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Time of India
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Check out trailer of 'Tron: Ares'
A new trailer of 's 'Tron: Ares' has been unveiled. TRON: Ares follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind's first encounter with A.I. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now beings. Tron: Ares | Official Trailer | In Cinemas October 10 The new trailer debuts the new song by Grammy award winner band Nine Inch Nails, titled 'As Alive As You Need Me To Be'. The asset hints at a face-off between humanity and artificial intelligence, showcasing sleek visuals from Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and a pulsating score from Nine Inch Nails. Directed by , the film stars , Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, , with Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges. Sean Bailey, Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, Jared Leto, Emma Ludbrook and Steven Lisberger are the producers, with Russell Allen serving as executive producer. TRON: Ares is a follow-up to Disney's 1982 seminal science fiction film, TRON and the 2010 sequel, TRON: Legacy. The film is set to release in India on 10th October 2025 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Back in the flesh: ‘Jurassic Park' and the Dinosaur Renaissance
In the summer of 1993, the world watched spellbound as a towering Brachiosaurus gracefully reared up to nibble treetops, while John Williams' score swelled like God breathing. Steven Spielberg's genre-defining blockbuster rewrote the cultural DNA of dinosaurs forever, transforming them from textbook curiosities into Hollywood royalty. An entire generation developed an unshakable obsession with creatures that had been extinct for 65 million years. All because of a movie. For a film that opens with a mosquito trapped in amber, Jurassic Park has aged with surprising elasticity. It had the makings of a pulpy B-movie, but the magician in Spielberg spun it into something timeless. Ever since, it's been re-spun, rebooted, and rebranded across three decades. The science, even then, was flimsy. Toxorhynchites rutilus, the species of mosquito shown, doesn't even suck blood. And DNA degrades far too quickly to survive millions of years. But that shaky premise has since evolved from science fiction, to 'science eventuality,' to literal modern-day science. While extracting dinosaur DNA from fossilised insects remains a fantasy, the real world has been inching closer to that cinematic magic. Iconic special effects Of course, the magic wasn't all Spielberg. Stan Winston built animatronics with blinking eyes, breathing chests, and skin stretched over robotic bones. Industrial Light and Magic's (ILM) groundbreaking CGI handled the weight and gait of creatures that had never been seen before, using a special 'Dinosaur Input Device' to puppeteer their movements digitally. Just 15 minutes of dinosaur screen time was enough to reshape how a generation imagined prehistoric life. The irony is that while Jurassic Park was hailed for its scientific fidelity, it also got a fair amount of things wrong. The Velociraptors were scaled up to nearly double their actual size. The T. Rex's vision, contrary to Dr. Grant's famous whisper, was not based on movement; it likely had binocular depth perception and could smell you coming a mile away. Most egregiously for modern palaeontologists, the dinosaurs were featherless, greyish reptiles, missing the colourful, bird-like traits we now know many had. But Jack Horner, the real-life palaeontologist who inspired Alan Grant, saw the bigger picture. In his words, the movie wasn't a documentary, but a doorway to suspend all disbelief. Yet, over time, the franchise leaned deeper into American military-industrial fantasies. The recent entries have given us weaponised Velociraptors, genetically-engineered hybrid killing machines, and a Mosasaur the size of a battleship. Behind the scenes, consultants still fought to keep the science honest. Some succeeded (the Pyroraptor from Jurassic World Dominion finally had feathers) but the overarching 'scary sells' mandate remained. Pink-plumed, birdlike dinosaurs, no matter how accurate, just didn't test well. The palaeontological re-awakening In the years following the film's release, palaeontology experienced a renaissance. The so-called 'Jurassic Park Effect' turned casual curiosity into career paths. Children who once saw dinosaurs as static images began imagining them as dynamic, intelligent, and even graceful creatures. Universities saw a spike in students declaring interest in prehistoric life. Museums were packed again. Dinosaurs were, suddenly, the coolest things ever. The once unassuming field relegated to academia now had a face, a soundtrack, and perhaps most importantly, funding. Governments and institutions began investing more seriously in palaeontological research, emboldened by a public that was suddenly into dinosaurs. Before Jurassic Park, new dinosaur species were discovered at a rate of maybe three or four per year. Today, that number hovers around 50. Whether digging in the deserts of Mongolia or scanning fossils with particle accelerators, researchers rode the wave of public fascination the film helped ignite. Which is exactly why the Jurassic World sequels sting a little. They're fine as popcorn films, but they could've done more. The original reimagined how the world saw dinosaurs. The new films played it safe, recycling familiar nostalgic images rather than reflecting