New Sci Fi media and messages and... fun?

Traditionally, I try to avoid politics on the weekend and focus instead on much less disgusting goings on... like dystopias, apocalypses and science fiction! Still, we're in a sci fi world right now... Robert Heinlein predicted the "Crazy Years" and we've been spiraling into something truly weird.

So tune in at the end of this posting for what I am hoping, for this Sunday's U.S. Presidential Debate.

For now, though -- sci fi!

ASU’s Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative just published Everything Change: An Anthology of Climate Fiction: a free digital collection featuring 12 stories from ASU's global Climate Fiction Short Story Contest. The book includes a foreword by Kim Stanley Robinson (the lead judge for the contest) and an interview with Paolo Bacigalupi. Free to download.

How about the new Star Trek? Sure, I have some disagreements with the J.J. Abrams conceptual reboot… but it’s still way cool stuff.  Frankly, we need the ambiance and underlying assumptions of Trek… that our children might – conceivably – be better than us.  It’s what we want. Yet the gloom and stupidity industries (Hollywood) seem to think you cannot tell a story that will sell tickets, if you let even a glimmer of hope raise its head.  See where I appraised this in my published piece on Trek…

See this speculation about how Game of Thrones will end leaves out one factor… that George R. R. Martin has been trying hard to show readers and viewers how bloody awful feudalism is! Okay, so none of you got that.  Wallow in the blood and oppression and infantile behavior and extremes of human nastiness while rooting for the marginally less-nasty!

But maybe, just maybe, the underdog common folk may have the last say.

== Rant-mode on! ==

 It may surprise you, given that I deem Yoda to be the most evil character ever, in the history all versions and forms of human storytelling... but I have no objections to his appearing in Episode 8 of Star Wars. After all, he lied to Luke endlessly about everything, so why not about "dying"? 

Poor Luke is an okay dude but a very dim bulb and on Dagobah he fell for the old Jedi "death fade-away" trick, which the vile green oven mitt pulled, just when Luke was ready to demand some answers!

Yes, yes, Mr. Abrams - while an absolute genius with characters - seems unable to imagine an original plot. He portrays Luke's new Jedi destroyed in exactly the same way that the original Jedi were. (Did I mention Luke is dim?) Luke then (The Force Awakens, Episode 7) goes on to precisely repeat Yoda's and Obiwan's cowardly actions - hiding away from the world, instead of trying to fix your own mistakes.

Only, if you actually think Yoda is anything but flat out super-Hitler, actually try sometimes tabulating the tens of billions of deaths he caused. And please, please come up with one... even one... genuinely wise and helpful thing the gnasty gnome ever really says.

He senses Anekin may be dangerous, yet foists him off to be trained by the most inexperienced master. He over-rules Mace every time Windoo says "let's tell the Republic what's going on!" Never once does he do his duty to the republic. 

There is zero reason to believe that the super smart gene crafters of Planet Kamino weren't telling the truth when they say that Yoda ordered up the clone army. Lucas doesn't even TRY to offer an alternative explanation. After all, who takes delivery of the clone army? Yoda!

When does he take delivery? Before he goes and orders all the Jedi into a suicide charge that kills 2/3 of them. He conveniently arrives with the clones JUST in time for that slaughter to be almost done.

Are you freaking kidding me? You noticed none of that? Yoda "dies" conveniently at the very instant when his dupe, poor Luke, is ready to look him in the eye and demand answers? W... T... F?

See this explored in more detail in Star Wars on Trial. I am giving you the tip of the iceberg, here.

The challenge stands. ONE genuinely wise and helpful thing that the little monster says. One. One. Offer up one.

Instead you have shit like "there is no try." Ooooooooooog

== a better Jedi ==

 Ursula LeGuin is deservedly praised as a giant of American letters. I also learned important things when I took a class from her, in grad school.  I am glad she has been receiving waves of commendation and recognition, almost-annually, all across the 21^st Century. (See her latest: The Complete Orsinia.) 

Still, LeGuin also represents the purest archetype of a literary maven who was given everything by science fiction – the liberty to express and develop a vast range of notions, ideas and thought experiments – and who was treated with respect by her SF peers and readers long, long before any discovery by the doyens of erudition... who has thereupon taken relentless pains to kick aside and spurn her first and most-generous love. From The New York Times: Le Guin has earned a rare honor. Just don't call her a Sci Fi writer. 

