Celebrities I Can Actually Stand
Apparently the guy who voices Superman for all those WB animated cartoons and movies, Tim Daly, has some kind of web series with his son. And Nathan Fillion, the guy who voices Green Lantern, stopped by the other day to make one hilariously funny web-isode. I wish my life was about having this much fun. Watch and enjoy.
6 Unreasonable Things I Want in the Next Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto 5 is coming out later this year, so it’s probably too late to squeeze any of my demands into that game. But seeing as how this is A.) my blog, B.) America, and C.) that Grand Theft Auto 6 is an inevitability, I feel pretty confident that I can demand any fool thing I want. I wrote previously that GTA5 needs to make sure it improves the money system. They need to give us more things to buy than were available in GTA4. That’s a reasonable request. These 6 suggestions are rather unreasonable, and you’ll see why. But I make these requests for one very specific and important reason.
Don't pretend that GTAs 7-10 aren't also a sure thing
The Grand Theft Auto series has become the greatest real world simulation ever.
This was especially evident in Grand Theft Auto 4, where Rockstar studios created a lush, realistic, video game version of New York City and populated it with both the fantastic and the mundane. I cannot be the only gamer who spent time just walking down the sidewalks of Liberty City, admiring the visuals, the physics and the ebb and flow of this virtual city. And I know I’m not the only gamer who then pulled out his rocket launcher, blew up a city bus and then led police on a high-speed car chase through the streets of virtual Manhattan.
Because Grand Theft Auto, of course, has mastered the sandbox game play. Where you can do anything you want in a large open world – but only in their limited world with the limited toys they have given you. I think Rockstar studios should broaden their horizons and have some fun with the worlds they have created.
New Avengers Trailer Warps My Fragile Little Mind
It’s just so beautiful. This trailer is like a glorious comet of righteous awesomeness sailing across the sky of my dreams and delivering the superhero extravaganza I have been waiting my whole life to see. Don’t take my word for it. Watch it now!
The brilliance of this trailer is astounding. There are a few odd moments, like an out of place line or two from Agent Coulson, but otherwise it’s two minutes and 30 seconds of outright geek bliss. What’s more, this is the first real trailer to feature footage of the heroes interacting. Cap and Thor, Hulk and Iron Man, Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner, Black Widow and Hawkeye; it’s fantastic! This movie is going to rise and fall on the heroes interacting, whether it be fighting, bickering or the final assembling; and this trailer is proof that it’s going to be amazing.
Look at me, I’m gushing.
Inspector Spacetime Will Not Be Happening Because Lawyers
A week or two ago, I reported that there was an Inspector Spacetime web-series in the works by Travis Richey, the actor who plays the Inspector in mini-segments on the TV show Community. Richey said he was going to raise the money and produce the series himself, just for the sheer kicks and giggles of it.
Well that’s not going to happen for the most obvious of reasons: he doesn’t own the character!
NBC owns the character, and once Richey’s project started making the rounds on the Internet, the NBC legal department told him ‘no way, jose!’ and pulled the plug on his project. Richey posted this on his Kickstarter page:
Lawyers from Sony and NBC have contacted me demanding that I cease production on an Inspector Spacetime web series.
Though I firmly believe the law would be on my side in producing this parody, I have no wish or ability to fight a show that I love as much as “Community.” I had hoped that they would embrace what is essentially a fan film and appreciate the value it adds to the character, and the audience that we would bring who are finding “Community” for the first time through this character, but alas, that’s not the case. So, I will be removing all references to Inspector Spacetime from this series (it only happened in the title anyway), and altering the appearance of the Inspector so that he does not look like Inspector Spacetime. What remains is 100% the creation of myself, my writing partner, and you, the fans.
If you would still be interesting in seeing the series that would have been Inspector Spacetime, I appreciate your support.
Richey said he will still go forward with the project, only now it will be called ‘Untitled Web Series About a Spacetraveler Who Can Also Travel Through Time’. So good for him and his creativity.
I kind of hope this doesn’t cost Richey his role as the Inspector on Community. But who am I kidding? Replacing the lead actor is a main part of the Doctor Who mythology, so replacing Richey would be perfectly in line for Inspector Spacetime.
