Dollhouse, Firefly, Angel, Buffy : news, photos & videos

Amber Benson - "Another Harvest Moon" Movie to premiere on October 23, 2009

Webmaster — 2009-10-10T10:46:34Z

HFF 09 : ANOTHER HARVEST MOON

A sensitive drama about four elderly Americans coping with life in a nursing home. They gather each morning for a game of cards. Becoming like family to one another, they offer unyielding support, constant bickering and strong opinions about life, death and everything in between, including a generous dose of humor.

Rating : NR

Running Time : 90 mins

Genre : Drama

Director(s) : Greg W Swartz

Cast : Ernest Borgnine, Piper Laurie, Anne Meara, Doris Roberts, Richard Schiff, Cybil Shepherd

Release Date : Fri Oct 23, 2009

Amber Benson & Amber Tamblyn at the West Hollywood Bookfair on October 4, 2009

Webmaster — 2009-09-27T13:17:40Z

Amber Benson co-wrote and directed the animated web-series, Ghosts of Albion, (with Christopher Golden) for the BBC. Her first solo novel, Death's Daughter, will be published by Penguin in 2009 with a children's book for Simon and Schuster called, The New Newbridge Academy, to follow later in 2010. As an actress, Benson spent three seasons as Tara Maclay on the cult show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She has also written, produced, and directed three feature films, including her latest, Drones, which she co-directed with Adam Busch and will be released later this year.

Panel : Zombies & Other Creatures of the Night

Stage : The Good Reads Pavilion (Signing at Dark Delicacies Booth)

Time : 1:45-2:45pm

Recent Titles : Death's Daughter

Amber Benson - "The Killing Jar" Movie - Trailer - Watch The Video

Webmaster — 2009-09-01T19:46:12Z

Amber Benson - "Death's Daughter" Novel - Christineandethanrose.com Audio Interview

Webmaster — 2009-08-21T19:26:25Z

Click on the link :

http://www.christineandethanrose.com/blog/ ?p=2354

Amber Benson - "Death Daughter" Novel - Etaiwannews.com Review

Webmaster — 2009-07-24T11:49:34Z

Headstrong Bella is in love with a vampire. Zoey has a crescent moon seared onto her forehead, the mark of a fledgling bloodsucker. Sixteen-year-old Ever can hear people's thoughts. Calliope is, reluctantly, Death's daughter.

All are modern female heroes written by women, read by women and not only obsessed over by teenagers but also their older sisters and mothers. The economy may be deeply troubled, but urban fantasy novels about vampires, werewolves, zombies, supernatural creatures, blood and romance are booming, and women are sinking their teeth into them in ravenous numbers.

"We're living in a frightening time. I don't know if it's an escapism as in there's scary stuff out there so let me control it through the medium of reading," says Amy Clarke, a lecturer at the University of California, Davis who teaches science fiction literature.

"There's dreaming of being with a vampire or werewolf, but there's always the danger of crossing over. I think it's a post-feminist way of taking on power."

The trend gathered steam with Bella Swan and her conflicted romance with gorgeous vampire Edward in Stephenie Meyer's four-book "Twilight" series, which has sold more than 53 million copies worldwide since the first book's release in 2005, according to publisher Little, Brown and Company. Meyer's newest, the more adult-themed "The Host," has 2 million copies in print domestically.

Call it dark escapism with a racy flair. The "Twilight" explosion, including its hit movie version, has deepened the needs of women urban fantasy novel readers.

Other authors are jumping in : P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin's popular "House of Night" vampire series ; Alyson Noel's "Immortals" books : the "Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries" novels by Charlaine Harris, which inspired the TV series "True Blood" on HBO ; Richelle Mead's "Vampire Academy" trilogy ; and books by more than half a dozen other female writers.

The genre's popularity is bigger than just books, says P.C. Cast.

"With women, this is reflecting a shift in our society," Cast said in an interview from her home in Tulsa, Oklahoma "I've seen a big shift, especially in my classroom, with women standing up and demanding respect. That's in every woman, whether 16, 26, 56."

"Our fiction is also reflecting that because we're writing the fiction. We've given ourselves permission to be successful. We're also giving ourselves permission to have fun," said Cast, a single mother who taught high school English for 15 years before focusing only on writing.

Her five "House of Night" books, starting in 2007 with "Marked," follow the adventures of Zoey Redbird, a high school student marked to be a vamp, who must enter the House of Night. Described as a "vampyre finishing school," it's filled with bratty girls, cute guys and no end of drama.

Cast enlisted the help of daughter Kristin, 22, to ensure that the teen-speak in her stories reflected current vernacular as opposed to the author's "inner '70s teenager saying things that were so not cool."

It paid off.

There are 5.5 million copies of the five "House of Night" books in print in the United States and the series has been on The New York Times list of best sellers for 63 weeks, according to publisher St. Martin's Press. "Tempted," the sixth book, is due out in October. The series has been optioned by Empire Pictures, with a film script in the works.

"Vampires are super sexy. Vampires and teens have a lot in common. Teens have surging hormones, vampires have surging blood lust. Teenagers think they're immortal," Cast said.

