Marvel Gets Cash to do 10 Films 604
jmozena writes "Marvel has raised $525 million to independently finance 10 movies based on its comics over seven years. The titles named are Captain America, The Avengers, Nick Fury, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Cloak & Dagger, Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, Power Pack and Shang-Chi. The company's also changing its name from Marvel Enterprises to Marvel Entertainment."
Beating it to death... (Score:5, Insightful)
the movie studios thought that super-hero movies were the way to go. The resulting movies were not made well.
They made Captain America once before [imdb.com]. As much as I loved the X-Men and Spiderman movies, Fantastic Four was only so-so,
and bringing back Captain America, they should be careful. Hollywood tends to beat genres to death, wait a while and do it
all over again.
Greh (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not Too Much Left (Score:3, Insightful)
before there was monotheism (Score:5, Insightful)
the roman gods and greek gods or the gods of hinduism, for example
i think there is some sort of psychological sweet spot that superheroes touch in our heads and hearts
it's a meme that monotheism just can't kill
sort of ideal representations of who we think we should be or who we wish we were, and the relationships we have with other elements of society, and the struggle with evil... a social and psychological context that some nameless faceless uberentity that is a monotheistic god just can't satisfy in us
we'll be with superheroes and marvel/dc for a long, long time
Maybe Marvel Should... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not Too Much Left (Score:3, Insightful)
As a non-american... (Score:5, Insightful)
Its like a Politician draping themselves in their countries flag. I mean if someone did something like that in my country, and I'm sure a few have, most people would think they were a tool.
Really I'm not flaming I just want to know why he is so popular? Did parents find buying a comic for their kids a lot easier when they knew he was fighting for American ideals?
NOOOO!! (Score:3, Insightful)
Last time Hollywood got their grubby little hands on a Vertigo franchise, we got Constantine.
On lesser-known heroes (Score:3, Insightful)
That's the plus side -- maybe we'll get one or two excellent screenplays in there that will be produced and directed well.
OTOH, we've got an average budget of 52.5 million for each film. Assuming that a couple of these guys get the lion's share, that leaves us with...
B-movies!!! B-movies that don't have some silly giant snake in the jungle, or intelligent sharks (hopefully), that are marketed to your average (sub)urban potsmoker.
I, for one, welcome the return of our nerd-targeted B-Movie overlords... speaking of which, I have a plot to pitch to Marvel Entertainment...
On a more serious note, what most of the comics have in common is a clear dichotomy between right (the hero) and wrong (often protrayed as a group). Complex heroes? Unnecessary. Maybe Marvel wants to try to tap into today's youth, who are much more exposed to the boogeyman ideal of the bad guy. Or maybe I'm tired and need to go to bed, not sure.
Re:Good Investment (Score:2, Insightful)
Ant Man - Like Spiderman, but with 6 legs.
Re:Good Investment (Score:5, Insightful)
The novelty of a comic book movie or a video game movie wears off very quickly, and are often greatly critisized by the true fans of the comic/video game. Yet they keep making these movies because they don't need to put a lot of thought into them; their designers already put their hearts into it and spent their life drawing these characters out in the comic books.
I will admit, there is an occasional breakout hit: The Matrix, Sin City were amazing, Spiderman was not as bad as it could have been. But it hardly makes up for the disasters they wage in the process (Daredevil, Elektra, The Incredible Hulk, come on).
It really is evident in the hollywood scheme of things that they have ran out of movie ideas because the corporation is stifling the idealists. People are too busy crunching the numbers on the films instead of spending the money, making it, and learning something from it. Some say Hollywood has matured in this way, but just look at the box offices: Hollywood hasn't matured at all. They're just remaking the same movies over and over, with different names for the characters, different actors, and in different cities.
I think that's all I can say before I get into a rant..
Re:Good Investment (Score:3, Insightful)
Antz - 170million
Spider Man - 400million +
Spider Man II - 250million in 2 weeks
what's not to see, the better question is how many sequels can we expect!
Re:before there was monotheism (Score:2, Insightful)
Oddly, only the monotheism you take a whack at has truly embraced free will and self-determination. If anything about it rankles, it is that it also embraced the concept that it comes at the price of conscience and responsibility. How dare anyone tell anyone that there's good and evil, that some actions are right and others wrong? Only as long as everything is beyond our will and absolving us of responsibility or assuring us of our righteousness over anyone telling us different or both are we alright with it.
Obsession with heroes is if anything a tacit admission of our own surrender. Only someone else can be that good, noble, and selfless. And how wrong that idea is. Heroes aren't fictional people. They're the people who don't abdicate the power and responsibility both that are free will, make the choice to be better, and follow through even if it means giving up everything they've most desired and cherished in their whole lives.
Capes and spandex optional.
