Who knew? “High School Musical” heartthrob was on “Firefly”
“High School Musical” heartthrob Zac Efron carries a lot of water in my hometown.
After all, Efron — who’s starred in “Hairspray,” “Me and Orson Welles” and “17 Again” — grew up right here on the Central Coast.
Born in San Luis Obispo, Efron spent most of his youth in the South County and graduated from Arroyo Grande High School. He cut his acting teeth in plays at Unity of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo Little Theatre and PCPA Theaterfest, before heading to Hollywood to make it big.
Before the brown-haired, blue-eyed dreamboat became a full-fledged superstar, however, he appeared in a little-known science fiction show called “Firefly.”
Wait a second … “Firefly”? Joss Whedon’s “Firefly”?!?
In the above clip, a young, fresh-faced Efron plays doctor-turned-Alliance fugitive Simon Tam (portrayed as an adult by Sean Maher).
I’ll allow that to soak into your subconscious as I proceed with my true mission — clearing my computer of extemporaneous links.
Today’s theme, as you may have guessed, is science fiction.
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We begin, appropriately enough, with a Joss Whedon-related item.
As you may have heard by now, Whedon — the man behind “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Dollhouse” and “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” — has been selected to helm Marvel’s “The Avengers.”
He’s also re-writing the scripts for the “Avengers” flick and “Captain America.”
Some comic book purists have been raising a stink, claiming that Whedon’s trademark snarky humor will degrade the dignity of men and women who fight giant robots and aliens while clad in colorful, skintight costumes. Yeah, right.
As Charlie Jane Anders argues, putting Whedon in charge of such a kooky collection of gods, scientists and super soldiers is actually a good thing.
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Whedon would find plenty to like on “Wired’s Favorite Sci-Fi Flicks of All Time.”
Wired magazine wisely split its list into two categories: before “Star Wars” and after “Star Wars.”
Sci-fi fans should see plenty of familiar names on this chronological list, which begins with 1902’s “Le Voyage dans la lune” (“A Trip to the Moon”). Highlights include “Planet of the Apes,” “Logan’s Run,” “Robocop” and “The Matrix.”
If you don’t agree with Wired’s choices, you can also check out “The 100 Greatest Sci-Fi Movies” — compiled by Total Sci-Fi Online.
“Blade Runner” tops the list at No. 1, followed by “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Star Wars,” “Alien” and “Metropolis.”
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If you prefer special effects to insightful storytelling, here’s a movie list created just for you.
AMC blogger John Scalzi rates science fiction movies “by their EXPLOSIONS!”
Top-performing films include “Independence Day,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and “Return of the Jedi,” which features the destruction of “Jabba’s yacht, a shield installation, Imperial cruisers, dozens upon dozens of fighter ships, yet another Death Star, and — critically — at least one Ewok.”
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To wrap it up, here are a few quick sci-fi links:
- Entertainment Weekly lists the coolest comic book movies — including “American Splendor,” “Iron Man” and “Batman Begins” — and the worst. (Just the thought of Frank Miller’s big screen adaptation of “The Spirit” makes me queasy.)
- “Star Trek” gets the corporate treatment with a series of tongue-in-cheek inspirational posters.
- Space Age artist Robert McCall left behind an amazing legacy, including posters for “2001: A Space Odyssey” and art for “The Black Hole” and “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.”
- Fans of Britian’s “Red Dwarf” will want to check out this all-encompassing post.
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Thanks to io9.com for the earth-shattering tip.
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