VanityFair.com ♥’s our protest pic!

I don’t know what I was more excited about a couple weeks back, the fact that the Motion Picture and Television Fund has reversed it’s decision to close their beleaguered hospital and retirement home in Woodland Hills, or the fact that VanityFair.com used my picture (from a 2009 protest rally we attended there, shown below) for their story about it.

Just kidding. I mean, sure, it was kinda cool to be asked by the editors of VanityFair.com to use my pic, but, come on, that doesn’t even compare to the real good news story of the week!

That’s right, amigos, after an epic, two-year battle by the teamsters, every major union in Hollywood, and most importantly, people like Nancy Biederman and her rocking “Saving the lives of our own” campaign, the MPTF finally came to their senses and found a way to save the home and do the right thing. Yee-haw!

And though I’m sure some changes lie ahead for the home and its occupants, the good news is that the facility will remain open to the very-deserving elderly members of the entertainment community for years to come.

I was out there recently for an appointment and let me tell ya, that campus is plush, yo. Really a gorgeous place to grow old. So, here’s hoping the facility stays solvent till I need it too!

To read the full VanityFair.com article on the subject, click here.

“Not Forgotten” nominated for 2010 Saturn Award

Speaking of Sci-Fi…a few weeks back I got the super cool news that “Not Forgotten” had been nominated by the Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy & Horror for a 2010 Saturn Award for Best DVD Release. Yay! I didn’t blog about it then, because I wanted to make sure I got invited to the show first…and guess what? I did! So, whoo-hoo…let the celebrating commence!

If, like most non-hard-core sci-fi geeks, you have no idea what the Saturn Awards are, please allow me to fill you in. The Saturn Awards have been given out to the best of the best sci-fi, fantasy and horror films, TV shows, plays and home video for the past 36 years, and unlike the Oscars who traditionally shun such genres, these guys are true fans of the first order.

This is the organization that in the past has given Best Film Awards to “The Empire Strikes Back”, “Aliens”, “Poltergeist”, “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” and “Children of Men”…smart, bold genre movies that more staid institutions completely shut out. I used to read about these rocking, underground award gatherings in Starlog and Fangoria magazines when I was a geeky kid…so, to have something I co-wrote and associate produced be nominated at all, in any category is kind of mind-blowing.

And the fact that I will actually be attending the show tonight, rubbing elbows with the creators and cast of “Lost”, “Avatar”, “Star Trek”, “Harry Potter” and the like…well, shit…I might just explode!

However, in the highly-unlikely event that I actually do make it through the show tonight intact, I promise to post some pics soon, so, stay tuned. To see a list of all this year’s Saturn Award nominees, click here.