It sucks so bad that he died. I find myself coming here every once in awhile to "visit" him and keep his memory alive in my heart. RIP Alan Rickman. You were taken from us far too soon.
Yes, one of the greatest, most atmospheric, spookiest voices in cinema. Amidst all the Harry Potter bullshitery, Alan Rickman was there to save the show. When I think of Galaxy Quest, I think of Grabtar's Hammer, because of his voice and wonderful acting. Materialist that I am, I still hope he may have gone to something better than this bleak Earth.
Alan Rickmans voice really fills your ears with a delightful feeling of satisfied fullness, and he seems to get his voice from right between his throat and his nose, at the level of jawbone or something like that. His voice is like an orchestra, while mine is just a single instrument. I think I smoke too much weed.
My grade 8 and 9 Science teacher took a life long love of science and made me HATE it. It wasn't until grade 11 that I had a Chemistry and Physics teacher that made me want to learn about science again. Bad teachers are very harmful.
+tahiyamarome For some though, learning through books is terrible. Personally, I require hands-on experience - learning by doing. My language skills are mostly attributed to my own willingness to learn. I consider being eloquent, in both speech and writing, very important. Sadly, it appears that proper speech and writing, in this day and age, is not considered important by most people. In fact even less and less so. Ah, well, I'm done ranting. Sorry for taking up your time.
+rrtodd95 Agreed, I failed math classes or barely passed till my junior year of high school, finally got a great teacher and I was getting B's and A's mostly B's but still.
wow! I think you may be more artsy than you think or admit to be. I have realized, that there are aspects of art in everything! Disappearing into your own world is most definitely branding you as artistic.
@@roberthenderson2580 Robert, British English has its spelling variations, different accents and so forth. FYI, most of the English-speaking world shares British grammar, spelling, and, other than the Canadians, accents that are more similar to the British accents than to the American ones. Besides, all ex-colonies have older versions in pronunciation and grammar than the metropolis, and by metropolis, in this case, I mean the ex-British empire. In terms of American spelling, check out a guy by the name of Noah Webster. I'm sure you've heard of American dictionaries with variations in titles of the name Webster. Example: the Merriam Webster dictionary. I may not be a scientist, but I am an applied linguist, specialized in English, and the history of this language. So, no, "Maths" is not wrong. In many English-speaking countries, perhaps with the exception of Canada, this is the spelling they use.
Man... Alan Rickman has been my fav actor through all time, but watching him in the interview pieces, listening to him... we have truly lost one of the great great great ones. It saddens me deeply. One of a kind, humble, intelligent... a master in what he did. Rest In Peace Alan Rickman, a legend who will always live on in our hearts.
"I am a good editor of a script, but i have no idea what it means to sit down with a blank piece of paper and come up with a story. But i am the servant of it when it arrives."
Alan is one of my favourite actors. He speaks pure Shakespeare in even the most goofy movie (ie, Galaxy Quest, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Harry Potter, etcetera). He is the epitome of a true actor/artist. And yes he has one of the best voices ever. Amazing to think how much I detested him when he played Hans Gruber in 'Die Hard' and came to love him as an actor in Harry Potter, etcetera.
The best part was at the end when they had to seperate the ship or they would crash into earth and then they had several minutes to say their goodbyes. What fantastic writers for that movie.
I love when Charles Liu is a guest. He's one of the few co-hosts that can be counted on to have something interesting and insightful to add to the conversation. I would round that out with Chuck Nice and Leighann Lord as the comedians and I think you'd have the perfect regular cast for this show. Some of the other co-hosts can sometimes be annoying to the point of being obnoxious and often don't add to the discussion as well as the ones I mentioned can be COUNTED ON to.
I think Charles is flocking awesome!!! Chuck is awesome as well. I wish that these three guys did more shows together as their personalities have excellent chemistry. :)
28:40 "When people know their science, it informs their art and enriches their storytelling." Spot on! If only the new Jurassic Park movie understood this. Feathered raptors, anyone?
I heard Neil Tyson talk a lot about designs in movies, about aliens for example and how he doesn't understand the design choices they made (eg. Avatar's Na'vi look like big blue humans). The one factor that people like him and you, Thagomizer, don't understand, is storytelling. The sole purpose of a design is to drive the story forward, not to appear logical from all angles. Why are the raptors in the new JP naked? Most probably because they look way scarier than with feathers and it's more important that they look scary than "accurate". Why do the Na'vi look so similar to humans, even tho they developed in a completely different place? Because we as viewers need to be able to identify with them, read their emotions and understand their ways. As soon as the design becomes too "otherwordly" the audience can't connect with it.
