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Wonder Woman 2017

28 Oct 2014 04:37 #38707 by shadar
Wonder Woman 2017 was created by shadar
I thought I'd start a new thread specifically to collect discussion about the just announced Wonder Woman movie 2017.

First item is an article (and the 200 comments, some of them good) from IO9 which states they want a female director:

io9.com/wb-dc-actually-wants-a-female-di...-wonder-w-1650369884

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28 Oct 2014 05:59 - 28 Oct 2014 06:01 #38709 by castor
Replied by castor on topic Wonder Woman 2017
Not a bad idea.

The three names that pop to mind are

Karyn Kusama- Shes a good director for creating female protaginists. Even if Aeon Flux isn't as good as the series in her other movies , she has a good hands and knows to make not quite cookie cutter leads.

Lexi Alexander -is the director i would want-actually yeah i would say in general thats the director i would want regardless of genre. She is the past master of making good action sequences. If you want a Wonder woman who kicks ass you have found your woman- and shes good at a tone-i have hard time describing the tone..but sublime is the best word. And if Gal Gadot turns out...not to actually be a great actress-shes well good at paper overing that, which i think other directors might not.

Kathrine Biggalow-is the obvious choice. I am not sure the right one but the obvius one. She makes serious oscar winning action movies-also point break and Near dark-but i am not sure in any of them shes the one you would want. Almost all of her characters are of a very specific type-and tone which is not what i assoicate with wonder woman. But who knows. And if Warner gives her a money hat she may sign up. Kenneth Branough did.

i might dig Kasi Lemmons, but shes probabbly not going to get it. She is a director i would like to see with a budget though.
Last edit: 28 Oct 2014 06:01 by castor.

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28 Oct 2014 09:50 #38711 by Markiehoe
Replied by Markiehoe on topic Wonder Woman 2017
First there was Stunt Casting.
Now there is Stunt Directing?

Why not just hire the best director available for the job?

There are plenty of female directors that turn out bad movies.

Havoc starring Anne Hathaway was directed by Barbara Kopple and just might be the worst movie depicting women ever made with an A list star.

Twilight was directed by Catherine Hardwicke and she was stuck with an emotionless actress as her star.
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28 Oct 2014 11:29 #38712 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Wonder Woman 2017

Markiehoe wrote: First there was Stunt Casting.
Now there is Stunt Directing?

Why not just hire the best director available for the job?

There are plenty of female directors that turn out bad movies.

Havoc starring Anne Hathaway was directed by Barbara Kopple and just might be the worst movie depicting women ever made with an A list star.

Twilight was directed by Catherine Hardwicke and she was stuck with an emotionless actress as her star.


I believe comic books still have a audience that's skewed toward males, so maybe DC is going to throw everything they have into wooing female viewers.

It might also be significant that the US could have inaugurated its first female president shortly before the movie comes out. Either way, you can bet gender politics will be at an all time high during that time period. Could the script perhaps be written (win or lose on the election) with Madam President and Wonder Woman having some kind of special understanding? If there was ever a time for such a theme in a movie, 2017 will be that time.

I can't be the only person who has considered it. Could DC/Warner be preparing the movie to exploit the heightened sexual politics of that time?

If so, William Marston, WW's creator, would likely have applauded vigorously. He loved both suffragists and centerfolds.

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28 Oct 2014 12:01 #38713 by Markiehoe
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I think WB thinks more about the pocketbook than they do politics.

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28 Oct 2014 12:46 #38714 by castor
Replied by castor on topic Wonder Woman 2017

Markiehoe wrote: I think WB thinks more about the pocketbook than they do politics.


Yes, but WB and everyone do care about these things.

It should be noted- Its easy to knock things like Man of Steel and even Batman movies-but they are movies of vision-not always good vision but its there. They are made by people who want to say more then "buy this movie or toy". Grim nearly humerious yes, but vision of kind of a world. See what they can do-and if they want to give some control and power to someone and let them do there thing...sure. I tend to think Wonder Woman is actually most intresting when the idea of a woman doing stuff is intresting. That her peaks (the 40s and 70) are both decades associated with womans rights i don't think is concidence.

Though to dig my own grave-Catherine Hardwicke is a directot i forgot all about. I kind of like the First Twilight movie. Its a movie of one emotion-and that emotion is teenage lust. You can say Kristen Stewart is a bad actress, but she really captured how much desirious joy she felt for a sparkly vampire. Its also a very pretty movie if the action sequences aren't great. I am going to bet a lot of people whould groan if she gets picked(including people who just read this)- but i think she could do fine with it. Shes good at doing a Cristopher Nolan style movie, in which everyone seems to faintly Chuckling, and that could be Wonder Woman.

