Tyler James Williams was at Walker Stalker Con in Orlando and Williams reflected on his proudest moment from AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Williams also talked on the Miles Morales viral comment and how he would still love to have a shot at the character.
If there are films like Steel, Catwoman and Elecktra, why can’t we get a Miles Morales Spider-Man? Would it work better to introduce him on Netflix?
So during one of my weekly comic book buying binges at my local comic book shop, I came to a disturbing realization. It was when I was flipping through some of the more recent stories I love that I discovered something. With all the violence, gore, sexual discussion, and graphic content super hero comics aren’t really for kids anymore.
I’m not saying that super hero comics are more adult. They’ve had more adult story lines and topics since the seventies. I’m saying that they really aren’t for kids anymore. The two big companies (DC and Marvel) don’t seem interested in attracting a younger demographic. The latest trend both companies are invested in is creating more comics that are fishing for the millennial demographic. That is to say, more comics are geared and reworked to have characters that are social network savvy, have strong feelings about injustices in the world, and have a more diverse element. One only needs to look at Marvel’s newest launch to see that is the latest trend.
And there’s nothing wrong with trying to attract that group, as it’s a growing market. But, all I’m asking is why can’t we also see more comics that are for children?
Now, to be fair, there are some comics for kids on the stands now. It’s just that they are “tie in” comics for Marvel shows, Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble. Tie in comics are a staple in the industry, and don’t necessarily indicate quality. However, these particular comics are notorious for simply taking screen shots from the show, paste them into comic panels, and then add word bubbles. They aren’t even new stories, they rehash episodes of the cartoon shows.
Something that lazy just shows that Marvel doesn’t care about attracting an adolescent audience. They don’t want kids comics on the stands, because they’re probably worried that they won’t sell. Which sadly is true, kids comics will generally sell less than regular comics. But, I think that this could be solved by a few changes in a promotional sense. DC and Marvel could do more to expand on their current children’s line. Perhaps instead of rehashing the same stories, Marvel could hire better artists and writers to create new stories. Come on Marvel, you’ve got Disney money, don’t tell us you can’t hire people to create a children’s oriented Avengers book.
In fact you did it in the past with Marvel Adventures book. If you don’t know, those were great, funny self-contained books that were easy to read and weren’t bogged down by continuity. They weren’t directly connected to the main universe, so they were wonderful for kids to jump into.
And DC isn’t off the hook on this either. Sure they’ve had awesome kid’s comics in the past like Tiny Titans, Li’l Gotham, and Scooby Doo comics. But, they’ve all been canceled quickly after they debut. This comes back to a lack of promotion on the genre. There’s a weird thought process that comics aimed for children are somehow beneath the medium. Which is ridiculous, because kids are literally a growing market. Comics are filled with concepts and characters kids would be interested in reading.
Although, it’s a little unfair to place all the blame on the companies. Comic book stores aren’t showing off the few kids comics that are out now. My favorite comic book stores usually only have one shelf for kid’s stories located away from the main books. Perhaps if they helped in trying to get children to buy comics, DC and Marvel will want to try harder to create better stories.
It’s hard to say who’s at fault for the lack of children’s super hero comic books. However, despite some adult content in comics, there are now stories that are inclusive fore all ages. JLA #1, Batgirl, Ant-Man, Starfire, and Ms. Marvel can be enjoyed by any audience member regardless of age. So, maybe we should be asking creators, and companies to craft more stories that can be enjoyed by everyone. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t have kids comics either. It’s seems silly to completely ignore the children’s demographic, especially since they are the future of comic book readers. We need more kids comics, and we need them soon.
Harold Perrineau of LOST and The Matrix was at Walker Stalker Con in Orlando and he would like to put his hat in the ring if Netflix and Marvel where to add Blade to the cast of Daredevil or another show in the Marvel Television Universe.
Perrineau was the voice of Blade in a 2011 animated series.
Walker Stalker Con was in Orlando this past weekend and David Morrissey, Tyler James Williams, Scott Wilson, and Chad L. Coleman reflected on their proudest moment from AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Sean Pertwee who plays Alfred Pennyworth on the television show “Gotham” was at Walker Stalker Con in Orlando and Pertwee gave us preview of season two of the series.
“Gotham has to fall in anarchy for Batman to rise up,” Pertwee said.
We asked Pertwee about the Joker and he laughed with a no comment.
David Mazouz who plays young Bruce Wayne on Gotham was at Walker Stalker Con Orlando 2015 and talked about expectations for season 2 and the evolution of his character leading towards Batman.
