Archive for March, 2007
18 items.
Wild Hogs is a movie that probably sounded great on paper, but ended up looking like it was specifically engineered for me to hate. “Let’s take a bunch of middle-aged actors known for taking softball family comedy rolls, make them suburban Dads, slap them on Harley’s and make a road picture! Wait, what’s that? Ray Romano dropped out? Well, who can we get to replace him? William H. Macy?… He doesn’t quite fit, but what the hell!”
If I can take a sidebar for a moment, seriously, what is William H. Macy doing in this movie? He always struck me as more of an Actor’s actor, if you know what I mean. High-minded. Accomplished. Uh… y’know, talented. I mean, he found The Atlantic Theater with David Mamet, for crying out loud!
I have it in my head that his participation in this movie has to be rooted in some deep Machevelian scheme to get close to John Travolta, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence in hopes of tapping into their influence within Hollywood. For whatever reason, studio executives keep tossing money to those chuckleheads. Maybe Macy thought he could do a little networking and get one of them to produce one of his projects in the future. It’s the only way I can still respect him as an actor.
I find Wild Hogs offensive as a concept because it’s another example of mainstream media coddling Baby Boomers and re-enforcing this ideal that they are more special than anyone else. I’ve talked about this before, but this movie seems to be like The Perfect Storm of boomer self-absorption.
It’s this whole “Let’s do what we want” attitude that turns me off. Buying a Harley and talking your friends into a cross country trip. How does this fill a hole in your existence? What about your family? What about a little self-examination? No, let’s buy an expensive toy and ditch our responsibilities for three weeks. Disgusting.
>Oh, and one more thing, you’re not fooling anyone with that hair weave, John.
That about covers it for today. Thanks again to Josh Anderson and Gordon McAlpin for their guest strips this week. I’m going back to a full schedule next week, so I’ll see you here again on Monday!
Have a great weekend!
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It’s hard to say if I’ll get in trouble for this joke or not. The last time I made jokes with a homosexual connotation, some of you weren’t very happy about it. Of course, I was contrasting it against Jesus Christ and Superman. So maybe that’s what put it over the top.
I know it seems a little outlandish that I would assume that the producers of 300 were courting the homosexual male demographic. In all truth, I have nothing to support the claim except for small article I came across at Hollywood Elsewhere weeks ago. Actually, the original observation was made by Variety critic Todd McCarthy and I don’t know if it’s really picked up any steam elsewhere. But I felt it was an interesting, if somewhat comical observation that might rankle the comic book faithful. So I thought it was fertile territory for comedy. I may be a comic book geek myself, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to have fun!
In regards to 300, I was originally kind of neutral to the idea. I saw the trailers and thought to myself “Oh, that looks cool. But didn’t Sin City mine this territory a few years ago?” Obviously 300 wouldn’t have been made without the success of Sin City paving the way. So I don’t fault Hollywood for returning to the well and adapting more of Frank Miller’s vision to the big screen. I’m sure for most producers, it looks like a pretty sweet deal. Use Frank’s comics as the storyboards, shoot the whole thing on a green screen in 28 days, toss it over to an effects house and wait a few months for the money to roll in.
Still, for the most part, it looked like director Zack Snyder was reheating Sin City director Robert Rodriguez’s sloppy seconds.
But as time goes by and I absorb more and more of the television commercials, I’m starting to warm up to the idea of 300. The Nine Inch Nails song that plays over the commercials that used to annoy me now invigerates me. Whereas I used to snicker at Gerard Butler’s ridiculous beard, I now think he looks pretty bad ass. I mean, this was the guy who played the Phantom in the big-screen adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera? Okay! Impressive!
Of course, I can’t get too excited about it. Obviously, since we’ve had Henry, that limits our free time for going to the theater. Cami and I have our 7th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks and I’m sure we’ll be able to get out of the house for a few hours then. My parents can watch Henry. But I doubt I can talk her into seeing 300. I’ll have to wait for video.
