Two Towers Oscars

[Mark]

Assuming that ROTK doesn't suck raw donkey balls, the Academy will award Oscars next year to Jackson and company. The idea being that the LOTR trilogy is believed to be one movie in three parts, not three movies, and so awarding Oscars for ROTK will actually be awarding the entire body of work. The nominations for FOTR and TTT are there as placemarkers for the Oscars that are certain to come next year with ROTK.

Couldn't agree more...

 

[Mark]

I apologize if I offended you, but few people consider all Oscars equal. There are the big awards, and the "lesser" ones. Some of them get put on the televised broadcast, and some don't.

There is huge significance in a sci-fi fantasy movie winning Best Picture or Best Actor. There is little significance in a sci-fi movie winning a technical award.

Could there be any better award for a SciFi movie to win than a technical award? It's the Sci half of SciFi.

 

[Corinth]

Could there be any better award for a SciFi movie to win than a technical award? It's the Sci half of SciFi.

Yes: Best Picture.

 

[Mark]

Yes: Best Picture.

I'm not so sure. I think it would depend on the movie.

 

[Chun-tzu]

Could there be any better award for a SciFi movie to win than a technical award? It's the Sci half of SciFi.

Actually, if technical awards really had much to do with science, it'd be nice. Maybe I'm in a minority, but I'm much more impressed these days with a sci-fi movie with good science than one with flashy special effects. But that seems to be pretty rare these days, as we're far more likely to see stuff like Star Wars, Star Trek, and Men in Black. And while I still like all those franchises (I'm such a nerd ), there isn't exactly a lot of science in them. Where are all the hard sci-fi movies, like, I don't know, Solaris or the Cube?

 

[Mark]

Where are all the hard sci-fi movies, like, I don't know, Solaris or the Cube?

Does that streak of bio-disaster movies we had in the past decade count among the hard sci-fi movies?

 

[Chun-tzu]

Does that streak of bio-disaster movies we had in the past decade count among the hard sci-fi movies?

Hmm. I don't know, I haven't seen most of them.
Armageddon was more or less like Independence Day, so I'd have to say no on that one. Maybe Deep Impact was better, but I didn't see it. What else was there? I didn't see Outbreak, either.
I doubt that most disaster movies would really be hard sci-fi, though.

I guess Minority Report would count. They took the concept of precognition, and then expanded on it: using precognition to stop murders before they happen, how it would work, the holes in the system, and so on. The story was built around it. It wasn't all that science heavy, but it was true sci-fi, not just an action-adventure or comedy in sci-fi trappings.

 

[Mark]

Hmm. I don't know, I haven't seen most of them.
Armageddon was more or less like Independence Day, so I'd have to say no on that one. Maybe Deep Impact was better, but I didn't see it. What else was there? I didn't see Outbreak, either.
I doubt that most disaster movies would really be hard sci-fi, though.

I guess Minority Report would count. They took the concept of precognition, and then expanded on it: using precognition to stop murders before they happen, how it would work, the holes in the system, and so on. The story was built around it. It wasn't all that science heavy, but it was true sci-fi, not just an action-adventure or comedy in sci-fi trappings.

Oh, I see. I was trying to define the parameters of what you were saying. In my experience, hard science sci-fi would be something that could actually happen, but hasn't and therefore science fiction...along the lines of Outbreak, as you mentioned. Something like Minority Report, which is just as fanciful as any other sci-fi that makes things up to suit their purposes would not count. Armegeddon might, since space travel at that level and the nukes are possible, even if the premise of the asteroid is a bit off on the "numbers" and "physics", but that in no way puts it in a league with Independence Day which includes bonifide aliens which still fall into the category of fanciful.

 

[Chun-tzu]

Hard science fiction can include things that we don't have... like cold fusion, or non-carbon-based life forms, or intergalactic travel. I just can't really think of any examples that have made it into the movies. Maybe Johnny Mnemonic is a better example. I could see people being able to upload information directly into brain implants in the future. There are really very few examples, though.

But yeah, what I really meant was true sci-fi, and not just stuff with aliens and lasers and rocket ships. The Outer Limits is a real sci-fi show; Enterprise is more often soft sci-fi.

 

[Mark]

Hard science fiction can include things that we don't have... like cold fusion, or non-carbon-based life forms, or intergalactic travel. I just can't really think of any examples that have made it into the movies. Maybe Johnny Mnemonic is a better example. I could see people being able to upload information directly into brain implants in the future. There are really very few examples, though.

But yeah, what I really meant was true sci-fi, and not just stuff with aliens and lasers and rocket ships. The Outer Limits is a real sci-fi show; Enterprise is more often soft sci-fi.

How about The Lawnmower Man or Late for Dinner?