Ryan Lambie May 31, 2017
A major exhibition at the Barbican explores the history of the sci-fi genre. We catch up with curator Patrick Gyger to tell us more...
Science fiction is now part of the mainstream. No longer confined to the pages of niche pulp magazines or cheap mass-market novels, no longer the preserve of low-budget B-movies, the genre is just about ubiquitous in modern pop culture. From hit films like Interstellar and Guardians Of The Galaxy to such TV shows as Black Mirror and best-selling novels like The Hunger Games, sci-fi has become a vital means of exploring and making sense of the world around us.
See related John Wick 3 already on the cards John Wick 3: Keanu Reeves confirms his interest
For proof, look no further than Into The Unknown: A Journey Through Science Fiction, a major new exhibition which starts at the Barbican Centre on the 3rd June.
A major exhibition at the Barbican explores the history of the sci-fi genre. We catch up with curator Patrick Gyger to tell us more...
Science fiction is now part of the mainstream. No longer confined to the pages of niche pulp magazines or cheap mass-market novels, no longer the preserve of low-budget B-movies, the genre is just about ubiquitous in modern pop culture. From hit films like Interstellar and Guardians Of The Galaxy to such TV shows as Black Mirror and best-selling novels like The Hunger Games, sci-fi has become a vital means of exploring and making sense of the world around us.
See related John Wick 3 already on the cards John Wick 3: Keanu Reeves confirms his interest
For proof, look no further than Into The Unknown: A Journey Through Science Fiction, a major new exhibition which starts at the Barbican Centre on the 3rd June.
- 5/12/2017
- Den of Geek
We have some new details about a few of the characters that we'll be seeing in James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The info comes from Cb, who had a chance to visit the set of the film where they learned all kinds of things.
They had the chance to talk to several people working on the film, and they learned some new information involving Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and what their characters are up to in the film. They also got some intel regarding the look of Ego the Living Planet (Kurt Russell). Not the human form of the planet, but the actual planet.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige opened up about Nebula's role in the sequel, saying:
"She cut her own hand off, jumped onto a ship, and flew away. She comes back into the story relatively early on. In fact, we...
They had the chance to talk to several people working on the film, and they learned some new information involving Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and what their characters are up to in the film. They also got some intel regarding the look of Ego the Living Planet (Kurt Russell). Not the human form of the planet, but the actual planet.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige opened up about Nebula's role in the sequel, saying:
"She cut her own hand off, jumped onto a ship, and flew away. She comes back into the story relatively early on. In fact, we...
- 2/6/2017
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Like some of the best illustrations that graced the covers of fantasy novels and heavy metal albums in the ’70s and ’80s, Arik Roper's artwork is a portal to another world brimming with adventure and endless possibilities. Ahead of his appearance as a featured artist at MondoCon 2016 this weekend in Austin, TX, we caught up with Roper for a special "Meet the Artist" Q&A feature, and we also have a look at some of the eye-popping artwork he'll be bringing to this year's MondoCon.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Arik. What sparked your initial interest in being an artist?
Arik Roper: It was a natural path for me, being an artist. Both my parents were artists. I was surrounded by it and I instinctively was drawn toward it, and received a lot of encouragement.
Your art often transports people deep into the realms of fantasy and horror.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Arik. What sparked your initial interest in being an artist?
Arik Roper: It was a natural path for me, being an artist. Both my parents were artists. I was surrounded by it and I instinctively was drawn toward it, and received a lot of encouragement.
Your art often transports people deep into the realms of fantasy and horror.
- 10/21/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
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Late-80s action game Shadow Of The Beast is making a return to the PlayStation 4. Here's a trailer showing its new, ultra-violent gameplay.
For most of us, 1989's Shadow Of The Beast hangs like a spectre in the memory. Its graphics were stunning, with dev team Reflections crafting a startling fantasy world of depth and lush colour. The music, courtesy of David Whittaker, was both catchy and eerie. Then there was the packaging: Shadow Of The Beast came in a humongous, lovingly-designed box (artwork courtesy of the great Roger Dean) with a T-shirt inside it.
