Internet Chat Transcript
On September 18th , 2005, the authors of the Aria Kalsan Anthology: Mysteries of the Future and the actors from Aria Kalsan Pearls Before Swine met online for an Internet Chat Event. Visitors to the AriaKalsan.com web site could purchase the book online and receive a personal, signed message from Jon W., creator of Aria Kalsan. The signed books were mailed along with one of three limited edition premiums. brackets denote the speaker
[Jon] Michelle McCluggage and Chuck Cavanaugh from the AK film will be joining us. Also, Kevin Larson from the AK Anthology and book is here too. Later Christopher Bowes will join us to talk about the upcoming AK Compendium.
AK PEARLS BEFORE SWINE FILM
[Jon] Our first announcement is the completion of the short film adaptation, Aria Kalsan Pearls Before Swine. This short film, written by Rebecca McKenzie, is 23 minutes in length and will be released to theaters in the spring of 2006. It will premiere in Cleveland in February and then travel to North Carolina, Germany, and other venues. There is talk of a DVD released shortly thereafter. Due to film festival requirements, the film won’t be available on the Internet until the fourth quarter of 2006.
[Jon] The story involves a young Kalsan woman, named Yuriko, who investigates the murder of a despised mining boss on the desolate but mineral rich planet of Mari. Mining operations must continue at any cost or the galactic economy will be ruined. Pressure mounts, as the military occupies the settlements and the protestors threaten anarchy. Yuriko interrogates Joe Vess, the charismatic leader of the Mari Independence Party, and gets caught up in a struggle to control the destiny of the world. In the process, Yuriko learns more about herself than the miserable conditions of life on the brutal planet.
[Jon] Michelle is the lead character from the cast from the film here today.
[Michelle] Hi, everyone. How are you all?
[Fans] Hi Michelle
[Jon]
Michelle put in a lot of hours for her role. Would you share something about how you prepared
[Michelle] I began by reading thru the story and getting an understanding of the issues Yuriko was facing. I worked a lot with Jon to establish the core of the character and to further understand the AK purpose.
[Jon] On the web site, you can read about the characters and see production still images from the film. These links are available on the home page and will find a new home under the new Projects tab that will be available later today.
REVISED 2nd EDITION
[Jon] Our next announcement is that we will be publishing a Revised Second Edition of AK Anthology. This completely reworked text will be available in hardcover and trade paperback form.
[Jon] Kevin Larson is here from the AK Anthology. Kevin wrote the introductory story, the first story that appears in the book. Please take a second to introduce yourself, if you wouldn’t mind.
[Kevin] Hi guys, I'm Kevin and I wrote End of Myth as well as the upcoming Aria Kalsan Foundations.
[Jon] Foundations takes place after End of Myth, maybe you could talk about how you continued the story from the first part for a second.
[Kevin] Sure, Foundations takes place about 50 years after the end of the planet, after the crisis. It details the evolution of two unions, the Coalition on the moon and the Alliance on Mars as well as a host of other events that plays into future stories...
AK FOUNDATIONS
[Jon] Kevin has been detailing an interesting part of the early history of the AK UniverseKevin's stories follow the Gates family, which just like in our world, has become the most powerful name in the entire galaxy. Why don’t you talk about the Gates and the many levels of power in the story.
[Kevin] Yes that’s true, it's really about perception and context and the effect that power or a lack there of has on them. Gates is a guy in a very strange set of circumstances. Here is a guy that wants to save the world, has the ability to do it and then comes to find that saving it and managing it are very different things then he thought that they would be...
[Kevin] His son finds himself in similar circumstances later when tension boils over the use of earth between the coalition and the alliance...
[Jon] Let me just add, that the characters in AK are based off real people, but they are not the actual persons. It is an important point to stress. The characters are much larger than any one real person.
[Kevin] Good point Jon, both Robert Gates and his son Alexander are actually parts of many different people, living and dead...
[Jon] There is a fine line between what is real and what we need to distill out of life to communicate about it.
[Kevin] it's a very faint line too...
[Jon] And Kevin, everything hits the fan when Baroness Lee, a rival to Baron Gates, tries to vie for power and once again Earth becomes a pawn, doesn't it?
[Kevin] Yes, she has a very different agenda then Gates and actually uses earth as leverage to evolve her ideals
AK INSPIRATION
[Fans]
I have a question: where did the idea for Aria Kalsan come from?
[Jon] AK has been a work-in-progress for the last four years. I originally started work on the project in 1999, but did not pick it up again until 2001.
UPCOMING BOOKS
[Fans]
Do have more AK stories in the works?
