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The latest news involving Pentian’s US launch publication Cyberwar involves the thriller’s tremendous buzz and Hollywood knocking on the novel’s door. Will the book be optioned? In a recent talk with Pentian CEO Enrique Parrilla, Rune Works has learned that the buzz surrounding Pentian’s first major US release on the book market is leading to a whirlwind of Hollywood fervor. In fact, “an unnamed studio in L.A. has already expressed interest in optioning the rights [for Cyberwar],” said Mr. Parrilla. The commercial fiction thriller has a visual flair that the author, R.J. Huneke, believes would “translate well to film.” Cyberwar will be released at the very start of Fall 2014, though the date the book will be in stores has not yet been announced. In the description of the suspense work a grim present or possible future is laid out under the guise of a new regime . . . It all went to hell when the world’s greatest cyber warriors chose to wage war for themselves and not on behalf of the politicians that hired them. Hackers, they used to be called. To Xera, William Waltz was a broken spy and a fugitive, manipulated by the Cyber Elite that ruled from Canada to Peru. If she helped him, the Cyberwar could be avoided . . . but the assassin named “Sheetrock” tracked them to use his bio-hacked body to delete them both. The research on cyber warfare and political protest, as well as a strong female protagonist set this riveting story apart. The target audience for this book is the readers of commercial thrillers. Cyberwar resembles a cross between Miller’s Sin City and Fleming’s James Bond novels. The book has been finished and is now a series. For a limited time, Pentian is still crowdfunding for investors, and readers have the opportunity to have their names immortalized as a character in the Cyberwar Series. See it here: http://pentian.com/book/fund/601
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It seems the character Sheetrock wants to speak his mind, despite the book not being out yet. Well I have too much respect for the man to deny his simple request, so here is an exclusive excerpt from Cyberwar where the humble miner nicknamed "Sheetrock" gets to loose his mind. I hope you enjoy it. ~RJH Some people have a song constantly playing in their head. Sheetrock was one of these, and he knew it. The young drill captain figured the smart people fed their soul with music every day, because one: Jesus loved music, and two: rolling down the river of audio helped keep the record from skipping. Whereas those that despised the music echoing in their brains, scoffed openly of it, and resisted it to the extreme, those people often got jarred into the realms of insanity. They beat on the player Jesus had given them and as a result their records did, on occasion, skip. No matter the near-death run, the loss of his colleague and lover, or the freezing cold downpour, the David Byrne horns in his head blared on, and he welcomed the beauty of the earth, grimy as he was treading the soaked wooden dock. He whistled while his cargo unloaded, weighed, and purchased. It had taken all of an hour; it was the reason Sheetrock chose to land in Port Jeff in the first place: easy access to the scales and the buyers. Within another hour a quick sale had commenced. With the payment transferred instantaneously upon completion of the cache transaction, Sheetrock walked swiftly with a slight limp toward the town’s bank (his knee had blown out in a ten kilometer benefit run and the rain’s moisture did it in). He had already handed each of his crew a payroll check that they knew would come into fruition once they had finished emptying the ship’s cargo hold, but he wanted to confirm with his own dark eyes that his personal account totaled twenty-eight million and change. He could finally afford to spend it all. There was a slow methodical scraping as his muddy miner’s boots found the doormat outside the federal bank on the corner of Main Street. The heavy footwear were sealed, along with the black leathery jumpsuit that was made for rigorous activity in the oxygen deprived canals of space. He had not bothered changing. He was too eager. At least the rain’s washed the dust off my ass, thought Sheetrock as he walked into the bright lights of the taupe room. The large man could not have looked more out of place. A mile or two up the road was the derelict sidewalks of the Station, where none of the black market shufflers would ever have looked at his unshaven face and his stained and patched up space suit and given it a second glance. In the bank, he was almost two feet taller than the shortest tellers, and they stared open mouthed as though he was the second coming of the Messiah. There was no one in line, but Sheetrock was a slave to ritual so he entered the velvet rope lane and followed it in three snaking switchbacks before a prim, older woman with the biggest eyeglasses he had ever seen waved him over. “Hello. I’d like to make a withdrawal-“ “Fill out the pad, sir,” she said before he could complete his sentence. He reluctantly bent and wrote sloppily on the screen with a pen that was tied to the counter and did not allow his long arms to lift it far enough to be comfortable writing in the lines. “As for the amount . . . Rosemary,” said Sheetrock noting her nametag, “I put in for it two weeks ago, but I don’t know exactly how much is in there. I want all of it.” “Very well, sir.” She tilted her round head back to look him over and confirm his face with the scan she had on the screen in front of her. It was a feat that seemed a difficult one without there being any visible sign of a neck on her, and the blue eyes behind her enormous glasses bulged in the magnification as she took all of him in. A frantic clacking of keys was heard, as she composed herself. Rosemary, the banker, seemed to be in a perpetual hurry. “That’s the amount you have there, sir.” She pointed down toward his screen. “The supervisor’s already verified your request and approved it. Do you have a suitcase or some kind of carrier for the withdrawal?” she asked querulously. “Jesus please be with me today,” his whisper to himself was a growl that she heard quite plainly. “I’m soaking wet and fresh off the ship. Does it look like I have a suitcase with me, Rosemary?” “No, I don’t think so.” “Do you have some kind of transportation case?” he asked impatiently. The round face tilted a little, like a bird’s. “Deposit cases are available for two hundred dollars each. Are you sure you don’t want to go-” “Listen, little lady, lord knows that twenty-eight million’s not going to fit into the envelopes you normally give me my cash in, now is it?” * * * Two large gray storage containers were brought in front of the counter, where Sheetrock paced. He signed for them hurriedly, and a resonant tone crackled and cut off the elevator music that had been playing. Everyone looked up, startled. A booming electronic voice took over the loudspeakers: “THIS IS A CYBER ALERT: A 7 P.M. CURFEW IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR HOMES NOW.” If you would like to invest in Cyberwar, get a signed hardcover, or even become a character in the series, please go to Pentian Publishing's site here.
