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idontbeatgames · 1 year ago

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I've been wanting to discuss this in a video for a long time now but starting 2024, I think DC Studios should consider bringing back the DC Fandome and it should become a yearly tradition going forward.

By all accounts, DC Fandome was a resounding success in the past. It lived up to the exact expectations it set: being a hype event for DC fans where DC got to announce projects, both big and small, while also giving us updates on things currently in the works. And while I understand that right now Warner Bros isn't in the best financial position in the world, I do think this is something that needs to be done.

There's always going to be New York Comic Con and there's always going to be Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, though Hall H is typically associated with Marvel and their grand reveals. However, DC unintentionally made a statement with DC Fandome and that was "we can announce a ton of things, give a ton of stills, behind the scenes footage and full-on trailers without having to hide it away from our fans at home" and that resonated so damn much with DC fanbase, post-DC Fandome.

I think having a yearly event where James Gunn along with other directors working on DCU projects and actors involved with the DCU come on screen to talk to us, the fans, about what's going on with their projects, giving us new stills of people in their costumes, new pieces of concept art and teaser/regular trailers could go along way to reestablishing what DC Entertainment is all about on the big screen. For a very long time now, we've gotten that with Marvel and its cinematic universe. We've gotten to see actors come on stage and talk to fans after Kevin Fiege himself announces some projects, and it's always worked and done enough to keep people invested into the MCU all these years later. If DC Studios continued pushing the DC Fandome as a yearly event while also continuing to make it creative enough so it continue to stands out and keeps things refresh in the long run, that'd be such a win for the DC Cinematic Universe and its hopefully growing fanbase as the years go by, assuming Superman: Legacy sets a high bar.

The biggest thing that would come from this, though, is it can help rebrand the image of and morale surrounding the DC Cinematic Universe. Right now, people simply aren't happy with the state of DC projects. They're not happy with the lack of communication from DC Studios, since you know, they're kind of just sending out 4 projects to die this year with very little fan fare. Though, they did bank on The Flash and that went incredibly poorly for them. However, the point I'm trying to say is that DC Studios allowing the DC Fandome to become this new form of communication for DC Studios to speak to the fans as we start our journey into this new era of DC films rather than everyone having to rely on James Gunn continuously responding to questions on Twitter, Mastodon, or whatever social media platform he's using these days is the best way to go about rebranding the image surrounding DC. DC Fandome becoming the home to all of the biggest and smallest announcements while DC Studios also acknowledges they hear the fans, know what the fans want and are here to deliver on the things people thought they'd never do while surrounding it with smaller fun tier stuff like mobile games, new comic stories getting published or pieces of merchandise like cool figures getting announced would continue to build upon the new image of the DCU. It's an absolute win for everyone involved, at least, in my opinion.

If you've gotten this far and read this post, feel free to let me know if you agree or disagree. I'm curious to see how folks feel about wanting DC Studios to bring back DC Fandome.

#dc comics #idontbeatgames #dc studios #dc fandome #dc multiverse #dceu #james gunn #warner bros #dccomics #dc universe #dc extended universe #dc movies #wbd #wb discovery #dcu

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don-lichterman · 1 year ago

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Michael Jordan, Tech News & Sunset Daily Movie News, Superman Legacy, Pet Sematary, Bloodlines 2, M3Gan 2.0, Frozen 3 and More New Movie Trailers for upcoming film releases added today!

Sunset Daily

October 5, 2023

Welcome to Sunset Daily Movie News, your go-to source for all the latest updates and insider information on your favorite films and upcoming movie releases! We are thrilled to bring you some exciting news today about several highly anticipated movies that are sure to get your heart racing and leave you on the edge of your seat. New Trailers were added at Sunset Daily today.

For all you superhero fans out there, get ready for the action-packed and highly anticipated Superman Legacy! This movie promises to deliver the excitement and adventure that fans of the genre have been craving for years.

If you’re looking for something a little more terrifying, then you won’t want to miss the bone-chilling follow-up to the 2019 horror hit, Pet Sematary Bloodlines 2. This movie is sure to keep you up at night and leave you with goosebumps for days.

For those who loved the original M3Gan movie, you’ll be thrilled to know that the sequel, M3Gan 2.0, is on its way! This movie promises even more robot action and adventure than the first, and is sure to be a must-see for fans of the sci-fi genre.

Last but not least, we are thrilled to confirm that Frozen 3 is currently in the works! Fans of the beloved animated movie can rest easy knowing that they will soon be reunited with their favorite characters, and can expect the same heartwarming tale of sisterhood and self-discovery that they fell in love with in the first two films.

Also, Michael Jordan is one of the most successful and celebrated basketball stars of all time, SZA Postpones Toronto Concert Last Minute Due to Illness.

Dubai has been ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa region and 15th in the world in a list of the best cities in the world to work in the technology sector, and, in India News, CM Conrad Sangma Launches Meghalaya Grassroots!

Sunset Daily just added the official new movie trailer for Lego Jurassic Park The Unofficial Retelling, Thanksgiving, The Beekeeper and more trailers added daily!

Stay tuned for more news and updates from Sunset Daily Movie News – your one-stop-spot for all the latest movie news and reviews.

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OCT 5, 2023

✴︎ SOCIAL NETWORKS, TECHNOLOGY

ENGINEERING STUDENTS SHOULD KEEP ENGAGED WITH LATEST

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OCT 5, 2023

✴︎ CELEBS, ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIE RELEASES, MOVIES COMING SOON, SUNSET DAILY

MICHAEL JORDAN, TECH NEWS & SUNSET DAILY MOVIE NEWS, SUPERMAN LEGACY, PET SEMATARY, BLOODLINES 2, M3GAN 2.0, FROZEN 3 AND MORE NEW MOVIE TRAILERS FOR UPCOMING FILM RELEASES ADDED TODAY!

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OCT 5, 2023

✴︎ CELEBS, DISCOVER, ENTERTAINMENT, HOT, SUNSET DAILY

MICHAEL JORDAN BECOMES FIRST ATHLETE ON FORBES 400 AFTE…

Engineering students should keep engaged with latest

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said that the engineering students has to keep themselves engaged with the latest technology and stay ahead. Speaking after inaugurating the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT ) Tech Carnival-2023 here, Patnaik said ‘’Technology is the pivotal of our future. Our growth, our wellbeing … everything is…

October 5, 2023

Michael Jordan, Tech News & Sunset Daily Movie News, Superman Legacy, Pet Sematary, Bloodlines 2, M3Gan 2.0, Frozen 3 and More New Movie Trailers for upcoming film releases added today!

October 5, 2023

Michael Jordan Becomes First Athlete on Forbes 400 Afte…

Michael Jordan is one of the most successful and celebrated basketball stars of all time — and now he’s also one of the most successful people on the planet. When he was still playing in the NBA, he was one of the highest-paid athletes in the game. However, his real money earning power came from…

October 5, 2023

Digicel rewards BB Coke schoolboy heroes, pledges support …

The five BB Coke High School heroes who gained widespread recognition following their selfless act of service to their peer are warmly greeted by Digicel Chief Executive Officer Stephen Murad during their visit to the Digicel headquarters on Tuesday. THE five BB Coke High School students hailed for swiftly moving on foot their schoolmate Jaheim…

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Fukrey 3 box office collection: Comedy film mints ₹62.9

On September 28, a slew of films released in theatres. Varun Sharma, Pulkit Samrat, Manjot Singh, Pankaj Tripathi and Richa Chadha’s comedy film Fukrey 3 has emerged the winner and has so far collected almost ₹63 crore nett in India, as per a report by Sacnilk.com. Meanwhile, The Vaccine War, directed by Vivek Agnihotri, has…

October 5, 2023

SZA Postpones Toronto Concert Last Minute Due to Illness,

Singer SZA postponed the Toronto date of her SOS tour just a few hours before she was set to perform on the stage on Wednesday evening. She had to make last-minute changes due to her illness, as per Variety. Taking to Instagram, SZA dropped a video from her on stage during sound check at Scotiabank…

October 5, 2023

India News | CM Conrad Sangma Launches Meghalaya Grassroots

Shillong (Meghalaya) [India], October 5 (ANI): Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday launched Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project (MGMP) Season 2. The ceremony was held at the upscale commercial hub Khyndailad, Police Bazar in Shillong. The Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project, in collaboration with the Tourism Department and The Meghalayan Age, unveiled the second season of…

October 5, 2023

Bar watchdog’s social media guidelines ‘curbing free

Vague and subjective social media guidance that sets the threshold for regulatory intervention too low will have a “chilling effect” on barristers engaging in public debate, critics warn. Barristers may be trained in advocacy so that they can pick the clearest words to build the most persuasive arguments on behalf of clients, but away from…

October 5, 2023

Happy hermits – Travel – Chinadaily.com.cn

A secluded house with a bridge and a stream seems to epitomize many young people”s ideal escape from bustling city life. [Photo provided to China Daily] A growing number of young people are abandoning frantic urban lifestyles to enjoy seclusion in smaller settlements. Many say the trend is less of a ‘great escape’ than the pursuit…

October 5, 2023

Viewers slam Today Show for sharing a meme that appears to

By Matt Demarco For Daily Mail Australia Published: 22:21 EDT, 4 October 2023 | Updated: 00:41 EDT, 5 October 2023 The Today Show has drawn the ire of fans for sharing an Instagram post that appears to mock singer Britney Spears. Originally posted by Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., both Britney’s supporters and viewers…

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newsdonalds · 1 year ago

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Aquaman 2 trailer out! What other DC movies are coming?

The trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has finally arrived, and fans are excited to see Jason Momoa return as the King of Atlantis. But what other DC movies are on the horizon?

Here are a few of the upcoming DC films that fans can look forward to:

Superman: Legacy (2025): This film will serve as a reboot for the Superman franchise, with Michael B. Jordan rumored to be playing the Man of Steel.

The Batman – Part II (2025): Robert Pattinson will reprise his role as the Dark Knight in this sequel to The Batman, which will be directed by Matt Reeves.