“The one factor that people like him and you, Thagomizer, don't understand, is storytelling. The sole purpose of a design is to drive the story forward, not to appear logical from all angles.” I have an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts. My work has been published in The Bridge, Samizdat Literary Journal, Blank Fiction Magazine, and Canyon Voices. In 2007, my memoir won 1st place for Creative Non-Fiction at a time when less than 1% of the submissions were even published and a work of short fiction by me won 2nd place in the same issue. I attended the Martha’s Vineyard Writer’s Colony in 2012 and the Wharf Writer’s Conference during the same year, during which my novel pitch caught the attention of both agents brought in to hear it. I have also attended AWP in Boston, guest lectured at Arizona State University, and read at San Francisco and Martha’s Vineyard. Unless you have a book or two published, work as an editor for a major publishing house, or currently teach writing workshops at the post-secondary level, you are in no position whatsoever to tell me that I don’t understand storytelling. “Why are the raptors in the new JP naked? Most probably because they look way scarier than with feathers and it's more important that they look scary than "accurate".” That depends on what paleo-artist you’re looking at. There is some amazing stuff out there, most notably from the likes of Julius Cstonyi, Luis Rey, and quite a few others. Certain modern feathered fiends, like Emus and Cassowarys can be pretty fucking terrifying. As for me, I know far too much about dinosaurs to enjoy most mainstream depictions of them. One thing the fossil record is consistently proving, however, is that dinosaurs are much weirder and more interesting that anything a fantasy or science fiction artist could dream up. What’s truly depressing to me is that many mainstream audiences prefer their childhood chimeras to the richer reality that’s currently being opened up to us by modern science. My enjoyment of dinosaurs only increases with age. The main reason I don’t actually write science fiction is because I respect science too much. I know enough to know that I don’t know enough, so I usually write fantasy and horror instead, which I consider the true liberation of the imagination. Science Fiction, on the other hand, usually exists to explore the philosophical, or sociological impact of real or possible science. It takes place in the world of the supposedly possible. You can, of course, argue that the audience is only familiar with the JP chimeras and the newest sequel thus needs to adhere to them in order for anyone to buy it. The trouble is, Speilberg and Crichton could have used that exact same excuse to give us tail-dragging Tyrannosaurs and swamp-dwelling sauropods in 1993, because that’s what the audience would expect. They also could have forgone the use of unfamiliar creatures like Velociraptor and Dilophosaurus, because they less well known to the audiences of the day, and the world would have been all the poorer for it. The trailer for the new JP film even gives us a convenient excuse to update the dinosaurs accordingly (“We know far more about genetics than we did before.”) The first JP film broke ground by bringing the audience up to speed somewhat (by portraying late 1980’s dinosaurs instead of 1960’s dinosaurs). The dinosaurs in JP are still stuck in the 1980’s. It’s 2015 now. “Why do the Na'vi look so similar to humans, even tho they developed in a completely different place? Because we as viewers need to be able to identify with them, read their emotions and understand their ways. As soon as the design becomes too "otherwordly" the audience can't connect with it.” And it’s rather manipulative that way. District 9 dealt with similar themes in a more challenging manner. The aliens in that film were repulsive rather than cute-looking, and somewhat animalistic. It’s hubris to think that anything which comes from space should look like us. It makes the audience wonder whether or not they would treat the prawns with the same amount of disdain. Avatar is fairly shallow by comparison. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the setting, but the story was the weakest element of the movie.
Thagomizer First, let me apologize for making baseless assumptions about your storytelling skills. The chances that you're an awarded writer were reather small.. ;) I myself am no writer, I'm a concept artist. I have a diploma in entertainment design from FZD. That means I understand less about storytelling than you, but I definetly understand enough about the visual aspects of an IP. "As for me, I know far too much about dinosaurs to enjoy most mainstream depictions of them. One thing the fossil record is consistently proving, however, is that dinosaurs are much weirder and more interesting that anything a fantasy or science fiction artist could dream up. What’s truly depressing to me is that many mainstream audiences prefer their childhood chimeras to the richer reality that’s currently being opened up to us by modern science." and... "You can, of course, argue that the audience is only familiar with the JP chimeras and the newest sequel thus needs to adhere to them in order for anyone to buy it. The trouble is, Speilberg and Crichton could have used that exact same excuse to give us tail-dragging Tyrannosaurs and swamp-dwelling sauropods in 1993, because that’s what the audience would expect. The fact that the Jurassic IP has already been established in 1993 and is being loved since then makes the mainstream audience have much clearer expectations for the sequel/remake regarding the overall design, than the audience generally had about dinosaurs in 1993. Also a big part of the "old audience" has probably never seen any moving imagery of a dinosaurs pre JP. I understand your concerns that Hollywood often seems to have little interest in creating up-to-date representations of a certain subject, I really do. One of the very basic principles of design is that you always have to base it on something people can relate to by at least 80%, (even the aliens in District 9 "look like prawns") sometimes that's a huge restriction. But at the end of the day this is a business, as I'm sure you're very well aware. And when you spend over $150 Mio. (in case of Jurassic World) for a movie, you better make sure it sells and here we are on the subject of risk taking. Is it safer to cater to all the "dinosaur geeks" (no offense ;)) out there that want to see dino's with feathers, or is it better not to reinvent the IP and keep the old working design that the main audience expects? Since they played it safe and went for the latter they introduced that hybrid dinosaur scenario, so the audience sees something fresh. It's the above mentioned formula, a small new feature on a old working base. They're always gonna go for that, even if it's less accurate, because at the end of the day, (familiar) entertainment makes more money than accuracy. It's a movie, not a documentary. "District 9 dealt with similar themes in a more challenging manner. The aliens in that film were repulsive rather than cute-looking, and somewhat animalistic. It’s hubris to think that anything which comes from space should look like us. It makes the audience wonder whether or not they would treat the prawns with the same amount of disdain. Avatar is fairly shallow by comparison. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the setting, but the story was the weakest element of the movie. " I agree on most points. But since the stories are different the focus was too. District 9 catered to a much more narrow audience, *because* they chose a more repulsive design than the much more children friendly Avatar. And guess what? Avatar had a budget of $237 Mio while District 9 was at $30 Mio. I love both movies and it's hard to compare them because the settings are so different. I would'nt say Avatar had a more shallow story, the pattern has just been used many times before eg. in Dances with Wolves and District 9 is rather fresh in comparison. Even tho I found District 9 emotionally moving, watching it always gave me a mild feeling of disgust/"what the heck did I just watch" while after watching Avatar all I want is to visit Pandora. Not to say that one is better than the other but it all comes back to the design choices they made. It's a really tough job to walk that fine line of bringing the audience something unseen and at the same time familiar enough that they can relate to it. That's something most people that criticize designs never think about and what made me reply to your comment in the first place. It's not like creators of Sci-Fi movies lack imagination nor effort but at the end of the day we live in a world of compromise.
