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January, 2008 Archives | Homepage

20 Things You Didn't Know About Science Fiction

Discover Magazine lists 20 Things You Didn't Know About Science Fiction. Here's a snippet:

1 Arguably the inspiration for much science fiction traces back to classical mythology. Think of it-Earthlings abducted by beings from the sky, humans morphing into strange creatures, and events that defy the laws of nature.

2 Birth of the (un)cool: In 1926 writer Hugo Gernsback founded Amazing Stories, the first true science-fiction magazine.

3 Gernsback loved greenbacks. He tried to trademark the term science fiction, and he paid writers so little that H. P. Lovecraft later nicknamed him "Hugo the Rat."

4 Rat's revenge: The most famous sci-fi writing award is called the Hugo.

5 Writers for the early pulp magazines would often write under multiple pseudonyms so they could have more than one article per issue. Ray Bradbury-taking this practice to another level-used six different pen names.

6 Serious science-fiction heads say sci-fi carries schlocky, B-movie connotations. Many prefer the abbreviation SF.

7 Prominent physicists and space travel pioneers have (often secretly) contributed to SF lit. German rocket genius Wernher Von Braun wrote space fiction and was an adviser to sci-fi movies such as Conquest of Space.

Actually, book editors will tell you that the term "SF" means "Speculative Fiction" which denotes a more serious or even literary science fiction. Cyberpunk is a subgenre of SF, for example. Sci Fi is used to denote space opera, like Star Trek or Star Wars. But it's true that some fans use the term "Sci Fi" to refer to anything in the genre and others use it to refer to B movies. When in doubt, say "SF" so as not to offend an author you might meet at a convention. Hope that clears things up.

Posted on January 31, 2008
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CGI May Help With Heath Ledger's Role in Gilliam Fantasy Film

The Times Online reports that CGI may be one of the options to replace Heath Ledger in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - a $30 million fantasy movie directed by Terry Gilliam. The article says the film was about a third of the way finished before Heath Ledger's untimely death. Another option is to have another actor - possibly Johnny Depp - take over the role.

The recent location shooting in East London meant that filming was about one-third complete when Ledger was found dead in his Manhattan apartment. Cast and crew were due to get together again in Toronto next week, although that was called off as soon as news emerged of the actor's death.

It would not be the first time that CGI had been used to complete a role. It was used most notably after the death of Oliver Reed to finish off the actor's performance in Ridley Scott's Gladiator, although in that case shooting was much closer to completion.

An alternative for Gilliam, notorious as a director whose projects hit unexpected snags, is to appoint another actor to take over in Ledger's role, specifically after a scene when his character steps through a magic mirror. The American Johnny Depp, who has worked with Gilliam in the past, is seen as the most likely contender.

Heath Ledger's co-star in the film Christopher Plummer (who plays Dr. Parnassus) has commented on Heath's death saying that he had been suffering from a nasty bug. You can read another article on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus here - this one says Gilliam is working hard to save the film.

Posted on January 30, 2008
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Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game to Be a Video Game

Orson Scott Card's classic novel Ender's Game is set to become a videogame. Chair Entertainment the game studio that produced Undertow will be creating new gaming titles bases on Card's compelling SF story about a boy military genius.

The novel, with its probing of the line between reality and games, has long been eyed by video game fans as a rich source of material for the medium. Chair plans to make several titles based on the book, with the first one slated to be a downloadable game that should be available in 2009. Card said he decided to move ahead with an "Ender's Game" video game after years of wrangling to make a feature film bore no fruit. "There is going to be a universe of 'Ender's Game' games, hopefully. But that's like someone starting a restaurant and thinking about opening 100 franchises all over the country," Card told Reuters. "Let's make this one work first," Card said.

The first game will focus on the Battle Room, the elite military academy where Ender hones his strategic and tactical skills and that provided some of the most memorable scenes in the book. Based in Provo, Utah, privately held Chair enjoyed success with "Undertow", a downloadable game for Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 console that pits teams of players against each other in a fast-paced underwater battle.

