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GregF

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Blog Entries posted by GregF

  1. GregF

    Gone 2-11 -- 2-15

    By GregF,

    Hey guys,
     
    Just so everyone knows, I am offline from 2-11 through 2-15 -- I have LEGO Club meetings to attend.
     
    Other news --
     
    2009 story team meeting and set focus groups coming up at the beginning of March.
     
    Movie call this week -- we are still quibbling over the beginning of the picture, but everything else seems set.
     
    BIONICLE 12, due out in March, has been approved and is on its way to the printer. BIONICLE 13, which will be out in July, has been written early and is with DC -- my understanding is that Australia is going to be distributing that issue (not sure how) and so needed it early.
     
    Greg
  2. GregF

    Good News

    By GregF,

    I just had it confirmed that the BIONICLE Makuta's Guide to the Universe book I wrote for AMEET will be available in the US, through LEGOShop.com and in LEGO brand retail stores.
     
    Greg
  3. GregF

    Havin' A Heat Wave

    By GregF,

    Almost too hot to write here in sunny CT ...
     
    Started BL #7 today -- I want to spend some of it dealing with an issue that has been brought up a few times lately, namely why don't Toa kill their enemies? And is that a reasonable stance to take when you are fighting for the safety of millions? Is the code of the Toa important, or is it outmoded when you are up against beings like the Piraka? (It's more fun to write if the books aren't just plot, but actually are ABOUT something.)
     
    Some really exciting plans in the pipeline for 2007 and 2008. BIONICLE will get a big push from LEGO again next year, as it did this year, so the company is still solidly behind it. (Now the fans just need to be ...)
     
    Greg
  4. GregF
    I received this over the weekend from a BZP member who will remain nameless (bold was my addition):
     
    Okay Greg,
    it's time to step up out of the shadows and explain the karazani set. Who are the matoran? Sarda? Idris? Gar? Is this set a store exclusive? What is the strange contraption thing? And here is the deal. You have been holding off long enough. You have to answer these questions and step up. If you didn't want these questions to appear, then why did you put that image out? Its time you got some explanations out to BZPower. Reply A.S.A.P.
     
    There are so many things wrong with this, I hardly know where to start. First off, the poster obviously did not read the BZP article, which stated clearly that the image came from a Toys R Us brochure found at BrickFest. I did not release the image -- in fact, in four years on BZP, I have never released a set image to the site. That's not my job. BZP finds them on their own because they have a crack staff of journalists.
     
    Second, there's this whole "have to" thing and the implied sense of entitlement. BZP members are entitled to ask just about anything they want to -- if they ask something that's out of line, I tell them. They are not, however, entitled to answers -- some things I won't talk about, some things I can't. Why? Because giving away everything about an entire year in the first quarter is dumb ... because my bosses don't want me to do that ... and because I am not on here to ruin surprises. There are some fans who just want to know everything in January, and then they wind up bored all year long waiting for the next January.
     
    Third, I am on here for fun. I respect the site, the people who run it, and the members. I get something out of the interaction, hopefully so do BZPers. But I don't have to be here -- it's not part of my job -- I want to be here. And I don't have to answer questions if they are phrased rudely.
     
    Finally, the amusing thing about this issue is that the things he was asking about are not things I was keeping secret. I have told multiple members for months that Sarda and Idris were coming out in a store exclusive set with a third, mystery figure. The only thing I held back was who that figure was, now that's out, and that's cool. This member never asked me about this set before and got refused, so acting like I somehow was holding out on him all this time is just silly.
     
    I PM'd him back and explained the situation, and that this info was all already out on BZP. The PM I got back was just a repeat of his request for the info. This is a rare case where I am not going to respond. There are tons of BZPers who send me questions every day -- and I love it -- and ask them as fans and as friends in a polite way. So they are going to get enormous amounts of priority over people who are rude about their requests.
     