That said, I feel a little behind the curve when it comes to the hype surrounding 300. The commercials are making some pretty bold claims about how visually arresting it is and how it’s “the best movie in 10 years!” (I swear I saw that one somewhere.) So I put it to you guys – How excited are you for this movie? How long have you been anticipating it? Do you think it will live up to the hype? And – more importantly – do you think that is director Zack Snyder cand maintain faithfulness to Miller’s original graphic novel what will that mean for his interpretation of the long-awaited film version of Watchmen?
Leave your comments below!
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Hey, guys. Don’t forget to listen in to The Triple Feature talkcast tonight at 9:00 p.m. CST over at TalkShoe. You can either stream the show live or download the TalkShoe client that lets you participate in the show by leaving messages in the chat room or calling in and talking to us LIVE!
I didn’t get a chance to help out with last week’s show, but I downloaded a copy of the show from iTunes and Multiplex author Gordon McAlpin did a great job filling in as moderator while I was away. Kudos as well to Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies for making it a great show!
This week we’ll be talking about Zodiac and the films of David Fincher. Also (although I haven’t cleared it with Gordon and Joe) I imagine I’ll be railroading the conversation with stories about Henry and his introduction to the world. So if you want to call in and ask me questions about the experience, I will certainly indulge it!
It’s been two weeks since Henry was born and I view tonight’s talkcast as well as my return to a thrice-weekly comic schedule as a re-introduction into our (digital) society. Be there!
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Hey, guys. I gotta make this quick. It’s late, I just put Henry down to sleep and I have to get up early Wednesday morning for an all day training session.
Admittedly, today’s comic is kind of a flip from Monday’s comic. Same joke – different perspective. Of course, I can’t allude to anyone being gay without bringing Victor into the mix and crediting Brandon J. Carr for inventing one of Theater Hopper’s favorite running gags in a guest strip he gave me lo, those many moons ago. I wouldn’t mind getting Victor back to the place where he’s a credible threat to Tom and his zany antics. I’m talking from a purely authoritative perspective, of course. His crush not withstanding. But I also enjoy stretching out Tom’s cluelessness. I have two great character traits in Victor and they’re fun to take out of the toy chest from time to time.
Of course, if you had tuned into The Triple Feature talkcast on Monday, you would have known that. Gordon, Joe and I got to talking about 300 and I mentioned that I was doing a themed week of strips. Joe asked me what readers could expect and I hinted at Victor’s return. Incidentally, Gordon guessed correctly. We had a great show Monday night. Maybe a little less structured than in shows gone by, but I think the three of us had a good time riffing. You should download it and take a listen. It’s only an hour long. You’ll enjoy it!
It was interesting to read some of the comments from Monday’s comic. A few gay readers wrote in with their support for the gag – which they understood as perceptional humor. I’m glad. I would never go out of my way to deliberately offend anyone. I think part and parcel to that is to be equal opportunity when it comes to sending up stereotypes. Equality among the masses means everyone has to be able to take a joke sometimes, right?
It was also interesting to read the comments that people left with a historical perspective. Many people commented that homosexuality was encouraged among Spartan warriors to instill a sense of family and unity. So to them, the whole gay question was almost moot. Call me crazy, but I don’t really look to 300 for any sense of historical accuracy. This movie is eye candy all the way. I doubt we’ll get into any of the finer points of Spartan life.
Gotta close here, I’m afraid. Henry is crying his head off upstairs and I need to console him! Leave any comments below, if you like. Expect another 300 themed comic for Friday!
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So today is the big day. 300 is in theaters and buzz seems to be at a fever pitch. I have to hand it to the marketing team that put 300 in the thoughts and hearts of the movie-going public. It seems like everyone I talk to is excited for this movie. They’re even excited about it where I work.
And I work for an insurance company.
I don’t know if I have any particular insights about 300. Early reviews seem to be positive. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be able to see it in theaters. We haven’t really left the house since Henry was born, you know. I don’t particularly mind. I’ve always been a homebody. Cami and I have our 7 year wedding anniversary on March 18. We might try to get out of the house then and have our parents watch Henry for a couple of hours. But if we end up seeing a movie, I doubt I can talk Cami into seeing 300. I guess I’ll be patient and wait for it on DVD.
