Wednesday, August 31, 2011

THE AVENGERS opening revealed!

ORIGINALLY @ COMICBOOKMOVIE.COM:


A friend of mine on Facebook, Rick Kinkade, was able to visit the Albuquerque offices of The Avengers and meet with director Joss Whedon. He had participated in a charity benefiting the Gulf Coast and had won an audience with “The Whedon”.


Initially, Whedon had planned to use the Wasp in the film and said, “I tried to write her in, but I could not make it work.” He laughed and said, “I need more chicks in this movie!” It’s possible that Whedon could not use the Wasp due to Edgar Wright’s impending Ant-Man film. At the time, the thing Whedon was most worried about was the lack of rehearsal time with the cast and a table read was pretty much out of the question. Regarding the CG elements, the only two purely CG characters would be the Hulk and Iron Man. He had worked on Ang Lee’s Hulk script and tried to salvage the last third of the film (which in my opinion sucks, but I don’t blame Whedon).

Here’s where the really previously unknown stuff kicks in: Rick and Joss discovered they were both fans of actress Joan Leslie (who was in films like Sergeant York and Yankee Doodle Dandy; coincidentally, she was also on an episode of “The Incredible Hulk” – “My Favorite Magician”). Whedon is planning to digitally recreate her image (Whedon described this as “Gumping” in reference to using CG in a historical significance ala Forrest Gump) in a newsreel, similar to Citizen Kane as a way to start the film back in the 40s. Rick suggested a film Leslie was in called This is the Army. The newsreel supposedly would feature Leslie as Cap’s girlfriend, which of course, would not be canon with Captain America: The First Avenger, but I have a theory. In the days of the 40s, tabloid journalism was a lot different. News hounds basically had to make up their own information and hope that their guesses were right. My idea is that Leslie is coupled with Cap as a kind of “celebrity couple” akin to Katherine Hepburn and Howard Hughes’ relationship (coincidentally, Hughes was the inspiration for Tony Stark and his father).


Outside of The Avengers, Joss talked about how he thought The Matrix was a perfect film but they had lost the originality of it when the sequels came around. He also expressed his dislike of Superman Returns. It seems to me, however, that Whedon would be utilizing similar technology that brought Marlon Brando back to life for Returns to bring Joan Leslie into The Avengers.

I have to thank Mr. Rick Kinkade for allowing me to use this information. I fully appreciate his willingness to help us anticipate Walt Disney Pictures’ The Avengers. To me, May 4th 2012 can’t come soon enough!

Avengers Poster Controversy Unveiled!


ORIGINALLY POSTED @ COMICBOOKMOVIE.COM:

When Marvel released the first poster of The Avengers, I was like, "Oh. It's just the A. How... unadventurous." But upon further inspection, I found something that should not be there which was... THE PARAMOUNT LOGO. *cue dramatic music*

"Excuse me? I was under the impression that Disney had paid Paramount Pictures $115 million for the distribution and marketing rights for The Avengers and Iron Man 3. Why should Paramount have any say into the poster?"

Here's what [Magical Definition Podcast co-host] Jim [Hill] had to say:

"Well, you have to understand that if you remember the terms of this deal that Disney put money on the table - I think the equivalent of [$115] million - to be able to release both The Avengers and Iron Man 3 as Disney films. Now there's probably language somewhere in the deal because - yes the way things work in Hollywood - to the effect of, 'Okay, we did the development, we got this going forward, it's our name on at least the initial posters.' Whether or not Disney can come to terms with Paramount....



I think it's more a case of... Disney will march forward and put its name on the front of this stuff. But right now, it's more a question of making sure these things are in continuity. More to the point, that they hang onto the audience that's already out there, that's excited about the Paramount Iron Man films. Again, when you consider the number of characters that have appeared in previous Marvel Entertainment/Marvel Studios productions that have been released by Paramount.... I know it's a silly reason, but you can still go over to the board at Marvel.com and just read about how so many diehard Marvel fans just hate the idea that Mickey's got his mitts on the Marvel characters.

There's a belief in house at Disney - in fact, that's one of the reasons why they're moving as slowly as they are with these characters - they still kind of have to win over the affections of the Marvel fans and 'The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes' series on Disney XD helps some. Likewise, the conversations about maybe 'The Hulk' series that's gonna pop up on ABC... there's something that came out of the TV Critics meetings this past week. That, for example, a Marvel superhero of some sort - they haven't revealed who just yet - is gonna turn up on an episode of 'Castle' on ABC this fall. So, the cross-pollenization is going on. The problem is that Disney recognizes that it's gonna take longer to win over the affections of the Marvel fans than perhaps they wanted. They're willing to spend the time and the money.

Again, I would suggest that it's either language that was pre-existing in the contract, a belief at Disney that you're gonna preserve continuity between these projects - remember, you think about how many of these Marvel Studios productions have ended with little scenes; the great sene at the end of The Incredible Hulk where it's William Hurt's General sitting [and Tony Stark walks in]. Likewise, the little scene that's at the end of Iron Man 2, where they find Thor's hammer. They've been working very hard... They want this to work.

