MAJOR ENTERTAINMENT NEWS OUTLET is set to confirm and call Christopher Nolan's new movie due out on November 7 ''INTERSTELLAR'' as a ''cli fi'' movie...

NEWS TIP FOR REPORTERS & BLOGGERS WORLDWIDE: 
confirm at bikolang@gmail.com

I have "heard" from a direct news source that a MAJORENTERTAINMENT NEWS OUTLET is set to confirm and call Christopher Nolan's new movie due out on November 7 ''INTERSTELLAR'' as acli fi movie, see TIME mag May 19 issue for details on cli fi movies,as they also called ''INTO THE STORM'' a cli fi movie and the AFP wire servicewent big with the cli fi term this summer in Spanish, French andItalian wire stories on the movie.

My source tells me INTERSTELLAR is going to be called ''Hollywood'sfirst big cli fi movie'' by her media outlet the last week of October with quotes from Paramount Studio and the director.  

Want more details?. Email me at bikolang@gmail.com

DAVID MITCHELL on how his new novel ''THE BONE CLOCKS'' is a cli fi novel

“I’m trying to use the word ‘paranormal’ to keep the ‘F’ (fantasy) word out of the novel,” he explains, “in case people read that and think, ‘Oh that’s not my cup of tea.’ But, yeah, in the sixth (and final) part she’s a grandmother in 2040 in the west of Ireland, just as the last drop of oil is running out and climate change has run havoc. It’s veering close to dystopian fiction. It’s sort of a realist novel but it has this paranormal heart, and in the fifth part it sort of blasts out of the rib cage, and it’s all there and then it closes in again.” 

- quote from JAPAN TIMES interview by Andrew Lee

WHY CLI FI MATTERS: ''What We Write When It Won't Rain''

Literary critic ANNA NORTH writes in the NYT [with some slight annotative rewrites from this blog]:

"We do what we can to make it rain."

So writes Sterry Butcher in her Texas Monthly meditation on West Texas
drought. We do what we can, it seems, and we talk about what we've
done, and how little it yielded. Rain is something humans were
worrying about in Biblical times, and likely long before. But the long
dry spell in the West has re-focused many Americans' attention on
water, and on what happens when there's not enough. And a new
literature dubbed "cli fi" is  be emerging -- one with room for stories that
recall the past, but also for the possibility of trouble on a scale
we've never seen before.

[Paolo Bacigalupi, in fact, has a new novel coming out soon about water waters titled THE WATER KNIFE set in the near future in the Southwest.]

Here's Ms. Butcher on drought superstition:

"A thunderstorm that glowers only a mile or two distant provokes the
crossing of fingers and messages sent heavenward to help steer the
rain this way. It's considered lucky to wash your car in such a
circumstance, or hang out the laundry, to entice -- or dare -- the rain
to arrive. No studies exist to show the effectiveness of such charms,
but they can't hurt."

And on drought conversation:

"At an Alpine Cowboys baseball game this summer, I sat near two
ranchers commiserating about the weather. 'It's so dry I about can't
stand it,' the first fellow said. The other fellow nodded. 'When the
mesquite starts to die, that'll be it,' he said. 'If that happens, I'm
rolling it up and we're done.'"

Take out the reference to studies, and much of this could apply a
100 years ago -- take out the cars and baseball and you could make
it a thousand. And indeed, a lot of what's written on drought today
harkens back to an earlier era. At San Diego Magazine, Clare
Leschin-Hoar remarks on how little we still know:

"While the National Weather Service uses everything from a variety of
atmospheric models to weather balloons and drone planes to gather
information, scientists still can't predict precisely when a region
will get rain, or how much. That means water officials need to
constantly plan for what's ahead."

Bobby Magill of Climate Central writes about a surprising consequence
of the California drought, under the very Biblical-sounding headline
"Epic Drought in West is Literally Moving Mountains."

And at The New Republic, Jeffrey Ball writes that "the scary
statistics of California's drought read like a latter-day version of
the 1930s Dust Bowl crisis." He notes that "whether climate change is
at play is a question on which scientists disagree." But this question
seems to hang over much recent writing on drought. At the very least,
some writers may be starting to look at drought as a sign that we need
to change our relationship to water, and to the earth.

"I think there's a kind of visceral panic that occurs in people when
suddenly water seems to be unavailable," Scott Slovic, a professor of
English and co-editor of the anthology "Literature and the
Environment," told Op-Talk. "We're inspired to try to hoard water, to
fill our bathtubs. Water is one of the essential supplies that we're
supposed to have in our homes should there be any kind of disaster."
When we see droughts like the one in California, he added,  "we begin
to worry on a visceral, profound level that maybe there's something we
didn't quite bargain for."

Writers like Craig Childs, Ellen Meloy and Marc Reisner have tried to
get readers to take water more seriously, he said: "The literature has
attempted to make us revalue what is truly a precious resource." [Paolo Bacigalupi has a new novel coming out soon about water waters titled THE WATER KNIFE set in the near future in the Southwest.]

And while writers have long been interested in the desert -- "some of
the oldest tropes in world literature have to do with the power of dry
places" -- the way they understand drought and dry landscapes may be
changing. In the late 20th and early 21st century, Mr. Slovic argued,
writers have begun to challenge the "idea that the boundaries of the
desert are fixed. I think we increasingly have a sense that aridity
moves."

He sees Mr. Childs, for instance, as advancing the "notion that the
American desert is not just in a specific location. Many different,
unexpected regions of America and other parts of the world can easily
become desert, and have perhaps been desert historically" -- a
conception of "the fluid, moveable desert, of uncertain climatic
conditions that could result in water shortages for short periods or
immensely long periods."

