Why the Huntsman looks promising!

Check out the early teaser trailer for Huntsman: Winter's War.

There were so many things I loved about Snow White and the Huntsman: The story is interesting. Charleze Theron and Chris Hemsworth deliver stellar performances, as does most of the rest of the cast. It's shot beautifully. But, Kirsten Stewart just didn't hold up against her powerful cast-mates, and doesn't seem to fit into this genre. I love her as Joan Jett though. The point is, I was very sad when it did not do well because it sets us up for a potentially spectacular sequel. A sequel that is sure to never come when the first one undersells.

So, imagine my surprise to see a little poster including the Huntsman. What could this be? And even more interesting there's no Snow White?

Nope. No Snow White here. She has been replaced by 2 new female characters: The Ice Queen (played by Emily Blunt) and "The Warrior" (played by Jessica Chastain). Did you notice Chastain's line in the trailer, "I never miss"? Could she be a new incarnation of Merida from Brave?

 I'm just speculating at this point, but I wouldn't mind Merida crossing over. Those of you who know me, know that I always love a red headed badass in my fantasy film.

But, I digress... 

I love this dark, gritty world they have created in Huntsman and I'm excited to see it turn into a new Fantasy Franchise. Fingers crossed and all that. I will definitely be following this film!

NUDITY

So, I'm an actor... and a very common question I get from male producers and directors is something like: "I can you a part, but are you willing to do a nude scene?" And the real answer is, yes if it's absolutely crucial to the plot and the character and the shots are tasteful. But, who the heck are you to ask me that before even mentioning a script? News flash, guys, the "will you get naked for a part?" question smacks of porn. So, when I say, "No, I won't go nude for your movie." It's because I think you're either propositioning me or trying to con me into working on a porno for free. Either way the answer is No, you low class amateur.

Nude for free is the next place I draw a line. Go through the breakdowns (acting job postings) on any site and you are guaranteed to find non-paying "jobs" for indie films and student films that require nudity. Seriously??? Even if she loves your project, no self-respecting woman should be willing to take off her clothes for free on immortal film. Don't take advantage of the desperate artist trying to build her reel.

Hey, Natalie, you're going to far. The body is beautiful. I'm an artist! You're being a stuck up prude.

Okay, auteur, if you are such an artist, use your creativity to shoot angles that imply nudity without actually doing it. I have 3 words for you: Alfred - Hitchcock - Psycho. A woman dies in the shower and we see very little. That scene is one of the most prolific in film history. We don't see the knife plunging into her flesh. We don't see anything between her collarbone and knee, but it's one of the sexiest scenes in Hollywood. Sci/Fi is full of implied nudity. There are plenty of nude men and women floating in cloning tanks in Film and TV: X-files and Alien come to mind, but you will notice that the hands and feet are positioned in such a way that we don't see any of the sexy bits.

Personally, I can't understand why anyone in film school is allowed to have nudity in their project. That should be an automatic fail. You want to be a director of major motion picture and television? Learn how to shoot something interesting for a PG rating. You won't always be on HBO or SHOWTIME, and your backers won't always support an R-rated film. So, really it serves you to find a way show vulnerability and nudity in a new and unique way that spans all platforms. You want to be an artist? Appeal to the mind and the heart before the libido.

With that I will end my rant. Comments welcome.

Why is BB-8 Amazing?

I actually can't take full credit for this one...

I have come to accept that I am a very forgiving, some might say easy, movie-goer. You ask me to suspend my disbelief and I through that s*** right out the window. So when R2D2 is rolling around the desert on casters I never thought anything of it. Sure he can roll around in the desert. Because that's not hard at all. (Try skateboarding in the sand and let me know how that works out for you.)

Now we have a new driod: BB-8. He's cute! And, actually I saw the toy version of this little guy before I saw the trailer, so I never questioned whether that little head can stay on his soccer-ball body. It works... I've see it in person. :)

My boyfriend, however, was really not into BB-8. He was hung up how that little guy actually works. And why do we need a new Droid anyway? But, then he pointed out a bit of magic, that me with my easy suspension of disbelief never considered: Big round ball is easier to move on sand.

