Martian Blog

In an effort to expand our operations, and to get back to actual activity, we're now venturing into the theatre business. In co-operation with VU University Amsterdam's English department, we're developing a stageplay entitled Heaven forfend! Written by Remy L. Overkempe, and produced by Overkempe and Lenette Vlasman, we're currently aiming for a winter 2010 première. Currently, the production's very low-key, and casting and location scouting still has to be done, but when more information is present, we will keep you updated.

P.S. Today we launched our new website. Goodbye, clutter, hello, fresh breathable air.

Slowly, our magazine project Aleksandr Magazine is coming along. The design, though it still needs a refinement wash, is almost finished; the core CMS that's going to run the magazine's operations has been put into place (though we still might replace our own Command Centre software with the functionality of ExpressionEngine); and busy hands are at work on the philosophy behind the digital periodical.

However, our initial première date of January 31, 2010 has been moved up—indefinitely; and with it, the submission deadline (of January 1, 2010). The submissions page has been updated as well, to a static page containing our credo. Don't worry, though; the première has just been delayed because the magazine and everything behind it needs to be figured out. As soon as possible, more information will be available. Including the names of people to harass. We know you like that.

Somewhat of a sidenote, but, in the motion picture category: though activity has been oceanic low in this projects section, we are currently planning a project for the Vrije Universiteit (VU University Amsterdam), involving poetry, and digital media. Nothing's definite yet, but, await awesomeness when the project does happen.

Last week, we finally unveiled our literary magazine project, Aleksandr Magazine. A new online magazine promoting the literary writing talents of the undiscovered and brilliant. Whether you are a soccer mom, a Yale graduate or a mineworker from Siberia—or perhaps all of the above—if you have a great story to tell in a fascinating and captivating way, it is worth printing in Aleksandr.

The magazine is looking for short stories, poetry, film reviews and editorials, and the submission deadline for the Première issue is January 1, 2010, noon (GMT). So, go to aleksandrmag.com, read the guidelines and submit your masterpiece!

The time has come for an update on where we are right now with the organisation.

We're here. All right, that's settled.

...

No, seriously, though we can't reveal too much, we're currently working on a literary web project—one that will promote and critique not only literature, but also cinema and opinionated pieces. The project is still in it's toddler stage, but expect that more information will come soon.

The transformation has been completed. Overkempe Studios and Martian Prince Studios are officially Martian Prince from now on. The new website has premiered on www.martianprince.com, and the address of Overkempe Studios (www.overkempe.com) now also redirects to the new website.

We went for a sleek but very simple approach to redesigning our new home on the web. Both the functionality and the overall appearance of the site have been greatly improved, and, provided we grow into a full-fledged production house, the website is now capable of supporting growth and expansion.

A note regarding cross-browser support. While the website works fine in Safari 3 or higher (Mac/Win) and Firefox 3.0 or higher (Mac/Win), it may look a bit strange in both Internet Explorer 6.0 and 7.0 or higher. We do not recommend viewing the website in Internet Explorer 6.0, as we haven't designed the site to support that outdated Microsoft browser. The main text and design will appear in the browser, but the navigation will not, which greatly diminishes the functionality. In Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher the design looks a bit off in comparison to the layout in one of the recommended browsers, but the site is still functional, so we decided not to fix the Internet Explorer-related design bugs because it would have meant a delay in presentation and a redo on both the Internet Explorer design and the Safari/Firefox design.

We hope you like, no, love, the new website!

In an attempt to streamline the organisation, and to move towards actual production instead of constant pre-production-hell, we're axing several of our projects. At the time of writing, eight projects are stuck in our production tunnel, and none are making any significant progress.

"Coats As Gifts" will be terminated, and the following productions will be suspended indefinitely: "The Dawn Project" and "Taking Care of Drama" (both Overkempe Studios productions), and from Martian Prince Studios, "The Prince of Mars and the Red Planet Gala" and "Areligious."

This leaves three productions, "Heavy-Hearted," "The Scotch" and "Sorrow/Misery," all currently Overkempe Studios productions. To make the organisation more effective and efficient, all productions will be moved to Martian Prince, with the exception of "Heavy-Hearted" which will be overseen by both Martian Prince and Overkempe Studios. This leaves Overkempe Studios as a distribution label, whereas Martian Prince will function as the film production company.

The changes will go into effect on May 31, 2009.

Hold on to your burning, highly important and very much extraterrestrial questions for a little while, because starting today (April 18th) till May 1st, the offices of Martian Prince will be out-of-service. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Welcome to our Posterous blog! The trusty RSS feed will soon be replaced in its entirety by this gentle blog.