The folks responsible for 99% of the on-set Spider-Man photos you’ve been seeing, onlocationvacations.com, have posted a new set of Spider-Man photos featuring some stunt work of Spidey swingin’ around!
Nothing really groundbreaking, but kind of fun to see none-the-less! You can check out a few of the photos below, and then head on over to onlocationvactions.com to see the rest!
For those of us Oscar watchers here are the list of nominees thus far!!
Natalie Portman, Colin Firth and Christian Bale were among the contenders when the 2011 Oscar nominations were announced today in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Best actor nominees include James Franco (”127 Hours”) , Jeff Bridges (”True Grit”), Colin Firth (”The King’s Speech”), Jesse Eisenberg (”The Social Network”), and Javier Bardem (”Biutiful”).
Best actress nominees include Annette Bening (”The Kids Are All Right”), Michelle Williams (”Blue Valentine”), Nicole Kidman (”Rabbit Hole), Jennifer Lawrence (”Winter’s Bone”), and Portman (”Black Swan”).
Best supporting actress nominees include Amy Adams (”The Fighter”), Helena Bonham Carter (”The King’s Speech”), Melissa Leo (”The Fighter”), Hailee Steinfeld (”True Grit”) and Jacki Weaver (”Animal Kingdom).
Christian Bale (”The Fighter”), John Hawkes (”Winter’s Bone”), Mark Ruffalo (”The Kids Are All Right”), Geoffrey Rush (”The King’s Speech”) and Jeremy Renner (”The Town”) are all in line for best supporting actor.
The movies up for best picture are “Black Swan,” “The Fighter,” “Inception,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “The King’s Speech,” “127 Hours,” “The Social Network,” “Toy Story 3,” “True Grit,” and “Winter’s Bone.”
Anyone else wondering where Mila Kunis is for best supporting actress in Black Swan?
The best picture awards seems to be a tight race this year. Personally speaking I think True Grit, Toy Story 3, Black Swan, and Inception are the top of my list. I wouldn’t even be able to decide from there. Would it be the only animated film to make me cry? The first sci-fi/dream related movie to make me wonder how 1 scene was even shot? A western remake for a guy who absolutely loves westerns? Or a movie that made me feel a little bit crazy all the way through. These are great nominations, and I’m sure after the Academy awards February 27th, we’ll have plenty of coverage on the outcomes!
The Fantastic Four, the first superhero team for Marvel Comics, first made its debut in November of 1961 created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Powered by cosmic radiation Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm joined together for a multitude of science fiction adventures. From outer space, to here on earth, and in alternate dimensions the FF have saved countless lives and entertained many readers. In issue #587, which is out today 1/25, one of them will fall. For the last year and a half, starting with issue #570, writer Jonathan Hickman has been crafting this fantastic story. He has brought Reed Richards back from the douche that he was during and after Civil War. He has putting the pieces into place introducing “The Four Cities” that are foretold will go to war with each other. He built the team back into the family that they should feel like. Now he is going to break them down and hit them where it hurts. A death in the family. Late last night the AP ran a story about who will be dying in todays issue. For their complete story look at the bottom of the article. I’m going to give you one chance to look away if you don’t want the death spoiled for you. Read at your own risk after the following picture, which is the cover to issue #587.
Late last night the AP ran a story about who will be dying in todays issue. For their complete story look below. The member of the Fantastic Four that will meet their demise today is Johnny Storm, The Human Torch. In the past, in one way or another the other three members have been believed to be killed. But there was little to no effect on the team and they always came back. To have Johnny die to me is big because he’s always been a part of the team. While the other three members have left and taken time off from the team before, Johnny has always stayed. He is the heart and soul of the team, the glue that keeps them together and his death is going to hit the other three members of the team in a way that they’ve never been hit before. The series is ending with issue #588 and Marvel is being very tight lipped about the future plans for the characters past this devastating event.