what science had since uncovered. Sure, they'll still get some kid to Google 'Indominus Rex vs Spinosaurus', but it's hard not to feel a little let down by what could've been. On the ethics of de-extinction Jurassic Park did something more speculative and slippery by introducing the world to the concept of 'de-extinction.' Today, we live in a time where resurrecting lost species no longer sounds entirely impossible. Ben Lamm, founder of Colossal Biosciences, believes the woolly mammoth will walk again by 2028. His labs are working with ancient DNA, comparative genomics, and somatic cell nuclear transfer — the same science that cloned Dolly the sheep, now turbocharged with robotics and AI. The ostensible goal has been to resurrect extinct species to seed ecosystems with keystone animals. His team is also simultaneously attempting to revive the dodo, the thylacine (the Tasmanian Devil, or Taz from Looney Tunes), and potentially use artificial wombs for reproduction. It's the closest thing we have to a real-life InGen, though unsurprisingly, not everyone is optimistic. Some question the ethics of creating a single living animal just to prove it can be done. Others worry about the unintended consequences of gene editing, including evolutionary whiplash, cellular chaos, and the specter of designer organisms being commodified. There's a certain poetry in how Jurassic Park warned us about the dangers of turning nature into a spectacle while itself becoming the most breathtaking spectacle ever made. A movie that staged a cautionary tale about playing God with prehistoric DNA ended up inspiring decades of scientific fascination, funding, and, ironically, real-world attempts. The franchise that once asked whether we should resurrect extinct animals is now part of a cultural machine that increasingly seems to whisper, 'Why not?' It captured, maybe accidentally, the exact shape of our cultural neurosis: the maniacal desire to control nature, a belief in technological omnipotence, and a tendency to moralise after the fact. Perhaps the cruelest cosmic twist is that the plastic toy dinosaurs clutched by children today — those mass-produced echoes of Spielberg's creations — are, in a very real sense, made of dinosaurs. Fossil fuels, derived from ancient organic matter liquefied over millennia, have been moulded into choking hazards and Happy Meal replicas of the creatures. These great beasts who once walked the Earth now circle in a perfect closed loop of commercial mythmaking. Capitalism, like life, finds a way.
Geek Tyrant
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
TRON: ARES Is Gearing Up to Redefine the Grid with "The Holy Grail of Computer Graphics" — GeekTyrant
From Tron , the original 1982 film's groundbreaking VFX to Tron: Legacy 's digital dazzle a full generation later, the franchise has always been a step ahead of reality. Now, after over a decade later, Tron: Ares is ready to boot up and deliver the next major system upgrade, one that might just blur the lines between the virtual and real worlds entirely. Director Joachim Rønning is going all in on redefining what digital filmmaking can look like. In a new interview with Empire, he reveals that ILM is treating this project with a level of reverence usually reserved for cinema's most ambitious undertakings: 'The Holy Grail of computer graphics.' This time, The Grid is getting a full-scale evolution. Rønning explains: 'The concept was that a program is filming a program. So it's shot by a robot.' Even the camera work has been reimagined, with motion-controlled movements mimicking the cold precision of a digital entity. It's not just stylized, it's part of the story. The return of Tron also brings back one of the minds who started it all, Steven Lisberger. And for him, the franchise's legacy has always been about staying just a few steps ahead of society, saying: 'Something comes out, and it's too avant-garde at the time. And then the real world catches up with it.' But this time, the world has caught up fast, maybe too fast. Tron: Ares will drop its digital world into our own, bringing iconic elements like Light Cycles into real-world environments. He continues: 'It has become a symbol of our riding this technology that is going faster than we ever imagined. We've integrated into it, and the speed of it is mind-boggling. And in Ares, it's a metaphor for the fact that this technology is moving through every part of our reality.' That idea of tech bleeding into every aspect of our lives sits at the core of Ares , and it's not lost on the cast. Greta Lee ( Past Lives ), who plays programmer Eve Kim, says the themes hit close to home. 'The movie touches all of these things. So many days on set, we would get the chills, because the ideas that [Lisberger] put in place years ago are not just still relevant, but in our faces. Inescapable.' Whether or not you've been waiting for another trip to The Grid, Tron: Ares might be arriving at exactly the right moment, where sci-fi isn't so fictional anymore. It's not just about escaping into a digital world this time. It's about what happens when that world escapes into ours. The film stars Jared Leto, Cameron Monaghan ( Star Wars Jedi ), Evan Peters ( WandaVision ), Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith ( Without Remorse ), Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, and Gillian Anderson. Jeff Bridges is also returning to the world of Tron. Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne wrote the script. The film arrives in theaters on October 10, 2025.
