Five Things: August 3, 2023
"On Mexico City, rest and recovery, World Cup 2023, comic book love, and dreading the Bat Signal." Five things for August 3, 2023.
Christopher Nolan’s Joker Problem
No matter who wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor three weeks from now, Christopher Nolan has a serious dilemma in front of him as he decides where to go with his inevitable third installment in the juggernaut Batman franchise.
To Joker, or Not To Joker?
Even if he hadn’t received a single award nomination for his performance, Heath Ledger left behind some huge shoes to fill with his breathtaking spin on Batman’s best-known and, arguably, best-loved villain. It’s pretty clear that Nolan intended to bring him back for the next movie, and not just for a brief Scarecrow-like cameo Cillian Murphy made in Dark Knight.
So now, he has an unenviable decision in front of him, whether to leave the Joker out of the next movie completely and focus on other villains, or take a risk recasting him and get a similarly astonishing performance out of someone who can expect to have every syllable and tic scrutinized by critics and fanboys alike.
My first instinct was that he should move on, offering a quick explanation that the Joker is locked away in Arkham Asylum, maybe edit in 15 seconds from Dark Knight to honor Ledger, and focus on a new arch-villain like…
Well, there’s the problem.
Catwoman?
What If…FOX hosted the debate?
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l63SRpGXBHE] It's like a mash-up of so many of my favorite things! PS: I'll be back on a regular posting schedule, here and on Spindle, very soon. Seriously.
On self-discipline and self-flagellation
The most difficult aspect of writing, for me, has always been the self-discipline required to write every day, no matter what. I simply don’t have any. (Not just for writing, either, but that’s a whole other post!)
There are a number of legitimate reasons excuses I could put forward to explain why it’s so difficult to find the time to write on a regular basis, not the least of which are family and work obligations as well as my ruthless internal editor, but even if I won the lottery tomorrow and didn’t ever have to work again, I would still probably lack the self-discipline to stick to a regular routine of writing. (Blogging doesn’t count.) I envy those people who can wake up early in the morning to get a couple of hours of writing done before they start their day, but that’s not an option for me as my weekdays start at 6am without any writing, and staying up late comes with its own obstacles, not the least of which is sleep deprivation doesn’t make for very good writing.
I especially envy the old me who used to crank out at least one new poem each week, slam it at the Nuyorican on a Wednesday night (or later, read it every Monday at 13), and then move right on the next one, rarely looking back. Most of those poems weren’t very good, but the gears were always turning and I’d eventually revisit a few and edit them into something good whenever I hit a dry patch. Most of that writing was done at Botanica, a couple of nights each week after work, usually before the Nuyorican on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Ghost Rider’s Qualified Success and What it Means for DC
With the estimates for its third weekend in ($11.5m towards $94m to-date, domestic) it’s safe to consider Ghost Rider a qualified success as it’s quite likely that it will surpass director Mark Steven Johnson’s previous effort, Daredevil — which topped out at $102m after 22 weeks in release — by the end of next weekend, despite receiving even worse reviews; and its final domestic take should, at least, cover its pricey $120m production budget. In doing so, it will also likely match, or beat, the combined box office of Daredevil and its ill-conceived spinoff, Elektra, which bombed two years ago with a mere $24m domestic take.
Did anyone other than Avi Arad, Johnson and Nicolas Cage (for whom Ghost Rider represents his widest initial release and best opening weekend box office ever) really see this coming? Suddenly, the decision to postpone its release from August 2006 and invest in some top-notch special effects seems to have paid off immensely as it’s hard to believe it would have found this level of success in last summer’s crowded schedule, lost in the shadow of the likes of Pirates of the Carribean, X-Men: The Last Stand and Superman Returns.
Mark Your Calendar: Kids’ Comic Con
A kid-centric comic convention, in the Bronx?!?! Alex Simmons is my hero!Kid's Comic Con Slated for the BronxKnown for his work as a writer of comics, prose and plays as well as an ongoing series of popular kids comics workshops held around New York City, Alex Simmons announced plans to hold the first Kid's Comic Con on the campus of the Bronx Community College, April 28. The first Kids' Comic Con will feature a variety of entertaining events and demonstrations on comics aimed at kids as well as workshops and exhibits focused on using comics as an educational tool for…
On the Web: Comic Book Movie Round-Up
It's quite likely that Spider-Man 3 will end up being the best superhero movie ever -- an honor currently shared, IMO, by Unbreakable and Batman -- and this clip from National CineMedia doesn't do anything to suggest otherwise.I think Ghost Rider is going to surpass expectations and turn out to be a pretty good movie, though that acknowledgement may come long after it leaves theaters. It reminds me a bit of ConAir, Nicholas Cage's underrated action romp that reset the bar for loud, over-the-top action movies.300 looks like it will be a visual masterpiece, not unlike the source material, and…