Thoughts?

107 Comments

• At August 31, 2009, Richard J. Marcej wrote:

  • Say goodbye to Convention sketches? (Since Disney has been known to be VERY strict with unlicensed drawings of their ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  I'm hoping having that Disney money and access to offering Disney benefits packages will help Marvel sign a bunch of ...

• At August 31, 2009, Mike Klander wrote:

  What is this going to mean for it's content? Disney has been known to make sure their content stays ...

• At August 31, 2009, GQ wrote:

  Could be good, could be bad. Just have to wait and see.

  Let the panicing commence in 5... 4... 3... 2....

• At August 31, 2009, charles m. wrote:

  R.I.P. Marvel - you will be misses.

• At August 31, 2009, Wraith wrote:

  With its own comic book publisher, will Disney continue licensing out its properties to others?

  And, will Marvel's books now begin ...

• At August 31, 2009, ninjawookie wrote:

  I'm almost expecting Spider-man to wear mickey mouse ears.

  I do wonder if this will affect creators original characters an royalties ...

• At August 31, 2009, Dale Houston wrote:

  Time for me to dust off my script for an animated buddy comedy featuring M.O.D.O.K. and a cute talking squirrel.

  Otherwise; ...

• At August 31, 2009, Capt USA wrote:

  Very scary as a comic/Marvel fan. Disney is not really known for a hands off approach to their subsidiaries and ...

• At August 31, 2009, Matt Beahan wrote:

  Dale, that would never work. M.O.D.O.K. hates squirrels, ever since Squirrel Girl handed him his arse. Make it a mongoose ...

• At August 31, 2009, Roquefort Raider wrote:

  Howard the Duck can now lose the trousers.

• At August 31, 2009, The Dane wrote:

  Why would Disney's purchase necessarily mean anything for the level of maturity (or lack of such) in Marvel's books? Disney ...

• At August 31, 2009, Mike Loughlin wrote:

  Good-bye, Northstar. Good-bye, Wiccan & Hulkling. So long, Shatterstar & Rictor. Caroline from Runaways, just make sure your Skrull beau ...

• At August 31, 2009, Squashua wrote:

  I wonder what this will do to Universal Studios themepark in Orlando, the competitor to Disney World.

  Many of their rides ...

• At August 31, 2009, Zach wrote:

  Damn, wish I had bought that Marvel stock.

• At August 31, 2009, Roquefort Raider wrote:

  Will Marvel start publishing Disney-themed comics? If it helps getting younger kids reading more comics, that would be quite a ...

• At August 31, 2009, Anonymous wrote:

  If Disney has any sense they will allow Marvel to be run in pretty much the same way it has ...

• At August 31, 2009, R3D RJ wrote:

  This is huge. Planet-wide HUGE. =0

  Nobody escapes the Mouse.

• At August 31, 2009, Keg wrote:

  The only thing I can see happening is BOOM losing its Disney properties in a year or two and Marvel ...

• At August 31, 2009, Todd wrote:

  Does this mean Peter Parker will be wearing a purity ring? How about Wolverine getting a woodland critter sidekick?

• At August 31, 2009, Palomides wrote:

  Personally, I'm looking forward to the inevitable Mickey Mouse/Wolverine cross-over. Or they could do an Amalgam thing, e.g. merging Donald ...

• At August 31, 2009, Dan K wrote:

  My expectation is they want the character catalogue for use in other media (e.g. animation) and merchandise. Comics themselves are ...

• At August 31, 2009, DWright wrote:

  I've been more than a little turned off by Quesada's childish comparisons with D.C, so I'm wondering what happens now ...

• At August 31, 2009, Stephen Doe wrote:

  Nothing at Marvel will change. This is just Disney adding another trophy to thier mantle.

• At August 31, 2009, Mark S. wrote:

  Disney new XD channel already has a bunch of Marvel cartoons.

• At August 31, 2009, Todd wrote:

  And in response to Richard Marcej said, that is completely true about Disney. My gym had a daycare room with ...

• At August 31, 2009, Mory Buckman wrote:

  Like Squashua, my first thought was how this fits in with the theme park competition. Universal (Disney World's biggest competition) ...

• At August 31, 2009, Stefan wrote:

  My initial reaction was pure terror, and there's a part of me that's still there. I hate Disney. ...

• At August 31, 2009, Stefan wrote:

  Todd - Do you live in Florida? I remember that story - it was either you guys, or an ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  What is this going to mean for it's content? Disney has been known to make sure their content stays watered ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  I've been more than a little turned off by Quesada's childish comparisons with D.C, so I'm wondering what happens now ...

• At August 31, 2009, DailyRich wrote:

  "I have seen people say that Pixar could do Marvel Films. I doubt this as they seem to do original ...

• At August 31, 2009, Teebore wrote:

  I, too, thought of the theme park stuff first.

  Maybe I'm naive, but I just figure this will mirror the ...

• At August 31, 2009, Anonymous wrote:

  "Good-bye, Northstar. Good-bye, Wiccan & Hulkling. So long, Shatterstar & Rictor. Caroline from Runaways, just make sure your Skrull beau ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  Good-bye, Northstar. Good-bye, Wiccan & Hulkling. So long, Shatterstar & Rictor. Caroline from Runaways, just make sure your Skrull beau ...

• At August 31, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  Anybody remember when DC bought Wildstorm which at that time made up 20% of Image?

• At August 31, 2009, DanLarkin wrote:

  I don't think Disney owns Mirimax anymore. But Disney as a company has a pretty good record on gay ...

• At August 31, 2009, brax wrote:

  *choke!* Horrible!

  This is the most horrifying reminder of why Quesada is bad for business. Of course, he'll be the ...

