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"I see everything."
The field of robotics took another giant leap forward recently, with the creation of Rex, a "bionic man" with fully functional artificial human organs and lifelike features, bringing science reality ever closer to the science fiction depicted in movies. As incredible as it sounds, humanoid robots, or androids (just "droids" if you're George Lucas), like Rex have been appearing on screen since well before Czech writer Karel Capek gave the English language a name for them in his 1920 sci-fi play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), with the human simulacrum Hadaly a featured character in the 1896 French movie L'Eve Futur (The Future Eve). Hundreds of movies have included androids — and their part man, part machine, cyborg cousins — since Hadaly, but which ones were the best? Help us rank the movies with the coolest, the baddest, the sexiest, the deadliest, the most terrifying androids and cyborgs.
Rate the Top 10 Best Android & Cyborg Movies >>
Posted 03.06.13 by BrentJS -
In the prosperous, optimistic days that followed World War II, Americans dreamed of a utopian future made possible by advances in technology. In this gleaming future, all menial labor would be performed by robot servants, sparking a new Renaissance as Americans found themselves unfettered from the need to work. But, during the counterculture movement of the 1960s and '70s, when many Americans began to distrust the government and other established institutions, robots and technology were increasingly viewed with suspicion and paranoia. Increasingly, visions of the future of human-robot relations tended toward the antagonistic, if not the apocalyptic, with the smarter, faster, stronger machines intent on supplanting human beings or wiping us out, altogether.
Whether you believe that we humans will always be able to keep our technology on a leash or you're of the variety that predict we will inevitably be challenged for supremacy of the earth by our humanoid creations, both of those future scenarios recently became closer to reality with the unveiling last month of the "world's most high-tech humanoid," a robot with lifelike features and expressions and working artificial human organs.
the future has arrived >> Posted 03.05.13 by BrentJS -
"The force is strong with this one."
The new year has brought one piece of incredible movie news after another for sci-fi fans, but none has sparked as much debate as Disney’s plans for its recently acquired Lucasfilm assets and the Star Wars movie franchise. January was dominated by questions and rumors about who would be chosen to direct the sequel to Return of the Jedi, currently titled simply Star Wars: Episode VII, with the month closing out with fiery debates over whether the man who reignited the Star Trek franchise for Paramount, J.J. Abrams, was the right choice to reignite Star Wars for Disney. Only eight days into February and the internet is practically melting down over the news that Disney is also developing solo movies featuring a young Han Solo and the mysterious bounty hunter Boba Fett.
With Star Wars on our minds, we decided that this would be a fitting time to find out how you would rank the original trilogy of movies — Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi — against other sci-fi movies of the same era. Put down those sabacc cards, pour yourself a glass of blue milk and choose the best sci-fi movies of the 1970s and '80s.
Rate the Top 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies (1970s - 1980s) >>
Posted 02.08.13 by BrentJS -
Good news, Harrison Ford fans! Though the odds of the sci-fi and action-adventure movie icon appearing in the Star Wars TV series that is in development are virtually zero, and the stories of his involvement in Indiana Jones 5 are "all just rumors" at this point, Ford could be reprising one of the genre roles that helped make him famous: police officer Rick Deckard in director Ridley Scott's sequel to his 1982 sci-fi classic, Blade Runner.
Despite the fact that co-producer Andrew Kosove last year called the new Blade Runner movie a "total reinvention" and said as recently as February that it is "patently false" that Ford was being considered for a role, Scott has said that he would be pleased to reunite with Ford on the sequel. And, though the new movie will feature a "female protagonist," Scott said in a recent interview with The Independent that he might have room for Ford in the sequel.
what did scott say about ford? >> Posted 05.30.12 by BrentJS -
Since word got out that Alcon Entertainment had secured the rights to director Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner there's lots of questions about the project. Would it be a "prequel or sequel"? That question was answered when Alcon officially announced that original Blade Runner screenwriter Hampton Fancher would work with Scott to "develop the idea" for an original screenplay of a sequel that would take place "some years after the first film concluded." Then there was the question of Harrison Ford returning as retired police officer Rick Deckard. Though Scott won't confirm or deny that he planned to bring back Ford, he did admit that "nothing would please me more" than to bring Ford back if Deckard was going to be used in the sequel . While it's still possible for Ford to appear in the movie, it looks like he wouldn't be the star.
