Sci-Fi Rising After Scoring Big At The Box Office, ‘Independence Day’ Is Leading A Resurgence In Big-Budget Sci-Fi Films

‘Those who have never seen a living Martian can scarcely imagine the strange horror of its appearance.”

So wrote H.G. Wells in 1898’s landmark “The War of the Worlds” - the first novel ever to posit the idea of intelligent life on another planet.

Nearly 100 years later, as the millennium looms large, our thoughts are again turning to the fantastic - at least in the movies.

The big-budget science-fiction film is back in vogue, the beneficiary of a booming interest in our collective future - and burgeoning special effects technology that allows filmmakers to give their imagination free rein at relatively low cost.

Take “Independence Day,” the $70 million sci-fi epic that opened July 2 to sellout business. In it, aliens visit our friendly planet and lay waste to major cities - and we are powerless to stop them. The movie owes a whopping debt to Wells’ “The War of the Worlds” (and the 1954 movie adaptation produced by George Pal), but its considerable pleasures are decidedly modern. No one - not even Wells himself - has ever depicted the “What ifs?” of an intergalactic battle for the fate of the Earth in such exhilarating, jaw-dropping scale.

“The first fiction ever about space aliens was ‘War of the Worlds,’ and ironically, it was written in 1898, just before the turn of the century,” says Dean Devlin, producer and co-writer of “Independence Day.” “Now our film is coming out just before the turn of the millennium. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. As we approach major turning points like this, our minds go to the apocalypse. We wonder ‘Can there be an end of the world, and what would it be like?’ “

“Independence Day” does not shy away from exploring its doomsday scenario to the fullest: Entire cities burn, landmarks fall, nuclear missiles detonate - and a lot of people die. Despite strong elements of comedy, the movie’s tone is surprisingly dark.

“The approach of the 21st century gives people the weird feeling that a big change is coming, that there’s something unusual happening,” says Roland Emmerich, director of “Independence Day.” “You’re going to see a lot of scenarios about the Antichrist, disasters, because it’s the turn of the millennium, and people are preparing for it. I think science fiction in particular plays into that.”

In last January’s “12 Monkeys,” Bruce Willis played a time traveler from the future journeying to the present to save the world from viral extinction. The movie’s ambiguous finale left it open to interpretation as to whether or not he succeeded.

Coming soon are a slew of new science-fiction films (see accompanying box) in which we make contact with aliens, deal with life on a post-doomsday planet, and go on intergalactic adventures.

The new interest does not mark a rebirth of the genre: Sci-fi flicks never went away entirely. “You can mark every decade of film history with science-fiction films,” says Ray Cannella, programming coordinator for cable TV’s The Sci-Fi Channel.

“The musical is dead, Westerns barely get made, war films are basically dead. But science fiction has endured since the silent era, and it will continue to endure because it’s universal. It speaks to us, it strikes a responsive chord. It tells us that there will be a future.”

Some of the biggest box-office successes of recent years - “Jurassic Park,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” “Total Recall” - all had science-fiction elements. Even this summer’s other big hits, like “Twister” and “Mission: Impossible,” flirt with sci-fi conceits in their otherwise “realistic” plot lines.

But the kind of sci-fi we’ll be seeing in the coming months will be unmistakably, unabashedly “science fiction.” They’re not monster mashes or action flicks with sci-fi underpinnings, but visionary, large scale flights of fantasy into the realms of interplanetary life, technology and the great unknown.

The ‘Stargate’ factor

What’s at the core of Hollywood’s newfound interest in pure, unadulterated sci-fi?

One word: “Stargate.”

“You know what they say: Imitation is the sincerest form of Hollywood,” Devlin says. “When (Roland Emmerich and Devlin) went to do ‘Stargate,’ we took the script around, and every studio in town passed on it. They basically all said, ‘Science fiction is dead; nobody wants to see it.’ Then ‘Stargate’ made $200 million, and suddenly every science-fiction script that’s been laying around for 10 years gets made.”

“Stargate,” in which Kurt Russell and James Spader traveled to the other end of the galaxy to battle a tyrannical ruler who had enslaved an entire planet, was one of 1994’s surprise hits - one that almost didn’t get made.

“Everyone in Hollywood thought it was a stupid idea,” Emmerich recalls. “Nobody gave it a chance. They thought it was not commercial, because there had been other recent science-fiction movies (“Fire in the Sky,” “Alien Nation,” “Body Snatchers,” “Communion,” “Freejack”) that hadn’t worked. I went around saying ‘Guys, this has a very universal theme,’ but nobody really believed us. Plus, it was an expensive movie, and they all had the feeling it would end up being more expensive than we said.”

So Emmerich and Devlin turned to a French company, Studio Canal Plus, for “Stargate’s” $60 million budget. The resulting movie was far from a classic - the reviews were mostly negative - but “Stargate” did something science-fiction films hadn’t done in a while: It delivered an epic-sized vision of life on another planet. It also did it at a reasonable price.

Special-effects invasion

With “Independence Day” more than meeting expectations and looking to join the ranks of Hollywood’s all-time biggest moneymakers (a list already dominated by sci-fi films like the “Star Wars” trilogy, “E.T. the Extraterrestrial,” “Back to the Future” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”), you can expect to see even more movies about invaders from outer space.

“Hollywood is a town of sheep,” says Frederick S. Clarke, publisher and editor of Cinefantastique, a magazine devoted to science-fiction and fantasy films. “There’s a hit, and everybody follows it.”

