Like quite a few filmmakers before him, Nicolas Winding Refn is moving to television. The Danish writer/director behind the Pusher trilogy, Drive, Only God Forgives and, most recently, last year’s divisive The Neon Demon reconnects with Amazon for Too Old To Die Young, the 10-episode American crime series which he’ll direct, produce and co-write.
Variety (via Indiewire) reported on the development. Too Old To Die Young returns Refn to the City of Angels, Los Angeles, to explore its criminal underbelly. It’s reportedly closer to his Pusher trilogy than anything else. It’ll explore various existential journeys from “being killers to becoming samurais.” As per usual, Refn has something interesting in store.
Ed Brubaker serves as co-writer and executive producer on the project. There are currently no actors attached to the project, although Refn is apparently eying a few notable names. There are even three actors who’ve been offered roles, though no deals have been set. The goal is to start production this fall in LA (of course). We’ll likely hear more details shortly.
Refn is one of our most cinematic working directors, but TV is easily more cinematic than ever these days. With the amount of creative freedom given to filmmakers by Amazon, we’re sure he’ll get full creative license to go crazy with his first-ever television series. We’re excited, to say the least. There are few filmmakers willing to go crazy like Refn.
Everyone and their grandma seemingly shares a different opinion on The Neon Demon, but I, personally, considered it a nice return-to-form after stumbling with the inefficient, aimless Only God Forgives. Knowing he’s returning to the trusted hands of Amazon gives me great comfort during these dark, troublesome times. I welcome 10 new hours of Refn.
The most Oscar-nominated person alive has just turned 85. The world’s favorite composer, John Williams, has been writing movie scores and earning Academy nominations for six decades, and he doesn’t even like films that much. In 2012, he told the Financial Times that he couldn’t remember the last time he went to the movie theater. Even so, working in movies was written into his destiny from an early age and he shows no signs of slowing down.
Williams is responsible for providing film fans everywhere with soundtracks to live by but he remains a humble man to the core. He doesn’t employ anyone, not even an assistant, and he still works with just a pencil and manuscript paper. His profession is defined by a passion of the purest kind.
In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at ten of his most iconic soundtracks:
1Star Wars (1977)
If we were to pinpoint one movie which introduced a new era of cinema, few would argue against Star Wars, later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. In the most unlikely of movie genre mashups, what Star Wars offered was a combination of wild west adventure and space odyssey unlike anything we had seen before. And who could ever forget that soundtrack? First there’s that epic Gustav Holst-esque title theme, then the unforgettable Imperial March, the hilarity of the Cantina Band jazz rag and the romantically soaring strings when Han and Leia kiss. The sum of all these parts create a score bursting with excitement and childlike wonder.
There we have it. Clearly there are dozens which could have made this list but do you think there are any glaring absences? Let us know in the comments.
Back in 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore made an observation that the number of transistors was doubling every year, thereby doubling the power of computers. Moore’s Law as it came to be known would prove even more accurate than he imagined. Since Moore’s observation, computing power continues to grow at an incredible rate. All this growing technology directly lead to the effects of Star Wars, Terminator 2, and the CG-heavy comic book movies of today.
No other genre benefits from computing power quite like superhero movies. Every year, Disney and Warner Brothers unleash a new effects-heavy, punch-fest starring a beloved character from comic book lore. The superhero trend went into overdrive in 2008 with Iron Man, but before that, Raimi’s Spider-Man conquered box offices with dazzling use of CG; before that Singer’s first two X-Men movies were on top. However, things get a little murkier before the arrival of X1 in 2000, and that’s where the debate begins.
Some in geekdom believe Blade is the father of modern comic book movies; others argue it’s Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989; still, others look back at Superman: The Movie. I’m here to say that they’re all wrong … and right! I’ll explain.
The Dark Ages
Comic books were a pulp mainstay for decades. But up through the 1970s, there were only two movies to mention.
Superman and the Mole Men – 1951
There wasn’t going to be anyone else who broke the mold first. Superman was the most popular comic book of the time and already had a hit TV show. Superman and the Mole Men was an extension of the show, featuring George Reeves as the last son of Krypton.
