rave, as I told Consuela, the filmmaker has to respect the film as art, not treat it as tittillation. No one remembers ten seconds of "Elektra", including Jen Garner. All we remember is that red outfit. Halle and the Catsuit- 'nuff said (though I hear several of the male species complaining otherwise). Same with "Aeon Flux", though it's just me and Keith bearing the fond memories. "Ultraviolet"- was that *really* a movie, or just a long video game with a lost joystick?
ravenadal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Female Superhero movies suffer the same fate as black science fiction movies (white people don't want to see them and BLACK people don't want to see them): men don't want to see them and WOMEN don't want to see them. "Catwoman" is still the top-grossing female superhero movie ($82 million) and nobody considers that a success. Elektra: $56 million Aeon Flux: $52 million Ultraviolet: $31 million Female superhero movies - ain't no money in them. ~(no)rave! --- In [email protected], "Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Action Or Angst? What Do We Want In Our Superheroes? > COMMENTARY: Can 'Wonder Woman' succeed purely as action hero? > > By ROBIN BROWNFIELD > Source: SyFy Portal > Feb-04-2007 > > When Joss Whedon announced almost two years after signing on to write > and direct a "Wonder Woman" movie that he was no longer attached to the > project, the air of shock around the Internet was almost palpable. > > Around the same time, David S. Goyer, who wrote the story and co- wrote > the screenplay for "Batman Begins," was told his vision for the movie > "The Flash" was not what Warner Bros. producers wanted, and the movie > has been shelved for now. > > The story behind the "Wonder Woman" movie, it seems, is that Warner > Bros. has purchased a speculative script from newcomers Matthew Jennison > and Brent Strickland, and is ready to bring them on board to replace Whedon. > > All this leads to the question, "What do people want out of a superhero > movie? An escapist action romp or fully fleshed-out characters facing > the most painful decisions of their lives?" > > While it is uncertain what Whedon has done with "Wonder Woman," it seems > Joel Silver and company want an action-oriented story set against the > backdrop of World War II -- the time period when Wonder Woman comics > debuted. Whedon's vision places Princess Diana in the present day. Based > on his previous works ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," "Firefly," > "Serenity"), one can safely assume that his Wonder Woman would be a > fully fleshed out character, complete with goddess-like strength, and > human foibles. She would most likely be surrounded by fully developed > supporting characters, and the story that unwinds would largely grow out > from and be advanced by the characters themselves. > > We could also count on sharp, engaging dialogue where every word is > measured and infused with meaning. > > A synopsis of the Jennison/Strickland script has been posted on the > Internet. It is filled with highly charged action, it appears to move > quickly, and is balanced with sharp contrasts between scenes. It looks > like it could be exciting, but because there is no dialogue, and the > focus is strictly on the action in the movie, it makes me fear that > there will be little in the way of actual character development. There > also is no indicator as to whether the two can write dialogue well. It's > possible that they can, but in the end, what I read is the basis for a > largely formulaic movie with lots of loud sounds, flashy visuals and > action. I donât see the groundwork laid for creating characters people > in the audience can identify with. > > People need to be able to identify with the characters in a movie. They > have to be able to feel with the characters and understand why it is > they do what they do. The X-Men and Spider-Man movies have been the best > of any in the genre. X-Men movies have been analogous to the struggles > with racism and homophobia. In both X-Men and Spider-Man, people can > identify with the characters' perpetually feeling like outsiders. Each > has unique qualities that allow them to do amazing things, and yet, > people in general and/or in their immediate surroundings, rarely, if > ever, recognize and appreciate this. > > Most real people can identify with this scenario. How many of us have > proven time and time again that we are unique, intelligent and superbly > talented people whose accomplishments go largely unnoticed by many or > most of the people around us? It is the same kind of scenario that makes > "Buffy" so popular. We now see the same happening with characters in the > TV show "Heroes." > > It was Peter Parker's angst that drew me to Spider-Man comics as a kid. > I often skipped over the action parts of the stories just to catch what > was happening