Tonight’s show – Gerry Anderson and Sir Patrick Moore: Fly me to the moon

Tonight on Resonance FM:

I’m ready for my close-up: Fly me to the moon

Gerry Anderson on the set of Space: 1999

On the 40th anniversary of the moon landings, Alex Fitch talks to two television pioneers who were inspired by the events of July 16th 1969.

Alex talks to Gerry Anderson about how the space race and technological innovations of the 1960s inspired such shows as Supercar and Thunderbirds. Alex and Gerry also talk about the latter’s sojourn in the RAF as an aircraft conroller, responding the fashions in genre with Four Feathers Falls and Fireball XL5 and mixing animation styles in lesser known series such as Lavender Castle and The Secret Service.

Sir Patrick Moore and Apollo 11, photo by Paul Grover

Sir Patrick Moore covered the events of the Apollo 11 mission live on TV and discusses the events of that day with Alex as well as the highlights of his six decades presenting The Sky at Night.

(N.B. The interview with Sir Patrick is available to download now at Sci-Fi London)

Thursday 16/07/09 10.30pm Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com

Links: Gerry Anderson’s fan club
Buy Fireball XL5 and Space:1999 from Network DVD

Sir Patrick Moore’s website
The Sky at Night page at www.bbc.co.uk
Buy The Sky at Night: Apollo 11 at play.com

Related news:

Pho and Muc: comics and photos at the Arts Bar, Camberwell

Julian Hanshaw, winner of the 2008 Observer graphic short story competition for his comic strip “Sand Dunes and Sonic Booms”, exhibits images from his forthcoming travelogue / Thai cookery graphic novel “The Art of Pho”, alongside photos by Rob Athill of Saigon’s late night food vendors…

20th-26th July 5.30pm – late
Arts Bar (above Funky Munky),
25 Camberwell Church Street,
London SE5 8TR

Meet the artists at a special squid party night on the 24th…!

and:

Kevin O’Neill at the Illustration Cupboard

14 July – 08 August 2009

The first British exhibition of his original artwork from.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Marshall Law
Nemesis the Warlock
Judge Dredd

The Illustration Cupboard is pleased to present the first British exhibition of the world-famous graphic-novel artist Kevin O’Neill.

As one of the most respected and highly regarded names in this field Kevin O’Neill’s illustrative work has led him to rub shoulders with distinguished writers, directors and film stars. Most widely known for his collaborations with writer Pat Mills on Marshal Law (see over) and Nemesis the Warlock in 2000AD Kevin has also worked with Alan Moore on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which was recently turned into a blockbuster Hollywood film starring Sean Connery.

An exciting and sometimes controversial artist this unique event offers fans and collectors an opportunity to view thirty pieces of Kevin’s original drawings and paintings never seen before, and provides visitors to London during the summer season a chance to visit a truly special event.

All artwork is available for purchase, and signed books will also be for sale.
The exhibition will continue on our first floor gallery throughout the remainder of August.
Artwork can be viewed and purchased off our website from 8th July.
Prices range from £500 – £7500

Monday – Friday 10am to 6pm
Saturday 12pm – 5pm

www.illustrationcupboard.com

Today’s show – Giallo by Dario Argento

Today on Resonance FM
I’m ready for my close-up: Dario Argento

Dario Argento directs Adrien Brody on the set of Giallo

In an interview recorded at the Cine-Excess cult film festival in London, Alex Fitch talks to Italian film maker Dario Argento about his career from writing ‘Spaghetti Westerns’ in the 1960s such as Once Upon a time in the West to his most recent film Mother of Tears. Alex and Dario talk about the importance of music in his work, why he doesn’t like being pigeon holed as a horror director and his next project Giallo.


5pm Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / extended podcast soon at www.electricsheepmagazine.wordpress.com


Links: IMDb pages on Argento, Once upon a time in the West and Giallo
The ‘Three Mothers’ trilogy: Suspiria, Inferno, Mother of Tears and Luigi Cozzi’s unofficial sequel The Black Cat
Wikipedia pages on Argento and the giallo genre
Watch the trailer for his new film Giallo on youtube
BFI page on the rerelease of Once upon a time in the West
Cine-Excess website

Today’s show: The Phoenix Games Club

Today on Resonance FM:

Midi Clear Spot: The Phoenix Games Club

Descent board game laid out for a session at The Phoenix Games Club

Alex Fitch talks to Hugh and Matt, members of The Phoenix Games Club, a group who meet at least once every week at the Black Lion pub in Plaistow to play board games, strategy games and RPGs together. The Phoenix Club is one of many up and down the country who also play games together at regional meets and national ones, so Alex asks the guys about the type of games they play, the demographic of their membership and the social and intellectual aspects of gaming.

