I saw THE CORE! [not completely OT]

[WizarDru]

I hate to sidetrack this thread a bit, but Mark said something that has me wondering.

Jonrog1, are you working on the screenplay for the Foundation trilogy of books, or is he talking about a different Foundation?

That is exactly what he's referring to. Of course, I particularly liked the quote by Asimov about how he went back to read the first Foundation book to refresh himself on the material before writing another book in the series...and determined that not much actually HAPPENED in the book.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

No offense, my man, but a bunch of us students at Caltech saw the trailer and we just couldn't stop laughing. Maybe the movie just isn't aimed at us, because I'm pretty sure there's no way we could take it seriously.
--Sam L-L

Just saw the movie yesterday myself, and let me say, those previews were a crime against the film. I've seen previews where I learned nothing about the movie, previews where I learned TOO MUCH about the movie, but never one that made it look 3 stars worse than it actually is. I was worried that it would be too much pseudo-science being rattled off by actors playing actual scientists, but it's not like that at all. My advice: The lower your expectations going in, the more fun you'll have. It was like 100 times better than Armageddon.

Jonrog1, I found your writing excellent. I get the feeling you watched a lot of BAD scifi before you wrote this. You managed to avoid a lot of the cliches those films use. My biggest problems with the movie had more to do with the direction and editing, but I guess that's not your doing.


for example
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The idea for that giant geode thingie was so cool, but I thought the visuals should have been so much stronger. It was neat, but it didn't do it justice.
[/spoiler]

Go enjoy it, check your disbelief at the door, and you'll be just fine.

 

[Fast Learner]

The suits weren't supposed to be pressure suits. The only reason they can go outside in the geode was that the gas pressure within was much, MUCH lower than the standard pressure at that depth. That pressure differential was not only why Zimsky was amazed that the geode had survived, but why the geode collapsed. One of those little dialogue edits they do in the editing room that I think they may have shaved too thin.

And they weren't using radio waves -- it goes by pretty quick, but Josh does say "Electron Spin Burst transmitter" when he activates it. It's pretty hard sci-fi, but we used the phenomena of separated aspects of an electron keeping the same spin as the basis for the communications suite.

D'oh! Well, I did miss both things. Very cool!

Thanks again for a very enjoyable film.

And, btw, unobtanium has become a similar "joke" in more general sci-fi circles, so I enjoyed it as an in-joke as well.

And yeah, the trailer doesn't do it justice at all.

 

[Umbran]

And, btw, unobtanium has become a similar "joke" in more general sci-fi circles, so I enjoyed it as an in-joke as well.

/me looks at his shelves and shelves of sci-fi books.

I guess that means that despite what I read, I'm no longer in "general sci-fi circles". Musta lost my membership for not knowing the joke. Yeah. Right. Whatever.

We're usually pretty careful not to make claims about what the "general gaming community" thinks, feels, and knows, because that community is so large. I wonder at how it then becomes okay to make claims about the general sci-fi community, which is larger... *shrug*

 

[WizarDru]

I guess that means that despite what I read, I'm no longer in "general sci-fi circles". Musta lost my membership for not knowing the joke. Yeah. Right. Whatever.

We're usually pretty careful not to make claims about what the "general gaming community" thinks, feels, and knows, because that community is so large. I wonder at how it then becomes okay to make claims about the general sci-fi community, which is larger... *shrug*

I think you're reading too much into that statement. I assumed he was trying to point out that people besides physicists used and understood the in-joke. That's not the same thing as saying 'real' sci-fi fans would get it. Especially since he didn't refer to the overall sci-fi community (if such an animal exists) as you did.

 

[Assenpfeffer]

I guess that means that despite what I read, I'm no longer in "general sci-fi circles". Musta lost my membership for not knowing the joke. Yeah. Right. Whatever.

Geez, lighten up.

Maybe you just missed it. I had to ask someone to explain to me not that long ago what "Cracker" meant. It happens.

 

[Dreeble]

Cliches

Heya:

Speaking of cliches (and the avoidance thereof)...

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Maybe it's simplistic to refer to him this way, but I really expected "the bad guy" (Zimsky, probably got the spelling wrong there) to try to sabotage the mission once the rest disagreed with him on immediately turning back. He even came up with the cool plan.

On the other hand, there were several other cliches, eh, let's call 'em staples of the genre: the love interests are the only survivors, the bad guy's noble sacrifice, the black guy must die, etc.

Take care,
Dreeble

 

[WayneLigon]

Cliches

Too bad there's not a dog. We'd know the dog would live

[Flashback]
When I was a kid, I went to see The Hindenburg in the theaters. Good movie, ensemble cast, you don't know who is going to die and who isn't.

One of the characters is a boy. Who has a dog.

At the end, they do the 'oh the humanity' newsreel thing, and then start to show the cast, and whether they lived or died in the film.

The whole place is silent, people just watching the litany of the dead and living. Then... dog's picture. Undeneath: 'Lived'.

Everyone in the theater goes 'YAAAAYY!' and claps thunderously.

[/Flashback]

 

[Hand of Evil]

Saw this story on MSNBC and said mmmmm...

http://www.msnbc.com/news/891313.asp?0dm=C21AT

 

[Fast Learner]

I guess that means that despite what I read, I'm no longer in "general sci-fi circles". Musta lost my membership for not knowing the joke. Yeah. Right. Whatever.

We're usually pretty careful not to make claims about what the "general gaming community" thinks, feels, and knows, because that community is so large. I wonder at how it then becomes okay to make claims about the general sci-fi community, which is larger... *shrug*

Um... yeah. Pretty much what everyone else said. In fact, I was only explaining why I had heard of it, since I'm not a physicist and I don't work at JPL.

I think it's pretty safe to indicate that a group enjoys an in-joke without implying that everyone in the group enjoys it or that those who don't know the joke are somehow no longer members of the group. I think you may be putting too much importance on your association with a group, or more likely trying too hard to make the joke a bad idea. Relax, it's not a big deal.