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Well the CYBERWAR Book Trailer is making a huge splash! It follows one of the main characters in his first depicted mission. The R.J. Huneke thriller will soon to be released by Pentian Publishing here and you can preorder it or even become a character in the book! Read the CYBERWAR excerpt here: It all went to hell when the world’s greatest cyber warriors chose to wage war for themselves and not on behalf of the politicians that hired them. Hackers, they used to be called. Somehow the term for “one who hacks a computer” was deemed offensive during the Occupancy War and subsequently placed on the Banned Vocabulary List. Many decades earlier, at the end of the twentieth century, cyber warriors were defined simply: cyber-warrior noun 1. Cyber-warrior is a person who engages in cyberwarfare for personal reasons or out of political or religious belief. 2. A spy that can infiltrate the highest levels of security 3. Cyber-warriors wage war using information technology and may attack computers or information systems through hacking or defending them from their counterparts. ___________________________________________________ There was an overlong shadow just outside of the Devil’s Shed. The facility’s alias was local folklore; the graying storage container’s door had what looked like two demonic horns of rust near the top. No one in town knew its real purpose. William Waltz squatted just below the enormous demonization and waited patiently. His face was covered in grease to eliminate any glare that the rain might make on his skin; this was nothing unfamiliar to him, as his father had a career as a bike mechanic and in his short life had shown ‘skinny William’ the value of getting dirty when it served a purpose. Thirty years of grit had made him a world-class locksmith. The code magnet had to pull enough of a reusable ocular scan from memory to fool the door’s access scanner. The lock’s subterfuge, a functioning power switch box, hung open from hinges. The box’s red handle remained in the “Off” position as a decoy. Waltz held the B9 scatter pistol as though it was glued to his right hand, and he stood utterly still. In the sweeping rain, the only streetlamp was a good fifty yards away, and though the glint of its light could be seen in the drops that clung to the silenced black barrel, he was effectively invisible if he did not move. Twenty minutes had already passed this way. The customized code magnet would infiltrate the scanner’s memory sometime within twenty-five. Come on already. I really have to take a leak, he thought wryly. Sitting still was not one of his favorite tasks... Cyberwar Book Trailer from Gabriel Siegal on Vimeo.
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International publisher Pentian is publishing the US thriller by R.J. Huneke Cyberwar.
More details, an official launch, and a book trailer are all in the works and coming very, very soon. For now, here is a still from the book trailer's shoot, and go to Pentian Publishing's web site HERE to invest and possibly become a character in the book. Enjoy! ~RJ
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POWkabam Publishing is proud to be the comic books division of Rune Works Productions & C.M.O. Sync. The first official publication of POWkabam will be a graphic novel by author/artist Ivan O'Neill titled Blackwood State, and it will be released in serialized form with four 24-25 page issues in the coming months of 2014. For Blackwood State, O'Neill calls on a notorious state college and the life of a young lady struggling to live in a world that has no idea how not to crap on those that value the study of English writing. Alongside her fellow literary comrades, Guinevere Katz must attempt to keep her sanity and her grade as she survives one of the most obnoxious experiences of her academic career . . . and her professional career . . . and her life as a sentient being. Calling on father Bill Shakespeare, as her god, and Falstaff as her inner muse and bartender, Gwen's deteriorative, drunken English career is a journey that seems perennially poised on the brink of disaster. Just how the hell does one make a living with a degree in English anyway?
