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Nerd News: The Stream Dream

March 26, 2020 by David Thompson Leave a Comment

Due to the COV-19 outbreak across the globe, television shows and movies have all come to a screeching halt.

Production on popular shows like “The Ellen Show” and “Stranger Things” have been paused, and blockbuster movies like “Mulan” and “Fast and Furious 9” have delayed their release date. 

While most movie studios that have announced they’re pushing back a film’s release date have not given a specific timetable, Universal has already announced that “Fast and Furious 9” is now set to release in April of 2021. 

This is 11 months after its initial release date of May 22. While it is a bold and saddening move by Universal to push the release back nearly a year, they’re giving themselves plenty of time and staking a claim to that month. 

So, why is it so important to pick a specific date right now? The domino effect.

You may not have noticed this in the past, but movies come out at specific times for specific reasons. 

The busiest time of the year is “Summer Blockbuster Season” that lasts from about late spring until the end of summer.

 Critically acclaimed films typically come out during “Oscar season,” which happens from late fall and early winter until the year ends. 

Those other times of the year are typically saved for smaller films that a movie doesn’t think will do as well at the box office. There are of course exceptions like the latest “Star Wars” trilogy all being released just before Christmas.

Everyone in the industry is aware of this unwritten rule and knows the risks of opening during a bad time of the year, or too close to another blockbuster. 

This year’s first major summer blockbuster is Marvel Studios’ “Black Widow.” Disney has not yet budged on the May 5release date. 

As a devoted Marvel follower, I can tell you that they are methodical when it comes to their movies’ release dates. 

The film a studio thinks can make the most movie comes out in early May, one they’re confident in but don’t trust comes out earlier in the year around March, one they hope will be a success but haven’t tested the water with will be released in the Fall. 

This year “Black Widow” is in their “breadwinner” slot, and so far the Coronavirus has not made them budge. 

As of right now, this seems like a really bad idea, but I understand why they’re holding out hope. 

Every movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe builds on top of the next, Disney can’t simply push “Black Widow” back to next April as Universal did with “Fast and Furious 9.”

They already have their next seven movies announced and precisely placed throughout the next few years. 

Disney, I have a solution, release the movies on Disney+. 

I’m not sure if they recognize it or not, but Disney already gave themselves the solution to this problem back in November when they launched Disney+.

It’s this simple, go ahead and release the movie in theaters, and whoever is brave enough to go, will go, but also release it on Disney+ for a premium price. 

It can also act as an “Unlock” button on the app where you can now see that “Black Widow” is available on Disney+ but you have to pay $30 to 40 for access.

The price will have to be well higher than an average movie ticket in order to gain comparable revenue to a normal theatrical release. 

It may not be ideal for the company of the fan, but these aren’t ideal times. 

If Marvel Studios really cares so much about sticking to the plan, then they should allow fans who don’t feel safe going out to a theater to have access to the film from home.

They’ve given themselves the opportunity to go to plan B, but also keep the ship on course.

For the rest of the movies and TV, I’m afraid these are dark times. Production will be backed up leading to later release dates and leaving fans foaming at the mouth for new content. 

2021 was already going to be a crowded year with movies like “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” “Jurassic World: Dominion” and “The Batman.” 

But now with all the delays it could be overflowing and lead to different studios cannibalizing each other at the box office. 

Only time will tell how bad this situation will become but remember to wash your hands, stay at home and keep re-watching “Avengers: Infinity War” until you start rooting for Thanos.

Filed Under: Local Tagged With: coronavirus, COVID-19, disney, marvel, movies, nerd news, streaming services

Nerd News: Why it doesn’t matter whether Marvel is “cinema” or not

November 6, 2019 by David Thompson 2 Comments

Francis Ford Coppola rivaling the Marvel Cinematic Universe for classifying it as “not cinema”. Photo // INQUIRER.net USA

During a recent interview with Empire, beloved Director Martin Scorsese called comic book movies, specifically Marvel, “not cinema.”