• At August 31, 2009, Alex Scales wrote:

  So, I don't usually leave comments on here, but two things came to mind--

  1. I loved Crossgen and miss ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  Disney still owns Miramax and has since 1993:

  http://www.miramax.com/about-us.html

• At August 31, 2009, Matt K wrote:

  An article I read (CNN perhaps) mentioned that Disney wanted the expand the 2nd tier marvel characters so hopefully this ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  I always wanted to know what Milestone comics could have become (I know most of the titles went to Vertigo, ...

• At August 31, 2009, DanLarkin wrote:

  My mistake, T. Someday I'll remember something correctly.

• At August 31, 2009, buttler wrote:

  I can't wait for Huey, Dewey and Louie to meet Unca Howard. Talk about a world he never made.

• At August 31, 2009, Jon H wrote:

  ". Pixar WILL be doing Marvel-based films."

  I wonder if they could get the non-Marvel toy-oriented rights to the Micronauts... They'd ...

• At August 31, 2009, Alex Scales wrote:

  I thought Sebastian O and Enigma were both originally planned as Milestone titles?

• At August 31, 2009, al wrote:

  So does this mean Marvel can now publish comics with the Crossgen Comic Book characters?

• At August 31, 2009, Dan wrote:

  If you're fearing the state of Islands of Adventure, look into something like MGM Studios. Disney does own Miramax, ...

• At August 31, 2009, joecab wrote:

  Good lord this is an awful lot of overreacting. I'm certain Disney knows that Marvel knows better than they do ...

• At August 31, 2009, Jack Tango wrote:

  Disney bought Marvel for the same reason Time Warner suffers DC: Because they're content creators. They leave the publishing arm ...

• At August 31, 2009, Mr. JR wrote:

  I'd be interested in hearing just which 2nd-tier characters Disney had it's eye on developing* and how it planned to ...

• At August 31, 2009, Todd wrote:

  I live in New York, but apparently that has happened in a lot of places. So I wouldn't be surprised ...

• At August 31, 2009, Dean wrote:

  Long run, I think this a good deal for Marvel. Disney is pretty much the gold standard in terms ...

• At August 31, 2009, Todd wrote:

  I'm actually a big Crossgen fan and I wonder...do you think Marvel will continue those properties? They have most of ...

• At August 31, 2009, Nemesis wrote:

  Am I the only one who wants a Marvel MAX Mickey Mouse title...he could lose Minnie and try to kill ...

• At August 31, 2009, Matt K wrote:

  @ Todd, I would love to see more Way of the Rat and perhaps Disney could leverage some of Marvel's ...

• At August 31, 2009, Disney Buys Marvel: What The–?! « Speed Force wrote:

  [...] Further analysis and discussion at Comics Worth Reading, The Beat, Robot 6 and Comics Should Be Good. And it ...

• At August 31, 2009, JoeMac wrote:

  DWright wrote: "Also, and I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I found the end of Secret Invasion and Ultimatum ...

• At August 31, 2009, chris wrote:

  Last time Disney acquired a franchise I loved they ran it into the groud. Oh Marvel, don't suffer the same ...

• At August 31, 2009, Rob Schmidt wrote:

  Hulk smashes "It's a Small World." Thousands cheer.

  Wolverine guts Captain Hook in an unfair fight. Peter Pan, Wendy, and the ...

• At August 31, 2009, JoeMac wrote:

  I guess I'm old... I never understood the appeal of the Power Rangers.

• At August 31, 2009, Mike Loughlin wrote:

  On the one hand, maybe I was a bit harsh and hasty in my response to the news. As Anonymous ...

• At August 31, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  Howard the Duck can now lose the trousers.

  Yeah, I was thinking Howard would get to be Howard again. He might ...

• At August 31, 2009, Dean wrote:

  On the other hand, ABC cancelled areality show about prejudices that was won by a gay couple. Disney executives did ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  Look, it is just a matter of time before some Talk Radio guy finds an issue of something like "Ultimatum" ...

• At August 31, 2009, Jurel727 wrote:

  "I guess I'm old... I never understood the appeal of the Power Rangers."

  Characters in coloful costumes fighting with other characters ...

• At August 31, 2009, Rob Schmidt wrote:

  If you think about it, the potential synergy is almost limitless. Howard the Duck and Donald Duck. Peter ...

• At August 31, 2009, Mory Buckman wrote:

  Also: I wonder if Runaways will be the first Disney/Marvel Studios movie.Why make it a movie when they can make ...

• At August 31, 2009, Mecha-Shiva wrote:

  "The Wasp and the Seven Dwarfs."

  I would rather Disney have bought DC, so we could've gotten Perry White and the ...

• At August 31, 2009, The Mutt wrote:

  If this means Pixar will be doing Marvel movies, it's the greatest news ever. After I saw The Incredibles, I ...

• At August 31, 2009, Dean wrote:

  @ T:

  It is not necessarily a negative, just a change. My point is that Disney will have an effect ...

• At August 31, 2009, Ted wrote:

  Mike Loughlin:

  "Where do you get off telling me to "stop being dramatic & reactionary?" Especially with reactionary meaning ...

• At August 31, 2009, fourthworlder wrote:

  Now I get the One More Day satanic annulment.

  Peter Parker and MU Hannah Montana to wed by next summer.

  And ...

• At August 31, 2009, Tonebone wrote:

  "Good-bye, Northstar. Good-bye, Wiccan & Hulkling. So long, Shatterstar & Rictor. Caroline from Runaways, just make sure your Skrull beau ...

• At August 31, 2009, bob wrote:

  If wraith's speculation is correct i hope they revive the old marvel anthology series so we can have "Walt Disney ...

• At August 31, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  It scares me.

  I fear the mouse.

  Actually, DC's done alright, but if a Disney exec decides the comics aren't making enough ...

• At August 31, 2009, Mike Loughlin wrote:

  Ted,

  "Radical" means extreme leftist, "reactionary" means, in most cases, extremely right-wing. I know T. didn't mean it that way, one ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  Actually, DC's done alright, but if a Disney exec decides the comics aren't making enough cash, and the characters could ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  Which great writer went to DC and had their work reduced?

