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When Hollywood producers need to get the future right, they call a futurist
Sep 13, 2018

When Hollywood producers need to get the future right, they call a futurist

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We are still at least 15 years away from the first human mission to Mars — that’s at the earliest. But that hasn't stopped Hollywood from skipping ahead to the future. Hulu, the online streaming service, is out with a new series Friday called "The First." It's set in the 2030s, and as the name implies, it imagines what that first mission might be like. In addition to getting the astrophysics right, the show producers had to get the future right. And for that they called a futurist. Amy Webb, founder of the Future Today Institute, usually helps businesses with strategy. But from time to time, she consults on films or shows set in the future. One of the questions she had to answer on “The First”: Will smartphones still be around in 15 years? She talks about it with Molly Wood. (09/13/18)

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When Hollywood producers need to get the future right, they call a futurist

Sep 13, 2018
Hulu releases "The First" tomorrow, a series set in the 2030s about the first human mission to Mars.
Hulu's "The First" imagines what the first mission to Mars might be like.
Courtesy of Paul Schiraldi

We are still at least 15 years away from the first human mission to Mars — that’s at the earliest. But that hasn’t stopped Hollywood from skipping ahead to the future. Hulu, the online streaming service, is out with a new series Friday called “The First.” It’s set in the 2030s, and as the name implies, it imagines what that first mission might be like. In addition to getting the astrophysics right, the show producers had to get the future right. And for that they called a futurist. Amy Webb, founder of the Future Today Institute, usually helps businesses with strategy. But from time to time, she consults on films or shows set in the future. One of the questions she had to answer on “The First”: Will smartphones still be around in 15 years? She talks about it with Molly Wood. (09/13/18)

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