I highly recommend reading Jonathan Hickman’s entire run of Fantastic Four. He has taken a book that I’ve liked, but never really loved and turned it into my most anticipated book month after month. There are three trade paperbacks collecting his run so far, and they take you right up to this current storyline. I do not know how they are killing the Human Torch, but I will be picking this book up as soon as I can so you can expect a review up later this afternoon. In the meantime here is the original article the AP ran about the death of Johnny Storm.
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s a Fantastic Four farewell with the revelation Tuesday of who among them has been selected to be written out of the super hero team.
While Marvel Entertainment has made no secret that a member of the quartet, which was introduced in August 1961, would die, exactly who among the group would fall has been a closely held secret, until the release of issue No. 587.
It’s the Human Torch, leaving teammates Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman and the Thing to pick up the pieces and move forward.
Fifty years after cosmic rays transformed him into a man ablaze, the Human Torch will burn no more as the pop culture purveyor of super heroes and villains embarks on an ambitious story line that ends the Fantastic Four.
In the newest issue of one of the company’s longest-running comic books, Johnny Storm’s life is taken amid a massive battle that writer Jonathan Hickman has been scripting for a year-and-half. Illustrator Steve Epting did the art.
Hickman, along with his editor, Tom Brevoort, have been unsurprisingly mum on what the future may hold for the characters, but one thing is certain, the end is nigh for the Fantastic Four next month.
Brevoort, senior vice president for publishing at Marvel told The Associated Press that “588 is the final issue of the Fantastic Four. Beyond that, we’re not ready to say exactly what we’re doing. There won’t be an issue 589.”
All he would say about the future was that the various subplots and threads that Hickman has written “will converge in a new thing that will be exciting and different and yet, very familiar and very much the same.”
Hickman told the AP that the death is part of the natural evolution of his ongoing story line.
“In doing this, we’re going to elevate the other three and the family in general and going forward with the story that we want to tell,” he said. “I think it makes complete sense. It’s kind of a logical move.”
Readers have weighed in online, on Twitter and in comic shops about the buildup to the new issue, debating about who should die and who should live.
“Our readers get heavily involved in the lives of these characters. They fight alongside them, they share their triumphs and pitfalls,” he said. “They live with them and they grasp them very tightly to their breast. They take them on in a very one to one, very personal sort of way.”
But is death really the end and, more so, will it be permanent? After all, death has previously visited the Fantastic Four, which was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, supposedly died, but that was just a ruse. Similarly, her husband, Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, was thought dead after being caught in a blast with his archenemy, Dr. Doom. Instead of death, however, Richards and his nemesis were snatched away to another dimension.
Indeed, death is not uncommon in comic books. DC killed Superman in the 1990s, only to bring him back. At Marvel, Captain America was assassinated on the steps of a court house and returned, while Marvel’s mutant band of X-Men know death so well that the Grim Reaper is on speed dial – Thunderbird, Phoenix, Nightcrawler and others have been felled.
Roy Thomas, who was a writer and assistant editor at Marvel in the 1960s and, later, its editor-in-chief from 1972-1974, said that since comics try to mirror real life, death is always a specter.
“The thing that is the most unrealistic is that so few people (have) died, good, bad or otherwise,” he said. “If they did, they always managed to come back.”
Thomas said he hated to see a member of the Fantastic Four die, but the Human Torch may not be gone forever.
“Whether it’s Superman, the Thing or Bucky, if someone wants to bring them back to life later, you can’t bury them deep enough or tear them into enough pieces” to keep that from happening. “Death is not a permanent condition in the comic book universe.”
Joe Quesada, Marvel’s chief creative officer, recognized that death, while potent, is not necessarily lasting and that the death of a character in comics has turned out “to be very cliche” in plot developments.
“Whether the human torch comes back or not is really a question that will be answered in time,” he said.
“While I will never discount that a character can come back from the dead because it is one of the staples of comic book story telling . I’m not going to tell you if he will, or when he will and if he does, how he will, but I can assure you that it’s going to be very, very interesting and not what anyone expects.”