  Pretty much all of them I've followed over to DC, ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  Most drastic drop in quality I'd say was Ted McKeever though. Man did he turn horrible at DC. ...

• At August 31, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  All hail Disney Comics!

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  What will REALLY be interesting is the type of legal muscle Marvel will now have available if they have to ...

• At August 31, 2009, Rob Schmidt wrote:

  Mickey Mouse wouldn't become the Sorceror Supreme. He'd be the Sorceror Supreme's apprentice. Hijinks ensue as Dr. Strange ...

• At August 31, 2009, Mike Loughlin wrote:

  T. - Johns worked at Marvel during the height of decompression. He's stated that some of his Avengers work was ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  Oh wait, I'm sorry, I meant Sean McKeever. Oops.

• At August 31, 2009, david wrote:

  I worked for the Rat for 10 years in Orlando, so what I can tell you is this:

  1. There were ...

• At August 31, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  Most drastic drop in quality I'd say was Ted McKeever though. Man did he turn horrible at DC. Tony Bedard ...

• At August 31, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  No Disney does not have a problem with gay people. How do you think they have 1000s of ride operators, ...

• At August 31, 2009, david wrote:

  Oh, and yes I read the quote about Lasseter being "excited". I stand by my statement however. If there are ...

• At August 31, 2009, david wrote:

  "Yeah, but large clumps of Disney's audience have problems with gay people, and they like to scream really, really loudly."

  Well, ...

• At August 31, 2009, Ted wrote:

  Mike Loughlin,

  I know T. didn't mean it that way, one of the reasons the label annoyed me.

  So, basically, you were ...

• At August 31, 2009, Mike Loughlin wrote:

  Let me get this straight... I don't like being called something, an inaccurate term at that, so I'm causing "people ...

• At August 31, 2009, T. wrote:

  Gail Simone did much better at DC than at Marvel..

  I don't really like her at either company, but I still ...

• At August 31, 2009, Adamantium Wholesaler wrote:

  I hope Disney doesn't get any crazy ideas about trying to abandon the core adult market and trying to market ...

• At August 31, 2009, Ted wrote:

  Let me get this straight... I don't like being called something, an inaccurate term at that, so I'm causing "people ...

• At August 31, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  I don't really like her at either company, but I still found her writing less grating over at Marvel.

  Go read ...

• At August 31, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  Disney still does not endorse or even officially recognize Gay Days. But it remains the most profitable single day (the ...

• At August 31, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  Sat crossed lovers

  STAR crossed lovers it should be.

  What a way to ruin a perfectly terrible pun.

• At August 31, 2009, Ted wrote:

  I just pointed out how he had responded in a manner similar to the one he was decrying.

  What ...

• At August 31, 2009, Ted wrote:

  Unless, of course, when you said "Especially given your responses to subjects ranging from misogyny and welfare to Jeph Loeb ...

• At August 31, 2009, Dean wrote:

  I don't really like her at either company, but I still found her writing less grating over at Marvel. There's ...

• At September 1, 2009, jccalhoun wrote:

  I'm guessing Boom Studios is going to be the most impacted by this. They are going to lose the ...

• At September 1, 2009, T. wrote:

  Go read Secret Six!

  There's a new trade out... apparently there's couple before it, but it's the start of the ongoing, ...

• At September 1, 2009, T. wrote:

  I am no great fan of the Dan DiDio era, but I would suggest that the paragraph above does not ...

• At September 1, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  I think her plotting is good, it's just her dialogue that grates on me. It is often too self-consciously clever, ...

• At September 2, 2009, Shane wrote:

  I can't help thinking Marvel's 'House of M' (in terms of the title) now strangely prophetic. Not to mention what ...

• At September 2, 2009, DanCJ wrote:

  Same problem with Seven Soldiers. I basically don't like comics where I need to read annotations on websites or have ...

Usually, this means the movie sucks and has a built-in audience anyway, so who cares what those stupid reviewers think? This, according to the story, is an odder move, as this is the final big-time action movie of the summer. It's not surprising based on the critical reaction to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which apparently causes brain aneurysms to explode but is still in the top ten of highest-grossing movies of all time. So why screen G. I. Joe for critics when it's going to get trashed anyway and will probably still make a boaload of money?

Of course, the reviewers who have seen the movie have been mostly positive (although "If I was [sic] ten years old, G. I. Joe would be one of the best movies I had ever seen" becomes less positive when you consider that most of the people who will see this movie are probably older than ten), so it's not necessarily about avoiding negative reviews. It's about the increasing gap between "elitism" and "egalitarianism" in this country - Paramount wants "the audience to define" G. I. Joe, which means they believe reviewers only like artsy-fartsy movies and couldn't possibly turn their brains off long enough to appreciate the greatness of G. I. Joe and besides, those reviewers all probably hate the United States and would be scornful of the in-your-face patriotism of G. I. Joe. U! S! A!, bitches!

I don't want to go all Roger Ebert in this post, I just wanted to point out that if this works, there's no reason for movie studios ever to screen movies for critics anymore. Screw them all! The stupid thing about this, really, is that if a studio throws money behind a project and advertises the shit out of it, of course it will do well, at least in its first weekend. Transformers seems to have bucked that trend (although I wonder how much Megan Fox has to do with that; I guess Paramount is hoping Sienna Miller provides the same thing), but there are plenty of movies that do well in the first weekend and then drop off the map, but at least they recoup their costs.