First, thank you for your generous reply. I admire the sort of work that you do. I've always loved fantasy and sci-fi art featured in Spectrum, Heavy Metal magazine, etc. I still frequent devinatart to this day. In high school and some of college, I had serious deliberations about majoring in illustration or fine arts, but upon the review of my portfolio I was told by an art department head that I was more of an "ideas person" instead. I don't have much else to add except that part of the reason I'm somewhat harsh on the JP franchise is that hardly anyone has bothered to make a serious film featuring dinosaurs since. For many, it seems that JP invented dinosaurs, and I find that a bit disheartening. I could imagine a respectable cinematic adaptation of something like "Raptor Red", "Dinotopia" or "The Dechronization of Sam Macgruder", but instead we only seem to get Sequelman II, III, and IV, year by year. But regardless, I definitely agree with you about the feel of Pandora, and am excited for the possibility of an Avatar sequel. I honestly don't care what's done on Pandora so long as we get to visit the place again.
What makes SciFi so interesting? Alan R.'s comments were more or less dead on. The human drama, the human-fiction collision is where the great story derives. That is how things are sold to the audience, what is captivating.
I would share this with all my friends beause I find these relaxed talks with a premise on science very refreshing. Unfortunately spanish is my first language, as it is with my friends. I happen to understand english, not all of them do. This could be solved if there were subtitles available.
BESIDES BEING HANDSOME, BARITONE VOICE, HIS AÇÇÉÑT BECOMES ONLY "HIM" AN PROJECTION IN EVERY DIRECTION❤ing gentle calming, croquetly mischievous gentleman🎉
I absolutely love this show! While watching this episode, my husband and I had to pause it so we could go watch Galaxy Quest again! Don't ask how many times we've seen it, because I honestly don't know, but it's ALWAYS good!
Galaxy Quest was a play on "Star Trek", so the title made sense, but "out there" is a great title too. Both aspects of the film were great, the fishes out of water in space and the old TV show playing homage to Star Trek.
Fantastic chat! When I was taking dance in college, I had a Modern dance instructor, Kathleen Burick - a wonderful woman who made us do an exercise that emulated a flock of flying birds. She made us weave around one another without stopping or bumping another person. So many people were not able to do this gracefully. When Neil said it takes just one bird to be the follower, it made me wonder how the exercise would change if she used that strategy! The talk regarding the water and strobe light pattern was interesting as well. I've read about geometric patterns found when drums are played, resonance, and sacred geometry in plants etc. It's so cool!
Professor Liu is very right about a student failing. I remember looking forward to Chemistry so much in high school and when i go there I was always confused. The teacher hardly ever explained anything and it never felt fun. I always felt like learning was fun, but that class was torture. I ended up failing the second semester and had to make it up later on with a different teacher who was more engaging AND fun.
Looks like it's been years, but one of Alan's best movies is called Closet Land with Madelyn Stowe, they are literally the only two people in the movie, it is amazing! Love you Neil!
Never knew this show even existed until yesterday. Been a fan of Tyson for years from his hosting of Nova programs. Now I'm gonna get caught up. Great interview with Rickman. I remember one of his best roles was in a movie called "Dogma" where he played an angel. Now I gotta see that wine movie.
Rickman is awesome, he plays every role really good, even though I think Robin Hood wasn't a particular good movie, but hey portrayed the Sheriff of Nottingham really good and lifted the movie.
I'm going to enjoy this. Mr. Rickman was incredibly unique, and what the world needs. Especially today. I'm grateful that his brilliance could be seen in the character of Snape, but also in other films. I need to go back and see more of his work.
My math teachers slaughtered my love for math, my physics teacher killed my love for science. I didn't get it back until I was 26 years old and now I want to know all the things.
The trick is, having your curiosity and your aesthetic sensibility both satisfied simultaneously. Watching the birds, seeing the beauty, AND knowing that it looks that way because of the limitations of our senses/brains. And remain in that ambiguous space for a while.
Loved the discussion about how important good teaching is in science education! I only had biology in high school, so when I got to teachers college and had to take both physics and chemistry, I had no previous experience with either. I had a fantastic physics professor and got an A in that class. I had a terrible teacher for chemistry (who decided to teach after 30+ years in industry) and I barely got a C and only managed that by comparing lab notes with friends after each class.
Severus Snape was potion master. He was, basically, the chemistry teacher. Sirius Black (to Severus): "Why don't you run along and play with your chemistry set?" Severus Snape: "I could do it you know..."
Galaxy Quest: my favorite movie to just play it, shut my mind off, and enjoy the ride. There's an innocence about the movie; nothing too heavy, stressful, or political. Pure fun.
Actually Galaxy Quest is a perfect title, because it's what the movie is meant to be: a parody of Star Trek. Galaxy Quest is just a sinonym for Star Trek.
