Blast Off Weekend: Burbank and the Endless Comic Shops

Saturday was Free Comic Book Day where stores purchase specially solicited issues to help bring in new readers and give them out for free. It gets people in the door and makes decades of comic book lore a non-issue for new readers. Nearby store The Comic Bug did two big events on Saturday and Sunday with dozens of guests, food trucks and signings. Pulp Fiction had special guests and if you donated to the Los Angeles Food Bank, you got more free issues. We weren't really interested in any free comics and perused the shelves for good reading in general. The lady picked up a short stack of graphic novels and got me The Infinity Aftermath following the events of The Infinity Gauntlet where Adam Warlock and several others now hold the powerful gems.

On Sunday it was off to a G.I. Joe and estate sale before we randomly visited FOUR additional comic book/geek themed establishments in the area. I'm not sure why Burbank is the place for all things creative arts but hey, it was fun to see the different set ups and offerings at each. Emerald Knights has a pretty industrial facade with no windows and I wasn't quite sure they were open until I pushed the door in. The staff was nice and chatty while the space is equal parts comics and gaming with tables upstairs for tournament and group play. I grabbed an awesomely random lead figure of Wildcats gunman Grifter for the shelf. Down the street was Geeky Teas, a board game cafe that had space for events along with swag for fandoms like Doctor Who and Back to the Future. Further along still is Creature Features which is a movie lovers paradise with oh so much memorabilia like magazines, soundtracks, promotional items and more. CF hosts art galleries and special guests, today it was a tribute to Dave Stevens' THE ROCKETEER as well as a signing with composer Charles Fox. There was an abundance of Hard Target and Batman Returns buttons as well as a couple Demolition Man, San Angeles Police Department pins! Our final Burbank comic stop was The Perky Nerd, a super clean comic and games shop with a small event space and cold brew coffee.

Captain America Prep: The First Avenger

Captain America: Civil War is poised to gross a staggering $170-190 million this coming weekend and early word of mouth is only positive. Cap has been my favorite superhero since I first started reading comics as a 7 year old so seeing him become a popular culture and Marvel Cinematic Universe icon has been both gratifying and frustrating. Since 2008's Iron Man, Marvel has been creating a movie universe with intertwining stories, characters crossing over and distinct Phases to form a larger story. Civil War finds Cap at odds with Tony Stark's Iron Man over government regulation of super powered beings. To get ready for the film, I popped in my favorite MCU film so far, 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. Coming off the heels of two Iron Man films, The Incredible Hulk and Thor, Cap seemed like the most risky solo film as the red, white and blue clad fighting machine could potentially offput foreign audiences with the name and costume alone.

Joe Johnston, the director of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, THE ROCKETEER and Jurassic Park III is in familiar territory here given the period setting and special effects driven action. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (PAIN & GAIN) craft the tale that begins and ends in the modern age but transports us back to 1942 for an origin story. The film does a great job of tying together so many elements of Captain America, from scrawny Steve Rogers becoming the subject of Operation: Rebirth, getting blasted with vita-rays to become bigger and stronger to career nemesis Johann Schmidt aka The Red Skull obtaining the Cosmic Cube, Cap's original triangle shield then Army outfit from The Ultimates to support from The Howling Commandos. Everything moves at a clip with lots of rock'em, sock'em fisticuffs and armies battling with Thompson machine guns, laser rifles and explosions galore. The cast is excellent throughout from leading man Chris Evans to fan favorite Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter with Tommy Lee Jones (especially amusing), Hugo Weaving, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci and Sebastian Stan providing support.

First Avenger would gross a healthy $370 million worldwide while Cap became the center of the MCU for better or for worse. Sequel The Winter Soldier contains arguably the best action of any Marvel film and grossed over $700 million worldwide. FA still holds up as the most rewatchable Marvel flick for me as you just don't get too many superhero meets World War II Men on a Mission with a sci-fi tinge stories these days. The fights are well done with lots of punches and kicking shot in wide angles instead of up close and hyper edited. Cap is also surprisingly violent as lots of G.I.'s and baddies are shot, blowed up, thrown out of airplanes and one turned into meat sauce after meeting a plane propeller. First Avenger also has arguably the most subdued and melancholy finale as Cap crashes the Red Skull's giant ship into the arctic to save innocent lives while talking to his would be love Peggy before waking up in the modern age, 70 years out of his time. I still think it would have been more emotionally impacting if the film stuck to the comics death of Bucky as the two race a motorcycle down a runway, ramp off the end, grab onto a flying rocket then Steve's last memory is watching his best friend get blown up by a booby trapped door as he plummets into the ocean and takes an ice nap. But maybe that's just me.

