Futuristic cities - help sci-fi fans!

[Dylan Couper]

Hey fellow sci-fi fans!

I'm redecorating my office area and I want to put up some prints of futuristic cities/buildings/cityscapes. I'm having a hard time finding them on Ebay or the web, so I'm wondering if any of you guys have any ideas where to find something good.

What I'm looking for would be stuff out of:

- Blade Runner
- I-Robot
- 5th Element
- Star Wars
- Futurama
- Jetsons

It could be anything from posters of watercolour paintings, to CG, to architectural prints. The bigger the better. They don't have to be recent either. In fact prints from the 40s through 60s would be cool. Black and White might be preferable.

What I don't want is overly commercialized Hollywood stuff. I'm looking for things you wouldn't see on a regular basis, like movie posters.

Thanks!

[Scott Ellifritt]

Find a good interior theme painter or muralist and have them work from your favorite Sci-Fi movie. I've seen some fantastic stuff on the internet.

[Aaron Koolen]

Hey Dylan, seeing as you're in Vancouver in Canada, can't you just sneak onto a Stargate SG-1 set? :)

Seriously though, sorry mate, I don't know of any good places other than to use google images..

Aaron

[Rob Lohman]

I should have some (oldschool analog, heh) pictures from the
Startrek World Tour / Experience that should have all kind of
closups on models etc. Since this is regular analog photo work
it should be possible to scan it in at pretty high resolutions.

[Keith Loh]

Dylan, did I ever tell you that I know one of the people who does the digital backgrounds for Stargate? :)

[Aaron Koolen]

Lucky bugger he must be Keith - I love that show. Best sci fi show that I've ever seen, even beating Dr Who for me, and that's a biggie ;)

I hear rumours of a series 9, and I'm looking forward to that. In fact I'm trying to work out how I can get a job as an extra in an episode...Hmm.

Aaron

[Keith Loh]

Aaron, I came to like SG:1 when I sat down one summer and watched one after another for six whole seasons. Out of that there were more than a handful of stinkers but then after around season three or four, the cast really began to gel and play off of each other well. I came to really enjoy the writing and the consistent level of humour.

This is something that has been sorely missing in the past two Trek series (Voyager, Enterprise), is a sense that the cast really are friends and care about each other. Also, SG:1 has the benefit of not having such a rabid core of believers who might go nuts if someone screwed with the 'canon' of the series. One of the problems with each Trek series is that the writers seem to be on tenderhooks about screwing with or poking fun at themselves. As a result, Trek has become quite moribund and not very fun. SG:1 on the other hand has taken some quite clear shots at Trekism. All those times in a Trek series when you wished a character had just taken his or her phasor out and shot an alien, well in SG:1, they've done that!

The new series, Atlantis, seems to have gotten off to a good start, probably because the makers have had the benefit of their experience in SG:1. I've quite liked what I've seen and the characters are warming to me.

Both series have been renewed for another season and have had the highest ratings for Sci-Fi TV ever. I would be interested to see how SG:1 develops because it is suffering from the lack of involvement of Richard Dean Anderson. The summer season IMO was just so-so. Maybe they will be re-energized for the next season.

A series that really raises the bar on scifi on TV is the new "Battlestar Galactica". (Another series made in Vancouver). Unlike Trek and the Stargates, Galactica is actually a drama set in space (like some of "Babylon 5") and the tone is dire and serious. For the most part, it has been some pretty good television and top notch production.

Between the Stargates and the Battlestar Galactica, I think the Trek people should be taking a long look at where they are going. The Stargates have the fun angle covered while Battlestar Galactica does the 9/11 focus much better than the whole of last season's Enterprise.

[Joe Carney]

Dylan, don't you think it's time you just broke down and purchased the necessary holographic generators to get the look you want? I saw some used ones that only required 20gigawats on Ebay the other day.
My goodness man, it's the 24th century after all! Get with the program. Nobody uses paint any more!!!
I mean really! And asking people for antiques on a public board!!!!! The hutzpah!
:)
:)
hehehehe

[Aaron Koolen]

Keith, I hear you. To be honest apart from the original series in the 60's I've never liked the StarTreks and haven't watched many of them, even though I tried. As you said there doesn't seem to be the comraderie and they all seem far too uptight. That's why I like SG1, they can take the piss a bit and they have a lot of dynamic range. They can make you laugh hysterically, cry, cringe, scared and all that. The Treks have never done that for me.

We haven't even seen series 8 here in NZ, series 7 has just started playing on TV. My wife and I own almost all the DVD's (Except series 1) so we're pretty much up to date and will get 8 when it's available.

Also, we haven't seen any of Atlantis yet. I've heard some good things but I don't like to read too many sites and spoil the surprise.

So Richard Dean Anderson isn't as involved now? That's a real shame as I think it's hard for that great chemistry to survive without any of them, but especially him. I love his humour.

Oh, sorry Dylan to steal your thread....Oops.

Aaron

[Dylan Couper]

Keith, I don't suppose he's got a big-ass printer at his desk and wants to make some extra beer money?

Aaron, actually I was location scouting today, and was going over an old SG1 set. It was pretty much just a field, and some buildings, I guess they do the rest in CG.

Joe, LOL!

[Keith Loh]

Aaron, the first season of SG1 is not good. If I had seen it first I would have avoided all of the other ones.

Yeah, 'taking the piss' is a good way of describing it. My favourite exchange of dialogue is when one of the Gou'ald is about to shoot Col. O'Neal's character. The Gou'ald has an energy weapon and O'Neal has his submachinegun.

GOU'ALD
This weapon kills on its second shot!

O'NEAL
This weapon kills with its first.

O'Neal shoots the Gou'ald dead.

In that one scene they totally take the piss out of Star Trek and all of the other shows where their energy weapons are no where as good as old fashioned BULLETS!

Yeah, Anderson got sick of commuting back and forth from Vancouver to L.A. that he has relegated his own character into a support role. It's a shame and makes me wonder what will happen in the next season.

Dylan, somehow I doubt he would do that :)

And I think that SG:1 has staked out every single deserted quarry in B.C. for an exterior location. So many planets they visit which are west coast rainforests!

[Aaron Koolen]

Keith, I'll be buying it anyway, just to finish off the collection ;)

OK, I thought that they filmed everything on Vancouver. Didn't realise they had to go to LA a lot. Oh well, I'll still enjoy it if I can wangle an extra role :) And Maybe you and Dylan can show me around the pubs there...

Aaron

[Keith Loh]

Ah I confused you. Richard Dean Anderson is a native of L.A. and his family are there. So his commuting was to go back and forth from his life to work.

[Dylan Couper]

I'm gonna kick you thread hijackers in the nuts!!!

BTW, the Vancouver film industry is apparently down 20-30% from the last few years.

[Aaron Koolen]

Sorry Dylan. Here's something to make it up to you.

CityScape

OK, something more serious

More

Aaron