Has TRON's light cycle scene ever been so masterfully recreated than by this work of TRON Guy? I met Jay Maynard at ROFLCon a few years ago, and this advertisement for Duck-brand duct tape is the perfect amalgamation of his stereotyped perception and actual personality. Besides, what genius is it to advertise a specific brand of tape? It's like comedian Steven Wright has said: you never see an advertisement for string. All it takes is one ad to put your product ahead of the competition. I'd say Duck Tape just soared well past the other brands on the grid.

(Hat tip to 8 Bit Weapon)

Trailers have also changed a great deal over the decades, having once been more verbose, lackluster, and narrated, as evidenced by this 1982 preview for TRON:

Now let's take that same source material and recut it into something a bit more exciting:

A drastic improvement, no? The new trailer even runs the same length as the original, showing how much more effectively one can use an equal amount of time. But imagine how disappointed it would be to have been enticed into the theater by such a stunning an action-packed film, only to witness these opening credits:

These credits are designed in the style of Saul Bass, the graphic designer and filmmaker whose credits include North by Northwest, West Side Story, and Love in the Afternoon. As stylistic as TRON itself was, I don't find it's one that meshes well with this colorful intro.

How much of these design aspects can we expect to see in TRON Legacy? Will it be a successor in aesthetic as well as plot? Its first trailer bodes well; it's not long until we'll know conclusively.

(Hat tip to 8 Bit Weapon)

Whereas the TRON 2.0 video game and subsequent comic book starred the son of Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner), TRON's programmer, TRON Legacy appears to focus on the son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges).

This trailer reveals more than just an apparent replacement of back-lit animation with CGI. The plot indicates that, by the time his son comes looking for him, Flynn has been lost in the world of TRON for at least two days. Consider the implications! In the 28 years since the original TRON, advances in technology have produced computers that run at 3 GHz and can perform ten petaflops (10¹⁵ floating point operations per second). For one's consciousness to exist at that rate for 172,800 seconds would seem an eternity (a concept previously seen in such sci-fi as Star Trek: Voyager). After such a long separation from humanity, Flynn Jr. would understandably find his father older, wiser, and possibly far more sinister. As much as I hate to see heroes become villains — I'm looking at you, Hal Jordan — I recognize that such a plot device can make for excellent narrative. Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner obviously have faith in the script to have signed on to reprise their roles; we shall know in just a few months whether that faith is well-placed.

As with the original film, look for a simultaneous video game tie-in, TRON Evolution, on Windows, Sony PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Xbox 360. And to further explore the concept of life inside your computer, check out the television series ReBoot.

(Hat tip to ComingSoon.net)

Although this trailer contains original footage, its script is almost identical with that of the proof of concept video released this past fall. In fact, Apple brands this new trailer as a VFX concept test. I've never known a studio to stick so closely to the same demo. Whereas the film was previously scheduled for a 2011 release, we're now looking at December 2010 — so shouldn't we be seeing new scenes, not rehashing old ones?

Regardless of its originality, the above trailer is beautiful and worth watching several times. Accompanying it was the launch of several promotional sites, such as Flynn Lives and Home of TRON. These are just two of many outlets to tide you over until the 1982 film gets the sequel it deserves. Play the game. Read the interview. Watch the RiffTrax.

Whatever your choice, I suspect that in a year, we'll learn that it's not so easy on the other side of the screen.

I was witness to this union five years ago at a now-defunct local arthouse cinema, when comedian Chris Hanel and his troupe arrived for a live riffing of the film, MST3K-style. Just a few years later, RiffTrax was born, and then iRiffs, allowing independent parties to publish their riffs. So Hanel & Co. dusted off their script, brought it up to date, and published the first TRON iRiff:

If there's one thing I love as much as movies, it's video games. well before I actually played the Xbox 360 game Portal, I was enamoured with its end credits song, masterfully written by Jonathan Coulton. It's an admiration I share with Bill Corbett, who actually performed on stage with Jonathan, Paul, and Storm one lucky night last year.

That talent was recently reunited when Bill invited the musicians to the RiffTrax studios:

The end product of this grueling training: yet another riff on TRON!

I'm such a fan of Jonathan Coulton and his many varied works that I was a bit surprised to not find his RiffTrax sample as amusing as Hanel's iRiff — but it's hard to judge a 90-minute project on just a two-minute cut. One can never have too much TRON paraphernalia, so both groups will be getting my financial endorsement, regardless. Look for the final release of the Coulton riff on May 26.

