Category: News

“Into the Blue (Pants)!” The Weird Wild World of Leva Bates

  • News
  • July 20, 2015

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First rule of pro wrestling(*) – you NEVER know what’s going to work.

Mick Foley spent years breaking his body in the indies, but he became a superstar when he put a sock on his hand.

Steve Austin barely avoided being called the “Ice Dagger”, made fun of a bible passage at King of the Ring, and people had “Austin 3:16″ signs in the audience the next night.

You can spend weeks pushing someone, but another performer can say something in the ring, or do a move in a weird way, and the fans will pull them to their collective breast and never let go.

So is the tale of Blue Pants.

Leva Bates has been doing journeyman work in the indies for some time, establishing a solid reputation.

So one day the gang from WWE’s developmental brand NXT gave her a call, asking her to come by as do a stint as “Enhancement talent”, better known as “a jobber”, even better known as “the guy paid to lose the match”.

So Leva finished her shift as a costumed character at Universal Studios, grabbed her bag, and went to Full Sail University to play…well, another costumed character.

She was set to face Carmella, a new member of the Women’s Division, newly teamed up with hot tag-team Enzo Amore and Colin “Big Cass” Cassidy, a pair of old school NYC paisan tough guys.  Leva’s character didn’t even have a name, so Cass took a look at her bright blue ring gear (actually a cosplay outfit inspired by X-Men regular Kitty Pryde) and introduced her as “Old Blue Pants”, hailing from “The back of the clearance rack”.  She didn’t have an entrance theme – Cass just hummed the theme to The Price Is Right.

And that’s when things got weird.

Yes, she lost the match. Maybe some of the educated wrestling fans in the audience recognized her, maybe they just felt like being silly.  But they watched her smiling, peppy attitude, the “I’m just happy to be here'” smile plastered across her face, watched her deliver solid moves, and decided she was the one to watch.

So she came back a couple weeks later, to lose again to Carmella…and the cheers were even louder. By the third visit, she DID have an entrance theme – a recording of Cass humming the (no longer quite, for copyright purposes) theme to The Price is Right.

And she won.

And the place exploded.

This day-worker was getting bigger pops than the contracted superstars.  And everybody was loving it.

Leva’s made a few more appearance on NXT over the past few months.  She’s yet to win another match, but there’s a point where you’re so over with the crowd you don’t need to win, they’re just happy you showed up.

So, exactly how big a splash is Blue Pants making?  Would this article in Rolling Stone answer your question?

She’s everything wonderful about wrestling, and more importantly, wrestling fans. We’re an odd crowd – we don’t often engage in the hooliganism you see in other “real” sports. Indeed, sometimes the fans will go to great lengths to make sure a five-year-old fan at her first show gets to meet her favorite wrestler. And we don’t always do what the marketing department want us to.  And the smart company will know when to cut bait and go where the fish are biting.

NewDivasJust this week, WWE elevated three of NXT’s best women wrestlers to the main stage at Monday Night Raw.  Charlotte (daughter of legend Ric Flair), Becky Lynch, and current NXT women’s champion Sasha Banks premiered on RAW with a bang, laying waste to the current stable of WWE “Divas”, as the women are branded.  And true to form, they ripped the place up.

Now, when wrestlers move from the “Farm league” of NXT to the main roster of WWE, two things happen. One, there’s a deep and abiding hope that they won’t get lost in the much larger pool of the main roster.  But it also means a new opportunity for the folks in NXT to move into the limelight. NXT has a great roster of women, including the ever-perky Bayley, the aforementioned “Queen of Staten Island” Carmella, and more in training, ready to make their premiere.

Is this a chance for Leva to make the move to regular talent?

If she does, I’ll cheer till I’m blue in the…

well, you know.

(*) OK, we know what the REAL first rule of pro wrestling is, but work with me here…

wweHeadbuttSamoan

Leva’s youtube channel is home to her show The Geek Soapbox, where she dishes on comics and video games.

