Posts Tagged ‘Black Swan’
2 items.
I’m having a bit of a crisis as I write this blog. It took me a while to put together this 6 panel strip and I think I may have committed to the idea too early. Because I realized after I finished the comic, uploaded it and started writing the transcript for the web site that there really isn’t much of a punchline. Just an angry exchange.
There should have been more of a twist at the end. Maybe a bottle of Jergen’s falling out of Tom’s pocket, or something. “I HAVE DRY SKIN!” could have been his defense. Alas, I finished too early.
And if you think you can make a joke out of that last statement, the work is already half-way done for you.
The genesis of the comic’s plot came from a truthful place, however. I’ve been begging Cami to see Black Swan with me for weeks. She’s declined citing a certain level of discomfort with the much-publicized lesbian hook-up between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.
I’ve talked to friends who have seen the movie and they’ve confirmed it’s no big deal. Nothing graphic. But Cami has not been persuaded.
I don’t know exactly what kind of debauchery she thinks will be splashed on the screen, but she remains unconvinced that this is a movie she needs to see.
Truthfully, the shine has worn off a little bit for me as well. Now that the critical praise has died down, it’s evident to me that Black Swan is a Grade-A mind trip – a Darren Aronofsky specialty.
You have to be in the right frame of mind to watch Aronofsky’s films. They’re challenging and often uncomfortable. That’s a hard sell when you’re the parent of two small children and your movie choices are limited. Do you pick the film that entertains or the film that discombobulates you for three days?
Hey! You have work in the morning and the kids need their breakfast! Sorry, son. Daddy’s mind has been scrambled by an auteur who sought to explore the psycho-sexual underbelly of the bleeding arts.
Like I said – a tough sell.
I’m trying to convince Cami that she’ll be kicking herself when Portman wins the Oscar for Best Actress. At this point, it seems almost inevitable. She has the groundswell behind her and Academy voters are sheep. I don’t mean to imply she’s not deserving (without seeing the movie, I can’t say for sure). But when it comes to the Oscars, once a campaign goes in a certain direction, it’s hard to turn the tides.
I guess I’d like to talk to the family that thought this might be a good film to watch over the Christmas holiday when it originally came out. I imagine there were some grandmothers expecting an intriguing film about ballet that were in for a rude awakening…
How about you? Have you seen Black Swan yet? Does it live up to the hype? Was it everything you thought it would be? Leave your opinions in the comments below.
Oh, and also – if you have time – be sure to check out the new Bonus Materials section of the site. It’s a secondary blog where I post trailers, reviews and other movie-related odds and ends… Stuff that doesn’t really have a place on the home page or that is unrelated to the comic.
Credit where credit is due – I stole this idea completely from Gordon McAlpin’s Deleted Scenes blog over at Multiplex. But he gave me his blessing and things are cool. We’re like internet brothers who will loan each other our jackets on a windy day.
Aww…
Anyway, swing by the new blog. I’ll be updating it occasionally. Sometimes multiple times a day, sometimes not at all. I just wanted something untethered from the comic where I could post random bits. Y’know… someplace that WASN’T Facebook.
Although, in truth, they’re probably end up there as well.
Don’t forget to toss in your two cents about Black Swan! New comic next week! Cheers!
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I have to apologize for two things.
First, apologies for the comic being posted later this evening on Monday.
Second, my apologies for the random violence in today’s strip. I’m of the firm belief that violence for the sake of violence is usually an indicator of poor writing. This might be the case with this strip. It certainly turned out a lot darker in tone than I originally envisioned.
Fortunately, there’s an excuse for both of these issues!
Last week, a link to Lackadaisy’s tutorial for drawing expressions made the rounds in webcomic circles. It. Is. Phenomenal. If you’re an illustrator of any capacity, you need to check it out. It’s very thorough and very informative.
Anyway, I spent the week digesting the information and really wanted to put what I learned into practice. So I grabbed a small hand mirror and started making goofy faces to use as reference in today’s comic. That’s why the strip is late.
As for the violence… I dunno. I was trying for extreme emotion and I guess I’m just an angry dude?
As for Natalie Portman, I do think it’s funny that she follows the most wildly heralded performance of her career in Black Swan with an Aston Kutcher romantic comedy. It kind of reminds me when Eddie Murphy followed his Oscar-nominated performance in Dreamgirls with Norbit.
I don’t think the bloom is off the rose for Portman, though. No Strings Attached opened in first place with tepid, but not toxic reviews. Even if the movie tanked, she’d be the last one to take the blame. They’d lay it at the feet of Ashton Kutcher or director Ivan Reitman before they ever thought about pointing fingers at Portman.
Besides, Portman’s long been championed as a lock for a Best Actress Oscar and we all know the Academy loves giving those awards to Americans. The field could be choked with Tilda Swinton, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett playing some kind of Elizabith I Super Beast. They’d still give the award to Sandra Bullock for playing a no-nonsense Mom with three kids.
I guess we’ll know what the field looks like tomorrow when nominations for the 83 Annual Academy Awards are announced tomorrow.
I plan on posting the nominees on the new Bonus Materials blog here on the site, for what it’s worth. I mean, it’s not like you can get that information anywhere else, right? But maybe you want to check in tomorrow and we can talk shop. Share with others your opinions of the nominations and who you think will win.
Should we put together some kind of Oscar betting pool?
Have you guys had a chance to check out the Bonus Materials blog yet? I only ask because I’ve been linking to some of the articles I’ve writing through the Theater Hopper Facebook account and one person asked me if I could add the articles to the site somewhere. They were having trouble finding them.
That’s why I slapped that “NEW BLOG!” graphic up there with the arrow pointing to the new navigation link. I don’t want you guys to miss out.
I’ve been trying to post at least one article daily, depending on what’s going on in the world of movies. Sometimes I post trailers or photos from upcoming films. Sometimes I talk about what’s going on right now.
For example, earlier today I posted an article about all the flack Kevin Smith has been catching from the blogger community after his new film Red State premiered at Sundance last night. It’s provoking some interesting responses.
My hope is that you guys check the blog often. But more importantly, I hope you contribute. I know more comics is always better. But until I can figure out a way to bump up production without killing myself, these blog posts are a way to create content and it isn’t much skin off my back.
So, anyway. Check it out and enjoy.
Oh, and if you didn’t notice, I added some social media links under the navigation to Theater Hopper’s Facebook, Twitter and RSS feeds. If you want to check those out, that would be a real ego boost for me.
In the meantime, if you want to chat up Natalie Portman’s new sexy-time phase of her career, you can do that here, in the comments below.
HAVE AT IT, QUEEN AMIDALA FANBOYS!
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