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By R.J. Huneke Pop Culture Examiner An exclusive interview with Librify Vice President Eva Ongeri Teaming up with Target, Librify is poised to launch a comprehensive virtual book club headquarters that is sure to provide readers with many never-before-seen book experiences. I sat down with Eva Ongeri, the VP of Strategic Partnerships at Librify at the Book Expo of America, in Manhattan’s Javit’s Center on May 30, 2014. “Get in on the latest and greatest reading platform,” said Ms. Ongeri. The passion of the Librify team came across at once in a quick heartfelt note of encouragement for potential Librify readers. Their current model is procuring members to build book clubs within Librify, to receive an e-book a month, to get great deals and promotions for books in print from Target, and of course to engage and interact with the myriad readers and authors on Librify. The goal is to guide readers to what will best serve their time. Choosing the Best Talked About Books to Read Librify aims to give a valuable recommendation, through its users, reviews, and book club platform, to “make a decision on what’s the next book to read,” said Eva Ongeri. In an increasingly busy society where billions are connected online, choosing where to spend the limiting 24 hours in a day can be tough. “People have time commitments and we recognize that,” said Ms. Ongeri, “and we want to help people find the best books to read” in their too-often crammed day. Doing this is more about connecting Librify members and authors in an organic way with recommendations, rather than just deciding what Librify plugs as gospel. “[It’s] great to get recommendations or guidance from your friends,” said Eva, “where we’re different is . . . the [Librify] platform will also allow you to engage with readers and users within Librify, within your book club itself . . . their discussion . . . [with] book club views [that] talk about books . . . [and] different book clubs’ views. “At the moment, social engagements are happening sporadically across many social media platforms,” she went on, “this is specifically designed” for that purpose. Readers, reviewers, book clubs, and authors are brought together to talk about worthy reads. Cue The Authors Live author discussions and engagements are scheduled to be a part of Librify’s app too, to give a further exclusive experience around the popular reads and the book club members. “Librify speaks to the consumption of readers . . . once they start reading they want that social engagement about that book . . . authors want that too,” said Ongeri. Connecting the authors with the readers is a powerful tool, and Ms. Ongeri said that “lots of authors are stopping bye and there is just lots of excitement.” Early Bird Trial Membership + Buying Books On Librify Librify is currently running trial memberships with a free e-book download and an exclusive invite-only introductory pricing promotion at a significant discount for the next few weeks. This way, book club members on Librify can benefit as early adopters of the exclusive Librify book club model before it officially launches later this summer. As VP of Strategic Partnerships Eva Ongeri points out, “the press has dubbed Librify’s ‘Membership model’” based on the future $8.99 per month fee, and this includes one purchase of an e-book that you download each month from a “Redemption List” of over 100 bestsellers and you own that book, regardless of your continued membership status. There is also an a la carte selection of numerous e-books for purchasing separately at any time. There are many discount offers on e-books to purchase and some books are offered for free, including many of the “classics.” Each month, for the small fee, one book can be downloaded at no cost to the member and the virtual book club activity commences. Librify refers book-hungry members to buy print books offered by Target.com and sometimes at a great discount. For those looking to buy e-book versions, Target will refer customers to Librify on their site, Librify.com. READ MORE HERE More Photos Too! View all 5 photos
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Continuing the exclusive interview with the publishing revolutionary Pentian’s founder and CEO Enrique Parrilla, he felt the need for a publisher-crowdsourcing hybrid became evident when frustrated authors were repeatedly being given less-than-fair treatment. This is why Pentian purchases the right of first refusal publishing rights, but does not try to tie up authors in long-term contracts that forfeit much of their percentage of royalties and rights. In the last article, I touched upon an author who had two successful books for a big publishing house and was refused any attempt at producing his next work, despite a huge following of avid readers; that author was Andres Gonzalez-Barba, and his novel Titania’s Dream is one of Pentian’s flagship titles. When Pentian’s projects are picked up the investors in the book benefit from it for three years. But it should be noted that an author could always buy out the invested partners, should they deem that a more lucrative option as the book flies off shelves. The point is that the author has far more rights retained and options, even when it is funded on Pentian. As Mr. Parrilla says, the investment in a potential best-seller smash hit is a ”powerful incentive to find backers.” Some of the readers and entrepreneurs funding projects are so fervently behind books they believe in that they will donate more money than they can benefit from. Enrique has watched some donors “do the hundred dollar package three times,” even when they can only cash in on a reward once. Mr. Parrilla was certainly happy with that fandom adding, “we’re not sure why [they do it]. We never asked why.” Passion is a driving factor. Even with a dream of furthering the international market by breaking into the United States, Pentian’s new disruptive invention was met with some hurdles, especially from the FCC as the word “investor” cropped up in the crowdfunding platform. Enrique said that the “FCC concerns of investment” and regulation required a lot of hard work to get the right system in place along with the right “legal framework,” the right team, capacity, and connections to launch in a compliant and successful manner. And the day of Pentian going online in the US has commenced, bringing a flurry of excitement with it across the Atlantic. In as little as a month a book can be put together and printed in the highest quality formats. “Make it look good,” said Enrique. “That means that unfortunately we have to look at everything that comes in [to publish] and many get politely declined. “This is NOT Createspace where your book looks like crap, and they’re like ‘sorry.’” Pentian has printing partnerships throughout