He went on to say the best comparison for them is theme parks.

Instead of writing a thousand words on how these comments are ridiculous and Scorsese is just a grumpy old man (trust me, I almost went there), I have been able to take a step back and have come to a conclusion. Who cares?

I’m not backing down as a Marvel superfan, nor am I trying to discredit Scorsese’s opinion.

Cinema can be defined simply as movies or motion pictures, but a secondary definition according to Meriam-Webster Dictionary is, “the art or technique of making motion pictures.”

This seems to be the definition Scorsese meant when critiquing comic book movies.

Later during his interview with Empire, he explained his stance, saying, “It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”

Now while I do not agree, I understand.

Scorsese is basically trying to say Marvel movies rely too much on the big explosions, computer graphics and lighthearted comedy to be considered real cinema.

Scorsese also admitted to not watching Marvel movies despite trying.

While this is clearly an outsider’s point of view looking in, the nine-time Academy Award nominee’s opinions still hold great weight—enough so that the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr. and Natalie Portman defended Marvel movies as cinema.

Unfortunately, fellow iconic director Francis Ford Coppola went one step too far when adding onto Scorsese’s comments.

In an interview with Yahoo! Coppola said that Scorsese “was kind when he said it’s not cinema. He didn’t say it’s despicable, which I just say it is.”

Grumpy old man alert! He explained why he agreed that Marvel movies aren’t cinema.

“We expect to learn something from cinema,” Coppola said. “We expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration.”

Nerd alert incoming! Inspiration?

These movies inspire, especially children, to use their gifts for the greater good.

For example, Peter Parker (oh no, here he goes again) was just a nerdy teen trying to work his way through school.

He didn’t seek his great power, but once he had it, he took on the great responsibility.

He used his gifts to help and protect his community.

The point wasn’t that he could lift a car or climb walls—it was that he was given amazing abilities and how he used them was all that mattered.

We may not be able to swing through New York City or stop a speeding train, but we all have our own gifts and they only matter if we use them to the best of our abilities.

To be frank, Mr. Coppola, I was a pretty freaking inspired six-year-old watching Spider-Man 2 on repeat.

So the question is, why the sudden bashing of the incredibly successful Marvel movies that have recently been released?

Well, I think that is exactly it: Marvel movies are insanely successful. Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” is the highest-grossing film of all time, bringing in just under $2.8 billion.

They have also had an effect on the rest of the industry, especially genre films.

For example, Marvel Studios began adding post credit scenes to their films to get fans excited for the next film and keeping the excitement levels always to the max.

In August’s action film “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” there were four post-credit scenes teasing the next installment.

Even Scorsese’s much anticipated film, “The Irishman,” coming out in November of this year has been affected.

The movie is in partnership with Netflix and in an interview with Entertainment Weekly Scorsese said that the $159 million project “was very difficult to get made the past 10 years, and for many different reasons.”

Scorsese is even using de-aging technology in his new film. This part-incredible, part scary computer graphics effect has been previously used in Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel” and “Captain America: Civil War.”

Times are certainly changing in the film industry and I think generational directors like Scorsese and Coppola, who have been creating major motion pictures for nearly 60 years, may feel threatened.

It was clearly not a cakewalk for Scorsese to get his latest project funded and Coppola still hasn’t begun official production of “Megalopolis.”

Deadline reported that Coppola described “Megalopolis” as “usual” and said, “It will be a production on a grand scale with a large cast.”

Interesting, grand scale and large cast … where have I seen that before?

Nevertheless, the film industry has changed rapidly over the past 10 Avengers filled years and there’s no sign of it stopping.

The great Robert Downey Jr. put it in the best way possible while on The Howard Stern Show.

“When you come in like a stomping beast and you eliminate the competition in such a demonstrative way, it’s phenomenal,” Downey said.

So who cares if Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola think that Marvel movies aren’t cinema?

