# Simon Pegg asks if Science Fiction is Dumbing Down Cinema



## Dave (May 19, 2015)

Firstly, *I haven't read the interview* - it is in _Radio Times_, but he is also talking about it everywhere, on every talk show, and it is trending on Twitter in a big way.

Secondly, he isn't actually saying this, but rather throwing the question out there. So, he isn't a hypocrite for making all those films then saying this, but you might have thought he would have thought about it before now. He's been making SciFi TV and film for at least 20 years. Also, you do have to wonder about his motives. Is he selling a book? Oh, yes, he is!

Thirdly, this is a perennial question at SFFChrons and the answer is no. Science Fiction can be literary too, and Science Fiction films can be thought-provoking and very reflective of real-world issues. He seems to be speaking about comic-book adaptations (not my favourite genre either) and the kind of science-fiction comedies that he makes (which are fun because comedies are meant to be.) Also, if we want to talk childish then look to films such as _The Hangover_ series, _Scary Movie_ series, _American Pie_ series.

I really wish Hollywood would make more thought-provoking science fiction and fantasy films. There are plenty of books not filmed yet. Instead it goes for comic-books and remakes because they are popular and make more money. It doesn't stop other films being made too. It isn't killing off Art House or Thrillers or Biographies or Rom Coms. Why doesn't Simon Pegg step up to the mark and make something more literary for a change?


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## Stephen Palmer (May 19, 2015)

Perhaps it's money that's dumbing down cinema.


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## Ray McCarthy (May 19, 2015)

It's the other way round. Cinema is getting dumber anyway and degrading written fiction. Too many books are written as if novelizations of weak Cinema SF & F.
Cinema is relying too much on effects and spectacle rather than plot, character, dialogue and decent photographic composition.


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## J Riff (May 19, 2015)

In other words, not hiring us writer types any more.


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## alchemist (May 19, 2015)

From the man who portrayed Scotty as an intelligent buffoon; the single worst thing about the Star Trek reboot.


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## Jo Zebedee (May 19, 2015)

alchemist said:


> From the man who portrayed Scotty as an intelligent buffoon; the single worst thing about the Star Trek reboot.



Yes, the words pot and kettle were on the tip of my tongue....


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## BAYLOR (May 19, 2015)

When a director, producer and writer tell  the average movie executive that they want to produce a _literate anything _,  the executive suddenly gets afflicted  with visions of box office failure and a movie studio executive career cut short .


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## Dave (May 19, 2015)

I still haven't read the interview and I'm not planning on it, but the headline is that he had to rewrite _Star Trek 3_ because it was too "Star Treky." I'm sorry, but what they have done to something I loved is criminal. I was also wrong. He is doing the rounds, not for his book, but because he is in some new film called _Man Up_ which is apparently not science fiction at all. So, he probably thinks it is in his interest to say these things to gather a new audience who has never heard of him before, or knows that he was once almost a zombie. He is like a porn star who wants to be suddenly thought of as a serious actress because in her latest film she doesn't take her clothes off.


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## Brian G Turner (May 19, 2015)

Dave said:


> the headline is that he had to rewrite _Star Trek 3_ because it was too "Star Treky."



Simon Pegg is a geek's geek, so it sounds as though he's protesting against the stance of the studios.


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## Ray McCarthy (May 20, 2015)

Brian Turner said:


> Simon Pegg is a geek's geek,


Doesn't that insult us geeks? I never even heard of him anyway.


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## Stephen Palmer (May 20, 2015)

tbh, I prefer Nick Frost as an actor. Funnier.


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## DrMclony (May 20, 2015)

I definitely think that cinema is dumbing down SF... If SF, which should among the most intelligent of literature,  is "Dumbing down" anything, then we should just blow up the damn planet for the sake of the universe, because humanity must be a dead end.


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## Phyrebrat (May 20, 2015)

I don't think cinema has a responsibility to any kind of integrity. That's why we love our SF books. 

I don't think a hard sff and a dumbed down one are mutually exclusive. And there's plenty of excellent indie sf eg Primer, Monsters, Absentia and Upstream Colour. 

pH
I agree with Brian on Simon Pegg, but also with Stephen Palmer about Nick Frost


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## Vince W (May 20, 2015)

Pegg is clearing looking to become a 'serious' actor a la Tom Hanks. While I agree there are too many comic book films now and that science fiction is being seen in this light by the general populous, there will always be room for more serious science fiction films. It's just that the studios aren't willing to risk a sure thing. Once profits in these films fall, the studios might be more inclined to shoot serious science fiction again.

Also serious science fiction needs to be cast and filmed better. I'm looking at you Ender's Game.


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## Dave (May 20, 2015)

Hanks wouldn't be one of the highest earning actors if Ron Howard hadn't cast him in _Splash_. Does Tom Hanks regret that? Is it his albatross?

Some actors are good and some are bad. Some actors wait for good parts to be given to them and go hungry. Others, like Michael Cain, just take any job that comes along. Those are two entirely separate things. Michael Cain has been in some dreadful dross, but does anyone remember those films, or do they just remember the best roles when he showed himself to be a good actor?

The difference is that Pegg is often writing his own material. _Paul _was about as bad as it could get.


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## Ray McCarthy (May 20, 2015)

Vince W said:


> become a 'serious' actor a la Tom Hanks


Glad you put quotes there. Hanks is in some nice comedies and light hearted RomCom.


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## K. Riehl (May 23, 2015)

While Interstellar made $672 Million and has to be considered an intelligent film. Looking at the list of SF movies since 2000 I see Simon's point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_science_fiction_films_of_the_2000s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_science_fiction_films_of_the_2010s


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## Ray McCarthy (May 23, 2015)

It's not SF dumbing down Cinema, but the Cinema Industry, and USA funded production.


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## BAYLOR (May 23, 2015)

Ray McCarthy said:


> It's not SF dumbing down Cinema, but the Cinema Industry, and USA funded production.



The biggest problem with the movie industry today is that it's run by Vogons.


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