the world, including Ingram International (which handles distribution as well), and the emphasis is first on quality and second on speed. This is possible because of Pentian’s extraordinary business model. Pentian has partnered with the very international printers and distributers, like Ingram, that have the resources to put a hardback on every shelf in the world (or at least close to it). “You can sell a million copies of your book, one book at a time,” said Mr. Parrilla. The agreements with industry companies for a print-on-demand platform puts the typical publisher’s year long (or often times even longer) turn around time to shame. The antique process is one that the traditional “Big Five” publishers have held to for decades, despite increasing technological prowess, because there is so much red tape, handled by so many hands, that slows the book making process to a crawl. Plus, why should they bother to increase their turn-around times – the authors did not have a choice if they wanted their books distributed to the market. Authors have a choice, as Pentian has cut out the red tape. Since Pentian’s model is already thriving, it is clear that if you cut the fat from the bureaucratic mechanisms that bloat the larger publishing houses in the industry that you can put professional products on the market, at less cost, in a much more timely manner. “Authors are primarily concerned with getting their book out tomorrow,” says Mr. Parrilla, “once the book is on the market, it’s on Amazon Kindle . . . it’s in Barnes & Noble . . . and then the author can decide to spend a thousand dollars . . . or a 100K [on marketing].” Media and marketing comes after a book has been fully funded, and is being printed and put on the market. Pentian also offers professional options to help authors advertise their product and feed their readership with fanfare. But Mr. Parrilla is adamant that “quality comes first” at Pentian. Books are made the best they can be. Great works are selected, put in the crowdsourcing engine, and the world determines if there is a commercial market to justify their funding for printing and distributing. The process continues far after Pentian puts a book on the market, however. For instance, Pentian works closely with Apple‘s e-book store. Every 2 weeks Pentian talks to Apple about what is selling well, what the trends are, to feature that book on their e-book platform. Anything can take off. Graphic novels have solidified 4-6% of the books funded on Pentian, and a host of quality children’s books are also doing well. Part of the beauty of the fairness to Pentian’s model is that a book on a subject, like agoraphobia, which would never be deemed to have enough of a commercial market to get printed by a traditional publishing house, has a chance to test the market. And as Mr. Parrilla remarked was put out on bookshelves and proceeded to do extremely well as a “theme of interest to what we call a great minority.” When the subject resonates with an audience across the world, in Chile for instance, Apple downloads of the agoraphobia e-book from Pentian goes through the roof. Another reason for Pentian enthusiasm from the authors’ community is that a longtime success with a huge fan-base, like Spanish sportscaster Gaspar Rosetty, does not have to settle for pennies per book sold from a traditional publishing deal on royalties. Pentian is currently hosting Rosetty’s The Alchemists’ Night [La Noche De Los Alquimistas] for funding, but remember once it reaches 100% there will be no more chances to crowdfund the title. Read the rest of the article on Examiner.com here
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Part I of an Exclusive Two-part Interview with PENTIAN CEO & Founder Enrique Parrilla On May 31, 2014 PENTIAN launched its revolutionary publishing and crowdfunding model in the US at the Book Expo of America. Things will never be the same. I was fortunate to sit down with Founder and CEO Enrique Parrilla, just hours after the exciting debut going on in the Jacob Javit’s Center in New York City, and his vision of the future of the publishing world is keen and bright for both readers and artists taking part in Pentian’s “everyone wins” platform. Mr. Parrilla was very pleased when he stepped away from the buzz of the Pentian booth at the Book Expo to talk to me. Dressed in a sharp suit jacket and button-down shirt that was happily tie-less, his passion for books immediately became contagious. He started off saying, “[we’re] launching as we speak, and people are going [crazy] over it.” Pentian is invoking their crowdfunding platform, as a publisher, and their business plan calls on potential readers and investors to crowdfund their Pentian favorites so that the cost to create, print and distribute the book on the market is covered by the determinate readers who wish to bring their authors’ works to life. Pentian believes that invoking a community around funding a book helps to add to the media exposure and burgeon its success. Mr. Parrilla spoke very candidly that Pentian “seek[s] to reward . . . the backers with financial compensation for 3 years . . . with profits from [the funded] book. What this essentially does is create an army of sales people for that book working for you.” Authors everywhere rejoice! Rarely has a business model helped to provide them with such free marketing prowess or incentive. He went on to say that with the “small army of people who are financially invested [in the projects] . . . we have a very fair mechanism to reward those people who have taken a risk.” Who as an avid reader would not warrant risking a few hundred dollars on an author and/or idea they are passionate about – and feel would take the world by storm, whether hitting the best-seller list or becoming a successful Hollywood film – especially when they would be compensated a set percentage of sales for three years for their investment? Readers and stockbrokers beware: there is a new investment portfolio in town! “Being a publishing company ourselves,” says Pentian founder Enrique Parrilla, “we own the production process.” The process is quite simple:
