Sci-Fi Film History
The history of science fiction films parallels that of the motion picture industry as a whole, although it took several decades before the genre was taken seriously. Since the 1960s, major science fiction films have succeeded in pulling in large audience shares, and films of this genre have become a regular staple of the film industry.
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The Top Ten Sci-Fi Films of All Time!
We sampled ten popular online top sci-fi film polls to determine SFMZ's Top Ten Sci-Fi Films of All Time. From classics to eighties sci-fi to newer sci-fi films, our top ten list is a mixture of film critics, fans, and sci-fi website afficionados combined to produce a diverse sci-fi film list.
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Sci-Fi Stands Tall in SFMZ's Top Ten Sequels of All Time!
Six of ten films that made the list are Sci-Fi including Cameron's Aliens and Terminator 2. Using the same formula for SFMZ's Top Ten Sci-Fi Films of All Time, we sampled ten online top sequels polls to determine SFMZ's Top Sequels of All Time.
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Sci-Fi Subgenres A to Z
Many sci-fi fans know that there are a variety of subgenres under the umbrella of science fiction, but after doing some research online, I had no idea how deep that cyber-well really is. Explore all the sci-fi subgenres from A to Z.
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1950's Sci-Fi Movies
The fifties ushered in some of the most cheesiest, yet glorious alien creatures in the history of sci-fi film. Some hold the opinion that the popular onslaught was in part spawned from military air and naval personnel reporting strange sightings during World War II.
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Sci-Fi at the Box Office
While Sci-Fi films seem to be shunned by the Oscars for the most part, the box office has been a bit more generous with praise, or at least monetarily. Since it's introduction in cinema history, the Sci-Fi genre has grossed close to 40 billion dollars, according to the-numbers.com.
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Sci-Fi Art Gallery
When it comes to science fiction art, there's a rich diversity of talent on the web who explore the artistic cosmos with incredibly fantastic visual realms. In this section, we showcase known and unknown artists who paint the universe with amazing creativity.
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Movie Aliens vs. Pre-historic Real Beasts
This feature centers around sci-fi smackdowns between cinema's notorious creatures and the awesome beasts of the Jurassic and other pre-historic periods. We provide the stats - physical attributes along with natural offensive weapons, and our visitors vote on each match-up.
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Top Sci-Fi Movie Planets
From Dune to Pandora, what is the best sci-fi movie planet, planetoid, moon of the lot? We gathered a list of sci-fi rondures of wonder for you to decide by voting for what's the number one fictional planet.
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The Greatest Sci-Fi Soundtracks
The soundtrack of a sci-film or television is arguably just as critical as the visual awe we experience from the greats such as 2001: A Spaced Odyssey, Blade Runner, Alien, Star Wars and many more. We have gathered a crop of great sci-fi soundtracks here along with some audio clips and highlights of the sci-fi soundtrack composers.
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The Greatest CGI Scenes in Sci-Fi Film
With the introduction of computer graphics, CGI has opened the sci-fi genre into a much larger world of cinematic creativity. Of course we all know CGI has been used in a variety of film genres, but SFMZ being dedicated to sci-fi for the most part, we focused this list on the greatest CGI scenes in the sci-fi genre only.
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The Greatest Hand Weapons of Sci-Fi Film
We put together a list of the greatest sci-fi movie hand weapons showcasing firepower that would easily dispatch the biggest and baddest villains or creatures on film.
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The Eight Greatest Sci-Fi Weapons of Mass Destruction
Keeping in theme with our previous sci-fi list 'The Greatest Hand Weapons of Sci-Fi Film,' we decided to expand on the checklists of doom by upgrading on a Herculean scale with sci-fi movie weapons packing an almighty powerful punch.
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Top Ten Sci-Fi Movie Websites of 2010
There is a whole truck load of sci-fi movie websites on the web, but only a select few shine above the rest with diverse offerings. We scoured several sites looking beyond just their popularity or Google standing and focused on what value they add to the online sci-fi movie experience.
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Sci-Fi Lists From Other Sites
Compiling 'Best of' lists regarding sci-film is very popular among the movie websites and we have collected a few links for you to explore.
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Science Fiction for the Great Recession
Film review on 'Jim'
October 8, 2010 - “Jim” is two or maybe three movies in one. There’s an angry downsizing drama, a sort of “Falling Down” for the derivatives age, that overlaps with a cautionary tale about modern medicine and genetic engineering, and these connect in a hazy way to a dystopian science-fiction fantasy set on a future earth populated by clones.
What they all share is a reliance on cliché and a limited visual imagination that is aggravated, in the science-fiction segments, by the film’s minuscule budget. To be fair, Jeremy Morris-Burke, a theater designer, began writing “Jim” as a play before deciding to teach himself how to make a movie, and this indie project — produced with his wife, Vanessa — represents his feature debut as writer, director, photographer and editor.
He deserves praise for getting it made at all, and he does a good job of keeping the story straight as he moves back and forth among three distinct timelines. Unfortunately, each narrative strand is so packed with straight-out-of-writing-class dialogue that the film feels longer than its hour-and-46-minute running time. Click title link above for the complete review.