Oh, it is a fairly typical pattern. Kurt Vonnegut did it, as has Margaret Atwood, though both amended their disparagements at times, when brain and blood surged with that rare but precious trait called gratitude.  Heck, even Harlan Ellison gave in to the temptation, across a stretch of years when sycophants did what sycophants do – urging him to drop the pejoratively “career harmful” Science Fiction label. A harm that only happens because so many titans of exploratory fiction listened to the devil on their shoulders.

Fortunately, that era is passing. The best and brightest of a new generation – e.g. Paolo Bacigalupi, Michael Chabon, and Neil Gaiman  -- want no part of nasty ingratitude.  All refuse every invitation to re-name their writings “magic realism” or any other shill-concoction. They openly and proudly say: “I write science fiction; live with it.”  And the effects are starting to show.

Oh, it is still a very rare university lit or English department that promotes its science fiction lecturer with tenure. Hatred of SF – ironically the boldest and most-American of all genres – is still bilious and venom-drenched in those sections of campus.  But in New York literary circles, there’s been real movement. 

For example, The Atlantic, New Yorker and Harpers used to trade off a cycle of running hit pieces, savagely dissing SF, every 5 years or so. That cycle is shattered now, replaced by excellent survey articles by very with-it reviewers, every year.   

In other words, there is no longer even a fig leaf reason to perform rituals of churlish ingratitude toward the audacious genre of Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, Huxley, Butler and Kress.

It’s a habit. And it is never too late to outgrow such childish things.

...At the HIGH end!... 

Seth Rogen and partners are preparing a pilot for a TV series about… the Singularity.  Got some funny ideas on that.

Hip-hop scifi? Gift of Gab and Blackalicious, especially their excellent pop-rap song “Powers,” which is joyful and stunningly original. Follow Gift of Gab over to The Mighty Underdogs doing “Droppin’ Science Fiction!” Sci-fi rap!  Seriously!

Let’s add to my list of sci fi comics Star Power, which appears to have a more uplifting motif and sensibility. The sort of attitude we need more of, these days. 

... and finally... yes... the crazy (political) year...

Hillary Clinton seems determined to obey advisers, who urge her to fight Donald Trump using political "Sumo"... grunting and shoving for margins of undecideds over this or that exchange of insults or tax returns.  It is a bloody awful mistake.  

Oh sure... fight those fights.  But only doing that is exactly why Tim Kaine did badly, last week. What would work better is Judo!

I've offered riff after riff that could be effective.  But all of them depend on HC wanting to win the OVERALL election. Which means taking back what was once the greatest deliberative body on the planet from monsters who have turned the U.S. Congress into the laziest, most dogmatic and worthless in US history.  

What? Does she want to accomplish anything? Or is she content to commence 4 years of pure hell, the moment she enters office?

In the first debate, she used the word "Republican" just once! Coached to try to win over marginal republicans, she has played nice to a party that has become a travesty. How about actually taking this seriously?

-  Cite Reagan!  He famously said "The Democratic Party left me." Brilliant.  So USE THAT! Say "the Republican Party has left you, abandoned you to cozy up to oligarchs and ONLY oligarchs."

- Point out that no GOP leader between Reagan and Ryan was even mentioned during the recent RNC.*  Bush, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Hastert, Ailes... a long list of which the party is clearly ashamed, helping propel the Trump insurrection. And do not be afraid to mention the Bushes. You do not need their "support."

- Use the word LAZY to describe a Congress that almost never meets, passes no budgets, hates science, and avoids hearings about things that matter.  Lazy goes straight to character, bypassing typical divides. And it applies to republicans.

- Demand Trump appoint 5 distinguished conservatives to a commission to (1) check on accusations of election cheating AND (2) to supervise a trusted fact-checking service. With 5 democrats and 5 appointed by (say) Sandra Day O'Conner. Demand he name these sages THIS WEEK!  Or else admit he was bluffing.

- Lots of republicans dismiss Trump as a temporary disease-aberration. He is a symptom. Portray him as the natal outcome of Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes's takeover of US conservatism.

- Most metrics of US national health do far better across democratic administrations, even military readiness and the curve of change in deficits, which accelerate under republicans and slow down under democrats. And we'd be father along if the GOP congresses had passed the damn infrastructure bill.  Folks can understand this. 