“In thirty days we can have a book sold worldwide,” says Mr. Parrilla, as he smiled proudly. The reason Pentian promotes a “disruptive” connection is because they eliminate the old barriers – disrupt them completely – in favor of a more direct model. Published books used to be only held by the traditional publishing industry model and, in more recent years, by self-published authors (the majority of whom do not provide readers with quality product, whether in the physical paper printed or in the actual written material on the page). This is not the case now that Pentian has created a publishing uprising and Renaissance of written works, of all genres, in Spain. Since launching its beta test model six months ago, Pentian has captured over 6% of the self-publishing market and that number is growing exponentially as the company launches in the United States. Mr. Parrilla believes Pentian has “great potential because it’s all over the world . . . you can push a button and your product is everywhere.” And now the US is eager to see Pentian’s newest headquarters location in Los Angeles, California thrive. “The reason we set up shop in L.A.,” said Mr. Parrilla, “is because we are seeking relationships with the media producers, the people that are in charge of acquiring content and licensing rights and stories are having a hard time finding original stories . . . and we have a situation where the market can determine what is hot.” How did Pentian first come about? Enrique says that they “saw a need that wasn’t being met.” He spoke of a scenario he witnessed being played out on a major crowdfunding site: “One day . . . somebody looking for four or five thousand dollars [on a Kickstarter or Indiegogo-like campaign] got $20,000 . . . and did not publish the book” and they fulfilled their contractual obligation, took the profits, but the readership did not get the product they wanted. Pentian strictly adheres to planning the production of a book and crowdfunding for that cost alone. The cost is associated with getting a book on the market, not on the traditional crowdfunding for books, like the Kickstarter model, of continued funding through a certain period. Once a book is backed, the crowd-funding campaign ends and the book creation begins. This as Enrique Parrilla says, “instills a sense of urgency” to back a project while there is still the opportunity to invest in it. And Pentian already has a host of worldwide distribution partners, including Ingram, Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google, Apple, El Corte Ingles and more. This is turning the publishing industry on its head – as Pentian’s P/R release depicts – by allowing the readers to choose what a best seller will be, not the big publisher’s President and their marketing budget. “Everyone Wins” as they say in their press release (except maybe the “Big 5”). In terms of the “Big Five” traditional publishing houses determining most of what readers in the world get to see published, that time is quickly passing. Their business model is being shaken dramatically at its foundations. Everyone looks to benefit from a more hands-on approach to publishing, as Pentian is happy to point out. How exactly does Pentian decide what is “quality” and will be put up for funding? In order to maintain a relationship with reputable distributers, Pentian adheres to a strict quality control – if a book is illegible or not up to snuff in terms of its overall shape and idea, Pentian politely declines the submission; if it is raw or “not 100%” on the surface, but the project’s idea and content is great, they will offer a team of experienced editors to polish or format the project, but not to alter any of the key creative plot or character elements, only to streamline the grammar and finished product. The writer does not have to worry about compromising their creative work based on the publisher. Mr. Parrilla was emphatic that at Pentian they “do not get into the content, in terms of editing . . . [he has] friends that have been going back and forth with a traditional editor [and publisher] for a year and a half to publish a book with an adulterer as the protagonist,” but because the US market does not like adulterers they required the ending changed to reflect poorly on the adulterer. Pentian does NOT get involved in the writer’s content. Pentian is looking to do what many of us have as a fundamental basis of our reading and writing souls desired: art is made and published as it is meant to be depicted by the artist, and the readers who are interested will actually see it as such. In terms of creating art and writing, Pentian only offers an editing team as part of the production process if the work needs help polishing its grammatical and clerical work. Successful authors are currently flocking to Pentian, because of their favoring the artists that create the work, not the publisher. “The 'Big Five' houses . . . are going to start losing quality content from authors,” said Enrique. He immediately cited an example of an author that has a following of 70,000+ social media followers, and has published two books with one of the traditional publishers, and when he went to have his third book published, they said simply that they had no interest in doing it. He could come back to them with his next project. The author went looking to take advantage of the fan base he built himself and fund the book that the publisher callously discarded without even testing the market for interested readers, and Pentian was where he ended up. [We’ll hit on this author, by name and in detail, in part II of this interview, folks.] More Photos View all 5 photos Coming Monday: Part II of the Exclusive Interview With Enrique Parrilla. In the second part of this two-part article, you can look forward to the following topics:
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After a brilliant Book Expo of America, Rune Works will be on hand at this year's Special Edition NYC comic convention event at the Javit's Center in Manhattan! Read up on the amazing weekend to be had on their site here!
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By R.J. Huneke One of the greatest modern myths and displays of the hero in modern folklore, as well as one of the greatest cinematic tales of all time, the Star Wars franchise aims to bring together their billion-plus fan-base to donate to Star Wars: Force for Change to support UNICEF’s Innovation Labs and other innovative work for children, and as an incentive contest participants can win a chance to be in the Star Wars Episode VII film! J.J. Abrams posted a video on-set and explained how the good Samaritan can donate for $10 and potentially win prizes or the chance to actually go on-set in London, meet the cast and creators, and then be filmed, with a friend, in an actual scene for the movie. This video has a really cool looking alien too! Star Wars: Force for Change encourages would-be Jedi and Sith lords throughout the galaxy to help fund dozens of life-changing projects for kids, such as solar-powered learning kits that will help provide portable gadgets (maybe droids?) to give every child in the world access to quality learning. Read the rest of the article on Examiner.com here
