Archive for March, 2004
20 items.
Today’s buzzComix incentive sketch is nothing specifically movie-related, but rather, a full body sketch of Tom as Huggy Bear-inspired pimp, who we saw just a scant two weeks ago. People in the forums tell me he’s pretty popular, so I whipped up this sketch during a meeting at work that didn’t involve me in the least.
I’m making this the incentive sketch for today because I’m thinking about making t-shirts and this is a design that could potentially be for sale later. If you want to say you saw it during early development, click here.
I hope you enjoyed today’s St. Patrick’s Day comic. Hopefully those of you who are legal will drink responsibly on this, the greatest holiday ever invented. New Year’s Eve is probably the only other holiday that comes close in liquor consumption, but what I like best about St. Patrick’s Day is that we don’t need some symbolic fresh start to a new year as an excuse to get plastered. Instead it’s more like “What day is it? March 17th? LET’S DRINK!”
(kids under 21, don’t try this at home)
Today’s comic also marks a milestone of sorts. Today we’ve racked up 250 comics written, penned and colored by yours truly! I think I’ll probably be in greater slack-jawed amazement once August rolls around and Theater Hopper celebrates it’s 2 year anniversary, but 250 strips is an accomplishment in its own right.
Seems like anniversaries are making the rounds lately. Questionable Content just scored it’s 100th strip and Homestar Runner just logged it’s 100th Strong Bad e-mail! It’s a really good one, too. In WIDE-SCREEN! You movie lovers will appreciate that.
One last thing about the incentive sketch/t-shirt design. I’ll probably be posting more t-shirt designs to the forums, so if you want to leave your two cents about what you would like to see (as well as preview the other sketches), you can do so there.
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While I was mentioning anniversaries in Wednesday’s blog, someone pointed out to me one that I missed. Taking the Bi-Pass recently celebrated it’s 100th strip, and I feel like a jerk for leaving them out because Dave is a friend of the site. He’s done guest strips for us and is an all-around rockin’ Canadian. Wish him well on his accomplishment!
And while we’re still on the subject of anniversaries, I thought I would mention that today is the 4 year anniversary of my marriage with Cami. I can’t believe it’s been 4 years. It certainly hasn’t felt that long.
We’re keeping our celebrations simple for tonight. A quiet dinner for two, staring into each other’s eyes and whatnot. The real celebration comes 3 weeks from now when we go to Las Vegas – our anniversary gift to each other.
I love you, Cami!
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I’m looking forward to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It’s been getting pretty good reviews so far. Even my friend Nick got to see a sneak preview and he said he liked it! He’s a smart cat, so I’m more inclined to listen to his opinions.
As excited as I am to watch another Charlie Kaufman screenplay brought to life, I’m more interested in seeing what visual tricks director Michel Gondry brings to the table. Gondry’s been known as a music video auteur for several years, directing highly imaginative (and technically complex) videos for The White Stripes, Bjork and Foo Fighters. It’ll be a treat to see how he takes a walking special effect like Jim Carrey and puts him to use.
This weekend is looking good for Cami and I. Even though I’m having car problems at the moment, I’m looking forward toward spending some time together. They say it’s going to be pretty warm this weekend, so I’m hoping I can do some maintenance stuff around the house. Weird, huh? No weirder than getting 15 inches of snow on Monday and having it all melt off by Friday. Stupid Iowa weather.
I don’t know how many of you follow college basketball – I know I certainly don’t. But this year, I have a personal investment in the NCAA tournament. The men’s team from my alma mater – The University of Northern Iowa – has made it to “The Big Dance”. They place third seed Georgia Tech today at 1:50 PM. I’ll be pulling for them. If you have nothing better to do, maybe you can flip on ESPN and see how the do!
One last order of business; Everyone make sure to visit our latest sponsor Music Television Sucks. It’s a really cool music web site that is a great resource for bands the fly under MTV’s radar. They have links to everything as well as songs and videos for download. It’s pretty cool!
That’s about it for now. Have you signed up for the forums yet? You should. It’s a popular place!
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I had a very rich and fulfilling weekend on Saturday and Sunday. So stupendous was this passage in time, I’m left virtually without anything to complain or comment on!
I can say that Cami and I went see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on Saturday evening and it’s easily the best film I’ve seen so far this year. It’s very smart and doesn’t compromise. It has Charlie Kaufman’s signature all over it. And while Jon Brion’s score was a little loopy/creepy at times, the film was balanced by several moments of levity and true, human emotions.
Kaufman is brilliant in terms of placing his characters in outlandish situations while still grounding them in a realistic environment. Everything from the everyday clothes they wear, how they haphazardly decorate their apartments – even the non-Hollywood, unflattering lighting and lack of make-up create a very credible universe.
