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Carl Sagan's Contact read by Jodie Foster (Original Post) pokerfan Jun 2013 OP
Cool! kentauros Jun 2013 #1
Wasn't Contact his only foray into fiction? pokerfan Jun 2013 #2
Yes, I think it was his only work of fiction. kentauros Jun 2013 #3
I was hoping that there was a book I might have missed pokerfan Jun 2013 #4
I know the masses won't notice in that little blurb, kentauros Jun 2013 #5
I would like to see Ringworld pokerfan Jun 2013 #6
I know "siphie" has produced some good miniseries in the past, kentauros Jun 2013 #7
SSR pokerfan Jun 2013 #8
I've never watched Big Bang Theory, kentauros Jun 2013 #11
+(whatever Slippery Jim thinks he can get away with) getting old in mke Jun 2013 #9
Considering he could pick our average locked door without breaking step, kentauros Jun 2013 #10

kentauros

(29,414 posts)
1. Cool!
Wed Jun 19, 2013, 09:14 AM
Jun 2013

I'll have to listen to this over the weekend

I never read the book, though I tried. I found Sagan's fiction-writing style lacking (it came across as too clinical.) So, I'm thankful for the movie, one of my favorites for Hollywood-created science fiction.

pokerfan

(27,677 posts)
2. Wasn't Contact his only foray into fiction?
Wed Jun 19, 2013, 10:50 AM
Jun 2013

I could be wrong. I read the book before it was a movie and Foster does a fantastic job with her reading using different voices, accents, etc. Nice production values too, with unobtrusive music and sound effects used to good effect. Truly a labor of love and a wonderful tribute to Carl. If you enjoyed the film, you will love this.

kentauros

(29,414 posts)
3. Yes, I think it was his only work of fiction.
Wed Jun 19, 2013, 10:58 AM
Jun 2013

A self-help author I like also wrote a work of fiction, once. The story still came across as one of the "teaching" books, and not so much as a nice bit of escapism.

However, it sounds like Foster has managed to get it beyond any story-telling problems. Most audiobooks and the like are better at presenting the story than people would think

So, are you going to see the next Jodie Foster movie, Elysium, when it comes out soon? It looks good, and I didn't recognize her at first.

pokerfan

(27,677 posts)
4. I was hoping that there was a book I might have missed
Wed Jun 19, 2013, 11:23 AM
Jun 2013

Elysium might be good but I will wait for reviews.

In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on Elysium stanford torus[6], a massive high-tech utopian metropolis located in orbit around earth that is free of crime, war, poverty, hunger, and diseases, while everyone else lives on an overpopulated, ruined Earth below.

Sounds like Star Trek's (TOS) The Cloud Minders.

kentauros

(29,414 posts)
5. I know the masses won't notice in that little blurb,
Wed Jun 19, 2013, 12:04 PM
Jun 2013

but the last thing you want happening on a space station is a war

And yes, it does sound like The Cloud Minders.

For massive space-station type stories, I'd love to see The Two Faces of Tomorrow.

pokerfan

(27,677 posts)
6. I would like to see Ringworld
Wed Jun 19, 2013, 01:36 PM
Jun 2013

That's about as massive a "space station" as humanly or alieny possible.



In 2004, the SyFy Channel reported that it was developing a Ringworld miniseries.[8] The series never came to fruition.

In 2013, it was again announced by the SyFy Channel that a miniseries of the novel was in development. This proposed 4-hour miniseries is being written by Michael R. Perry and will be a co-production between MGM Television and Universal Cable Productions.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringworld#Film

kentauros

(29,414 posts)
7. I know "siphie" has produced some good miniseries in the past,
Wed Jun 19, 2013, 02:48 PM
Jun 2013

but I haven't watched them since their re-branding. I have to wonder if this one will be any good or not. May just wait until it's on Netflix.

And I'd love to see a good theatrical version of Ringworld. The kind of science fiction we like isn't the standard fare for Hollywood, and why we don't see as many, either. Exploration, scientific curiosity, low-action puzzles don't go over too well with Hollywood.

Now, for falling within that kind of criteria, why not a great rendition of Stainless Steel Rat? Seems like audiences would love that future of Planet Dirt

pokerfan

(27,677 posts)
8. SSR
Wed Jun 19, 2013, 03:20 PM
Jun 2013

would make a great SF comedy series (I could even see it as a half hour sit-com) but perhaps not accessible enough to the average viewer to gain the interest of a studio. Still, the popularity of the Big Band Theory tells me that there's a market for geeky programming.

kentauros

(29,414 posts)
11. I've never watched Big Bang Theory,
Wed Jun 19, 2013, 06:56 PM
Jun 2013

so I don't know how audiences would take something like SSR. I'd say we should propose it to the British, instead, seeing as how they've had some great success with sci-fi comedies

kentauros

(29,414 posts)
10. Considering he could pick our average locked door without breaking step,
Wed Jun 19, 2013, 06:54 PM
Jun 2013

I'd say he'd think he could get away with a Brazilian

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