The game itself, meanwhile, was a curiously sparse platform adventure akin to Taito's Rastan. In the first scene you ran along a bit, punched a fantasy creature, and ran along a bit more. In other scenes you climbed ladders, ran along a bit, punched a fantasy creature and ran along a bit more.
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Late-80s action game Shadow Of The Beast is making a return to the PlayStation 4. Here's a trailer showing its new, ultra-violent gameplay.
For most of us, 1989's Shadow Of The Beast hangs like a spectre in the memory. Its graphics were stunning, with dev team Reflections crafting a startling fantasy world of depth and lush colour. The music, courtesy of David Whittaker, was both catchy and eerie. Then there was the packaging: Shadow Of The Beast came in a humongous, lovingly-designed box (artwork courtesy of the great Roger Dean) with a T-shirt inside it.
The game itself, meanwhile, was a curiously sparse platform adventure akin to Taito's Rastan. In the first scene you ran along a bit, punched a fantasy creature, and ran along a bit more. In other scenes you climbed ladders, ran along a bit, punched a fantasy creature and ran along a bit more.
- 11/2/2015
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
One way of telling the history of photographic arts is to describe a linear progression of more and more realistic picture-making, as if painter's brushes and pencils aimed mainly to approximate the human eye until, finally, photography emerged. (This is the premise André Bazin famously explored in “The Ontology of the Photographic Image.”) Given photography's automatic reproduction, painting could move on to express more boldly, more experimentally, more abstractly. Realism was no longer necessary. Incidentally, a lot of the most visible and most discussed uses of CGI and SFX in contemporary cinema have embodied images, actions, and temporalities that are far from realistic. These digital platforms enable visions of worlds that alter our own sufficiently so as to provide something—escape? Improvement? Color? It doesn't ultimately matter. The point is that the pixel has often been directed towards ends that seem to go against photography (and cinematography's) automatic capture of the world.
- 5/1/2015
- by Zach Campbell
- MUBI
A judge ruled in favor of James Cameron, Twentieth Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment Thursday, finding that it could not be proven that they stole copyrighted ideas for the 2009 blockbuster “Avatar.” Also read: James Cameron Reveals ‘Avatar’ Sequel Script Plans During Reddit Ama United States District Judge Jesse M. Furman, Southern District of New York, dismissed the suit by artist Roger Dean, who alleged that Cameron had stolen ideas from several of his works. The pertinent opinion: The works are indisputably similar insofar as they present the natural world in a fantastical way by depicting airborne land masses. But Plaintiff...
- 9/18/2014
- by Jordan Zakarin
- The Wrap
From Super Mario Bros to Devil May Cry, we delve into the past to pick out 7 games that changed considerably as they were developed...
Odd List
The complex process of making a game requires the coordination of programmers, artists, designers, musicians and accountants. It's little surprise, then, that things can change drastically over the course of the months or even years it takes to make a game, and history is littered with examples of this.
Take, for example, Team Fortress 2, a shooter that went through multiple iterations and even changes in art style before the final version became a popular success. There are far, far too many other examples to list here, so what we've done is whittle our selection down to the ones we either found the most interesting or the most significant from a historical point of view.
It's fair to say that, without most of the...
Odd List
The complex process of making a game requires the coordination of programmers, artists, designers, musicians and accountants. It's little surprise, then, that things can change drastically over the course of the months or even years it takes to make a game, and history is littered with examples of this.
Take, for example, Team Fortress 2, a shooter that went through multiple iterations and even changes in art style before the final version became a popular success. There are far, far too many other examples to list here, so what we've done is whittle our selection down to the ones we either found the most interesting or the most significant from a historical point of view.
It's fair to say that, without most of the...
- 6/18/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
New York, July 1: Director James Cameron has been charged with a $50 million lawsuit by British artist Roger Dean. Dean has claimed that Cameron has copied his ideas for the 3D blockbuster "Avatar".
