When the original television series (1966 to 1969) was canceled, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry lobbied Paramount Pictures to continue the franchise through a feature film. The success of the series in syndication convinced the studio to begin work on the film beginning in 1975. ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’ was released in 1979, the film was directed by Robert Wise and with Gene Roddenberry serving as producer. It is the first installment in the Star Trek film series and stars the cast of the original television series. The movie is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and…
Author: IllustratedFiction
In 1994, director James Cameron wrote an 80-page treatment for Avatar, drawing inspiration from “every single science fiction book” he had read in his childhood as well as from adventure novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard. However, Cameron felt that the technology had not caught up with the story and vision that he intended to tell. In February 2006, Cameron revealed that his film Project 880 was “a retooled version of Avatar”, a film that he had tried to make years earlier. From 2005 to 2007, Cameron worked with a handful of designers, including famed fantasy illustrator…
With the release of ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ just around the corner and people flocking to theaters in droves, it’s a good time to have a closer look at the concept art of the first film in the new trilogy, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (2015). Posted on their official site, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) has revealed concept art created for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The art reveals points from across the film’s development; from recognizable renditions of Kylo Ren and the desert planet of Jakku to early pieces which reveal how radically different the film so…
‘War of the Worlds’ was written in 1898 by H.G. Wells. The novel, in which Martians land in the English county of Surrey, is widely credited as having popularized the alien-invaders concept. Science fiction is effective in its delivery of satire and social commentary as it provides authors with an imaginary canvas that is safer for criticizing society. The 1898 novel is no exception, often interpreted as a commentary on evolutionary theory, British imperialism, and generally Victorian superstitions, fears, and prejudices. Wells’s vision of a war bringing total destruction without moral limitations – a total war – was not taken…
J.J. Abram’s wrote his first blockbuster as a student, went on to make several cult TV shows such as Alias and Lost – and then was put in charge of rebooting both Star Trek and Star Wars. Abrams has certainly made his mark in Hollywood. Star Trek was directed by J. J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It is the eleventh film in the Star Trek film franchise and a reboot, with the main characters of the original Star Trek television series portrayed by a new cast. The alternate universe (officially known as the Kelvin Universe/timeline)…
The 2012’s consciously campy sci-fi action comedy ‘Iron Sky’ was a breath of fresh air and a cult genre film in every sense of the word. It is a satire set in the not-too-distant future in which Nazis invade the earth from the moon, where they have been holed up since the end of World War II. The movie was a Finnish-German-Australian co-production that started as a crowdfunding effort, raising more than $1 million via crowdfunding. It actually sold quite well internationally but was a weak box office performer. The movie looked really good for such a slim budget ($10…
Disney’s ‘TRON’ was a cutting-edge technological achievement in 1982, being the first movie to really take advantage of the pioneering computer effects. It was far from a financial or critical success but it did leave an impression nevertheless, achieving cult status and garnered a cult following. Its cult status probably influenced Disney to attempt to revive the franchise 28 years later. With two of the original film’s stars Bruce Boxleitner and Jeff Bridges, returning for ‘TRON: Legacy.’ TRON: Legacy was notably designed to kickstart a new franchise, but just like its cult-classic predecessor, ‘Legacy’ was a financial disappointment, although grossing…
In 1993 when the first Jurassic Park film came out, Hollywood used the most up-to-date science to present amazing moving images of dinosaurs such as velociraptors, birds really are dinosaurs. Although, we now know that a velociraptor was smaller than those clever critters hunting Jeff Goldblum – and covered in feathers. The reboot of the Jurrasic Park franchise was in development hell for over a decade, but in 2015, Universal was betting big on Jurassic World. A kind of soft reboot that picks up where the original left off, but 20 years later and ignoring the sequels. The weight of…
Stanley Kubrick’sci-fi masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey, turns 50 next year. This milestone anniversary will most certainly be celebrated with special screenings, commemorative merchandise, retrospective lectures etc. The epic science-fiction film from 1968 is one of director Stanley Kubrick’s greatest works. The film deals with the themes of existentialism, human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life. Noted for its scientifically accurate depiction of space flight, pioneering special effects, and ambiguous imagery. Stanley Kubrick collaborated with writer Arthur C. Clarke who offered Kubrick six of his short stories, and by May 1964, Kubrick had chosen “The Sentinel” as the…
Directed by Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers), the movie Total Recall from 1990 was is an absolute gem of early 90s science fiction. Based on the Philip K. Dick short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film includes such Dickian elements as the confusion of fantasy and reality, the progression towards more fantastic elements as the story progresses, machines talking back to humans, and the protagonist’s doubts about his own identity. Although, before Paul Verhoeven, producer Dino De Laurentiis approached Dutch body-horror director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence, The Fly) to…
Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar was without a doubt one of the best movies of 2014. It is also one of the best science fiction movies in the past decade. Just as other great space epics of the past, like Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey and George Lucas’s first “Star Wars” trilogy. “Interstellar” manages to distill terrestrial anxieties and individual aspirations into a broader context of space travel and the future of humanity in a potent pop parable. The plotline was utterly captivating and left many viewers scratching their heads. With some wondering if the scientific plausibility of the movie really…
