Two questions: How does Hollywood create all those real-looking animals and bugs? And are these renderings accurate examples of what they’re like in real life?
Get the answers to these questions — and many other ones about slimy, creepy, and crawly celluloid stars — on Sunday, June 8, when the Museum of the Moving Image presents The Science of Monster Movies & Community Filmmaking.
To begin at 2 pm, this multi-pronged activity includes presentations by a paleontologist, an entomologist, and several film experts. A screening and a coloring party are also in the mix.
Attendance is free, but RSVP is requested and recommended.
Here’s more information on the presentations.
Jurassic Park: The Case for Feathers
Aki Watanabe, a paleontologist at the New York Institute of Technology and the American Museum of Natural History, narrates a clip-show selection about dinosaurs from the Jurassic Park brand and contrasts them with what dinosaurs actually looked like when they roamed the earth. (Spoiler alert: Some had feathers. Lots of feathers.)
Terrors of the Deep: The Original Jaws
The first time a movie camera filmed below the ocean’s surface was in 1914. (Sorry, “Jaws” fans, but your time was 1975.) The goal was to test technology that would be used to make the 1916 silent classic “ 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” The footage, known as “Terrors of the Deep,” was lost until science filmmaker and journalist Tom McNamara found it mislabeled in a Dutch archive. With found archive footage and scenes from ”Jaws,” McNamara, a former national park ranger, will describe the making of “Terrors of the Deep” and discuss sharks and other undersea creatures (especially the scary ones).
Slugs: Should Have Been Nominated for an Oscar
Science auteur and horror aficionado Erin Chapman makes the case for why Juan Piquer Simón’s 1988 monster movie “ Slugs” is a masterpiece. Using humor, Chapman, who is Assistant Director of New Media at the American Museum of Natural History, tells the story of this gross-out flick about a small town terrorized by aggressive carnivorous slugs, interspersed with movie clips and slug science.
Alien vs. Real Life Parasites
RJ Millena, an entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History, describes how the Xenomorph’s terrifying life cycle in “Alien” owes a significant debt to the real-world horrors of invertebrate parasitoids. John Hurt’s famous chest–burster scene in the 1979 thriller will play along with images of parasitoid wasp larvae emerging from a caterpillar. Plus, Millena, a PhD candidate at the American Museum of Natural History’s Richard Gilder Graduate School who’s conducting research on twisted-wing insect parasites, will describe the parasitic mechanisms happening every day. (Watch “Alien” at 1 pm in the Redstone Theater!)
Here’s the activities schedule.
Noon to 6 pm: The Science of Monster Movies Animation coloring party in the Fox Amphitheater. This is an all-ages, all-day coloring party with supplies provided. The host museum will animate the guests’ creations and create a movie.
1 pm: Ridley Scott’s “Alien” screens in the Redstone Theater (Separate ticket required).
2 pm to 6 pm: Happy Hour in the museum’s cafe with 10 percent discounts on beer, wine, and cocktails for Creature Feature ticket holders.
3:15 pm to 5:15 pm: Creature Feature live storytelling in the Redstone Theater.
The Museum of the Moving Image is located at 36-01 35th Ave. in Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District. There’s on-street parking.
Top photo: Leo Visions/Unsplash
Middle photo: Sonika Agarwal/Unsplash
Bottom photo: Efe Yaǧiz Soysal/Unsplash
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