I hope you guys enjoyed today’s comic. It’s a simple joke, but I kept chuckling to myself when I came up with it. I find the further I go writing Tom as a character, the more I revel in his child-like denial. It makes me wish I could get away with it in real life and still be endearing.
That’s really all I have for you with this post. I don’t even have much to schill! I expect the Junkie shirts will be back from the printer early next week, so I hope to have those shipped out soon. I’m also starting to run low on copies of Theater Hopper: Year One. The bundles have proven successful in that regard. So if you’ve been dragging your feet on either of the books, now is the time to order them.
Okay, maybe a little schilling.
That’s all for now. Thanks to everyone who welcomed me back to my first full-week on the comic since the February hiatus. I’m still managing to work ahead and I think I’m adapting well. So far so good! Let’s keep our fingers crossed, huh?
Have a great weekend!
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Do you guys ever get the itch to see a movie you haven’t seen or thought about in years?
I was driving to work this morning, the clouds were gray and it was drizzling. Aimee Mann’s rendition of “One” came across my iPod and I thought to myself “I think I want to watch Magnolia when I get home from work today.”
I can’t describe the feeling accurately, but it felt like an itch in my brain stem. Magnolia was a movie that Cami and I had seen in the theater that left me dazzled. A few months later, the movie gathered this negative buzz for being pretentious and I kind of lost the will to settle in for an extended period and watch it again. When it came out on DVD, I bought it anyway because I’m a Paul Thomas Anderson fan and a completionist when it comes to my movie collection. Shamefully, I admit I’ve never watched it since purchasing it.
But now I have the itch and I think I really want to see it again. I might fast-forward through the Tom Cruise-as-sex-guru pieces because, frankly, I don’t want to take my sense of disbelief for that long of a walk. But the rest of the ensemble performances I thought were excellent and I kind of have this new found respect for John C. Reilly after Talladega Nights and his cameo performance as Sasquatch during the hallucination sequence from Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny.
Of course, if this rain tapers off, I might slip out of the quasi-depressed mood required to make watching Magnolia a truly rich experience. So we’ll see…
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First of all, let me just say, the fact that 300 earned $70 million this weekend blew my mind! I was expecting it to do well. Heck – even better than the $40 million that most box office analysts were predicting. But $70 million? That’s insane. That means people were probably seeing it more than once this weekend. Considering the fact that Wild Hogs held on to the number two spot (inexplicably) with $28 million means that a lot of people went to the movies this weekend.
Sadly, I was no one of them. I didn’t make it to the theater this weekend. Cami and I are keeping a close eye on Henry for the time being. I don’t mind. I look forward to it all week while I’m at work.
Incidentally, we were able to get out of the house together for a couple of hours on Sunday while my parents baby sat. Cami was going a little stir-crazy in the house not having left it for nearly a month. Psychologically, it’s good that she gets out into the world again, even if it’s only for a short period of time. She did really well, all things considered. It had to have been hard being away from Henry when she’s been at his side nearly 24 hours since the day he was born. Cami and I spend a lot of time together, but the time she spends with Henry is a new level of intense!
Back to box office talk for a second, I don’t think 300 has much to fear from Sandra Bulluck’s Premonition when it opens this weekend. That doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with the concept of the movie for this week’s comics.
Does anyone find it odd that Premonition doesn’t really have any competition this weekend? The producers of the Saw movies have put together another scare fest with Dead Silence that will bring out the horror-faithful. But beyond that, the potential benefit of additional box office for having the most high profile new release is Bullock’s to lose.
Do people really like Bullock in these psychological thrillers? I can understand why she might be shying away from the prospect of Miss Congeniality 3, but the last movie I recall where she slipped on these shoes was Murder By Numbers and no one really remembers her performance from that. They all remember Ryan Gosling’s introduction to mainstream audiences. Seems to me audiences appreciate her in the more cute and cuddly romantic comedy roles that Drew Barrymore will be stealing from her in another 5 years.