Blue Beetle (2023): This film will introduce the first Latinx superhero to the DC Extended Universe. Xolo Maridueña will star as Jaime Reyes, a teenager who discovers a powerful alien scarab that transforms him into the Blue Beetle.

Batgirl (2023): Leslie Grace will star as Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon, in this film about the Caped Crusader’s crime-fighting partner.

Joker: Folie à Deux (2024): Joaquin Phoenix will reprise his Oscar-winning role as the Joker in this sequel, which will also star Lady Gaga.

In addition to these films, there are also a number of DC projects in development, including films based on characters such as Static Shock, Zatanna, and Black Adam.

It’s an exciting time to be a DC fan, with so many new and exciting projects on the horizon. With the release of the Aquaman 2 trailer, fans are even more eager to see what the future holds for the DC Extended Universe.

Here are a few more details about some of the upcoming DC films:

Superman: Legacy is being written and directed by Ta-Nehisi Coates, who is best known for his work on Marvel’s Black Panther comics. The film is said to be a “modern take” on the Superman story, and it will explore themes of identity and legacy.

The Batman – Part II is being written and directed by Matt Reeves, who also directed the first film. Reeves has said that the sequel will be “darker and more emotional” than the first film, and that it will explore Batman’s relationship with the GCPD and his inner demons.

Blue Beetle is being directed by Angel Manuel Soto, who is best known for his work on the film Charm City Kings. The film will feature a diverse cast, and it is said to be a “coming-of-age story” about Jaime Reyes and his journey to becoming the Blue Beetle.

Batgirl is being directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who are best known for their work on the film Bad Boys for Life. The film will feature a female-led cast, and it is said to be a “fun and exciting” take on the Batgirl character.

Joker: Folie à Deux is being directed by Todd Phillips, who also directed the first Joker film. The film is said to be a “dark and twisted” sequel, and it will explore the relationship between the Joker and Harley Quinn.

#aquaman 2

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isabelafame · 7 months ago

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does that mean i've got a new dina fan? this is amazing! pedro's incredible, really, i've never had the chance to meet him but i heard he's such a down to earth guy. what? you have jamie lee curtis as one of your ride-or-dies? no way! you've got such a full plate! hosting the tony awards again sounds like an absolute blast, and i'm sure your fans are eagerly anticipating your film releases. your peanut brain must be doing some serious multitasking with all those projects lined up, but hey, busy is good, right? i'm so proud of you for doing a lot of stuff and i'm sure as hell i'll be supporting you nonstop, count on me, always. as for me, besides stepping into the shoes of dina in the last of us part two, i've got a few other things brewing. there's a podcast collaboration in the works that i'm pretty excited about. i'm also promoting for my new movie turtles all the way down, which is going to be insane. and we dropped the alien trailer! oh, i'm also going to be the hawgirl from superman: legacy. and i've been toying with the idea of starting a youtube channel, maybe doing some behind-the-scenes stuff or just sharing random thoughts and adventures. but i'm pretty sure my fans would rather have me dropping new music since it's been what, four years? definitely four years. who knows, might be a fun little side project.

Eh, I tried to, at the very least. And trying has to count for something! You're so welcome, I'm excited to catch it when it's on my TV. Pedro's amazing, right? I've met him a few times, he's really one of the most genuine guys in the biz. Keeping your eyes on the positives is how we have to run around in this industry, and it's the best advice I've ever been given, truthfully. My fanbase is pretty small but mighty, as I love to put it. They're Broadway nerds and queer kids, they don't stir the pot too much but I'm lucky to have a camp of supportive people in my corner. Like, Jamie Lee Curtis is one of my ride-or-dies, I think that's my greatest achievement to date. Projects are kind of all over the board right now - I have some films releasing this year, including my own Sony/Marvel masterpiece and a rom-com, maybe even a horror film if the studios decide to get their release dates not pushed all over the damn place. But in the midst of all that, I'm hosting the Tony Awards again this summer, threepeat performance, we love to see it! Then it's filming upon filming for the rest of the year. Honestly, girl, my little peanut brain is getting the workout of her life this year, but she's booked and busy so I can't complain. What about you? Anything else cooking for you this year besides your Dina realness?

#Ⅳ 、 ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ‹ 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐑 ⠀ ⠀ ＃ ⠀ ⠀ interactions. ›

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6rookie-writer0110 · 4 years ago

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Unravel my heart, I'm falling in and out

Danielle rose Russell x Male Reader

Request - Danielle and Male reader work together on the show Legacies. They developed feelings for each other.

You are feeling excited you got the role on the show legacies. You did a screen test with Danielle, you two got along right away. You got to know the cast, you accepted you. You would shoot most of your scenes with Danielle. During breaks, Danielle would take selfies with you. She would join you for lunch before you used to eat alone in your trailer.

Outside of work, you have spent time with the cast and Danielle. A few times you went to the beach with Danielle, she had a good time with you. The more time you spend with Danielle, you started to fall for her.

“How was the blind date?” Danielle asked.

The way she said it in annoyance.

“It was bad. I only -”

You couldn't finish your sentence. You had to do a scene with Matthew and Chris. All-day you have shooting most of your scenes with Danielle. But she has been ignoring you. You trying to figure out what you did wrong. You couldn't think of anything, you tried to speak with Danielle but she just avoided you.

---

Danielle and Kaylee are in the trailer getting their make up and hair done.

“What’s wrong?” Kaylee asked.

“Nothing, I'm fine,” Danielle said.

“You're lying. I noticed you haven't been talking to y/n. So what he did to you? Do I have to smack him?” Kaylee said.

Danielle sighed.

“Y/n went on a date. I got jealous because I really like him a lot, but he doesn't know. So I have been avoiding him and I don't want to hear him talk about the date” Danielle said.

“You should just tell him. You and y/n will make a cute couple” Kaylee said.

“What if he doesn't feel the same way?” Danielle asked.

“And if he does?” Kaylee asked.

Danielle sighed and her mind is all over the place.

Later on, set you do your scenes with Danielle and Kaylee. You messed up your lines because Kaylee made you laugh.

“Sorry, it was funny when you messed up your line” Kaylee giggled.

Danielle couldn't help to laugh. You did the scene again and didn't mess up. Danielle messed up her lines and she made you laugh.

After the scene, you sit down and drink water. She watches you talk to the others and she bites her bottom lip. She is debating if she should tell you or not about how she feels. She sighed and kept thinking what if.

You and others have to work all night. You and Danielle are feeling tired. She sat next to you

“I’m surprised you are talking to me,” You said.

“I’m sorry I have been ignoring you. Forgive me?” Danielle said.

“I can't stay mad at you forever” You smiled.

Danielle smiled and she lies her head on your shoulder. You and Danielle fell asleep and Kaylee took a picture of you two.

✯ ✫ ✬ ✯

You arrived at Kaylee’s birthday party. Everyone from work is there, you can't take your eyes off Danielle.

“You look so beautiful,” You said.

She smiled.

“You look handsome, y/n. So you um... You came alone?” Danielle said.

You nod.

“Yes, I came alone. You do know I'm single, right?” You said.

“I’m single too,” Danielle said.

You and Danielle mostly spoke to each other all night. You and Danielle did take pictures with Kaylee and the others. You are making her laugh and she doesn't stop touching your hand.

Danielle starts to fall harder for you. She feels comfortable talking to you and have a few things in common. You and Danielle do start to drink more and keep talking to each other.

The party finished at 4:38 am. You and Danielle are very tired, you never spoke to, anyone, for more than four hours.

“It's been a while since I spoke to anyone I found interesting” Danielle said.

“Same for me. Danielle I want to tell you something,” You said.

“Me too, I want to tell you something,” Danielle said.

You start to stutter and you want to confess your feelings, but you can't do it.

“Can I drive you home?” You stuttered.

“Oh okay, I mean yes,” Danielle said.

“What you wanted to tell me?” You asked.

“I forgot” Danielle lied.

You drive her home and listen to music. You opened the door for her and walked her to the door.

“Thank you for driving me home, y/n,” Danielle said.

She kissed your cheek and she wanted to kiss you so bad. She was about to then your phone rang.

“Sorry. It's an unknown phone number” You said and you didn't pick it up.

“Good night,” Danielle said.

“Goodnight, Danielle,” You said.

She watched you walk to your car then she opened her door.

----

Days later~

You and Danielle have to film a fight scene. Everything is going well and fast. Accidentally Danielle hit you in the stomach with the prop. She hit you hard and you fell down

“Y/N, I am so sorry!” Danielle said.

She helped you stand up but you are still in pain. She is feeling bad about what she did and she kept apologizing.

“I-I’m fin-ne!”

You struggled to say. You sit down on the chair and someone gave you an ice pack of your stomach.

“Y/N, I didn't mean to hit you. I'm really sorry and I feel bad about what I did” Danielle said.

“It's not your fault, it's not like you did it on purpose,” You said.

“I didn't, I swear,” Danielle said.

All-day Danielle stayed by your side to make sure you are ok. You do have a bruise and it hurts when you touch it. You did finish the fight scene but you were in pain because you had to fall on the ground a lot.

Your character and Danielle’s character will start to date. You and Danielle have to shoot the first kiss scene together. You and Danielle are feeling nervous but didn't say anything to each other.

You and Danielle stare at each other. You had to lean in and kiss her. Danielle felt a spark in the kiss, she hopes that you feel it too.

After the scene, you and Danielle were speechless and didn't know what to say. You have lunch with Matthew and he knows about your crush on Danielle.

“Y/N, just ask her out. What are you waiting for” Matthew said.

You sighed “I want to ask her out then I chicken out. It's something about her that I-I really like” You said.

“Tell her. You would lose your chance then you would blame yourself for it. If she says no then you can move on” Matthew said.

You know he is right and you start to kiss. You thought to yourself ‘I have to ask her out now’

You were going to ask her out but you had to get back on set.

“Next time” You mumbled.

---

You go to comic con with the cast. You were the only one who dressed up, you take pictures with them.