"The really cool thing about 'Ender's Game' is that there's lots of potential for lots of types of gameplay. We wanted to initially create the Battle Room, that's really what jumped out to me as a gamer that I really wanted to play," said Chair's creative director Donald Mustard. "We have not fully designed the game yet. I think that the game will play very much what we've all imagined the Battle School is, a cross between 'Call of Duty' with zero-g with hardcore strategy elements more like a sports game," Mustard said, referring to a popular military shooting game.

Ender's Game is perfect for a videogame. It's really a shame that the movie hasn't come together yet.

Posted on January 29, 2008
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J.J. Abrams: More Star Trek Scoop

J.J. Abrams and the cast answered fans' questions over at Trekmovie.com. They give some great information about the new film. Here's a snippet.

RoobyDoo: Mr. Abrams, how important is humour in your vision of Star Trek? And what kind of humour do you enjoy most?

JJ Abrams: I'm afraid to answer this question, because The Haters will think that I'm looking at Trek as a comedy. I am not. But humor is hugely important. Humor and humanity go hand-in-hand -- there is such wit in the screenplay (kudos, Kurtzman/Orci), and the actors bring such intelligence and humor, that my job is just to keep the thing REAL. Dramatic as hell, but also LAUGHS. Without comedy (my fave TOS eps had GREAT wit), the audience finds their own places to laugh. And in a world of humans and aliens, that could be disastrous. So the short answer? It's very important.

*****

Michael (the real one in Texas, by way of Afghanistan): I am a big fan of yours, but also of your friend and so called good luck charm, Greg Grunberg. Can you tell us if he will make an appearance, and if so perhaps a hint as to his part ????

JJ Abrams: I am so pissed at Grunberg. The guy was about to be in the movie -- had a GREAT PART -- but had to bow out because of some LAME OTHER MOVIE HE'S DOING. All right, so I'm half-kidding and just disappointed: Grunny WAS gonna be in Trek, and he IS doing another movie, so he can't be in ours -- but his movie isn't lame, it's funny, and he's producing and co-writing and long-time collaborator Larry Trilling is writing with him and directing, so I wish them all the best. Even though I hate Greg now. Who knows, maybe he'll be a tribble.

Greg Gunberg would make a really big tribble. Serves him right for doing a movie other than Star Trek.

Posted on January 28, 2008
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Stephen King Talks Duma Key

Book cover of Duma Key by Stephen King

Stephen King discusses his new book Duma Key, which is the first book he has set in Florida.

In "Duma Key," which hits bookstores Tuesday, Minneapolis building contractor Edgar Freemantle moves to Florida and takes up art after being injured in a construction accident. His new life takes another turn when the supernatural intrudes.

King drew on his experiences after he was struck by a van while walking near his summer home in North Lovell in 1999.

"I'd heard how creativity, how make-believe, can help the body heal from physical injuries," he said. "I also got interested in psychic phenomena connected to phantom limbs. The writer's dictum is to write what you know, so I started from there. But Edgar shouldn't be thought of as me."

Duma Key is now available in bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com at a nice discount.

Posted on January 25, 2008
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Sleep Dealer Features Immigration Without Bodies

Immigration is a hot-button issue in this year's political debates. Sleep Dealer director Alex Rivera may have "solved" the immigration problem. Wired reports that in the movie Sleep Dealer the life force of Mexican workers is sent to the U.S. while their bodies stay in Mexico.

In Tijuana, Memo becomes entwined with a Latino military contractor, who operates drones around the world from his base in San Diego, and an aspiring journalist who sells her memories -- the blogs of the future -- online.

Rivera said the inspiration for the film came from a Wired magazine article about the emerging "global village." It was published around the same time that the U.S. government began building walls along the country's border with Mexico.

That ironic juxtaposition started Rivera thinking: What if technology could extract the life force from the Mexican population and send it north?

"The problem is that the worker comes with a body," Rivera said. "That body needs health care, and gives birth to children that need to go to school. So keep the body outside of the United States. Suck its energy and leave the cadaver or the problematic shell out of the picture."

