- Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes. Christopher Waltz just signed up to star in the upcoming Terry Gilliam flick, Zero Theorem. Course, in Gilliam time “upcoming” could mean years upon years. But supposedly, the film we be going into production soonish… with Waltz fresh off his stint on Tarentino’s set. Reason I’m so excited — besides loving said star/director combination — is because SlashFilm is calling the script “a Philip K. Dick story on steroids”. It revisits the Orwellian world and themes of Gilliam’s Brazil. BleedingCool has a synopsis, if you like. The story involves virtual sex, a Big Brother-esque organization called “Management”, therapists as computer applications, and suits that allow users to explore their souls (falsely?). Not to mention the theorem (titular) Waltz’s character is working on, which will once and for all prove that life does or does not have a purpose. Wheew.
Living in an Orwellian corporate world where “mancams” serve as the eyes of a shadowy figure known only as Management, Leth (Waltz) works on a solution to the strange theorem while living as a virtual cloistered monk in his home—the shattered interior of a fire-damaged chapel.
His isolation and work are interrupted now and then by surprise visits from Bainsley, a flamboyantly lusty love interest who tempts him with “tantric biotelemetric interfacing” (virtual sex) and Bob.
Latter is the rebellious whiz-kid teenage son of Management who, with a combination of insult-comedy and an evolving true friendship, spurs on Qohen’s efforts at solving the theorem. But these visits turn out to be intentional diversions orchestrated by Management to keep control of Qohen’s progress.
Bob creates a virtual reality “inner-space” suit that will carry Qohen on an inward voyage, a close encounter with the hidden dimensions and truth of his own soul, wherein lie the answers both he and Management are seeking. The suit and supporting computer technology will perform an inventory of Qohen’s soul, either proving or disproving the Zero Theorem.
- Star’s Dying Scream May Be A Beacon For Physics.
Such an event occurred in March 2011, when scientists using NASA’s Swift telescope detected a sudden flare of X-rays from a source located nearly 4 billion light-years away in the constellation Draco. The flare, called Swift J1644+57, showed the likely location of a supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy, a black hole that had until then remained hidden until a star ventured too close and became an easy meal.The resulting particle jet, created by material from the star that got caught up in the black hole’s intense magnetic field lines and was blown out into space in our direction (at 80-90% the speed of light!) is what initially attracted astronomers’ attention. But further research on Swift J1644+57 with other telescopes has revealed new information about the black hole and what happens when a star meets its end.
