Wired screening with Eddie and Stephen Hawking on Dec 10, 2014

@universaluk: Last night we had one very special @WiredUK Q&A with 

Eddie Redmayne and Stephen Hawking! #TheTheoryofEverything (x)

Stephen Hawking: "At first, I was worried because it was based on a book by my ex-wife." (x)

WIRED’s Q&A with Stephen Hawking and Eddie Redmayne on December 10, 2014 in London City. (via)

The Telegraph: Eddie Redmayne: how I became Stephen Hawking

Golden Globes nominee Eddie Redmayne undergoes a remarkable on-screen transformation to play Prof Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. At a Q&A organised by Wired magazine, he explained how... read more

Hawking initially 'surprised' his life suited a major film
STEPHEN HAWKING 11 DECEMBER 14 by NATE LANXON

"I was rather surprised that a major film company should like to make a film about me," said Stephen Hawking. "At first, I was worried because it was based on a book by my ex-wife."

Hawking was speaking before a screening of the forthcoming Universal Pictures biopic directed by James Marsh. WIRED magazine's editor David Rowan, asking Hawking questions posed by WIRED readers and Bafta members, illuminated how the 72-year-old responded on first seeing his life and struggle with motor neuron disease played on the big screen.

"I was reassured when I read the script, and even more when I saw a first cut of the film. It was surprisingly honest about our marriage, and my fight with ALS, or motor neurone disease. I thought Eddie Redmayne portrayed me very well. He spent time with ALS sufferers so he could be authentic. At times, I thought he was me."

Marsh's film -- The Theory of Everything, released 1 January, 2015 -- is by no means the first feature-length production that centres on Hawking's personal life. However, such media attention is not something he feels has affected the way he does science. "But it has made me feel I have a duty to share my enthusiasm of science with the public," Hawking said.

"The public need to have a basic understanding of science so they can make democratic decisions on the complex issues facing society in this technological age, and not leave them to the experts."

This viewpoint extends to the recent work he has embarked upon with his daughter. "I have collaborated with my daughter, Lucy, on the George books, a series of science based adventure stories for kids," he said. "They are the scientists of the future."

"We are working with an animation studio, Nerd Cor, to make a television series out of the books," Hawking explained to seven-year-old Maria, who won WIRED's competition to ask a question in person. "I'm really excited about the animated series, and I hope that kids who read and enjoyed the books will like it, and I also hope that kids who haven't read the books will watch the series and enjoy it too. And who knows, perhaps even the adults will learn something." ...full article here

7-year-old space enthusiast wins WIRED's Hawking competition (via)

The three winners of WIRED's Stephen Hawking competition have been chosen, and include a 7-year-old fan from the US and an Astrophysics Masters student.
Maria Suarez from Houston, Texas, Richard Jarrett and University of Sussex student Tom Ellis will attend a Q&A evening on 10 December with Professor Hawking and actor Eddie Redmayne, who stars in the film inspired by Jane Wilde Hawking's book Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, The Theory Of Everything. A special screening of the movie will also take place, but not before WIRED magazine's editor David Rowan puts the winning questions sent in by Suarez, Jarrett and Ellis to Stephen Hawking.

Ellis, who has an interest in becoming a science journalist, asked: "The discovery of the Higgs Boson at the LHC has ignited the general publics interest in particle physics. Do you think there will be a cosmological discovery in the near future that will illicit the same sort of response from the public and if so, what area do you think it will be in?" He tells WIRED.co.uk he's a longtime fan of Hawking, whose book "A Brief History of Time" helped put him on the academic path he's exploring today.
"While I've been studying I've come to appreciate him on a new level… The ability he has to make physics accessible to the general public combined with actual contributions he's made to the field is unparalleled today -- probably only Richard Feynman comes close."

Jarrett's question to the professor was: "Have you found that life in the public spotlight has changed the way you approach science and discovery? If so, how?"

And lastly, 7-year-old Suarez, who will be accompanied at the event by her grandmother Charlotte Aguilar, asked: "Professor Hawking, would you like to see the George books you have written with your daughter, Lucy, made into movies? And Mr. Redmayne, would you like to be in them as Eric, the cosmologist dad? They are my favourite books, and I think the movies could be as big as Harry Potter with lots of special space effects!"
Together with his daughter Lucy, Hawking has penned four novels that introduce children to the secrets of the Universe, via some lessons in physics. Suarez, who is being raised by her grandparents and father, is a Montessori student and huge fan of both Hawking and Redmayne. WIRED.co.uk caught up with the budding space explorer, with some help from her grandmother, over email.
How long have you been a fan of Professor Hawking and his work?
This year, when I found out my favourite actor, Eddie Redmayne, was going to be in a movie about him, I started to learn everything I could about him....
The cute interview with Maria continues in the article here

(x)

Maria was very familiar to me. Do you remember the little Apple Soho artist fan? - video

Eddie Redmayne delights a young fan with a series of selfies 

at an Apple Store meetup in Soho NYC November 4, 2014 (x)

#EWAskEddie Can u wish happy 7th b'day to Maria, ur little Apple Soho artist friend from Texas? @EW pic.twitter.com/yrKBIc3JB5
— BespokeRedmayne (@bespokeredmayne) November 18, 2014

Another amazing post about this wonderful encounter by bespokeredmayne ...