tronsequel.com

I’ve been watching Tron for the 703rd time or so recently and have noticed many things, but here are a few sequel ideas that crossed my mind:

So, the movtivation behind these ideas is that maybe 25 years ago programs looked something like these circuit board suits in the original, but things have changed since then…

I’ve mentioned some ideas like this before, but I think the getting-sucked-into-the-computer should involve these online worlds like Second Life and the like. Getting sucked into a system like Second Life, which apparently has it’s own economy (I don’t know much about it), and whatever else…here is an idea, maybe the Flynn-like hero character is sucked-into this Second Life, online-person-like world. This world is inhabited by user’s personas/avatars, whatever you call them. But maybe it is also infiltrated by some bad guys of some description, but they are somewhat indistinguishable from the ordinary personas, like drone zombies (by “zombie” I’m referring to something like philosophical zombies). That is just a possibility.

Here is another idea I just had along the same Second-life line: maybe these personas “get wise” (introducing an AI element of this spark of conscious awareness) to the fact that they exist in this Second life world, doing the bidding of their users! Yes, that is a good one. So maybe there is some kind of slave revolt or something. Maybe some bad guy sucks himself into the second life world and enlightens these personas to their lot in life. The possibilities are endless here I think.

You may be wondering, “what the hell does this have to do with Tron?” That is the fun part. How could you make a Tron sequel out of a concept like that above (see my earlier post for my guidelines)? There would have to be some at least nominal reference to Tron. There could be a reference to the characters of the original, like maybe they are some kind of mythic titans from the past (I’m thinking of the Titans of Greek mythology, distant titanic forces of the past, the race of gods before the Olympians). Yeah! That is a good idea too! The story from the original is like a myth like the ancient oral traditions or something, and this is somehow a myth that has been passed down over the last 25 years (which is equal to eons relative to the pace of development in ancient and prehistoric times).

Damn, there is a couple of damn good ideas in there for y’all in the Tron sequel making business. These ideas are available to you. A mention in the credits or something would be nice, but my primary intent is to keep the Tron spirit alive.

This new section on ‘Novelization notes’ is going to be seriously dorky and not full of ad hominem attacks on the upcoming sequel production.

One weird thing about this book is that there is a BUNCH of words I don’t know. Like what is a “vembrace”? I don’t know if they are all made up or not. They weren’t in the movie.

Another thing is that scene were Crom is escorted to his cell and meets Ram…after the line “who does he calculate he is?” he says, “If only Tron was still around…Did you ever see that guy in action? A hudred-percent independent!” This blew me away. In the original movie, you don’t really get any idea of what “free” programs are like. I guess there is still a whole world of working programs, but you don’t really get much of a sense of that in the movie. You also don’t get the impression of how mythic Tron was. There is that scene after Flynn and others are marched in front of Sark to receive their formal introduction/instructions and they overlook a game in progress, and someone says “That’s Tron. He fights for the users”. But that is the only hint I can think of of the stature of Tron.

Anyways, that scene continues in the book, and Tron steps out while Crom is waxing about him and Crom says, “Oh, my User-Tron! They’ve got you in here?”. The narration continues: “Tron- a legend come to life. When programs throughout the System spoke among themselves of independence, of loyalty to the Users, of defying the MCP, it was Tron’s name that was most often invoked.” Weird, eh? When I was a kid, I didn’t even pay attention to Tron’s character. The whole movie was about Flynn. Later it started to dawn on me that it is odd that the movie was called ‘Tron’, considering his role seems to be relatively minor. He is special because he has some mystery data on his disk, which he needs to jam all up in the MCP’s crack.

Anyways, the only other thing I noticed was that Sark is some kind of badass gladiator himself. He is introduced as “Sark the Red, the unbeaten”. The only hint you get of this in the movie is the very opening scene where Sark is doing the light cycle thing and totally jukes some kid in the real world playing the arcade game. And this makes the MCP’s comment about Sark being “brutal…and needlessly sadistic” make a bit more sense…because he is out on the game grid punking little kids and blasting the bits out of accounting programs all day.

This is some exciting news. A friend of mine picked this up for me for a dollar. I’ve never read a “novelization”, but I flipped through it, and the dialogue is straight out of the script. BUT there are some significant differences. I’m going to start a new category for notes/annotations on the differences between the novelization and the movie.

I’ve calmed down since I wrote my last couple posts, so this one probably won’t have any caps lock and cursing like last time. I want to start off with a more secularized take on what I was talking about last time: the Tron spirit. Today I want to look at the essential properties for a Tron sequel - what is the essence of Tron. By “essential properties” I mean: a property without which sth would cease to be an x (some thing, or kind of thing). So, what is essential for a movie to be a Tron sequel (apart from being titled as one). What features are necessary for a Tron sequel to be a Tron sequel. So, for example, you couldn’t have an Indiana Jones movie without Dr. Jones and archaeology.

