Earthsea

[puddlejumper747]

I'm not going to get into this. That whole wizard, dragons, elf thing is wack. But if you guys like it, enjoy.

[gasp] Do you mean to say that you didn't even like The Lord of the Rings?!?!?

[morjana]

One wonders if the SciFi Channel had promoted "Stargate SG-1" with this much intensity what the results could have been. Higher ratings? Would we be celebrating a multi-year renewal???


From The Futon Critic

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/go...0041116scifi01


Tuesday, November 16, 2004
MULTI-FACETED PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN MARKS DEBUT OF SCI FI CHANNEL'S 'EARTHSEA' ORIGINAL MINISERIES FROM HALLMARK ENTERTAINMENT
Released by Sci Fi

NATIONAL RETAIL PARTNERSHIP WITH BORDERS SUPPORTED BY RE-RELEASE OF EARTHSEA NOVELS IN UNIQUE COLLABORATION WITH SIMON & SCHUSTER AND BANTAM BOOKS

INTERACTIVE WIZARD CERTIFICATION PROGRAM AND EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT ROUND OUT INTEGRATED MARKETING CAMPAIGN

NEW YORK -- November 16, 2004 -- When SCI FI's newest miniseries event, Earthsea, based on the award-winning Ursula K. Le Guin novels, premieres in two parts on December 13 & 14, 9-11 PM (ET/PT), it will be supported by a unique and multi-faceted marketing campaign that engages a diverse range of promotional partners from the media, literary and retail communities. Earthsea builds upon the prior success of SCI FI's miniseries including Dune, Steven Spielberg Presents TAKEN and Battlestar Galactica and stars Isabella Rossellini, Academy Award-nominated actor Danny Glover, X-Men's Shawn Ashmore and Smallville's Kristin Kreuk. [Moderator's Note: And Amanda Tapping has a cameo role.] Based on the timeless classic A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan, Earthsea marks the network's first foray into fantasy programming.

"SCI FI has established an impressive track record with our Emmy Award-winning December miniseries. We're excited to expand into fantasy programming with one of the most popular franchises in fantasy literature, and to support it with an ambitious marketing campaign," comments SCI FI General Manager, Dave Howe.

"The collaborative promotion behind Earthsea speaks to SCI FI's unique ability to capture the momentum of the increasingly popular fantasy genre, and to reach a broader consumer base through a variety of promotional partnerships across all media," comments Adam Stotsky, SVP, Marketing, SCI FI.

A major national retail partnership with Borders Group, Inc. builds upon the literary heritage of the classic Le Guin novels. In a unique and unprecedented collaboration Le Guin's Publishers, Bantam Books, Simon & Schuster and Harcourt, will partner in promotion of the acclaimed franchise. Bantam Books and Simon & Schuster are re-releasing Earthsea novels with SCI FI designed cover art. SCI FI/Borders Group cross-promotion includes:

- Co-branded Earthsea/Borders television spots airing on SCI FI over a three-month flight.

- A simultaneous campaign in 1,200 Borders & Waldenbooks retail stores features SCI FI branded displays which the Earthsea franchise and series Soundtrack

- Bookmark give-aways at all Borders book stores

- Earthsea coverage within the November Borders This Month in-store shopping guide, the November Borders Science Fiction and Fantasy email newsletter, and the November and December issues of Hailing Frequencies, Waldenbooks' monthly Science Fiction and Fantasy email bulletin.

- A Borders Group charitable donation to Reading is Fundamental (RIF) in conjunction with the Earthsea partnership.

A special broadband promotion featuring exclusive Earthsea content, trailers, screensavers and games launched on November 15. Supplemental affiliate marketing support includes local market screenings, retail kiosks, co-branded cable modem spots and other incentives. As part of SCI FI's ongoing commitment to education and to Cable In The Classroom, the network will provide affiliates with interactive games and educational resources designed to help students develop media literacy skills.

A companion on-line Wizard Education and Certification Program, conceived by SCI FI Marketing and authored by Paul Kieve, Chief Magic Consultant on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, goes live in December. Capitalizing on growing consumer interest in fantasy programming content, the site enables Internet users to learn about the history of Wizardry and magic and to hone their craft with special web seminars or "Web-inars" for the purposes of "Wizard certification."

While advertising efforts entail the full range of media outlets including NBC Universal partnerships and conventional TV, radio, print, out-of-home and online buys, special emphasis is being placed on ancillary promotions. A special three-minute Behind-the-Scenes feature will air on 2,600 Regal Cinema screens, in addition to strategic in-theater ad buys.

Additional elements of the campaign include:

- On-air teasers, affiliate spots and "in-production" vignettes airing on SCI FI for three months leading up to premiere

- Cross-channel promotional placements on NBC, USA, Bravo, MSNBC, CNBC and TRIO

- Ad placement on MTV, TNT, TBS, Comedy Central, VH-1, FX, TLC, E! television networks, spot radio, online, print, and out-of-home outlets

- Promotional placement in Universal Home Video releases Van Helsing and The Chronicles of Riddick and in MGM's release Species

- In-mall advertising in top 10 SCI FI markets

- Electronic Boutique Games promotion in 700 stores in top 10 SCI FI markets, 400,000 branded shopping bags, in-store trailers

SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 84 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.



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Morjana

SG1-Spoilergate
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/SG1-Spoilergate/

Richard Dean Anderson Fans
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/rdandersonfans/

Proof-Positive
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/Proof-Positive

[JediTrilobite]

Upping this- the miniseries is in 3 days!

Anyone really looking forwards to it?

[emily_reich]

i am! i am! i have been waiting for it since i first head of actually... but i've never even read the books! it sounds awesome though... aside from new eps of tv, this is the only thing on scifi i've really looked forward to... their movies may not be so great but their miniseries usually are...

[MajorSam]

I'm really looking forward to this miniseries as well, however it's so annoying that they started talking about it so long ago. It's like: "watch this show!... in three months"

I think it's neat that Amanda Tapping has a cameo too. I saw her in a behind the scenes thing on the Season 7 DVD and she had extensions in her hair. Maybe the extensions were for her part in Earthsea?

No, I doin't think they were, she usually does grow out her hair somewhat during the break. I don't think the timing's right anyways.

Btw, i'm SOOOO excited for it! Firstly, Shawn Ashmore is a SEXY BEAST, and secondly I think Amanda's gonna look really awesome. She has this whole elaborate multi-layered dress/gown thing, and this cape and everything

Plus, I just love fantasy!

[NightGloom]

I'm so excited for the miniseries! I read the books a few years ago and I kept thinking that someone should make a movie out of them. Now they finally did!

[farstrider]

Source: www.ursulakleguin.com

"Earthsea"
11/13/2004

"Miss Le Guin was not involved in the development of the material or the making of the film, but we've been very, very honest to the books," explains director Rob Lieberman. "We've tried to capture all the levels of spiritualism, emotional content and metaphorical messages. Throughout the whole piece, I saw it as having a great duality of spirituality versus paganism and wizardry, male and female duality. The final moments of the film culminate in the union of all that and represent two different belief systems in this world, and that's what Ursula intended to make a statement about. The only thing that saves this Earthsea universe is the union of those two beliefs."

Sci Fi Magazine
December 2004

I've tried very hard to keep from saying anything at all about this production, being well aware that movies must differ in many ways from the books they're based on, and feeling that I really had no business talking about it, since I was not included in planning it and was given no part in discussions or decisions.

That makes it particularly galling of the director to put words in my mouth.

Mr Lieberman has every right to say what his intentions were in making the film he directed, called "Earthsea." He has no right at all to state what I intended in writing the Earthsea books.

Had "Miss Le Guin" been honestly asked to be involved in the planning of the film, she might have discussed with the film-makers what the books are about.

When I tried to suggest the unwisdom of making radical changes to characters, events, and relationships which have been familiar to hundreds of thousands of readers all over the world for over thirty years, I was sent a copy of the script and informed that production was already under way.

So, for the record: there is no statement in the books, nor did I ever intend to make a statement, about "the union of two belief systems." There's nothing at all about the "duality of spirituality and paganism," whatever that means, either.

Earlier in the article, Robert Halmi is quoted as saying that Earthsea "has people who believe and people who do not believe." I can only admire Mr Halmi's imagination, but I wish he'd left mine alone.

In the books, the wizardry of the Archipelago and the ritualism of the Kargs are opposed and united, like the yang and yin. The rejoining of the broken arm-ring is a symbol of the restoration of an unresting, active balance, offering a risky chance of peace.

This has absolutely nothing to do with "people who believe and people who do not believe." That terrible division into Believers and Unbelievers (itself a matter not of reason but of belief) is one which bedevils Christianity and Islam and drives their wars.

But the wizards of Earthsea would look on such wars as madness, and the dragons of Earthsea would laugh at them and fly away...

Toto, something tells me Earthsea isn't Iraq.

I wonder if the people who made the film of The Lord of the Rings had ended it with Frodo putting on the Ring and ruling happily ever after, and then claimed that that was what Tolkien "intended..." would people think they'd been "very, very honest to the books"?

Ursula K. Le Guin
13 November 2004

So this miniseries is pretty much a result of jumping on the fantasy book turned movie bandwagon. Really don't know what to think here. The most outrageous part was when she said she thought she had no business saying anything about the miniseries. Without her the miniseries would not have ever existed! If anyone in the world is qualified to comment on the movies it's her. I'd almost go so far as to say that she's the ONLY person whose business it is to comment on anything related to the Earthsea trilogy. Being as she's the author and all that insignificant stuff. :/

[Jolinarsam]

I was right. Jennifer Calvert (Ren'al) plays Kossil in the upcoming miniseries.

Alan Scarfe is also in it. He plays the Archmagus.
Alan was in the SG: Atlantis ep "Poisoning the Well" as Chancellor Druhin.