Re:Good Investment (Score:3, Insightful)
Antz and Bug's Live didn't try forcing an unknown comic book hero to the screen. Spider-Man is incredibly well-known and actually was made into a couple decent movies. I just don't see Ant-Man as being very marketable.
The PROBLEM with American comics is... (Score:5, Insightful)
On top of that, while Japanese Manga have been giving people 150 - 200 pages of black and white comics on cheap paper for ten bucks, DC and Marvel think they can make their comics into "collectibles" and sell 15 readable pages (if you take out the ads) for over four bucks.
Hmm... Let me see... Top-notch science fiction, 200 pages for ten bucks, with NO ADS, or crappy kiddie "superman" stories at fifteen pages for four bucks... Let me think...
DC and Marvel just don't get it. They think they're competing with each other, but REALLY, they're competing with Japanese and European companies. And somebody's gonna eat their lunch. Like Masamune Shirow, Mamaru Ooshi, Enki Bilal, Giraud, or Frezzato. People who write INTERESTING, ADULT-LEVEL STORIES that don't involve thinly-disguised magical thinking and wish-fulfillment.
The American comics industry currently appeals only to little kids and adults who obsess over the current value of (I don't know) Batman #6. The collectibles market is SMALL. The entertainment market, on the other hand, is HUGE.
Just look at how much bigger Border's manga section is than their superhero section. That'll open your eyes...
I wish DC get money and have more control (Score:3, Insightful)
There's no way to do that without doing it with idealism and integrity, and it would be a hell of a lot less annoying than mike moore.
Re:Good Investment (Score:1, Insightful)
I don't get it - I personally loved the movie (and hated it as a comic, go figure).
And many of the things that it was criticised for, such as the split views/comic book stylings, are things that other movies such as Sin City, and the upcoming rotoscoped Scanner Darkly (yeah, I know:not a comic) are being lauded for.
Hulk was better than others give it credit for. If you want to give some disasters stick with Catwoman or Electra, please
Talk about a poor selection of titles... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:yes, my words were a thinly veiled slap (Score:4, Insightful)
Besides, watch any of these super hero movies for the emotional parts. It's all about generosity, courage, good versus evil, and, most importantly, self sacrifice.
Gee, could that have come from the Judeo-Christian roots of our society?
Well, it's almost approaching Odin's Day. I must be getting to bed...
Re:I wish DC get money and have more control (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Good Investment (Score:3, Insightful)
Is there really any practical difference between a character who is unknown versus one that is completely new?
Re:Good Investment (Score:5, Insightful)
Superhero movies are a pretty safe bet because they do make their money back, eventually. Even the "failures" you mentioned (Daredevil actually did quite well, BTW) make the cash back in foreign markets and on DVD. And the ones that do well do spectacularly well-- as in, people will see it in the theater, buy the DVD and still watch it on cable.
And yes the die-hard fans will complain about liberties being taken... But the die-hards are never happy. The superhero genre relies more on the casual fan, those who used to read the books when they were kids, or those who just like superhero movies... And there are a lot more of these people than the die-hards.
Yet they keep making these movies because they don't need to put a lot of thought into them; their designers already put their hearts into it and spent their life drawing these characters out in the comic books.
Well, maybe in Sin City's case, or Ghost World, or V is For Vendetta... But come on, there's no heart and soul in Marvel's assembly line. A Marvel comic might have a talented artist or writer pass through every now and again, but that's all they're doing-- passing through. Most of the time it's done by hacks for hire. I don't consider The Fantastic Four to be too sacred for a B-movie adaption.
It really is evident in the hollywood scheme of things that they have ran out of movie ideas because the corporation is stifling the idealists.
You think this is something new? There have always been shitty movies. And shitty movie sequels. Superhero movies certainly aren't a new trend, and cheesy sci-fi serials have been made since the thirties. Movies have always been made for the lowest common demoninator, with a few bold talents managing to squeak through (and the same goes for comic books, doubly so.) We tend to forget the crap, so it's easy to say Hollywood is going to hell... But the good-to-crap ratio has been pretty steady for eighty-plus years.
BTW there are a lot of good movies being made right now, you just have to know where to look. With the advent of cheap DV editing suites, for example, documentaries have never been better.
Re:Good Investment (Score:5, Insightful)
one thing that really makes the hulk a great adaptation of a comic book though is that the writers and director were smart enough to cut rick jones. if there was *ever!* a comic book character that needed to burn in hell, it was rick jones. who managed to be the dippy sidekick to not only the hulk, but captain america and captain marvel too (and the whole bloody avengers team!) oy what a waste of ink!