Batman: The Movie – 1966
In the 60s, campy Batman was all the rage. Adam West filled the cape and cowl and through the course of three seasons fought the greatest hits of Batman’s rogue’s gallery. In 1966, much like the Superman movie of the 50s, Producers wisely created a feature length episode. In it, Penguin and the “United Underworld” are turning people into cubes.
Dawn of Justice, if you will.
Superman: The Movie – 1978
You will believe a man can fly. If I had to pick an actual starting point for comic book movies as mainstream money-makers, it would undoubtedly be here. Richard Donner’s Superman was a mega-hit at the box office. The effects look dated now (40 years, hello!) but the innovations pioneered by Star Wars just a year before helped Donner create a dazzling comic book movie like never before.
In the 70s, anti-heroes like Batman and Wolverine weren’t as big a thing as today. Heroes were still meant to be the best of us, not psychologically disturbed or ferocious. Superman was still king of the comic book mountain in the minds of the masses, and there was no one else who could lift the weight of the comic book universe into the mainstream like the Man of Steel.
Total Number of Comic Book Movies Up Until December 31st, 1979: 3
1980s
The 80s were slow-going for comic book films. Superman carried the torch with three sequels, each drastically worse than the one before it. But two movies made an impact. One film served as a subtle nudge, while the other became the standard bearer.
Swamp Thing – 1982
Not a hit by any stretch of the imagination, Swamp Thing from director Wes Craven holds an important place in comic book movie history. Craven, a master of horror films, even while trying to win the mainstream hearts of Hollywood execs and keep away from his usual style, still added his signature to Swamp Thing. That macabre touch created a distinction from what was the norm and played into the growing popularity of anti-heroes.
Batman – 1989
Tim Burton’s Batman was a smash box office success, rocketing into the top earners of all time. Donner’s Superman knocked down the door into the mainstream. But Burton’s Batman went in and beat the crap out of everyone. Batman was a hype phenomenon in the days before the Internet and sites like Monkeys Fighting Robots existed. Warner Brothers unleashed a torrent of marketing that consisted of an entire magazine devoted to the film before release. Similar to “leaked photos” the magazine highlighted all things about the movie.
Number of Comic Book Feature Films: 9
1990s
It’s in the 1990s when things take a radical leap. After the success of Batman, Hollywood was gearing up to turn every comic book they could get their hands on into a movie. There were four more Batman films, Dolph Lungren played The Punisher, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continued their transition from dark comic book to a lighthearted multimedia franchise. Again, two films set the stage for things to come.
The Crow – 1994
Many viewers had no idea that The Crow was a graphic novel by James O’Barr. Today, most remember the movie as the final film of Brandon Lee. The Crow is all 90s grunge-goth action movie awesome that holds up well today. Director Alex Proyas, who later created the sci-fi noir film Dark City, bathed The Crow in rain and darkness, with the dark atmospheres lifting when it serves the story. The Crow continued to lengthen the path of the anti-hero.
Blade – 1998
By the late 90s, comic book movies were either Batman movies or obscure comics and graphic novels made on an average budget. Like The Crow, only the most ardent geeks even knew Blade was a comic book, but the Wesley Snipes action movie was a sleeper hit that sliced and diced its way to a strong box office performance. Blade softened the goth style of The Crow and made it sleek with fitted leather armor and killer electronica soundtrack. Blade’s slick look, attitude, and sense of humor is something that continues to grow and involve in the majority of mainstream comic book movies.
Number of Comic Book Feature Films: 22
The 21st Century
X-Men
The first X-Men movie released in 2000 and Bryan Singer’s origin story for Marvel’s super-team was a wild success, breaking box office records like Burton’s Batman 11 years earlier. It’s here where I believe two things happened. Comic book movies as we knew them ended and comic book movies as we will come to know them began.
X-Men ended the era of practical comic book movies, as in, practical effects. Blade used CG to accent practical effects, while X-Men was a mix of practical and CG. And that use of CG, plus the way Singer presented the material, evolved into Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2003. Spidey, the next big hit was a CG-heavy, joke-filled popcorn flick. Sound familiar? The borderline campy attitude of Sony’s first Spider-Man created a new standard for comic book movies. Just five years later, Marvel would begin its reign at the box office with a CG-heavy, joke-filled Iron Man who is arguably also an anti-hero.