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Vintage Classics To Publish Classic Science Fiction Novels With 3-D Covers
October 6, 2010 - In April 2011, Vintage Classics will publish a series of classic science fiction novels with beautifully illustrated 3-D covers.
The five novels in the series are Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne, The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle and The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Tales by H.P. Lovecraft.
Vintage Classics is delighted to bring together the grandfathers of the genre in this highly desirable and collectible series. 3-D glasses will be included with each novel.
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Computer Game 'MYST' Gains Movie Steam
October 5, 2010 - MYST, the all-time top selling computer adventure game franchise, has been optioned for live action film treatment. Producers Hunt Lowry and Mark Johnson have partnered with Adrian Vanderbosch and Isaac Testerman of Mysteria Film Group.
Mysteria got the rights from game developers Cyan Worlds. MYST debuted in 1993 and expanded with four top-selling sequels. It established a market for multi-platform CD-ROM gaming and continues to be the biggest selling adventure game ever.
Trouble is, MYST became popular for the atmospheric experience it provided, but it isn't as easily adaptable as some vidgames because it doesn't have a simple linear narrative. It does have a strong mythology that creates possibilities, though. Johnson is the producer of the upcoming The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and the hope is to bring the distinctive world of Myst as was done with Narnia.
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Could 'Goldilocks' planet be just right for life?
October 4, 2010 - Astronomers say they have for the first time spotted a planet beyond our own in what is sometimes called the Goldilocks zone for life: Not too hot, not too cold. Juuuust right. Not too far from its star, not too close. So it could contain liquid water. The planet itself is neither too big nor too small for the proper surface, gravity and atmosphere.
It's just right. Just like Earth. "This really is the first Goldilocks planet," said co-discoverer R. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The new planet sits smack in the middle of what astronomers refer to as the habitable zone.
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I Am Number Four trailer debuts
October 3, 2010 - If any budding filmmakers out there want a masterclass in how to forge a flashy, stylish teaser that gives absolutely nothing away, be sure to watch and study this.
Disturbia director D.J. Caruso’s flick follows Number Four (Pettyfer), an alien who crashlands on Earth and disguises himself as a teenager. Before you can sneeze “FffSupermanarr!”, he’s fighting for his life as the beings who destroyed his homeworld are still after him on our planet. Click title link for complete article and trailer video.
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Star Wars Goes 3D In 2012
October 2, 2010 - Much like the Jedi and the Sith have the Force-driven ability to feel things from a long way off, we’ve all known that Star Wars supremo George Lucas was planning to convert the entire franchise to 3D at some point in the future.
He’d dropped heavy hints, and since he rarely passes up a chance to tinker with the movies on a digital level, it was just a matter of when, not if. And now we have a rough date. Well, we have a year: 2012.
While James Cameron’s success with Avatar was a big reason Lucas is pushing ahead with the conversion process, it was also a case that the director wanted to wait until there were enough 3D screens to support a decently wide re-release. Of course, given how many 3D movies are planned for release in that year, it’s entirely possible that the marketplace will again be crowded.
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Sci-Fi-London Oktoberfest Schedule Announced
October 1, 2010 - What is Oktoberfest? We can't wait for a whole year to pass, just to have another festival. With so many fantastic films out there, we decided to create our very own mini mid-year festival.
Each October, you'll be able to catch special events, screenings and, of course, our regular All-nighter events.
For 2010, the Oktoberfest will take place Thursday 14th - Saturday 16th October. Click the title link for details about the events featured.
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Former Air Force Officers:
UFOs Tampered With Nuclear Missiles
September 30, 2010 - Former U.S. Air Force officers and a former enlisted man are about to break many years of silence about an alarming series of UFO encounters at nuclear weapons sites -- incidents officially kept secret for decades.
When the group appears at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Monday, it will offer testimony about events so chilling, it will seem like a day at a science fiction movie festival. To put you in the mood for the stories that will soon unfold, we're presenting one here, involving former Air Force Capt. Robert Salas, one of the hosts of the Washington event.
Salas, co-author of "Faded Giant" (BookSurge Publishing), was a first lieutenant in 1967, serving as a missile-launch officer while stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. On March 16, 1967, Salas was 60 feet below ground working a 24-hour shift monitoring a launch-control center outfitted with 10 nuclear Minuteman missiles.
"I got a call from the topside guard, telling me they were watching some strange lights flying around in the sky, making odd maneuvers. Click title link to continue article.
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Guillermo Del Toro Confirms 'At The Mountains Of Madness' Includes Ron Perlman Role
September 29, 2010 - Guillermo Del Toro stopped by the Newsroom on Wednesday afternoon to chat about his newest vampire novel, "The Fall." Our talk soon turned to "Mountains," an adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's Antarctica-based horror tale that del Toro is set to direct with an assist from producer James Cameron.
In the midst of talk about the potential cast, del Toro kicked us word about how Perlman — the star of his two "Hellboy" features — figures into the project. "All I can tell you is if Ron Perlman is free, he will be in," del Toro told us. "I wrote a part for him. He read it and if everything falls in place, Ron Perlman has a role in it written specifically for him."
