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ShoWest, a convention for motion picture professionals and theatre owners, has announced two of several awards it will be presenting at this year's event -- and both went to people involved in genre film.

Natalie Portman, who played Princess/Ambassador Amidala in Star Wars Episodes I, II and III, has been named "Female Star of the Year."

M. Night Shyamalan, who's genre films include The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village and the forthcoming Lady in the Water, has been named "Director of the Year."

Now in its 31st year, ShoWest will take place March 13-16, 2006 at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas.

DreamWorks Home Entertainment has come up with a way to have the terror of their movie, The Ring, travel through the phone lines – and in the process promote the DVD release of The Ring Two.

In case you aren't aware of The Ring's plot, here's a summary. When someone watches a mystical short film, a spell is cast and the viewer dies within seven days. In the movie, the viewer usually receives a phone call that predicts their demise.

Well, if you visit www.7daysleft.com, you can enter the mobile numbers and e-mails of your friends. They will then receive an e-mail inviting them to view the film trailer. Once they click the link to view the trailer, they will receive a phone call featuring a whispering voice foretelling their approaching death. After a moment’s horror, they are then asked to continue the chain and supply more names to receive the same treatment.

Now that’s one way for a chain letter to jump out of the Internet!

If you’re going to be in the San Jose, Calif., area next week, you might want to check out the annual film festival, Cinequest. Taking place March 1 through 12 at three cinemas, Cinequest screens a plethora of short and long films in a variety of styles. Several on the docket this year are genre fare, including the Fritz Lang’s silent film Metropolis and a supernatural horror/medical thriller called Unrest. Several of the shorts might also appeal to you, such as Super Power Blues, about a super hero who can’t make time for her boyfriend because she’s so busy saving the world, and Zombie American, about an ordinary guy who also happens to be a zombie.

What: Cinequest 2006
When: Wednesday, March 1, through Sunday, March 12, 2006
Where: San Jose, Calif.

• California Theatre
  345 South First Street
• Camera 12 Cinemas
  201 South Second Street
• San Jose Repertory Theatre
  101 Paseo de San Antonio

For Tickets:
Call: 408-295-3378
Online: www.cinequest.org
Prices: $5 Students, $9 General, $70 10-pack of general screenings

Special Offers:

• Film Lovers Pass -- $125
• Films & Forums Pass -- $135
• Gold Pass -- $195
• Platinum Pass -- $500

Promotional Film Pass Packages are also available at www.cinequest.org/2006/programguide/event_view.php?eid=217

• Festival Lover Package -- $225
• Gold Getaway Package A -- $250
• Gold Getaway Package B -- $325
• Palm Pass Package -- $599

Lord of the Rings fans have yet another reason to visit New Zealand – they can stay in a Hobbit hole! Woodlyn Park, which is two minutes away from Waitomo Caves, has built two full-service units into the side of a hill.

Just like a proper Hobbit home, they have round windows and round doors. Sheep even graze on the roof! For more information, visit www.woodlynpark.co.nz and click on “The Hobbit Motel.”

Others have also jumped onto the Lord of the Rings bandwagon.

The Hobbit Hotel in West Yorkshire, UK, is currently under going a refurbishment featuring Lord of the Rings theming. For more information, visit www.ukhotel.com/yorkshire/the-hobbit-hotel.htm.

There’s a Hotel Hobbit in Mechelen and Zaventem, Belgium, but they don’t seem to have an LOTR theme. You can read a little about them at members.virtualtourist.com/m/tp/77dee and www.hobbithotel.be/hobbit/index.html.

There’s even a travel company called “Hobbit Travel,” which specialized in low fares.

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This Hobbit message was brought to you by the
Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the
World Premiere Lord of the Rings Musical.
For more information, click here.

When I read in Popular Science that Eric Anderson, the CEO of Space Adventures, the first “cosmic travel agency,” I was intrigued. So I went over to Amazon.com and did a search.

Would you believe that there are several books on space tourism? And they aren’t fiction! Amazon even sells articles on the topic.

Well, just for a hoot – and so you could see I’m not making this up – I’ve gathered them all on one page for you to peruse. Have fun!