Not all Blade Runners are in the Olympics. Lew Place will join Roy and me for a discussion of late special effects giant Douglas Trumbull, on tonight’s Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. We look forward to some Close Encounters with your 2001 “Enterprising” Brainstorms in the comments section, when we livestream on Facebook, this Sunday evening at 7:00 EST!
Tag: Sci-Fi
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Trumbull Tribute Postponed Sci-Fi Livestream Sunday
We were all set to pass through the Stargate with Dave Bowman and Lew Place. But then Roy’s power went out. So we’ve postponed our discussion about the late special effects titan Douglas Trumbull. Keep watching the skies! The next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner will livestream on Facebook, THIS SUNDAY EVENING AT 7:00 EST!
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Douglas Trumbull Special Effects Legend Remembered
“2001: A Space Odyssey.” “The Andromeda Strain.” “Silent Running.” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.” “Blade Runner.” “Brainstorm.” “The Tree of Life.” There’s no shortage of things to talk about when it comes to special effects legend Douglas Trumbull.
Trumbull died on February 7 at the age of 79 and took a part of the movies with him. Before the pervasive banality of CGI deadened the world’s senses, Trumbull fueled our dreams by forging new realities in which special effects were very special indeed.
Lew Place will be our guest this week, as we pay tribute to Trumbull, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Leave us trembling with your insights in the comments section, when we livestream on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EST!
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Lucas’s THX 1138 Sci-Fi Dystopia
Sex… drugs… and George Lucas? Really???
Before Indiana Jones… before “Star Wars”… before “American Graffiti”… there was “THX 1138” (1971).
Under the guidance of Francis Ford Coppola, Lucas expanded a 1967 student film into his first feature, an eerily-prescient piece of sci-fi dystopia, in which a faceless corporatocracy controls every aspect of human existence. Productivity, consumption, and subservience are all strictly enforced, through drugs, dehumanizing entertainments, and if necessary, android police. Personal relationships are forbidden and citizens – shorn of their hair and their individuality – are all identified by serial numbers.
This is hardcore sci-fi, the way it used to be. “THX 1138” may feel a lot longer than its 85-minute running time, but there’s a kind of excitement to be found in a 25-year-old director exploring the power of the medium in an era when people still really cared about film. What “THX 1138” lacks in narrative excitement, it makes up for in believable world-building. It’s fascinating to speculate what kind of artist Lucas might have been had he not devoted most of his career to reediting “Star Wars.”
Definitely don’t go into it expecting any joyrides on souped-up space freighters, witty repartee, or lightsaber battles of a kind that marked a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. This one cuts awfully close to the bone.
Roy and I will be doing our best Donald Pleasence impressions, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Let your holograms do the driving in the comments section, as we livestream on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EST!
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ROY’S TIE-DYE SCI-FI WEEKEND BONUS! This Sunday night, Roy’s special guest will be actor Carl Held. Held’s television credits include appearances on “Star Trek,” “The Outer Limits,” “The Invaders,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Space: 1999,” “Perry Mason,” “The F.B.I.,” “The Lotus Eaters,” “The Saint,” “The Big Valley,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Falcon Crest,” and many others. He’ll be talking about his career and taking your questions. Don’t miss this special appearance by Carl Held, this Sunday night at 7:00 EST!
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Superman II & THX 1138 Movie Discussion
It turns out that low blood sugar is my kryptonite, so I’m not sure if we ever came to a consensus on “Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.” It sure was fun talking about all the behind-the-scenes drama, though. If you missed it, the show has been archived on a crystal at the Fortress of Solitude, but through the miracle of the internet, you can view it here:
Next time, we’ll tackle George Lucas’ first feature film, “THX 1138” (1971). This sci-fi curio, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, features Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, and Don Pedro Colley as the future’s hungriest hologram. It’s been decades since either of us have last seen it, but I recall it being a rather chilly piece of dystopia, light years away from intergalactic exuberance of “Star Wars.”
We’ll be reading off everyone’s license plate numbers during our discussion of “THX 1138,” on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Shave your heads in the comments section and maintain obedience to the state, when we livestream on Facebook, next Friday evening at 7:00 EST!
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