He was also recently in new episodes of Andromeda as Flavin.

I can't wait!

[Jelmer]

It looks very promissing, I was amazed by how good the SFX looked for a miniseries - it looked worthy of a movie. Of course I'll have to keep in mind that they'll often put some of the most incredible shots in a trailer.

I don't know the books so I can't comment on them but I have to say that the first thing that hit me when seeing the promotional posters and trailers was that the producers must have taken a very good look at Lord of the Rings. The way the poster looks could almost be a LOTR spin-off. And when you look at the main characters you must notice that both Shawn Ashmore's and Kristen Kreuk's characters look very much like Dominic Monaghan's (Merry) and like Liv Tyler's (Arwen).

But then again I can't be bothered when some parts are essentially "rip-offs" as long as they come up with a new intreguing story. I'm a big fan of two other series of fantasy books ("The Wheel of Time" and "The Sword of Truth") which both have lended large portions of LOTR in the beginning but both managed to come across as very original and very much on their own.

[Ancient 1]

I have seen the commercials for it on Sci-Fi, but I had never heard of it before that. All I know is that it is based off of a series of books.

How were the books, and what is the basic plot?

I read these stories more that 20 years ago, and they were kind of old even then. I remeber that they were quick reads, simply written, but the tales were interesting. I look forward this Monday to see if they closely follow the books, or at least what I can remember of them. After the knees, then the mind goes!

[emily_reich]

ok, according to IMDB, this is the cast list for earthsea... i bolded all the people who've been on stargate or atlantis... so no guess work need be done

Cast
Shawn Ashmore .... Ged
Kristin Kreuk .... Tenar
Isabella Rossellini .... High Priestess Thar
Danny Glover .... Ogion
Sebastian Roché .... King Tygath
Chris Gauthier .... Vetch
Jennifer Calvert .... Kossil
Mark Hildreth .... Jasper
Alan Scarfe .... Archmagus
Alessandro Juliani .... Skiorch
John Tench .... General Doar
Heather Laura Gray .... Penelope
Erin Karpluk .... Diana
Dave 'Squatch' Ward .... Dunain
Mark Acheson .... Gebbeth
Betty Phillips .... Marion
Katharine Isabelle .... Yarrow (as Katherine Isabelle)
Richard Side .... Doorkeeper
William Samples .... Doctor Hand
Anthony Holland .... Master Namer
Christopher Britton .... Master Summoner
Sonya Salomaa .... Head Priestess
Cedric De Souza .... Kargide Official
Alex Diakun .... Thorvald
Stephen Park .... Shepherd
Stephen Dimopoulos .... Ship's Master
R. Nelson Brown .... Master Herbal
Brad Loree .... Kargide Lieutenant
Frank C. Turner .... Farmer
Stefan Arngrim .... Shire Reeve
Christopher R. Sumpton .... Barman
Tom Heaton .... Fisherman
Paul Jamieson .... Drinker
Curtis Caravaggio .... Kargide Commander
Karen Austin .... Farmer's Wife
Ellie King .... Busty Wench
John DeSantis .... Kargide Soldier #1
Peter Williams .... Kargide Soldier #2
Peter Kent .... Kargide Officer
Michael Roselli .... Kargide Birdhandler
Brad Kelly .... Kargide Guard
Neil Grayston .... Roke Student
Peter Kent .... The Dragon (voice)
Amanda Tapping .... Lady Elfarran

honestly, i don't remember who some of these people even ARE or who they played, but i checked every single actor on this list since it seemed like so many scifi channel folks were making a crossover

[Dahak]

Source: www.ursulakleguin.com


So this miniseries is pretty much a result of jumping on the fantasy book turned movie bandwagon. Really don't know what to think here. The most outrageous part was when she said she thought she had no business saying anything about the miniseries. Without her the miniseries would not have ever existed! If anyone in the world is qualified to comment on the movies it's her. I'd almost go so far as to say that she's the ONLY person whose business it is to comment on anything related to the Earthsea trilogy. Being as she's the author and all that insignificant stuff. :/

You do realize that she is getting paid for this and signed a contract don't you? It's not like Sci-Fi channel forced her to do this. She agreed and for whatever reason isn't a part of film process. It could be because she is pretty old and didn't want to deal with this. Or maybe she didn't want to get involved with all the Hollywood B.S. Or maybe the studio didn't want to either pay her enough or wanted to do it their own way. But LeGuinn did sign a contract and it doesn't sound like she feels she got ripped off.

[JediTrilobite]

It's out tonight!

[JediTrilobite]

So, the first part being out, what did people think about it?

Personally, I really had fun with it. While not a direct adaptation of the novels, it was pretty well done IMO. Full review at my blog.

[Ancient 1]

So, the first part being out, what did people think about it?

Personally, I really had fun with it. While not a direct adaptation of the novels, it was pretty well done IMO. Full review at my blog.

Well, I like what I've seen so far. Previews for tonight look even better!