Battlestar Returning

So Battlestar Galactica is set to return for its fourth and final season, and on the one hand I’m exhilarated, especially now that Lost is on break. But on the other season 3 was so poorly executed I almost stopped watching. In fact, I probably would have, if it wasn’t made clear that season 4 would be the last season.

That, and for this single moment, which almost managed to carry the rest of the season on its shoulders, being one of the single most impressive pieces of television ever:

Now I just hope the pseudo-religious aspects of the show is leading somewhere tolerable…

In case you, like me, have forgotten where we were at:

April

Bachelor Weekend Writing

I needed these last 10 days of vacation like Superman needs the sun. You know, that part of life that isn’t work? The part that is relegated to the few hours of your day between waking and leaving for work and coming home and going to sleep?

That’s what we’ve been doing, and it’s been heavenly. Lounging, reading, watching, browsing, shopping, roleplaying, coding, loving and Thinking.

Like putting the brain into sleep mode (with, in the back of your head, the knowledge that it will inevitably be awakened brutally tomorrow morning when Rikke’s cell, with some glee I think, brings us back into worker-ant-mode).

So at the moment I’m looking forward about a week, to April 1st, which aside from being yet again that day a year where the media becomes entirely useless (well… more so) in their attempt at ‘funny’ deceiving pranks, is also the start date for Script Frenzy, which as you may remember, I’m joining this year.

This is me by the way. Add me.

Obviously; the trouble is—as you should have come to expect—I haven’t actually prepared myself to the extend I should have; nor the extent I sorta-kinda-maybe promised myself I would.

After all, by now I should have a fully fledged outline, complete with characters and curves and arcs and… so on. Conventional thinking says that might help me ein bischen with felling down one hundred pages in 30 days. Conventional thinking, in this case, is probably right. Yeah.

But then, you know, life. And between Monolith (which is proceeding steadily, thank you, though I fear it will come to a stand-still as I punish myself towards 100 pages in April) and roleplaying and not doing anything. Well, the days are only so long, and I am so so lazy.

Don’t get me wrong; I do in fact have an idea. Yessireebob. A gen-u-ine idea.

In fact, it’s the idea that wouldn’t die. You know? I keep finding all its flaws. Keep doubting my ability to actually, truly, live up to it; to write it properly, like it deserves. In my head anyway. But despite that, it always creeps back in.

It’s code-named ‘Cheap Cyborg’ by the way. Not that that title is representative of the story any more, but that’s how it started out, and since I haven’t really found a new one yet… Hey, Cheap Cyborg.

Besides, titling a work should be like a coronation, right? “I pronounce you ‘Star Wars’”. The crowd roars. You bathe in money and fame.

Then you wake up.

The history of Cheap Cyborg is long and sordid and absolutely uninteresting until it becomes a bestseller and I bathe in money and fame (and wake up).

But essentially it was pretty much from its birth meant as a comicbook. Yeah, it could be a novel, but I always thought of it as very visual, so… And I’m not convinced that its structure, pacing or subject matter fits a film.

And…

Well, alright, so, some of it is a bit odd. Weird even. It’s Science Fiction, right, so… Well it wouldn’t beat out Pirates at the box office, I don’t think. In fact, it would probably be hailed as a damn mess and a waste of money, I would be called a fraud and a waste of air (Wake up! Wake up!).

The clinch is, for Script Frenzy I always thought I would write a film script, because that’s a format I understand fairly well. And comicbook scripts… Well… There’s no format to stick to. Everyone has their own style and rapport with their artist(s). It’s a mess. And one of those awful liberal ‘artistic interpretation’ messes even!

Thus it came to be, that I decided to pen Cheap Cyborg as a comic, but in film script format. I want a readable more than a produceable project at the end anyway, and this saves me having to nail down each frame as well, which I’m not sure I can do satisfactory while also trying to ring the bell at the top of the 100-page-tower…

So that’s what I’m doing.

And I have notes. Lots of notes. Pages of notes.

Going in roughly all directions.

And no outline. Did I mention that? No outline? Yeah… I have no outline.

I don’t want to call it quits ahead of time. I mean, I’m not a quitter, you know? But… Psh; it’ll be a miracle if I make it to the 100 pages, I can tell you that much up front. A Goddamn miracle.