Comics are a bit of a different animal, in that money and advance advertising don't necessarily play a huge role. However, it's still a pertinent theme, as Marvel and DC have something different but as insidious: a stable of characters that appeal to fanboys' nostalgia. Stupid reviewers like me, who absolutely cannot stand crappy superhero comics (which is different from hating superhero comics, although some of my critics don't get the distinction), get raked over the coals because I can't see how freakin' awesome it is that some writer is using some awesome character from the Sixties (or Seventies or, increasingly, the Eighties). Whenever I read a review of a big-time superhero comic (and they're not hard to find), there's usually at least one comment that either rips the reviewer for not liking the awesome character used therein or reads something like, "Well, I had to turn my brain off, but I liked it." Heck, I turn my brain off all the time. You know when? When I'm watching television, which is largely free (or at least cheaper than my annual comics budget). If I'm paying for something, I'm certainly not going to waste my 4 dollars on shit like Ultimatum. But that's just me.

Anyway, I just found the idea of Paramount going around the reviewers to appeal directly to the "heartland" (that's what the article says) interesting. If I lived in Des Moines, I'd be offended that Paramount thinks I'm dumber and more blindly in love with my country than those pillow-biting socialists in New York and Los Angeles, but whatever. Maybe this strategy will put stupid anti-American reviewers out of business forever!!!!!!

76 Comments

• At August 4, 2009, Smokescreen wrote:

  I tend to agree with this.

  If I were Paramount, I'd be hoping for the bad reviews since it mobilizes the ...

• At August 4, 2009, Loren wrote:

  As of a couple of years ago, "Ghost Rider" was the biggest-budget movie (at $120 million) to not be screened ...

• At August 4, 2009, Michael P. wrote:

  Yay, anti-intellectualism being cynically manipulated by corporate marketers!

• At August 4, 2009, Mizike wrote:

  Two small points:

  First, TV isn't anywhere close to free. I ditched cable a couple of years ago ...

• At August 4, 2009, T. wrote:

  If I were Paramount, I’d be hoping for the bad reviews since it mobilizes the die hards. Over at TFW ...

• At August 4, 2009, layne wrote:

  ...Paramount going around the reviewers to appeal directly to the “heartland”..

  So that's why Sarah Palin resigned, to head Paramount's marketing ...

• At August 4, 2009, Brian wrote:

  What Mizike said.

  I love Sienna Miller, but I'm not going to see this film at the theatre.

  Greg, if I might ...

• At August 4, 2009, Mr Wesley wrote:

  @Brian:

  That already happens, basically. While reviewers aren't on the dole or anything, the next time you see those reviews that ...

• At August 4, 2009, Dewayne wrote:

  What the f#c& is he ranting about? The thing that i find common about all critics is they think that ...

• At August 4, 2009, jjc wrote:

  This is the kind of movie I'm either going to see or not (not), it won't matter what the reviews ...

• At August 4, 2009, Mr Wesley wrote:

  I think honestly it should be left up to the normal viewers to decide and not have some bobble ...

• At August 4, 2009, PJ Clark wrote:

  There seems to be this mistaken notion that, because comic book films are not perceived the same as other films ...

• At August 4, 2009, The Mad Monkey wrote:

  Some of the above comments mention the one thing that came to my mind prominently while reading this article.

  Does anyone ...

• At August 4, 2009, Mr Wesley wrote:

  If anything, the studios should be getting the opinions of the people who pay to see their movies and not ...

• At August 4, 2009, jose wrote:

  First off, I thought this was a well thought out and funny piece.

  Okay on to the opinions!

  I think ...

• At August 4, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  Television isn't free. You either pay for cable, satellite, or get you television entirely over the airwaves. And even over ...

• At August 4, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  I'm not part of the audience for Transformers nor G. I. Joe. I never watched the cartoons, so there is ...

• At August 4, 2009, David Uzumeri wrote:

  "Narcissistic bobbleheads"? "Who listens to the critics"?

  Judging by the popularity of Rotten Tomatoes, everyone. And since when was having seen ...

• At August 4, 2009, Raskal66 wrote:

  I'm for drama as much as for summer popcorn, but when it requires you to turn your brain off in ...

• At August 4, 2009, Chad Nevett wrote:

  Dewayne -- Most good reviewers don't think their opinion is the end all, be all of opinions on a work, ...

• At August 4, 2009, Raskal66 wrote:

  Very well said, Mr. Wesley.

• At August 4, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Well, I did qualify that television isn't free, but it's still a hell of a lot cheaper than a lot ...

• At August 4, 2009, Edward Liu wrote:

  This article in the LA Times goes into even more detail, including some really depressing comments from Larry Hama at ...

• At August 4, 2009, MadMikeyD wrote:

  I never care what reviewers say. If I want to see a movie I'll see it. As a ...

• At August 4, 2009, Chris S. wrote:

  I don't really understand all the disdain I see floating around the internet towards film critics (especially Roger Ebert, who ...

• At August 4, 2009, T. Hill wrote:

  Rascal66...Amen!

  As for the folks who are bashing Ebert, if you were to read his reviews over a decent period of ...

• At August 4, 2009, The Mutt wrote:

  Bad reviews can't hurt a movie like GIJoe. But they can help it.

  I had zero interest in seeing Transformers2, but ...

• At August 4, 2009, Nitz the Bloody wrote:

  I had hoped playing the " Support Our Troops " card would go out of fashion once the GOP crashed ...

• At August 4, 2009, Da Fug wrote:

  "I just wanted to point out that if this works, there’s no reason for movie studios ever to screen movies ...

• At August 4, 2009, Rene wrote:

  I confess that I have some gripes with reviewers of any kind. As an example, when Timothy Callahan of this ...

• At August 4, 2009, Dean wrote:

  @ Nitz the Bloody:

  "Support Our Troops" will not go out of style while military spending is over 4% of U.S. ...

• At August 4, 2009, Omar Karindu wrote:

  I'd say there's an even more apparent clue as to the movie's quality given that it's being released midway through ...

• At August 4, 2009, Raskal66 wrote:

  @Dean

  It actually has nothing to do with military spending. People by and large love the military because they protect ...

• At August 4, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  "European marketing, rather, focuses on action sequences set in Paris -- where the Eiffel Tower collapses -- Egypt and Tokyo, ...

