After 7 Years, 11 Months and 25 Days........

I finally got Tickets to Comic Con in San Diego, California. This was on my Bucket List and it looks like it will be getting lined out  in 100 days.  I received my registration email last Wednesday, like I always have for the past 8 years. I only log on twice a year- Once because I forgot my password from the year before ,and the 60 minutes of the Blue Circle of Dream Crush ,(BCoDC) in the waiting room .

 On Saturday, April 8, I woke up at 4:30 am ET.  Then  I started the process of setting up my 5 year old , 1.0 GB RAM Toshiba Satellite laptop to jockey for a position in the BCoDC. Forums I reviewed stated to try on a Desktop with a LAN Connection to ensure your WIFI doesn't  tip. I was going to buy a desktop, but I'm Cheap !!!! I defrag'd my hard drives 530 GBs and dumped my cookies.  It was only 5:10 am ET   


   Cut to 11:09 am ET

      I logged into the SDComiccon.com website. The first Banner as in Yellow saying  " You're really early." Last year I logged in at 11:00 am ET while playing Pathfinder at my friends house and got the BOZAK !!  This is my log of the events this year :

 ----ALL TIMES EASTERN
11:10am-  11:59am   The Room MOD   made jokes about Wookies, Archer, Power Rangers, and the Vision.

you also saw this


12:00 pm   - The Herding started. There must have been 50K  in that room

12:04 pm  - Still spinning.  Friend in Nevada said I could stay with him ---  it's only  5 hrs  away  !!!!

12:06 pm  - Nothing. Glad I played Georgia Lottery earlier .
                    Message  reads  "Badge Inventory being monitored "
12:08 pm  Thoughts of  HBO Show  Silicon Valley go through my head--Great Show




12:09 pm ---Feeling like Charlie Brown. I wonder how many badges have gone ? Hotel Room, Food ?,Travel,Time off Work?... #Bucket List

Pulled out Discover card. Hope it pays . started drinking Stella Artois

12:13 pm  ---BCoDC still spinning not looking good. Only want  weekend or nothing....

12:19 pm --- Banner reads  Preview Night Wednesday Running Low -- Fuck !!
one beer down

12:20 pm --- Fuck Another Beer

12:24 pm Still spinning

12:25 pm Feel like Charlie from the Chocolate Factory . Hate rich kids 







12:27 pm -- Preview Night is Sold Out

12:30 pm --Missing GA Lottery

12:35 pm  -- Not looking great

12:38 pm  --   Starting to get tired. walked away

12:39 pm --  Saturday Badge Inventory Low- fuck

12:40 pm -  Yellow Banner Reads  " If you are using a Tablet or phone, your basically Fucked. " (It didn't read that, but that's what it meant !)

12:41 pm  -  And Lucy has that look in her eyes 




12:43 pm -- Banner reads Saturday Badges are gone   # Bengals in Playoffs under Marvin Lewis 0-7

12: 45 pm --  The BCoDC stops spinning  and I get a page I've never seen before ...

Congrats you have been randomly selected to get tickets .









 12:51 pm - I bought a Thursday, Friday and Sunday Badge   = $160.00.  They don't take Discover  #Shit

12:52 pm - I' m going to Comic Con  ... More to come

Big Hutch

DC is Underperforming Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman Box Office

This past week, some long range projections have Wonder Woman opening around $83 million when it open in June.  That opening would be the lowest of any of the recent DCEU offerings.  When I first saw the headline, it jolted me into remembering there is actually a Wonder Woman movie coming out this year.  Even tho the movie is about 8 weeks from opening, there has been a notable lack of press for Wonder Woman. DC overloaded us with trailers for Justice League- a movie that comes out in November a few weeks ago. And even tho those trailers featured Wonder Woman, they were pumping up a movie that is 6 months away.  Why is that?  I have a few theories


The Movie is No Good

There is a possibility that the movie is just bad.  Warner Brothers and the DC people have had the movie in the can for a few months now.  Maybe its testing bad and they are attempting to lessen the financial blow by not advertising it fully.  I truly hope this is not the case.  Of all the DCEU movies, this is the one I am most looking forward to.  Wonder Woman was the only redeeming quality of Batman V Superman. The movie has a quality director, budget, and a well beloved character starring in her first feature film.  I would hope DC had their best non Zack Snyder people working to make this an excellent feature.

