The much anticipated Alien series in the works at FX is set to start filming this year in Thailand‚ and showrunner Noah Hawley‚ who has worked on other FX shows such as Legion and Fargo‚ has plans for the series to go beyond one season. In a recent interview with Collider‚ Hawley shared that FX wanted his Alien prequel‚ which takes place on Earth at the same time as the events in Prometheus‚ to be a show with multiple seasons rather than a limited series stint. The network’s desire aligned with Hawley’s‚ who said that his idea for Alien had a three-part structure. “I knew that [FX’s] desire was for a recurring series‚ not a limited series [for Alien]‚ and I had an idea that I was excited about‚ that I could see the escalation of it from one year to another‚” Hawley said. “That’s where we ended up not pitching them having a bible or pitching them blow-by-blow‚ but saying‚ ‘Big picture: this is the first movement‚ this is the second movement‚ and we’re ultimately going here.’” How many seasons Hawley has in mind isn’t clear from this statement‚ though the three movements he describes suggest at least three seasons. It also means that the writer-director has a clear end in mind for the show. We still don’t have a firm release date for the long-gestating series‚ though we do know that Timothy Olphant has been tapped to star along with Sydney Chandler‚ Essie Davis‚ and Alex Lawther. With production officially underway‚ however‚ there’s a good chance we’ll see the Alien series on FX sometime in early 2025. The post Noah Hawley (and FX) Wants Their Alien Series to Span Several Seasons appeared first on Reactor.

David F. Sandberg‚ the director behind the two Shazam! films and Annabelle: Creation‚ is teaming up once again with Annabelle writer‚ Gary Dauberman‚ to adapt the 2015 PlayStation horror video game Until Dawn. According to The Hollywood Reporter‚ Sandberg has signed on with Screen Gems and PlayStation Productions (both owned by Sony) to direct the film‚ with Daubman‚ whose previous credits also include It‚ The Nun‚ and the upcoming live-action Gargoyles series‚ taking a pass on a script written by Blair Butler. Until Dawn follows eight people trying to stay alive on Blackwood Mountain‚ a place they revisit after two of their friends died there the year before. The player can control all eight people in the game‚ and all eight have the potential to die as play unfolds‚ depending on what decisions the player makes. In the game‚ Rami Malek (pictured above)‚ Hayden Panettiere‚ Meaghan Martin‚ Brett Dalton‚ Jordan Fisher‚ Nichole Bloom‚ and Peter Stormare voice-acted and provided motion capture for their characters. It received high critical praise and was nominated for several gaming awards‚ including a British Academy Games Awards win for best original property. We don’t know much about the movie adaptation yet‚ other than it will be an “R-rated love letter to the horror genre‚” according to THR‚ and that it will have an ensemble cast. We also don’t know if any of the actors in the video game will reprise their roles in the film‚ but we’ll likely get some casting news once the project gears up to start filming. The post Until Dawn Video Game Getting Film Adaptation From Team Behind Annabelle: Creation appeared first on Reactor.

Time to finish up Part Two‚ Cosmere Chickens! Are you ready? Because Paige and I are ready! So ready! Right Paige?  Paige: Beyond ready! Lyn: Let’s not belabor the point and dive right in then‚ shall we? (Non-)Spoiler warning: This week’s article has no spoilers from other Cosmere works. Read on fearlessly‚ chickens! Trigger warnings: War‚ revolution‚ beheading Last time on Elantris: Conspiracy Theories… Hrathen runs into Dilaf‚ who hints that maybe not everything is going according to Hrathen’s plans… meanwhile‚ Raoden and Galladon are still playing dress-up‚ but at least their charade has gained them more than a sword-cut on the cheek—Raoden talks Roial into inviting him along to their next Secret Meeting. Chapter Essentials POV Character(s): Sarene‚ Raoden‚ Hrathen Discussion Chapter 53 L: From the Annotations: I hereby dub this chapter the official start of the Brandon Avalanche! Let the rejoicing begin. L: Hooboy. Here we go. P: I’ve been waiting so long for this! “Has Roial gone mad?” Sarene asked. “What if that cursed Dula is a spy?” “A spy for whom?” Kaloo asked. L: Okay‚ I have to say‚ I really love Raoden-Kaloo. He’s cracking me up. P: He really seems to be enjoying this particular charade. Despite her insistences that he not prepare dinner‚ Kiin had obviously been unable to let this many people congregate without giving them something to eat. L: Brandon really has quite a lot of lovable characters in this book. Not that he doesn’t always‚ of course‚ it’s just nice to see in a debut novel like this. P: I’ve seen people say how contrived this group is compared to‚ say‚ Kelsier’s crew. But I adore Raoden’s friends! “The resistance only survives because the Fjordells are too lazy to chase it out of the swamps.” Shuden frowned. “I thought they were hiding in the caves of the Duladen Steppes.” “There are several pockets of them‚” Kaloo said smoothly‚ though Sarene detected a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. L: Gee‚ Raoden‚ if only you’d come clean about your identity you wouldn’t have to do all this lying and risk getting caught! P: Nobody seems to notice but our dear‚ mistrustful princess. Sarene shook her head. “If we give Shu-Dereth that kind of foothold in Arelon‚ we’ll never be free of it.” “It’s only a religion‚ Sarene‚” Ahan said. “I think we should focus on real problems.” L: “Only” a religion‚ indeed. How many wars have been fought over religions in the real world‚ again? Oh‚ right… P: Seriously‚ Ahan is daft. L: Well‚ considering what he pulls later in the chapter‚ maybe this is calculated daftness. Maybe. “Besides‚” Kaloo noted‚ “I don’t think you want to throw this country into war. I’ve seen what a bloody revolution can do to a nation—it breaks the people’s spirit to fight one another. The men in the Elantris City Guard might be fools‚ but they are still your countrymen. Their blood would be on your hands.” L: Okay‚ 1: Good point‚ but 2: Careful there‚ Raoden. You’re falling out of character… P: He is‚ isn’t he? Starting to sound like Spirit a bit there‚ Raoden. “Assassinating Telrii would solve a lot of problems.” The room fell quiet. Sarene felt a bitter taste in her mouth as she