Everyone wants to go back into time and see historical events or jump ahead to experience the future. It’s human nature to wonder about tomorrow and reminisce about yesterday. We can’t help it. But even though DeLoreans and Victorian open carriages and hot tubs have helped us imagine time travel, most of us are resigned to the fact that it’s not going to happen. That’s sad. Some people aren’t giving up. That’s awesome.
In this trailer for Jay Cheel’s documentary, “How to Build a Time Machine”, we meet two men who are taking on time travel as a serious undertaking. One is spending years of his life recreating the time machine of HG Wells’ imagination to the point that it’s pretty much the real thing and the other has dedicated his career in physics to figure out how to go back in time to save his father.
When Rob Niosi decided to build a full scale replica of the time machine prop from George Pal’s adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novella ‘The Time Machine’, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. The three month project is now in its eleventh year, and he’s not sure it will ever end. His perfectionist attitude and obsessive nature — cultivated by years of detail oriented, time consuming work as a stop-motion animator — has elevated his machine from prop replica to a true work of art. His goal? To capture the impression he had as a kid when he first laid eyes on the beautiful machine.
When Ronald Mallett was a young boy, his Father died unexpectedly of a heart attack. This event turned his world upside down. He became ostracized from his friends and family and found solace in science fiction. It was H.G. W ells’ The Time Machine that inspired Ron to pursue a career in physics. His goal? To build a time machine so he could go back and save his Father.
The documentary looks like it’s going to be lovely. Watch the trailer below.