When we last spoke with "Stop-Loss" director Kimberly Peirce, we said of her next film, "Childhood's End," a classic work of science fiction from the recently passed Arthur C. Clarke, that "the devil is in the details" (SPOILER WARNING) because mankind's salvation ultimately comes on the wings of its worst fears – winged, red aliens that look exactly like Satan.

"It has this notion that there was some creature here before and it was intelligent," Peirce said of the book's first act revelation when we caught up with her again this week. "It imprinted itself in our mind and if we look into the future we find out that, in fact, it [gave birth to our notion of] Satan." Read more...

My God, the obits today are full of stars. Celebrated author and science-fiction legend Arthur C. Clarke died today at his Sri Lanka home from apparent breathing problems. He was 90.

For the literary and film communities, Clarke's death is a sad occasion. In novels like "Rendezvous with Rama," "Childhood's End," and, especially, "2001: A Space Odyssey" (which he co-wrote with director Stanley Kubrick), Clarke found ways to elevate the genre - to transcend its pulp origins from trade-stand paperbacks to literary works of art. His novels were about aliens, yes, and mysterious visitors or inscrutable monoliths, but they were always more about the mystery inside than they were about the mysteries outside. He wrote of transformation and renewal, of evolutionary progress in the face of inhumanity. And he will be missed. Read more...

Mankind is visited by aliens who help end wars, prolong life, and generally foster happiness for all humanity. Their appearance brings forth a new age in human evolution, as children born after their arrival begin to exhibit signs of telekinesis and telepathy. They help usher in nothing short of a glorious utopia on Earth.

So where's the conflict? For "Childhood's End," a classic work by Arthur C. Clarke that ranks among the very best science-fiction of the century, the devil is in the details -- literally -- since the alien visitors look exactly like Satan. That's armored, red hide, hoofs, horns, the whole nine.

It's a jarring mental image, that humanity's salvation will come on the wings of its worst fears, but one that "Stop-Loss" director Kimberly Peirce is dying to bring to the big screen. Read more...