Blockbuster season approaches, and the Gateway Film Center (1550 North High Street) is launching a series that embraces the nerd at the center of some of the biggest flicks Hollywood will throw at us. Remember, you can’t spell “science fiction” without science.
Beginning May 1, The Science of Superheroes offers a series of panel discussions after screenings of the big new SciFi releases: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla, and X-Men: Days of Future Past.
According to Johnny DiLoretto, director of communications at Gateway, the idea came pretty naturally to the staff at the film center.
“Well, we’re just really into science here,” he says. “Seriously, everyone here at the film center gets excited talking about science.”
He points to Gateway’s successful recent experiences with panels attached to the Oscar winning 2013 film Gravity, as well as the Neil DeGrasse Tyson TV program Cosmos, as inspiration for the series.
“Chris Hamel (Gateway Film Center president) and John Umland (GFC vice president) had the idea of applying the concept a little wider to include the big, fun, summer movies,” he says.
Experts for the discussions come from the worlds of science, film and comics.
“The panelists are a dynamic mix of comic book experts, superhero movie geeks, and, of course, scientists,” says DiLoretto.
To name a few, “Jamie and Teresa Colegrove of Packrat Comics; WCBE’s Dan Mushalko, who also happens to produce the award-winning The Amazing Science Emporium; filmmaker and CCAD assistant professor Phil Garrett; Dr. Susan Fisher, former chair of OSU’s entomology department; Dr. Rob Pyatt, Assistant Director of Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital,” he says.
Panelists will dig into questions of science versus fantasy. Says DiLoretto, “We’ve got a lot of willing participants. These talks won’t be dumbed down at all, but informative, enlightening, brain-bending dialogues. I really hope audiences will jump into this.”
The film center will host five discussions through May, each taking place directly after a 7 or 7:30 p.m. Thursday or Friday screening of one of the month’s biggest blockbusters.
The Science of Superheroes lineup:
Thursday May 1 – The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Hero Fact Vs Fiction
Comic book experts and scientists duke it out over questions like what really happens if you’re bitten by a genetically-engineered spider? Will we ever be able to wall-crawl and swing through the city on our own webs?
Friday May 9 – The Amazing Spider-Man 2: The Downright Shocking Truth about Electro!
Is it possible for humans to control electricity? Truth is we already have electric currents running through our bodies. How can we harness that power?!
Friday May 16 – Godzilla: The Monstrosities of Science
From Frankenstein to Godzilla, what horrors hath science wrought!? Join us for a look at how movies have viewed science’s monstrous potential over the years.
Friday, May 23rd – X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST: The Science of Mutation
Can genetic mutations really lead to the things we see in the X-Men universe? What types of “mutants” came before us, and what’s the next evolutionary step?
Friday, May 30th – X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST: Science of Super Heroes Debate: What’s More Important Fact or Fiction?
The big finale is an all-out winner-take-all debate on how important it is to get the science right in these movies – or whether it should take a back seat to entertaining the audience.
“We love science here,” says DiLoretto. “We really want to engage in enlightening discussions about this stuff and do it in a fun way.”
Join me May 16th as I sit on the panel discussing Godzilla and the monsters of science.
For more information, visit www.gatewayfilmcenter.com
A full slate of movie reviews is available on my website www.maddwolf.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @maddwolf and like me on Facebook at facebook.com/MaddWolfColumbus .