I am not a great fan of the Hulk comic book, I was aways in the x-men corner, and while I think the x-men moves are well made and a lot of fun, (more joss whedon dialogue please) and the spider-man movies are very good, the hulk is, I think, a much better piece of art. (of course I prefer batman begins to any of the other batman movies to date too, despite the plot holes.)
the things that always made the great comics characters, was the real depth of character, and what really made the comics books great, was creators who really believed in and felt for those characters.
see what kind of rant 3 glasses of wine can start? kids, don't drink and post!
more (hic) wine!
Re:On lesser-known heroes (Score:3, Insightful)
How complex can you get in an hour forty-five, and still leave time for the action scenes the mass market demands? No good attempt goes unpunished by the slashdot intelligencia anyway. Look at Constantine. Keanu Reeves aside (although I thought he did a decent job), here you've got a comic book hero with a very interesting problem. He's doomed to go to hell for his own suicide, but he's been battling demons on earth, fighting for heaven in the spiritual cold war. No matter, though, because what has he done truly for others in the name of good, and what for himself, trying to "buy" his way into heaven? That's a complex issue. What that we do that is "good" is really selfless, and what are we doing for the rewards that come with goodness? Good plot, interesting characters (Gabriel too), good special effects, decent acting even from Keanu, and the nerds still bash it. Can't win...everybody's gotta be too cool for school.
Re:I wish DC get money and have more control (Score:2, Insightful)
So would I, but as long as Hollywood is controlled by liberals it's not going to happen.
Re:Greh (Score:3, Insightful)
How do you figure you have enough information to make a judgement one way or the other on how these movies will be. If you know who these characters are then all you know is a nugget of the premise. You don't know when in the characters story the movie will take place. You don't know the structure, the pacing or even the director. There are so many things that can make or break a movie that just knowing the pitch isn't anything more than statistical noise.
There have been a lot of terrible comic book movies; there have been a lot of great comic book movies. Why would Punisher fail when Batman succeeds? Maybe because Burton is a better director than Hensleigh. I'm sure a good film maker could make a great film that has a basic premise of Punisher. And there have been several poor films (by poor film makers) based on the premise of Batman.
Re:I wish DC get money and have more control (Score:3, Insightful)
Capitalism = Individuals acting in their own self-interest serve the needs of the community at large in the most effecient manner, and the greatest contributors to society reap the greatest rewards.
Socialism = Corrupt individuals use the police power of the state to take goods from the hard-working to bribe those who keep them in power
You're not wrong...the truth lies in-between the extremes you and I have each presented. However, my point was that movies condemning capitalism and far out-number those extolling it.
Re:Good Investment (Score:2, Insightful)
They may both be about finding love via chance, and may have the same actors, but the two movies are so far apart in regards to the actual content that it would be foolish to say that they are basically the same movie with different sets.
It's like saying Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure was the same movie as Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. The first was a frolic, but the second one had tackled some serious philosophical ideas successfully.
See You've Got Mail. It's definitely worth seeing. Skip Sleepless in Seattle. It's pretty bad.
Re:Good Investment (Score:3, Insightful)
The die-hard fans who are complaining have already seen the movie and given their 10 bucks. I'm not dissing the casual market, but I'm guessing all of the Daredevil fans out there that considered the movie "sacrelige" did so after boosting the opening weekend gross quite nicely.
But come on, there's no heart and soul in Marvel's assembly line. A Marvel comic might have a talented artist or writer pass through every now and again, but that's all they're doing-- passing through.
The listed titles are: Captain America, The Avengers, Nick Fury, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Cloak & Dagger, Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, Power Pack and Shang-Chi. There is a lot of entertaining backstory there to pilfer, certainly enough in each one to make a movie (maybe not Hawkeye). None of what is listed is Sin City, but then again a lot of what is listed is on par with Batman or Spider Man. Which is, to say, a great director can never be undervalued. Unless he goes and directs The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D [imdb.com].
The thing I'm worried about with this is that Marvel is flooding their own market. Sure, there is demand for some superhero movies. Sure, great superhero movies will always make money. But the public's tastes are fickle. Make a super hero movie every few years, and you can really spark the public's imagination. Pump out bad superhero movie after bad superhero movie and suddenly everyone is interested in the slasher revival, or really great pulp action movies, or (gasp) well written dialog with deep characters. After 10 movies, won't people want to see something... else?
Re:yes, my words were a thinly veiled slap (Score:3, Insightful)
The ideal of self-sacrifice for a worthy cause predates the Judeo-Christian tradition. So: no.
Re:Good Investment (Score:2, Insightful)
Your conclusion is based on an arbitrary assumption. I doubt that they would divide the money evenly. It is more likely that the titles which have more earning potential will receive more for production, advertising, etc.
Also, given Ant Man's ability (shrinking, IIRC), they shouldn't need the same special effects budget as some of the more special effects.