Profile: John Scalzi
Recent Posts
FilmCritic Features
The Exit Interview
Well, folks, this is a Very Special Column, and to make that point, I am going to interview myself about it. So, everyone, meet Interviewer Me!Hello, everyone.Let's get started, shall we?Right then. To cut right to the chase: Rumor has... More
FilmCritic Features
9 Scifi Films You Should See That You (Probably) Haven't
One of the interesting things about science fiction is that as genre, some of its most artistically and culturally significant films are also some of its most financially successful -- 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars,... More
FilmCritic Features
Prognosticating the Summer Scifi Films
The Summer Movie Season used to begin with Memorial Day weekend, but as more and more blockbusters began to crowd the schedule, the season's start date has moved further back. This year, every weekend in May is jam-packed with summer... More
FilmCritic Features
Awful Scifi Films, Smart "Battleship" Moves, Evil Jedi: To the Mailbag!
This week I am going to answer reader questions AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME (unless you're my editor. In which case: Hi. Please don't fire me).To the mailbag!First question:"Last week you listed the science fiction movies you'd show aliens to... More
FilmCritic Features
5 Scifi Films to Help Us Avoid Alien Annihilation
Quick! Aliens have landed and are threatening to blow up the Earth (you know, as they do) unless you can show them five science fiction films that prove humanity is worth saving! Which ones do you show them?While you are... More
FilmCritic Features
Evil ... or the Victim of Framing? Bad Guys in Science Fiction Film
For no particular reason, lately I've been thinking about that Internet picture of a depressed Star Wars stormtrooper, sitting on a hotel room bed, with the caption "I had friends on that Death Star." It's funny because Imperial Stormtroopers are... More
FilmCritic Features
5 Lessons from the Hit "Hunger Games" and the Flop "John Carter"
Hey, folks: sick of me talking about John Carter and The Hunger Games? Too bad! I'm going to talk about them again this week! Why? Because the two of them are in fact perfect bookends of science fiction film success:... More
FilmCritic Features
How YA like "The Hunger Games" Came to Rule Fantasy and Scifi Films
Hunger Games mania is upon us: The first of a planned four-film series based on Suzanne Collins's science fiction trilogy (because now it's apparently required that the final book of any series must be broken into two movie) hits theaters... More
FilmCritic Features
And Now for Some Real Science Fiction ... Studio Math!
Today's question, about last week's unfortunately-not-big science fiction film:I read that in order for John Carter to turn a profit, it would have to make something like $600 million at the box office. But the movie only cost $250 million... More
FilmCritic Features
"John Carter" and the Curse of Mars
The Disney Martian adventure John Carter opens this weekend, and those who go see it will be mystically transported, along with the titular hero of the film, to a version of Mars called Barsoom. Disney is hoping quite a lot... More