Wow... Yeah. That's true. Which comes back around to what I love so much about Star Wars and what makes any great SciFi great: Attention to details. Everything here has a reason for being. Yeah, BB-8 is cute and fun and the kids are going to get a great toy out of it. But, BB-8 might just be the most functional, brilliant machine we've ever seen in this franchise!

PS: Don't hate me, I still love R2 and C3P-O!!

Science Fiction is Important

Let me tell you why I love Science Fiction. IT"S IMPORTANT. Seriousely. It is the dream of a future yet to be realized.

Leonardo Da'Vinci imagined a helicopter (above) before the technology to create it was available. In the 1970's, Star Wars took the idea of prosthetic limbs farther than anyone had previously thought of with Skywalker's Hand. Guess what? That dream is coming true right now. Inventions from Back to the Future are becoming accessible as well: the self lacing shoe and hoverboards. 

Go back and watch 2001 Space Odyssey. Does anything in the still below look familiar?

Yep! That's an iPad in a 1968 film about the future. 

But science fiction does not only provide innovative ideas for possibilities in the future. It also serves as a kind of playground where we can trouble shoot the effectiveness and potential dangers of future invention. 2001 also cautions us against self preservation in Artificial Super Intelligence. We don't fly around with rockets strapped to our backs, as the people of the early 1900's envisioned because the Rocketeer showed us how dangerous and impractical that would be. 

It's as if the ability to dream of the future to invent and innovate and create is somehow separate from the ability to actually make it happen. The dreamer is too creative and the engineer too logical. But, an engineer can snatch an idea from a dreamer and make that vision a reality as long as the dreamer finds a way to demonstrate their vision through fiction: art, movie magic, etc... After all, isn't all theory a fiction until proven as fact or in this case invented into reality?

I rest my case. Science Fiction is IMPORTANT.

What does AI mean for Humans

Artificial intelligence is real. We use it everyday in ways we don't even realize because it's become so common place. Wait But Why explains this beautifully. It's a long article but one that is worth the read! Especially if, you know, you're doing research on the future of AI. Today, I'm not talking about the future of ASI: Artificial Super Intelligence is coming, the question is only when and how humans will respond to it. Which is why we see these questions played out in so much Sci Fi.

Films like: Her, Ex Machina, Terminator, iRobot, Chappie, Blade Runner, A.I., Automata, Ghost in the Shell, The Matrix Trillogy, let's not forget the Borg from Star Treck ... And the list goes on.

It's pretty bleak overall. The consensus here is basically that A.I. means the end of humans. As in our extinction. As in the Androids we give birth to will replace us. Yep, all peoples gone.

But I wonder, is this fear valid? Haven't we seen the resilience of the Human population all throughout history? We are nothing if not survivors ("parasitic" even, to quote Agent Smith). It donned on me as I watching Stan Lee's Super Humans that humans are already adapting, evolving even. The mutations we have seen in comic books are not much less similar to the sideshow and freak-show men and women of time past.

So, here's an idea: What if the progression of scientific technology, specifically artificial intelligence, causes humans to evolve more quickly to maintain dominance over our robotic children? I wonder what that would look like.

What do you think?

Welcome to my dorkside...

Ah me, why did I ever leave the path of nerdy curiosity and over zealous excitement?! Why? To be plain and boring... and ...ack... normal.

Well I'm back. I've been back for a while actually. And it's time give another go at blogging. At least my computer can't complain at me for ranting about science fiction and the future.

This here is a little introduction to moi. I'm Natalie, obviously. I'm an actor and a writer and a salesman. I also play D&D. While I have long since hung up my gamer hat... I retain bragging rights as one of the first people to ever play WoW. There I said it. *drop the mic*

I also really love Shakespeare and Greak myths and philosophy. And I get very excited about all these things.

SO, you can expect this blog to cover a lot of ground. I'm looking for all kinds of fun ways to express my creativity, and this is just one of those ways. I will also have links to YouTube-y stuff and acting announcements probably but only as it applies to my dorky soul.

Hope you NJoy this blog as much or more than I do!