Mental Floss

SCIENCE FICTION





What kid wouldn't want an Alien toy?

After 'Star Wars,' toy company Kenner thought they had another sci-fi hit with 'Alien.' No one seemed to consider the problem of selling toys for a film that could have gotten an X rating.

Jake Rossen




Franz Drameh, Alex Esmail, Leeon Jones, and John Boyega in Joe Cornish's Attack the Block (2011).

When 'Attack the Block' arrived in theaters in 2011, it recouped just half of its $11 million budget. The critics, however, were positive in their reviews, and the film became a cult classic.

Tony Dunnell
A still from Ishirô Honda's King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963).

'Godzilla vs. Kong'—a new slugfest from Legendary Pictures—is set to be released on March 31, 2021. But it won't be the first time these monsters have faced off; they met once before in 1962’s 'King Kong vs. Godzilla.'

Mark Mancini








Octavia E. Butler autographs a copy of Fledgling at a book signing.

Born in Pasadena, California, on June 22, 1947, science fiction author Octavia E. Butler was one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century.

Kritika Agrawal








Kyle MacLachlan stars in David Lynch's Dune (1984).

After several different filmmakers tried (and failed) to adapt Frank Herbert's 'Dune' for the big screen, the movie finally arrived via David Lynch, a then up-and-coming filmmaker who’d never been tested on a film of that size and scope.

Matthew Jackson