A week ago, Fantastic Four Writer Says Fox Is ‘Figuring Out’ A Sequel. The response from Chris Aaronson is kind of shocking giving the colossal flop the Fantastic Four Movie endured. Why then would the person who wrote this version of Fantastic Four, who also produced it and reportedly helped oversee re-shoots, be in charge of developing its potential sequel? Nobody wants more of this. The financials, the fan response, and the critical response all made that clear. And can Kinberg really focus on Fantastic Four when working on three X-Men films coming out next year, not to mention Star Wars Rebels and a Star Wars Anthology film? There are characters in the Fantastic Four who absolutely have a place on the big screen, but there’s little interest in another big screen story of Doctor Doom fighting the Fantastic Four again. That doesn’t work and it’s a shame given that Doom, one of the great villains of any comic, has been poorly adapted twice. The core issue remains: FF on their own at Fox are just not fit for the current climate of comic book movies. That being said, Reed Richards as a character, so intelligent and so driven by ambition that he becomes the ultimate villain of sorts in the Ultimate Marvel Comics universe is an amazing character… but only if he’s in stories involving other Marvel characters he needs to interact with – characters Fox does not have access to. The same goes for Doctor Doom who in the most recent Marvel Comics crossover event, the biggest ever in “Secret Wars” is the King of the remaining universe. But that universe features The Avengers, Doctor Strange as his Sheriff, and an army of Thors as his police force. Again, the big stories from the comics require access to the larger universe, not the little one Fox has the rights to outside of their mutants (X-Men). Every conversation about the long-term viability of the Fantastic Four as a live-action film property will lead to the same conclusion: Fox needs to work with Marvel. And they should. That doesn’t mean Fox should sell the rights back when there’s value in owning them, but if Sony Pictures can partner with Marvel Studios to reboot Spider-Man and use his supporting characters to bolster the Marvel Cinematic Universe and vice versa, why can’t Fox and Marvel do the same? It would solve a lot of issues and perhaps even give Marvel Entertainment reason to start making Fantastic Four comics and toys again
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With trailers for 2015 summer tentpoles overly replete with spoilers : Terminator Genisy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, it leaves many moviegoers conjuring the most convenient way to possible avoid major studios ruining some of the most anticipated films for the year. In a subjective medium, it should come as little surprise that movie fans disagree on what studios should show in trailers – and where to draw the line in marketing memorable moments and plot twists (especially prior to release). Did the studio show too much and/or spoil moviegoer experience when they:
Some will argue that movie lovers are just being overly sensitive – and that avoiding or accepting spoilers is part of being a film fan (especially if that fan closely follows movie news sites). Still, while some spoilers might “come with the territory” of consuming pre-release film marketing, there’s no doubt that, for many cinephiles, studios are not striking an acceptable balance between building excitement and maintaining surprises. Bringing the point full circle, Terminator: Genisys isn’t even the first time that Paramount Pictures has played fast and loose with spoilers in Terminator trailers – marketing their prior installment, Terminator: Salvation, on the back of a major second-act reveal: Marcus Wright is (unbeknownst to him) a Terminator. Until things changes (and don’t expect it to happen any time soon), what can moviegoers do to avoid pre-release spoilers? Perhaps just stay off the internet but, in the specific case of film trailers, the only true way to combat cavalier studio marketing is to become more selective about which movie trailers you watch – and who you follow on social media.
If you already know that you’re going to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Spectre or The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, decide whether or not the risk of being spoiled is worth being part of pre-release water cooler conversation. Some fans enjoy spirited debate and speculation in the run-up to a film’s release but that insight comes at a cost to surprises a moviegoer might experience in a darkened theater with little knowledge of what to expect. Given that things are unlikely to change, every movie fan has to ask the same question, “What is more important to me? Reveling in the hype and buzz leading up to a film release or experiencing an unspoiled time at the theater? Fans who truly dedicate themselves to remaining unspoiled will, without a doubt, be navigating a minefield of marketing but being actively aware of what they do (and do not) click on is the first step. After all, even knowing that movie previews are often chock-full of spoilers these days, how many viewers actually stop to think about whether they’re prepared to be spoiled when they click to watch a new trailer online? Next time, take a second to make a conscious decision about whether you are willing to be spoiled – because the studios have already made their decision: spoilers sell. While I must admit, We Are Your Friend is not the GREATEST film I’ve ever seen, I disagree with the reviews from critics. Primarily, I believe the film disastrous box office opening of outside of the top ten was a result of the tepid marketing and not the movies inability to appeal. For Instance, the name: We Are Your Friends, wdf, the name sounds like some alien movie. Furthermore, the trailer failed to positioned the concept effectively to audiences. We Are Your friend stars Zac Effron as Young Cole Carter dreams of hitting the big time as a Hollywood disc jockey, spending his days and nights hanging with buddies and working on the one track that will set the world on fire. Opportunity comes knocking when he meets James Reed, a charismatic DJ who takes the 23-year-old under his wing. Soon, his seemingly clear path to success gets complicated when he starts falling for his mentor's girlfriend, jeopardizing his new friendship and the future he seems destined to fulfill. First, the overall aesthetic and feel of the film was compelling..I thought the film tonally maintained a visual similarity to the sound of EDM music, unpredictable, sometimes messy with the timing of the bass drop always gets your heart thumping in your head. As I sat inside the theater I got a feel of California ambiance, achieved through the brightly lit shots, the variation of vibrant colors, as well as exploiting the contrast between the Valley’s sun-blasted suburbs and Hollywood’s chic nighttime enclaves which elicit an arousing atmosphere with the precise lighting and framing I think the characters, especially that of Emily Ratajkowski were great, though their desires may seem trivial or come across as your typical sensational mindset of this current adolescent generation. But let’s not forget these are things actual people deal with. The film holistically underscores the resonating influence of one’s imagination against the permeating pragmatism backdrop of one's usual everyday life It’s obvious in reality not everyone wants to go into a systematic business; some people just want to chase their passions and there is nothing provincial about that. Indeed, the very world of the film is absurdly tailored to the point of hyper-reality, with the closest parental figure left faceless just off frame, and the world of Los Angeles basically cut down into a myopic vision of… well, basically the sort of crowd you’d expect to see at an EDM festival. Nonetheless ,I was a fan of the filmakers keeping this small character as out of frame as possible, as the adults are clearly meant to be portrayed as the enemy (Or more accurately a metaphor for the old corporate systems that many young people find themselves afraid to enter as they have often lead to depression in the later years of many adults today. This is best illustrated in the second main adult character, the boss at the real estate company-and seeing as this was the only real “company” shown in the film it only reinforces what I have stated Many critics labeled the film as shallow. Such labeling would indicate the dreams of our youth as narrow-minded, therefore our society is wrought with adolescent zombies. Apparently We’re Your friend obviously was not meant for white collar old guys who are swimming in cash or that overzealous corporate employee. This film caters more for the millennials out there who aspire for something more than the pervasive indoctrination of a nine- to- five, resulting in them feeling lost because everyone else is telling them that what they really want to pursue is a waste of time. Apparently Zac effron’s character was not supposed to be too well rounded, he was supposed to feel like an ordinary person man so the audience can project themselves onto him and the issues he contends with daily. This allows for the thematic structure of one’s aspirations to be far more organic. What was strongly overlooked in many of the review was the fact that this film focus on included themes of mentor-ship. Many successful businessmen (Joel Salitan, Warren Buffet, Alan Nation) have made comments as to the importance of mentor-ship in the development of ones field. While many films push the same old spiel: school paves the way to success, this film exemplify a key lesson that most kids aren’t taught in life, that mentor-ship is fundamental in the growing process of one’s craft. This film was not supposed to be an existential examination of the woes of humanity, instead it was supposed to representation of a specific subculture and generation. This is a generation that so far has thrust society in an advance age where more inventive opportunities exist, as well as an environment that foster those passionate mindset to pursue these opportunities, rather than just put your heart in a box and put on a tie every morning to act as a cog in another machine. Honestly I thought this was an alright movie, with a lot of heart and subtle meaningful messages that many person can derive from and apply to their routine.
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