Janet Hetherington & Ronn Sutton at Fan Expo Canada Sept. 1-4, 2016

Next weekend is Fan Expo Canada, taking place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from September 1-4, 2016. Ronn Sutton and I are back again this year, and if you are at the con, we want to see your smiling faces!



Janet Hetherington (Artists Alley, P9B, South Building) - I will be bringing prints of my artwork from THE SECRET LOVES OF GEEKS GIRLS, copies of INFECTIOUS, OR SQUID-TONGUE SLEEPWALKING MONSTER APOCALYPSE, copies of ETERNALLY YOURS: ILLUSTRATED STORIES OF ETERNAL ROMANCE, DVDs and more. I will be taking commissions for artwork. Autographs are free!

Ronn Sutton (Artists Alley, P10A, South Building) - Ronn will be bringing prints of his artwork for MY FAIR ZOMBIE: THE MUSICAL (from filmmaker Brett Kelly), ELVIRA: MISTRESS OF THE DARK, VAMPIRA, and SPACE GIRL. He will have copies of LUCIFERS SWORD MC and VICTIMS OF WAR, and more. Ronn will be taking commissions for original artwork.  Autographs are free!













PLUS!


Be sure to check out the special screening of GHASTLIES by Brett Kelly on Friday morning in room 707 at 11 am. GHASTLIES is an 80s-style horror film that's sure to be a cult favourite... in fact, I play a cult member in it! Visit Brett at his table in the North Building.

Happy New Year 2016 and thanks 2015!

Zed Fest - Discovering the cult movies of the future

It's 2016! I'm wishing everyone a happy, healthy and productive new year. I also want to say thanks to everybody who helped make 2015 a memorable year.

Just as it appeared my screenwriting was pushing through -- Jesse James: Lawman with Peter Fonda and Kevin Sorbo premiered in May 2015 and my sci-fi horror comedy Infectious or Squid-Tongue Sleepwalking Monster Apocalypse took second place in the Zed Fest Film Festival Screenplay contest in December -- my comics work was again in the spotlight.

Available as 11 x 17" print

The Secret Loves of Geek Girls, edited by Hope Nicholson, made a huge Kickstarter splash and was released in December 2015. This comics/slice of life/confessional anthology garnered attention around the world, and my Lichtenstein-inspired art was featured in a New York Times online article about the book. I was just one of many, many talented women (including Margaret Atwood) contributing to this, and I was pumped to attend the book release on December 9 at Page and Panel in Toronto, The anthology will be re-released with a new cover by Dark Horse Comics in October 2016. Many thanks to Eisner Award administrator Jackie Estrada for providing an interview for my story. I have made an 11 x 17" print of my full-page "See ya, babe!" faux romance comics art that appears in the book that I will have with me at comic shows.

Speaking of conventions, Ronn Sutton and I enjoyed attending Toronto Comiccon, Ottawa Comiccon, Prose in the Park, Fan Expo 2015 and Ottawa Pop Expo, and I learned a lot at Story Expo in LA. Ronn also enjoyed a successful signing of his Lucifers Sword MC graphic novel at Ottawa's Comic Book Shoppe on Bank Street in February.

Ronn had a busy year too, completing illustrations for the Lucifers Sword MC book, which came out in January, the Victims of War comic book written by ret. Col. Pat Stogran about Canadian veterans, which came out in November, and three episodes of the TV show Natural Born Outlaws, playing now on the American Heroes Channel in the U.S. and the History Channel in Canada.

Ronn and I greatly appreciate that we were able to collaborate with many other fine creators to do the things we love to do and have them reach you in 2015. We look forward to an exciting 2016! -- Janet Hetherington

B-movie lovers should 'B' at Ottawa Spookshow and Fantastic Film Festival - September 12, 2015

B-movie and horror/thriller movie lovers alert!

The first Ottawa Spookshow and Fantastic Film Festival is taking place at Live on Elgin on September 12, 29015, in Ottawa, Canada. The Ottawa Spookshow and Fantastic Film Festival is an all-day festival dedicated to showing films of a horror/sci-fi or simply strange variety. Films come from Canada and from around the world.

Organizer Brett Kelly has announced the two features to be screened, and the short films will be announced soon.