“You look beautiful, Danielle,” You said.

She blushed and you smiled.

“Thank you. You look cute, y/n. But what are you supposed to be” Danielle said.

“I am Superman Red Son. It's the story of what if Clark Kent didn't land in Kansas” You said.

You did Q&A with the cast then did a photoshoot with some fans with Danielle. She did take a selfie with you, in the picture she kissed your cheek and you blushed.

✯ ✫ ✬ ✯

Danielle finished make-up and hair and she walks on set. You arrived on set and she smiled at you.

“Action!” Director yelled.

“Danielle, I want to take you out on a date,” You said.

That wasn't your line.

“Of course. I'm free tonight” Danielle said and she can't stop smiling.

“Cut!” Director yelled.

You and Danielle didn't stop smiling but did shoot the scene together.

----

It's date night and you're feeling very nervous. You changed your shirt 5 times and you made up your mind. You left your apartment and went to buy flowers and your stomach starts to feel strange. You drive to Danielle’s loft and you knocked on the door.

“Wow you look so beautiful,” You said.

“Thank you, y/n. You look very handsome” Danielle said.

You blushed and you gave her the flowers and she loved it. She grabbed your arm and walked towards the elevator. You opened the door for her.

You take Danielle to an ice rink. You and Danielle hold hands while skating. She squeezed your hand a little tighter.

“I was super nervous to ask you out,” You said.

“I always wanted to tell you how I feel about you. I was avoiding you that day because you went on a date” Danielle said.

“I went on a date because my friend wanted to get with a girl he met. But she had a friend who was visiting her, so as a favor I tagged along. We didn't get along and she was a snob” You said.

“So are we official?” Danielle asked.

“I want us to be official if you want,” You said.

She pulled you close and kissed you in the middle of the ice rink.

“That is my answer which is yes,” Danielle said and she giggled.

You kissed her and she gently caresses your cheek.

After a while of ice skating, you and Danielle go to a restaurant to eat. She talked about her childhood and you did the same. You and Danielle just kept talking about everything and she is making you smile nonstop. After the date, you take her home, before you left, you felt her soft lips and you start to kiss her.

----

You and Danielle are keeping the relationship a secret. Kaylee does know because she caught Danielle kissing you. She supports the relationship and she is happy for you two.

You and Danielle go to the beach. After putting sunblock on each other, you go into the water. She doesn't go in just yet, she watches you go deep in the water.

“Arent you getting in?” you asked.

“It’s too cold!” Danielle yelled.

“So what!” You yelled back.

Seconds later she does go in the water. You and Danielle play in the water for a while. She does wrap her legs around you and you have your arms around her. You and Danielle smiled and you start to kiss her.

You and Danielle leave the beach later. Before going to her place for a movie and dinner. You stop by a supermarket, holding hands with Danielle you two grabbed some items.

You and Danielle changed clothes and will make pizza together. You and Danielle talked about which movies to pick. some movies, you and Danielle didn't agree on.

“We don't have to watch a movie,” Danielle said.

“Meaning?” You said.

“Y/N, we can eat pizza and watch cartoons or something” Danielle said.

You and Danielle start to go eat pizza, after watching tv for a little bit you and Danielle fell asleep on the couch.

#x male reader #Danielle rose Russell x reader #Danielle rose Russell x male reader #Danielle rose Russell imagine #Danielle rose Russell

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thedeaditeslayer · 5 years ago

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Bruce Campbell Calls Hosting ‘Ripley’s Believe It Or Not’ A ‘No-Brainer,’ Pans Hollywood’s Lack Of Originality.

This interview includes a hint of more “Evil Dead” but for what we would like you to consider is to take it with a grain of salt. The interview covers various topics but mostly Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

Over the course of his storied career, actor Bruce Campbell has brought to life many memorable, colorful characters. As the definitive character-actor-trapped-in-a-leading-man’s-body, he’s portrayed Elvis in the campy Bubba Ho-Tep, Ronald Reagan in Fargo, Sam Axe in Burn Notice, and is, perhaps, best known as the Deadite-killing Ash Williams in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise.

As the Travel Channel prepares to relaunch Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!, Campbell finds himself in the role of host, introducing us to a fresh round of the spectacular and amazing. Over the course of 10 episodes, he’ll invite viewers on a journey to explore the lives of people capable of incredible things.

“Shooting this iconic series in the Ripley’s warehouse was actually unbelievable,” said Campbell. “I was blown away by the treasures that unveil a fascinating time capsule into the past and present. Fans are not going to be disappointed when they see the scope of wonderful and weird stories we reveal every week.”

Bruce Campbell was groovy enough to get on the phone with me and talk about his new gig with the Ripley’s relaunch, the fates of some of his iconic characters, and the lack of originality in Hollywood — all with the grace to forgive my fanboying.

Kevin Tall: Hey Bruce! I appreciate you taking some time to talk to me.

Bruce Campbell: I happened to be in the neighborhood so I thought I’d step in.

KT: I usually make an effort to at least pretend to be professional but I’m not sure I’m going to pull it off today.

BC: That’s exactly right.

KT: I do want to say it’s an honor to talk to you and I promise I’ll do my best to keep my inner fanboy in check.

BC: Very good.

KT: Can I call you ‘El Jefe’?

BC: Whatever you’d like, sir.

KT: Groovy. Alright. So, coming soon to a cable network near you, you’re hosting the newest incarnation of ‘Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!’ on the Travel Channel. How did you come to be attached to the project?

BC: Things come across the old desk, you know, and you evaluate them. And this was a no-brainer. I still have the Ripley’s book, the red cloth-covered book with those strange illustrations of people doing crazy stuff inside. As a kid, I had it on a shelf so I’m like, ‘Yeah I know Ripley’s.’

And I haven’t done a show like this in a while; I’ve hosted stuff. Back in Detroit, I got my Screen Actor’s Guild card doing training films for industrials, for Chrysler, and some of the other companies. Now I’m back doing it again, so here I am… I guess, showing people, in this case, it’s not about the cross-section of a Chrysler car seat but people doing extraordinary things.

KT: Ah, cool. Part of me thought this revival of Ripley’s could have just been a thinly-veiled attempt at revenge on Dean Cain for stealing the television role of Superman out from under your chin in the 90s.

BC: No, no revenge necessary on Mr. Cain. I see him at conventions all the time.

KT: While I do feel you have the superior jawline, I was a huge fan of ‘The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.’ There have been several Supermen but there was only one Brisco County. Er, two, if you count his dad.

BC: Anyone can play Superman.

KT: Would you ever consider reprising the role of Brisco?

BC: Brisco would be fine. You could do Brisco Rides Again. He started as a lawyer and then someone has to get killed. I’ll put the spurs back on, sure.

KT: So I got to see a screener of the first episode of Ripley’s. I have an idea if you’re open to suggestion.

BC: OK.

KT: Do a follow up in which you balance on a slack line while swallowing a sword and someone throws playing cards at you from a ladder balanced on someone else’s chin.

BC: [Laughs] I think you’ve got it. I think you should work for the Travel Channel.

KT: So your parts were shot on location at the Ripley’s warehouse in Orlando.

BC: Yes, yes, we shot at THE warehouse.

KT: Did you get to see anything amazing or… unbelievable?

BC: You know, the warehouse, where would you start? It is the closest we have to one of those Indiana Jones-type warehouses. It’s probably the most richly appointed warehouses in the world, I would say. They’ve collected for a hundred years. I can’t think of anyone else, maybe the Smithsonian, but Ripley’s is probably a close second. Ripley’s might have more stuff than the Smithsonian, that would be a fun one to test.

KT: Which do you think would have more body parts?

BC: Well, Ripley’s would have more body parts.

KT: OK, but the Smithsonian does have John Dillinger’s, well, you know.

BC: So the rumor goes.

KT: As they say. So, speaking of ‘Believe It or Not!,’ I still can’t believe you retired iconic character, Ash Williams. Are you sticking to that? No way I can talk you into reconsidering?

BC: Yeah, I’m sticking to that; it gets easier every year.

KT: [Laughs] Fair enough.

BC: I’m still doing video games, I’m doing voices for Ash. I’m just not going to grovel in the blood anymore.

KT: I think that’s fair. It’s not retiring the character, just a retirement plan.

BC: I’m retiring from certain types of roles, ones that require looking at tennis balls on sticks.

KT: I’m excited to see you’ve got the paperback for ‘Hail to the Chin’ coming out; I was a big fan of ‘If Chins Could Kill.’ Although when you were teasing that on social media, I think a couple of fans interpreted that as a little bit of foreshadowing of a new gig for Ash.

BC: That’s fine. Fans are always going to do that. Everyone’s a genius, everyone’s got opinions and the internet fans the flames. No, it’s all good. They’re going to see different versions, they’re going to be seeing more ‘Evil Dead,’ too. We’re not done with the ‘Evil Dead’ saga, more stories to tell.

KT: Do you think Fede Alvarez might return?

BC: I don’t know, Fede’s a big Hollywood director now. I don’t know if Fede needs this. We’ll have to see.

KT: Everyone needs a passion project.

BC: Fede had it. Fede came and pitched his version of ‘Evil Dead.’

KT: Any juicy tidbits you want to tease from the ‘Requiem For Ash’ Edition?

BC: It’s a fuller explanation of the birth, life, and death of ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ and then the ultimate retirement of that character. It’s a little more of an essay approach, it’s a little more esoteric.

KT: Psychologically, what is it about Ash Williams that inspires such devotion from fans?

BC: Because he is the fans, the fans are him. Ash has no skills, Ash doesn’t come from another planet, he comes from Michigan. He’s the guy you want in the foxhole, but he probably got low SAT scores. So people watching him, I think they root for him because they’re like, ‘Damn, that’s like my neighbor. That’s like if my neighbor decided to save the world from evil.’ Kind of like that. That’s how I look at it and that’s how we played it. That’s why it was worth bringing the guy back 48 years later to try it again… He’s the ultimate anti-hero, anti in that he can’t even get out of bed, you know?