But I’m not a quitter. Nope.

I won’t make it.

But then that’s what 2008 is all about, so I might as well get too it.

There’s one thing that always brings me back from my late-night fits of self-pity, when I fling glasses of sherry at the wall and wail out: “I’ll never amount to anything, waaaaahhhh. I’ll never be a respected author!... Aaahahaaaaa”, which may also be helpful to you, if you happen to be a Star Wars fan, like me.

Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays. Because, if Star Wars could be born from such crud; well then there is a your favorite author inside us all.

Seriously.

If When all else fails, luckily the plot generator on the Script Frenzy site is a veritable treasure trove of money-in-the-bank ideas:

In a haunted space station orbiting Pluto the oldest park ranger in the Andes attempts to rewrite Finnish history.

Eh… Screw Cheap Cyborg, I’m going with this.

PS: I will of course be following up on Cheap Cyborg here, but you can also follow my progress on Twitter.

Planet of the Apes 40th Anniversary

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the original Charlton Heston vehicle, Planet of the Apes; it having first premiered on February 8th, 1968. I would have written a lengthy adoration, but couldn’t find the time. And having also not been able to find the time to finish this fan-film of sorts, I leave you with the unfinished cut of ‘PLANET’.

That is, Planet of the Apes, sans ‘of the Apes’.

Consider it a rough cut, if anything; it’s very basic and has none of the remixed soundtrack I was planning but the gist is there. It’s based on an idea of a couple of friends of mine, and so intrigued me that I eventually started doing this cut to get the idea out of my mind.

Planet (250mb – Quicktime)

Precursor to the Star Destroyer?

I came across this cover (here), for Science Fiction Monthly, volume 1, issue 2, released in February 1974. The art is by one of my favorites, Chris Foss, a science fiction artist mostly known for his outlandish and colorful spaceships. He was one of the artists Ridley Scott brought over from the scuttled Dune project, to Alien. And you might recognize his style from the game Homeworld, to which he was a major inspiration (as thanked in the credits).

Science Fiction Monthly, v1 i2 (1974)

Does it remind you of anything? Such as…

Star Destroyer

Is it just me, or does that thing, published first in 1974, scream inspiration for the Star Destroyers?

I’m not near my Star Wars tomes, so I can’t give you full details on their creation (but I’ll come back and update, when I can). Meanwhile, Chris Foss did a very similar piece, released in 1990 (source):

Triangular Spaceship (1990)

More:
Science Fiction Monthly, Volume 1 Overview

Mass Effect in the House

I’d love to tell you that you could hop on the bus out to Electric City in Gentofte (Copenhagen; stay with me) to pick up your very own copy of Mass Effect. Unfortunately we cleaned up, leaving with all six copies, to fill out the orders that had ticked in when the rumor had spread around Io that we were on a mission from God.

Anyway, the short of the long is this: I has Mass Effect. I has be for the taking tomorrow off to play it. I am teh pwn.

That is all, please return to your seats.

Transformers Review

Optimus Prime

So to kick off our two week vacation (in which I’m doing nada, but for a single night with Metallica and some days back in Jutland), we went to see Transformers, more than a little worried that it would suck as much as it was hyped.

But you know what? It didn’t! In fact, it was fucking! AWESOME!

Mild spoilers!

In fact, aside from a sub-par generic Michael Bay score, a slightly slow middle-section with a stupid ‘let’s go to the dusty old room’ part, action cinematography that was often too ‘smart’ and up-close for its own good as well as clammy Michael Bay touches, like slutty bimbo’s (I swear, not a single ‘nice girl’ in sight) and some serious military masturbation, it was spot on!

Really.

Well done Michael Bay! One part E.T. (boy meets alien, befriends alien, tries to hide alien from parents), one part Independence Day (Nellis airforce base. We’ve lost communication to the alien enemy, let’s use morse code! Soldiers and government ministers are involved!) and one part Turtles… Yeah; Turtles. Weird, right? Well, I guess the popular version of the Turtles owe back to the original Transformers, so…

Either way, it had me from start to finish, even so much so I was willing to ignore out of the blue nonsense, like: “We must protect the cube! Take it to the city!”... Yes, where all the people, whom the Autobots have sworn to protect, are… Good idea.