The first feature chosen to be screened is SHE KILLS directed by Ron Bonk, an  homage to grindhouse/exploitation pictures of the 1970s.

When Sadie's husband is murdered by a vicious gang called "The Touchers," she finds she possesses a strange hidden power to aid her in her quest for revenge!

The second feature selected to be shown is LATE NIGHT DOUBLE FEATURE, directed by Navin Ramaswaran, Zach Ramelan and Torin Langen.

During a late night taping of "Dr. Nasty's Cavalcade of Horror,"bloody chaos takes place during the screening of two films ("Dinner for Monsters" and "Slit"). Samantha/Nurse Nasty (Jamie Elizabeth Sampson) is frustrated by how the show is being run by its womanizing director (Mike Donis) and its drunk and crazy host Dr. Nasty (Brian Carleton).

"Dinner for Monsters" tells the story a down and out chef (Nick Smyth) is hired to cook a special meal for a rich and powerful couple (Jeff Sinasac and Sandra DaCosta) for midnight dinner party. The chef has an ethical crisis when he falls in love with the maid (Raven Cousens) of the household that finally puts him over the edge.

In "Slit," we meet Brad (Colin Price) who has an underground freelance business of cutting people for relief and profit. Brad meets his match when he meets an oddball client (Caleigh Le Grand) that has violent plans not just for him but for herself.

Tickets are $15.00 advance, and $20.00 at the door.

Gotcha by the short scares: Killer 63 on October 22 with The House on Arch Lane

Ottawa's Killer 63 fear fest is taking place at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa, Canada, on October 22 at 11:30 pm.

One of the films being screened is The House on Arch Lane (with script story credit by Janet Hetherington [me]).

In no particular order, here is the line-up (with an addition or two to come) for the sixth annual Killer 63 event at the Mayfair Theatre:

KILLER63 year VI

Victor Perpetual – Ray Besharah

Employee of the Month – Olivier Beguin

She's Not Gone – Randy Smith

Lone Fish - Zebrasseires music video – Luca F

The Mask of James Henry – Steve Villeneuve

The House on Arch Lane – Alexander Steinhoff / Alexander De Lukowicz
(See the teaser for The House on Arch Lane on YouTube.)

Good Samaritan – Jeff Campbell

Six Minutes – Ralph Gethings

Profile of a Killer – Chris Chitaroni

Happy Fuzzy Things – Matt Fincer

Emily – James Campbell

Games Night – Fiona Noakes / Islam Balbaa

Interestingly enough, I worked with Fiona Noakes on the short SF film M-Theory.

And I was background in her Bitter State video.

Small world!

Come to the Mayfair and see these films... they'll get you by the short scares!

Simon Pegg fights A Fantastic Fear of Everything

Indomina Group Vice Chairman and CEO Jasbinder Singh Mann announced today (July 27, 2011) that The Indomina Group, a U.S. and Dominican Republic-based producer and distributor of film, TV and transmedia content, has acquired North American distribution rights to the comedy A Fantastic Fear of Everything, starring Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) and produced by Keel Films.

A Fantastic Fear of Everything is written and directed by musician-turned-filmmaker Crispian Mills, marking his feature debut. He is joined by co-director and animator Chris Hopewell as part of a collaboration with Collision Films, whose award-winning work includes Radiohead’s There There and The Killers’ Smile Like You Mean It.  The film is produced by Geraldine Patten. 

In the film, Jack (Simon Pegg) is a children’s author turned crime novelist whose detailed research into the lives of Victorian serial killers has turned him into a paranoid wreck, persecuted by the irrational fear of being murdered. When Jack is thrown a life-line by his long-suffering agent and a mysterious Hollywood executive takes a sudden and inexplicable interest in his script, what should be his ‘big break’ rapidly turns into his ‘big breakdown,’ as Jack is forced to confront his worst demons--among them his love life, his laundry and the origin of all fear.

Starring Simon Pegg as Jack, and introducing Alan Drake, A Fantastic Fear of Everything also stars Amara Karan (The Darjeeling Limited), Clare Higgins (Hellraiser) and Sheridan Smith (Hysteria).