Great performances all around. Director Michel Gondry was able to extract something very innocent and pure from Jim Carrey. Is this the kind of person Carrey really is? Mellow, unassuming… LIKEABLE – when he’s not performing? Remember when Robin Williams finally realized he should tone it down a notch and how much easier it became to watch him? Same with Carrey here.
I left the theater with a lot of hope. I think at it’s core, Eternal Sunshine is a very optimistic film – probably one of the most romantic pictures I’ve seen in a long time. I like it message that, essentially, all the little idiosyncracies about your partner that annoy you are fundamentally meaningless in the big picture. The fact that people would be so willing to throw away love over such trifles is one of humanities great follies.
Of course, compounded with the central message of nurturing love are several great ethical debates about emerging technologies and their applications without testing. In many respects, Eternal Sunshine could be seen as a cautionary tale! The movie works on so many levels – comedy, romance… even horror in some parts. I can’t wait to start talking about it with other people who have seen it.
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About the comic… Well, it’s Tom Hanks’ head on a chicken body. That’s like 80% of the joke. If you’re not with me on that one… well, I don’t know what to do you with you. Don’t ask me where the idea came from. I just plucked it from the ether and the thought of it made me laugh. I’ll concede that it’s a long way around for a Colonel Sanders joke, but there you have it.
Freaky anthromorphic celebrities aside, I’m really looking forward to Hanks turn as Professor G.H. Dorr in The Coen Brother’s remake of The Ladykillers. I know some people are a little turned off by the eccentricities evident in the advertisements for this caper flick, but it looks like a very meaty role for Hanks to me. Definitely an upgrade from the more somber fellows he’s been playing of late. The individuals he’s portrayed in Cast Away, Road to Perdition, and Catch Me If You Can didn’t I think go against Hank’s natural demeanor. It’s good to see him taking things a little less seriously in this outing.
There is something about The Coen Brother’s where the success of their films tends to hinge on how far they can get their big-name lead actors to operate outside of their comfort zone. The best example I can give involves the same actor – George Clooney. Look at his performance in two Coen pictures – O Brother, Where Art Thou? versus Intolerable Cruelty. In Intolerable Cruelty, he does the smug, well-dressed routine to great effect, but it’s an image we’re already familiar with courtesy of films like Ocean’s 11 and Out of Sight.
Now look at O Brother. A complete 180 from the Clooney that we’re used to – and a more successful film.
Need more proof? What about The Big Lebowski. Did anyone expect to see Jeff Bridges as a burnt out hippie? It just seems the farther The Coen’s push their leads, the more interest it generates from Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Moviegoer.
Just a theory.
One last thing – a sad bit of business. It looks like Ryan Sias has hung up his pencils and has ceased production on his journal comic Urban Observations. Ryan put together a very whimsical take on his environment – New York City. His archives are still active, so you should check it out. It was a personal favorite of mine.
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I know for some of you it might seem a bit cruel to keep dishing out punishment on an unsuspecting Ben Affleck, but it’s become the running joke here at Theater Hopper and I’m only too happy to keep running with it. I hope you enjoy today’s comic as much as I do. I’m really happy with the way it turned out. The last few weren’t up to snuff in my opinion.
Of course, today being Jersey Girl Day, I can’t wait to throw off the shackles of another work week and dive head first into my multiplex. I’ve been looking forward to this picture since they announced filming almost this time last year.
Of course, the movie has been cast in the unfortunate position of dodging post-“Bennifer”/Gigli fallout. But I sincerely believe that once people sit down and watch the film, none of that will matter. It’s regrettable that Kevin Smith and Miramax found themselves trying to reposition the film in the wake of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s breakup. But just imagine if the wedding had gone through as planned! We wouldn’t hear the end of it!
I know Jersey Girl isn’t “official” Askewniverse cannon, but I’m not particularly bothered by it. I appreciate that Kevin Smith set out to make a more “adult” film. As long as the true-to-how-people-talk brand dialogue is still in place, I’ll always buy a ticket to see what Smith has concocted next.
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A couple of things to mention and I’ll let you enjoy your weekend.
We have a new sponsor at the top of the page – Pink Slipped. It’s a great comic and I really like the art style. Everyone be sure and check it out. You won’t be dissapointed!
The other link I wanted to fire your was was to an interview I did with Collective Inkwell. Forum member Abe. set it up and he asked some really good questions. If you’re interested in stripping away a little more of the Theater Hopper myth, this is the interview to read!
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If you’re wondering who the undead, green-skinned fellow is, that’s Brian – resident zombie stud on loan from Orneryboy. His pals Orneryboy and Dirtygirl at there hanging out in the background. Odds are you’re already familiar with this great comic, but if you’re not, you have some catching up to do.
