Let's Go, Brandon!

[abbey1227]

Jun 22, 2022 8:07:13 GMT merh said:

Jun 22, 2022 7:30:46 GMT abbey1227 said:

so you're a headbanger and an anime geek?     I only know the name Dragonball Z.....what it is or who the characters are? No idea

I fell off watching the Japanese animation stuff after Z-Force and Voltron got boring

I just got $300 worth of manga (Japanese comics. Black & white like the old Creepy & Eerie magazines. Paperbook size. $10 a pop). Reading Vol 1 of Deadpool Samurai. (Marvel has dabbled in Manga a couple times)

I know i have mentioned I have 2000 volumes of manga
Similar amount of anime (much from the days of 3-4 episodes per DVD. Remember those days in the 00's?

They are comic books, dude. 
Most anime is based on Manga like Batman & Spiderman here. One Piece is a popular anime based on the Manga by Eichiro Oda. The Manga started in 1997 & is up to 102 volumes. 

There are original anime like Cowboy Bebop.
I prefer the Manga based stuff. The characters are usually better developed.

Akira Toriyama was a design student who entered a contest to make a buck which launched his Manga career. Dragonball started out about a cute little boy with a monkey tail wandering around having adventures. I prefer that to the adventures of Goku as an adult-the DBZ part. The series wasn't going anywhere so his editor suggested making it a fighting Manga like Fist of the North Star or Street Fighter.

Goku being based on the popular Monkey King character from Journey to the West, a 16th century Chinese novel. (Marvel & DC have also based characters on Son Goku)

But there is also a bit of Superman.
Goku comes to earth as a baby.
Prince Vegeta comes with his flunkies Radditz (Goku's brother) & Nappa. (Yeah, like Zod), bent on defeating Goku & destroying the planet. 


Big diff is the Japanese artist controls the story, not the comic company. Not like Marvel & DC owning Spidey & Bats. Manga belongs to the creator.

you remind me of 2 people I know.......... one collects toys and comics. Just sold off a portion of his collection for over $20,000 last year.

The other collects music, mostly LPs. He's got thousands of albums worth likely over 6 figures. He loves telling me about all the bands, albums, how many copies he has of each and what they're selling for now. You can tell he's got a valuable collection........but it's likely he'll never cash out himself.

[merh]

Jun 22, 2022 8:14:45 GMT abbey1227 said:

Jun 22, 2022 8:07:13 GMT merh said:

.

you remind me of 2 people I know.......... one collects toys and comics. Just sold off a portion of his collection for over $20,000 last year.

The other collects music, mostly LPs. He's got thousands of albums worth likely over 6 figures. He loves telling me about all the bands, albums, how many copies he has of each and what they're selling for now. You can tell he's got a valuable collection........but it's likely he'll never cash out himself.

Don't think my stuff is worth anything.
I was told to buy what I like,  not for collectability.

Same for my heavy metal cds

[abbey1227]

Jun 22, 2022 17:20:06 GMT merh said:

Jun 22, 2022 8:14:45 GMT abbey1227 said:

you remind me of 2 people I know.......... one collects toys and comics. Just sold off a portion of his collection for over $20,000 last year.

The other collects music, mostly LPs. He's got thousands of albums worth likely over 6 figures. He loves telling me about all the bands, albums, how many copies he has of each and what they're selling for now. You can tell he's got a valuable collection........but it's likely he'll never cash out himself.

Don't think my stuff is worth anything.
I was told to buy what I like,  not for collectability.

Same for my heavy metal cds

Yeah, the Cds pretty much went the way of the Dvds........you're lucky to get rummage sale prices right now.

But you might be shocked at the value of your other collection. I'm guessing you keep them in pristine condition.

[merh]

[merh]

A Japanese ice cream company, together with its president, chairman and staff, made a public apology video, which ran as a commercial aired on national TV, for needing to raise the price of their ice cream for the first time in 25 years by 9 cents

[abbey1227]

Jul 31, 2022 3:31:40 GMT merh said:

A Japanese ice cream company, together with its president, chairman and staff, made a public apology video, which ran as a commercial aired on national TV, for needing to raise the price of their ice cream for the first time in 25 years by 9 cents

Those people still hold 'honor' up to a high degree.