I don’t have anything much more insightful than that when it comes to Bullock’s career or Premonition in particular. But I have a whole week of madcap fun planned for the strips. So if you’re into over-the-top cartoon violence, be sure to check us out!
Another thing you’ll want to check out tonight is The Triple Feature talkcast featuring myself, Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies and Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex. I forget what we’re talking about this week because I can barely keep track of time these days, but it will probably be about the success of 300. So if you saw the movie this weekend and want to call into the show to discuss it, you have a great opportunity! Just go to TalkShoe, download their client, download a call-in program like Skype or SJPhone (it’s free) and say "Hello!" We had a really good turn out last week. It would be great if we could boost those numbers. We want you to participate!
When you’re done reading this, scroll down a little bit. I want you to leave me some feedback on another issue and I don’t want it getting lost in the comments of this post. If you guys want to reply here and let me know what you thought about 300, fire away! What was your favorite moment? What were the crowds like? What did they respond to?
Let me know!
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Okay, I need some direct feedback on this. I’m a little self-conscious and I need to see if people will recognize the person I’ve drawn for a t-shirt I’m putting together.
DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS MAN?
I don’t want to provide any clues as to who it is or why I’m drawing him. I just want to know if people looking at it will immediately recognize him and say “Oh, that’s so-and-so!” Otherwise, the joke in the shirt I’m designing won’t work at all.
So, who do you think this is? Leave your comments below!
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“Popcorn safety goggles?!” Oh, man! Where do I come up with this stuff?
I cop to a continuation of the joke from Monday’s strip, but I don’t feel bad about it. I have a joke in mind for Friday’s comic that I think will wrap this little arc up into a nice, neat package. Besides, it’s not like there’s anything else besides Premonition coming out this weekend.
Sure, there’s lots of advertising around Dead Silence, but I find I don’t have much to say about horror movies because they’re all pretty much the same. And then there’s Chris Rock’s directorial debut I Think I Love My Wife. Which to me looks like some kind of 1980’s situational comedy about the differences between men and women. I’m pretty sure I can’t make a joke there without getting in trouble with Cami.
So Premonition is the gravy train I’m riding for material this week. If you don’t like it, hang tight. TMNT comes out next week. I’m sure I’ll have some nostalgia-laced commentary for that little time warp.
Incidentally, the lack of interesting movies this week was something Gordon, Joe and I talked about in our weekly talkcast, The Triple Feature this past Monday at 9:00 PM. If you missed it, you can always download it from iTunes. We also talked about 300 and how it’s unprecedented success (the largest opening for film in March ever) might affect the production of the graphic novel gold standard, Watchmen. I thought it was a really good show. Check it out!
And while I’m slingin’ links, I have to give both Gordon and Joe props for their excellent 300-themed comics. You can view their respective efforts here and here. To be honest, I was jealous I didn’t come up with either joke myself. But it’s the kind of writing that would have required me to actually *ahem* see the movie. So I’m kind of wringing my hands over that one. By the way, did you know these comics were Multiplex’s 125th and Joe Loves Crappy Movies 300th? Milestones all around!
Switching gears for a second… I made a post on Monday that seemed to generate a lot of interest. Basically, I posted a drawing that I did of Sean Bean, but didn’t share that fact with you guys. I asked you to guess who it was because I was going to use the rendering as part of a t-shirt design that referenced an earlier comic and I wanted to make sure people could identify who it was supposed to be without being prompted.
The responses were really interesting. Some people knew right away that it was Bean. Others thought it looked like Ben Affleck or Ben Affleck (which was weird). Other people couldn’t make a guess because they’re really not familiar with Sean Bean’s body of work. A fair assessment. He’s not all that well-known.
So what did I learn from this feedback? I learned that if I produced the shirt, the majority of you would get the reference and that’s a good thing. But I also learned that because I used Bean’s IMDB publicity photo, I might be making myself vulnerable to some legal action. So what do we do?
