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This is a blog from Film Junk by Film Guru Sean. Enjoy:

Five Reasons Why Comic Book Movies are Bad for the Movie Industry

Posted by Sean on June 26th, 2007Filed under: Movies, Books/Comics, Features

It’s been about 5 years now since the current boom in comic book movies really took off, sparked by Bryan Singer’s adaptation of X-Men, and solidified by Sam Raimi’s take on Spider-Man. I’m sure there are a lot of reasons for the success of these films, not the least of which is the fact that they are cultural icons, stories that have been around for generations and thus appeal to the young and the old. They also present great opportunities for state of the art special effects and provide the spectacle and escapism that people want from the movies.
Lately, however, we’ve been seeing funnybook flicks put a stranglehold on the film industry, and I’m wondering whether or not this is an entirely good thing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading comics, and I enjoy watching a good comic book movie just as much as anyone else. But all this hysteria over comic book adaptations is having some negative effects on the movie business too, and I will take this opportunity to point out five of the problems that I see and throw them out there as food for thought. Hey… I’m not saying comic book movies need to stop, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to rein back our enthusiasm just a tiny bit!

Problem #1: Tying Up Big Name Filmmakers for Extended Periods of Time
One of the reasons why a lot of the previous comic book movies from the 80’s and 90’s didn’t work is because the people behind involved were not exactly top-tier Hollywood talent. Studios didn’t take the movies very seriously, and most respected filmmakers wouldn’t touch them with a ten foot pole. Well that’s all changed now with studios trying to land the hottest indie filmmakers to give their project credibility, whether it’s Sam Raimi doing Spider-Man or Christopher Nolan doing Batman Begins. Essentially we’ve got some of the most creative and visionary directors dedicating all their time to making popcorn movies… perhaps this sounds snobby, but isn’t it a waste of talent? I mean, there’s no question they’ve upped the bar for these comic book flicks, in some cases made them more than mere fluff, but what else are we missing out on? These huge franchises absolutely consume the people who helm them. Christopher Nolan somehow found time to direct The Prestige in between Batman movies, but we haven’t seen anything new from Raimi or Bryan Singer in years.

Problem #2: Studios Are Only Interested in Franchises Right Now
This brings me to my next point: now that studios have seen the massive following that comic book movies have, they only want to produce an endless stream of sequels based on familiar characters. Since the series name can carry itself in a lot of cases, they don’t even need to maintain the same creative team from movie to movie. And now a lot of studios are starting to evaluate all of their projects using the same mentality. They’re not interested in one-off stories, they want something that they can become a franchise to guarantee them a limitless pool of money down the road. Sequels are fine, but in the movie world, stories need to be self-contained. Not every story is (or should be) continuable. This one of the strengths of the medium; there is a certain finality to the end of a movie, it gives the actions of characters more weight to them. We should be wary of letting film turn into a serialized medium, and we shouldn’t throw out stories that have a finite ending just because there is no opportunity for sequels. Also, new and original content shouldn’t be ignored just because it doesn’t come with a built-in audience or brand.

Problem #3: Studios Are Concentrating All Their Efforts on a Few Blockbusters
The recent success of huge tentpole comic book movies has proven to studios that they can make a lot more money by focusing the majority of their efforts on a few huge blockbusters rather than wasting time with a variety of lower budget films that only turn a small profit. Not only does this mean we’re seeing some studios put out less movies, but it also means they are getting pretty loose with the amount of cash they are throwing at those few blockbusters. I would argue that this is a recipe for disaster because as the budgets balloon, the projects set themselves up to be an even more catastrophic failure when audiences don’t respond. Right now it seems like these franchises are invincible and immune to poor reviews, but they’re staking so much on a single film that it could have major consequences if it bombs. More to the point, diversity is always a good thing, and studios are simply narrowing their focus right now, which means consumers have less choice in the long run. Comic book movies are diverting studio resources from other deserving projects.