NEIL AND ALAN? THE TWO MOST AMAZING PEOPLE ON THE PLANET? TALKING? HAVING A CHAT ABOUT STARS? THE SEXIEST MAN ALIVE, AND THE SMARTEST MAN ALIVE? COMING TOGETHER AT LAST?! Guys please help me I think I'm going to explode "and the teacher wrote a hysterical paper, and he didn't mean that it was funny." YEPP I'M GOING DOWN. *HOLDS CHEST* "it's about a bunch of actors...possibly bad actors...." BEAM ME UP GOD! "I'm fascinated by watching...flocks of birds...just the way they make patterns whats going on there?" *neil starts explaining* GAME OVER MAN, GAME OVER! MY ADORABLE METER IS BROKEN IM GONNA EXPLODE WITH THE FANGIRL. "You see when your hearing this, I'm not really talking, your putting it together but all it is is a bunch of abstract noises, im never really speaking" ALAN GETTING TOO DEEP IN THIS SHIT OH MY GOD ALAN PLEASE STOP IM QUESTIONING MY OWN REALITY RN
Even if you pretend you don't know who Neil deGrasse Tyson, and you don't take him as an authority, he's just as awesome at a first glance. I an completely fascinated by this man.
Flock behaviour... that's brilliant... I actualy studied that algorithm in Artificial Inteligence this semester... I never actualy thought about it that deep, but I find it amazing that Sir Alan Rickman actualy noticed it from a layman's point of view.
It sucks so bad that he died. I find myself coming here every once in awhile to "visit" him and keep his memory alive in my heart. RIP Alan Rickman. You were taken from us far too soon.
It hurts my heart everytime I heard Alan's voice. I miss him. :(
I loved him as Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd.
he was the best i feel you on that very sad hes not here anymore......one of my top favorite actors of all time.
I miss him. He was wonderful. That voice.
+Serai3 agreed. He had one of those voices - wouldn't matter if he were cursing you....it was velvet, flowed over one's soul and senses....
Yes, one of the greatest, most atmospheric, spookiest voices in cinema. Amidst all the Harry Potter bullshitery, Alan Rickman was there to save the show. When I think of Galaxy Quest, I think of Grabtar's Hammer, because of his voice and wonderful acting. Materialist that I am, I still hope he may have gone to something better than this bleak Earth.
Two iconic voices in one video. Rest In Peace, Alan. We'll always remember.
*_After all this time?_*
*_Always_* /*
Serai3 he was a nice guy too
Let's not forget the first Die Hard movie!
Alan Rickmans voice really fills your ears with a delightful feeling of satisfied fullness, and he seems to get his voice from right between his throat and his nose, at the level of jawbone or something like that. His voice is like an orchestra, while mine is just a single instrument.
I think I smoke too much weed.
Kaiser Wilhelm wtf
I can relate 😂
Ha Ha ... =)
If you mean "smoke" is "listen" and "weed" is "Alan's voice", I encourage more. It's good for your "lungs".
I love it when Alan makes sure that the audience comes first. And he was so selfless for the art itself. God! We all miss him one of the greats indeed
My grade 8 and 9 Science teacher took a life long love of science and made me HATE it.
It wasn't until grade 11 that I had a Chemistry and Physics teacher that made me want to learn about science again.
Bad teachers are very harmful.
+tahiyamarome For some though, learning through books is terrible. Personally, I require hands-on experience - learning by doing. My language skills are mostly attributed to my own willingness to learn. I consider being eloquent, in both speech and writing, very important. Sadly, it appears that proper speech and writing, in this day and age, is not considered important by most people. In fact even less and less so. Ah, well, I'm done ranting. Sorry for taking up your time.
I have a brother who hates math because of a teacher who was a complete asshole. I totally agree.
+rrtodd95 Agreed, I failed math classes or barely passed till my junior year of high school, finally got a great teacher and I was getting B's and A's mostly B's but still.
+ShamblerDK Try Steven Pinker's book "A sense of style" ;-)
rrtodd95 like poison
I thought Alan Rickman's comment about disappearing into your imagination while reading a book was quite telling of his allegiance to art.
Im not an arty person but hes absolutely spot on! I do litterslly disappear into my own world created by my imagination fuelled by the book
wow! I think you may be more artsy than you think or admit to be. I have realized, that there are aspects of art in everything! Disappearing into your own world is most definitely branding you as artistic.
Douglas Moseley i reckon im closer to autistic than artistic tbh
that statement was artistic in of itself. Humorous people are artistic!
Douglas Moseley in case i must have some element of artistry in me then
"If you don´t like maths and science don´t blame maths & science, blame ME" - says the professor. Great!!!!
Ana Paula Carneiro gives me tears
I'm a teacher, too. I say that to my teens now every school year! So true!
It's MATH not maths.
@@roberthenderson2580 That's the British pronunciation. Most British is charming, but that one makes me cringe.
@@roberthenderson2580 Robert, British English has its spelling variations, different accents and so forth. FYI, most of the English-speaking world shares British grammar, spelling, and, other than the Canadians, accents that are more similar to the British accents than to the American ones. Besides, all ex-colonies have older versions in pronunciation and grammar than the metropolis, and by metropolis, in this case, I mean the ex-British empire. In terms of American spelling, check out a guy by the name of Noah Webster. I'm sure you've heard of American dictionaries with variations in titles of the name Webster. Example: the Merriam Webster dictionary. I may not be a scientist, but I am an applied linguist, specialized in English, and the history of this language. So, no, "Maths" is not wrong. In many English-speaking countries, perhaps with the exception of Canada, this is the spelling they use.