But nice performance by Shia, and hey, Megan Fox, who was given the role as bimbo even does a decent job as well (no mean spirit intended; but she is in Bay’s grasp, and he sure does like himself some bimbo’d up chicks).

I will say though, that the soldier and code-breaker subplots are largely irrelevant, and seem to serve only to lengthen the movie to beyond the 105 minutes running length it should’ve had (seeing as how it is really an 80’s movie in disguise… more than meets the eye, if you know what I mean).

So if you can find the child within yourself, ignore the cartoon-like story and enjoy a ‘let’s have us some robot carnage fun!’-film—or if you like moving things that make noise, definitely—go see this flick. It is the summer blockbuster, and I can understand why Die Hard did its very best to open before it, because it will get wasted by it.

AND IT HAS GIANT FUCKING ROBOTS IN IT! AAAAaaaaargh!

I’m easy like that.

Top 50 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books

I found this list of the top 50 science fiction and fantasy books meme (according to the Science Fiction Book Club apparently). So I thought I’d join in. Bold is read and Italic is Reading.

Sorry for the fubarred footnotes, but I can’t be bothered with CSS just now.

  1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien :”(I loved Lord of the Rings. Came to it quite late, but having spent all my youth in RPG, it felt like coming home.)”:
  2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
  3. Dune, Frank Herbert :”(I love most parts of Dune, though I never got around to reading the rest of the series. Why hasn’t anyone made a serious stab at making this into a movie franchise lately?)”:
  4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein :”(Currently listening to this on Audiobook. I hate Audible’s poor sound quality. I hate Apple for using Audible for their audiobooks on iTunes.)”:
  5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
  6. Neuromancer, William Gibson :”(The rastafari part in space sucks. Otherwise it’s up there. The language is unmatched.)”:
  7. Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke
  8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick :”(Though not comparable, the film is better. That said, the book is a masterpiece.)”:
  9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
  10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury :”(Again, listening to this as an audiobook.)”:
  11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
  12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
  13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
  14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
  15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
  16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
  17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
  18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
  19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
  20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
  21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
  22. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card :”(I liked this, though I’ve always found Orson Scott Card’s language to be a bit stiff…)”:
  23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
  24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
  25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
  26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling
  27. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams :”(Funniest. Thing. Ever.)”:
  28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
  29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
  30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
  31. Little, Big, John Crowley
  32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
  33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
  34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
  35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
  36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
  37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
  38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke :”(I loved this. That it was short was probably the best part, which is an odd thing to say. But really too many scifi books don’t know their own limits.)”:
  39. Ringworld, Larry Niven :”(Stiff and unweildy. I’m still trying to finish this audiobook, but it’s hard, as I’m bored most of the time.)”:
  40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
  41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien :”(Unbridled masterpiece. Lord of the Rings is a kids story next to this.)”:
  42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
  43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson :”(Bubblegum craziness. Almost too dumb for its own good, but it makes up for it with its energy. A bit on the long side, but then that’s Neal for you.)”:
  44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
  45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
  46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein :”(Way way too ‘military is good, yes’ for me. But well-written otherwise, and short, which I love. Funny how the movie comes at the subject from the exact opposite direction, politically)”:
  47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
  48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks2
  49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
  1. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

PS: Please tell us if any of these books are fantasy, and not science fiction. It’s very interesting.

Science Fiction Friday

It’s friday once again, and here are trailers for science fiction movies that really wanted to be the caliph instead of the caliph (huh?)...

Leviathan. Released along with a slew of other underwater films in 1989. Most likely to feed off of the scraps from Cameron’s The Abyss, which was released in the same year. This however seems more like Alien or The Thing underwater. I don’t own this, though I wish I did.

Pay special attention to the trailer voice in that one. The good ‘ol trailer 80’s ‘shit-is-gonna-happen-yo!’ voice!

Update: Another film also released in 1989, which I never saw, was Deep Star Six. Featuring and even better trailerguy, Bob Morton (from Robocop) and one ugly rubbersuit!

