Futurians

How Hollywood sees the future.

[futurians]

Go Leo!

[futurians]

THE POSTMAN (1997)

Tagline: “The year is 2013. One man walked in off the horizon and hope came with him.”

Starring: Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate and Olivia Williams

Directed by: Kevin Costner

Written by: Eric Roth and Brian Helgeland

Based on a novel by: David Brin

Takes place in: 2013

Imagine a future where all technologies are wiped out and Kevin Costner becomes a respected figure because he carries a bunch of letters (and inspires people to reform the United States).

In the future:

The “Doomwar” destroyed the United States, which now live in the dark ages.

Currency no longer exists. You trade services and goods instead.

Know your Shakespeare guys, it pays off.

Despite being a massive flop that destroyed the career of Kevin Costner, The Postman is a very interesting post-apocalyptic movie. It doesn’t feature cannibals, big car chases or deadly viruses. Instead, we discover what would happen if our system would collapse.

David Brin, the author of the original novel, is a futurist that previously worked for the NASA and government agencies. His vision is very grounded in realism. It’s like a window into one of our possible futures. But somehow, I doubt Tom Petty would be the mayor of a city.

[futurians]

ESCAPE FROM LA (1996)

Tagline: “Snake is back.”

Starring: Kurt Russel, Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda, Pam Grier.

Directed by: John Carpenter

Written by: John Carpenter, Debrah Hill and Kurt Russel.

Takes place in: 2013

Seduced by the holograms of a Peruvian revolutionary, the daughter of the President steals the remote to the Sword of Damocles (a super weapon) and only Snake can save the day.

In the future:

The President banned: sex, alcohol, red meat, guns, profanity, tobacco, alcoholic beverages, red meat, firearms, profanity and even atheism. He named it “Moral America”.

There was a deadly earthquake in the year 2000.

Made somewhere between the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11, Escape from L.A. expresses the fear of a totalitarian government and a strong disdain for the future. But let’s not look into this one too deeply. This is the Escape where Snake surfs a giant wave with Peter Fonda.

As a sequel of a movie that took place in a post-apocalyptic 1997, Escape from L.A. already knows it’s entirely wrong about the future, but it has fun with that concept. Perhaps a little too much...

[futurians]

THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR (1975)

Tagline: “A Film of the Future”

Starring: Yul Brynner and Max von Sydow

Directed by: Robert Clouse

Written by: Robert Clouse

Takes place in: 2012

After a terrible war, a group of human survivors put all their hopes into a bald bare chested man to protect a pregnant teenager and seeds. 

As you may have noticed, it’s not a biopic of the life of the famous wrestler.

In the future:

Seeds are more precious than human lives, especially if it feeds the teenage daughter of your community leader.

Cigars still exist.

The Ultimate Warrior was made more than 4 years before Mad Max. It’s one of the rare movies of it’s kind that doesn’t feature guys in leather with spikes and/or eyepatches. Still, it’s quite forgettable.

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2012 (2009)

Tagline: “Find out the truth. Search: 2012”

Starring: John Cusack, Thandie Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Woody Harrelson, Oliver Platt and Danny Glover

Directed by: Roland Emmerich

Written by: Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser

Takes place in: 2012 (obviously)

The totally legit story of what happened on december 21 2012.

In the future:

You have to pay 1 billion dollar to get on one of those arks that Japan and the USA built. Or else, the government is going to select you for your genes. It sounds kind of Nazi-ish, don’t you think?

After stealing all their ressources, the richest men in the world go colonize Africa.

It’s a Roland Emmerich movie. Things blow up, monuments are attacked, regular joes are involved in super important events. It’s a big cgi spectacle with an excuse of a plot. Again, It’s a Roland Emmerich movie.

The whole concept looks rather silly now in 2016, since NOTHING HAPPENED. I do admire the marketing tactic of telling people to search 2012 to find out the truth. It’s a brilliant way of letting conspiracy theorists do all the work for hype.

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2012 without special effects featuring the academy award nominee director Tom McCarthy (acting badly).

[scottparkillustration]

Once again, the amazing people at Sploid have turned my illustrations into a super cool video. This time it’s a chance for Synthespians to shine!

Here’s the Sploid article to go with it: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/the-evolution-of-robots-in-movies-and-tv-1752511629

[futurians]

ABSOLON (2003)

Tagline: “Fight for the cure... Or face extermination!”

Starring: Christopher Lambert, Kelly Brook, Lou Diamond Phillips

Directed by: David DeBartolomé

Written by: Brad Mirman

Takes place in: 2010

One man carries the cure for a deadly virus in his blood and is hunted by assassins hired by a pharmaceutical corporation.

In the future:

A deadly virus wiped out most of humanity.

People are forced to take Absolon, which is an extremely addictive drug.

But the twist is: the virus died and people take Absolon for no reason.

Mission Impossible 2 came out 3 years earlier, and strangely mirrors the subject of this film. Right before the second wave of Zombie movies, deadly viruses were really popular in science-fiction. I guess it’s the reflection of our mistrust in pharmaceutical companies.