Con-Man: D23 Expo '15 Friday

 
Another jam packed weekend, complete with heat wave! It was another first as we traveled to Anaheim for the every other year Disney celebration that is D23 Expo. D23 is the official fan club of all things House of Mouse and the Expo is like their version of Comic-Con to showcase all of their latest and greatest in film, animation, television, video games, toys, theme parks and the like. We arrived Friday evening with just enough time to walk the floor for a bit. Sadly, unlike previous shows at The Anaheim Convention Center WonderCon and Star Wars Celebration, there were no bars on the floor. #ThanksLittleKids. Since we got there so late we also missed The Goofy Movie Anniversary panel, double sadly.

It was surprisingly not crowded walking in as food trucks had virtually no lines. Greeting us was the Buzz Lightyear balloon from the Macy's Day Parade. Buzz aka animated Tim Allen looked great as we entered the empty lobby to pick up lanyards, event guides and bags (that I ripped right away, Damme lats). Heading into the show floor I really had no clue what to expect. I hadn't done any research and just figured there'd be a lot of Disney things. What shocked me was how empty it was. The entire exhibit hall was set up with colorful carpet, displays, attractions, stores and more; basically a trade show to highlight upcoming products while displaying the history of the Disney brand. Right away you had sections devoted to Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel, ABC, the new Muppet Show, Red Cross, on and on.

There were three stores set up, each selling show exclusives like art, shirts and those little Tsum Tsum things. Unlike a typical comic and pop culture show, there were only a handful of non-Disney vendors, many of them selling pins and other collectibles like statues, paintings and park memorabilia. We walked into a sudden influx of attendees as I realized where the crowd was, in the D23 Hall watching a panel. Earlier in the day the likes of George Lucas, Danny Elfman and Johnny Depp greeted the crowd. One upping San Diego's 6,500 capacity Hall H, D23 passed on using the Convention Center arena and set up 7,500 chairs in Hall E. Even with the new wave of people, it wasn't that crowded. Ed Asner was set up selling autographs and there were tables for the likes of Dick Van Dyke, Sean Astin, Corey Feldman and several voice actors.

Walking around the memorabilia sections I was very disappointed in the lack of items from either The Rocketeer or classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring one Kirk Douglas. On the other side of the show floor there were Star Wars video game set ups along with Disney cartoons, more Marvel, more Pixar and a large booth selling fine art with several artists dropping by for signings and sketches. Every few aisles you'd run into a Trading Card post where you'd be handed one of thirty cards being given out during the show for trading. Little did I know that this would become one of my hobbies for the weekend. Afterwards we caught an Uber to Anaheim favorite spot The Lazy Dog Cafe that had crowds of people waiting outside but we walked right in and sat at the bar. It was a terrific start to a fun weekend. Saturday and Sunday coming right up!

BuzzFlick: Gin and Jurassic Park III

Jurassic World opens tonight and I have my overpriced ticket for Cinemark's version of Fake IMAX. Gotta get my time in at the new Playa Vista location before Whole Foods opens and ruins it for everyone. Unlike AMC or The Arclight, Cinemark does not offer any kind of reward program so any money you drop there does not get anything back for you. Anyways, everybody has seen Jurassic Park but I missed III in theaters and watched it on DVD once so it was time to revisit. With some No. Ten Gin from Tanqueray I got ready to head back to 2001 and while finishing the bottle I observed the following:

- Opening scene is a guy and a kid para sailing near the Jurassic Park Islands. Hey, the guy is Davis (Mark Harelik) from hit 90's sitcom Wings! Name of the company is Dino-Soar. CLASSIC.
- Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr. Alan Grant (mother fudging Sam Neil) aren't together anymore?! When the hell did this happen?!
- Sam Neil, you da man. Grant role was offered to Harrison Ford?! Think of that!
- Alessandro Nivola as Grant's sidekick aka Pollox Troy from Face/Off! Tongue sammich anyone?
 - Whoa, 2001 3D printer prototype for raptor skull whistle!
- Practical raptor sitting on plane, gah!
- Movie is pretty violent with some nice thrills and scares. Nice mix of CGI and puppets.
- That dinosaur was like, "gonna have to roll it"! (Plane cabin to get the humans out)
- It's like a reverse horror movie, instead of sexually promiscuous getting deaded, guys with guns do. Or like Predator...no sport!
- That little kid Eric (Trevor Morgan) is from The Patriot! You know? The Patriot? Where Mel Gibson is the best dad in the universe? Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's final collaboration? Hold on let me find you a clip. (Pauses to watch Mel Gibson being a fucking awesome dad)
- Aliens reference with the tube in the lab and the dead specimen not being dead!
- William H. Macy from Tim Allen's Wild Hogs ladies and gentlemen!
- Tea Leoni, so awkward hot in Bad Boys, you hear 3 is being written by Joe Carnahan?
- You climb K2 brah? You know Michael Biehn and Matt Craven, brah?
-  Joe Johnston directed, hell yeah! Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Captain America and Hidalgo with VIGGGGGOOOOO!
- John Diehl from Miami Vice! Eaten! This movie is pretty violent!
- Michael Jeter from Tango and Cash! Synthesizer! Gun boots! RV from hell!
- Man Tea Leoni needs to listen to Dr. Grant and stop being dumb.
- Uh that dinosaur just broke Jeter's neck after they already mauled and stabbed him to death. Shit.

- Allegedly cost $93 million to make and grossed $181 in the states and $363 million worldwide. Good enough for #9 for the year behind the likes of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Rush Hour 2, Mummy Returns, Pearl Harbor and Ocean's Eleven.
- Way better than Lost World by lack of Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and his annoying ass daughter.
- Aliens again with little kid living in duct hiding from creatures.
- That is one big can of pork and beans.
- Malcolm was high on himself and everything about chaos..."fuck Jeff Goldblum".
- That dinosaur was straight eavesdropping! They seem so mean and bitter and...human in this!
- Oh man Pollux is hiding something, maybe it's some nitro, get it out of the sun!
- Aw shit. Literally. Walked into the wrong bird cage...
- Can't believe Pollux just left him like that! Oh he's actually rescuing The Patriot kid...
- Dr. Grant just Van Damme'd that Pterodactyl with a crescent kick to the face!
- That pterodactyl just turned and looked into my soul.
- I feel like I'd leave my shirt untucked if I was running for my life from killer dinosaurs and just saw my friend get pecked to death by a bunch of asshole dinosaurs. But that's why he's Dr. Grant and I'm some guy blogging and dranking.
- Majestic stegosaurus shot with Jurassic Park theme, awwwoooo!
- Digging through steaming piles of shit looking for a lifeline satellite phone, it's like a reality show waiting to happen. Red faced unicorn dinosaur just showed up too and leaves.
- Barney is on TV. Kids love that purple dinosaur. Like they love Jean-Claude Van Damme.
- I wonder how many full size animatronic dinosaurs they built for this show. Where are they now?
- Punch that raptor, Tea Leoni! Establish dominance!
- The Navy and The Marines showed up, where the hell is Michael Biehn?!
- Oh shit the dactyls are out and headed to your house!
- Alexander Payne co-wrote?! Mother fucking Sideways up in here. You ever drink red wine with Sprite and or Coke? Really gives it some effervescence.
- Larry Franco produced. Kurt Russell's former brother in law, producer of Tango & Cash, Big Trouble In Little China and Batman Begins.



Well that was a fast and surprisingly exciting and slightly harrowing 90 minutes. Bring on World!

Summer Cinema: Tomorrowland

Ah Memorial Day, where we pay our respects to those who serve this great country and many of us get to kick back an extra day. It wasn't one for the cinema history books though as Disney's latest epic based on an attraction, Tomorrowland, opened with a 4-Day gross of just over $40 million. That puts it at # 22 on the all time list of Memorial Day openings. Reviews and word of mouth have been mixed so the less than stellar opening makes it perfect fodder for unnecessary and unreasonable negativity. I for one enjoyed the flick for the most part, it has some terrific ideas, solid production values and an excellent cast. The themes of hope, positive thinking and learning aren't exactly a bad thing either. It does drag in a few spots and reminded me of movies like The Rocketeer, The Terminator and Conspiracy Theory at parts. Brad Bird, director of The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Rataouille and Mission: Impossible 4 helms a script by genre whipping boy Damon Lindelof (Lost, Prometheus), Jeffrey Chernov and himself.