They are more entitled to their own opinions than practically anyone else in the film industry, but actions speak louder than words and money speaks even louder than that.

This never needed to become a viral story, because it is what it is and none of this means that we as Marvel fans should enjoy The Avengers any less.

We also shouldn’t have to feel like traitors for watching “Shutter Island” or “The Godfather.”

At the end of the day, the movie industry is changing and evolving, just as it has over the past 100 years, and there’s nothing you, me or Martin Scorsese can do about it.

Filed Under: Entertainment, News, Opinion Tagged With: avengers, cinema, david, directors, fanatic, film, marvel, marvel studios, MCU, nerd news, opinion, rival, scorsese, universe, what is film, what is film to you

Nerd News: The prodigal spider returns

October 10, 2019 by David Thompson 2 Comments

On Aug. 20 it was announced that Spider-Man would be leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe and would return to being fully produced by Sony Pictures, this is when the nightmare started.

After a month of despair, on Sept. 28, I woke up from what felt like a bad dream.

The reenactment of the web-slinging war for the franchise.

Variety has reported that Spider-Man will remain in the MCU for at least his next solo film, being released on July 16, 2021, and a future marvel film.

For a brief history lesson, Spider-Man is owned by Sony (another history lesson for another day).

In 2015, Disney and Sony came to an agreement for Spider-Man to join the MCU in a co-producer partnership between the two companies.

Spider-Man would be featured in three team-up MCU movies and two solo films that would be creatively lead by Marvel Studios President, Kevin Feige (In Feige We Trust).

Sony would monetarily produce the Spider-Man movies, and Disney would receive a modest five percent of first-dollar gross, as well as all merchandising revenue.

After three spectacular years of Spider-Man swinging around with the likes of Iron Man and Captain America, the initial deal between the two juggernaut companies was over and despite universal optimism, the deal seemed to be over, leaving thousands of MCU and Spider-Man fans alike distraught and heartbroken.

During negotiations for a new deal between Disney and Sony, it was reported initially by the Hollywood Reporter that Disney wanted more compensation for their work done in the solo Spider-Man films.

The initial reports stated that Disney wanted to split the cost and revenue 50/50 with Sony and that’s where talks stalled out.

Now I have a few thoughts on this dispute and what it felt like as a fan. It felt like complete garbage.

It always hurts when you get drastically reminded that money is everything and creativity and pleasing the paying fans is just an afterthought.

Spoiler warning ahead for Spider-Man: Far From Home and Avengers Endgame.

During this “nightmare” period I kept questioning everything thinking “Why would they set Spider-Man up to be the next Iron Man if they knew there was even a possibility that he could leave after the deal expired?”

It just made no sense that Feige and Marvel Studios would make him such an intricate part of the future of the MCU if there was even the slightest possibility of them losing him in the blink of an eye.

Obviously now that a deal has been made I can out those questions to rest.

I like to think that the incredible backlash from fans and even MCU actors like Jeremy Renner had a part in them finally striking a second deal.

This second deal is fundamentally different in structure and length. The new deal is just for two movies, as I previously mentioned, and this time Disney will receive 25 percent of the revenue, contribute roughly a quarter of the finances and keep their merchandising rights.

So who cracked? From this report, it seems like Disney did to some extent. Going to 50 percent to 25 percent is a difference of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Disney had every right to ask for significantly more compensation and financial stock in the character.

Spider-Man: Far From Home was the highest-grossing film in Sony Pictures history, raking in $1.1 billion worldwide.

This success, one could argue, is in large part because of Spider-Man’s integration into the MCU and making him more relevant than ever.

Disney knew that and wanted more.

Sony knew that and wanted Feige and the MCU. Nerdtastic rant time.

I can’t express how happy I was to hear that Tom Holland and SpiderMan wouldn’t be leaving the MCU.

I no longer have to curse the name of Sony and Disney, pretend like I’m interested in a Venom sequel or a Morbius film, want to cry thinking about how good the MCU could have been if he stayed or act as if the MCU would be fine going forward. All that is put to rest, and just as Tony Stark, I can rest now.

