Top Gun 2

[Matej]

Tom Cruise may be feeling the need for speed again sometime soon. High-flying rumors have been circulating about the much-anticipated Top Gun sequel and whether or not Cruise would be returning his iconic star-cementing role as the fighter-pilot Maverick. Now director Tony Scott has told EW that the star is indeed in talks to come back for Top Gun 2, and, if he does, he would be playing a “big role” in the story. “We have been talking with Tom, definitely,” says Scott. This comes after screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie sent an email to Vulture stating, “There is no Top Gun 2 in which Maverick is not the starring role.”

But while Cruise may possibly return to the role he played 24 years ago, the world will have changed since his days flying Tomcats with Iceman and the late, great Goose. “It’s not a remake and it’s not a reinvention,” Scott says about the project. “It’s about the end of an era, the end of the era of the fighter pilot … There are these kids who sit in trailers in Nevada playing war games on computers, and they’re the ones that control these drones 10,000 miles away. That’s the world we’ll be focusing on.”

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/11/05/tom-cruise-maverick-top-gun-2/

 

[Dragon029]

I wonder if it's going to be based in the same time period or if they'll be swapping the Tomcats for super bugs.

 

[Orionblamblam]

I wonder if it's going to be based in the same time period or if they'll be swapping the Tomcats for super bugs.

The snippet quoted above indicates it'll be set in the present, what with the UAVs the kids are all into these days. This being Hollywood, and this being Tom Cruise, my suspicion is that the movie will have the UAVs going to take on Evilstan's air force and getting blown out of the sky (probably because - again, this being Hollywood - a thinly veiled Dick Cheney sold satcom jamming equipment to the Evilstanis). Thus, there'll be nothing for it but for seven-star Admiral Maverick, who's only two weeks from retirement, to jump in a refurbed F-14 and take down the entire Evilstani air force himself.

 

[F-14D]

I wonder if it's going to be based in the same time period or if they'll be swapping the Tomcats for super bugs.

Well, since there are not supposed to be any airworthy USN Tomcats, if it's today either Maverick has joined the Iranian Air Force or he'll be flying a Super Bug. I wonder how many thrill-packed scenes we'll see of him plugged into a tanker? ;D

 

[F-14D]

I wonder if it's going to be based in the same time period or if they'll be swapping the Tomcats for super bugs.

The snippet quoted above indicates it'll be set in the present, what with the UAVs the kids are all into these days. This being Hollywood, and this being Tom Cruise, my suspicion is that the movie will have the UAVs going to take on Evilstan's air force and getting blown out of the sky (probably because - again, this being Hollywood - a thinly veiled Dick Cheney sold satcom jamming equipment to the Evilstanis). Thus, there'll be nothing for it but for seven-star Admiral Maverick, who's only two weeks from retirement, to jump in a refurbed F-14 and take down the entire Evilstani air force himself.

There's actually a great anecdote in the excellent book, "A Nightmare's Prayer", a book about an AV-8B pilot's tour in Afghanistan. In it he visits one of the control rooms from which UAVs are operated. Basically, he observed that they sit and stare at their screens all day. Even if their UAV isn't flying, they stare at its screen. Even if it's in a hangar, if its camera is "live", they stare at the screen. Excitement is when somebody walks across the hangar through the field of view of the camera.

BTW, in Hollywood the Admiral will be two weeks from retirement only if he tragically dies. If he is going to live, he'll have been brought back from retirement to "get the old squadron together" to take care of business.

 

[Abraham Gubler]

I wonder how many thrill-packed scenes we'll see of him plugged into a tanker? ;D

Well actually I think you could make for some pretty cool flight scenes and drama based around IFR.

The good thing is the Rhino can fly aerobatic rings around a F-14A so the dogfight scenes will have a lot more high alpha, blasting contrails and all sorts of good things. I guess you've got to see it first hand to know how good it can look...

 

[F-14D]

I wonder how many thrill-packed scenes we'll see of him plugged into a tanker? ;D

Well actually I think you could make for some pretty cool flight scenes and drama based around IFR.

The good thing is the Rhino can fly aerobatic rings around a F-14A so the dogfight scenes will have a lot more high alpha, blasting contrails and all sorts of good things. I guess you've got to see it first hand to know how good it can look...