Dean has accused Cameron of "wilful and deliberate copying, dissemination and exploitation" of his imagery and claims that he "studied and referenced his art in preparation for the film", reports femalefirst.co.uk.
His complaint states: "The similarities of each such work are substantial, continuing, and direct so as to rule out any accidental copying or similarity in scenes common to the genre."
This is one of the latest legal hurdles for Cameron. In 2011, Cameron was hit with a $2.5 billion copyright lawsuit by a sci-fi.
Dean has accused Cameron of "wilful and deliberate copying, dissemination and exploitation" of his imagery and claims that he "studied and referenced his art in preparation for the film", reports femalefirst.co.uk.
His complaint states: "The similarities of each such work are substantial, continuing, and direct so as to rule out any accidental copying or similarity in scenes common to the genre."
This is one of the latest legal hurdles for Cameron. In 2011, Cameron was hit with a $2.5 billion copyright lawsuit by a sci-fi.
- 7/1/2013
- by Amith Ostwal
- RealBollywood.com
London, July 01: James Cameron has been sued by British artist, Roger Dean, for 50 million dollars over claims that the Hollywood director copied his ideas for the 3D film Avatar, which won three technical awards at the Oscars.
Dean has filed a legal action at a court in New York last week, while accusing Cameron of "wilful and deliberate copying, dissemination and exploitation" of his original images, the BBC reported.
In the legal action, the British artist- described in the papers as "an international artist and designer, whose evocative and visionary images created a new genre of work"- has claimed that the 58-year-old filmmaker had "studied and referenced his art in preparation for the film".
Dean, who graduated.
Dean has filed a legal action at a court in New York last week, while accusing Cameron of "wilful and deliberate copying, dissemination and exploitation" of his original images, the BBC reported.
In the legal action, the British artist- described in the papers as "an international artist and designer, whose evocative and visionary images created a new genre of work"- has claimed that the 58-year-old filmmaker had "studied and referenced his art in preparation for the film".
Dean, who graduated.
- 7/1/2013
- by Rahul Kapoor
- RealBollywood.com
James Cameron has been sued by British artist Roger Dean for $50m (£43m).
Dean - who has designed album covers for bands such as Yes and Asia - claims that Cameron copied ideas by him for the 2009 movie Avatar.
He accuses Cameron of "wilful and deliberate copying, dissemination and exploitation" of his original pictures.
Avatar - which used groundbreaking 3D filmmaking techniques - is the highest-grossing film of all time, making over $2.8bn worldwide.
Dean's lawsuit alleges that Cameron "studied and referenced his art in preparation for the film".
The papers continued: "The similarities of each such work are substantial, continuing, and direct so as to rule out any accidental copying or similarity in scenes common to the genre."
He stated that his paintings of floating islands and arches in the sky - which were created over the space of 40 years - were copied by Cameron.
Dean also compared the...
Dean - who has designed album covers for bands such as Yes and Asia - claims that Cameron copied ideas by him for the 2009 movie Avatar.
He accuses Cameron of "wilful and deliberate copying, dissemination and exploitation" of his original pictures.
Avatar - which used groundbreaking 3D filmmaking techniques - is the highest-grossing film of all time, making over $2.8bn worldwide.
Dean's lawsuit alleges that Cameron "studied and referenced his art in preparation for the film".
The papers continued: "The similarities of each such work are substantial, continuing, and direct so as to rule out any accidental copying or similarity in scenes common to the genre."
He stated that his paintings of floating islands and arches in the sky - which were created over the space of 40 years - were copied by Cameron.
Dean also compared the...