Outland, which I bought it recently on DVD, and I can only sum up the impetus for this movie thusly: “Alien was truck drivers in space. Aliens was vietnam in space… What about a ‘high-noon western’ in space?!”. I think it actually makes use of set pieces from Aliens, kid you not…

Moon 44, which so wishes it was directed by James Cameron and art directed by Ridley Scott, and which is just through and through a pretty horrible movie (an anal rape scene in the showers?!... WTF!). I own it on VHS:

And as a special bonus, Nemesis, which tries to be Rambo II w. Blade Runner and über 80’s action mixed in, with a healthy layer of cheese for topping:

Oh hell, now that we’re at it, here’s Zardoz. A movie which doesn’t actually try to be anything in the known universe, let alone a movie!

Other honorable mentions include Return of the Jedi, which terribly wants to be A New Hope (even down to stealing the same damn McGuffin!) and Predator, which wants to be Aliens in the jungle… and gets away with it.

If we step out of the science fiction genre, Firebirds (can’t find a trailer anywhere) and Romancing the Stone (and The Mummy, King Solomon’s Mines and so on) would definitely be up there as well…

Now please, supply your own links in the comments.

Ralph McQuarrie Art Book Coming

There’s a 400-page Ralph McQuarrie art book on its way in 2007. I can’t wait!

“The ones we’re most excited to be offering are three thumbnail drawings Ralph did the day he got the script from George Lucas and Gary Kurtz,” explains Scoleri. “On the surface, they’re just three little pencil sketches of two spaceships flying around a planet — but when you realize the historical significance of these pieces, you’re taken aback. We’re talking about the FIRST Star Wars drawings — ever!”

Other than his Star Wars work, I’m really looking forward to finally seeing his Battlestar work in high quality.

Battlestar Exodus

Like Khaled and Matt (spoilers galore, stand clear!), I guess I really should also chime in with some praise for the fourth episode of Battlestar Galactica of this, the third season. Spoilers ohoy!

While I was very surprised that they didn’t milk New Caprica for more story (budgetary restraints and the like), there is one single scene in the fourth episode, which more than makes up for it all. I’ve got some friends who are bound to read this (shu!), but for those of you who’ve seen it, you know the one I’m talking about.

How they manage to make it all work, while constantly veering the chasm of ‘rushedness’ is something of a feat really. Because in all honesty, the show often feels like it could’ve used some more time before and during production (I’ve got no beef with their post-production work). But they always manage to pull it together and really get me. Despite the fact, that when I look at series like Lost (which I also love, love, love), it’s clear that they are much more in control of things.

But yeah, I would’ve preferred the occupation and resistance of New Caprica to have lasted at least half a season. Or at least 6 episodes, so we could really get a sense of the troubles they were going through. It seems like such a waste to have the series take a drastic turn like the ending of season 2, only to see an almost complete reset within the first four episode of the new season. Obviously there’ll be a lot of residual stuff from New Caprica in this season, but still…

All said and done, I’m still head over heels for BSG.

Blade Runner Final Cut

Blade Runner is possibly the best movie ever made. Period. Rikke and I were recently lucky enough to catch a theater showing of the Director’s Cut in Cinemateket, which was pure pleasure, even the parts I slept though… Ehm… It was late, okay?:”(Cinemateket is having a large showing of Roger Corman movies in June, in case you like me enjoy yourself a bit of movie history, like Death Race 2000)”:.

The reason I’m mentioning this, is that after literally years of waiting, rumors going this way and that, the Blade Runner Final Cut DVD has finally found its way out of the legal hellhole it’s been living in, and is making its way to stores in September 2007! But that’s not all:

“Blade Runner: Final Cut” will arrive in 2007 for a limited 25th anniversary theatrical run, followed by a special edition DVD with the three previous versions offered as alternate viewing: Besides the original theatrical version and director’s cut, the expanded international theatrical cut will be included. The set will also contain additional bonus materials. “#”:http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=14724

This is great news indeed! Finally this, one of the very cornerstones of modern cinema, will gets its due. It breaks my heart to see movies like Pearl Harbor get the full treatment while Blade Runner and 2001 are allowed to be released in sub-par DVD versions that don’t do them proper justice.

By the way, if one was so inclined, one might be able to procure a HD version of Blade Runner off of UseNet. Just sayin’.