Heather Houser, a professor of English and the author of "Ecosickness
in Contemporary U.S. Fiction," also sees a change. She traces it
through the work of the novelist Leslie Marmon Silko, author of
"Ceremony" (1977) and "Almanac of the Dead" (1991). "In 'Ceremony,'"
Ms. Houser told Op-Talk in an email, "drought drives a healing
narrative: The protagonist, like the land, goes from a state of
sickness to one of health." But in "Almanac of the Dead," "drought is
pervasive, and one individual's actions aren't going to reverse it."
Indeed, "the picture Silko paints is apocalyptic; a local drought
heralds global catastrophe."

Recent discussion of[the emerging new genre dubbed cli fi and] climate change, Ms. Houser argued, has led
contemporary writers to depict drought as a sweeping problem that's
beyond any one person's capacity to solve. Whether literature will
motivate readers to solve it, though, is an open question.
"'Consciousness' is not the same as 'action,'" she said. "The gap
between these positions is often huge, even for the most stalwart
environmentalist."

Some writers, she added, have examined this gap, and "emotions like
anxiety and wonder that widen or shrink it." Richard Powers's 2006
novel "The Echo Maker," she said, "teaches readers about the
destruction of sandhill crane habitat in Nebraska and so raises
awareness, but, in another plot about a neurological disease, it also
shows that the mind is astonishingly complex. We might feel wonder and
awe at the natural world and want to protect it, but there are
psychological and social obstacles obstructing the path from wonder to
care."

Mr. Slovic sees, if not action, then at least rising concern. "Climate
cycles are not absolutely fixed and predictable," he said, "and that
may be the great lesson of the era that we're living through right
now. Whether we believe in human-caused planet-wide changes or whether
we believe that these are natural cycles, I think all of us in the
early 21st century have this sense of a kind of basic uncertainty
about how conditions are changing."

He's noticed a growing desire to find ways to adapt to these changes:
"The more nimble we can be, the more lightly we can live on the
planet, I think the more able we will be to adjust to various shifts
that we see occurring every day right now and that are likely to
continue to occur in the future, and I see this reflected in the
literature."

We don't yet know how to make it rain. But increasingly, we may be
talking about what to do when the rain doesn't come.

[This article was edited and rewritten in parts by a subeditor in Taiwan.]

"Polly and the One and Only True World" will impact the YA world with its timely message

Climate activist and literary theorist Danny Bloom says of the new YA novel "Polly and the One and Only True World": (set for release in October 2014) --

"Polly and the One and Only True World" is a dystopian YA cli fi novel
that tackles some pretty heavy
themes, and author Don Brede has pulled it off without a hitch. The
story he tells is stormy, dark and deep but it ends with a note of
hope as well, as befits a YA novel. It's not all gloom and doom. It's
a story for our times, and it's going to hit some might big nerves
along the way to publication and acceptance. Given that America is
still a very Christian nation, and that Brede's book goes

into some pretty strong issues concering free thought and Christian
fundamentalism, I asked the
well-respected Vermont author if he expects

criticism and backlash and even perhaps nationwide book banning due to
pressure frrom the legions of Christian fundamentalists and climate

denialists (sometimes the same people but not always) out there.

He told me: ''Sure, I do expect some criticism and vitriol --
especially from fundamentalists-

- that is, if the book gets any attention at all. In fact, I'm

sure that a number of mainstream book publishers who passed on the
novel when it was submitted to them by my agent were leery of the

reception in might receive, and they also recognized that a large
market for YA fiction -- the

public schools and public libraries -- would probably not be in play.

As it happens, my first novel ''HARD FEELINGS'' in 1977, which was a
popular success, was

also a banned book in many communities. What will I say in 2014 and
2015 if this new novel runs into

protests and book banning from religious groups nationwide?

First, I'll point out that the novel is a fantasy, of course -- a
cautionary fantasy

for young people. It presents a futuristic realization of the dire
outcomes of trends we

can see today in our culture and in the wider world. Will America
become a repressive

theocracy? Probably not. But the possibility is undeniably there, and
there are, right now,

virulent factions in the culture that would love to make it happen.
Beyond that, I deplore

the indoctrination of young people into organized systems of belief in
the supernatural.

To the degree such influences persist, I believe these are still the
Dark Ages. I would like

young readers to consider the perspective, exemplified by Polly, that
gods are not real and

that the stories embraced by faith systems are nothing more than old
myths, whose purpose

as guides to conduct and as soothing counters to all we fear, like
death, is no longer very

helpful or useful. Far better to believe only in what we can be
reasonably (if provisionally)

sure is true.

Just as alarming are the trends toward a severe disruption in the
delicate balance that the

world's climate has enjoyed for many thousands of years. Increasingly
intense storms,

permanent drought, coastal flooding, the collapse of the Gulf Stream
and of industrial

agriculture and international trade--and, as a consequence of those
cruel stresses, the

potential for religiously inspired terrorist violence a thousand times
more devastating than

9/11--are unquestionably worth pondering right now, for the sake of
forestalling them if we

can.

Then, too, the main character, Polly, and the book's heroes are
witches. Their recourse

to magick (which we know is not real) stands wryly juxtaposed in the
novel to things like

earnest prayer and exorcism and belief in Satan and the Rapture (which
we should know

are not real)."

I thoroughly enjoyed reading POLLY, but then again, I'm a deep green
climate activist and a longtime untheist.
But get ready for when this 333-page YA novel hits the streets! The
proverbial you know what is going to hit the fan and all hell is going
to break loose among the Christian fundamentalists who populate this
evolving nation in pockets north, south, east and west. Polly is going
to be a big wake-up call for teenagers everywhere, but along the way,
it's going to meet some strong, mean resistance. It's always  been
this way in Americ. Don Brede has done it again!

The 2015 Cli Fi Movie Awards aka THE CLIFFIES prototype winner's statuette

No glitz, no glamour, just the real intent and theme of the CLIFFIES: raising public awareness among Hollywood studios and the movie going public of climate change and AGW issues worldwide. ENLARGE TO SEE DATE!

