I got this press release mere moments ago. Warner Brothers has announced that it will begin distributing films directly through social media networking site Facebook. This move makes a lot of sense, actually. You want to make it as convenient and easy as possible for people who want to watch your content instantly to be able to easily and cheaply pay you for it. Case and point: Yesterday I wanted to watch The Social Network. It’s out of theatres but out on DVD, but I didn’t want to leave the house. It wasn’t yet on Netflix Instant Streaming yet, but it was on Xfinity’s Pay Per View. Sure, maybe I could have downloaded it illegally (something I don’t do), but I could have it instantly for $4.99.

I bought it right then and there.

People spend more time on Facebook than just about any other website on the Internet, so it would make sense to try to capture people there. And with more and more TV’s being able to hook up to computers, it makes more and more sense.

The first film they’re rolling out today is The Dark Knight. If you like The Dark Knight and spend 3 Facebook credits (about $3) you can watch the movie for 48 hours. And really, if it doesn’t work, what are they out? These movies have already paid for themselves ten times over. This is just testing new distribution waters and it’s very smart.

Here’s the official press release:

WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT BECOMES FIRST HOLLYWOOD STUDIO TO OFFER MOVIES DIRECTLY ON FACEBOOK

BURBANK, CALIF., March 8, 2011 – Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD), a market leader in video-on-demand and electronic sell-through, today announced it will begin testing an offering of selected movies for purchase or rental through Warner Bros. Entertainment’s Facebook movie Pages. Consumers will be able to use Facebook Credits to easily buy or rent a title, all while staying connected to Facebook.

Starting today, millions of fans who “Liked” Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film “The Dark Knight” can rent the title through its official Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/darkknight). Consumers simply click on the “rent” icon to apply their Facebook Credits, and within seconds they will begin enjoying the film. The cost per rental is 30 Facebook Credits or $3. This offering is presently available only to consumers in the United States. Additional titles will be made available for rental and purchase on a regular basis over the coming months.

“Facebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people,” said Thomas Gewecke, President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. “Making our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts. It gives consumers a simple, convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the world’s largest social network.”

Fans will have full control over the film while watching it through their Facebook account for up to 48 hours from purchase. They can choose to watch it in full screen, pause the movie, and resume playing it when they log back into Facebook. Consumers will also have full Facebook functionality including the ability to post comments on the movie, interact with friends and update their status.

So what about you guys: Do you see yourselves renting films on Facebook?

With the release of All Star Superman on DVD and Blu-ray last week, Grant Morrison took time out from his home in Scotland to answer questions about the film and the release.

So without further ado:

Question: Did you have, and did you want, creative input into the script?

Grant Morrison: Once I knew someone else was going to do it, I kind of wanted to let it happen and not interfere. I’m always excited to see how others translate things from page to screen. I didn’t even know Dwaynen (McDuffie) was involved at first, but I’m so glad he did it. I was happy to see what the story might look like from someone else’s perspective and he did a fantastic job.

Question: Overall, how did you feel your story translated from page to screen?

Grant Morrison: I really loved it, which was why I wound up raving about it on so many of the DVD extras! Dwayne worked in a staggering amount of story, and he was able to give it this wonderful, strange episodic flavor where it seemed as if every day could bring some incredible and unexpected new challenge into Superman’s life. I didn’t really expect half of the material from the book to be in there, and loved the way it was
organized and edited because it made the whole thing a very different experience for me.

Question: Were you disappointed that anything was cut out?

Grant Morrison: You’re always a little disappointed when some favorite detail doesn’t make the cut, but what did make it was so well-done and faithful to the source that I can’t really say I was upset. It’s a long book that could easily make a six-hour movie, so I’m amazed “All-Star” incorporated as much of the story as it did, more than anything else.

Question: Were you particularly pleased with the way certain things were condensed?

Grant Morrison: It was impressive that Dwayne was able to condense entire issues of 22 to 24 pages into tight, satisfying eight- or ten-minute complete scenes. To take a whole issue and make it into an episode that felt complete in itself inside a larger narrative was ingenious and was a great way to translate the book’s serial structure into a feature film. I hope Dwayne knew how much I appreciated his work on this.

Question: Are you a fan of animation?

Grant Morrison: I couldn’t say I’m a giant animation fan, but I love the obvious stuff from around the world. I always liked the Fleischer animation, the Superman cartoons and the old features they did. I’m not a major animation fan but I do think the good stuff in any field stands the test of time.

Question: Which of your stories do you think would best translate to animation next?

