Starlog: Critiquing the critique

Despite its lofty aspirations, "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was an oddity that divided the fan base when it hit theaters in 1979.

One faction welcomed the return of their favorite franchise, even in this less-than-perfect form. In the wake of "Star Wars," it was only natural that Star Trek would return to take advantage of the growing sci fi marketplace. And sometimes, this faction argued, returns begin awkwardly. (I agree. Any "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode featuring Commander Riker sans beard is evidence of that.) So no, these fans said, the 1979 movie wasn't stellar. But it was a start.

Another faction, however, dared called a spade a spade. And this faction had a notable leader: Harlan Ellison. The renowned author reviewed "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" for the April 1980 issue of Starlog. Sadly, I lack the issue, but the Starlog Project summary offers this glimpse of Harlan's review:

The mark of Gene Roddenberry's limits as a creator of stories is heavily, indelibly, inescapably on this production. … The script has all the same dumb flaws that were perpetrated in the series … with bigger, prettier pictures. … The basic story, for all its 'latest state of the art' and its tricked-up trekkiness, is Gene's standard idea, done so often in the series: we go into space, we find God, and God is (pick one) malevolent, crazy, or a child.

Harlan's piece seemed to equally infuriate and encourage longtime Star Trek fans, as evidenced by letters printed in the June 1980 issue. The movie's defenders were understandably upset. Joycelyn Yee of Hawaii said Harlan's review made her feel "sick and disillusioned."

Everyone knows that heroes are hard to come by these days; must we abandon Star Trek's heroes and heroines, too? Perhaps this is the wrong analogy, but it's like being told that there is no Santa Claus.

Some letter writers, though, applauded Harlan for taking his stand. Stephen Cook of Ohio noted that he was initially "spellbound" by the franchise's Silver Screen debut.

But as I left the theater, I suddenly realized that I and every true Trek fan had been ripped off. As I later read in Mr. Ellison's review, all this movie had been was a glorified version of the old series, and I hadn't waited all this time just to see more reruns!

Jackie Johnson of California split the difference, writing of Harlan's review, "Sometimes I agreed, sometimes not." On one key point, though, Jackie hoped all could agree.

I agreed that too many people are doing the "let's-not-do-the-movie-any-harm" bit. Where do these people expect improvements to come from?

Mercifully, improvements did come. Three years later, "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was just a memory and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" was breathing some desperately needed life into the franchise.

Body Image: The Ugly Duckling?

The following is a guest post I wrote for Melanie Spring's blog.

Look at this girl with huge, frizzy hair, oversized glasses, and that special, awkward grin only adolescence and a mouthful of braces can bring. That was me in junior high - the typical, awkward teen.

Astonishingly, I didn't get a lot of dates then. I wasn't one of the "pretty-pretties" - the popular girls, the cheerleaders. In retrospect my body was pretty amazing - I was a dancer, and didn't surpass 110 pounds until high school - but I hated that I was built like a Skipper doll, with no boobs and no hips. My skin was pale to the point where my mom begged me to wear blush so I "wouldn't look dead."

But one day in my mid-teens I was reflecting on the story of the ugly duckling, and made a decision to put mind over matter. I was going to tell myself that I was the most gorgeous, fascinating thing that walked the earth, and my own positivity would attract others and make me "date-able."

(Continue reading)

CONvergence 2010: Cosplay Highlights - Zidane

Zidane is the main character from Final Fantasy IX, one of my favorite video games of
all time. It's an ambitious costume, but this guy really pulled it off nicely.

Returning to the Haunted Mansion

I remain mystified as to how "The Haunted Mansion" movie got made. Based on the classic Disney theme park ride, the movie was ruined by poor writing, acting and directing.

So it's with great hope that I look forward to the newly announced remake coming from Guillermo del Toro of "Pan's Labyrinth" fame. Knowing that the first movie was based on the Haunted Mansion ride in California, which is set in New Orleans, I'm hopeful the new movie is keyed to the ride in Florida, which I've long enjoyed.

Because the project was just announced, there aren't many details to share. Guillermo is writing and producing the flick, but contrary to early reports, not directing. While a bit disappointing that he won't be wearing all three hats, I can't imagine he'll give the director's chair to someone he doesn't completely trust to fully complement in his plan.

And what is that plan? Guillermo's brief interview with HitFix reveals he's envisioning "a big, event movie" that's "very classy" and "very beautiful." The film is "not just a regular haunted house movie," but something that will "honor a world — and a world view — that was first set by the imagineers at Disney." Fundamentally, the film will be "both fun and scary" as opposed to "dark and grimy and scary." That sounds like the right approach to me.

