markashtonlund

[markashtonlund]

First Eclipse

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#Concord #film festivals #First Launch (movie) #First Signal Movie #McAuliffe Shepard Discovery Center #New Hampshire #Science #science fiction #solar eclipse #The Monolith Monsters

[markashtonlund]

Not Long Ago

Like most people my age I learned about The Holocaust in grade school. I was then introduced to a variety of TV mini-series (Holocaust, Winds of War) and movies (Judgment at Nuremberg, Schindler’s List) over the years, that further brought the magnitude of this genocide to light. It was after I read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, did another perspective present itself – the…

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#Auschwitz #Auschwitz Not Long Ago Not Far Away #Boston #Exhibition #Holocaust #Judgment at Nuremberg #Schindler&039;s List #The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich #Winds of War

[markashtonlund]

Current Exhibitions

At the MFA in Boston. One of Monet’s Water Lilies. Those who follow this blog know my fondness for museums. My particular favorites are maritime, aerospace, and military museums. Exploring the great battleships of yesterday (Battleship Cove), the history of flight (New England Air Museum), and military history (American Heritage Museum), those types of museums never disappoint. Of course, with…

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#American Heritage Museum #Battleship Cove #film festival #First Launch (movie) #First Signal Movie #Korean War #Museum of Fine Arts Boston #museums #New England Air Museum #political thriller #science fiction #screenplay #SOS United States #Worcester Art Museum

[markashtonlund]

First Wins

The last few weeks have been exciting, thankful, and, yes, humbling. When I was preparing First Launch for the festival market, I didn’t have any idea how it would go. There is no guarantee when you enter a film or screenplay festival of acceptance, never mind an award. It starts when we review the festival. If we like what we see, we submit our project and pay the submission fee. From there the…

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#creative writing #film festival #First Launch (movie) #political thriller #Reedsy #science fiction #screenwriting #SOS United States

[markashtonlund]

First Selections

The timing of registering First Launch on Film Freeway and participating in one of their marketing programs worked out well. Within the first week, the sequel was an Official Selection of the Birsamunda International Film Awards. That selection was followed by several more from festivals that had previously accepted First Signal and SOS United States. When one considers the amount of time,…

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#film festival #Film Freeway #filmmaking #First Launch (movie) #First Signal Movie #political thriller #science fiction #SOS United States

[markashtonlund]

Festival Launch

SOS United States: The Prime Minister of the UK arrives in the United States. This week began the launch (submission) phase of First Launch. While it will take some time to see if the script is accepted into festivals, I’m glad the “First World Universe” is getting out into the market. This is the first time in my career I’ve submitted a script that is a sequel to a previously produced story –…

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#artificial intelligence #film festival #Film Freeway #First Launch (movie) #First Signal Movie #First World Universe #independent film #Justice is Mind #Microsoft Bing #mind reading #Queen Elizabeth ocean liner #science fiction

[markashtonlund]

Next Project

Concept: The destruction of Shinar in First Launch. Over the last couple of weeks, I took an inventory of my scripts that have not gone through the festival market. They include First Report (a two-part film), First Launch, Serpentine and In Mind We Trust, the sequel to Justice Is Mind. Although each of those scripts is well-vetted from sharing with a variety of readers, they were “gathering…

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#Amazon #AVOD #film festival #Final Draft #First Launch (movie) #First Report (movie) #In Mind We Trust #Indie Rights #mindreading #North by Northwest movie #political thriller #science fiction #screenwriting #Serpentine movie #TubiTV #YouTube

[markashtonlund]

This Year

In the Captain’s chair on the bridge of the USS Enterprise. While I don’t believe in making New Year’s resolutions because you can start something new any time, I like to review my year’s journey for my last blog post of the year. Of course, what makes this review process easy is the ability to look at videos and photos that have been stored in the cloud.  When I think of the number of places I…

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#Black Hills South Dakota #entertainment industry #film production #First Signal Movie #Justice is Mind #mind reading #New Year&039;s Eve #political thriller #science fiction #screenplay #SOS United States #Star Trek The Original Set Tour #Titanic The Exhibition

