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Pow
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Joined: 27 Sep 2014
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Location: New York
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 Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2021 6:06 pm Post subject: |
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And leave us not forget Mara's co-starring role in the classic Willis O'Brien movie "Black Scorpion."
Wish "Tarantula" had also been a stop-motion animated giant creature. |
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
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Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Pow wrote: | | Wish "Tarantula" had also been a stop-motion animated giant creature. |
Forgive me, Mike, but as much as I love stop motion, I really think the way the tarantula was presented in this movie was much more effective than a stop motion one would have been.
All Harryhausen could have done was endeavor to make the animation look just as real as a slow-moving spider — and smooth, slow animation is not only tough to do, it's very time consuming. And not very exciting. 
With that in mind, if a movie about a horde of horse-sized spiders marching across the desert was done with animation, it would require a team of animators, all trying to produce results that imitated the real thing.
As for the imaginary sequel (which we might call Army of Arachnids), after pondering what new and unexpected wrinkle we could add to this story, if occurred to me that perhaps these creatures aren't just bigger . . . they're smarter!
That's not an original idea, of course, because ants are incredible "team players", and what I'm suggesting is that these spiders act more like ants. When the military tries eradicate them, the spiders defend themselves in ways that suggest a high degree of instinctive cooperation.
Remember, they're all the offspring of the giant spider whose physiology was drastically altered by the "nutrient" that Leo G. Carroll fed her.
Naturally I'm not suggesting that the individual spiders have 130 IQs. Besides, the idea that they have the sort of instincts for cooperation which ants have is much creepier — especially when each spider is about the size of a Toyota Camry!
One element in this story should be the fact that the spiders will die shortly after they mate. That being the case, the military would be told by the arachnologists that the giant spiders will try to find mates when they get to the Comanche National Grassland south of La Junta, Colorado, where many female spiders are found in their burrows, waiting for male partners.
Unfortunately, the normal spiders can't mate with the Big Boys, so there's no danger that a new generation of giant tarantulas will be produced.
Or . . . is there!? 
I haven't figured out yet what else happens in the story.
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Gord Green
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 11:20 pm Post subject: |
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Actually, except for some of the matte lines, this was not a bad special effect effort!
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child. |
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Bud Brewster
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| Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2021 1:06 pm Post subject: |
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Agreed! 
By the way, the idea of a herd of tarantulas that act like an ant colony has some really interesting possibilities.
Ants can immobilize their prey with stings, and tarantulas do the same thing. The difference is that ants then work as a team to take their prey back to the ant colony, whereas a lone tarantula simply devours the prey on the spot.
So, what would "organized spiders" do with stunned prey — like human beings?
Creepy thought, eh?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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scotpens
Space Sector Commander
Joined: 19 Sep 2014
Posts: 919
Location: The Left Coast
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| Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2021 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Gord Green wrote: | Actually, except for some of the matte lines, this was not a bad special effect effort!
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That, and the fact that the giant tarantula didn't cast a shadow in the bright desert sunlight! |
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Bud Brewster
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| Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2021 11:10 am Post subject: |
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Although I'll agree that the special effects aren't perfect, I don't think these minor flaws really prevent anyone from both enjoying and admiring this fine movie. 
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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GETTING TO KNOW OUR FAVORITE MONSTERS!
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We love the giant monsters from our favorite sci-fi films, but just how much science and how much fiction is involved in these movies?
I went looking for videos which reminded me of the great educational film we were treated to in Them!, and here's one that fits the bill perfectly!
Enjoy!
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________ Giant Tarantula | National Geographic
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
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Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2024 3:48 pm Post subject: |
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Let's Create a Sequel!
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~ A Question for the Members: Let's assume the Leo G. Carroll's formula for the growth-stimulating nutrient was not lost in the laboratory fire. If that were the case, both the government and private industry would be interested in using it to stimulate the growth rate and size of various animals which are raised as food.
What story ideas would that suggest?
~ Here's what I came up with.: Imagine an experiment being conducted on an Oklahoma farm where the super-nutrient is being tested. Groups of cows, pigs, and chickens are being fed the nutrient — and the place is stated to look like something out of Food of the Gods.
A team of scientists are monitoring the growth of the animals as they attempt to modify the formula so that the growth rate can be controlled. Eventually the have cattle that stand twenty feet tall!
But whenever any of the animals continued to grow in spite of a new version of the formula, the animals are destroyed and cremated to prevent the environment from being contaminated by the meat.
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However, one evening the large incinerator on the farm breaks down, and several cattle carcasses are left inside the large shed where the dead animals are stored before being cremated.
During the night a pack of wolves get into the shed and dine on one of the cattle carcasses.
Several weeks later, the pack of oversized wolves begin raiding the cattle pens and killing the over-sized animals. This accelerates their growth rate even more, and within a week the wolves in the pack measure eight feet high!
The unnatural growth rate causes deformities which gives the wolves a monstrous appearance!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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