In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, Scott revealed that, at the very least, Ford wouldn't be needed as the lead for the Blade Runner sequel.
Scott discusses women in movies >> Posted 05.19.12 by Ryan -
If 20th Century Fox's Prometheus is even half as intelligent, thrilling, and terrifying as the promotional materials suggest, than the end of acclaimed director Ridley Scott's 30-year hiatus from science fiction may well be considered a revival of, rather than simply a return to, the genre that he helped shape with landmark movies like Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982). We're less than one month away from knowing whether Prometheus lives up to the hype, but Warner Bros.-based production company Alcon Entertainment had enough faith in Scott's vision of the future that it snagged him to direct a new movie set in the Blade Runner universe shortly after acquiring the rights to the property last year.
Scott has been developing the new Blade Runner movie since taking the helm, but as recently as February of this year he was still unsure of whether or not it would be "a prequel or sequel" because there was no screenwriter and no script. Apparently, Scott's meetings with original Blade Runner screenwriter Hampton Fancher were fruitful because Alcon has announced that the new movie will be a sequel set "some years after the first film concluded" and Fancher will be the man to "develop the idea for the original screenplay" with Scott.
more about Blade Runner >> Posted 05.18.12 by BrentJS -
When it comes to a potential prequel or sequel to Blade Runner, it's understandable that rumors of Harrison Ford's involvement would continue to swirl. Alcon Entertainment acquired the franchise rights to director Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi classic last March, and five months later Scott was committed to direct and produce either a prequel or sequel. With Scott on board, it only seemed natural to assume that Ford would return as retired police officer Rick Deckard, though producer Andrew Kosove was quick to dismiss the rumor.
Despite the denial, Twitch reported last week that Ford had "entered into early talks" to join the next Blade Runner movie, leading both Kosove and Scott to separately address the casting rumor. Kosove told Deadline this week that any talk of Ford's casting was "patently false" while also updating the progress on the next Blade Runner.
scott weighs in on ford and discusses progress on Blade Runner >> Posted 02.09.12 by Ryan -
After purchasing the rights to Blade Runner in March for the express intent of "producing prequels and sequels," Alcon Entertainment producer Andrew Kosove (The Blind Side) revealed in August that Alcon had achieved their "Plan A." The production company has brought director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) on board to helm a sequel to his 1982 sci-fi classic after finishing Prometheus, a quasi-prequel to Scott's other sci-fi classic, 1979's Alien.
In a recent interview with The Playlist, Kosove updated progress on the Blade Runner sequel, revealing that the project is "is moving forward aggressively."
updates on Blade Runner sequel, Point Break remake and Hong Kong Phooey >> Posted 12.29.11 by Ryan -
Considering the fact that Michael Fassbender is playing an android in Prometheus, director Ridley Scott's upcoming reboot-prequel to his 1979 sci-fi classic Alien, it seems like the performance given by Ian Holm as the android Ash in Alien would be an obvious source of reference for the British actor to draw upon. However, in a recent interview with MTV in support of his new NC-17 drama, Shame, Fassbender revealed that he didn't watch Alien, but instead looked to another movie directed by Scott for ideas, the 1982 sci-fi movie Blade Runner — which contained several android characters, most famously the "Replicant" Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) — and that he studied the body language of American Olympic diver Greg Louganis for inspiration.
what did fassbender say about Prometheus? >> Posted 11.21.11 by BrentJS -
Ever since it was first announced that acclaimed director Ridley Scott would be returning to the sci-fi genre after more than 25 years away — 1982's Blade Runner was his last — to direct a prequel to his 1979 sci-fi classic Alien called Prometheus, the internet has been rife with rumor, speculation, and outright disinformation.
Screenwriter Damon Lindelof (Cowboys and Aliens), who came aboard to perform significant rewrites to the original script written by Jon Spaihts, has been the greatest source of information about the movie thus far, dispelling many of the rumors by revealing in June the origin of the movie and its relationship to Alien, and clarifying the roles Charlize Theron ("corporate entity") and Michael Fassbender ("a robot") will play in the movie in another interview in August.
Now that principal photography on Prometheus has wrapped, Scott himself has opened up quite a bit about the movie in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, discussing the movie's theme, how the movie will tie in to Alien and what it's like to work with 3-D and CGI technology.
what did Scott reveal about Prometheus and Blade Runner? >> Posted 11.08.11 by BrentJS