Doomsday climate lit and ''d-fi'' (pronounced as "DEFY")

Doomsday climate lit and ''d-fi'' (pronounced as "DEFY") A new genre has been emerging on the edges of ''sci fi'' and ''cli fi'' and it is being dubbed ''d-fi'' -- a genre that defies expectations, defies settled convictions, defies climate denialsts and defies gatekeeping literary critics. D-fi pulls no punches and tells as it may very well be: we are doomed, not now, but in 500 to 1000 years, 30 to 50 generations from now and what writers and movies need to do now is help prepare future generations -- our descendants -- for the dire and unspeakable fate that awaits them: the mass die offs of humans in those distant days due to major climate change and global warming impact events, and d-fi novels and movies will prepare readers in future times to prepare to die spiritually, mentally and physically, perhaps with designated mass suicides at certain meaningful times of year, such as Christmas, Easter, Passover, Summer Solstice, July 4th, Boxing Day, Thanksgiving.

For some reason which I cannot fathom yet -- but I hope this blog post and subsequent discussions will be able to shed some light on -- some people in the sci-fi community have been gently mocking the cli fi genre term in ways similar to way the ways in which sci fi itself was mocked once upon a time, say 50 years ago when sci fi first emerged on the cultural scene.

Now we have good people like sci fi writer Niall Harrison at Twitter @niallharrison writing in an Aug 23 tweet: "Nooooo "Cli-Fi" kill it with fire! #SFFNow"

And a friend of Niall's tweets to @sraets @TiemenZwaan @niallharrison @bees_ja @bibliolicious that "I use "eco-SF" want of a better term. Occasionally also ecopunk, sheepishly." ''Ecopunk or greenpunk or eco-SF, sure. But cli-fi... yuck.''

@Squirrelpunkd Aug 23 > > @kiplet @thefuturefire @sraets @TiemenZwaan @niallharrison @bees_ja @bibliolicious There's a decent Brazilian anthology that's named CLI FI. 

Unrevealed @PrinceofRazors Aug 23@thefuturefire @sraets @TiemenZwaan @niallharrison @bees_ja @bibliolicious ''Out of curiosity, you read that CS Monitor piece on "cli-fi"? 

Tiemen Zwaan @TiemenZwaan Aug 23 > > @niallharrison @sraets @bees_ja @bibliolicious
A bit like what Atwood did with calling her books speculative fiction? 

@PrinceofRazors Aug 23 > > @thefuturefire @sraets @TiemenZwaan @niallharrison @bees_ja @bibliolicious I think from last year. Claimed "cli-fi" isn't science fiction..
Said it's *lit* fiction. I guess because SF can't be serious? 

@bees_ja @bibliolicious Didn't see that. Don't understd need to deny SF 4 respectability 

''But I find most discourses about/around "literariness" suspect... '' says another Tweet

Dan Bloom to @niallharrison Hi Nial,
''RSVP if time and inclined re your strange cli fi mockery/hatred ''

-----------

COMMENTS:

1.  ''I didn't read everything, but it sounds in part like a knee-jerk allergy to the term "cli fi", rooted in part in the older hatred for the term "sci fi" which became popular in the 70s (though coined in the 50s and patterned on "hi fi") and which was hated in part because it was associated with the kind of popular science fiction the traditional fans of written SF did not appreciate.''

2. ''I'm saying that if you hate the abbreviation "sci fi", you're probably going to hate "cli fi"... ''

3. ''Unfortunately, a lot of people have knee-jerk reactions to new terms and concepts. If they're reasonable, they will listen to reasonable discussion on the matter. If they're not reasonable, there's no point in debating it with them. You may as well debate with a stone.

I haven't been following the objections to "cli-fi" too closely, but it seems to be a mix of a few things.

Some people just don't like the word itself on a stylistic level. They may also not like sci-fi, Hi-Fi, Wi-Fi, and any number of abbreviations, neologisms, etc. that they consider somehow odd, undignified, cheesy, etc. Hopefully these people will learn to "get over it" and use the term climate fiction if they'd rather not use the term cli-fi.

And then there are the people who pride themselves on being "apolitical" (whatever that means) or who are politically opposed to discussion of climate change for various reasons. They make fun of cli-fi just as much as they will make fun of any fiction that they consider to be political, preachy, didactic, etc.

Honestly, none of these should be barriers to understanding and respecting cli-fi as an emerging genre. Even if it's something that they personally don't write, they should be able to see the literary value, as with sci-fi. ''

4. 'Yes, i meant "does NOT aim to supplant sci fi" -- thanks for catching this typing mistake, yes DOES NOT AIM TO SUPPLANT, of course. I will let you know if any of Niall's friends reply by tweet. I think they will. I just chanced upon their cli fi HATE conversation yesterday and had no idea people felt so strongly. WOW. But I am sure once they hear me out, they will change their minds and see the light. CLI FI is not the enemy of SCI FI and does not aim to supplant SF and is a separate genre but if they want to call it subgenre of sci fi, they can do that too. although i do not call it a subgenre. and if sci fi writers tackle climate issues then BRAVO. we are on the same TEAM!''

5. ''my response in CAPS to your very good post above: re ''Dan, you're going to have to very carefully define what makes fiction CliFi and not another genre. I HAVE VERY CAREFULLY DEFINED WHAT CLI FI IS FOR MORE THAN A YEAR BUT I CANNOT CONTROL WHAT NPR OR THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR OR THE NYT SAY ABOUT CLI FI IS THOSE REPORTERS DO NOT CONTACT ME. ! SIGH ......If it's fiction about the present day world using only present day technology, you have a solid case. NO CLI FI CAN TAKE PLACE IN THE PAST, THE PRESENT, THE NEAR FUTURE AND THE DISTANT FUTURE AND IT CAN EVEN USE FUTURE TECHNOLOGY IS WRITERS WANT TO GO THERE BUT THE MAIN STORY IS BASED ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND AGW. AND IT IS STILL CLI FI. SURE. If it uses future technology or takes place in the future, then you are moving into the realm of science fiction. NO NO CLI FI CAN TAKE PLACE IN IMAGINED FUTURE FOR SURE. BUT IT DIFFERS, IMHO, FROM SCI FI IN THAT SCI FI IS WELL, A DIFFERENT KIND OF GENRE WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF GOALS AND READERS...THAT'S ALL. SOM SCI FI NOVELS CAN BE CONSIDERED CLI FI SURE. AND SOME CLI FI NOVELS CAN BE CONSIDERED SCI FI SURE. BUT THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT AND DISTINCT GENRES. ASK ME MORE OFFLINE AT danbloom@gmail.com - i have files and files of quotes to show you.

