Author: Martha Thomases

LA Times claims comic book funk

  • News
  • July 17, 2007

In an op-ed piece in today’s Los Angeles Times, Tim Cavanaugh traces the disconnect between comic book’s influence on mass media and comic book’s actual sales.  He starts out on this up-beat note:  "Dying media don’t come much dying-er than monthly comic books."

He goes on to decry the "cloying, creepy, did-I-accidentally-enter-a-porn-shop vibe" of many comic book stores, and the cautiousness of most publishers.  He talks to Tom Spurgeon and Peter Bagge.

Like so many others, Cavanauagh suggests that the web may be the solution.  Stay tuned.

Simpsons: Testify This September 18

  • News
  • July 16, 2007

homer_1024x768-3652991The Simpsons movie is set to open in less than two weeks, meaning there will be a long, hot stretch of summer with no new Simpsons.  Thus, the anticipation for the 19th season will be even more fevered.  Adding to the frenzy will be a CD, Simpsons: Testify, from the Shout Factory.

The soundtrack includes the vocal talents of the regular Simpsons’ cast (Dan Castallaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartright, Yeardly Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer and guest regular Kelsey Grammar) plus musical ringers like Jackson Browne, Weird Al Kankovic, Ricky Gervais, and David Byrne.

For complete track listing, please visit: http://www.shoutfactory.com/press/214/the_simpsons_testify_a_whole_lot_more

New Star Trek ‘toon feature debuts at Convention

  • News
  • July 16, 2007

borgwartrailerhighres_b-1844248Geoffrey James made a feature-length animated film by reprogramming computer games.  The result, the Star Trek film Borg War, with Patrick Stewart, Tim Russ and Brock Peters, will debut at the Official Star Trek Convention 2007 at the Las Vegas Hilton August 10.

According to the press release, Borg War clips have received more than a million downloads online.  If you want to see the trailer for the feature, check out http://www.creationent.com/cal/stlv.htm.

Vegas expects more than 12,000 Trekkies, and a guest list that includes William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Brett Spiner and damn near everybody else who’s been associated with the franchise and remains alive.  Also on the schedule — a Star Trek concert with members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

stlv_cartoon_sm-8933815 (more…)

Harry Potter tops

  • Uncategorized
  • July 15, 2007

Box Office Mojo declalres Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the top-grossing film this weekend, with a take of more than $77.4 million and a per-theater average of $18,065.  Since opening on Wednesday, Potter has earned more than $140 million.

The rest of the Top Ten include Transformers ($36 million), Ratatouille ($18.019 million), Live Free or Die Hard ($10.875 million), License to Wed ($7.44 million ), 1408 ($5.01 million), Evan Almighty ($4.972 million), Sicko ($2.65 million), Ocean’s Thirteen ($1.91 million), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer ($1.585 million), Captivity ($1.55 million), Pirates of the Caribbean ($1.402 million) and Evening ($1.154 million).

Next weekend, the big premiere is Hairspray, whose major special effect is John Travolta in a dress and a fat suit.  As long as Christopher Walken dances, I’m there.

MARTHA THOMASES: That’s What Friends Are For

  • News
  • July 14, 2007

martha100-8504049Over the weekend, I read the entire trade paperback collection of The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen. I had anticipated a rollicking journey through my childhood, since I’d read most of these stories as a kid.

Alas! It was not to be.

The stories are fun, don’t get me wrong. Jimmy Olsen, the Everyboy of the DC Universe, is transformed from a working guy into a futuristic genius, a fat man, a werewolf, a porcupine, a turtle boy, a giant, a Bizarro and more. He travels to the future with the Legion of Super-Heroes, and he’s courted by two separate beauties from other worlds. As a kid, even a girl-type kid, I identified with Jimmy, and wanted to be Superman’s Pal.

Now, reading these stories as an adult, I still find them funny, but also oddly bleak. Jimmy Olsen is a lonely, lonely man. Superman may be his pal, but their interaction in these stories seems limited to story set-ups. Superman brings Jimmy a collection of stuff he found in outer space, leaves it for the young reporter to write about, and mayhem ensues. Sometimes Superman saves him, sometimes the bad stuff wears off, and sometimes Jimmy is sharp enough to save himself. In every case, he’s terrified that he won’t fit in, and his friends will shun him.

Professionally, Jimmy is on thin ice. He gets fired time after time, and often is forced to go and join a carnival freak show to earn a living. For some reason, there is always a freak show conveniently in town, with a side-show slot for him. Maybe things were different when these stories were written, but I thought most newspapers required at least a high school diploma to get a job. Doesn’t Jimmy have any other marketable skills? Why doesn’t he consider a related career, maybe in advertising or public relations, where his writing ability and photography skills would earn a more reliable income? (more…)

Septimus Heap: Magyk to the big screen

  • Uncategorized
  • July 13, 2007

a8841i0_magyk-185-9977558What do you when your Harry Potter series is almost finished?  How do you find another property to generate billions in ticket sales?