Though did i mention that Lexi Alexander is a world Martial arts champion?

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28 Oct 2014 14:57 #38715 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Wonder Woman 2017

Markiehoe wrote: I think WB thinks more about the pocketbook than they do politics.


Agreed, but their focus on their pocketbook says they should take advantage of political events to line their pockets. If the US elects a female president, then there will be a bubble of interest worldwide that they can take advantage of. These bubbles exist until the realities of governance inevitably deflate them, but bubbles always last through summer (when this movie gets released).

So couple that with a film about the ultimate in female empowerment, and toss in a bit of Marston's original character concept where WW has come to help fix the problems in "man's world", and you could draw more worldwide viewers than otherwise. US politics, for better or worse, is of interest to people across the planet. Gender politics will be at an all-time high.

A film made by a female director about the ultimate female that is released in a bubble of interest in a female US president. It's almost certain that the film will be set in the US.

Of course, I'm just hypothesizing here. But few things are beyond the reach of Hollywood's desire to make money.

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28 Oct 2014 15:10 #38716 by jdrock24
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Meh, I really don't care if the director is a man or woman as long as the movie is good and Wonder Woman the character is treated with the respect she deserves. If WB wants to score political points by hiring a woman then I am fine with it.

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28 Oct 2014 19:22 #38720 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Wonder Woman 2017

jdrock24 wrote: Meh, I really don't care if the director is a man or woman as long as the movie is good and Wonder Woman the character is treated with the respect she deserves. If WB wants to score political points by hiring a woman then I am fine with it.


I don't see it as much to "score political points" as it is to exploit politics to line their pockets.

That said, it truly is about the writing, director and actors for me. But I do have an interest in a very successful movie (financially) because then we'll see more of the same.

Bottom line for me... no matter how badly a WW movie sucks, it will still be infinitely better than NO Wonder Woman movie. In baseball parlance, the more times a superheroine movie gets to bat, the better the chance of an eventual home run. You get to bat (solely) by making money.

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28 Oct 2014 19:41 #38721 by Markiehoe
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An African American was elected President six years ago.
I have not seen any significant bump in Superhero movies featuring Black heroes.

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28 Oct 2014 19:57 #38723 by Jabbrwock
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jdrock24 wrote: Meh, I really don't care if the director is a man or woman as long as the movie is good and Wonder Woman the character is treated with the respect she deserves. If WB wants to score political points by hiring a woman then I am fine with it.


I'm fine with having a woman direct the film, as long as she doesn't try to hijack the film to sell a political agenda that is going to alienate comics fans. I'm fine with having a man direct the film as long as he doesn't decide that all a woman is good for in an action film is wearing a skimpy and/or skin tight outfit and looking pretty on the sidelines while men do the real work.

Wonder Woman is *THE* big name superheroine. She needs to be strong, compelling, heroic, and iconic. Whoever can do it, I"m fine with. Whoever can't do it, I want left out of the picture. And that's pretty much all I care about.
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28 Oct 2014 20:01 #38724 by Jabbrwock
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Markiehoe wrote: An African American was elected President six years ago.
I have not seen any significant bump in Superhero movies featuring Black heroes.


Nick Fury didn't used to be black.

Just saying.

That said, on the whole, I agree with you. And I think the decision to give him the race change was made before Obama was elected anyway.

I wonder if DC will go with John Stewart as Green Lantern at any point in their attempt to make a DC cinematic shared universe.

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28 Oct 2014 20:11 #38725 by TwiceOnThursdays
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I think that WB/DC is just trying to make sure it hears all the voices. If you want a movie with diversity, you start that at the top and work through it. It doesn't happen accidentally.

It doesn't mean that you only hire a woman director -- but it should mean that you make an effort to look at some. It's not a magic bullet to get a good movie/story or anything -- but it is a proven record to make sure that you consider all the options, and that increases the likelihood the movie will be good, and maybe a bit fresh and new.

Plus it gets you in the news, and that's free advertising. If they end up hiring a man, they'll be back in the news -- but the man they pick will be good, so mostly people will just grumble and talk about it (and thus, more free advertising). (Now sit an mourn for the never made Joss Whedon Wonder Woman movie.)

And yes, this is ultimately driven by money -- the better the movie, the more money it will make. If they can somehow make sure that the movie appeals to more women, but doesn't turn away men, they can increase their profits. And i think WB/DC would be happy if they lost some men, but used that movie to draw in a higher percentage of women to their other movies. I don't think if the movie has enough action that they'll have a hard time drawing the men in (doubly so if their girlfriends want to see the movie).

