Torchwood is returning to us on July 8th after 2 years of having no new episodes. Here is the trailer that was released today, along with an official press release as to what this season will be about. I think this season sounds pretty awesome and I can’t wait!
The series, featuring Bill Pullman and Mekhi Phifer as well as John Barrowman and Eve Myles (stars of the original BBC cult favorite), begins with a day when nobody dies. All across the world, nobody dies. And then the next day, and the next, and the next, people keep aging, they get hurt and sick, but they never die. The result: a population boom, overnight. With all the extra people, resources are finite. It’s said that in four month’s time, the human race will cease to be viable. But this can’t be a natural event – someone’s got to be behind it. It’s a race against time as C.I.A. agent Rex Matheson (Phifer) investigates a global conspiracy. The answers lie within an old, secret British institute. As Rex keeps asking
“What is Torchwood?” he’s drawn into a world of adventure, and a threat to change what it means to be human, forever.
Want to know a secret? X-men: First Class looks awesome. Seriously.
I don’t care how bad the posters and marketing department working on this film is, every trailer that has come out has made me extremely happy. This film looks really, really cool and I can’t wait to see it.
It’s pretty obvious that Matthew Vaughn is tying visual motifs from the first two X-men films into this and it makes me even happier.
Really, what is there to complain about in this trailer? I say there isn’t anything.
If you read these columns, you must know by now that I adore the Marvel Family. I’ve previously brought you the origins of both Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr., but today the core of the Family gets completed. I’ve always liked Mary, even more than Supergirl, she is the definition of wholesome. While modern writers have both literally and figuratively corrupted her, when I think of Mary Marvel, I think of that header image to the side. She’s bursting with healthy beauty, but more than prepared to hold her own with the boys. Let’s get on with the show, and the Secret Origin of… Mary Marvel!
As our tale of whimsy and wonderment begins, we find young Billy Batson having a meet and greet with the contestants of a radio quiz show he’ll be hosting. First off is a stuck up young gentleman named Percy Pill. He is “the smartest kid in the state” so the board of education themselves has sent him to participate. He’s so unimportant to the story that he’s completely forgotten after he answers his first quiz question. The next contestant is Mary Bromfield. Billy takes an instant liking to her, which could be construed as kind of a crush, but we wont go there because it’s icky. Anyway, she was sent to compete on behalf of all of the girls. Billy finally gets to the third contestant, Freddy Freeman, who as you should know is really Captain Marvel Jr. Who does he represent? Well, let’s just say that in the 40’s people weren’t exactly sensitive.
Poor Freddy, that is pretty cold.
The quiz show starts, and it seems all three children are pretty intelligent. Billy is still fixated on Mary though, noticing her odd, broken locket. The show goes on, and during an advertising break, Billy gets a message from one Sarah Primm, pleading for Billy to see her, as she is dying and this is “most urgent”. Billy, being the Mensch that he is, is right one the case, but not before Mr. Morris, the manager of station WHIZ asks him why is he abandoning his post. A valid question, but Billy assure Mr. Morris that he’ll be back in five minutes. Billy then says his magic word and shoots off to see Mrs. Primm as Captain Marvel! This could be seen as a blatant misuse of the powers of Shazam, but come on! The lady is dying, after all.
Captain Marvel reaches his destination, and turns back into Billy, seeing as he doesn’t want to give a woman on her deathbed a heart attack. As he reaches her, she immediately tells Billy she has a story to relate about his parents! Billy is all like, “What are you gonna tell me? I already know they’re dead.” Sarah says, yes, yes they are but his sister is not! Billy is pretty shocked, as you may reason, but the story he’s about to hear is even more shocking. So shocking that it could be the plot of a movie on Lifetime.
So, apparently both Mother and Father died in childbirth? I suspect foul play.