2.30pm 19/06/09 Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / extended podcast online at www.sci-fi-london.com now…

Links: Phoenix games club website
Info about the Dragonmeet role playing games convention
The West London board games club
UK Role Players website

Comics news:

LUC @ 176

London Underground Comics’ latest event takes place at the 176 Project Space in Chalk Farm, London and features over 40 of the UK and beyond’s finest small press creators selling their wares in one of north London’s most beautiful gallery spaces.
Free tea and coffee, live DJs, animation projected on the 40 foot wall of the gallery and much more.

Exhibitors include: .
Oli Smith, Oliver Lambden, Sean Azzopardi, Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, Melody Lee, David Baillie, Douglas Noble, Marc Ellerby, Jamie McKelvie, Kieron Gillen, Jake Harold, Dan Lester, Francesca Cassavetti, Sally-Anne Hickman, Richy K Chandler, Josceline Fenton, Phil Spence, Paul Rainey, Howard Hardiman and many more…

27th June, 176 Prince of Wales Road, London, NW5 3PT
More info: londonundergroundcomics.com / www.projectspace176.com

and:

An exhibition of Shaun (The Arrival) Tan’s prints, and 4 original pastels, is on at
The Illustration Cupboard at 22 Bury Street, SW1Y 6AL until 22nd June
More info at www.illustrationcupboard.com

plus:

Orbital Manga is hosting a rare and exclusive signing with Manga Artist BENJAMIN (writer and artist for the stunning manga book “Orange” by Tokyopop)

Benjamin is a phenomenal mainland China artist, whose stunning digital art adorns in his Art Book Xiao Pan’s, “FLASH”. His artistic style really catches the eye, and every panel in “Orange” is painted, brush style in colour with great detail.

He’ll be demonstrating his remarkable technique and signing copies of his books including the limited edition landscape-format hardback of “Orange”, his latest lavish art book “Flash”, Chinese Youth, Remember, One Day (in French) and Images and Prints on the day of the signing.

Friday 26th June 5pm – 7pm

Orbital Manga
4c Orion House
Upper St Martins Lane
London WC2H 9NY

and:

LA NOUVELLE BANDE DESSINÉE: ÉMILE BRAVO & EMMANUEL GUIBERT

A new movement, La Nouvelle Bande Dessinée, has swept through French comics – the equivalent of La Nouvelle Vague in cinema – expanding their styles and subjects exponentially. Now two of its most dynamic members, both winners of Angoulême Essentials Awards, have their acclaimed graphic novels in English.

Émile Bravo draws My Mommy about a young son’s yearning for his vanished mother and brings historical relevance and pathos to Belgian classic Spirou.

Biographer Emmanuel Guibert chronicles one American G.I.‘s experiences in Alan’s War. In The Photographer he collaborates with photographer Didier Lefèvre to record his mission in Afghanistan with Doctors without Borders.

In conversation with Comica Festival director Paul Gravett. Followed by book signings.

Where: Nash Room, ICA, The Mall, London
When: Saturday, June 20, 2009 – 6.30pm to 8pm
More info at www.comicafestival.com

I’m ready for my close-up: Charlie Kaufman – bringing interior worlds to the screen

Today on Resonance FM:

I’m ready for my close-up: Charlie Kaufman – bringing interior worlds to the screen

Charlie Kaufman directs Robin Weigert in Synecdoche, New York

Alex Fitch talks to Academy Award winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman about his new film Synecdoche, New York, the challenges of directing his own script, working with Spike Jones and Michel Gondry on his previous screenplays such as Being John Malkovich and Human Nature and issues of post-modernism and magical realism in his work. Alex also talks to Electric Sheep Magazine editor Virginie Selavy about Synecdoche, New York looking at Kaufman’s depictions of the internal workings of the human mind in that film and in earlier scripts such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind.

