This week on the Major Spoilers Podcast, How I Met Your Mother, Retcons, Star Wars vs. Star Trek, Sci-Fi vs. Fantasy, Poop Jokes, and some comic book talk. Just another regular episode from Major Spoilers.
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NEWS
Disney’s Frozen becomes highest grossing animated film ever
LINK
ECCC: Teen Titans: Earth One
LINK
REVIEWS
STEPHEN
Starlight #2
Story By: Mark Millar
Art By: Goran Parlov
Duke McQueen once saved an alien world from destruction—but it happened in a place nobody believes in, during a time nobody remembers. Surrounded by memories of his late wife and his happier past, Duke’s days as a hero are long gone…or so he thinks! Now, a young visitor from the world Duke once saved is coming to him with a desperate plea for help. It’s one last chance at adventure for Duke, and another chapter to unfold in the ever-expanding Millarworld Universe!
MATTHEW
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #19
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Art by PERE PEREZ
Bloodshot and H.A.R.D. Corps have captured Obadiah Archer and jailed him within their secret compound – but have they trapped Archer or has Archer trapped them? Attacked from within, and with a fighting-mad Armstrong ready to break down the doors, Project Rising Spirit is learning the hard way that breaking up Valiant’s premier team of conspiracy busters is tough to do!
RODRIGO
RED SONJA AND CUB (ONE-SHOT)
Jim Zub (w)
Jonathan Lau (a)
Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz (c)
FC • 40 pages • $4.99 • Teen+
Blood will rain down upon the snowy ground as the She-Devil With A Sword battles her way across the Asiatic lands of Khitai. In a land of complex family loyalties and death before dishonor, will sharpened steel and the muscle to wield it be enough? Find out in this manga style inspired tale by Jim Zub (SAMURAI JACK).
ZACH
Mercenary Kings
Mercenary Kings is a side-scrolling shoot ’em up game developed and published by Tribute Games. The game, created by the team behind Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, was funded by Kickstarter and was released for Windows on March 25, 2014 and will be released for PlayStation 4 on April 1, 2014. An early-access version of the game was released on Steam on July 23, 2013.
Major Spoilers Poll of the Week
Major Spoilers Poll of the Week:
This week, Captain America: The Winter Soldier opens in theaters across the United States and more than a few staff members are geared up for an opening night premiere. That means someone (Young Zach) is going to have to queue up extra early to ensure everyone gets a ticket, popcorn, candy, extra large soda, and a place to sit. It really is a lot of work just to see one movie on opening night. It makes one wonder if seeing a movie on opening night is really that important.
Will you see Captain America: The Winter Soldier on opening night?
[poll id="330”]
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10 Comments
I am tottaly in for teen titan earth one.
I really enyoued the earth one stuf. (exept for the lame ending to Batman)
Do we know anything about the Grant Morrison Wonder Woman earth one?
I’m pretty disappointed that there are no options for seeing Winter Soldier without it being in 3D. Guess I’m waiting for the Blu-Ray release.
Looking at some inflation adjusted numbers, Frozen in 13th for animated films (Domestic Box Office) all time. It is #10 unadjusted for inflation for films released since 1996. Adjusted for inflation, I’d guess The Lion King probably still tops it. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the ’96 to present period. I was unable to find inflation adjusted, international grosses all time.
My frustration with these numbers is that they are massaged and manipulated basically allowing a studio to put out a press release. It’s why I always look at inflation adjusted numbers, because that is a more accurate reflection of actual ticket sales, and why Gone with the Wind’s inflation adjusted number reflect something like 100 MILLION more tickets sold than Avatar…
_______ Moving on…
Star Wars is almost entirely fantasy with sci-fi trappings. You can strip out all the tech. Give Luke a steel sword and the tale doesn’t really change that much. Flash Gordon was also far more fantasy than sci-fi. The science is never really explored, nor is the technology or it’s impact on the characters. It’s more character study, good vs. evil stuff taken from myth and religion.
Star Trek looks a lot more at practical technology’s impact on the characters, Data’s exploration of ‘what is humanity?’ is a classic sci-fi exploration, for example. The nature of artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, nuclear proliferation, ideas of post human characters, etc.were all explored on Star Trek. Star Trek also has plenty of fantasy elements to be sure. TV and movies don’t really do hard sci fi.
I’d say The Prisoner is a great example of sci-fi TV. What is the nature of identity, how does one maintain individuality when you are literally reduced to a number? How does pervasive surveillance affect the culture. Possibly the best sci-fi show of all time.
Regarding inflation adjustment, I believe Disney is pointing to unadjusted worldwide box office gross, and based on that, the press release is more than likely correct. Also in your figures with Snow White and other Disney flicks, they have been re-released multiple times in theaters, and the current box office gross numbers (adjusted or not) also include re-release numbers… In two weeks in the Star Wars in American Culture course I co-teach I’m doing a lecture on Hollywood Accounting and how films like Return of the Jedi have never made a profit.
That’s kind of why I always look at these numbers with the stink-eye. It is hard to find straight forward numbers and obviously profitable films can be made ‘unprofitable’ for various reasons.
I looked for inflation adjusted international grosses, but couldn’t find any, perhaps because international numbers aren’t available for older films. These numbers also don’t account for merchandising, home video, TV licensing, etc.
I figure inflation adjusted grosses based on avg ticket prices at least indicate the number of people who bought tickets for the thing on initial or subsequent theatrical releases. That’s why GWtW is more impressive than Titanic or Avatar. The numbers I looked at suggested a NINE figure difference in tickets sold for GWtW over Avatar. I doubt Avatar would add much to its box office with a theatrical re-release…not many films can pull that off. Disney Animated films and the Star Wars movies, and that’s about it.
It is all certainly reflective of cultural differences too. We live in a time when we see the bulk of our movies AFTER theatrical release, whereas then, the cinema was the ONLY way to see Gone With the Wind. Its kind of a case of comparing sexy apples and angry oranges…
Bottom line to me is that the studios love to pump and promote those numbers as press release fodder and to suggest that because it made the most money (unadjusted) it is the most popular or highest quality movie as well, which is not necessarily the case.
I’m in the Space Opera boat. A science fiction story is based on theory and how things COULD work in the future. Stars Wars pays no attention to that kind of thing. Everything in Star Wars pretty much works with magic. Whether it’s the Force or bouncing blaster bolts or lightsabers it’s pretty much just magic. There is a GURPS roleplaying supplement that suggests that Star Wars is actually a 4 color Martial Arts movie. It has many of the tropes of a film like that with the old master, magical abilities that wouldn’t work for real, and cool martial conflicts.
One could also argue that the latest Star Trek movies are no longer Science Fiction because JJ Abrams pretty much threw out any logic when it got in the way of propelling the plot to the next scene. Plus his first Star Trek movie was a love letter to Lucas to show that he could do a Star Wars movie.
BTW how fun you guys talkes about Joe Madureira and if his still working, and this weeks “staff picks” has him doing Inhumans :)
Out of curiosity, what Dresden Files comic are you guys going to read? Storm Front? Welcome to the Jungle? Ghoul Goblin?
The first one, if Dynamite sends it to us.
@Rodrigo–Bro, you gotta believe that crazy Evolution silliness in the first place but I agree with the allegory you put together. To be honest the Bible’s Creation story makes more sense and is less convoluted than that silly evolution fiction. I mean really, you can come from Dinosaurs with feathers and apes or whatever. I am created in the likeness of God. Believe what you want to believe though. Free country. But you did make sense with Star Wars being SciFi Fantasy.