He began writing Sleep Dealer in the late 1990s, collaborating on the script with former Sundance award-winner David Riker. As the years passed, real life began making gains on Rivera's dystopian vision.

Sleep Dealer is currently being screened at the Sundance film festival.

Posted on January 24, 2008
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Cloverfield Monster Insurance From State Farm

The Cloverfield monster movie has already frightened many movie goers. Now millions of people are terrified at the prospect of a giant evil creature destroying their valuable property. Fortunately, Dave Letterman has already looked into the issue and has found that State Farm is offering monster insurance - both commercial and residential.

Posted on January 23, 2008
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Dark Knight's Heath Ledger is Dead at 28

Actor Heath Ledger who is playing the Joker in the upcoming Batman film was found dead today in his New York apartment, apparently from an overdose of both prescription and nonprescription sleeping pills. Various media reports say he has battled substance abuse for some time.

In this interview from The New York Times two months ago, there are some clues as to his mental state. He is discussing his roles in the Bob Dylan biopic and in The Dark Knight and the stress the roles caused him.

It all tied him in knots. "I stressed out a little too much," Mr. Ledger said.

He tends to do that. He is here in London filming the latest episode of the Batman franchise, The Dark Knight. (Mr. Bale, as it happens, plays Batman; Mr. Ledger plays the Joker.) It is a physically and mentally draining role - his Joker is a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy" he said cheerfully - and, as often happens when he throws himself into a part, he is not sleeping much.

"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," he said. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." One night he took an Ambien, which failed to work. He took a second one and fell into a stupor, only to wake up an hour later, his mind still racing.

Even as he spoke, Mr. Ledger was hard-pressed to keep still. He got up and poured more coffee. He stepped outside into the courtyard and smoked a cigarette. He shook his hair out from under its hood, put a rubber band around it, took out the rubber band, put on a hat, took off the hat, put the hood back up. He went outside and had another cigarette. Polite and charming, he nonetheless gave off the sense that the last thing he wanted to do was delve deep into himself for public consumption. "It can be a little distressing to have to overintellectualize yourself," is how he put it, a little apologetically.

Conducting a tour of the house, which he is renting for a few months, he made wry remarks about the art. One painting depicts a crowd of creatures who appear to be in hell, but who seem determined to extract as much sexual pleasure as they can from their eternity of free time; Mr. Ledger has turned another one around and hung it upside down, to no apparent ill advantage.

Heath was only 28 years old; he has a two year-old little girl named Matilda. Matilda's mother is actress Michelle Williams, with whom Heath was involved with for three years. The couple broke up in September, 2007. What a terrible tragedy for his family.

Posted on January 22, 2008
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First Photo From Star Trek Released

Paramount has launched the new Star Trek movie website. There's not much there yet, though. Moviephone has posted the first official photo from the film, as well as cast member photos.

Posted on January 17, 2008
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Birmingham Planning Fantasy Science Fiction Convention Called OmegaCon

The Birmingham News reports that Birmingham, Alabama will be home to a fantasy and science fiction convention called OmegaCon. The convention's founders hope to rival Atlanta's DragonCon and draw an attendance of over 7,000 fans of the genre.

The event will be March 14-16 at the Sheraton Birmingham, 2101 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. It will include appearances by actors, writers, scientists, fan clubs and live bands.

"There's a huge science fiction and fantasy following in Birmingham and Alabama," Knopf said. "We have a very large technology community here. Look at NASA and look at UAB."

OmegaCon will include appearances by some well-known actors:

George Takei, who portrayed Mr. Sulu in the original "Star Trek" series and movies and who recently portrayed Kaito Nakamura on NBC's "Heroes" series.

Richard Hatch, who portrayed Capt. Apollo on the original "Battlestar Galactica" series and Tom Zarek on the current reimagined version.

Ray Park, who portrayed Darth Maul in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" and Toad in "X-Men."

Kevin Sorbo, who played Capt. Dylan Hunt in "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda," and Hercules in "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys."

