Posts Tagged ‘Entertainment Weekly’
5 items.
I don’t really know what to say about today’s strip. I wish I had a big rant ready for you, but my batteries are kind of low.
All I know is, when I heard Darkness Falls was the number one movie last weekend, I was very, very disappointed.
I mean, this is different than Kangaroo Jack taking the top spot. KJ had some serious advertising muscle behind it. Meanwhile the makers of Darkness Falls send three commercials to MTV, and it’s number one. I’ve come to the conclusion that Americans are not the pawns of agressive advertising, but rather, the victims of their own poor choices. You have no one to blame but yourself, people!
I don’t think I can count on one hand the number of people excited to see this movie, much less know what it’s even about. There are no name actors. No well-known director or screenwriters attached. It’s only pedigree is that Stan Winston (and Academy Award winner for Jurassic Park, Terminator 2 and Aliens) did the special effects. What’s the fuss about?
I guess the stat that really floored me is that this movie only cost $11 million to make. That’s steal by Hollywood standards. How much did it rake in it’s first weekend? $12 million. By all intents and purposes, this movie should have been released DIRECTLY to the bargain bin at Blockbuster. Go figure.
Industry annalists said the strong turn-out may have been due to the film’s PG-13 rating which in turn admitted more teenagers. They say the disposable cash teens bring to the box office make tracking results unpredictable on weekends when there are no movies worth seeing. Basically the theory is they will watch anything.
It’s my strong feeling that parents are not doing enough to keep their kids away from poor film making. Drugs and gangs, sure. But where are the child safety locks on something like Just Married?
Why can’t people give some of the better films a second pass? Sure, the buzz has faded on films like Adaptation or About Schmidt since they got their big push for Oscar contention in December. But a lot of these films are just now releasing wide across the country! Go see one of those! God, ANYTHING but Darkness Falls. What does that say about our culture?!
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So here it is. The last strip before we head into the triple digits. I’d like to think that it was all part of some grand design that I was able to synchronize the coming of my 100th strip with the aftermath of the largest night in Hollywood, but just like everything else, it’d dumb luck.
I’m not planning to make a big deal out of my 100th strip. There’s already been enough hullabaloo going on around here anyway. Instead, I plan on quietly observing the occasion by staring blankly at a wall and wondering how am I so fortunate to have an audience that is interested and supportive of what I do so that there could even be a 100th strip. Wow.
By now the war with Iraq has gone into full-swing and it’s starting to affect things at home. One of the more interesting developments in the entertainment world is that Oscars producer Gil Cates has decided to scrap the pre-show and red carpet treatment before the show.
I’ve heard some people complain that this is giving in to terrorism because they are essentially handicapping a large portion of why people watch the Oscars in the first place. They say the Oscars are an “American institution” and they are diluting it. Would they do something like this to the Super Bowl?
To which I say, “Phooey.”
The Oscars are little else than an industry circle jerk where very few of the deserving pictures actually walk away with any recognition. It’s an event based less and less on the strength of individual artistic achievements and more and more about who’s wearing what and how hard a publicist campaigns for that little gold statue.
Certainly among award ceremonies, the Oscars are the zenith of the genre. But you’d be a damn fool not to admit that, at the end of the day, what the Oscars boil down to is mindless entertainment – the results of which bear very little in terms of what movies will be made in the future versus the steady stream of dreck we’re shoveled each year.
I say good for Gil Cates for showing a little backbone and instilling a little class into the ceremonies. Yeah, it would be nice to see what people are wearing or to watch the show without this ominous cloud looming overhead. But to keep on like nothing’s happening? That’s like taking everything the rest of the world hates about America, packing it into a tight, little ball and smearing it across the face of our detractors not to mention those who are fighting this war so far away right now. It’s like saying “See all the glamor! See all this drama! See what you DON’T get to be a part of?! Nyyahhh!!”
I’m not too sure if I’m even going to watch the Oscars with much interest. If I didn’t need material for the strip, I probably wouldn’t watch them at all. As things are now, I am simply not interested in watching a bunch of overpaid actors spout off on a global crisis that is, quite frankly, beyond their sphere of influence. Whether they support it or admonish it, no one can really take you seriously because you make about 100 times more money in a fiscal quarter than most of us will see in a life time. Sit down.
I’m not against actors having opinions, but don’t be so trite and predictable to assume that we’re tuning in to the Oscars to hear your version of things. Write a friggin’ newsletter if you really feel the need to speak out. Don’t use a venue like this to hog the spotlight.
Hey, I’d love to give my opinion about the state of the world to one of the largest global television audiences, but no one invited me. Don’t abuse your station in life. Don’t wear out your welcome. Make the funny faces and wear the prosthetic noses. That’s what we pay you for.
[/end rant]
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Apr26
REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED AS AN INSIDE JOKE
April 26th, 2004 |
(10 votes, average: 7.90 out of 10)
Revenge seems to be the genre du jour at the moment with Man of Fire taking the number one spot at the box office this weekend with Kill Bill Vol. 2 and The Punisher trailing closely behind. How Jennifer Garner and her toothpaste commercial of a movie – 13 Going On 30 – snuck into the number 2 spot is surprising. Especially considering America’s apparent bloodlust at the moment.