Ah, but Maverick would have graduated to the Delta- goes faster, turns tighter, lasts longer and sees from a loooong way off. Ironically, Hornet A-D is probably better air-to-air maneuverability wise than the Super Bug. Oh well, maybe Tom will channel his Ethan Hunt character and won't need a plane!

 

[Abraham Gubler]

Oh well, maybe Tom will channel his Ethan Hunt character and won't need a plane!

Don't fully operative theatens have the power to levitate? ;D

Lets hope they can scrounge up some cool looking planes to paint in black for the bad guy's "MiG-38s"...

 

[BAROBA]

Lets hope they can scrounge up some cool looking planes to paint in black for the bad guy's "MiG-38s"...

They always choose average planes for that, planes with lower performance then the good-guys, something like an ....
F-18

 

[Michel Van]

hell after reading the comments
this movie must be a hellish crossover from:

Iron Eagle I->IV
Stealth
Star Trek movies I->V + Star Trek: Generations (about the Admiral...)
Firefox
Mission: Impossible II

why i get of this, a hellish sick headache ?...

 

[fightingirish]

I wonder, what Quentin Tarantino thinks about a new Top Gun movie... ;D
Link: youtube.com/watch?v=9lTRFWve0Rc

 

[Nik]

I suppose they could salve the pilots' honour by sending drones to *mostly* clear the way, then have pilot do '633' attack on some-where too tight for cruise missiles...

 

[Michel Van]

I wonder, what Quentin Tarantino thinks about a new Top Gun movie... ;D
Link: youtube.com/watch?v=9lTRFWve0Rc

dam, that is the most brilliant analyst of the Movie ...EVER !

by the way, today Val Kilmer doesn't fit in fighter Cockpit anymore

 

[AeroFranz]

by the way, today Val Kilmer doesn't fit in fighter Cockpit anymore

Nothing CGI can't fix Seriously, the upcoming "TRON" has a 30-years younger CGI-version of Jeff Bridges playing side-by-side with him, you could do dome serious CGI-liposuction on Iceman ;D

 

[Archibald]

Buck Danny flew RCAF, USAF and US Navy along its adventures - so why not a Raptor - based Top Gun ? Sexier than that Rhino...

By the way, I want an Airplane III (the sequel of the sequel. Roger , Over. And that turkish jail...)

 

[robunos]

I wonder how many thrill-packed scenes we'll see of him plugged into a tanker?

Well actually I think you could make for some pretty cool flight scenes and drama based around IFR.

That'll be one of the 'Hot' scenes in the movie. Circumstances dictate that Maverick will have to perform a dangerous daylight IFR over enemy territory.
It's OK, though, 'cos the SEAD UCAVs have cleared the way. Only they haven't, a solitary Evilstani conscript has survived, armed with a Chinese-made, reverse engineered 'Super Stinger'. He pops the tanker, taking out an engine, and setting it on fire.
The tanker crew scream at Maverick to break off, so they can save themselves, but he knows he needs every last drop of gas he can get. His tanks top off and he breaks away, just as the tanker explodes in flames, and he dives away to complete the mission, and avenge his dead buddies...

Do I get the scriptwriting gig??


cheers,
Robin.

 

[F-14D]

I wonder how many thrill-packed scenes we'll see of him plugged into a tanker?

Well actually I think you could make for some pretty cool flight scenes and drama based around IFR.

That'll be one of the 'Hot' scenes in the movie. Circumstances dictate that Maverick will have to perform a dangerous daylight IFR over enemy territory.
It's OK, though, 'cos the SEAD UCAVs have cleared the way. Only they haven't, a solitary Evilstani conscript has survived, armed with a Chinese-made, reverse engineered 'Super Stinger'. He pops the tanker, taking out an engine, and setting it on fire.
The tanker crew scream at Maverick to break off, so they can save themselves, but he knows he needs every last drop of gas he can get. His tanks top off and he breaks away, just as the tanker explodes in flames, and he dives away to complete the mission, and avenge his dead buddies...

Do I get the scriptwriting gig??


cheers,
Robin.

