Posts Tagged ‘Brokeback Mountain’
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Here it is, the fist comic of 2006, and I’m late with the blog. Not a good way to kick things off, is it? Well, if it makes you feel any better, I feel torn up inside about it. Check out my Webcomics List incentive sketch if you don’t believe me!
Incidentally, after being asleep at the switch throughout the month of December, it looks like they finally reset the vote counts. We’re at number three as of the authoring of this blog. Let’s see if we can’t reclaim the top spot with totalitarian fury!
I haven’t had a chance to see Brokeback Mountain yet, but I’ve seen the trailer. I’ve mentioned it before – that line that Jake Gyllenhall’s character yells to Heath Ledger – "I wish I knew how to quit you!" Totally removed from context like that, it’s one of the greatest, most quotable, unintentionally hilarious line deliveries next to James Van Der Beek’s twangy "I don’t want… yer life!" from Varsity Blues. At any rate, I’ve been struggling to find a way to incorporate it into the strip and I think I finally found a situation where it made sense. I’m happy with how this comic turned out.
I’ve read articles about the line. I guess they say people have been laughing about it in theaters. But, at the same time, if people are talking about it – that’s a good thing, right? At least they aren’t ignoring it completely.
Cami and I both have an interest in the film. I want to see what all the hub-bub is about. It looks as though it’s been positioned as the big Oscar contender in a year rife with lightweights. I think Cami wants to watch it for hot man-on-man action.
Yes, I am being sarcastic.
We were hoping to see the movie today, but it doesn’t look like it’s showing yet in our area. We’ll probably see The Producers instead – despite the fact that we’ve already seen the Broadway show and heard the filmed version is as if they took a camera and pointed it at the stage. No one I know is talking about The Producers. I think it was a big mistake for them to open on Christmas Day. Apparently that was Mel Brooks decision. He didn’t want to compete with King Kong. Yeah… ‘cuz, you know… they’re like EXACTLY the same movie. I love Mel Brooks, but sometimes I feel like he doesn’t know when to quit. I was watching History of the World: Part I on AMC over the weekend and I was laughing my ass off. I don’t know if the filmed version of a musical that was a film 30 years ago is going to do the trick. I mean, I enjoyed the stage version when I saw it. But isn’t it kind of like Xeroxing a Xerox?
I guess my parents saw it a week ago and really liked it. But they go to about 5 movies a year, so their rating scale is skewed a little differently. Oh, well. It has Will Ferrell in it. And that’s like throwing in catnip when it comes to my comedic sensibilities. What can I say? Ferrell is my kryptonite!
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Okay, the Academy Awards start in about 20 minutes and I said I would come back to make my picks, so here they are.
Originally I was going to do a huge write up about who I thought would win and why, but I don’t think there’s enough time for that now.
Anyway, here’s who I think will win:
BEST PICTURE: Brokeback Mountain. I don’t know if it was the best movie of the year, but considering it’s origins, the difficulty the writers and producers had bringing it to screen and it’s overall cultual signifigance, I think it should be rewarded. Crash looks like it might upset, though. Especially considering the complexity of the storyline, the large and tallented cast and the fact that it’s set in L.A. – where the majoirty of Academy voters live. If any film could pull an upset, it would be this one.
BEST ACTOR: Phillip Seymour Hoffman. If the Academy could nominate and award Jamie Foxx for his performance in Ray, then they most certainly need to recognized Hoffman. His performance transcends pure imitation. You really get to see the person beneath the public facade of Truman Capote, warts and all. Again, considering the difficulty Hoffman and his writing partners faced bringing this production to film, he’s a sure bet.
BEST ACTRESS: Reese Witherspon. It’s her time. Public opinion is with her and there’s rumor that she’s being paid $29 million for her next movie. It’s safe to say she’s assumed the mantle from Julia Roberts. Is there any other actress out there right now that generates this much attention? Okay, Legally Blonde 2 was a turkey. She might not technically be a great actress, but she’s a certified movie star. Moreso than the other nominees. Except for Charlize Theron and she’s already won.
