The first dragon I fell in love with was Smaug from The Hobbit. Both clever and fierce, he was a force to be reckoned with, and a character that endeared me to his species. But he’s hardly the only dragon that’s captured my imagination through the years. Fantasy skies are thick with the beasts, and […]
AMC – The Ten Fiercest Fantasy Dragons Read More »
At AMC this week I talk about environmental disasters and fantasy film. Think there’s no connection? Ha! I say, ha! Strip-mining, invasive species and famine, oh my. Weather often plays an important role in setting the mood of a movie. I mean, how many times have our heroes battled through wind and rain until they
AMC — Go Green With Fizzgig and His Eco-Friendly Pals! Read More »
Ever have one of those weeks where you just wanted to see carnage and bloodshed? I thought so. It turns out that epic fantasy has the perfect solution. Swing by and let me know what your favorite epic battles are..
AMC — The Ten Most Epic Fantasy Battles Read More »
I have been impressed with Jane Espenson’s work as a writer for a long time. She’s just truly won my heart in this interview. Q: People have said BSG didn’t need to be science fiction to get the story across. If that’s true, would it be even more true for Caprica? A: Any story worth
Caprica Producer Jane Espenson on SciFi Read More »
I’ll be honest, Rob does our taxes. Why? Because he’s more likely to follow Rule #2 from my suggestions on how to survive tax season. What, you don’t think fantasy films can offer insight into taxes?
AMC – Five Fantasies to Navigate the Labyrinth of Tax Season Read More »
So this week in at AMC I take a look at the evil queens of Fantasy. One of the biggest draws to fantasy is the nobility — the Kings and Queens who exert dominion over magical lands. But there’s an interesting trend with Queens: They have a striking tendency to be evil. Forget “Who’s the
AMC – The Top Ten Evil Queens of Fantasy Read More »
This week I take a screaming whirlwind through the different forms of puppetry and cgi that go into making the creatures of fantasy. Go on over and ask questions about puppets.
AMC – Blogs – SciFi Scanner – Mary Robinette Kowal – CGI Cut Yoda’s Puppet Strings Read More »
This week’s AMC column takes a look at America’s fascination with cars. Swing by and talk about your vehicular fantasies.
AMC – Christine’s a Moody Plymouth; Herbie’s a Loyal Love Bug Read More »
My new AMC column is up and this week we look at teens in Fantasy. I’ve been thinking a lot about the growing process lately, as we’re getting ready for my fifteen-year old nephew to come visit. The task of finding things that will be fun for him to do in New York is an
AMC – For Teens in Fantasy, It’s Not Easy Being Big Read More »
This week at AMC I take a look at Death. Of all the landscapes in cinema, there’s one over which fantasy has almost exclusive domain: Death. What happens after we die is a subject we find ourselves eternally fascinated with, and it’s a question only a bit of surreality can hope to answer. Not surprisingly,
AMC – Ghost and Beetlejuice Debate the Facts of the Afterlife Read More »
This week’s column is up at AMC and in honor of Valentine’s Day, I cover the structure of fantasy romance. Confession: I’m a hopeless romantic, but I’ve never had that much interest in Valentine’s Day. My husband and I celebrate the day after Valentine’s because that’s when we met, but that’s the closest the day
My AMC column this week is on my favorite childhood movies. Not surprisingly, there’s a high incidence of fantasy film in there.
AMC : Turning 40 With Mary Poppins Read More »
For years, while I worked at Tears of Joy, and then after, Lance Woolen was my Technical Director. The man is brilliant. Even today, living in NYC, if I run into a question of how to build something, I call Lance. If he tells me something is not possible to build, then it’s not. But
AMC — Talking Shop With Coraline Puppeteer Lance Woolen Read More »
My new column is up at AMC on real world locations for fantasy. Location, location, location. That’s the one piece of advice every real estate agent will give you when talking about where to live or start a business. It’s also an important component in fantasy movies set in the real world. As we’ve discussed
AMC Tour Guide to Fantastical Planet Earth Read More »
With all the computer woes on Friday, I forgot to let you know that my new column is up at AMC. Welcome to the New Year! Around this time, people are probably going to start asking you, “What’s your resolution?” Personally, I always have trouble coming up with a good one, and by that, I
AMC – Frodo and Princess Buttercup Offer New Year’s Resolutions Read More »