You can probably guess how this turns out, but that doesn’t make Sarah Primm any less of a ghoul. She steals the female baby away and passes it off as the dead child. It’s such a foolproof plan that no one even questions why there is only one Batson child now. Maybe hospital regulations were just really, really loose in those days. Billy obviously wants to know who raised his sister and where might she be. Sarah says he’ll know her by a broken locket, and she gives Billy the other half. Great, she’s not only a kidnapper, but she’s also a jewelry thief. She is about to tell Billy what his sister’s last name is, but she suddenly dies, but to be honest I think she faked her death so she wouldn’t have to face charges. Just then, Billy realizes his five minutes are about up, so he changes to Cap, flies back to the studio, rushes by Mr. Morris, who is impatiently tapping his foot. Billy tries to explain himself, but he is utterly flabbergasted.
Seriously, how can you not love this kid?
Billy finishes the quiz show, which apparently only consisted of four questions, one for each contestant then a tie-breaker. Mary Bromfield wins the quiz, although there doesn’t seem to be a prize. After the show, Billy is saying his goodbyes to Mary and Freddy (I told you Percy was unimportant!). As Mary is chauffeured away, Billy ponders to himself that it’d be great if a swell gal like Mary Bromfield was his sister. Freddy overhears him, and Billy tells the story, ending on the locket. Then, mind like a steel trap, Billy learns to add two and two when he remembers Mary did indeed have a broken locket. Quicker than you can say Shazam/Captain Marvel, Billy and Freddy change into their alter egos. the speed of Mercury may not be what it used to be though, because Mary is being kidnapped! Thankfully, this trait doesn’t become an essential part of her character. The two Captains Marvel trail the bad guys to their hideout, which is nice and subtle, but once they arrive, they pretty much say “screw subtlety” by their actions.
Honestly, if I had super powers, I'd act pretty much exactly like this all the time.
The two heroes literally take down Mary’s assailants in one panel. After the fracas, Mary fawns over Cap Sr. at which point he just straight up asks her if she has the other half of the broken locket. It’s not like she just went through a traumatic experience or anything. The halves of course fit, and I’m guessing one of Captain Marvel’s lesser known powers is DNA Test Vision, as he instantly know that it means that Mary is really Mary Batson! Mary believes him, because the erstwhile Mrs. Primm told her that the locket would one day change her life, so there you go. Mary is a smart cookie though. She asks Captain Marvel where is Billy, anyway? Then the two Caps reveal who they really are. Mary gives her newfound brother a heartfelt peck on the cheek. It’s really quite sweet, but then Billy has to go and ruin the moment.
Misogyny starts at a young age in Fawcett City...
As the trio argue like well, siblings, the thugs turn out not to be as dispatched as we were led to believe. Being bad guys from a Captain Marvel story, they have no idea when the two Captains Marvel went, but are still prescient enough to gag both Billy and Freddy before they can say their respective magic words. Mary plays the role of mistress of the obvious, as she just repeats what just happened, but since she literally says “Billy can’t say Shazam!” Well, something pretty wonderous happens.
"Okay, Billy. I'm going to beat up these crooks, then serve you a big bowl of crow."
Everyone is pretty taken aback at this turn of events, Mary included. In fact, at first, she is completely oblivious to the baddies attempting grievous bodily harm, more enamored with the fact that she has what is an admittedly awesome costume. She quickly acclimates herself though, and it’s not like she can be harmed, so she gets a pass. After she gets shot at a few time, she really gets into the physical aspects of being a super heroine. and makes quick (and more thorough) work than her brother or Freddy did.
I think Billy is bi-polar, what with his emotions flip-flopping about Mary's powers.
And so, the day is saved, thanks to Mary. The story isn’t quite over yet though. There is still the question of why and how does Mary have powers in the first place. Billy says that she can’t possibly have the same gifts he does, since Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury were all dudes, and she is “just a girl”. At this point if I were Mary, long-lost brother or not, I’d slap Billy silly. The trio decide to visit the old wizard himself to see what the heck is going on. They fly to the famous subway tunnel, are once again greeted by the statues of the “Seven Deadly Enemies of Man”, and before you know it, they have their audience with Shazam…
He knows all things except that, outside of Algebra, you can't add letters like that.