- List the professions that Fox & pals attack! Not just science, teaching, journalism, medicine, economics… but all of them. Dare DT to name an exception.

Enough.  I got a million of them. But she's not reading this.  Nor are any of her stodgy, unimaginative and dismally-sumo-obsessed advisers.  All we can do is hope for the best.

=====
* Okay, Newt Gingrich got some time at the RNC. But think that one through. 

J.J. Abrams Awakens the Force

Okay we saw it.  Star Wars: The Force Awakens (SW:TFA), on Christmas Eve.  And although I am lead author — and “prosecuting attorney” — of the book Star Wars on Trial, and hence a leading critic of the series, I must admit that: 

(1) The newest installment of the franchise — directed by J.J. Abrams under Disney management — has none of the deeply objectionable traits of Episodes I, II, III and VI that I denounced in that controversial tome. Abrams and Disney shrugged off the lunacies George Lucas compulsively preached in those vividly colorful-yet-wretched flicks.

(2) On the other hand, TFA had less than I had hoped for, of the magic and brilliance of Episodes IV and V.  Alas.

But let’s do a scorecard of this film's Good aspects, its Okay ones, the Bad… and the Ugly.

WARNING: TOTAL SPOILERS AHEAD!  Including some if you've already seen the film.

The GOOD:

  Characters! … Character is J.J. Abrams's strong suit. We knew this from LOST, where we cared deeply about them all, despite there being no sense to the story. And to be clear, Mr. Abrams did the Star Trek characters very well, too -- individually and interacting, one-on-one.  Hence, no surprise, he worked the same magic here, in SW:TFA. These people were all well crafted, the actors well-directed, and I could feel them. Moreover, let there be no doubt that characters are the most important element in all types of drama, especially film. This alone made The Force Awakens worthwhile. 

More on characters, below. Grade A-

(Why the A-minus? Because after all, well, it is Star Wars and Abrams had a limited character palette to work with. But he worked it well.)

   Effects and visuals... These were always George Lucas's fixation and the one area where he always came through. The team he built delivered nicely in this latest film. Grade  A.

    Music...  I listened carefully for the themes for the new characters. They were nice, but did not tug at the heart quite as powerfully as I felt the riffs for Luke and Darth and Leia, back in the 1970s. All right, I was younger then. Solid Williams. Grade A-

The OKAY:

    Dialogue... I had so hoped for the sizzle of Laurence Kasden's earlier script, with the great Leigh Brackett, for The Empire Strikes Back.  Clearly, Mr. Abrams wanted it too, in re-hiring Kasden for another go!  Alas, while the script for SW:TFA is serviceable, getting us from point to point, it contains almost nothing truly memorable, this time.  

Well, at least it wasn't memorably awful, like the dialogue in Lucas's cringeworthy prequels. So, in fact, "serviceable" came as a huge relief. Grade B

     Memory lane indulgences... oh preserve us from the stunning need of all series directors to slavishly show us every beloved character in every possible coincidence, like the way Mr. Abrams made every classic Enterprise bridge officer be part of the very same Starfleet Academy class, and then bringing in Carol Marcus and Khaaaan. Oy.

Still, I give Mr. Abrams some credit for self-control this time. In fact, there were fewer of these self-indulgences than I feared, in SW:TFA. Just way too many.  (Though I admit it was a shock to re-encounter Edna Mode from The Incredibles in this flick, doing pretty much the same work. She does get around.)  C+

     Messages…. There were almost none! Which came as a relief, given how deeply George Lucas dived into propagandizing demigod-worship and spitefulness toward democracy or citizenship or common men and women. (ref: Star Wars on Trial.) I knew neither Disney nor Abrams would repeat that sickness — but there was no correction, either.  

Mind you, I kept hoping to hear that the Republic Fleet might show up and neutralize the First Order Armada, so that our heroes could do their thing. Would that have hurt?  Three extra minutes and some added battle-sizzle, while showing that the Republic and its quadrillion citizens can actually do something. Even in a supporting role?

But the damage to our notions of civilization self-confidence runs so deep that I do not blame Abrams for never thinking of it.  C+

     Sci Fi….  What’s to grade? This is not science fiction. Except briefly, in Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back, it never was. For example where does the First Order get its money, its industrial base? Where do these gigantic war machines suddenly appear from? Do folks on planets resent having their sons stolen to become janissary Storm Troopers? If one henchman - Finn - can refuse to shoot a couple of villagers, might another, somewhere in the guts of that giant weapon, balk at helping to kill billions? 

