Posts Tagged ‘Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World’
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I realize this comic might get me in a little bit of trouble with the pants-wetting crowd excited for Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Don’t get me wrong. I’m excited to see it, too. But after watching the effusive praise pour in across Twitter last week when the second trailer was announced, I was left wondering what all the fuss is about.
I’m certainly not making the case that mainstream comics are better than indie comics. But I will go out on a limb and say just because it’s indie doesn’t mean it’s automatically better.
Now, as someone who has never read Scott Pilgrim, maybe I’m not the best person to be critical of the movie adaptation. I can certainly understand someone who has never read an issue of Iron Man looking at me with skepticism.
But here’s the thing… When the FIRST trailer for Scott Pilgrim came out, I felt it was trading heavily on that “Hey, geeks! You know that thing you love? WE MADE A MOVIE OUT OF IT!” mentality. There wasn’t anything specifically about the first trailer that made someone like me – someone who is not ALREADY indoctrinated into the cult of Scott Pilgrim – excited to see the film.
The second trailer fine-tunes things a little bit. I feel like it’s been put together much more effectively. But there’s still so much of that mid-90’s digital hipster smarm dripping from that thing, the Old Curmudgeon in me kind of curls his lip at it.
Say what you want about Iron Man. But the first trailer made you want to see the movie.
Anyway, like I said, I’m still going to see Scott Pilgrim when it comes out because I like the look of it. All I’m saying is that I’m a little skeptical based on the effectiveness of the first two trailers.
Maybe it’s because I know a lot of people in comics, the feel like this is a victory for them – seeing something like Scott Pilgrim on the big screen. Maybe they’re pre-disposed to thinking it’s awesome just like I was pre-disposed to thinking Iron Man would be awesome.
Maybe I should just shut up and read the books. Maybe then I’ll understand what the fuss is about.
But my point is… I shouldn’t have to read the books first.
The strength of the material should already be evident in the trailers. Maybe that’s because they were cut together poorly. But I’m just not seeing it yet.
What do you guys think? Is there anyone else out there confused by the hype surrounding Scott Pilgrim? Everyone I’ve talked to is basically screaming at me to read the books, but I’m dragging my heels. Am I wrong? Leave your comments below and let’s get the conversation started!
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I know I’m kind of getting ahead of myself by talking about movie that don’t come out for another week and a half, but since I’m down to one comic a week now, I kind of have to make it count.
August 13 is looking pretty good in theaters. Between The Expendables, Eat Pray Love and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, there really is something for everyone.
Truthfully, it wasn’t until I noticed the contrast between the hyper-masculine Expendables and the hyper-feminine Eat Pray Love that I stopped to consider where Scott Pilgrim might fit on that scale.
Maybe it’s a little mean to suggest Scott Pilgrim fans don’t have balls, but it’s all in good fun. I’ll have more to say about Scott Pilgrim when it actually comes out next week. Anyone who might be upset by today’s comic will get their revenge at that time.
Incidentally, there is one movie I’d like to see this weekend and it’s The Other Guys. Chalk it up to my pathological weakness for all things Will Ferrell. Mark Wahlberg, however, is comedy kryptonite. A more humorless and self-important actor you are less likely to find. So I don’t know exactly how he’s going to keep up with Ferrell on this one.
I understand there’s a lot of comedy to be mined from characters who are diametrically opposed. But I kind of think Ferrell is better when he has other comedic actors to bounce off of. Another strike against the film is the WAY past its welcome conceit of two woefully mismatched cops.
But frequent Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay wrote and directed the script, so maybe there will be some curve balls in there. The Anchorman pedigree lives large in my mind, so I’m probably predisposed to ignore the film’s faults when it hits theaters this weekend.
What about the rest of you? Is anyone else anticipating The Other Guys this weekend or does the “mismatched cops” trope have you concerned? Did I go to far with my assessment of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World? Leave your comments below!
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Sincere apologies for the comic being late this week. As I explained on the Theater Hopper Facebook page, last week was… not the best. I pretty much spent the entirty of last week preparing for a presentation in my Leadership and Human Capital Development course as part of my Masters in Communication Leadership. I was in class all of Friday night and most of Saturday.
