Check out the latest issue of FilmFax magazine! The cover is an old Empire Strikes Back piece by Yours Truly. Inside is the first of a well-illustrated three part interview with moi. The guys at FilmFax did a great job on this issue. The interview touches on things I’ve never talked about in public before. I think it turned out great so far — Let me know what you think!
Comic-Con International 2005 turned out to be my best ever Comic-Con. Attendance is rumored to have topped 100,000 attendees! By Friday night I had already cracked my previous Comic-Con sales record. I sold lots of original art and plenty of books. By Friday I had also sold out of all the copies I had brought of William Stout: 50 Convention Sketches – Volume 11 as well as my Tribute to Ray Harryhausen Sketchbooks. I celebrated with my longtime friends and collectors and sold quite a few pieces to some Stout newbies, too, inviting them into our ever-widening circle.
We held a very touching memorial for my friend and publisher Byron Preiss on Sunday at Comic-Con. It was very well-attended. Many people came up to share their thoughts and memories of Byron. My thanks to all who came to remember this dear, dear man who was a beloved father and husband as well as a friend to many.
Movie Tip: Although it’s timeliness is now slightly blunted by the passing of the G-8 Summit (its release was timed so that it screened on HBO just before the Summit meeting), one of the best movies of the year is the made-for-HBO film The Girl in the Cafe. Written by Richard Curtis, the same fellow who wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually, this is his finest script. It is filled out and illuminated with a heartbreakingly painful (and funny) performance by the great Bill Nighy (I also loved Nighy in Love Actually and Still Crazy but this is hands down his best work) as well as a deft, rich and stunning turn by Kelly MacDonald (that cute sexy teen in Trainspotting). I believe that if this had been a theatrical release Bill Nighy would have received a well-deserved nomination for a Best Actor Academy Award.
If the Music Header above appears with this entry (sometimes it disappears when I hit “Add this entry” — Hey, I don’t know why) it should mention Saint Etienne. I’ve been grooving to their latest CD: Tales From Turnpike House. It’s sort of Brian Wilson-meets-60s Jobim with a sexy chick singer. Yum! This new CD also includes an extra “children’s” CD in the package which is a terrific bonus.
My murals are coming along quite well, thank you. I hope to have something to show you all soon. At Comic-Con I discussed a deal with John Fleskes (John published the recent book on Franklin Booth , two great books on Joseph Clement Coll and the latest Mark Schultz sketchbook) to produce a book on the making of the murals. I also approached the great Randy Dahlk (designer of several stunning Mark Schultz projects) at Comic-Con to be the book’s designer. You got the scoop here, my friends!
I’ll see you in a bit; I need a vacation!
Bill