Holly Earl b. 1992 (Dracula: The Dark Prince, Doctor Who, My Hero, Red Dwarf)
Ryan Kelley b. 1986 (Teen Wolf, Ben 10:Alien Swarm, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Smallville)
Leo Bill b. 1980 (Doctor Who, Alice in Wonderland, Jekyll, 28 Days Later…)
Mike Erwin b. 1978 (The Vampire Diaries, Hulk)
Marc Webb b. 1974 (director, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2)
Chris Tucker b. 1972 (The Fifth Element, The Meteor Man)
Zack Ward b. 1970 (Save the Supers, Warehouse 13, Dollhouse, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Transformers, Lost, Charmed, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Freddy vs. Jason, Sliders, Forever Knight, Maniac Mansion)
Daniel Bernhardt b. 1965 (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Creature, The Matrix Reloaded, Mortal Kombat: Conquest)
Todd Carty b. 1963 (Krull)
Julie Brown b. 1954 (Wizards of Waverly Place, Alien Avengers II, The Addams Family [1993], Quantum Leap, Earth Girls Are Easy, The Incredible Shrinking Woman)
Lowell Ganz b. 1948 (screenwriter, Robots, Splash)
Roger Dean b. 1944 (artist)
Larry Hankin b. 1940 (Weird Science, Star Trek: Voyager, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: The Next Generation, ALF, Amazing Stories, Faerie Tale Theatre, Doctor Dracula)
Jack Thompson b. 1940 (Man-Thing, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones)
Noble Willingham b. 1931 died 17 January 2004 (Quantum Leap, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Tucker’s Witch, The Howling, Man from Atlantis)
James Coburn b.1928 died 18 November 2002 (Faerie Tale Theatre, Looker, Twilight Zone)
Richard Basehart b. 1914 died 17 September 1984 (Mr. Merlin, The Island of Dr, Moreau, Time Travelers, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Stan Bug, Twilight Zone)
Frederic March b. 1897 died 14 April 1975 (I Married a Witch, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
There are some well known names on the list, though not all have iconic genre roles. I was having difficulty picking a face, so I decided to go with an illustration from Roger Dean, best known for his albums covers for Yes. Dean is currently suing James Cameron, claiming the director copied ideas from his paintings for the look of Avatar. Cameron has already won several lawsuits in relation to his big hit movie. I'm not a lawyer, but I think Dean has a point. For me, the real crime is that Cameron is talking about making three sequels, slated to be released 2016, 2017 and 2018. Unfortunately, there is no legal recourse against this travesty.
Many happy returns to all the living on the list, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
Many happy returns to the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
Prediction: A century after the Atomic Disaster of 1990, a cruel, technically sophisticated culture is deteriorating, as young people commit murders, seemingly at random. Games patterned after the ancient Roman model are popular, and actual war games for violent citizens are being arranged. A typical old-fashioned dystopia, with loveless free sex, synthetic food, and casual interplanetary travel. Unusual in depicting homosexuality as common. The author is British.
Reality: As usual, when the prediction looks like a plot summary, I'm lifting info from Professor Paul Brians' nuclear fiction website. I have to say I love the one-two punch of the last two sentences.
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!
A new month begins and we get a return visit from an old friend.
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
My vote for next year: James Coburn in "The Twilight Zone."
ReplyDeleteAs for "Avatar," I think James Cameron learned the basic rule after getting sued by Harlan Ellison over "The Terminator":
Taking material from one source = plagiarism;
taking materials from many sources = research.
For a list of sources which have elements similar to "Avatar," check out:
http://io9.com/5460954/the-complete-list-of-sources-avatars-accused-of-ripping-off
Sometimes I forget how many actors showed up on the original Twilight Zone early in their career. The casting director did a bang-up job.
DeleteThe good thing about the three movies is that Steve Gould (current SFWA president and a Really Good Writer) is doing novels in the universe that, one hopes, will contribute to making the films make sense.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that info. I'm not sure there's three more movies worth of story in this and coming out seven years after the fact, the iron will be cold.
DeleteI like the Roger Dean art; even have a couple of dozen of them that I use for screensavers. Yes, yes, I downloaded them from his site, paid for em too.
ReplyDelete