Luckily we Westerners have no such qualms

[merh]

The death of “Batgirl” on Tuesday sent immediate shockwaves through Hollywood. The film — with a $75 million budget that grew to $90 million due to COVID-related overages — had finished shooting months ago and was in test screenings as directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Bad Boys for Life,” “Ms. Marvel”) worked through the post-production process. Star Leslie Grace (“In the Heights”) had given multiple interviews expressing her enthusiasm for landing the title role and working with co-stars Michael Keaton (as Batman), J.K. Simmons (as her character’s father, Commissioner Gordon) and Brendan Fraser (as the villain, Firefly).

In other words, the movie was nearly finished, and already building awareness among fans. Why would Warner Bros. Discovery throw all that away?

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the most likely reason: taxes.

Several sources note that “Batgirl” was made under a different regime at Warner Bros., headed by Jason Kilar and Ann Sarnoff, that was singularly focused on building its streaming service, HBO Max. That effort included Kilar’s infamous decision to release the studio’s entire 2021 theatrical slate simultaneously on the streamer, which helped build the subscriber base but also jeopardized the studio’s reputation with top-tier talent (though many agents and stars privately came to appreciate the move when the company paid generous bonuses as a make-nice).

Even before David Zaslav took the reins of the newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery as CEO this spring, the exec went on a well-publicized listening tour designed to repair the company’s relationship with the creative community. As part of that effort, Zaslav has made no secret of reversing Kilar’s strategy and committing to releasing first-run feature films in theaters before putting them on HBO Max.

“Batgirl” found itself on the bad end of that decision, apparently neither big enough to feel worthy of a major theatrical release nor small enough to make economic sense in an increasingly cutthroat streaming landscape. Spending the money to expand the scope of “Batgirl” for theaters — plus the $30 million to $50 million needed to market it domestically and the tens of millions more needed for a global rollout — could have nearly doubled spending on the film, and insiders say that was a non-starter at a company newly focused on belt-tightening and the bottom line. (Spokespeople for Warner Bros. and Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment for this story.)

So kill the movies to save on taxes?

[abbey1227]

Aug 3, 2022 19:33:23 GMT merh said:

The death of “Batgirl” on Tuesday sent immediate shockwaves through Hollywood. The film — with a $75 million budget that grew to $90 million due to COVID-related overages — had finished shooting months ago and was in test screenings as directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Bad Boys for Life,” “Ms. Marvel”) worked through the post-production process. Star Leslie Grace (“In the Heights”) had given multiple interviews expressing her enthusiasm for landing the title role and working with co-stars Michael Keaton (as Batman), J.K. Simmons (as her character’s father, Commissioner Gordon) and Brendan Fraser (as the villain, Firefly).

In other words, the movie was nearly finished, and already building awareness among fans. Why would Warner Bros. Discovery throw all that away?

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the most likely reason: taxes.

Several sources note that “Batgirl” was made under a different regime at Warner Bros., headed by Jason Kilar and Ann Sarnoff, that was singularly focused on building its streaming service, HBO Max. That effort included Kilar’s infamous decision to release the studio’s entire 2021 theatrical slate simultaneously on the streamer, which helped build the subscriber base but also jeopardized the studio’s reputation with top-tier talent (though many agents and stars privately came to appreciate the move when the company paid generous bonuses as a make-nice).

Even before David Zaslav took the reins of the newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery as CEO this spring, the exec went on a well-publicized listening tour designed to repair the company’s relationship with the creative community. As part of that effort, Zaslav has made no secret of reversing Kilar’s strategy and committing to releasing first-run feature films in theaters before putting them on HBO Max.

“Batgirl” found itself on the bad end of that decision, apparently neither big enough to feel worthy of a major theatrical release nor small enough to make economic sense in an increasingly cutthroat streaming landscape. Spending the money to expand the scope of “Batgirl” for theaters — plus the $30 million to $50 million needed to market it domestically and the tens of millions more needed for a global rollout — could have nearly doubled spending on the film, and insiders say that was a non-starter at a company newly focused on belt-tightening and the bottom line. (Spokespeople for Warner Bros. and Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment for this story.)

So kill the movies to save on taxes?

I heard they screened it for audiences........and people mostly thought it sucked.

