Archive for the 'Tempe' Tag
October 21st, 2009, 4:45 pm by Jayson Peters
 On Friday Sam Weller, the authorized biographer for sci-fi author Ray Bradbury, will appear at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe as part of the store’s “Food for Thought” series. Weller, a journalist and professor at Columbia College in Chicago, is the author of The Ray Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury, which describes the writer who envisioned rocket travel to outer space but never learned to drive a car or operate a computer.
Bag lunches for the event are available for $5.50 at the adjacent Wildflower Bread Company; just call (480) 838-9773 and as for the “Food for Thought” special.
Posted in: Books • Events • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Changing Hands • Ray Bradbury • Tempe | Post a Comment »
September 30th, 2009, 12:49 pm by Jayson Peters
 You demanded it. But are you ready for Paranormal Activity?
The film, billed as one of the scariest in the last decade, is not opening in wide release; instead there will be three preview showings at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Harkins’ Tempe Marketplace 16 theaters. Valley residents brought the film to Tempe by going to the Demand it! site and showing their support in an online popularity contest with other U.S. locations. Now they’ll get what they asked for — if they can handle it.
The work of an Israeli video game designer, Paranormal Activity is about a young couple who move into what seems like a typical suburban “starter” tract house, then become increasingly disturbed by a demonic presence in the middle of the night. It premiered in 2007 at the Screamfest Film Festival and was screened last year at the Slamdance Film Festival. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Horror • Movies • Harkins • Paranormal Activity • Tempe | 2 Comments »
September 9th, 2009, 12:35 am by ebehrendt
MADCAP Theaters at 730 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe will be hosting this year’s International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival Oct. 15-18, 2009.
 This year’s inductees into the IHSFF Hall of Fame include Judith O’Dea, known for her role as Barbara in the George A. Romero 1968 classic zombie film Night of the Living Dead; Marilyn Burns who played Sally in the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Casper Van Dien, who is best known for his role as Johnny Rico in the 1997 science fiction classic Starship Troopers. The IHSFF Hall of Fame honors those individuals that have made a difference in Horror and Science Fiction film.
The three-day festival will include screenings of more than 50 films, including Donkey Punch, Friday the 13th, The Wizard of Gore, Rapturious, Tokyo Gore Police, Vampire Hookers, Ray Bradbury’s Chrysalis, Alien Raiders, The Blob, Hell’s Ground, Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth, Deadly Event, Farmhouse, Re-Animator, Farmhouse, Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth, Frazetta: Painting with Fire, Hell’s Ground, and of course The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The festival will also include parties, a gore girl competition, and discussions with filmmakers and directors.
For more information please call the Phoenix Film Festival at (602) 955-6444 or visit www.horrorscifi.com.
Posted in: Conventions • Events • Horror • Movies • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • MADCAP Theaters • Tempe • Zombies | Post a Comment »
September 8th, 2009, 3:23 pm by Jayson Peters
The Beatles Rock Band goes on sale at midnight tonight, and the Blockbuster store at McClintock Drive and Southern Avenue in Tempe is playing host to a special midnight release party to cash in on this new wave of Beatlemania.
Fans waiting in line for their copy ($60 for just the software, $250 for the game bundled with premium instrument controllers) will be treated to a live concert from the AZ Beats, a local Beatles tribute band, from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. There will also be a pre-release demo and giveaways of game bundles, standalone guitars and standalone software, courtesy of KOOL-FM radio.
The rhythm game is available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii.
Also releasing the same day: the entire back catalog of The Beatles’ work, digitally remastered over four years.
Posted in: Gaming • Music • Nintendo • PlayStation 3 • Xbox 360 • Beatles • Beatles: Rock Band • Rock Band • Tempe | Post a Comment »
August 24th, 2009, 9:39 pm by Jayson Peters
A $15 million aquarium is planned for Arizona Mills mall in Tempe, a global leisure giant announced Monday.
Merlin Entertainments, the company that operates Legoland and the Madame Toussauds wax museum in California and the massive Ferris wheel known as the London Eye, will open the 26,000-square-foot Sea Life attraction in spring 2010, according to the company’s press release. The aquarium will have 12 different habitat zones housing more than 30 separate display tanks.
Merlin is owned by the Blackstone Group, a global private equity investment firm.