Jeff Vice (known as Jerk-Bot around these parts) from The Big Movie Mouth-Off had a chance to see Kevin Smith’s new picture up at Sundance. I was bracing for this interview, because Jeff was pretty outspoken about his anger on the last BMMO Podcast about the cancellation of press screenings for this film.
This is the full review, excerpted from a larger blogpost that Mr. Vice provided to X96’s Sundance Blog. He’s blogging the whole festival from there and I suggest you read him. We’ll be back on the Mouth-Off podcast and the show this week for the full Sundance recap.
Jimmy Martin, the other half of the Big Movie Mouth-Off, also reviewed the film for his home publication, SLUG Magazine. You can read his review here.
You can listen to the Sundance preview show here.
But without further ado: Jerk-Bot reviews
The most pleasant surprise of the festival has to be Kevin Smith’s already controversial “Red State,” which got protested Sunday night by a “street team” representing the wackjob Westboro Baptist Church group. Jimmy and I got up bright and early to check out a Monday morning public screening at the Park City Library.
You may recall that I was prepared to hate the film. Especially after Smith’s anti-media antics, including refusing to do press interviews and not allowing for a press and industry screening of his latest movie. Surprise, surprise, though … this is unlike anything the “Clerks.” and “Dogma” writer/director has done to date. None of his goofy cast of characters shows up. The dialogue doesn’t even sound like it came from his pen.
And as for the story and performances are concerned, this is easily Smith’s most accomplished movie. It helps that he has a first-rate cast (including Michael Parks, Melissa Leo, John Goodman, Kevin Pollak and Stephen Root), plus subject matter that he clearly cares about.
Once you experience “Red State,” you’ll understand why the Westboro group wanted to protest. It’s gutsy, blood-and-guts stuff … a successful melding of sex comedy elements (think “American Pie”), so-called “torture-porn” films like “Hostel” and satirical thrillers. If you thought “Dogma” was sacrilegious, you haven’t seen anything yet. Organized religion, governmental and law-enforcement agencies, the American education system, the middle class. Smith spoofs them all.
And sure, it’s occasionally heavy-handed. But you can’t shake it off easily. Especially not after seeing Parks’ on-fire performance as an Eternal Damnation threatening “holy man.”
Still, I was prepared to put Smith on the spot during a post-screening Q-and-A. I wanted to ask why he refused to promote and press screening such an obvious passion project. But he answered before I could even ask. Turns out he’s self-releasing the movie, under his own new production company (named for his wildly popular “Smodcast”).
He’s planning to “tour” the film in certain cities, beginning in March at Radio City Music Hall. These “tour stops” will also feature lectures and programming, much like his “One Night With Kevin Smith” events. And then, he’s mulling over an actual theatrical release in the fall. By which time he may have already recovered the reported $4 million production budget.
Love him or hate him, Smith is truly an original. And this is a really ballsy move on his part. I still hope he’ll do more press, since the film deserves a lot of discussion. It’s outrageous stuff, and something that needs to be seen and talked about by as many people as possible.
So this is me saying I’m sorry … at least to a certain degree … for my earlier, inflammatory comments, which included a cheap dig at the portly Smith. All is forgiven on my part. Even for his previous film, the awful “buddy cop” comedy “Cop Out.”
You can watch my (Swank’s) interview of Smith from Comic-Con here.
We’d also like to take this moment to publicly offer Smith help or advice about the self distribution angle. Clang! Boom! Steam! and I have released two films ourselves (Killer at Large and This Divided State, look them up on Netflix) and with the help of Jeff Vice we’re currently booking Sons Of Perdition, which is a great documentary about polygamist kids. We’re familiar with the world of self distribution and would like to help make Red State successful.
Starring Jeff Vice from MSN Entertainment and Jimmy Martin from SLUG Magazine (and both regular panelists on The Geek Show Podcast), the Big Movie Mouth-Off is produced and directed by Bryan Young (me) and Elias Pate from Big Shiny Robot! It appears on Xfinity On Demand in Utah and on Xfinity’s Channel 6, on line, and at Brewvies Cinema Pub.