So between tax write offs and possibly Netflix..........they'll likely find some money for it somehow. 

Maybe they should lower their expectations next time? No matter how hard they try, nobody is watching the WNBA either.

[merh]

Aug 4, 2022 2:14:16 GMT abbey1227 said:

Aug 3, 2022 19:33:23 GMT merh said:

So kill the movies to save on taxes?

I heard they screened it for audiences........and people mostly thought it sucked.

So between tax write offs and possibly Netflix..........they'll likely find some money for it somehow. 

Maybe they should lower their expectations next time? No matter how hard they try, nobody is watching the WNBA either.

No.
They can't put it on a streaming service & still claim the write-off. 

Its a bloodbath apparently.
Discovery does reality shows so they are apparently killing all the scripted shows. Several projects completed have been shelved. 

Remember all the shows the various streaming services pitched?
Tons of them?
And now streaming is struggling. Too many + channels asking for $5/month.

So the Batgirl movie. The Scoob sequel. A green lit supergirl movie killed.

[abbey1227]

Aug 4, 2022 5:46:51 GMT merh said:

No.
They can't put it on a streaming service & still claim the write-off. 

Its a bloodbath apparently.
Discovery does reality shows so they are apparently killing all the scripted shows. Several projects completed have been shelved. 

Remember all the shows the various streaming services pitched?
Tons of them?
And now streaming is struggling. Too many + channels asking for $5/month.

So the Batgirl movie. The Scoob sequel. A green lit supergirl movie killed.

That's probably playing a big part, too. Netflix lost accounts for the first time in years, apparently.

I was wondering how the heck they made Red Notice with the 3 big stars they had without having theaters to get back that investment? But sorta like sports leagues like the NFL, MLB and others technically don't even need butts in seats anymore. The TV deals are so lucrative

[merh]

Aug 4, 2022 12:18:15 GMT abbey1227 said:

Aug 4, 2022 5:46:51 GMT merh said:

No.
They can't put it on a streaming service & still claim the write-off. 

Its a bloodbath apparently.
Discovery does reality shows so they are apparently killing all the scripted shows. Several projects completed have been shelved. 

Remember all the shows the various streaming services pitched?
Tons of them?
And now streaming is struggling. Too many + channels asking for $5/month.

So the Batgirl movie. The Scoob sequel. A green lit supergirl movie killed.

That's probably playing a big part, too. Netflix lost accounts for the first time in years, apparently.

I was wondering how the heck they made Red Notice with the 3 big stars they had without having theaters to get back that investment? But sorta like sports leagues like the NFL, MLB and others technically don't even need butts in seats anymore. The TV deals are so lucrative

More everyone had visions of money trees & launched all those + channels only to discover those trees didn't take root.  

Apple TV & all the others saw themselves as the new version of the Big 3 networks of decades past (before cable existed)

Didn't happen.

[merh]

New boss at WB Discovery

On Tuesday, Variety reported that the main driver for the decision was the shift in company strategy away from creating feature films exclusive to HBO Max, as was the case with “Batgirl” and “Scoob!: Holiday Haunt,” following the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery.

“This idea of expensive films going direct to streaming — we can’t find an economic case for it, we can’t find an economic value to it, so we’re making a strategic shift,” Zaslav said during the Q&A.

He also addressed this shift during his opening remarks on the Q2 earnings call.

“We will fully embrace theatrical as we believe that creates interest and demand, provides a great marketing tailwind, and generates word-of-mouth buzz as films transition to streaming and beyond,” Zaslav said. “We have a different view on the wisdom of releasing direct streaming films, and we have taken some aggressive steps to course correct the previous strategy.”

During the presentation, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels cited the strategy driven by previous leadership at WarnerMedia — namely, Jason Kilar and Ann Sarnoff — to bankroll “select direct-to-HBO Max films” as lacking “sufficient support” to sustain. He cited the “Wonder Twins” movie (which was in pre-production), and the nearly completed “Batgirl” and “Scoob!: Holiday Haunt” as “examples of streaming films that do not fit this new strategic approach.”

Wiedenfels said canceling those projects was a “difficult decision,” but the company is “committed to being disciplined about a framework that guides our comfortable investment for maximum return.”

