3 ms·

That's funny, I was just looking at a list of big budget releases in 2017 and I was thinking that sci-fi is making a comeback in a big way. At least half of the

by pault 10y ago

That's funny, I was just looking at a list of big budget releases in 2017 and I was thinking that sci-fi is making a comeback in a big way. At least half of the films in the list had some sci-fi element to them. Of course, the two biggest (blade runner and ghost in the shell) are unnecessary sequels/remakes, but any port in a storm, right? Edit: Can we get a Red/Green/Blue Mars miniseries on HBO, please? That would make my decade.

VLM 10y ago
"Edit: Can we get a Red/Green/Blue Mars miniseries on HBO, please? That would make my decade." (spoilers follow, although this book is 24 years old so if you haven't read it, you're probably never going to read it. Also Vader is Luke's father) I also enjoyed that trilogy but the problem is the studio execs don't define "adult" as above room temp IQ or for actual adults, they define it as using the word Fuck every five minutes, disgusting bloody gore, and plenty of ratings boosting sex, because in their twisted freak world that is in fact the only difference between kindergartners and adults. "Hollywood" is too screwed up to relate to real people. So imagine KSR's series absolutely brutalized and... I don't want to think about it. Imagine 30 minutes of steamy sex between Hiroko and Coyote (Vlad's home life is probably even more photogenic) then Phyllis has every spoken phrase contain the word Fuck and when Maya kills her we get at least five minutes of gore-pr0n of dismemberment and blood and organs lying on the ground. And to save money they rewrite the entire story to be a scientific research station in antarctica and vampires are still hot so we'll add some of those. Just horrible. If you really want a mind-warper, imagine modern degenerate media execs trying to do a on screen Bible. We're in an era of narrowcasting where only trash is made and only trash sells.
- pault 10y ago
  Spoiler alert dude!
- npsimons 10y ago
  > imagine modern degenerate media execs trying to do a on screen Bible. Actually, they'd probably treat it well: sex, violence, vengeance, sodomy, incest, torture. Sounds like a perfect script for a Hollywood movie. Just ask Mel Gibson how well "Passion of the Christ" did.
Arizhel 10y ago
I did mention that we're supposedly going to get some big-budget sci-fi movies this year, but that's only just this year, and also this year has only started, so there's no guarantee it'll happen. Where have all these movies been for the past 15 years or so? The only ones I can think of are a couple of Tom Cruise movies (ugh), Prometheus (based on 1970s franchise), and The Martian. Given the easy availability of CGI, it's really curious why there's been such a dearth of space-based sci-fi, and personally I think it's because our society has basically lost all the optimism it had back in the 60s-80s.
- pault 10y ago
  I think the reason we are seeing so many coming out this year is exactly because people are regaining that optimism because of SpaceX and the Mars colonization plan. Which is why I would like to see an adaptation of KSR's Mars trilogy. It could galvanize support for manned Mars exploration. I've been reading the books for the last few weeks and I've found them especially gripping because it feels like we are so close to making it a reality.
npsimons 10y ago
> Can we get a Red/Green/Blue Mars miniseries on HBO, please? That would make my decade. OMG, yes. I'll just add as a reply to you and GP, science fiction isn't about the spaceships or technology; it's more about the "what if?", and the best scifi are human stories at their core. Almost all of the time the "what if?" is precipitated by technology, but it's still a human story. I don't give a rat's ass about a story "with scifi elements" I want real science fiction, with the science front and center, not hand-waved, religified, demonized, or taking a backseat to the action or romance. If I wanted veneers, I'd go to the dentist.
avar 10y ago
> Can we get a Red/Green/Blue Mars miniseries on HBO, please? It was going to be coming out this year, but production was abandoned last year at the last minute after the showrunner quit: http://deadline.com/2016/03/red-mars-pushed-spike-tv-showrunner-exits-1201726651/ http://deadline.com/2016/03/red-mars-pushed-spike-tv-showrun...
- pault 10y ago
  Yeah but not on Spike! If they make it I want it to get the production quality it deserves. It could inspire the generation of children that actually do colonize Mars.

by pault 10y ago

VLM 10y ago

"Edit: Can we get a Red/Green/Blue Mars miniseries on HBO, please? That would make my decade." (spoilers follow, although this book is 24 years old so if you haven't read it, you're probably never going to read it. Also Vader is Luke's father) I also enjoyed that trilogy but the problem is the studio execs don't define "adult" as above room temp IQ or for actual adults, they define it as using the word Fuck every five minutes, disgusting bloody gore, and plenty of ratings boosting sex, because in their twisted freak world that is in fact the only difference between kindergartners and adults. "Hollywood" is too screwed up to relate to real people. So imagine KSR's series absolutely brutalized and... I don't want to think about it. Imagine 30 minutes of steamy sex between Hiroko and Coyote (Vlad's home life is probably even more photogenic) then Phyllis has every spoken phrase contain the word Fuck and when Maya kills her we get at least five minutes of gore-pr0n of dismemberment and blood and organs lying on the ground. And to save money they rewrite the entire story to be a scientific research station in antarctica and vampires are still hot so we'll add some of those. Just horrible. If you really want a mind-warper, imagine modern degenerate media execs trying to do a on screen Bible. We're in an era of narrowcasting where only trash is made and only trash sells.

pault 10y ago
Spoiler alert dude!
npsimons 10y ago
> imagine modern degenerate media execs trying to do a on screen Bible. Actually, they'd probably treat it well: sex, violence, vengeance, sodomy, incest, torture. Sounds like a perfect script for a Hollywood movie. Just ask Mel Gibson how well "Passion of the Christ" did.

Arizhel 10y ago

I did mention that we're supposedly going to get some big-budget sci-fi movies this year, but that's only just this year, and also this year has only started, so there's no guarantee it'll happen. Where have all these movies been for the past 15 years or so? The only ones I can think of are a couple of Tom Cruise movies (ugh), Prometheus (based on 1970s franchise), and The Martian. Given the easy availability of CGI, it's really curious why there's been such a dearth of space-based sci-fi, and personally I think it's because our society has basically lost all the optimism it had back in the 60s-80s.

pault 10y ago
I think the reason we are seeing so many coming out this year is exactly because people are regaining that optimism because of SpaceX and the Mars colonization plan. Which is why I would like to see an adaptation of KSR's Mars trilogy. It could galvanize support for manned Mars exploration. I've been reading the books for the last few weeks and I've found them especially gripping because it feels like we are so close to making it a reality.

npsimons 10y ago

> Can we get a Red/Green/Blue Mars miniseries on HBO, please? That would make my decade. OMG, yes. I'll just add as a reply to you and GP, science fiction isn't about the spaceships or technology; it's more about the "what if?", and the best scifi are human stories at their core. Almost all of the time the "what if?" is precipitated by technology, but it's still a human story. I don't give a rat's ass about a story "with scifi elements" I want real science fiction, with the science front and center, not hand-waved, religified, demonized, or taking a backseat to the action or romance. If I wanted veneers, I'd go to the dentist.

avar 10y ago

> Can we get a Red/Green/Blue Mars miniseries on HBO, please? It was going to be coming out this year, but production was abandoned last year at the last minute after the showrunner quit: http://deadline.com/2016/03/red-mars-pushed-spike-tv-showrunner-exits-1201726651/ http://deadline.com/2016/03/red-mars-pushed-spike-tv-showrun...

pault 10y ago
Yeah but not on Spike! If they make it I want it to get the production quality it deserves. It could inspire the generation of children that actually do colonize Mars.