Event Horizon.

Caleb introduced me to the movie Event Horizon.  We had each browsed through all that Netflix and Amazon Prime had to offer us.  In the end, I handed him the remote, closed my eyes, and said "pick anything."  I was, of course, a bit nervous because I was sure this was going to be a really stupid movie, but I was wrong.  It was great!  Well, it was sort of stupid but in a good way.

Event Horizon, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, came out in 1997.  For a film that came out that long ago, I am impressed with its CGI capabilities.  Normally, as you might know, I am not a fan of computer graphics but this is a case where it's necessary and it works.  Paul Anderson is probably best known for his Resident Evil movies.  He wrote, directed, and produced them.

The film is about a rescue crew, of sorts, that investigate a lost space ship called the Event Horizon.  It got lost in a black hole that it created and now something sinister is hiding on board.  It's a great horror/sci-fi and I'm not always a huge fan of sci-fi.  Though, I do seem to like most of the sci-fi movies I see, I just wouldn't pick them to watch myself.  But if it's someone else's idea, then why not?

You will probably recognize Sam Neill as Dr. William Weir.  Neill has been in tons of stuff like Jurassic Park, Daybreakers,  and The Horse Whisperer.  He's talented and versatile, though in my opinion he plays creepy the best.

Then there's Captain Miller, the captain of the rescue team, played by Laurence Fishburne.  He is best known for being in The Matrix and taking over as lead on CSI.

Those are the two main leads and the biggest names of the movie.  But shout-out to the supporting cast: Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, Richard T. Jones, Jack Noseworthy, Jason Isaacs, and Sean Pertwee who all did great.

According to IMDB, there are a lot of neat facts about Event Horizon and I feel the need to share them.  Because this blog is supposed to be about how the movie is made and interesting things that most people don't know about them.  However, I get too excited while I write and totally stray away.  Oops!  So, here's some neat stuff!:

• The space suits worn by the actors weighed 65 pounds each.  Due to the weight, standing upright in them for longer periods could lead to back injury, but sitting down was not possible either due to the backpack. Special "hanging poles" were constructed on the set, so the actors could rest on them between takes.
•  The Event Horizon was modeled on Notre Dame cathedral. Its long corridor resembles a church nave, and its interior is filled with cruciform shapes, columns and vaults. Also, its engines resemble rotated church towers. 
• When the Lewis and Clark first docks with the Event Horizon, the number of the main airlock is briefly visible: 13. 
• The Event Horizon was named after the theoretical boundary surrounding a black hole, within which gravitational attraction is so great that nothing, not even radiation, can escape because the escape velocity is greater than the speed of light. Technically, it is where the physical universe ends and physical laws no longer apply. So the ship's name is symbolic for its journey beyond the borders of the known universe.
•  Philip Eisner wrote the movie after a family tragedy. He had recently entered a multi-picture writing agreement, and in an effort to force himself to get back to work he pitched the idea of "The Shining in space" to the studio, who were very receptive. 
• The rotational shot of the space station over earth took nearly a third of the film's budget.  
• Some of the lost footage includes a great deal more of the Bosch-influenced Hell sequences and of the orgiastic video log that was found in the Event Horizon. This was shot by both director Paul W.S. Anderson and Vadim Jean, mainly on weekends. 
• The shot where Sam Neill stares out of a window which then pulls back to reveal he's on the deck of a spaceship orbiting Earth took the digital special effects house Cinesite 10 weeks to achieve. The shot lasts for 45 seconds. 

What I take from all the trivia is that Event Horizon is a complex movie.  I really did enjoy this one!  It's streaming right now on Netflix and I think you should check it out if you haven't seen it already.  If you have, then maybe you should watch it again for old time's sake!  It's a great horror/sci-fi so if you like those genres then this is a good movie for you!  Enjoy!

Watch the clip below for an intense scene between Captain Miller and a crewman.  I love how he listens to the whole thing and his face is like "Yeah, this doesn't surprise me." 

Saved by the Bell.