No, 'cause you have Maverick essentially murder the tanker crew. The way to do it is have Maverick start to break it off and the taker crew tells him not to, but to stay plugged in because he needs every last drop of gas he can get. Then it goes as you described, except that it is revealed that Maverick knows that all of the tanker crew were just one week away from retirement. Oh, and one of them had a young daughter, so that Maverick can later give her a set of her dad's wings at the end of the picture.

In reality, of course, the a/c tanking Mav's plane would be another Super Bug, so they wouldn't have had the range to get to the refueling point inside enemy territory anyway.

 

[robunos]

No, 'cause you have Maverick essentially murder the tanker crew.

Yeah, but this is the 21st century, so the hero has to be a dark, twisted misanthropic loner who cares even less for himself than he does his fellow man, even though the movie ends with his suicide dive on the Evilstani superweapon facility, thus preventing the destruction of Hope, Change, and the American way of Life as we know it.
I'm thinking House, crossed with Vic Mackie from 'The Shield', and a liberal helping of Castor Troy from 'Face/Off'.

In reality, of course, the a/c tanking Mav's plane would be another Super Bug, so they wouldn't have had the range to get to the refueling point inside enemy territory anyway.

But Maverick bullied his CO into going cap-in-hand to the Pentagon, to borrow a (suitably modified) KC-135 from the AF, which is also, of course, why he isn't really bothered about it going down....

More importantly you guys, who's the girl? Kelly McG has unfortunately, um, defected.

Has to be the heavenly Christina.........


cheers,
Robin.

 

[Orionblamblam]

I'm thinking House, crossed with Vic Mackie from 'The Shield', and a liberal helping of Castor Troy from 'Face/Off'.

Feh. If'n ya want *real* entertainment value, envision a series of crossover episodes betwen "House" and "Fringe."

And I was kinda hopng that the Harry Potter series would end with lil' Harry drooling in a corner while Dr. House brushes him off as a boring case, because there's nothing interesting about brain-damaged kids who are locked in their own imaginary worlds... but then Dr. house notices some sort of twitch, ingeniously pulls a cure out of his ass and drags Harry back to the real world. When Harry starts asking what happened to all his powers and the wizards and whatnot, House laughs at him and browbeats him into a serious depression, which finally ends with Harry eating the business end of a .38 "magic wand."

Now THAT's entertainment.

 

[bobbymike]

Top Gun II: Raptor Flight, nuff said.

My personal remake - Firefox II: Chinese Stealth Bomber (not the real title it would a remake of Firefox this time Jet Li and Lucy Lui steal a Chinese Stealth Bomber or their new space plane (see recent post in Theoretical Projects) and fly back to the US but not before some kick ass martial arts.)

Ya kinda of dumb but no worse that what Hollywood produces anyway

 

[F-14D]

Top Gun II: Raptor Flight, nuff said.

So Maverick races on to drop his bombs on the bad guys using his air-to-ground targeting software; Oh wait; he doesn't have any. No problem, he can have the special ops guys on the ground send him the data so he can orbit around while trying to program the JDAMs. Oh wait; the only way a Raptor can communicate with guys on the ground is via unsecure voice. No problem, he'll just use his onboard designator to "sparkle" the target. Hmmm, forgot he won't have one of those either. No problem, his HMS can be used to...oops; haven't got one of those either. OK, he'll land, and shoot them with his sidearm--it's what Bruce Willis would do. Wait! Damn software won't open the canopy of the Raptor unless it's within 1/2 mile of a golf course or an O club (thereby confirming you're at a Real USAF installation).


Not to worry. Earlier in the movie he's shown to be having an affair with Milla Jovovich while still maintaining a warm, if somewhat feisty friendship with his former love, Kate Beckinsale. They are both secretly in the weapons bays and they've brought their swords. They triple flip out and take out the entire Evilstani military, one at a time. All problems resolved except for the surprise bittersweet twist wherein the writers have to decide which one of them was only one week from retirement...

 

[mz]

Buck Danny flew RCAF, USAF and US Navy along its adventures - so why not a Raptor - based Top Gun ? Sexier than that Rhino...

By the way, I want an Airplane III (the sequel of the sequel. Roger , Over. And that turkish jail...)