To defray the losses from canceling the films, the company is said to be taking a tax write-down on both movies, citing a shift in strategy in the wake of the merger, but that strategy was not addressed during the earnings call

[abbey1227]

Aug 5, 2022 3:27:49 GMT merh said:

More everyone had visions of money trees & launched all those + channels only to discover those trees didn't take root.  

Apple TV & all the others saw themselves as the new version of the Big 3 networks of decades past (before cable existed)

Didn't happen.

THAT...........and there's kind of a finite amount of audience and $Dollars to be had.

Even HBO, Showtime and others have fallen as there's just plain more choices now. Add in the internet, Candy Crush, video games, etc etc

I swear, until a few years ago........about the only thing I tuned into regular TV for was the NFL. Now they don't even get that from me.

[merh]

Aug 5, 2022 13:41:24 GMT abbey1227 said:

Aug 5, 2022 3:27:49 GMT merh said:

More everyone had visions of money trees & launched all those + channels only to discover those trees didn't take root.  

Apple TV & all the others saw themselves as the new version of the Big 3 networks of decades past (before cable existed)

Didn't happen.

THAT...........and there's kind of a finite amount of audience and $Dollars to be had.

Even HBO, Showtime and others have fallen as there's just plain more choices now. Add in the internet, Candy Crush, video games, etc etc

I swear, until a few years ago........about the only thing I tuned into regular TV for was the NFL. Now they don't even get that from me.

Did you ever hear of the Fantastic Four film that was made just to keep the license?

The Fantastic Four is an unreleased 1994 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superheroes of the same title. It features their origin, and their first battle with Doctor Doom. Executive-produced by low-budget specialists Roger Corman and Bernd Eichinger, it was made in order for Eichinger to keep the Fantastic Four film rights. It was not released officially, although pirated copies have circulated since May 31, 1994.

[abbey1227]

Aug 5, 2022 14:05:40 GMT merh said:

Aug 5, 2022 13:41:24 GMT abbey1227 said:

THAT...........and there's kind of a finite amount of audience and $Dollars to be had.

Even HBO, Showtime and others have fallen as there's just plain more choices now. Add in the internet, Candy Crush, video games, etc etc

I swear, until a few years ago........about the only thing I tuned into regular TV for was the NFL. Now they don't even get that from me.

Did you ever hear of the Fantastic Four film that was made just to keep the license?

The Fantastic Four is an unreleased 1994 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superheroes of the same title. It features their origin, and their first battle with Doctor Doom. Executive-produced by low-budget specialists Roger Corman and Bernd Eichinger, it was made in order for Eichinger to keep the Fantastic Four film rights. It was not released officially, although pirated copies have circulated since May 31, 1994.

No, but it looks about as cheezy as the TV series Spiderman from the late 70s.

Disney has been accused of doing similar things to keep extending their ownership/copyrights.

Looking back, it's amazing that the Hulk TV show was that successful.........and Capt America just plain sucked......with that plastic shield? 

[merh]

Aug 5, 2022 14:14:55 GMT abbey1227 said:

Aug 5, 2022 14:05:40 GMT merh said:

Did you ever hear of the Fantastic Four film that was made just to keep the license?

No, but it looks about as cheezy as the TV series Spiderman from the late 70s.

Disney has been accused of doing similar things to keep extending their ownership/copyrights.

Looking back, it's amazing that the Hulk TV show was that successful.........and Capt America just plain sucked......with that plastic shield? 

That old Spiderman series cemented my theory about Marvel.
Superman flying, Batman's toys
Hollywood faked that for decades.
Marvel's heroes didn't work until special effects caught up with their superhero powers.  That wall crawling in that series was seriously pathetic.

You seen the memes?












Not to mention the shitshow that is Ezra Miller

Almighty_Push91•21 hr. ago
To think, Marvel literally didn't have the rights to its most popular heroes (X-Men, Hulk, Spider-Man) and still made the biggest franchise on the planet. While DC always had all of their characters AND the two most popular heroes in existence and floundered so hard.

Nihilblistic•21 hr. ago
That's kind of the problem. DC gave itself a shallow bench of all-stars and kept expecting them to be smash hits the moment they hit the field. Not only didn't they innovate on them, the fear was to "mess with their formula", ending up largely "meh".