So, is the intent to define CliFi as fiction about climate issues (1) in the present day with present technology, YES (2) in the present day and projected future with present technologies, YES (3) in the present day and projected future with present and projected technologies, YES or (4) in any time with both real and imagined technologies? YES ......There would be no issue with defining group (1) fiction as CliFi. Group (4) is squarely science fiction genre. Groups (2) and (3) may overlap the science fiction genre and should be labeled SF if any significant part of the story is set in the future, but may be removed from the SF genre if the story is squarely set in the present world and any views into the future or about future technologies are presented as projections by characters within the story.

In the end it will likely be the mainstream media who defines what is called CliFi -- THIS IS TRUE AND I AM MONITORING THE MSM TO MAKE SURE THEY GET IT RIGHT....BUT OFTEN THEY DO NOT CONSULT ME OR EVEN CONTACT ME FIRST THEY JUST WRITE WHA THE WANT AS DID NPR AND CSM AND NYT ROOM FOR DEBATE FORUM....I CANNOT CONTROL THE MEDIA. THEY WRITE WHAT THEY WANT AND ARE OFTEN WRONG!.....SIGH..... the term is certainly catchy enough to make it adoptable I AGREE AND THANKS FOR YOUR VOTE OF CONFIDENCE SMILE.....-- but you should at least start out trying to give it a unique and coherent definition. PAUL I HAVE BEEN GIVING A UNIQUE AND COHERENT DEFINTION FOR OVER TWO YEARS BUT I CANNOT CONTROL MEDIA HEADLINE WRITERS OR REPORTERS OR TWITTER HATES. SMILE......BUT ALL THIS WILL SORT ITSELF OUT BY AND BY. I AM NOT WORRIED. AND I AM NOT UPSET. IT WILL TAKE 20 YEARS FOR CLI FI TO DEFINE ITSELF. JUST AS SCI FI TOOK A LONG TIME AT THIS TOO. So ALL GOOD AND ALL IS WELL.''

6. ''My main point that I didn't have time to talk about earlier was related to genre overlap. This may be a somewhat unconventional view, but as far as I'm concerned, genre overlap is fine. In some cases, a work of fiction may be influenced by several genres. It may even be unclear which (if any) is the dominant one.

For example, some "pulp sci-fi" lies at the intersection between the science fiction genre and the romance genre. These works are set in a sci-fi setting but the plot is more reminiscent of a romance novel. If I were forced to choose, I would classify some of these as romance rather than sci-fi. 

To use a much more nuanced example, let's consider Barbara Kingsolver's "Flight Behavior". Arguably, it could be considered a slightly "sci-fi" plot because real butterflies have not yet exhibited the exact behavior that they do in the novel. It could also be considered "romance" because it explores relationships quite thoroughly and one of the main plot arcs has to do with a relationship. But personally, I would place it solidly in the "cli-fi" genre with aspects of the other genres. As I see it, the main thrust of the book is using a slightly quirky occurrence and a very personal narrative to explore the issue of climate change (and certain related themes of gender, class, the nature of science, urban vs rural, etc.).''

7. ''I am a long time science fiction fan. I have no problem with there being a "CliFi" genre -- whether it's a separate fiction genre or a sub-genre of something else. But you're going to have to very carefully define what makes fiction CliFi and not another genre. If it's fiction about the present day world using only present day technology, you have a solid case. If it uses future technology or takes place in the future, then you are moving into the realm of science fiction.

So, is the intent to define CliFi as fiction about climate issues (1) in the present day with present technology, (2) in the present day and projected future with present technologies, (3) in the present day and projected future with present and projected technologies, or (4) in any time with both real and imagined technologies? There would be no issue with defining group (1) fiction as CliFi. Group (4) is squarely science fiction genre. Groups (2) and (3) may overlap the science fiction genre and should be labeled SF if any significant part of the story is set in the future, but may be removed from the SF genre if the story is squarely set in the present world and any views into the future or about future technologies are presented as projections by characters within the story.

In the end it will likely be the mainstream media who defines what is called CliFi -- the term is certainly catchy enough to make it adoptable -- but you should at least start out trying to give it a unique and coherent definition.''

8. My main point that I didn't have time to talk about earlier was related to genre overlap. This may be a somewhat unconventional view, but as far as I'm concerned, genre overlap is fine. In some cases, a work of fiction may be influenced by several genres. It may even be unclear which (if any) is the dominant one.

For example, some "pulp sci-fi" lies at the intersection between the science fiction genre and the romance genre. These works are set in a sci-fi setting but the plot is more reminiscent of a romance novel. If I were forced to choose, I would classify some of these as romance rather than sci-fi. 

To use a much more nuanced example, let's consider Barbara Kingsolver's "Flight Behavior". Arguably, it could be considered a slightly "sci-fi" plot because real butterflies have not yet exhibited the exact behavior that they do in the novel. It could also be considered "romance" because it explores relationships quite thoroughly and one of the main plot arcs has to do with a relationship. But personally, I would place it solidly in the "cli-fi" genre with aspects of the other genres. As I ....As I see it, the main thrust of the book is using a slightly quirky occurrence and a very personal narrative to explore the issue of climate change (and certain related themes of gender, class, the nature of science, urban vs rural, etc.).''