DC has more Faith in White Dudes

Even tho its been proven time and time again, movie executives will swear up and down and do all kinds of gymnastics to convince you that movies with women or people of color wont sell.  Its bullshit.  What wont sell is bullshit movies WITH women and people of color.  We are not going to support shit for the sake of supporting shit.  Movies are way to exspensive to just go to for the hell of it.
Yet DC has been shoving Justice League down our throat for the past year.  Even the trailers 2 weeks ago were teasers and then full trailer on top of that.  DC seems to be all in on Justice League- a movie that to me looks rushed and messy already.  But DC loves its white, male heroes and they really love their white, male fans( more on that below). And instead of using Wonder Woman as a springboard to a larger DCEU, they would like us to skip over that Wonder Woman is coming out so we can focus on their true love( which is Batman).

DC Can't/Wont Market Wonder Woman

I think this is our winner.  Again, old white movie executives also do not think women attend movies or read comics and that is wrong. Data tells us women make up a large percent the comic book buyers.  On top of that, Wonder Woman is one of the most popular and most recognizable heroes in the world.  From the buzz on Twitter, women( and men) are excited about the movie.  There may be some concerns about the lack of women of color, but there is excitement for the movie.  Yet, there are fewer trailers, no advertising,  no social media presence, and it seems that a movie that is so close to coming out is being forgotten or looked over.

When the most recent trailer did not come out, I was astounded how much Steve Trevor was in it.  I think DC fears( wrongfully) that white fan boys will not come out and see this movie if there is not a white dude in it for them to relate to! Word? Fuck that! You see marketing people are always worried about white males and their fragile egos when they are not represented in something they love.  But Wonder Woman can be successful without white fan boys. The same way Hidden Figures was successful without white men. Market the movie without care of white men.  Focus on the power and prestige of the character of Wonder Woman.  This is why she has been so popular and endured over time.  Symbolically, Wonder Woman and this movie do not need a man to be validated or successful.

Wonder Woman Trailer

When you constantly cater to white male fans, you get shit like Ghost in the Shell and Iron Fist. So now DC is stuck trying to figure out how to market this very marketable character, but making sure they don't offend white dudes.  Its insulting and unnecessary!

And here is the worst part, God forbid Wonder Woman does under perform or worse yet, its not a good movie.  DC and other studious will justify this as a reason to not make movies that highlight women or people of color.  Their rationale will be, " See. We gave you Wonder Woman and you didn't show up".  When the reality is you probably delivered us a shitty movie that you had no faith in.

Sorry Wonder Woman, You deserve better than what DC is giving you right now.  I'll be there on June 2 with my daughter and my son!

The Producer

The Evolution of Cyborg

So the Justice League teaser trailers and then full trailer came out this past week.  I have been on the record for a while now that I think this movie will be a mess.  DC has rushed this project and have not taken the care needed to not just make it a spectacle.  They don't care tho.  They just wanna keep cashin' dem checks.

So each character got a teaser trailer of like 20 seconds and Cyborg was the last one to debut.  Cyborg has been around for a long time in the DC Universe, but I have rarely met/talked to anyone who is a Cyborg fan.  The character is kinda lame in the comics and his presentation on tv has, in my opinion, devolved over time.  This always makes me wonder why did they choose Cyborg as their Black Justice League Character ( and don't think for a second that is not why he's in the movie).  DC coulda went with John Stewart- a character that most Black comic book fans hold in esteem.  But- nah, lets make the Black guy who is not really a full man our Black hero. Aight!

One of the major problems for me with Cyborg is that his portrayal over time has gotten worse.  When he first debuted on The Superfriends/SuperPowers Team, the look was pretty cartoonish and he rarely got a chance to shine with the Superfriends.  He was just kinda there. Like the Affirmative Action SuperFriend.