If you’re Warner Bros., you find another fantasy franchise.  And they have.  According to a press release, the studio has acquired the Septimus Heap books, written by English author Angie Sage, for films.  The first, Septimus Heap: Magyk, will be produced by Karen Rosenfeltt, who produced the equally unbelievable The Devil Wears Prada.  Sage will be an Executive Producer.

According to the press release, "The series tells the story of two babies that are switched at birth: one, a boy who discovers his birthright as the seventh son of a seventh son, and ultimately, a powerful wizard; the other, a girl who is destined to become Princess. Their stories are set in a weird and wonderful fairy-tale England and their journeys of self-discovery are filled with hilarious characters and clever charms, potions and spells."

The series has sold more than a million copies in the United States, and is published in 28 languages.

Gloria Steinem, movie commentator

  • News
  • July 12, 2007

steinembig-7303470In a column today on The Huffington Post, Ms. Magazine founder and former Harvey Kurtzman assistant (at Help! Magazine, published by Jim Warren) Gloria Steinem notes the tendency of some to dismiss certain types of movies as "chick flicks."

She says, " … let me appeal to your self-interest as well as your sense of fairness: If the ‘chick flick’ label helps you to avoid the movies you don’t like, why is there no label to guide you to the ones you do like?"

Her solution?  "Prick flicks."  If only.

Joe Dante launches Trailers from Hell

  • Uncategorized
  • July 9, 2007

Joe Dante, who directed the Gremlins films, Small Soldiers, Matinee, Amazon Women on the Moon and five episodes of Eerie, Indiana, is launching a new website.  According to Variety, Trailers from Hell lets directors record commentary tracks to scary movie trailers, which you can then pick up on line or on your cell phone. 

Besides Joe, other directors on the site are Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), Mick Garris (the television versions of The Shining and The Stand), and Mary Lambert (Pet Sematary). 

You can see the site at trailersfromhell.com, and Sprint’s Fun Little Movie channel.

Transformers with a side of Ratatouille

Box Office Mojo’s weekend movie estimates show that Transformers made a whopping $67.6 million, including $22 million on Friday alone. The total gross so far is $152.5 million since Wednesday. Per theater grosses were $16,853, more than double what the next ranked film, Ratatouille, took in.

The Pixar rat did okay, though, with a weekend haul of over $29 mil, and a per-theater gross of $7,367. So far, it’s made more than $109.5 million.

The other top-tenners are Live Free or Die Hard ($17.4 million), License to Wed ($10.4 million), Evan Almighty ($8.4 million), 1408 ($7.14 million), Knocked Up ($5.19 million), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer ($4.15 million), Sicko ($3.65 milion) and Ocean’s Thirteen ($3.525 million).

Knocked Up, which cost abou $30 milion, has earned more than $132 million so far this summer, making it the most profitable non-documentary film on the list so far.

MARTHA THOMASES: Mansion on the Hill

martha100-4981614Every weekend, when I walk by the newsstands, I see cover stories in gossip magazines about Brad and Angelina, Jennifer, Reese, Lindsay, Britney and others. Although I only read these magazines at the hairdressers, I am fascinated by the lifestyles of people I will likely never meet. On Sunday, I enjoy the Real Estate section of The New York Times, looking at pictures of homes that can cost tens of millions of dollars.

And then, there are my favorite comics.

Batman has always been one of my favorite characters, at least in part because of Bruce Wayne. I am moved by the image of that little boy, watching his mother’s pearls scatter on the street as his parents are murdered. As a child, I was afraid the same thing could happen to my parents. As a parent, I wanted to spare my child from that tragedy.

bruce_wayne-2660942(To his credit, my son wanted to do the right thing. “Don’t worry,” he assured me when he was five years old. “If you’re ever gunned down by criminals, I promise to avenge your death.”)

Most of the people who have written Batman over the years have concentrated on the Caped Crusader and his underground Bat Cave, not the billionaire playboy who lives in the manor above. Most of the more recent writers believe that Bruce Wayne is the disguise, that the little, traumatized boy grew up to be Batman, not Wayne.

That premise allows for many interesting stories, and I understand that it’s more fun to play with the driven, rage-filled Batman, the character with the high-tech equipment and the regimen of martial arts training. A person who fights bad guys is more likely to work in stories that require a beginning, a middle and an end than a single man rattling around in a mansion.

Except …

(more…)

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