• At August 4, 2009, benday-dot wrote:

  I agree with The Mutt. Bad reviews will slide off G.I. Joe, as though it were made of teflon.

  There ...

• At August 4, 2009, Grant wrote:

  It's funny some of the early reviews for GI Joe aren't that bad. And a lot of them are from ...

• At August 4, 2009, Mr Wesley wrote:

  @Grant:

  Yeah, but it doesn't matter what they thought of Transformers. The point is that everyone who has seen GI Joe ...

• At August 4, 2009, Dean wrote:

  @ Raskal66:

  If they protect us without "preconditions or expectation of gratitude", then does that mean I can keep the 7% ...

• At August 4, 2009, Michael P. wrote:

  "I think that says all that needs to be said about Paramount."

  They understand that different markets require different marketing strategies?

• At August 4, 2009, Rohan Williams wrote:

  Negative reviews can't really hurt a movie like G.I. Joe, true, but positive reviews could help it. And critical opinion ...

• At August 4, 2009, Mr Wesley wrote:

  @Michael P.:

  They understand that different markets require different marketing strategies?

  Earth. Earth is their market. This is being released everywhere. Paramount ...

• At August 4, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:

  @Micheal P.: I'm soon to enter third year History in university. I have plans to pursue a law ...

• At August 4, 2009, Mr Wesley wrote:

  Dalarsco:

  But the critics don't. forget it. Some, for the major New York and Los Angeles papers, may still be pompous ...

• At August 4, 2009, Rob Schmidt wrote:

  Knowledge = narcissism! Brains = bobbleheads! Faith = science! Government = socialism! Invasion = self-defense! ...

• At August 4, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  It must be an anti-elistism statement, because if they didn't want people pre-judging the film and thinking it's utter, utter ...

• At August 4, 2009, Grant wrote:

  "Yeah, but it doesn’t matter what they thought of Transformers. The point is that everyone who has seen GI Joe ...

• At August 5, 2009, Bernard the Poet wrote:

  Make no mistake, there is only one reason why Paramount are not showing GI Joe to the critics. They don't ...

• At August 5, 2009, T. wrote:

  I had hoped playing the ” Support Our Troops ” card would go out of fashion once the GOP crashed ...

• At August 5, 2009, SageShini wrote:

  I resent the idea that people don't like reviews because of some sense of anti-elitism. I would probably get ...

• At August 5, 2009, Ethan Shuster wrote:

  I realize that this is one of the reasons these movies become successful, but, as a long time, "hardcore fan", ...

• At August 5, 2009, Ethan Shuster wrote:

  Oh, also... TF2 made insane amounts of money despite lots of terrible reviews, didn't it? Though I suppose Paramount wants ...

• At August 5, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Foreign invaders don’t stay away out of the goodness of their hearts you know.

  Can you honestly remember the last time ...

• At August 5, 2009, Ethan Shuster wrote:

  I got a long history lesson for ya...

  Palitoy started Action Force as a separate property entirely, but often used molds ...

• At August 5, 2009, Raskal66 wrote:

  @Ethan Shuster:

  "I realize that this is one of the reasons these movies become successful, but, as a long time, “hardcore ...

• At August 5, 2009, Raskal66 wrote:

  @Ethan Shuster

  The second paragraph was a response to Blackjack.

• At August 5, 2009, Rene wrote:

  I agree with SageShini,

  Why drag politics into this? Disliking the arrogance of critics has nothing to do with any political ...

• At August 5, 2009, Mr Wesley wrote:

  The know-it-all, my-oppinion-is-natural-law stance is not dependant on any socio-political position. But neither is it dependant on a job title. ...

• At August 5, 2009, Bernie wrote:

  I watched this movie tonight. As a fan of the original cartoons and comic books this was really a fun ...

• At August 5, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  @Ethan Shuster: Thank You! I wasn't sure if Baron Ironblood became Cobra Commander or if there were some kind ...

• At August 5, 2009, Marc Kandel wrote:

  Most of the critics I know, including myself (unpaid, but nonetheless...) aren't elitist snobs who would dismiss "G.I. Joe" because ...

• At August 5, 2009, T. wrote:

  Can you honestly remember the last time the US was invaded?!?!? 1812, perhaps??

  My point exactly. If we didn't have ...

• At August 5, 2009, Brad Curran wrote:

  In all of this talk about our standing army keeping liberal elitist critics from invading or whatever this comments has ...

• At August 5, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  "...GI Joe has a 90% aggregate score from..."

  ...from Harry Knowles.

  ______________________

  Doesn't Joe in this movie stand for Joint Operations - Europe?

  And ...

• At August 5, 2009, Felipe wrote:

  >As has been pointed out, its the critic’s job to tell you why they liked or disliked the film, and ...

• At August 5, 2009, layne wrote:

  If we didn’t have a standing military protecting us, it would happen much more often and much more recently.

  Geography has ...

• At August 5, 2009, knivesinwest11 wrote:

  the critics loved Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Shit.

• At August 5, 2009, Felipe wrote:

  >My point exactly. If we didn’t have a standing military protecting us, it would happen much more often and much ...

• At August 5, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  “Support Our Troops” will go away the moment we live in a world where our very freedom doesn’t depend on ...

• At August 5, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  Sorry T, missed that it had already been addressed...

  My point exactly. If we didn’t have a standing military protecting us, ...

• At August 5, 2009, layne wrote:

  It really gets my goat when the trivialization and commodification of war is done in a manner that is disrespectful ...

• At August 6, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Thank you, layne, Felipe and Funky.

  I really didn't want to rise to that one, and you all retorted far better ...

• At August 6, 2009, Wesley wrote:

  @Felipe:

  A critic´s job is to analyze critically the movie, trying to figure out what are his aestethics options, how they ...

• At August 6, 2009, Felipe wrote:

  >That is part of a very well articulated response. It’s also fundamentally incomplete. [..] while, technically, ‘film criticism’ considering the ...

