Posts Tagged ‘history’
3 items.
Betcha didn’t think I would have a new comic for you on a Thursday, didja?
Just goes to show that you’ve gotta check the site often because there’s NO TELLING when I might go off the deep end and give you extra content!
I really enjoy it when a storyline slowly materializes from out of nowhere. Usually I’m much more focused on the quick zinger and I don’t give a lot of thought toward expanding my ideas.
I do that partially because I want Theater Hopper to work no matter where you jump into it. Sure, there are subtle references to past comics that enrich the experience if you’ve been a reader for a while. But I don’t ever want to get to the point where the punch line is… oh, I dunno… “TURNIPS!” and the only way you’ll get it is if you’ve been reading for 5 weeks.
That said, this Underworld storyline will wrap up tomorrow. I’ve got to keep things moving since there are so many new flicks coming out this weekend. Things are starting to look up at the local multi-plex.
In case you missed it yesterday, I suggest everyone check out our latest advertiser Destined For Nothing. I think you’re really like what’s going on over there.
And while we’re at it, show a little love to our other advertiser Digital Entertainment News. That site is a class act all the way.
Give these people some due attention. Their contribution to the site helps keep us going.
Oh, also – if you missed it – read yesterday’s blog. I posed a question about auctioning off original art that I still haven’t heard back on.
Cheers!
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10,000 B.C. came out this weekend and was number one at the box office. I’m not so much surprised by that except for the fact that it raked in over $35 million over extremely poor reviews and word of mouth. I don’t get it. All I had to do was read a review the mentioned “mastodons building pyramids” and I knew it wasn’t for me. Director Roland Emmerich has made a film rife with historical inaccuracies, but for whatever reasons, audiences don’t seem to care?
My good friend Joe Dunn said he knew within the first 20 minutes that the film was not for him or “the discerning adult ready to pick apart historical, social, economical and whatever-ical problems at every turn.” Says Joe, “This movie is for kids. Big visuals and classic themes like destiny, loss, sacrifice and family in a genre setting meant to make an impression on the most impressionable people of all- 8 to 12-year-olds.”
I can appreciate that, but I wouldn’t let a kid within 20 feet of this movie without explaining to them the difference between fantasy and reality. If Henry were old enough to watch this film, I’d make sure he knew that there was no evidence that mastodon’s helped build the pyramids because… y’know – THEY WERE EXTINCT!
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that 10,000 B.C. presents itself as a kind of alternate Earth where the timelines went a different way, providing a more rich tapestry for fantasy storytelling, blah, blah, blah. Basiaclly, Emmerich has made a big, sweeping epic with lots of things that look cool and no substance. Certainly there are lots of films like that cluttering up the multiplex. But this one seems to have obtained some kind of perverse indifference about spitting on your mind.
Look – the problem is there are going to be some fools out there that will assume this is educational. Considering how much our attention is being fought for by movies and television, it’s hard enough to drill a truthful concept into a kid’s head let alone a ficticious one. Which version do you think is going to enthrall them more?
It’s very possible that I’m taking all of this too seriously. Anyone that dumb probably wouldn’t go to a movie period if they thought there was something educational about it. These people would probably duck out of seeing College Road Trip for the very same reasons.
Still, life is too short to waste on dumb media. If you need a movie to entertain the kids, wait until Wall-E comes out later in the year. At least you won’t feel like a bad parent for showing a little discretion.
All of this and more we’ll be talking about on The Triple Feature podcast tonight at 9:00 PM CST over at TalkShoe.com. I sincerely hope you join us so you can send in your questions and possibly call in to talk to us. We’ll be talking about 10,000 B.C. and The Bank Job.
BE THERE!
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On Sunday I read the news that there was a huge fire on the Universal Studios backlot and my heart sank. I was shaken by it; I don’t know why. And then I felt ashamed by it because it doesn’t seem like there is a year that goes by that huge wildfires rip through the state of Califorinia, decimating homes and leaving families with nothing… but the thought of a movie studio burning to the ground! *GASP!*… It just felt very selfish in comparison. Nevermind the other natural disasters that seem to be happening with greater and greater frequency all around the world. The earthquake in China — even the F5 tornadoes that recently hit here in Iowa. And I’m worried about a movie studo?
I seem to have lost my perspective. Have I bummed you out yet?
All the same, the events on Sunday (ignighted by workers using a blowtorch, incidentally) inspired this comic. So art is born again! Can you see The Circle of Life? I have a few other comics that will be posted in a short storyline, so I hope you appreciate them over the next few days. It’s not often one gets an excuse to do a Back to the Future parody, so I’m taking this flux capacitor and running with it.
I remember going to Universal Studios in Hollywood almost over 20 years ago – and in no way is that depressing. I believe I was 13 years old. My parents and I had gone to Arizona to visit relatives for Thanksgiving and then we hopped a flight to L.A. as part of an extended vacation.
I remember L.A. being very plastic and very fake. And this was during the early 90’s, pre-grunge. So everything was awash in bright neon green and pink. It was like some kind of Revlon candy land. It didn’t help that we were there over the weekend the Santa Ana winds blew into town. We didn’t know anything about it and were almost trapped outside of our hotel with sand and debris whipping down the street. They had locked up the glass doors in front to keep the vaccum of the high winds from blowing them out. We had to get inside through a service entrance. It was like our own mini disaster movie!
I’ve not had a strong desire to return to L.A. since, but if I *were* to go there, Universal Studios would be the main draw. We went there first-thing when we arrived in the city and I loved it.
Going to Universal Studios – Hollywood is a much more stratifying experience than going to the one in Florida or even MGM Studios (re: Disney Hollywood Studios) because it’s so much more authentic and so much less of a theme park experience (despite the theme park elements). We didn’t run into any filming productions when we were on the back lot tour, but several of the outdoor sets were immediately recognizable from other films. I remember when our tram turned the corner into Clocktower Square from Back to the Future and the spectacle of fantasy colliding with reality was almost too much for a young nerd to handle. It was so cool.
I feel kind of lame admitting it. I mean, I’ve since traveled the world and I’ve seen amazing, indelible, historical structures. But I speak with such effusive praise for a movie set? For a facade? I have no excuse for it. Seeing Clocktower Square from Back to the Future had as much impact on me as when I was standing 10 inches away from “Sunflowers” by Vincent Van Gogh at The National Gallery in London. I felt like I was face-to-face with history.
Kind of says a lot about the truncated American time line when a movie set from 30 years ago blows your mind.
That’s about all I have to say for today. Be sure to check back on Friday for the next installment of this Back to the Future mini-arc.
Have a great day!
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