A little known thing about Airplane:

http://taylorempireairways.com/2010/10/airplane-vs-zero-hour/

 

[bobbymike]

Top Gun II: Raptor Flight, nuff said.

So Maverick races on to drop his bombs on the bad guys using his air-to-ground targeting software; Oh wait; he doesn't have any. No problem, he can have the special ops guys on the ground send him the data so he can orbit around while trying to program the JDAMs. Oh wait; the only way a Raptor can communicate with guys on the ground is via unsecure voice. No problem, he'll just use his onboard designator to "sparkle" the target. Hmmm, forgot he won't have one of those either. No problem, his HMS can be used to...oops; haven't got one of those either. OK, he'll land, and shoot them with his sidearm--it's what Bruce Willis would do. Wait! Damn software won't open the canopy of the Raptor unless it's within 1/2 mile of a golf course or an O club (thereby confirming you're at a Real USAF installation).


Not to worry. Earlier in the movie he's shown to be having an affair with Milla Jovovich while still maintaining a warm, if somewhat feisty friendship with his former love, Kate Beckinsale. They are both secretly in the weapons bays and they've brought their swords. They triple flip out and take out the entire Evilstani military, one at a time. All problems resolved except for the surprise bittersweet twist wherein the writers have to decide which one of them was only one week from retirement...

Just like when my sister watches movie and says "Ya that looks real" to which I respond "Ah its a movie"

 

[Pem Tech]

I'm thinking House, crossed with Vic Mackie from 'The Shield', and a liberal helping of Castor Troy from 'Face/Off'.

Feh. If'n ya want *real* entertainment value, envision a series of crossover episodes betwen "House" and "Fringe."

And I was kinda hopng that the Harry Potter series would end with lil' Harry drooling in a corner while Dr. House brushes him off as a boring case, because there's nothing interesting about brain-damaged kids who are locked in their own imaginary worlds... but then Dr. house notices some sort of twitch, ingeniously pulls a cure out of his ass and drags Harry back to the real world. When Harry starts asking what happened to all his powers and the wizards and whatnot, House laughs at him and browbeats him into a serious depression, which finally ends with Harry eating the business end of a .38 "magic wand."

Now THAT's entertainment.

That, indeed, would be entertainment.
;D

 

[Orionblamblam]

That, indeed, would be entertainment.

Were it not for the fact that I find fan-fic pastiche kinda creepy, I woulda written up my *real* preferred end to the Potter series. It was pure unadulterated awesome.

 

[F-14D]

I'm thinking House, crossed with Vic Mackie from 'The Shield', and a liberal helping of Castor Troy from 'Face/Off'.

And I was kinda hopng that the Harry Potter series would end with lil' Harry drooling in a corner while Dr. House brushes him off as a boring case, because there's nothing interesting about brain-damaged kids who are locked in their own imaginary worlds... but then Dr. house notices some sort of twitch, ingeniously pulls a cure out of his ass and drags Harry back to the real world. When Harry starts asking what happened to all his powers and the wizards and whatnot, House laughs at him and browbeats him into a serious depression, which finally ends with Harry eating the business end of a .38 "magic wand."

Now THAT's entertainment.

Pfah! I laugh with contempt at your "House", you silly person. Your Mother was a Hamster and your Father smelled of Eldeberries. Your doctor would get nowhere against my subtle reimagining of the boy wizard:

 

[bobbymike]

F-14D - Awesome ;D

I'm kind of a Libertarian, economically speaking, but I would support a law that would mandate Congress and the President to pass a law that forced Hollywood to make and release at least once a month (or every couple of months)

1) A Dirty Harry or Bad Lieutenant (Keitel not Cage) type movie
2) A Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers or Blackhawk down type movie
3) A Jason Bourne, Spartan or Taken (Liam Neeson) type movie
4) Scarface, Casino, Goodfellas or Godfather type movie

Although I am under no allusions that the writers could consistently produce decent movies on this time frame, maybe once a calendar quarter.

I have seen interviews with Vince Flynn, Brad Thor and Lee Child who have said their novels have been purchased for the movie rights by Hollywood, where are the movies? They would, in theory, be good.

