Ocean Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I know some of you are super-jazzed about political content and political film, so how about a good, healthy dose of politics in a science fiction wonderland? In August of last year, producers Gianni Nunnari and Nick Wechsler optioned Warren Ellis' comic mini-series/graphic novel Ocean. Now, The Hollywood Reporter posts that new writer Ryan Condal has been tapped to write the adaptation. He has not penned a produced feature yet, but THR notes that he is known for a spec called Galahad, "a revisionist take on the King Arthur legend."

The writer's background certainly should help here. I'm betting that even if you haven't read Ellis' work, this should sound familiar. On one of Jupiter's Moons, Europa, thousands of coffins are found that hold "angel-like bodies and a giant weapon of mass destruction." "A U.N. weapons inspector is sent to investigate the find, teaming with a space station crew, when a powerful conglomerate moves in to exploit the discovery." And the place he's sent to -- Cold Harbor.

Are you ready for some weapons of mass space destruction?

I love the idea that man's origins are with aliens. I love the concept in "non-fiction" books of UFO lore. I love it in my favorite books, Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I even loved it in Mission to Mars, which was only redeemed for me by that too-expository reveal at the end. Hopefully, the next Indiana Jones movie will also be dealing with the idea. But if not, I can at least look forward to Ocean, an adaptation of Warren Ellis' DC/Wildstorm comic mini-series (now available as a graphic novel), which has just been optioned by producers Gianni Nunnari (300) and Nick Wechsler (The Fountain). I haven't read the title (I would have if I'd known about it -- I'm going to buy it asap), but Wechsler told Variety the comic is, "an alien thriller with a fresh take on the origin of man." From what I can tell, it's the usual, plausible (IMHO) notion that an alien race deposited its seed on Earth and we are the result.

According to the Wikipedia synopsis, Ocean is set 100 years in the future, when alien artifacts are discovered on Europa, the ice-covered moon of Jupiter. Because some of these artifacts appear to be weapons of mass destruction, an inspector from the UN is sent to investigate. Unfortunately, the alien race is still around, only cryogenically dormant, and of course thanks to an evil corporation (apparently modeled after Microsoft) manages to wake up the violent creatures. Sure, it sounds a lot like the plot of Alien, but there's obviously more political allegory in this that makes it more relevant to current events. I also think the relationship between humans and this ancient warlike race, which happen to be our ancestors, is pretty interesting -- especially with the idea that these grandfathers might return in the form of an alien invasion. Hopefully, the movie will retain all these layers of contemplation and we'll get a much-needed deep-thinking sci-fi tale.