Farewell, Inspector
What is the Point of DC Animation These Days?
On the day after their latest film, Justice League: Doom, is released, I find myself asking what the point is anymore for the DC animation studio that keeps churning out these straight-to-DVD animated movies every few months. Mostly I ask this in regards to their next film, Superman vs. The Elite, and how utterly random and sort of ridiculous it sounds. This probably isn’t going to be a popular theory, and who am I to look such a gift horse in the mouth of actual, well-made Justice League movies, but hear me out.
Why do the movies produced by this very talented production company seem so random and disconnected? Why are the fantastic efforts of Bruce Timm and his people not put to better, more substantial use?
Let’s first take a look at Superman vs. the Elite.
Not to be voiced by Tim Daly, by the way
So far we have this description of the film:
The Elite, a team of super-powered antiheroes, is renowned for killing their enemies. Despite the acclaim and approval the Elite enjoy, Superman knows they are in the wrong, creating more harm than good by their methods. Tensions between them finally culminate in a mass showdown on Jupiter’s moons, when Superman is forced to prove that violence is never a positive.
The movie is based on an early 2001 story from Action Comics, where the Elite basically did exactly what it says there in the description. Right down to fighting on Jupiter’s moon. And the animated Elite is pretty much the exact same Elite from the comics.
I guess these guys made quite the impression on somebody more than a decade ago
The team members are, from left to right, Coldcast, Manchester Black, The Hat, and Menagerie. I have no knowledge of any of these characters or The Elite as a team, so I have no personal attachment to this being turned into an animated film. But I’m also free to ask the question of why?
Why this story? Why such a random choice from more than 10 years ago?
For that matter, why turn ‘Tower of Babel’ into Justice League: Doom? Why Batman: Year One and All-Star Superman? I’m not saying I haven’t enjoyed some, if not all, of these films. I’m just saying why does it have to be so haphazard?
Why not a Lois Lane movie?
Once upon a time, Timm and Co. were the masters of animation with Batman: The Animated Series, Superman and Justice League: Unlimited. They had an ongoing saga that lasted years and multiple shows that were beloved by fans. But these new movies don’t have anything to do with those old TV shows.
There have been several attempts to bridge certain movies, like Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Justice League: Doom, but those don’t seem to feature the same characters from Batman: Year One, All-Star Superman, Green Lantern: First Flight, Wonder Woman or even Superman vs. The Elites. All of these movies are disconnected. They’re just vanity projects, as if they pulled an idea out of a hat and decided to make that movie next. Would it really be so hard to unite the movies? Or make movies that lead into one another?
There’s also the problem that after the poor sales of Green Lantern: First Flight and Wonder Woman (which is the best of all the movies), Warner Bros. has demanded that all future movies must include either Superman or Batman. So that severely limits the production crew’s options.
So what’s the point? Is the market for an animated Batman or Superman film really so great that Warner Bros. keep demanding another film? Are they making a lot of money? Are they easier to make than a full TV show? Do they make more money than a TV show?
One half of the only money-making superheroes that DC owns
Right now, DC only has Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series on TV. Neither has anything to do with the animated movies, even if the style of animation between the Justice League films and Young Justice is quite similar. They should just go ahead and declare that the movies and the show take place in the same universe. Why not a Young Justice movie? Why not a team-up with the Justice League and Young Justice in one film? Why not have the various DC animation studios working together for the harmony of all?
There is already a built-in audience for a Young Justice movie. And surely it’s a bigger audience than those who want a done-in-one Superman vs. The Elite DVD. Why not make feature films that appear in theaters? Warner Bros. could make millions that way. But no, they want roughly two or three straight-to-DVD films popped out at random throughout the year.
More importantly, where’s the New 52 reboot film? DC is pushing this new initiative in its comics, why not have everything else line up with that? Why make a movie about a Superman storyline that nobody has heard of from 2001, when they could make a brand new movie with a brand new storyline set in the New 52 universe?
All this rambling comes down to one basic point: why is this amazing, brilliant production team reduced to making one or two movies a year based on old Batman and Superman comic book storylines?
They could be doing so much more.