[Jon] Yes, there's Kevin's Foundations which was just mentioned, Catherine Grant has a book of environmentally based poems, and Chris Bowes is writing the Compendium for AK.
FILM CHARACTERS
[Jon] Let’s talk about the film and tie in some of the actors to the conversation. Did any of the actors find the work on their characters to challenge the line of what is real? Did you do any research for your character or how did you approach your character? Michelle, Mike, or Chuck do you have any ideas about your characters and reality?
[Chuck] I tried to feel what Mr. Vess was going through and tried to put myself in his shoes. I didn’t want to be influenced too m7uch by reality. The only research I did was to look at the tape from the History Channel. I had nothing else to base the character on.
[Jon] And Chuck did you find that you brought things from your real life into the character
[Chuck] Yes, I tried to portray him from my inner being.
[Jon] A large part of what I try to do with Aria Kalsan is to raise awareness of not only global issues but personal ones as well. To that end, I like to bring as much of our world into the world of AK. Does any of the contributors have an any ideas on how well this works for them?
[Jon] Do you think Joe is someone you would go out for a drink with, or do you find you don't have much in common with him?
[Chuck]Yes, I would be very much in having a toast to him for doing what he thought was right and for the people he supported. Being a UAW Member I think we would have a lot in common.
[Jon] As an auto worker, do you think your position is similar to the people of Mari?
[Chuck] Yes. I'm not an expert on the working of our Union, but I do have some knowledge of the workings. I'm sure Joe's mining operations would be similar, even though we build cars and not do mining. But I would say he had the same problems or similar ones to ours. I know the problems between Union and Management and I can attribute what he did through my own experiences. Too bad his life had to end before the UN Meeting. That would have been some meeting if he succeeded. WOW! What a story.
[Jon] Thanks Chuck. Yes, I couldn't believe the story when I read about it a few years ago.
[Jon] Chuck is talking about how, Joe Voegler from Alaska nearly had Alaska's succession before the UN.
[Chuck] Yes, It is hard to believe, isn't it?
[Jon] But he mysteriously disappeared in 1993 and was found dead a year later.
[Chuck] A well planned job, EH?
[Jon] We say real-life is stranger than fiction, and I try to bring a little of that into AK.
CHARACTER AUDITIONS
[Kevin] Michelle, what drew you to AK and your participation?
[Michelle]
Well, it started by me seeing the audition notice and being very interested in the role description.
[Michelle]
I then checked it out online and thought it sounded pretty unique and interesting. I am drawn to strong female characters and I thought Yuriko offered something unique.
CHRIS BOWES' STORIES
[Jon] I think one of the weaknesses of Sci-Fi is that sometimes it is too far fetched. I try to reel it in some that that universe is very similar to our own. Does anyone have thoughts on that?
[Kevin] It actually makes it more challenging to write when you can't rely on easy outs to deal with corners that you might back yourself into, no phasers, transporters or cloaking devices...to help get you out of a hole...
[Chris]
The historical story I wrote takes a litle bit of a look at some of the social issues that surround the environmental concerns of Aria Kalsan
[Jon] Chris is the author of the AK Compendium and the short story Adore Bettencourt
[Chris]
I think a lot of the "weakness" comes form a story being mislabeled sci-fi instead of fantasy
[Chris]
I think writers of science fiction should be more careful with the ideas they present
[Jon] Actually, as a part of Chris' Compendium, I will be opening up a period of time from the Crusades to the Industrial Revolution
[Jon] So story's like Custer, the Native Americans, can all find their way into AK.
[Chuck] Wouldn't that be something.
[Jon] The idea of AK is that history repeats itself, so it is fitting that the "history" of AK be expanded
[Jon] I think it is also important that issues like Custer, the Civil War, etc. don't appeal to a lot of contemporary audiences, but when you modernize the story and bring it into a world closer to our own, then I think it becomes more accessible.
[Kevin] I think that the cyclical nature of history is a cornerstone of the entire franchise Jon, its a huge statement, just as it is to say that we ignore the cyclical nature of that history for the sake of profit or expediency
[Jon] But it's not just to teach history, or history for history's sake, these issues can only be avoided by learning about them and from them
[Kevin] It's actually a key component of both the End of Myth and Foundations
81st Comics
WRAP UP [Jon] I would like to wrap up in the next few minutes, so why don't we throw some last minute questions out there
[Chuck] You All have a wonderful day, what's left of it and it's been a pleasure to be involved.
[Kevin] Thanks Chuck, you too
[Jon] Well thank you all for coming
[Michelle]
Thank you, Jon.
[Christopher] Have a good one
(* Text transcribed and edited for clarity.)