+ Reply to thread
Results 1 to 11 of 11

Thread: Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

  1. #1
    Elephant Tuckerfan's avatar
    Registered
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Gallatin, TN
    Posts
    957

    Default Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

    This is more of a news piece, than an entertainment one, but mods can kick it around if they like. Dustin Hoffman: Lets put the science back into science fiction, dammit!
    Dustin Hoffman is so concerned about getting better science in science-fiction movies, he's helping to sponsor a "dating service" to match movie directors with real scientists. But will he play a violin at their table-side?

    Hoffman, whose science fiction movies include Sphere and Outbreak, has told friends that he's tired of the "silliness" of most films in the genre. He thinks movies can have an entertaining plot and present real science at the same time, according to an anonymous Friend Of Dustin quoted in the Australian newspaper.
    Its about damn time, IMHO. You don't have to screw the science up to have an enjoyable movie (as Apollo 13 proved).
    Proud member of the '09 Phanters! K.I.L.L. S.M.U.R.F.S.
    Have you ever wondered if your mom kissed you goodnight after giving your dad a blowjob? You are now. "To be second in space is to be second in everything," LBJ

  2. #2
    Elephant
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Tokyo, Japan
    Posts
    960

    Default Re: Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

    A lot of good SF or fantasy will necessarily involve things that are scientifically impossible, I've got no problem with that. I just wish they could eliminate the stupidity: inaccuracy in throwaway scenes where accuracy serves the plot just as well or be just as engaging, science that turns on and off based on what character is doing it, etc.

    My first suggestion for a scientifically accurate film is the new summer blockbuster, Michael Bay and an Open Container of Hydrofluoric Acid.
    No cage, thank you. I'm a human being.

  3. #3
    Content Generator AllWalker's avatar
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Antipodea
    Posts
    1,479

    Default Re: Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

    I was about to agree with him, SF does need better S (but not at the expense of the plot or anything).

    Then i noticed the word "Sphere".

    I can't agree with anyone who had anything to do with that festering piece of crap.

    And 2001: A Space Odyssey did it well - accurate where it needed to be, then crazy beyond our wildest imaginations. We don't know how FTL might work, but we do know how a sublight trip to Jupiter would work.
    Something tells me we haven't seen the last of foreshadowing.

  4. #4
    Curmudgeon OtakuLoki's avatar
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Rochester, NY
    Posts
    2,836

    Default Re: Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

    Quote Originally posted by sublight
    My first suggestion for a scientifically accurate film is the new summer blockbuster, Michael Bay and an Open Container of Hydrofluoric Acid.

    Where can I pre-order the DVD?

  5. #5
    Member
    Registered
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    69

    Default Re: Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

    Quote Originally posted by Tuckerfan
    Its about damn time, IMHO. You don't have to screw the science up to have an enjoyable movie (as Apollo 13 proved).
    Well that is a particularly poor example given the factual liberties that were taken with the actual events in order to enhance drama and fit the story into a standard under two-and-a-half-hours format. And of course, Apollo XIII was not science fiction.

    I would agree that many science fiction (and other) films would not be substantially injured by an application of correct physics; however, aside from a vocal minority of nerds (in which company I am squarely ensconced) the vast majority of moviegoers simply don't care about violations of physical laws or scientific implausibility, and one can pretty much take it for granted that most science fiction--especially space opera like Star Wars or Firefly--will deviate significantly from natural laws as we know them. If I were to point out, for instance, that in the actually Apollo XIII mission there were several correction burns to adjust the free return trajectory instead of one, and they used the less dramatic RCS thrusters instead of the LM main descent engine, most people would only have the vaguest clue what I was talking about and furthermore wouldn't care. Personally, I'm far more offended by the use of technobabble and particle-of-the-week solutions to instantly reduce plot conflicts (a hallmark of the Star Trek franchise) than I am at even major liberties with physical laws.