- 6/30/2013
- Digital Spy
Perfectly serviceable though it is, this animated woodland saga feels cobbled together from many sources
That title is inviting the addition of the word "fail", but actually this is perfectly serviceable family animation. Even so, "generic" might have been a better description. Its woodland saga feels cobbled together from a dozen other sources, including FernGully, A Bug's Life, Arthur and the Invisibles, The Borrowers, Roger Dean, even Fifi and the Flowertots. Our heroine is a lonely human teen (Amanda Seyfried), who's shrunk to fairy size to aid magical forest dwellers in their battle against decay-spreading baddies. (The motivation for the decay-spreading is unclear – they're just baddies.) Boxes are studiously ticked. There's a mini-teen hunk for Seyfried to flirt with, comedy gastropod sidekicks, parenting issues, eco sentiments, bird-back aerial action and random celebrity voice cameos, including Beyoncé, Steven Tyler and Pitbull. What stands out is the animation. The microcosmic woodland world is luminous and detailed,...
That title is inviting the addition of the word "fail", but actually this is perfectly serviceable family animation. Even so, "generic" might have been a better description. Its woodland saga feels cobbled together from a dozen other sources, including FernGully, A Bug's Life, Arthur and the Invisibles, The Borrowers, Roger Dean, even Fifi and the Flowertots. Our heroine is a lonely human teen (Amanda Seyfried), who's shrunk to fairy size to aid magical forest dwellers in their battle against decay-spreading baddies. (The motivation for the decay-spreading is unclear – they're just baddies.) Boxes are studiously ticked. There's a mini-teen hunk for Seyfried to flirt with, comedy gastropod sidekicks, parenting issues, eco sentiments, bird-back aerial action and random celebrity voice cameos, including Beyoncé, Steven Tyler and Pitbull. What stands out is the animation. The microcosmic woodland world is luminous and detailed,...
- 5/23/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
O2, London
When Jeff Wayne released his The War of the Worlds album in 1978, the winds of fashion were not behind him. In a musical era defined by post-punk's minimalism and deconstructionism, a sprawling concept album based on a Victorian novel about a Martian invasion of Earth appeared a gargantuan folly.
The British public were not concerned with such critical niceties, and The War of the Worlds became a commercial phenomenon, taking root in the album chart for more than five years. Wayne has frequently returned to his rock opera, this year rerecording the album and producing this "next generation" tour.
His musical adaptation of Hg Wells's 1898 sci-fi classic has not aged particularly well, largely because it seemed slightly silly even a third of a century ago. However, this time-capsule missive from the era of Star Wars, Alien and Close Encounters of the Third Kind has acquired an engaging retro-futurist sheen.
When Jeff Wayne released his The War of the Worlds album in 1978, the winds of fashion were not behind him. In a musical era defined by post-punk's minimalism and deconstructionism, a sprawling concept album based on a Victorian novel about a Martian invasion of Earth appeared a gargantuan folly.
The British public were not concerned with such critical niceties, and The War of the Worlds became a commercial phenomenon, taking root in the album chart for more than five years. Wayne has frequently returned to his rock opera, this year rerecording the album and producing this "next generation" tour.
His musical adaptation of Hg Wells's 1898 sci-fi classic has not aged particularly well, largely because it seemed slightly silly even a third of a century ago. However, this time-capsule missive from the era of Star Wars, Alien and Close Encounters of the Third Kind has acquired an engaging retro-futurist sheen.
- 12/17/2012
- by Ian Gittins
- The Guardian - Film News
"Wisteria" by Maruyama Ōkyo and Edo Period Screens Nezu Museum, Tokyo July 28 - August 26, 2012
While in Japan vacationing with my in-laws, I had the good fortune to catch an exhibit built around an Important Cultural Property (an official designation) of Japan: an exquisite pair of six-panel screens by Maruyama Ōkyo (1733-1795). The other ten byōbu (screens) in the exhibit are valuable for much more than context; several of them are just as remarkable as the featured work, and this two-gallery exhibit kept me occupied for over an hour.
Most of the works are quite large; a six-panel screen is generally about five feet high and twelve feet wide, and many of the works here are pairs of such screens. Until now I have left the art reviews on this site to the experts, but they weren't there and I was, so I'll give this my best shot. It was too breathtakingly beautiful not to document.