    Greg
  6. GregF

    It's Done

    By GregF,

    Well, I just finished what will most likely be the last US BIONICLE book for the foreseeable future -- the movie novelization of BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn, based on my story and Sean Derek's excellent script. It went very quickly -- unlike past movies, there were no big plot holes I had to fill in the book, because Sean did such a thorough job. All I added was a few extra bits to explore what happens after the movie ends and a little more on Tuma to explain his motivations. (I still have two more parts to write for The Crossing, the BIONICLE story I am doing for my good friends at AMEET.)
     
    I have started answering q's here again, though I don't know how much I will be online between now and March as I have to go out of town for a week for work and won't have access to a computer (I don't think). It sounds, though, that with the Toyfair news, you guys have plenty to talk about without me
     
    Sooooooo ... I am off to have breakfast and then play some Marvel Ultimate Alliance until my wife wakes up
     
    Greg
  7. GregF

    July 1st

    By GregF,

    Still at work on the Atlas -- just finishing the chapter on Roodaka's island, which is my favorite part so far.
     
    Got a nice surprise the other day -- BIONICLE Adventures novels in Russian! (At least, I think it was Russian -- we thought it might be Greek at first, but then someone told us no, it was Russian.)
     
    Time to take a break from writing, play some World of Warcraft, and then take my wife up to the mall for some shopping. Tomorrow is more writing, Monday is another outing, and then Tuesday I have to revise the EXO-FORCE book. So keeping busy!
     
    Couple of notes -- there is a BIONICLE co-promotion planned for the fall, more on that when I get it. And the big national BIONICLE promotion/contest gets announced in the July magazine and comic book, and starts in August. Not THAT clear on the details yet, but the prizing is pretty cool -- and different, not the same thing we always do.
     
    Oh, and another question today -- what kind of BIONICLE content would you like to see in LEGO Magazine? Are there behind the scenes things you would like to know, or building tips, or anything like that? We have an opportunity to do some more substantial articles for the mag, so I would be interested in your opinions.
     
    Greg
  8. GregF

    Just A Reminder

    By GregF,

    Just a note that I am not going to be around much the next few weeks -- I leave for Comic-Con Wednesday and will not have Internet access, and then I am moving when I get back. So expect waits for answers to Q's.
     
    Greg
  9. GregF

    Just A Reminder ...

    By GregF,

    ... That I will be offline for the next week due to work, so will not be able to get messages here or answer Q's. I will get back to things when I return.
     
    Greg
  10. GregF

    Krika

    By GregF,

    I wasn't going to dignify this issue with a blog entry, but since people keep asking me about it, I guess I have to --
     
    Recently, some supposed names for summer BIONICLE sets hit the Internet, among them "Krika." Some web surfers discovered that there is a site that identifies "krika" as a slang term for something bad. They immediately PM'd me about it in a semi-panic, so I spent my morning doing some research. Here is what I have found out:
     
    -- The site claims that the word is used in Puerto Rican or Cuban urban areas, however a check of Spanish dictionary sites reveals that krika has no meaning in Spanish -- so this is a slang term, not a part of the actual language.
     
    -- The same site that lists krika as meaning something bad also lists the following words as meaning a bodily part, a bodily function, or something else that would be inappropriate to discuss here:
     
    * Chair
    * Fabric softener
    * Machete
    * Macaroni
    * M&M
    * Table
    * Pacemaker
    * Oh, by the way -- the site also lists BZP as a term referring to a party drug. But we know BZPower doesn't refer to that, right? Right.
     
    And that's just a small sample. There are 160 pages of urban slang terms just starting with the letter K! Any word, in any language, can be used as a slang term for something bad -- does that mean we should no longer use any of the words listed above in anything?
     
    -- So what does Krika mean? Well -- Krika is a jewelry company in Montserrat that sells silver Wizard of Oz jewelry ... Krika Simo was one of the hikers who discovered the "Iceman" in 1991 .. Krika Peters was an actor in the 1960s ... and Krika is a town in Sweden. There are, in fact, 82,300 hits for krika on Google, only 1 of which refers to it as being a bad word. In fact, krika is being spread around as a bad word more on BZPower these days than anywhere else!
     