And for older women, says UC Davis' Clarke, "hot blooded" has taken on new meaning.

"All of the stuff I've read have some pretty heated sex scenes in them, and that brings people into the world of it," Clarke said. "The teens haven't had sex yet and the mothers have, and it's maybe not as good as it was."

Noel's "Immortals" series focuses on the telepathic teen Ever, who gains her abilities after surviving a car accident that kills her family. Brooding and lonely at a new school in sunny California, she meets handsome immortal Damen. They're drawn to each other like magnets.

"All of us older people reading these books magically survived high school even though we thought we wouldn't," Noel said in an interview from her home in Laguna Beach, California "To be young and beautiful and have power forever is pretty alluring in this society."

More than 700,000 copies of the two "Immortals" books are in print, according to St. Martin's Press. The first book, "Evermore," has been on the Times list for 23 weeks since its release in February. The second book, "Blue Moon," was released this month, with book three scheduled for January 2010.

Mead's "Vampire Academy" series has 1.5 million books in print, according to publisher Penguin Razorbill Books. The fourth book in the series comes out in August.

Amber Benson, who earned a huge fan base as witch Tara on the cult-hit TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which ended in 2003, channeled her love of urban fantasy into a trilogy, with the first book released this year by venerable science fiction and fantasy publisher Ace Books, an imprint of Penguin.

In "Death's Daughter," Calliope Reaper-Jones is a 25-year-old immortal who works in New York City. After her father, the CEO of Death, Inc., is kidnapped, she must run the family business.

"That was the beauty of Buffy, this female protagonist who looked totally harmless but could do all these amazing things and was trying to be a real person at the same time. She definitely influenced Calliope and her journey," says Benson, as she sits in her Los Angeles home beneath a sign reading "Old Friends to Read, Old Friends to Trust."

"We don't just want to be the tough chick who has no feelings, or the super girly girl who can't do anything for herself. We want that middle ground," she says.

"This is where the key demographic for the 'House of Night' lives, these teenage girls that are online most of the time," Matthew Shear, St. Martin's senior vice president of publishing, said.

Shear acknowledged Meyer's effect on Cast's series and other urban fantasy novels.

"We didn't buy the 'House of Night' series because of 'Twilight,' but when we saw sales increasing, we went to everywhere Stephenie Meyer was selling," he said. "Stephenie Meyer started the boom, and 'House of Night' has continued the boom."

He's cheering on sales.

"Is it welcome news to the publishing world ? You bet it is," Shear said. "We're thrilled that people want to buy these books."

Amber Benson - "Death Daughter" Novel - Yahoo.com Interview

Webmaster — 2009-07-22T13:55:50Z

LOS ANGELES – Headstrong Bella is in love with a vampire. Zoey has a crescent moon seared onto her forehead, the mark of a fledgling bloodsucker. Sixteen-year-old Ever can hear people's thoughts. Calliope is, reluctantly, Death's daughter.

"There's dreaming of being with a vampire or werewolf, but there's always the danger of crossing over. I think it's a post-feminist way of taking on power."

Call it dark escapism with a racy flair. The "Twilight" explosion, including its hit movie version, has deepened the needs of women urban fantasy novel readers.

The genre's popularity is bigger than just books, says P.C. Cast.

"With women, this is reflecting a shift in our society," Cast said in an interview from her home in Tulsa, Okla. "I've seen a big shift, especially in my classroom, with women standing up and demanding respect. That's in every woman, whether 16, 26, 56."

It paid off.

"Vampires are super sexy. Vampires and teens have a lot in common. Teens have surging hormones, vampires have surging blood lust. Teenagers think they're immortal," Cast said.

And for older women, says UC Davis' Clarke, "hot blooded" has taken on new meaning.

"All of us older people reading these books magically survived high school even though we thought we wouldn't," Noel said in an interview from her home in Laguna Beach, Calif. "To be young and beautiful and have power forever is pretty alluring in this society."

Mead's "Vampire Academy" series has 1.5 million books in print, according to publisher Penguin Razorbill Books. The fourth book in the series comes out in August.

In "Death's Daughter," Calliope Reaper-Jones is a 25-year-old immortal who works in New York City. After her father, the CEO of Death, Inc., is kidnapped, she must run the family business.

"We don't just want to be the tough chick who has no feelings, or the super girly girl who can't do anything for herself. We want that middle ground," she says.

With online word of mouth driving sales, fan gals have also started churning out their own stories about witches, vampires, wolves and half-bloods on such Web sites as http://www.textnovel.com under categories such as "Romance — Paranormal" and "Romance — Urban Fantasy."

"This is where the key demographic for the 'House of Night' lives, these teenage girls that are online most of the time," Matthew Shear, St. Martin's senior vice president of publishing, said.

Shear acknowledged Meyer's effect on Cast's series and other urban fantasy novels.

He's cheering on sales.

"Is it welcome news to the publishing world ? You bet it is," Shear said. "We're thrilled that people want to buy these books."