studied the men. They knew what she knew. She had determined long before the meeting began that this was the only way. “Ah‚ one man’s death to save a nation‚” Kaloo whispered. L: A hard choice‚ indeed. We all know what a certain old man on Roshar would say about this… P: The good of the many‚ and such. Sarene’s brow furrowed; she almost had it. There was something familiar about his words… L: Raoden’s let his guard down and Sarene’s about to pounce! P: Eeeee! I love this part! He looked into her shocked‚ wide eyes‚ and knew that she knew. Somehow‚ despite their short time together‚ she had recognized him when his best friends could not. Uh-oh‚ he thought to himself. L: ::snicker:: P: Uh-oh‚ indeed. He all but proclaimed himself to be Raoden. “Why did you lie to me?” Spirit smiled. “Oh‚ and you’re going to try and tell me it wasn’t more fun this way?” L: If I were Sarene‚ I’d have punched him again for that one‚ lack of healing or no. P: He did have quite a good time with it. I had no idea you were that good an actor. I hated you!” “It’s nice to feel appreciated‚” Spirit said‚ letting his arms wrap around her. L: ::wistful sigh:: FINALLY. P: ::swoon:: Why risk coming out into Kae?” “To find you‚” he said. She smiled. That was the right answer. L: He’s such a charmer. P: Indeed‚ he is. And he’s quite taken with his bride. L: And who can blame him? They’re perfect for one another. Except for all of his deception‚ of course. “I assumed that these men would stop meeting after I left.” Sarene shook herself from the trance of being lost in those eyes. “What was that you just said? After you left…?” L: YES YES YES FOR THE LOVE OF GOD FINALLY. P: And was that a slip or did he intend to say it? L: A slip‚ I think. My theory is that being around his old friends again was just too much for him. When you’re in such a familiar and comfortable environment‚ with people you trust‚ keeping up an act like Raoden has been doing is much more difficult than it would have been if he were surrounded by strangers. The natural inclination would be to fall back into old speech patterns and routines. “We need to go back in. But … let’s just say I have something else I need to tell you‚ once the meeting is through and we can speak more privately.” L: Ugh. No! This is almost as bad as “we’ll talk when all this is over” in a horror movie. P: And Ned Stark telling Jon he’d tell him about Jon’s mother when Ned saw him again. Oops. L: I’m STILL not over that. P: Me neither. ::sigh:: It was not Ahan she found standing in the doorway. Instead she was confronted by a group of armed soldiers with a well-dressed man at their front. King Telrii. L: Of course. Someone had to betray them‚ and Ahan was the most likely culprit. P: Snake. Telrii snapped his fingers‚ and a soldier stepped forward and rammed his sword directly into Duke Roial’s belly. Roial gasped‚ then crumpled with a moan. L: Noooooooooo not the likable older mentor figure! P: I have such a soft spot for Roial!! L: (warning: dark joke incoming) Roial had quite a soft spot‚ too. And Telrii’s soldiers found it. “Interesting you should mention usurpers‚ Duke Telrii‚” a voice said from across the table. “I was under the impression that the throne belonged to Iadon’s family.” L: Ooooooooooooooooooooooh here we go! P: In this corner we have Raoden! The rightful King of Arelon! Raoden. Sarene felt numb. She stared at the man Spirit‚ wondering who he was‚ and if she had ever really known him. L: About time! P: Yeeessss! “Do not cry‚ my boy‚” Roial said. “Your return is blessed. You cannot save this tired old body‚ but you can save the kingdom. I will die in peace‚ knowing you are here to protect it.” L: Awww. It’s a shame‚ Roial really is a sweet old man and a great character. Poor Raoden‚ unable to save him. (And here’s Brandon with his penchant for protagonists who just can’t save the lives of the people they love. Not that this is unique in the genre or even in fiction in general‚ of course‚ as it’s a good way for the hero to lose things and to up the stakes without actually killing the hero themselves… but still‚ those Kaladin similarities are striking‚ aren’t they?) P: Truly striking. And heartbreaking. Killing Roial hurts. Chapter 54 The rumors said that Prince Raoden had returned from the grave. Hrathen sat‚ dumbfounded‚ behind his desk. L: Didn’t plan for that eventuality‚ didja‚ Hrathen? P: Who would have? Of course‚ he doesn’t believe it‚ thinking that Sarene must have found a look-alike to impersonate Raoden. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to convince Telrii to at least draft a warrant of execution. It would ease the aristocratic minds if they were able to read such a document. … Telrii refused to see him. L: I love how he still thinks that he’s got any sway here at all. He keeps trying to stick his nose into Telrii’s business‚ and Telrii just keeps slamming the door shut on him. P: Hrathen has a hard time understanding why anyone wouldn’t just give into him because he’s such a big shot. The tapestries were in flames‚ and men struggled desperately in the close confines. Several guards lay dead at the far doorway. Some wore the brown and yellow of the Elantris City Guard. The others were in silver and blue—the colors of Count Eondel’s legion. L: Here comes the cavalry! P: Get them‚ Eondel! Telrii’s headless corpse fell at Count Eondel’s feet. The count regarded it with grim eyes‚ then collapsed himself‚ holding a wound in his side. L: Well. That escalated quickly. (Here’s how I imagine Hrathen for this scene.) P: That is absolutely the correct gif. So much for avoiding a bloody change in power. L: And the bloodshed’s only just beginning‚ because Fjorden’s on the way… P: Ohhh nooo…   We’ll be leaving further speculation and discussion to you in the comments‚ and hope to join you there! Next week‚ we’ll be back with Part Three. Paige resides in New Mexico‚ of course. Between work and school and the SA5 beta read‚ she’s trying to work on book 3 of a YA/Crossover trilogy with just a hint of the supernatural. Links to her other writing are available in her profile. Lyndsey lives in Connecticut. She’s a professional actress and makes magic wands for a living. If you enjoy queer protagonists‚ snarky humor‚ and don’t mind some salty language‚ check out book 1 of her fantasy series. Follow her on Facebook or TikTok! The post Elantris Reread: Chapters Fifty-Three and Fifty-Four appeared first on Reactor.