Batman: The Complete Third Season Arrives November 3

 

1000512130DVDLEF0_a207c5c2BURBANK, CA (July 15, 2015) – Prepare yourselves for a thrilling ending to an incredible series as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) and DC Entertainment release Batman: The Complete Third Season to own on DVD. The final, completely remastered, 26 episodes of the iconic series hits shelves for fans old and new on November 3, 2015 for $39.98 SRP.

Leap into the third and final season where the felonious and foul must be stopped to keep Gotham safe, and a newly formed Terrific Trio must turn chaos to calm! With rogue wrongdoers like the sly Siren, lethal Louie The Lilac and unethical Egghead running rampant, Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward) and Batgirl (Yvonne Craig) have their Super Hero hands full. Now completely re-mastered, all the originality, crime-fighting action and arch-villainy of special guest villains like Milton Berle, Eartha Kitt, and Joan Collins, are on DVD in pristine splendor like never before — for those who were there, and a new generation of Bat-fans!

“For decades, Batman has proven its popularity and it all started with this live-action television title that had Batman leaping off the comic book pages to the silver screen for the first time” said Rosemary Markson, WBHE Senior Vice President, TV Marketing. “We are thrilled to release Batman: The Complete Third Season on DVD for longtime bat-fans to go back in time and relive their favorite ‘pows’ and ‘zaps’ while also introducing the series to younger generations.”

REVIEW: X-Men: Days of Future Past: The Rogue Cut

  • News
  • July 19, 2015

X-Men DOFUP Rogue CutWhat interesting timing that after an Avengers spring, the summer suddenly is about the mutants. The current Entertainment Weekly previous next summer’s Apocalypse film and we also get to revisit the previous installment.

Last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past has been pretty much accepted as the best of the five X-Men movies from 20th Century-Fox. After all, Bryan Singer did a great job on the first two and used the fourth to wipe the bad taste of Brett Ratner’s effort from memory. It blended the casts from the past and present, while still introducing new characters and making us want more. It also faithfully paid homage to the source story from Chris Claremont and John Byrne while remaining true to the cinematic continuity. Not an easy trick to pull off.

One glaring problem was the diminished role for Anna Paquin’s Rogue and we learned in the pre-release hoopla that her storyline was excised for a number of reasons. Then, in the wake of the film’s success, it was revealed a Rogue cut would be offered and now, it has finally arrived.

There are seventeen minutes of new material in the new edition, out now from 20th Century Home Entertainment. The Blu-ray comes with a digital HD code and boasts an additional 90 minutes of extra features.

X-Men: Days of Future Past: The Rogue Cut is interesting to watch but you come away realizing the original edit was probably for the best. Not that there’s much wrong with the Rogue scenes, but it does lengthen the film and bogs down some of the pacing. We get to see her here and there early on but she really doesn’t take her proper place with the team until the final act.

20th nicely includes both versions of the film so you may decide for yourself. You will admire some of the extra character bits for Bishop and Blink in the extended versions of their scenes and that’s welcome. And as we saw in the deleted scenes from the first version’s DVD release, there’s more Mystique stuff that better sets up her change of heart towards the end.

As for the Rogue material, last year I complained Ellen Page’s Kitty Pryde had little to do and here she has less and Rogue taps her power to give her a break. Unfortunately, Kitty doesn’t gain extra screen time in the new cut.

There is fresh commentary from Singer which addresses the value of different cuts of the film and his preference for the variety. He’s joined by editor John Ottman, who also offers his thoughts behind the changes between cuts. Additionally, the extended edition has labeled the various chapters as alternate or new scenes so you can find whatever you most want to see. Although, seeing the film all the way through will remind you of how powerful the overall story is.

The AVC encoded 1080p transfer is lovely to watch, with good rich colors and a fine sound mix to match.