This topic has been largely implicit in this blog, but here I want to state my position more clearly. I take it that what the producers of the Tron sequel, the PC game and the comic, that the essential properties for something to wear the ‘Tron’ name are:

• Glowing suits and discs
• a computer world where everything is permanently darkness
• MCP security program
• light cycles
• religious analogy
• The Flynn family line
• Encom
• etc.

These are exactly the tenets that I’m arguing against. Don’t get me wrong: I have no problem with the original movie. I suppose I’m arguing for a different kind of “sequel”. Here are what I take to be the essential properties of a Tron movie:

• being sucked into video games/computer world
• real world/computer world mirroring
• Some nominal reference to the original Tron movie
• Wendy Carlos

Notice that I have not included the dark computer world and the glowing circuit board suits. Also, I have included Wendy Carlos as essential, whereas the producers of the Tron sequel obviously don’t see it this way. If you want to see how the first 3 of these properties might be worked into a Tron sequel story, see my earlier posts.

When ending the last post about the “Tron spirit”, I realized that that is exactly the problem: the creators of the sequel need to stop watching Fast and Furious, and all those movies starring The Rock and sit down and close your eyes and get in touch with THE FUCKING TRON SPIRIT FOR FUCKS SAKE! Just assume that there really is a Tron spirit, like a real entity, like a god or something. Do you guys (you people working on the Tron sequel) think that the Tron spirit would be happy with what you are doing? That is the question that you should be asking yourself all goddamned day long! It doesn’t matter whether or not there really is a Tron spirit (there is no evidence either way), it would be better to play it safe and not anger the Tron spirit just in case there really is one.

I regret to inform you that it is possible that Daft Punk will be creating the soundtrack for the upcoming Tron sequel. This isn’t in any way a jab at Daft Punk. But this is ABSOLUTELY FUCKING DISASTROUS NEWS for the prospects of the Tron sequel. I can’t tell you how dismayed I am to hear this. Things are really not looking good. My message has obviously not been efficacious. I feel like I am in some fucking bizarro world, some alternate universe where everything if fucked-up, like in Back to the Future Part II, when Marty McFly goes to the future and everything has gone horribly wrong and Biff is some mega-mogul millionaire (it’s been awhile, but I seem to remember that). Truely, I can’t believe this is happening. There are dark times ahead for the Tron spirit.

My cover has been blown. A student of mine announced to the entire class that I had a Tron website. (So what if I have a Tron website? What’s the big deal? Somebody must run Tron websites, why not me? Should I be embarrassed about it? I’d like to see YOU make a Tron website. We all contribute to the progress of civilization in our own way. One of the reasons I happen to exist is to influence all Tron sequels to come. I didn’t choose this role, but it is an honorable role and I accept it.)

Students: Look. Just so you don’t get the wrong idea…all that stuff about me destined to to influence Tron sequels in the previous paragraph? I’m just kidding! Look around this site - much of it is sillyness. I’m serious about the movie, but much of the rhetoric is just for show. OK? So just forget you saw this and go back to thinking about me as some stuffy-ass teacher (unless you want to join the fight to influence the Tron sequel that is).

I’m a little late to respond to this news, but there is a terrible 3 minute cam clip from the Tron sequel movie available here. It is evident that my message has not been received. I will tell you what is going to happen to this movie: it is going to come and go like a Star Wars prequel. It might be a bit of fun for a moment, but it will fade and it will take the original Tron with it! In other words, it is going to tarnish the legacy. Am I alone in saying “fuck a super supped up special effects action film Tron sequel!”? This is going to KILL the SPIRIT of Tron. If they do this, they will just reinforce the false idea that Tron is all about computer graphics and glowing suits. This is what I’ve been trying to argue! The clip looks pretty slick, but FUCK slick. It is going to take what is now legendary and make it mundane…profane. Do you understand what this means? Is this what you want? It is going to do for Tron what 2007’s Transformers did for Transformers. I’ve already given you tons of good places to start for what would be a GREAT Tron sequel.

Just a reminder: ya’ll should fucking listen to me. I’ve watched Tron HUNDREDS of times. Literally. That means I understand what Tron is about REALLY well.

I can’t believe this shit.

Hey Tron people! (the people making the movie, Steve Lisberger, etc.) This is another plea to not make a Tron movie like the original, comic, computer game. If you do, then you will have passed up a MASSIVE opportunity, an opportunity that i will try to outline below. But before we go on, read this. This article describes the state of video games today. The Tron PC game and the comic were not up with video games today; they are still trapped back in the early 80’s or something. REALLY! Read this article! There are gangs of dudes (20+?), entire gaming guilds in World of Warcraft, that coordinate sieges on enemies, all of them in audio contact via headsets, all sitting in different parts of the world even. There are people who make money selling gold pieces they have accrued in a video game world. There are people that die from playing video games non-stop for days on end. This is a very different world than the Tron world from the early 80’s. LISTEN TO ME! If you guys make a movie about internet security, I swear I am going to boycott this movie, I am going to start some kind of campaign to demonstrate how badly you guys missed the boat. In fact, I would appreciate it if one of you would send me an email assuring me that you have seriously considered my suggestions, because I may have to just go ahead and begin planning my campaign. I really fear that this Tron sequel may be in the wrong hands (except the director had some slick looking commercials).

