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Post by bobc on May 27, 2011 17:32:27 GMT -5
Dragsville. Witchcraftial's Youtube account has been deleted due to copyright infringement
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Post by bobc on May 27, 2011 8:39:32 GMT -5
Hey--I could be completely wrong. You are totally right that the right story, and right actors can put this across. I would like to be wrong, actually. I don't think it's going to flop, I just don't think it'll be anywhere near, say, Thor or Iron Man.
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Post by bobc on May 26, 2011 17:07:25 GMT -5
I don't think the problem will be that people overseas hate America (that is absolute nonsense)--it's more like those of us who grew up on Marvel saw CA as just CA, not necessarily a symbol of a nation. People in other countries, who may not know the character from Adam, may see him as a symbol. In WW2, most of the world saw us as heroes for defeating Hitler, and CA was the comic book face of that heroism--so the character was very popular. decades later, America has been involved in several wars that aren't real popular with just about anybody, so that patriotic zeal has faded. I think Captain America will suffer for that dividedness, both here and abroad. Spiderman, the FF and others do not carry this baggage.
I have also seen many, many comic book forums threads asking if CA is too "goody goody," or too self-righteous, or too preachy. Maybe that's why Millar took the character in such a radically different direction. It worked, too.
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Post by bobc on May 26, 2011 7:41:50 GMT -5
It's just a gut feeling. I think the costume doesn't translate well, and I just don't think the public at large will go for CA in a big way. He works well in the Avengers, but his character has always struggled on his own. The whole concept of Captain America is a relic of WW2 which most people today probably won't relate to. On top of that, people these days like cynical heroes, and a super positive character, I think, will be pretty much laughed at. Patriotism in general is laughed at by a large segment of the public.
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Post by bobc on May 25, 2011 12:53:57 GMT -5
Correct.
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Post by bobc on May 25, 2011 8:42:51 GMT -5
I am telling you--in Essential Thor 5 there are some HILARIOUS Volstagg quotes! I won't spoil it--but trust me, he is at his funniest in these stories! You know I have this crackpot theory that the character Volstagg was fashioned after Ignatius in "Confederacy of Dunces." Has anyone else read that? It had me rolling on the floor laughing!
Anyway--I haven't seen many of the Marvel movies, mainly because Spiderman bored me to death, and the first FF movie was, IMO, just okay. Nothing real exciting. I never saw Ghost Rider or the Punisher. I just never cared much about either character.
I loved all the X-Men movies, however--even the third which everyone else seemed to dislike.
I have to say--I think the Captain America movie is going to be a disaster. I just have the gut feeling.
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Post by bobc on May 24, 2011 14:56:31 GMT -5
Okay--Thor grossed about 242 million worldwide by May 8. By that time alone it outgrossed the lifetime runs of FF and X-Men, which surprised me. Equally surprising to me was the fact that Iron Man was the most successful Marvel film, making close to 100 mill in the US alone in the first week. Here's a great article: www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/weekend-box-office-report-thor-186434 |
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Post by bobc on May 24, 2011 14:51:50 GMT -5
Drew--I don't think Hildegarde was a valkyrie but I am not certain. She was like 7 ft tall and was Sif's bodyguard for some reason. As if Sif needed one with Thor as her boyfriend.
I have heard nothing but great things about the Thor movie. I also read it did something like 80 mill in the first weekend--but that came from a forum so I can't say fo' sho'.
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Post by bobc on May 23, 2011 16:59:10 GMT -5
Speaking of Thor--for those of you who don't know, The new Essential Thor is out, which reprints some great stories from the early 70's--with amazing John Buscema art! These stories highlight the golden era of Thor's supporting cast, including the hilarious Volstagg, Balder, Hogun, Fandral, Sif, Karnilla, Tana Nile, Silas Grant--and one character I completely forgot about, but loved, Hidegarde! Whatever happened to her?
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Post by bobc on May 15, 2011 17:58:56 GMT -5
Thanks, Shir
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Post by bobc on May 15, 2011 12:56:20 GMT -5
Hee hee!I love possums! They are virtually unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs--which my explain why they are so hideous!
Shir--when you say season tow hasn't aired--does that include in Australia?
