10 September 2014

Birthdays
Elyse Levesque b. 1985 (The Originals, SGU Stargate Universe, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Smallville, Flash Gordon, 2030 CE, MythQuest)
Harry Treadaway b. 1984 (Penny Dreadful [2014], Cockneys vs Zombies)
Luke Treadaway b. 1984 (Clash of the Titans)
Lindsay Maxwell b. 1981 (Supernatural, Hair of the Sasquatch, The Butterfly Effect 2, Deep Evil, Stargate SG-1, Seven Days)
Sebastian Gutierrez b. 1974 (writer, The Eye, Rise: Blood Hunter, Gothika, Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature)
Ryan Phillippe b. 1974 (Invader, Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare)
James Duval b. 1972 (Lazarus: Day of the Living Dead, Hercules Reborn, Evilution, Frog-g-g, Donnie Darko, Independence Day)
Johnathon Schaech b. 1969 (Star-Crossed, The Legend of Hercules, Quarantine)
Jay Laga’aia b. 1963 (Daybreakers, Legend of the Seeker, Star Wars: Episodes II and II, Xena, Mysterious Island)
Colin Firth b. 1960 (Dorian Gray, A Christmas Carol [2009], Nanny McPhee)
Stacey Nelkin b. 1959 (Fringe, Twilight Zone [1986], Halloween III: Season of the Witch)
Chris Columbus b. 1958 (director, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Bicentennial Man, Gremlins)
Jim Jackman b. 1957 (Zombthology, My Stepmother Is an Alien, Spaceballs)
Kate Burton b. 1957 (Revolution, Grimm, Big Trouble in Little China, Alice in Wonderland [1983])
Fred Olen Ray b. 1954 (director, 135 films, some under the pseudonym Nicholas Medina, many direct to video, either bad sci-fi or soft-core porn, none worth watching)
Clark Johnson b. 1954 (666 Park Avenue, Re-Generation, Forever Knight, Murder in Space, Mazes and Monsters)
Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson b. 1954 (Sci-Fighter, Virtual Combat, Batman Forever, Cyber Tracker, Future Kick)
Stuart Milligan b. 1953 (Doctor Who, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Whoops Apocalypse, Outland)
Amy Irving b. 1953 (Twilight Zone: Rod Serling’s Lost Classics [1994], Rumplestiltskin, The Fury, Carrie)
Harry Groener b. 1951 (Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Star Trek: Enterprise, Buffy, Roswell, The Day the World Ended, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Charmed, Sleepwalkers, Star Trek: Voyager, Quantum Leap, Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Judy Geeson b. 1948 (Charmed, Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion, Star Trek: Voyager, Horror Planet, Star Maidens, Space: 1999)
Bo Goldman b. 1932 (screenwriter, Meet Joe Black)
Philip Baker Hall b. 1931 (The Amityville Horror [2005], 3rd Rock from the Sun, Roswell, M.A.N.T.I.S., Ghostbusters II, The Goddess of Love, Man from Atlantis)
Gwen Watford b. 1927 died 6 February 1994 (Doomwatch, Taste the Blood of Dracula)
Edmond O’Brien b. 1915 died 9 May 1985 (Fantastic Voyage, Moon Pilot, 1984 [1956])
Robert Wise b. 1914 died 14 September 2005 (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Andromeda Strain, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Curse of the Cat People)
Bessie Love b. 1898 died 26 April 1986 (The Hunger, Vampyres, My Partner the Ghost, Battle Beneath the Earth, The Andromeda Breakthrough, The Lost World [1925])

I do attempt to be thorough when listing credits, but I truly and deeply hate the career of Fred Olen Ray and listing the movies he's made here would only encourage him to make more, not that a guy who has directed over 100 projects needs much encouragement. I don't know how the people who bankroll him make any money on the stuff he churns out. It seems more like a money laundering scheme to me.

As for the Picture Slot, I went Whedonverse nerd and chose Harry Groener as Mayor Wilkins, the Big Bad from season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, giving his last speech in the season finale. I also consider his role on Star Trek: The Next Generation to be iconic. As for next year, the field is completely wide open.

Movies released
Resident Evil: Afterlife released, 2010  

Predictor: Herman Kahn in the 1972 book Things to Come, published by the Hudson Institute.

Prediction: The year 1985 will see a technological crisis and predictions beyond this become difficult.

Reality: I'm bidding our pal Herman a less than fond farewell this week with his one apocalyptic prediction. A lot of his stuff is of the form "things in the future are going to be like things now, only more so", but for some reason he pulled the year 1985 out of a hat and said there would be some ominous event. He actually list about 70 possible causes of the "technological crisis", so he was seriously hedging his bets. In reality, nothing particularly epoch ending happened in 1985 and my best guess is that Kahn and his pals at the Hudson Institute just got tired.

Kind of like I did when I looked at the list of crap directed by Fred Olen Ray and said "No way I'm typing up all this junk."

Look forward to a new regular prediction feature next Wednesday.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

An interruption of the regular schedule for a prediction from a film.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!