So go forth, Guillermo, and make with the scary. If anyone can do this property justice, it's you.

CONvergence 2010: Cosplay Highlights - Jareth

In hindsight, I really should've started this post with talking about "Labyrinth," because I think
that was the birth of my adolescent psyche, really. So, needless to say, I (along with probably
90% of the rest of the women at CON) loved this costume.

Coming soon (or not)

In connection with Comic-Con International, the massively geeky festival that I totally wish I could attend, it's time to review the latest news and rumors stemming from Hollywood's latest attempts to translate comics to the silver screen.

"Green Lantern", which releases June 2011, finally has made public pictures of the hero's costume. I find the outfit more puzzling than anything, considering it looks like something that would be more at home in the new "Tron" movie. Also befuddling is that the threads look like a blend of the Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner costumes. That surprises me because the movie is supposed to be all Hal all the time. But since the Kyle costume was so well done, I have no objection.

"Avengers" finally let lose the worst kept secret in Hollywood: Yes, indeed, Joss Whedon is directing the May 2012 flick. The creative genius behind "Dr. Horrible," "Firefly" and many other shows should do well with the team movie — which is coming together fairly quickly. Mark Ruffalo of "The Kids Are All Right" will play Bruce Banner following Ed Norton's departure from the project, and Jeremy Renner of "The Hurt Locker" will play Hawkeye. I have high hopes for this movie. Don't let me down, Joss.

And now that Christopher Nolan's "Inception" has released, we're finally hearing some rumblings about the third Batman film, due for release July 2012. I'm still holding out hope to see Hush in this film, but methinks that's a fool's dream. More rooted in reality are reports that Christopher is approaching this installment as his final take on the franchise; that it's quite possible the Riddler with be the film's lead villain; and, thank goodness, there is no chance we'll see the Joker in the film. Don't get me wrong. I loved the Joker we got in "The Dark Knight." But I agree completely with Christopher in that no one should succeed Heath Ledger in the role. At least not in this incarnation of the franchise.

Lastly, it's worth noting that DC is still working toward bringing The Flash and Wonder Woman to the big screen. Of course, we've heard this all before, so I'll believe it when I see it, but anything that brings us closer to a Justice League of America flick is alright by me.

CONvergence 2010: Cosplay Highlights - Three Musketeers

How could I NOT love these costumes? They're based on one of my favorite movies of all time.

Starlog: Down a 'Black Hole'

To say that "The Black Hole" was a risky proposition for Walt Disney Productions is an understatement. The flick, which hit theaters just in time for Christmas 1979, cost Disney an unprecedented $20 million and marked the studio's first foray into PG territory.

As risky as the financial gamble was for Disney, it was the rating that became the more complicating factor. Growing up, I clearly remember my mom saying she was certain that "The Black Hole" would never have been made had Walt Disney still been alive at the time. The violence, the intensity, the use of "hell" and "damn" in this — a Disney movie! — caught many parents off guard. So it was only natural that when Starlog published its interview with Ron Miller, Disney's executive vice president in charge of productions, the four-page article in Issue 31 led with discussion of this "new direction." Not that people like my mom were reading Starlog, mind you, but Ron tried to diffuse the situation as best he could. He assured readers that despite the popular notion of the day, Disney was "not making radical changes in our policies."

"I still think that when you say 'Disney' a certain type of picture should come to mind. I don't think there's anything in The Black Hole that would offend anybody.

"I'll tell you, though, candidly, that there appears to be a lid on our product. The age group we typically appeal to just won't give us the big attendance numbers that some other studios get. It seemed to us, a couple of years ago, that with The Black Hole we might begin to appeal to a much broader audience."

What earned the film it's PG rating?

"Mainly its intensity," Miller admits. "If Old Yeller or Davy Crockett were made today, I'm sure they'd get PG ratings. People seem to forget how we took care of the Indians and the Cavalry in those pictures."

The article goes on to note that in the buildup to the movie's release, Disney "has been deluged with unkind mail," including angry missives from "the Bible Belt" region and threats "from Disney stockholders."

After a moment's reflection, he says, "I don't think it would really matter if the film got an R rating. If the film is 'there,' if it's good, it's going to succeed regardless of the rating. It's apparent now that our PG rating probably doesn't mean a damn thing — one way or the other."