News Big Bad: Christopher Landon in Talks to Direct Adaptation of Horror Short Story By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on January 18‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed More From Big Bad See All Posts News Academy Awards Here Are the Genre Films That Scored 2024 Oscar Nominations By Vanessa Armstrong January 23‚ 2024 News sci-fi tv Traveling to Outer Space Will Mess Up Your Mind‚ According to Constellation Trailer By Vanessa Armstrong January 22‚ 2024 News Jurassic Park Welcome to Even More Jurassic Park: New Jurassic World Movie in the Works at Universal By Vanessa Armstrong January 22‚ 2024 News Fountain of Youth Film Picks Up Natalie Portman‚ John Krasinski and Eiza González By Vanessa Armstrong January 19‚ 2024 icon-left-caret Caret See All Posts Christopher Landon‚ the writer-director behind horror films like Happy Death Day (pictured above) and Freaky‚ has a potential new project lined up after his departure from Scream VII. According to The Hollywood Reporter‚ Landon is in negotiations with Lionsgate‚ who is working on an adaptation of the Chandler Baker’s “Big Bad.” The short story appeared in the 2023 Audible-only anthology‚ Creature Feature‚ which also features tales by Grady Hendrix‚ Joe Hill‚ Josh Malerman‚ Paul Tremblay‚ and Jason Mott. Audible’s logline for “Big Bad” describes the story as follows: “For a family trying to make an isolated farmhouse into a home‚ fear and rage are getting harder to control.” That fear and rage phrase is a reference to werewolves‚ a beloved horror staple. Whether it’s the family members themselves turning into werewolves (is the call coming from inside the house?) or werewolves on the outside trying to murder the family‚ the threat isn’t revealed from the logline‚ so you’ll have to listen to the story yourself to find out where the lycanthropes lie. If Landon signs on to direct‚ this project will be the first one for him after leaving Scream VII late last year. The next sequel in the immensely popular Scream franchise has become enshrouded in controversy after news broke in November 2023 that neither Melissa Barrera nor Jenna Ortega would be returning for the film. The adaption of “Big Bad” is still in its early days‚ so no news yet on casting‚ much less when the movie will scare its way to a theater near you. The post <;i>;Big Bad<;/i>;: Christopher Landon in Talks to Direct Adaptation of Horror Short Story appeared first on Reactor.

If you had told me‚ twelve years ago‚ that I would be just now getting around to The Night Circus‚ I definitely would have laughed. Maybe even snorted. It’s one of those books everyone was reading at the time‚ and now it’s one of those books seemingly everyone has read. I’ve been carrying a copy around for so long that I don’t have even the faintest memory of where I got it; only this week‚ when I finally cracked it open‚ did I discover that it’s autographed to someone else. Everything about this specific copy of this book is a mystery to me‚ including why I haven’t read it yet. So I started‚ the other night‚ and was four or five chapters in before I looked up to realize it was bedtime. How does this happen? How is it that sometimes‚ a book that’s clearly meant for a reader takes so long to find them? There is no answer to this question‚ of course. Books come to us when they come‚ and it’s either their time or it’s not. It’s very hard to manifest the precisely perfect moment in which to read a given book‚ though every so often‚ it can be done. You can pick just the right book for a trip‚ for a vacation‚ for a long weekend of doing little else; you can decide you’re going to drink the same cocktails as a character or eat your way through their meals or do any number of things to manifest a story’s world around you. You can build the perfect moment‚ but you have to have some idea what it is. And you have to have the time and inclination to design it‚ rather than taking the moment that you get. Still‚ sometimes the books are late. Or early. Or just off. A friend and I were talking recently about The Secret History‚ a book I still haven’t read but have‚ for at least a decade‚ intended to. She said that most people she knows who first read it as adults hated it. (Did I take this as a challenge? Only slightly.) Those who read it younger‚ on the other hand‚ are passionate. Another friend has told me more than once that you have to read The Secret History in the wintertime. Maybe this cold‚ dark‚ gloomy start of the year is exactly my time—or exactly the book’s time. What I’ve come to think is that every book has its just-right time‚ but that time is different for every reader. And it’s not finite or single‚ not in most cases‚ anyway—and it’s not necessary. (Sometimes reading against the grain‚ the wrong book at the wrong time‚ is in its own strange way perfectly right.). Sometimes the only time it’s fun to read a book is when everyone else is reading it‚ when the vibes are jubilant and communal‚ when you’re part of something bigger. Sometimes there are books you read once‚ at a precise moment‚ and can never read again—the associated feelings are too big‚ too heavy‚ too messy‚ too much to revisit on a casual reread. But mostly‚ I think‚ you can find the moment for a book. This is why I keep a list of the books I don’t finish. It’s not a forever breakup (except when it is). It’s just a break. I tried to read Victor LaValle’s