KT: He comes across as an oafish, ill-mannered lout as well.

BC: Of course, but you know what? He was written in an ancient book, so there’s more to him than just the trailer park guy. That’s what was fun exploring.

KT: The prophecy of the ultimate average guy.

BC: Exactly.

KT: Got it. You’ve had a number of memorable, colorful roles over the years, from Ash to Brisco, Autolycus to Sam Axe, even a fictionalized version of yourself in ‘My Name Is Bruce’ (shout out to Guan Di, the patron saint of bean curd). Is there one, in particular, you’ve enjoyed playing the most, above all others?

BC: Elvis was pretty fun. I think most American males would have enjoyed playing that part. Playing President Reagan on ‘Fargo’ was fun, I used to imitate him with my buddy, John Cameron, who produced that show. In the ’80s we were both subjected to endless Reagan on television. That was fun.

KT: Have you been in that situation professionally, where you’ve gotten kind of a lousy role on a great show?

BC: Well, I’m better at saying no to stuff now, so hopefully I won’t find myself in that situation nearly as much.

KT: Circling back to Elvis, there was talk of a ‘Bubba Ho-Tep’ follow-up years ago. What are the chances of that coming together?

BC: Zero. I’ve retired that character as well. I’ve notified Don Coscarelli and Joe Lansdale. You know, it’s Don Coscarelli’s project, he’s more than welcome to forge ahead. We couldn’t crack the script the way I saw it and we were going to come to loggerheads. I didn’t want to do that, so I backed out because I know now if the script isn’t where it needs to be, the movie will not get there either.

KT: Marlon Brando advised a young(er) Johnny Depp to play Hamlet before he got too old for the role. Are there any of those iconic types of roles you’d like to tackle?

BC: Of iconic people?

KT: Yeah. Just those classic roles from that sort of timeless production, like ‘Hamlet.’

BC: No. No, I don’t, because I like original stuff. I mean, if we’re going to remake something, let’s remake our own stuff. That’s the case with ‘Bubba Ho-Tep.’ It won’t be as good and people will only remember that you blew it on the second try.

KT: So the legacy of the project would be one of failure.

BC: You have to have original stuff out there to make up for the movies that have a seven, eight, and nine after them.

KT: The old maxim is that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

BC: Yes, except ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not!’ There’s never too much of that.

KT: [Laughs] Well played, fair enough. Fan question: Who would win in a left-handed arm wrestling match, Ash Williams or Sam Axe?

BC: I don’t do those questions, because they’re hypothetical and impossible to answer.

KT: Can you hook me up with a six-pack of Ash’s favorite beer, Shemp’s?

BC: No, because it’s fake.

KT: Well, Bruce, I came here to ask questions and kick ass, and I’m all out of questions.

BC: Let’s go kick ass!

KT: Again, thanks so much for taking some time to talk with me and putting up with my silliness and unending admiration.

BC: Yeah, my friend. All good. Thank you, sir. Have a good day.

KT: Thanks, Bruce!

BC: Cheers.

#Bruce Campbell #Ripley's Believe it or Not #Ash vs. Evil Dead #Ash vs Evil Dead #Evil Dead

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supergirlmelbenoist · 5 years ago

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How Melissa Benoist got ripped for Supergirl

She's not a bird or a plane, and she's definitely not Superman! In 2015, Krypton refugee Kara Zor-El — aka Kara Danvers — threw aside her glasses and donned her family's S-shaped crest to follow in her cousin's footsteps and give National City its very own superhero on the CW's Supergirl. Back then, Melissa Benoist — the actress playing both Supergirl the superpowered alien and Kara the shy personal assistant — was best known to TV fans for her role as sweet newcomer Marley Rose on two seasons of Glee, and she also had a small role in Best Picture-nominated Whiplash.

Taking the lead of a show — especially one with such a strong legacy on-screen and off — was a big step up for Benoist, both performance-wise and also physically. So how did she get ripped for the role? Well, Benoist said that landing the part meant stepping up her workouts, not just because we tend to take our superheroes with six-pack abs and toned biceps, but so that she could keep up with the action. The self-described pacifist and musical theater nerd suddenly found herself learning how to throw a punch and how to fly. So here's how Melissa Benoist toughened up to play Supergirl, at the gym, in her fight scenes, and high up on the wires.

She made it through a full-on audition process

Obviously the CW couldn't cast just anyone as Supergirl, which meant that Melissa Benoist had to go through a rigorous audition process before she got anywhere close to landing the role. The wait was made even more excruciating because, according to Benoist, "I believe I was the first girl they saw." That first audition was in October 2014, and it was just the start. In 2015, she told Entertainment Weekly, "It was a long, drawn-out, three-month process. I auditioned around Halloween 2014 and then didn't land the part until February 2015. I went through multiple screen-tests, multiple auditions with the producing team. There was a lot."

During that extensive audition process, Variety reported that Benoist found a champion in producer Greg Berlanti. "Greg championed me the whole time and was in my corner," Benoist remembered. "Even when I didn't think the part was mine, he was always rooting for me. That support goes a long way, especially when I'm fighting for something I want so badly. His belief in me really touched me." Berlanti echoed the sentiment, saying, "If we had not found her, I would have said, 'I don't want to make this.'"

The first episode aired almost a year after that first audition, on October 26, 2015, and since then, Benoist has seen hundreds of kids in their own versions of her costume. "Every Halloween there are quite a bit of Supergirls," she told Jimmy Kimmel, so it was worth the wait.

Melissa Benoist worked on her core strength

While comic book titans DC and Marvel have both made noise about introducing more diversity to their products, one thing that all superheroes have in common are incredible abs. Benoist's Supergirl is no exception. She told Entertainment Weekly that to prepare for the role, she did "some boxing, strength training, and a lot of core work." At Comic-Con, she said that her workouts included Pilates, boxing, and plyometrics.

If you've never had cause to get into superhero shape, you might be wondering what fresh hell plyometrics are. As Healthine explains, plyometrics involve exerting your body to its maximum ability for a short period of time — for example, by jumping — to improve strength, speed, and power. They're a pretty advanced form of exercise, as Benoist found out! On CBS's This Morning, she explained, "I did quite a bit of training. We did this stuff called plyometrics, which is like jump training. And all of it was really hard — just hard things!"

And the core work isn't just to look good. As Benoist added, the core work comes in handy when you're doing the flying stunts. "I'm up on a wire," she said, "and you have to hold your entire body weight so there's a lot of training involved."

Work is a workout on Supergirl

Melissa Benoist wasn't the only cast member who had to up her workout intensity to give the action sequences the effort they deserved. Chyler Leigh, who plays Kara's adoptive sister Alex, said that the actors work really hard with the stunt coordinators to get the fight scenes just right. And those action-packed days are full-on workouts in their own right. "When we do fight scenes, we're working out for six hours, just doing the same thing," she told CBS. "We are burnt for the next few days. I think that's really where I get my caloric burn count."

Even when they aren't shooting, Leigh and Benoist try to use those periods of waiting around that happen on the set of a TV show to stay in shape. "Melissa and I try to do as much as we possibly can," Leigh said. "In my trailer, I've got resistance bands and medicine balls and things like that. I try to do it in between, but we have very little downtime." The two on-screen sisters also have a shared interest in the same workout. "I love Pilates," Leigh told CBS. "It gives such a good core foundation. When I can go, it's awesome." And you thought TV sets were all craft services and hanging out in trailers.

Melissa Benoist learned to fight from the best

Thos Robinson/Getty Images Another crucial element of being a superhero is being able to kick butt convincingly. This didn't come naturally to Benoist, who confessed to the Chicago Tribune, "I had never punched anyone! I maybe slapped my sisters when I was a kid, but I'm not an aggressive, violent person, and I had no idea how to throw a punch." To help her find her inner fighter, Benoist took up boxing. "I definitely had to learn technique. Like how to actually punch someone and not hurt yourself more than you're hurting the person you're punching. And so boxing was part of it," she told InStyle.

Fortunately for Benoist, she had access to excellent tutors. In addition to the stunt team, former karate and kickboxing world champion Lexi Alexander (pictured above) directed an episode in the first season. Having worked on Supergirl's fellow Arrowverse show Arrow, Alexander said she was excited to work on a story about a female superhero. "I realized that this is the first time I'm choreographing and directing a fight scene for a female lead. I did some fight directing for a woman here and there … but for a female lead? I've never directed a female lead in an action," she told Den of Geek.

Her directing stint was short, but Alexander said that she pushed her star "to the next level of fight choreography," and that "they've now changed [Benoist's] fight style from [Alexander's] episode onward." Benoist might still be more lover than fighter at heart, but we wouldn't challenge her.

She does (some of) her own stunts on Supergirl

Believe it or not, it really is Benoist doing some of those hair-raising stunts on the show. The actress told Variety that she likes to get involved with the action when she can, saying, "I have been doing a lot [of stunts], and I want to keep doing them. Already I've fought a male on the show. Supergirl's fight moves are boxing. She's really heavy-handed. There's some flying that involves kicking and punching mid-flight that's kind of awesome."

However, not everyone was thrilled with Benoist's hands-on approach to fights. Her mom, Julie, told her that she found it difficult to watch her daughter's fight scenes, especially against men. But Julie Benoist needn't have worried. Benoist knows her limits, and she's heaped praise on her stunt doubles. In 2015, she said of stunts, "I think they're so fun. There are some that I just can't — I really could get injured. … My stunt double is amazing. She was Jen Garner's on Alias and Buffy's. She's all over the place, and she's so cool. I wish people could see what they go through. It's insane."

Benoist's stunt double in 2015 was Shauna Duggins, whose resume includes Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the recent Star Trek movies, and 2000's Charlie's Angels (as well as many other movies and shows.) After doing 20 episodes of Supergirl, Duggins went on to work as stunt coordinator for shows including Ray Donovan, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and GLOW. She's a real-life superwoman.