Tomorrowland is basically the story of smart and spunky Casey (Britt Robertson) as she's recruited by the wide eyed and robotic mini T-1000 Athena (Raffey Cassidy) to help save the world. Athena works out of Tomorrowland, an alternate dimension type place where the best and brightest work to change the world. Years ago, a young smart kid named Frank Walker discovered that the world was at risk and subsequently exiled. He grows up to be George Clooney, playing a grouch. Athena believes Casey can build upon Walker's theories and possibly save the planet. Tomorrowland ruler Nix (Hugh Laurie) doesn't really want to hear about it though as he's given up on humanity and is safe in his little bubble. Alternate worlds, new technology, smiling robots, vaporizing ray guns, gadgets, jet packs, Eiffel Tower, rocket ships, Star Wars and Iron Giant product placement ensues.

While I try not to listen or read into pre-release hype, the word on Tomorrowland wasn't good. But like the much maligned Prometheus before it, while watching it, I kept wondering when it was going to get bad. Overall I enjoyed the film, there's some nice philosophy and ideas of exploration and a positive theme. Kind of like a less technical, more fantastic Interstellar.  The humor works and there's a surprising amount of violence in the film with robots getting their heads ripped off, hit by trucks and whatnot. Humans get vaporized and there's a cartoony quality to all of the mayhem which seemed borderline inappropriate given it's PG rating. Performances were fine all around with Clooney's early scenes smacking of wise-ass Robert Downey, Jr. Some of the set pieces and imagery reminded me of other movies and a segment of Athena rescuing Casey is like a Kyle Reese/T-1000 from The Terminator update. I was surprised she didn't say, "Come with me if you want to live"! Plus that creepy kid from Looper (Pierce Gagon), Tim McGraw (I feel like he's getting roles Billy Bob Thorton should be) and Keegan-Michael Key (just saw him in Pitch Perfect 2, wonder if Peele is getting jelly) show up as well.

It does drag a bit and you wonder when Clooney is going to show up after the first act. But Bird is a an excellent director and stages action, drama, laughs and shocks with ease. There's some great dialog at the end with Nix discussing mankind being given all the facts that the world is dying but doing nothing to stop it and only being interested in money. There's also a hilarious question about how the world can be suffering from starvation and obesity epidemics at the same time. The world is strange, brah.

Con-Man Double Event: CalComicCon w/ Frank & Son

Sunday funday as we ventured east first to Yorba Linda for the California Comic Con before heading up to the City of Industry for weekly staple Frank & Son Collectible Show.  In this day and age of over hyped and over crowded cons with social media presence, CalComicCon is like taking a step back in time or maybe shopping at the farmer's market of comic book conventions.  Unlike say Comikaze, Wizard World or Salt Lake that tout celebrity guests, charge you to wait in line less and then push you to pay your favorite celebs $40 bucks to sign something for you, CCC is all about the comic books.  Is it small?  Yes.  Is it a nice change of pace?  Double yes.  Yorba Linda is a picturesque sprawl of suburbia with strip malls and greenery off the 57 and 91 freeways in Orange County.  The Community Center is just a few minutes off the 57 and is where CCC has called home since at least 2007.  With only comic book centric Marv Wolfman and Thomas Yeates as invited guests, this show isn't for casual fans; it's for comic book readers and collectors.

Walking up, the atmosphere was warm and inviting with a hot dog/taco stand outside, vendors on the patio selling .50 cent issues and a very friendly staff that welcomed us and explained the set up.  Parking was free with a $10 admission.  You got a raffle ticket upon entry and there were drawings every hour.  The show was being held in two separate rooms and on the patio.  While you could walk the space in just a few minutes, every vendor and table was full of books, comics, graphic novels and novels to flip through.  High end ones in the plastic cases and graded to 50% off trades and of course the .50 boxes outside.  I was only too pumped to grab a stack of 1980's Avengers comics along with a handful of Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos.  The seller told me I missed out as this was the last of his Sgt. Fury collection, drat!  From another table I picked up movie novelization of James Cameron and Gale Ann Hurd's The Terminator!  Now I get to see how Reese, the T-800 and Sarah Connor play out in print.  Being a small show, we only spent about an hour there but were very satisfied with our haul.  Now it was off to the City of Industry for Frank & Son...

