"Impossible Dreams" is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

written in 2006 by

Tim Pratt Timothy Aaron Pratt (born December 12, 1976) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and poet. He won a Hugo Award in 2007 for his short story " Impossible Dreams". He has written over 20 books, including the Marla Mason series and sev ...

. It was first published in ''

Asimov's Science Fiction ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine edited by Sheila Williams and published by Dell Magazines, which is owned by Penny Press. It was launched as a quarterly by Davis Publications in 1977, after obtaining Isaac ...

'' in 2006, and subsequently republished in Pratt's 2007 collection ''Hart & Boot & Other Stories'', and in the 2012 anthology ''Other Worlds Than These''.

Plot summary

Pete is a

cinephile Cinephilia ( ; also cinemaphilia or filmophilia) is the term used to refer to a passionate interest in films, film theory, and film criticism. The term is a portmanteau of the words '' cinema'' and ''philia'', one of the four ancient Greek words ...

. One day, he discovers a video store containing movies that were never created. He discovers that he enters a parallel universe every time he visits the store, and becomes both frustrated and elated as he tries to watch as many of the videos as possible, while forming a bond with the store's downbeat clerk. By the end of the short story, Pete is now friends with Ally. Ally grew tired of the parallel universe and is now living with Pete and watching movies with him.

Characters

* Pete – One of the main characters of the story. Pete is a movie lover. He meets Ally in the parallel movie store and there he sees a variety of movies that are parallel to the ones that he had in his world. * Ally – The other main character of the story. Ally works in the movie store in the parallel world. Ally later leaves the parallel world and joins Pete in his world.

Movies in the parallel world

* ''

The Death of Superman "The Death of Superman" is a crossover story event mostly featured in DC Comics' Superman-related publications. The crossover, which originated from editor Mike Carlin and writers Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and ...

'' – directed by

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

and starring

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...

* '' Total Recall'' – directed by

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and ...

* ''

The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in t ...

'' – starring

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...

* ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana ...

'' – starring

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations fo ...

* ''

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

'' – starring

George Raft George Raft (né Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembe ...

* ''

A.I. Artificial Intelligence ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (or simply ''A.I.'') is a 2001 American science fiction drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. The screenplay by Spielberg and screen story by Ian Watson are loosely based on the 1969 short story " Supertoy ...

'' –

Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

lived to complete this * ''The Lunch Bunch'' – not a real movie but in the parallel world it is a sequel to ''

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American independent teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. The ensemble cast includes Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ring ...

Reception

"Impossible Dreams" won the 2007

Hugo Award for Best Short Story The Hugo Award for Best Short Story is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The short story award is available for works of fiction of ...

. Several reviews stated that the novella and movie are like the ''Twilight Zone''. In addition, the novella inspires the reader to become a movie buff. Pete is described by one critic as "a young film buff who discovers a movie rental shop from a parallel universe."

Film adaptation

In 2011, a short film adaptation of "Impossible Dreams" was made in Israel by Shir Comay in the Hebrew language (the Hebrew title is ''וידאו קסם'', literally "Magic Video-rentals"). The film premiered on July 12, 2011 as part of the

Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival (, ) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israeli Film Archive, Lia van Leer, Lia Van Leer, and has since become th ...

, and won the Israeli shorts competition in the

ICon festival ICon Festival (Hebrew: פסטיבל אייקון) is an Israeli science fiction and fantasy fan convention held annually in the Tel Aviv Eshkol Pais during the Sukkot holiday in September–October. Venues in previous years included the adjace ...

2011 Israeli shorts competition.

References

External links

* *
כתבה על הזכיה של "וידאו קסם" בפסטיבל אייקון 2011 YNET
in Hebrew
כתבה על הזכיה של "וידאו קסם" בפסטיבל אייקון 2011 Nana10
in Hebrew 2006 short stories Hugo Award for Best Short Story–winning works Works originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction Short stories about parallel universes {{2000s-sf-story-stub