She likes to get out of the gym

Although Benoist diligently puts in her hours in the gym, the Colorado-raised actress is happier getting her exercise in the great outdoors. Her Instagram shows photos of her hiking with her husband (and Supergirl co-star), Chris Wood, and their dogs, Farley and Drift. She also recalled being jealous when she found out what her co-star and Supergirl predecessor, Helen Slater, was doing to get in shape.

After Benoist recounted the boxing and core work she was doing to Slater, "She gave me this look, and I was like, 'Why, what did they have you do?'" Benoist told Entertainment Weekly. "'Oh, I went horseback riding, and fencing and doing some archery, and I was swimming.' She went through this whole gamut of awesome outdoor activities that I would love to do to train." Speaking to E! Online, Benoist said of Slater's exercise regime, "She was on trampolines a lot and dancing and prancing and doing all these cool activities for training. I wish I had that much fun."

The conflicting training schedules aren't coming between the two actresses. Benoist added to EW, "Also, she's just so kind and such a sweet, sweet woman. That's really what I've learned from her. She really is a super girl. I'm so honored that I'm following in her footsteps." She'll just have to wait for a filming break to take a hike.

Melissa Benoist has a dance background

Glee was not Benoist's first experience with musical theater. She told Jimmy Kimmel that she did "tap, ballet, and jazz class at four years old" and children's theater, even performing at Disneyland. "In front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, we sang a Stephen Sondheim medley where my solo was 'Send in the Clowns,'" she recalled. She also studied ballet, although she wasn't a perfect student. "All the years I took ballet class … I was the one kid in class who the teacher was always like, 'Urgh, her turn-out,' and, 'She is not standing up straight,'" Benoist told Kimmel. She did better with another form of dance. In a video for Glamour, she said, "I have a secret superpower — that I can tap dance," and she demonstrated to prove her point.

That dance training comes in handy on the set of Supergirl — and not just for Benoist's part in the musical crossover episode of The Flash. Benoist said that her dance background helps her with the wire work and even the fight sequences. "With the wire work and flying, even the choreography, I grew up dancing, so that kind of came like it would if I were learning a dance routine," she told the Chicago Tribune. Plus, it keeps her and the crew entertained between takes.

She learned how to fly (well, on wires)

Melissa Benoist's favorite thing about her superhero role is exactly what you'd expect: the chance to fly. When Jimmy Kimmel asked about the best part of playing Supergirl, Benoist said, "I mean, I get to fly!" Upon further questioning, she acknowledged, "I mean it's hard work, I'm essentially attached to a fork in the air." She also told Variety just how hard it was and how she prepared, saying, "The wire work for training is mostly core work. It's mostly ab-centric — the whole area of the body that nobody wants to work out. You have to get strong. You have to carry your whole body weight when you're up in the air."

However, it's worth all the working out. "The wire work is really difficult, but so fun. And when you get it right, watching the result is exhilarating," Benoist told People. "It's a really, really cool feeling to know what it felt like, the energy I had to exert to create those flying scenes. And then the way they look is really rewarding."

Benoist got some help perfecting her flying technique. When Kimmel asked how she figured out Supergirl's flying style, she said, "There's this sort of superhero physicality school that you kind of have to go to — at least we did on the DC shows — where the stunt team will teach you to walk like a superhero. … They're awesome and they've really helped me." And that's how to look fly in spandex.

Benoist eats healthy, but she's not a dieter

All of that working out and on-set action builds up an appetite. But as a female superhero who's expected to squeeze into a spandex suit every day and have the muscles to beat up bad guys without actually looking bulked up, Benoist can't go to town on craft services. Fortunately, she's pretty into fruits and vegetables anyway. "I love supermarkets, I love grocery shopping, I love the produce aisle, because to be super you have to be healthy," she told Glamour. "And I would probably stock up on all the fruits. I love fruit."

However, she isn't about to totally deprive herself of comfort foods. In the same Glamour interview, she said, "If I could supersize any food it would be [an] ice cream Drumstick, vanilla caramel. They're so good." In 2016, she told the Chicago Tribune that she was excited to attend that year's Chicago Comic-Con and Entertainment Expo (aka C2E2) because she wanted to check out the city's restaurants. As she explained, "I've heard the food scene is incredible, and I'm a foodie, so I can't wait to go out and eat."

Benoist also said that her own partiality to the occasional junk food splurge inspired the writers to add it into her character's personality. "I love junk food, I love doughnuts, and they put that in there quite a bit," she said, laughing. "There are these doughnuts all the time." This diet sounds super.

She got ripped to show women being tough

Kevin Winter/Getty Images One reason Melissa Benoist was so invested in making sure her character could be physically impressive was because she wanted to inspire other women to feel strong and powerful. In an essay for Time, she wrote, "I think the more the show goes on, the more you see this fierceness and what women are really capable of. It puts [Supergirl] on this equal playing field. … That's so meaningful to me to help children understand that girls can have just as much fun as their male counterparts in the superhero world. It's about confidence and hope, and Supergirl really embodies all of that."

Even though Benoist also wrote that she grew up in "this really strong, feminine family," she told the Chicago Tribune, "I didn't really believe that I could be that character or play a superhero. It's something I never thought of myself as doing, but I just knew I had to go for it because there's so few female superheroes and just strong females that fight back and do it with grace and do it with love." She's also said that she didn't want the character to be a female version of male superheroes, saying, "What I think is cool is to try to bring kind of a femininity to her strength. … I do like the idea of bringing in like a grace to it. And a fluidity and kind of this femininity to flying. It's fun." In other words, Melissa Benoist is out here bringing new meaning to (Super)girl power.

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douxreviews · 6 years ago

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Star Trek: Discovery - ‘Brother’ Review

"Space: The Final Frontier. Above us, around us, within us. We have always looked to the stars to discover who we are."

By nature I love brevity: Star Trek: Discovery takes a long, clean breath of fresh air in this big, bold premiere that sheds the burdens of Season One and lets them roll down the hill behind.

Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled in 2005. And in the Fall of that year, as shows premiered, fans were faced with a sad reality: for the first time in 28 years, a new season of Star Trek was not among them. And for 12 years, this continued. And then we Discovered a new frontier. Breaking the silence of more than a decade, Star Trek: Discovery was a sign that Trek was not dead.

But of course, it was not without its flaws. Discovery Season One had issues with its tone and its dialogue. The crew, above and beyond their stilted, grandiose speech, rarely seemed like a family, or even a group of people who like each other. And the levels of anxiety and brooding were at dangerously high levels. We're talking Superman from Batman v. Superman levels of anxiety and brooding.

The fans pointed out these issues, though the good parts still remained (excepting the 'fans' who actively went out of their way to be openly hostile towards the series, its creators, and its viewers). And the team behind Discovery listened. 'Brother' benefits from a light and relaxed tone that feels like the lifting of a heavy curtain. The crew speaks in a generally human and natural manner, and they work together like a tight family. Brooding is nowhere to be seen, and the anxiety present is of a different sort than the cloud of deep worry that permeated Season One. Instead the viewer felt more of an empathetic concern about the characters and their lives.

The first and most immediate effect of 'Brother' is, in fact, to distance the show from its past mistakes. Associating these issues with the influence of Captain Lorca makes a lot of sense from a story perspective, even if the creators' insistence that all the darker elements were only a result of him doesn't quite sit right. From the outset, Captain Pike makes it clear that he is very different from Lorca. Everything about his manner and bearing suggests a completely different man from Jason Isaacs' power-hungry warmonger. But Pike is no Kirk, either, as one might anticipate. Anson Mount gives his Pike a humility and a grounded feel that Kirk never quite developed.

The other proverbial elephant on the starship is the presence of Spock. Though the adult version of our beloved half-Vulcan does not appear, his importance in the events of 'Brother' and the impact the mere allusion to the character has on the series is clear. We learn that he and Burnham's strained relationship is the result of her decisions, not his. It's clear she views him and his legacy as an oppressive force in her life, perhaps as a standard she could never live up to? There's a great shot that really sums this up, when young Spock makes his holo-dragon. The dragon moves toward Burnham, and roars at her, and Spock walks in through its mouth. I think that's how she sees Spock.

Sarek and Burnham's conversation about reverence also factors in. This show has decided to include a character that most fans undoubtedly have a lot of reverence for. But to make him a useful character, with an arc and a purpose, reverence is not enough. The massive weight of Spock's impact on Star Trek and the fans' adoration of him will be a problem that Discovery will have to deal with.

Moving to our regular cast, I loved how they were dealt with here. The other side of Lorca's effect on the Disco crew is that such a major and personal adversary has brought them together and made them rely on each other. All of the returning cast felt like a family around each other, and their interactions made the ship feel like a real workplace run by a real team. This is a major improvement from last season.

It looks like Burnham's journey this season will be thoroughly intertwined with Spock's. I look forward to seeing her relationship with him and how it develops, but I do hope they give her a role to play apart from and outside of the shadow of her foster brother. Likewise, Stamets seems overshadowed by the impact of someone else. Everything around him reminds him of his lost love Dr. Culber, and he's having a very hard time dealing with it. It seems like the end of this episode was enough to get him at least a little bit excited about science again, though it's unlikely that this is the end of his plotline about leaving the ship. With Wilson Cruz brought on as a full cast member for this season, it'll be interesting to see where this goes.

Tilly and Saru don't seem to have much in the way of an arc yet, but I'm sure this will change. I expect most of Tilly's story this season will have something to do with her enrollment in the Command Training Program. Saru mentioned his sister Siranna, from the Short Trek 'The Brightest Star,' and the showrunners have stated that we may see other Kelpians this season, so expect to see a visit to Saru's home planet of Kaminar sometime in the future. Maybe siblings will continue to be a theme this season.

Overall, 'Brother' was a pretty epic way to kick off the new season. It's fun and engaging, with a lot of potential. I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Strange New Worlds:

This section will record the planets the Disco visits and the places they go. Not a whole lot of that in this particular episode.