I give points to Felicity Huffman for taking a more challenging, "actorly" role. But tonight, Reese walks home with Oscar.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: George Clooney. I don’t know if his performance deserves it. I haven’t seen Syriana. But, like Reese, he has good buzz around him. Especailly considering his other film Good Night, and Good Luck has him nominated in the Best Original Screenplay and Best Director categories. He won’t win in either of those, so this is his gold watch. I think mosty voters will have his name on the ballot to see what kind of speech he delivers.
If I had my druthers, I would give it to Paul Giamatti – one of the strongest character actors working today, bar none. But I think the negative press around Russell Crowe during the period Cinderella Man was in theaters has hurt his chances. Poor box office of that film also to blame.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Rachel Weisz. I have no basis for opinon here. It just seems to be where everyone else is going. Some people are talking about Michelle Williams, but I really didn’t see anything in her performance that made me stand up and say "Wow!" From what I’ve heard, Weisz’s character is the lynchpin of The Constant Gardner and she delivers on all fronts.
BEST DIRECTOR: Ang Lee. I think this one is a landslide. None of the other nominees lensed anything quite so peaceful, beautiful and poetic as Brokeback Mountain. As the director of Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and even Hulk, his versitility should be recognized. Right film, right time to give him the nod.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Brokeback Mountain. It says more with less. Again, cultural signifigance pulls rank here.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Crash. The complexity. The characterization. The multiple angles on the same story. It’s the most ambitious of the nominees.
Anyway, those are my choices. Really, a lot of the media outlets I’ve been keeping up with predict it the same. Really the only nailbiter is Best Supporting Actor. It could go in any direction. But the rest seem like locks. I think it’ll be a pretty standard affair for Oscar tonight. That is, unless Crash was able to perform some kind of last-minute rally. I view it as the dark horse. We’ll see!
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I made a promise to come in and talk about the controversy over Crash upsetting Brokeback Mountain for the Best Picture Oscar.
But I gotta be truthful: I’m not as upset about it as I was before.
I haven’t seen Crash, so I can’t vouch for it’s worthiness or unworthiness. But at the time when Jack Nicholson read the name of the winning film from that card, I was shocked. To me, Brokeback seemed like the more culturally relevant film. Just in terms of the awareness it brought to homosexual relationships as fully realized partnerships. Not a gimmick. Not a flamboyant supporting plot device. But just as rich and detailed as any straight love story.
I’ve heard from some people that Brokeback wouldn’t have gotten the same amount of attention if it weren’t about gay cowboys. There might be some truth to that, but I don’t think so. I think audiences are interested in well-crafted stories regardless of the main character’s sexual orientation. To me, the fact that Brokeback was about a gay couple was secondary. It’s about cowardace and not standing up for the most important things in life. It’s about caving to self-imposed and societal expectations and not having the strength to question them. You could swap out two gay characters with two straight ones and it wouldn’t have changed the overall theme of the movie – That love is hard-earned and not for the weak. The characters could be a Muslim and a Jew, a black man and a white woman or your next door neighbors. The whole "gay issue" is a non-point to me.
That said, and presuming that both Brokeback and Crash are equally well-made films (represented by their equal share of earned Oscars in technical categories), at one point I questioned if there was perhaps some kind of bias against Brokeback because Academy voters couldn’t see past the "gay issue."
I think Crash may have also had a "home-field" advantage in and of that it is a movie set and filmed in L.A. and that’s where 80% of the voting block resides. Also considering the location of the shoot was probably a touch point for voters considering that most productions are being farmed out to Canada, Australia and Prague to cut costs. Filming in their own backyard was something the voters wanted to reward perhaps as a means to encourage production to stay in Tinsletown.
But overall, you have to question if perhaps the homosexual aspect of the film was not something voters wanted to appear to endorse. It was tackled at the top of the show that Hollywood was out of touch with mainstream America. A win for Brokeback would have been a strong confirmation of that point to those critics. Why give them more ammunition?