Currently being shot at Shepperton Studios in London, the film will be released in the U.S. through Indomina’s North American distribution division, Indomina Releasing. Universal Pictures will release the film in the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America. Indomina’s international sales division will handle sales for all other territories. Indomina is also providing production financing.

A Fantastic Fear of Everything is the first film to receive backing from Pinewood Films, a new finance initiative for small-budget independent British films by the Pinewood Studios Group.

Stake Land strikes April 22; Lionsgate dips into eco-horror with The Bay

New poster for Stake Land

Two new horror films explain the inexplicable as "epidemics" and "biological disasters."

Director Jim Mickle's new vampire epidemic flick Stake Land, written by Nick Damici and Jim Mickle, is set to strike on April 22, 2011.

Mickle first grabbed the attention of horror film fans with his zombie-rat thriller Mulberry Street, in which Damici also starred and served as co-writer. They have teamed up again to deliver an even darker and bloodier shocker. Drawing on the post-apocalyptic frenzy described by Richard Matheson (author of the novel I Am Legend) and George Romero, Stake Land is described as a road movie with fangs.

When an epidemic of vampirism strikes, humans find themselves on the run from vicious, feral beasts. Cities become tombs and survivors cling together in rural pockets, fearful of nightfall. When his family is slaughtered, young Martin (Gossip Girl's Connor Paolo) is taken under the wing of a grizzled, wayward hunter (In the Cut's Nick Damici) whose new prey are the undead.

Simply known as Mister, the vampire stalker takes Martin on a journey through the locked-down towns of America's heartland, searching for a better place while taking down any bloodsuckers that cross their path. Along the way they recruit fellow travellers, including a nun (Kelly McGillis), who is caught in a crisis of faith when her followers turn into ravenous beasts. This ragtag family unit cautiously moves north, avoiding major thoroughfares that have been seized by The Brethren, a fundamentalist militia headed by Jebedia Loven (Tony award-winning actor Michael Cerveris) that interprets the plague as the Lord's work.

Stake Land also stars horror movie icon Danielle Harris (Hatchet II) and was produced by indie horror producer-writer-director Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter).

More horror bubbling up from The Bay

On April 14, Lionsgate reported that it acquired U.S. distribution rights to Barry Levinson's  found-footage eco-horror film The Bay (formerly Isopod) from Alliance Films. The announcement was made jointly by Joe Drake, President of the Motion Picture Group, and Jason Constantine, President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions.

"Ingenious genre films are and always will be a specialty at Lionsgate," Drake comments. "The Bay is a shining example of the kind of truly fresh horror film that audiences are always ready for, and that we excel at eventizing with them. Thanks to Barry, we'll all be afraid to go in the water for years to come."

The film was directed by Barry Levinson (Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man) from a script he co-wrote with Michael Wallach.  The Bay was produced by Levinson, Jason Blum, Steven Schneider, and Oren Peli, and co-produced by Mythodic Films, with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Jason Sosnoff, Colin Strause, and Greg Strause executive producing.

"It's exciting to see a company like Lionsgate embrace The Bay so enthusiastically," says director Barry Levinson. "The found footage / multiplatform approach opened up the film to creative possibilities I hadn't encountered in my previous films, and I think these sorts of films will only continue to push boundaries as the technology changes."

This "biological disaster" film is another from the producers of Paranormal Activity. The sci-fi horror flick features Michael Beasley, Lauren Cohn and Christopher Denham.

The film follows the producers' work on Insidious, and chronicles an unprecedented biological disaster unleashed from the waters of the Chesapeake Bay -- an isopod parasite, carrying a horrific untreatable disease that jumps from fish to human hosts. The horror and scope of the event unfolds on footage captured on home videos and the internet by the town's victims.

"We have been big admirers of Jason Blum, Steven Schneider and Oren Peli since their breakout hit Paranormal Activity, and are thrilled to be in business with them," says Constantine. "This film works so effectively because it establishes a very natural, everyday world, places the audience intimately within it, and then sits back as everything takes a horrific turn. Barry has incorporated found footage to the most satisfying possible effect, and it's all the scarier for not relying on anything supernatural."

The Bay is an Alliance presentation in association with IM Global. IM Global handled foreign sales, and Alliance will distribute in Canada, the UK and Spain.

