A Rabbit’s Foot, No.15 – SCI-FI

Issue 15: SCI-FI explores all things film, art, and culture across science-fiction. The cover is a nod to Andrei Tarkovsky’s seminal Solaris—a space thriller that embodies the surreal beauty of the genre. In keeping with this spirit, this issue includes rare, candid, interviews with Star Wars creator George Lucas, as well as Alejandro Jodorowsky, the mystic multi-hyphenate, whose attempt at directing a Dune movie is the stuff of legend. We spent time with him at his Paris home.

Also, inside are conversations with visionary Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), author Siri Hustvedt, and Drew Goddard—the screenwriter behind so many contemporary sci-fi hits, including the recent Project Hail Mary. We spend time with none-other than the legendary British artist David Hockney, as he speaks about his long interest in using the latest technologies to create, from vintage cameras to iPads.

Divided in six chapters, we highlight the visionaries of the science-fiction world, from Hideaki Anno’s anime Neon Genesis Evangelion to Walt Disney’s strange life-long desire to create a utopian city in Florida. There is an in-depth feature on the greatest sci-fi comic book of all time, Metal Hurlant, with quotes from Denis Villeneuve and the magazine’s founding fathers Jean-Pierre Dionnet and Philippe Druillet. We examine its influence on cinema for half-a-century—including Ridley Scott, whose Blade Runner is analysed in an essay that explores the power of graffiti as a storytelling device in sci-fi cinema.

Readers can discover legendary photographer Dennis Stock’s behind-the-scenes photography of The Planet of the Apes, courtesy of Magnum. Daniela Yohannes, one of the most exciting Afrofuturist artists today speaks on her influences and Meredith Whittaker, the mysterious, glamorous founder of the Signal messaging app, meets Chiara Towne in Paris to talk about everything from your phone’s privacy to Legally Blonde.

Through some of the best writers in the business, this specially curated edition covers the many dimensions of science-fiction, all in a 230-page volume that readers will revisit time and again. Whether it is our essay by BBC broadcaster Anna Smith on feminist cyborgs, or legendary critic Jonathan Romney’s analysis of Andrei Tarkovsky, Issue 15 is a colourful, strange, and fascinating look at how science-fiction has shaped the way we see the world—and culture—today.