Jeffery Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere made an interesting point about the whole thing. I quote,
"Is anyone besides me seeing the irony here…the irony that howled and flooded the skies above Los Angeles last night? The very thing that Crash laments — prejudice against people of different stripes and persuasions — is what tipped the vote and delivered the Big Prize."
It’s food for thought.
I shared that thought for a while, but I think it’s since worked it’s way out of my system. Friday’s comic will reflect that and, I think, from there we can all move forward.
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Jared throws a mean uppercut. Ask someone who knows.
Okay, this time I swear I’m done with all the stuff about the Oscars. More on that later.
You know what I think is most ironic about today’s strip? Shortly after finishing it, I got an e-mail from the author of Weekly Webcomic Reviews that I was voted on of "The Cool Dudes of Web Comics" under the nomination heading "Nicest Guy in Web Comics." Yes, I have achieved this despite the fact that my characters pummel each other on a fairly consistent basis.
You should check out the article. A couple of my friends – Joe Dunn, Mitch Clem and Sam Logan – were also awarded under less subjective criteria. Still, it’s nice to be recognized.
I don’t know how to bring this up without sounding like a totally pompous idiot, but I’ve heard about my reputation for being a nice guy in other corners of the scene. I know a few people that would disagree with that, so it’s curious to me how I’ve subconciously cultivated this outward perception. It’s not like I’m giving backrubs to people who read the comic. But I totally would. I’m one of those "huggy guys." It’s what happens when your parents leave you in a crib from the age of 4 months to 2 years. You end up overcompensating later in life.
Just kidding, Mom and Dad! I love ya!
I probably need to mention that I won’t be posting any updates for the next two weeks. I have a couple of events going on right now that are going to draw my attention away from the comic. But don’t worry. I got a couple of really great babysitters that are going to take care of you.
The first event that I’m attending is kind of a long story. I’ll give you the Cliff’s Notes version here.
Have you guys heard of The World Series of Pop Culture? It’s a game show that’s going to be on VH1 later this summer. I know that you haven’t heard about it yet because it hasn’t been filmed! How do I know that? Because I’m auditioning for the show in Chicago this weekend!
Like I said, it’s kind of a long story. But essentially, a friend of Cami and I sent me an e-mail about the show and said "Tom, this is PERFECT for you!" I said "Why not?" and signed us up. We filled out an application and the casting people liked what they saw. After that, they sent us an essay to fill out and we sent that on. After that, we were told we have an audition!
This isn’t like American Idol or some nonsense like that. It’s not a cattle call. Not just anyone can go. They’re only doing this for two days and you have to have an invitation. So we’re pretty psyched about it.
Basically, the producers are doing auditions in 5 cities and will eventually cast 16 teams of 3 to compete in New York in late April. The audition on Saturday consists of a timed written test. If we pass, they sit down the three team members and interview us individually. If they like what they see in the interviews, they’ll call us Saturday night and have us come back to the hotel where we’re auditioning to do a dry run of the game on Sunday. They’re calling back 8 teams. The team that wins AUTOMATICALLY gets to go on the show. The remaining 7 teams will have their names thrown into a hat and 4 will be drawn at random to compete.
Anyway, there’s a little more to the story you can read about in the THorum here if you’re interested. It’s been an interesting journey so far. I’ll be sure to let everyone know how things turn out after this weekend. Posting pictures and whatnot.
Anyway, since there’s a possibility that we might be competing on Sunday and they may need us there until 5:00, it’s possible I won’t be home in time to do a strip for Monday. It’s a 6 hour drive from Chicago to Des Moines, so it looks like a strip from me is off the schedule.
Additionally, I will be going on vacation next Thursday the 16th through Tuesday the 21st. So instead of having a guest strip on Monday, a strip from me on Wednesday and three more guest strips after that – I decided to give myself a well earned vacation and just take the next two weeks off. After all, it’s a lot easier to relax when you aren’t worried about posting new comics.
But as I said, I have a bunch of great stuff lined up for you guys. If you need an indication of quality, chew on this – All of the guest strips are coming from artists from Boxcar Comics. Oh, yeah!
So, this is the last comic you’ll see from me until March 27th, but I’ll still be poking around and saying "Hi." Hopefully by the time I get back I’ll have some concrete news about the Theater Hopper: Year One book. Until then, have a great weekend!
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Mar13
GUEST STRIP – ALI GRAHAM
March 13th, 2006 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(6 votes, average: 8.33 out of 10)
Big ups to Housd creator Ali Graham for coming to the rescue with this guest strip. As I’ve come to know him through Boxcar, Ali is the go-to guy when you need a little extra coverage. Anyone in the group who has asked for a guest strip from the others will see Ali be the first to serve something up and his work is consistently hilarious. Of course, what else can you expect from someone who has been dedicated enough to pump out over 1,000 strips! The man is a dynamo! Thanks, Ali!
This weekend I was in Chicago with friends auditioning for VH1’s World Series of Pop Culture. For legal reasons, I can’t give you too many specifics about the show. But I plan on sharing more about the trip later. We happened to be in town for Chicago’s world-famous St. Patrick’s Day parade, so it’s safe to say we had a blast!
I’ll likely be posting something about the trip to the THorum later this afternoon or evening. I have photos, too. So look for updates on those as well. I’ll be sure to let everyone know where to find it when posted.
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Mar15
GUEST STRIP – JOERULES AND MADMUP
March 15th, 2006 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(39 votes, average: 8.82 out of 10)
Much respect to Joerules and Mad Mup for bringing another stellar guest strip collaboration to Theater Hopper. Followers of the site know that they’ve displayed their tallents twice before and the comics keep getting better and better and better. This is a nifty little hat trick for them!
I think we all know Joe Dunn is a pretty busy guy. But why my good friend Mup hasn’t found a full-time artist to collaborate with is beyond me. He clearly has a sense of pacing and knows how to tell a joke. That Quidditch line? Can I steal that and put it on a shirt, Mup? It’s classic!
I also have to give BIG points to Joe for tossing in all the litte Iron Man action figures. Joe knows me personally, so he knows my fanboy obcession with all things Iron Man. Once again, Joe proves he’s the master of detail by adding them to the office environment! If you guys want proof of my Iron Man devotion, you should comb through some of my archived web cam images! I think that’s where he might have gotten the inspiration for this personal touch… Great work, Joe!
This will probably be the last real-time post you’ll see from me in a while. Cami and I are going on vacation tomorrow – hopping on a jet plane to "THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!" Walt Disney World.
I always feel this weird compulsion to apologise for going to Walt Disney World. As if it were some kind of childish endulgance that I should have grown past. I think it’s because when I was growing up, I looked at the resort as this very exclusive place that only rich people could afford to go to. That’s not really the case. It’s very affordable. And, actually, Cami and I have shared a lot of happy memories there.
We’ll never be the kind of couple that goes there every year or hosts some big-ass family reunion that clogs up the line of every attraction. But I proposed to her there, we spent our honeymoon there and – six years later – we’re going back to celebrate our anniversary. We’ll be married six years this Saturday, the 18th. We’re going to have a great time.
I’ll be back sometime Tuesday afternoon and I’ll probably be spending most of it catching up on e-mails and other internet happenings. But there will still be guest strips going on while I’m back. You’ll get another dose on Friday and then Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week.
Both Cami and I have been burned out for a long time. We haven’t taken a vacation where it was just the two of us since January of 2004, so this has been a long time coming. I’m excited to go, but I’m also already excited to come back because this will be exactly what I need to recharge my batteries and get me ready for pushing the release of the first Theater Hopper book shortly thereafter!
Things are really looking up!
Thanks to all you guys for giving us a little breathing room, but also for continuing to support the comic and spreading the word about Theater Hopper to all of your friends. I’m not sure why, but I’ve been getting lots of e-mails from people lately saying that they’lve just been introduced to the comic and are loving it. That’s a great feeling, especially after doing this for three and a half years. Don’t think for a minute I don’t appreciate it!
I’ll be back soon enough. Until then, enjoy today’s great comic and the guest strips yet to come!