THE CLIFFIES will honor cli fi movies during annual Hollywood awards show

The Cli-Fi Movie Awards will launch online in early 2015 with ten categories, including best movie, best marketing campaign, and most in tune with current affairs. Danny Bloom explains the scoop

http://www.thewrap.com/hollywoods-climate-themed-movies-getting-own-awards-show-guest-blog/

 LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood has a calendar full of movie and TV awards shows, from the Oscars to the Golden Globes, and with a dozen other awards on tap as well. There's even the Razzies — The Golden Raspberry Awards – for the worst movies in each year's hefty bag of cinema surprises.

 Now a curtain is about to open on a new movie awards event, this one called The Cliffies, and honoring the best climate-themed movies of the previous year.

The Cli Fi Movie Awards, as the event is formally called, will shine a serious spotlight on important cli fi movies of the year.

Dubbed ”the Cliffies,” to give the awards program a semi-goofy nickname as a PR shout out, the event will launch online in early 2015 with nominations in ten categories being sent in now by movie fans and climate activists worldwide.

  Also Google: ‘Cliffies’ Award to Honor Films About Climate Change and Global Warming (Guest Blog)

 So far, six cli fi films are up for best movie gongs, including ”Snowpiercer,” “Into the Storm” and “Noah.” Categories will also include ”best marketing campaign”, ”most in tune with current affairs” and ”most in tune with current climate science.” After creating and popularizing the rising new literary genre of “cli-fi” (novels about climate change and global warming) and bringing the meme into the pages of the New York Times, Time magazine and the Guardian in Britain, I decided to set up a new Hollywood film awards event for “cli-fi movies that matter.”

 Why movies? Because films have a large impact now worldwide, and the pressing issues of climate change and global warming are too important for Hollywood to ignore.

Time magazine led the media charge in May with a three-page article about the new crop of cli fi movies, and when this summer's “Into the Storm” was released, reviewers and websites started referring to the movie as a “cli fi thriller” worth watching.

That's when I realized that the cli fi term was catching on in Hollywood, and that's when I decided to set up the Cliffies.

  Also Google: ‘Cli Fi’ Rising to New Hollywood Heights 

The Cliffies will recognize and honor the best climate-themed movies of 2014, and so on for the next 100 years. Movies that best mirror current events as well as those that best mirror current climate science will be in the mix. Nominations are welcome now from film fans and the movie-going public, with the deadline for nominations set for December 31. [Send nominations and information queries to the administrative offices at bikolang@gmail.com ]

 The Cliffies will not be a glitz and glamor event but will instead focus public attention on climate themes and issues confronting America (and the entire world) at this point in human history. Andrew C. Revkin, a musician and songwriter who also runs the Dot Earth science blog at the New York Times website, has graciously offered to lend his song “Liberation Carbon Blues” as the theme music for the awards event and its website. In the running for top awards include movies from North America, South Korea and Australia. Actors such as Tilda Swinton, Chris Evans, Russell Crowe, Emma Watson and Matthew McConaughey will be honored as well, with nominations for sure and possible top prizes.

Also Google : New York Times Rides Growing Wave of Climate Fiction
 Will the Cliffies, just getting off the ground now and set to launch officially in early 2015, have any impact on Hollywood studios and the movies they greenlight for future productions? That's the central mission of these awards: to serve as a wake up call and an alarm bell about climate issues in the center of the film capital of the world. Global warming is a world problem, and the Cliffies hope to bring the message home to Hollywood and Vine.

The Purpose of ''THE CLIFFIES'' - an interview with Dan Bloom

QUESTION: Dan, can you explain the purpose of THE CLIFFIES? Is it to raise the profile of the cli fi genre in Hollywood and among Hollywood players? Is that why you are putting on this annual event, starting in early 2015?

DAN BLOOM: Yes, the purpose of this annual CLI FI MOVIE AWARDS event -- dubbed by one punter as ''THE CLIFFIES'', as a semi-goofy nickname, in keeping with Brian Merchant's (VICE, MOTHERBOARD) characterization as the "cli fi" as ''a semi-goofy genre term'' -- and I like the playfulness of the punter's nickname! -- yes, the purpose is to raise the profile on cli fi genre in Hollywood and among Hollywood players, from producers to directors to scriptwriters to PR units.

QUESTION: THE CLIFFIES top winners will be announced a week before the OSCARS telecast? What is the reasoning behind that? 

DAN BLOOM: To get some good PR for the CLIFFIES event and the winner's list.

QUESTION: Who is sponsoring THE CLIFFIES? [ME!] Where is the money coming from to put the show on? [ME!] Will it be telecast or live-tweeted or just announced online? [BOTH!]

QUESTION: Where are the nominations for THE CLIFFIES coming in from? [FROM FANS AND MOVIE CRITICS AND ANYONE!] And who will decide on the list of winners? [A JURY]

QUESTION: Cli fi is a new genre, so new that most people have not heard of it. Are you worried that by calling your film awards event THE CLIFFIES -- a semi-goofy nickname, to say the least! -- the official name of the CLI FI MOVIE AWARDS might get lost in the shuffle between social media and print media?

DAN BLOOM: Not worried at all. THE CLIFFIES will rise to the occasion!

QUESTION: What was the inspiration for your wanting to set up THE CLIFFIES?

DAN BLOOM: My previous PR work on boosting the media profile of the cli fi genre term in the pages of the New York Times, the Guardian and the FT, NPR and TIME magazine. First I focused on the book world for cli fi novels. The idea took off. Now I am focusing on the film world. It's an extention of the same thing: to raise public awareness of climate issues in novels and movies.

QUESTION: Are THE CLIFFIES more of an educational, awareness-raising awards event than a glitzy glamor Hollywood celebrity VIP thing? In other words, who are you trying to reach and is this more of a PR event than a real film awards event?

DAN BLOOM: THE CLIFFIES are an educational, awareness-raising awards event and not a glitzy glamor Hollywood celebrity VIP thing. You got it!  In other words, I am trying to reach the public with a wake up call on climate issues and, yes, this more of a PR event than a real film awards event.