Then, on Sunday, we were out of the house nearly all day showing it to prospective buyers. One couple was traveling from Dallas, Texas to look at our house and was supposed to be there at 5:00 PM. We got a call at 5:30 saying that they were still on the runway in Dallas.
But they loved the photos of our house online and really, really wanted to see our home that evening before they interviewed for some hospital positions the next day. We had been hanging out at my in-laws and said we would wait. So we waited. And waited. By the time 7:30 rolled around we said, “You know what? We have two small children. It’s way past their bedtime and we have work tomorrow. You’ll have to come look another time.”
By the time we got home and got both kids to bed it was past 9:00 PM and I was wiped out. There was no way I was going to get a comic done that evening. So I ended up working on Monday’s comic last night instead. I appreciate your patience and understanding.
So let’s talk about this comic, huh?
I’ve been giving Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World static since June when the first trailer came out. A bunch of my contemporaries were wetting their pants and I couldn’t understand what all the hub-bub was about. My opinion at the time (and to this day) is that the trailers don’t do a good job of communicating why the uninitiated should even care.
Then I read the books.
It was a long time coming. People have been telling me for (what seemed like years) that I should be reading the Scott Pilgrim books. But I’m generally very bad about taking advice from others when it comes to movies, TV, music or books.
That’s not to say I’m not receptive to suggestion. I just don’t assign a lot of priority to it.
For example, I had friends telling me for years that I should watch Arrested Development, that it’s humor was right up my alley. But I could never get into it when it was on TV. I felt like I couldn’t understand the long-form narrative and all of the inside jokes. It wasn’t until I bought all three seasons on DVD that I came to the light.
People told me for years to listen to Death Cab For Cutie, that I would really enjoy the songs and melodies and that it was right up my alley. It wasn’t until after I heard “Transatlantacism” in the series finale of Six Feet Under that I dove into the band’s catalog and really started to enjoy their music. Now I own all of their albums.
Anyway, the same was true with Scott Pilgrim. People told me for years to buy the books, that I would enjoy the video game references and irreverent, innocent and kinetic art style of Brian Lee O’Malley. I put it off and put it off until I noticed that Amazon was selling the first 5 books for $9.00 a piece and I decided to jump in with both feet.
While I found the first book to be a little laborious, I eventually fell in love with the Scott Pilgrim universe as I eagerly anticipated the release of the 6th book in advance of the movie. The wait was almost unbearable. I had to know how the story ended! I was completely hooked.
Rewatching the trailer, I now understand what everyone was so excited about. I think director Edgar Wright has done an expert job of capturing all of the little comic book flourishes that make the books feel so alive without delivering the film into caricature. I’m hoping that the fight sequences are significant enough to move Michael Cera out of his “adorable dork” phase and into something more substantial. If nothing else, the soundtrack should be pretty good, right?
One thing that bugs me about the movie, though, is that Ramona Flowers doesn’t really look like someone who is worth fighting seven evil exes over. In fact, she looks kind of dirty. Maybe it’s because I’m not really attracted to girls with day-glo hairstyles, but do you have any idea what Mary Elizabeth Winstead – the actress who plays Flowers – looks like?
She looks like this:
Look at that picture and then look at this picture of Winstead as Ramona Flowers:
SHE LOOKS LIKE A DAMN MUPPET!
Seriously, folks. That stupid wig is like putting a Rollie Fingers mustache on the Mona Lisa. You took an attractive girl and screwed her up. YOU MANIACS! YOU SCREWED IT UP! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!
*ahem*
…but I’m sure I’ll get over it.
Anyway, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World hits theaters this Friday. Be sure to check back later this week for some exciting news related to the movie. I don’t want to jinx it, but there may be a contest in the near future that you might want to participate in.
Since I’m only updating once a week now, it would benefit you to follow me on Twitter or Facebook. That’s probably where I’ll announce the big news just before driving everyone back here for the details. So stay tuned!
What about you guys? Excited at all for Scott Pilgrim. I’ve talked to the die-hards, I’ve talked to a few converts and I’ve talked to some hold-outs. If you’re still on the outs with Scott Pilgrim and his crew, what gives? No interest in reading the books? Think the movie looks too much like a cartoon? Leave your comments below!
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This isn’t the first time I’ve aped another artist’s style in service of a joke/homage/parody/pleasedon’tdsueme. Although I think it’s kind of interesting that the artist’s I’m mirroring do their work primarily in black and white.
Don’t let anyone fool you. Doing art in straight up black and white is hard. You can’t fudge and cover things up with colors or shading. Everything has to be up front. That’s why I give my friends like Zach Miller and Mitch Clem major props. The detail they throw in their work is amazing. I don’t have that kind of patience.
Of course, it’s not like I threw in a bunch of detail on the black and white stuff for today’s comic. But I hope you enjoy it. I had a lot of fun making it. Big ups to Brian Lee O’Malley for letting me boost his style and driving it around the block a few times. It handles great.
In fact, if I can level with you for a minute, today’s comic was probably the most fun I had drawing in probably weeks. Maybe months. Ever since I made the decision to update Theater Hopper once a week, I’ve kind of been in mourning and producing the comic wasn’t as much fun as it used to be.
Don’t misunderstand me. It was absolutely the right decision to make. I’ve been under a lot of stress the past few months (years) and I kind of needed the break. But at the same time, Sunday night rolls around and I’m like “Oh, yeah. Comic.” Sometimes it’s hard to get the creative wheels turning when you don’t have the momentum of a thrice-weekly schedule propelling you.
Regardless, I had a blast coming up with the comic and illustrating today’s comic. Time seemed to fly by as I was putting it together and I was having a lot of fun while doing it. I actually feel like it kind of sparked something for me and hopefully it will keep me going in the future.
Lapses in self-confidence are nothing new to creative types. There have been several times over the last 8 years that I wasn’t “feelin’ it” in terms of producing the comic. Sometimes you wonder if you’re kidding yourself and if it isn’t best to hang it up entirely.
But then, every once in a while, you get that feeling that reminds you “Yeah. This is why I have to do this.” And it all feels new again.
I think that’s the trick to any long-term creative endeavor. Perseverance. If you don’t have the determination to see things through, you’re never going to know where that next high is coming from. I think that’s why, despite dropping the update schedule to once a week, it’s going to be hard for me to ever give up Theater Hopper completely. If I do, I’m always going to wonder “But what would have happened if I stuck it out just a little while longer?”
Artistic philosophy aside, let’s talk about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World for a minute, shall we?
It didn’t do so hot at the box office. 5th place behind The Other Guys and Inception with $10.5 million in box office receipts. It actually did WORSE than the $11.3 million opening weekend of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.
Let’s put it this way: Between the paltry opening of Scott Pilgrim and the $6.8 million opening weekend of Youth in Revolt, I’d be worried about finding work in the future if I were Michael Cera.
I’m not exactly pleased that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World showed so poorly this weekend. But I think it’s failure to connect with audiences reflects two things:
- I was right about the trailers doing a poor job of giving the people not already familiar with the books a reason to check out the movie (which is ironic because, if you haven’t read the books, today’s comic isn’t going to make sense to you, either).
- Similar to the failure that resulted in the $13.8 million opening of Snakes on a Plane, The Internet has very little clout when it comes to making underdog movies that they are excited about actually profitable.
I went to a bachelor party on Saturday and fought the crowds at the Iowa State Fair on Sunday. So I didn’t get a chance to see Scott Pilgrim this weekend. With that in mind, I don’t want to talk too much about the movie because sooner or later I’m going to sound like I’m talking straight outta my ass, Ace Ventura-style.
Poor box office or not, I still want to see the movie. I’m still excited about the movie and, ultimately, I’m willing to bet that the film is more than going to make up for any shortcomings in its theatrical run with a strong performance on Blu-ray and DVD.
I had a little more that I wanted to talk about with you guys, but I kind of got sidetracked with my musings about the artistic process and whatnot. Conversations about The Expendables, Eat Pray Love and more might have to wait until later.
I have some big news regarding my personal life that you might already be aware of if you’re following me on Twitter or Facebook. But I’ll spare you the details until it affects things here at Theater Hopper. I have an announcement related to a new Theater Hopper storefront coming soon that I think you guys might find interesting. So stay tuned.
In the meantime, let’s talk a little bit about Scott Pilgrim in the comments, shall we? I know a few of you saw it before opening weekend, but what did the rest of you think? Why did it show so poorly at the box office? Will the movie fail to connect with anyone who didn’t own an NES? Leave your opinions below and thanks for reading Theater Hopper!
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