    So my advice to everyone is to calm down and get some perspective. This is a non-issue, and it's only going to become an issue if people run around and get hysterical about it when it's not warranted.
     
    Greg
     
     
  11. GregF

    Latest News

    By GregF,

    Hey, sorry to be so long in updating this -- I have not been home much lately. Let' start from the top --
     
    1) I have had two meetings so far with the movie folks and one with Universal (the Universal people are REALLY sharp -- really know their business). Too soon to tell when something will come out or exactly what it will be like. Right now, it is looking like it will be my story, but I won't be doing the screenplay (just consulting on it). But things can change as projects proceed.
     
    Right now, I am waiting for something called the "beat sheet" from the screenwriter, which is a document that outlines the major events of the movie. I will be looking it over to make sure it is "BIONICLE enough."
     
    2) Comic-Con was fun, but hectic. I didn't do quite as much shopping as last year -- got some Corgi Batmobiles and some Dr. Who stuff.
     
    3) Please forgive if I am slower than usual responding to PMs. I am one of the people having tech issues with BZP - my Messenger loads on the my work machine and my laptop at home, but not on my desktop at home, which is where I normally answer PMs. So that is slowing me down a bit.
     
    4) I am going to be blogging on Amazon sometime in the near future -- I will keep you up to date when I have more info.
     
    That's all for now!
     
    Greg
  12. GregF

    Legends Of Mata Nui

    By GregF,

    A number of people have asked recently about the old Legends of Mata Nui computer game from 2001 that never got released, so I thought I would share what info I have on this here:
     
    * The game, as most of you know, was cancelled before release due to its not being up to our quality standards and so not fitting into our marketing plan.
     
    * I know at least one BIONICLE fan spoke to our Legal dept. about getting a copy of the game. My understanding is that Legal's position is that we are not releasing any part of the game to the public, and since we own the copyright, anyone outside LEGO who did have a copy of the game would not be able to share it either. However ...
     
    * I also spoke to the one person I know here who did get a copy in 2001, prior to cancellation. He says all that was available on the LEGO servers at that time were random sound files -- nothing even remotely like a playable game. What this means, I don't know -- it's possible that, since the game was being developed by an outside developer, and not finished yet, we did not have the main files here. If we did, my guess is they were scrapped long ago, but that is just a guess.
     
    Regardless, since it was not something LEGO considered to be high enough quality, for obvious reasons there is no interest in having it see the light of day. And even if we did, I honestly don't know that there would be anything for us to release.
  13. GregF

    Lego Club

    By GregF,

    As promised, more on my week -- after the BIONICLE meetings were through, the LEGO Club/Community team piled into a bus and drove 90 minutes to the very western coast of Jutland to a little seaside hotel. Instead of doing our quarterly meeting in Billund like we usually do, it had been decided we would get away for a little while from the stresses of the office.
     
    Almost the entire team was there, so it was quite a few people. The meeting was about planning our projects for next year and on through 2010. There is a lot on tap in terms of fan interaction and reaching out to fans to involve them in what LEGO does. (You know, LEGO is one of the few companies that actually puts any time and money toward working with and listening to their community of fans, adults and kids. Some companies don't want to, and some don't know how, but it is something LEGO considers a priority.)
     
    The main thing I will be working on, other than the magazines, is working with our new web producer, Sage, on the LEGO Club web site. The site used to be updated more frequently than it is now and have more on it, and that is something we want to get back to. So don't be surprised if you start seeing some BIONICLE content popping up there now and then.
     
    We also got a lot of free time this trip. We spent it down in the hotel's game room playing ping-pong and such, or walking the 300 yards to the beach. The beach there is still dotted with German bunkers left over from World War II, so it was quite something to walk around in them and feel you were seeing part of history.
     
    One bittersweet note is that Tormod, who is the man who has been overseeing LEGO Community for a few years now, has decided to move on to another role in the company. Management named an excellent replacement for him, who we are all looking forward to working with, but Tormod is a tough act to follow. I have met few people in my career who was as fair, as sharp, and who loved community as much as he does. Fortunately, in his new position, he will still be dealing with fans and finding ways to give them what they want -- but we will miss him on our team a lot.
     
    Greg
  14. GregF

    Lego Kidsfest

    By GregF,

    Just an FYI --
     
    I will be appearing at LEGO KidsFest at the CT Convention Center in Hartford, CT on Sunday, November 22nd from 12-4. Current plan is that I will be signing copies of the BIONICLE: TLR Movie Magazine, along with whatever else people want me to sign.
     
    On Saturday, November 21, from 12-5, Daniel Lipkowitz will be appearing. Daniel is the author of The LEGO Book as well as the LEGO Star Wars comics you have seen in print and online and is BZPower's own Swiftone.
     
    For more info on the show, check out www.legokidsfest.com.
     
    Greg
  15. GregF

    Library Event Reminder

    By GregF,

    Just a reminder that I will be doing another library event this month. Here are the details:
     
    Saturday, October 18th
    11:00 AM
    Fairchild-Nichols Memorial Library
    1718 Huntington Turnpike
    Trumbull, CT 06611
    (203) 452-5196
     
    As a special treat for those attending, I am bringing a copy of the Mata Nui LEGO BrickMaster poster for them to see as a sneak preview.
     
    If you want to attend, you need to call the library to register -- registration is limited to 40 people, so don't wait!
     
    Greg
     
  16. GregF

    Master Of Bionicle 2

    By GregF,

    For those of you who are interested, the qualifying round has begun for the "Master of BIONICLE 2" Contest in the General Discussion forum on BZP.
     
    Grand prize is two original Carlos D'Anda art boards from BIONICLE #6, back in 2002! So go check it out -- qualifying round ends Tuesday, 10/16, at 9 AM EST.
     
    Greg
  17. GregF

    Mata Nui Revealed

    By GregF,

    In the wake of the new animation appearing on BIONICLE.com, I am of course getting loads of PMs with questions. So I thought it would save time to just answer them here. I am going to put the answers in spoiler tags, so if there is a question you don't want to know the answer to, you can skip it. So let's get started:
     
    1. How tall is Mata Nui?
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «The conservative estimate I have seen from the story team is about 40 million feet high. 
    2. Is Mata Nui the Matoran universe?
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «Yes. The actions of 2004-2008 all took place inside the Great Spirit. The action of 2001-2003 took place on the surface of Mata Nui's "face." Since Mata Nui is not normally laying still, that explains why Matoran were never meant to live outside the domes. 
    3. Why did Mata Nui have trees, rivers, etc. on his face??
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «One of Mata Nui's jobs -- though not his main one -- was observation of other worlds. To achieve this, he had the ability to conceal himself underwater and camouflage himself with something resembling local flora. In the case of this incident, the Great Cataclysm damaged the EP system and caused a wild growth of plant life without the system really being triggered. 
    4. What were the Bohrok for?
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «When it came time for Mata Nui to move onto another world, the Bohrok would clean the "camouflage" off so he could operate efficiently. This also had the effect of loosening/weakening the stone/soil base the plant life grew on, so it would fall away when Mata Nui rose. 
    5. Is Mata Nui a robot?
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «That is an accurate term in that his body is fully mechanical, not bio-mechanical, but he is much more than how we define robot. He is alive; he is intelligent; he can think, feel and reason. In that respect, it can be argued he is more of a "synthezoid" -- a living being made of artificial parts.  
    6. Does Mata Nui wear a Kanohi mask?
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «No, he does not. 
    7. What was Mata Nui's main job?
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «This gets dealt with in future story. 
    8. Why didn't the Toa/Matoran/Turaga etc. know they were inside Mata Nui?
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «Well, some of you might remember the old story about all of Earth's universe being a microbe inside the bloodstream of a larger being -- and if that were the case, how would you know? 
    9. Was Mata Nui always on this planet?
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «No, he was not. 
    That's all I can think of for now, but I am sure these answers will prompt other questions
     
    Greg
  18. GregF

    Mini-contest

    By GregF,

    In honor of the 30th birthday of the minifigure, here is a quick contest -- winner gets an exclusive surprise BIONICLE prize! Post your answers in response to this entry, and first one to get it right wins -- question is:
     
    1) Two Hollywood celebrities have been made into LEGO mini-figures twice, as different characters. Name the actors and the characters.
     