5pm 22/05/09, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / extended podcast online after broadcast at www.sci-fi-london.com/audio

Links: Charlie’s pages on Wikipedia and the IMDb
Kaufman resource site beingcharliekaufman.com
Interview in The Guardian

Multimedia news:

Kamishibai.org is now live, being a resource for Japan’s performance art of telling stories with sequential images, including info on the next London performance of the form on May 31st…

plus:

The animated trailer for Bryan Talbot’s new graphic novel Grandville, a new Steampunk tale about murder and intrigue in Fin de siècle Paris, is online now

More info at www.bryan-talbot.com

and:

The MCM Expo is on this weekend at the Excel Centre in London’s Docklands and features guests from film, TV and comics including Warren Ellis, Tony Curtis, Linda Hamilton and many more.

More info at www.londonexpo.com

also:

If you’re in South London:

Charley’s War and Manga Shakespeare at Streatham Library

Pat Mills and Ilya will be talking about their work at Streatham Library as part of Lambeth Readers and Writers festival. Pat will be discussing Charley’s War, Slaine, ABC Warriors, Marshall Law, Judge Dredd, Nemesis The Warlock and many other strips and Ilya will be talking about his roots in the small press, editing the Mammoth Best New Manga anthologies and adapting King Lear into Manga format…

7.30pm Streatham Library, 63 Streatham High Road, SW16 1PL. Saturday 23rd May 2009
More info at: www.lambeth.gov.uk

If you’re in North London:

ARGH! The Ups & Downs of Life as a Comic Book Creator – I was Spider-Man’s Editor
Saturday 23rd May 2009 8.00PM
Stories told in pictures have been around for a long time .. from prehistoric cave drawings through the Bayeaux Tapestry, illustrator and editor, Tim Quinn takes you on a highly nostalgic trip down memory lane to meet some of the great and not-so-great comic characters of the last 150 years.
Tim also takes you behind-the-scenes from his days working for The Beano, Sparky, Bunty, Playhour, Jack & Jill, Buster, The Topper, the Daily Mirror’s Jane and Garth and America’s finest Marvel Comics. He will guide you through the creation of a brand new comic book charcter and reveal his own secret identity as Supreme Speedster, Jet Lagg.
The audience is invited to attend wearing capes and masks. Suitable for boys (of all ages and sexes). Ages 9+
Arts Depot, 5 Nether Street, North Finchley, London N12 0GA
More info at www.artsdepot.co.uk

Today’s show: Figures in a landscape

Today on Resonance FM
I’m ready for my close-up: Figures in a landscape

Still from Helen by Desperate Optimists

Alex Fitch talks to the directors of two new films which take the starting point of a character walking through a landscape and twist it into unexpected directions. Alex talks to Bent Hamer, the director of the gentle new Norwegian comedy O’Horten which depicts the tale of a recently retired train driver who gets embroiled in a series of misadventures of the kind Victor Meldrew would be proud of from losing his shoes in a locker room and ending up with red stilettos to ending up in a car driven by a blind man. Alex also talks to Christine Molloy, one half of the film making duo Desperate Optimists, about their new film Helen, which concerns a young woman who takes part in a police reconstruction of a girl going missing and starts to take over her life from dating her boyfriend to getting maths advice from her parents.
Helen is released in selected UK cinemas on May 1st /
O’Horten is released in selected UK cinemas on May 8th

5pm Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / extended podcast 06/05/09 at www.electricsheepmagazine.wordpress.com

Links: Desperate Optimists‘ official website for info on Helen
Artificial Eye’s official website for info about O’Horten
Listen to Alex’s interview with Joe Lawlor, the other half of Desperate Optimists about their series of short films – Civic Life

Electric Sheep Events:

Alex Fitch and Electric sheep magazine editor Virginie Selavy will be interviewing Marc Caro co-director of The City of Lost Children about his work on stage after a screening of the film at the Apollo Piccadilly on Lower Regent Street at 9pm tonight, 01/05/09

and tomorrow, 02/05/09, at the same location at 4.15 Alex is chairing a panel with Marc Caro, Richard Jobson, director of A woman in winter, Cory McAbee (The American Astronaut) and Gerald McMorrow (Franklyn) called The problem of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film-making and you can find more details about both at www.sci-fi-london.com

Today’s show: Little Nellie and the Robot Zoo!

