Charlie Jane Anders's posts - English uPOST
What's The Best Retelling Of A Story From The Villain's Point Of View?
We all know that a villain is just a hero who needs to get a better PR department. The "bad guy" seldom believes that he or she is actually bad, and usually has reasons for his or her actions. But what's your favorite story that shows the villain's point of view on a set of events?
Please include a picture, book cover, poster, clip, comics panel or other piece of artwork for your chosen...
Which Movie Can You Abandon For A Pee Break Without Missing Anything?
We always feel guilty and ashamed — like bad movie-lovers! — when we have to take a pee break in the middle of a long movie. What if we miss the best bit? But certain films make it easy, with long stretches that you can safely miss. Go to the bathroom. Get a soda refill, even. Which movie can you safely miss a decent stretch of?
Please include a picture, clip, poster, or piece of artwork for...
The Original Star Wars Is Finally Getting Shown In A Chinese Theater
When Star Wars came out in 1977, China was still in the immediate aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, and foreign films were not screened in Chinese theaters. And even in recent years, China has maintained strict quotas for overseas movies. So it’s taken 40 years for Star Wars to reach Chinese movie theaters.
According to AFP, Star Wars was shown at the Shanghai International Film Festival,...
All I Want To Do With My Life Is Watch Stefan-Caroline YouTube Videos
I was going to recap last night's episode of Vampire Diaries, but instead all I want to do (with my weekend, pretty much) is watch all of the Stefan-Caroline clips on Youtube. Of which there are a lot. Turns out Stefan and Caroline are even more fun when they're both remorseless monsters. YAY!
Actually, last night's episode was pretty great in general — this show seems to be going...
On Supernatural, Sam And Dean's Main Critic Becomes Their #1 Fan
The character of Cole had a lot of potential on Supernatural: someone with a reason to hate Dean (who killed Cole's father.) Someone who hadn't drunk the hunter Kool-Aid. He could have provided an interesting critique of the Winchesters — but as of last night's episode, Cole is totally on the Sam-and-Dean fan bandwagon.
In "The Things They Carried," we're still dealing with the realization that...
10 Doctor Who Villains That Really Deserve To Make A Comeback
Doctor Who has a history of overusing its most popular villains, going back to the age of Dalekmania. But meanwhile, some villains haven't gotten nearly enough screentime, or haven't achieved their full potential. Here are 10 Doctor Who villains who ought to have another go at conquering the universe.
Yes, before anybody points it out, this villain who...
What's The Most Amazing Comeback From A Series Everyone Had Written Off?
Did you ever think we’d be talking about the new Mad Max and Jurassic movies as two of the summer’s most important releases? Sometimes, a series can be all but forgotten for years or decades, after too many underwhelming sequels. But which series made the most amazing comeback?
Please include a book cover, movie poster, clip, trailer, piece of artwork, comics panel or other visual...
Celebrate Smekday In Style With This Exclusive Home Concept Art!
The upcoming DreamWorks animated movie Home features Jim Parsons as a crazy dancing alien. But it also has some completely bonkers visuals of an offbeat alien invasion of the Earth. This film let a ton of great artists go nuts with spaceships and floating buildings. See for yourself, with some exclusive concept art from the film.
Top image: Artwork by Emil Mitev "Director Tim Johnson says...Watch The First Batman V. Superman Trailer In Full Glorious HD!
You saw a version of it last night — but now here’s the official HD trailer for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. In which absolutely everybody despises Superman, and Batman wants to ask just one. Simple. Question.
This video was posted on the Batman v. Superman Facebook page a few minutes ago, and we’ll have some screencaps and GIFs for you to pore over, very soon!
Contact the...
This Epic Rap Battle Between Hodor And Groot Is Gloriously Silly
The two characters who have the smallest vocabulary have a lot to say in this new "rap battle" video. But who will win: Hodor, Bran's helpful sidekick on Game of Thrones? Or Groot, the big lovable tree from Guardians of the Galaxy? See for yourself!
What TV Show Makes More Sense When You Binge-watch It?
This weekend, we're all going to be watching 13 episodes of Daredevil in one giant binge of media consumption. Because Netflix believes TV shows are best watched all in one go — but which episodic TV show, which originally aired in hourly installments, is best watched in large doses?
Please include a picture, clip, promo picture or piece of artwork for your chosen TV show which is better when...
Get the inside scoop on Star Wars’ hard-working model-makers!
Get the inside scoop on Star Wars’ hard-working model-makers! In honor of Force Friday, we’re hosting a giveaway of two copies of Sculpting a Galaxy: Inside the Star Wars Model Shop. To enter, you just have to sign up for the Insight Editions email list, and two winners will be chosen. Good luck, and may the Force yadda yadda!
What's The Worst Science Fiction And Fantasy Date Movie?
It’s almost Friday night, which means it’s date night for many of us! And there’s nothing better than taking your sweetie (or prospective sweetie) out to the movies. But which science fiction or fantasy movie is least likely to result in nookie or happy fun times on a date?
Please include a picture, poster, clip or other piece of artwork for your chosen movie. And please mention the name of...
You Can Watch A Live Reading Of Orwell's 1984 Via Your Computer
Now that we're living in a world of pervasive surveillance, and Big Brother really is watching you, the D.C. Public Library is hosting a live reading of George Orwell's 1984 in its entirety. "Special guest readers" will take part, but you can also sign up to read — or watch the whole thing streaming on YouTube.
1984 image by Lesley Barnes, larger version at the link.This is part of a series...
Help the EFF Save the Future, by Reading Some Brand New Science Fiction!
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is out there fighting for civil liberties and privacy on the Internet and the digital world generally. And now, you can help support them—by reading a brand new science fiction book!
The EFF just published a new book Pwning Tomorrow, featuring short fiction by Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker, Cory Doctorow, Annalee Newitz, Kameron Hurley, Neil Gaiman, James...
How James Patterson Helped Reinvent Publishing
James Patterson hasn’t always written science fantasy or fantasy, apart from his recent young-adult series. But he’s radically changed the whole publishing industry, and especially the way that genre fiction is handled, over the past two decades. The New York Times has a fascinating look at “Patterson, Inc.”
As the Times notes, since 2006, one out of every 17 novels that were bought in the...
A Clip That Shows Why The Originals Is Amazing PhD Dissertation Fodder
Seriously, some media studies grad student somewhere has to be writing a thesis about race, gender and politics in vampire media — and she or he must be just drooling over The Originals right now. Just watch this clip, in which Marcel turns a segregated World War I unit into vampires, and see for yourself.
Spoilers ahead...
At this point, The Originals sort of feels like two different shows, but...
Danger 5's Parody Of 1980s High School Movies Is Both Absurd And Spot-On
At long last, a new season of the insane spies-vs-Hitler show Danger 5 has started airing in Australia. We brought you a sneak peek a month ago, but now the first four episodes are on YouTube in their entirety. Here's our favorite: a totally perfect (and yet nonsensical) spoof of 80s high-school movies.
Warning: This episode, and some of the others, are NSFW due to nudity, and might...
The Agents of SHIELD Are Doomed To Have Permanently Awful Love Lives
This was a romance-heavy episode of Agents of SHIELD, which turned out to be a very good thing. This show has been about the costs and dangers of superpowers since we first met Mike Peterson in the pilot, but in “Chaos Theory,” it’s clearer than ever that if you touch the uncanny, your heart will be broken.
Spoilers ahead...
Of course, lots of other shows are more romance-heavy and...