The Changeling at the wrong moment; I struggled through 100 pages‚ admiring the prose but feeling like I couldn’t open the door to the heart of the book‚ and set it aside. It wasn’t my time with that book‚ not yet. I started rereading Shadow and Bone‚ thinking this time I’d finish the series‚ but got lured away by the promise of something new. But I might still go back to Ravka‚ later. Timing is everything and timing is nothing; you never know what will land in your lap‚ or cross your feed‚ at any moment. It took me almost a year to read Alexander Chee’s How to Write An Autobiographical Novel—not because I didn’t love it‚ but because as soon as I started it‚ I knew I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I moved it from one year’s spreadsheet to the next‚ and kept going‚ slow and steady. When you are a fast reader‚ a person who wants to read everything‚ now‚ immediately‚ that is something to relish—a book that absolutely insists you slow down‚ living by its time rather than your own. I know that not everyone thinks constantly about what they’re reading when‚ and how it fits into the grand scheme of their reading life‚ or into the lineup of everything else they’ve ever read. But those patterns are there‚ all the same; those books we skip or linger over‚ the ones that come back‚ years later‚ looking shiny in a whole new way. I think about it because I write about books‚ but I also think about it because I’m a magpie‚ always distracted by something new and shiny‚ and because I’m a generalist in many ways. I grew up on and still read a mountain of SFF‚ but I go through phases: emotionally devastating YA novels; really specific nonfiction about rituals or neighborhoods; literary fiction of the “women figuring their shit out‚ or not” bent; and my own kind of bookish comfort food‚ like fairytales rewritten and retold. If I don’t pay attention‚ I can slide into a little genre oubliette of some design or another. And I want to keep moving around‚ broadening the circle. Every book has its right time‚ but only if you’re looking for it in the first place. This year‚ I am trying—trying!—to alternate old and new. Writing about books means there is always something new I should be reading. But there is also always something old that I should understand—there are always books whose moment I might have thought slid past me‚ but it didn’t‚ or books I just never saw before. Or books like The Night Circus‚ which sat right in front of me‚ waiting. What has it never been the right time for you to read? What is it just the right time for‚ right now? Originally published January 2023. Molly Templeton lives and writes in Oregon‚ and spends as much time as possible in the woods. Sometimes she talks about books on Twitter. The post Every Book in the Right Time appeared first on Reactor.

News Minecraft Movie Adds More A-Listers to Cast‚ Including Kate McKinnon and Jemaine Clement By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on January 18‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed More From adaptations See All Posts News Academy Awards Here Are the Genre Films That Scored 2024 Oscar Nominations By Vanessa Armstrong January 23‚ 2024 News sci-fi tv Traveling to Outer Space Will Mess Up Your Mind‚ According to Constellation Trailer By Vanessa Armstrong January 22‚ 2024 News Jurassic Park Welcome to Even More Jurassic Park: New Jurassic World Movie in the Works at Universal By Vanessa Armstrong January 22‚ 2024 News Fountain of Youth Film Picks Up Natalie Portman‚ John Krasinski and Eiza González By Vanessa Armstrong January 19‚ 2024 icon-left-caret Caret See All Posts The casting announcements for the upcoming movie adaptation of Minecraft may cause more than one block-shaped eyebrow to lift. In addition to Jason Momoa and Jack Black (the latter of whom is reportedly playing the game’s main character‚ Minecraft Steve)‚ the film has tapped several other actors known for their comedic prowess. According to Deadline‚ the film will also include Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus‚ Legally Blonde)‚ Kate McKinnon (pictured above in Barbie)‚ Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords)‚ Emma Myers (the titular character’s roomie in Wednesday)‚ Danielle Brooks (Peacemaker)‚ and the young Sebastian Eugene Hansen. This concoction of actors begs speculation about what the plot of Minecraft will be. Will the young Hansen‚ who plays a boy named Henry‚ become sucked into the block-shaped Minecraft world? If Black is playing Minecraft Steve‚ who the heck is Momoa playing? And what will these movie stars look like on-screen‚ given most of them are likely from the universe of Minecraft‚ where everything is made out of blocks? The movie is currently filming in New Zealand‚ but we don’t know much about the plot yet. Director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite‚ Nacho Libre) has said‚ however‚ that he’s trying to “avoid an ‘Ugly Sonic’ situation‚” and that‚ “I just can’t disappoint the 10-year-olds‚ or they’re going to murder us.” He added‚ “Trying to adapt something that doesn’t have a story—it’s an open sandbox game… I like the challenge. There’s got to be a fun‚ ridiculous movie here. And there is.” Minecraft is set to premiere in theaters on April 4‚ 2025. The post <;i>;Minecraft Movie<;/i>; Adds More A-Listers to Cast‚ Including Kate McKinnon and Jemaine Clement appeared first on Reactor.