While in Japan vacationing with my in-laws, I had the good fortune to catch an exhibit built around an Important Cultural Property (an official designation) of Japan: an exquisite pair of six-panel screens by Maruyama Ōkyo (1733-1795). The other ten byōbu (screens) in the exhibit are valuable for much more than context; several of them are just as remarkable as the featured work, and this two-gallery exhibit kept me occupied for over an hour.
Most of the works are quite large; a six-panel screen is generally about five feet high and twelve feet wide, and many of the works here are pairs of such screens. Until now I have left the art reviews on this site to the experts, but they weren't there and I was, so I'll give this my best shot. It was too breathtakingly beautiful not to document.
- 8/28/2012
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
It's been four months since we last had an update from the set of The Hobbit, so at long last here's a new video from Peter Jackson, replete with Hobbity goodness and, specifically this time, all things 3D.Jackson's fourth Hobbit video-blog seems designed to allay any fears we may have about 3D, and especially the limitations that often drain colour and light from the screen. As a bit of a showcase we get a good look at the sinister forest of Mirkwood, which is currently looking like a Roger Dean album cover. The over-saturated headache-inducing psychedelia is to compensate for the fact that the Red camera "eats colour". Similar problems have to be overcome in the make-up department, and we're given a demo with Graham McTavish as Dwalin, whose face looks crazily sunburned so that it doesn't show as yellow on screen. He's got pale arms though. "I've barely...
- 11/4/2011
- EmpireOnline
Star ratings may be massively popular, but since when did liking or not liking become the standard by which a film should be judged?
So. Last Year at Marienbad. Sublime meditation on the nature of time and memory or, in Albert Steptoe's words, a "load of old boots"? I think it belongs with The Shining as one of the scariest haunted hotel movies ever made. But that's just me, seeing ghosts where there probably aren't any, and I'm aware some people find it boring. We all bring different things to a film, but the schism between love it and loathe it seems to be getting wider with every year that passes – and not just for Alain Resnais's film.
"I doubt," wrote Kenneth Tynan some 55 years ago, "if I could love anyone who did not wish to see Look Back in Anger." Most of us will have experienced that pang...
So. Last Year at Marienbad. Sublime meditation on the nature of time and memory or, in Albert Steptoe's words, a "load of old boots"? I think it belongs with The Shining as one of the scariest haunted hotel movies ever made. But that's just me, seeing ghosts where there probably aren't any, and I'm aware some people find it boring. We all bring different things to a film, but the schism between love it and loathe it seems to be getting wider with every year that passes – and not just for Alain Resnais's film.
"I doubt," wrote Kenneth Tynan some 55 years ago, "if I could love anyone who did not wish to see Look Back in Anger." Most of us will have experienced that pang...
- 7/8/2011
- by Anne Billson
- The Guardian - Film News
It's a good thing that the lights were low and all were face-front. No one saw the moment when a tear came to my eye and I made the leap from self-aware and light-hearted to enraptured and enthralled. It was watching Hal Jordan, having just recited the Green Lantern Oath, being zapped to Oa, a beam of emerald light reflected in the face masks of two Nasa astronauts. And after forty-minutes of watching Ryan Reynolds quip and zing with natural born nightclub talent, I made the final step to full-fledged zealotry.
Yeah, I know when you see footage at an event like WonderCon you are specifically seeing "the best stuff," but I feel confident that this picture will be tremendous.
WonderCon 2011 was treated to a sizzle reel that left the Esplanade Ballroom at the Moscone Center in San Francisco breathless. It was a compression of scenes at around fifteen minutes...
Yeah, I know when you see footage at an event like WonderCon you are specifically seeing "the best stuff," but I feel confident that this picture will be tremendous.
WonderCon 2011 was treated to a sizzle reel that left the Esplanade Ballroom at the Moscone Center in San Francisco breathless. It was a compression of scenes at around fifteen minutes...