Only 15 minutes up the 57, Frank & Son Collectible Show has it's own warehouse in an industrial complex near Walnut. Parking is free with two lots and street available.  No fee to get in either.  Usually the show only runs on Wednesday and Saturday but extended to Sunday this week as Stan "The Man" Lee was special guest.  I haven't been here in years and was very surprised to see how Con like this show was without the Con.  It was just rows and rows of stalls and vendors hocking toys, video games, cards, knives and trinkets.  All those booths you check out at conventions outside Artist Alley at any other show, that's this place, all the time!  While there were toys, toys and more toys to check out, I was surprised at the lack of comic books for sale.  There were a handful of big spreads selling issues new and old but I just didn't feel like skimming through boxes of unorganized comics hoping to find a gem.  I recognized several vendors from shows around town and everyone was very chill and polite.  A couple were a little overzealous in trying to sell stuff when all I wanted to do was see what they had but ah well.  Then we randomly started chatting with a vendor who ended up being writer and author Pat Jankiewicz.  Nice guy and a fellow #MovieBro, we rapped about flicks, actors and our favorite conventions. 

Seems like the Big Trouble In Little China Funko's haven't shipped yet so I had to be contented with picking up a Rocketeer ReAction figure along with a Funko mini-mystery figure where helmeted Cliff Secord runs 1 out of 72 and was already fetching a $50 price tag.  For $7 bucks, my luck held steady and I pulled out a 1 out of 12 Robocop. There's an exhibition hall in the middle where guests sign.  Frank & Son have a variety of actors and athletes come through for special events, reunions, etc.  Towards the back was a gaming and tournament area as well as a discount household goods store(?!) selling clothes, tools and supplies.  Going strong since 1988, Frank & Son is definitely the place to come to pick up your favorite swag but I think it's more fun to do that at in a convention setting where you can walk the floor, take in a panel, go back, etc.

That's all the Cons I got for January, see you in February for Long Beach!

Pulp Cinema: The Shadow

Pulp Magazines, or "the pulps" were cheap fiction magazines that descended from dime store novels and were prevalent in the early 1900's through World War II.  Pulp refers to the inexpensive wood pulp paper used for printing versus the heavy and glossy stock reserved for magazines.  Genres like adventure, detective, horror and fantasy ruled while over the top heroes Doc Savage, The Shadow, Tarzan, Conan the Barbarian and John Carter of Mars graced dozens of novels.  Those same heroes would also transcend various medias like comic strips, comic books, radio programs, serials, television shows and of course, motion picture adaptations.

The 1990's were a terrific time for such heroes as period set, non-mainstream, DC and Marvel movie descendents and predecessors like Dick Tracy, The Rocketeer, The Shadow and The Phantom all got the big budget, big screen treatment.  Each of these films holds a special place in my heart and today we'll take a look at 1994's The Shadow.  Developed in 1930, the crime fighting vigilante with physic powers and a playboy secret identity, The Shadow became a fixture in pulps appearing in 325 printed adventures over 20 years with 282 of them written by Walter B. Gibson.  The Shadow also became a prominent radio drama, originally voiced by then 22 year old Orson Welles and was broadcast for nearly 20 years, ending in 1954.  Serials and low budget features were produced in the 30's and 40's then a line of comic books from DC in the 70's and 80's carried on the legacy.

"The sun is shining." But the ice, is slippery...

