The CORE, bitches!

With apologies to Chapelle.

Today, via Oliver Willis, (mine was based on the giant French one, this is in Mexico):


and ...

Japanese Journey to Center of the Earth (oh we tell you it's just a drill. I signed an NDA ...)

Aaron's invention in the movie was based on both this and a project a friend of mine worked on for his graduate degree:

New Radar Can See Through Walls

My point is not validation, as petty as I can occasionally be. My point is that science is cool, and will provide all the fantastic ingredients we desire for our wee scifi adventures.

Brings back memories of arguments at the studio. When I came on the project, they were rather proud of the ideas they'd come up with ...

Studio: The vessel that digs to the center of the earth --
John: Yes?
Studio: Has a diamond windshield.
John: ...
Studio: DIAMOND WINDSHIELD!
John: You realize, this vessel digs. It is constantly digging.
Studio: Yes!
John: Then what will you see through this windshield?
Studio: Not following.
John: You know when you're driving through very heavy rain, and you can barely see?
Studio: Yes.
John: Now imagine that rain is magma and rock.
Studio: ... oh.

The fact that I managed to keep the dinosaurs out of the movie (I am not shitting you) was a bloody miracle in itself. This is generally why the science in sci fi movie sucks, by the way. It's not that we writers have no faith in the audience being able to understand the science -- it's getting the science past executives who a.) are science illiterate and b.) believe that if they don't understand it, the rube audience won't.

(That's not because they're elitist, by the way. They're narcissistic. That distinction is, if not important, at least relevant)

In retrospect, it is -- with the exception of one or two particularly awful bits of plotting from the studio (Project DESTINI) -- exactly what Jon Amiel and I set out to make. An old school 1960's science hero movie.

Also in retrospect, we probably should have told Paramount that's what we were making, as they were rather expecting Armageddon. Whoops.

Now as to that "wiring a computer to a shortwave radio" crap in Transformers, don't look at me.