- 4/2/2011
- UGO Movies
Albuquerque – This sleepy town is getting rocked awake by a mad bomber in Deadly Impact. Thomas Armstrong (Boondock Saints’s Sean Patrick Flanery) is a cop that is forced to shoot his wife in order to save 10 people that are being held hostage by The Lion (The Matrix’s Joe Pantoliano). The ugliness of the moment cause Armstrong to quit the force and devote himself to booze. Eight years later The Lion reappears. The FBI wants Armstrong’s help in identifying him, but can he tangle with the diabolical madman who has promised to blow up the city?
Deadly Impact is an action rush with Pantoliano using the power of Bluetooth for evil. Here’s the trailer for the film:
The movie is out on DVD this week. I had a chance to swap email with Director Robert Kurtzman and Producer David S. Greathouse. The duo had previously made Buried Alive.
Deadly Impact is an action rush with Pantoliano using the power of Bluetooth for evil. Here’s the trailer for the film:
The movie is out on DVD this week. I had a chance to swap email with Director Robert Kurtzman and Producer David S. Greathouse. The duo had previously made Buried Alive.
- 4/28/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
The coverage of the Newport Film Festival continues with dramatic and psychological thriller Refresh, which makes a one day appearance next Mon' April 26th at 1:00pm. The plot line follows a successful businessman, known as Roger Dean, into a treatment facility for chronic and debilitating depression. Here Dean undergoes a procedure that might wipe Dean's memory clean through the use of a drug therapy (speculating). To discover Dean's fate for yourself take a peek at the trailer below, or see the mystery unfold for yourself one week from today.
The synopsis for Refresh here:
"Roger Dean, a successful businessman, has been clinically depressed for years, to the point of suicide. He has attempted a range of remedies, some prescribed, some radical, but none have worked for him. At the end of his rope, he approaches Pdlas, a mysterious private company that promises an effective - but irrevocable - solution.
The synopsis for Refresh here:
"Roger Dean, a successful businessman, has been clinically depressed for years, to the point of suicide. He has attempted a range of remedies, some prescribed, some radical, but none have worked for him. At the end of his rope, he approaches Pdlas, a mysterious private company that promises an effective - but irrevocable - solution.
- 4/19/2010
- by Michael Ross Allen
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Des Moines - During the 20th Century when a young boy or girl wanted to know how to be an adult, they’d learn from the movies. This education was not from merely emulating the stars in Hollywood films. There were thousands of movies made for the classrooms that covered nearly every subject a young mind needed to absorb. And thousands of those 16mm films found their way into Skip Elsheimer’s A/V Geeks educational film center.
Skip tours the country giving presentations of the films in various theaters, museums, art galleries and occasionally a classroom. He’s sharing another batch of gems in two new DVD sets from Kino. How to Be a Woman and How to Be a Man are instructional, inspirational and horrific. Strange to see what professionals thought was great advice. Here’s a little sampler from How to Be a Woman:
Here’s an...
Skip tours the country giving presentations of the films in various theaters, museums, art galleries and occasionally a classroom. He’s sharing another batch of gems in two new DVD sets from Kino. How to Be a Woman and How to Be a Man are instructional, inspirational and horrific. Strange to see what professionals thought was great advice. Here’s a little sampler from How to Be a Woman:
Here’s an...
- 1/20/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
Avatar's three main influences: Roger Dean album-cover artwork, furries, and Pocahontas While it was in production, going over-budget and over-schedule and generating stories of crew poisonings and near mutinies, everyone in Hollywood thought Titanic was going to be a disaster. In the end, though, the film proved to be competent and performed more than competently at the box office—12 years later it remains the highest grossing film of all time—so laugh at James Cameron at your peril. But here goes… Have you seen the latest, just-released trailer for Avatar, the upcoming 3D science fiction epic, which is Cameron’s first film since Titanic? It will arrive in theaters on December 18 and some people think it will be the picture that establishes 3D as a permanent and maybe even dominant medium for theatrical films, no longer just a fad or relegated to the animated kids’ table—a tool, in other words,...
- 10/30/2009
- Vanity Fair
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