• At August 12, 2009, Marc Kandel wrote:

  Felipe

  August 5, 2009 at 9:42 pm

  >As has been pointed out, its the critic’s job to tell you why they liked ...

• At August 26, 2009, AMERICAN NEWS MAGAZINE » Blog Archive » HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST — 3rd wknd OCT — PIGEON FORGE, TN USA wrote:

  [...] Stu­pid review­ers think big fun sum­mer action movies are stu­pid! (goodcomics.comicbookresources.com) [...]

• At October 23, 2009, His_wife17 wrote:

  The powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control ...

Action Comics #1 sells for $317,200. Apparently, it's the first appearance of some dude named "Superman." Man, what a dumb name. Why couldn't he have been called something cool like "Amokk" or "Vibraxis" or "Mammon" or "Zapatak" or "Logix" or "Ripclaw" or "Armata" or "Softcore" or "Slog" or "Devlor" or "Wipeout"?* That would have been much neater.

According to the news story, the winning bid was submitted by the drummer for System of a Down. That's odd. He bought it for an unidentified client. There are only about 100 copies of this comic (so it couldn't be that cool, right?), and the dude who sold it bought it in 1950 for 35 cents. That's a handy return on your investment.

Man, I can't wait to auction off my issues of X-Men #1 by Claremont and Lee (yes, plural). If this crappy comic is worth 300 large, think of how much an awesome book like X-Men #1 is worth!

CSBG: Your source for comics auction news! I swear, I'm not looking for these - I just happen across them!

* Note: These are all actual names of characters who have appeared in comics. And they're all cooler than stupid Superman!

10 Comments

• At March 14, 2009, Zebulon Pike wrote:

  I feel like Softcore in particular had vast potential.

• At March 14, 2009, Cass wrote:

  DC should do a comic about that guy who's fleeing the cover. Maybe Zeb Wells could script. Tie Guy: Dark ...

• At March 14, 2009, The Mutt wrote:

  Bottom Left Hand Corner of Action Comics #1 Guy is one of my favorite characters in comics history.

  He's not ...

• At March 14, 2009, Chris S wrote:

  $300K for one comic! Screw that ! I'll wait for the trade.

• At March 14, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Didn't Freaking Out Dude show up recently in an issue of some Superman comic? I thought I read about ...

• At March 14, 2009, Cass wrote:

  Here's a question: Where exactly are Superman and co supposed to be in this cover? Looks like it could be ...

• At March 14, 2009, Sebastian wrote:

  Hate to be the continuity stickler, but I think they did. It was the filler issue of Superman between Busiek ...

• At March 15, 2009, Craig wrote:

  The drummer for System of a Down is established as a huge comic book fan. I remember Wizard featuring pictures ...

• At March 15, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  I figured he was, Craig, but what's odd is that he's a well known dealer in rare comics.

• At March 15, 2009, Dean wrote:

  I'm pretty sure that Freaking Out Guy showed up in an issue of Superman/Batman recently.

The comic book, featuring such characters as detective Ace Harlem and Hep Chicks on Parade, is for sale as part of the online ComicConnect Event Auction. It began Feb. 27 and continues March 13, 14 and 15.

Hey, if you're in New York and have a few guilder to throw around, check it out! It's historically significant!

6 Comments

• At March 10, 2009, Steamboat Willie wrote:

  I never perceived this Comic Book as being particularily rare. I have a few copies myself and I have bought ...

• At March 10, 2009, comb & razor wrote:

  For real, Willie?

  I think I might be interested in snagging a copy of that...

• At March 10, 2009, Da Fug wrote:

  OT

  What are you holding up in your avatar, Greg? I've practically put my nose to the darn monitor and ...

• At March 10, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  My lovely wife got me one of those all-purpose tools for Christmas this year, so I'm holding it with all ...

• At March 10, 2009, Da Fug wrote:

  Oh, now I see! The pliers part of the tool looked like the collar of your shirt to me ...

• At March 10, 2009, Dan Felty wrote:

  I thought they were origami swans!

Yeah, well, DC put the kibosh on that right quick. Actually, they didn't really put the squeeze on the NBA, they just pointed out that, as Superman and Superman-related stuff (such as Kryptonite) belongs to them (but for how much longer?????), they should get a piece of the action. The NBA decided to kill the shirt instead.

I heard about this on Pardon the Interruption this afternoon, where Michael Wilbon ripped DC for giving up the free publicity this would garner them. Hmmm ... that sounds familiar! How dare DC exercise its property rights? Don't they know that everyone who buys a Krypto-Nate T-shirt would immediately rush out to buy DC comics? It's marketing gold, baby!

16 Comments

• At March 3, 2009, McK wrote:

  If people REALLLLLLLLY want a Krypto-Nate jersey that badly, they might as well get one made up.

  Disney (and any other ...

• At March 3, 2009, McK wrote:

  Also... are there that many people out there who have never heard of "kryptonite"? I'm pretty sure it's ...

• At March 3, 2009, David M wrote:

  This incident calls to mind an earlier legal battle involving the "kryptonite" name when DC halted the Kryptonite bike lock ...

• At March 3, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  I don't think this is that odd. The NBA approached Warner Bros. and DC about the rights to kryptonite when ...

• At March 3, 2009, Rohan Williams wrote:

  Didn't Howard's people work out some sort of Superman shoe deal with DC? Aren't Howard's people also Robinson's people? Definitely ...

• At March 3, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  If Howard does have a shoe deal that involves DC, that would be done through Howard's personal business.

  This is ...

• At March 3, 2009, David Wynne wrote:

  While the defence is superficially the same there is one major difference between this and the scans_daily thing- scans_daily was ...

• At March 3, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  I'm just having some fun, David. Yeah, this is quite different from scans_daily.