(Hat tip to Satellite News)

It was at that time that rumors started to circulate of a sequel. I was of course hesitant at the prospect of some disrespectful director cashing in on the brand by rehashing the plot using modern technology and context. Fortunately, the last few months have alleviated my concerns, starting with a trailer for TR2N, as its called. The preview seems to contain no actual film footage, but its debut at Comic-Con revealed the cooperation of a key franchise figure. Watch it before Disney's lawyers yank it off YouTube yet again:

Like WarGames 2, TR2N is not a remake, update, or reboot — it is a true sequel. Its awareness of present-day cyberspace harkens back to when I asked visual effects specialist John Knoll "Do you think a Tron movie could succeed nowadays?". He responded:

I don't know! Whatever made [TRON] not successful in the first place would probably still be present in a remake, if they went with the same story. The fundamental plot devices are anachronistic now, so it'd need to be updated to be Internet-aware, with much less emphasis on mainframe computers and a much higher emphasis on personal computers and small portable devices. You could go in the Matrix direction, where some aspect of his personality is transferred over into the computer and they're linked in a way.

Another good sign: IGN recently interviewed Jeff Bridges, who seems genuinely enthusiastic about the project. As Star Trek novelist Dayton Ward told me, "It's neat that he sounds so excited to be doing this. It's not like he needs the money or anything."

The IMDb lists TR2N for a 2011 release. I hope that gives the cast and crew time to produce a final product that we, too, can be excited about.

Worcester Living, a bimonthly magazine of Central Massachusetts, recently printed an interview with Templeton native and resident Richard S. Kendall. The article is a fascinating look at not only Mr. Kendall's story, but also the films, stars, and visual techniques he encountered in his years as a special effects artist. His credits are far more numerous than his IMDb profile suggests, including TRON, Fantastic Voyage, the original The Poseidon Adventure, Planet of the Apes, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, among others. The picture of him being fed by Marilyn Monroe is one any red-blooded American would kill to be in. Unfortunately, since Worcester Living is an entirely print publication, you'll find no trace of the interview or its assets on their Web site.

A few weeks later, Worcester Magazine ran an interview with Kaz Gamble. Besides being part of the team behind the oft-delayed local independent film We Got the Beat, Mr. Gamble is also working on a documentary of my current stomping grounds of Worcester, Massachusetts. Here's what scene from his own life he would incorporate to epitomize Worcester:

We're on Richmond Street, getting out of St. Mary's — and that block itself looks like urban vibe — and some kids have a bus pass, so we leave there, take the bus downtown, hang out there, go to the Midtown Mall arcade, eat there in the mall, then the girls would try to flirt with us, and we leave, take the bus back out to the neighborhood, and going up to Holy Cross hill, all the houses there, the nice lawns, not like all the three-deckers, and in the evening, I would call dad to pick me up.

There are some pretty dull documentaries out there that consist of little more than pointing a camera at someone and presenting what they have to say, if anything; then there are fantastic documentaries that use that model as a base, but incorporate extensive editing and special effects to create a cohesive narrative. I hope Mr. Gamble has the wisdom to present this unique city as effectively as its rich history and unique culture deserve.

Yet even Sean "Hobbit" Astin couldn't elevate Slipstream out of obscurity. But before I review this film, I'd like to rewind the clock and examine its ancestry of other little-known time travel films: Time After Time, Time Changer, Timestalkers, Out of Time, and Happy Accidents.

I first became aware of Time After Time from the preface of Time and Time Again, a Superman graphic novel about time travel. In this movie, H.G. Wells' time machine is a reality and is stolen by Jack the Ripper, who uses it to travel from 1893 London to 1979 San Francisco. The most biting social commentary we get out of this situation is Jack's observation to Wells: "Ninety years ago, I was a freak. Today, I'm an amateur." The rest is a fairly typical murder-thriller. Malcolm McDowell was adorable as H.G. Wells, with plenty of laughable moments as he encountered various technological advances (though in general, his acclimation was much too smooth). David Warner, the villain, was recognizable from Tron, Quest of the Delta Knights, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, Titanic, Star Trek VI (as Chancellor Gorkon), and his voice work on animated films and shows. It was neat to see Mary Steenburgen in the role as the love interest of a goofy, time-travelling scientist, which she reprised in Back to the Future Part III. Overall, this mediocre story vacillated between amusing, gripping, and not much of anything.

Conversely, Time Changer had a bit too much commentary — not only on the state of society, but the causes for our supposed descent. This film has Gavin MacLeod (Murray Slaughter from The Mary Tyler Moore Show) sending a Bible professor from 1890 to the 21st century to see the consequences of eliminating Jesus' name from Jesus' teachings. I hesitate to call this movie "propaganda", as I'm sure the creators felt they were addressing a valid concern. But the film is so heavy-handed in its preaching of Christianity that it is obviously intended to be not just a sci-fi film, but primarily a vehicle for religious teachings. It was interesting to view this take on time travel, though, as the main character spent his time not ooh-ing and ahh-ing over our technological advancements, but instead despairing at the degradation of society and its morals — all as a result of us not letting Jesus into our hearts. The film ends rather pessimistically (and, again, not too subtly) by suggesting that our world has fewer than 45 years left in it before the literal second coming of Jesus and his Rapture.

