I have visited Arcosanti about 12 times over 25 years. Basically it is pretty, and a nice show-and-tell item where one may talk about arcologies. What it is not, and never has been, is a serious attempt to build an arcology. It is the world's largest build-your-own-house project combined with a community garden and, well, lots of pot.
If so, it will only be because nobody actually wants to live in an arcology. It's been decades, and the place is nowhere near "mega". I expect the first one will go up a lot faster. Heck, the Burj Dubai is a better choice for the first arcology.
"The idea of a sprawl-free city seems attractive and smarter for our long-term survival."
How's that, exactly? I'll give you "attractive", but the latter seems hard to support logically.
-Kle.
@Klebert L. Hall: @Klebert L. Hall: reduction of sprawl actually fits logically into the current sustainable development paradigms for urban planning that are a result of the brundtland report. it ties into the notion of "compact city" which features high density, mixed-use, and pedestrian proximity. the notion stems from the traditional European city. this concept of city is intended to reduce carbon footprint as well as use of cars and thus be sustainable. my two cents.
@mr_dude: The Shimizu Pyramid if it were to ever be built would be about 88 square kilometers in building area. That's roughly 245 Pyongyang Pyramids, so not quite. I while give the North Koreans credit for being ambitious though.
Okay, I checked. This is the same Arcosanti I heard about as a little kid. It's been "under construction" since 1970. Their heart is in the right place, they love the Earth and all that, but people who eschew material gain are crap for fund-raising. It's like a groovy hippie commune that never ended.
Dr.Quatermass: I have to say Dr. You are once again spot on with that oberservation and anything I am about to say that contradicts this statement is strictly for humor sake. was starred
Dr.Quatermass: I have to say Dr. You are once again spot on with that oberservation and anything I am about to say that contradicts this statement is strictly for humor sake. was unstarred
I hope they get Jason Statham to play Dredd, assuming he can pull off an American accent (I'm sure he can, all British actors seem to be able to do it). Put him in Dredd's uniform and he'll look exactly like the character did in the original early stories: all sinewy and mean. #judgedredd
Judge Dredd was a decent movie, otherwise why would Lucas rip it off point by point for attack of the clones?
In actuality, I do think Judge Dredd was a good movie, because no matter how bad you think it was, you still watch it every time it comes on TV. Don't lie, we know you watch it. Did Stallone break the rules by insisting on showing his face? Yes, yes he did, but we also got Max Von Sydow. The scene where he dons his cloak and mask, ventures out into the bad lands with his book of law and a monstrous gun and embarks on his Long Walk is just awesome.
In this post Dark Knight age, the "gritty" hero movie is a reality in a way it has never really been before. It means there will be trendy late-comers trying to horn in on the action, but for the most part I view it as a huge opportunity for movies to be made as they should have been made. Gritty Judge Dredd is obvious, but it is also right, and now we have a real chance at seeing the movie done properly. #judgedredd
@BlueBeard: I wouldn't say it was a *good* movie, but I don't think it was nearly as bad as most people seem to. Take away the helmet removal and the goofy sidekick, and it stayed very true to the Dredd/2000 AD universe. As I've pointed out before on this site, it even had an ABC Robot in it.
If only all comics adaptations would stay as true to their source material. To put it in perspective, imagine if the people behind the Hellblazer movie had made Judge Dredd. It probably would've been set in, I dunno, Miami instead of Mega-City One and Dredd would've been Chinese. Given that there was no way a studio would've greenlit a Sylvester Stallone flick in which Stallone never reveals his face (same applies to any major star), and no studio would've approved the Dredd budget without a major star, they did alright.
@Communist Pope: By Hellblazer, you mean Constantine, right? I never read that book, but I really like the movie- it's another one I'll watch any time it is on. I don't know if it was accurate to the character in any way, and I didn't even know it was based on a comic until later on, but I thought it was a well laid out story, and I like Keanu. He isn't a "great actor" at all, but I'm not watching him in Merchant of Venice, am I? I don't know why so many people dislike Constantine, but I'd bet it is mostly anti-Keanu knee-jerk hate
Yeah, Dredd wasn't great, but as you say, not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. As serious and gritty as I want my action movies to be, people need to realize these things are based on comics and are often going to be full of ridiculousness. #judgedredd
@BlueBeard: Being a long time Dredd fan I wasn't entirely thrilled with the film but like you, I do still watch it every time I see it on TV. They got some stuff wrong and some stuff right. Given Hollywood's usual treatment of things they did at least have enough respect for the source material not to completely butcher it.
@BlueBeard: Right, Constantine -- forgot that they even changed the name of the property. Going back to my previous example, I guess they would've called their hypothetical Judge Dredd movie "Mean Mr. Joe" or something.
I didn't think Constantine was completely horrible by any means, just giving an example of how much some filmmakers like to ignore/mess with the source material.
I don't know why people are so bothered about Dredd showing his face in the films. He might have kept covered up in the comics but that is something achievable in that medium without looking weird, and seemingly something they kept going mainly as a running in-joke - there's no actual point to it, it's just something quirky the readers know to expect.
So for a film, especially with a big star, it's not feasible or desirable to have Dredd's face hidden. He must take his helmet off sometimes, even in the comics, yet he is just never seen doing so in order to preserve that part of the character. So the only way of doing it properly in the film would be to write it so that Dredd is never in a situation where he would remove his helmet, therefore legitimising the fact that his face is never seen, or come up with a good reason why he wants to hide his face that can be explained simply. Otherwise there's little point to it. #judgedredd
@Xerendian: There are a few reasons why he'd never remove his helmet, namely: He's a clone, been beaten to a pulp on several occasions and has artificial eyes.
