Chadzilla

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Posts posted by Chadzilla

  3. The Amazing Spider-Man

    in Comic Book Adaptations

    Posted

    Fidelity is only as important as the fans make it.

    True. Quite true. There are very solid reasons for fidelity to the sourcer material ("It isn't broke, don't fix it" being a good one) and there are some excellent reasons for non-fidelity to the source material (JAWS being a fine example, the casting of Ledger - which had a lot people goung "THEY CASE WHO!?! WTF!!!" a few years back - as the Joker being another).

    The real reason, and the most informed comment on that puff article, is that less than 13% of America is black. Regardless of how racist it seems, studios won't cast a black man in a role they feel they need white kids to identify with. They're right to some extent. They can't risk the possibility of Spider-Man being seen as a "black movie" which will bring in much lower numbers than they need to validate their reboot. It's cold but its true to some extent.

    Well, truth can be a very cold and very heavy burden. But the blunt truth is that there is, currently, a financial ceiling to "Black Cinema." Tyler Perry, the "Steven Spielberg" (in terms of box office success) of African-American film makers, has a gross cap in the 60 to 80 million dollar range. Solid box office, but still low enough for investors to give pause if Perry up and decides to make a 100 million dollar movie instead of his usual 20 to 30 million dollar movie. (Although his budgers were considerably lower back in the day.

    Not because of overt racism, but because of the money behind the film.

    While it isn't overt, the money issue can certainly lead to concerns over "soft racism." How often has the "race really doesn't matter" arguement been used to gloss over the white washing of characters? The most recent dust-up was over the Anglofication of the live action characters in The Last Airbender. But there have been long and storied moments where a "minority" character was played by a decidedly non-minority performer. Joel Grey and Roddy McDowall playing Chiun in The Destroyer movie and TV pilot (respectively) and Jonathan Pryce playing a Vietnamese character in the Broadway production of (I believe) Miss Saigon. Although this practice was parodied to some good effect in Tropic Thunder, it still remains a disquieting practice, nonetheless.

  5. The Doctor Who thread

    in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy

    Posted

    Okay. Casa de Zilla has made it up to The Vampires of Venice* and I have to say that, so far, I have enjoyed every episode. Some are clunkier than others (Venice had some wince inducing moments and was the first ep that had the lady love spewing snarky talk back to the screen) but, on the whole, I would rate this current season as "above average." I like to think that the "off" feeling is more rooted in my foolish "Oh, this is going to be the scariest Dr. Who season in the history of ever, because the GREAT GOD MOFFAT is in charge!" expectations. My hopes for something akin to the Philip Hinchcliffe era remain, though. As uneven and rushed as some of the episodes feel, there is certainly a far darker undertone to the show than in the Russell T. Davies era. This Doctor, as others have noted, is far from perfect, makes promises that he cannot keep, and even makes mistakes that can get someone killed. I like.

    And so does the lady love! Her only comment to date about the Doctor was that the classic series was "lame" and that David Tennant was far too over-the-top and goofy. (Although she LOVED Blink) She much prefers the "Foppish" (her description) turn of Matt Smith, and I have to admit...he has really won me over. They made a good choice with him. While there has yet to be a "classic" for this season (but season is not over yet, though) I am confident that there will be some truly great stories and arcs forth coming from this creative team. The series is in good hands.

    EDIT: *The bit with the First Doctor library card was a chuckle inducing moment of sweet fan service. (Just as long as Moffat and Co. do not go overboard on the classic series callbacks. Nonetheless, they were nice to see in both The Eleventh Hour and The Vampires of Venice.)

  6. Episode 143

    in Dread Media

    Posted

    Just finished the interview with Vincenzo Natali (someone my fuzzy brain insisted was VINCENT Natali for a few years) and it was AWESOME. Excellent work Des. Natali comes across as a really smart and down-to-earth (as well as HONEST) artist.

  8. Rubber

    in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy

    Posted

    CHUD has posted the first "official" image from the film.