Based on his experience from filming the original starwards trilogy, writer-director George Lucas knew that visualization was an important part of the film process. Very early on, therefore, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) art director Doug Chiang began reviewing thousands of designs for Episode I. Chiang has stated that Lucas intended Episode I to be stylistically different from the other Star Wars films; it would be “richer and more like a period piece since it was the history leading up to A New Hope” (1977). Ralph McQuarrie’s paintings for the original trilogy inspired many concept artist working today, for the…
Concept artist Peter Konig has posted some of the concept artwork he created for Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve. His concepts feature preliminary design work for both the alien creatures and the spaceship. Konig was working on concept drawings during the early stages of the film that looks much different from what was finally used in the movie. The aliens of Arrival do not share any obvious resemblances to any other aliens we’ve seen lately on film, with a gracefulness to how they move, communicate, and interact with their ship’s environment. They resemble cephalopods, with their bilateral body symmetry, a…
The Expanse is based on the Hugo Award-nominated series of novels by James S. A. Corey – the pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who also co-wrote the TV series – it takes place 200 years in the future, in a fully colonized solar system in which the human inhabitants of Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt teeter on the brink of war. A cold war has been simmering between Earth and Mars and it’s threatening to break out into a violent conflict. Meanwhile, many denizens of the asteroid belt (known as Belters) resent the way they’ve…
Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a great looking sci-fi-esque action movie, that reminds us of the political thrillers of the 70s cold war era, suitably starring Robert Redford (Three Days of the Condor). Although being a more ‘grounded espionage paranoid thriller’, there are many science fiction elements at play, among others, Arnim Zola stands out as a ‘ghost in the machine’. Not to mention the Helicarriers, Sam Wilson’s/The Falcon’s wingsuit, Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier soviet-tech arm and other near/far future technology. Set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the concept art of the 2014 movie, by several artists and character…
Guardians of the Galaxy was a truly stunning movie, the action-packed, epic space adventure, have been called Star Wars for a new generation by some. Whether you agree about that or not, the 2014 film had a number of great points and one of the things that really stood out was the fully lived-in universe it created. Concept artist Kev Jenkins shows his original designs for Morag, Xandar, and Knowhere. He describes the process: “I designed the Knowhere Robot Head and have included the image chosen by Marvel that inspired the direction. I also Designed and worked on the…
The process of going from concept to screen is paramount for every movie production, it is the period during which the end product is being conceptualized and formed. Very rarely does the final product look exactly like what was initially conceptualized. This is, however, not the case with director Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi classic Alien. Conceptualized by brilliant Swiss painter Hans Rudolf Giger, whose original designs for Alien are even more chilling than the film. H.R. Giger began working on the project in 1978, strictly as a creature designer. But it soon became apparent that his abilities were such that…
Director Taika Waititi’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ is a gorgeous looking movie and if you’re interested how the intricate junk-filled planet and all its fantastic inhabitants of multiple realms looked “on paper”, you have come to the right place. The world created by Taika Waititi and the artists involved is a colorful, unique, blend of science fiction and fantasy – and probably most important for comic-book fans – heavily inspired by the works of Jack Kirby, one of the most influential people in the genre. The below concept art is by Marvel Studios visual development supervisor & concept artist, Andy Park…
Nine episodes of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ have aired thus far this season. The midseason finale aired yesterday with the show returning on January 7th. We thought it would be appropriate to highlight some of the art of the show. The CBS and Netflix show follows the Star Trek tradition of naming series after the spaceship that most of the action takes place on. The new Star Trek series feels ‘different’, probably in the same way that The Next Generation felt when it once debuted in the late 80s, to the dismay of some diehard The Orginal Series fans. TNG…
Ralph McQuarrie’s art was definitely fundamental in shaping the success of Star Wars and enriching the galaxy far, far away. Some of the most iconic images in all of the science fiction came from the mind of Ralph McQuarrie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, original Battlestar Galactica, Close Encounters, the film Cocoon, to mention just a few. But Star Wars, in particular, owes more to McQuarrie than any other movie franchise. His art is central to Star Wars lore, with Darth Vader, Han Solo, Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, The Imperial Stormtroopers, R2-D2, C-3PO, Chewbacca, Cloud City, AT-AT Walkers, The planets Hoth,…
Fans of the sci-fi movie Edge of Tomorrow from 2014 have been clamoring for a sequel for years now, including star Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman. While things are still up in the air, the sequel is definitely moving forward, with an official title and confirmed return of co-star Emily Blunt. “We have an amazing story! It’s incredible! Way better than the first film, and I obviously loved the first film. It will be called Live Die Repeat and Repeat. Tom [Cruise] is excited about it, and Emily Blunt is excited about it. The big question is just when…
Christopher Nolan’s grand science fiction movie Interstellar is arguably one of the best space epics of this century. It shows us a world of hope from hopelessness and creates a plausible scenario for interstellar travel thanks to input from – Nobel laureate – Kip Thorne, and draws on climate anxieties of the near future. There is a sense of realism in the design and aesthetics of the movie, and it’s intentional. “For me, the starting point of the movie is a familiar Earth. We didn’t put a lot of futurism in the designs. I wanted to carry that tone into…