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Post by bobc on May 13, 2011 8:45:50 GMT -5
Hey Drew--I could tell you things that happened in the game field that you would not believe--including a CEO who got a $250 K signing bonus, and was rumored to be making that same amount in salary and he was never, EVER there at the company. I saw him exactly twice, as he made a pit-stop to see how the rabble were doing. He was gone one time for six months, and he left his little sports car in the parking lot while he was God- knows- where. Anyway, the next time I saw him he was ranting and raving about what "we" had done to his car--claiming someone had dumped a bunch of leaves, sticks and other crap under the hood. Well, as it turns out, nobody did anything to his snooty little car. This creep had been gone so long, a mother squirrel had built a nest on his engine block, and was raising four baby squirrels in it!!! True story. Needless to say, we all laughed our azzes off. It was truly a Depends moment.
RE: EMH--I am completely confused as to what season we are on. Has anyone figured this out yet?
By the way, I saw a commercial for EMH this morning--and they actually had a kid from Zeke and Luther promoting it, which is a great idea. I also saw an ad for an animated Thor DVD, which I'd never even heard of, and it is definitely NOT from EMH. The Thor on this DVD is very young looking, so it left me wondering if this was the "Origins of Thor" series I'd heard announced a while back. Then I started wondering why it would go straight to DVD, when they just advertised the series would be starting on Disney. Then I started wondering if season 2 of EMH was the one we already saw from Australia, and if that season is what's on the DVD.
My simple mind is awhirl with confusion.
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Post by bobc on May 12, 2011 17:14:51 GMT -5
Yeah EMH is back on on the 15th fo' sho'. I meant to post that but forgot.
The video game field is like being in a giant mental hospital for the most part. When I tell people what goes on, they usually think I'm lying and making it up. How I wish I were.
I've worked on the games "Ghostbusters," "Bloodrayne 2," "Call of Duty 3," Clive Barker's" Demonik" (never released but it was the game featured in Adam Sandler's "Grandma's Boy"), "Vexx" and "Turok 3" for Acclaim, "Jack Nicholaus 5 Golf," "Frontierville" and God only knows what else. You can see my stuff at bobcooksey.net if you're interested.
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Post by bobc on May 12, 2011 15:56:26 GMT -5
"Return of the King" turned out great, for that time period anyway, because EA had more money than God and was able to hire more people than you could possibly imagine to work on it. On my first day as a contractor, I had like 7 or 8 other contractors wandering the halls, all asking me what they were supposed to be doing (as if I knew). The layers of bureocracy there was appalling. Nobody knew what was going on. They flew me out to interview for a job on their James Bond game--and when I got there, all my interviewers were talking about "Return of the King." After several interviews (you interview all day long with tons of different people) I finally spoke up and said I thought there'd been a mistake--saying I was supposed to be interviewing for James Bond. Everyone there assured me how wrong I was--that I was there to work on ROTK--which was hard to believe since I didn't even know they were making a LOTR game. Then I realized I should shut up since LOTR was a much better project to be on--and it was.
But anyway--I am much better off at a smaller company. I hate dealing with layers upon layers of useless management.
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Post by bobc on May 12, 2011 13:17:31 GMT -5
That's exactly what happens with games that are derived from movies. People making the movies can spend years, literally, refining scripts, looking for locations, casting and all that--but we don't get any of that time to make the game. It pretty much comes down to the fact that we start making the game when THEY get their crap together and start actually filming. Half the time they start filming and still haven't approached any studios about making a game version. Then negotiations have to go on, you have to staff up, then, god forbid, actually design the game, chasing after that elusive "fun factor." By the time the game gets to us, the production crew, we're lucky if we get 8 months to make it. There is no option to miss the deadline--the game has to come out when the movie does. When I did "Return of the King LOTR" for EA, you would walk onto the 3rd floor where the LOTR staff worked, and you'd come face to face with a 6 ft long digital clock (the size of a small theater marquee), ticking off the days, hrs, minutes and SECONDS until the movie launched. I am not kidding. No pressure.
The game Aeon Flux was basically done in six months. It showed. Bloodrayne 2 was done in less than a year, and it was just okay.
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Post by bobc on May 10, 2011 13:28:09 GMT -5
oh my dear lord...
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Post by bobc on May 5, 2011 8:12:09 GMT -5
I didn't even know there was a Wii version! Yeah the specs on Wii titles are really low for graphics--way lower than PS3 and XBox. They'll get better in time, I'm sure.