    Their synopsis (courtesy of Magnet, which picked up the film for distribution) reads:

    RUBBER is the story of Robert, an inanimate tire that has been abandoned in the desert, and suddenly and inexplicably comes to life. As Robert roams the bleak landscape, he discovers that he possesses telepathic powers that give him the ability to destroy anything he wishes without having to move. At first content to wreak havoc on small desert creatures and various lost items, his attention soon turns to humans, resulting in the most gory vehicular-related mayhem inflicted on screen by an inanimate object since Christine.

    I would pay to see this on the big screen.

  9. Transformers 3

    in Comic Book Adaptations

    Posted

    Megan compared her director to "Hitler" and "Napoleon" during an interview with Britain's Wonderland Magazine's September/October 2009 issue.

    "He's like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation," Megan said at the time.

    "He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is," she continued. "So he's a nightmare to work for but when you get him away from set, and he's not in director mode, I kind of really enjoy his personality because he's so awkward, so hopelessly awkward."

    Shortly thereafter, members of the "Transformers" crew posted an open letter on the director's site, condemning the actress for her behavior on set, calling Megan, "the grump of the set," as well as "thankless, classless, graceless" and "unfriendly."

    The letter was quickly removed and Michael eventually addressed all the comments a short while later.

    Source

    Nononononononono! She QUIT! She said so! See!?!

    Fox issued a statement to People magazine last night, saying that she actually left the movie and was not fired. "Megan Fox will not be starring in Transformers 3," her reps told the magazine. "It was her decision not to return. She wishes the franchise the best."

    [Cosby]Rrrrrriiiiiight[/Cosby] :rolleyes:

  11. The toy thread.

    in Banter

    Posted

    I went on Sideshow binge awhile back (expensive one, too) and nabbed almost every single one of their Friday the 13th series 12 inch dolls/action figures. I have Mrs. Voorhees and the Jasons from Friday the 13th Parts 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X (only that one is the traditional Jason and not the badass cyborg variant from later in the movie...they haven't done that one yet, WTF!?!) The only one that I missed out on was the Freddy Vs. Jason Jason. I also am holding out hope that they will complete the set and do the bogus Jason from Part 5 and the soggy Jason from Part 8. Some day, maybe.

    I also have an adorable Sam figure from Sideshow, as well as a Gorn, a Coutn Dooku, some Movie Maniacs figures (Michael Myers, The Thing, Pumpkinhead) and some Puppet Master figures.

    I also got a Harley Quinn for Christmas from the Lady Love (finding a geeky gal to share my life was and is pure bliss.)

  12. Things you want

    in Banter

    Posted

    thecar.jpg

    A set of wheels truly worthy of blasting Highway to Hell from. When my ship comes in, I am totally getting a Lincoln Mark III and having George Barris customize it...just becausse I could. :buttrock:

  15. Episode 130

    in Dread Media

    Posted

    He's a great actor, but DiCaprio never sold the role for me. Well, except for the last few minutes on the steps. That was the only time I was invested in Teddy.

    I think that was intentional. For most of the film Teddy is man uncertain of himself, he is wounded and not at peace. At the end he is at peace. It is during that one moment on the steps that we (the audience) truly see the man that he really was/is.

  18. Episode 141

    in Dread Media

    Posted

    I caught a sneak peek of Greg Lamberson's Johnny Gruesome (the long-form music video promo trailer) at a convention that Lamberson was a guest at way back in 2007. I haven't read the book yet, but I did buy the tie-in album based on the video.

    2007??? Damn, the time just flies by.

  24. The "I need to vent" thread

    in Banter

    Posted

    He had a meeting with his doctor yesterday and I just decided it wasn't worth it. He cannot handle mainstream school and, even worse, he is evidently in the crosshairs of some little attention loving vixen that adores stirring shit up (the emotions from which are difficult even for an average kid to understand, much less cope with). So I talked with the district and my son is going into "Home and hospital" care for the remainder of the school year. That means he gets to stay home and the teachers come to him to tutor him. That takes some of the stress off, as we (lady love and I) don't walk around with the cloud of a potential incident at school hanging over us.