Shazam never actually explains where Mary got her powers, although it’s implied he did it. Who knows when though? Mary certainly doesn’t remember it. And Shazam is so riddled with age, that he probably couldn’t remember if he tried. Nevertheless, everyone is satisfied with this explanation, and they take their leave of Shazam’s abode. Once everyone leaves the subway, they say their goodbyes and give a little tease to the future…
"There's no way my secret identity will be compromised with a name like that!"
Captain Marvel was true to his word. Mary not only got her own headlines in Wow Comics, she got her own self-titled book a few years after her debut. Mary was truly a pioneer. Heck, her stories actually stopped being published before Supergirl even debuted. She had her own line of fashion accessories/clothing for young girls. Truly she is one of the great characters in comic fiction. I just hope that one day a writer will come along and de-tartify her current incarnation.
We’ve touched on the PlayStation Network (PSN) being down due to a hack attack previously, but the new details coming from Sony is much graver than just a service outage. Every single one of PSN’s 70 million users has had their account information compromised. This includes their sign-in ID, passwords, address information, and most egregiously, possible credit card information. Here’s the skinny, straight from Playstation.Blog.
“Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID,” wrote Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications for Sony Computer Entertainment America. “It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address … and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. … While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility.”
The way that is worded is cause for concern. It intimates that one person has done all of this damage. This has got to be one of the biggest thefts of personal data in history! Although many, myself included, are understandably livid, there is a silver lining in all of this news. The fact that Sony has taken down the PSN and is rebuilding it from the ground up means that if account access is needed to obtain the sensitive information, it’s been impossible to get to. That hasn’t been confirmed though, and we would advise you to check your account balances for fraudulent activity, just to be safe. We’d also recommend that you change your PSN account information, but since PSN isn’t accessible, you can’t at this time.
No one has taken responsibility for the downtime, although hacker/activist group Anonymous was suspected, they have denied involvement, while simultaneously stating that a rouge or splinter from their group is not out of the realm of possibility. There has been no official word on to whether or not Sony will be giving any sort of compensation to PSN subscribers. While the service is free, the premium PlayStation Plus service is not. At any rate, it’s pretty clear that this is a disaster for Sony, and time will tell how they pull out of it. Regardless of the damage done, it is my personal opinion that Sony’s beating around the bush and not informing customers the second they thought something was up is morally reprehensible.
At any rate, what follows is the content of an email that’ll be sent to each PSN subscriber, giving details on the attack, as well as steps that can be taken if you fear your credit is at risk. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to fire up my Xbox.
Valued PlayStation Network/Qriocity Customer:
We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network. In response to this intrusion, we have:
Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services;
Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and
Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure by re-building our system to provide you with greater protection of your personal information.
We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and efficiently as practicable.
Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained.
For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them, as well.
To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports. We are providing the following information for those who wish to consider it:
U.S. residents are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228.
We have also provided names and contact information for the three major U.S. credit bureaus below. At no charge, U.S. residents can have these credit bureaus place a “fraud alert” on your file that alerts creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity prior to granting credit in your name. This service can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name. Note, however, that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, it also may delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your identity. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others are notified to place fraud alerts on your file. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, or should you have any questions regarding your credit report, please contact any one of the agencies listed below.
You may wish to visit the web site of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheftor reach the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect yourself from identity theft. Your state Attorney General may also have advice on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General, and the FTC. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; telephone (877) 566-7226; or www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; telephone: (888) 743-0023; or www.oag.state.md.us.
We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority. Please contact us at 1-800-345-7669should you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment
According to JoBlo, the upcoming ‘Green Lantern’ movie is getting 9 million dollars worth of touch up work. While, the WonderCon footage looked pretty nice to me, it seems that Warner Brothers wants to make sure the movie looks as good as possible. I will admit that the mask could look a little better, and Tomar-Re could move a bit more realistically.