The main thing, Miller says, is to break the public's habit of thinking of all Disney products as alike. "I want them to say, 'Hey, look, Disney isn't that predictable.'"

More than anything else, that phrase apparently sums up the "new direction" the studio is embarking on.

It's worth noting that "The Black Hole" went on to earn $35 million domestically despite the threats. ("The Rescuers," which was Disney's last animated movie before "The Black Hole," comparatively earned $29 million in 1977.) And some three decades later, there's now serious talk of "The Black Hole" being remade, which is cool, because I'd totally see a remake.

I just don't think I'd see it with my mom.

CONvergence 2010: Cosplay Highlights - The Misfits

The Misfits, AKA the bad guys from the '80s cartoon "Jem." Classic!

How could I say no?

It's no secret that my enthusiasm for Star Wars has resurged this year. So this story probably won't surprise you.

But seriously, man, how can any Star Wars enthusiast pass up the opportunity to purchase original artwork used in the "Star Wars Roleplaying Game" by West End Games? Especially when that artwork represents two of the most famous ships in the franchise. You see, there are times when life just grabs you by the collar and says, "Look at this! Look. At. This. Do you see the awesome? Buy it. Now." And this was one of those times. When I stumbled across these pieces in the CONvergence art show, I immediately started drooling. Can you blame me? Look at the pieces. They're gorgeous! I was amazed to even see them for sale. That they hadn't already been bought was some gross injustice — or some commentary on the state of the economy. I'm not sure which.

But I digress.

That's not the point. The point is that I own awesome. And that's not a typo. It's not, "I own something that is awesome." No, no no. I own awesome. These two pieces by Brian Schomburg of Han Solo's Millennium Falcon and Boba Fett's Slave 1 are the embodiment of awesome. They are so awesome that I will some day print my own dictionary merely so that for the "awesome" entry I can reprint these two pieces. They define the word.

In the meantime, though, I shall treasure these pieces. And show them off. A lot. I'm sure Annie will have to stop me from bringing them out during dinner parties.

CONvergence 2010: Cosplay Highlights - Gir

I don't know if I love the costume, or the fact that someone dressed as Gir is
holding a bottle of wine. Either way, this is full of awesome and win.

CONvergence 2010: Assimilating Seven

Donning the Seven of Nine costume at CONvergence was an interesting experience, to say the least. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get my thoughts together on this, but I wanted to share some highlights from my time spent as a Borg.

I was really pleased with how the costume turned out, even though there were a couple of last minute hiccups with the prosthetics. My seamstress made a great latex eyepiece but the piece for the cheek didn't really turn out, and the hand prosthetic proved to be a greater challenge than she had anticipated. Fortunately, I was able to draw on the cheek piece, and one of my bandmates, who does work with silicone casting, was able to make me an AWESOME hand prosthetic at the very last minute (two days before we left).

Once I got the costume all assembled and wore it on the CON floor, though, it looked fantastic and it felt great. It was surprisingly comfortable, except for the shoes, which were fine for about an hour and would then begin to hurt. A lot. And since the costume wraps around the shoes, I couldn't discreetly slip them off. If the costume was on, the shoes were on. So I had to de-costume a little earlier each night than I'd planned, for the sake of my feet.

I got tons of compliments, though. People instantly recognized me and lots of people stopped me for photos. I wore it Thursday night and Friday night, and there were times on Friday when I literally couldn't go 10 feet without someone asking to take a photo of me. All but two people had really nice things to say and were especially impressed by the prosthetics (and the two who said negative things weren't exactly savvy in the "social skills" department, so whatever).

Overall, my biggest lesson from the experience was that dressing as a character a lot of people recognize is really fun. I think in future years I'm going to shoot for more mainstream characters like this one, because they seem to make a lot of people smile. Bearing in mind my rules for costuming (I have to care about the character, you have to be able to tell I'm in costume, I have to physically resemble the character, and I don't wear wigs), I am taking suggestions for next year's costume.

In the meantime, though, here are some highlights from my time in Borg regalia:

My hand prosthetic, up close. It's made of silicone and
stuck to my hand with a special silicone adhesive.

Josh and I had a drink at the Star Trek-themed party room, which is always my favorite.
The decor is phenomenal - you feel like you're in an episode of the original Star Trek series.

Half the fun of wearing the costume was getting weird juxtaposition photos
with folks in unrelated costumes, like Jareth from "Labyrinth." There's also a
photo floating around somewhere in which I'm assimilating Mal Reynolds.