    WE HAVE A WINNER! Congratulations to lisa garber -- lisa, PM me your mailing address so I can send you your prize.
     
    Greg
  19. GregF

    Minor Matters

    By GregF,

    -- For those of you kind enough to ask, it is confirmed that I will NOT be at Comic-Con this year. I asked not to go because I have a family commitment around that time this year.
     
    -- If you PM me a question, please make sure that your account is set up to receive PMs. I have had a number of people send me things that I then cannot answer because their settings are adjusted to not accept private messages.
     
     
  20. GregF

    Miserix

    By GregF,

    This is really more of an FYI than anything else, as many of you already guessed this -- but to make it official, the grand prize winner of the BrickMaster Makuta Building Contest will be considered Makuta Miserix for the purposes of the story.
     
    Greg
  21. GregF

    More Notes ...

    By GregF,

    It's looking like Book 6 will need a polish -- need to shift some Matoran roles around and the villains need to be more evil. Unlike some previous years, we are not just abandoning the high priced sets as we enter the new year -- a lot of the summer '06 characters will continue into the '07 story in some way, shape or form, which I think is good for the story and fair to the people who went out and bought the sets.
     
    Just told the BIONICLE bosses in Denmark how this book ends -- hopefully, they will be okay with it. Hard to sit and write sometimes on these beautiful spring days ... but best to do it in the morning, so I am done by the time wife wakes up in case she wants to go out.
     
    Amazing how much we have been able to keep secret this year. There is a LOT BZP doesn't know yet, even about promotions and such this year. I guess unlike a movie year, you don't have a lot of sources for leaks. The movies needed to be promoted, so a lot of info and images had to get out early. I think people are enjoying this year more because they don't know everything already.
     
    Figured out this morning that -- counting novels and anthologies only, not comics or guidebooks -- I have written about 340,000 words of BIONICLE since mid-2003. Kind of scary (My wife always gets a laugh when I say something like "Only 6000 words left to do!" on a book.)
  22. GregF

    More On Salt Lake

    By GregF,

    It's looking like there will be three events in Salt Lake in October at three different Wal-Marts. Current plan is one Friday night, October, 2nd, and two on Saturday,October 3rd. More on this as I learn more.
     
    Greg
  23. GregF

    Name List

    By GregF,

    Just so everyone knows, I have the approved name list now and will be releasing the name of the stasis Toa (which people have been asking for) by end of the day on Monday.
  24. GregF

    New And Notes

    By GregF,

    -- Good news to start with -- I have gotten permission to get a whole new list of approved names done for 2010 and 2011, which means we will be able to have some new named characters in the story!
     
    -- Plague tribe's element is ... iron. Yes, I know, that doesn't match their armor color, but there is a reason for that, which will get revealed in an upcoming mini-serial on BIONICLEstory.com called Sahmad's Tale.
     
    -- Look for more info on the Psionics power on Monday, same place.
     
    Greg
  25. GregF

    New Blog

    By GregF,

    Hey guys,
     
    Just FYI, at the request of Scholastic, I have started a new blog on Amazon.com as part of their Amazon Connect service. This will NOT be in place of this one or the same as this one -- different blog.
     
    Anyway, so far I know of two ways you can see the entries -- if you have purchased one of my books through Amazon before, you can click on Amazon Blog in the upper right hand corner of your homepage and you should see the first entry there. OR, you can simply go the product page for any one of my books and the blog entries will appear there.
     
    Since I am about to start Bionicle Legends #10, I figured I would use that blog to sort of track its progress. I could have just linked this blog to that and duplicated entries, but the BZP blog tends to be aimed more at people who really are BIONICLE experts and might zip a little over the head of the average Amazon.com visitor. But hopefully there will be enough interesting material in it for fans to enjoy.
     
    Greg
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