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Kate Beckinsale Back For 'Underworld 4'
September 28, 2010 - The January 2012 release date for the fourth Underworld was announced a few weeks ago, but a few more Underworld 4 details have now been confirmed. We can put an end to the speculation about whether or not Kate Beckinsale will be squeezing back into Seline's vampy PVC. She will.
It's official. And while the original rumour-mill suggested that she might be appearing in a tokenistic reduced capacity, the press release is pretty clear that Beckinsale will "take the lead". We still think that might be spin though, since a role for Selene's daughter is also confirmed, which suggests some next-generation-type franchise torch-passing to us.
An actress to play mini-Selene is currently being sought. As is a director, since series honcho Len Wiseman (Mr Beckinsale) will not be wielding the megaphone, although he is producing. The surprise announcement, and potentially best news, is that J Michael Straczynski is working on the script, which was originally drafted by The Shield's John Hlavin.
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Six scientists tell us about the most accurate science fiction in their fields
September 27, 2010 - Six scientists tell us about the most accurate science fiction in their fields What do scientists think about seeing their fields of research pulverized by science fiction? We asked researchers from diverse fields to tell us whether any science fiction gets it right.
Several of the scientists we contacted were simply at a loss when I asked whether they could think of any science fiction that was accurate when it came to their field of study. UC Santa Barbara geochemist David Valentine, who recently published a paper on the natural gas plumes from the Deepwater spill, asked us to let him know if we found any accurate geochemistry in SF. Click the title link above for the complete article.
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Godzilla 2012 Will Be A Respectful Reboot, Says Producer
September 26, 2010 - Producer Brian Rogers reveals lots of intriguing info about the new Hollywood Godzilla movie due in 2012 in an extensive video interview
Website Zennie62.com managed to nab producer Brian Rogers for an extensive video interview about Legendary Pictures proposed 2012 Godzilla movie, which he promises will be a Batman Begins-style reboot, and, unlike the Emmerich version, will be a traditional monster-versus-monster beat-’em-up.
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‘Ender’s Game’ back in play with ‘Wolverine’ director
September 25, 2010 - Fans of Orson Scott Card and his seminal science-fiction work “Ender’s Game” were despondent last year when the author revealed that he thought the movie could be hitting the rocks.
But the project about a boy hero is now back in active development, sources say, as independent production company Odd Lot Entertainment pushes forward on a movie version of the Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel.
Most interesting, sources say, there’s now a big-name filmmaker involved with the project: Gavin Hood, who directed the Oscar-winning “Tsotsi” and last year’s comic book franchise “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Hood has done a rewrite of Card’s most recent script and is developing the project as a director.
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Kevin McCarthy: Actor renowned for role in Body Snatchers
September 24, 2010 - Kevin McCarthy was a veteran stage and screen actor but will always be known for his starring role as the panicked doctor who tried to warn the world about the alien "pod people" who were taking over in the 1956 science-fiction suspense classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
McCarthy died of natural causes at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Mass., said his daughter Lillah. He was 96. During a career that spanned more than 70 years, beginning on stage in New York in the late 1930s, McCarthy played Biff Loman opposite Paul Muni's Willy in the 1949 London production of Death of a Salesman.
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Quantum Computing Takes Another Step From Science Fiction
September 23, 2010 - A team from the UK’s Centre for Quantum Photonics may have stumbled onto something remarkable, though. Something that may transform quantum computing from a pipe dream into reality. Jeremy O’Brien, who is the Centre's director, recently led a project that ended with the creation of a new photonic chip that "works on light rather than electricity."
Scientists have known for years that data traveled far quicker over light than over most any other medium. That's why fiber optics are so highly preferred. If photonic chips were able to be used in computers, speeds would increase tremendously. These days, we're happy going from a Core 2 Duo to a Core i7. But photonic chips would lead to a "quantum leap" in computing.
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Science-fiction Films That Changed the World
September 22, 2010 - Can a science fiction movie change the world? I don't think that there's any film, much less a science-fiction film, that has ever had the same world-changing qualities as the moon landing. It doesn't reach the level of a man leaving the planet and stepping foot on another world, but certainly it's possible for a science-fiction film to have the same level of cultural impact as the Beatles or Snow White.
And, in fact, I can think of two off the top of my head. The first was the very first science-fiction film: Le Voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon), created in 1902 by Georges Méliès. This fourteen-minute film literally set the template for science-fiction spectacles -- heavy on effects and adventure, light on story and sense -- that is, for better or worse, still employed today.
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Guillermo del Toro talks 'At the Mountains of Madness'
September 21, 2010 - In a recent interview, Deadline asked Guillermo del Toro why chose At the Mountain of Madness considering it would take quite an effort for the studio to approve the project.
Guillermo: The cosmic proportions of the Lovecraft horror are so immense, it forces you to find humanity in other aspects of the tale. You can keep the monster inhuman, remote and scary, which is a great benefit. The screenplay that is on the internet is an old screenplay, and the one I gave to Jim and Universal is different.
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