First we have the 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 cover:
And now on to the reviews. First is The Green Hornet!
Then we have Rabbit Hole:
And finally, Season of the Witch
We’ll back later in the week with more reviews, and next week with the seventh episode of the podcast!
The Monitor Tapes episode 4
Every week Martin J Dekay and Ken Derrick discuss DC Comics, movies, video games, and toys This is:
The ranting episode…
Martin J Dekay was sick this week and didn’t do a lot of book reading. We briefly discuss a few comics:
BATMAN #706
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #53
POWER GIRL #20
YOUNG JUSTICE #0
And then we rant and rave about:
MR. Twister
The Batman Casting news
Wonder Woman
Grant Morrison??
MJD has STRONG feelings about Marvel, Batman and more!
Get it via iTunes
Regardless on how you feel about the Matrix films, they introduced the world to some pretty gnarly stuff in regards to action sequences. Personally, I liked the first film quite a bit; I even enjoyed the second film as well. It wasn’t until the third film that it all fell apart for me, and I was rather disappointed. The ideas seemed to be pretty forced and it was as if though the Wachowski’s really hadn’t really developed out their story all the way and it all just kind of collapsed around them as the desperately tried to recover by shoving in every religious aligory they could think of. Despite the disintigration of the story (in my eyes), I still thought it was a fun movie to sit through – and it looks like we may get two more . . .
According to AICN Scooper “El Nino”, Keanu Reeves was the key note speaker at the London School of Performing Arts a few days ago and mentioned that there may be two more Matrix films in the works – in 3D (sigh)!
[Keanu] Says he met the Wachowski’s (no emphasis on the word brothers), for lunch over Christmas and stated that they had completed work on a two picture script treatment that would see him return to the world of the matrix as Neo. Says the brothers have met with Jim Cameron to discuss the pro’s and con’s of 3D and are looking to deliver something which has never been seen again. keanu stated that he still has an obligation to the fans to deliver a movie worthy of the title “The Matrix” and he swears this time that the treatment will truly revolutionise the action genre like the first movie. Wachowski’s are working on a movie called “Cloud Atlas” at the moment, once that concludes they will talk again.
God knows I loathe 3D and, frankly, can’t wait for the fad to pass (. . . again), but the one film that I saw that I was actually impressed with the 3D in, and thought it was well-utilized, was Avatar. So if they are talking to James Cameron about 3D, at least they are talking to the right guy. As far as making two more Matrix movies my thoughts are, “Go ahead.” I know things were “wrapped up” after the third film, but it was quite obvious there was a door – or at the very least, a window – open to continue the story, and I’m hardly surprised the Wachowski’s may go back to that well once more. I don’t know a lot of people that were pleased with the third film, or how it ended, so my guess is fans of the first film or two probably wouldn’t mind seeing if the Wachowski’s can better expand on this story and universe – a “second try” if you will. If nothing else, if the plot is horrible, I’m willing to bet we will at least be treated to some pretty cool action sequences, and if they are taking notes from James Cameron I might even be willing to see these in 3D.
I can hear Swank-mo-tron already groaning from across the valley, but what do YOU all think of the possibility of two more Matrix films?
RIP Wizard.
Word started to spread on the net pretty fast this morning that the once indomitable Wizard guide to comics was shuttering its doors and laying off all staff and canceling all outstanding freelance contracts. Bleeding Cool broke the story. What at first seemed like an Enron style “the doors were locked when we tried to go to work on Monday” collapse has now emerged as a planned transition. Comics Beat is reporting that from the ashes of the old physical imprint will arise “Wizard World” an online magazine. the Web magazine will act as one arm to a newly minted and publicly traded company of the same name, with the other arm the continuing Wizard World conventions. So less Enron and more re-branding. Wizard is not the only casualty to the internet and the recessions effect on the publication industry, but it seems to be the first to go in the nerd- sphere.