Rereads and Rewatches Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett Book Club: Where’s My Cow? By Emmet Asher-Perrin | Published on January 19‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed The cover says it’s a picture book for “people of all sizes‚” and I wish there were more of those‚ honestly. Summary We are reading Where’s My Cow? through the vantage point of Young Sam and his father (less young Sam). The story begins with the similar framing we’re given in Thud! explaining that Sam Vimes is sure to be home at six o’clock every evening to read Sam his book. Sam Vimes reads the book‚ and we’re told how well he does the various noises for all the animals—a lovely bit of meta-commentary within the story itself. But Vimes knows that the story is silly‚ and tells Young Sam that the subject of the book should report their lost cow to the City Watch. He thinks there should be a different version of the book that more accurately reflects his son’s experiences in the city where he’s growing up—not the country that he’s never seen. The very next night‚ he makes up a new version of book‚ about the reader looking for his father. He meets all sorts of strange folk though the city and learns their funny catchphrases. Suddenly‚ Sybil enters the room‚ wanting to be sure that Vimes isn’t getting Young Sam too excited. Sam pretends to go back to the regular version of the text. When Sybil has gone‚ Vimes finishes the story with the subject of the tale finding his daddy‚ who arrests people in the name of the law. Then he tucks Young Sam in and bids him goodnight. Commentary The picture book version of Where’s My Cow? is illustrated by Melvyn Grant‚ and it’s those illustrations that really make the whole exercise worth it. There are three distinct styles at play within the artwork: the illustrations from the original book itself‚ which are simple line drawings; the world outside‚ which is rendered more realistically‚ but also drab in color; and Sam’s nursery‚ which is also rendered in a realistic fashion‚ but full of color and light and anthropomorphized movement of inanimate objects. By the end of the story‚ all these styles combine on each page in an avalanche of movement and silliness. There’s the additional enjoyment of seeing various Discworld characters so fully rendered: Vetinari‚ Dibbler‚ Detritus‚ and so on. (And Sybil‚ my beloved‚ with her looming figure‚ so commanding and affectionate at the same time.) You can even see Gaspode with Foul Ole Ron. And then there’s the meta-fun of seeing the cover of the book inside the book itself as you’re reading the book. So you are being made into the snake eating its own tail‚ as it were. You’re participating in circle. Buy the Book Where's My Cow? Terry Pratchett Buy Book icon-close Where's My Cow? Terry Pratchett Buy this book from: Barnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget The movement within Sam’s nursery is perfectly indicative of the imagination of childhood and how alive our surroundings can seem when we’re very young and imbue anything with a personality. We’ve got a family dragon following them around‚ but Sam’s toys are alive‚ and so are his books‚ and all the furniture as well. Even the paint on the walls comes to life. On the last page‚ we can see that Sam’s toys are going to sleep along with him—but that painting with the flowers above his crib is still looking awfully three-dimensional‚ popping out of its frame. Probably because that’s always how Sam perceives it. Vimes is very clearly based on Pete Postlethwaite‚ which Pratchett always insisted was the Sam Vimes in his head. Grant gets a lot of mileage out of that by both being a great illustrator and having a great subject. Postlethwaite was a very expressive fellow‚ after all. Ultimately‚ however‚ this is a book about exactly what Vimes would want it to be about: a father enjoying time with his son. Every page is plastered with images of them together‚ having fun and making each other laugh. Because some things are important‚ as he says. And if you happen to read it to your own kids (or share it with people you care for)‚ you can participate in that ritual as well. Asides and little thoughts: Melvyn Grant has done illustrations for plenty of books‚ but his most interesting credits are definitely his Iron Maiden album covers. He did five of them‚ including Fear of the Dark. There’s an illustration of Pratchett on the wall of Sam’s nursery (you can see him on the last page)‚ which would make him one of Sybil’s relatives presumably within the story? I wonder which one… Okay‚ but I posit that if Pete Postlethwaite was the person Pratchett envisioned for Vimes and he is no longer with us‚ the logical successor to that mantle is Christopher Eccleston. (It’s difficult because they’re both too tall to my mind‚ but Eccleston is still the right fit from Postlethwaite.) Pratchettisms: “Your cow will be found. If if has been impersonating other animals‚ it may be arrested. It you are a stupid person‚ do not look for your cow yourself. Never try to milk a chicken. It hardly ever works.” Next week we’ll start Making Money! We’ll read Chapters 1-3. The post Terry Pratchett Book Club: <;i>;Where’s My Cow?<;/i>; appeared first on Reactor.