Problem #4: A-List Actors Want In On The Deal
The sheen of success and artistic credibility that is being brought to the comic book movie genre has started to attract the attention of A-List actors. Academy award winners and nominees like Nicolas Cage, Kevin Spacey, and Ed Norton are donning tights in the hopes of boosting their careers. Why is this a problem? Well, for starters, it’s just like taking talented directors away from the other projects they’d be doing instead. Actors typically don’t get tied up for as long as directors though. In this case, my bigger complaint is the fact that we have so many familiar faces stepping into the roles of established characters. I know some people will say that A-list actors bring much more depth to a character; I won’t argue that, but the truth is that it’s not always necessary. I am a fan of casting unknowns where possible, because a big name actor can just be too distracting. Fanboys pipe up about how this actor or the other resembles someone in the comic book world, and the studios go out and try to get them. We end up with people like Jessica Alba being shoehorned into the role of Sue Storm, caked with white make-up, bleached blonde hair and blue contact lenses for no other reason than because she is a well-known celebrity name. I don’t think this makes the movies any better. It also drives the budgets way up.

Problem #5: Fanboys Actually Influence Hollywood
This brings me to my last point, the one where I probably run the most risk of pissing some people off. Let me start by saying that there’s nothing wrong with being a fan of comics or comic book movies. I am one myself. But the criteria used to judge a comic book and a movie are (and should be) two completely different things. Some of the most vocal and active movie enthusiasts in film communities right now are huge comic book geeks, and in their passion for the medium, sometimes they to lose sight of common sense. For many of them, everything seems to hinge on being completely faithful to the source material — which, I’m sorry to say, is not always best for the movie. Fans will say they have a right to demand complete accuracy, since they are the target audience for the movie. But they aren’t the only target audience — the movie has to play to people who are completely unfamiliar with the comic book as well. The scary thing is that studios are so afraid of how vocal the fanboys are, that they are starting to listen to them. They are overlooking the average moviegoer and trying to appease the hardcore fans from day one, creating goodwill and positive buzz to guarantee that the film will be a success. And this sets a dangerous precedent, where the focus is almost entirely on catering to the loudest members of the target market, instead of worrying about what will make the best movie overall. Call me old-fashioned, but I would much prefer to leave the filmmaking to the filmmakers, and allow a director bring his vision to the table with minimal interference. Even the mainstream media seems to be getting caught up in minor details like costumes and hairstyles, somehow elevating the importance of these films way beyond mere diversions. There is a strange cultural shift going on right now where film critics seem to be losing relevance, and have less impact on Hollywood than the opinion of the comic book fan. Blogs, not unlike Film Junk, have become a major force in determining both how a movie is created and how it is ultimately judged. We are entering a new age where fans are empowered, and while it can be constructive in some ways, we all know what happens when someone gets a taste of power… they want more! What I’m saying is, we need to tread lightly from here on in.
So there’s my two cents, and now in the words of Johnny Storm, let me invite your own responses to this editorial: Flame on!

More than meets the eye

Transformers...
Ok, to be honest, when I first heard about Transformers I actually was kind of excited. Now, I'm not. I will still watch it I'm just not really looking forward to it. Now here's my biggest problem, there are no new ideas in Hollywood. It could be because this movie seems to be coming in slightly late in this Break the Box Office Summer bout, but I am sick of re-hashed crap. It doesn't even matter if it will be a good movie or not, the fact that studios are only getting behind characters that are already well known is driving me nuts. Please, please, please, promote creativity.

Spiderman 3
This movie is a comic book AND a sequel. Pair that with a huge pile of crap then you got the biggest Blockbuster of the year.

Shrek the Third
Don't even get me started.

Pirates of the Carribean
For God's sake this movie is based on children's roller coaster ride. WHY!? Not to mention the fact that it was good for only one movie.

Ocean's 13
They will continue to make these movies as long as they are fun for the actors. Not to mention the fact that all the actors take huge pay-cuts to do these movies, and they make a pretty good profit margin.

Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer.
I'm not quite sure how a sequel of this movie even got funded, but here it is and *poof* it's already forgotten.

Evan Almighty
What??? WHY!? The first movie was carried by Jim Carrey. Steve can't hold a bad script like Jim can. Luckily I have a feeling that this won't really hurt Carell's career.

Live Free or Die Hard
I am actually kind of excited about this. Bruce Willis has been making some great movies lately and even if it is cheesy and far fetched it still will be old school action.

Transformers
Michael Bay is stupid.

Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix
Well...I've never seen any of the movies... I still want to die every time I hear about 5000 nerds waiting outside of Barnes and Nobles for the newest book. Although, this movie series bothers me the least. It will have an end, and it's aimed at kids who want to see the stories continue.

