Warp Section

I’ve been perusing the “Rumors” category on Sci Fi Wire, and have decided it’s a catalog of wishful thinking. A remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still? A film version of Castlevania? Sam Raimi directing a Doc Savage movie? Jake Gyllenhaal playing Captain Marvel? How utterly freaking cool would that be? But how many of these rumors are ever going to pan out? My cynical guess: not many.

The reality of movie making is that thousands and thousands of films enter the planning and pre-production stages, and never make it out again. Financing falls through, production people lose interest and move on to more enticing projects. Hollywood movies involve thousands of people in a complicated process, and not every good idea makes it out alive, which is too bad.

I love movie rumors. And I hate them. They represent all the great movies we’ll never get to see. An Alien sequel written by William Gibson. Batman villains who never made it on screen. Joss Whedon directing Wonder Woman.

One movie rumor I’ve been following for years: a film version of Watchmen, based on the influential Alan Moore graphic novel that changed the way everyone looks at superheroes. It still has an IMDB listing, which even names Gerard Butler (from 300) as a potential cast member. (Ozymandias maybe?)

But this has also become the ultimate movie rumor for me. Casting rumors, changes in directors, release dates — it’s been going on for probably ten years. I won’t actually believe this movie is being made until I sit down in a darkened theater with my bucket of popcorn and the title comes on screen.

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…is quickly becoming reality. That’s true of so many things these days. (Did Star Trek ever dream up a communicator that could take pictures?)

Here’s a website to keep you busy over the weekend. The Planet Project describes extra-solar planets that have been discovered to date. I bet there’s more than you think.

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This is just to let everyone know that the Earth Destruction Alert Level is still GREEN.

If you or someone you know has an ambition to destroy the earth, this handy guide will get you started.

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For the Hyperadventure uninitiated, start here. Basically, it’s like the Choose Your Own Adventure books you read when you were a kid, but it’s online. And you can add a branch yourself!
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Curiosity and hunger overcome shock, and you find your hands reaching for the locker. Of course, being a locker, it is locked. At this point, you’re pretty sure there’s no food in there, but your curiosity has gotten stronger, and the memory of getting yelled at earlier is rapidly fading. Examining the lock, you’re pretty sure you could crack it using the techniques you learned at junior space cadet camp last summer back on Earth. The junior space cadets would hardly approve of such use, though, and you have a feeling the captain might not be too happy about it either. What do you do?
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If you wish to continue the story, simply write the next branch in your blog/livejournal/myspace, and then come back here and write a comment which links to your piece. The subject line of your comment should be the action you are taking. Unlike a paper-bound CYOA, here you can take any choice you can dream up!

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If you haven’t seen this site yet, check it out: scale comparisons of starships, vehicles, and space stations from all your favorite TV shows, movies, and books, with some real-world ships and buildings thrown in for fun. You really want to see how the Enterprise D would stand up against the Executor? Or how Spaceship One compares to Serenity?

Jeff Russell’s Starship Dimensions

This oughta help stop some of those ubergeek arguments before they start.

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Have you ever wondered which famed celebrities turned down or even were being considered for the most influential roles in the history of movies?

Well NotStarring.com has just such a list, and it is fun to read through.

Han Solo of the famous Star Wars movies could have gone to one of a thousand actors that George Lucas was considering for the role. In the end it was giveng to Harrison Ford, but it just as easily could have been Kurt Russell, Sylvester Stallone, or even Billy Dee Williams who ended up being Lando Calrissian.

Or what about The Matrix? Could you imagine Sean Connery as Morpheus? The site says he turned it down because he couldn’t understand the script. What about Val Kilmer as Neo? What a different movie it would make.

Check out NotStarring, and see who was considered for roles in your favourite movies.

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