The Golden Blasters

Hello again everyone!

For those of you that couldn't make it, the first ever Blaster awards were decided this weekend after screenings that took the audience's breath away!

First up, The Silver Blaster award was decided by our panel of judges, which was made up of film maker Maura McHugh, writer Mike Carey and superfan Dave Lally. After much deliberation, the Hungarian-made time travel story Elobb Utobb (Sooner Or Later) was chosen for this prestigious award.

The film is astounding in both its simplicity and complexity and truly deserves the award! The film was directed and written by Istvan Madarasz.

But there can only be one winner of the audience-chosen Golden Blaster award, and it certainly was a close one!

The visually stunning Irish film, The Silent City, has been chosen by a single vote to be this year's winner! Director Ruairí Robinson makes a very believable future war zone come to life with some of the best special effects we've ever seen!

Our audience prize was also given out to one lucky attendee, which was a voucher from the lovely people at The Secret Book & Record Store on Wexford St. in Dublin City Centre!

Congratulations are due to all of our award-winners, but every film was chosen by Mr. John Vaughan because it was a fantastically entertaining piece of sci-fi, fantasy or horror. They all deserve a huge round of applause or the nearest internet-based equivilent! :)

Oh hi there, October Convention-lovers!

These past few days, all we've been hearing are staged whispers about "letting out your inner geek" and "nerdgasming" and "transforming" and "rolling out", but what does it all mean?

Well, it may indicate a change in neuro-linguistical programming brought on by some kind of new mass-marketing machine built by Doctor Advertiso, OR, it could mean that Octocon 2009 is nearly upon us!

With only six days to go, we're putting together our final preparations for one of the greatest conventions of all time!

So, what do you have to look forward to besides The Golden Blasters film festival, Octocon's Next Top Monster, meeting Mike Carey, Derek Gunn, Michael Carroll, C.E. Murphy and more, meeting your fellow fans, and "competing to be the worst" at The Red Shirt Olympics?

We're glad you asked!

Captain Coulier, from Canada, directed by Lyndon Casey and produced by David Fradkin and James Gallagher, is the final nominee for this year's Golden Blaster Award.

It may be time for the last nominee, but by no means is it the least nominee! Captain Coulier has been selected for this year's Sundance , Atlanta and Cinevegas Film Festivals and it has has won Best in Fest at this years LA Comedy Fest.

"There's nothing out there  and I'll be the first to find it!"

"Sick of the pressure from his parents to be a success on Earth, Anthony Coulier volunteered to become a Space Explorer, now the captain of a focused crew with misson operations under control, Boredom and loneliness sinks in ans Coulier begins to think maybe space exploration just isn't his schtick......"

John Vaughan says, "What if Star Trek had been Canadian? Captain Coulier explores what happens between adventures on board a ship with an ongoing mission to explore the never-ending void between worlds! This is the tale of a man who has seriously misjudged his career in life... resulting in a very black comedy!"