Dakota Fanning b. 1994 (Twilight, Charlotte’s Web, War of the Worlds, Taken, Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat)
Emily Blunt b. 1983 (Into the Woods, Looper, The Adjustment Bureau, Gulliver’s Travels, The Wolfman)
Kelly MacDonald b. 1976 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
Kristin Davis b. 1965 (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D, Alien Nation: Body and Soul)
Peter Fonda b. 1940 (Revolution [TV movie 2009], Journey to the Center of the Earth [TV], Ghost Rider, Supernova, Escape from L.A., Futureworld)
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry b. 1932 died 12/18/2008 (Star Trek, Babylon 5, Earth: Final Conflict)
Terence Fisher b. 1904 died 18 June 1980 (Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, Frankenstein Created Woman, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, The Earth Dies Screaming, The Gorgon, The Phantom of the Opera, The Curse of the Werewolf, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, The Brides of Dracula, The Mummy, The Revenge of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein)
Victor Fleming b. 1889 died 6 January 1949 (director, The Wizard of Oz)
Last year the Picture Slot went to Majel Barrett, and when it comes to iconic sci-fi roles, she doesn't have any competition on this list, though several of the actors are bigger household names overall. If the Picture Slot went to most output, I'd have to have a picture of Terence Fisher up, the go-to director of the Hammer monster movie era. But choosing quality over quantity, here's a publicity still of Victor Fleming from the set of The Wizard of Oz, which still belongs on the short list of the most important genre films of all time. In fact, when the AFI made their 100 years of movies list in 2007, The Wizard of Oz is the only fantasy/sci-fi film in the top ten, followed closely by Star Wars (#13) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (#15).
Many happy returns to the living on the list, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
Prediction: After the arctic icecap is bombed in 1971, much of the world is flooded and a world government is inaugurated.
Predictors: James Blish and Robert W. Lowndes in The Duplicated Man, published 1953
Reality: A nuke (or nukes) in the north would definitely melt some ice, but would it stay melted? As much energy as an explosion produces, it is dwarfed by natural phenomena like volcanoes or storms. Still, Blish and Lowndes do get one thing right about today's debate on climate change. The right wing may have very little understanding of science on their side, but their main concern is the socialist bastard one worlders coming up with an excuse to take over.
Yet again, I'd like to thank Paul Brians, whose exhaustive study of nuclear war fiction is an invaluable source.
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!
Monday is still OMNI Future Almanac day, one of my favorite regular sources.
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
but their main concern is the socialist bastard one worlders coming up with an excuse to take over.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's just crazy talk.
We all know that it's the zompocalypse that will unite the world. Unite them in shambling, but unite them nonetheless.
I always like LeGuin's idea that a massive alien attack would cause everyone to drop their petty squabbles to work together. When it is obvious that many countries would take the opportunity to settle old scores while others are distracted. You think Cheney wouldn't jump at the opportunity to shout "LOOK! ALIENS!" while he's launching the nukes at Iran?