The dates for OmegaCon are March 14-16, 2008. You can see a list of the guests and speakers on OmegaCon's website.

Posted on January 16, 2008
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J.J. Abrams and the Mystery Box

J.J. Abrams, the creator of Alias, Lost, and the upcoming Cloverfield, gave a fascinating presentation (via Boing Boing) at TED where he explains his love of the unseen mystery. Abrams says his interest and magic and mystery started with his granfather who encouraged him to make stuff. Abrams also displayed a Mystery Box which remains unopened to this day. He bought the box from Lou Tannen's Magic store in New York decades ago. To Abrams the box represents infinite possibility, hope and potential. He also compares scripts and stories to mystery boxes. Here's his presentation at TED.

Posted on January 15, 2008
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The Sarah Connor Chronicles Premiere: All Action, All the Time

Photo from The Sarah Connor Chronicles

We were a bit worried about the television adaptation of the Terminator movies; nevertheless we tuned in for part 1 of The Sarah Connor Chronicles last night. We liked it. Lena Headley is no Linda Hamilton, but she doesn't have to be. She give the Sarah Connor character her own twist and so far, she's really doing a good job. Thomas Dekker (Claire's schoolfriend from Heroes) seems quite at home in the role and is likable.

Summer Glau as the Terminator sent back in time to help John and Sarah Conner does an excellent job. She shows up as a cute teenaged girl in John's new school. When the substitute teacher opens fire on John as soon as he answers roll call, she springs into action. She's really cute, which has led some fans to speculate on a future robot/human romance storyline.

And speaking of action, the action sequences are feature film quality. How they're going to keep this up for the 13 ordered episodes is beyond us. This is some expensive tv making. The tv show essentially takes up where T2 left off; the events of T3 never happened. The writers are tinkering just a bit with the storyline to make it work for tv and that works with us.

We'll be tuning in tonight for part 2 of the premiere, which airs at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/8 p.m. Central time on Fox.

Posted on January 14, 2008
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Cloverfield is Almost Here

Screenshot from Cloverfield

Cloverfield arrives in theaters on January 18th and we'll find out if all the viral marketing hype was true or just...hype. Harry Knowles has seen it and just about passed out from the excitement of it all. He loved it and now worships at the altar of J.J. Abrams.

The movie is f***ing brilliant. It's what we were told it was going to be. An intimate perspective on an impossibly grand scale human disaster beyond most human levels of comprehension.

What is the monster? How do you describe something that doesn't look like anything you've ever seen before? It's not a f***ing upright walking whale. It doesn't look like any iteration of GODZILLA that we've ever seen. It is enormous. And even though I've seen it... I am hard-pressed to come up with a comparative creation. You know that big f***ing thing in THE MIST? It isn't that. Is the creature a biped? I'm not sure, I think it might've been a four-legged beastie... it has a tail, it has teeth and freaky eyes like that horse that died in ANIMAL HOUSE. It's kinda of a grayish-yellowish-off-white looking thing. But more important than the creature is what this f***er does. He basically goes bug-nuts.

The creature isn't the groundbreaking thing about the film. It is, but it isn't. You see, what has me so excited about this film is that this is the giant monster movie that isn't at all like any giant monster movie we've seen before... but is exactly that movie.

I guarantee you that as this movie takes place... all the shit that you've seen in Giant monster movies is happening. Somewhere a general is screaming about nuking New York.... Somewhere is a politician screaming that you can't nuke New York. Another General wants to know why our weapons are not affecting this thing. A PRESIDENT wants to know where it came from -- and several thousand journalist are trying to figure all that out too.

But this film isn't about the scientist, the generals, the Presidents, the mayors or any of the big people. This time, the film is from the perspective of those people that live in those buildings that the monster is breaking through. This is about the people running in the street that scream, "GODZILLA!!!" and run. This is about trying to survive that insanity. Not just that, but to try and save one life.

Like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, but instead of Nazis it's a giant monster.