Saved by the Bell is streaming on Netflix!  I love this show.  It brings back all those amazing youthful feelings of happiness and being carefree.  I was born in 1991 but that doesn't mean I was too young to appreciate all the music and television shows that the 90s had to offer.  When I first started watching Saved by the Bell again I found the show kind of hard to take.  It's dorky and immature and the story lines are absurd.  It got better through it and I'm glad I pushed onward.  So if you try watching these again and think "this show is stupid, why did I ever like it?"  Just keep trying! You can do it!

The series ran from 1989 to 1993 and then had Saved by the Bell: The College Years as a spin off.  Not as good, of course, but I still watched it.  The show was actually a spin off from something called Good Morning, Miss Bliss.  Disney picked up the series for thirteen episodes, where the teacher, Miss Bliss, was the main character and the secondary characters were Mr. Belding, Zack, Screech, Lisa, Nikki, and Mikey.  Now, if you watch the first season of Saved by the Bell on Netflix you'll see that these characters are all featured.  So I'm gonna take a leap here and say that the first season of Saved by the Bell is actually the show Good Morning, Miss Bliss.  After the first season the characters change; we now have Zack, Screech, Lisa, and Mr. Belding plus Kelly, Jessie, and of course A.C. Slater.

Saved by the Bell has a great cast and stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack, Dustin Diamond as Screech, Lark Voorhies as Lisa, Dennis Haskins as Mr. Belding, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen as Kelly, Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie, and Mario Lopez as Slater.  What have they all been up to since the show?

• Mark-Paul Gosselaar hasn't been in anything big that I've seen but he has had recurring roles on Franklin & Bash, Raising the Bar, and D.C.
• Dustin Diamond is an interesting dude who made a BIG splash on Celebrity Fit Club in 2008.  He has a foul mouth and giant attitude.  I can't even remember if he lost weight or not, all I remember is that he left the show and then came back.  He was also on Hollywood Squares in 2003.  That show was awesome.  OH!  Dustin also wrote an "insider" book in 2009 called Behind the Bell in which he spilled lot's of secrets.  Most of which his colleagues claim are not true.  Oh Dustin, you will always be Screech no matter how hard you try, sorry!  Even if you have allegedly had sex with 2,000 women.
• Lark Voorhies has been in all kinds of stuff since her Bayside years but nothing I've ever heard of.  She was in The Bold and the Beautiful from 1995-1996 but that's the only significant title I recognize.
• Dennis Haskins, the man, has been in just about everything.  He was in all the seasons of Saved by the Bell, including the spin-offs.
• Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, aside from being a mom, was most notably in Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1994-2000.  Which is an impressive run.  So she's been in two long television series.  Good for you Tiffani!
• You can see Elizabeth Berkley's breasts in Show Girls if you want.  She's been in lot's of other stuff but nothing really compares to Show Girls in 1995.  I mean, she plays a ruthless exotic dancer in Las Vegas! What's not to like?
• Finally there is the ever-so-popular, Mario Lopez.  Mario has been in loads of lame movies, like stuff on ABC Family.  Which I still love and will happily admit.  He has been the dorky but studly host of The X Factor, Mario Lopez: One on One, H8R, America's Best Dance Crew, and Pet Star.  Plus he's just been on EVERYTHING.  Seriously. Whether he's the host, a guest, or a contestant, he's been on too many things to list.  What a guy!

So the show did have some drama towards the end of the series.  Thiessen and Berkley refused to renew their contracts so the character of Tori, played by Leanna Creel, was added to replace them.  Tori is only in half of the episodes of the final season.  So it's really confusing to watch because suddenly Kelly and Jessie are there, then they aren't, then there they are again!  They filmed the graduation scenes while Thiessen and Berkley were still around and mixed the Tori episodes in the middle.  It's super confusing and weird but I am glad Kelly and Jessie graduation scenes were filmed so the original, favorite crew was all together for everyone to say goodbye to their Bayside friends.

If you love this show as much as I always have then give it another go!  It's streaming on Netflix right now!  If you've never seen the show before, well I'm not sure how you'll feel about it.  Let me know!  It's very 90s so beware but it's also totally amazing.

One really unique thing about Saved by the Bell is how Zack talks to the audience.  Something will be happening and he'll just stop and talk directly into the camera.  Here's a ridiculous clip that literally made me laugh out loud.