Don’t look for much substance here...it’s only a Christopher Lambert movie.

[puddleaddams]

[futurians]

Your musical kaleidoscope will live on forever.

RIP David Bowie

[themoviedoc]

Stare at the red dot for 35 seconds and look elsewhere after.

May the force be with you.

[futurians]

LAND OF DOOM (1986)

Tagline: “...a 21st Century mad land!”

Starring: Deborah Rennard, Garrick Dowhen and Daniel Radell

Directed by: Peter Maris

Written by: Craig Rand

Based on a book by: Peter Kotis

Takes place in: 2010 ?

One female warrior has to team up with a rogue soldier to fight a masked dictator who enslaves woman and controls the territory, in the hopes of finding a rumored paradise.

In the future:

There are cannibals. But that’s just expected.

The Final War, presumably a nuclear one, left the planet in a devastated state.

The plague is killing the survivors. It’s uncertain what it actually is, but let’’s just guess a combo of radiation, pollution, starvation and poor hygiene.

It’s quite ironic that a movie that blatantly rips-offs Mad Max ends up sounding a lot like Fury Road. Who knows, maybe Miller got subconsciously inspired? Or maybe not...after all this is another post-apocalyptic mess (shot in Turkey this time, how exotic). The Land of Doom is a beautiful title for a movie that probably ended up collecting dust on the shelves of video stores.

[futurians]

BANLIEUE 13 (2004)

Tagline: “Welcome to District B13 Welcome to the future”

Starring: Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle

Directed by:  Pierre Morel

Written by: Luc Besson, Bibi Naceri

Takes place in: 2010

Paris lost control of the ghettos, which are now run entirely by criminals. One cop has to infiltrate District B13 to defuse a neutron bomb.

In the future:

Cops jump! Thugs jump! Everybody jumps! Parkour is standard.

The city is corrupted. Surprise, surprise!

There are no Hunger Games here and District 9 is in South Africa. Know your districts.

With District B13, Luc Besson did predict the 2005 riots, which would plague the city of Paris. Although, anyone that followed French politics at the time would probably have made the same conclusions. Look at La Haine for instance.

Now, if Luc Besson’s flying taxis in Fifth Element could become a reality, that would be an impressive prediction.

[futurians]

Happy Birthday Roy! (Blade Runner)

Source

[slavicinferno]

[futurians]

I AM LEGEND (2007)

Tagline: “The last man on earth is not alone”

Starring: Will Smith, a bunch of cgi zombie/vampires and a dog.

Directed by:  Francis Lawrence

Written by: Mark Protosevich, Akiva Goldsman, John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington

Takes place in: 2009

A virus turned everyone into bald zombie/vampires, everyone but a scientist who happens to be looking for a cure. Sounds familiar? That’s because it’s the remake of a remake.

In the future:

Video stores are still active. Well...kind of...at least they have one customer, which is more than what Blockbuster might say.

Batman vs Superman comes out in 2009?

Many things have been said about the poor quality of the villains and the unnecessary cgi (rightfully so), but the movie does succeed in bringing depth to the main character.  It expands on some of the ideas explored in Omega Man, without using the idea of the medieval Andy Warhol cult.

[futurians]

SCI-FIGHTERS (1996)

Tagline: “Lethal threats need lethal response...”

Starring: Roddy Piper, Billy Drago

Directed by: Peter Svatek

Written by: Mark Sevi

Takes place in: 2009

One man has to protect Montreal Boston from the rapist (who killed his wife) because he just escaped a prison on the moon and carries a deadly space virus that could wipe out the human race. Yup, nothing more.

In the future:

Jail is on the moon. ON THE MOON!

You have to give credit to Mark Sevi for really going to the extreme. The stakes are insanely high.

[futurians]

FREEJACK (1992)

Tagline: “Alex Furlong died today. Eighteen years from now, he'll be running for his life.”

Starring: Emilio Estevez, Rene Russo, Mick Jagger, Anthony Hopkins

Directed by: Geoff Murphy

Written by: Steven Pressfield, Ronald Shusett and Dan Gilroy

Based on a novel by: Robert Sheckley (author of 10th Victim)

Takes place in: 2009

Before he dies, a multimillionaire zaps a race driver out of 1991 to take his body. But when the race driver escapes, the rich guy sends Mick Jagger (who’s not playing himself, but a bounty hunter) to take care of the situation.

In the future:

Rich old men can time travel, but they use that power to take young men about to die and transfer themselves in their bodies and the government is totally ok with that.

Most people are so poor that they have to eat rats to survive while others live in total luxury.

Cars look bubbly.

Video phones are a big thing.

Robert Sheckley was a very brilliant author, but who’s work has been poorly adapted on the big screen. 10th Victim indirectly became Hunger Games, The Prize of Peril got transformed into the Running Man and this movie most recently “inspired” Self/Less.

It’s just a shame that he never got the respect that he deserved.