[markashtonlund]

Heavy Cruiser

USS Salem Last weekend my friend Dan Groom and I toured the USS Salem. A Des Moines-class heavy cruiser, the Salem was one of three in her class and is thankfully preserved as a museum ship in Quincy, Massachusetts. Although I’ve toured the Salem in the past, last weekend was special as we were given a four-hour personalized tour by one of the volunteers. The ship is normally closed this time of…

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#Army Navy #heavy cruiser #military history #museum ship #Quincy Massachusetts #USS Salem #WWII

[markashtonlund]

Next Site

A new website for The Ashton Times is under construction. I remember when I had websites built in the 90s. As the “web” was still new from a consumer and commercial point of view, finding the talent to build these new platforms was a task all by itself. Fortunately, as I was publishing magazines at the time, I had on my staff talented graphic designers who were also coders and familiar with this…

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#American Heritage Museum #First Signal Movie #Justice is Mind #mind reading #novel #official website #political thriller #science fiction #SOS United States #SWEA of Boston #Sweden #Swedish #The Ashton Times #Wix #WordPress

[markashtonlund]

A.I. Report

SOS United States: With the manuscript complete, editing commences. I use artificial intelligence. Not to write original work, but to check my work. In the absence of a freelance editor, there have been many times I’ve needed to have my work checked. While I have a variety of friends and colleagues who I often go to for opinions on my creative endeavors, I don’t expect them to be editors…

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#actors #artificial intelligence #Authors A.I. #First World (movie) #novel #political thriller #SAG-AFTRA #science fiction #SOS United States

[markashtonlund]

The Castle

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#Alva Vanderbilt #Belcourt of Newport #Carolyn Rafaelian #HBO #Newport Rhode Island #Oliver Belmont #Richard Morris Hunt #The Gilded Age

[markashtonlund]

Time Tunnel

It was approximately two weeks ago when I received an invitation to attend the “Dick Button Festival of Artistic Skating” event at The Skating Club of Boston. The invitation came from Jirina Ribbens the Executive Director of the Ice Theatre of New York. Although I haven’t been involved in the sport for nearly twenty years (apart from Skating with Celebrities (2006), ESPN’s The Price of Gold…

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#artistic skating #Dick Button #figure skating #Ice Theatre of New York #Tenley Albright #The Skating Club of Boston

[markashtonlund]

A Heritage of History

American Heritage Museum: Reenactors morning briefing. There are a handful of events I look forward to every year, but my favorite is the American Heritage Museum’s production of “Battle for the Airfield.” I say production, rather than reenactment, as I now look at this annual event as a World War II film that has come to life “in front of a live audience.” American encampment. Yes, this is a…

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#American Heritage Museum #film industry #film production #military history #reenactors #United States military #World War II

[markashtonlund]

A Request

SOS United States: A scene in The White House Situation Room. Image created by Bing AI. Last week a publisher requested the complete manuscript for SOS United States. Has the journey to find a publisher and/or agent come to an end? Has the manuscript arrived in port to be “fitted out” for publication? The answer—I don’t know. But what I do know is that a company was sufficiently interested based…

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#Audrain Auto Museum #entertainment industry #First Signal #Harry Potter #J.K. Rowling #Justice is Mind #mind reading #novel #science fiction #SOS United States

[markashtonlund]

First Evidence

General Reager informs the President that an alien satellite is parked at Lagrange Point 2. In First Signal General Reager informs the President of the United States that an alien satellite has been discovered parked at Lagrange Point 2. This is the same position in space that the famed James Webb Telescope is positioned.  Last week a report from NASA stated that there is no evidence of…

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#First Signal Movie #James Webb Telescope #Lagrange Point #NASA #political thriller #science fiction #SOS United States #UAP #UFO #Worcester Art Museum

[markashtonlund]

A Gilded Time

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#artificial intelligence #Newport #novel #political thriller #Preservation Society of Newport County #Rosecliff #SOS United States