I don’t think that this is a mad dash to fix something that’s not broken, but rather an attempt to make something good even better. Given the world of Green Lantern, spending more money to make things look ‘right’ is pretty darned important, so this is likely a good thing. The only thing I am concerned with is that WB is not planning on changing the release date of June 17th. I know the movie industry isn’t the same as the game industry, but whenever something has to be done by a certain deadline, it ends up being released in an incomplete form, and barring special editions, you can’t “patch” a movie. Hope springs eternal though. Feel free to tell us your thoughts on the matter.
Usually when someone mentions GIFs I think of the weird shit on tumblr that sometimes is good for a chuckle but is usually just making my eyes and brain want to explode. However, my mind has been changed by these amazing works from Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg. They aren’t as simple as your average GIF and actually take a lot of work and editing but the end results are amazing. I’ve posted my favorite below but you can check out their blog and see their incredible stuff.
Oh man. It’s actually becoming a reality! After years of anticipation The Avengers movie is going into production today! Nearly one year prior to its current planned release date!
Marvel has released an official press release on the matter, along with a little teaser photo (above) from the set that you can see below, but first, a blog post from the director himself, Joss Whedon!
Hi Pumpkins, joss here.
Tomorrow we start shooting (I THINK I’m legally permitted to say that). Day one. That’s right. We’ll be shooting the pivotal death/betrayal/product placement/setting up the sequel/coming out scene, at the following address:
[Marvel Lawyers rush in, take Joss’s keyboard, blowtorch a picture of his family like in “Stormy Monday”, drink his milkshake, leave the seat up, fluff his pillows, violently unfluff his pillows, leave]
Went too far. My bad. Anyhoo, it should be a fun day, followed by the eighty thousand other fun days it will take to finish this. I’ll be checking in from time to time, if there’s news or I crave attention (i.e. am awake) . None of it will be Avengers news — I have some very denty pillows to remind of that — but I may have tidbits. (They’re not about Firefly. I should say that up front, if only to protect Sis Mo from the HATORZ.)
Some of you may be saying, Joss! Why this link, here, now, why, huh, howcum? My friend Allyx turned me on to these guys, and I’ll tell you, they’ve gotten me through this intensely pressurized, preply time. I strongly recommend checking out their other vids — I’ve watched them many many times, and I have a very special place for “Teamwork” in my heart. These guys are the guys. And IS there a better movie title than “Eagles Are Turning People Into Horses”? I thought not.
So wish me luck. DO IT! LUCK! NOW! I’m off to finish some Buffy pages, and then figure out what the movie is about already. I’m pretty sure it’s about the Justice League [Marvel Lawyers re-enter, unspeakability occurs] or possibly something else. I’ll get it. I’ve been looking forward to this. For about 46 years.
Catchphrase!
-j.
I love the man’s sense of humor! If that’s not enough to get your geek bones tingling, here’s the official press release from Marvel as well:
Production has commenced today in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Marvel Studios’ highly anticipated movie “Marvel’s The Avengers,” directed by Joss Whedon (“Serenity”) from a screenplay by Whedon. The film will continue principal photography in Cleveland, Ohio and New York City. Robert Downey, Jr. (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2”) returns as the iconic Tony Stark/Iron Man along with Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”) as Thor, Chris Evans (“Captain America: The First Avenger”) as Captain America, Jeremy Renner (“Thor,” “The Hurt Locker”) as Hawkeye, Mark Ruffalo (“The Kids Are Alright”) as Hulk, Scarlett Johansson (“Iron Man 2”) as Black Widow, Clark Gregg (“Iron Man,” “Thor”) as Agent Phil Coulson, and Samuel L. Jackson (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2”) as Nick Fury. Set for release in the US on May 4, 2012, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is the first feature to be fully owned, marketed and distributed by Disney, which acquired Marvel in 2009.
Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers” is the super hero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.
Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1963, “Marvel’s The Avengers” brings together the mightiest super hero characters as they all assemble together on screen for the first time. The star studded cast of super heroes will be joined by Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother) as Agent Maria Hill of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as Tom Hiddleston (“Wallander”) and Stellan Skarsgård (“Angels & Demons,” “Mamma Mia!”) who will both reprise their respective roles as Loki and Professor Erik Selvig from the upcoming Marvel Studios’ feature “Thor.”