• At March 3, 2009, David Wynne wrote:

  heh, fair enough. Just thought I'd get that in there before someone turns up and starts calling all bsketball fans ...

• At March 3, 2009, jazzbo wrote:

  Basketball fans are all subhuman scum!

  Dammmit, foiled by Wynne. Next time!

• At March 4, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:

  It might not be publicity (since it's famous anyway), but it's almost certainly protected under parody.

• At March 4, 2009, Rohan Williams wrote:

  Yeah, Brian, it would be different people doing the deal, but if the NBA got approval from DC to do ...

• At March 4, 2009, mrjayberry wrote:

  For the record I would have thought about buying a "Krypto Nate" jersey, but I am a Knicks fan.

• At March 4, 2009, Stephen wrote:

  I remember while watching the Dunk Contest, we all just kinda looked at that jersey and thought "... well, I ...

• At March 4, 2009, agt@aol.com wrote:

  I heard the NBA is going broke anyway. Couple that with a legal bitchslap from DC, and David Stern ...

• At March 4, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:

  Odd that the NBA would be unwilling to share the profits. The NBA must not have thought the terms ...

The 300 online press event Warner Bros organized Friday, which was hosted by Second Life, went quite well, as director Zach Synder, writer Frank Miller and actors Gerard Butler, Lena Headey and Rodrigo Santoro engaged in an extensive audio chat, answering questions presented by the online bloggers and podcasters who were there. For your convenience, I broke down the information I gathered at the event into a category for each person (plus an additional one for Watchmen info, which was a popular question topic), so if you're only interested in reading about Frank Miller, then you can just read his category.

Enjoy!

Frank Miller

When asked whether 300 matches the "film inside his head when writing 300," Miller claimed that he never really viewed 300 as a film in his head, but that he was over-joyed with what Snyder did with the film, and felt that Snyder took the film "some place unexpected and in general, just amplifying and making it more powerful than anything in my head."

Miller had just met with Robert Rodriguez a few days earlier, and they almost have the script to Sin City 2 ready, and are planning on going to prep stages within the next few weeks with the hope of beginning filming by June. Miller could not mention specific actors, as official contracts have not been signed yet, but he amusingly noted "believe all the rumors!"

Miller was not involved in the additional scenes of 300, except that he was shown the script before they were filmed and made minor suggestions every once in awhile. For the most part, though, he felt that 300 was entirely Snyder's film, and let him do it on his own. His favorite additional scene was when "We will fight in the shade" line was delivered with almost a giggle (and he also loved seeing Queen Gorgo "whip out that sword and skewer that bastard").

When asked what they would protect most (like the Spartans), most of the folks gave joke answers (Headey said "My passport" while Butler said "My groin area"), but Miller said, "Not to be funny, my freedom."

Miller has someone in mind for the Spirit, but he can't reveal who or else "I'd have to kill myself."

Miller had nothing new to say about any other comic book film adaptations, besides Sin City 2 and the Spirit, of course.

When asked about the ending of the story (the question was first directed to Snyder, who just said that he followed Miller's ending, so maybe Miller should field the question), Miller explained that he could have done a conventional ending using actual events, with Xerxes having Leonidas beheaded, but he felt it worked better if we actually saw the fulfillment of Leonidas' earlier promise, that the Spartans would galvanize Greece against Persia. As an aside, Miller joked that he reconsidered his original ending upon meeting Gerard Butler.

Speaking of where he finds inspiration, Miller said that he finds it everywhere nowadays. At first, he remarked, he started out "the honest All-American way - I stole - from comic books, from cartoons," but now, you walk down a city block, and you are passing buildings that might as well be comic book panels filled with stories waiting for you to grasp them.

Zach Snyder

Snyder made a very interesting point regarding internet support of 300. He referenced the fact that previously, there has been big internet buzz around films, but those folks that said that they'd champion the film never really showed up at the box office (I can only presume he is referring to the large internet buzz surrounding Snakes on a Plane, which fizzled when it actually came to box office receipts). This time, though, those same internet fans who said they'd champion the film actually did this time around, making 300 a huge financial success. He feels, then, that trying out new marketing techniques on the internet (like, for instance, doing an online press event on Second Life, natch) is very important for the selling of films these days.

In discussing how the film project came about, Snyder stated that he was in Gianni Nunnari's office, looking at different film scripts when he came across a copy of 300 on Nunnari's desk. Up until then, Snyder refers to the other scripts as "just movies," but upon looking at a scene in 300 where Leonidas is pelted with arrows, he stated that "That would make for such a cool looking shot in a movie." And at that point, Snyder decided that "If we could make a movie look like this, then that would be a reason to make a movie."

That, also, is why he felt it was so important to make the film look as much like Miller's original work as possible, because Snyder feels that most action films look like they were put together by a studio committee, but here, they could show the audience a particular artist's point of view, which Snyder feels that audiences really want to see.

Snyder mentioned that the 300 DVD will most likely not include a "Director's Cut," as he posits that the film that was released WAS his cut of the film. However, the DVD will include a sequence cut from the film. One bonus feature, in particular, that Snyder is currently hoping to include is the short film that Snyder did to convince Warner Brothers to let him do 300, which involved hundreds of arrows piercing Warner Brothers' logo.

He responded to the Iranian controversy by saying that they "didn't want to be mean to anyone or denigrate any particular race, but were just trying to present the story as it was rendered in the comic" and that he hoped those people would understand their "real intentions." Miller tossed in a sardonic comment about forgiving John Wayne because he killed so many Americans in his films.

Snyder wouldn't even consider doing a prequel/sequel of the film (299? 301?) unless Miller first wrote one. He did mention that Miller once told him about a sequel idea involving the Spartans as the bad guys. However, Miller was quick to point out that while he has a precise idea of what the sequel will be, but as he told Warners, that's all anyone gets without paying.

When asked if he would do another zombie movie, Snyder joked that, what you don't know is that something happens to the Spartans at the end of 300 - they rise up as zombies. "Tonight we dine on brains!"