Man... Alan Rickman has been my fav actor through all time, but watching him in the interview pieces, listening to him... we have truly lost one of the great great great ones. It saddens me deeply. One of a kind, humble, intelligent... a master in what he did.
Rest In Peace Alan Rickman, a legend who will always live on in our hearts.
Hammern28 it saddens me truly, madly, deeply
@@skye4591ALWAYS
I got 3% on my physics exam! The fact that Alan Rickman got 4% makes me feel way better about that all those years ago!
I could listen to Alan Rickman read a phone book and never get bored.
09:00, 13:52, 23:40 and 29:02
-there you go
thanks!
Heidi thanks
You read my mind!
3 years later. still coming in handy
god bless your kind soul dear
How can you have Alan Rickman on a science show and not mention him as the voice of Marvin in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy?
Because it was such a bad movie compared to the BBC TV show and radio series
I agree. His writers failed him
Americans...lol
You will be missed Alan Rickman! Forever. Always.
I miss Alan Rickman. He's always been one of my favorites.
"I am a good editor of a script, but i have no idea what it means to sit down with a blank piece of paper and come up with a story. But i am the servant of it when it arrives."
That's a great quote.
Watching it in 2017 and still trying to hold back tears. RIP Alan
R.I.P. Alan Rickman. Goodnight Half-Blood Prince.
+«-·'¯'·.Ðꧧï©å‡êÐ ©ø®þ§ê.·'¯'·-» And flights of Half-Blood Angels sing thee to thy rest.
+«-·'¯'·.Ðꧧï©å‡êÐ ©ø®þ§ê.·'¯'·-» And flights of Half-Blood Angels sing thee to thy rest.
He's Metatron now
giphy.com/gifs/alan-rickman-dogma-gif-24X7AKJbD6JK8
They would never have been able to recast Snape, had Alan Rickman passed away before all the HP movies were finished.
Alan is one of my favourite actors. He speaks pure Shakespeare in even the most goofy movie (ie, Galaxy Quest, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Harry Potter, etcetera). He is the epitome of a true actor/artist. And yes he has one of the best voices ever. Amazing to think how much I detested him when he played Hans Gruber in 'Die Hard' and came to love him as an actor in Harry Potter, etcetera.
Yet another iconic actor gone far too soon. RIP Mr Rickman, you will live on forever with your fans : (
Alan Rickman also voiced the sad robot in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Galaxy Quest..... Best Star Trek movie ever.
The best part was at the end when they had to seperate the ship or they would crash into earth and then they had several minutes to say their goodbyes. What fantastic writers for that movie.
Man I miss Alan, He will always have a place in my heart
NICE!!! "Galaxy Quest" Reference always deserves a THUMBS UP.
I love when Charles Liu is a guest. He's one of the few co-hosts that can be counted on to have something interesting and insightful to add to the conversation. I would round that out with Chuck Nice and Leighann Lord as the comedians and I think you'd have the perfect regular cast for this show. Some of the other co-hosts can sometimes be annoying to the point of being obnoxious and often don't add to the discussion as well as the ones I mentioned can be COUNTED ON to.
I think Charles is flocking awesome!!! Chuck is awesome as well. I wish that these three guys did more shows together as their personalities have excellent chemistry. :)
Sincerely Dr. Tyson, As a professional broadcaster. . You ask your guests OUTSTANDING questions. Please. let them answer! Always a fan.
I remember seeing Galaxy Quest in the theater when it came out. It made me laugh so hard I thought my skull was going to come through my faceskin.
28:40 "When people know their science, it informs their art and enriches their storytelling." Spot on! If only the new Jurassic Park movie understood this. Feathered raptors, anyone?
I heard Neil Tyson talk a lot about designs in movies, about aliens for example and how he doesn't understand the design choices they made (eg. Avatar's Na'vi look like big blue humans). The one factor that people like him and you, Thagomizer, don't understand, is storytelling. The sole purpose of a design is to drive the story forward, not to appear logical from all angles.
Why are the raptors in the new JP naked? Most probably because they look way scarier than with feathers and it's more important that they look scary than "accurate".
Why do the Na'vi look so similar to humans, even tho they developed in a completely different place? Because we as viewers need to be able to identify with them, read their emotions and understand their ways. As soon as the design becomes too "otherwordly" the audience can't connect with it.
“The one factor that people like him and you, Thagomizer, don't understand, is storytelling. The sole purpose of a design is to drive the story forward, not to appear logical from all angles.”
I have an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts. My work has been published in The Bridge, Samizdat Literary Journal, Blank Fiction Magazine, and Canyon Voices. In 2007, my memoir won 1st place for Creative Non-Fiction at a time when less than 1% of the submissions were even published and a work of short fiction by me won 2nd place in the same issue. I attended the Martha’s Vineyard Writer’s Colony in 2012 and the Wharf Writer’s Conference during the same year, during which my novel pitch caught the attention of both agents brought in to hear it. I have also attended AWP in Boston, guest lectured at Arizona State University, and read at San Francisco and Martha’s Vineyard.
Unless you have a book or two published, work as an editor for a major publishing house, or currently teach writing workshops at the post-secondary level, you are in no position whatsoever to tell me that I don’t understand storytelling.
“Why are the raptors in the new JP naked? Most probably because they look way scarier than with feathers and it's more important that they look scary than "accurate".”
