Monthly Archives: January 2009
Box Office Weekend Top 10
Bos Office Estimates for weekend ending Sunday January 18th
1 – Paul Blart: Mall Cop $33,800,000 $33,800,000
2 1 Gran Torino $22,235,000 $73,232,000
3 – My Bloody Valentine 3D $21,900,000 $21,900,000
5 – Hotel for Dogs $17,707,000 $17,707,000
6 2 Bride Wars $11,750,000 $37,577,000
7 3 The Unborn $9,849,000 $33,088,000
8 35 Defiance $9,206,000 $9,547,000
9 4 Marley & Me $6,325,000 $132,734,000
10 11 Slumdog Millionaire $5,900,000 $42,737,000
Andy B’s Take – Why The Wrestler Is About More Than Just Wrestling
I remember the first time I ever watched a wrestling match. It was October 1985. I was the new kid in class at Prince Phillip Public School in Hamilton, Ontario. I was one of 3 or 4 Jewish kids in my grade 4 class, and one of maybe 15 or 20 total in the entire school. No surprise really that us Jews stuck together, which is why just weeks after being the new kid, I’d already made some friends. I’d even been invited to a birthday party. The kid’s name was Zev. He was turning 9. For his birthday his parents rented us Wrestlemania on VHS to watch. The main event was Hulk Hogan and Mr. T taking on “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Mr Wonderful” Paul Orndorff. We all watched the videotape for 2 hours straight, and when it was over we watched it again.
I was hooked, and in some way, shape, or form I’ve been hooked ever since.
For 24 years I’ve watched wrestlers come and go. Huge names in the business, names that you know, even if you were never a fan. I’ve shaken hand with heroes like Hulk Hogan. Roddy Piper. Steve Austin. The Rock.
I’ve stood next to wrestling’s real life villain, Chris Benoit. What was once one of my most cherished photos, a smiling me standing next to Benoit, his arm around my shoulders, his recently won World Championship belt snug around my waist, is at the bottom of a box, never to return.
Wrestling has been full of triumphs and tragedies, and they’ve never been captured in cinema with more poignancy than with Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler. But the story of Randy The Ram (Mickey Rourke), a former superstar now relegated to plying his trade in half empty high school gymnasiums, is far more than just a wrestling story.
Lots of critics have talked about the parallels between the character Mickey Rourke plays in the film and the real life trials and tribulations of the actor himself. Those parallels are not totally accurate. To be sure, for almost twenty years there’s been nothing bankable about Mickey Rourke. Though he was heralded for many of his performances throughout the 1980’s (1987’s Angel Heart is a personal favourite), he hasn’t had a marquee name in years. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t working. Rourke was paying the bills with small cameos in films like Masked And Anonymous, while virtually stealing the show as Marv in Robert Rodriquez’s 2005 hit film, Sin City. But it’s true that with his performance in The Wrestler, Rourke has redeemed his reputation and created a hugely compelling character in the eternally flawed Randy The Ram.
But there’s more to the movie than Rourke’s performance. There’s the story of a man who can’t get off the stage. In this case, the stage is the wrestling ring. With no family, and seemingly no friends, that’s where The Wrestler feels he will only truly belong. With the lights and the sounds of a crowd chanting his name. The Wrestler’s work is everything to him. It’s the only thing. It’s where he thinks he belongs.
Don’t you know someone like that? Maybe you’re someone like that. Who feels their worth is only determined by their job, whatever that job may be. Whatever their stage may be. The Wrestler isn’t just about wrestling. It’s about the celebrity who used to be on television, and is now doing dinner theater. Some do it for the money. Some do it for the love of acting. Some do it because they don’t know what else to do. The Wrestler is about the businessman whose life is spent in the office, missing birthdays and anniversaries and at the end of the day is left alone.
Maybe I see these parallels because I’ve been watching wrestling for 24 years and I’ve seen so many of the superstars of the 1980’s become the Randy the Ram’s of the 2000’s. Maybe it’s because in some ways I’ve known what it’s like to be so driven by work that I’ve forgotten the adage “work to live, not live to work”. Whatever the reason, The Wrestler spoke to me on so many different levels, and not just because of Mickey Rourke’s perfect performance or the fact that I’m a wrestling fan. The Wrestler may very likely speak to you as well, in some way that I haven’t even considered.
If not, take heart in the fact that you’ll also get to see Marisa Tomei’s boobies on the big screen.
Andy B’s Take: Will The Real Nick Fury Please Stand Up?
This morning Samuel L. Jackson was making headlines all around the geek world with the news that he may not be playing Nick Fury in the forthcoming Iron Man 2, let alone the upcoming Avengers film in which one would imagine his character would have a huge role. Jackson told the L.A. Times:
“There was a huge kind of negotiation that broke down. I don’t know. Maybe I won’t be Nick Fury. Maybe somebody else will be Nick Fury or maybe Nick Fury won’t be in it. There seems to be an economic crisis in the Marvel Comics world so [they're saying to me], ‘We’re not making that deal.’”
Marvel reportedly stated that they don’t comment on “active” negotiations, which means that Sam vacating Fury’s eyepatch is far from a sure thing.
My first reaction when hearing this admittedly juicy piece of geek gossip was “no, they can’t! How could they? Samuel Jackson is Nick Fury! Show him the money!” But after a few moments thought, I managed to get over myself pretty quickly. Here’s my way of thinking.