I recently sat down to watch the Shout! Factory Blu-Ray and found myself still enjoying the action/mystery/noir/fantasy after all these years.  Opening in post World War I Tibet, we meet ruthless local opium warlord Ying-Ko whose bubble of power is interrupted when he is kidnapped and brought to the Tulku, a powerful holy man who knows Ko's true identity as Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin), disillusioned veteran with dark thoughts and strange mental abilities.  Tulku teaches Cranston how to harness his powers to cloud minds and use his powers for good.  7 years later, Cranston returns to New York City where he is man about town by day and black hat, coat and scarlet scarf clad, twin .45 pistol toting anti-hero The Shadow by night.  Cranston meets the beautiful Margo Lane (Penelope Ann Miller), a woman his uncle/Police Chief warns him to stay away from as she hears voices.  Turns out she has the same telepathic powers as Cranston but didn't get the cool training in Tibet.  Things get crazy when Shiwan-Khan (John Lone), a fellow student of Tulku and last descendent of Genghis-Khan who uses his powers for evil, shows up looking to take over the city.

What I really noticed viewing it again was the grand visual scope of the film utilizing matte paintings, huge art deco sets, cars and wardrobe from the 1930's setting.  That and the fact that the flick has a sense of humor as Baldwin is very smooth, debonair and charming as Cranston and the supporting cast of cooky and memorable characters like taxi driver Moe (Peter Boyle), bomb making Dr. Reinhardt Lane (Ian McKellan), sleazy associate Farley Claymore (Tim Curry) and rescued scientist Dr. Tam (Sab Shimono) all add an extra layer of likeability.  The period setting mixed with The Shadow's ability to hide himself from enemies makes for some visually interesting wham bam action sequences in and around dark bridges, laboratories and ornately designed hotels.  Some of the goings on were kind of surprising as bodies are thrown off the tops of buildings, bouncing and crashing on top of cars, a shard of glass to the forehead, a dream where Cranston rips off his face, etc along with some sexual innuendos I missed as a kid.  Jerry Goldsmith's score is fantastic as well, huge and theatrical to match what we're seeing.

"The weed of crime bears bitter fruit."

Ably directed by Highlander's Russell Mulcahy, The Shadow was intended to become a franchise starter for Universal but was sadly not to be.  Budgeted at a healthy $40 million bucks, the film shot mostly on Universal's backlot where Production Designer Joe Nemec III and crew transformed the fake streets and six sound stages into 60+ sets.   Released on July 1st, 1994, The Shadow would open up # 2 with $11.7 million clams, behind Disney's massive hit The Lion King, on it's way to a middling $32 million gross.  This would continue the diminishing returns pattern after period adventure flicks Dick Tracy and The Rocketeer in 1990 and 1991.  1996's rousing pulpy adventure The Phanom would gross even less.  I can't remember if I saw this in a theater or not but distinctly recall having the VHS, a poster on my wall and a few of the action figures where you'd shove Cranston's head down and attached a hat and scarfed The Shadow top complete with cape.

Cinefantastique covered The Shadow in their August 1994 issue with a staggering 27 page look at the film covering the development of the film, origins of the character, director Mulcahy, the radio program, writer David Koepp, special make up, past film and serial versions, production design, computer effects, merchandise, matte painting and miniatures.  It's amazing to see how much work goes into a movie just from reading it, not even living it.  One of the major thrulines is the ambitious scale of the film and it's visual inspirations while working with a moderate budget and schedule of 64 days.  Producer Martin Bregman had the rights for 12 years and wanted to introduce the popular culture phenom to a whole new generation.  Writer David Koepp was familiar with the radio shows and was tasked with making The Shadow more movie friendly and not just an invisible man as depicted in the radio program.  Koepp eventually wrote 15 drafts of the film and always visualized Alec Baldwin in the role.  It was decided to keep the tone light and to have fun instead of going the dark and serious route of 1989's juggernaut Batman.  Baldwin was drawn to the dark past of the heroic title character, a once evil man now atoning for his sins.  Miller had worked with Bregman and Koepp on the Al Pacino crime thriller Carlito's Way and enjoyed not being a damsel in distress and the rapid, 30's style banter while John Lone went deep method in his role as Khan. The notion of a sequel was raised before release with Koepp ready and willing, thinking a showdown with the Voodoo Master would make for a great follow up.  Cut to today and movement on a new adaptation has all but died out.  Evil Dead and Spider-Man helmer Sam Raimi was eager to make the film but was denied the opportunity in the 90's.  It's said that his Darkman, a story of a disfigured scientist fighting a crime boss, was his version of The Shadow.  In recent years, Raimi acquired the rights but as of 2012 states he was unable to mount a satisfactory script and has essentially abandoned the project.