But, you only get one chance to make a first impression. With the Marvel properties, the money has begun to funnel in but the big, big payoff has yet to show up and they're hoping that's happening with Avengers. If it means that the posters have to go out with the Paramount logo, I would bet that it'll be interesting to see what the opening credits of this thing are between the Marvel Studios logo, between the Paramount logo, between the Disney logo. But let's be honest here, how many times have you been to a film where there were how many different opening logos go by before the title sequences actually gets under way? That's just the age we live in. Hell, even at Disney - Pirates of the Caribbean, you sit through your Jerry Bruckheimer logo, then you sit through the [Disney] castle. That's just the nature of the beast. Now, again, I don't think it's a misprint, I don't think it's a conspiracy. Probably just the way the contract is written. It'll be interesting to see when there's an Iron Man 4 or there's an Avengers 2, what that goes out on. Whether or not, even at that point, because Paramount originated these projects, they'll still be able to put their mark on it."

Once again, I'd like to thank my podcasting friend Jim Hill for solving this Marvel-ous mystery. Excelsior!

Marvel's Future at Disneyland!

ORIGINALLY POSTED @ COMICBOOKMOVIE.COM:
I love listening to movie podcasts - including the Hollywood Saloon, Midnight Movie Cowboys, Nowhere in Mulberry, United States of Geekdom and the Magical Definition Podcast. All of the above (with the exception of the Magical Definition Podcast) are about film fans discussing what is going on in Hollywood and reviewing the latest movies. I fully support each and every one of them. The Magical Definition Podcast is a little different. While the hosts, Nathan M. Rose and Jim Hill, do talk largely about the films of Disney, they focus on the Company as a whole (theme parks, television, cruise lines, etc.).

When I read about the Stark Expo project rumor, I knew exactly who to ask and so I sent off an email to the Magical Definition Podcast asking if this was real. Nathan picked my email to discuss on air and here is what Jim had to say Here (podcast discussion starts at 12:30-24:49):

"[I] made a couple of calls about this... There is a skein of truth to this... Disney is looking to find ways to bring the Marvel characters at the Disneyland resort. Problem is they don't entirely fit Tomorrowland which is sort of where the Tony Stark name came up, the Expo thing. Here's the thing: what was initially being looked at was something that would tie to next summer and Joss Whedon's Avengers movie with the notion that it would be a catch-all movie prop kind of exhibit. Let's be honest here, the thing of Innoventions in its current state is that it's a trade show and kind of a carryover from the [former Disney CEO Michael] Eisner era and [current Disney CEO Bob] Iger would like to do something different there and given that they spent this $4 billion on the Marvel characters, they'd like to get them in the park.


The problem is that it doesn't entirely fit the Tomorrowland theme, strictly the name Tony Stark Expo. They don't want to tie this to just one Marvel character; they want to do multiple Marvel characters. That's the whole point of the Avengers movie. There are more hard practical issues to deal with here: for example the whole spinning building thing. Innoventions has capacity concerns, it's a slow loader. Again, it's the whole notion of you're gonna have to spend money to re-theme the exterior of the building, to sell the Marvel idea. It's kind of problematic. The concern right now is that could they fast track it in time for the movie release next year? There's a bunch of people at Imagineering to the effect of, 'Look, if we started a year ago, we could make it.' You're only gonna have one chance to introduce the Marvel characters into the Disney parks and there's a lot of people who are like, 'We should do it right!' And just rushing something in as a replacement for Innoventions because everyone agrees it's kind of tired and that sort of thing.

Based on what I've been hearing - in fact this is one of those situations where it kind of aggravates the Imagineers - my understanding is that it's a deliberate leak. That it was sort of a trial balloon to see what the reaction is from the fan community so they can go forward and have additional meetings about this with the notion if that there's a strong enough response after Labor Day, the Pavilion would suddenly shut down for 8 to 10 months of very hurried construction and overhauling and then this would open in May when Avengers is coming out. I don't know. Again, don't want to be another Magic 8 ball that says, 'Check back later'.

It just seems like there is a couple of very passionate people within the company you know about how Iger feels about the Marvel characters. I mean, you only have to pick up the summer issue of D23 Magazine to see the big splash in there about Marvel. There's a company-wide initiate now to the effect of, 'We need to get these characters out there. These are ours. We need to get people excited about this.' So, it does make sense that they should be in the park, but the concern is that if you pick that one venue; this problematic venue that's load to load, that has limited capacity, that has two floors so how do you unify these floors and how do you give people the face time they want with the Marvel characters. You can understand why there are people who are really reluctant to hammer on the accelerator. Part of the thing is also if you think about it, Disneyland has just opened 'Star Tours [2.0]' which is on the same side of the park. The worry is that if you put another brand-new attraction into that area of the park that you're now going to create a logistical nightmare in that summer of 2012, how many of your guests are gonna walk into Disneyland and immediately hang a right at the hub? That's a small tight side of the park."

