Niamh Wilson b. 1997 (Hemlock Grove, Warehouse 13. My Babysitter’s a Vampire, Falling Skies, Saw III though VI)
Brenna O’Brien b. 1991 (Supernatural, Kyle XY, Tin Man, Stargate SG-1, X-Men: The Last Stand, Merlin’s Apprentice, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Stephen King’s Dead Zone)
Oscar Isaac b. 1980 (Ex Machina, Sucker Punch)
Chaske Spencer b. 1975 (Twilight)
Juliette Binoche b. 1964 (Godzilla [2014])
Kirk B.R. Woller b. 1962 (The Event, Resident Evil: Extinction, Charmed, Hulk, Minority Report, The X-Files, Sliders, Mercury Rising, Dark Skies)
Finn Carter b. 1960 (FreakyLinks, Tremors)
Rodney A. Grant b. 1959 (Ghosts of Mars, Stargate SG-1)
Linda Fiorentino b. 1958 (What Planet are You From, Dogma, Men in Black)
Pat Murphy b. 1955 (won 1988 Nebula for The Falling Woman)
Ornella Muti b. 1955 (Flash Gordon)
Raul Julia b. 1940 died 24 October 1994 (Street Fighter, The Addams Family, Frankenstein Unbound, Overdrawn at the Memory Bank)
A small secret about the birthday lists. You may see some unfamiliar names of young people like Niamh Wilson and Brenna O'Brien, people born after 1990 or so. Right now, it's a big advantage for young actors in sci-fi and fantasy to be born in Canada. A heck of a lot of production work is done up there and the Canadian government requires a quota of jobs on these projects are staffed by Canadians.
As for the Picture Slot, last year it was the author Pat Murphy, and this year it was a contest between Linda Fiorentino, Ornella Muti, Raul Julia and the winner Finn Carter. She was the plucky grad student in Tremors, a movie made in 1990 though I still think of it as a 1950s monster movie done right. As for the runners-up, Fiorentino and Muti both qualify for the Pretty Girl = Picture Slot criterion, and I really miss Raul Julia, who will be gone 20 years come this October. Odds are one of those three will be in the Picture Slot next March 9.
Movies released
John Carter escaped, 2012
Prediction: "I can say with confidence that 2014 will be the year of Bitcoin on Wall Street."
Reality: There is some guy whose job is to blog about Bitcoin for the Wall Street Journal. There may be less honorable ways to keep food on the table, though not one springs to mind just now. If you have this bullshit job, of course you have to quote bullshit sources.
I guess I feel a little sorry for this reporter Paul Vigna.
...
Okay. I just took a breath and I'm over it.
I'm impressed with the algorithm behind Bitcoin, but I'm not convinced about its future as a reliable payment method. This is not because I deeply distrust the libertarian ideals (which I do), but because the stories about Bitcoin that bubble up to become headline news are about massive thefts and websites being shut down and crazy fluctuations in value.
Wall Street is not above theft and fraud. In fact, those are two of the great pillars of modern finance since deregulation. But there are other pillars, and one of them is discretion. I don't see what positive news story can counterbalance the collapse of Mt. Gox in February.
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!
Another interruption of the regular schedule for a report on a mission to Mars.
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
Much as I also like Raul Julia, let's not forget "Overdrawn At The Memory Bank", a PBS shot-on-video screamer featured as one of the more popular MST3K episodes (does it count twice?)
ReplyDeleteActually, the original John Varley short story was pretty good, as I recall. Whackypedia tells me that this was the last of a sci-fi series the public stations tried to get off the ground, one of which was "The Lathe Of Heaven" (far superior to the more recent big-budget remake).
Thanks for the tip, ZRMcD. It's been added.
DeleteTremors was a film I went into expecting to hate, but it- and Finn Carter- utterly won me over. I agree that it's a "50's monster movie done right," but part of its success, for me, was the fun way it upended so many of the 50's tropes. The scientist is a *woman* fer chrissakes! And she doesn't know all the answers! This gentle lampooning of 50's stereotypes is what keeps me going back to the film from time to time. And I wish Carter had done more roles; her name alone would have plopped me down in front of a screen.
ReplyDeleteI saw it twice in the theaters and have re-watched it on TV. You are right about the upending of 1950s tropes. The military isn't involved, but the survivalists gun nuts take their place. Michael Gross and Reba McIntire were perfect in those roles.
DeleteFinn Carter is like the women Joss Whedon puts in the "adorable instead of hot" female role in so many of his shows. Alyson Hannigan, Amy Acker, Miracle Laurie, Jewel Staite... the list goes on and on. Success in Hollywood is such a crazy crap shoot and I agree with you about Finn Carter.