Snyder did some of the same Spartan training that the actors went through as well.

Watchmen

The film is still being held up in approval by the studio, with one of the biggest factors being the studio's reluctance to make the film R-rated. It is here that Snyder cites 300 as a major benefit towards seeing an R-rated Watchmen, as 300 has proven that an R-rated comic book movie can be a financial success.

Snyder can not discuss any actors yet, as the deals are not in place yet. He made a joke that, once he mentions someone's name in press, they could then say, "Oh, I need more money." He did debunk a rumor that Tom Cruise was interested in Watchmen.

Watchmen is in a look/development stage, where they are trying to see what the characters would look like, while trying to stay as faithful to the comic book as possible. As Snyder points out, with the success of Spider-Man's costume, you know have this extremely high standard of sophistication to measure up to, and anything less will just not be taken seriously by the audience. So questions of texture and fabrics are very important at this point.

Gerard Butler

Throughout the event, Miller and Butler had a lot of bantering back and forth (Butler remarks, "Frank gets me everywhere, the real world, the film world and now the online world!").

Butler mentioned that he began training about four months before the film, six hours a day (two for stunt work, four for "boot camp" - to get him into shape). Also, Butler put in a lot of research into his role (besides just reading the book often) as a Spartan. Finally, he remarked that a lot of his preparation also involved trusting Snyder, that he would not make Butler look stupid when the backgrounds were added (he joked, "I just hoped he wouldn't make it look like I was fighting, like, penguins or something").

There were, as expected, a number of injuries throughout the film. Butler explained that he felt like he had Tendonitis in every part of his body after filming was complete, but he also had a hip flexor at one point (which, if you don't know what that is, is really, really quite gross). Snyder chimed in with another interesting "injury," which was the apple scene. As it turned out, Butler had just eaten a full meal when the apple scene began, and so after having to eat about fourteen apples in twenty minutes right after eating a full meal, he was (quite understandably) nauseous by the time they finished the scene.

Butler has not yet dined in hell, but he said he expected to in the not-to-distant future.

When asked which actors he is influenced by, Butler explained that he tried not to use any particular actor as an inspiration because, as he notes, "you just end up being compared to them, and you'll never be as good. So you always want to do your own thing." As far as inspiration, though, Butler cited Miller's work. He said that everything there, right down to the poses Leonidas strikes, influenced how he approached the character (that, and discussing the character with Snyder).

He discussed a little about the recent announcement that he is playing Snake Plissken in a new Escape from New York remake (Ken Nolan writing the script). But there isn't even a director yet, so this is not a project Butler is going to work on right away.

When asked if he planned on visiting Japan, Butler talked of his admiration for the country, explaining how, the last time he was there (presumably working on a project), he stayed an extra ten days to explore the country (Miller remarked that Butler should "go fight a giant robot"). He then said that he hopes to come to Japan to promote 300, and he thinks it will be big there.

Butler replied to a question of whether he got into opera singing (referring to his Phantom of the Opera role) by explaining that it was interesting to note how actually knowing technically HOW to sing changes the way you approach singing, but that he has now eventually gotten back to his old self, but not singing opera, more like Rolling Stones' songs (Butler was once in a rock band).

Butler doesn't think that he will ever get into the same shape as he got into for 300, and in fact, he doesn't think he could anymore.

When asked about what music he likes, Butler cited "Frank Miller and the Disco Chicks," "Frankplay" and the "Rolling Franks." And then he seriously mentioned an Icelandic band that he enjoys called Sigur Ros.

Butler enjoyed the fact that his character was killed, as he found his death scene one of the best parts of the film.

He was asked if he had ever kicked someone in the chest, and Butler admitted that yes, in the past, he actually has kicked someone in the chest ("I'm a Glasgow boy you know").

Lena Headey

When asked her thoughts about the role of women in ancient Greece, Headey explained that she did not really research it all that much, but imagined that the women were pretty tough back then. She also added that she had a blast working on the film.

Headey has filmed a pilot for a series following Sarah Conner after T2, with her playing Sarah Conner. She buffed up for the role, but not to the extent of Linda Hamilton ("I would need steroids to get that buff"). They're currently waiting until May to see if it gets picked up by any channel.

She has eclectic tastes in music, everything from Razorlight to Joni Mitchell.

When asked what she was currently working on, Headey joked "getting a flight somewhere sunny."

Rodrigo Santoro

Santoro also worked out for about four months (not to the same extent as the Spartans, of course) to play Xerxes, but the make-up was for five hours a day, with the piercings and all.

He loved the costumes, remarking that they were the most interesting clothes he had ever worn. Miller chimed in to note that he was astonished when he saw Santoro as Xerxes, because, when he drew him, he never thought anyone would ever get it right using an actual person.

When asked about whether he'd have a flashback episode on Lost (where he became a new cast member this season), he said "Stay tuned," but then noted that he cannot talk about upcoming episodes on Lost, except to note that the viewers will learn more about his character this season.
_____________________________________________________

Thanks to Warner Brothers, Zach Synder, Frank Miller, Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Rodrigo Santoro, Steve Coulson and his associates, and Second Life for hosting the event.

7 Comments

• At March 19, 2007, Dan wrote:

  It doesn't sound like too many questions were able to be asked--basically, 'how did you get in shape?' 'did you ...

• At March 20, 2007, Tony wrote:

  Thanks for the excellent recap, Brian. It's funny to hear about the Butler-Miller bantering, especially "Go fight a giant ...

• At March 20, 2007, Tina wrote:

  I love hearing these guys being interviewed as much (if not more) than I enjoyed the film...I hope they all ...

• At March 26, 2007, Liam Kanno wrote:

  Cool. I'm so happy that thousands had a chance to experience the Silverscreen sim. Dannyboy Lightfoot and his team over ...

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• At March 30, 2007, Lillian wrote:

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