Disc one has both films and the original cut’s commentary from Singer and Simon Kinberg is still here. Disc two offers us Mutant vs. Machine (52:41), collecting the featurettes that goes into detail on the making of the film. There’s also X-Men: Unguarded (30:11) as cast and crew have a particularly casual discussion about the property. There are galleries of interesting visual information as well.

If you have the first home video release is the second one needed? It all depends on why you bought the first and how much you want to see the differences between the two. If you have the one, you might not need this one but it’s certainly well worth a look.

The Point Radio: Michael And Sara Make IMPASTOR Magic

After his long run on SMALLVILLE, Michael Rosenbaum is back on series television with the new TV Land project, IMPASTOR. He, and adorable co-star Sara Rue, talk about the show and show off the amazing chemistry that makes it work. Plus we begin our look at JUSTICE LEAGUE GODS AND MONSTERS, DC’s daringly different new DVD.

More in a few days with more on JUSTICE LEAGUE GODS AND MONSTERS. Be sure and follow us on Twitter now here.

Marvel Announces Phase 2 Boxset for Christmas

AAOU_ORB_Teaser_FINAL_small[3]The Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Collection is coming this holiday season and you can ore-order this limited edition now, only at Amazon.

During Pre-Order Period

The limited-edition, 13-disc Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Collection invites you to hold the greatest power in the cosmos in the palm of your hand.

Contents includes: 

Marvel’s Iron Man 3 (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital Copy)

Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital Copy) 

Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital Copy) 

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital Copy)

Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital Copy) 

Marvel’s Ant-Man (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital Copy) 

PLUS

Top-Secret Bonus Disc and more!

This Marvel fan’s dream features collectible, specially designed disc holders and exclusive Marvel memorabilia!

Box Office Democracy: Minions

minions-4303690Minions has been taunting me for weeks. As part of the promotional campaign for this movie Universal decided to cover the old Cinerama dome on Sunset Boulevard with inflatable versions of the films stars reaching for a giant banana. It’s a cute enough gimmick I suppose but I go to the gym in a building directly behind the dome so for about an hour a week three times a week the view from my gym has been dominated by massive inflatable Minion asses. If the exercise bikes I prefer somehow became untethered I would pedal myself directly in to the backside of a five story Minion.

After seeing the film I think I got most of the experience just watching them endlessly reach for that banana, as that’s about as much story as the movie Minions actually bothers with.

The Minions, as characters, are empty vessels. Their personalities only extend one adjective deep before you get to the common Minion traits like hungry or covetous. In a way this has led to the success of the characters as they are whatever the viewer imagines them to be (this is why they’re so perplexingly meme-able) but there’s no actual character underneath. Each scene is driven either by external factors or an often-nonsensical want. Sometimes Bob is really emotionally invested in the safety of his teddy bear but when that isn’t driving him through a scene it’s never even pictured. I feel like I’m asking too much of a silly little kids move that is such a transparent cash grab but when the characters don’t resonate the actions have no stakes and I just can’t laugh at these jokes past the first fifteen minutes. Something has to make you care about the story and it never happens.

The humor of Minions is not for me but I don’t think it wants to be. This is slapstick humor for a generation who don’t have Saturday morning cartoons to watch. People fall over, people het hit with stuff, people slip and fall, all the hits really. There’s nothing wrong with this per se; it’s been the foundation of comedy for all of recorded history but there’s precious little new ground to break and I’m not sure I think Minions is even trying.

There’s no effort apparent throughout Minions but honestly, why would there be? This is a franchise born from another successful franchise, it’s sold countless t-shirts and toys and even has a theme park ride, and everything from here on out is found money for Universal. It’s a monster that feeds on its own popularity and nothing we can say or do will stop it. Or it’s just a silly kids movie and I should really just relax.