It's Another World

In which I discuss nostalgia and how it was to replay Another World, the classic 1990 action-adventure which makes hard difficulty levels on modern games look like a walk in the park. I also reveal what the true sequel to Another World is (hint: It’s not Flashback) as well as give you tools to play through Another World yourself.

Read More

Doom 3 (2004)

Doom 3

It sure is dark. Wow, it looks amazing. Cool menu system, and wow, they have an equally cool menu system in-game! Wow, when I shoot this guy he fizzles and burns up! Holy fuck that is cool! What now? Oh, I guess I’ll walk down here. Hmm, kinda dark. Nice freckin’ glass effects! Uh, some ammo, an armor and a new weapon. Take that you fiend! Can’t see, must switch to flashlight. Fuck it’s dark! Guess I’ll walk this way then… Yeah, more… ehm, hellspawn or whatever. Hm, new weapon. How do you like them apples you fat zombie fuck?!... Hmm, out of ammo. Back to the shotgun again I suppose. Man it’s dark.

I don’t know who built this Mars colony, but it sure is no wonder that these people invited demons in here, I mean who wouldn’t, living in a tincan? Hmm, these Imps are getting moronically boring now, I wonder if anything new is ever going to happen?

Nope. Nothing ever does.

Alien: Director's Cut as cinema release

I just found out that there’s an Alien: Director’s Cut being released on October 21st this year! Until right now I didn’t know that?! This’ll be… interesting. I’m going to go Google it a bit and see what I find.

1 minute later: Here’s the official trailer site. (and here’s the official site, though there’s nothing there) I haven’t seen it yet.

While I wait for the download: I’m thinking that perhaps Scott went back and inserted some of the deleted footage (which can be found on the current DVD), but why? Alien certainly didn’t need it, and most of the deleted scenes were better left out as it is. So unless they dug up some previously unseen footage then I doubt this was entirely necessary. I haven’t heard of any such footage, and I have looked into this thoroughly in the past. Now Alien3 on the other hand has tons and tons of unreleased deleted scenes that would do the movie a great favor if inserted into a special edition. But I fear that it will continue to be child that was left behind :(.

The reason for it being re-released deleted footage or not, is probably to raise interest for the new 9-disc Alien Quadrilogy DVD set coming out at some point. Information is still scarce, but it’s definitely coming.

Having seen the trailer: Well the trailer only shows one of the scenes originally deleted from the theatrical release back in ’78. Namely the scene where Ripley finds Dallas cocooned in the bowels of the ship. It’s a cool scene, but I must admit being somewhat apprehensive about them re-inserting it, mostly because it half-way breaks some of the continuity in the Alien movies; a continuity which is broken enough as it is. This scene was obviously conceived before any of the other movies were even thought of, but the idea is that the Alien cocoons people and slowly turns them into eggs. Which of course, according to the gospel of Aliens, isn’t how that whole thing works, what with the Queen and all?

It is however cool news in the sense that it is re-released to cinemas and it lends itself superbly to the silver screen. Being probably the most aesthetically pleasing – and to me – most hauntingly scary movie of all time. I was of course born a tad bit too late to have seen it when it was first released. But I managed to catch an Alien marathon in Copenhagen back in ’97, and it was spectacular (and expensive!). But the copy of Alien we saw looked like it could have been the original released reels; more scratches than you can shake a facehugger at.

I just wish they would give Alien3 the Special Edition treatment instead, but I doubt that they ever will due to its poor reception at the box office. But hey, who am I kidding. Of course they will revisit it again — When the third DVD box set is released :)

Update: Dark Horizons says that: “A trailer is tipped to be sent out ‘loose in the film can’ with the ‘Alien Director’s Cut’ release on Halloween.” — That indeed would be interesting to see. That can crash so bad that it would make T3 look like a critically acclaimed masterpiece.

Update: This site says that the cocoon scene in fact is the only new scene… Some Director’s Cut eh? I would’ve expected a bit more from Ridley Scott. But if his excuse is that he’s busy working on the fabled Blade Runner DVD Box Set, then I could care less.

Update: Here you can find a complete list of deleted and never filmed scenes. Also, rumor has it that if this release goes well Aliens will also get the cleanup, buffed up soundtrack and re-release tour.