A sci fi flick might have contemplated realistic ways that conflicted good overcomes ornery-plausible evil. Star Trek has taken on that question in countless nuanced variations. 

Heck, if J.J. Abrams were ever to ask my advice (and he never will), I would suggest a plot device of a villain seeking to technologize access to the Force! How much more interesting that would be, than just inserting another Sauron-style emperor and another Darth Vader wannabee.

But Star Wars is not science fiction! It is fantasy of the old school: Good and Evil are archetypes of utter simplicity. Pure light versus pure dark. Sweet folk versus red-glowing eyes.  Pretty=good and ugly=evil. The Force Awakens does all this about as well as other flicks that wallow fantasy-obsessions like "long-ago" lords and mages and mystical mumbo, e.g. Tolkien, except that in Star Wars the wizard wands are light sabers.  

Oh, this could have been science fiction. But hey, that boat sailed long ago and so let's take the franchise for what it is. And heck, why deny myself a bona fide pleasure? I can enjoy a good fantasy wallow.  Grade___ pass. 

(Oh, can you dig it? In this photo I'm wearing the crew jacket from Kevin Costner's The Postman flick.  Don't get me started on THAT!)  

The BAD:

    Plot....  Lord help us, we should have known what to expect, after LOST and Star Trek: Into Darkness... If characters are J.J. Abrams's genius strong suit, plotting is pretty much hopeless.  

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (episode VII) is essentially a remake of Star Wars: A New Hope (ep.IV), starting with a dreamy youngster stuck on a desert world wearing beige-offwhite, who rescues a fugitive droid from scavengers and storm troopers. A droid containing a secret that might save the rebellion. Followed by a cantina scene, then a Millennium Falcon swoop-escape, then some tentacled monsters. After which we observe a helmeted baddy first report to an ugly-hissing hologram of an evil emperor, then see him leer and grill a captured princess aboard a giant planet-killer. At which point goodguy infiltrators lower the shields and have fun with a trash compacter...

... all of it culminating with a little ship diving or shooting into a big ship to blow it up from the inside.

Seriously, this makes FOUR out of seven flicks in which that happens. Four… out…of… seven. 

Really? Must you? Sure, character is more important than plot. Still, plotting matters. And here TFA gets a Grade D+

The UGLY... and a missed opportunity:

There were moments, alas, when I just had to fiercely quash all critical faculties in order to stay in the spirit of the film. I succeeded! (I get plenty of practice, alack.) But these tucked-away moments did come to mind, later. 

One was an embarrassing scene in the rebel base -- (will we ever see Leia actually use some force?) -- when some rebel warrior asks incredulously (I paraphrase) "But... but... isn't this just another damn Death Star?"  

To which came the lame answer - delivered in a voice that I swear sounded apologetic -  "But can't you see? This one is much BIGGER!" 

Seriously? The dial now goes to Eleven? Even the minor human characters are complaining and rationalizing, from inside the film itself!

But most of the lame scenes involved the lead villain: Kylo Ren. I mean, when he removed his helmet for the first time, transforming muffled echoes into normal (perchance rather whiney) tones, did you expect to find Rick Moranis under there? A part of me did. A part I hated! Because I really wanted to enjoy this flick...

...and I did! Truly, I did. Especially Max Von Sydow (!!!) doing his impression of Obiwan, first as a desert hermit, then getting struck down by Darth Junior. Only to come back later, more powerful than we can imagine? Oh Please? 

Still, dang, you couldn't have given Max Von Sydow a soliloquy? Just a little one? I mean... were you aware of the fact that you were aiming a camera at ... Max... Von... Sydow?

 ("There comes a time, barbarian, when jewels cease to sparkle, when gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father's love for his child." Now that was a movie!)

But getting back to Kylo Ren. Um, we’re supposed to be impressed that Ren’s light saber has teeny little cross guards? Feh. Get a midichlorian fix, dude. Grade D-

Summing up:

Sure, this flick was essentially a remake of A New Hope, punctuated with other borrowings. In fact, next time you watch ep.VII, try to count the number of scenes that weren't homages to other SW flicks. Like Rey going underground to encounter the Force, the way Luke did on Dagoba. 