Plus, there really should be no reason for him to take off his helmet - he's the ultimate cop archetype of "never off duty". #judgedredd
@Indigen: I was going to say that if it didn't have Stallone slurring "I EM DE LE" it would be better, bet a video is worth a thousand phonetic typings. #judgedredd
@FrankenPC: ButtonMan should definitely be a movie. Zenith would make an excellent addition to the superhero trend with a little updating to shake the 80's/early 90's off.
Most of the other thrills would be better off as animated specials I think, as Sinister Dexter live action would be a little too ironic for me.
Though Strontium Dog could be a good 'un actually. Other thrils just seem to ask for so much budget that I think its too unrealistic to expect it these days without a lot of sacrifice of the source material.
(And 2000AD is still going strong btw. They replaced Hershey as Chief Judge! They exiled Dredd to be a cursed earth township sheriff! Dredd has a niece and another two clone brothers! Muties were allowed in the city after Dredd took a stand against an injust law! It's big days in the big meg.) #judgedredd
@OlavRokne: Actually, by now the summer blockbuster has dropped down to the level of the original or below. Michael Bay wishes he could have as compelling a film as the original. #judgedredd
11/26/09
11/26/09
If so, it will only be because nobody actually wants to live in an arcology. It's been decades, and the place is nowhere near "mega". I expect the first one will go up a lot faster. Heck, the Burj Dubai is a better choice for the first arcology.
"The idea of a sprawl-free city seems attractive and smarter for our long-term survival."
How's that, exactly? I'll give you "attractive", but the latter seems hard to support logically.
-Kle.
11/26/09
07:33 AM
Sure, compact cities are efficient.
Making the leap to the idea that they improve the likelihood of our long-term survival as a species is fanciful, at best.
-Kle.
11/25/09
11/25/09
11/25/09
I'm waiting for the day when we can build something like this: Shimizu TRY 2004 Mega-City Pyramid. Obviously influenced by the Tyrell Corporation.
11/25/09
@EdificeComplex: You mean...
11/25/09
11/25/09
That just sounds a bit strange!!
11/25/09
11/25/09
#calendar
11/25/09
11/25/09
11/25/09
11/25/09
11/25/09
11/25/09
11/25/09
10/26/09
10/26/09
10/27/09
10/26/09
In actuality, I do think Judge Dredd was a good movie, because no matter how bad you think it was, you still watch it every time it comes on TV. Don't lie, we know you watch it. Did Stallone break the rules by insisting on showing his face? Yes, yes he did, but we also got Max Von Sydow. The scene where he dons his cloak and mask, ventures out into the bad lands with his book of law and a monstrous gun and embarks on his Long Walk is just awesome.
In this post Dark Knight age, the "gritty" hero movie is a reality in a way it has never really been before. It means there will be trendy late-comers trying to horn in on the action, but for the most part I view it as a huge opportunity for movies to be made as they should have been made. Gritty Judge Dredd is obvious, but it is also right, and now we have a real chance at seeing the movie done properly. #judgedredd
10/26/09
If only all comics adaptations would stay as true to their source material. To put it in perspective, imagine if the people behind the Hellblazer movie had made Judge Dredd. It probably would've been set in, I dunno, Miami instead of Mega-City One and Dredd would've been Chinese. Given that there was no way a studio would've greenlit a Sylvester Stallone flick in which Stallone never reveals his face (same applies to any major star), and no studio would've approved the Dredd budget without a major star, they did alright.
10/26/09
Yeah, Dredd wasn't great, but as you say, not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. As serious and gritty as I want my action movies to be, people need to realize these things are based on comics and are often going to be full of ridiculousness. #judgedredd
10/26/09
10/26/09
I didn't think Constantine was completely horrible by any means, just giving an example of how much some filmmakers like to ignore/mess with the source material.
10/26/09
So for a film, especially with a big star, it's not feasible or desirable to have Dredd's face hidden. He must take his helmet off sometimes, even in the comics, yet he is just never seen doing so in order to preserve that part of the character. So the only way of doing it properly in the film would be to write it so that Dredd is never in a situation where he would remove his helmet, therefore legitimising the fact that his face is never seen, or come up with a good reason why he wants to hide his face that can be explained simply. Otherwise there's little point to it. #judgedredd
10/26/09
Plus, there really should be no reason for him to take off his helmet - he's the ultimate cop archetype of "never off duty". #judgedredd
10/26/09
10/26/09
[dreddlawextended.ytmnd.com]
[dredlawwww.ytmnd.com] #judgedredd
10/26/09
10/26/09
10/27/09
Most of the other thrills would be better off as animated specials I think, as Sinister Dexter live action would be a little too ironic for me.
Though Strontium Dog could be a good 'un actually. Other thrils just seem to ask for so much budget that I think its too unrealistic to expect it these days without a lot of sacrifice of the source material.
(And 2000AD is still going strong btw. They replaced Hershey as Chief Judge! They exiled Dredd to be a cursed earth township sheriff! Dredd has a niece and another two clone brothers! Muties were allowed in the city after Dredd took a stand against an injust law! It's big days in the big meg.) #judgedredd
10/28/09
10/26/09
Plus Max Von Sydow is awesome. #judgedredd
10/26/09
10/26/09