Colour Of Magic airs, Terry Pratchett opens Winchester planetarium

Dress up and win an iPod and every Discworld audiobook

20 March 2008 (20:16) 1 Comment

TimesOnline.co.uk is offering a contest to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Colour Of Magic, the first novel in the Discworld series. To win, send a photograph of “yourself dressed as your favourite Pratchett character” to books@timesonline.co.uk and explain why he or she is your favorite character. Things to note about the contest:

• Only residents of the U.K. and Eire aged 16 and over are eligible.
  
• Each person is allowed only one entry.
  
• Include “Pratchett” in the subject of your entry.
  
• The email should include the picture of yourself dressed up, the name of your character, why he or she is your favorite (in less than 50 words), your name, your age, your phone number, and your email address.
  
• The photograph must be in jpeg format and less than 10 megabytes. Dimension specifications: “a minimum pixel width of 450 for landscape photographs or 450 pixels for portrait photos.”

The deadline is midday May 19, 2008.

The full terms and conditions can also be found on the site.

Colour Of Magic airs 6 p.m. March 23 and 24; more Colour Of Magic trailers

19 March 2008 (21:19) 2 Comments

SkyOne has finally announced the air date in the U.K. for The Colour Of Magic: 6 p.m. March 23 and March 24, on SkyOne and SkyOne HD. In addition, two new trailers have been posted to YouTube.

Trailer 2, length 32 seconds:

Narrator: From the dawn of time, they have always been there: the eight great spells. Now, one of them is missing.

Trymon: Well, that’s rather badly organized.

Narrator: And only one wizard–

Rincewind: I never really completed my training.

Narrator: –can bring it home. David Jason, Sean Astin, and Tim Curry take you to the very edge of the Discworld. Terry Pratchett’s The Colour Of Magic. This Easter. SkyOne and SkyOne HD.

Trailer 3, Theatrical, length 93 seconds:

Narrator: In a distant and secondhand set of dimensions, from the very dawn of time, they have always been there: the eight great spells. Now, one of them is missing. One of the eight spells is missing.

Trymon: Well, that’s rather badly organized.

Narrator: And there is only one wizard–

Rincewind: I’m the worst wizard this side of the Circle Sea!

Narrator: –who can bring it home. From the makers of Hogfather. SkyOne presents a pigment of your imagination.

Twoflower: All my life I’ve wanted to see dragons.

Rincewind: Don’t be ridiculous. Dragons don’t exist.

Rincewind: I won’t. (?)

Rincewind: What are you grinning at?

Death: Oh, I’m sorry. I can’t help it.

Rincewind: He says he’s a tourist.

Twoflower: Smile!

Rincewind: I think it means idiot.

Narrator: David Jason, Sean Astin, and Tim Curry–

Trymon: Fantastic.

Narrator: –take you to the very edge of the Discworld.

Twoflower: And I thought everything was going so well!

Rincewind: Well, you thought wrong.

Narrator: Terry Pratchett’s The Colour Of Magic. This Easter. SkyOne and SkyOne HD.

You can find more videos on YouTube (though all are repeats from what can be found on the site) on Sky’s YouTube channel.

Terry Pratchett tributes science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke

19 March 2008 (17:23Comment!

Arthur C. Clarke’s recent death at the age of 90 recently has prompted tributes from scientists and authors, including Terry Pratcett and Sir Patrick Moore. To quote a Guardian.co.uk article on the subject
The science fiction author Terry Pratchett praised Clarke as a “great man” who “put some science into science fiction”.

“Most notably, I think he was probably the first science fiction writer to break out of the science fiction ghetto,” Pratchett told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. “He became a national treasure like Patrick Moore.”

The film version of 2001: A Space Odyssey - in which Sir Arthur was closely involved - was “totally, totally new”, Pratchett said.
“What I particularly recall is Arthur complaining that the reason why the apes never won the Oscar for best make-up was that they were so good the judges thought they really were apes.”

Terry Pratchett has previously said, “There is a tradition in the science fiction and fantasy genre of ‘paying forward.’ At the first convention I attended in my youth was Arthur C. Clarke [and other authors] I thought of as gods. They signed books for me and let me into their conversations, even if they thought of me a bothersome little tit. You can never pay back something like that but you can pay your way forward by making your own contribution.” (AdelaideNow, March 2007)

Terry Pratchett opens Winchester planetarium

19 March 2008 (17:11) Comment!

Last month we told you that Terry Pratchett would be opening Britain’s largest planetarium at INTECH’s Science Centre in Winchester. ThisIsWinchester.net reports that Terry Pratchett said at the event, “I thought it was amazing. My imagination got fired by going to the planetarium when I was a child. I think it’s quite important to get kids interested in who we are and why we’re here.”

Sir Patrick Moore also attended the event, saying “The young enthusiasts of today are our researchers of tomorrow. The planetarium is a great thing for the area and the country.”

INTECH Director Phil Winfield said, “Terry Pratchett was inspired by astronomy as a young person and that’s exactly what we want to do at INTECH - inspire young people.”

The 176-seat planetarium will be open to the public starting on March 21, 2008.

Sky begins major advertising for The Colour Of Magic

18 March 2008 (21:06) Comment!

MarketingWeek.co.uk reports that Sky’s multimillion-pound advertising campaign for Terry Pratchett’s The Colour Of Magic is kicking in gear this week, which “includes TV, press, online and outdoor executions as well as the rerelease of Pratchett’s book of the same name, part of the Discworld series.” To quote the article:

Sky is also partnering with online bookseller Amazon, as well as homepage takeovers on MSN, Yahoo! and AOL. Interactive ads will run across sites, such as TVGuide and Yahoo! linking to the sky.com/magic microsite.
National press advertising will run in titles including The Sun, The Guardian, New Statesman and listings sections and TV spots will air across Sky Networks. Sky is also launching a Bluetooth zone at Victoria station, which will give mobile users the opportunity to download video clips, ring and text tones and screen savers.

Sky is also involved in viral and social network promotion for the adaptation.

Terry Pratchett interview from Sky

17 March 2008 (21:17) Comment!

The Sky News blog posted a video interview of Terry Pratchett recently, in which Terry Pratchett talks about his recent half-a-million-pound donation to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust in the U.K. In the minute-long video clip, Pratchett calls the organization “somewhat of a Cinderella charity compared to the cancer charities” and explains a little more about his diagnosis.