 

[Hammer Birchgrove]

I'm thinking House, crossed with Vic Mackie from 'The Shield', and a liberal helping of Castor Troy from 'Face/Off'.

Feh. If'n ya want *real* entertainment value, envision a series of crossover episodes betwen "House" and "Fringe."

And I was kinda hopng that the Harry Potter series would end with lil' Harry drooling in a corner while Dr. House brushes him off as a boring case, because there's nothing interesting about brain-damaged kids who are locked in their own imaginary worlds... but then Dr. house notices some sort of twitch, ingeniously pulls a cure out of his ass and drags Harry back to the real world. When Harry starts asking what happened to all his powers and the wizards and whatnot, House laughs at him and browbeats him into a serious depression, which finally ends with Harry eating the business end of a .38 "magic wand."

Now THAT's entertainment.

Not enough mindf*** in my taste.

It would be even better if Lord Voldemort and his minions actually *did* invade our side of reality, now that our saviour is dead, compelling USA, UK, France, China etc to use all their nukes fruitlessly, ending our world as we know it... but not before the Wolverines* arrests dr House, drag him to a kangaroo court with Perry Cox** as prosecutor, Carla Espinosa** as judge and Janitor** as Dr House's attorney. The court sentence Dr House to join the shock troops (deciding hanging would be too lenient)... which all will end up being a day dream of "J.D." Dorian.**

Or is it???

* Red Dawn.

** Scrubs

 

[Hammer Birchgrove]

F-14D - Awesome ;D

I'm kind of a Libertarian, economically speaking, but I would support a law that would mandate Congress and the President to pass a law that forced Hollywood to make and release at least once a month (or every couple of months)

1) A Dirty Harry or Bad Lieutenant (Keitel not Cage) type movie
2) A Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers or Blackhawk down type movie
3) A Jason Bourne, Spartan or Taken (Liam Neeson) type movie
4) Scarface, Casino, Goodfellas or Godfather type movie

Although I am under no allusions that the writers could consistently produce decent movies on this time frame, maybe once a calendar quarter.

I have seen interviews with Vince Flynn, Brad Thor and Lee Child who have said their novels have been purchased for the movie rights by Hollywood, where are the movies? They would, in theory, be good.

Those type of movies will be made either way. What Congress should dictate are more serious, believable SF films similar to 2001, so that kids will want to work for NASA or Fermilab.

 

[mz]

F-14D - Awesome ;D

I'm kind of a Libertarian, economically speaking, but I would support a law that would mandate Congress and the President to pass a law that forced Hollywood to make and release at least once a month (or every couple of months)

1) A Dirty Harry or Bad Lieutenant (Keitel not Cage) type movie
2) A Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers or Blackhawk down type movie
3) A Jason Bourne, Spartan or Taken (Liam Neeson) type movie
4) Scarface, Casino, Goodfellas or Godfather type movie

Although I am under no allusions that the writers could consistently produce decent movies on this time frame, maybe once a calendar quarter.

I have seen interviews with Vince Flynn, Brad Thor and Lee Child who have said their novels have been purchased for the movie rights by Hollywood, where are the movies? They would, in theory, be good.

Those type of movies will be made either way. What Congress should dictate are more serious, believable SF films similar to 2001, so that kids will want to work for NASA or Fermilab.

That will lead to lots of out of work aerospace engineers... or physicists with very low pay. Better to pursue a career in something that the market appreciates, like healthcare.

 

[Orionblamblam]

Not enough mindf*** in my taste.

Fine. Here's what I *really* wanted to see:
1) Here's what we know of the Potterverse... the wizards are fully aware of the "muggles," but the "muggles" have limited to no knowledge of the wizards. However, there is official contact... the Prime Minister is shown being contacted at least once, IIRC.
2) So we have to assume that in the "muggle world," there are people desperately trying to figure out the wizard world. Since the "muggles" are never shown to be of consequence, we must assume that either there has been no success... or any success the "muggles" have had have either been destroyed by the wizards... or hidden from them.

