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Okay, this news isn't a big secret,
but I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, so I thought I'd
let you know. If this is old news, then ignore me.
Today James Cameron told a group of
1,000 precisely what his future plans are. This was at the
2nd Annual Mars Society conference (http://www.marssociety.org/),
at which I was in attendance. He not only described his two
upcoming projects in detail, but showed us many pre-production
computer renderings as well. The were AMAZING.
Okay, let me back up a minute. Cameron
has two projects in the works, both of which will be about
the first human mission to Mars, set in the near future (2012-2016,
which is actually quite realistic). One will be a 5-hour miniseries
on network TV, and the other will be a 1-hour 3D IMAX film!
Both will air in the spring of 2001. These will share the
same sets, actors and props -- essentially covering the same
story from different angles. The story will encompass several
years, from before the mission to the 6-month voyage to Mars,
to over 500 days on the surface of Mars, and then the return
to Earth. "When we sent men to the moon, it changed them forever,"
said Cameron, "but sometimes those changes took years to manifest.
Well, the Mars crew will be away from Earth for years, and
we'll get to see those changes take place. And we'll see the
changes in their friends and families on Earth as well."
That's about as much as he told us
of the plot. Then he went into the technical technical details.
And let me tell you, speaking as a rocket scientist, he KNOWS
his technical details! Every aspect of his mission will be
as accurate as it can possibly be. He studied the NASA DRM
(Design Reference Mission) through and through, but in many
cases wasn't satisfied with the level of detail that NASA
was able to give him. So he designed his own Long-distance
Mars Rover, Surface habitats, and other aspects of the mission.
And these are GOOD designs -- the rover in particular is probably
the most detailed design for a Mars rover which has ever been
produced, and hardened Aerospace Engineers were gasping at
some of its more ingenious features.
I am excited -- and I believe completely
that he can pull this off. For the first time since Ron Howard
did Apollo 13, Hollywood will be doing a space movie EXACTLY
right. The division between miniseries and IMAX seems kind
of strange at first, but will actually allow for both stunning
visuals on the BIG screen and detailed exposition on the smaller
one. 2001 is going to be a good year for movies.
<CUT>
Unable to wait,
"Saxifrage"
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