New Life and New Civilizations:

Here I'll keep track of all the new species, ideas, and cultures the crew encounters. Again, nothing in the way of that here.

Pensees (Thoughts):

-Mia Kirshner (Amanda) looks a lot like Amy Adams. She also really resembles Amanda from TOS, so that's nice.

-Stamets has a botanist friend aboard the Enterprise.

-In keeping with the Trek tradition of altering the intro, we have some brand new graphics added to the opening theme.

-Regulation 19, Section C allows a higher-ranking officer to take command of a starship in one of three contingencies: 1. An imminent threat; 2. The lives of Federation citizens are in danger; 3. There is no more qualified officer available to deal with the situation.

-I love Doug Jones' Saru walk. It's just so much fun to watch.

-That's the first shot we've gotten of a turbo lift running through a starship in all of Trek, if memory serves. Pretty cool, too.

-Another Alice in Wonderland nod. Also, holo-candles.

-Sarek mentioned that he's reached out to Klingon High Chancellor L'Rell (Mary Chieffo), and she had no explanation for the red bursts either.

-The Captain goes on the away mission, in true Trek tradition.

-There was a bit of Spock's Jellyfish ship from Star Trek (2009) in the design of the pods they flew.

-How cool was the pod sequence? Also, it was admittedly rather satisfying to see Olson Connelly get his comeuppance when he failed to pull his chute crashed and died because of the dumb risk he took.

-One of the ads loaded at the wrong time when I watched this the first time. The long ad break split a shot in half.

-I liked Reno (Tig Notaro). The idea of using an engineering approach to medicine is interesting, although I wouldn't want to be one of the first patients it was tried on.

-The Red Angel is still very much an unknown. I partially expect it will have something to do with the Klingons, if not only because they seem from the trailers to have a big role to play.

-The asteroid material wouldn't beam up. That's intriguing. It may be the key to fixing the spore drive, too, as it looks from the trailer that we'll be jumping again this season.

-'Not every cage is a prison, nor every loss eternal.' That's very interesting, and it has a lot of significance for Pike.

-It makes sense that the crew of the Enterprise would have issues with sitting out the war while on their five-year mission.

-The Disco's new Doctor is named Dr. Pollard.

-One of the names in the credits was 'Matt Decker.'

-A lot of references to faith/religion and related subjects in this episode. I don't think it's necessarily significant, but I thought it was worth noting.

-Alex Kurtzman directed this episode. I thought he did a great job; maybe he should stick to that instead of the whole coming up with ideas thing. I'm still baffled by the seriously weird and unsettling bits about Klingon anatomy from Season One.

Quotes:

Amanda: "I bless you, Michael... all my life."

Pike: "Do not covet thy neighbor's starship, Commander."

Pike: "Why didn't we think of that, Connelly? Think of all the syllables that gave their lives."

Pike: "Sometimes it's wise to keep your expectations low, Commander. That way we're never disappointed." Advice to the audience, perhaps?

Tilly: "I put her in a Utility closet, and I put you in there. I'm drunk on power."

Stamets: "Tilly, you are... incandescent. You're going to become a magnificent Captain because you do everything out of love. But I need you to repeat after me. I will say..." Tilly: "I will say..." Stamets: "Fewer things." Tilly: "Fewer thi- okay."

Sarek: "Spock has great reverence for his mother, but reverence tends to-" Burnham: "Fill up the room." It's the shot of Burnham's fairly empty quarters just as she interrupts that sells this one.

Pike: "Detmer - fly... good."

Pike: "I was expecting a red thing. Where's my damn red thing?"

Pike: "Spock asked the most amazing questions. It's completely logical, yet somehow able to make everyone see that logic was the beginning of the picture and not the end."

Burnham: "There are so many things I wish I'd said to you; so many things I want to say now. I'm too late, aren't I? I can only pray I don't lose you again... brother."

A strong, solid premiere. 5 out of 6 damn red things.

CoramDeo is interested in things.

#Star Trek #Star Trek Discovery #Michael Burnham #Saru #Sylvia Tilly #Paul Stamets #Christopher Pike #Spock #DIS #Disco #ST:Disc #Star Trek Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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anotheruserwithnoname · 6 years ago

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Two things I loved this week: The Orville S2E1 and Aquaman!

I haven’t been posting much the last couple weeks due to the holidays and my dad visiting, so here’s a two-fer to touch on two great shows I saw this past week. Minor spoilers follow.

The Orville returns!

The Orville began its long-awaited second season on Sunday, and rather than go with a whiz-bang, action-packed episode, they instead ran a quiet, introspective, character-building episode. The episode, “Ja’loja” was built around an odd, possibly unique sci-fi concept: one of Capt Ed Mercer’s team, Bortus, comes from an alien race that only pees once a year. That fact was treated as a joke in the show’s pilot episode. This episode, however, reveals that, to Bortus’ people, the occasion is treated as a mixture of birthday and Thanksgiving - a chance to celebrate the release of past stress and to mark the start of a new year for the person.

Now, knowing this show comes from Seth McFarlane, you’re forgiven for assuming it then becomes an hour of toilet humour. Other than a couple of jokes early on, though, the episode is actually about relationships - you see, part of the ceremony includes a get-together of Bortus’ closest friends, but they cannot attend without a “mate” lest it bring Bortus bad luck. Unfortunately, Ed is still pining for his ex-wife (and first officer) Kelly, Kelly has started dating the Orville’s school teacher, Alara continues to be unlucky in love (despite a very telling scene at the start that actually seems to confirm her soulmate is actually Ed, even though neither seems to realize it and probably can’t act on it due to their differing ranks anyway), and Gordon gets a crush on a new crewmember. The B-plot has the ship’s doctor, a single mom, dealing with a discipline issue with her son with the aid of the ship’s artificial life form, Isaac, who has become an unusual (yet somehow perfect) surrogate father/husband. This seriously isn’t like any other SF on the air right now - there are no villains in the episode, no darkness, no political sandboxing either; it’s just an hour of us sharing time with the Orville crew as we get reacquainted with them. Oh, there’ll be action galore next week based on the episode 2 trailer, but as a season debut, this was brilliant and perfectly reflected why so many people think The Orville feels more like Star Trek than the recent versions of actual Star Trek. (Full disclosure: I liked Star Trek Discovery from mid-season 1 onwards, so I’m not going to do any DIS-bashing here; I’m looking forward to seeing the start of its new season and will comment on it in due course. But I still like The Orville more if forced to make a choice.)

Aquaman rocks!

I am not a fan of the DC superhero movies as a whole. The current versions of Batman and Superman leave me cold, and I couldn’t finish Suicide Squad. And I never even bothered with Justice League. But I did like Wonder Woman and, fortunately, Aquaman reached the same level as WW, even surpassing WW in many respects. It’s a gorgeous movie to look at to start with, and Jason Momoa was terrific as the hero. I’ve liked him since Game of Thrones but this is the role he was born to play. I liked the fact that the movie was good-natured for the most part, and there are some very sweet moments in it. I don’t want to give anything too detailed away since the movie just came out (and I want to keep this major-spoiler-free), but there is one scene involving Momoa and Amber Heard as Princess Mera that plays out to Roy Orbison’s Mystery Girl that reminded me of a sequence from, of all things, Lady and the Tramp!

I wouldn’t call Aquaman the most original film in the world. There’s one battle sequence, for example, that feels like it was cut-and-pasted from Tron Legacy. And except for a few twists you can probably predict where the film is going. I had a similar complaint about Wonder Woman, which was very similar in parts to Captain America The First Avenger. But I said above that I liked WW, and I liked Aquaman, both enough to ignore what could be seen as a shortfall, because the films were so much fun, and the actors seemed to be having a ball making them. It bodes well for the upcoming Shazam and Wonder Woman 1984 films. And I liked Momoa as Aquaman enough to consider giving Justice League a go. Eventually.

So, the TLDR: Both The Orville and Aquaman were exactly what I personally needed as 2018 came to a close. They provided an escape, even if just for a short time. (Thankfully, I won’t have to wait till Sunday to see the next Orville as it’s moving to Thursdays.)

#the orville #the orville season 2 #aquaman #film and tv reviews

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davidmann95 · 6 years ago

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I haven't been able to tolerate a comics news site since ComicsAlliance shut down so what news out of SDCC is actually worth knowing about?

I’ve gotten so many questions regarding SDCC-related news that I figured I’d just do one big post, and this seems as opportune an ask to build that off of as any. To kick off, in terms of news that’s not for me but is a big deal, there’s a trailer for the next season of Doctor Who, and Star Wars: Clone Wars is shockingly coming back for a final reduced season years after the fact. Congrats to the fans of both franchises! Plus yesterday we got the announcement of Orlando and Foreman’s Electric Warriors for DC (as well as Orlando’s Dead Kings with Matt Smith at Aftershock Comics) and the Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark October crossover.

So first and foremost in terms of the reaction it picked up, OH MY GOD:

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It’s like the Bat In The Sun team handed over their production to their shitty kids but made them work off a third of the budget. I kept seeing the jokes about it on Twitter, and I kept thinking they were surely hilarious exaggerations, AND NOT A ONE OF THEM EVEN SLIGHTLY WAS. At least it now makes sense why Hawk and Dove is here, given the Liefeld connection: this is 90s as helllllllllllllllllllllll, and while a part of me hopes it swerves unexpectedly in a couple seasons into Fun 90s DC with Starman and Wally West and an Electric Blue Superboy and Titans One Million, I can’t pretend I wouldn’t gleefully hatewatch this if it wasn’t behind a paywall. What it really comes down to is that, as I saw someone mention, the over-the-top content warning at the beginning isn’t actually by any means to get rid of anyone under 18, but specifically to appeal to them over anyone over it: there is nothing about this show not precision-crafted to appeal to teenagers watching something they technically aren’t supposed to, since anyone older than that will just laugh until the stars grow cold. And while it’s one line in particular that’s rightfully drawn all the attention, to me the clear defining moment is Beast Boy taking his big goofy dramatic leap, and you expect him to transform, but that ain’t happening (I fully expect he’ll just have claws and growl and do assorted Wolverine shit instead), because that kind of thing is for STUPID KIDS, whereas this is RAD.

RAD, dare I say…to the EXTREME.

Also, the pilot Robin’s scene was presumably drawn from was written by Akiva Goldsman, Greg Berlanti, and Geoff Johns. So was it the guy behind Batman & Robin, the guy behind the CWverse, or the recent President of DC Comics who ushered FUCK BATMAN into the world? Because all three of those possibilities are equally hilarious. In any case, the rubicon has been crossed: easily one of the top ten, probably one of the five or so most iconic superheroes of all time said fuck in a piece of mass media. Where we go from here, nobody knows. But at the very least I’ll take the L for my original certainty that this would take place in the CW DCverse, because that clearly isn’t going to be the case. Though boy, imagine if it was. Personally I like to imagine this is a totally normal DCU, and suddenly going full 90s and murdering a bunch of people is their universe’s version of normal teen rebellion.

Additionally, it’s now seemingly set in stone that the fourth DC Universe live-action show alongside Titans, Doom Patrol, and Swamp Thing will be a Stargirl show where Courtney Whitmore learns about her legacy and tries to track down the Justice Society, described as in the flavor of Superman ‘78 and Wonder Woman. Again, if it wasn’t behind a paywall I’d check it out.

And before turning to comics proper, we learned from WB itself that there are no plans to idiotically pour millions into making a functional Justice League Snyder cut a thing, unsurprisingly making some of the worst people on the internet be just the absolute worst (I’m interested myself in it artistically even if I don’t think it would be very good, but at this point it would feel like a validation of some really rotten people’s behavior if this happened). Meanwhile the first trailer for the Dragon Ball Super movie dropped, and yeah, I’m still happy to see Broly. This looks big in a way Dragon Ball for all its action rarely gets, and seeing Paragus suggests Toriyama understood what worked about the original flick, which is a very good sign. Did they swap out Vic Mignogna as Broly though? Wouldn’t blame him, I know he’s said he hates the part, but surprising nonetheless. And the Spider-Man game dropped another trailer, along with a ‘Velocity’ bonus suit designed by Adi Granov.

The big comics news of the day was of course the long-awaited confirmation that Green Lantern is being relaunched - apparently as The Green Lantern - in November by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. What’s surprising is that Morrison’s currently insisting that since the last decade or so of the franchise has dealt with constant upheaval and cosmic apocalypse, his run is going to scale back down to a character-focused study of Hal (“He’s a loner and a drifter and he’s an unreconstructed man. It was nice to do that and to go a little bit old-fashioned with it. He doesn’t belong here at all, you know? He’s longing for the heavens, and to be back up as a Green Lantern. We’re doing Hal Jordan where, you know he’s a good cop, but is he really a good guy? And we’re looking into his relationships and how he deals with people. And also the fact that, if you’ve got a job as a space cop, it’s hard to be stuck on the planet Earth. He has other lives on other planets.”) amidst him going about his duties and dealing with weird alien crimes and space threats, such as stopping aliens from ‘parking’ a planet-sized artificial megastructure near a sun and causing damage to nearby worlds, and solving the murder of a gaseous lifeform.

I doubt it’ll necessarily stay there forever - his Batman and Action Comics runs, after all, were both initially marketed as staying on the smaller side by his standards, and the one idea we know of Morrison having once had for the Green Lanterns back in the day was making them a multiversal force. But it’s remarkable how, well, normal this sounds coming from Morrison. Clearly this must be a passion project if he’s doing a monthly again for the first time in 5 years, especially since DiDio mentioned he had to be persuaded (ultimately persuading himself as his attempts to brush off the proposition led to him thinking about the possibilities and rapidly talking himself into it) to make time for this amidst an incredibly busy schedule of surely more profitable and creatively unshackled projects, but on the surface level? This sounds like the closest Morrison has come since his JLA days to writing a regular superhero comic. At this point in his career, I’m very, very curious what that’s going to look like. Just hoping he read the King/Shaner oneshot on whatever reread he surely went through to catch up on current continuity. And also hoping this guy was right that it’ll turn out “the REAL construct that was limited by our willpower and imagination all along was…REALITY.”

On smaller notes:

* Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha are taking over Aquaman, with an opening arc that shows him washing up amnesiac on an isle of forgotten sea gods. DeConnick seems to be like the Jeffs Lemire and Parker where my appreciation of their work is limited to very, very specific slivers: none of her Marvel superhero stuff I’ve read did anything for me even if I could see the talent behind it, but her Lois story in the last issue of The Adventures of Superman was pitch-perfect (and also had a great Aquaman bit!). This gets at least an issue from me.

* DC announced new titles for DC Ink and DC Zoom, including Cassandra Cain, Oracle, Dick Grayson, Creeper, and Wonder Woman books, while also announcing some artists for the existing titles.

* Geoff Johns is doing (ugh) Shazam with Dave Eaglesham, who showed off a really great, fun cover suggesting the possibility of a tonal shift away from Johns writing the absolute worst version of that character imaginable. On the likelihood of said possibility though, I think @intergalactic-zoo put it best. I might just check it out in trade if word of mouth is overwhelmingly positive, but then, lots of otherwise rational people liked or at least saw merit in his original crack at it with Gary Frank, and you were all deliriously, impossibly wrong back then, too.

* And finally, speaking of Johns, he’s doing Batman: Three Jokers as a 3-issue mini with Jason Fabok, a smart move given that is precisely as much as I’m willing to invest in this out of morbid curiosity. What’s really baffling though is that it’s being released under Black Label. It would seem to destroy the stated purpose of the line by immediately releasing Very Important Continuity Comics under it, but maybe this means Batman’s gonna follow in his protege’s footsteps and say a fuck. Anyway, I’m mostly just hoping it isn’t revealed Fun Golden Age Joker is actually not the original in order to rub out the prospect that he was ever truly anything but a terrifying sidekick-butchering murder machine at the center of very serious stories, because that feels to be like a real possibility. And absolute no question one of the three is gonna turn out to be the lost child of Marionette and Mime in Doomsday Clock.

#Comic Con #DC Comics #Titans #Green Lantern #Geoff Johns #Grant Morrison #Opinion

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead Universe Is Here to Stay

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Despite his exit from Warner Bros’ big-screen DC movie universe, director Zack Snyder isn’t done with shared universes just yet. And while his tenure as the creative lead of the DCEU, which culminated with this year’s Snyder Cut of Justice League, may have been polarizing to say the least, the Army of the Dead director may actually be just what Netflix needed.

After years of chasing ways to build its own coveted blockbuster shared universe, such as with its failed attempt to launch a superhero universe based on Mark Millar’s Jupiter’s Legacy, the streaming service finally seems to have the foundation it was looking for with Snyder’s return to the genre that turned him into an A-lister back in 2004. In fact, Army of the Dead was originally conceived as a sequel to Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake, but almost two decades later, it’s grown much bigger than that.

Even before Army of the Dead introduced us to Snyder’s vision of a zombified Vegas strip in May, Netflix already had plans to expand this world beyond just one action movie. The streamer greenlit a prequel heist movie starring Matthias Schweighöfer’s goofy safecracker Ludwig Dieter, as well as an anime prequel series, soon after striking the partnership with Snyder. As the centerpiece of this fledgling zombie universe, Army of the Dead set up many opportunities for future sequels and spinoffs, too. There could be aliens, robot zombies, or even trippy time loops in future Army installments, and Mexico City is almost certainly doomed in the recently announced sequel. And judging from the audience response to the first movie, most viewers are willing to go along for the ride.

Some might say Netflix has nailed the shared universe formula with the most unlikely source at the helm. Despite the fervor with which his most passionate fans defend his work, Snyder’s contributions to the DCEU are still heavily debated years later. There are those fans who love his grittier, darker take on the DC pantheon, while others believe universe kickstarters Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice tanked DC’s chances to compete with Marvel Studios from the beginning.

But regardless of what you think of the quality of his work (we gave Army of the Dead three out of five stars), it’s clear that Snyder’s name attracts viewers — even if some only tune in to see how the over-the-top director has outdone himself this time. The movie got 75 million views in its first month, making it the 9th most watched English language film of all time on Netflix, and securing the immediate future of the franchise. Army of the Dead 2, which will once again be directed and co-written by Snyder, is now in development, but it won’t shoot until after the director has completed work on his space-set sci-fi film Rebel Moon, also coming to Netflix.

In the meantime, there are other corners of the Army of the Dead universe to explore, including the backstory of Dieter, who met an ambiguous end in Snyder’s movie at the hands of alpha zombie leader Zeus (it actually isn’t all that clear whether he’s actually really dead, but it’s likely). Schweighöfer directed Army of Thieves himself from a script by Shay Hatten, who also co-wrote Army of the Dead. The film also stars Nathalie Emmanuel, Guz Khan, Ruby O. Fee, Stuart Martin, Jonathan Cohen, Noemie Nakai, and Peter Simonischek as the titular thieves who attempt to pull off a heist six years before the events of Snyder’s movie, just at the start of the zombie outbreak in Vegas.

During the Army of Thieves panel at SDCC@Home, Netflix revealed the first trailer, which promises even more Dieter shenanigans and funny quips:

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Army of the Dead isn’t wasting any time when it comes to TV animation, either. An anime series called Lost Vegas “chronicles the origin story of Scott (Dave Bautista) and his rescue crew during the initial fall of Vegas as they confront the mysterious source of the zombie outbreak,” per Netflix. Jay Oliva (Trese) will serve as showrunner, with Snyder directing two episodes of the series.

By the sound of it, Lost Vegas should shed more light on Zeus’ original rampage through the strip as well as Scott’s adventures with Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) and “Soccer Mom” (Danielle Burgio) in the opening credits sequence of the movie. Will this installment finally confirm that the zombie virus really is alien?