Yikes. We generally hate the whole "found footage" thing and the Blair Witch-style handheld camera thing too. But for J.J., we'll suck it up and see Cloverfield for ourselves.

Posted on January 12, 2008
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Geordi-like Visor Makes Dentist Trips Less Disturbing

Geordi La Forge Visor Dentist Office

Dvice is blogging about these interesting visors that are supposed to make the trip to the dentist less disturbing. The visors block out nearly all vision and they are connected to a DVD player that gives the wearer the impression they are viewing a 60-inch screen. They also look very much like Geordi La Forge's visor on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Staring at cute posters of cats and fish on the ceiling of a dentist office is so 1990s. The future is here, and it surprisingly looks like a technology from a 1990s television series. The relaxView B.V. is a display device that looks similar to Geordi La Forge's visor on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The device sits on the bridge of your nose covering almost all of a person's range of vision. The relaxView B.V. is hooked up to a DVD player and is because of the positioning, it give the impression of a 60-inch screen.

This system is a bit different than the 20-inch TV hanging across the room because it is capable of completely distracting one away from the dental work being performed. According to Dr. Rob Roef, a dentist, even the slightest awareness of any of the factors that go into dental work will enhance sensitivity and increase discomfort. Blocking out almost all awareness with a device like the relaxView B.V. is one way to combat the discomfort.

We are eager for something even more advanced like nanobots that repair your teeth without trips to the dentist but these awareness blocking Geordi La Forge's visors might work in the meantime. Medgadget has more on this dental pain distraction visor from relaxView B.V..

Posted on January 10, 2008
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2008 Philip K. Dick Award Finalists

The finalists for the 2008 Philip K. Dick awards have been announced. The winner will be announced on Friday, March 21, 2008 at Norwescon 31 in Seattle, Washington. Here are this year's finalists.

Ally, Karen Traviss (Eos)

From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain, Minister Faust (Del Rey)

Gradisil, Adam Roberts (Pyr)

Grey, Jon Armstrong (Night Shade)

Nova Swing, M. John Harrison (Bantam Spectra)

Saturn Returns, Sean Williams (Ace)

Undertow, Elizabeth Bear (Bantam Spectra)

You can read more about the awards on the official website. (via Locus)

Posted on January 8, 2008
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Michael Bay Promises New Robots to Transformers Fans

Michael Bay has promised fans some cool new robots in the Transformers sequel in a short posting to his blog.

I want to thank Nelson for running such a good site!

For the millions of viewers that logged on this year I want to thank you for the support. Transformers 2 will be coming soon. The new robots are really really unique and there are a lot of them this time.

I WANT EVERYONE TO HAVE A GREAT HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR.

Your friend,

Michael

New robots are always good. According to the IMDB page for the film, the release date is June 26, 2009.

Posted on January 3, 2008
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Paramount Announces 2008 SF Movies

Paramount announced its 2008 slate of sf films.

The year begins on Jan. 18 with Cloverfield, the mysterious monster movie from producer J.J. Abrams. On Feb. 15, The Spiderwick Chronicles debuts, a family fantasy based on the children's books.

The horror film The Ruins, based on the book, opens April 11. Jon Favreau's hotly anticipated Iron Man, the hit of last year's Comic-Con, unspools on May 2. May 22 brings the long-awaited Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, reuniting director Steven Spielberg and star Harrison Ford. The animated spoof Kung Fu Panda premieres on June 6. Sept. 26 brings the family fantasy Nowhereland, and the supernatural comedy Ghost Town, starring Ricky Gervais, awaits a fall release date.

The animated sequel film Madagascar: The Crate Escape opens on Nov. 7. Thanksgiving brings the classic fantasy film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Nov. 26), and Christmas Day marks the premiere of Abrams' new Star Trek.

The writers' strike is still going strong, which means no scripts can be revised until the strike is over and no new films can move forward. That means the SF slate for 2009 is going to be absolutely dismal unless the studios come to their senses and cut a fair deal for the writers.

Posted on January 2, 2008
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