Or like another father-son confrontation on a bridge. That wasn't a bad idea, actually, though meh-executed, deserving far better attention to masterful dialogue. At least Han could have done a remise on the most-famous line by saying: “remember your mother.”  

(Good death scene for Han, though.)

My favorite part of SW: TFA? The very last scene. It was well done and a fine capper. (And possibly Mark Hamill’s best acting, ever.) 

Still, ask yourself this. Did Luke have to repeat Yoda’s path so precisely? Allowing one apprentice to kill all his other apprentices and then, instead of fixing the problem, going into a sulking exile till some new-hope trainee shows up? Um, didn't Obiwan do that, too? I mean, how many such things must repeat endlessly before fans start to stir, take notice and demand… 

...okay, okay, the answer to that question, I already know. 

Know it, so do you. 
Obvious -- and sad -- it is. 
Never, will they demand better.

But let's end up positive, here! Another set of high points were Rey’s confrontations with Ren. Cool stuff. Well drawn and acted and directed. I like her. 

And Finn. And all the women in my life vote for Oscar Isaac's character "Poe" who has the "force" of enviable masculinity. As I said, J.J. Abrams knows characters! He is brilliant with characters, as George Lucas was brilliant with visuals. And yet, as Clint Eastwood said - so-wisely - in Magnum Force: “A man’s got to know his limitations.” 

Clearly, J.J. Abrams knows this (Lucas did not.) Hence Abrams hired Laurence Kasden to work magic. And it worked, somewhat.  Extra credit points for good intentions.

The crux?  

I’ll not bother railing against this one — nor shouting joy, as I did after the anomalously wonderful Empire Strikes Back.  This newest installment is a decent-entertaining flick, benefiting from near complete absence of earlier Lucasian poisons.  A solid, fun, self-indulgent and utterly repetitive-cliched good investment of twenty bucks and a couple of hours of lifespan.  I regret nothing… 

…partly because my expectations were so low, to start with.

Science Fiction Cinema

The next Star Trek film has a title! "Director Justin Lin just blew the lid off of the under-wraps-till-now title of the upcoming third film in the J.J. Abrams-produced Star Trek franchise."  We can look forward to....Star Trek Beyond. 

Meanwhile, I just wrote a new introduction for the book Star Wars on Trial, our hilarious-yet-intellectual dissection of the Jedi Universe (with many side riffs about Trek!)  Ben Bella Books is re-issuing this classic, with new introductory material and a humorously re-tweaked cover, to coincide with J.J. Abrams's release of "The Force Awakens," this fall. If you've never pondered the Philosophical Implications (and crimes!) of George Lucas's epic series, you have another chance.

For two competing science fictional visions of the future: see The Economics of Mad Max and Star Trek, by Tom Streithorst.  Very few sci fi tales portray a future worth living in or being proud of.  I talk elsewhere about why it is so rare.

How accurately are science and technology portrayed in movies and TV shows? Get your hands on a brand new book written by planetary scientist and fellow Hollywood science consultant Kevin Grazier (Battlestar Galactica, Defiance, Falling Skies) and journalist Stephen Cass: Hollyweird Science: From Quantum Quirks to the Multiverse, which takes a compelling look at how advances in cutting edge science have influenced Hollywood -- and how the imaginative visions of fiction have often inspired scientists. (See, for instance the article: Science Inspired Interstellar, and the film returns the favor.)

== Sci Fi Media ==

Two new TV spinoffs from great Sci fi films are in the works:

1) Minority Report (Fox) will be based on the 2002 film by Steven Spielberg. "It follows the unlikely partnership between a man haunted by the future and a cop haunted by her past, as they race to stop the worst crimes of the year 2065 before they happen."  

Perhaps riffing off the success of Jonathan Nolan's show Person of Interest -- which we are enjoying.

2) Limitless, a TV series sequel to the brilliant 2011 movie - (scripted by the even more brilliant Leslie Dixon) - picks up after the events of the film. Edward Mora (Bradley Cooper in a recurring role), now a powerful senator and presidential hopeful, reveals the power of the mysterious drug NZT to Brian Finch (Jake McDorman) — who is then coerced by the FBI into using his newfound cognitive abilities to solve complex cases.