The deal was negotiated by Lionsgate's Constantine, with Eda Kowan, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, and Wendy Jaffe, Executive Vice President Business & Legal Affairs for Acquisitions.  The sale was brokered on behalf of Alliance by ICM and CAA.  ICM packaged the film and represents Levinson and Wallach.

Submit to the Tickle Me Ottawa Film Festival by April 15

Lloyd Dean of Bikeboy Productions and writer/director of M-THEORY is seeking comedy films from Ottawa area filmmakers.

Info follows on the Tickle Me Ottawa film fest, to premiere in May: 

Hey Ottawa filmmakers!  Think you’re funny? Make us laugh and you could get your film screened at Ottawa's Mayfair Theatre!

Submit your comedy short film to the 1^st annual Tickle Me Ottawa Film Festival

To enter, send two copies of your film (on DVD), a short description of your film (max. 100 words), along with your $10 entry fee to:

Tickle Me Ottawa

Lloyd Deane

c/o 214, 140 Mann Avenue

Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1E5

The (not so) fine print:

To qualify your film must be less than 20 minutes in length, and produced in the National Capital Region.  Entries must be postmarked no later than April 15, 2011. Official selections will be screened at the Mayfair theatre in May 2011. 

For more information, email: lloyddeane@yahoo.ca

Scene from M-THEORY

Meanwhile, M-THEORY will be screened on Friday, March 4, 2011 at 7:15 p.m. the University of Ottawa's Cinema Academica. The screening will be followed by a Q&A will Lloyd Deane and other members of the cast.

Anne Francis (Honey West, Forbidden Planet) passes away at age 80

Anne Francis, who won many a fanboy's heart with her sultry portrayals in the 1956 science fiction classic Forbidden Planet and the 1960s TV show Honey West, has passed away at age 80 from complications related to pancreatic cancer.

Interest in Honey West re-emerged in 2010 with the publication of a new Honey West comic book (Moonstone Books) featuring the adventures of the blond detective and her pet ocelot. Artist Ronn Sutton is currently illustrating a three-issue story arc for the comic book which, in the tradition of Forbidden Planet, has Honey investigating mysterious circumstances on the set of a science-fiction movie.

An obituary of Anne Francis by Dennis McLellan, published by the Los Angeles Times, can be found here: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-anne-francis-20110103,0,2031697.story.

Telltale Games goes Back to the Future

Rev your engines and adjust your Flux Capacitor, because Back to the Future: The Game is coming to PCs and Macs on Wednesday, December 22, 2010.

Telltale Games advises that there are few days left for special preorder as the game will make its debut on Wednesday. The five-part season's first episode "It's About Time!" will be available for PC and Mac platforms. Fans can still get the bonus Puzzle Agent game free with their preorder from http://www.backtothefuturegame.com.

Telltale also donates $1 to the Michael J. Fox Parkinson's Foundation with each purchase up through the launch. The series will debut on the PlayStation Network and iPad platforms in early 2011.

Back to the Future: The Game brings the iconic 'Marty McFly', 'Doc Brown' and the DeLorean Time Machine together in a completely new cinematic adventure, which unfolds over five episodes. Six months after the events of the third film, the DeLorean Time Machine mysteriously returns to Hill Valley. 'Marty' must go back in time and recruit aid from a resistant teen=age 'Emmett Brown', or else the space-time continuum will be forever unraveled.

Back to the Future: The Game features the likenesses of the original stars that made the characters of 'Marty McFly' and 'Doc Brown' legendary: Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd.

Lloyd is voicing 'Doc Brown' for the full game series.

Bob Gale, the co-creator and co-writer of the landmark films says, "Telltale's Back to the Future game is the first videogame in the space-time continuum to be truly worthy of being called 'Back to the Future.' This new adventure of 'Marty McFly' and 'Doc Brown' is true to the spirit of the movies, and I couldn't be happier about the great working relationship I've developed with the team at Telltale. Via the game, the player gets to explore and experience more about the history of our characters and Hill Valley... along with some very interesting alternate time lines. It's a game for people who loved the movies, made by people who loved the movies."

"It's a testament to the commitment and creative energy of our team that Telltale can deliver high-quality gaming experiences with such a timely schedule," comments Dan Connors, Telltale Games CEO. "And what a great way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this all time great franchise."

