WEST END IN THE SUNSHINE
Last week, when I went to meet Gary in town to discuss things Studio Space and TRIPWIRE Annual, it was actually properly sunny that day. So here are a few shots I took that day around Tottenham Court Road and Great Russell Street (and one taken on the Outer Circle near Regents Park on the same day)…

ENTERING THE STUDIO
I haven't discussed it since it was solicited but things are proceeding nicely with Studio Space. About half of the chapters have been designed and we've got over a hurdle that might have caused us problems. So it is all set to go to the printers in about two-and a-half weeks. We are also in the process of organising a number of signings and events in the summer in London and elsewhere with some of the artists, so keep your eyes peeled here. To tantalise you, here are a couple of pages from the Fegredo chapter…

BLACKFRIARS SUNSET
Last week I subbed for four days at Music Week, which is located in the old Express building by Blackfriars Bridge. The weather was bloody awful but there was a brief period on the Tuesday when the sun came out and the weather was pretty amazing. So here are five photos I took on Blackfriars Bridge…

WELCOME TO SPRING
Spring has supposed to have started but we have had some very unseasonal weather. We have had snow a couple of times over Easter weekend so here are a few pics taken outside my window…
By the way, the snow was gone within about two hours, washed away by rain…

WOOLLY THINKING
I treat the release of a new Roland Emmerich film with a mix of apathy and dread. The man has been responsible for some of the most idiotic movies in modern history (check out The Patriot or Godzilla if you don't believe me). So when I got tickets to see 10,000 BC at the Empire Leicester Square, my expectations weren't high. Nearly everyone I asked were either busy or not interested in seeing it. But I did find a taker for the other ticket (by the way, the film company gave me 4 tickets, far more generous than usual with a big release.) 10,000 BC is a fantasy set in a fictitious world ruled by Von Danniken-like alien beings and at the film's heart is a prehistoric tribe led by D'Leh (Steven Strait), who is forced to undergo a quest that takes him thousands of miles across this world to rescue his lady love Evolet (played by Camille Belle). The biggest problem with 10,000 BC is not that it's a stupid film, even though it is a pretty idiotic one, it's that it takes itself so bloody seriously. I'm as much a sucker for Raquel Welch wandering around in a fur bikini as the next man but the dialogue here is so portentous that the viewer is left checking their watch at regular intervals (I went almost five minutes at one point without doing this). The woolly mammoths look pretty and the scenery is impressive but there's no real sense of place in this film. Strait is suitably unmemorable in the lead as is Belle. If you like really dumb films with very little plot or characterisation, then go for it (the box office has already spoken on this film and it made nearly $38m in its opening in the US). But if you want something more, then don't bother…

A FAVOUR TO ASK…
It's not often that I do this but I thought I would see if any of my visitors here might be able to help. A friend of mine, John Lustig, has a room booked during the New York Comic Con at the New Yorker and is looking for a roommate. Anyone interested, please email me or leave a comment here and I'll put them in touch with John…

A LONG WAIT OVER
I've just checked my friend Steve Colgan's blog and he has some very exciting news to announce at last: his book Joined-Up Thinking: How to Connect Everything to Everything Else will be published by Macmillan on October 3rd, with a brand new introduction by John Lloyd, the man behind QI, Not The Nine O'Clock News. Steve has been trying to get books off the ground for as long as I've known him (or probably longer) and it's really great news that this is official at last. It's on amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Joined-Up-Thinking-Connect-Everything-Else
/dp/0230712207/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205175001&sr=8-1

ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET 2007'S ANNUAL
If you missed out last year, Previews Vol XVIII #3 has TRIPWIRE Annual 2007 relisted on page 400, item # MAR08 4204. So get your orders in now…

ANOTHER PERK OF THE JOB PART THREE
Pirates of the Caribbean 3 maquette, Lemony Snicket miniature, Willis O'Brien with King Kong in reception, the original ET and a sketch signed by none other than Ray Harryhausen himself…

ANOTHER PERK OF THE JOB PART TWO
Inner Space miniature, Darth Vader from reception, Rocketeer miniatures, Boba Fett from reception and a spaceship from something

ANOTHER PERK OF THE JOB
So as promised, I would put up a post (or three) about our visit to ILM to top off my US trip entries. A couple of months ago, I contacted ILM as Andy Grossberg suggested we should try and get a visit arranged since we were going to be in SF. We sent them a copy of the Annual and a date was set up. So the show was over and we had arranged it for Monday 25th Feb, so myself, Andy Colman, Andy Grossberg, his wife Susie (suffering with a horrible cold/ flu thing) and Dave Morris all piled into the SUV Andy G and Susie had hired down in LA and drove to the Presidio, where ILM is based. After parking underground, we went to met my contact there and we spent about two-and-a-half hours being taken round the offices. He showed us their gallery of posters from every film they've worked in since the 1970s (and that includes many you don't realise), tens of models, maquettes and miniatures from everything from ET to Empire Strikes Back, Pirates of The Caribbean to Lemony Snicket and curios like Jar Jar Binks in Carbonite which a fan made for them. He showed us their two incredible screening rooms, their art department and Lucas's unparalleled collection of British, Italian and French original movie posters and then we sat down and did a small interview about ILM, some of which will appear in the summer's Annual. Jon Favreau even walked past us in one of the corridors. If I wasn't a journalist, this visit wouldn't have happened. Visiting ILM you realise how much a part of modern film history they are. So here is part one of a three part selection of some of the photos I took at the Presidio…
So Jar Jar Binks in Carbonite, R2D2 and Stormtrooper, ILM reception, Stargate (I think) and ILM waiting area with Darth Vader and Boba Fett

GOLDEN YEARS PART TWO
And here are five more photos taken from Vista Point including one with Andy Grossberg's wife Susie and Andy Colman…

GOLDEN YEARS (OR HOW TO GET MULTIPLE POSTS FROM THE SAME TRIP)
On the Monday after Wonder con, we had a great day. First we went to ILM en masse, which was amazing (my report on that in the next couple of days) but afterwards we drove to Vista Point, which is the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather, which had started off as shitty, became fantastic on Monday and Tuesday: crisp, blue skies with just enough cloud to make shots look interesting. So here is a pic taken in the car as we left the Presidio, and four photos from Vista Point…