News Fountain of Youth Film Picks Up Natalie Portman‚ John Krasinski and Eiza González By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on January 19‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed More From Apple See All Posts News Academy Awards Here Are the Genre Films That Scored 2024 Oscar Nominations By Vanessa Armstrong January 23‚ 2024 News sci-fi tv Traveling to Outer Space Will Mess Up Your Mind‚ According to Constellation Trailer By Vanessa Armstrong January 22‚ 2024 News Jurassic Park Welcome to Even More Jurassic Park: New Jurassic World Movie in the Works at Universal By Vanessa Armstrong January 22‚ 2024 Featured Essays Star Wars Rebooting Star Wars Is a Great Idea‚ Actually By Charlie Jane Anders January 23‚ 2024 Comment 3 icon-left-caret Caret See All Posts Apple TV and Skydance are moving full steam ahead on a thriller where the MacGuffin everyone is searching for is… a real (maybe) fountain of youth. According to Deadline‚ the team is shaping up‚ with Eiza González announced as part of the cast today‚ joining Natalie Portman (pictured above in Thor: Love and Thunder)‚ John Krasinski‚ and Domhnall Gleeson on the call sheet. The movie‚ which has a script from James Vanderbilt (Zodiac‚ the last two Scream films) centers on “estranged siblings‚” played by Krasinski and Portman‚ who find themselves involved in a global heist to uncover the Fountain of Youth that actually keeps people young. Well‚ maybe. The brother and sister must “use their knowledge of history to follow clues on an epic adventure‚” according to Deadline‚ which gives me strong National Treasure vibes‚ something I’m far from complaining about. The search for the fountain of youth also gives me whiffs of 2021’s The Jungle Cruise‚ starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. (Side note: Blunt and Krasinski are married; could she have told her husband that all the best movies include the search for a mythical fountain that will make people immortal? Also‚ will this upcoming movie feature a rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young?” It will be a lost opportunity if not. Hire me Hollywood!) To give you another sense of what Fountain of Youth will be like‚ none other than Guy Ritchie (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.‚ Aladdin‚ 2009’s Sherlock Holmes) will be directing the project. No news yet when the film will find its way to a theater near you. The post <;em>;Fountain of Youth<;/em>; Film Picks Up Natalie Portman‚ John Krasinski and Eiza González appeared first on Reactor.

Featured Essays math Speculative Extrapolation: Five SF Visions of the Future‚ According to Math By James Davis Nicoll | Published on January 22‚ 2024 icon-comment 3 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed More From Cyril Kornbluth See All Posts Rereads and Rewatches Military Science Fiction Hope Amid Horrors: Redliners by David Drake By Alan Brown January 23‚ 2024 Comment 0 Book Recommendations A Vicious And Enthralling First Contact: Seth Dickinson’s Exordia By Charles Bonkowsky January 23‚ 2024 Comment 0 Rereads and Rewatches Star Trek: Enterprise Star Trek: Enterprise Rewatch: “Terra Prime” By Keith R.A. DeCandido January 22‚ 2024 Comment 2 Book Recommendations Science Fiction Incompetence Is Inevitable: Five Books That Illustrate the Peter Principle By James Davis Nicoll January 17‚ 2024 Comment 1 icon-left-caret Caret See All Posts Between June and late December‚ I noticed a disturbing trend. Daylight hours shortened day by day. Where we once had 15 hours of daylight‚ we now have a paltry 9. That is a loss of one hour of daylight per month. At that rate‚ by September of 2024‚ there will be no more daylight and night will rule eternal over a frozen wasteland.1 I am not alone in embracing the power of extrapolation. After all‚ if there’s one thing that experience teaches us‚ it is that short term trends always continue without bound—or at least they have over the month or so I tracked them. What futures await can be foreseen using simple math. Perhaps fictional examples of such extrapolations might help. Take the following five… Media Advertising has increased its impact on society over the last century. Shiny brochures assure us that the increasingly sophisticated methods available to the folks on Madison Avenue point towards a future in which convincing a skeptical public to back even a dubious candidate or policy will be as trivial as convincing them to buy an Edsel.2 Frederik Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth explored some implications of this trend in their 1952 classic‚ The Space Merchants. By the era in which The Space Merchants is set‚ vast corporations dominate the Earth. Their rule is dependent on skilled media companies presenting the masses with enticing messaging that is little inhibited by grim facts like material shortages‚ rampant pollution‚ or (as in the case of the upcoming Venus Project) the fact that Venus is unsuited for human occupation. Star-class copywriter Mitch Courtney of Fowler Schocken advertising agency‚ assigned the Venus Project‚ provides the reader with a thrilling tour of the high-stakes corporate politics in a world where truth is whatever the client wants truth to be. Fuel The world runs on fossil fuels. The total potential supply of oil is fixed (new oil reserves form far slower than humans use them up). There are finite quantities of fossil fuels. In fact‚ US oil production peaked in 1970. In the early 1970s‚ future known reserves were often given as about 30 years. Simple extrapolation reveals that all the oil would have been sucked out of the ground during the early years of the second Bush administration or given increasing demand‚ perhaps during the Clinton administration. The setting of Michael P. Kube-McDowell’s 1985 Emprise is shaped by two coincidental developments. The first is the Weak Force Intermodulation Projector‚ a cunning device that renders nuclear power generators as inert as the nuclear weapons the modulator was created to squelch. The second was the entirely foreseeable end to cheap power as oil reserves ran out without a nuclear option to replace them. Result: a new (although mercifully short) dark age of poverty‚ ignorance‚ and famine. Speed Between 1900 and 1960 the top speed achieved by human vehicles increased three hundredfold‚ from about 100 kilometers per hour to about 30‚000 kilometers per hour. This is equivalent to an annual increase in speed of about ten percent per year. Sixty-plus years having elapsed since 1960‚ it follows logically that top