"The Shadow knows!"

On Shout!'s 20th anniversary release, we get comments from many of the major players including Mulcahy, Baldwin, Miller, Nemec and Cinematographer Stephen H. Burum.  Baldwin really wanted to work with Koepp and sings his praises but makes no mention of Mulcahy while Miller gives props to the writer and the leading man.  Mulcahy talks about the terrific cast and Lone's method style off set which led to funny interactions, especially during lunch. Everyone seems to think Miller has a very 1930's look and was perfect for the role.  Also discussed is The Shadow's place as a film caught in between eras of technology as old school methods like matte paintings were mixed with visual f/x to make a knife with a face fly around.

Until we pick up the Tommy Gun and ride with Dick Tracy, before we strap on the jetpack with The Rocketeer and until we slam some evil with The Phantom; check every corner, every empty room, as inevitable as your guilty conscience...The Shadow will be there!

Captain America Week: Life Choices

Captain America:  The Winter Soldier opens this Friday!  Of course, in a bid to make more money, studios are commonly releasing flicks on Thursday as "Sneak Peeks".  These used to play at midnight, then 10:00PM now you can see a new movie on Thursday at 7:30 or 8:00PM.  We're going to the double feature of Captain America:  The First Avenger followed by Winter Soldier.  To celebrate, I'm wearing a Captain America shirt everyday this week.  At first I fretted I wouldn't have enough but upon further inspection, yeah, I still have 8 Cap-centric shirts not even counting all of the Marvel and Avengers ones he's featured on.  I've had plenty more but if the shirt don't fit, you must acquit...and go find shirts that do fit.

Back in 2011, I won tickets to an early screening of First Avenger put on by Geek Chic Daily (since swallowed up by Nerdist) that took place in San Diego, during Comic-Con, with Chris Evans introducing the movie.  Not a bad pre-birthday present eh?  Unfortunately, even with those perfect circumstances, I didn't like Joe Johnston's (THE ROCKETEER!) First Avenger upon that initial viewing, the movie in my head from all my years of comic book reading and watching movies just couldn't make space for this.  But upon subsequent 2nd and 3rd theater outings, I put that version into a drawer and enjoyed the World War II set science fiction tinged action adventure for what it was.  Throw in his original triangle shield, the Red Skull, the Cosmic Cube, lots of fisticuffs, pulpy derring-do, Dum Dum Dugan and the Howling Commando's and hey, this movie is actually a pretty good time.

Evans does an excellent job of playing the bumbling yet driven Steve Rogers just looking to serve his country but is physically unfit for duty.  The scenes of "skinny" Steve are pretty impressive and employed a mix of body doubling and CGI to fool the audience into believing the buffed up Evans was a sickly, scrawny reject.  Seemingly always in shape, Evans kicked up a notch and gained some mass for Cap as the post Vita-Ray and Super Soldier Serum injection scene showed off a beefy new version of Steve Rogers.  To get in even better shape, Evans worked with the same trainer Daniel Craig had for his runs as James Bond.  Looking for a big, strong and lean with a realistic, functional and proportionate body, Evans did heavy weight/low reps of basic compound moves while incorporating bodyweight and plyometric moves to keep his heart rate up.

Word on the street is that Winter Soldier is going to be something special.  So special that Marvel has contracted directors Anthony and Joe Russo for part III.  Hopefully they don't go the route Jon Favreau did with Iron Man II and just give us more of what we liked and nothing new.  But this is the new Marvel and right now they're about the smartest guys in the room so we should be fine.

 

Behind the skinny:

 

Flash Acting: John Wesley Shipp

It's been a good week for DC Comics on television as Fox's Gotham has cast it's young James Gordon, Alfred, The Penguin and more while CW's Flash just announced that former television Barry Allen/Scarlet Speedster John Wesley Shipp would be joining in an unspecified but important role.  If you'll recall, CBS ran an awesome adaptation of The Flash back in 1990 which only ran for one season when it collided with the deadly combination of juggernauts The Simpsons and The Cosby Show on Thursday nights.  I don't watch much television now but grew up on 80's and 90's fare like The Flash, Knight Rider, Miami Vice, Home Improvement, Lois and Clark:  The New Adventures of Superman and The Magnificent Seven so to see the star of one of my favorite shows getting some recognition in a new adaptation is a treat.

