Now that Avatar is on track to be the second biggest film of all time, pundits are starting to wonder if there’s more to its success than Art Nouveau pterodactyls in 3-D. Here are five explanations they’ve come up with. (io9)
“School is starting up soon… It has brought up a whole childhood can of worms regarding my less-than-lovely educational experience, and makes me reflect on issues of social acceptance for neurologically atypical people overall. That leads me to fandom. I can’t help but think neurodiveristy is an area in which science fiction and fantasy fans are a long, long ways ahead of society in general.
A few years ago I attended a panel at Norwescon that was supposed to be about the future of psychology but quickly became a discussion of the neurological make-up of fandom. The lively and engaged discussion covered dyslexia, Asperger’s, ADHD, autism, sensory integration dysfunction, and related topics. The general consensus was that among convention-goers, the percentage of people with such atypical neurology ranged around 60 to 70 percent. Almost all the audience members who spoke identified with one or more of the above, or mentioned a close relative that did.” (Tor.com)
This six-minute short by Neill Blomkamp appears to be the basis for his much-awaited feature-length film District 9. Set in South Africa, the gritty faux-verite sci-fi film seems to be a recapitulation of apartheid with ghettoized aliens as the oppressed but powerful race.
District 9 opens August 14; here is the theatrical trailer.
Blomkamp is also directing the Halo flick.
“Re-imagining their origins in a prequel, rather than depicting their further adventures in another sequel, is a cheeky act of cultural retro-activism, and perfectly in keeping with the ’60s show. “Star Trek” was, from the start, more nostalgic than futuristic.” (NYTimes op-ed).
Obama is Spock: “Our president bears a striking resemblance to the rational “Star Trek” Vulcan whose mixed race made him cultural translator to the universe.” — Jeff Greenwald (Salon)
“Twentieth Century Fox’s remake of sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still will be the widest release ever –if you count outer space.
At the same time that the film opens today in theaters, Fox and a privately owned celestial communications network will use equipment at Cape Canaveral, Fla., to begin beaming “The Day the Earth Stood Still” to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to Earth. The galactic stunt is a first-ever for a Hollywood studio.”
via Variety.
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via Gizmodo