speeds should have increased another three hundredfold‚ to about 9 million kilometers per hour‚ just shy of 1 percent of the speed of light. To someone in 1960‚ it would have been unclear how this could be achieved. However‚ the math is a compelling argument that some path to these prodigious velocities must exist. Joe Haldeman’s 1974 classic The Forever War details an interstellar war facilitated in part by the development of tachyon-emitting rockets.3 Unbounded by the mass ratios of conventional rockets‚ tachyon-emitting rockets enable humans to traverse interplanetary and intrastellar distances as easily as navies traversed the oceans in the early 20th century. In combination with relativity and the astonishing discovery that collapsars provide instantaneous travel over galactic distances4‚ the tachyon rocket facilitates a largely pointless interstellar war that persists for centuries. Population Thanks to such factors as large families‚ decreasing infant death rates‚ and increasing lifespans‚ not only did the human population of Earth reach an astonishing 3.5 billion people by 1968‚ but it was reported that number was growing at slightly more than 2 percent per year. A straightforward calculation shows that the current global population must be somewhere in the vicinity of eleven billion people.5 Although it’s hard to imagine the hellish overcrowded world that math assures us we live in‚ science fiction has done its best. Consider J.G. Ballard’s 1964 story “Billennium.” Unlike some other authors‚ Ballard has faith that human institutions will find ways to feed the ever-expanding population. What governments cannot do is make land area.6 Accordingly‚ Ballard’s hapless protagonists live in buildings with ever-shrinking apartments. Circumstances encourage ingenious solutions to the problem of living space. Nuclear Proliferation Between 1945 and 1964 the number of nations with nuclear weapons increased five-fold‚ an increase of about nine percent per year. The number of extant nuclear weapons increased from three to thousands. Simple math suggests that over the next 60 years‚ the number of nations with nuclear arsenals could have grown to about 800.7 These nations would control many millions of nuclear warheads (in sum‚ not cooperatively). Nevil Shute’s 1957 On the Beach is but one novel to explore the disturbing implications of rampant nuclear proliferation. Legions of small‚ irresponsible nations armed with inexpensive nuclear weapons led to a catastrophic war that utterly depopulated the Northern hemisphere. Only those lucky enough to be in the Southern hemisphere survive…but only for the months it will take deadly fallout to reach the south. There is nothing to be done but accept inevitable death with dignity. Extrapolation is a powerful technique‚ one that allowed the authors of the past to predict the stupendously capable‚ impoverished‚ overcrowded‚ utterly depopulated world in which we’re apparently now living. These are merely a few examples of what can be accomplished using this simple method. There are many more. If I have somehow overlooked your favourite examples‚ as a simple extrapolation from past essays suggests I have‚ comments are (as ever) below. [end-mark] I will admit that I am unsure how to model an October 2024 day with negative one daylight hour. ︎The Edsel was an American car. Canadians can consider this as equivalent to a “Bricklin SV 1.” ︎Tachyon rockets emit particles travelling faster than light. The rockets themselves do not exceed C. ︎Not to mention the terrifically convenient coincidence that one of the Solar System’s nearest neighbors is a collapsar. The universe itself is compelled to accommodate the power of extrapolation! Or at least the imagination of the author. ︎The population should be even larger because the growth rate itself grew over the course of the 20th century. By now the annual growth rate could be four or five percent and the population fifteen or twenty billion. ︎Governments could try to make more land or make people smaller‚ but that’s a subject for another essay. ︎Given that there weren’t 800 nations in 1960‚ we should have expected a wave of regionalism‚ separatism‚ and pocket nations. Tom Lehrer suggests another solution‚ which is for subnational regions and NGOs to acquire nuclear weapons. ︎The post Speculative Extrapolation: Five SF Visions of the Future‚ According to Math appeared first on Reactor.

Theme/Series/Column SFF Bestiary Investigating the Mothman: The Paranormal Shows Tackle the Famous Cryptid By Judith Tarr | Published on January 22‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed More From cryptids See All Posts Theme/Series/Column SFF Bestiary Playing Paranormal Pinball: John Keel’s The Mothman Prophecies By Judith Tarr January 16‚ 2024 Comment 0 Book Recommendations cover reveal Revealing A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang By Tor.com January 18‚ 2024 Comment 0 Theme/Series/Column SFF Bestiary Tracking the Cryptic Cryptid: The Mothman Prophecies (2002) By Judith Tarr January 8‚ 2024 Comment 0 Theme/Series/Column SFF Bestiary Let’s Talk About Cryptids By Judith Tarr January 2‚ 2024 Comment 0 icon-left-caret Caret See All Posts I had hopes that John Keel’s The Mothman Prophecies would focus more on the cryptid than it did. Mostly‚ it turns out‚ the book is about John Keel. Like the film that’s loosely based on it (as one witty commenter on the former noted)‚ it’s too much Man‚ too little Moth. Luckily for my insatiable curiosity‚ paranormal TV fills the gap as ably as mass entertainment can. Any show that investigates the unexplained will tackle Mothman sooner or later‚ and shows about monsters and cryptids can hardly avoid it. Mothman is an icon‚ and nobody knows what he is or if he even exists at all. What everyone agrees on is that in and around Point Pleasant‚ West Virginia‚ between November 1966 and the collapse of the Silver Bridge in December 1967‚ over a hundred people saw something. The day the bridge fell‚ the sightings stopped. The thing they saw was large‚ winged‚ and distinguished by huge glowing red eyes. Bicycle reflector size‚ witnesses said. It mostly seemed to appear around an abandoned TNT plant on the outskirts of town. People who saw it felt overwhelming terror—but they were also seeking it out‚ taking joyrides out to the plant to see if they could catch a sighting. Although Point Pleasant seems to have been the first appearance of the creature‚ there have supposedly been sightings since in other locations‚ including Chicago and La Crosse‚ Wisconsin. MonsterQuest’s Season 4 Episode 5 (2010) focuses on the La Crosse sighting of a huge winged creature with glowing red eyes‚ but also harks back to Point Pleasant. It describes a sighting in Sacramento as well‚ complete with video footage. The creature appears to be a harbinger of doom‚ though the only disaster it seems to have predicted is the Silver bridge. MonsterQuest declares itself on the side of science. The investigators propose that the huge red-eyed monster is actually a large‚ predatory bird‚ though they don’t quite commit to whether it’s a familiar species—a barred owl‚ for example—or one as yet unknown to conventional zoology. One team determines that the countryside around La Crosse might support a large winged creature‚ but they find no evidence of one. Another‚ back in Point Pleasant‚ demonstrates the unreliability of eyewitness reports. They set up wooden Mothman silhouettes of different sizes‚ complete with illuminated reflectors for eyes‚ and have people drive by them and then report on what size they thought the different figures were. The estimates range from a little bit off to way off‚ and often err on the side of too big rather than too small. Another experiment raises more questions than it answers. A police sketch artist works with witnesses to develop images of the various sightings‚ from Sacramento to Point Pleasant. All of them seem to him to be quite similar. He believes they’ve been seeing the same creature. I’m inclined to wonder about cross-contamination. People hear about Mothman‚ see a big flying thing with red eyes‚ their brains process the image as the famous monster. Monsters and Mysteries in America Season 3 (2015) devotes the whole of Episode 10 to John Keel’s theories about the events in Point Pleasant. Keel of course believes Mothman and his attendant phenomena are extradimensional beings—not extraterrestrial but ultraterrestrial. But Keel is a bit of an outlier among Mothman theorists‚ even though his book and the film on which it’s based actually put Mothman on the popular paranormal map. The end of the episode takes off in a weird direction‚ with investigator Andy Colvin exploring the chemical plant in Point Pleasant and encountering a shimmering light show and a shadowy figure. “Andy Colvin saw only one way out—through the veil‚” the narrator intones. Colvin thinks Mothman may be the Native American Thunderbird‚ and he’s not necessarily evil. He just is. Which is more or less what Keel concluded. The Mothman Sightings (2020) is part of a series called In Search of Monsters. We get the whole range of history here‚ from ancient Sumeria—none other than Pazuzu‚ the winged demon of the Exorcist sequels—to Point Pleasant and beyond. This Mothman’s eyes have hypnotic powers‚ which ups the ante on John Keel’s descriptions of witnesses struck with abject terror. The episode asks whether Mothman is “a campfire story that got out of control‚ or… is it real?” Of course‚ the episode notes‚ it’s also possible the cryptid was a terrestrial bird‚ either an owl or a sandhill crane. Owls are the right shape if not the right size‚ as MonsterQuest observed‚ and their eyes glow red in the dark. Cranes are the right color and closer to the right size. But this show is not here to stop at conventional reality. It segues to an eyewitness report that features a carload of teenagers out looking for a sighting and getting one—and the US military showing up and throwing them out of the abandoned chemical plant in Point Pleasant. It’s reminiscent of John Keel’s Men in Black warning people against talking about what they’ve seen. Clearly there’s something going on‚ some sort of secret government experiments. Unconventional weapons? Mutant supersoldiers? Whatever it is‚ the government doesn’t want us to know. Or maybe the government has nothing to do with it. Mothman is a supernatural force‚ a harbinger of doom‚ come to warn of an impending disaster. “There is in fact a death curse that’s been associated with the Mothman in particular‚” declares cryptozoologist Ken Gerhard. People who see the creature have been known to die prematurely and mysteriously (notwithstanding all the witnesses to the Point Pleasant sightings who are still alive and still telling their stories). Case in point: a young couple who believe they’ve been stalked by Mothman for a decade‚ “and it’s been pretty much destroying our lives.” What they describe is a standard paranormal predicament: a haunting that’s attached itself to them‚ with poltergeist activity and disembodied voices uttering threats and warnings. So of course they mount an expedition to the TNT factory‚ because if things are already bad‚ why not escalate? I watch a lot of ghosty shows. In the context of that thought-universe‚ if it’s a negative entity‚ also known as a demon‚ it’s going to feed on their fears. They want it to be Mothman? Then Mothman they’ll get. It doesn’t prove anything except that there’s something preying on these two people‚ and it’s not nice at all. It makes dramatic television. It doesn’t add much to Mothman lore‚ compared to a sighting in 1952 in Braxton County‚ West Virginia‚ not terribly far from Point Pleasant. This featured a UFO and a huge figure with—yes—glowing red eyes. Was that the arrival of the Mothman? Was the Mothman an extraterrestrial? Even John Keel admits that the Mothman sightings in Point Pleasant were accompanied by dozens of UFO sightings. Keel had less than no use for UFOs as spacecraft‚ but whatever they were or are‚ they proliferated in and around Mothman in 1966 and 1967. It’s a short step from alien spaceships to the conjecture that Mothman arrived in one. Whether Mothman is extraterrestrial or interdimensional or straight-up demonic‚ it’s not restricted to Point Pleasant. Witnesses have seen it in Houston‚ in Cornwall in the UK‚ and in 2017‚ in Chicago. These flying humanoids seem to stake out territory in specific areas‚ and there may be far more than one. They’re all over the world. Whatever they are‚ wherever they come from‚ they’re as real as belief makes them. That‚ really‚ is the essence of a cryptid. People want to believe. What they believe varies widely‚ but the belief is a constant. Even the debunkers can’t or won’t declare definitively that the creature does not exist—only that a particular sighting or set of sightings might be a misidentification of a much more mundane bird or animal. It still might exist. Somewhere out there. Maybe. [end-mark] The post Investigating the Mothman: The Paranormal Shows Tackle the Famous Cryptid appeared first on Reactor.