While talking up The Amazing Spider-Man producers Avi Arad and Matthew Tolmach called their upcoming Venom film a “cousin to Spider-Man” according to CraveOnline.
“As you know, Venom is defender of the innocent,” Arad said. “The only guy he really, really hates is Peter Parker, Spider-Man. The reason you didn’t see more development on Venom in the comics is because this power that he was given, he knew who Peter was, he knew who Spider-Man was, so go kill him already. We always struggle with storylines and you see the new Venom books. It’s Flash in Iraq. We know that if we put him in a certain position and concentrate on the human, not on the creature, which I thought was a really good beginning in 3.”
Venom courtesy Marvel.com
Topher Grace played Eddie Brock/Venom in the Spider-Man 3. In the comic books former high school bully Flash Thompson is now Venom and part of Secret Avengers.
Sony controls cinematic Spidey. Disney controls cinematic Avengers and owns Marvel Comics. Spider-Man has become a popular member of the comic book Avengers. Could the studios work it out so the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man team up with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?
“Everything is possible,” Arad said. “If something like that happens, it’s great for Disney, it’s great for Sony. If the right story comes in, we are now working on Venom first. It’s our first out. So our thinking is in the right direction. Avengers to me was an expected success so I never looked at it because Avengers was successful.”
Damon Lindelof (Prometheus, Lost) is working on the script for World War Z according to The Hollywood Reporter Heat Vision. The zombie apocalypse film based on the novel by Max Brooks has been delayed 6 months for reshoots. Lindelof is said to be working on the third act according to Dark Horizons. Brad Pitt is the lead in the Paramount film.
My mind is still torn and reeling from Prometheus. Several viral videos heralded Ridley Scott’s return to sci fi and helped set up the prologue for the events of the film. There’s a new viral video. The film’s end credits reveal a website with a new video starring Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland.
Thus Spoke Zarathrusta: A Book for All and None is a novel of philosophy by Friedrich Nietzche. This appears to be Weyland to come on stage for his TED 2023 talk.
Prometheus still of Noomi Rapace courtesy 20th Century Fox
Director Ridley Scott’s return to the science fiction genre is finally in theaters. While on a sneak preview of the new Icons of Science Fiction exhibit at EMP Museum in Seattle I had to ask the curator his thoughts on Prometheus. As excited as I am for the new movie, what does a guy responsible for creating a science fiction exhibition feel about a return to the world of Alien?
“We were talking about Ridley Scott. He’s more than a storyteller. He’s also a designer. He’s such a visual storyteller. So much of the power of Blade Runner is that world and those vehicles. He did designs or he brought really talented people to do amazing designs. The stories are rock solid too. But the films are so visual and I think it’s a rare combination he does really well so there’s got to be another Ridley Scott sometime? I don’t know of any right now or on the horizon. So I think it’s just incredibly fortunate that he’s still working. he’s been working for decades and he’s still creates incredibly good product…I haven’t seen Prometheus yet! Who knows?
I interject: “What are you expectations?”
“I think it will be beautiful certainly. Prequels make me nervous because you kind of know what’s ultimately going to happen. So you lose some suspense but I’m sure within the film he’ll create all kinds of suspense.
Sometimes…the thing about prequels is 20 years later the special effects technology blows aways what we saw before but also blows away some of the charm. Some of that they had to do more with less they had to be more creative with special effects Now it’s like throw a computer at it. Sometimes… again I don’t know in Prometheus some things we’ve seen it could be like well not quite as charming…but I’ll be there. I’ll be there.”
A big congratulations to Liam Hemsworth on getting engaged to Miley Cyrus. If you’re a Hunger Games fan you’re excited to see more of him as Gale Hawthorne in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
In honor of his engagement here’s a flashback to my brief interview with him at The Hunger Games Tour Seattle in which we talked about working with Woody Harrelson:
Congrats. Shouldn’t this guy play Green Arrow if the ever make a Justice League movie?
James Bond is more than an action hero. 007 is a style icon. The costume designer for Skyfall reveals how she worked with Daniel Craig and fashion designer Tom Ford to give Bond a modern edge in this new videoblog. This latest video from 007.com reveals Craig on location of the Shanghai set sets and in action in the streets of London.
Alas, I could never look that flattering in that cool suite with all the designers in the world.
By Editor
Enterprise command chair used on Star Trek, 1966-1969 Photo: Erik Skaar
As I descended down into a new exhibition underneath Seattle’s EMP Museum I was giddy with geek anticipation. Icons of Science Fiction features some of the most inspiring artifacts of the sci-fi genre. I felt like Neo. I was a “Chosen One” receiving a sneak peek and chance to meld with the mind who created this new exhibition.
You pass the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. I had to find the glass bearing the photo and name of Ray Bradbury to pay homage. Then prepare to be transported. The curator has designed an entry way that reminds you of an iconic experience in a sci-fi adventure. If you’re a Star Wars fans it would be going to light speed…if the hyper-drive is fixed! If you’re a Star Trek fan you’re going to warp. For the 2001: A Space Odyssey fans it’s going on a trip into void with Dave!
Icons of Science Fiction at EMP Museum, photo by ComicsBlend.com
Fans can marvel at artifacts that have never been shown publicly like Lt. Uhura’s uniform from Star Trek, Yoda’s walking cane from Star Wars, the Kryptonian spaceship from Superman starring Christopher Reeve. You can even see the Captain’s chair James T. Kirk sat in while commanding the Enterprise!
