THE BUZZWORD THAT WILL GET YOUR MOVIE MADE
April 23rd, 2004 | by Tom(9 votes, average: 8.89 out of 10)
I don’t really have a lot to say about Jennifer Garner’s latest movie 13 Going On 30. It seems like a pretty mindless diversion. I guess it’s getting pretty good reviews. A fairly positive one from our own resident movie-reviewer Nick Caster. He had the good fortune of catching a sneak preview last weekend and decided to share his thoughts. You should swing over to the Bonus Materials page and read it for yourself…
I’ll admit the comparison to Big is a cheap one. Cami pointed out to me that a reviewer in Vanity Fair came to the same glib conclusion. I don’t read Vanity Fair, so I’m excused from plagiarism. But that doesn’t mean the common perception isn’t out there.
Oh, well. My joke is more about a studio executive being so captivated by the concept of giant breasts that he wouldn’t notice a couple of lowly screen writers stealing his checkbook to make a hack movie. Call it a reflection of the male condition. It makes it sound more educated.
With that of the way, I have a bunch of site related business to mention.
First off, I want to give a big welcome to Jeph Jacques whose excellent indie-themed comic Questionable Content was brought into the fold over at Dayfree Press. Jeph has a great thing going. Wonderfully characters and richly developed story lines. You should check it out.
In other Dayfree news, congratulations for Brian Carroll of Instant Classic for reaching 100 strips! Brian lead into his crescendo with a bang – literally! He took the comic in a narrative and artistic direction that really raised the bar. It needs to be see to be believed!
I also wanted to give a shout out to two of our newest advertisers – InfamousGreen.com , a site that will host a film makers short films for free. A great resource for you Spielberg’s-in-training.
We’re also advertising a new comic called The Munchies . It’s ripe with adventures about food products. Get it? RIPE?! Oh, wow!…
The last thing I’ll mention is to check out the forums for a fun game we play every week called The Friday Five . The concept is very simple. I pose five questions to the community at large, and they answer them. You can, too! It’s a great jumping on point to the forums and you can learn a lot about the people who already post there with minimal research. Check it out!
I hope everyone has a good weekend. I know I’m looking forward to it. The weather is getting nicer every day!
Did Angelina Jolie end up getting that ChapStick she requested? I bet if you vote for Theater Hopper at Webcomics List, you’ll find out!
I’m writing today’s blog a lot earlier than usual. Tonight, I’m penning my missives at 7:00 o’clock in the evening rather than 1:00 in the morning. The reason for this is because in about an hour I will be seeing Ted Leo and The Pharmacists. (Yes, you should envy me.) So if today’s blog is still littered with the same grammatical and spelling errors you’ve come to know and love, then you will know that instead of hiding behind the excuse of exhaustion that I am terrible writer instead.
Not to continue too far down the path of non-related movie topics, but tonight will be the first time I’ve seen Ted Leo perform in 10 years. The first time I saw him was when he was in the band Chisel and opened for Fugazi in 1995.
This is not important to any of you, but it’s a thrill for me and I haven’t been able to stop talking about it. Cami’s ready for me to get out of the house and get the concert over with.
Anyway, movies!
I didn’t see Mr. and Mrs. Smith this weekend, but despite some scathing reviews, it seemed to do quite well – raking in $51 million dollars. Not bad. Usually the controversy of an (alleged) on-set romance keeps people away. Well, the people who aren’t interesting at gawking at the pair to see for themselves if the duo generates the kind of heat the tabloids accuse them of. I predict a big drop-off in the second week.
I have to admit that I’m curious to see what catches fire on screen. And despite stern warning to the contrary, Doug Liman’s films have always been enjoyable romps in my book. I’m eager to see what he conjures up here.
Ironically, I could care less about Jolie – although I admire the niche she’s carved out for herself in Hollywood. If you’re looking for dangerous femme fatales with a screw loose, I think Angelina is the first to call. She summons an intensity that most other actresses tuck away.
I’m particularly interested in seeing what Brad Pitt does in the movie. I don’t know why, but I’ve found him more and more interesting as time goes on. Like most men my age, I thought his turn in Fight Club was astonishing, but I don’t think it was until he made Ocean’s Eleven that I really started to enjoy watching him as a performer.
I think everything before that was Brad trying to be taken as a “serious actor.” Which is commendable, but he simply isn’t another working stiff. After Ocean’s Eleven, you can kind of tell that he decided to let the chips fall where they may and make his living “playing Brad Pitt.” Pretty much every role there on out could have been filled by anyone else, but Brad is in it because they need a movie star. Someone whose best character is themselves.