Since 2000, 77 comic book movies have seen release! We don’t need to get into the specifics because everyone knows what’s come and what’s to come. But here are the numbers.
Number of Comic Book Feature Films the 2000s: 33
Number of Comic Book Feature Films in the 2010s: 44, so far …
A New Law
Like Moore’s Law and transistors, the number of comic book movies we can fit into a year has increased. It’s leveled some, but continues to grow, and the comic book movie trend sees no end in site. Now consider that we’ve only talked about American comic book movies. Ghost in the Shell, a Japanese Manga (aka comic book) and Valerian, a French comic book, are on the way to the big screen. Oh, also don’t forget that there’s TV, but that’s another article for another time. Moore’s Law will hold steady for technology. Maybe for comic book movies we can call it, Lee’s Law.
Lee’s Law dictates that if you’re tired of comic book movies, you’re screwed. ‘Nuff said.
Hollywood loves a good remake. More will come out this year than ever before, and that trend isn’t going to die anytime soon. They’re even remaking 2016 films! Paramount Pictures announced they’ll soon remake the Oscar-nominated Germany comedy Toni Erdmann for English-speaking audiences. But they have an ace in the hole. In addition to grabbing Kristen Wiig for the female lead, Jack Nicholson will provide his first acting performance in nearly a decade. Forget about that retirement nonsense. Jack is back!
Variety got the exclusive. Maren Ade, the writer/director behind the original 2 1/2 hour film, serves as an executive producer alongside fellow producers Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski. But she won’t write or direct this time. Instead, it’s unclear who’ll tackle the new version, although Alexander Payne’s name is currently floating around on the Internet. It makes sense. He directed Nicholson in About Schmidt, which might still be his best performance, while Wiig recently starred in Payne’s latest, Downsizing, which is presently in post-production and expected to be released this year.
The original 2016 film followed the misadventures of a stern, hard-working businesswoman (Sandra Huller) who finds her practical joker father (Peter Simonischek) returning unexpectedly (and unwelcomed) into her life to reconnect. It doesn’t help that he created an outrageous alter ego named Toni Erdmann, who poses as her CEO’s life coach. It’s nominated for Best Foreign Film during this year’s Oscars, and it was also nominated for Best Foreign Film during the Golden Globes in January. There’s a solid chance it might win the Oscar. It’s currently playing in limited release in select cities nationwide as we speak.
Dysfunctional family dramedies are in Payne’s wheelhouse, which makes his involvement more inviting. But there is no one currently attached at this time. It’s also unclear when it plans to get into production, and when it hopes to be released. There are other questions as well. Will it keep the extended running time? Likely not. Will it go for Oscar love or is it going to play it broad and wild? McKay and Ferrell have experience in both fields. Will the comedy feature the controversial elongated nude scene that was key to the original? Who knows? Hollywood can be prickly when it comes to nudity — especially when it’s extensive. There are a lot of unanswered questions at the moment, but expect some answers soon.
It was only last month when Nicholson announced his retirement. So much for that. Nicholson reportedly loved the original film, which made him reach out to Paramount’s Brad Grey regarding a potential remake. They immediately jumped towards grabbing the rights. There’s a good chance this one might, in all honesty, become his swan song performance. He turned down 42 and The Judge in the recent past, but this one spoke to him, it seems.
I’m hoping to see the acclaimed original in the next week or so. Expect to find a review.
Filmmaker Zack Snyder released an 11-minute before and after special effects montage of ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ Wednesday afternoon. It’s an eye-opening piece that displays how much work goes into a film like ‘Batman v Superman.’
“This is a look behind the curtain and what my amazing VFX team is able to achieve… they are simply amazing,” said Snyder via Twitter.
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
‘Justice League’ stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Amber Heard, J.K. Simmons, Willem Dafoe, Amy Adams, Connie Nielson, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg.
‘Justice League’ lands in theaters on November 16, 2017.
20th Century Fox is preparing the new X-Men movie for pre-production.
The film will begin shooting this summer. Filming will take place in Montreal, which is where Bryan Singer shot X-Men: Apocalypse. The production start date is June 15.