Image: Merlin Entertainments
Posted in: Business • LEGO • Arizona Mills • Tempe | Post a Comment »
August 19th, 2009, 10:30 am by Jayson Peters
 Diggnation, the weekly tech/web culture show based on the top news stories on the social bookmarking site Digg.com, will record before a live audience 7 p.m. today at the Tempe Center for the Arts.
The sometimes-irreverant show is hosted by Digg founder Kevin Rose and actor Alex Albrecht (both pictured). Both were hosts for the former TechTV (now G4) show The Screen Savers, a forerunner to G4’s current program Attack of the Show.
You can RSVP for the event at www.facebook.com/diggnation, but entry is first-come, first served so it’s advised to get there early.
Posted in: Podcasts • Technology • AotS • Digg • Diggnation • G4 • Tempe | Post a Comment »
August 14th, 2009, 4:37 pm by Jayson Peters
 Jim Ward, a Republican who wants to challenge Democrat Harry Mitchell next year in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, recently served as an executive at Lucasfilm and LucasArts.
According to his campaign bio, before leaving LucasArts last year Ward was president of LucasArts and senior vice president of marketing and distribution and online at Lucasfilm, Ltd., where he managed the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.
He was part of the Lucas Empire for more than 10 years, and recently oversaw the release of Star Wars Battlefront, LEGO Star Wars and last year’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Via Kotaku
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Politics • Scottsdale • Star Wars • Arizona • Jim Ward • LucasArts • Lucasfilm • Tempe | Post a Comment »
July 24th, 2009, 12:01 am by Jayson Peters
San Diego Comic-Con may be all the rage right now, but the Valley is known for its robust convention schedule as well. Here are some highlights of upcoming events:
North American Discworld Convention
A U.K. tradition comes to America with the first North American Discworld Convention Sept. 4-7 at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, 60 E. Fifth St.. This event celebrates the long-running series of satirical fantasy novels by British author Terry Pratchett, who will be the guest of honor. The guest list also includes novelist Diane Duane.
Memberships are $30-$90, $45 ages 6-11 and children 5 and younger get in free.
Information: http://www.nadwcon.org
DarkCon
The Dark Ones will gather Jan. 14-17, 2010 at the Grace Inn at Ahwatukee, 10831 S 51st St., Phoenix.
Announced guests for this convention include: Martin Klebba, a little person who has appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean films and various episodes of Scrubs, and in 2011 will star as 4-foot-tall vampire hunter Apollo Thorne in an adventure-horror flick of the same name; and John Wick, an author and game designer behind games for White Wolf and Upper Deck.
Programming includes A Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (Victorian or Edwardian costumes a must), Wild Wild West Poker Tournament, games, workshops, demos, and art show and more. Registration is $40 in advance or $5 more at the door.
Information: http://www.darkcon.org
Posted in: Conventions • Events • Gaming • RPGs • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Ahwatukee • DarkCon • Discworld • Phoenix • Tempe • Terry Pratchett | Post a Comment »
July 2nd, 2009, 12:01 am by Jayson Peters
 FiestaCon, a gathering of sci-fi and fantasy fans, starts today at the Tempe Mission Palms and runs through the weekend.
Guests include sci-fi author Alan Dean Foster; fantasy artist Todd Lockwood; genre-bending novelist (and former Disney comic book writer) Diana Gabaldon; and Aprilynne Pike, author of the New York Times bestselling novel for young adults, “Wings.”
For more details, read my earlier post. Have fun!
Posted in: Art • Books • Comics • Conventions • Events • FiestaCon • Tempe | 1 Comment »
June 9th, 2009, 2:31 pm by Jayson Peters
 Fantasy artist Todd Lockwood and sci-fi author Alan Dean Foster will headline the FiestaCon convention over Independence Day weekend in Tempe.
Foster, who lives in Prescott, is a prolific writer whose credits include many original stories in addition to novelizations of films such as the first three Alien movies, Clash of the Titans, The Chronicles of Riddick, Transformers and this year’s Star Trek and Terminator Salvation.
Lockwood worked as staff artist at Wizards of the Coast, where he illustrated cards for Magic: The Gathering and redefined the look of Dungeons & Dragons for the release of the game’s 3rd Edition in 2000. He lives in Washington state. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Art • Books • Comics • Conventions • D&D • Events • Gaming • Movies • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Television • FiestaCon • Magic: The Gathering • Tempe | 3 Comments »
|
|