That depends on what paleo-artist you’re looking at. There is some amazing stuff out there, most notably from the likes of Julius Cstonyi, Luis Rey, and quite a few others. Certain modern feathered fiends, like Emus and Cassowarys can be pretty fucking terrifying. As for me, I know far too much about dinosaurs to enjoy most mainstream depictions of them. One thing the fossil record is consistently proving, however, is that dinosaurs are much weirder and more interesting that anything a fantasy or science fiction artist could dream up. What’s truly depressing to me is that many mainstream audiences prefer their childhood chimeras to the richer reality that’s currently being opened up to us by modern science. My enjoyment of dinosaurs only increases with age.
The main reason I don’t actually write science fiction is because I respect science too much. I know enough to know that I don’t know enough, so I usually write fantasy and horror instead, which I consider the true liberation of the imagination. Science Fiction, on the other hand, usually exists to explore the philosophical, or sociological impact of real or possible science. It takes place in the world of the supposedly possible.
You can, of course, argue that the audience is only familiar with the JP chimeras and the newest sequel thus needs to adhere to them in order for anyone to buy it. The trouble is, Speilberg and Crichton could have used that exact same excuse to give us tail-dragging Tyrannosaurs and swamp-dwelling sauropods in 1993, because that’s what the audience would expect. They also could have forgone the use of unfamiliar creatures like Velociraptor and Dilophosaurus, because they less well known to the audiences of the day, and the world would have been all the poorer for it.
The trailer for the new JP film even gives us a convenient excuse to update the dinosaurs accordingly (“We know far more about genetics than we did before.”) The first JP film broke ground by bringing the audience up to speed somewhat (by portraying late 1980’s dinosaurs instead of 1960’s dinosaurs). The dinosaurs in JP are still stuck in the 1980’s. It’s 2015 now.
“Why do the Na'vi look so similar to humans, even tho they developed in a completely different place? Because we as viewers need to be able to identify with them, read their emotions and understand their ways. As soon as the design becomes too "otherwordly" the audience can't connect with it.”
And it’s rather manipulative that way. District 9 dealt with similar themes in a more challenging manner. The aliens in that film were repulsive rather than cute-looking, and somewhat animalistic. It’s hubris to think that anything which comes from space should look like us. It makes the audience wonder whether or not they would treat the prawns with the same amount of disdain. Avatar is fairly shallow by comparison. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the setting, but the story was the weakest element of the movie.
Thagomizer First, let me apologize for making baseless assumptions about your storytelling skills. The chances that you're an awarded writer were reather small.. ;)
I myself am no writer, I'm a concept artist. I have a diploma in entertainment design from FZD. That means I understand less about storytelling than you, but I definetly understand enough about the visual aspects of an IP.
"As for me, I know far too much about dinosaurs to enjoy most mainstream depictions of them. One thing the fossil record is consistently proving, however, is that dinosaurs are much weirder and more interesting that anything a fantasy or science fiction artist could dream up. What’s truly depressing to me is that many mainstream audiences prefer their childhood chimeras to the richer reality that’s currently being opened up to us by modern science." and...
"You can, of course, argue that the audience is only familiar with the JP chimeras and the newest sequel thus needs to adhere to them in order for anyone to buy it. The trouble is, Speilberg and Crichton could have used that exact same excuse to give us tail-dragging Tyrannosaurs and swamp-dwelling sauropods in 1993, because that’s what the audience would expect.
The fact that the Jurassic IP has already been established in 1993 and is being loved since then makes the mainstream audience have much clearer expectations for the sequel/remake regarding the overall design, than the audience generally had about dinosaurs in 1993. Also a big part of the "old audience" has probably never seen any moving imagery of a dinosaurs pre JP.
I understand your concerns that Hollywood often seems to have little interest in creating up-to-date representations of a certain subject, I really do. One of the very basic principles of design is that you always have to base it on something people can relate to by at least 80%, (even the aliens in District 9 "look like prawns") sometimes that's a huge restriction.
But at the end of the day this is a business, as I'm sure you're very well aware. And when you spend over $150 Mio. (in case of Jurassic World) for a movie, you better make sure it sells and here we are on the subject of risk taking. Is it safer to cater to all the "dinosaur geeks" (no offense ;)) out there that want to see dino's with feathers, or is it better not to reinvent the IP and keep the old working design that the main audience expects?
Since they played it safe and went for the latter they introduced that hybrid dinosaur scenario, so the audience sees something fresh. It's the above mentioned formula, a small new feature on a old working base. They're always gonna go for that, even if it's less accurate, because at the end of the day, (familiar) entertainment makes more money than accuracy. It's a movie, not a documentary.
"District 9 dealt with similar themes in a more challenging manner. The aliens in that film were repulsive rather than cute-looking, and somewhat animalistic. It’s hubris to think that anything which comes from space should look like us. It makes the audience wonder whether or not they would treat the prawns with the same amount of disdain. Avatar is fairly shallow by comparison. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the setting, but the story was the weakest element of the movie. "
I agree on most points. But since the stories are different the focus was too. District 9 catered to a much more narrow audience, *because* they chose a more repulsive design than the much more children friendly Avatar. And guess what? Avatar had a budget of $237 Mio while District 9 was at $30 Mio.
I love both movies and it's hard to compare them because the settings are so different. I would'nt say Avatar had a more shallow story, the pattern has just been used many times before eg. in Dances with Wolves and District 9 is rather fresh in comparison. Even tho I found District 9 emotionally moving, watching it always gave me a mild feeling of disgust/"what the heck did I just watch" while after watching Avatar all I want is to visit Pandora. Not to say that one is better than the other but it all comes back to the design choices they made.
It's a really tough job to walk that fine line of bringing the audience something unseen and at the same time familiar enough that they can relate to it. That's something most people that criticize designs never think about and what made me reply to your comment in the first place. It's not like creators of Sci-Fi movies lack imagination nor effort but at the end of the day we live in a world of compromise.
First, thank you for your generous reply. I admire the sort of work that you do. I've always loved fantasy and sci-fi art featured in Spectrum, Heavy Metal magazine, etc. I still frequent devinatart to this day. In high school and some of college, I had serious deliberations about majoring in illustration or fine arts, but upon the review of my portfolio I was told by an art department head that I was more of an "ideas person" instead.
I don't have much else to add except that part of the reason I'm somewhat harsh on the JP franchise is that hardly anyone has bothered to make a serious film featuring dinosaurs since. For many, it seems that JP invented dinosaurs, and I find that a bit disheartening. I could imagine a respectable cinematic adaptation of something like "Raptor Red", "Dinotopia" or "The Dechronization of Sam Macgruder", but instead we only seem to get Sequelman II, III, and IV, year by year.
But regardless, I definitely agree with you about the feel of Pandora, and am excited for the possibility of an Avatar sequel. I honestly don't care what's done on Pandora so long as we get to visit the place again.
you never heard of brontosaurus burgers?
So glad Galaxy Quest was the most talked about movie in his career. Only fitting but it's my favorite movie of his. RIP
RIP Alan Rickman. Incredible actor.
He had the most beautiful voice of all time. Rip professor snape. You'll be in our hearts "ALWAYS"
this is a brilliant conversation of smart men talking about the mystery's of life. much love to them both. RIP Alan RIckman
As Prof. Snape Alan Rickman gave the role such emotional complexity.
What makes SciFi so interesting? Alan R.'s comments were more or less dead on. The human drama, the human-fiction collision is where the great story derives. That is how things are sold to the audience, what is captivating.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is as entertaining as he is intellectual. Genuinely one of the great minds of out time.
I had to spell check "intellectual".
That was flocking interesting.
Indeed, I'm a fan of flocking variables, in math and programming.
I would share this with all my friends beause I find these relaxed talks with a premise on science very refreshing. Unfortunately spanish is my first language, as it is with my friends. I happen to understand english, not all of them do. This could be solved if there were subtitles available.
BESIDES BEING HANDSOME, BARITONE VOICE, HIS AÇÇÉÑT BECOMES ONLY "HIM" AN PROJECTION IN EVERY DIRECTION❤ing gentle calming, croquetly mischievous gentleman🎉
I would listen to Neil read every recipe in my grandma's kitchen. I just love listening to him talk about anything.
I'm gonna miss Alan Rickman starring in future movies. Or TV shows. And that voice.
Charles is a great guest! Definitely bring him on more!
I absolutely love this show! While watching this episode, my husband and I had to pause it so we could go watch Galaxy Quest again! Don't ask how many times we've seen it, because I honestly don't know, but it's ALWAYS good!
Galaxy Quest was a play on "Star Trek", so the title made sense, but "out there" is a great title too. Both aspects of the film were great, the fishes out of water in space and the old TV show playing homage to Star Trek.
Fantastic chat! When I was taking dance in college, I had a Modern dance instructor, Kathleen Burick - a wonderful woman who made us do an exercise that emulated a flock of flying birds. She made us weave around one another without stopping or bumping another person. So many people were not able to do this gracefully. When Neil said it takes just one bird to be the follower, it made me wonder how the exercise would change if she used that strategy! The talk regarding the water and strobe light pattern was interesting as well. I've read about geometric patterns found when drums are played, resonance, and sacred geometry in plants etc. It's so cool!
Neil Degrasse Tyson is simply brilliant. The way he explained the flock of birds was so interesting I had to watch that part twice. Wow. So cool.
Alan Rickman's voice gives me goosebumps
Didn't realize that I was missing Alan's voice until I heard him speak in this video.
The chemistry of this show is fantastic. nothing makes day like seeing an episode of star talk has been posted.
Galaxy Quest was so underrated.
Man, Rickman had such a cool sounding voice.
I got 4 percent on my physics final, and I think they gave you one mark for getting your name right. This is why I love Alan Rickman
R.I.P Severus Snape.
We love you Alan!
Ditto🥺💔
Professor Liu is very right about a student failing. I remember looking forward to Chemistry so much in high school and when i go there I was always confused. The teacher hardly ever explained anything and it never felt fun. I always felt like learning was fun, but that class was torture. I ended up failing the second semester and had to make it up later on with a different teacher who was more engaging AND fun.
His embarrassing impersonations notwithstanding, Charles Liu is a cool nerd!
SIMKINETICS the impersonations were funny in a dorky way and he knew it XD
that barritone....Alan you will be dearly missed
oh Alan how I miss you =(
So happy the Nerdist hooked Dr. Tyson. I can listen to him all day.......wait.......I do. His StarTalk podcast is amazing!!
Prof. Snape and his voice!! nicceeee
Thanks so much Nerdist/Chris for getting this show on the Nerdist Channel! #nerdingout
Looks like it's been years, but one of Alan's best movies is called Closet Land with Madelyn Stowe, they are literally the only two people in the movie, it is amazing! Love you Neil!
I love Dr Charles Liu!!!!! His kniwledge of nerdy things astounds me!
"4% marks.." the most RELATABLE thing from my only favorite actor Alan!😂😂😂
I was listening to this on google play music & I wanted to watch dear Alan Rickman, RIP
Never knew this show even existed until yesterday. Been a fan of Tyson for years from his hosting of Nova programs. Now I'm gonna get caught up. Great interview with Rickman. I remember one of his best roles was in a movie called "Dogma" where he played an angel. Now I gotta see that wine movie.
Every trekkies fan dream come true.... I loved Galaxy Quest and Rickman was so brilliant
Rickman is awesome, he plays every role really good, even though I think Robin Hood wasn't a particular good movie, but hey portrayed the Sheriff of Nottingham really good and lifted the movie.
I'm going to enjoy this. Mr. Rickman was incredibly unique, and what the world needs.
Especially today. I'm grateful that his brilliance could be seen in the character of Snape, but also in other films. I need to go back and see more of his work.
yeaah charles liu is fucking awesome hahaha loved those awkward impersonations!
man... I miss Alan Rickman :(
I love Galaxy Quest, Alan Rickman & Neil deGrasse Tyson.
My math teachers slaughtered my love for math, my physics teacher killed my love for science. I didn't get it back until I was 26 years old and now I want to know all the things.
Do it!
+Johey Jonsson Same thing, man...Same thing. And I was good at math, too. Trying to get back into it, also.
I like how Alan got all philosophical during the bird flying segment. :P
The trick is, having your curiosity and your aesthetic sensibility both satisfied simultaneously.
Watching the birds, seeing the beauty, AND knowing that it looks that way because of the limitations of our senses/brains.
And remain in that ambiguous space for a while.
Loved the discussion about how important good teaching is in science education! I only had biology in high school, so when I got to teachers college and had to take both physics and chemistry, I had no previous experience with either. I had a fantastic physics professor and got an A in that class. I had a terrible teacher for chemistry (who decided to teach after 30+ years in industry) and I barely got a C and only managed that by comparing lab notes with friends after each class.
Alan Rickman 's Marvin , the depressed robot, in The Hictchicker's Guide to the Galaxy. One of my favorite movies and books.
Severus Snape was potion master. He was, basically, the chemistry teacher.
Sirius Black (to Severus): "Why don't you run along and play with your chemistry set?"
Severus Snape: "I could do it you know..."
Galaxy Quest: my favorite movie to just play it, shut my mind off, and enjoy the ride. There's an innocence about the movie; nothing too heavy, stressful, or political. Pure fun.
This episode was flocking amazing.
RIP Mr. Rickman
Alan Rickman... "The unforgettable villain of Die Hard"
I would love to see the original Rickman interview.
Gosh, what a fascinating programme and what a unique way to interview someone. Brilliant, loved it and thanks for uploading.
I failed all my science subjects, Still freaking love science!
Actually Galaxy Quest is a perfect title, because it's what the movie is meant to be: a parody of Star Trek. Galaxy Quest is just a sinonym for Star Trek.
Fudge yeah! My favorite actor and my favorite astrophysicist... In one video! I'm all over this!
May Alan Rickman rest in peace.
Really miss Mr Rickman
my little sister is in 3rd grade and has read all of the harry potter series. its crazy how far this series has reached
Sense & Sensibility, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Love Actually, A Little Chaos, Mesmer, Dogma, Galaxy Quest...Alan Rickman! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
I miss you so much Alan
Dude, I love this Charles Liu, I want to see more of him, he's funny and loves random quotes hehe
I love how Liu used "star"lings as an example
NEIL AND ALAN? THE TWO MOST AMAZING PEOPLE ON THE PLANET? TALKING? HAVING A CHAT ABOUT STARS? THE SEXIEST MAN ALIVE, AND THE SMARTEST MAN ALIVE? COMING TOGETHER AT LAST?!
Guys please help me I think I'm going to explode
"and the teacher wrote a hysterical paper, and he didn't mean that it was funny."
YEPP I'M GOING DOWN. *HOLDS CHEST*
"it's about a bunch of actors...possibly bad actors...."
BEAM ME UP GOD!
"I'm fascinated by watching...flocks of birds...just the way they make patterns whats going on there?"
*neil starts explaining*
GAME OVER MAN, GAME OVER! MY ADORABLE METER IS BROKEN IM GONNA EXPLODE WITH THE FANGIRL.
"You see when your hearing this, I'm not really talking, your putting it together but all it is is a bunch of abstract noises, im never really speaking"
ALAN GETTING TOO DEEP IN THIS SHIT OH MY GOD ALAN PLEASE STOP IM QUESTIONING MY OWN REALITY RN
BEST comment ever btw i literally felt the same *_*
Glad I clicked read more xD
Thank you for putting into words what I was feeling. Words have failed me.
i could just listen to alan talk forever.
Galaxy Quest is one of my all time favourite movies. Right up there with the Fifth Element. It goes without saying that Dr. Tyson is teh AWEsome.
Even if you pretend you don't know who Neil deGrasse Tyson, and you don't take him as an authority, he's just as awesome at a first glance. I an completely fascinated by this man.
Flock behaviour... that's brilliant... I actualy studied that algorithm in Artificial Inteligence this semester... I never actualy thought about it that deep, but I find it amazing that Sir Alan Rickman actualy noticed it from a layman's point of view.
Loved his voice and nice man and great actor!
19:11 i was thinking the same thing lol
and alan is awesome!