Science 27 March 2020

One of the great teachers of the twentieth century shows a more intimate side in this collection of letters, written to a young person who was suffering in both body and mind.

"This is as important a book on space as has ever been written and it's a riveting page-turner, too." —Homer Hickam, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Rocket Boys

The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a 2021 American computer-animated science fiction comedy film produced by Sony Pictures Animation. The film is directed by Mike Rianda (in his feature directorial debut), and written by Rianda and Jeff Rowe (who also serves as co-director), with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Kurt Albrecht serving as producers. The film follows a dysfunctional family that winds up having to save Earth from a robot uprising while on a road trip. It stars the voices of Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Eric Andre, Fred Armisen, Beck Bennett, Conan O'Brien, Charlyne Yi, Sasheer Zamata, Rianda, and Olivia Colman.

Jerry Goldsmith was one of the most prolific film and television composers, with almost 200 scores to his credit, as well as being a consistent award winner in both mediums. His music is omnipresent in the American psyche, most notably in one of the creepy themes from The Twilight Zone. Unlike many film composers, he had few immediately identifiable traits; instead, he seemed to subsume his identity to that of the film and its moods. He did not, however, avoid innovation; some of his experiments with music for science fiction films, such as the adaptations of standard orchestral instruments for the score of his 1968 The Planet of the Apes, were on the leading edge of innovation when he created them.