Grant Morrison: I don’t really think of the stories being done as films. When I’m writing them, I’m focused on what makes a good comic rather than a potential movie. Having said that, seeing All-Star Superman left me quite keen to see some more! I think it would be fun to see what they could do with “Final Crisis” or one of the Batman stories, like “Batman R.I.P.” in that dark Bruce Timm style. I’d love to see something done with “Doom Patrol” or “Seven Soldiers.” Go for it.

We’re working on getting an interview with Morrison about Batman, but only time will tell.

Topping off my list I’m going to start with a movie you haven’t seen most likely because of poor advertising- I wasn’t paying as much attention to advertising trends at the time as I was girls and homework, so I be more specific- all I know is that the trailer for this is VERY misleading and aimed toward the wrong audience.

Snow Falling On Cedars

Apparently they thought that because it was masterfully shot, emotionally written and skillfully put together that the world wouldn’t want to see it. This must have been when they must have decided to market it as a touching and dripping love story that spans the ages- its not- if anything its a Courtroom movie with loving undertones. The following is how it was advertised-

This is what the movie is really like- (its 6 minutes long but worth the watch, I promise)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-zCWZLjt8g

The next movie I’m throwing at you is a foreign film that I PROMISE you haven’t heard of (unless I’ve told you about it)

Flickering Lights (Blinkende lygter)

The darkest comedy I have ever seen- and also one of the most upliftingl; A Danish film about a band of best friends/criminals turning their lives around while opening a restaurant. FANTASTIC! (this clip doesn’t have subtitles- but it still works)

Okay- we’re rolling now. Next- You haven’t heard of this one because you never browse the video shelves… I mean seriously browse the video shelves- It’ll surprise you EVERY time… Like this pleasant little surprise I stumbled across years ago-

Happy, Texas

Steve Zahn is one of two escaped cons who have to pretend to be a couple of gay, little miss junior pageant planners in a small town in Texas – ENOUGH said.

The Way of the Gun

If you liked No Country for Old Men but want an ending. This is the movie for you- with a lovely cameo from my no. 5 most attractive: Sarah Silverman (p.s. if you don’t like her- you’ll LOVE this cameo).

Gun is that kind of movie that if released this year- would have been seen… well- watch this and you’ll understand.

Dog Soldiers

Have you ever walked through the Horror section of your local blockbuster, just- making fun of the different titles and concepts of the RIDICULOUS movies gracing its shelves? Well, I do this all the time. I also tend to watch, rent and stream movies bases purely on how bad the film looks like its going to be- the worse it looks, the more likely I am to rent it and enjoy the night watching it!

That is how I saw Dog Soldiers. Let me tell you something- This was one of the best cinematic mistakes I have ever made- this British produced film is one of the most solid pieces of independent film making I have ever seen – and believe it or not, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the screenplay for this werewolf movie… (did I also mention this is how werewolf movies SHOULD be made?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1KWTAR3eBQ

Well- that’s part one of my list of The Greatest Movies You’ve Never Seen… Stay tuned because I could go for days and days with the things you haven’t seen, yet should.

What is this? Why is Superman hanging out with a slew of loud and obnoxious zombies? Why is Vincent from the 1987 hit series Beauty and the Beast screaming at the camera at 0:09 into the trailer? Why is the monster from the end of Resident Evil 2 beating up Superman and some other loud and obnoxious creatures?  When did Taye Diggs come out of hiding!?

In short… who cut this trailer? The guy that cuts re-run trailers on Nick at Night? I feel that if Brandon Routh stopped eating meat and destroyed all the ‘monsters’ with his vegan super powers, this could probably turn out alright… if not… what is this!? Is it REALLY that important that we know everything takes place “just 3 blocks West of the French Quarter”?

The music editing/selection leaves SO much to the imagination, its like they opened up GarageBand and picked the first three loops labeled “techno” and tossed them into the timeline… Visually, this film looks interesting- but not special. If you’re gonna make this movie, give me flash, give me pizzaz, give me sexy, or give me grunge, dirt and hard to see- don’t go safe with your camera!

Something deep down tells me this is another incredibly original idea from Mike Mignola that the studios are trying desperately to destroy before it is brought to life… I desperately want them to re-cut the trailer and make me think its not a terrible movie- because honestly, the concept of “Living, Undead Detective” is really kinda cool and I don’t want to wait for the sequel for the movie to reach it’s full potential…

I WILL give them props for using practical effects as opposed to CGI though… good on you for that- and yes, Taye Diggs and Brandon Routh may bring something to the table that is worthwhile… just… don’t phone it in on the trailer cutting! Its a sad state of affairs when the best trailers I’ve seen this year are from video games…

what do y’all think?