Gathered together by Professor Charles Xavier to protect a world that fears and hates them, the X-Men had fought many battles, been on adventures that spanned galaxies, grappled enemies of limitless might, but none of this could prepare them for the most shocking struggle they would ever face. One of their members, Jean Grey, has gained power beyond comprehension, and that power has corrupted her! Now they must decide if the life of the woman they cherish is worth the existence of the entire universe!
Let’s not forget last time
Fox has already tried adapting the Dark Phoenix to the big screen. X-Men: The Last Stand was a loose adaptation, because the plot mostly focuses on a mutant cure. Here’s hoping Fox will do a more faithful take on the story.
Sofia Coppola’s first film in four years, The Beguiled, is a psychosexual period thriller with one helluva cast. The film is a remake of an obscure 1971 thriller starring Clint Eastwood, and the subject matter is right in Coppola’s wheelhouse.
Check out this fantastic trailer:
The synopsis is the same as the original film:
While imprisoned in a Confederate girls’ boarding school, an injured Union soldier cons his way into each of the lonely women’s hearts, causing them to turn on each other, and eventually, on him.
What a cast! Colin Farrell, who continues to push the envelope and redefine what people initially thought of him back in the day, is the deceptive soldier, and Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, and Kirsten Dunst are members of the boarding school. Coppola wrote the screenplay, based on the novel by Thomas Cullinan.
Coppola’s last film, The Bling Ring, came and went without much fanfare, but it is worth a look for anyone interested in the toxic nature of fan culture. The Beguiled feels like a long lost cousin of her dark feminist revolt pictures, a la The Virgin Suicides.
The Beguiled has a prime release date, June 30, but let’s wait and see just how wide of a release we’re getting here.
CW has come out with its latest comic-based series, but it’s not another DC super-show. Riverdale is a new take on the Archie Comics characters, with scandal and intrigue surrounding the small town. It’s an interesting show, but there seems to be more potential. Specifically, there’s an ongoing comic that brings a new level of drama to the franchise. Afterlife with Archie is a great comic book series that’s worth a read. But on top of that, maybe it would’ve made for a better watch than Riverdale.
For those that don’t know, Afterlife with Archie is a comic that took the franchise in a VERY dark direction. Jughead becomes patient zero for the zombie virus, and a group of small-town survivors now hope to keep the human race alive. There are many familiar faces, including Betty, Veronica, Reggie, and Mr. Lodge. It’s a chilling story that takes the well-known characters down dark paths. Afterlife with Archie has one of the best zombie survival storylines one could find.
This article isn’t to say that Riverdale is a terrible show. It’s not my cup of tea, but plenty of people love it. However, with such a great property, one would hope CW would make something more unique. Riverdale boils down to a somewhat creepy soap opera. It’s another show that has pretty young white people dealing with drama. It’s the kind of material CW was mocked for in the past. On top of that, the show doesn’t even need to be about Archie. The series takes the names of characters, but not much of the original spirit. Afterlife with Archie may not be as light-hearted as the original comics, but it pulls from the comics well. The dark storylines are all twists on previously established lore.
The TV landscape is due for a new zombie project. Pulling from such a unique comic book could give the genre a much-needed resurrection. Comic books have long provided brain-hungry readers with great storytelling. While the movies and TV shows may feel tired, the comics have continuously innovated. The Marvel Zombies series played a lot with the various characters included in the universe. Everyone’s favorite zombie show, The Walking Dead, started as a comic book. The same is true of iZombie, the CW’s zombie procedural show.
It could also be fun to see teenagers take on zombies. A lot of the zombie shows tend to focus on the same type of story. A group of adult survivors struggle to hole up somewhere safe. Afterlife with Archie takes on not only the undead, but highlights how twisted teenage life can be. It also has a brilliant tie-in with black magic, through the Archie-verse’s resident witch Sabrina. The amount of dark material that Afterlife with Archie takes on could make for several seasons of heart-stopping action.
Imagine the group of moody young people, often seen in soap operas, taking on the undead. It would be a delightful twist – not only on the zombie genre, but on teenage-centric shows. You like Heathers? Think about these teenagers kicking ass in the same way. Riverdale could keep the same cast – just give them more to do than brood and look good. There’s no need to make Archie a jock who’s now juggling three women at once – maybe just give him a baseball bat and an abusive father.
