Friday, May 10, 2013

10 May 2013


Birthday
Jonathan Hales b. 1937

  Mr. Hales' best known work is the screenplay for Attack of the Clones.

Did he write anything good?

Hypothetical question asker, that is a rude question. He also wrote The Scorpion King.

Well, they can't all be gems.

Many happy returns to Mr. Hales all the same.


Prediction: 10 May, 1998: An amateur astronomer (Elijah Wood) discovers a new comet

Predictor: Deep Impact, released 8 May, 1998

Reality: I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but if you look at the poster and think for a second about the title, you already know this is one of those "large rock hits local planet, film at eleven" kind of movies. This exact date usage is what I call Apocalypse Soon, not so much a prediction as a plot device in a movie to tell the audience "bad stuff is gonna happen and it's gonna start, oh, a couple days from now". In this movie, the comet is discovered about a year before the professional astronomers figure out it's on a collision course with earth.

Oops, I should have written "spoiler alert" there, shouldn't I?


Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another plot point from Jack London's The Iron Heel, his dystopian novel from 1908.


Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

4 comments:

  1. Is that the one with the dog? (And, no, I absolutely do not mean Leelee.)

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    Replies
    1. Having done a little more research, I think "the one with the dog" is likely Post Impact.

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  2. I assume you are asking about Deep Impact, because if you are asking about Jack London's book, The Iron Heel could well be described as "the one without the dog".

    I only watched the movie for dates, I couldn't give you a cast list or plot description.

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  3. What? You diss "The Scorpion King?" the definitive word on proto-early-Egyptian history? LOL!

    ReplyDelete

Traveler! Have you news... FROM THE FUTURE?