Yost has said the "new" episodes will be out mid to late May, but also ended that statement with "don't quote me on that." I personally find the fact that the DVD is coming out before the episodes airing a disastrous sign.
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Post by bobc on May 4, 2011 9:17:53 GMT -5
Hee hee! We're doing really well right now as a company. Something like 10% of America plays our games. When I tell people who I work for, I either get cursed out because of the incessant Facebook requests (as if it's my fault), or I get fawned over like I've cured cancer or something. It's very odd.
Fun Fact: If you play Frontierville, I was the guy who illustrated the glamorous "Manure Collection"--six individual piles of animal droppings. I am not kidding.
And people say my career is going nowhere...
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Post by bobc on May 2, 2011 19:20:36 GMT -5
Chances are you will know it. Are you familiar with Cityville, Farmville, and Frontierville?
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Post by bobc on May 2, 2011 8:34:23 GMT -5
If you all knew which game company I'm currently working for, you'd probably laugh...
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Post by bobc on May 1, 2011 19:02:36 GMT -5
I knew most of the team that made Age of Empires! The studio was in Dallas and everyone was laid off in--what was it? 2006?
I wish I could help you Shir--I don't even play my own games.
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Post by bobc on Apr 29, 2011 7:50:32 GMT -5
It's hard to say from the 15 second ad that Disney is playing, Drew--the art looks the same. The series is called "The Origins of Thor" I think--and it mentions EMH in the ad. In fact, based on the poorly put together commercial, it's hard to know if it's a new series, or just an ad for EMH, featuring Thor. It appears to be a new series. Has anyone else seen this?
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Post by bobc on Apr 28, 2011 15:02:11 GMT -5
Did you all know Disney is coming out with a Thor animated series?
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Post by bobc on Apr 27, 2011 17:12:39 GMT -5
By the way--since I stopped reading the Avengers in 2006--does anyone know whatever happened to the Vision? I recall he got torn apart by the She Hulk, but where'd he go after that?
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Post by bobc on Apr 27, 2011 8:40:07 GMT -5
Well describing what the Vision actually IS has vacillated wildly over the years. The famous quote from Hank Pym way back when, was that the Vision "was inch for inch a human being" made from artificial materials. However, time after time, we have seen wires, metal plates and such within his body, especially when he's been damaged--which I'm pretty sure no human being is comprised of. So obviously he is not inch for inch a human being, he is at least to some degree a robot. The Vision has also almost never been shown to have eyeballs, he has instead deep set, dark areas where the eye should be, with lights inside. He has made many statements over the years that he needs no light to see in the dark, so that is another way in which he differs from a human made of synthetic materials.
The original Human Torch never came off as a robot, but the Vision often has.
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Post by bobc on Apr 26, 2011 18:39:29 GMT -5
Drew--I didn't find their relationship weird as a kid, but now as an adult I do. It made for some great stories though! Especially when the Grim Reaper offered Vision the body of Simon Williams in return for helping GR to destroy the Avengers. When, at the end of that issue, GR asked Vision one more time if he'd make that deal, there is a very creepy looking shot of the Vision replying simply "Yes." Talk about a cliff-hanger! Probably the greatest cliff-hanger in Avengers history, IMO!
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Post by bobc on Apr 26, 2011 7:48:59 GMT -5
It's gone now.  |
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Post by bobc on Apr 25, 2011 20:01:13 GMT -5
Don't be a tease, Shir! Where?!!!
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Post by bobc on Apr 25, 2011 16:50:37 GMT -5
Apparently most of the next season of EMH is going to be cosmicly oriented, if there is such a phrase! I'm with you, I'm not as big a fan of the cosmic stuff as other Avengers fans, but after seeing how scary Kang was (animated, that is) maybe this show will change our minds. I love Galactus and Silver Surfer, though. Hope they show up at some point.
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Post by bobc on Apr 25, 2011 14:53:29 GMT -5
None of these choices is jumping off the page at me--but I will say that the latest T-Bolts is really amazingly good. Love the art, love the writing. This book is without a doubt the best Luke Cage book ever written, IMO. The ghosts in this issue are really scary--which is something I have never said about comic ghosts in the past. AND---spoiler---Satanna is in this issue! Really, really well done issue.
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