RE: [Epic] 5th Element and Batman rant

From: <duckrvr_at_...>
Date: Sat, 24 May 1997 13:48:14 -0500

At 09:47 AM 5/23/97 -0500, you wrote:

>Julia Roberts? -> It's Uma Thurman ! (Pulp Fiction, etc ?)

I was pretty sure it was Julia. Probably because I haven't paid very close
attention to the trailers.

>(Also, J.R. ain't with Gere anymore, not for several years now...)

Um, that was a reference to the blow job scene in _Pretty Woman_, not her
personal life.

>Mr Freeze - I liked the Patrick Stewart rumor better, but Arnold may do
>OK. Chrome Suit: Subtle? NO!, but he's a big guy anyway, so he's gonna
>stand out - make him shiny, go ahead...

Patrick Stewart would have been a good choice, except that he is way too
small (but then so was Keaton).

>but fantasy movies don't have much of a track record...

I was talking about his with a friend of mine. I think it's because a
fantasy movie simply requires too much background development. There are
too many variations of magic and monsters and how it's all supposed to work.
OTOH, Sci-fi has several stock characteristics that everyone immediately
knows. this was especially true of cyber-punk (Keanu Reeves not
withstanding). If you consider the fantasy movies that are classic, they
are usually very close to real-world history, and the magic is very fuzzy,
and not central to the plot (as far as how magic works, that is).
Highlander, LadyHawke (passable), etc. came out as good movies because of
this. Sci-fi movies that are very rich in background, but not necessarily
"sci-fi cliches" also do very poorly, like the fantasy films. _Dune_ stand
out in my mind. OTOH, movies like _Star Wars_ (a western, set in space) are
extremely popular, because the science is based on very simple, commonly
known concepts.

Temp
Received on Sat May 24 1997 - 18:48:14 UTC