I’ve been a fan of science fiction films since I first started watching movies, and have always been particularly amused by the names of companies and organizations within these films. If you’re trying to create an evil corporation or malevolent computer or whatever, do you just pick something seemingly random like the HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, or should there be more back story?
For me, the bonus film for fun and entertaining company names has always been a cult favorite of mine, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. How can you not love an alien-run company called Yoyodyne Propulsion Technologies, “where the future is tomorrow”?
When the fine chaps at Nerdoh! approached me about sponsoring a giveaway of one of their great T-shirts, I checked out their site and found some soul mates: they too are obsessed with the companies that appear in sci-fi and horror films. In fact, they generously sent me a sample, a Skynet T-Shirt (and if I have to tell you what movie Skynet’s from, well, then you aren’t a sci-fi fictional company fan!)
Their range of t-shirts ranges from horror, to sci-fi, to comedy, to action, etc, and there are some pretty entertaining ones. I particularly like some of the summer camp shirts associated with shlocky slasher horror films, though I am not generally a fan of the genre.
Anyway, they’ve agreed to let me host a little competition on this blog, with the winner getting their pick of one t-shirt from Nerdoh! Sweet!
Here’s the deal: IMDb has a list of Top Fifty Sci-Fi Films, starting with Star Wars, The Matrix, WALL-E (really?), Alien, Terminator, Metropolis, and so on. Using the list as a starting point, pick two or more movies and invent a cool insider t-shirt based on the malevolent corporation, evil lair, or even the ship or an incidental brand reference and post it here as a comment.
For example: “Technical Specialist IV: Tractor Beam Squadron: Imperial Death Star” would obviously be tied to Star Wars, and perhaps something like “Pleasure Unit Quality Control Division, Tyrell Corporation” from Blade Runner. You might want to watch one or two films if you really want to get obscure on us, and I’ll definitely give points for style…
On 31 July I will pick the winner out of all the entries and notify you that you’ve won a super-cool Nerdoh! t-shirt of your choice. That’s pretty easy, isn’t it?
Get it? Go for it and good luck to you!
My Entry:
Matrix Code Development Team
Males 24-50 Division
Can we submit more than one?
Security, Scanning crew BT-445, Main Hangar
Badge ID TK-421
Absolutely yes. Submit as many as you can. I know some people who are busy working behind the scenes on this one too… 🙂
“I got shot at Chalmun’s Cantina and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt.
Chalmun’s Cantina, Mos Eisley”
I am going to go with Dawn of the Dead.
WGON: Philadelphia
We get the story even if it kills us”
Another one for Dawn of the Dead
Monroeville Mall Security
Serving and Protecting
While You Shop
Who won?
We’ve got a winner! I asked fellow film critic Christian Toto of http://www.wwtw.com/ to pick his favorite and he choose:
WGON: Philadelphia
We get the story even if it kills us
Congrats to Buck “Daddy” Rogers for the winning entry!!