ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Thinking Outside the "Plot"!
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~ A Question for the Members: ET and all his alien buddies are obviously the ultimate pacifist. That's admirable, of course . . . but the existence of mankind is solid proof that there are sentient beings in the galaxy who are considerably less kindly than ET’s species.

So, is ET's home planet a treasure trove of high-tech science and invaluable information about thousands worlds which these dedicated scientists have explored? It would seem so, based on what we see in the movie.

But . . . is this planet completely undefended from the more savage species who might want to harvest this world's riches? Can any of us imagine these gentle aliens as being able to defend their world against alien attackers?

~ My Theory: The answer to the above question is, "Hell no!"

So, the only hope for ET's species is to have an arrangement with another species who IS skilled in warfare — beings who will protect ET's planet.

For the sake of this discussion, let's call these defenders the Torkoni (pronounced tor connie'). They are a brave and noble species who value the knowledge which ET's race — which we’ll call the Etonians (e tony' an) — and the Torkoni are dedicated to insuring that the Etonian's planet is protected from any aggressive species.

The Torkoni maintain an armada around Etonia, using super-advanced starships with amazing armament.





The various alien species who want to plunder ET's world would know that challenging the Torkoni would be dangerous, because the ultra-high-tech Etonians have enhanced their loyal protectors’ weapons to give them an edge over their enemies, thus allowing both them and their protectors to feel safe from the more hostile alien civilizations.





And therein lies the plot of a great story.

If a traitor among the Torkoni started selling military secrets to one of their enemies, the Etonians would be in great danger when the Torkoni suddenly have to face a species who are armed with weapons as powerful as their own!





Let’s call the enemy race who steals the technology the Razaques (raz' zaks).

Furthermore, if the Razaques offered to ally themselves with one of more other alien civilizations who also wanted to defeat the Torkoni and capture the Etonian treasure trove of technology, the Torkoni would be doomed — and ET's planet would be enslaved!





Obviously the stakes are high, and the potential plot twists are more complicated than the Los Angeles freeway! So, has anybody got a few good suggestions for this story concept?

Maybe Spielberg is one of All Sci-Fi's “guests”, and he’ll offer to buy the idea!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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GREAT MOVIES FROM THE 1980s!

The 1980s turned out to be a sort of 2nd Golden Age of Science Fiction. This movie is an example. Here's why.
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E.T. was a step in the right direction for the sci-fi lovin' folks who wanted stories that weren't too grim. The other movies in 1982 which fit that bill have threads at these links; Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn and Tron.

On the other hand, there were plenty of folks who wanted science fiction on the darker side. And so we were treated to films like Blade Runner and The Thing

What movies do you remember from 1982, and which ones were your favorites?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Good lord! I had forgotten how incredible this four-minute video is! The filmmakers created a radio controlled / rod puppet of E.T. for this amazing short film!

The ending of the video affected me the same way the ending of the movie did.

It is awesome . . .

Extended Cut | E.T. Came Home For Christmas 🎄☝️ | Sky Christmas Ad 2019


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

[Bud Brewster]

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Today I spent a pleasant afternoon comparing the two versions of this movie — the original theatrical release and the altered version which many fans have criticized.

I must confess, I don't blame Steven Speilberg for changing a few things in his original movie. I have freguently used applications like Paint.net to improve my own artwork (all of which was done several decades ago), after realizing that I could make these paintings look much better!

And so, today when I watched both versions of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial I realized that Spielberg's alterations were the result of the same kind of personal growth as an artist which compelled me to improve the artwork I created when I was much younger!
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The first major improvement I noticed was the way Spielberg altered E.T.'s incredible sprint through the forests when he was trying to get back to the spaceship before it lifted off.

In the original version, E.T. races along through the dense foliage at a speed that's clearly impossible for a creature who waddles around throughout the rest of the movie on legs about 12 inches long!

All we see in that early scene are brief shots of his glowing "heart light" rushing past the camera as he plows through the vegetation.

During my first viewing of this movie in back in 1982, I spent the rest of film expecting to see a scene in which E.T.'s legs extended the same way his neck did from time to time!

But of course . . . that never happened.

However, in the extended version, we see E.T.leaping through the undergrowth, bouncing along like an extra-terrestrial kangaroo!

So, perhaps his legs were indeed able to extend, like his neck did in several scenes. But what we see in the extended version does not suggest that he suddenly looked like an extra-terrestrial basketball player!

Instead, E.T. was obviously able to leap rapidly when necessary. And I can easily accept tha!
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Concerning other altered or traditional scenes — at the 30 minute mark in the extended version, we see a previously deleted scene with Elliot and E.T. in the bathroom after the young boy faked illness so his mom would let him stay home from school.

This restored scene shows us a bit more of how the relationship between the two characters developed.

It also includes scenes of E.T. which would have been difficult to do with the "practical FX" used in the original film — such as when E.T. deliberately tumbles into the bathtub and lays down under the water!

The CGI is actually well done.
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On the other hand, this wonderful movie includes a few contradictions when it comes to E.T.'s telekinetic abilities.

For example, he demonstrates that he can lift objects and make them fly around Eliot's room — and then later he flies both himself, Elliot, and their bicycle several miles over the forest so they can set up the communication device E.T. assembled.

And later still, he lifts six of the boys on bicycles right up off the street and flies them to the landing site of the returning ship!

Gosh, this makes me wonder why E.T. didn't just fly himself back to his spaceship before it lifted off in the movie's early scene!

Oops . . .
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And then, of course, there's the infamous scene in which the federal agents brandish shotguns at the roadblock which was set up to stop this group of dangerous young boys who try to escape with the invaluable, miraculously revived alien life form!

Obviously this was the dumbest scene the whole film. For God's sake, why would federal agents threaten six young boys with shotguns while they were in possession of an alien life form which had suddenly been resurrect from death!

Frankly, guys, I admire Spielberg for acknowledging this serious mistake and then using modern technology to fix it!
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Gentlemen, I realize that there are devoted fans who object to any alteration of a film which they love, after it has been released. But brilliant film makers sometime make bad decision which they later regret.

Fortunately, today's technology permits them to rectify these errors. Equally fortunate is the fact that this same technology often permits us to chose which version we prefer!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Take a look at the great four-minute video which is three posts above this one, and then watch this amazing eight-minute video about how it was made!

And don't forget to read the post I wrote today, which is right above this post.

The Making Of | E.T. Came Home For Christmas 🎄☝️ | Sky Christmas Ad 2019


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Steven Spielberg recently said in an interview that he was extremely protective of Drew Barrymore during filming of the movie.

Partly because the little girl thought the E.T. puppet was real and she'd talk to him between scenes.

The other reason is he knew that her home life was highly dysfunctional.

[Bud Brewster]

[scotpens]

[Krel]

As much hell as Stanley Kubrick put the cast of "The Shinning" through, he was VERY protective of the kid (sorry, too lazy to look up his name). The kid said that it wasn't until years later, when he saw the movie on TV that he found out it was a horror film.

Kubrick structured the filming so the kid never realized what kind of movie he was in. Pretty impressive if you think about the effort that required.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

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Call me old fashioned, but I wish filmmakers wouldnt make movies like this one for adults to see!

Gee, ain't reality terrible enough without there being movies that make us pay to experience these horror? What I love about movies is way they inspire mankind to do better!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)