Timestalkers and Out of Time are both made-for-TV movies from the late Eighties. Both continue the Time After Time trend of chasing futuristic criminals to our day. Neither film is on DVD, and only used copies of the former are available on VHS. Timestalkers features William Devane, Lauren Hutton, John Ratzenberger, and Forrest Tucker in a film in which a modern-day history professor becomes involved when police from the future track a fugitive to our own era. I remember this movie featuring some creative applications of time travel, such as getting around physical barriers by temporarily shifting to a period in which the barrier did not exist.

Out of Time's villain is pursued by time cop and talk show host Bill Maher, who teams up with his great-grandfather, a present-day cop. The film ends with a temporal paradox that I saw through even though I was only nine years old at the time of the viewing. But just as memorable and more enjoyable were the array of high-tech toys Maher brought with him to our time, such as the cellophane gun. Who knew being a lawman could be so much fun?

Finally, Happy Accidents stars Marisa Tomei and Vincent D'Onofrio in the cliched "man comes back in time to prevent a murder and fall in love" plot. Except here, we never really know if D'Onofrio is a time traveller or a lunatic; all his evidence and support are extremely suspect. It's ultimately a love story that tried my patience with unlikable protagonists and a plodding plot. Give me Somewhere in Time any day.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Considered "the zenith of the Trek feature films", I agree this film began the even-numbered successes that persisted until Nemesis. The tie-in to the original series, Ricardo Montalban as the villain, and the ending were all fantastic facets… but for all that, I still think I prefer the more lighthearted The Voyage Home.

Blade Runner
I confess that the one time I tried watching this was a decade ago and I just couldn't get into it; I turned it off probably before it got interesting. (Confession #2: I was bored by Tolkien's books, too.) Without lambasting me, could someone tell me what I'm missing?

TRON
What more can I say about this film, other than my previous recollections and my own 25th anniversary commemoration? Though I do wish I could combine this film with one of my favorite geek shows:

In 2004, I was witness to a theatrical screening of TRON as Chris Hanel (occasionally of TheForce.net and The Truly Dangerous Company; now of Geekza) and his cronies performed a live MST3K lampoon. I've been wanting to get my hands on that script ever since. Considering his podcast recently interviewed Mike Nelson of RiffTrax, I'd think some sort of collaborative MP3 should be possible.

The Dark Crystal
I haven't seen this film since my age could be counted without taking off my shoes. My parents thought this Muppet movie perfectly palatable to a young, impressionable mind (similar to their misinformed opinion on Watership Down: "Oh, a cartoon about talking bunnies!"). In hindsight, The Dark Crystal may've been one of the films that engendered my preference for dark, edgy stories. It's a wonder my mother didn't worry when her third-grade son brought home from the library every book he could find on vampires and werewolves; nowadays, that'd be grounds to see the school counselor. (Course, in my day, schools didn't have counselors…)

Look for a sequel next year.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Another movie not seen in a score of years — though anything scored by local-boy-done-good John Williams is okay by me. Funny that Drew Barrymore went on to become a household name (and one of my co-stars); whereas Elliott did not. Who even knows the actor's name? (Psst — it's Henry Thomas.) Too bad — he's still quite a prolific actor.

Conan the Barbarian
I've not read Robert E. Howard's original pulp series, nor the Marvel comic books, both of which this Arnold Schwarzenegger film is based on. But I'll be in the minority of preferring the film's sequel, Conan the Destroyer, to the original; I found the follow-up to be a more classic Dungeons & Dragons romp.

Either way, the film's success warranted slapping its name on an otherwise unrelated gaming property. Conan: Hall of Volta supplied many happy hours of Apple II gaming.

Also featured in Geek Monthly but which I've never seen:

• Poltergeist
• Cat People
• The Thing
• The Road Warrior

And other anniversaries this year:

• Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30 years
• Masters of the Universe: 20 years
• Robocop: 20 years
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: 20 years

What films or occasions are you observing this year?

… in 1969, he filmed his breakout movie: Easy Rider, putting his own stamp on the motorcycle trip film based on his own bus ride from New Jersey to the west coast. Other seminal films included Five Easy Pieces, What's Up, Doc?, Paper Moon, Ghost Busters, Shattered, My Best Friend's Wedding — more than 70 in all. "He was one of the great wave of cinematographers in the 1970s who basically changed the way movies had looked up until that time," said Richard Crudo, a former president of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Actors are well-known, and some directors and producers achieve similar fame. It's a shame talent such as Mr. Kovács' does not also earn the popular recognition it deserves.

UPDATE: I may need to take back that statement… Mr. Kovács credits also include The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!