In the mid 80's, writers Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo were working on a film adaptation of The Rocketeer with creator Dave Stevens while also pitching a superhero television show to CBS that would have involved The Flash, Green Arrow's daughter, Dr. Occult and Legionnaire Blok.  Set in a future where superheroes are outlawed, Unlimited Powers would have been just a little too much for audiences used to the campy Batman series with Adam West or the more serious but still two man show, The Incredible Hulk.  After a change of management, a show based on a single character was developed and The Flash was off and running.  Produced by CBS and Warner Brothers for a cool $6.5 million, The Flash would be one of if not the most expensive pilots ever produced by the two studios hoping to ride the cape-tails of 1989's massive hit, Batman.  Out of over 60 hopefuls, stage and small screen actor John Wesley Shipp was selected to don the red boots and hood.

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Shipp was a theatrical youth who sang and played the piano, dropped out of drama school and headed to New York.  By the late 1980's, Shipp had appeared on several soap operas and picked up a Daytime Emmy Award.  As Barry Allen, Shipp brings a determined yet nice guy charm as well as a strong physique to the role.  The signature costume was molded over his own musculature (sweet traps!) and the suits cost in the neighborhood of $100,000 for the season.  Described as like wearing two wetsuits, the Flash costume didn't breathe and would soak up sweat causing Shipp to easily lose 6 pounds a day.

After the pilot was picked up, production ramped up on the Warner Brothers back lot and the 22 episodes were shot on a grueling 9 day schedule over 9 months.  Influenced by Batman and The Rocketeer, The Flash doesn't overly ape either property but instead takes the best bits from each to make an enjoyable blend of action and drama with some light humor and superhero excitement set in a stylized yet grungy pulp world.  The big, Batman/40's style orchestral soundtrack punctuates the action and gives the show a grander feel.  While not exactly a documentary, the creators and actors built their own reality within the show's universe where Allen's family dynamics and simmering romantic subplots share time with special effects driven superheroics.  The pilot finds police scientist Allen on the revenge trail after his older brother and stalwart police officer, Jay, is killed.  After a bolt of lightning sends Allen into a shelf full of chemicals, the once cerebral Allen is now also super fast.  With the help of STAR labs scientist Tina McGee (Amanda Pays), Allen dons a suit that can withstand the tremendous pressure and wind of his newly acquired speed and sets out to catch the crooks who greased his big bro.

As the show progressed, comic book style villains emerged in the forms of The Trickster, Captain Cold and Mirror Master.  Ally The Nightshade and his violent counterpart The Deadly Nightshade would add additional pulp flavor to the series and were some of my favorite episodes.  One of most memorable bits from the show was Allen's constant need to feed in order to keep his metabolism up.  Whether it was giant bowls of cereal, stacks of pizza or a vending machine's worth of candy bars, Barry Allen just Gotta Eat!

CBS decided to slot their expensive new show on Thursday nights against NBC's family favorite, The Cosby Show.  Fox then decided to get into the fight and moved animated champ The Simpson's to Thursday as well.  Having already spent millions on advertising, CBS didn't flinch and was now going head to head with two of TV's biggest performers.  Ratings for The Flash were good but the show couldn't fight off the Cosby or Simpson clans.  The Flash was then moved to the odd spot of 8:30PM to avoid the fierce competition but things did not improve.  The subsequent move to 9:00PM did little as well.  All in all, The Flash averaged over 9 million viewers for the season compared to The Simpson's 13 and The Cosby Show's 17.  Given the series' stiff $1.5 million per episode cost, The Flash would not sprint into a second season.

It will be interesting to see what direction the new Flash show will run and how Shipp will be used.  I didn't get into Smallville much with it's freak of the week redundancy and Arrow just seems to be about it's star running around shirtless in a dark and serious manner.  It's nice to see Shipp's inclusion in the new show that will hopefully be a nice wink to the fans and provide a little generational continuity between characters since unlike Marvel, DC heroes tend to have more than one man behind the mask over time.  It also highlights what a bunch of poseur bullshit The Big Bang Theory is since all of them are supposed huge fans of The Flash yet Shipp has somehow never appeared over it's 7 bullshit seasons as a recurring, guest or even a cameo.