2015 Harvey Awards Final Ballot Announced

  • News
  • July 14, 2015

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The 2015 Harvey Awards Nominees have been announced with the release of the final ballot, presented by the Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con. Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry’s most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. They will be presented September 26, 2015 in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the annual Baltimore Comic-Con.

Nominations for the Harvey Awards are selected exclusively by creators – those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit, or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field. They are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. Thank you to all that have already participated by submitting a nomination ballot.

Final ballots are due to the Harvey Awards by Monday, August 31, 2015. Full submission instructions can be found on the final ballot.  Voting is open to anyone professionally involved in a creative capacity within the comics field.  Final ballots are available at http://www.harveyawards.org/2015-final-ballot/. Those who prefer paper ballots may e-mail harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com.

This year’s Baltimore Comic-Con will be held September 25-27, 2015.  The ceremony and banquet for the 2015 Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, September 26th. This will be the tenth year for the Harvey Awards in Baltimore, MD.  Look for more details soon as to how you can attend the Harvey Awards dinner.

Congratulations to all of the nominees!  If you know a nominee, please pass on the good news using email,  Facebook, and Twitter.

 

The Point Radio: The Kroft Magic Is Back

So many of our Saturday mornings were spent deep inside the imaginations of Sid and Marty Kroft. Now a new generation will have the same opportunity as Marty returns to TV with a new show, MUTT AND STUFF, for Nickelodeon. Marty talks about that plus the classics like BANANA SPLITS and SIGMUND. Then, reality show pioneer, Tami Roman (THE REAL WORLD, BASKETBALL WIVES) explains about how she is shaking things up on WE TV’s MARRIAGE BOOT CAMP.

More in a few days including a visit with Michael Rosenbaum (SMALLVILLE’s Lex Luthor) on his new bad guy role. Be sure and follow us on Twitter now here.

U.N.C.L.E. – New Trailer, New Game

  • News
  • July 12, 2015

Warner Bros kicked off their annual visit to San Diego with a new trailer for Guy Ritchie’s take on the 60’s spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., kindly releasing it online so we wouldn’t have to suffer through grainy and keystoned phone footage.

The trailer is largely an extended version of the first teaser trailer, with a smattering of new scenes featuring the snappy dialogue and slick editing that Guy Ritchie is known for… save for that period he was married to Madonna.

There’s still no use of Thrush as the name of the “international criminal organization”, and it sounds more like “UNCLE” is of a code name for the pair, as opposed to an actual agency.  But at its core, the original series was The Napoleon and Illya Show, so as long as the chemistry between the stars works, there’s every chance the film will succeed. And judging from what we’ve seen, it certainly seems like they do well together.

In addition to the trailer, Warner Bros announced an online game, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: Mission Berlin. It’s a third-person perspective game in the style of Grand Theft Auto, with your choice of either Solo or Kuryakin running and driving through various secret missions.  Currently playable on the web at www.manfromunclegame.com, it will soon be available at both the Apple and Google app stores soon.

Doctor Who Series 9 To Premiere September 19

In a continuing torrent of news and excitement from a regional comic convention on the west coast, BBC America announced the premiere date of series nine of Doctor Who – September 19th.

Having filmed in Cardiff since January, Peter Capaldi said:

“Soaring through all of time and space, series nine sees the Doctor throw himself into life with a new hunger for adventure. The Cosmos is there for the taking, thrilling, epic and enticing, and his to play in. But he’s almost reckless in his abandon. It’s almost like he’s running from something, something that if it ever catches him will turn his life upside down.”

Michelle Gomez will return as Missy, the latest incarnation of The Master, in the season’s two-part premiere The Magician’s Assistant / The Witch’s Familiar. Highlights of the series so far revealed include the return of Kate Stewart, U.N.I.T., Osgood, and the Zygons, an episode featuring Vikings in space, a city of Daleks, and a new race of mercenaries known as The Mire.

Mark Gatiss returns to writing for the series, as well as new contributors including Sarah Dollard and Catherine Tregenna.

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