Both of these choices are strange. For one, because DC over the last 30 years alone amassed a huge swath of IP, and because they're biggest hit, the Batman franchise, was based on ideas on concepts created in the 80's and 90's by artists that essentially reinvented the entire character from scratch. I mean, Harley Quinn didn't even start off as a comic character, but she's strangely enough one of their more iconic brands.

They thought they had all the iconic heroes so they could just clean the floor up with them.
Problem is they don't know what to do with most of them. Particularly Supes. 
They thought they could rest on the laurels of their past.


Discovery is doing this in the name of copying Marvel's head honcho, but they lack love of the genre.

[abbey1227]

Aug 5, 2022 17:34:30 GMT merh said:

That old Spiderman series cemented my theory about Marvel.
Superman flying, Batman's toys
Hollywood faked that for decades.
Marvel's heroes didn't work until special effects caught up with their superhero powers.  That wall crawling in that series was seriously pathetic.

You seen the memes?

Not to mention the shitshow that is Ezra Miller

They thought they had all the iconic heroes so they could just clean the floor up with them.
Problem is they don't know what to do with most of them. Particularly Supes. 
They thought they could rest on the laurels of their past.

Discovery is doing this in the name of copying Marvel's head honcho, but they lack love of the genre.

Exactly! And you can't pick a middle aged guy to play teenager Peter Parker to begin with.  That dude (or whoever was in the mask) wasn't even gymnast athletic.

Ezra Miller..........turns out he really wasn't acting in We Need to Talk About Kevin. 

I've always preferred Marvel. Cuz they were more in tune with characters, imo.......and a bit more inclusive and diverse, believe it or not.

[merh]

Aug 5, 2022 23:00:04 GMT abbey1227 said:

Aug 5, 2022 17:34:30 GMT merh said:

That old Spiderman series cemented my theory about Marvel.
Superman flying, Batman's toys
Hollywood faked that for decades.
Marvel's heroes didn't work until special effects caught up with their superhero powers.  That wall crawling in that series was seriously pathetic.

You seen the memes?

Not to mention the shitshow that is Ezra Miller

They thought they had all the iconic heroes so they could just clean the floor up with them.
Problem is they don't know what to do with most of them. Particularly Supes. 
They thought they could rest on the laurels of their past.

Discovery is doing this in the name of copying Marvel's head honcho, but they lack love of the genre.

Exactly! And you can't pick a middle aged guy to play teenager Peter Parker to begin with.  That dude (or whoever was in the mask) wasn't even gymnast athletic.

Ezra Miller..........turns out he really wasn't acting in We Need to Talk About Kevin. 

I've always preferred Marvel. Cuz they were more in tune with characters, imo.......and a bit more inclusive and diverse, believe it or not.

Nicholas Hammond.
Look what they had playing teens on Happy Days.


Miller is mentally ill. 


DC just doesn't get it.

Marvel worked at The Avengers. DC wanted the Avengers cash with no lead in

[abbey1227]

Aug 6, 2022 0:53:31 GMT merh said:

Nicholas Hammond.
Look what they had playing teens on Happy Days.

Miller is mentally ill. 

DC just doesn't get it.

Marvel worked at The Avengers. DC wanted the Avengers cash with no lead in

Ronnie Howard was somewhat believable 

And? He's got fame and wealth.........which is a form of power. And what do people with power often do?

Yep, I wasn't even following it that closely.........but when Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Iron Man came out.......I was like "O! They're gonna do the Avengers!" 

I am not a big fan of the less campy version of Batman for some reason

[merh]

Aug 6, 2022 1:03:45 GMT abbey1227 said:

Aug 6, 2022 0:53:31 GMT merh said:

Nicholas Hammond.
Look what they had playing teens on Happy Days.

Miller is mentally ill. 

DC just doesn't get it.

Marvel worked at The Avengers. DC wanted the Avengers cash with no lead in

Ronnie Howard was somewhat believable 

And? He's got fame and wealth.........which is a form of power. And what do people with power often do?

Yep, I wasn't even following it that closely.........but when Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Iron Man came out.......I was like "O! They're gonna do the Avengers!" 

I am not a big fan of the less campy version of Batman for some reason

The fan boys want to pretend they are cool like Batman 

I still prefer the Burton version

Miller seems to have cult leader delusions