Voting is INFECTIOUS! Buy screenplay via Amazon through June 30 in ALL GENRE SCREENPLAY CONTEST

Buy. Read. Enjoy... and help Janet win!

Janet Hetherington's sci-fi horror comedy screenplay INFECTIOUS or SQUID-TONGUE SLEEPWALKING MONSTER APOCALYPSE is now part of Dizzy Emu Publishing's 2016 ALL GENRE SCREENPLAY CONTEST.

From April 1 through June 30, 2016, visit Amazon.com or Amazon.ca and download a digital copy or buy a paperback version of INFECTIOUS. Every purchase brings Janet a step closer to winning the competition.

WHAT YOU'LL GET

Your very own copy of the sci-fi horror comedy script INFECTIOUS or SQUID-TONGUE SLEEPWALKING MONSTER APOCALYPSE by Janet Hetherington, in its original screenplay format. Cover design by Janet Hetherington.

SPECIAL OFFER - Free gift!

If you buy a paperback copy of INFECTIOUS and bring it to a convention that Janet is attending, Janet will autograph it, give you a free gift and do a free sketch.

• Order from Amazon.ca
• Order from Amazon.com

If you download a copy of INFECTIOUS and come to a convention that Janet is attending, tell Janet what you think at the show and she will give you a free gift.

• Order from Amazon.ca
• Order from Amaszon.com

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Some dreams won't stay buried.

Dross College isn’t known for its scientific research, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any secret experiments going on. Journalism major Will Atman learns the awful truth when a strange creature bites his friends, his girl and his brother, causing them to sleepwalk and act out their buried dreams. They sing, they dance, they even do lab work… and they do it all while dead asleep. Can Will stay awake long enough to stop the spread of the monster squid-tongue?

From Janet Hetherington, creator of Eternal Romance, writer of the Elvira, Mistress of the Dark comic book and contributor to The Secret Loves of Geek Girls.

Twitter: @bestdestiny
www.best-destiny.com

UPCOMING CONVENTIONS

• East Coast Comic Con - April 16 & 17, Meadowlands Exposition Centre, New Jersey
• CAPE - April 23 & 24, Benson Centre, Cornwall, Ontario
• Ottawa Comiccon - May 13-15, EY Centre, Ottawa, Ontario

FUN TO READ

INFECTIOUS or SQUID-TONGUE SLEEPWALKING MONSTER APOCALYPSE has already been awarded second place for best feature screenplay in the 2015 Zed Fest Film Festival, and was a semifinalist for feature screenplay in the 2015 Eerie Horror Film Festival. Warning: Story involves college kids fighting a weird creature, so some coarse language.

Thank you for supporting my work! -- Janet Hetherington

Comics and movies in Ottawa this May!

May 2015 promises to be a busy month as Ronn Sutton and I get ready for two fun events:

• Ottawa Comiccon: May 8-10 at the EY Centre in our hometown of Ottawa; and
• JESSE JAMES: LAWMAN - May 28 - Movie premiere at the Mayfair Theatre in our hometown of Ottawa.

Ronn and I will be in artists alley for Ottawa Comiccon, with comics, art and stories to stare. We will be doing art commissions at the show. Looking for that special gift from Mother's Day for that motorcycle momma in your life? A great chance to get a copy of Lucifers Sword MC from Ronn, and he'll sign it too!

If you want to be part of the premiere of Jesse James: Lawman (with script by yours truly), be sure to pick up your tickets at the Comic Book Shoppe on Bank Street. ($10 each). the movie stars loads of local talent such as Andrew Galligan, John N. E. Hill and Lawrence Evenchick along with Kevin (Hercules, Andromeda) Sorbo and Peter (Easy Rider) Fonda! Directed by Brett Kelly.

See you on the red cape... I mean, carpet! -- Janet Hetherington

Ronn Sutton & Janet Hetherington on the Outlaw Trail to Fan Expo 2014

I'm happy to report that Ronn Sutton and I are slated to appear again at Fan Expo Canada 2014 in artists' alley.

The show is taking place from August 28 to 31, 2014 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. We'll have comics and original art, and will be doing commissions. We hope to see friendly faces there!

This year, Ronn and I are on the trail as "outlaw creators." We both have projects with an outlaw theme. Ronn is illustrating a new graphic novel called Lucifers Sword MC for Motor Books, about the fictional life of an outlaw motorcycle club. The graphic novel has all the drama and excitement you'd expect from a story written by Hells Angel member Phil Cross. The graphic novel is due out in January 2015.

My outlaw connection is the release on DVD of The Last Outlaw, a western movie that I co-wrote (as The Hunt for Johnny Ringo) on September 9, 2014. The Last Outlaw stars Michael Paré and was directed and produced in the Ottawa area by filmmaker Brett Kelly. I've scripted another western feature for Brett and I'm working on a horror feature for him as well.

Earlier this year, my short horror promo video took first place in the Cellar Door Film Festival's promo video competition. It can be seen on the Cellar Door Film Festival's website, YouTube and on BlackFlagTV.

In other news, I appeared on CBC's All in a Day radio program on August 6 (thanks Alan!) to talk about teaching kids the creative process of writing comics at Carleton University's Creative Writing Camps this summer. I'm teaching two sessions.. with the help of the Caped Cod, my creation Bat-Fish.

Ronn plans to talk about Lucifers Sword on All in a Day sometime in the future. But you can you talk to him about it at Fan Expo. Be sure to drop by.

The Lone Ranger vs. Sharknado

I went to see Disney's The Lone Ranger at the SilverCity Cineplex movie theatre last night, wanting to catch it before it closes. It was a good-looking production featuring interesting portrayals of the iconic characters of my youth, and it provided some strong moments typical of the western genre. Still, my overall reaction was: "It's trying too hard to be a hit."

Contrast this to the crazy-wild interest and success of Sharknado, which played on TV last week (SyFy and Space). This was utter B-movie fare: sharks swept up by a tornado and dumped into flooded California. According to this movie, your best defense against a tornado waterspout is to have a chainsaw handy in case sharks rain down on you.

It may seem like I'm comparing apples to oranges here, but I believe these two movies speak to why audiences embraced low-budget Sharknado and have had underperforming response to high-budget The Lone Ranger.

The key word here is underperforming. While there was a lot riding on Silver, there was less sink or swim for Sharknado. Sharknado was intended to be over-the-top and silly. The producers made a movie they wanted to see. Based on the Facebook and Twitter response, others wanted to see it too.

(To The Lone Ranger's credit, the  ticket-seller said the film had sold out the night before and the theatre was pretty packed when I was there.)

The Lone Ranger had its over-the-top moments too, with a horse that defied gravity and a Saloon Madam's leg that doubled as a firearm (think Cherry in Planet Terror). But rebooting a treasured icon for modern viewers is a tricky business, and while it has worked for some films like Star Trek (2009), The Lone Ranger suffers upfront from an audience disconnect to the "western experience." What interest is there for today's kids in the need to build a physical cross-nation connection (the railway) when they can pick up their phone and reach anyone anywhere around the world? The Twitter generation is also more of a collective mindset, more Borg than John Wayne, so the notion of a "Lone Ranger" who will right wrongs may not have the same appeal or impact as it did for young audiences in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

So, why would Sharknado, which also had a 1950s vibe, fare so well? As absurd as its premise may be, Sharknado likely resonated with viewers who recently experienced mass flooding in the US midwest, Canada and other disasters. The best science fiction and horror movies exploit the fears of the time. The price was right too: free to watch or PVR. In addition, while movie theatres politely lecture  patrons to turn off their cell phones during screenings, the home-viewing audience can partake of alcoholic beverages, tweet and FB post to their heart's delight during the broadcast. This can be seen as equivalent to watching flicks from the comfy seats of big-finned cars at the drive-ins of the 1950s.

Going back to Star Trek, it's interesting to note that Gene Roddenberry pitched and sold the original TV concept as "Wagon Train to the stars." The western was in its heyday. People were connected to that genre's theme. The Lone Ranger may yet ride again, when the time is right for a white-hat hero rather than a  chainsaw-wielding one.

The House on Arch Lane to screen at Killer 63 fest October 22

Killer news! The Mayfair Theatre screened the teaser for THE HOUSE ON ARCH LANE, my short horror thriller (for which I have script story credit), on October 2, 2011.

Now the Mayfair is going to screen the entire short film on October 22 as part of its KILLER 63 horror fest.

Movie lovers, come to the Mayfair at 11:30 pm and support THE HOUSE ON ARCH LANE and other Ottawa filmmakers.

Halloween thrills are coming early, so  get your chills on at the Mayfair on October 22!

Brandon Routh goes from Superman to supernatural sleuth in DYLAN DOG: DEAD OF NIGHT

Brandon Routh is abandoning the cape and packing silver bullets in the new horror/comedy DYLAN DOG: DEAD OF NIGHT, scheduled for theaters on April 29, 2011.

While DYLAN DOG: DEAD OF NIGHT is based on a popular comic book, which has sold over 60 million copies worldwide, this is a different kind of comic-book hero.

Dylan Dog is a private investigator specializing in affairs of the undead.  His PI business card reads "No Pulse?  No Problem." Armed with an edgy wit and carrying an arsenal of silver and wood-tipped bullets, Dylan must track down a dangerous artifact before a war ensues between his werewolf, vampire and zombie clients living undercover in the monster-infested backstreets of New Orleans.

Routh stars as Dylan Dog. The cast also includes Sam Huntington, Anita Briem, Peter Stormare and Taye Diggs. The film is directed by Kevin Munroe and written by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer.

For more info, check out:

The official website:  http://www.dylandogdeadofnight.com

The Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DylanDogDeadofNight

The YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/dylandogdeadofnight