Once Cyborg was moved over to the Teen Titans in the comics, I think the perception of the character changed and he worked better with the younger team in the comics and when they were able to finally get a cartoon, he is clearly one of the leaders of the team and respected by all the Titans. He built Titan Tower and he was the main tech person of the team. He was a respected leader of the Titans, along with Robin.

But then came Teen Titans Go! Now look, coming on after the previous Teen Titans cartoon, this show is a hard pass for me. My kids watch it, Big Hutch watches it, Brother Beavis is a fan,  and other people I love and respect and follow watch and love the show.  I can't stand it! But its not just for Cyborg; although that is a huge part of it.  Its just too silly for me and they have taken Cyborg into an area that is very hard to come back from in my opinion.  His alter ego as Grandma, his dancing, the constant jokes... they made the character a joke.  And now the leap is for us to believe him to be this bad ass "Cyborg"- yet they give him a character design that looks like a Dollar Store Action Figure.

It does not seem fair and its probably not.  But lost in all that is that maybe Cyborg just sucks.  Maybe the character and his design is a hold-over of 80's comics cool.  His inability to be adapted into comic culture today and his unnecessary push into Justice League is just covering up for the awfulness of the character.

Regardless, somehow, Cyborg is going to get a solo movie( allegedly).  Who truly asked for this and who truly wants to see it? No sir, not I sir!

The Producer

What if Studio's just told the Truth

With Ghost in The Shell opening this weekend and after the travesty of The Great Wall, and the luke warm reception of Iron Fist, I was thinking, what if movie and television studios just decided to tell the truth about how they feel about Asian Culture?  It would be a radical departure from the talking points they send the actors out with to promote the movie/television show and it MAY even lessen the negative momentum of the show or movie before it premieres.  Lets look at it case by case!

Ghost in the Shell

Now I am not a huge fan of manga or anime.  I have actually never seen the original Ghost in The Shell or Akira, or any of those movies. Its just not my thing.  What I do know about them is from my brother or from reading articles associated with them.  I also know that those movies are largely based on Japanese culture and when Hollywood comes a knocking for one of those properties, its going to look to whitewash or it or appropriate it.

Ghost in the Shell is both.  It whitewashes the main character Motoko with Scarlett Johansson and it appropriates Asian culture in the aesthetic of the movie.  Yet it fills out much of the roster with non Asian characters.  A double No-No.  This has been brewing since she was cast and people have been upset about it.  Now that the movie is coming out, Johansson has to get out in front and tell the people who love Ghost in The Shell to give it a chance and that she would NEVER take a role from a person of color. Um, BISH you just did that!

Sell that movie, BISH

What if, and I know this is some Earth 2 shit, what if the studio and all those involved were just honest.  A press release that acknowledges: 1.  Asian culture fascinates us almost on a fetish like level and we want in on that; 2. that we are looking to make the most money that we can off the property with giving any of it back to the people who inspired it; 3. We think we have a bankable white actress in Scarlett Johanssonwho white men and white women love; 4. We are scared to death of losing our phony baloney jobs by casting an Asian Actress here even tho it makes all the sense in the world.  PS. We really love money.

Would we all respect that? No. But it would be better than putting out the bullshit they try to have the actors sell.

With Iron Fist, actor Finn Jones got all in his feelings when confronted about the White Savior trope that is Iron Fist.  He got so twitter mad he wound up taking his ball and going home by closing his account- Right before the series debuted on NetFlix.  Instead of putting him in that position or worse yet, Jessica Henwick, the actress who  played Collen Wing out there to defend this shit! A press release that acknowledges the issue may have helped: 1. Iron Fist was based on Kung Fu tv show with a white actor David Carradine; 2. We thought since he has always been white, no one would be upset by him staying white; 3. We all wish we knew Kung Fu and believe that white men can be the master of anything they put their mind to- even culture that has no relation to them; 4. We only view Asians as villains or caricatures;   5. We were afraid if we cast Lewis Tan as the lead, butt hurt white fan boys would not support the show and we would lose our phony baloney jobs.  PS. We really love money

Again, probably not satisfying, but better than what they put out there before the show premiered.  See Hollywood is stuck on the idea that they NEED a white person to sell their movie.  They may haggle a little on if its a white man or white woman, but to sell the movie to "Midwestern Americans" ie white people, they stuff a white person in there to make white people feel good about themselves.  And they have the nerve to call us snowflakes.

