© 2010 Foolish Earthling Productions.
(American Heritage Magazine)
"Dr. Teller, I Presume" - During the perilously long run-up and pre-production phase on what
eventually became our PBS special "Dr. Teller's Very Large Bomb", we were able to secure the
final interview with Edward Teller, the self-proclaimed 'Father of the Hydrogen Bomb.' It took
a very long time to convince Dr. Teller to meet us (details of which are laid out in the article),
and after decades of regarding the scientist as the embodiment of Dr. Strangelove, he was
nothing like I expected. Shortly after his death I turned the transcript from our interview
into this article, which ran under a different title simultaneously in the Summer/05
issues of American Heritage and Invention & Technology magazines
(the first time they'd ever done that, I was told.)
You can also access the magazine version here:
(Criterion Films Liner Notes)
"Robinson Crusoe on Mars" and "First Men Into Space" - The Criterion Collection
has represented the pinnacle of smart, dedicated and incredibly high-quality
video packaging ever since I first began collecting laserdiscs of my favorite films
back in the 1980s. A few years back they called with the delightful news
that they were planning to give the Criterion 'treatment' to a film I'd
supervised the visual effects on, David Cronenberg's VIDEODROME (1983). We provided lots of
behind-the-scenes clippage, stills etc, as well as a 28 minute 'behind-the-scenes' piece called
"Forging The New Flesh". Since that release, Criterion has come back to us every so often,
usually when they've got a great (or not so great) old SF masterpiece they somehow feel
the need to justify. We usually provide background featurettes and maybe an essay for
the accompanying booklet. The two essays above appeared in the Criterion dvd packages
ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS and the Richard and Alex Gordon collection
"MONSTERS AND MADMEN", respectively.
(Information and Technology Magazine)
"A Long Time Ago" - Another article for the great Invention & Technology magazine. This one
appeared on the 30th anniversary of the release of STAR WARS, and dealt with the revolution
in visual effects set off by the introduction of computer-driven motion-control cameras on
STAR WARS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. Having spent more than twenty years
of my own career as a visual effects supervisor, kicking and swearing at various MC systems,
I was able to call upon industry friends and colleagues like Richard Edlund and Douglas
Trumbull to take this painful yet exhilarating stumble down Memory Lane with me.
(Video Watchdog)
"Starship Troopers" - One of the most significant benefits of my experience on
David Cronenberg's VIDEODROME was a lifelong friendship with the great
author Tim Lucas ("Throat Sprockets", "Mario Bava: All The Colors of the Dark")
who was the only journalist given full access to the set for an article he was writing for
the now-defunct genre magazine Cinefanastique". Tim and his wife and partner Donna
eventually founded the remarkable film journal "Video Watchdog", which
they continue to publish from their base in Cincinnati, Ohio (http://www.videowatchdog.com).
Tim and Donna have published several of my essays in VW over the years. Most have dealt with
stuff I felt some particular affinity for (STAR WARS, the passing of Stanley Kubrick etc.), though
every so often Tim would just ask me to write up whatever I'd just been ranting to him about
in one of our extended emails. The above piece on Verhoven's under-appreciated 1997 epic
STARSHIP TROOPERS was one such assignment, later republished in Gregg Rickman's terrific SF
collection "The Science Fiction Reader".
(Commerative Article)
"Rendezvous With Arthur" - While prepping our 2000 Discovery Channel special "2001 and
Beyond", Shirley and I were invited to meet with my lifelong hero Arthur C. Clarke at his home
in Sri Lanka. It was one of the most extraordinary weeks of our lives, and I'd long intended to
write about the experience. When Sir Arthur passed away in March of 2008 the University of
Toronto's Merill Library (possibly the world's greatest science-fiction collection) asked if I'd
write a brief essay (approx. 2000 words) for their commemorative newsletter. This was the
result. (One quick note: Usually I re-write endlessly, but after the first, insanely quick draft
of this article I took a look at the word count - 2001 words - and realized I wouldn't be able
to change a thing. So if the piece reads a bit first-draft-y that's why. It was out of my hands.)
My friend and colleague Geoff Isaac (he created the original animated version of our
Foolish Earthling "Rocket Boy" logo, among other things) spent years compiling
a science-fiction-themed cookbook entitled "It Came From The Kitchen"
(http://bearmanormedia.bizland.com/id212.html), with favorite recipes
contributed by SF authors, actors and other genre personalities. After years of hearing
about the slow progress of this futuristic project, I got a call from him one day telling me
he'd found a publisher, and would I please get off my ass and send him
the lasagna recipe I'd modified from my mom's original.
I've been hardening our friends' arteries with this tasty menace
for decades and promising to write it up for Geoff's book
for nearly as long, so here it is. You've been warned.
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