http://cache.io9.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png http://io9.com/tag/brave new world http://io9.com/tag/brave new world It's Banned Books Week, and the American Library Association has a list of the most frequently "banned or challenged" books of each year, from 2001 to 2010. And the list is pretty interesting reading — the Harry Potter books were on top of the list in 2001 and 2002, then dropped to number two in 2003, only to vanish off the list in 2004. (Obviously all that sorcery paid off eventually.) More »
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Many science fiction books imagine strange new worlds — but only a few science fiction books have actually changed the world we live in. A few visionary authors have managed to make such an impression that they left the world a vastly different place. More »
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Some of science fiction/fantasy's classic books failed to win over readers at first. And the publishers of some of SF's most beloved works were convinced they had a disaster on their hands. Here are 10 masterpieces that were deemed failures. More »
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With The Tempest, opening tomorrow, Julie Taymor and Helen Mirren bring a splashy fantasy vibe to the Bard. But science fiction and fantasy have been playing with Shakespeare forever. Here are the greatest Shakespeare homages and cover versions in SF. More »
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Now that the Hunger Games trilogy is over, what's the next dystopian saga for teens (and loads of adults) to sink into? One title that's being mentioned is Ally Condie's Matched. Here's your exclusive first look at the book trailer. More »
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Some of science fiction/fantasy's classic books failed to win over readers at first. And the publishers of some of SF's most beloved works were convinced they had a disaster on their hands. Here are 10 masterpieces that were deemed failures. More »
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Some of today's biggest legal debates (genetic discrimination, patents for human genes) might have seemed far-fetched not so long ago. So the American Civil Liberties Union is looking to science fiction to figure out tomorrow's biggest challenges to personal liberty. More »
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In honor of Banned Books Week, Geekosystem's Susana Polo looks at 10 great science fiction novels that have been banned, or at least threatened with removal from libraries and schools. Including some major classics of the genre! More »
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Marvellous Hairy author Mark A. Rayner is holding a Photoshop contest to create vintage advertisements for futures that don't exist yet. Here's a small sampling of these retrofuturistic print pieces from both the current and past contests. More »
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There's only one thing Hollywood loves than a movie based on a toy: remakes. Dozens of science-fiction classics are slated for do-overs. But instead of remaking films that were fine the first time, here are 20 books Hollywood should film. More »
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If you think sex in the 21st century sucks, just be glad you don't live in one of these scifi dystopias. When Big Brother is a peeping Tom and three-penised mutants are eligible bachelors, getting off is a turn-off. More »
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A single book can inspire a wide range of covers, and sometimes those covers can be works of art themselves. We look at some classic science fiction novels and the various covers they've worn throughout the years. More »
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Ridley Scott isn't just directing the Alien prequel, he's also involved in a movie adaptation of Brave New World, as we reported last year. A screenwriter's on board, but Leonardo DiCaprio's mooted star turn is raising some concerns. More »
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If the new movie of Brave New World ever gets off the ground, it probably won't feature Leonard Nimoy in a yellow frock, as the benign leader of the drugs-sex-and-conditioning fake utopia. Too bad. More »
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So it appears that Ridley Scott is intent on getting his hands on all the greatest science fiction novels and turning them into blockbusters, which sounds fine to me. Last week, we reported Scott was determined to bring the complex novel Brave New World to the big screen. Now the trades are reporting that Scott is adding The Forever War to his scifi to-do list. In fact, he's been trying to get the rights to Joe Haldeman’s 1974 novel for 25 years. One thing's for certain: we really need to add Scott to our book club. More »
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Click to viewWe got the chance to ask science fiction legend Ridley Scott for an exclusive update on his adaptation of Aldous Huxley's classic dystopian novel Brave New World. While he's still knee-deep in the details of the adaptation, he's already got some strong opinions - including his view that Brave New World is closer to the truth than George Orwell's 1984. So what does Scott have in mind for his Brave New World? More »
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If you want to save the world, you should study worst-case scenarios for the future, according to 20,000 science fiction fans. The Sci Fi Channel did an online poll, through its Visions For Tomorrow initiative, to find out the top "things to read, watch and do to save the world." And the winners were dark tales of a world gone to hell, including Blade Runner, 1984, Firefly, the new Battlestar Galactica and The Matrix. An exclusive first look at all the winners, below the fold. More »
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We've waited almost 20 years for Ridley Scott's third science fiction film, after the greatness of Alien and Blade Runner. And now Scott has confirmed he's on the verge of helming another scifi flick. He said in an interview: "I waited for a book for 20 years and I have got the book. I am not going to tell you what the book is, but that film is going to probably be written within the next month. That will definitely be what I do next after Nottingham, the Robin Hood film that I am doing now in England." What book is that? We have reason to believe it's none other than the Aldous Huxley classic Brave New World. We also reported a while back that Titanic baby-face Leonardo Dicaprio may star in it, since his dad owns the movie rights to the book. Enough with this Merry Men nonsense, Ridley — please film the test-tube baby dystopia already. [Eclipse Magazine] More »
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Ridley Scott is returning to science fiction, the genre he spurned, for the first ever movie adaptation of Aldous Huxley's classic false-utopia novel Brave New World. Leonardo DiCaprio, who owns the movie rights to Brave, will probably star as John the Savage, a natural man who confronts a world of test-tube babies who are kept pacified with drugs and sex. According to Leonardo's dad, who was friends with Huxley's widow, the movie will include CGI vistas of a "vast futuristic world." [Big Picture Radio] More »
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If you're living in a shiny happy world where everything is provided to you, and your white pajamas never ever get stained, then chances are you're in a false utopia. Someone's going to be coming and harvesting your organs, or culling you at age 30, or drugging you into obedience. The fake paradise built on a foundation of shit seems to flourish most during times when technology seems to be solving all our problems (like during the dotcom boom.) Click through for a list of false utopias. More »
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Science fiction is full of weird made-up drugs, many of which sound way more fun than boring old smack. There are drugs that make you telepathic, let you navigate space-time, or just give you trippy-ass visions. This wealth of options is due to the fact that science fiction fans are all drug fiends, says one famous author. Click through to learn more, and vote on which SF wonder drug you'd rather be tripping balls on right now. More »
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You may have been wondering why President Bush vetoed bills that would have authorized government funding for stem cell research that could lead to cures for everything from Alzheimers to paralysis. Apparently it's partly due to reading parts of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, a classic 1930s scifi dystopia about a world where the government genetically engineers everyone to be obedient workers. What's hilarious is that Huxley was a leftist, and he would have despised Bush's anti-science policies. More »
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