First thing’s first. While Jackson did play Nick Fury in the first Iron Man flick, his brief appearance was limited to an end credit cameo that I guarantee you a huge chunk of the audience missed out on in theatres. In fact, the scene seems to have been considered so unimportant in the grand scheme of things that it wasn’t included in preview screenings of Iron Man that ran at midnight shows on release day. So while the scene was indeed cool for those of us that either knew it was coming or simply know how the character is essayed in the Ultimates world, the character’s appearance clearly wasn’t so core that it needed to be in the film.
Speaking of the Ultimates, that is indeed where the version of Nick Fury that appears in Iron Man comes from. Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch wrote the contemporary retelling of the Avengers mythology with carte blanche, creating a character that was indeed patterned on Sam Jackson. So there’s your extra cool points right there – Jackson appearing on screen as the character that’s recent incarnation was based on him. But guess what – this version of Nick Fury has been around for less than a decade, and is far from the definitive take on the character that originated in the Marvel Universe 50 odd years ago. There’s some fundamental differences between the two versions, which I’m sure you can clearly pick up on.
Both iterations of Nick Fury in the comics are cool, but the regular Marvel Universe Fury has a lot of history behind him and his recent reemergence during the company wide Secret Invasion crossover has once more put him at the forefront of comics. Should Marvel Studios choose not to go with Samuel L. Jackson’s take on Nick Fury, there’s no reason Fury can’t and won’t be included in any Iron Man or any of the other films on the studio’s docket.
Don’t get me wrong, though. I think Marvel should bring back Jackson, and give him a sweet deal in the process. If things go according to the studio’s plan, we’re going to be seeing a lot of crossovers and Jackson the actor would be a great lynchpin for them. As well, Iron Man 2 has already recast one actor, with Don Cheadle taking over for Terrence Howard as James Rhodes (which in my mind is a huge improvement as far as I’m concerned. I look forward to Rhodey having some balls now). Had Fury played a bigger role in the first Iron Man, I’d think another casting change would be problematic. But 30 seconds of screen time does not a character make.
Ultimately, should it happen, I doubt the loss of Samuel L. Jackson will have much impact as geek culture would likely want the rest of the world to believe. The character of Nick Fury is bigger than one actor. He survived David Hasselhoff after all. 
Weekend Box Office Top 10
Box Office Estimates For Weekend Ending Sunday January 11th
1 Gran Torino $29,025,000 $40,065,000 5
2 Bride Wars $21,500,000 $21,500,000 1
3 The Unborn $21,095,000 $21,095,000 1
4 Marley & Me $11,350,000 $123,710,000 3
5 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button $9,450,000 $94,330,000 3
6 Bedtime Stories $8,550,000 $97,180,000 3
7 Valkyrie $6,662,000 $71,509,000 3
8 Yes Man $6,155,000 $89,410,000 4
9 Not Easily Broken $5,600,000 $5,600,000 1
10 Seven Pounds $3,900,000 $66,830,000 4
Shazam Won’t Be Lighting Up The Big Screen – Andy B’s Take
I was surfing around the ‘ net today when I came across what I considered to be a piece of bad news. For over a year now, it may even be closer to two, there’s been talk about bringing the DC character Shazam! to the big screen. Now, even if you’re not a comic book geek, the name Shazam! is probably familiar to you. Perhaps you’ve seen the old movie serials, or remember the early 80’s Saturday morning cartoon, which is where I was first introduced to the exploits of the Marvel family. A brief synopsis – Shazam! is the story of teenager Billy Batson, who was chosen by the wizard Shazam to be a super hero. Whenever Batson says the wizard’s name, he’s struck by lightning and turned into the all-powerful superhero Captain Marvel, who is pretty much a Superman type dude. The main villain in the comic book series is an equally powerful fella by the name of Black Adam, a character who played a huge role in DC’s yearlong endeavour 52, which ran from May 2006-May 2007.
Within the past year, director Peter Berg (Get Smart) was attached to direct a film adaptation of Shazam!, while writer John August had crafted an action comedy that was reportedly well regarded by the folks at Warner Brothers, who would be putting out the film. Well, it turns out that the plug has been pulled on Shazam!. According to John August’s blog, the suits didn’t want a kid friendly film and instead were leaning towards something darker (there’s the influence of The Dark Knight for you, and expect to see more decisions like it in the future). You can check out all the info on the failed adaptation here.
While I’m no DC fan for the most part, I’m disappointed to see that this film won’t be happening. Not because I won’t be seeing Captain Marvel in the flesh (as far as I’m concerned there’s only one Captain Marvel and he’s a Kree warrior). Rather, I’m sad that I won’t get to see one of Hollywood’s hottest actors take a crack at playing Black Adam. You see, when talk started about bringing Shazam! to the movies, people were less interested in who was going to be playing Captain Marvel and more interested in the rumour that Dwayne Johnson was going to step into the cape of Black Adam. The man formerly known as The Rock would have been a perfect fit for the character, and was hugely interested in taking on the role. I think he would have nailed the part.
The Rock’s success in Hollywood is one of the most genuine rise to the top stories I think our generation has seen. Of all the wrestlers who have tried their hands in Hollywood, Johnson has been the only one who has been able to make the transition. He’s smart enough, good looking enough, and talented enough to have been able to throw off what could have been a huge anchor around his neck and turned himself into a bankable leading man. Having interviewed him back in September 2001, I can also tell you he’s also a hell of a nice guy and one who loves the superhero genre.
While he won’t be stepping into Black Adams shoes, I wonder if Dwayne Johnson will consider taking on any other superhero roles. My vote – Black Panther. Wakanda? Samoa? Same amount of syllables, right?
