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Screenwriter J Michael Straczynski says that the combination of Avatar and a “miffed” studio led to the shelving of a new, James Cameron-directed Forbidden Planet sci-fi movie.

Perhaps best known for his work on TV’s Babylon 5 and Clint Eastwood’s drama Changeling, screenwriter J Michael Straczynski was once assigned to write the script for a new take on the 1956 classic, Forbidden Planet.

In the works at Warner Bros in the late 2010s, the new Forbidden Planet was being overseen by Lethal Weapon and The Matrix producer Joel Silver – though little official word ever emerged, and discussion about the film appeared to cease entirely around the year 2009. In a revealing series of posts on Twitter/X, however, Straczynski has provided what might be a new insight into the production, and writes that James Cameron was once in line to direct – a detail that, to the best of this writer’s knowledge,...

Magicians conceal the techniques behind their tricks to maintain a sense of wonder and mystique. In a similar vein, early Hollywood went to great lengths to conceal the secrets of their visual effects. Both sought to preserve the magic and enchantment of their respective performances. Even when "Star Wars" came out in 1977, some news items claimed both Artoo and Threepio were actual robots.

Times have changed, and behind-the-scenes material has become commonplace. Shows like "Entertainment Tonight" and bonus features on home video all made what used to be arcane into knowledge commonplace. Does that destroy the suspension of disbelief required for a movie to be truly immersive? Given the popularity of such features, it's safe to say a significant portion of the audience doesn't think so. On some level, we know it's all make-believe.

Here's a look at what iconic science fiction films look like stripped bare of special effects; be they in-camera tricks,...

Hidden behind the membership-only barrier of The Disney Movie Club is a long-delayed, long-missed key feature from The Mouse, Walt’s masterful super-production of the timeless Jules Verne classic. Despite the funny songs and an annoyingly ‘ork-ork’-ing sea lion, the lavishly filmed show embraces the dark side of Verne’s vision — Captain Nemo is nothing less than an anti-Colonial terrorist, waging a one-submarine war against international warmongers. With the commanding James Mason in the role, the film’s furious politics are as impressive as the to-die-for art direction: this Disney family attraction has us rooting for the terrorist and against the Imperialist European powers.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Blu-ray

The Disney Movie Club

1954 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 127 min. / Anniversary Edition / Street Date June 18, 2019 / Disney Movie Club exclusive.

Starring: Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre, Robert J. Wilke, Ted de Corsia, Carleton Young.

Cinematography: Franz Planer

Film Editor: Elmo Williams...

Dr. Morbius. His daughter Altaira. Robby the Robot. The Monster from the Id. Did we mention Altaira? (!) All are cultural icons introduced in the best-loved space opera of the nifty fifties, based on The Bard and bolstered by memorable fx by Disney’s Josh Meador as well as a famous free ticket promo gimmick from Quaker Oats. “Welcome to Altair 4, gentlemen.”...

Struggling to work out what decade the film you’re watching is from? If it fulfils the criteria on this list, then it’s probably from the 80s…

Sometimes you’ll get home, turn on the television, and start watching a film halfway through. But even if you don’t know the title, director, or any of the actors involved, there are several very easy ways to tell at a glance whether the movie in question is from the 80s or not. So with this in mind, here’s our handy list of ten tell-tale signs...

Plasma effects

If you wanted to make your audience believe that your movie’s protagonist was travelling back in time, encountering something supernatural or being reduced in size by a miniaturisation ray, there was one special effect to cover any eventuality. Perhaps mimicking those strange plasma globe things that became a popular novelty in the 80s,...

Beverly Hills, CA . The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will explore the technology behind .Forbidden Planet. (1956) with a discussion and screening highlighting the production methods used to create the sci-fi classic on Saturday, July 16, at 7 p.m. at the Academy.s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Presented by the Academy.s Science and Technology Council, the program will be hosted by Oscar®-winning visual effects supervisor Craig Barron and Oscar-winning sound designer Ben Burtt.

Prior to the screening, Barron will examine the film.s breakthrough effects sequences that used miniatures and matte paintings, as well as explore how Joshua Meador created his animated .id monster. effect and combined it with live-action photography. Burtt will explain how the electronic score was created, using newly discovered source tapes from the film.s composers, Louis and Bebe Barron (no relation to Craig).

In the 1950s, when science fiction films were usually cheaply produced B-movies.

The 50s was a golden era of big screen sci-fi. Here’s our pick of the decade’s ten very best genre films…

Off screen and on, the 1950s was a spectacular era for science fiction. In literature, Ray Bradbury kicked off the decade with his masterpiece, The Martian Chronicles, while digest magazines like Galaxy were publishing the works of such sci-fi luminaries as Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.

In the cinema, every year brought forth a fresh wave of genre pictures, some brilliant in their awfulness (Plan 9 From Outer Space, Robot Monster), others simply brilliant. This article is devoted to the movies in the latter category.

Here, then, is my rundown of my ten favourite science fiction movies of the 50s:

Destination Moon (1950)

The 50s era equivalent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Destination Moon was the brave attempt of producer George Pal to bring a...

As Forbidden Planet makes its Blu-ray debut, we salute this classic of 50s sci-fi cinema…

The 50s was a golden age for big screen sci-fi. The decade saw the appearance of a succession of genre classics, including Destination Moon, The Day The Earth Stood Still, The Thing From Another World, The War Of The Worlds and This Island Earth.

The period's movies reflected America's fascination with the possibilities of future technology, and also a creeping sense of paranoia about the subversive potential of Communism, reflected in spectacular ‘Reds under the bed' films such as Invaders From Mars (1953) and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956), in which an insidious alien menace stripped mankind of its individuality.

Of all those 50s classics, one film stands among them all as a true 50s sci-fi icon. Released in 1956, director Fred M. Wilcox's Forbidden Planet was the most expensive and ambitious genre film to appear...

Dr. Morbius. His daughter Altaira. Robby the Robot. The Monster from the Id. Did we mention Altaira? (!) All are cultural icons introduced in the best-loved space opera of the nifty fifties, based on The Bard and bolstered by memorable fx by Disney's Josh Meador as well as a famous free ticket promo gimmick from Quaker Oats. "Welcome to Altair 4, gentlemen."...