“He’s on a mission and he really is going to start his dual personality into being Batman,” said Mazouz, “When he’s Batman there is his Batman side and then his public persona which is his playboy/party boy persona. In season two, he’s really going to start developing that second persona.”
Gotham returns to FOX on September 21, 2015.
In the wake of this week’s news about Ava DuVernay being in talks to direct Marvel’s Black Panther movie, rumors about Angelina Jolie set to direct Captain Marvel, and Patty Jenkins already in charge of Wonder Woman, I question the nature of these negotiations, and I also challenge you to think about it.
Superhero movies represent now a whole generation of film, where every actor is seeking a spot in. And I can understand the desire from studios to include diverse characters as well as actors in their movies, as they know that audience demographics aren’t homogeneous. Nowadays, it seems like Marvel and DC — with their associated studios — are racing to be the best, but are they actually looking for the best director to shape a successful movie or are they more interested in what image they will be projecting? Furthermore, how much are these hiring decisions really about capitalizing on feminism/pro-racial diversity, about being politically correct? Because let’s face it, how much power do directors have anymore in Marvel or DC movies? Ask Joss Whedon and Edgar Wright.
Patty Jenkins was in talks to direct Thor: The Dark World in 2013 and dropped out because of “creative differences”. A ton of other female directors were considered along with her to direct Wonder Woman. Warner Bros. and DC‘s first option, Michelle MacLaren, dropped out due to “creative differences”. Notice a pattern?
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing that these talented women are being considered to direct movies that have an assured amount of audience before they even come out in theaters, but should we accept that Hollywood studios might not be hiring female directors for the right reasons, if not only to save themselves the criticism or just to win points over the rival studio for the heck of it? I don’t think so. Publicity and reputation are important, but I want these women to be recognized for being great at their job, which they are, instead of for what they are. And with that, I don’t want to belittle the importance of a black woman directing a superhero movie, because I realize that that’s even more of a big deal in Hollywood.
Now, Kevin Feige (of course you know him as head of Marvel Studios) puts me at ease with these words from a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter: “We need to find the best director for any given movie, and that’s really where we always start. If diversity is part of that, it’s great. It’s important.” And he also suggests that perhaps that Angelina Jolie rumor is close to being true, at least in the sense of a woman directing Captain Marvel: “I think it will happen sooner rather than later, without giving too much away.”
I applaud that vision.
My point is: are any female directors considered to be given the opportunity to direct movies with male superheroes (even ensemble), like Thor, Batman, Avengers, etc. because they could be the best option? And how much does it matter to hire the best one in the grand scheme of things when studios have the last word?
I’d like to see what you think. Comment down below!
Well it’s finally over. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had fun writing these reviews for this rollercoaster of a show. But I sure am glad to be done with it. Not particularly because I didn’t like this show, but because this show just took it out of me. Which is a good thing. So with all that buffer out-of-the-way let’s get into the Sense8 finale. That is season finale, I heard they have at least four more under contract.
They start of the episode with something I think most of the viewers have been waiting to be fleshed out. Will is in a therapy session talking about how he can see the girl who is missing. The therapist of course doesn’t believe him and tells him by lying it hurts the people around him. This scenes satisfying in a number of ways. The first is obvious because it gives us some good character development and justifies the actions that Will is about to take. The other is a look at how society sees people who claim to have special abilities. They are often seemed as crazy and liars. I think that was important to show since most of the characters dealing with the sensates so far have been very accepting.
As for the whole coma trauma going on with Riley, it’s not quite compelling enough for me. And I really tried to get into it considering I love Rileys character. But it just seemed to be there for the sake of trauma. Maybe a little development. But we already got that when she talked to Capheus in the graveyard. We really don’t need it here and especially in this big of an amount. Also these real birth scenes are getting old real fast. I know that it’s a miracle and all, but I don’t need to see that.
And continuing from the last episode, Wolfgang continues his rampage on his family and storms the house taking out everyone and everything. Plenty of cool effects are sure to be seen in this scene, but that’s about it. So the only question for Wolfgang is what he will do now. He said something earlier about going to India, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
Now this whole sensate ability is seeming to fall on itself. I thought Jonas said that you can’t just make it happen, you have to let it happen. So how can they just all come into the scene when they are needed for a specific skill? What about that time Capheus tried to get help from Sun? It certainly looks cool seeing them all help Mission Impossible their way in, but it just seems kinda cheap in how easy it is. There is never really any tension on whether Wills going to make it in or not.