I’ve read a few articles about this new trend in cinema. The popular theory is that American’s are looking for some kind of antagonist “them” to destroy since 9/11. We can’t exact our revenge in the streets and most people aren’t going to hope the next flight to Afghanistan, so this is the next best thing.
What I wonder is “Where have these essayists been for the last 30 years?” Revenge has always been a central device in storytelling – and not just cinema, but literature and songwriting as well. I wish I could come up with some good examples, but I’m wiped out after putting today’s comic together.
By the way, this is the LAST WEEK we’re taking pre-orders on t-shirts. If you want to sleep better at night knowing that you’ll have one of the VERY FIRST THEATER HOPPER T-SHIRTS, then you need to visit the store right now and put down some cash. Because once the 30th comes and goes, I can’t take any more orders. I’m sorry. It’s a legal thing. The lawyers made me say that.
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This isn’t really the first time Tom has consulted religion (or at least his limited understanding of it.) Nor is it his first brush with existentialism. But when it comes to the matter of pop culture, it’s serious business and sometimes you need to look to a higher power.
I’ve personally been reading Entertainment Weekly since 1995 and I can remember the first issue I picked up. I was in Iowa City over the summer attending a two-week art camp at the University of Iowa. I was 17 and still in high school. It was great. We got to sleep in the dorms and we took classes ranging from photography, to oil painting and pottery.
But I digress. I picked up the magazine at the university bookstore and it had Val Kilmer on the cover in full costume for Batman Forever. I devoured the issue. And no, not because of the bat-nipples on the costume. Here was a magazine that was catered very well to my interest in the myriad of pop culture. Not just movies or music but television and books as well. I thought it was written exceptionally well and in a voice that spoke directly to me. 11 years later, I’m still reading it. If I had saved each of those issues, I surely would have become one of those people you read about who was found buried alive under all the garbage in their house that toppled over on them.
At any rate, I didn’t mean for this to be a giant endorsement of Entertainment Weekly. I’m not getting any kickbacks (but if anyone has connections!…) Just kidding. I’m just telling stories.
The pre-sale for the book is still going on. I’m feeling a little better about things. People seem to really like the idea of me signing the book and including a numbered original sketch with their orders. Of course, I would feel better if I could tell you I have all the orders I need and I was sending the artwork to the printer – but were still a ways off from that. So if you’re thinking about pre-ordering a book, do it today!
Also, don’t forget that I still have an open call for guest strips. I have a few people that have expressed interest and are working on things, but so far I don’t have enough to cover me while Cami and I are gone. I’m gonna need about 3 weeks worth of stuff, so if you have anything, send it in! Really the only limitation is to keep the artwork 525 pixels wide. Anything larger breaks the template of the site. But if you want to go longer, I’m okay with that! Black and white or color is okay. Just keep it tasteful (nothing worse than you might see in prime time network television) and I’ll roll with it!
I consulted my Magic Eight Ball and asked it if I see Mission Impossible 3 this weekend. I turned it over and it said "My sources tell me ‘No’." Part of the reason is because we’re having a big party at our house on Saturday to celebrate Cami earning her Master’s degree in Public Administration. A two-year struggle that’s finally come to a close. The other reason is that I’m pretty much over all of the hype and don’t feel like supporting Tom Cruise in any way, shape or form.
I’m not the only one. Tracking figures released Wednesday cite Mission Impossible 3 has 98% general awareness, 43% definite interest and 13% first choice. So, in other words, the marketing is doing it’s job by putting the film out there – but it doesn’t look like the majority of the audience is going to bite. There have been some initial good reviews. Some are calling it the best of the series. That’s good, I suppose. But it makes me wonder if the interest level in this film would be much more positive if people weren’t burnt out on the details of Cruise’s private life.
I like J.J. Abrams. I like Phillip Seymour Hoffman. If I see the movie, it’ll be for their talents. But from what I’ve read, Hoffman isn’t given very much screen time and the film seems to be edited in favor of Cruise. So, essentially, we end up with a movie abou a hero fighting a villian with no screen time. Sounds like cutting of your nose to save face. Which maybe what I’m doing by shunning the talents of those I like over those of one I don’t. But what can I say? I’m petty.
Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!
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I was reading this short profile on Mike Binder, writer and director of Reign Over Me on EW.com this morning and I wanted to gouge my eyes out.
In the introductory paragraph, the article’s author Neil Drumming misidentifies Don Cheadle’s character as Alex Johnson (it’s Alan) and says Adam Sandler’s character loses his wife and two children in the 9/11 attack (he had three children). Do these writers even see the movies they’re profiling? Do they have editors? Hell, a quick search over at IMDB would have at least gotten the name of Cheadle’s character right! I thumbed around the site for a little while to see if I could send an e-mail to Drumming to point out his mistakes. I don’t know if that’s anal, obnoxious or both.
I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t complain. After all, I can barely spell. But on the other hand, I don’t have the resources of the mighty Time Warner empire behind me, either.
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