Guardians did pretty well on that score if I remember correctly. It's all the gestalt of writing/directing/casting/marketing. You get the balance right, you have a chance to make a lot of money.

I just hope the tone is a bit lighter than Man of Steel.

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28 Oct 2014 20:14 #38726 by TwiceOnThursdays
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Marvel just announced Black Panther.

And Marvel has moved several African American heroes to more prominence over the last few years. Falcon had been mostly forgotten, and now he's in Winter Soldier movie, the marvel animated show, and is the new Captain American.

Luke Cage runs an Avengers team.

Tide turns a bit, and things open up.

And I do wonder if GL will be John Stewart. Most people know more of him from the JLU cartoon.

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28 Oct 2014 21:21 #38728 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Wonder Woman 2017

Markiehoe wrote: An African American was elected President six years ago.
I have not seen any significant bump in Superhero movies featuring Black heroes.


Hancock did pretty good.

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28 Oct 2014 21:35 #38729 by Markiehoe
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Hancock predates President Obama.

I personally liked the early episodes of M.A.N.T.I.S. from 1994
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28 Oct 2014 23:58 #38734 by lfan
Replied by lfan on topic Wonder Woman 2017

Markiehoe wrote: Hancock predates President Obama.

I personally liked the early episodes of M.A.N.T.I.S. from 1994


So YOU were the guy that watched MANTIS! :p
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29 Oct 2014 01:03 #38737 by shadar
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Markiehoe wrote: Hancock predates President Obama.
I personally liked the early episodes of M.A.N.T.I.S. from 1994


Preceded the election, but it was just he and Hilary in the running at that point for the nomination. Primary season was already completed after starting in January. Film came out in July. His potentially getting the nomination had been discussed for well over a year at that point.

That said, I have no idea if Hancock was influenced by the possibility of a black presidential candidate, but the timing overlapped the most avid discussions, so it seemed prescient at the time, even if it wasn't.

That and there weren't good first-level black superheroes in the comics to draw from. Not ones that the non-comic geeks would have heard about anyway.

Hancock was neat as he came out of nowhere. Lots of secrecy right up until the first showings. Still like that movie.

Big difference now is that we've got at least three first-level superheroines destined for movies that precede and follow the election (MOS2 with WW will precede it). Who knows if any will be tied to politics, but if the studios thought it would sell tickets, they'd do it.

And obviously I'm making wild guesses to explain why they feel they HAVE to have a female director. It could just be total coincidence that we have female superheroes hitting TV and big screen at the same time as a female presidential campaign.

But when things come in twos, threes or fours, I begin to wonder about coincidence.

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29 Oct 2014 01:45 #38739 by Markiehoe
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Blade came out in 1998.
The movie that kick started the entire Marvel Universe.

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29 Oct 2014 02:58 #38740 by TwiceOnThursdays
Replied by TwiceOnThursdays on topic Wonder Woman 2017
Blade is a reasonable place to draw that line -- though the never released Fantastic Four movie is older, and helped inform how Marvel proceeded on movies (it was so bad, they knew they had to actually spend money)

X-men wasn't far behind this, and I think had a much farther reach in spreading comic book movies (it stared characters people knew from the comics). The X-men deal probably was in the running before Blade was released too.

Also proves that it doesn't matter if no one besides comic book geeks have heard of a character or not. This was also slam dunked by Guardians of the Galaxy. What matters is if the movie is any good or not, and how well you tell people about it.

It also whisked Blade from obscurity -- and I'm wondering if his recent stint in avengers means Marvel has the movie rights back...or if it was more of them dusting off all their African American heroes (as well as other heroes of color, like White Tiger).
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29 Oct 2014 17:47 - 29 Oct 2014 17:56 #38754 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Wonder Woman 2017
Some thoughts from the general media about superhero movies and saturation. Author did more research in the finances. Hope he's right.

www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/2...ie-bubble-burst.html


Also a bunch of good stuff about Captain Marvel and others in this blog entry from IO9, although you have to read down just a bit to find it:

io9.com/will-the-end-of-the-game-of-thro...in-the-bo-1652277510
Last edit: 29 Oct 2014 17:56 by shadar.

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29 Oct 2014 18:07 #38757 by lfan
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shadar wrote: Some thoughts from the general media about superhero movies and saturation. Author did more research in the finances. Hope he's right.

www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/2...ie-bubble-burst.html


"On average, the 73 or so comic book adaptations made since 2004 have earned about 270 percent of their budgets back at the box office."