“Marvel’s The Avengers” is being produced by Marvel Studios’ President, Kevin Feige, and executive produced by Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Louis D’Esposito, Patty Whitcher, and Jon Favreau. Marvel Studios’ Jeremy Latcham and Victoria Alonso will co-produce.
The creative production team also includes Oscar nominated director of photography Seamus McGarvey (“Atonement”), production designer James Chinlund (“25th Hour”), Oscar winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), Oscar winning visual effects supervisor Janek Sirrs (“Iron Man 2,” “The Matrix”), visual effects producer Susan Pickett (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2”), stunt coordinator R.A. Rondell (“Superman Returns”), and four-time Oscar nominated special effects supervisor Dan Sudick (“Iron Man,” “War of the Worlds”). The editors include Oscar nominated Paul Rubell (“Collateral”) and Jeffrey Ford (“Crazy Heart”).
Marvel Studios most recently produced “Iron Man 2” which was released in theatres on May 7, 2010. The sequel to “Iron Man,” starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow as well as Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson and Mickey Rourke, took the number one spot its first weekend with a domestic box office gross of $128.1 million. To date the film has earned over $620 million in worldwide box office receipts.
In the summer of 2008, Marvel produced the summer blockbuster movies, “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk.” “Iron Man,” in which Robert Downey, Jr. originally dons the super hero’s powerful armor alongside co-stars Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow, was released May 2, 2008 and was an immediate box office success. Garnering the number one position for two weeks in a row, the film brought in over $100 million its opening weekend and grossed over $571 million worldwide. On June 13, 2008, Marvel released “The Incredible Hulk” marking its second number one opener of that summer. The spectacular revival of the iconic green goliath grossed over $250 million in worldwide box office receipts.
Having just watched The Incredible Hulk this last Sunday, I’m as giddy as a geek could possible be about this. Marvel has done a great job thus far tying the two Iron Man films and the Hulk film together and I’m sure we will see that same level of execution with the upcoming Thor and Captain America movies due out in May and July respectively. Like many of you, I have complete faith in Whedon helming the Avengers film and can’t wait to see it all come together! May 2012 may seem like a ways off, but at least we have the God of Thunder and The First Avenger to hold us over in the mean time! Huzzah!
People always joke about Geek Stink. That smell that comes to mind when you think of a group of adolescent geeks huddled around a game of Dungeons and Dragons with Hot Pockets and Mt. Dew at hand. That odor of acne cream and unwashed sweaty shirts emblazoned with comic books heroes and jokes the average person won’t understand. It’s as big a stereotype as the 30 something computer nerd the basement at his moms hunting the interwebs for mint in box action figures.
With the geeky world merging with pop culture and a plethora of products and companies aiming at the geek market it should be no surprise that there is now a whole new world of geek soap. And I don’t just mean soap for geeks I mean soap BY geeks.
Luxury Lane Soap is hand crafted by a full on geek gal who loves her Star Trek and conventions as much as anyone, hell she even made some Big Shiny Soap for us. She gives us great smelling, all natural soap that is freshly made to order in some of our favorite shapes. Bobba Fett, NES controllers, the Tardis, Unicorns and all kinds of great stuff.
I ordered a bar of NES soap as well as some of her non geek shaped goods. I got a Dapper Shaving Soap stick as well as some Pumpkin Flavored Sugar Scrub for my girlfriend. I got an email thanking me for m order as well as informing me that my products were going to produced fresh and another as soon as they had shipped. They were at my door in no time and opening the box already smelled great.