So as you’d imagine they get out basically unscathed with the only hiccup being that Will locked eyes with Mysteries. Which means that they’re connected now. So then another question pops up. Do you not have any control over who is seeing what you are? If not, it’s almost like your mind is being raped. But whatever, now they’re screwed because wherever they go, whispers will know exactly where Will is. And while this is just good for the show in general to have an increase in stakes, I feel that it will be hard to write around this advantage in future episodes. Or they will just gouge Wills eyes out and make him blind.
So the Sense8 finale was pretty good for the most part. Sure it had problems but I feel those problems equate to the show as a whole and not just this episode. Actually I thought that this was one of the better episodes. Which it should be considering that it’s the episode that will decide if you wait however many months for the next season. As for me, well… I think I’ll have to let the Sense8 finale sit with me a little longer before deciding. I also might wanna go back and watch some things over again. But I went into this show wanting something interesting and that’s certainly what I got. So while I don’t necessarily feel like I wasted my time, I’m skeptic on wanting to continue any further with this show.
But I’m also very fickle, so I could change my mind.
Today was one of those days that I will never forget. The United States Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision legalized same-sex marriages throughout the country setting off massive displays of celebration and love. This groundbreaking legal ruling doesn’t directly affect me in my personal life(I’m married with a wife and a 2 1/2-year-old son)but this ruling did get me thinking in a very different manner. It occurred to me that Hollywood has been dealing with both the political and social aspects of same-sex marriage for many years in both a direct and indirect way. As I sat down and quickly jotted down a few movie titles it became crystal clear that Hollywood may have just paved the way for the Supreme Court. Let’s take a look at a few titles.
Philadelphia –
The movie centers around lawyer Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) who hides his homosexuality and HIV status at a law firm. But his secret is exposed when someone spots the illness‘s telltale lesions. Fired shortly afterwards, Beckett resolves to sue for discrimination. Now many of you are probably looking at this and saying,how in the world does this tie into same-sex marriage? Look no further than a simple scene involving Antonio Banderas and Tom Hanks while he’s in the hospital. Antonio(who plays his boyfriend) wants to go into the hospital room with him initially but is told he can’t because he isn’t family. The pain you see in his face breaks your heart because he would give anything to be next to the man he loves.
In that simple scene,Johnathan Demme touched on a very controversial issue of whether or not same-sex couples should be treated equally in the most dire of times. Through just the simplicity of the pain that was displayed by Antonio in that scene it leads us to the only logical conclusion that same-sex couples should be treated equally all of the time.
Brokeback Mountain
This movie is about a cowboy named Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and a ranch hand named Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger). One night on Brokeback Mountain, Jack makes a pass at Ennis that is eventually returned. This movie is testament to the taboo nature that society regarded same-sex relationships. Jack and Ennis are so driven to conform to what society want that both end up marrying women that they don’t necessarily love. While having the typical family life they continue the relationship in secret for 20 years.
If ever a movie showed the torture that some same-sex couple go through it’s this movie. Societal norms forced these guys to find a wife and the stress of living a lie leads to nothing but disaster. All they simply wanted was each other. They simply wanted love.
Milk-
This movie tells the story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) and his life as he moves into the Castro district in San Francisco. Through his photography business he ends up assisting in transforming that area into a mecca for gay and lesbians couples. In 1977 he becomes the first openly gay man elected to office and one year later he was shot dead by Dan White (Josh Brolin).
This movie really shows one of the more perfect example of how all gay and lesbian people just want to live a normal life.Harvey Milk wanted a normal life that included love,happiness,and a chance to make a living. However,again and again Harvey was faced with societal hurdles that no one should have to deal with.It was these hurdles that pushed him towards advocacy for Gay and Lesbian rights which put him in the national spotlight drawing the negativity of others(which eventually leads to his tragic death). I remember watching this movie and thinking that he died wanting something that most people just take for granted.
Conclusion –
I am almost positive that someone will comment that I have missed out on some very important movies and my response would be that I probably did. Hollywood has been paving the way for not only the Supreme Court but society as well by showing us the struggle of same-sex couples. Hollywood will continue to show this in 2015 when Freeheld(due October 2)which stars Julianne Moore and Ellen Page which tackles the issue of LGBT rights head on.
Hollywood will continue to use its power to show the real life struggles of same-sex couple in the hopes that one day this debate will finally become a thing of the past.
A new trailer has been released for Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno. The long-gestating cannibal horror pic from the king of torture porn may promise more of the same in a sense, but at least the environment is something fresh and not wholly familiar for audiences who never saw Cannibal Holocaust.
Here is the new trailer for The Green Inferno:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mOse9ggKWJ4
The Green Inferno has been bouncing around without distribution for some time, even showing up at the 2013 TIFF and picking up a few reviews. Eventually, it found distribution and will hit theaters September 25.
