A bargain, a rip-off, a bizarre trophy or a priceless momento? A look at the practice of paying a celebrity to be nice to you.
by Rachel Hyland
There is a tangible electricity in the air, a frisson of anticipatory glee as scores of men and women – mostly women – stand in line for an approximately 30 second encounter with Jason Momoa. A privilege for which they have paid quite handsomely.
Star of Stargate Atlantis, Conan and Game of Thrones (Season 1, anyway), Momoa’s is a towering presence as he emerges from …

From Number Six to Rosie the Robot to False Maria and beyond…
by Rachel Hyland and Jason Murdoch
Way back in Issue 11 of this fine publication we presented to you the Top 13… Robots, Male Division. Dominated by Optimus Prime and seeing kudos given to artificial dudes the likes of Data, Marvin and Bender Bending Rodríguez, we mentioned at the time that a similar homage to these worthies’ female counterparts would soon be forthcoming.
Cut to more than two years later, and at last we are fulfilling our promise. But first, to …

Now in its second year, the organizer of Australia’s latest large-scale “pop-culture event” explains how it all came to be…
by Rachel Hyland
For many fans of genre in all its many, many forms – sci-fi, fantasy, horror, anime, gaming, comics, TV, film, so very etc. – the highlight of any given social season will very often be some form of Convention. Even now, long after the advent of the internet and when members of even the most obscure fandoms can easily find a website or mailing list through which to connect …

A look at what has made the great man so great for so long.
by Amy Sharma
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger
Born: July 30, 1947 in Thal, Styria, Austria
“You have to remember something: Everybody pities the weak; jealousy you have to earn.”
Oh Arnold. Where to begin? A few years ago, The Daily Show named Charlton Heston “Man of the Century” (good gravy that was in 2000 – I am old!). I wouldn’t go so far as to give that title to Arnold. But he is so versatile of an actor as to be able …

Based on The Bicentennial Man by Isaac Asimov and The Positronic Man by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg
Written by: Nicholas Kazan
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Starring: Robin Williams, Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill
Movie Marathon: Artificial Intelligence
In Short: A robot strives to become human.
Recommended: Not really.
ANDREW MARTIN: I try to make sense of things. Which is why, I guess, I believe in destiny. There must be a reason that I am as I am. There must be.
Robin William stars in this slightly sappy romantic comedy about a robot who wants to become human. …

Written by: John Carpenter and Dan O’Bannon
Directed by: John Carpenter
Starring: Dan O’Bannon, Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm, Dre Pahich
Movie Marathon: Artificial Intelligence
In Short: Occasionally funny but generally pretty dull sci-fi odyssey.
Recommended: Yes and no.
PINBACK: Hey, Doolittle, think we’ll ever find real intelligent life out there?
DOOLITTLE: Out where?
PINBACK: Veil nebula.
DOOLITTLE: Who cares?
Way back in 2010, in only our second issue, Geek Speak’s own Kate Nagy put together the truly excellent Top 13… Genre-Themed Songs. You know, “Space Oddity,” “Mr. Roboto,” “Puff the Magic Dragon,” that kind of thing. In her entry on …

Written by: Thea von Harbou
Directed by: Fritz Lang
Starring: Brigette Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Movie Marathon: Artificial Intelligence
In Short: In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city’s mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Recommended: Yep Yep.
MARIA: Having conceived Babel, yet unable to build it themselves, they had thousands to build it for them. But those who toiled knew nothing of the dreams of those …

Written by: Nathan Parker, Duncan Jones
Directed by: Duncan Jones
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey (voice)
Movie Marathon: Artificial Intelligence
In Short: The man in the moon is more than one man.
Recommended: Hell, yes.
SAM: You’ve been up here too long man. You’ve lost your marbles.
From HAL to the Terminator to the Sentinels in the Matrix trilogy, it seems that A.I.s have made a bad name for themselves on the silver screen. No matter what cinematic circumstances lead to A.I.s getting too big for their boots, it is almost inevitable that they turn on their …

Based on Transformers toys, created by Hasbro
Story by: John Rogers, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman
Written by: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman
Directed by: Michael Bay
Starring: Shia LeBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel
Movie Marathon: Artificial Intelligence
In Short: Way to ruin my childhood, movie!
Recommended: No.
OPTIMUS PRIME: Are you Samuel James Witwicky, descendant of Archibald Witwicky?
MIKAELA: They know your name!
SAM: Yeah.
OPTIMUS PRIME: My name is Optimus Prime. We are Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron.
RATCHET: But you can call us “Autobots” for short.
SAM: Autobots.
JAZZ: What’s crackin’, lil’ bitches?
As a kid, one of the many cartoons I …

AKA: Tetsuwan Atomu
Created by: Osamu Tezuka.
Developed by: Tezuka Productions
Starring: (English dub)
Number of Episodes: 52
NTV/In Syndication
TV on DVD: Artificial Intelligence
In Short: And once again the day was saved, thanks to… Astro Boy!
Recommended: Yes!
DR. BOYNTON: Say you’re sorry!
ASTRO BOY: You’re sorry.
– “The Birth of Astro Boy” (01.01)
For some, their introduction to anime may have been Sailor Moon. Or Neon Genesis Evangalion. Or, hell, Pokemon. But for me, it was very early morning childhood viewings of Japan’s number one son, Astro Boy, flying to many a rescue with his rocket-propelled feet, long …