The Simpsons Movie
See below.

The Bourne Ultimatum
I'm also kind of excited about this, but the second one did not even compare to the first one. If it continues in that trend, then I will be dissapointed. Few people seem to know that this series was a book series too, although I have heard that it doesn't really follow the book series, which doesn't really bother me. Books and movies should be different.

Rush Hour 3
"Do you undastand when you've run a movies into da ground!!"

My point is Hollywood is only backing what they consider a sure thing. Something that people already recognize. They're backing the titles of movies more than the movies themselves. What happened to Neo and Morpheus, Joel and Clementine, Largeman and Sam. I want original characters. I want Ron Burgundy; I want Andy the 40 yr old virgin; I even want the cullinary obsessed street rat.

Save me. I'm tired of titles.

New Simpsons Movie Trailer

Click here for the new Simpsons Movie trailer.

I'm kind of more excited about it now. But I'm still having some trouble getting genuinely excited.

What do you guys think?

Movie Idea?

I just thought of an idea for a movie and I wanted to write it out before I forgot it. I went to sleep last night, as I do every once in a while, with the idea that I may die while I sleep. This made me think about the futility of life. Then I fell asleep. This morning at work I realized that if heaven exists, which make no mistake I think it does, I have no idea what it is like. What if heaven is different for everyone?

Here’s my premise:
Someone, the everyman, protagonist, good guy, is living a life where everything seems to be going wrong. He fights with his girlfriend/wife that he’s stuck with, he gets screwed at his job, he continues self improvement (working out etc…) with no avail, although it seems as though he has done nothing to deserve it. Then he finds himself in a dangerous situation which makes you wonder if he is dead. I.E. Robbery at a gas station after a fight with girl. Gun shot? (Where did the bullet go?) Black screen. Next scene is him waking up with a smile. Everything goes right. His girl is now the perfect girl; he gets his raise or promotion or maybe wins the lottery and gets to quit his job. At any rate, everything is heavenly. Obviously I don’t want to go the Sixth Sense route and save the, “He was dead the whole time!” for the end. So, some sort of revelation would reveal the fact that he died in the convenience store.

Now here’s where I stopped having concrete ideas. Now there are so many directions this can be taken. There’s the obvious juxtaposition of another person living a great life as far as material possessions, but is a bad person. He dies and goes to a similar fate but everything goes badly. Therefore he’s in hell. Or I can do the Matrix type of everything is perfect but I still want out of here! But my favorite is the idea of the everyman doing something bad in his life that isn’t revealed until towards the end of the movie, possibly a rape at a young age or an accidental murder where he doesn’t tell anybody. This could be revealed where his once thought of heaven is starting to go badly. He starts getting annoyed by the “perfect world,” a world where he can do no wrong. To the point where he does something drastic to get in trouble, like possibly murdering his girl, but there is no negative reaction by the public. This can be where he realizes that he is dead and questions his existence in the world. Now it can be revealed that he is actually in hell not heaven and why he is there. Maybe all the news in his own world can be focusing on the incident that put him in hell. It can start with a headline in a newspaper that reads, “Body found in a hit and run,” with a past date. News stations are also reporting the dead hobo so on… all leading to a grand flashback of him stashing a body that he accidentally hit on a bad night leaving school (home, bar). Revealing that he is actually in hell.

Ya, that’s the best idea there.

Icky Thump

The White Stripes have done it again. It seems, to me, that Jack White can do no wrong. Although I can’t say that is the best work that they have done, I can say that it is just as good as Broken Boy Soldiers, the Raconteurs’ amazing first album.

This is Jack’s and Meg’s trip back to Bluesville. “Many people think that the White Stripes have nothing to do with the Blues,” says Jack White speaking about playing a Blues Festival in New England. If you still think that is true after hearing Icky Thump, then you are dead wrong. Throw in a little Led Zeppelin, some Buddy Guy, and a dash of Scottish charm and you get Icky Thump.

I have been excited about this album since they announced it. I, personally, wasn’t sure if there was going to be any more White Stripes albums. I love the title track, and there are many other blues hits on this album. If you don’t jump a little the first time you hear the solo on “300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues” then you must have nerves of steel. There is still lots of Meg and Jack fun on this album. On “Rag and Bone,” a “skit-song,” it seems like they are poking fun at consumerism by making fun of yard sales.

Buy this album.