At the very beginning of the movie we need to see the traditional glowing Tron suits, but then we need to get BEYOND them. This is the part that I don’t know if you all understand. This is the point of this entire website: you must get beyond the Tron watchdog for the MCP, glowing suits, discs and bikes. It may seem that you couldn’t even call it ‘Tron’ if it didn’t have these elements. The only people who are going to care about this is the serious schizo fans that haven’t seen the light of day in 30 years. The casual Tron fan who has seen it once or twice don’t identify Tron with security and firewalls and shit, they identify it with VIDEO GAMES and getting SUCKED INTO video games. I do agree that the glowing suits may be a bit of a hurdle, as they are pretty iconic, but I think it is possible to re-vision (I couldn’t think of a better word; I don’t like re-brand) Tron as something other than glowing suits. It would require some tact to do this, and I have given some suggestions how to do this previously.

I don’t know if I have described my vision for the role that Tron could play in the future, but I will again here. That article I mentioned above starts off talking about how video games are the fastest growing form of media out there, soon to pass all other forms (movies, music, etc.) or something like that. This isn’t just some hobby, and it isn’t just about computer viruses and firewalls! This is a major cultural player! Tron people, listen to me now, you have a supreme opportunity in your hands: an opportunity to capture the imagination of this cultural migration,. And not just that: if it was done with the utmost tact and foresight, the chance to assume the spiritual helm of this cultural phenomenon (note I said “spiritual”, think of Dillinger and the old dude’s “religious discussion” in the original movie, and I realize that the previous isn’t a sentence). And the reason why Tron can do this and some other geeky-ass movie can’t is because Tron has the right pedigree; it has a claim for this role. Tron is in line for the throne, it has a claim for this title, but it isn’t clear whether or not Tron fully comprehends its role and therefore whether or not it is can claim this title. It has a claim, but but it won’t be possible to claim this title unless it does some things change. If the Tron people were to play their cards well, they could capture a kind of zeitgeist, the spirit of the times. Now do you guys realize the magnitude of the Tron sequel movie? People can forgive and forget the PC game and the comic series, but not the Tron sequel movie. Think about this Tron people.

Maybe someone can help me with this, but I don’t understand the scene where Flynn tells Tron about what it is like to be a user. If my memory serves me correctly (and it should because I have seen Tron on the order of about 500 times) Tron says to Flynn, “If you’re a user, then everything you do is according to a plan” after which Flynn says something like “well you know how it is, you just keep doing what it seems like you’re supposed to be doing” and then Tron says “well, that’s the way it is for programs” and Flynn says “sorry to disappoint you, but that’s the way it is for users too”.

This recently struck me as strange. Why is it that what-it’s-like-to-be a program is to “keep doing what it seems like you’re supposed to be doing”? And why does Tron assume that users do everything according to a plan? Are these even different? “Doing what it seems like you’re supposed to be doing” seems to imply a kind of acquiescence, yet an element of freewill. “According to a plan” would seem to be much more deterministic. Initially it seemed kinda backwards, as if the programs should be the ones that do things according to a plan. I can’t say for sure what the image of the users would be from the perspective of such a program who “does things according to a plan”, so I can’t assume that they would necessarily see the users as “keep doing what it seems like you’re supposed to be doing”.

On the other side, I suppose we tend to imagine that God (that sonuvabitch) does things according to a plan. And, speaking for myself, that I do things that it seems like I’m supposed to be doing. So, in this way I can see why it is that this scene is scripted as it is. Regardless, it is still curious that what-it’s-like-to-be-a-program is to have the experience of “doing what it seems like you’re supposed to be doing”. There are some philosophical implications here that I haven’t really thought out yet.

Granted that a program does do things according to a plan (a program), yet it is claimed in the movie that programs have the experience of “doing what it seems like they’re supposed to be doing”. And as I said above, this seems to imply a bit more autonomy than doing things “according to a plan”. This seems to be getting at two sides of the same coin: that the program can be completely determined (by it’s program), and yet still seem to have this autonomy of just rolling with the punches or what have you. I guess just ‘going through the motions’ might have the subjective experience of just “doing what it seems like you’re supposed to be doing” even though your behavior is completely determined. The thing about freewill is that it certainly feels like I could’ve done something different (even though I didn’t). You get the point, “keep doing what it seems like you’re supposed to be doing” seems to imply a bit more autonomy than “according to a program”.

The other thing I was thinking is that the Bible (never touched the thing) is said to say something like that we were created in the image of God, so it might make sense to think that God is something like us. In that case, the fact that Tron “does what it seems like he is supposed to be doing” might make sense.

Anyways, there seems like some little nugget of something there.