The NES controller looked dead on. If it had a cord coming out of it I couldn’t tell the difference between it and the real thing, and it had a great fresh scent to it. The shaving soap reminds me of a push pop and it also had a great scent that is kind of manly and clean at the same time. I have to shave every single day for work and actually can be forced to write a memo to my superiors apologizing for my appearance if I don’t. I also hate to shave because I always got razor burn and have tried all kinds of different shave gels and creams. The shave soap from Luxury Lane worked amazingly. Honestly it’s the best shave I’ve ever had plus it doesn’t have any alcohol or chemicals that dry my face out and has left my skin much healthier in a short amount of time. The sugar scrub is some of the best smelling stuff ever. It will make the entire apartment smell amazing; I’m half tempted to eat it. Plus Kylee Lane included a little robot in my order which will always make me happy.
This is great stuff made by a great geek. There is a very personal touch to everything and all the products look, smell, and feel great. I’m sticking with Luxury Lane Soap from now on.
In this week’s Anime Update, we get down to discussing the live-action adaptation that is supposedly in the works for the Japanese classic, Akira. This post is pretty rant-y so prepare yourselves! Oh, and shame on you if you haven’t watched Akira yet since it’s been out since 1988, but this review contains footage with spoilers. You’ve been warned!
I first saw Akira in 2000 when a friend lent me his VHS copy, saying “If you like Anime, you have to see Akira. It’s a classic.” Not too long after watching it, I went to nearby Boston and bought myself a DVD version because I had to own it in the then-new format. It was such a chilling, excellent film, and it truly reinforced my love of anime, science fiction, and Japanese literature. The anime itself stands up as a great science fiction film, and the manga is even more incredible. If you actually take the time to read all six volumes, you’ll see just how much they had to cut out to make that film in 1988.
Allow me to be completely frank here, I don’t believe that there is any way Hollywood is going to produce a live action Akira film that’s any good. They’ve changed writers three times in the past couple of years, and the project itself has been tossed around since the early 1990’s due to the astronomical budget it would require. (Rumors state that it’s estimated at around $300 million…though I believe this estimate was made in the 90’s before recent advances in special effects and computer technology.)
There are no Japanese actors reported in the casting yet. Actually, it’s so far been reported that all Western actors are set to play the leading roles, and George Takei asked Hollywood last week to remedy this situation (as well as to quit “Whitewashing” films made in Hollywood that should have Asian ethnic groups playing characters that were originally Asian to begin with.). On top of all this, the film is going to be changed in location from Neo Tokyo to a somewhat altered version of a futuristic New York City. Rumor also has it that they’re changing all the Japanese names to Western names…leaving us to wonder how much (if any) of the plot will remain intact.
Here’s the rest of what is missing from the necessary equation, and why Hollywood should quit messing with our anime adaptations:
One of the most important aspects of Akira is that it was written by a Japanese writer who’s own cultural background and experience (coupled with a love of good sci-fi) inspired him to write such an excellent science fiction manga. Otomo grew up in Occupied Japan in the 1950’s and 60’s when a lot of families had been faced with their lives being completely turned upside down and the hard work that everyone had to do in order to regain stability. His parents were a part of a generation completely shaped by the loss of the war and the dropping of nuclear bombs in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the cultural impact of these events is still evident even today in art and cinema produced in Japan.
Though a story of science fiction, Akira explores many themes with deeper meaning that can serve as cautionary tales for humanity – including the potential ramifications of nuclear holocaust, social unrest and revolution as a result of inequality, and the dangers of power and corruption. The story itself is chilling and somewhat disturbing, and to think that this could be watered down really does make me think that much of the deeper meaning of this story would be lost.
Another point that should be mentioned here is that anything less than an ‘R’ Rating would be even more devastating to the story, especially since this dystopian, cyberpunk reality is pretty rife with violence, psychic-blasting mutations, graphic and disturbing images, and what I believe Hollywood tends to call “strong themes.”
If that doesn’t merit an R rating…I don’t know what does…
Of course, I can’t forget to mention Hollywood’s recent track record in making live action adaptations of Anime. Let’s review with two recent disasters known as Dragon Ball and The Last Airbender.