So, my idea of how to end the Potter stories was this:

A] Flashback to New Mexico, 1947. Aliens crash near Roswell. US Army scrapes up the wreckage, takes it to Area 51 for analysis. It's found that the aliens use a hybrid of science and magic for their technology.
B] Decades are spent analyzing the wreckage. As with Manhattan, Yanks, Canucks, Limeys, Frogs, Krauts, etc. all send their best scientists. A good misinformation campaign keeps this under wraps.
C] After fifty years of intense work, there has been only one useful development. A small device (call it an amulet) that creates a ten-meter-diameter bubble where magic ceases to function.
D] Back to the Potterverse: Voldemort spends the bulk of the book gaining in power, causing a ruckus, making his presense known to the outer world via acts of destruction. Death, mutilation, horror, pain, high taxes, all the great evils.
E] A high-speed plane leaves Area 51 heading to Britainland.
F] Potter & Co. fight back valiantly, but lose. Hogwarts goes up in the equivalent of magical nuclear fire.
G] Plane lands at an out-of-the-way RAF base in the middle of the night. A small box is transferred to a dark figure.
H] Our heroes of course manage to escape in the nick of time through a tunnel. But they are chased down and surrounded by death eaters in a wide field. Usual magical battle ensues, heroes are beaten.
I] Dark figure boards a fast helicopter.
J] Voldemort shows up, kills a few of the lesser heros, begins monologuing.
K] Dark figure plummets from the sky, pops a chute at the last minute, lands a few dozen yards from where we see Voldemort & Co. doing their schtick.
K] Voldemort raises wand to kill Potter. Utters the "death curse," just as the light on his wand, and all the others, suddenly goes dark. Scene lit solely by a few small fires. Everyone looks around in confusion. Dark figure steps out of shadows. Everyone looks; death eaters try magic to stop him, absolutely nothing happens. Dark figure steps up to Voldemort, raises hand. Three shots ring out, two to center of mass, one headshot from a Walther PPK. Gun flashes briefly illuminate Daniel Craig's face. Voldemort drops dead, back of skull blown off. Death Eaters mob him, but since all the bullying and thuggery they've ever done has been magical, they suck at actual hand to hand combat, and are all easily defeated, most dead.
L] Our heroes look on in shock. Dark figure melts back into shadows, calls back "We'll be watching you." Chopper comes down, dark figure boards. Lights come back on on wands.
M] Heroes watch helicopter disappear into darkness, see a C-130 orbiting several thousand feet up. A turret pops out of the bottom of the C-130; a megawatt-class free electon laser lances down and vaporizes Voldemort and the Death Eaters, along with their wands. A surviving death eater shoots back with his wand; the "bolt" vanishes ten meters from the C-130. Laser fries his ass too. C-130 takes off.
N] Heros left standing in burning field. Potter looks up into the night sky, sees a single satellite in the distance. View switches to satellite, looking back at Potter via Keyhole optics. Close, credits.

Ta-da.

Geeky? You bet. But one thing I've never been able to stand are stories where some people are "just better" than everyone else to the point where everyone else is essentially meaningless (think of all those damned European fairy tales and whatnot where the blacksmiths kid wins the day not because he's smarter or better trained or tries harder, but because he's secretly the prince. Bah.). Having the wizarding world get its ass handed to it by a good dose of Science seemed like the best way to end the series.

 

[Orionblamblam]

That will lead to lots of out of work aerospace engineers...

Better, I suppose, than a lot of out of work sparkly vampires, werewolves and zombies.

If Hollywood suddenly started creating a number of good, forward-thinking "space flight is great" movies that really inspired kids to become scientists and engineers, it would affect more than just those kids. Their friends and families would also be affected, as would other unrelated folk, and presumably they'd vote.

 

[Matej]

Scott, you definitely have too much free time ))

 

[mz]

Not enough mindf*** in my taste.

Geeky? You bet. But one thing I've never been able to stand are stories where some people are "just better" than everyone else to the point where everyone else is essentially meaningless (think of all those damned European fairy tales and whatnot where the blacksmiths kid wins the day not because he's smarter or better trained or tries harder, but because he's secretly the prince. Bah.). Having the wizarding world get its ass handed to it by a good dose of Science seemed like the best way to end the series.

These tales come from a time when the society was very status quo. All the land had been divided and was pretty much the only thing that was worth anything.