As for the East Coast co-host Nathan Rose brought up the situation over at Walt Disney World which cannot have Marvel characters because of close proximity to Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure (which, of course, has the Marvel Super Hero Island - if you've never been, it's absolutely amazing). Mr. Hill continued:


"The interesting thing there is that there is supposedly a negotiation - very quietly through backchannels - that's going on with Universal. I'm not hearing that they've made much headway but that there is already a pre-established relationship with Universal actually on the back of the Oswald [The Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney's original creation before Mickey Mouse] deal that Disney and Universal were able to come to terms and make a swap to get the rights of that character. I will say this much, given Universal is spending as much money as they are on ["The Amazing Adventures of"] Spider-Man redo, that to me doesn't say that this is going change out anytime soon. I know they'd like to happen on Disney's side of the fence.


It's more a case of they're offering pretty much the same deal that Disney made for Paramount to the release rights of Iron Man 3 [and The Avengers]. They wanted to offer preemptively a large pile of money with the understanding that [Universal] would then foreshorten the deal [they] have with Marvel Entertainment and agree to give up those characters in a theme park setting and which would then allow Disney to bring the Marvel characters... But as of right now, I will tell you from having talked with the guy who proposed it that you know there is an equally large idea about going in the Big Thunder Ranch area... If we're doing a Marvel meet-and-greet, at least initially, or a Marvel stunt show, let's pick an area where we can do [that]. This is kind of the pushback on the Tony Stark thing. What they're talking about is basically sort of an exhibit of the costumes and the sets from the movie and then the opportunity to meet-and-greet with the characters inside of the building. But it's kind of passive. I mean, these are the MARVEL characters, they're SUPERHEROES. Shouldn't it be something a bit more dramatic, a bit more exciting?


And so, one of the ideas being floated was a Marvel stunt show. In fact, the irony is that the area they're talking about doing the stunt show is the exact same area where the "Young Indiana Jones Stunt Show" was initially proposed for the Disney Decade back in 1991, right where Big Thunder Ranch. Again, now you have the problem of... if you drop the stunt show in there no matter how well you did it, it's a complete disconnect from anything that surrounds it. If you think about it, you come out of Fantasyland and you pass Big Thunder Ranch. There's a reason, for example, the Alamedas Slim character and the cows from Home on the Range and the Goofy's in his sheriff's outfit in that area. They're looking to transition you out of the Fantasyland character-driven environment. As you continue down Big Thunder Pass, you enter a more realistic take on the West. So Big Thunder Ranch is that kind of area where the cartoony West and the real take of the West can exist side by side. If, on the other hand, you drop a Marvel thing in there... I mean, yeah okay, the Marvel characters are comic book characters but they're not fantasy characters like say Snow White or Pinocchio. So it's kind of a jolting change from one set of characters to the other. And then to immediately go from Fantasyland to this Marvel thing to the Wild West, again, it's a bad transition.

One of the other areas they were looking at, very long-term I might add, is the old motorboat cruise area. Would it be possible to maybe do something Marvel-based there? That's also problematic given that you got Monorail pylons, a lot of the waterways for the park would have to be reconfigured...

To bring this full circle, I can confirm that they are in fact, looking at a Marvel thing for the parks. I can confirm that this [Stark Expo rumor] was deliberately leaked as a trial balloon and see if the fans would get excited to help the project along but beyond that it's one of three spots that they're looking for Marvel. It just depends now whether or not they decide that they really have to go fast and have something open day-and-date with Avengers next year or pick to choose a more graduated approach very slowly and carefully so we'll have to see what happens."

I can't say much more other than thank you Mr. Jim Hill (of Jim Hill Media and Magical Definition Podcast) and Make Mine Marvel!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Next Stop, Movies!

WELCOME TO NEXT UP MOVIES!!

Song used: "Hooray for Hollywood" by John Williams
I used to be a part of "Coming Attractions", but I left after December 2010. I just had to focus on college and whaddya know? It paid off with all A's and B's (with the exception of one C: my everpresent nemesis, mathematics). But I still kept in touch with Hollywood news daily. I didn't meant to neglect the *5* followers I had, but I couldn't find the time to update it.

Well, since then I've been able to go through and do other things on other sites. I've been posting articles on ComicBookMovie.com (which I will post after this post) and I've been in connection with two great film podcasts - the Hollywood Saloon (http://www.hollywoodsaloon.com/) and the Midnight Movie Cowboys (http://www.midnightmoviecowboys.com/). Other podcasts that I recommend are the Magical Definition Podcast (http://www.magicaldefinition.com/), the United States of Geekdom (http://www.unitedstatesofgeekdom.com/) and Nowhere in Mulberry (http://www.nimpodcast.blogspot.com/).

I've even helped to promote the Saloon in two audio promos I made for them:

Song used: "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" by AC/DC

Song used: "The Letter that Never Came" by Thomas Newman

I've created this site to post articles about movie news and such, while also doing at least one movie in a weekly review. So once again welcome to Next Up Movies.