Ian's Newsround - 18/06/04
Ah, I remember what it's like to do these. The main feature of this week's TOS update is, of course, Doug's open letter. And yes, we did try and get a copy for ourselves before it was published, and failed. Let's just start with the important bit for now:
American funders are flying into the UK today to continue discussions we began at the Cannes Film Festival to fund the Red Dwarf movie. I fully expect that in a matter of a few days, maybe a couple of weeks, Red Dwarf the Movie finally will be green lit, and by early August I expect to be deep into pre-production in Australia.
I believe this is an appropriate juncture for you to give me five, sir. "Today" in this case would have been Saturday or Sunday, and I imagine the parties will have met earlier this week. Every appendage is crossed that there'll be a big TOS update in a fortnight's time, saying "yes, the movie has in fact been green-lit". It's just great reading Doug Naylor's prose again, isn't it? Look at this:
This is true. I swear this is true. They said, 'How about... Hugh Grant? He could be Lister. And what's Emma Thompson doing these days? She could be Kochanski.' I thanked them for their time and ran from the building.
I love that man. Moving on from the movie news, a few notes on the Q+A bit.
You bet your ass there will.
What is wrong with you? You never say 'bet your ass'!
[on commentaries] I didn't know anyone wanted me to!
OK, Doug - WE WANT YOU TO DO A COMMENTARY. It would be especially good for Series VII and VIII, obviously, as Doug was the main writer and executive producer, on his lonesome. Plus, we get to hear his excuses, erm, opinions on the series.
But the year after that I'll be there as sure as eggs is hen periods.
Boiled chicken ovulations - delicious! Moving on a step - and I hope no-one thinks I'm setting myself us as a self-elected chairperson here; just see me as a facilitator - there's also some ace DVD news. GNP have been raiding the archives to bring us the choicest cuts of digitised beef from the BBC bullock. As well as the bits we already know about (the Tucker stuff, Best Ever Dwarf), there will also be some monochrome 8mm footage from Series VI! And video effects footage! Now all we need is a featurette about the types of glue used in the model shots and we're home and dry.
The best bit, though, is footage from an aborted Making Of documentary from Series VI. Wow! I didn't even know such a thing was planned; there was supposed to be a making of video for VIII, but this is news to me. Add to this the raw effects footage and trailers, these will be the geekiest DVDs to date. Bliss! Add to that the 80-minute documentaries (complete with rushes footage), Howard Goodall and Laredo docs, deleted scenes, out-takes and that, these will be the best DVDs of anything ever. Ever.
As if that wasn't enough, there's also Ellard's five-part DJ:XI report. Ellard can remember far more about the Q+A sessions than anyone else, but he was cheating - he had a notepad. By the way, man, sorry about the picture. But that's what you get for gossiping about me with actress/comediennes.
Comments
It does indeed look as though we may be about to embark on the biggest year or so ever in the history of Dwarf....I'm getting quite exited.
Posted by Cpt-D at June 18, 2004 01:31 PM
It does indeed look as though we may be about to embark on the biggest year or so ever in the history of Dwarf....I'm getting quite excited.
Posted by Cpt-D at June 18, 2004 01:31 PM
So much excitement in such a small space of time. It's a good job I have some good stain remover...
Posted by Cappsy at June 18, 2004 01:51 PM
Best. TOS update. Evur.
Forgive me for cocksucking GNP to climax, but it really is the best official site for a TV show I've ever seen.
Posted by John Hoare at June 18, 2004 05:27 PM
I wonder why the Making-Of video was cancelled, though? It would have been fucking excellent.
Perhaps, with the severe time squeeze VI had in production, they thought it would be too much of a distraction to actually making the show. Only a guess, though.
Posted by John Hoare at June 18, 2004 05:36 PM
Excuse me, but is that a picture of Ian or John starting this topic?
Posted by Question Braider at June 18, 2004 08:51 PM
Check out the alt tag. All will become clear I hope.
Posted by Mr Flibble at June 18, 2004 08:57 PM
Mind if I ask you then why Ian and John look exactly the same? Could it be poor quality photographs? I'm sure I represent some vast majority when I say that surely we ought to see the pair of you side-by-side at some point, with something like a car or a fat bitch for scale purposes.
Posted by Question Braider at June 18, 2004 09:11 PM
By the way - I'm thinking "alt tag" means pop-up piece of text whenever the mouse pointer goes over something like a photograph. If it is (which I surely hope it is), mind I say that the phrase "Would you trust this man to run an offical website?" (sic) doesn't really help me place whether the photograph is of Ian or John.
I hope this helps.
Posted by Question Braider at June 18, 2004 09:15 PM
I'm on the left, Ian is on the right.
I'm having a bad hair day. Although with John, it's always a bad hair day.
Posted by John Hoare at June 18, 2004 09:16 PM
> By the way - I'm thinking "alt tag" means pop-up piece of text whenever the mouse pointer goes over something like a photograph. If it is (which I surely hope it is), mind I say that the phrase "Would you trust this man to run an offical website?" (sic) doesn't really help me place whether the photograph is of Ian or John.
Well, it's implicit in that phrase that the photo is of Andrew Ellard, who effectively runs the official site.
However, it's actually a bit of a misuse of the alt tag. Yes, a side-effect of it is that it creates a caption when the mouse is rolled over the image (in IE, at any rate). However, it's proper use is for the blind; a browser for the blind would read that alt text out *in place* of the photograph. Really, we should have described the photo first, and then added our joke.
Posted by John Hoare at June 18, 2004 09:19 PM
...NOT THAT MY LOVE OF GOOD WEB DESIGN MAKES ME A GRUMPY BASTARD THAT CAN'T TAKE A JOKE, OF COURSE.
I LOVE JOKES.
Posted by John Hoare at June 18, 2004 09:32 PM
That photo wasn't that long ago was it?
Ian, your hair grows way to fast.
Posted by Cappsy at June 18, 2004 10:57 PM
I don't get how a blind person would be able to read text but not see a photograph.
And no I'm not being *deliberately* stupid, before you start getting like that.
Posted by Question Braider at June 18, 2004 11:42 PM
Talking browsers can read out text and not images, so when it comes accross and image it relys on the alt text to describe the image to the user.
Posted by Cappsy at June 19, 2004 12:03 AM
Hugh Grant as Lister hey? :) Bloody Americans.
HHGTTG finally filming, Red Dwarf soon to be greenlighted...we are in for some good cinema the next couple of years. :)
Posted by Adam Bailey at June 19, 2004 08:52 PM
http://www.zetaminor.com/roobarb/index.php?showtopic=1534
Ambiguous insiderness abounds.
Posted by Darrell Jones at June 21, 2004 01:51 PM
Excellent. There's a guy there who claimes to have read the script but thinks the filming has already started. A knowledgeable insider, there.
Posted by Cappsy at June 21, 2004 02:28 PM
He CLAIMS to have read it, too.
Posted by Cappsy at June 21, 2004 03:02 PM
Meanwhile, AICN reports on the convention email. They don't appear to know the difference between Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. Well done them.
Posted by John Hoare at June 22, 2004 10:21 PM
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