But not actually because this is only a two-movie deal and Feige when talking on the new deal said, “[Spider-Man] also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold.”

Could this new deal take a page of the Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy) comics where her home universe is Earth-65 but she goes to Earth-616 to fight along with the likes of Peter Parker and Miles Morales frequently?

In this case, the MCU could be Spider-Man’s version of Earth-65 and a Sony “Spidey-verse” featuring Venom would be like Earth-616.

Are you seriously still reading this sweating piece of nerd juice?

Anyway, this is a time to celebrate, Spidey is back where he belongs (for now) and all is right with the world.

Filed Under: Arts, Entertainment, Opinion Tagged With: cries, debate, disney, fanatic, films, marvel, marvel studios, MCU, movies, sony, spider, spider-man, spiderman, tears, war

Captain Marvel Review – A great way to spend International Women’s Day

March 12, 2019 by Emily Walker Leave a Comment

Official movie poster by Marvel.

Captain Marvel delivered action, humor and heartfelt storytelling that can be enjoyed by hardcore Marvel fans, as well as people new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Something Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Captain Marvel’s directors and screenwriters, achieved better than previous Marvel creators was the balance between humor and seriousness.

While this certainly wasn’t the most serious Marvel movie ever created, it also wasn’t as lighthearted as movies such as Ant-Man or Thor: Ragnarok.

The balance of tension and humor made it a funny and emotional watch without it feeling too heavy.

Additionally, the events in Captain Marvel tied in perfectly with last spring’s blockbuster, Avengers: Infinity War, filling in some of the gaps and setting things up for the next Avengers movie.

However, it never felt like the movie was made just to explain Infinity War or the upcoming movie, Avengers: Endgame; it could stand on its own as a great movie.

As the movie was set in 1995, directors brought in a mix of new and old characters.

Brie Larson played Carol Danvers, otherwise known throughout the film as Vers and Captain Marvel.

As both a no-nonsense and quick-witted character, Larson’s character was a refreshing take on superheros and was more balanced than others have been in the past.

Her training taught her to be tough and efficient during fights, but her sarcastic personality came through in everyday situations.

While Larson’s character was definitely the central focus, the supporting characters were dynamic and added both humor and emotion.

Samuel L. Jackson reprised his role as a Shield Agent, Nick Fury.

There was a younger, dorky quality to his character that made him more relatable than in previous movies and broke the tension in serious moments.

His relationship with Goose, a cat that joins him and Danvers for most of the movie, was unexpected and hilarious.

Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), Danvers’ best friend from the Air Force, added emotional interest to Danvers’ backstory and stood on her own as a dynamic character.

The bond she shared with Danvers was strong and connected the viewer to her immediately.

Additionally, Rambeau’s relationship with her daughter was sweet and help round out her character.

A character with an interesting arc was Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), the leader of a group of aliens called Skrulls who invaded Earth.

His character development was unexpected and a refreshing twist on typical villains. Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) was a tough mentor for Danvers.

While his character arc wasn’t particularly original, it fit the story well and led to an exciting conclusion.

The music throughout the film added to the story.

The score, composed by Pinar Toprak, helped add tension and emotion without becoming a distraction.

Additionally, the use of songs from the 90’s helped make the movie feel more realistic and added a fun element to certain scenes.

The visuals were fairly good.

Most of the movie takes place on Earth, although a portion of it takes place in outer space and on another planet.

There weren’t any moments where the CGI was glaringly obvious, though if you paid attention, you might have noticed it a few times.

The costuming for the Skrulls could have been slightly more well-polished; there were several times when the costume was distracting when it should have fitted seamlessly with the character.

Overall, Captain Marvel was a fresh spin on typical Marvel tropes and created a great original movie with the MCU’s first female lead.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Opinion Tagged With: captain marvel, marvel, movie review, review, reviews, women

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