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By R.J. Huneke Well the Game Of Thrones EPIC Fan Experience of March 20, 2014 at the Barclay's Arena in Brooklyn, NY was truly amazing! I did not dream I'd be sitting atop the Iron Throne, seeing George R.R. Martin in person talking about how he wrote Game of Thrones and playfully joking that he's "working on it!" (finishing the next book) while bantering with surprise guests from the cast. The magical night included free T-shirts for all (tasteful), drawings for a custom Xbox One painted up in G.O.T. style (and a free credit card holder phone slip for entering), and yes you even got to sit on the Iron Throne and have your picture taken (no charge either), and I must say I felt quite at home atop there once the magnitude of the situation became apparent to me (see my picture). All I had really wanted to see when I arrived was the Season 4 premiere, which was screened for 7000 lucky fans in Brooklyn two weeks before the actual show was to air on HBO. The long 9-minute trailer/documentary "A Prelude" that I had avoided watching for months for fear of spoilers was aired and got me pumped for the event. The crowd murmured impatiently (have to love my fellow New Yorkers) and then a large marching band proceeded to the stage area before the gargantuan screen. With a tumble of drums and then a roaring of horns the entire theme song was played; I thought to myself: that's a cool introduction to this, but they had not even gotten started. To the crowd's surprise and glee, the loquacious Hodor himself (played by Kristian Nairn) appeared with a microphone on stage to thank all of the fans for helping to make the magic! Many chants of "HODOR!" continued throughout the night. I turned to my betrothed and shared the excited delight. But there was more . . . this was, after all, an EPIC fan experience and not to be outdone. Hodor announced that the show's executive producer and writer of the books that it is adapted from wanted to say a few words - I immediately looked up, expecting to see a pre-recorded video of the great story-teller, but lo and behold a short, barrel-chested older gentleman with a big beard and a fisherman's cap walked onto stage . . . GEORGE R.R. MARTIN! His voice was kindly and a bit shrill and the thousands bearing witness collectively lost their minds (with many a "HODOR!" thrown in for the giant actor standing beside the author). Mr. Martin thanked the great fans and appeared very pleased, although a little shy on the big stage. Hodor attempted to ask the creator a question, and was immediately met with a: “I’m working on it!” reply from George, referring of course to his finishing of the years in the making next book in the series. Read the rest of the article here on RJHuneke.com
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Imagine going into the kitchen at six in the morning, on a bleary Monday, and plodding heavy steps over to your trusty coffeemaker and having the Keurig see you enter its line of sight, recognize you, and ask, “Would you like coffee, Dave?” “Yes, damn it, I’m standing in front of you because I want coffee,” says Dave. And then the machine-turned-robot (via its software) acts and pours you a cup of caffeinated deliciousness. This is not science fiction, folks. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming to the masses. You can now turn yourself into a roboticist with a revolutionary web-based program, the VMX Project, that allows practically anyone to access and utilize a way to teach your own computer and programs to see, recognize, and act (with the help of VMX AI). The goal: anyone that is online with a computer, webcam, and an Internet browser can train and use their VMX Computer Vision API to get their programs to learn how to recognize, think and make use of objects that they see through a camera. VMX has been over ten years in the making, and with a month left on the Kickstarter campaign, nearly a quarter of the $100K in funds have been acquired to launch the innovative project. The founders of VMX and Vision.ai, Lead Developer Geoff Golder and Computer Vision Scientist Dr. Tomasz Malisiewicz, want to take the intuitive tools that they have created and give them to the masses (as opposed to selling them to Skynet and awaiting Judgment Day, Terminator-style). Let the people – not just the wealthy or the science communities of CMU, MIT, and Google – have the ability to tinker with robots, programs, and AI/vision. Dr. Malisiewicz spoke with Gadizmo and said that having his project nearing fruition was “truly exciting for [him] . . . because it will let people experience [this technology] in their lives.” Up until this point, adding AI ability to everyone’s laptops would require tremendous amounts of programming and AI/robotics/algorithm experience. Now with the simple VMX Computer Vision API, anyone with small amounts of programming insight can draw the boxes over objects and teach their own computers and applications how to recognize and act off of visual object detectors. The possibilities of what you, the people, can do with these tools are infinite. Watch Tom and Geoff play a new form of Pong and read the rest of the R.J. Huneke article here on Gadizmo.com
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RJH Novel is ready for the next step!12/14/2013 "So last night, prior to The Hobbit, I finished editing the 1st draft of my most recent novel...a full-on sci-fi endeavor...now I will transcribe the edits...work on the Pitch...and PITCH it! Excited I am!"
~RJH
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The Rush of the Newest Novel Being Completed10/14/2013 It has been nearly a year and four seasons in the making, but my newest novel's first draft has just been completed! That's right, the story has been finished! The world that I created in my first full length science fiction work is one that I've come to love and cherish deeply. I know of nothing like this tale in existence, and it is my hope that you can all come to love it as much as I do in the very near future. Cheers! ~RJH
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Credit Photo: thetfs.ca [Google]
