Charting the genre’s resurgence one galaxy traversing story at a time…
It’s no secret that Hollywood’s reserve of fresh, innovative ideas is beginning to peter out. Like a booming coal mine during the industrial revolution, the once abundant minerals have been exhausted and all that remain are fragmented film scripts that inevitably end up on the infamous Hollywood ‘Black list’ – a collection of unproduced screenplays that reside in development hell for varying reasons, such as a lack of funding from a studio.
And so, executive heads search for unique storylines that don’t stray too far from what audiences’ desire. Unfortunately, the reason sequels govern the cinematic calendar is because studios have become apprehensive when financing a film outside the formula for success. In particular, summer blockbusters such as Pirates of the Caribbean, a franchise that should have retired as a trilogy but, instead, has outgrown its plot structure and become a financially sound monstrosity that inadvertently stifles originality. It seems ingenuity has been ushered out of the theatre to enforce a filmmaking by committee mentality which, coupled with the currently stringent economy, has pushed the once burgeoning film industry against the wall.
Be that as it may, there is a genre that has stood against these conventions and broke new ground outside the mundane framework. These bold, high concept films have existed like an endangered animal recently. Hunted to the point of extinction for their science fiction novelty and subsequently, their presence on the screen has become somewhat of a rarity in recent years. But now, in a post-Inception world, the demand for this uncommon breed of film has grown exponentially. And that’s a good thing, so let’s get on the road and have a look at what 2013 has to offer in terms of sci-fi.
Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads…
Published: Apr 8, 2013 04:03 pm