HelluvaHoax!
Platinum Meritorious Sponsor with bells on
Very interesting.The hand of god. I was aware of that before I saw the film - if I am recall-- it originated in the greek or roman plays, the playwrite would write themselves into a corner, and then have Zeus or some other God save the day, which differs from today's most popular theme where the protagonist must solve the dilemma himself. It's weird when somebody else solves the issue at hand after our going through the journey with the hero.
Another great sci fi film is District 9. I could have mentioned the Terminator, and Alien, which in the case of the Terminator shows story can trump production values. Could the Sixth Sense be considered a sci-fi film though it had no ray guns etc? If so, it's another great film that breaks your expectations.
To answer your question - some 30 years ago, I dabbled in screen writing for a while, read a bunch of books on the theory, bought Final Draft, entered in a screen writing contest or two - was in the top third, but soon came to realize the time commitment you need to invest in selling a screen play was staggering, not so much the writing or classes, but the networking.
There's a thing I read in real estate - avoid ruinous competition - meaning don't buy an apartment building in the apartment building district and expect to get high rents. Back then the writers guild was registering 30K screenplays a year and the film industry was making about 300 films a year, the way to get ahead was to network, to get known, so as to get your stuff read by people who could get it made.
That was too much time to outlay when I had a family to support. Ex machina was discussed as a cinematic sin in some of the books, so that's where I learned of it.
I know no one asked, but my favorite sci fi film from the 50's was Forbidden Planet.
I would be interested in what you consider the best sci fi films are.
Mimsey
I'll think about your question in a bit but I wanted to ask a bit more about the title "EX MACHINA", just out of curiosity. That was cool that you tried your hand at script writing and even bumped into that term. But when you saw the movie, did you know why that was the title?
You mention "hand of God", sure that is related to the term---but that's not actually the meaning of ex-machina and I am wondering if you knew the specific meaning of that Latin term at that time. Sorry, I am word guy and having done both script writing and development and marketing for movies (helping design the poster or "tag line") I was always curious if people seeing Ex Machina knew specifically why that was the title (when the saw the movie) and whether that affected the box-office. For a film that received an Oscar (special effects) it did almost no business at all, which an oddity.
I am not trying to push you into a corner and don't actually care if you didn't know the actual meaning, but i am curious if you did or didn't at that time. I guess after you discover the meaning of that term that you will also conclude that it is a perfectly clever and brilliant title for that brilliant movie. But, as I say, it doesn't mean "hand of God". Check it out.
As to your question about my nominations for best sci-fi films, that is a long list but it would certainly include (in no particular order): 2001 A Space Oddysey, ET, Terminator, Close Encounters, Alien and most of the other "classic" films that appear on any of the "TOP 100 SCI-FI MOVIES OF ALL TIME". I don't have an esoteric ones that you likely don't know about already.
What is funny in those lists is to read the "CRITICS PICK TOP 100..." movie lists. They routinely try to impress EACH OTHER by selecting really odd and esoteric choices to show that they have an ultra-sophisticated palate. For example on one "TOP FILM CRITICS" list of best Sci-Fi movies, they put 2001 A Space Oddysey around #27 and "WALL-E" in the top 3 or 4. How the hell is that even possible???!!! LOL
Similarly, other "GREATEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME" lists by film critics have flavor of the decade trends that are curious. Back in the 70s the "critics in the know" tended to pick "THE BICYCLE THIEF" as the greatest movie of all time. It was just a fad, even though that movie is incredibly beautiful and a small masterpiece. Another small movie masterpiece that later rose to critic's #1 slot for a short time was Francois Traffaut's "THE 400 BLOWS" (it wasn't a documentary about Int. Gold Base in Hemet, lol)