TelePresence Almost Done...

[mabfan]

But before it's finished:

I've got a Los Angeles teenager in the late 21st century who is fond of old fantasy and science fiction films. I need a list of five to ten films that are likely to be his favorites.

Any suggestions?

Also, to make this SFnal, anyone want to give me a title or two for a SF film from the 2020's or 2030's? :-) If I use yours, I'll Tuckerize you.

Comments

[arib.livejournal.com]

hm.

Star Wars of any stripe. If you're feeling particularly foolish, put episodes 7-9 as the "future" movies.

For present movies, maybe:

Matrix (y'know, for something made back when human/computer interface wasn't a reality yet, it was surprisingly prescient...)
Serenity, since by the time your story's published, it'll be out. Refer to it as "a classic, one of the best films ever made."
and Blade Runner, just for flavor.

As for future films, maybe use one of your short stories, if that doesn't count as auto-Tuckerization.
ooh. How about Callahan's Crosstime Saloon?

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

I second Callahan's with, of course, a mention of all the chase scenes because, you know, that's so Spider (much like all those chase scenes in I, Robot were so Isaac).

[ckd]

They're apparently doing a movie of "A Sound of Thunder".

Chase scenes.

No kidding; basically, from the trailer available online, it looks like the original story just leads to the future world having to fight monsters (plant and animal) because, hey, you screwed up the timeline and that means you now live in Jurassic Park.

Sound of Thunder

[zmook.livejournal.com]

hey, you screwed up the timeline and that means you now live in Jurassic Park.

In defence of the indefensible, that *is* a legitimate way to read the original story. Bradbury uses the word "thunder" exactly five times in the story. The first four times, it describes the roar of a tyrannosaur. The last time is the last sentence in the story:

Eckels moaned. He dropped to his knees. He scrabbled at the golden butterfly with shaking fingers. "Can't we," he pleaded to the world, to himself, to the officials, to the Machine, "can't we take it back, can't we make it alive again? Can't we start over? Can't we-"

He did not move. Eyes shut, he waited, shivering. He heard Travis breathe loud in the room; he heard Travis shift his rifle, click the safety catch, and raise the weapon.

There was a sound of thunder.

I suppose you're welcome to believe that Bradbury was careless; that in the last sentence he decided to use "thunder" to describe a rifle shot. Previously in the story, the sound of a rifle shot was described as a "crack", but maybe Bradbury didn't worry about things like that.

Mind you, I'm not saying I find this particular set of future changes remotely plausible -- I'm just saying that I think that's what Bradbury implies. (It is of course far more likely that messing with the Cretaceous will lead to a world without donuts.)

Re: Sound of Thunder

[ckd]

I'll grant the reading; it's been long enough since I read the original that I didn't remember that nuance, but I'd certainly agree with your interpretation of Bradbury's choice of phrasing.

The trailer still doesn't look like a movie I'm interested in, in any case.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I've put in The Matrix as one of his favorites.