The Monroe county sheriffs office of Florida (which apparently has a Blog?!?) has reported that A 15 year old Marathon, Florida girl has been arrested for filing a false report to police in regards to HOW she got covered in bite marks.

Apparently the girl is a Twilight fan, and engages in “fantasy biting behavior”. After getting a wee bit too hot and heavy with an 19 year old male – the teen panicked that her mother would see the bites, and be upset. So she decided to head her Mothers assumptions off at the pass by calling her and creating a confabulation about being attacked whilst on a jog. The mother then called the police to report the attack. Things went down hill for the teen from there. Police uncovered the truth as the teens story did not hold up under questioning. The teen was then charged with filing a false police report and released to her mother’s custody.

This story is no doubt getting national attention due to the connection of the girl being a Twilight fan. The story from the Monroe Sheriff’s office seems to infer that the girls own reasoning for the behavior was BECAUSE of her Twilight fixation. But this brings up a very “Chicken or the Egg” kind of question; What came first – a psychological predisposition, or Twilight? The Twilight series is just the newest incarnation of the genre to captivate a generation. In previous waves of “vampire media” there parallelly have been incidents of a range of severity. Do themes of Vampirism bring out behaviors in people? Or do themes of Vampirism just have the bad luck in aggregating a fan base with a higher statistical probability for such behaviors?

I adored the original Kung Fu Panda… Along with How to Train Your Dragon, It is by far the best animated adventure Dreamworks has released. Now- At the time of it’s release I thought to myself “They better not make a sequel and ruin this movie’s allure”… but to be honest- even though the following trailer isn’t anything special- it looks like KFP2 could actually turn out to be just that: special. The whole trailer is rife with epic epicness… and to be frank- I feel like they just ruined a lot of the plot points, and emotional beats… but what can you do? They’re just here to make a product… not sell us on it! I guess they just assume that the return of Jack Black and his lovable overeating panda, is enough for our return… come on, where’s the artistry left in the world!? Like the ” target=”_blank”>first teaser they released… that was unique… that was original… (staring contests with an entire theater- love it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opJDglqiQ6k

Dreamworks has really turned their production efforts into a pure factory type facility, mass produced on a conveyor belt and shipped to the world in neat little packaging… ‘Puss’, was in fact, the best part of the original Shrek, but I cannot possibly see a way this could be turned into a feature film- even IF they used the original fairy tale that is ‘in Boots’. Here- watch the drivel that is this teaser. How Antonio Banderas signed off on this (not to mention a trillion other crap fests in the Shrek franchise) I’ll never know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKLrN8C19Eg

Anyway- what are your thoughts?

Things are actually looking pretty good for the Hornet this week! He got a confession out of Rockford, and was on the verge of breaking another racket, all he had to face for a cliffhanger was falling out of a 2nd story window! I bet he’s none the worse for wear, and at this moment is taking a well-deserved break from crime-fighting to have a nice tea time with Kato. Nah, I’m just pulling your leg! There’s sure to be more gunplay, car chases and derring-do  in Chapter 7 of The Green Hornet: Bridge of Disaster! If nothing else, I’m willing to bet even money there will be a bridge facing some kind of disaster. Let’s watch and find out!

We’re back with another episode of The Big Movie Mouth-Off podcast!

The podcast features the stars and producers of The Big Movie Mouth-Off film review show, which appears here at Big Shiny Robot! and on Xfinity (Utah On Demand and Channel 6). That lineup is: Jeff Vice from MSN Entertainment, Jimmy Martin from SLUG Magazine, and Bryan Young (me) and Elias Pate from Big Shiny Robot! and ShineBox Media Productions.

To download the latest episode from iTunes, follow this link.

There, you should rate and subscribe to the podcast.

This week, we talked about:

• The Preacher Movie
• The Great and Powerful Oz
• The Most Influential Working Directors
• Most Paused Frames in Home Video History
• Time Travel Movies
• In Memoriam: Dwayne McDuffie

Listen! Let us know what you think! Spread the word!

For those of you who don’t like iTunes, you can get a direct .mp3 here. And you can add the BSR! podcast RSS feed by right clicking this link.

(originally posted on my blog 2/27/11)

What do Viggo Mortensen and Kevin Costner have in common other then they have BOTH been mentioned as being “of Interest” for the new Zach Snyder helmed Superman reboot? The same die hard audience is what. That being pretty much every older female nerd I have EVER met in my life – and possibly every single one out there. It’s like the “Caine / Hackman Theory” from PCU; If you know an older female nerd, chances are she likes one of these two if not BOTH. Yes that is a grand and assumptive statement. But there is a scientific reason why Snyder’s previous hit “300” did so amazingly well at the box office; Chemistry! As in Hormones.

