September 08, 2009
Edutainment: Science Meets Hollywood
The place where science meets entertainment has become a real program of the National Academy of Sciences. An interesting article in TheScientist.com describes how the marriage of Hollywood and academia came about.
During the making of the movie The Watchmen, a popular graphic novel that was being transformed into a motion picture, the producers invited James Kakalios, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota to visit the movie set and advise the filmmakers by bringing real science to the alternate reality of superheros. Acording to the article, 'that encounter between a scientist and Hollywood types was a test case for what later became The Science and Entertainment Exchange, launched in November 2008 by the National Academy of Sciences.'
The Science and Entertainment Exchange hopes to bridge the gap between real science and the entertainment industry's depiction of science. The goal is to foster creative collaboration between scientists and the entertainment industry.Since its beginnings, the Exchange has been incredibly busy, providing consultants for shows such as Numb3rs, Fringe, Lie to Me, Castle, and Caprica (a new Battlestar Galactica spin-off). When Hollywood wants access to a researcher who can help incorporate more realistic portrayals of science and scientists in their shows, the Exchange finds an ideal match.
Daily requests range from brief consultations on a medical point to more protracted collaborations with scientists. For the 3D adventure flick Tron Legacy -- due out in fall 2010 -- the Exchange set up a think-tank of five scientists who worked with screenwriters to brainstorm key plot points. The Exchange also found three physicists who specialized in time to help with the DVD of Lost Season 5. From these meetings, the producers created Lost University, featuring interactive classrooms on quantum mechanics and tutorials on the science of time travel.
The Scientist article points out that "the organization not only allows Hollywood to depict science more accurately, it also helps scientists communicate their research more effectively and garner wider attention. Because of the broad interest in Watchmen, for instance, Kakalios was asked by his university to make a YouTube video talking about the science of Dr. Manhattan and the basic principles of quantum mechanics. The video received over 1.5 million hits. "I could teach 1,000 students a year for a millennium and not reach that many people," said Kakalios."
The Science and Entertainment Exchange
Posted by rsk at September 8, 2009 08:35 AM