How smart are we as a civilization?

Smart enough to control our destiny and avoid the cataclysms that may end life as we know it?

For thousands of years, different religions have warned Earth about Armageddon and the final days. We are now living in an age where scientists are adding their voices and their evidence in support of end-of-the-world possibilities. "Last Days on Earth" is a program that could change the way you see your world and yourself.

The world's top scientists, including Stephen Hawking, considered the foremost living theoretical physicist, describe seven riveting scenarios detailing the deadliest threats to humanity. Some can destroy the planet, others have the ability to render us extinct, and all have the power to destroy civilization. How likely are they to occur, and what exactly would happen if they did, and could we survive? "Last Days on Earth" goes beyond science fiction to science fact. Using state-of-the-art visual effects, it will take viewers on a journey that is both breathtaking and terrifying, from the outer reaches of the universe to the inner world of DNA, with an around-the-globe tour in between.

"Of all the generations of humans that have walked the surface of the Earth -- for 100,000 years, going back when we first left Africa -- the generation now alive is the most important," said Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at City University of New York. "The generation now alive, the generation that you see, looking around you, for the first time in history, is the generation that controls the destiny of the planet itself."

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Audiences Staying Away From Topical Films

Variety reports that audiences are growing quite tired of topical films, such as those that cover hot-button political issues and the Iraq War.

Filmmakers, mindful that it took more than a decade for Hollywood to effectively tackle the Vietnam War onscreen, were eager to embrace the topicality of Iraq while it was still hot. And both indies and studio speciality divisions jumped in headfirst. In retrospect, it's easy to see why they failed, and why the next round -- yes, there are more on the way -- faces an uphill battle.

First, what was timely at one stage of the Iraq War became more painful as the conflict wore on. The American public grew weary of a 24/7 news cycle that bombarded them with unpleasant war news, so dramas and docs that revealed the war's dark side -- soldiers misbehaving or wounded or victimized -- became most unwelcome.

"People want something cheering and uplifting right now," says press agent Fredell Pogodin. "The economy's bad, and whenever you turn on the news and see this stuff, you feel helpless. People don't know what to make of this situation, and seeing a film about it throws it right back in your face."

Then, a self-perpetuating group-think among the media virtually doomed any movie that was stamped with the toxic Iraq label. As hard as marketers tried to duck and cover, audiences stayed away in droves from one movie after another, from Michael Winterbottom's "A Mighty Heart" to Peter Berg's $70 million Saudi Arabian FBI thriller "The Kingdom."

We enjoyed The Kingdom, although the last scene needed a bigtime edit. But hey, it was Jennifer Garner and Jamie Foxx in an action thriller so that's always good. We think it's too soon to start doing movies about the Iraq War. It's still going on: if we want to read stories about it all we have to do is pick up a newspaper or watch television. It's just too early for all that. We think it's still to early for 9/11 movies: we saw it happen live on TV, after all.

Posted on April 19, 2008
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Earth: Population 0

If mankind were to disappear tomorrow, what would happen to the rest of the Earth? Would animals take over? Would plants? That's the premise of a very interesting new two hour special called Life After People that will premiere on the History Channel on January 21,2008 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. Eerily reminiscent of the plotline for the hit film in theaters now I Am Legend -- well, without the vampires -- the special shows us cities being overgrown and animals moving in. Here's a sneak peek: