Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain…
La de da de de, la de da de da…
History has turned the page, uh huh– Heidi Macdonald has officially launched The Beat on its own site. She’s footloose and fancy free. Go over and say hi, and tell her we sent you.
Time to update my RSS feeds…
Some would say it’s been a banner year for us nerds, eh? Star Trek
rebooted with hot and sexy actors. Avatar changed the way people think about 3D technology in use for film, and did it by packaging it in a nougaty nerd-a-plenty environment. District 9 combined great effects work with a great social commentary. Heck, even Iron Man debuted another possible franchise in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes! And let us not forget other gems this past year, the Watchmen, another decent Harry Potter sequel, Zombieland… I could go on. Feel pretty good there, don’t you nerdlinger?
Well, sit back down, and find some tape for those horned-rimmed glasses… cause the 2009 Razzie list this year might remind you of some of sci-fi / fantasy / comic movie mishaps that keep us just shy of the cool kids parties. Let’s look at some of the nominations:
In the Worst Picture category, painfully acted dreck like Disney’s Old Dogs is joined by the “Joes Before Hoes” cringe-inducing G.I. Joe, the “it should have stayed a rancid TV show” Land of the Lost, and the 2 hour toy commercial, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
(more…)
The 82nd Annual Academy Award nominations have been announced with Avatar and The Hurt Locker , racking up nine nominations each.
Quentin Tarantino’s love it or hate it Inglorious Basterds received eight nominations while Precious and Up in the Air got six; Up has five; District 9, Nine and Star Trek with four; and An Education, Crazy Heart, The Princess and the Frog and The Young Victoria with three.
Star Trek had been on many lists as expecting a Best Picture nod given the Academy’s expansion of Best Picture nominees from five to ten; but instead settles for three technical awards. The genre didn’t fare badly with District 9, Up, Avatar, and the parallel world of Inglorious Basterds making up four of the ten films named.
And while Avatar has plenty of nominations, none of its performers received recognition, adding fuel to the motion capture isn’t acting debate.Michael Giacchino’s score for Up, the best part of the movie, is my odds on favorite. (more…)
At the Grammys this past Sunday evening, Neil Portnow, the Academy President and CEO, delivered some interesting and important words. Before the amassed crowd of celebrities, recording artists, and self-important rich people, Neil said words that hit this comic lover right in the bread basket.
“Now, what if someone told you they really appreciated your work but didn’t think they should have to pay you for it anymore. What would you do? How would you pay your bills, support your family? How would you survive?
This evening, you’ve seen performances by the most successful artists today. And you know about their generosity and giving back. But standing right behind them are thousands of unknown and up-and-coming music makers who face the question of survival every day. In the coming decade, unless they can make a living at their craft, the quality and creativity of the music will be at risk.
Well tonight, we’re all fans and music lovers who want to ensure that the future of music is a bright one. New technologies will bring music whenever and wherever you want it.”
The “up-and-coming” musicians he speaks of… the thousands upon thousands of twenty and thirty somethings working night after night in dingy clubs playing for measly covers? It got me thinking… are are they any different than the twenty and thirty somethings slaving over their computers and drawing boards, putting out small press and indie comics? Nope. And just as the indie bands’ survival is questioned based on the continuing movement to an all digital format… so too we must ask about the future of our medium. (more…)
Thanks to the fine detective work of some awesome Aussies in Ipswich, Kurt James Milner was arrested for possession. Possession of what you ask? Well… short answer… pornographic photographs. Longer, creepier answer… pictures of the Simpson children (of the popular Fox franchise, mind you.) in less than “PG” fashion.
To his defense, Mr. Milner was quick to note the images “were just jokes” not meant for personal satisfaction; And come on guys, who doesn’t get an occasional lewd e-mail from a friend or disgusting family member every so often? And who then would choose to save said lewd image on to their hard drives to later show other friends and family? Who? Perverts you say… Point taken. Working even harder against his “it was just a joke defense” came Milner’s 2003 arrest for possession of child exploitation material. Sum 59 images of “non-animated” (That’s “HUMAN” for the rest of us) children were found on his personal computer. Either Milner is an obvious sexual deviant, or he has one sick sense of humor. Sadly, his 2003 arrest garnered him 2 years probation, but no recorded conviction. Lucky for all of us, Kurt decided that his defense was a shallow as his taste, and plead guilty. He was convicted this time, albeit his year long sentence has been given a five year suspension.
And the real tragedy? Milner missed an obvious defense. Lisa Simpson may look like an 8 year old girl, but she’s been on TV for twenty years, taking her several years past the age of consent. And we all know that Simpsons is in a fixed continuity.
This could lead us into an interesting debate concerning what exactly constitutes pornography in the day and age of the internet. Certainly men like Milner (and his Aussie mates Phillip McGuire, and John McEwan) are in the wrong for possessing pictures of the beloved cartoon children in compromising positions. Lest us forget though, even Hugh Hefner got Marge to undress for the pages of Playboy only months ago. But Marge ain’t a child. And we all know blue up-dos are mega hot.
So, what do you all think? Discuss amongst yourselves.
Remember about a month back, we posted an article about Fox Networks and Time Warner Cable playing hardball over being carried?
Well, as of Friday books from Macmillan, including all sub-imprints like Tor books and St. Martin’s Press, have vanished from Amazon.com. According to the New York Times, the disappearance is the result of a disagreement
between Amazon.com
and book publishers that has been brewing for the last year. Macmillan,
like other publishers, has asked Amazon to raise the price of
electronic books from $9.99 to around $15. Amazon is expressing its
strong disagreement by temporarily removing Macmillan books.
Now with this as a precedent, let’s take it to the next level:
“Hello, DC Comics? Jeff Bezos here. Hey, how come we don’t have Batman: Black & White available for the Kindle yet?”
“Oh really? Do you know how many thousands of copies of Watchmen we sold for you last year? How many Batman and Sandman graphic novels? Don’t even get me started on Smallville DVD sets.”
“Let me spell it out for you. If we don’t start getting files for the Kindle by the end of this month, we’re going to stop selling the print editions of your books.”
Think it can’t happen? Are you sure?
Eternia is a complicated land folks. When young Swedish looking princes have too many emotions bubbling up… Sometimes they need an outlet. Some, yes, will turn to their mystical sword, and say a little oath, and poof! Problems replaced with muscles and loin-cloths. But other times… when your little faceless floating buddy isn’t there for you, when you mistake your father for the Burger King, and when you’re tired of your pathetic excuse for pussy… It’s time to bah-ring-it girlfriend.
It’s time to let the world hear those amazing pipes you’ve hidden beneath your pink tunic all these years. Without further adieu, I give to you Four Minus Three Don Blondes’ with his breakout hit…
What’s going on?
Thanks to the hilarious folks at Slack Circus.
One of the ongoing shibboleths coming out about the iPad, with prominent examples coming from Dirk Deppey, is that it won’t change the game for comics because the iPad costs too much.
To which we have to ask: compared to what?
Let’s take a simple example: Marvel’s Siege crossover event. If you wanted the entire thing and were to pay full retail for the comics, at $2.99 an issue you’re going to spend $100 or so on the full thing.
Now’s let’s assume the digital version of a series at 99 cents an issue. You end up with a savings of $60 over the life of the crossover series.
Or put it this way: If you normally buy an average of $30 of comics a week at a store, and you replace half of them with digital versions of the same books that cost 25% of their paper counterparts, you’re going to save over $560 in a year. That’s the price of a low-end iPad, plus tax and shipping.
I know a lot of people who would take that deal.
NBC has given their freshman medical drama MERCY a jump start by adding James VanDerBeek to the cast,. “Dawson” is here to tell us about his place in the show, plus are you ready for a JOE DIRT cartoon and Media Mercenary Ric Meyers covers the new HUMAN TARGET.
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