a new hope for sci-fi (and sci-fi/action) genre Film/TV

[jefferiestubes8]

Wired has an article today called Does Ridley Scott’s Prometheus Promise New Hope for Sci-Fi?

which is an interesting title which doesn't really get explored. The article doesn't inspire new scifi but rather a rehash of other scifi films since 1979.
I thought this article was going to be about sci-fi movies and the promise of positive views similar to 1960's utopian UFP in Star Trek. Or at least more than sci-fi/action ONLY films.
Other than comic book-based content for sci-fi/fantasy films we still don't have very many sci-fi or sci-fi/action films. 2010's Splice was one of those films that was actual sci-fi.

This was the best-looking sci-fi things I've seen (other than the trailers/stills for Prometheus):

trailer is titled “The Commissioning” and was created out of McCann Erickson agency twofifteenmccann and 343 Industries. The music was scored by Neil Davidge, of the band Massive Attack, who also created the music for the Halo 4 game.

Nicolai Fuglsig’s ‘Halo 4′ E3 2012 Trailer Imagines ‘Halo’ as a Live-Action Movie

the 1:40 length live-action trailer at the link.
wow. this is like what a Mass Effect movie would look like. It looks like parts of Avatar, Prometheus and yet it is shot against green screen with virtual sets. I love the look and would like to see more sci-fi done this way. BSG Blood & Chrome was done this way but won't get seen as a TV series. I think this would work better as a miniseries rather than on the big screen as a movie.

and here is a comparison to 21 minutes of Mass Effect 3 game cutscenes. this shows why live-action with a mix of CGI is just so much better on the Halo 4 trailer.



related threads:

business aspect - 'Inception proves good sci-fi movies can make money'


Has Science Fiction become a Taboo subject in Hollywood?

what about if Mass Effect franchise did live-action with green screen virtual sets for TV miniseries?

What if a 'Mass Effect' TV series were made?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yeah, I wasn't quite sure what the writer was getting at - he wants more upbeat sci fi, okay. Is the Alien saga really the right place to look for that?

I have gotten the sense there's a hunger for more-positive sci fi (and TV would be a good place for it), hitting somewhere between DS9 and TNG in tone (which would be very brightly lit, compared with what we've gotten used to). But I'm not getting a strong sense that's where anything is going. Maybe RHW's Defender, but that's a ways away and who knows whether we will even see it?

 

[Greg Cox]

Yeah, I wasn't quite sure what the writer was getting at - he wants more upbeat sci fi, okay. Is the Alien saga really the right place to look for that? ?

Not remotely. The original 1979 film was notable for presenting a somewhat bleak, oppressive view of space travel. The Nostromo looked like a filthy, dehumanizing place to work even before the face-hugger came aboard . . . .

An evil corporation that views its employees as expendable, a treacherous robot, unspeakable cosmic horror . . . what about that screams upbeat space adventure?

I mean, sure, the cat survives, but . . . .

 

[DarthTom]

I have gotten the sense there's a hunger for more-positive sci fi (and TV would be a good place for it), hitting somewhere between DS9 and TNG in tone (which would be very brightly lit, compared with what we've gotten used to). But I'm not getting a strong sense that's where anything is going. Maybe RHW's Defender, but that's a ways away and who knows whether we will even see it?

You don't consider the biggest "sci-fi" film of the past decade, Avatar to be positive sci-fi?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Frankly I thought it was schlocky and shallow, even if pretty to look at.

It's hard to regard something as really "positive" when it doesn't really earn its upbeat ending. The good guys won because some goddess stepped in and saved their asses. What kind of "positive" message is that? But now I've gone and given that movie more thought than it deserves, again.

My main interest in sci fi is TV. Movies are always going to suffer from being shallow to some degree because of the limited time span to do anything with them. To create a story that deserves its positive message is going to require more than two measly hours to pull off competently.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Alien was one of the movies that popularized the D&G trend to begin with-- it's hardly the place to look for optimism.

As for Avatar, I don't really consider that optimistic. I remember it being as depressing as it was boring. The nutty Dr Strangelove guy destroyed the giant tree. The megacorp is still out there in control of the universe. What was optimistic?

 

[TerraNovan]

Yeah, I wasn't quite sure what the writer was getting at - he wants more upbeat sci fi, okay. Is the Alien saga really the right place to look for that? ?

Not remotely. The original 1979 film was notable for presenting a somewhat bleak, oppressive view of space travel. The Nostromo looked like a filthy, dehumanizing place to work even before the face-hugger came aboard . . . .

An evil corporation that views its employees as expendable, a treacherous robot, unspeakable cosmic horror . . . what about that screams upbeat space adventure?

I mean, sure, the cat survives, but . . . .

I prefer rational optimism.

I think utopia is often thought of in fanatasy terms.

In the real world a utopia is more of a mind set, where one sees adversity as a challenge, with the only way for a human to be truly distant from utopia when there are a lack of challenges to be had.

Optimistic tone, does not need a magical aura, I think the grittier and darker the tone of the environment the more a truly optimistic ideals can be obtained.

 

[sojourner]

Mmmm, resurrecting old threads. Seems to be a trend lately.

 

[Tulin]

Oh God you scared me - I thought that witch was back!

 

[Grendelsbayne]

I'd say, for the moment at least, Hollywood optimism is more the purview of Superhero movies than sci-fi.