Ever watch a BBC historical drama? They're all very formulaic in exactly that sense.

A lonely person has a tough life but can manage it, meets a charming person from a higher class that he or she can't really openly be with. A disaster happens and everything seems to be lost. Separation and despair. Yet by some miracle the main character is rescued from the depths and found to be related to someone rich and famous, and they unite again and live happily ever after.

 

[Orionblamblam]

Shrug. I dreamed that crap up *years* ago. First time I've bothered to type up so much as a word of it though, so... huzzah.

Potterverse isn't the only time I root against the magical superpowers, though. Han Solo had the right attitude, and I must admit to some joy at seeing infantry grunts take down the bulk of the Jedi.

 

[Orionblamblam]

These tales come from a time when the society was very status quo.

A type of society I dislike intensely.

Ever watch a BBC historical drama?

I try not to. I'm not an insomniac.

 

[F-14D]

I'm thinking House, crossed with Vic Mackie from 'The Shield', and a liberal helping of Castor Troy from 'Face/Off'.

It would be even better if Lord Voldemort and his minions actually *did* invade our side of reality, now that our saviour is dead, compelling USA, UK, France, China etc to use all their nukes fruitlessly, ending our world as we know it... [snip]

Or is it???

Now pay attention, I'm not going to explain this again...

 

[F-14D]

F-14D - Awesome ;D

I'm kind of a Libertarian, economically speaking, but I would support a law that would mandate Congress and the President to pass a law that forced Hollywood to make and release at least once a month (or every couple of months)

1) A Dirty Harry or Bad Lieutenant (Keitel not Cage) type movie
2) A Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers or Blackhawk down type movie
3) A Jason Bourne, Spartan or Taken (Liam Neeson) type movie
4) Scarface, Casino, Goodfellas or Godfather type movie

Although I am under no allusions that the writers could consistently produce decent movies on this time frame, maybe once a calendar quarter.

I have seen interviews with Vince Flynn, Brad Thor and Lee Child who have said their novels have been purchased for the movie rights by Hollywood, where are the movies? They would, in theory, be good.

Those type of movies will be made either way. What Congress should dictate are more serious, believable SF films similar to 2001, so that kids will want to work for NASA or Fermilab.

If they could pass such a law, the movies they'd mandate would be: "Your Heroes in Congress"; "Patriots Want Congress to be Paid More"; "Senators--Saints on Earth"; etc.

 

[SOC]

I'm thinking House, crossed with Vic Mackie from 'The Shield', and a liberal helping of Castor Troy from 'Face/Off'.

Feh. If'n ya want *real* entertainment value, envision a series of crossover episodes betwen "House" and "Fringe."

I had the exact same thought the first time I realized that House and Fringe were basically set in the same region! Having House and Walter try to figure each other out would be epic. For what it's worth, yesterday's House had probably the single best line of dialogue on TV, ever. I won't give it away for those with DVRs (and because it'd probably offend a significant portion of the reading audience), but it was classic House.

 

[mz]

These tales come from a time when the society was very status quo.

A type of society I dislike intensely.

Yes, they can convey quite a depressing picture, probably even more than what the writers intended. Though, they were living in their own time and place, how could they do otherwise?

Ever watch a BBC historical drama?

I try not to. I'm not an insomniac.

Some of them are quite well made. Miniseries like Jane Eyre or Fingersmith pop to mind from the latest ones.

I also like some British TV series, the eighties Sherlock Holmes and nineties Hercule Poirot, if one understands that they must not be taken too seriously.

They're all full of dull upper class people posturing around and worrying about their relationships with nobody doing any real work of course... I'm also of the opinion that Sherlock especially has gotten some semi-supernatural characteristics which have probably inspired superheroes.

Probably the most humorous TV I've seen in a long while is the Danish "Klovn" by Zentropa where everything's dead serious and there's not a single joke ever. All just goes horribly wrong. Especially for the main character Frank. Get it if you can, if you can stomach some really black and dry stuff.

I don't have a TV at home at the moment by the way.

Is the new Futurama any good? It has some hat tips at science fiction literature from time to time. Stanislaw Lem's absurd stories would mostly benefit for computer generated or cartoon techniques.