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Michael Crichton Dead At 66
Many readers have submitted stories about the death of Michael Crichton. The 66-year-old author of Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain died unexpectedly Tuesday "after a courageous and private battle against cancer," a press release said. In addition to writing, he also directed such sci-fi classics as Westworld and Runaway. Crichton was married five times and had one child.
You, sir, are an asshole.
"after a courageous and private battle against cancer,"
They never say stuff like "after capitulating to cancer like a big pussy,"
But anyway, to employ another cliche-- he will be missed. Forget Jurassic Park- I still get creeped out by the proto-Terminator robot in "Westworld". And who can forget the classic 1981 cloning/CG extravaganza, "Looker". Well, everyone.
Here's an hour-long video interview with him on Charlie Rose.
Stay the fuck away from the TV remake. Forgive me for beint this blunt, but it really is that bad.
The 1971 is perhaps the most accurate book-to-movie conversion i've seen. I first saw it arround 5 years ago, and it found it gripping. There was little a remake could improve over it.
For those that modded the parent "Troll": Michael Crichton's Web site seems to be down now, but he gave a speech called "Aliens Cause Global Warming" in which he claimed to debunk "consensus science." The gist was that political discussion of global warming too often invoked "scientific consensus," where he argued that science was not consensus-based and that such claims were therefore meaningless.
Similarly, though we may not have consensus that Michael Crichton is dead, it makes absolutely no difference to him.
Breakfast served all day!
I didn't exactly respect him more after reading Travels. It was hard to escape the conclusion that Crichton was a guy who would believe literally anything anyone told him. That's one reason I was somewhat surprised to see him arguing in favor of more objective thinking in the global-warming debate. His bio made him sound like a real New Age woo-woo type.
Anybody else think The 13th Warrior (based on his Eaters of The Dead) is actually a good film?
I liked it. Still do. I think it's unappreciated.
The ~1970 Andromeda Strain is probably about the only one where they came close (including Jurassic Park).
The "Great Train Robbery" (1979 - also directed by Crichton) was an enjoyable film. Here's the trailer:
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=h_QathS_8Ok
This post by the founder of the Mac tips website, macosxhints.com, states that Crichton was an early donor to the site. Although I didn't care for every one of his books, I was certainly a fan of his body of work and I find it very cool that he donated to a website that collects technical tips for Mac fans.
Don't feed the trolls. Let them be modded down without any replies. Thanks.
"chaos theory means that they must run amok and kill us all!"
And also happened to be an embellishment of the film.
People should really learn to read again.. the book series was much better than the Hollywood treatment.. as is often the case.
How we know is more important than what we know.
Was it? I read the book many years ago so it all sort of runs together for me, but I distinctly remember each chapter beginning with a picture of successive iterations of a fractal, and I'm pretty sure that this tied in somehow with chaos theory. Wikipedia says:
Both are pessimistic, but Malcolm, having been consulted before the park's creation, is emphatic in his prediction that the park will collapse, as it is an unsustainably simple structure bluntly forced upon a complex system.
Is it not so?
If you mod me Overrated, you are admitting that you have no penis.
It was here that he first discovered the formula he would use over and over: humans discover science - humans abuse science - humans pay.
He did cop out the ending of that one, but it was an early novel. I like to think of him as mostly a sci-fi writer, because the ideas were more important than the characters.
... one of the first full-length books I read was The Andromeda Strain.
Later, I read the condensed version of The Terminal Man, and remembered (and loved) the line where a doctor explains to a policeman that the subject had a radioactive battery, making him a possible contamination threat. The policeman's response was "Alpha or beta particle emitter?" When the doctor looks surprised, he adds, "I went to college. I can even read and write."
That was where I learned that even cops could have the geek nature.
Strike while the irony is hot! -- The Freethinker
I said "worthwhile". Bestsellers are mostly just ways to pass the time on a commute.
all the anti-global warming stuff is properly cited and logically argued.
Bullshit.
The point wasn't that science was bad; he point, as stated by Jeff Goldblum in Jurrassic Park was that scientists often realize that then can do something, but almost never ask if they should. An important question I might add.
I read an article the other day that indicated some scientists were currently researching, and believed they could create, designer babies. At no point did they ever actually ask themselves, "Hey, is this a good idea?" That's what he argued against (along with "consensus science", which is more accurately defined as coming to a conclusion with consensus, rather than definitive evidence.)
...does everyone just mention Jurassic Part, Sphere, and The Andromeda Strain? He wrote other great books, such as Eaters of the Dead, The Great Train Robbery, and Timeline! I'll admit, though, that Next did suck.
I tried to walk into Target, but I missed. --Mitch Hedburg
So Crichton isn't Hemingway. Big deal. He wrote enjoyable books, for the most part, and did so for decades. He wrote stories that kept you thinking about them after you put the book down, even if they had flaws.
Books, like movies and even food, don't have to be "art" to be worthwhile and worthy of some respect.
As a (hack) writer myself I have much respect for authors like Crichton, (old) King, and even Dean Koontz. Their works won't be taught in school, but they sweep you away for a few hours, and get under your skin. And for me anyway, they make me want to write a book myself.* They make it look easy, in the way only real talent can.
Compare Crichton to a real hack like Robin Cook. Ugh!
I will be lifting a glass in his memory tonight, and I rarely drink. The world's a poorer place without him and his tales of Science Run Amok.
* Not that I have written a book lately because hey, I am lazy, but that's another story.