Science fiction gets real

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY
SAN DIEGO — The future, at least for movies, has become clear at Comic-Con.
And the outlook is pretty dark.

That's because teen horror is on the way out and science fiction is on a mission to reclaim Hollywood, according to filmmakers and studio executives, many of whom descended on the nation's largest comic book convention to allow a peek at the not-too-distant future in theaters.

This isn't science-fiction-cum-fantasy, like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. This is the stuff of H.G. Wells and Ray Bradbury: a glimpse at what's to come if we don't tend to the planet, keep an eye on technology and treat beings from other worlds with a little respect.

"Science fiction needs to come from what we're experiencing in the present days," says John Davis, producer of 2004's I, Robot. "And we're living in some pretty scary times. That's going to make for pretty compelling stories."

Among the fare:

•Children of Men. Clive Owen stars in this film set in 2027, when humans can no longer procreate and are desperately searching for a way to avoid extinction. Sept. 29.

•The Fountain. The Darren Aronofsky-directed drama spans 1,000 years and stars Hugh Jackman as a man struggling to find immortality for himself and his wife, played by Oscar winner Rachel Weisz. Oct. 13.

•Mimzy. Two siblings discover a box of toys sent from the future and begin developing remarkable talents both terrifying and wonderful. April 4.

•Planet Terror. Rose McGowan, Josh Brolin and Lost's Naveen Andrews star in director Robert Rodriguez's retro-futuristic look at what happens when a flesh-eating virus becomes an epidemic. It's part of Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's new Grindhouse double-feature (the second is Tarantino's Death Proof, about a man who kills with his car). Both are due April 6.

•Logan's Run. This remake of the 1976 movie, co-written by Bryan Singer, revisits theaters with the story of humans who are killed on their 21st birthdays to reduce overpopulation. 2007.

•Star Trek XI.Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams tackles the franchise with an eye toward returning it to its roots, when the William Shatner TV show was Earth-centric and a parable for our own political times. 2008.

On TV, the Sci Fi Channel continues to add original programming, and this fall, CBS will air Jericho, which forgoes fantasy for a more realistic scenario as a small Kansas town reacts to nuclear attacks on two major cities.

The film industry appears to be rediscovering the subject matter, thanks in part to the dwindling returns on horror movies, executives say.

This year's horror films, including The Hills Have Eyes, When a Stranger Calls and Silent Hill, have underperformed, taking in less than $50 million apiece.

"The market is oversaturated with horror," says Russell Schwartz, president of domestic marketing for New Line Cinema, which is releasing Mimzy. "These are cyclical things, but science fiction is pretty tried and true. They tend to come from solid books, which gives it a pedigree you can depend on."

Unlike Westerns and war epics, science fiction isn't bound by the constraints of history.

"There's no limit to material when you're thinking about science fiction, because you're writing about what might happen, not what's already happened," says Marc Abraham, producer of Children of Men. "Predicting the future is one of our most dependable sources of storytelling."

And socially, Schwartz says, the timing was right for a resurgence.

"Historically, science fiction springs from tension," he says. "The big boon we had in the '40s and '50s came from war and Cold War tensions. When times are tense, it causes us to look forward and imagine what it's all going to mean."

Jon Turteltaub, executive producer of Jericho, says science fiction is most powerful when it focuses on the world of the possible.

"The more realistic the scenario and the characters are, the more connected the audience feels," says Turteltaub, who screened the Jericho pilot here Sunday. "Some of the greatest science fiction, like Ray Bradbury's, stays as close to human behavior as possible."

The genre, Abraham says, "is an extrapolated version of the present. If you're at war, or you find out the government is spying on you, or if you feel your civil rights are being abrogated, it can provoke you as a writer. Science fiction is never about paradise found. It stems from trouble in our own world. The best kind of storytelling is when writers turn a mirror on ourselves, and that mirror shows us a lot of conflict."

Abrams doesn't find the genre so bleak.

"It can be pretty hopeful, which was the magic of Star Trek," he says. Series creator Gene Roddenberry "had a very optimistic imagination. There was always some darkness, but the problems were approached with a lot of hope. Science fiction isn't about one allegory or tone."

Nor is it a guarantee of profits. The genre's traditionally dark and scientific themes make the movies tricky to market to mass audiences.

Last year's War of the Worlds, for example, became Tom Cruise's biggest hit, bringing in $234 million. But Michael Bay's The Island, about the danger of cloning, did a dismal $36 million.

"People think sci-fi is a gold mine for studios, but it's actually a hard sell," says Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo. "If you're not doing something with fantasy elements like Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, it's very hit or miss."

The invasion, however, is inevitable, given the political climate and Hollywood's cyclical nature.

The genre "gives you the chance to comment on the times you're living in," says producer Kevin Misher, who has bought the big-screen rights to Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. "And we're living in difficult times."