I’ve been a fan of Michael Lalonde’s excellent pop art style. He manages to mix the most grotesque scenes with the most refined graphic sensibility I’ve ever seen. You can put him right next to Scary Go Round in my book.
Michael and I used to be peers over at Dayfree Press until he decided to drop out and focus on other things. I miss the guy, and since the aforementioned Dawn of the Dead is *ALL* about zombies, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take his characters out for a ride around the block. Y’know – borrow them for a while. Like hot-wiring a car, wheeling it around and putting it back before anyone discovers you took them out in the first place!
I hope he doesn’t mind!
I have some other thoughts I wanted to get to (Cami and I saw both Jersey Girl and The Ladykillers this weekend), but it’s about 1:30 in the morning and I need to get some sleep before work tomorrow. I’ll need to be up again a scant 5 hours from now.
Check back on the site later in the evening for more!
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Sorry I didn’t come back and finish my thoughts on Jersey Girl and The Ladykillers like I said I would on Monday. I came home that evening and was feeling really sick. I think it was the weather screwing with me. Can barometric pressure DO that?
Anyway, to make up for things (in a typical, American half-ass way), I thought I would give you a quick synopsis of both films.
Jersey Girl: A fine romantic comedy by most standards, but because it was penned and directed by Kevin Smith, I judge it by a different set of standards. Smith betrays his talent for dialogue by using cheap cliche’s throughout the movie. There are scenes in the movie that feel tossed in to help retain Smith’s edge, but he should stop trying to play to two audiences. He could really do anything he wants, but he shouldn’t compromise. Jersey Girl feels like a compromise.
Liv Tyler comes off well. So does George Carlin. But this will not be the hit – or the performance – that will save Ben Affleck’s floundering career.
The Ladykillers: Typical Coen Brother’s fare. A kind of mash-up of O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Intolerable Cruelty. A southern-fried caper flick filled with untrustworthy people. The humor is very black and the overall message is very cynical. Tom Hanks delivers a very fine performance, but it’s all “actory” twitches and gimmicks. Nothing substantial. One character suffers from I.B.S. – Irritable Bowel Syndrome – and it manifests during unfortunate times. Since when did the Coen’s have to resort to toilet humor?
Hmm… those short recaps were a little longer than I thought. Anyway, those were my takes on this weekend’s cineplex fodder.
Lots of good stuff coming out this weekend. Hellboy and Walking Tall being the two I’m most interested. I’ll have more to say about Hellboy on Friday, but I’m thinking of renting The Rundown before seeing Walking Tall as a kind of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson action movie primer. I never saw it in the theater and regretted it. I’ve heard nothing but good things. Walking Tall seems to play in a similar vein and it looks really good to me. Is it odd that Cami agreed to see Walking Tall and not Hellboy with me this weekend?
I’ll probably have to end up seeing The Prince and Me at some point, so I guess fair is fair.
I was hoping to have some big news for you associated with today’s post, but it’s been postponed a little while. If I can get my business together, you should be hearing something about it relatively soon. Sooner, at least, than my Jersey Girl/Ladykillers reviews.
Trust me. It’s a big deal. You’ll want to keep checking this space to find out what I have in store.
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I promised you big news today, and by-gum, I’m gonna deliver!
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I’m here to announce the VERY FIRST Theater Hopper t-shirts!
It’s been a long time coming for yours truly to start producing t-shirts. But after consulting with my many constituents in the forum, I decided the time was nigh to deliver. The demand is there! It was simply a matter of making the product available.
As you can see from the graphic on the right, the t-shirt features the one and only “Pimp Tom”. My forum homies had a real soft spot for this guy and I hope you do, too. The graphic is emblazoned boldly on the front while the Theater Hopper log and URL have found a righteous home on the left sleeve.
The shirts are 50/50 poly-cotton blend, black with white ink. Cost is a meager $15 dollars. They are printed with love and affection by the good people at Brunetto Shirts – the same individuals who’ve brought you quality clothing for web comics like Diesel Sweeties, Sam & Fuzzy, WIGU, Exploding Dog, Scary Go Round, Ctrl+Alt+Del, MacHall and many, many more!
Currently the shirts are on pre-order status through April 30th. That means, at the end of April, I will tally up all the orders we’ve received and submit them to Brunetto. They will then print up the shirts, mail them back to me, and I will ship them out sometime around the middle of May. Pre orders are the ONLY WAY TO GUARANTEE you will get a shirt.
I hope everyone is as excited about this as I am. Who knows? If the response is strong enough, I may just print up more shirts!
Thanks again for your support and continuing interest in Theater Hopper. I know I have some of the most awesome fans around. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t print up shirts for them. So THANK YOU!
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