The Hindu
19-06-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Karnataka's Raichur govt schools to get science labs under Kriya initiative
In a move to enhance science education in rural India, 12 government schools in Raichur district, Karnataka, will be equipped with science lab stations to conduct experiments and access curated science courseware aligned with the state and NCERT syllabi. This is part of Prayoga Institute of Education Research's Kriya initiative, which aims to transform science learning for over 11,000 students across 77 schools in Karnataka. Prayoga's effort in Raichur is supported by State Bank of India Foundation (SBIF), the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of India's public sector bank, and the SBI Funds Management Pvt. Ltd, said Vallish Herur, Managing Trustee of Prayoga. Kriya initiative, which is now in its 10th year, is designed for students in Classes 6 to 10, as a multi-year programme, particularly in government and rural schools, to understand the impact of experiential learning of science, added Herur. The initiative, said a press release issued by Prayoga on Thursday, also features a structured Teacher Empowerment Programme (TEP) with continuous academic mentoring for teachers. Speaking about the collaboration, Sanjay Prakash, Managing Director of SBI Foundation, said, "This partnership is a significant step towards bridging the educational gap in rural India. By providing quality science education and the necessary resources, we are enabling students to experience science in a more practical and engaging manner." The collaboration is a part of SBIF's Integrated Learning Mission (ILM) project titled 'Reimagining Science Education', he added.
The Hindu
19-06-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Initiative to transform science education for primary school students in Raichur
In a major step towards strengthening science education in rural India, Prayoga Institute of Education Research has partnered with the State Bank of India Foundation (SBIF) and SBI Funds Management Private Limited to expand its flagship Kriya programme to 12 government schools in Raichur district. The collaboration, officially launched at Government Model Primary School in Station Bazaar, Raichur, on June 17, is part of SBIF's Integrated Learning Mission (ILM) titled Reimagining Science Education. Block Education Officer, Raichur, Eranna Kosagi, SBI Foundation Managing Director Sanjay Prakash and Prayoga Managing Trustee Vallish Herur were among those present at the launch in Raichur, along with teachers and education officers at both block and cluster levels. Sanjay Prakash stated that the partnership is a significant step towards bridging the educational gap in rural India. 'By providing quality science education and the necessary resources, we are enabling students to experience science in a practical and engaging manner. We believe this initiative will inspire students in Raichur to pursue careers in science,' he said. Vallish Herur added that that Prayoga would, through the Kriya programme, like to provide government school children in Raichur an opportunity to explore science in engaging, hands-on ways. 'Science, when learnt experientially, enables students to build capabilities beyond textbooks. With support from the SBI Foundation and encouragement from local education authorities, we aim to create a brighter future for children in Raichur. The initiative aligns with Prayoga's mission of improving education quality through research-driven practices tailored to the Indian context. Marking its 10th year, the institute continues to focus on strengthening STEM education, especially in underserved regions, through scalable and sustainable programmes,' he said. The organisers said that the Kriya programme, which had already impacted over 11,000 students across 77 schools in Karnataka, focuses on experiential learning in science. It is designed for students from classes 6 to 10, and aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 by emphasising hands-on scientific inquiry and critical thinking.