Amber Benson to attend 2009 Comic Con on July 25, 2009

Webmaster — 2009-07-09T09:25:40Z

Click on the link :

http://twitter.com/amber_benson/status/2539024249

Amber Benson - "Death Daughter" Novel - Mtv.com Interview

Webmaster — 2009-07-01T11:55:23Z

She may be best know as Tara Meers on the series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” but Amber Benson (left, with Sarah Michelle Gellar) has since become an accomplished writer. She has written and produced her own films, written several comics and she and co-writer Christopher Golden created the popular BBC series “Albion.” Now, she's taking her first solo-flight as a novelist with “Death's Daughter,” which is book one of a trilogy.

During a book signing at Midtown Comics in Times Square, we had the chance to about her new book and its interesting protagonist, a sarcastic young woman named Calliope Reaper-Jones. Amber told Hollywood Crush, “Basically, it's about a girl who's father is Death. [Death as a force] is run like a corporation. He's the president and CEO. And he gets kidnapped and [Calliope] has to come and run the company and find out what happened to her dad. But she's like a normal girl and she doesn't want any part of the supernatural world.”

Despite coming from a powerful family and inheriting the title of Death itself, Calliope is quite self-conscious when she meets handsome men and so, much to her frustration, she winds up having a lot of trouble dating. This, of course, is part of what makes her a character young girls can relate to.

“She's kind of a geek,” Amber said with a smile. “Kind of a dork. A little whiny at times. I wanted to create a character that was flawed. I wanted her to go on the hero's journey. Very rarely do you see a female protagonist who isn't already in control of her super-powers, in control of her destiny. I wanted a character who is given the call and says, ‘no, no, I don't want to do this,' and is kind of forced into her fate.

“Having worked on ‘Buffy,' that sort of prepared me to write Calliope's story. Because she's another aggressive girl out there in the world … We're doing a trilogy and I think as the story progresses she grows and learns and changes. Who wants somebody who's perfect ? I don't.”

But unlike Buffy, Calliope has the companionship of a very special dog. “Runt is one of Cerberus' puppies. Only the boys have three heads. She's SO cute !”

A lot of Indian and Greek mythology are used in this book, but as the first of a trilogy, what other mythologies can we expect in the next two ? “The second book is going to deal more, primarily, with Egyptian mythology. And I'm working on the third right now so we'll see what happens with that one.”

Comics aside, we also had the chance to ask the star about the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” film, which is currently in the works sans the vampire slayer's original creator, Joss Whedon. “I hate to judge things before they happen,” she admitted. “I like to let them be and then when I see it I'll make a judgment on it. It definitely won't be the same ‘Buffy' as the TV show, it will not have Joss' voice. And I think that [Joss' voice] is what draws people into Buffy's world … [But] it COULD be great.”

What do you think about Amber's foray into the world of books ?

Amber Benson - "Here & Now" Radio Show - Listen The Interview

Webmaster — 2009-06-30T19:44:07Z

Amber Benson

Though it's been over six years since the television show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” went off the air, actress Amber Benson, who appeared on the show as Tara Maclay for three seasons still gets recognized by Buffy fans all over the world. But Amber has branched out into directing and writing ; she's just published “Death's Daughter,” the first of a trilogy of urban fantasy novels. Here and Now's Emiko Tamagawa caught up with Amber Benson at a book signing.

Click on the link :

http://www.hereandnow.org/2009/06/rundown-630/#5

Amber Benson - "Girltrash !" Movie - She joins the cast

Webmaster — 2009-06-26T11:27:43Z

Question : Is it true ? There is going to be a Girltrash ! movie ? We've read on Killola's page that Lisa is starting shooting in October so it must be true and she also hinted that the whole cast is going to be back in. Do you know anything more ? Isn't this exciting ?

― Nathalie, Toronto

Answer : Yes, the rumors are true, and, yes, also exciting ! For official confirmation, I checked in with Girltrash ! creator Angela Robinson, and here's what she told me :

We are in talks with producers to shoot a (very low budget) Girltrash ! movie in December, starring the original cast, plus some new characters. I'm writing the script now, and Alex Kondracke (writer on The L Word, who shot the original web series and directed part of it), will be directing.

We are in the midst of getting the Girltrash ! website back online and will be bringing updates from the production as we go. Killola has agreed to write a bunch of songs for the movie, which is awesome.

The Girltrash ! movie is being produced by POWER UP, the organization that also brought us Itty Bitty Titty Committee.

POWER UP's founder and executive director, Stacy Codikow stated, "POWER UP is so proud of all the sucess that has come to Angela since we worked with her on D.E.B.S., that it is our pleasure to work with her again on another amazing concept of hers."

Robinson also told me that she's currently working on the new HBO series, Hung, starring Thomas Jane, Jane Adams and Anne Heche, which will begin airing this summer. She's got a lot going on, so if you want to keep up with her, follow her on Twitter : @RobinsonAngela.

And if it's inspiration you seek, check out the article Robinson wrote for AE a few years ago, "Why We Don't Need the Man." It's all about why queer women should be making our own media. I dare you not to start writing your own short film immediately after you read it.

Amber Benson will play a Russian hooker/mistress.