Tweets Of The Week

Tributes to Ray Harryhausen, reactions to "Nightmare In Silver" and, er, George Osborne talking Star Wars in the latest Tweets Of The Week !

It's a sad fact of up-to-the-second social networking that, more often than not, it's the first place you find out about the death of a person in the public eye. The caveat to this is that, not only can Twitter and the like be the bearer of bad news, it can also be the source of heartwarming tributes, and we've never quite such an overwhelming outpouring of emotion on Twitter as that which greeted the death of special effects genius Ray Harryhausen last week. Needless to say, the tweets speak for themselves:

@simonpegg Ray Harryhausen an inspiration and a legend, even before he left us. His influence cannot be measured and has shaped cinema as we know it.

@gregmottola RIP, Ray Harryhausen. Just showed my son Jason %26 The Argonauts the other day... #PIONEER #MAGIC

@leeunkrich Famous Monsters magazines with Ray Harryhausen creatures on the covers: defining images of my childhood. Thanks, Ray. RIP.

@wescraven So glad Ray Harryhausen lived to see the amazing proliferation of wonder that his work inspired. So long, sir, and thank you.

@BryanFuller REST IN PEACE, MR. HARRYHAUSEN pic.twitter.com/dn82xA7jOw

@JamesGunn RIP Ray Harryhausen - Damn.

@BradBirdA113 Ray Harryhausen. All time great. Rest in peace.

@philfordesq Ray Harryhausen has stopped motion. Very sad news. A man who fired so many imaginations. RIP

@Markgatiss Farewell to the great Ray Harryhausen. Genius, gentleman %26 a true artist of the screen. A ship of the Gods beckons.

@chrismcquarrie Ray Harryhausen's skeleton army is unmatched in the realm of cinematic menace, mocking the undead legions shambling in their wake.

@wossy So sad to hear that the wonder filled Mr Ray Harryhausen has gone. I found his phone number when I was a kid and called him up! A kind man.

@mrmarkmillar RIP Ray Harryhausen. From sword-fencing skeletons to gigantic sea-squids, thanks for firing up our imaginations.

@pattonoswalt If I believed in God, I'd want him to be like Ray Harryhausen -- nudging us one frame at a time toward the sublime %26 fantastic.

@Paul_Dini Ray Harryhausen - there are no words, only motion. Wonderful, magical motion. RIP.

Jon Favreau

@Jon_Favreau RIP Ray Harryhausen. He was a source of inspiration, the master of stop motion, and even a voice actor in Elf. His work still holds up.

@edgarwright I loved every single frame of Ray Harryhausen's work. He was the man who made me believe in monsters. Glad to have met him. A true legend.

@RealReeceShears So sad to hear about Ray Harryhausen. His influence is/was immeasurable. We have lost something incredibly special. RIP Ray.

@joe_hill Ah gee. Ray Harryhausen passed away in London. He made the imaginary move, roar, fight, and thump its chest. God bless 'im.

@jamesmoran Aw, damn. RIP Ray Harryhausen. Nobody will ever match his artistry. And Medusa *still* scares the pants off me.

@jock4twenty very sorry to hear of the passing of Ray Harryhausen. a fine, fine man and an amazing inspiration. thoughts are with his wife and family.

Continue on to page 2 for reactions to Neil Gaiman's "Nightmare In Silver", Joss Whedon on never getting rid of Agent Coulson and memories from the first day's shoot on Shaun Of The Dead

@neilhimself Twitterfeed says: Lots of people love it & a few think it was the worst episode of Doctor Who they've seen in their whole lives. #FairEnough

@THEBRYANHITCH Dr Who wasn't at its best tonight. Poor script I think. Is it just me or is the writing getting a touch 'fannish'?

@edgarwright 10 years to this day we started shooting 'Shaun Of The Dead'. I will post a photo from every day of the shoot. Day 1: http://tinyurl.com/dyonqau

@MarcW Day 66. Privet, Amerika. Poznakom'tes c Aleksei Sytsevich! pic.twitter.com/7KfycNQ23E

@MuchAdoFilm J: Thanks to @AgentsofSHIELD , I'm NEVER getting rid of this playa. And I REALLY tried. #impalefail pic.twitter.com/fDnsUscBID

@George_Osborne Just confirmed: the next Star Wars film will be made in UK. Great news for our creative industries. May the force be with us.....

@JohnTheCho Fan boys, you're welcome. http://yfrog.com/nw8muwzj

@TheRealNimoy Zachary. Have to teach you the Bilbo Baggins song. You'll get requests. LLAP

@Paul_Cornell The first US Tomorrow People production meeting: 'Right, we need a mile of silver foil and a barrel of glitter.'

@BryanSinger #Serpico pic.twitter.com/NDXlqInyIm

Tweets Of The Week comes to an exciting conclusion on page 3 with Joe Hill on Under The Dome , Warren Ellis and Drew Pearce talking Iron Man and a Who -writer revealing himself to be an unlikely Vampire Diaries fan

@Markgatiss It seems @iansomerhalder is heading for Belgium. But still no hint that he will stop off in the UK to kiss me. Baffling.

@rianjohnson FOR A GOOD TIME: binge on Game of Thrones then read some English history.

@neveldinetaylor the kingsley/mandarin thing just by itself makes im3 the best marvel movie yet

@mrdrewpearce So I don't see any of the #IronMan3 profits, but don't worry - this year's No Heroics DVD royalties just arrived... pic.twitter.com/DL5HM4VBzy

@warrenellis @mrdrewpearce Trebles and sobbing all round

@mrdrewpearce @warrenellis Could be worse - what if I wrote a comic that a whole multibillion $ franchise got based on or something? That would be awful.

@warrenellis @mrdrewpearce YOU GET USED TO IT oh god kill me now SHUT UP I'M FINE

@dave_filoni Hard to believe that I've worked at LFL almost 8 yrs, %26 this is the first time I have gotten to draw a TIE fighter. pic.twitter.com/0H6Z9hS0lq

@Paul_Dini So now both Iron Man and the Joker have sidekicks named Harley. That's kind of cool.

Hungry for more? Read previous Tweets Of The Week here…

Jordan Farley
Deputy Editor, Total Film

I'm the Deputy Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the features section of every issue where you can read exclusive, in-depth interviews and see first-look images from the biggest films. I was previously the News Editor at sci-fi, fantasy and horror movie bible SFX. You'll find my name on news, reviews, and features covering every type of movie, from the latest French arthouse release to the biggest Hollywood blockbuster. My work has also featured in Official PlayStation Magazine and Edge.