in Peter's world. I still remember Duo Damsel heartbroken > because she was in love with Superboy, but knew he was destined to end > up with someone else. Things like that got to me as a child, and they > still get to me as an adult. > > Wonder Woman often struggled with being a powerful woman who was rarely > appreciated for it in a man's world. Angst is what makes these heroes > accessible to an audience. Going through the human experience even if > one is not quite human, or is super-human, endears these characters to us. > > While it's possible to have a hero who doesn't feel like an outsider or > a freak, how that translates into their personality can be problematic. > If they are always self-sacrificing, righteous and true, they can end up > being downright boring. Then again, someone who doesn't suffer rarely > understands the plight of others who are suffering, and usually isn't > heroic. Someone like that is likely to come off as arrogant and/or > self-obsessed, and uses their power for personal gain. I'm not sure I > want to know people who are drawn to this kind of "hero." I might end up > being the next person they get all self-righteous and true on. > > People simply can't identify with an action figure. An action figure may > present an amusing visual and aural experience, but so does a musical > mobile hanging over a crib. Both are forgettable once they're out of > sight. A fully realized human being makes for much longer-lasting > "relationship" between the character and the audience than Action > Jackson ever can. How many people talk as passionately -- and for years > on end -- about Lara Croft as they do about Buffy or River Tam? > > Then there is the issue of the setting for the movies. Wonder Woman has > gone through many eras. She hasn't always been stuck in WWII, as > Superman hasn't always been stuck in the 1930s. In the early 1970s, > Wonder Woman had been revamped to fit the times. Steve Trevor was > killed, she lost her powers, traded in her bathing suit for a > mini-dress, and learned martial arts from some old guy named I- ching. > While that probably wasnât the best version of Wonder Woman, it kept her > in the present. > > Since then, WW has been reinvented several more times, keeping her in > the present. All the Superman and Batman movies are in the present (or > future). Why must Wonder Woman be stuck back in WWII? > > My favorite DC-based movie last year was "V for Vendetta," which while > it wasn't a superhero movie, was the kind of movie I prefer to shell out > money to see. I donât make a whole lot, and I have a lot of kids to > feed, so I can't often waste money on something that is a purely > escapist formula movie. Most of the superhero/graphic novel movies - > regardless of their origins - are lackluster at best. "Daredevil," > "Electra," "Catwoman," "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," and "Sin > City" were all substitutes for Sominex. > > Unfortunately, superhero movie producers have grandiose expectations, > but usually resort to mediocre stories and big special effects or > âartfulâ facades to pass their production off as marketable. âSuperman > Returns,â while somewhat better than previously mentioned movies, still > suffered the fate of presenting a formulaic plot with some bad casting > choices (that was NOT Lois Lane), and uneven acting. Hell, Brandon Routh > barely got to do anything beyond his Christopher Reeve-as-Clark Kent > impression. While Bryan Singer, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris tried > to infuse some humanity and allusions to Supes being Christ-like into > the story, the actual plot was simply a rehash of old plots with Lex > Luthor abusing different pieces of real estate. > > There are passably good comic book hero movies out there ("Hellboy," and > even "Fantastic Four" to some extent) that take the action formula and > make it interesting and entertaining. For far too many, though, the > formula starts to become rancid after too long. I had been looking > forward to something fresh and different in Joss Whedon's "Wonder > Woman." I had hoped it would be the one movie about a female superhero > that wasn't abysmal. I can still hope for this. Jennison and Strickland > may turn out to be great writers. Still, Iâm not going to put much faith > in the judgment of movie studio moguls. They have been wrong many times > before. > > Robin Brownfield is a staff writer for SyFy Portal, writing out of New > Jersey. She can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > "There is no reason Good can't triumph over Evil, if only angels will get organized along the lines of the Mafia." -Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without A Country" --------------------------------- TV dinner still cooling? Check out "Tonight's Picks" on Yahoo! TV. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