What If? This eternal question drives the exploration of ideas behind the genre’s greatest creations. Curator Brooks Peck explains why he built the exhibition based on questions as opposed to by chronological order or sub categories.
“One of the things science fiction does is ask these crazy strange questions. Any science fiction story can be framed as a question. Star Trek is framed as what if we could explore space and the stars. What would happen? What stories would come out of that? Or Men In Black – what if aliens came to this planet? Or Terminator – what if robots took over the world? So the exhibition asks six of these big questions and presents lots of stories, films, tv shows, novels, comics that answers those in different ways. So if you’re not like a hard-core science fiction person…you see the questions and it gets your thinking. Questions like what if we could design our children? It gets you thinking about it and I hope makes it accessible to everybody – science fiction fans and non fans alike.
Neo's coat worn by Keanu Reeves from The Matrix Reloaded, 2003 Photo: Brady Harvey
What If You Were the Chosen One? This section highlights the idea of the savior who inspires change. Paul Muad’Dib was the prophesied messiah of Frank Herbert’s Dune series. You can see the jacket worn by Neo (Keanu Reeves) of The Matrix. I was fascinated and little freaked to see the Anakin Skywalker lifecast from Star Wars: Return of The Jedi. It takes you back to that moment when Luke lifts the Vader mask so Anakin can look on his son with his own eyes. You can see a costume Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) wore on a key Battlestar Galactica episode that reinforced her role as a messiah for the human race.
Krypton spaceship filming miniature used in Superman: The Movie, 1978 Photo: Erik Skaar
What If I Had Superpowers? This section features Alan Moore’s classic Watchmen, Christopher Reeve’s costume from Superman IV and the miniature starship from his first Superman film that carried the young alien from Krypton to Smallville.
Curator Brooks Peck with a weapon from "Men in Black" at Icons of Science Fiction at EMP Museum, photo by ComicsBlend.com
What If We Fought A War With Aliens? From Will Smith’s impossibly huge gun in Men in Black, to the warrior headgear from the original Stargate film to the saucer from Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space – this section is filled with weapons and gear to make you feel “absolute bad asses” like the Colonial Marines in Aliens. In fact you can see the helmet worn by Michael Biehn in the James Cameron sequel!
T-800 skull used in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, 1991 Photo: Brady Harvey
What If We Were Enslaved By Our Machines? Who can forget the Terminator skull once the Ar-NULD visage from burned off? A robot skull from T2: Judgement Day is part of this section. What might be THE artifact of the exhibition is the centerpiece of this section: a Dalek from Doctor Who.
“I think the Dalek is fantastic because…it’s a Dalek, right? And since Doctor Who is created in England it’s rare that objects make it make it over to the United States for us to see much less something this big and heavy and crazy like a Dalek. This Dalek in particular is special because it’s an Imperial Dalek which were the first Daleks we actually saw on camera climbing stairs and levitating,” declares Peck.
Imperial Dalek from the Doctor Who episode "Remembrance of the Daleks" in 1998 Photo: Erik Skaar
This rare artifact is from the Remembrance of the Daleks episode from 1988 and Peck adds they call it “the glam-rock Dalek.”
What If We Could Design Our Own Children? The teddy bear from the Steven Spielberg directed AI, Commander Data’s uniform Star Trek: The Next Generation, the work of local author Octavia Butler highlight this section that asks a question that may be answered in a future that’s closer that we may think.
Icons of Science Fiction at EMP Museum, photo by ComicsBlend.com
EMP Museum always deliver more than just inspiring visuals. This exhibition makes you a Ridley Scott, George Lucas or Steven Spielberg! The Create Your Own Special Effects Shot puts your friend on a green screen while you choose the fantasy backdrop and which iconic characters you want to interact with on-screen. You can fly like a superhero in the sky or run from Imperial Stormtroopers on an alien moon.
There is a space age looking control board that gives you an interactive exploration of sci-fi sources and influences on design and modern art. You can touch your way across the genres.
Brooks Peck and his team have collected from across genres and scored some amazing artifacts. I was curious to know what was the hardest artifact in the exhibit to procure?
“There was one on my wish list that I couldn’t secure so that would probably be the hardest. We have on display one of Darth Vader’s light sabres from Episodes Five and Six. We wanted to compliment that with an Anakin Skywalker light sabre from the prequel. They’re very rare to find out and about…but we found a collector in England who had one and we had a plan. One of our curators was going to England anyway and was going to bring it back. Turns out though it was a fighting sabre used to film a combat scenes so it had this long carbon fiber plate so we thought we’d just transport this little handle but actually it was this four-foot long thing that couldn’t come apart so we couldn’t bring it from England. So we wanted to show that. Maybe someday but not now.”
“Maybe someday” is what we often think after seeing a sci-fi film or reading a novel. The search the search for what’s possible, what’s in our future drives science fiction and fantasy fans. Like machine gaining sentience or an alien life form this exhibition is designed to evolve and grow. I am thrilled to be here for the birth of Icons of Science Fiction. Geek Tested…and approved for all.
Stay tuned for more posts: What does a Sci Fi Museum curator think of Prometheus, Doctor Who and why did certain comic books make the cut while others didn’t?