I was willing to write off The Last Airbender from the moment I heard M. Night Shyamalan was directing. That little piece of news was enough to keep me out of the theaters because I had really enjoyed the series and honestly felt it had been quite good for a Nickelodeon produced Amerime (American region cartoon that is done in an anime style). Needless to say, the film was a complete flop and fans were sad (some outraged) to see the series completely destroyed on the big screen. The dialogue was terrible, the plot was glossed over…the only positive in this movie consisted of the special effect demonstrations of element manipulation. In similar stride to the upcoming Akira release, the ethnicities of most of the major characters were changed (and this definitely did not help the already sucky adaptation).
Dragon Ball, as you probably know, was awful. In my opinion, it might be the worst live action adaptation of any anime series. Even the trailer was completely terrible. I could go on and on about how bad this movie was, but you don’t want to read that much…so here are two pieces of evidence that will say it all:
This…
and this... (It's so bad, it hurts to look at.)
Dragon Ball brings me to my final point, and this one’s a big one: if a movie is going to be bad (Now, I mean REALLY bad, like Gigli levels of bad), and you know it’s going to be bad, DON’T PAY TO SEE IT IN THEATERS! Let it bomb. Don’t give the studios more money to keep making sh*t. I feel terrible that I actually paid seven dollars to see Dragon Ball…I should have demanded my money back! While I can’t endorse the piracy of these atrocities, I can certainly tell you not to buy the DVDs or pay for a movie ticket! Then, when a copy has magically landed into your possession, make fun of it with your friends in comfort knowing that you didn’t support the studio in making more sh*tty movies.
My final advice to Hollywood: either hire the original creator and staff to advise you on Akira, or drop the project! Save yourselves from losing the buckets of money you are bound to lose, and save us from having to witness the final product of your failure.
For more news on the upcoming Akira live action film, and all your other anime and geek news, keep surfing on BSR.
Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Leonardo Da Vinci had been alive for the birth of Superheroes? Perhaps the Vitruvian Man might have had a big S on his chest and a cape flapping impressively behind the said “perfect man.” Mona Lisa might have resembled Diana the Amazon Princess, and the Burghers of Calais, by Auguste Rodin, would have had an equally beautiful neighboring statue of the Avengers.
The aforementioned combination of celebrated classical artists and art genres with the escapist characters of comic book hoarders and a new generation of Marvel movie lovers can agreeably be the wet dream of geeky artists everywhere; unfortunately, Claude Monet did not know who Jean Grey-Summers is, nor did Picasso know of Batman. However, that doesn’t mean that great geeky art has to be a pipe dream, thanks to the efforts of Geek Art.
Geek Art is a website that is dedicated to exposing the art and artists devoted completely to the “geek culture.” The genres are limitless, the work awe-inspiring and diverse, and the artists, well, talented to say the least. The artists are inspired not only by classic comic book characters, but also by video games, movies, and Sci-Fi realities. Basically you name it, geek fans, we’ll call it inspiration. It is a forum of discovery and imagination.
You can browse the art work to your heart’s content as the site owner tirelessly works to find new and exciting geek art to share with his viewers. One piece that may be of particular relevance to geek society at the moment is Stephanie Hans’ redesign of Wonder Woman, since the new television series’ costume has fallen – let’s admit it – a little short of expectations.
Like Geek Art notes, it is very vogue to be geek right now.
You have to admit that geek is quite THE word today. No kidding, everyone is talking about it, and everyone wants to be one…There is at least a good point in all of that : the fact that the geek universe influenced a lot of people and things around us.
Geek is the new black, as everyone seems to be donning the superhero t-shirts, glasses are in style and our favorite actors and actresses lose their action and romantic comedy digs and slip into something a little more suited to fighting crime. You fuax nerds may not be able to fully appreciate the majesty of this forum for geek art, but the rest of you should really check it out and surf to your geeky little heart’s content.
Boxy-bot is a Utah-local Fembot programmed at the University of Utah for Journalism. She spends her geek-oriented time gaming, pining over her favorite superhero flicks, and reading what ever trade paperbacks Arse-bot and Mexicus Prime demand her to. She also kick-boxes . . . seriously.
