The New Minority Report TV Show and the Dangers of Out-of-Date Futurism

Interview with the Cast of TV"s Minority Report - IGN Live: Comic-Con 2015
Minority Report on Fox is set in 2065.

Screenshot via Fox.

During the publicity tour for the new Fox TV series Minority Report, executive producer Kevin Falls has pointed out that it is the first Steven Spielbergdirected movie to be adapted for TV. So ... no pressure, he concludes. While his premise is not entirely true (hes forgotten The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles), he is right to stand by his conclusion because he will likely feel pressure of many other forms. Most especially, because the show promises to deliver a large component of high tech in the near future. Such a promise is difficult to keep in an age when, to paraphrase whoever actually said the quote attributed to Yogi Berra, the near future aint what it used to be. The original film (made in 2002 and set in 2054) is already showing signs of what Douglas Adams and John Lloyd called zeerusta form of out-of-date futurism. The TV shows producers need to beware.

For the noisy lot of us born during the baby boom, there is a growing nostalgia for the future of our youth. By future of our youth I dont mean optimism about what we ourselves might have been. Weve long given up on that. I mean what we thought the future would be like when we were youngsters. For many of us, we thought the future would mean The Jetsons living in Walt Disneys Tomorrowland (the theme park attraction, not the movie), with all the tailfins, ray-gun gothic aesthetic, and Googie architecture you could cram into a New York Worlds Fair. Our parents may have lamented about surviving world wars and a Great Depression while our kids continually grouse about facing imminent climate change and acute economic inequality. But wheres the justice of living in a world in which we havent gotten our jet packs?!

Fond remembrances of futures past have been around ever since H.G. Wells Things to Come didnt come.

Fond remembrances of futures past have been around ever since the 1936 big-screen adaptation of H.G. Wells Things to Come didnt come. Its probably for the best that what happened in 1984 didnt happen in 1984 (except the legendary Super Bowl Apple commercial). But there was a burst of future nostalgia when the prophesies of 2001: A Space Odyssey proved to be nonprophetic. As it turns out, the failure of Pan Am and Howard Johnson to offer deep-space hospitality (or of the former to even exist) by 2001 had already been diffused by the abrogation of the Apollo program decades prior; the mild attention in nerd culture to Hal 9000s birth four years earlier; and the sobering gut punch of Sept. 11, which returned our focus to the present. Ten years later (April 21, 2011, to be exact) we blew past the oft-delayed Judgment Day from the Terminator movies only to be told in Terminator: Genisys that itll be back in a few more years. Most recently, a lot of digital ink has been spilled deciding whether the 2015 of Back to the Future II was an accurate or mistaken foreshadowing of the 2015 of 2015, but generally speaking the predictive abilities of the fictional world of tomorrow have been relegated to the trash heap of yesteryear.

The future yet to come doesnt look too bright either. After the next Terminator-led Judgment Day in 2017, the bleak events of Blade Runner unfold in 2019, just in time for the Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Soylent Green is on the menu for 2022, the grim city of the future that is Metropolis takes place in 2026, the global infertility of Children of Men will be borne out in 2027, Robocop reports for duty in 2029, Snowpiercer arrives at its dire destination in 2031, and I, Robot boots up in 2035. Good luck to anyone who lives long enough to see Woody Allen reawaken in Sleeper circa 2173, because the best he or she can hope for in the meantime is the 30-year midcentury whiplash of Looper, the did-it-or-didnt-it-happen happenings of Total Recall, and the mildly awkward, high-waisted couture of Her. Good times (to come).

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2015/09/fox_s_minority_report_tv_show_and_the_dangers_of_out_of_date_futurism.html

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Ky. Speedway expects same NASCAR date in 2016

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Full Race - Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond

Kyle Busch celebrates winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway on July 11, 2015 in Sparta, Kentucky.(Photo: Jeff Curry/Getty Images)

If there are major shakeups to next year"s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, a shift in date for the Kentucky Speedway won"t likely be among them.

Officials at the Sparta, Ky., track anticipate the Quaker State 400 again running in 2016 on the second Saturday night in July, one week after NASCAR"s stop at Daytona.

"We are expecting to be on the same weekend next year," Kentucky Speedway"s general manager, Mark Simendinger, said Monday. "I"d be very surprised if we aren"t. Nothing"s official until it"s official, but that"s what we"re all planning on."

NASCAR has taken longer this year to release the upcoming slate. By the end of August 2014, the 2015 schedule was out.

It was then that the series announced a shift in date for the Quaker State 400 from late June to mid-July, same as where the race positioned for its inaugural running in 2011. Kyle Busch, who won the first Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway, also won this summer in a race remembered for NASCAR"s rules experimentation.

Lower downforce and softer tires induced more passing, plus a back-and-forth battle between Joey Logano and Busch in the final 20 laps.

"I don"t think there"s a whole lot of debate so far that the best race of the year was right here at Kentucky in July," Simendinger said. "Now I know how Donald Trump feels. They"re talking aboutme when I"m not around. They"re getting out of the cars (at other tracks) and saying, "Why can"t we set up the cars like at Kentucky?""

The speedway"s current date is also of major importance on the schedule, with the Quaker State 400 the final 1.5-mile track run before the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR"s playoffs include stops at four similarly shaped ovals in the final 10 weeks.

The second-tier Xfinity Series returns to Kentucky Speedway this Saturday for the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300, a race preceded by Friday"s ARCA Racing Series event in Sparta.

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Source: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/motor/kentuckiana-motorsports/2015/09/21/kentucky-speedway-expects-same-nascar-sprint-cup-series-date-on-2016-schedule/72577976/

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Terrence Howard Walks Emmys 2015 Red Carpet With His Ex-Wife Mira Pak After ...

Emmys 2015 Exclusive | Uzo Aduba On Winning An Emmy for Orange Is The New Black

Lucious Lyon loves his exes! Terrence Howard celebrated his ex-wives, both on- and offscreen, on Sunday, Sept. 20. The Empire star, 46, arrived at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles for the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards, holding hands with Mira Pak, whom he secretly divorced this spring after two years of marriage.

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The pair posed together on the red carpet before entering the show, where Howard was a presenter alongside his costar and on-screen ex, Taraji P. Henson.

Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard speak onstage during the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

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Howards secret divorce came to light this summer during a court case surrounding his second ex-wife, Michelle Ghent, whom he was married to from 2010 to 2013. In the case, it was revealed that the Fox star and Pak had been living separately since August 2014, and that the pair officially started divorce proceedings in March. They share 4-month-old son, Qirin Love. His first wife was Lori McCommas, whom he split from in 2003 and remarried in 2005. They divorced a second time in 2007.

PHOTOS: Stars at the Emmys afterparties

But this isnt the first time Pak has been spotted at an event with Howard since their split. Earlier this month, she was by his side at two promotional soirees for the second season of Empire by his side.

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Source: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/terrence-howard-walks-emmys-2015-carpet-ex-wife-mira-pak-divorce-2015219

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Nickelback cancel UK tour dates after Chad Kroeger"s vocal cord surgery

Drake & Future - Digital Dash (What A Time To Be Alive Mixtape)
Nickleback have cancelled the remainder of their "No Fixed Address" tour, after lead singer Chad Kroeger revealed he"ll need a more extended period of rest following his recent vocal cord surgery.

The cancellation includes eight planned UK dates for November, as well as dozens of others throughout Europe between September and December of this year.

The band revealed the news through their website, releasing the following statement:

"Kroeger was diagnosed with an intracordal cyst on his voice box in June, recently underwent surgery and must remain on vocal rest as ordered by doctors for the next six to nine months in order to fully recuperate. The medical team is pleased with the results of the surgery, but Kroeger will need an extended period to recover properly."

Most of all, we are sorry to miss our fans out on the road this fall, but Chads health, healing and full recovery are what is most important right now."

"With the proper amount of time, we hope to have him back stronger and better than ever before. We thank everyone for their support and understanding during this time and look forward to getting back out on the road and playing music for everyone again real soon.

Getty

The North American dates on the same tour had been cancelled for similar reasons back in June. The UK events affected are as follows:

Sheffield Arena (November 13)Glasgow Arena (14)Newcastle Arena (16)Manchester Arena (17)Liverpool Arena (19)Birmingham Arena (21)Nottingham Arena (22)Wembley Arena (24)

Source: http://www.nme.com/news/nickelback/87613

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Seahawks vs. Packers: 4th quarter game thread

Russell Wilson to Doug Baldwin to Take the Lead! | Seahawks vs. Packers | NFL
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Source: http://www.fieldgulls.com/2015/9/20/9362395/seahawks-vs-packers-4th-quarter-game-thread

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College football rankings: Big Ten has top 2 in new AP Top 25

How Accurate is the AP Top 25 Poll? | 80Twelve

As more rankings come in, they"ll be included and combined for a composite once final.

That"s more like it! After two weeks with a few upsets and a whole lot of blowouts, we were treated to some excellent football Saturday in Week 3 of college football.

Ohio State and TCU had relative struggles with unranked Northern Illinois and SMU, while Alabama and USC both lost for the first times this season (to Ole Miss and Stanford, respectively). Notre Dame survived its first post-Malik Zaire test, beating Georgia Tech by a touchdown, while UCLA beat BYU 24-23 (and yes, it once again came down to the last play for the Cougars).

The biggest story coming into Sunday"s poll unveilings: how high will the SEC"s two biggest performers rise? Ole Miss has a legitimate claim to the No. 1 spot after its terrific first three weeks, while LSUmollywhopped Auburn 45-21 on the legs ofnew Heisman frontrunner Leonard Fournette.

Well, here we are:

AP Coaches Massey 1 Ohio State (42) Ohio State (61) Ohio State 2 Michigan State (7) TCU Alabama 3 TCU (tie) Michigan State (3) Georgia 4 Ole Miss (tie) (11) Baylor Ole Miss 5 Baylor Ole Miss Michigan State 6 Notre Dame Georgia TCU 7 Georgia Florida State Baylor 8 LSU (1) Notre Dame Florida State 9 UCLA LSU UCLA 10 Florida State Clemson LSU 11 Clemson UCLA Notre Dame 12 Alabama Alabama Georgia Tech 13 Oregon Oregon Clemson 14 Texas A&M Oklahoma Oklahoma 15 Oklahoma Texas A&M Texas A&M 16 Arizona Arizona Oregon 17 Northwestern Utah USC 18 Utah USC Stanford 19 USC Northwestern Arizona 20 Georgia Tech Georgia Tech Utah 21 Stanford Wisconsin Wisconsin 22 Wisconsin Oklahoma State Northwestern 23 BYU Missouri Kansas State 24 Oklahoma State Stanford BYU 25 Missouri Auburn West Virginia The four rankings we use:

The Associated Press Top 25: The longest-running and best-respected human poll. Didn"t have any official bearing on the latter years of the BCS, and won"t have any official bearing on the Playoff. Expect it to set the course for the committee, however, as most outlets (including SB Nation) will use the AP"s rankings as the standard until the committee takes over in November. Usually comes out on Sundays about 2 p.m. ET.

The USA Today Coaches Poll: Formerly part of the BCS, and now just a poll. It tends to be more conservative than the AP"s. Though polling athletic departments in order to rank other athletic departments is dubious, we still want multiple human polls in here, and it"s the other big one. Releases early Sunday afternoons.

The Massey computer composite: A collection of ... every rating out there, that will be included as soon as it is updated. By including it here, we"re giving extra weight to the two human polls, since they"re already two of the dozens of ratings included in the Massey. It changes over the course of the week as more rankings arrive.

Football Outsiders" F/+ rating: A synthesis of ratings by smart persons Bill Connelly and Brian Fremeau and our personal go-to overall team stat. It tends to come out later than the others, and also will be added as soon as it is updated.

Get all kinds of NCAA Football stories, rumors, game coverage, and pictures of Puddles in your inbox every day.

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Source: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/9/20/9359823/college-football-rankings-somehow-after-that-auburn-is-ranked-in-the

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Guide says new "Everest" movie is "incredibly realistic"

Everest Official Movie Review

Jason Edwards had only a few minutes on top of Mount Everest when he reached the 29,035-foot summit in 2001.

He looked around, taking mental photographs from the highest point on the planet. He gave a thumbs up for an actual camera as he posed for the obligatory summit shot. Then it was time to descend.

What he saw Tuesday night on a massive IMAX screen at the Pacific Science Center reminded him of that moment like no other Hollywood film hes seen.

That is about as close as you could probably get to emulating what the summit looked like and would feel like without being there yourself, said Edwards, an accomplished mountaineer whos climbed the highest point on every continent. It is incredibly realistic. I was very impressed.

Edwards was watching Everest, the latest recounting of the 1996 Everest disaster that saw eight people killed when they were caught in a storm during their summit attempt.

I literally couldnt tell which shots werent taken on the mountain, Edwards said. I know the mountain pretty well. Im sure if I sat there with some buddies and studied it, we might be able to figure it out, but it is really realistic.

Edwards says he looks forward to the next time he sees his friend David Breashears, a co-producer on the film, so he can learn more about how they filmed the movie.

Its magnitudes more powerful (in IMAX 3-D) than watching it on a flat screen, Edwards said. You were immersed in the experience. I think for me it was like, wow, I was feeling a lot of the same emotions I would have been feeling if I was there myself.

Edwards, 56, has a lengthy rsum that includes more than 300 Mount Rainier summits, numerous international trips and four trips to Everest. He guided on Everest in 1991, 94, 97 and 2001 for Ashford-based International Mountain Guides.

During those four years, he made five summit attempts, having to turn back the first four times for various reasons, including a frozen cornea in 1997.

He never regretted turning back and hed never second-guess those depicted in Everest who some have argued should have turned back sooner.

You shouldnt armchair quarterback if you arent there to witness it yourself, Edwards said. It was obviously a collision of bad weather and a challenging mountain that created the proverbial perfect storm.

Edwards has the decades of experience that allow him to pick apart climbing movies. He recalls seeing Cliffhanger, the 1993 Sylvester Stallone movie, and its laughable portrayal of rock climbing.

A bolt gun used to set anchors in solid rock was a particular annoying departure from reality.

I would love one of those guns, that would be just magnificent, he said. It made me laugh, and I realized I should just sit back and enjoy the film.

Thats what hes learned to do over the years. He doesnt let minor inaccuracies keep him from enjoying the movie.

But this film (Everest) is different, Edwards said. It is very realistic. It pulls you right in, even as an experienced climber.

Sure he could nitpick if he wanted. Some of the tents and gear appeared to be newer models than climbers would have had in 1996. Climbers likely would have worn overboots (neoprene covers for their plastic climbing boots) more often than they did in the movie.

There were things like not wearing sunglasses a lot, but I think that was for the benefit of the movie, Edwards said. But only little details like that that most people wouldnt pick up on.

As for the emotions whipped up by the storm, a storm that killed people Edwards knew, including one of his former clients, those were unmistakably real. They are emotions he doesnt want to share publicly.

The movie creates a feeling of loss and compassion for the climbers that were killed and for the survivors and their families, Edwards said. A few minute later he added, Its not a positive movie. It is a chronicle of human endeavor, challenge and loss. Really, thats what we all yearn to experience and overcome if possible.

Source: http://www.theolympian.com/entertainment/movies-news-reviews/article35503398.html

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