    Not to say that filmmakers shouldn't integrate more actual science into plots where applicable, only that they should not do so at a sacrifice to plot or character. Real Genius is a good example of this; a film that took some actual then-cutting edge concepts and terminology in laser science and wove them into an absurd but humorous plot with great dialogue and memorable characters. I could poke holes all day in the science (although it is clear that the filmmaker made efforts to at least make it passably scientific rather than just make up random tech gurgle, and recruited Caltech alumni as technical advisors) but why would I bother; the film is too entertaining to stop and mock.

    Stranger
    Some people just aren't happy unless the world is about to come to a bloody and fiery end.- Diana

  6. #6
    Elephant Tuckerfan's avatar
    Registered
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Gallatin, TN
    Posts
    957

    Default Re: Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

    Quote Originally posted by Stranger On A Train
    Quote Originally posted by Tuckerfan
    Its about damn time, IMHO. You don't have to screw the science up to have an enjoyable movie (as Apollo 13 proved).
    Well that is a particularly poor example given the factual liberties that were taken with the actual events in order to enhance drama and fit the story into a standard under two-and-a-half-hours format. And of course, Apollo XIII was not science fiction.
    Well, given that it was a dramatization of the events and that, as you note, it changed a number of things, then I think it does count as science fiction!

    But the point is that the "liberties" taken with the film were necessary (to some degree, the bickering between the crew was pointless, IMHO) to compress the story for the film, and were not complete FUBARs of basic science thrown in for no logical reason. Additionally, Apollo 13 was hamstrung by the fact that you knew going in that the crew was going to make it back to Earth alive. Contrast that with Perfect Storm, about the crew of the fishing boat which was lost during a storm, where after a while, all you can think is, "Man, I wish these bastards would just shut up and drown already."

    Personally, I'm far more offended by the use of technobabble and particle-of-the-week solutions to instantly reduce plot conflicts (a hallmark of the Star Trek franchise) than I am at even major liberties with physical laws.
    Yabut, quite often if the people involved knew some actual science, they wouldn't have to resort to oddball technobabble crap for their solutions.
    Proud member of the '09 Phanters! K.I.L.L. S.M.U.R.F.S.
    Have you ever wondered if your mom kissed you goodnight after giving your dad a blowjob? You are now. "To be second in space is to be second in everything," LBJ

  7. #7
    Oliphaunt Baldwin's avatar
    Registered
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    1,031

    Default Re: Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

    Quote Originally posted by AllWalker
    I was about to agree with him, SF does need better S (but not at the expense of the plot or anything).

    Then i noticed the word "Sphere".

    I can't agree with anyone who had anything to do with that festering piece of crap.
    He's a lost soul, seeking redemption. Besides, Michael Crichton was the source of the evil, and he's gone now.

    Huh. Supposedly Hoffman was up for the role of Deckard in Blade Runner. Wonder what that would have been like.

  8. #8
    I've had better days, but I don't care! hatesfreedom's avatar
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    1,127

    Default Re: Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

    I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I really liked this anime about orbital garbage collectors and the story about their lives. It also, besides being about orbital garbage collectors, keeps the science pretty damn close to real.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetes

  9. #9
    Elephant
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Location
    :noitacoL
    Posts
    651

    Default Re: Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

    That actually looks really cool. Thanks hatesfreedom!
    "Dude, your statistical average, which was already in the toilet, just took a plunge into the Earth's mantle." ~ iampunha

  10. #10
    Oliphaunt Baldwin's avatar
    Registered
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    1,031

    Default Re: Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

    Quote Originally posted by RoOsh
    That actually looks really cool. Thanks hatesfreedom!
    Yeah, ditto. Animation is a great medium for hard science fiction without a huge budget.

  11. #11
    Elephant
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Tokyo, Japan
    Posts
    960

    Default Re: Maybe He Feels Guilty About Some of His Movies?

    Quote Originally posted by AllWalker
    We don't know how FTL might work, but we do know how a sublight trip to Jupiter would work.
    Hey, what happens on Europa stays on Europa!
    No cage, thank you. I'm a human being.

+ Reply to thread

Posting rules

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts