Charlie Jane Anders

These metallic dresses were created with iron filings and magnets

This dress looks like an alien exoskeleton — but it was actually “grown” using mega-magnets, out of iron filings and a special resin. Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen created this magnetic dress in collaboration with product designer Jólan van der Wiel for Van Herpen’s 2013 fall/winter couture collection. As Wired Design explains: The van Herpen…

The Truck is probably the best “evil truck” movie of the year

In The Truck, a truck chases people around and tries to… run them over. Is it haunted? Is it Satanic? Is it just born evil? Is anybody even driving this thing? Whatever the truth, stop lights can’t stop it. Even barriers made of thin plywood can’t stop it. Yes, The Truck is your new cult…

First Teaser for the Epic Documentary About Nic Cage’s Superman Lives

Of all the doomed Superman projects leading up to Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, the oddest might be the Nic Cage-starring, Tim Burton-directed, disco-tinged Superman Lives. We dissected the majesty of the movie’s screenplay before, but here’s your first glimpse of the documentary. Featuring Cage himself! https://gizmodo.com/proof-that-superman-lives-would-have-made-batman-robi-5981002

Is Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar really about climate disaster?

Christopher Nolan is filming his hard science-fiction movie Interstellar, and we couldn’t be more excited. Originally written by Jonathan Nolan for director Steven Spielberg, Interstellar is based on the theories of CalTech physicist Kip Thorne. But now we may know why humans need to go to another planet. https://gizmodo.com/spielberg-gets-his-2001-on-with-wormhole-saga-368989 According to the Fort MacLeod Gazette,…

These fan-made Peter Capaldi Doctor Who credits are astounding

Can’t wait to see Peter Capaldi take ownership of the TARDIS in 2014? 3-D artist NeonVisual (aka Xander David-Hugh) has you covered. He’s created some brand new Capaldi opening credits that look neat enough to be the real thing. Meanwhile, if you’re a massive Doctor Who fan and want to get married during the 50th…

Did studio meddling cause all the problems with Star Trek: Enterprise?

Very few people really love Enterprise, the Star Trek prequel series that aired for four years. Until its final season, this show seemed to be struggling with the worst elements of both prequels and sequels, given its confusing time-travel storyline. But on the Blu-ray special features, the show’s creators blame the studio. Top image: The…

Will Jonathan Nolan deepen Person of Interest‘s themes in Westworld?

Jonathan Nolan has explored the nature of artificial intelligence in some intense, thought-provoking ways in his show Person of Interest. Now he’s making a Westworld TV show for HBO, and it’s described as “a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin.” In Westworld, a theme park features robots who…

Zack Snyder explains why he wanted mass deaths in Man of Steel

Why did so many people have to die in the climax of Man of Steel? Even in a summer full of disaster porn and murder porn, the Superman reboot stands out in its bloodthirstiness. But now at last, director Zack Snyder is explaining: the deaths are necessary to make it connect to myths and legends.…

Could Mr. Nobody be the philosophical epic we’ve been waiting for?

One of the most long-awaited indie genre films is finally coming to theaters this fall. The intense, philosophical Mr. Nobody, starring Jared Leto, premiered at the Toronto Independent Film Festival in 2009, and is finally coming to our screens. Here’s the official synopsis for Mr. Nobody, from director Jaco Van Dormael, which got tons of…

Why Stardust deserves to become a movie classic

Most movie adaptations of fantasy books make disappointing changes to the source material — but over at Tor.com, Emily Asher-Perrin argues that Stardust is a rare exception. And she makes a strong case that Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s book deserves to become a fantasy film classic. Writes Asher-Perrin: It’s easily one of the…

The Essential Guide to September’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy

Fall is here, and science fiction and fantasy are taking you where you’ve never gone before! There are tons of new TV shows, including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Plus some great movies, including the return of Riddick. Plus Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining! Here’s everything you can’t miss in September. Top image: The Mammoth Book…

What’s the worst misunderstanding of computers in pop culture?

You know computers? Those magic boxes that can do anything — unless the entire Internet is taken down by a virus of course. Pop culture often has a fuzzy idea, at best, of how computers actually work. But what’s the most heinous misrepresentation of how computers work in pop culture? Please include a picture or…

Marvel execs rejected the Spider-Man musical as “entirely wrong,” after they saw an early draft that featured the supervillain Arachne, according toa new tell-all book by the long-suffering playwright who worked on the book.

Biggest Box Office Hits and Misses of Summer 2013

Was this the most brutal movie summer? It certainly felt that way. Tons of massive films completely tanked at the box office, and some of our most highly anticipated movies were huge disappointments. But this summer also beat last summer for total ticket sales. Here are the summer’s biggest winners and losers. Back on May…

9 Scientific Breakthroughs That Killed Science Fiction Subgenres

Science fiction looks to the future — but sometimes the future catches up to you. Sometimes, an idea generates tons of great science fiction stories — until science reveals the truth, and kills it dead. Or technology surpasses it. Here are nine scientific breakthroughs that destroyed science fiction subgenres. Top image: Barsoom Art by Michael…

A Robot That Climbs Walls to Paint Graffiti on Them

The city of tomorrow will be a lot more vertical, as more people are crammed into small spaces. So Berlin designers Julian Adanauer and Christoper Haas have created the Vertwalker, a robot the size of a Roomba that can climb walls and paint on them. As John Brownlee explains in Fast Co. Design: The main…

Meet your new Ultron. Boston Legal’s James Spader is playing Ultron, the murderous supercomputer, in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the massive sequel to last year’s superhero team-up film. So, no Paul Bettany, then?

Star Drunk is the drunkest science fiction movie you’ll ever watch

There’s plenty of science fiction that looks like people involved with it were tipsy or impaired — but this might be the first space action movie that was written, directed and acted by drunk people. Star Drunk, people: the movie that is its own drinking game. As quoted by Laughing Squid: Star Drunk is an…

Read the screenplay for the scrapped 2002 Batman Vs. Superman movie

We have to wait nearly two years to see Henry Cavill’s Superman take on Ben Affleck’s Batman on the big screen — but you can read the screenplay for another Superman/Batman movie right now. Top image: Charles Logan on DeviantArt Below is a ScribD embed of the script for Batman Vs. Superman: Asylum, as written…

Which character had the most baffling personality shift?

Sometimes you grow to love a character — or at least get used to him or her having a particular personality. And then… all of a sudden, this once-familiar character has a completely different personality, in between movies or seasons of a TV show. What’s the most baffling personality shift of all time? Please include…