Like the MCU with Thanos or the DCEU Snyderverse with Darkseid, the Army of the Dead universe could use its next few installments to slowly draw out its true big bad. There are several scenes in the movie that tease that the zombies are only the surface level threat, with alien invaders or Hiroyuki Sanada’s Bly Tanaka (whom some suspect to be a Devil-like figure who’s trapped Scott and his team in an endless time loop) pulling all the strings. There’s also the U.S. Defense Department trying to build its own zombie army.

And unlike with the DCEU, it seems that Snyder will actually get to see all of these plot threads through.

Army of Thieves is out later this year. Lost Vegas hits Netflix in 2022.

The post Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead Universe Is Here to Stay appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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comingupforblair · 7 years ago

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One of the most annoying things about being a DCEU fan (And there are MANY) is the way in which every new film or announcement or moment of success from Marvel is treated as a sign of the upcoming destruction of the DCEU and DC in general as a cinematic enterprise, as though Warner Bros will think “They made a film about a raccoon and a tree? Well, what the point of even trying anymore” and pack up.

Aside from the fact that it’s based heavily on the false idea that this is an area where ‘’winning’’, whatever the fuck it means to Them, is even a possibility and the fact that it propogates the idea that the DCEU is struggling when, when you put aside the negative publicity and seemingly endless stream of rumors, They’re doing extremely well by any reasonable standard even accounting for Justice League’s stumble, it misunderstands how this stuff works so I feel I should explain.

Let’s say for a moment that the scenario bloggers and clickbait manufacturers and people who don’t like the DCEU have been saying is right around the corner for well over a year and which has been the fervent desire of many Marvel fanboys since Warner Bros dared to try and take the spotlight away finally takes place and the DCEU ends. Let’s assume that Warner Bros just decide that it’s no longer worth it and pull the plug and Marvel becomes the only game in town.

Do you know what effect this will have on the future of most DC properties and Their potential to become films?

Zero. Nothing.

It will have no effect.

Warner Bros will still put out DC films. They will be different. They might not be part of a shared universe. But the films will still get made and it’s all but impossible to imagine a scenario where They won’t be anytime in the future.

Batman will remain a role that just about every actor in Hollywood would happily take one of Their eyes out just to get an audition for and every talented director will want to take a crack at, to put Their own stamp on the character.

Superman will remain a similar kind of role and I’d even argue that, for all the shit it’s gotten, Zack Snyder has helped not only in restoring Superman’s power as a commercial commodity but in making the kind of stories that can be told with Superman seem more appealing to writers and directors who won’t feel the same devotion to the Chris Reeve films that Bryan Singer did.

And, of course, there’s Wonder Woman. Even before the film and the way in which it utterly destroyed the glass ceiling for Superhero films, which alone is enough of a legacy for the DCEU, She was still easily the most famous female superhero in existence. She has now taken her part alongside the other two members of the trinity as being a hero whose cinematic future is basically guaranteed, even outside of any franchises.

Of course, there are properties outside the trinity and I’d argue that Warner Bros have done a bit of work to make Them just as viable. The Flash was already very well-known before the films, even without accounting for his shows, as was Aquaman, albeit in a way most heroes wouldn’t like. But I’d also argue that Aquaman’s image as a joke hero has faded considerably in recent years due to the comics, animated shows and Jason Momoa’s portrayal with jokes about Aquaman being ‘’useless’’ now only trotted out by hacky comedy writers and something that will get someone marked with the dreaded ‘’fake geek’’ term.

Harley Quinn has also broken out in recent years as a character who is popular enough to potentially get a film outside of the DCEU and Supergirl has always been well-known and the success of the show has increased her popularity quite a bit. There are others like Batgirl, Nightwing and Green Arrow who are downplayed examples but still arguably qualify and there are other characters who could easily make the leap to films outside of a franchise.

Even if the DCEU ends tomorrow, DC films are not going anywhere. These characters have integrated Themselves into pop culture far too much to be discarded as cinematic enterprises. They’ve been making films about Batman and Superman for almost as long as They’ve been making comics.

This isn’t just wild optimism on my part. All you have to do is look at history.

Superman IV: The Quest For Peace utterly bombed at the box office in 1987 and is today all but forgotten and Superman didn’t disappear. They kept putting him in shows and animated series and there was always an effort to bring him back to the big screen.

Batman & Robin is an even better example. It was absolutely destroyed by critics and fans (For being too light, which is hilarious from a modern view), it stopped the franchise dead in it’s tracks and it was seen as an absolute embarrassment to the character, one that would taint the legacy forever and it seemed like Batman would never have his dignity restored as a character.

Then Batman Begins came along eight years later and it’s like Batman & Robin never happened. And, in a time when Marvel will announce a new Spider-man a year after the last film didn’t do well, it’s difficult to imagine Warner Bros waiting even that long.

So DC isn’t going anywhere as a cinematic property, regardless of what Marvel fanboys insist is going to happen with every box office success or new trailer.

Batman, Superman and other characters were in films long before the MCU existed and They’ll be in time long after it’s ended.

Regardless of what the future holds for the DCEU, DC films are here to stay, now and forever.

#DCEU #marvel #mcu #batman #superman #Wonder Woman #dceu positivity #dc positivity

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daleisgreat · 4 years ago

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Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge

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A couple weeks ago, the DLC story expansion to the videogame, Mortal Kombat 11 was released and added an additional few hours of narrative that picks up on where the core MK11 plot left off. I finished that up a few days ago, and picked away playing with the new characters and doing online battles with a friend I occasionally duke it out with online. On top of that, several weeks ago Warner Bros. released a straight-to-video animated movie dubbed Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge (trailer). Animated features based on the MK license are nothing new; one is include as a bonus feature on the original live action BluRay I reviewed here a few years ago. That and the other ones released in the previous century varied greatly in quality, and a pivotal difference with Scorpion’s Revenge is that it features some of the brains behind the highly acclaimed DC animated films working on it. Assault of Arkham’s Ethan Spaulding is directing, while Teen Titans Go vs. Teen Titans penned the script. I ate up too many MK comics, movies and videogames over the years so I have an admittedly high familiarity with its canon. With a title like Scorpion’s Revenge I was initially led to believe this would be a side story focusing on Scorpion’s rivalry with Sub-Zero. It initially starts out that way with Scorpion’s origin story where he returns to his village to see his family and fellow villagers slaughtered by a clan headed up by Sub-Zero. Sub-Zero (Steve Blum) ultimately slays him as well, and in hell Scorpion (Patrick Seitz) makes a deal with one Quan Chi (Darin De Paul) to restore his essence to enact revenge while also entering the Mortal Kombat tournament. That opening scene is graphically intense for an animated feature, and Warner Bros. granted the animators a lot of leeway to maximize everything they could out of the R rating. If you have played the recent MK games and are familiar with their ‘X-Ray Attacks’ then a lot of the gore and violence in Scorpion’s Revenge will ring a bell.

After that initial intense setup for Scorpion and Sub-Zero, the rest of the film is essentially a remake of the original live action film, yet has some noticeable differences to switch things up. Liu Kang (Jordan Rodrigues), Johnny Cage (Joel McHale) and Sonya Blade (Jennifer Carpenter) return as the three core protagonists that meet up once again on a boat leading to mysterious location where the Mortal Kombat tournament is emanating from. Sinister sorcerer, Shang Tsung (Artt Butler) is behind the festivities on his own personal island of hell, and has all kinds of trickery to distract the heroes. While the general broadstrokes of the live action film and this animated feature hits similar beats, a lot of it is freshened up. Some of the key battles feature different matchups, and the characters from the second game have varying degrees of supporting roles, and I feel for poor Jax (Ike Amadi) because the filmmakers here found a new way to de-arm him, which is as excruciating as ever to relive again and again. I got into Scorpion’s Revenge style of mixing up the exposition this time around. Sonya Blade has an edge to her and has absolutely zero tolerance for Cage’s nonstop flirting with her. Having Scorpion constantly out for revenge on Sub-Zero in their rivalry is a better use of those two characters instead of as lowly goons for Shang Tsung like in the live action film. Raiden (Dave B. Mitchell) is back as the wise elder with an occasional pun that guides the heroes along their journey and sets them up for an awesome final stretch of battles against Quan Chi, Goro and Shang Tsung. I will re-emphasize the gruesomeness of the violence here as the artists hold nothing back and ensure it matches the pedigree established by the games. It all adds up for a gritting finale as the warriors lay waste to one another.

There is a decent amount of bonuses on the BluRay. Producer, Rick Morales and Writer, Jeremy Adams are on hand for the feature commentary track. They go out of their way numerous times to appreciate Warner Bros. for letting them go all out with the violence and offer up other random insight and production facts throughout. There are four mini-behind-the-scenes extras totaling just over 20 minutes breaking down the characters, lore, weaponry, animation and sound design of the film. All are quick watches with an interesting anecdote or two, but not worth going out of your way to see….except maybe the one on sound design where it was amusing to see how they showcased all the various foods squished for the blood splatters and bone crushing sound effects. Part of me wants to give Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge an easy recommendation because of their excellent use of the license and canon that any MK nut like myself will get a thrill out of, and it is a breezy 80 minute watch to boot. Watching its take on remixing the plot from the heralded live action film for a new generation was something special to immerse myself in to witness how it all unfolded. However, if you are not all that familiar with the near 30 years of MK lore a lot of the characters and general plot beats will either go right over your head or will likely incite many unintentional chuckles. Suffice it to say, only fans of the series should go out of their way to see Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge. Bonus update, upon doing research for this I discovered the long delayed live action reboot film wrapped production at the end of 2019 and is currently slated for a January 2021 theatrical release date. Here is hoping it will up to the legacy of the original as being one of the best live action videogame film adaptations. Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Not for Resale Pulp Fiction The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

#Mortal Kombat #mortal kombat legends scorpions revenge #Scorpion #sub-zero #liu kang #johnny cage #joel mchale #steve blum #patrick seitz #darin de paul #jennifer carpenter #jordan rodriguez #jeremy adams #ethan spaulding

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