhere yet.

12.  Amber Movies: Still in development.  Issue with owner of rights.

13.  Red Mars: Still pending and is in development phase.

14.  Quantum Leap:  A whole new version.  Pending.  Possibly will make a film.  Looking at making the lead female. 

15.  Battlestar Galactica:  Richard Hatch looks to have finally found someone to go with the project.  Being actively developed and reimagined.  If it goes through, it will most likely be a part remake part continuation.

16.  The Adventures of Jules Verne: Sci Fi had bought rights to air the 22 episodes already made but has no plans to try to make more.

17.  Legend of the Rangers: No plans to pursue this.  The movie/pilot only did average.

18.  Anonymous Rex: It's a possibility, but probably cost prohibiting.  Sci Fi Channel's budget is not anywhere near as large as other networks.

1:00pm World Building 1

Guests: Steve Gillet (Contributor to Analog Magazine and author of World Building. Research professor in geology), Harry Turtledove (Alternative History writer, escaped historian), Kristine Smith (Chemist and author of a 3 book SF series), Sheila Finch (Linguist. Has published 7 novels and more than 30 short stories, also teaches writing), Wolf Read (writer and illustrator, amateur weather observer)

This ended up being more of a discussion than a strict how to.  Personally, I think it would have been more helpful if as a group we had started to make a world and the panelists could have helped us argue out the consequences of choices.  Not everyone has linguistics or economics or history in their background and having working guidance would have opened more eyes.

For this, I will just write down notes I took during the discussion. 

Why should one do world building?

To make the world feel as real as possible to the reader.  The more real the world is, the more the reader will believe it.

If you don't know the background you can't have the character live there. 

You can go overboard, so you have to watch yourself.  Even if you end up with tons of data, all of that should not go into the book itself.

You have to make the effort to build the world even if it never makes it into the story.  Convince the reader that you know it all, even if you didn't put it in.

Networking is how you plug in areas you don't know.  Make contacts with graduate students and professors.

Depending on the book and its focus depends on how in depth you go on about your world.  Length makes a difference too--a novel needs a bigger canvas.

There's tons of ways to get there.

Use Maps, Atlases, draw from earth topography.  Online is a good source for fast and dirty info.

Be careful not to use world building as an excuse not to be writing.  Know the limit. (One panelist has a friend who's been world building for 12 years and still hasn't started on the book.)

Fiction has to be plausible--reality just happens.

Patricia Reed--has a site with questions a writer can ask themselves to help in the world building process.

HRAF -- Human Relation Area Files from the US Government can be a source of info on societies.

Physical settings are directly involved with culture.

Make notes, use post-its as you browse through history books and other things, these might help later.

Book -- Ancient Inventions by Peter James and Nick Thorpe. 

We left after to feed the kitten and so I could meet someone else from the Bird Scramble Amateur Press Association (deals with the Japanese Anime Gatchaman).  Running late, I then went to the EOS party Melanie had graciously shoved in those of us from FutureClassics that were able to go to World Con.  The party was held at the Tech, which is a museum of technology mostly geared for kids but still having a lot of things to interest adults.  I came away with 6+ free books and actually talked to a couple of people.  Even got to pass out 1 business card!  Heh.  Lots of funky dishes to munch on, too.