A roundup of TV shows to catch:

Did you watch the series premiere of Humans -- a near future where artificial humans, Synths, serve as household servants and caretakers -- and humans begin to feel increasingly obsolete? Though we preferred some earlier explorations of the topic... for example the human cop and android partner show, Almost Human, as well as Halle Berry's Extant (where she portrays an astronaut raising an android son).

All of which explore vastly better on TV the same themes that were very poorly handled in dreary-pretentious Frankenstein remake films like Ex Machina. I mean, can we at least have some villagers with torches and pitchforks. What a waste of pixels and bits.

And more TV shows: Falling Skies and Under the Dome are also returning for a new season, along with Defiance and The Last Ship. There's the new Mr. Robot, which we haven't yet watched.

An adaptation of James Corey's The Expanse will premiere at the end of the year....as well as Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End. 

Yipe... are we entering some kinda sci fi golden age?

Nope. Not quite yet. Because I got tons of fresher ideas than these! When the phone rings, and people with green lights say "show us some concepts that aren't rehashes, David!"... that is when we'll really get rolling!   

== Darker Visions ==

Aw heck, while we're on the subject... George Martin has been slagged – and the directors of the Game of Thrones series – for depicting sexual violence against women.  George answers well in this interview.  But he does not drive home the point.  Which is: if you don’t like that kind of stuff, don’t romanticize the creepy-awful-horrid feudal way of life that trapped our ancestors – and especially women – for most of the last 10,000 years! (See my essay: Pining for Feudalism as an Antidote for Modernity.)

While the story and dramatization of The Game of Thrones are vividly captivating, they should also cure anyone of actually wanting anything like feudalism to even begin to rear its head outside of fantasy flicks, ever again.  And yet, I run into romantics who claim they would like to live in such a world… or that of Tolkien, or Frank Herbert’s Dune… oy!  

Dig it fools. Herbert and Martin wrote these nasty worlds so that millions will be girded to oppose any sign (and there are signs today) of a return to such monstrously unfair societies!

You activists who decry vividly cringeworthy depictions of behaviors that were common in the past … you are not true paladins of progress.  You should be praising this art form. 

“Look at what used to be normal in other civilizations!” you should cry. “This is the kind of thing we must make, and we are now making, extinct. Now fight to make this never reappear outside of fiction.”

No, the kind of "fantasy" tales that you should be opposing, denouncing and disdaining are those that gild and bowdlerize and burnish the image of feudalism, romanticizing it and suckering readers/viewers into yearning for that beastly way of life.  Now that is evil.

See?

Here’s a short interview with Frank Herbert about David Lynch's movie version of Dune. He knew Lynch was not going to deliver Star Wars. Great stuff… but remember this was way back in 1982. Note also, a complete lack of hostility by Frank toward Lynch, whose film version I think has been “lynched” by a mob mentality. In fact, I agree with Frank that it was pretty good at capturing as much of the book’s essence as can be crammed into a couple of hours. 

Worthy of support

Trenchant and observant and bitingly on-target cartoonist Tom Tomorrow currently has a kickstarter campaign going for his book 25 Years of Tomorrow.

Back to the Future trilogy is headed back to the big screen on Oct. 21 for a one-night event -- the exact date that Marty McFly, Fox’s time-hopping teenager, landed in Back to the Future Part II. The world isn’t exactly like the film predicted — Jaws 19 won’t be playing and the theater won’t be called a Holomax — but the future is always like that. Let’s all just work harder to make a cool one!

And finally... 

Okay, more remakes. Did anyone see the new Terminator movie: Genisys?  Was it any good? Maybe Arnold should stick to politics (I'd love to see him on stage in the Republican debates, kicking the hypocrites' butts.) Anyway, here's a guide to every Terminator, from T-1 to T-3000. Read io9 on Why Genisys had to destroy the Terminator in order to save it, which leads to a list of Terminator features "that no longer happened."

We are so gonna have to remake English with several new tenses.

A sequel to Blade Runner? Wired asked 7 Sci Fi authors what they'd like to see in Blade Runner 2.

Plus there's a new Alien movie in the works... I want Ripley to "wake up" and that horrid wretched Aliens 3 was just the nightmare she had on the trip home. She gets home safe with Newt. Only then word arrives....

Oh and now... the Independence Day sequel will be officially named “Independence Day Resurgence”. 

Hey. go for it. Only amid all the rehashes (some good, some awful) just remember this. 

People will eventually want something new.