That’s the biggest benefit Riverdale could’ve brought to the table. Currently, it’s using classic comics to follow a stereotypical show format. Riverdale is not bad, but it could be so much more. The CW could have made something wholly unique with Afterlife with Archie. Maybe they’ll even adapt a similar story for Season 2. Though I’ll watch Riverdale regardless, it’s hard to keep Afterlife off my brain.
Seriously, the Archie zombies are trying to eat my brain. I can’t get them off. Send help.
Although fans have to wait until December to finally see the next chapter in the Skywalker saga, Disney CEO Bob Iger was given a screening of the film recently. His response? Well, it’s nothing new…
Perk of being @WaltDisneyCo CEO: seeing The Last Jedi early. Bob Iger calls it "a great next chapter in the iconic Skywalker family saga."
Considering he’s the head of the company, there’s no way he’d ever call one of their movies anything other than good. That said, however, it’s nice to know that the footage is there, and we’ll be seeing Star Wars: The Last Jedi in under a year.
Next to nothing is known about The Last Jedi‘s plot. From the title we can make out that it will likely be a story revolving around Luke Sykwalker. Other than that, it’s all speculation.
Talk about a surprise in my life. I never thought I’d be looking at Red Hood and The Outlaws again. Yet here we are: I’m giving Red Hood and The Outlaws another chance. In the New 52 incarnation, I never could get into it. Then I heard friends of mine raving about it so I figured #7 would be a good jumping on point. Now the true test will be if this issue manages to hook me into the series. I’m open minded enough give this series a fair chance as I hope it turns out to be awesome. Enough delay, let’s get the review started. Without further ado, time to begin my adventure into Red Hood and The Outlaws #7.
Did I mention Red Hood and The Outlaws has Bizarro featured? I am a sucker for all things Bizarro.
Let’s start with this: Scott Lobdell is – to be polite – hit or miss for me. There are a good share of hits and misses here in this comic. At its core it’s about how Jason Todd a.k.a Red Hood is learning to work with Bizarro. I do like how Lobdell makes this a nice self contained book. Here’s the tough part: this is still part of an ongoing series. I wish I had more as to how this team works. We only get a little of Artemis, who’s part of the team. At least she plays some role in the issue. At least I get all the members of the team, even a hint of Alfred too, as the story moves forward. It’s a shame we didn’t get more Artemis but the issue was already crowded, so I understand that.
It is nice to see how Lobdell writes Bizarro and Red Hood despite my issues with the comic. You learn a lot about Bizarro here and how he operates now, in turn getting to learn more about Jason Todd. While Lobdell doesn’t do great at explaining the premise of the book, the Jason Todd and Bizarro moments work well. It is messy in explaining how the team works, but the Todd and Bizarro moments have so much heart to it. Scott Lobdell bleeds emotion with these two characters and it helps in making at least part of this work.
It’s uneven as a story but I’m surprised at how well the Jason Todd and Bizarro connection comes together.
Artistically, this book is strong overall. Honestly, this is where the book shines for me. Mirko Colak’s art works well with Tom Derenick’s breakdowns here. Add in some drop dead gorgeous coloring at points from Veronica Gandini and you have a strong art team. It’s not perfect, as some Colak’s faces don’t work as well for me as they should. The eyes, the lips, and general structure of the faces and even some of the bodies, don’t gel well for me storytelling wise. It’s mostly nitpicking, but it is stuff I notice.
Yet the coloring here is beautiful, especially with the ending and the Bizarro fight at the beginning, quality work from Gandini. Colak and Derenick’s strongest work of the issue is also the Bizarro fight and the final pages of the comic. If anything the final pages of this comic is what ultimately made me like the issue more as Lobdell and the team made them shine. It hits a few rough patches here and there in between, but the beginning and the ending of this book are spectacular to behold.
It’s a strange journey and a bit messy, yet surprisingly Red Hood and The Outlaws isn’t half bad.
It’s not a perfect comic by any means, but it has a lot of heart and I appreciate that. There’s enough here that I’m game to give the next issue a shot. Red Hood and The Outlaws works better for me now than it did in the New 52 incarnation that’s for sure. I guess as I said in the title, Bizarro as always is number one in my heart.
