For almost 20 years (since I was five, Jean) I’ve given a party, a dinner, or both. For nearly that long I’ve hosted the Black Panel.
I’ve had some fantastic events to be sure, but I must say 2012 was my best event year ever. My best party, my best dinner and my best Black Panel.
That, if I say so myself, is saying something.
The party and my panel were reviewed by many news outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Comic Book Resources and the powerhouse Machinima.
Every year after the Black Panel, the haters come out in force. There are black people that hate the panel; there are white people that hate the panel.
Guess what? I win.
Until you haters get your own panel at Comic Con, throw your own party and get reviewed by some of the biggest news outlets in the world you are more than welcome to hate me.
I will endeavor to do what I can to continue to give meaning to your small life. I will continue to do great things so that you can go on the net and bitch that way you will feel important and in your mind you are.
You are a legend in your own mind.
I’ll be happy to comment on your success if in fact you were successful at anything except being a legend in your own mind.
So, haters continue to hate, because I win. Why do I win?
Because you are talking about me.
Who is talking about you?
Tuesday Afternoon: Emily S. Whitten and the Civil War
Wednesday Morning: Mike Gold, Creators’ Rights, and One Big Wrong
You know you’re saving up to buy Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled but now you might need to save a little longer once you see the packaging. As revealed yesterday at MTV’s Splash Page. The package looks pretty sweet.
Additionally, Entertainment Weekly showed off the poster promoting the short film Item 47, which will be found on the Avengers Blu-ray disc. Copies of the poster will be given away following an Exclusive Premiere Screening at San Diego Comic Con later this week.
Here are the promotional details surrounding this event:
In anticipation of upcoming home entertainment release of Marvel’s The Avengers, Marvel is unleashing an all-new alternate reality game (ARG) that ultimately grants the first 300 fans with special access to an exclusive, premiere screening of Item 47, a Marvel One-Shot , fan experience & Special Filmmaker/Talent Q&A at Comic-Con.
Beginning on July 6th, Comic-Con attendees can download the all-new App – The Avengers Initiative: A Marvel Second Screen App (at the iTunes store) – that will not only garner fans unprecedented access to exclusive content building up to the home entertainment release but also give them access to partake in the alternate reality game (ARG) at Comic-Con.
Beginning on Friday, July 13th, fans will be able to start solving special codes, that when unlocked, will guide them to their next clue. The App will also have a built in map of the Gas Lamp District in Downtown San Diego that will guide them to their location spots. There will be a total of 4 spots. Fans must complete the entire ARG experience in order to redeem access to the special screening.
I read an article in Entertainment Weekly about the collective failure of the Christmas movie season overall. Some, like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, did well and some, such as The Adventures of Tintin, did much better overseas (where Tintin is a better known commodity) than domestically. EW opined a variety of possible reasons, including the economy and the concept that there wasn’t a real “tent-pole” movie. However, there were some really good films out – Hugo (which I loved), for one, and The Muppets. I have a thought on another possible contributing factor.
I know a number of people who will wait for the DVD of a movie or to see it on their computer, tablet, or smartphone. It seems to me a whole generation would almost prefer to see it that way now. And I can’t help thinking that’s a mistake.
Mind you, I’ve seen many movies that I missed in the theater via DVD, Sometimes, it doesn’t matter. A smaller intimate film can work just as well on a small screen. I probably won’t get to see Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy until it gets to my TV screen and I think that will be alright. However, I know other films suffer.
For example, I’d seen John Ford’s The Searchers for years on the small screen and loved it. One of John Wayne’s best performances (and, yes, folks, the man could act). Several years ago, I got a chance to see it in a movie theater in a restored print. The impact was startling. Yes, I knew about John Wayne’s charisma but you don’t really feel it until you’ve seen a close up of Wayne in this movie and the image is the size of a house. And the final shot – Wayne with his back to us, framed by a door that slowly shuts – well, until you’ve seen it on the big screen, you haven’t really experienced it.