Case in point: The Great Wall, starring Matt Damon. The tried early to get in front of the white savior trope by saying they had "China's number one director". And they even filled out the supporting cast with Asian Actors/Actresses.  However, the marketing for the movie focused solely on Matt Damon and his awful ponytail.  Hell, they shoulda sold us on the Dragon( spoiler alert).  Before the movie premiered, they should've crafted a nice press release acknowledging the bullshit: 1. We are infatuated with Chinese mysticism and think most of your stories about China are steeped in that; 2. To make this movie huge, we need a white actor to put on the poster so white people will come and see it; 3. We'll even cast an Asian women hoping that will shut down talk of racism and sexism; 4. We really love Dragons; 5. We're scared to cast an Asian lead here because white people may not support the movie and we will lose our phony baloney jobs. PS We really love money!

Time and time again, people of color are sold short on our ability to support quality entertainment( movies, tv, music).  That is coupled with white being the default for success and the standard for excellence.  And its topped with the obvious racism of making movies with the express hope that white people will support it or not support it.  Its insulting and its been proven time and again that diversity in film and tv works( if the work is quality).

So if you don't want to put Asian or Black people in movies and TV shows... don't.  But lie about your motives behind it!

PS We also really love  money

The Producer

Jay and Silent Bob Again?

I had been struggling to come to terms with the news that Kevin Smith dropped a couple of weeks ago that he is in the process of writing another Jay and Silent Bob movie.  Another one!  As one of my Twitter followers said... "Didn't Jay and Silent Bob say enough"?

Jay and Bob to Return

In the article, Kevin Smith stated that one of the participants of Clerks is not going to participate so that killed the idea of doing Clerks 3( another bad idea).  I think we all can guess that actor,Jeff Anderson, who plays Randall in Clerks is the non participant.  He and Kevin Smith have had a rocky relationship since Clerks and it probably fell out again and you cannot do Clerks anything without Randall.

So instead of working through that or creating new characters, or something else, Kevin Smith falls back to Jay and Silent Bob.  Now look, his non View Askew stuff has been more misses than hits.  I liked Jersey Girl probably more than most people, but his most recent offerings have been way off the radar for me and most of the mainstream population.  I mean movies about people turning into a seal, Nazi hotdogs, and cheap knock off horror movies ain't gonna break any box office records.

But those are his movies.  His non-movie related stuff has been doing well. I do not watch Comic Book Men but I know alot of people that do.  His work on directing episodes of the Flash and SuperGirl have gained raved reviews.  And when he can stick to a schedule, his comic book writing has generally been on point.

So why keep coming back to Jay and Bob? I know they are familiar and family, but the characters are relics of a time gone by.  Stoners and dudes who sale drugs( well white dudes) is not cutting edge anymore.  You can buy pot legally in many states now and getting pot illegally ain't really that hard.  Plus by age, Jay is in his 40's- Are we really gonna pretend that a 40 year old spewing obscenities and vulgarities and humping the ground isn't more sad than funny at this point?

The characters of Clerks should continue to live in comic book form and maybe a reboot of the criminally  underrated cartoon series.  But more live action Jay and Bob.... No thanks!

The Producer

We feel you Gambino

The first set photo's from the totally unnecessary Han Solo movie leaked today. In the photo, you can see the main characters of the movie in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.  I honestly don't even know which white dude is actually playing Han Solo.  You also see Chewbacca because of course! You also notice there are some white women in the picture and Woody from Cheers.  What you do not see is any Black Women but that is an article for another time.  What you also notice is Donald Glover, who is playing Lando in this movie.  I have dubbed the face Glover has as emotionally uncomfortable.  I mean it could be the way he is stretched out for the picture is awkward.  Dude is also crazy busy, maybe he was just tired from ruling television and music in 2016. Maybe this photo shoot was taking forever due to technical difficulties. Maybe Chewie's fur is rubbing him the wrong way!  Possibly, like me, he just hates having his picture taken.  Any and all of these are real possibilities.  However, there is another possibility that must be considered.  Possibly he was uncomfortable being the only Black person there.

