THE STRANGE RESURRECTION OF PHILIP K DICK
Over the weekend of 24-26 June, Philip K Dick held court in San Francisco – and no one seemed to mind that Hollywood’s favourite science fiction author had been dead since 1982.
Over the weekend of 24-26 June, Philip K Dick held court in San Francisco – and no one seemed to mind that Hollywood’s favourite science fiction author had been dead since 1982.
His acting career had barely begun when it was cut short by stage fright, but you don’t have to be a victim of terror, Martin McGrath looks at what can you do to fight back and how you can get help.
The publication of the government’s Digital Britain strategy, compiled by Lord Carter and released to a great deal of media attention and hype in June 2009, represents a most serious missed opportunity for a country seeking to play a major role in the future digital economy.
If you still think video games can be dismissed as kids’ stuff, perhaps it is time you thought again. The games industry is already huge and it is getting bigger every year. It has become an industry that performers can no longer afford to ignore. Fortunately, as Martin McGrath reports, Equity is already on the case.
Glastonbury’s festival might be most famous for rock bands and endless seas of mud, but has also become one of the biggest gatherings of circus, variety and specialty acts in the counry. Martin McGrath spoke to some of our members who performed there this year about their experiences.
Equity supports believes that the traditions and high quality of British public service broadcasting should be respected and preserved, but that doesn’t mean the union is opposed to change.
Smart. Trendy. Cool. These are not words immediately associated with science fiction fans in the minds of the general public. And yet, sitting in the bar of the Curzon Soho cinema, watching Sci-Fi London, the London Science Fiction Film Festival, flow around me, one can’t help noticing that a fair proportion of these people look like they might have had these words used about them in casual conversation.
In a ground-breaking case an agent who has repeatedly engaged performers for roles and then refused to pay them has been prosecuted by the government’s Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASI) thanks to Equity members supported by their union.
One of the many surprising things about Alfonso Cuarón’s adaptation of PD James’s novel The Children on Men is the transformation of a dry and highly conservative novel into an exciting and, at least on the surface, quite radical movie.
Five years ago, Patrick-Jude Oteh asked International Performers’ Aid Trust for support – he didn’t ask for much, just £25 per month, but that small contribution saved lives and brought hope to artists who are HIV positive.