Speculation as to the causes, or the lack of surprise to the magazines death could be found on every comic book board, twitter, and facebook post that relinked to the story. It seems if you are a geek for good or ill you have an opinion on the merits and shortfalls of Wizard. I’ve heard it said that Wizard was a big contributor to the 90s comics speculation boom and bust and not necessarily a boon to the industry. I have read many a comment that Wizard was falling behind not only in content but in attitude, still sporting its fan boy “OMG BOOBS!” zeal even after 20 years of publication and a changing comics market. Personally I had a subscription for years in middle and high school and thank wizard for opening my eyes to titles that pre- internet I would not have known about growing up in a small rural town. But all things come to their end.
The switch in emphasis to promotion with the Wizard World conventions and building as a promoter for pop culture can be interpreted as savvy business sense. But I would like to ask what does this mean for the comic scene? The music industry’s transition from physical product sales to internet content and heavy live act promotion ( like Madonna’s decision to sign with Live Nation and not a record company) have been well covered in the media and heavily speculated on in regard to what it MEANS to music as an art form and as a Scene. Wizard used to take up a lot of space in the room. But the internet made that room quantumly infinite. Nerd Culture has become a huge part of pop culture in the past 10 years. Anyone who has been to ANY larger comic book convention in the past 2 years can tell you that the scene has changed, and gotten a LOT more crowded. What can this transition of such a flagship brand mean to the greater comic book community? Not a thing? Or does it mark a new area of relentless promotion and the selling of our scene for spectacle? I am a wee bit cautious myself. You can blame G4, or blame San Diego Comic Con’s prominence, or Hollywood, or all of the above – But a the scene is changing. What Wizard will BE to the scene, Friend or Foe remains to be seen.
On This Month’s Vidcast:
It the first Vidcast of the new year! We desperately try to recover from our month and a half hiatus with midocre success (which is pretty much all we strive for)! We talk a little about Thor and Captain America, Chris and Tyson draw a line in the sand about the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film. New Spider-Man costume! Thomas’s Green Hornet review! X-Men: First Class pictures! More movie talk! Thomas and Tyson gush over the Roku box! Have you seen the Duke Nukem Forever videogame trailer? We’ll show it to you! Chris breaks down his thoughts on Halo forge maps and Tyson tells you why he loves mixing sports and videogames in GRIIIIFFFFFBAAAALLLLL! Lucas has another Ghostbusters prop replica to show you, and Kiley has a handful of comics you should probably be reading (Batman Beyond?! YES!)! Also, Tyson gets temorarily suspended from XBox Live while on the air for his “inappropriate bio” . . . Luckily it only turned out to be a three day suspension.
The best way to view the (NSFW) Big Shiny Vidcast is to tune in LIVE each month when we record them! We always have a live chat room up and running so you can join in the conversation as you please! The next best thing is to watch the video replay via the player above! You can also find all of the Vidcasts we have recorded thus far on our Ustream Page! Looking for an audio-only version for you to listen to in the background at work? Check out our iTunes page or Podcast RSS Feed! (Note: The audio-only version will hit a few days after we record)
Thanks for all your support and listening! Enjoy!
The LA Times’ Hero Complex is reporting as breaking exclusive news that they are surprised to confirm that Captain American: The First Avenger will be released as just “The First Avenger” when it comes out in a few foreign territories this summer. Namely Russia, South Korea, and the Ukraine.
We’ve been speculating about this for months, as has Jeff Vice from The Big Movie Mouth-Off, and it’s nice to get a confirmation finally.
Really, it seems to be common sense. The last decade has been rough for America in the eyes of the rest of the world and we’re not exactly the good guys we used to be. It makes good business sense to not rub it in the noses of foreign audiences.
From the LA TImes piece:
In private, Marvel insiders said that early on in the project’s planning there was talk that the title might need to be changed in numerous international markets but that there was a ”pleasant surprise” — the brand recognition of the comic-book superhero was so strong that it overrode those considerations in many places. That was not the case in Russia, South Korea and the Ukraine.
This is really not surprising at all. Marvel is very savvy about their brands. If nothing else, it’s proof positive we know what we’re talking about.