QUESTION: As THE CLIFFIES grow year by year, do you envision a time when the awards ceremony will be hosted at a Hollywood venue, complete with professional MC and a few celebrity guests?

DAN BLOOM: YES! 

QUESTION: If the CLIFFIES become popular inside Hollywood and worldwide as well via social media, can you imagine the day when an OSCARS award winner acceptance speech calls his or her movie a cli fi movie and uses the word CLI FI on air for all the world to hear?

DAN BLOOM: YES!

QUESTION: How long do you envision THE CLIFFIES lasting? [100 years!] Is this a one-time thing or do you see it lasting 50 years, 100 years?

QUESTION: Lois Lowry, author of THE GIVER novel in 1993 that became a movie in 2014 was recently asked by a reporter for USA TODAY why so many Hollywood futures appear to be dystopian, as in her book and movie. She replied: "That's a good question. Maybe in dramatic terms, utopia is boring." Do you agree with her?

DAN BLOOM: Yes, I like that quote.But I also like utopian movies about climate change, too. I am above all an optimist. I am not into doom or gloom, even though I am a Bloom!

QUESTION: Anything else you want to say about THE CLIFFIES and how you hope it might impact Hollywood movies in future years, given that movies often take years and year to get greenlighted and we might not see too many cli fi movies in Hollywood for another 25 years or so?

DAN BLOOM: All sytems go, full speed ahead.

QUESTION: Is the CLIFFIES a beginning? [YES!] Are you trying to sound the alarm about climate change issues in cinema?  [YES!] Are you issuing a wake up call to movie critics and PR units and marketing people inside Hollywood?  [YES!] [YES!] [YES!] [YES!] [YES!] [YES!] [YES!]

THE CLIFFIES: an annual cli fi movie awards event set for 2015 launch

                          PRESS RELEASE

THE CLIFFIES: an annual cli fi movie awards event set for 2015 launch

UPDATE: August 2014

First, if you're new to this, read the article in THEWRAP.com about the CLIFFIES, google search for ''THEWRAP.COM + Dan Bloom + THE CLIFFIES" at thewrap.com/hollyblogs

and this from NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/07/29/will-fiction-influence-how-we-react-to-climate-change

UPDATE 2:

We have found a tentative venue in but still working on funding and hosting duties. Any volunteers? Email us at danbloom@gmail.com

UPDATE 3: The CLIFFIES will be held as an annual cli fi movie awards event. We are accepting nominations now for the 2015 event. Movies released in 2014 are open for noms. We are accepting noms in these categories this year: best movie, best director, best actors (plural, male, female) best director, best sceenplay, best adapted screenplay, best PR campaign, best title (YES BEST TITLE), Best Connection to Current Climate Issues and Climate Science, best cinema experience


UPDATE 4: All systems go. Funding is still ongoing and philanthropic investors for non-profit CLIFFIES FOUNDATION are welcome to contact us.


UPDATE 5: News coverare in early 2015 around OSCARS TIME expected from AP, Reuters, AFP, BBC, CNN, NYTIMES, MASHABLE, BUZZFEED, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, THE WRAp, GuaRDAIN, FT, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, etc, MEDIA inquires weclome


UPDATE 6: THE CLIFFIES Motto ''HOLLYWOOD WILL NEVER VIEW CLIMATE IN THE SAME WAY AGAIN!" will go global via social media

UPDATE 7: THE CLIFFIES are a game changer. A tire changer. Stay tuned.

NOTE: see recent NEW YORK TIMES OPED: ROOM FOR DEBATE: Can Cli Fi Save the World?

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/07/29/will-fiction-influence-how-we-react-to-climate-change

THE CLIFFIES - An annual cli fi movie awards event set for February 2015

THE CLIFFIES - An annual cli fi movie awards event set for February 2015

Nominations for THE CLIFFIES, an online cli fi movie awards ''event'' in February 2015 for best cli fi movies released in 2014

[send nominations to danbloom@gmail.com with title of movie, name of actor etc and reasons why you are nominating them :]

THE LIST OF NOMINATIONS SO FAR

 BEST CLI FI MOVIE OF 2014

Noah, Godzilla, Into the Storm, Snowpiercer, Interstellar, The Rover (Australia)[ http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/why-david-michod-steered-clear-of-hollywood-to-shoot-the-rover-with-pearce-and-pattinson-video ]

BEST DIRECTORS: Darren Aronofsky, NOAH; Bong Joon-ho, SNOWPIERCER; Christopher Nolan, INTERSTELLAR; David Michod, THE ROVER; Gareth Edwards, GODZILLA; Steven Quale, INTO THE STORM; ETC...

 MOVIE WITH THE BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN
INTO THE STORM, SNOWPIERCER, other nominations open

MOVIE WITH THE BEST TITLE: nominations open

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noah; Into the Storm, Interstellar, The Rover,


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
SNOWPIERCER, adapted from La Transpiercage, French manga etc more noms open

BEST ACTORS and FILMS THEY APPEAR IN:

Kang-ho Song, SNOWPIERCER, Octavia Spencer, SNOWPIERCER; Ah-sung Ko, SNOWPIECER; Tilda Swinton, SNOWPIERCER, Ed Harris, Snowpiercer, Richard Armitage, Gary Sarah Wayne Callies, Allison Matt Walsh, Pete Max Deacon, Donnie Nathan Kress, Trey Alycia Debnam Carey, Kaitlyn Arlen Escarpeta, Daryl Jeremy Sumpter ,INTO THE STORM; Russell Crowe ... Noah Jennifer Connelly ... Naameh Ray Winstone ... Tubal-cain Anthony Hopkins ... Methuselah Emma Watson, NOAH: this list will not be for one actor or actress but for a list of actors that nominations feel are worthy of being in the BEST ACTORS LIST FOR A CLI FI MOVIE in 2014, lead actors or supporting actors

MOVIE WITH THE BEST CONNECTION TO CURRENT EVENTS:

MOVIE WITH THE BEST CONNECTION TO CLIMATE SCIENCE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

MOVIE WITH THE BEST LINE OF DIALOG IN A CLI FI MOVIE RELEASED IN 2014:
 among the noms are SNOWPIERCER, Tilda Swinton's character says "You suffer from the misplaced optimism of the doomed. 74 percent of you will die." MORE NOMS welcome

A dystopian view of polar city life in Alaska in 2075 AD

Cli fi novel displays dystopian view future of life in Alaska, come the Apocalypse, but ends on happy, positive note. Two sequels in the works: POLAR CITY BLUE and POLAR CITY GREEN. http://pcillu101.blogspot.com

 

1 image

Book reivew by Fairbanks Daily News-Miner book critic Libbie Martin

 

FAIRBANKS, Feb. 17, 2075 AD —
 
Dystopian novels aren’t new. Writers have been imagining dark futures since we started drawing in caves. In current times, think Margaret Atwood, Bruce Sterling, David

And climate change and ecological disaster have long been the themes of dystopian despair; we’re a species quite capable of destroying ourselves and our planet. Laughter’s vision follows the format well: disaster destroys most of the world; humanity devolves back to savagery; some bright spots of civilization exist, albeit under constant attack from chaos; these bright spots all have dark secrets that threaten to destroy the “humanity” inside us; and some brave soul takes on those forces of evil to bring mankind back to the light
So weather you agree climate change in the early 2000s was caused by man or was naturally occurring, the fact that the climate is changing cannot be denied. Glaciers and ice at the poles continue to melt faster than ever; destructive species are moving up into latitudes that used to be too cold for them; and 100-year floods, droughts and superstorms are now almost yearly occurrences.

Back in 2013, long before millions of climate refugees from the Lower 48 flooded Alaska seeking refuge from the story -- the Climapocalypse -- Tulsa, Oklahoma sci fi author Jim Laughter, 59,  took taken the then current-event scenario and extrapolated into the future, -- where we are today in 2075 ! -- assuming we continue to ignore the evidence before our eyes and keep our heads in the sand while pulling fossil fuels from it.

 In his 2012 cli-fi novel “Polar City Red,” Laughter envisioned  a sad and tragic world a few decades into the future, where temperatures have risen to the point that “island nations that stood only a few feet above sea level were affected ... their coastlines disappearing under a surge of tidal encroachment, eventually to be buried beneath an infringing ocean.”
 Superstorms pummeled the surviving coasts several to hundreds of times yearly, drowning those who could not evacuate. Starvation killed off more, as low-lying agricultural areas were destroyed by salt water, and drought parched those areas lucky enough not to be flooded.Entire ecosystems went extinct, and with them, their flora and fauna. People fell from civilization into barbarianism, with survival being the only goal.“Disease, pestilence and famine were the natural steps that followed the breakdown of human control. Hunger ruled the day; violence the night. Nature turned against man, and man turned against nature in a desperate attempt to survive ... ”But up in the North, in Canada and Alaska, the frozen wonderland had become tropical rainforest, and a few hardy survivors built cities; cities which, with clever prescience, were stocked with the most current technology and machinery, stockpiled with years of food and populated with the most brilliant minds available. These cities became the Shangri-la of the downtrodden, mirages of survival and peace, a nurturing oasis in the desert humanity had come to inhabit.One such city is Polar City Red.Carsen and Louellen Moore have taken a huge gamble; they left the overcrowded jungle the cities had become for one of the fabled tundra cities, bringing along their children, and having another on the way. The journey is fraught with danger, but staying in the city was no safer. The Moores wanted more for their kids.Carsen is a former college professor; Louellen a doctor. When they are found by a man called Jerky, Polar City Red’s resident big-game hunter, they are taken to one of the cities put up years before by perceptive scientists trying to save humanity from its own folly. Carsen and Louellen are welcomed warmly by Dr. Alexi Romanov, the director. Their daughter Sarah, although not even a teenager, is also very welcome, as the settlement has one woman for every six or seven men. She is promptly entered into the “Lottery,” though it takes her parents some time to understand what that actually means (the reader figures it out immediately).Living in the North, even though it is no longer frigid and populated with man-eating carnivores, is safer than the cities, though there are dangers. “Scavs,” scavengers and criminals who have been thrown out of the settlements, make constant sorties to raid food, equipment and women for their camps. The local militia, and eventually, an unknown federal presence, does its best to keep Polar City Red’s citizens safe, but it seems when civilization fell, the millions of weapons hoarded by countries big and small went AWOL, and RPGs can do severe damage to a storage shed — and anyone who happens to be in or near it at the time
.It’s a struggle to survive. But Carsen and Louellen make the best of the situation, she taking on the role of medical doctor and he assisting with administration and teaching.
 Dystopian novels aren’t new. Writers have been imagining dark futures since we started drawing in caves.

And climate change and ecological disaster have long been the themes of dystopian despair; we’re a species quite capable of destroying ourselves and our planet. Laughter’s vision follows the format well: disaster destroys most of the world; humanity devolves back to savagery; some bright spots of civilization exist, albeit under constant attack from chaos; these bright spots all have dark secrets that threaten to destroy the “humanity” inside us; and some brave soul takes on those forces of evil to bring mankind back to the light..............

Libbie Martin was a freelance writer who lived in Fairbanks in 2013. Where she is in 2075 is anybody's guess. Is Alaska still Alaska, for that matter?

 “Polar City Red”By Jim LaughterDeadly Niche Press$12.95

AskDavid website is a first-time writer's dream come true

 

 

AskDavid.com is a first-time or second-time writer's dream come true for PR and advertisting platforms

AND: it's very useful for public relatioms PR and getting the word out
about your new book

by ''Leinad Moolb'' for the book industry worldwide: site: www.askdavid.com

So who is David? Well, first of all, David is not his real name, and
that photo you see on his
website is not a picture of him. It's a model's face, not Ewald. But still,
it's a cool book website and very useful for independent self-published authors
who need a boost in PR and advertising. Depending on your needs and pocketbook,
the use of "David's site" can be either FREE, or it might cost you ten dollars to get ahead
of the line. In either case, "David" is an honest businessman in Ausrtia, in his mid 30s,
and he has created a very useful site for indie self-pubbed authors. Over 4000 people have]
used it so far, and no complaints. Here is how it works and how "David" works.