Well, this brought to the fore something I’ve been thinking about for a while and that’s my caricature skills. They’re kind of bad. I mean, does this look like Samuel L. Jackson to you? Yeah, me neither. So I’ve decided to do something about it.
Yesterday I ordered a couple of
At any rate, I was really pleased to see the level of participation in the comments area from Monday’s post so I think I’m going to continue posting caricatures and let you guys guess who the person is supposed to be as a regular thing. It’s fun, it gives you guys something to talk about and it’ll help me improve my art. Sound like a plan? Let me know what you think in the comments! Natch!
What about the shirt design? I think I might still go ahead and finish it just because it was a very rich vision in my head and I’d like to see it completed. That doesn’t mean I’ll produce that version of the shirt. I might swap out the image of Bean from Monday’s post with another once I start to get a little better with the caricature. We’ll see. In the meantime, I have other designs I want to try. So it’s no big deal.
That’s it for today! See you Friday!
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He’s dodged meat cleavers, exploding popcorn kernels and strangulation by 35mm film. Let’s face it – The Movie Gods want Tom to live! Either that, or Cami’s ESP needs a tune-up.
I know some people get confused about where the line blurs between real-life Tom and comic Tom. So that I don’t have to field a bunch of questions about it later, my real-life Dad is very much alive and well and was not strangled by any film that crashed through the projection booth window. That probably sounds silly to most of you, but you’d be amazed at how literal some people can be. Yup, today’s punchline was a tip of the hat to The Naked Gun. Nothing more, nothing less.
I don’t have much more to say about this weekend’s movie offerings, but I am curious if anyone saw Andy Barker P.I. on NBC last night? Tony Hale from Arrested Development is a video store clerk in the strip mall where Andy Richter’s character works. He shows him a Sandra Bullock doll from Miss Congeniality he made himself to make fun of the movie. "Oh, Sandra. Why do you make such confusing movie choices? he asked.
Too perfect.
Anyway, I have some site news to share and I’m also looking for a little bit of help.
I’m finally starting to get around to adding back some of the links that have been missing since the redesign. It’s been almost three months and it really should have happened sooner, but the advertising page and the press page are now in production. If you’re interested in advertising in either one of the huge ad bars on the site, the advertising place is where you can get set up. Incidentally, my friends from Alma Mater stumbled onto the page on the server, even though there was no direct link to it and made a purchase. So you should check out their comic and reward their ingenuity.
The press page pretty much speaks for itself. It has links to all the interviews I’ve done along with all the profiles, site and book reviews related to Theater Hopper. I like to consider it my little digital Fortress of Solitude where I keep all my trophies. I thought you guys would get a kick out of reading some of that stuff if you missed it the first time around. It’s also a way to say thanks to the publications that actually gave me the time of day.
The tour page has been in production a while and is also fairly self-explanatory. I’m just reminding you of it because it’s been floating out there by itself for a while and you might not have checked into it. I had to drop Kansas City’s Planet Comicon. No one else I knew was going to be there and that’s too long to be away from Cami and Henry. So, your best bet this year is going to be seeing me at Wizard World Chicago. I wish I could go to some of the bigger shows like the San Diego Comicon or whatever. But I just don’t have the money to fly anywhere. Oh, well.
Anyway – the part I need your help with!…
I’m working on the FAQ page and I’m curious what you guys want to know about me or about the site? I don’t want to slap a bunch of fake “questions” onto the page and answer them in some kind of removed, third person fashion. I’d really like to include you guys in the process. So, if there’s something you want to know about Theater Hopper – how long it takes me to make a comic, what materials I use – or anything about me, like how long I’ve been cartooning, what my favorite movie is or how do I come up with strip ideas – leave them in the comments section of this blog. I’ll take the best questions any build the page out. Hopefully in the next couple of days, you’ll see your question answered and will have provided a great service to the other readers!
So, fire away and have a great weekend!
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