Seeing the climax of Casablanca, with those big head shots of Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, and Paul Heinreid cross cut from one to the other, has far greater emotional impact on the big screen.
It’s not just the images, either. With the surround sound you get in the theaters today, you’re really enveloped in the movie. Think of the opening of Star Wars, the original one (a.k.a. Episode IV, a.k.a. A New Hope) – the blast of the initial theme, the crawl that recedes into infinite horizon, and then the first space ship darting out and it seems forever only to be followed with an even bigger space ship, and the sound and the music and all sucking you in. Magic. The first time I experienced that, I was hooked.
I don’t see how you can get that on a smaller screen. When I watch movies on DVD that I’ve seen in the theaters, I bring with me the memories of what that theater experience was and it enriches the viewing that I’m having with on the smaller screen. If it comes to a choice to seeing a movie only on DVD or a movie channel or not to see it at all, I’ll take the small screen experience and do it happily. It gives me an experience of the movie – but I know that it’s not the same as seeing it in the movie theater where it was intended to be seen in the first place.
There’s one final aspect of the theater experience for movies and I’ll be the first to say it’s not always positive – it’s a communal experience. It’s a shared experience with others. Yes, some of those others can be boorish morons. I’ve had the people near me who continue to chat through the film, having a running commentary about the film or about some imbecilic portion of their daily life that could just as easily wait until they were outside. It’s become a good reason why I should never be allowed to carry a gun. Yes, I’ve had people who forget or refuse to turn off their cel phones and who chat or text through the film, oblivious and/or indifferent to the fact there are other people in the theater. Maybe if they could pull their heads out of their digital asses, we’d all be happier.
But I’ve also been with audiences that add immeasurably to the experience. We laugh, gasp, cry, cheer and so on together. The film finds bonds in common between us and that is something devoutly to be wished in this day and age when so many things around us keep tearing us apart, putting up walls, and suggesting we are all enemies.
The people making the movies meant for us to see it in a theater. That’s where its truest experience lies. I’ve heard of so many people today who simply shrug that off and all I’m saying is that I think that’s a mistake and they’re shortchanging themselves.
Just in time for San Diego Comic-Con, Sony is pushing hard for next year’s release of The Amazing Spider-Man. First, Columbia Pictures grabbed the cover spot in this week’s Entertainment Weekly along with a hefty photo spread, and now we’re seeing the (legitimate!) release of this teaser trailer:
We fully expect to see some of the cast in Hall H at San Diego, particularly Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. But personally, we’re pulling for Denis Leary. His reaction to seeing the audience at San Diego could rival Shatner’s “Get a life!” speech.
But still– there’s something about the costume revamp that just (sorry) bugs me.
Entertainment Weekly dubbed him a “Geek God.” TV Guide seems to document his every move. Firefly/Serenity fans follow him in any direction he goes. We personally enjoy his tweets.
And all the while, Nathan Fillion contines to go his own way, his boyish charm and “ruggedly handsome” exterior constantly reflecting the enchanting attitude of the proverbial kid-in-a-candy-store.
Make no mistake, Nathan Fillion is having the time of his life.
Fillion’s primetime series Castle is enjoying its best ratings, cracking Nielsen’s Top 10 as the popular ABC drama culminated its third season. And despite the five-plus-days-a-week grind of 14-plus hours on set, Fillion still finds time to fulfill his own guilty geek pleasures.
Thus, on the Sunday of the Martin Luther King Day holiday weekend in 2010, the Edmonton-born actor could be found recording the voice of Hal Jordan for Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, an all-new DC Universe Animated Original Movie coming to Blu-Ray™, DVD, On Demand and for Download June 7, 2011.
Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, and distributed by Warner Home Video, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights weaves six legendary stories of the Green Lantern Corps’ rich mythology around preparations for an attack by an ancient enemy. As the battle approaches, Hal Jordan mentors new recruit Arisia in the history of the Green Lantern Corps, telling tales of Avra, Kilowog, Abin Sur, Laira and Mogo. In the end, Arisia must rise to the occasion to help Hal, Sinestro and the entire Green Lantern Corps save the universe from the destructive forces of Krona.
Fillion has starred in several primetime television series, including Desperate Housewives, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He has also developed a popular cult following as a pair of Joss Whedon’s heroic captains: Capt. Mal Reynolds in the space-western series Firefly and follow-up film, Serenity; and Captain Hammer in Whedon’s internet sensation Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Fillion returns to the DC Universe after his successful turn as Steve Trevor in the animated film Wonder Woman, having also performed voice work on Justice League, Robot Chicken, The Venture Bros., and several Halo video games.
The ever-genuine Fillion spent some time following his initial recording session to discuss comic book justice, the perils of space travel, his love of comic books and the origin story behind his famous Green Lantern t-shirt. Read on… (more…)
Entertainment Weekly* has the first photo of Adrianne Palacki as Wonder Woman in the new NBC TV series being planned for the fall, produced by David E. Kelley.
The observant will note the great similarities to the new costume designed by Jim Lee and launched by J. Michael Straczynski when he took over the series last year. As I suspected at the time, the new costume was at least partially influenced by the desire of getting an actress into something other than a one-piece bikini.
Elizabeth Hurley and Cary Elwes are also in the pilot cast. NBC’s upfront presentation is scheduled for May 16, so we’ll know by then if Wonder Woman will be picked up as a series.
No real surprise here, as EW is owned by DC’s corporate parent. I think they had the inside track on this one.
Loyal and even semi-conscious comics fans know that Captain America’s arch-nemesis (love that phrase) the Red Skull was a big-time Nazi in the 1940s. The next decade, he was a Commie, proving you don’t have to be a Republican to conflate the two extreme opposites. In the 1960s – and ever since – he’s worked with (more or less) lots of organizations but was always in it for himself.
The movie Red Skull is a bit more confusing.
Entertainment Weekly released the above photo of Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull (a.k.a. Johann Schmidt) in this summer’s Captain America: The First Avenger, an origin story largely set in World War II. But if you take a close look at that belt buckle he’s wearing, it appears that at some point in the movie Skully gets… Hydrated.
Unless the shot is actually from the 2012 Avengers movie.
Walt Disney Home Entertainment sent us an extended clip from the 12-minute Lost epilogue entitled “New Man in Charge.” As detailed in the current Entertainment Weekly, the new short is a tantalizing hint at how Hurley and Ben performed as guardians on the island — and beyond.
This bonus feature will be available on both LOST: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON and LOST: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION which debut on Blu-ray & DVD on August 24, 2010.
Seemingly minutes after Comic-Con International called it a wrap for 2010, Warner Bros.’ publicity machine cranked it into high gear and released four teaser posters for June 2011’s Green Lantern feature film. Our apologies for the delay in sharing them with you.
Of course, one of the con’s highlights was Ryan Reynolds’s encounter with a young fan, who asked about the oath. Apparently, hearing him solemnly recite the oath caused fainting, oohs, aaahs, and other orgasmic responses.
While some have quibbled over the still-in-the-works costume (personally, we hated the mask we saw on the Entertainment Weekly cover), what was shown to the packed room was well received.
Yep, Joss made it official today at Entertainment Weekly’s Visionaries Panel at San Diego with JJ Abrams. Quote: “That is not an official thing. But I’m making that an official thing: I’m directing The Avengers.”
The speculation can finally be laid to rest, and now we can start thinking about what female characters are going to be added to the story…
I’m back from another San Diego Comic Con.
Yep, Joss made it official today at Entertainment Weekly’s Visionaries Panel at San Diego with JJ Abrams. Quote: “That is not an official thing. But I’m making that an official thing: I’m directing The Avengers.”