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Originally, I wanted to do a comic about Hellboy II: The Golden Army for today’s update. I had a chance to see the movie last Friday and loved it. But seeing as I had just completed TWO Hellboy comics STARRING Hellboy last week, I thought it might be overkill. Truthfully, it would have been more of an excuse for me to try and rope things back into Theater Hopper territory and not do a straight-up parody. Best to let sleeping dogs lie.
I was about to do a comic I had on the back burner for Meet Dave. The set up was going to be Tom and Cami sitting at a table and Tom mentioning to Cami that Eddie Murphy had a new movies in theater. Her reply would have been a courteous but clipped “Oh, that’s nice” and then the last two panels were going to be completely without dialogue to reflect the idea that NO ONE CARES ABOUT EDDIE MURPHY ANYMORE!
If you think that last statement is too harsh, then just check out the box office on Meet Dave in it’s first week. 7th place and $5.3 million dollars? You really screwed the pooch with Norbit, Murphy. You could have had a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Dreamgirls and pulled yourself out of this hole. Now you’ll be stuck doing tepid family films for ages.
Ah, who am I kidding. The guy has more money than God. He’s set for life.
Anyway, that was going to be my Meet Dave comic which I really like conceptually, but probably wouldn’t have worked in reality. Too low key, too subtle and I’m not sure people would have understood that neither Tom or Cami were particularly interested in the latest Eddie Murphy movie. It probably would have ended up looking like I forgot to add word bubbles to the last two panels.
Thank goodness for The Dark Knight. Probably one of the most anticipated films of the year and I feel like I have enough ground to cover with this one to do a WHOLE WEEK’S worth of strips. So, buckle up.
People have been going round and around talking about Heath Ledger’s performance of The Joker. And, of course, you can’t talk about Heath Ledger without mentioning that he died back in January from an accidental overdose. It’s kind of a catch-22. On the one hand, it feels slightly exploitative. But, on the other hand, it wouldn’t be responsible journalism if you didn’t mention it somewhere. It might almost be considered disrespectful to his memory – like you were trying to gloss over something that didn’t happen.
Any way you slice it, it’s a shame. I kind of feel bad for the other actors in the film that not have to field questions on two fronts. It’s no longer about promoting the movie. It’s also about Ledger and what his death means. I have a fantasy where Gary Oldman just goes off on some reporter for pushing the issue too far, but that’ll probably never happen.
Some critics are already saying Ledger should be nominated for an Oscar for his performance. Having not seen the movie, I can’t judge one way or the other. Although I’ve been impressed with the clips I’ve seen. Ledger is mesmerizing and it’s evident that he tapped into something primal in his depiction of The Joker.
That said, it’s all speculation and too soon to say if it’ll even happen. I try to think in the short term as well as the long term and if there was going to be any benefit at all from Ledger’s death, the best I could come up with is the absolute conclusion to lame Brokeback Mountain references.
It was only a couple of years ago, but you remember how it went. Seriously – if I had to listen to one more person do their riff on the line “I wish I knew how to quit you,” I would have screamed.
Hey, I was guilty of it, too! But some people hang onto that stuff a little too long. Admit it, you still know someone in your office making Borat references. “Very nice…”
At this point, a Brokeback reference would not only be irrelevant from a pop culture perspective, it would be downright insensitive. So, I think we can officially label this “The End of The Trend.”
A short programming note for those of you who are fans of The Triple Feature podcast – there will be no show tonight. Both Joe and Gordon are traveling, which would leave me by my little, old lonesome. So we decided to scrap this week’s show and get together NEXT week at 9:00 PM CST at TalkShoe.com to discuss Hellboy II and The Dark Knight. I don’t know who we’re trying to fool. You know we’ll only end up talking about The Dark Knight. Which is a shame. I had a great time watching Hellboy II and everyone I’ve talked to has enjoyed it as well. It would be a real treat to pour over it.
I guess you’ll just have to tune in next week to see!
Thanks for visiting the site today. I’ll see you here again on Wednesday! Have a great week!
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