Women hit their sexual peak in their 30’s. The biological imperative begins to apply huge amounts of pressure to find a mate and fast as the time frame to have a baby grows short. Even if a woman has no interest in having a baby – her body is still trying to. Couple that with the social trend of women to simply be more comfortable with themselves when they get older due to experience. Together you have the wonderful set of circumstances that support a whole bevy of industries like Romance novel publications, Male strippers, and the occasional film where 300 ripped, tanned, and well oiled dudes fight a war in naught but their underwear. You can basically chalk Gerard Butler’s entire career on the hormonal and lusty.

Now I KNOW what you are saying – and I agree, there is nothing attractive about Kevin Costner. I am in NO WAY trying to infer parallels of his aesthetic value to anyone in 300 (in fact the idea of him tanned, oiled, and in loincloth is a sure fire way to never have sex again). But some lusty 30 something gals got crushes on him in Robin Hood back in the day; and ANYONE who has ever been to a convention KNOWS how insanely loyal Science Fiction and Fantasy fans can be. Thusly 20 years later the now 50 something women STILL like him. Films like Water World, and The Postman (despite how poorly they did at the box office) have endeared him still to those ladies. Whether Costner wants it or not – he does get some nerd cred.

Admit it, you like it, and the only thing that would have made it better is zombies.

With Mortensen, well….

If you can't figure why your female nerd friends or girlfriend like him this photo explains it all

So what does this mean for the the Superman reboot? Well as the linked to article from the Hollywood reporter mentions nothing is set and no one is signed. Do I think Snyder is in any way doing this because of the spending power of the above spoken about demographic? NO. I do think these would make great casting choices for both characters of General Zod and Pa Kent. Plus I just find it REALLY humorous. Given all the heavy shit coming down here in Wisconsin it is just nice to speculate about something that really isn’t of any great consequence and of SOME levity.

The older female nerd demographic also – in MY humble opinion – doesn’t get much love from the greater nerd-sphere press. Young female geeks get a decent amount of attention – and many times so if they are attractive looking. Not to mention the various media hopefuls that play the Nerd game to garner attention ( female G4 tv personalities I am looking at YOU ). But there is a great core of supportive matronly (and sometimes MILFy) nerds out there making their own subtle mark on the market. Zach Snyder may be approaching casting purely from the directorial stance of who will best help tell the story he wants to tell. But if these two get cast I won’t be surprised to see every older female nerd I know at the movie house opening night. And that is not exactly something I can say for ALL the comic adapted films currently slated to hit theaters some time in the next couple of years.

I know, I know- this has been out for quite some time… and frankly I should have written it up ages ago… but it wasn’t until I saw a little exchange on facebook that truly made me believe there was more to this film than I first thought. First- let’s talk a little about the movie:

from Apple trailers: RUBBER is the story of Robert, an inanimate tire that has been abandoned in the desert, and suddenly and inexplicably comes to life. As Robert roams the bleak landscape, he discovers that he possesses terrifying telepathic powers that give him the ability to destroy anything he wishes without having to move. At first content to prey on small desert creatures and various discarded objects, his attention soon turns to humans, especially a beautiful and mysterious woman who crosses his path. Leaving a swath of destruction across the desert landscape, Robert becomes a chaotic force to be reckoned with, and truly a movie villain for the ages. Directed by legendary electro musician Quentin Dupieux (Steak, Nonfilm), aka Mr. Oizo, RUBBER is a smart, funny and wholly original tribute to the cinematic concept of no reason.

Sure, Rubber is a movie about a tire that kills people by exploding their heads… probably the most original idea to be put to feature length film in quite some time…

Except- it really seems to be polarizing people’s reactions to it… Take this comment from YouTube for example: (P.S. This film isn’t from Hollywood)

Or this other comment from Slashfilm:

Or… even this exchange that happened right on the wall of my very own Facebook page!

It’s clear to me that this is going to be a film worth watching- not because it looks ridiculous (or even rediculous, if you really want), or because it looks awesome. But because it has already caused a rift between people BEFORE it’s even come out! To me- rift causing is a better sign for the quality of a movie than mass hysteria. Hysteria is one of those things that tell me the movie is designed for one set of minds, not for all.

I for one will be there with bells on, and most assuredly will appreciate it whether or not its even that good. All I hope is that it is better than some of Magnet’s ” target=”_blank”>other releases

Okay- now that I’ve sufficiently built it up- watch the trailer: