Showbits

Tomorrow sees the release of Jumper, a movie about a young man (Hayden Christensen) who can instantly teleport to anywhere on the planet. He soon discovers this power puts him in the middle of two warring factions: people like him, known as Jumpers; and the Paladin organization, represented by Samuel L. Jackson, who believes Jumpers are a threat and must be destroyed.

Jackson must not have researched his quantum physics, as otherwise he'd know that teleportation inherently involves the act of destruction. It was one of many lessons recently learned at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology when Christensen and Jumper director Doug Liman joined two MIT professors on a panel examining the science of teleportation. The presenters attempted to bridge not only fantasy and reality, but also the smart and the savvy. Though Christensen seemed out-of-place on such a cerebral panel, his presence drew a crowd to an evening of high-level science made fun and easy to understand.

Read the rest of this entry at Computerworld.com »

When a movie, show, or franchise is successful, it not only spawns cheap imitators, but also encourages the funding and development of similar properties and adaptations. Without the success of Spider-Man and X-Men, we'd likely not have Heroes, for example. Observe RiffTrax's description of that show:

Imagine, just imagine, if ordinary citizens suddenly began to discover that they have acquired extraordinary powers. Why, you would have X-Men. But imagine if instead of acquiring X-Men-like powers of healing, time travel, mind control and the ability to fly these people instead had those powers but weren't X-Men! Why, then you'd have the very un-X-Men-like Heroes! Follow the exploits of Claire, Hiro, Peter, Logan, Scott Summers, and Jean Grey as they struggle to come to grips with powers that are so obviously not modeled after X-Men.

You need not be that cynical about new properties, regardless of their influences; nothing exists in a vacuum, after all. So while superheroes are currently en vogue, I'm nonetheless excited about Jumper, starring Hayden Christensen as a Nightcrawleresque ne'er-do-well and Samuel L. Jackson as the man who hunts him. (If a lightsaber's involved, this pairing cannot end well.) Based on Steven Gould's 1992 novel of the same name, this film's trailer is now available (tip of the hat to TheForce.net):

Most everyone wishes for superpowers, but I think it's in one's youth that the need for uniqueness, power, and escape is most powerful. So to see two young men with the most alluring of Star Trek's magics — teleportation — will have me first in line for this film's release on February 15th. Sure, Hayden Christensen did Star Wars: Episode II few favors as Anakin, but his performance in the sequel and in Life as a House have redeemed him in my eyes. And for those still carrying a grudge — well, here's your chance to see him disappear. :-)