With the advent of computer generated imagery (CGI), filmmakers are able to indulge their creativity without worrying about cost-conscious producers. Instead of building physical (and costly) models of spaceships and other planets (like George Lucas did for “Star Wars”), today’s special effects are created on computer screens, then seamlessly blended with human actors. It’s what made the tornadoes in “Twister,” the animals in “Jumanji,” the dinosaurs in “Jurassic Park” and the aerial dogfights between alien spacecraft and Air Force jet planes in “Independence Day” so believable.

“You’re only limited by your own imagination now, because with special effects the way they are today, there is nothing you can dream that you can’t do,” Devlin says.

Most attempts to deliver serious sci-fi to the screen - movies like “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), “Blade Runner” (1982), and “Dune” (1984) - have resulted in box-office failure. It’s only after the movies work their way down to home video and cable that they reach an appreciative audience.

“Deeper science fiction is more of an American problem than an overseas problem,” says the Sci-Fi Channel’s Cannella. “Both ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Dune’ were big hits overseas, but American audiences don’t absorb the deeper stuff as well. Maybe it’s a result of the material we’ve been fed over the years. Your typical American movie consists of a good guy chasing a bad guy, with a car chase every 10 minutes, lots of explosions and a naked girl thrown in from time to time.”

Movies that just have sci-fi dressings can be a hit, but there’s something lacking in them, Cinefantastique’s Clarke says. “Even audiences who don’t really know sci-fi can pick up on it. They’re hollow. Science fiction is a genre of ideas, and when your movie doesn’t have any, something’s missing.”

Fortunately, science fiction is malleable enough to allow for hybrids that carry box-office appeal and serious subtexts. Filmmaker James Cameron specializes at that art, crafting spectacular “event” movies that carry provocative messages. Cameron’s “Aliens” (1986) was a shoot-‘em-up set in outer space, but it was also about motherhood and the maternal instinct to protect one’s own. “The Abyss” (1989) was a high-tech underwater thriller about man versus the elements, but it was also about the dangers of nuclear weaponry.

“Science fiction gives you a playground on which to discuss issues out of the specific and into the general,” Devlin says. “People who normally disagree on the specific will find common ground on the general. The original ‘Star Trek’ series often dealt with Vietnam, and the second ‘Star Trek’ movie dealt with the fall of Russia and trying to deal with old enemies. With ‘Independence Day,’ we deal with the question of whether the world can unite in the face of total annihilation.”

But it isn’t “Independence Day’s” utopian vision of a collective effort by all the world’s countries to fight off invaders that sells tickets: It’s the movie’s irresistible hook - see aliens blow up New York! - that is drawing record crowds.

Director Emmerich agrees that “Independence Day’s” spectacular bluntness is part of its appeal. But he also believes that the movie remains true to his and Devlin’s apocalyptic vision - and it’s that lack of compromise that audiences respond to.

MEMO: For more information about sci-fi films, check out John Stanley’s “The Creature Feature Movie Guide” (Creatures at Large Press, $20). The fifth volume is due out in December.

This sidebar appeared with the story: MORE SCI-FI ADVENTURES AHEAD Here’s a look at some of the big sci-fi films coming soon to a theater near you: “The Island of Dr. Moreau” - H.G. Wells’ story of a mad scientist’s nefarious experiments on a remote isle gets made again, this time with Marlon Brando as the good doctor and Val Kilmer as his faithful assistant. (August) “Star Trek: First Contact” - The further adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his crew aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, this one involving time travel and a war against the evil race of the half-man, half-machine Borg. (November) “Mars Attacks!” - Director Tim Burton’s satirical adaptation of the alien invasion tale depicted on the classic 1962 Topps trading cards series, starring Jack Nicholson as the president and Glenn Close as the first lady. (December) “Starship Troopers” - A $100 million adaptation of Robert Heinlein’s novel about intergalactic adventure from director Paul Verhoeven (“Total Recall,” “Showgirls”). “The Fifth Element” - Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm and Luke Perry star in this $75 million futuristic adventure written and directed by Luc Besson (“La Femme Nikita, “The Professional”). The hush-hush plot centers around a New York City cab driver in the year 2300 who becomes entangled in a secret alliance between aliens and humans. “Alien 4: Resurrection” - Sigourney Weaver returns as a clone of the late alien-killer Ripley to help Winona Ryder keep the beasties from taking over our planet. “Star Wars Special Edition” - In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the original “Star Wars” returns - with all new, cutting-edge special effects courtesy of George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic. “Contact” - Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey star as scientists communicating with extraterrestrial beings in this adaptation of Carl Sagan’s book from director Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump”). “Deep Rising” - Some high seas hijackers do battle with an ocean liner full of tentacled nuclear mutations. It’s the inevitable “Die Hard” meets “Aliens” hybrid. Also in the works: An adaptation of L. Ron Hubbard’s sprawling sci-fi saga “Battlefield Earth; The Postman,” with Kevin Costner as a mail carrier in a post-apocalyptic future; “Mirror,” a sci-fi epic set 100 years in the future from director Francis Ford Coppola; a big-screen version of TV’s popular sci-fi creepshow “The X-Files; “AI,” another exercise in cerebral sci-fi from Stanley Kubrick (“2001: A Space Odyssey”); an adaptation of Michael Crichton’s “Sphere,” about aliens living on the ocean floor; a new version of the exploits of the giant fire-breathing lizard “Godzilla”; and a brand new “Star Wars” trilogy from series creator George Lucas. Rene Rodriguez/The Miami Herald