There are those who will no doubt call “The Postman” the worst film of the year, but it s too good-hearted for that. It s goofy, yes, and pretentious, and Kevin Costner puts himself in situations that get snickers. And it s way too long. But parables like this require their makers to burn their bridges and leave common sense behind: Either they work (as “Forrest Gump” did), in which case everyone involved is a genius, or they don t in which case you shouldn t blame them for trying.
In choosing “The Postman” as his new project, however, Costner should perhaps have reflected that audiences were becoming overfamiliar with him as the eccentric loner in the wilderness who discovers an isolated community and then joins their war against evil marauders. He told that story magnificently in “Dances with Wolves” (1990) and then did another version in the futuristic fantasy “Waterworld” (1995). Now he sort of combines them, in a film that takes place in the post-Apocalyptic
Keating notes that many of science fiction’s biggest stars have visited UC San Diego, whether as guests of the Clarke Center, as students or instructors at the Clarion Writers Workshop, or as students at the university. “David Brin is an alum, Greg and Jim Benford are alumni, Kim Stanley Robinson is an alum, Andy Weir was a student here,” Keating says. “These are some of the foremost writers of our time when it comes to science fiction.”
With live events currently on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Keating recently launched a new podcast, which enables him to continue the Clarke Center’s mission of bringing together some of the world’s top thinkers. “The name of the podcast is