His real name is Ewald Kicker and his lives in Vienna, Austria, and
the website is his own brainchild.

How does he make money from his website?

"It's the visitors to my
sitethat I bring to Amazon (not the writers)) where I make
some money from Amazon, which pays me for bringing traffic to their
site," Mr Kicker tells a blogger who asks.

"I understand thatsome people are skeptical when something is offered for
free. In my case, however, I offer my book PR service for free for
first-time and second-time writers because someone else
(Amazon) pays for my work."


It's a labor of love and it's all been hard work to get the site up and running.

"I have worked on this site for about two years now. Up until about
first 18 months there was not ''donate'' button, not even a
"donate"-button. At first it was easy for me to keep up
with the submissions. Then authors who liked my service told their
author friends about my site which resulted in a snowball effect: in
the last few months the number of daily book submissions grew  and grew!"


"Most of the time, there were  more books submitted than I could publish.
That's when the backlog started to grow to the size it is now. I
decided that it's best to be transparent about this. That's why I tell
writers about the current size of the queue BEFORE they submit their
book - so they can change their mind if they want.

" If you go to
http://askdavid.com/free-book-promotion#submit_book and enter your
name (or any other name) in the yellow box and click OK then you can
see this. Some authors do want to speed things up. I offer the
premium-service for them. Also the premium service includes additional
features. Of course, I am also interested to make some "extra money".
I think it's a fair offer."

And IT IS A FAIR OFFER. "DAVID" provides a very useful service for first time authors
and indepedent authors.


"That's what I have now: "highest priority: we work on all books you
submit as soon as possible (usually within 48 hours)" - that's a
pretty good guarantee...''

And it is a good guarantee.

What's in the future for Ewald's popular website?\

"I have every honest intention to add all books which where submitted
for the free service to my site. It's just a matter of time. I publish
as many books which where submitted for the free service as I can.
Also the number of new submissions descreased because of the long
waiting list. Therefore I believe that over the time I will be able to
decrease the number of books in the waiting list again."


"After you enter your name in the yellow box, the site tells
every writer the current statistics: How many books of how many
authors where already added to the site and how long the waiting list
is. By displaying this information before authors submit their book I
am being honest and forthright".


AS few more things you might want to know about how Ewald Kicker's website works.
But as many writers who have used his site will vouch, it's a great site for first time and\even veteran writers who need a PR and advertising platform boost.

"David" tells this blog:

1.) My waiting list is real and not made up. The pages I create e.g.
http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/romance-novel/4086 require manuall
work by me. I don't just need to press the publish button. If that was
the case there would be not waiting list.

2.) I also work on the free submissions as best as I can.

3.) The "supporter pack" gives addtional features. Basically I have
what is called a "freemium" model
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemium). Also it's called "supporter
pack" for a reason: financial support enables me to spend more time
working on my site.

THE NAME GAME EXPLAINED HERE:

Is my name really David? No. Let me explain: David is in the last
years amongst the most popular names for newborn babies in Austria &
Germany. Of course it is pronounced differently in the German
language.

My real name is Ewald Kicker. You can find everything about me here:
http://askdavid.com/contact-impressum-legal-notice#impressum
- including full name, address, phone number, vat registration
number, and more. Even my age.

QUESTION: ''So why do I call myself "David" then?''

ANSWER: ''When I started the site I had the idea of having a virtual character
on it. It was not meant to be a representation of me. I don't look
like the virtual character on my site. I started to look for a name
for my virtual character and wanted to use a name which was known
internationally and I wanted a domain name with this name. I ended up
with "David" and askDavid.com.

''So there was the virtual David on the
site and me using my real name for answering emails. However, I
noticed that this confused a lot of people. They addressed their
emails to David and they expected a reply by David. People expected a
"David" from askDavid.com and did not understand that David was just
the virtual character. That's why I started to use "David" for myself
when doing something related to askDavid.com



"There's no checkbox in the form which is used to submit books which
indicates if a writer wants the free or premium service. Writers
should be able to decide this whenever they want. That's why the email
which confirms that the submissions was successfull basically includes
the same information which is displayed in the yellow box right before
the submission form.

"For example some authors submit a book and then
watch the site for a few days to see if new books are added. Then, if
they like what they see, they might decide after a few days to go for
the paid service which costs a low fee of just ten dollars, US dollars, very
reasonable and an inexpensive way for writers to boost their PR appeal".

This blogger know a few people who have used the AskDavid site and they have
nothing but GOOD THINGS to say about the service, and the boost it gives to their
books. Another booik world star is born: Ewald Kicker!

His invention might even transform the independent and self-publishing book world
into something very very cool. Go, Ewald, go! You make Austria, and its creative energy,
proud.

Ewald has a degree in business informatics from the University of Vienna. When he lived in Vienna he used to work for one of the largest Austrian online newspapers (http://derstandard.at) as a  technical project manager.

"I live in the Austrian  countryside now," he tells this blog. " I am the father of two young kids and am currently a stay-at-home-dad".

He adds: "I'd certainly earn more money in an office job, but I like to work from home and be my own boss. And I like what I do now, which wasn't always true in my previous office job. I'd love to work on askDavid.com full-time (currently I work on it whenever I have time for it) but we'll just  have to see what the future brings ;-)."

This is a man -- and a website -- to watch! I hope Publishers Weekly in New York, and Publishers Lunch as well, are taking notice of Ewald Kicker's revolution in book marketing. Free! And for a small extra premium freemium charge of just ten dollars, peanuts, it can bring an author much needed PR and advertising eyeballs.