I'm sharing some of the books, films, and TV shows that inspired Rule of Extinction, both to provide recommendations and to give readers a sense of what to expect. Another inspiration for my new book Rule of Extinction is the movie Jaws, which turns 50 in 2025. Last summer, I visited the filming locations for Jaws during the 50th anniversary of the production. I visited the Jaws bridge, which the shark swam under to reach "the pond." I might have even jumped off it, despite the signs telling me not to... I swam at the beach where Alex Kintner rafted, and replicated his final moments in the exact same spot where they occured in the film. I visited the benches where the billboard was vandalized. I stopped off at the location of Quint's shack, which was torn down immediately after the production. I visited Amity National Bank, the ferry, the police department, and Vaughn Realty At the Amity Town Hall, I walked down the Amity Town Hall hall to sit at the curved desk and ponder closing the beaches. I have watched Jaws on the big screen every few years and the experience is so wonderful that I no longer bother watching at home. It’s absolutely thrilling in a crowded auditorium with the Atlantic Ocean filling your field of view and John Williams’ score enveloping you. Although they are quite different in terms of scope, tone, and plot, Rule of Extinction and Jaws share three common elements: 1. A rousing sense of adventure. 2. A cast of memorable characters from a variety of backgrounds. 3. And most of all, they both tap into the primal fear of being eaten alive. Happy 50th Anniversary to JAWS! Watch your cinema listings for revival screenings this summer. You’ll have a blast. Finally, if you’re looking for a mix of adventure and monster horror to read in the meantime, check out Rule of Extinction. Preorder - - - - - Read Reviews - - - - - Request an ARC
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I'm sharing some of the books, films, and TV shows that inspired Rule of Extinction, both to provide recommendations and to give readers a sense of what to expect. Jurassic Park and The Lost World are two more inspirations for my new book, Rule of Extinction. Monster stories resonate because we have a primal fear deep in the back of our minds about being eaten (or stomped, slashed, and gored). Dinosaurs are some of the best monsters. They're unlike anything we've ever seen, yet they’re real. They existed. One thing that makes the JP franchise so effective is that the theme park scenario puts regular everyday people face-to-face with these monsters. My first book, The Dinosaur Four, included many of the same dinos as the JP franchise, though I depict them as vicious, feral animals, while the films tend to depict them majestically. In The Dinosaur Four, the "veggie-sauruses" are every bit as dangerous as the carnivores. It's the best R-rated B-movie time-travel dinosaur thriller you'll read all week. Rule of Extinction is bigger and better than The Dinosaur Four. Rest assured: even though Rule of Extinction is a post-apocalyptic first-contact story, it's also monster horror. There are plenty of dangerous creatures that want to eat, stomp, slash, or gore anyone who gets in their way. And they do. If you haven't read (or watched) Jurassic Park and The Lost World in a while, maybe it's time to revisit them. (Click the book covers above for links.) THE SHALLOWS is great fun - go see it! Don't expect JAWS. As the title suggests, there isn't a lot of depth to this movie, but it's a nail-biting ride. The shark is completely realistic, except perhaps for the fact that it is rabidly territorial. But who cares? As thrilling b-movie monster flick, THE SHALLOWS delivers. Hats off to director Jaume Collet-Serra and writer Anthony Jaswinski. Thanks for the entertainment! JAWS was released 40 years ago today, on June 20, 1975 and will be back in theaters Sunday June 21st (tomorrow) and Wednesday June 24th. Watching JAWS on the big screen is a rare treat. The cinematography, editing, music, writing, and acting blow modern movies out of the water. It's a blast with a live audience, especially if you take someone who hasn't seen it before. Click here to find a theater showing JAWS Go see JAWS on the Big Screen!
For the first time in a while, I'm excited about a lot of new movies coming out this year. Here are a few I'm looking forward to, in order of release:
Blackhat (January 16) is a cyber-crime thriller from Michael Mann. It should be timely and exciting. Jupiter Ascending (February 6th), from the Wachowskis, could be great. They certainly succeeded in adapting David Mitchell's overblown novel, Cloud Atlas. Early reviews for Kingsman: The Secret Service (February 13) are quite good. It will be great to see Mark Hamill back on the big screen. I'm enough of a Joss Whedon fanboy that I'll see Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1), even though I never really felt that anything was at stake in the first film. Tomorrowland (May 22) may be the movie I'm most interested in, simply because it's directed by the great Brad Bird. Tomorrowland is inspired by the Disney theme park "land," which seems ridiculous, but the teaser is great. Pixar is releasing two movies this year. The first is Inside Out (June 19), which shows the inner workings of a young girl's brain. Maybe it will help me understand my daughters. It's hard not to be excited about Jurassic World (June 12). Even if it ends up being silly (trained raptors?), it looks like fun. It's always great fun when dinosaurs attack, right? I keep hearing about Midnight Special (November 25), which tells the story of a father trying to protect his super-powered son from the government. Superhero films are more interesting to me when they take place in the real world. Pixar's second release, The Good Dinosaur (November 25), pretends that dinosaurs survived long enough to live with humans. Will I be the only one in the theater hoping for a bloodbath? The Martian (November 25th) is Ridley Scott's adaptation of Andy Weir's excellent novel about a NASA astronaut stranded on Mars, with a script by Drew Goddard. That's three movies on 11/25. Please don't schedule anything for me next Thanksgiving. Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight (TBD) is being filmed in Colorado in 65MM. It should be a brutal good time. Green Room (TBD) is the second film from Jeremy Sauliner. His revenge thriller Blue Ruin was so good I will line up for this no matter what it's about. There are a few movies I'm on the fence about: I'm disappointed that Mad Max: Fury Road (May 15) is rated PG-13, just like Beyond Thunderdome. But the trailer looks good and early reviews are positive. Does George Miller still have it? I love original Poltergeist and will be reading reviews about the remake (July 24) to see if it's worth my time. The same goes for The Terminator: Genisys [sic] (July 1). And then there's The Force Awakens (December 18). I stopped seeing new Star Wars movies after Episode II, and frankly I wasn't very impressed with Abrams' Star Trek reboots. I never really cared about the characters and those movies put style over substance. Does it really make sense to build the Enterprise on Earth instead of in orbit? No, but it looks cool. Do crossguards make sense on a lightsaber? Same answer. But it won't be easy to stay away from another adventure for Han, Luke, & Leia. The jury is still out on this one. One last note - 2015 is the 40th anniversary of JAWS. How about a re-release this summer, Universal? What do you think? Which movies are you most excited about? What's missing from this list? |
AuthorGeoff Jones is the author of the sci-fi thriller Archives
January 2025
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