You see most of us Blerds grew up recognizing this uncomfortableness. Before the days of Twitter and Facebook, if you were Black with Nerdy habits, there were often places you would go to that put your Blackness on display for white folks to see and often criticize.  The comic book store was often that place for me.  The store was on the "other side" of town and to get there, I needed to take a bus and walk a few blocks to get there.  Upon entering, it was if I was Tupac because All Eyez was on Me. Those looks of, "Why is he here? Or Is he going to steal something". Or Do they read comics"? It made me feel uncomfortable in my nerdom. Comic Book Conventions can often feel the same way. Whether you Cosplay or not, often times white eyes are on you and there may or may not be any other Black folks or POC for you to hang with and its a weird feeling.  A feeling that most white people NEVER have to deal with because they are most often the majority in these situations. And even when they are not, Black people are more open to giving respect to the only white dude in the club or the only white dude at the basketball court( if he can play). That feeling of mutual respect is often not reciprocated when you are the only Black person in a place white people don't think you belong. This is not a comfortable feeling and can often change how Black people react in social situations in how we walk, talk, and exist.

But its not just in Blerd life Black folks feel this way.  How about when you are the only Black person as your job.  Office spaces can be weird without the racial tension, but when you are the only Black person there, white people are quick to make sure you know it( like you didn't already know). But their sly ass jokes and privileged attitudes can make the work environment toxic( NO you can't touch my hair!). Or being the only Black person at a restaurant.  Black people know this feeling- the feeling of having people watching your every move and emotion- hoping they catch you in their version of Blackness( SEE! I knew he would order the chicken!)

I look at Gambino in that picture and he has that look to me.  That, man there are no Black people here besides me and now I have to be on guard about the things I say and do.  Been there, done that!

So I feel you Gambino!  I played tennis in high school and at a predominantly white college and was very often the only Black Dude in places.  I know that look and lived it for years!  Hopefully you can bring some of your boys on set with you to try to even things out.  Just tell them they are your cousin since their President thinks we all related anyway!

The Producer

White feminism on steroids

The good people over at I-D vice got an article from Marie Clare where Scarlette Johansson finally spoke out about her leading role in the Ghost in a Shell adaptation.  Her point in the article below was basically that she took the role for feminist purposes.  Look, men should not be speaking on too many issues regarding women.  Its not our place to talk. Its our place to listen.  However, this is some bullshit from her.  This is the epitome of white feminism.  White feminism leaves out women of color as well as Gay/Lesbian women as well.  Often times, white feminist want this sisterhood with women but then fail to back Black women up on issues that matter to them.  

I was never going to see this movie anyway. But this article pretty much cemented that thought!

The Producer

http://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/scarlett-johansson-discusses-the-whitewashing-in-ghost-in-the-shell?utm_source=idtwitter

Last year Scarlett Johansson was caught up in a conversation about whitewashing following her casting in Ghost in the Shell, the film adaptation of Masamune Shirow's classic Japanese anime. Johansson was brought on to play Major Motoko Kusanagi, despite the fact that she is not Japanese.

At the time, Johansson kept quiet about this controversy. Director Rupert Sanders defended the choice saying, "I think whenever you cast someone, someone's going to be critical of it. To me, I stand by my decision... She's the best actress of her generation, and I was flattered and honored that she would be in this film." He later referred to her "cyberpunk aesthetic" as being central to the decision.

READ: Why is hollywood whitewashing lead asian roles?

But now, in a conversation with Marie Claire, the actress has weighed in. "I certainly would never presume to play another race of a person. Diversity is important in Hollywood, and I would never want to feel like I was playing a character that was offensive."

She explained that she approached the role with a focus on gender, not race. Adding, "having a franchise with a female protagonist driving it is such a rare opportunity. Certainly, I feel the enormous pressure of that — the weight of such a big property on my shoulders."

Later in the chat she touched on Hollywood's wage gap problem, and her decision to speak out about the issue last year. While it's great to see someone with such a high profile shedding light on gender inequality, it's a bit of a bummer that she failed to see how those issues are compounded by giving diverse roles to white actors.