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The World’s End . . . IS THE END . . . of the hilariously excellent Edgar Wright-directed Cornetto Trilogy, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Laughs and entertainment are riddled throughout this science fiction flick, and there is more action thrills here and funny falls than in the last two movies combined. There is a fabled pint of beer waiting at The World’s End pub, and to achieve it, multiple Matrix-like fight scenes are hurled at the group of five childhood friends returned home. The disillusioned Gary King, played by Pegg, has one aspiration: to relive the glory of his late teenage years and finally finish the pub-crawl to end all pub-crawls. King is the wild eyed fearless leader with selective memory – who is never ever wrong – and who has changed very little over the twenty years since his band of friends began to grow up and get careers. He is a raging alcoholic still looking to live free and party incessantly, and comes across as utterly conceited as a rock star. Simon Pegg portrays this almost polar opposite to his nerd persona brilliantly. Alongside King is his former best friend Andy Knightley, who is the straight man and a stark contrast to the former characters that Nick Frost has played. He proves to make for some of the funniest bits of the film, as the serene and subdued Andy begins to show signs of losing his cool (and he thrills with great fighting moves taken from comic books and pro wrestling legends); Frost has never been better. While the five childhood friends traverse their hometown of Newton Haven to take on the Golden Mile and drink down twelve pints from twelve pubs in a single day, some force seems to have invaded and changed their beloved Mile for the worse. The themes of camaraderie, us vs. corporations, freedom vs. imposed rule, and man vs. himself are strong and powerful, bringing a lot of serious undertones and drama to the unique film. The World’s End is very funny but is a lot more than a genre comedy and it is quite exceptional. As talent is everywhere in this movie, it comes as no surprise that Martin Freeman is one of the pint-pounding quintet of friends. He is a character and a funny one at that, as he is very much married to his wealthy position as an uptight estate broker for millionaires turned wild. For those unfamiliar with the Cornetto Trilogy of films . . . Read the rest of the R.J. Huneke article on Fantasy-Matters.com HERE
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On TV Under the Dome Is a Failure7/23/2013
Credit: Google Search: www.cinemablend.com
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As one of Stephen King's most in-depth character study's, riveting suspense drama's, and deeply mysterious novels, Under The Dome seemed destined to become an equally impressive story of highly crafted words and exciting circumstances in the CBS televised adaptation mini-series; but after three episodes the TV show has ruined any semblance of the epic book that the show is supposed to be loosely portraying, and worse, it is abysmal live-action television. Are you feeling the deeply moving wave of disappointment too? After recently reading the magnum opus of Mr. King it seemed like a thirteen part (Friday the 13th anyone?) mini-series was the perfect way to tell the chilling tale of the good guy, and veteran, Dale "Barbie" Barbara who got trapped under an invisible barrier in Chester's Mill and tried to save the quaint town's inhabitants from themselves and the madness of Big Jim, Junior, the Chef, and all of the fun, lovingly twisted cronies that were depicted marvelously with utter depth and realism. And then came the TV show: To kick things off, Barbie is a drug dealing murderer turned genuine good guy . . . wait . . . what?! That throws the audience for a loop, so I took it on faith that somehow Brian K. Vaughn (who I think is an accomplished writer) and company (Steven Spielberg produced this show, if you can call it that without cracking a smile) were going to improve upon an already great character that Mr. King had devised. But that never happens. Take the great character of Rusty, the junior doctor from the hospital, the dead sheriff Duke's widow Brenda Perkins, the fall man and lead town council member Andy Sanders, and nearly all of the other incredibly interesting and evolving characters from the book and then erase them altogether for the TV rendition, because they're nowhere to be found. Instead Julia is married to the guy Barbie kills in a dispute for drug money and Junior Rennie does not show any sign of a headache bad enough to even require Tylenol. By R.J. Huneke See How Many Stars This Reviewer Gave the Show & Read the Rest of The Article on Examiner.com Here
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Zach Snyder did two things that have long been impossible: with Man of Steel Superman transcended the far-fetched, simple minded, bright red and yellow cheesiness that were the previous poor attempts to bring the Kal El of the beloved books to the silver screen and TV; and he made the guy’s existence on earth plausible. The acting, writing, effects, costumes, designs, and music were all top-notch. It is not an exaggeration to compare Christopher Nolan’s Batman series with this fresh new Superman flick. Batman Begins was not perfect (though it came really close) and is a classic film, and on the Metropolis side of the world, Man of Steel proves likewise. As great as the comic book rendition of Tim Burton’s Batman is, and I think it will always be one of the single best live-action depictions of the caped crusader, no one can deny the much more complex and realistic world that Nolan delivered to us in terms of a trilogy thrill ride that could happen. Similarly, Man of Steel reaches out to a Krypton where politics have blinded a people from seeing their own impending extinction, and Russell Crowe is a phenomenal Jor El that steels the show from the start. And Zach Snyder has delivered an all-star cast – Henry Cavill is perfect and Amy Adams is a Lois Lane that is not an obnoxious reporter (like most since the original black and white TV show), but more of a strong, smart woman next-door figure. Everyone working on this was at the top of their game, and Snyder wonderfully revamped a destitute D.C. Comics movie franchise in the 75th anniversary of Action Comics Number One blowing the world’s minds. Hitting home are this movie’s real world themes, gritty fighting in an all-out brawl-for-survival style, and interesting character depth. Without invoking spoiler alerts, General Zod is very conflicted and has contrived warped views, actions, and brain patterns based on society’s actions (watch this to learn the true horror within). Lois Lane might seem pretty straight forward, but her character undergoes a series of changes that leads her to decide upon whether to follow her normal system of beliefs or abandon them. And our good friend Superman loses the Jesus-like pretty boy goody-two-shoes that does no wrong – as nearly all prior depictions cast him in live-action pieces – and he messes up, he gets dirty, and he becomes a more haunted being – is he human? – than has ever been gotten across on screen. The decades of great comic book storylines have tackled some of the most controversial, real world, and ordinary human traits where extraordinary things and people emerge day to day. We can look back to the comic books breaking of racial boundaries, vying for peace in Vietnam, and pushing for the US intervention in WWII long before the mainstream media sympathized with those marching down south, those burning draft cards, and anyone that felt the US should end its official neutrality during WWII. I have always been dumbfounded when the directors of many comic book movies dumb down the messages, lines, and conflicted characters to make them a virtual televised parody of the actual heroes that we’ve fallen in love with in the books. Superman is now real! Man of Steel is the Superman film that fans have dreamed of seeing. The dark, gritty settings, the creepily alien suits and the insect-like ships all blend wonderfully to take the viewer to Metropolis, Kansas, Krypton, and beyond. I only wonder how Lex Luthor will feel about all this. Impulsive Review Grade: A+ by R.J. Huneke