If those numbers are accurate, I think studios would kill and maim for those types of odds, especially considering that "superhero" movies are probably skewing that number pretty good on the positive side. IMO, part of the appeal of doing a superhero movie like Batman or Spiderman or even Shazam is you already have a built in fanbase of people familiar with the character, that grew up with them (possibly), and want to see them on the screen. The superhero vehicles also lend themselves to the BIG FX-ladened movies, full of action that the average movie goer want to see.

You cannot then skew the numbers by lumping them in with Whiteout, Losers, Scott Pilgrim, etc. These are only recognizable as "comic books" by the utmost fanboys and comic readers. Heck, half the people I know still don't realize Walking Dead is based on a comic. It makes no sense to me to lump these (mostly failures) into the pool of "superhero movies" and count their numbers.

It comes down predominently to "is it a good movie" in the eyes of movie goers. Heck, it doesn't even have to be good a lot of times, just entertaining and marketed well (see Fast & Furious). Maybe I'm overly optimistic but 4-5 "superhero" movies per year is far from oversaturating the marketplace, IMO.....

ElF

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29 Oct 2014 18:25 #38760 by castor
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lfan wrote:

shadar wrote: Some thoughts from the general media about superhero movies and saturation. Author did more research in the finances. Hope he's right.

www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/2...ie-bubble-burst.html


"On average, the 73 or so comic book adaptations made since 2004 have earned about 270 percent of their budgets back at the box office."

If those numbers are accurate, I think studios would kill and maim for those types of odds, especially considering that "superhero" movies are probably skewing that number pretty good on the positive side. IMO, part of the appeal of doing a superhero movie like Batman or Spiderman or even Shazam is you already have a built in fanbase of people familiar with the character, that grew up with them (possibly), and want to see them on the screen. The superhero vehicles also lend themselves to the BIG FX-ladened movies, full of action that the average movie goer want to see.

You cannot then skew the numbers by lumping them in with Whiteout, Losers, Scott Pilgrim, etc. These are only recognizable as "comic books" by the utmost fanboys and comic readers. Heck, half the people I know still don't realize Walking Dead is based on a comic. It makes no sense to me to lump these (mostly failures) into the pool of "superhero movies" and count their numbers.

It comes down predominently to "is it a good movie" in the eyes of movie goers. Heck, it doesn't even have to be good a lot of times, just entertaining and marketed well (see Fast & Furious). Maybe I'm overly optimistic but 4-5 "superhero" movies per year is far from oversaturating the marketplace, IMO.....

ElF


Even when you add stuff like "The specials" or Defendor-the really cheep superhero movies played 5 theaters in new york, i once caculated the average superhero movies makes 134 million dollars. I think its raised since then.

The challenge though is most movies don't make a dollar from theaterical revenue until they go over 100 million from distribution costs and advertisng. And even then they only make 50 cents on a dollar from spliting with theater owners.

And yet most summer style blockbusters cost between 150 and 500 million these days. Its not Superheros i think is the problem but this business model. its not really sustainable at all, especially considering that DVD is drying up and Netflix is really good at not overpaying to stream movies.

Amazing Spiderman 2 is considered a disapointment despite making 800 million at the box office...cause they spent close to 400 million and 100 million on adds...for a movie thats kind of half baked and disjointed. They could spend a fortune to make a 3d model of time square to have a villains battle that's impressive..but in service of a kind of dull character and an action sequence for the sake of one.

Its not the superhero movie-but well the movies. Suphero in the context is something to slap to make these tentpoles that much stronger. The reason i think we haven't really seen female superhero films before is...well studios can be simultantiously super conservative about this stuff. you want to be sure...but well you can't.

In the meantime your seeing stuff like The purge, or parinormal activity which does amazing business at the box office--that costs like 5 million often less. I haven't made a secret as a writer and filmaker. i have looked into doing superhero movies like this budget wise-which i think you can do.

But in the meantime will see. I don't think its concept of superheros-but well somedays these budgets are going to stop making sence all together.

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30 Oct 2014 04:47 #38766 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Wonder Woman 2017
I believe the "bubble burst" (NOT) article said the studios only make 10% of their earnings from the box office take. The rest comes from licensing and toys and whatever. All that iTunes, Netflix, etc. etc. play, plus major networks, BluRay (and then reselling extended editions). There is no public accounting for that. Its conceivable that movie could look marginal at the box-office but still make a ton of profit

Net, net... If the studios are planning that many films, then they are highly confident of making the highest profits by going that route. Endless research and meetings. This isn't something they all just wake up and decide to do one day. Its hard not to be optimistic at this point.

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30 Oct 2014 04:59 #38767 by TwiceOnThursdays
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One of the articles I read said that Young Justice wasn't canceled due to it's ratings, but due to toy sales.

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