Today on Resonance FM
Little Nellie and the Robot Zoo

Illustration of Little Nellie by Edgar Aromin

To coinicide with the current “Bond and Beyond” season at the BFI Southbank / IMAX, Alex Fitch talks to Wing Commander Ken Wallis MBE, RAF (ret’d) about building the famous yellow gyro copter “Little Nellie” featured in You only live twice (1967). Ken also performed as Sean Connery’s stunt double in the film by flying the ‘copter and created a machine for the TV miniseries The Martian Chronicles (1980). [You only live twice is showing at the BFI Southbank 25th / 28th April / 20th May, plus at the BFI IMAX on 3rd May...]
Also, in an interview first podcast at Sci-Fi London, Alex talks to Jo Hatton, keeper of the Robot Zoo at the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill which presents a collection of robotic and animatronic animals to the public and mixes education with the feel of a traveling carnival.
4.30pm Monday 27th April, Resonance 104.4 FM (London), streamed at www.resonancefm.com, extended podcast (of Ken Wallis interview) 29/04/09 at www.sci-fi-london.com/audio
(extended podcast of Jo Hatton interview online now)

Links: Ken’s homepage
Wikipedia and fan tribute pages on Ken Wallis
www.gyroplanepassion.com
Flixton Aviation Museum
IMDb pages on You only live twice (1967), Dick Smart 2.007 (1967), The Pathfinders (1976) and The Martian Chronicles (1980)

For more info about The Robot Zoo, please visit www.horniman.ac.uk
Wikipedia page on The Horniman Museum

Today on Resonance FM: Lucky Cat – Live Action Manga

Today on Resonance FM:

Lucky Cat: Live Action Manga

Poster for the live action adaptation of the manga Twentieth Century Boys

In this week’s episode of Resonance FM’s weekly show about Asian Culture, regular host Zoe Baxter invites Alex Fitch (Electric Sheep Magazine) and Helen McCarthy (The Animé Encyclopedia) into the studio to discuss live action manga adaptations such as 20th Century Boys and Death Note and how these compare to animé versions and adaptations of Western comic books such as Watchmen. The show includes Zoe’s regular eclectic mix of Asian music from the last half century and live tastings from the Dim Sum Lunchbox…

9pm 17/03/09, Resonance 104.4 FM

Links: Zoe’s Lucky Cat blog which includes podcasts and info about the show including her
November special about Byron Lee, who contributed music to the soundtrack of Dr. No
Wikipedia page on 20th Century Boys
Listen to a 2006 episode of I’m ready for my close-up in which Zoe talks to Asian film expert Annie Kwan
Info about Helen’s panel on Tezuka at The Bristol Comics expo earlier this year (under “2pm Ramada Suite”)
Buy Helen’s books from amazon.co.uk
Listen to Alex’s interviews with Helen McCarthy

I’m ready for my close-up: Julien Temple’s Eternity Man

I’m ready for my close-up: Julien Temple’s Eternity Man

“The Eternity Man” presentation at the Locarno film festival – Julien Temple, Director; Christa Hughes, actress; Rosemary Blight, producer

In an interview recorded just before a theatrical screening of The Eternity Man at the Barbican, Alex Fitch talks to director Julien Temple about his film of the modern opera by Dorothy Porter and Jonathan Mills. The Eternity Man tells the true story of Arthur Stace who wandered the streets of Sydney for two generations, writing the word “Eternity” in chalk on a myriad of surfaces and Temple’s film vividly brings to life this modern avatar of the Wandering Jew. Alex and Julien also talk about the director’s other work from Absolute Beginners to Pandaemonium and notions of combining fact and fiction on screen.

For more info about this podcast and a variety of different formats you can download or stream, please visit the home of this podcast at www.archive.org

Links: Info about forthcoming screenings (next: on sunday night / monday morning on S4C)
Watch clips from The Eternity Man on youtube
Wikipedia pages on Julien Temple, Dorothy Porter and The Eternity Man

Comics news:

Tom Humberstone exhibition at Orbital

The comic shop Orbital which Marc Ellerby waxed lyrical about in last week’s Panel Borders, have relocated to 8 Great Newport Street, WC2H 7JF (previously the Photographer’s Gallery).
Orbital appropriately now also have an exhibition space, which opened with a selection of new art pages by Tom Humberstone from the latest issue of his Eagle award winning title: How to date a girl in ten days.

More info at www.orbitalcomics.com / www.ventedspleen.com

and…

Brighton ‘zine fest February 2008

…will be taking place over the weekend of 21st/22nd February. Workshops, talks and bands will be on the Saturday (@ The Cowley Club) and zine stalls, acoustic acts and a few other mystery things will be on the Sunday (@ West Hill Hall).

More info at www.brightonzinefest.co.uk