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J.J. Abrams has brought true genius in the form of his second film in the Star Trek saga, and Star Trek: Into Darkness leaves the audience reeling with an entertaining and powerfully emotional experience. The original 1979 movie Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the subsequent series had to follow in the steps of an innovative and boundary pushing 1960’s TV show that had become a cult classic and legend, and when that first flick hit theaters there was a lot of disappointment from a fan base that expected more than a reintroduction and reestablishing of the characters and what has been dubbed a cool looking and fun “sightseeing tour” of a movie. It was a success but did not offer much of the groundbreaking that went on time and again in the Star Trek TV series. Then came Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and the obscure and wonderfully ruthless, strong, and cruel Khan was the perfect foil for Captain Kirk and company. The gritty movie showed suspense, terror, and a maniac as an edgy villain that propelled its box office breakthroughs into the stratosphere. The characters had flaws, depth, and growth, and they were tested repeatedly in an all too dangerous bout. Abrams provided a phenomenal reboot with Star Trek and aptly made his series an alternate timeline in the history of this fictional universe that does not need to follow in the original’s giant footsteps while leaving room for new and interesting plots and legendary adventures. So really J.J. was one up on the original film, and with Into Darkness he waxes his reach into the Star Trek mythology with a smart and ruthless killer in John Harrison, played by the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch. This film will be hard to overtake in terms of its amazing mix of story, villainy, supreme acting all around, and sheer emotional weight amongst myriad thrills. Visually, it is stunning and fits perfectly into Trekky lore, and there is a sense of awe that comes out of seeing this on the big screen, which is not unlike the Wrath of Khan’s cloudy supernova battle invoked thirty-plus years ago in theaters. I cannot wait to see what Abrams will have in store for the next in the series. IMPULSIVE REVIEW Grade: A++ by R.J. Huneke
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Though the blockbuster Iron Man 3 has higher expectations than possibly any other Marvel super hero flick, Shane Black’s comic book adaptation thrills and brings new depth to the characters and world. Because of the tremendous success of the brilliant previous Iron Man films that were directed by Jon Favreau, The Amazing Spider-man reboot, and Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, many are mistakenly trying to compare this newest Iron Man installment to the past projects and not look at it in its own light. Though Marvel and former Iron Man director Favreau had a dispute that ended his controlling the third movie, Shane Black who co-wrote the Iron Man 3 script stepped in to add more action and more darkness to the story arc. No one can deny how perfect the first two movies fit the Iron Man comic book character and Favreau emanated the spirit and the great story from the books in two fun, thrilling, witty, and entertaining pieces of art. What Black has done in the third Iron Man film is completely different and a bit rougher, and this is not a bad thing. Tony Stark the genius, billionaire scientist turned machine-suit superhero is still depicted brilliantly by Robert Downey, Jr. whose acting prowess continues to wax brightly. SPOILER ALERT: And Stark is tested throughout with a newly acquired anxiety disorder stemming from certain largely unexplained events from New York, alluding to Loki’s alien invasion of the Big Apple, a terrorist attack leveling his own home and close friend, Happy (played by Favreau), and numerous suit malfunction from his prototype toys. The major theme of the movie involves the coping with adverse conditions of change that affect everyone, including billionaire playboy philanthropists, and finding the perseverance to endure. That said, there is a lot of fighting (in every type of way), a few grim and eerie hacking of TV’s that the Mandarin uses to highlight terrorist attacks as his own commercials, and a very human Tony Stark that becomes desperate to keep his new girlfriend Pepper – played by the starkly talented Gwyneth Paltrow – even at the cost of killing people. Tony Stark as the drunk is referenced by not shown as much as Tony Stark the lost tinkerer who is desperate to avenge and protect what he cares most for in the world but does not know how to accomplish this. This could be foreshadowing a darker and meaner side of Stark that we have not seen before for future movies, as the comic books often delved into his substance abuse and his volatile personal relations, which often caused strife between him and Captain America, amongst others. This movie is funny, thrilling, surprising and full of great acting; Ben Kingsley is a great Mandarin (I hope for his return in the future, though the story made that unlikely), and Don Cheadle reprises Tony’s friend Col. Rhodes (and the War Machine and/or Iron Patriot) very well once again. This tale is deliciously dark, full of explosive action, and very funny from start to finish. Impulsive Review Grade: A- by R.J. Huneke
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At the forefront of Ian Fleming’s spy novels is, of course, the world-famous character of James Bond, but the grit and realism of Mr. Bond in the novel Live and Let Die is matched by an amazing array of world building, unexpected plot twists, a fearsome villain, and a gorgeous female named Solitaire. There is plenty of the hard-hitting Bond here, including a fantastic train scene where Solitaire somewhat falls for her rescuer and then teases him, knowing that the suave British agent 007 must painfully resist because of a near-broken wrist and hand. The man of action and few words is depicted as being at odds with everyone and everything, except his mission. But the true art of Fleming is in his tight prose, his cunning flurry of “edge of your seat” moments, and the detailed description of vastly contrasting and often exotic environments. . . Read the rest of the Impulsive Review at Fantasy-Matters |