1999
Dreamworks SKG releases the comedy film Galaxy Quest, directed by Dean Parisot and starring Tim Allen, Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantoni, Robin Sachs, Missi Pyle, and Justin Long, to 2,412 US theaters. The film is full of allusions to and parodies of the Star Trek and Blake’s 7 television series. In it, the cast of a canceled science fiction television show have to become the roles that they’ve played when an alien race needs their help. Produced on a budget of US$45 million, it will gross US$7,012,630 domestically in its opening weekend. IMDB listing (MPAA Rating: PG) Running Time: 1 hr 42 mins
2002
Konami releases the music game Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME to arcades. Visit the game’s official website.
2003
The European Space Agency loses contact with its Beagle 2 Mars probe shortly before it’s scheduled landing on Mars.
Paramount Pictures releases the science fiction film Paycheck, directed by John Woo and starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman, to 2,762 US theaters. It’s based on the short story Paycheck by Philip K. Dick. In it, a reverse engineer who takes a job on a mysterious project, at the conclusion of which he must erase his memory, finds himself fleeing from police and dodging assassination attempts with the use of a set of commonplace items that he has sent himself. Produced on a budget of US$60 million, it will gross US$13,462,374 domestically in its opening weekend. IMDB listing (MPAA Rating: PG-13) Running Time: 1 hr 59 mins
Version 1.8.1 of the Ruby programming language is released. Visit the language’s official website.
2004
The Cassini orbiter releases the Huygens probe, which will successfully land on Saturn’s moon Titan on January 14, 2005. Visit the space probe’s official website.
Version 1.8.2 of the Ruby programming language is released. Visit the language’s official website.
2005
Byte Level Research releases a study that reveals that less than thirty percent of the world’s Internet users are native-English speakers and that, by 2010, that number will drop to twenty-five percent as more of the population of Brazil, China, and Russia gain internet access.
2006
An anonymous hacker releases a custom 3.02 firmware for the PlayStation Portable allowing any PlayStation game to be played from a Memory Stick.
Universal Pictures releases the science fiction film Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón and starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Claire-Hope Ashitey, Pam Ferris, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, to 16 US theaters in a limited release. Set in the year 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, the film follows a former activist who agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child’s birth may help scientists save the future of humankind. Produced on a budget of US$76 million, it will gross US$501,003 domestically in its opening weekend. Visit the film’s official website. IMDB listing (MPAA Rating: R) Running Time: 1 hr 49 mins
2007
20th Century Fox releasez the science fiction film Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, directed by Colin and Greg Strause and starring Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett, and Jim Thomas, to 2,611 US theaters. Produced on a budget of US$40 million, it will gross US$10,059,425 domestically in its opening weekend. Visit the film’s official website. IMDB listing (MPAA Rating: R) Running Time: 1 hr 26 mins
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