At least he’s being more honest with his audience
At any rate, I’m off to see Ted Leo, but I have a couple of things to mention.
First, advertisements. I know it’s a slow time of year, but really think about advertising with Theater Hopper. We can still pull in some good traffic for you.
Second, shirts. I have them in my possession, I’m just waiting for the online warehouse I buy my envelopes from to make their delivery. That should be sometime this week, so that means I should be mailing things out today or Tuesday. More detailed information about that here.
Third, if anyone knows how to make phpBB Fetch All work, drop me a line. I’m trying to bring aspects of the THorum out onto the front page of the site.
Fourth, my Audioscrobbler profile. If you have an account, add me to your friends list. We’ve formed a group for people who belong to the THorum. You should consider joining it!
Fifth, Bye, bye!
GUEST STRIP – RYAN ESTRADA
September 17th, 2008 | by Tom- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(7 votes, average: 6.71 out of 10)
Do not adjust the internet. Ryan Estrada has taken over. Your regularly scheduled Theater Hopper will resume on Friday.
Hat’s off to Ryan Estrada and his wholesale hijacking of this comic and every other. I always get a kick out of seeing Ryan make his mark in this way and am more than happy to play along. Hey, it gives a night off!
So what have I been doing with my night off? Well, I was watching Speed Racer, which came out on DVD yesterday (expect a full review in the near future). I’m kind of kicking myself that I didn’t see this in the theater because I’m now a big fan of the visual style. But you know how it goes… They bungled the advertising on this thing – couldn’t decide if it was supposed to be a blockbuster or a kid’s movie (for the record, it’s for kids). Plus, The Wachowski’s kind of pissed away their cred after the third Matrix movie.
But, yeah… the movie is a visual feast.
Then again, I’m only half way through it… which was actually going to be my next complaint. For a movie that’s supposed to be all about speed, it’s ponderously slow with it’s pacing. So we’ll see how the second act turns out. I don’t want to give up too much of my review just yet!
Short and sweet today, guys. That’s all I have for you. I’ll see you here on Friday with a brand new comic!
Have a great day!
My apologies for the lateness of this week’s comic. I struggled with this one. I think I probably bit off more than I could chew. I guess 8-panel comics do that to me.
But I really wanted to include that line about walkie-talkies and shotguns. As you may or may not remember, Spielberg digitally removed the shotguns federal agents were carrying and replaced them with walkie-talkies for the film’s 20th anniversary re-release in 2002. It caused a bit of an uproar.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only person to have looked at the trailers for Super 8 and thought to themselves “It looks like E.T. with lens flares.” It’s kind of hard not to when you know that Spielberg was an executive producer and they slapped that old Amblin Entertainment title card in front of the previews.
Additionally, harping on Abrams for utilizing his favorite visual device may even be a little cheap. But at least there was SOME context for the lens flares in Abrams’ reboot of the Star Trek franchise. He said he wanted the film to look like the future.” What’s the deal with adding lens flares to a movie that’s supposed to take place in 1979?
I didn’t get a chance to see Super 8 this weekend and was left kicking myself because I’ve done a really good job of keeping myself spoiler-free. If Abrams is known for his love of lens flares, he’s equally well known for creating an air of mystery around his films. Although, once the mystery is revealed, there is rarely a reason to stick around or care about that movie ever again (Cloverfield, I’m looking at you.)
I do kind of wonder if this retro-vibe Abrams is exploring with Super 8 isn’t a bit of a wank, though. This is not just a period piece we’re talking about. He’s purposefully aping a specific style. Is Abrams trying to push the nostalgia button to earn points with audiences? Is Super 8 an original composition or is it a remix? The way Hollywood looks these days, it’s hard to know what’s authentic anymore. Every movie is either a remake, a sequel or a reference to something else.
But I still want to entertain the mystery. I’m kind of enjoying the chase. That’s why I’m not exactly enthusiastic to ask you guys to submit your thoughts about Super 8 if you happened to see it this weekend. I want to go in “pure.”
After all, if Super 8 is an 80’s throwback, it seems appropriate to be caught off-sides by it like audiences back then did. Back before there was the internet or a 1,000 spoilers creeping around every corner.
Am I alone in this? Did anyone else experience the same sense of anticipation with Super 8? Is it justified or am I being manipulated? And if I’m being manipulated, isn’t that kind of the point?
I guess I’m feeling kind of philosophical today. If you’d like to add your thoughts in the comments section, jump in.