"Back to the Future is one of the true gems of the Universal Pictures library," says Bill Kispert, Vice President and General Manager, Digital Platforms, Universal Partnerships & Licensing. "The collaboration with the talented team at Telltale Games and Bob Gale was fantastic, and we are excited to deliver all-new interactive adventures to fans of the franchise."

Telltale will also offer Back to the Future: The Game with complete voice and text translations for German language speakers, as well as a version with French text localization. The German language version will be available from Deutsche Telekom AG's gaming platform Gamesload (http://www.gamesload.de), as well as from telltalegames.com and Steam. The channels will share more information on localized versions as they prepare for release.

Full game information including videos, story synopses, character profiles, and more is available at http://www.backtothefuturegame.com.

Stephen King's THE DARK TOWER Coming to Film, TV

People who know me also know that I am a HUGE fan of the work of horror writer Stephen King. Pretty much every work King has written has a place on my bookshelf.

I was excited to hear through the StephenKing.com newsletter that Academy Award-winners Akiva Goldsman, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer will produce three films and a TV series based on Kings epic storyline, The Dark Tower.

On September 8, Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman Donna Langley — along with Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment and Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC & Universal Media Studios — announced that Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television Entertainment have acquired the rights to produce three films and a television series based on the seven novels, short stories and Marvel comic books telling the story of The Dark Tower.  

Ron Howard will direct the first film and the first season of television, which will be written by Goldsman.

Goldsman will produce the film through his Weed Road Pictures with Howard and Grazer for Imagine Entertainment.  Howard, Grazer and Goldsman will executive produce the television series for Universal Media Studios.  Kerry Foster will executive produce the first film for Weed Road Pictures along with Todd Hallowell and Erica Huggins for Imagine Entertainment.   

"I’ve been waiting for the right team to bring the characters and stories in these books to film and TV viewers around the world," said King.  "Ron, Akiva, Brian along with Universal and NBC have a deep interest and passion for the The Dark Tower series and I know that will translate into an intriguing series of films and TV shows that respect the origins and the characters in The Dark Tower that fans have come to love."

The Dark Tower is Stephen King’s opus of seven bestselling novels with, to date, more than 30 million copies sold in 40 countries.  The novels incorporate themes from multiple genres including fantasy, science fiction, horror and adventure.

After the series was completed, a prequel of comic books based on one of the characters was also published.

"Building a franchise home for The Dark Tower is an exciting opportunity for this studio, and we're thrilled that Stephen has entrusted us to bring his beloved novels to the big screen," said Fogelson.

"Stephen King is a brilliant storyteller who creates imaginary worlds that resonate with the broadest audiences across ages and demographics," said Gaspin.  "We are thrilled to partner with our colleagues in the film division and Brian, Ron and Akiva to bring Stephen's vision to the largest audience possible through this innovative multi-platform collaboration." 

Howard, Grazer and Goldsman are planning for the first film in the trilogy to be immediately followed by a television series that will bridge the second film.  After the second film, the television series will pick up allowing viewers to explore the adventures of the protagonist as a young man as a bridge to the third film and beyond.
 
"We are excited to have found partners at Universal who understand and embrace our approach to King's remarkable epic," said Howard.  "By using both the scope and scale of theatrical film-making and the intimacy of television we hope to more comprehensively do justice to the characters, themes and amazing sequences King has given us in The Dark Tower novels.  It might be the challenge of a lifetime but clearly a thrilling one to take on and explore."

"The worlds of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series are richly detailed, inter-locking and deeply connected," said Goldsman.  "By telling this story across media platforms and over multiple hours—and with a view to telling it completely — we have our best chance of translating Roland's quest to reach The Dark Tower onto screen.  We are proceeding with tremendous excitement, fidelity to the source material and, quite frankly, no small amount of awe at this opportunity."

"King has created the most visually enthralling places and characters in The Dark Tower," said Grazer.  "The synergy created across all the media divisions of our partners at NBC Universal to tell this remarkable story is ground-breaking and invigorating.  This project will be one of the most exciting and challenging that I will have ever worked on and I am thrilled to be a part of it."

Let's toast Gunslinger Roland and The Dark Tower project with a swig of real coffee and Nozz-a-la cola!

— Janet Hetherington