New reports of empty theaters for Captain Marvel’s weekend showings are the latest in the movie’s ongoing controversy. A number of Twitter users indicated there were empty seats at a number of Captain Marvel showings over the weekend.
We spoke with a movie theater manager who asked for anonymity. He told us they had “exactly 25 no shows for every showing of Captain Marvel on Thursday through Saturday.”
The manager told us this was definitely abnormal, “It’s definitely not normal. People usually show up when they pay for tickets…I’m not sure what it is, we’ve seen big groups not show up before, but they get refunds.”
I asked whether or not these tickets were purchased in bulk, but that information isn’t available, “I’m not sure if they were bought all at once because Fandango doesn’t give us that information, but exactly 25 no shows for every show is probably statistically impossible.”
The manager would add, “I would say it’s someone trying to make the ticket sales look better than they really were.”
He would also indicate he saw significant drop offs in ticket sales from Sunday at his theater, “Sunday for Captain Marvel wasn’t good and Monday and Tuesday were terrible. They were like a 75{e08cad746da4649304cc119361c7d8e2ee7ced73b617f6c7db2262986ac851da} drop off from Sunday.”
This is how the corporate cancer known as SJW metastasizes. Once it devours one aspect of the business, the need to protect the narrative requires devouring another aspect of it.
Compare the first five days of Black Panther to Captain Marvel.
Most of my readers will know by now that I spent a considerable amount of time in Hollywood, trying to work my way through the ranks, only to be stifled by the identity politics quickly taking root out there during the Obama years.
But the second I read this, I almost jumped out of my chair. I knew immediately that #DirectorAnon wasn’t LARPing, because of this post alone.
It’s almost hard for me to explain to people who haven’t lived and experienced anything out there, but film and TV are basically a two-tiered caste-system.
You have people who are “Above the Line” and people who are “Below the Line.”
Those above, are the head-honchos. The director, the actors, the writers, the producers. They’re called “above the line” because… basically, they get access to royalties and such in their contracts.
Everyone below the line – the crew, the gaffers, the technicians, etc… They’re all paid hourly. It’s real grunt-work, but it’s the kind of stuff that has to get done, in order for a production to happen. After all, someone has to build the sets, set up the lights, rig up the mics, have craft services ready for when everyone gets hungry, etc, etc, etc.
and IATSE is THE union controlling all these guys.
Every single studio production, be it film or TV, works with IATSE labor. That’s just the way it works out in Hollywood. Every studio is legally bound to use them.
And IATSE guys are like… 90-95{e08cad746da4649304cc119361c7d8e2ee7ced73b617f6c7db2262986ac851da} white.
IE: The exact demographic its okay for all these monied, soft-handed execs like Franklin Leonard to hate on so much.
What DirectorAnon is proposing here is a mass IATSE walkout.
In other words, what he’s proposing would completely shut Hollywood down.
In the meantime, a crew man, GafferAnon, explains what you can do to shut down the Pedo Palace:
Make the money dry up. Stop going to the movie theaters. Stop using the products they pimp. Stop paying to be entertained.
Just stop. Stop buying tickets and then complaining about how they inserted SJW poison into your favorite franchise. Stop making snarky comments and posting negative reviews about movies you paid to see. Stop supporting those who hate you, hate your politics, hate your faith, and hate your nation. Stop funding your own destruction!
I have not been to a movie since The Return of the King came out in 2003. I will never see another Hollywood movie in the theater. Anyhow, be sure to read both linked posts in their entireties, as there is a copious amount of information in them.
Read this if you are still under the impression that Disney gives even a fraction of a quantum of a damn about preserving the intellectual properties that it has acquired:
Mark came back for three movies, and not just cameo appearances. He calls his role in Episode VII the beginning of Episode VIII. He dies in The Last Jedi, but he is in reportedly in Episode IX as a Force Ghost. Mark feels Luke’s death should have happened in the last movie of this series.
“Then the second thing was that they killed me off. I thought: oh, okay, you should push my death off to the last one. That’s what I was hoping when I came back: no cameos and a run-of-the-trilogy contract. Did I get any of those things? Because as far as I’m concerned, the end of VII is really the beginning of VIII. I got one movie! They totally hornswoggled me.”
Hamill would also discuss how Johnson directed him to ignore C-3PO and just walk right past him for one scene:
They had me walking by 3PO, not even acknowledging him. I said: “I can’t do that! He (The Last Jedi’s director, Rian Johnson) said, “Okay, go over and do whatever.” So I went over, and I did whatever. They say it in the script: “Forget the past, kill it if you have to”, and they’re doing a pretty good job!’
The statement really sticks with me the most and may be the most telling to fans. Mark seemed genuinely upset with the lack of acknowledgment to the stories that took place before.
He specifically discusses the scene where he’s instructed to ignore C-3PO. The writing is reminiscent of when Chewie and Leia ignore each other in The Force Awakens. The action seems out of character for heroes that went through so much together. Mark was able to fix his scene. However, it was the underlying tone of dismissal by the director that upset so many fans.
That “underlying tone of dismissal” says it all. The evil little men who run Disney hate Western civilization and everything about it. They hate heroes, they hate nobility, they hate self-restraint, and they hate the very philosophical mode of thinking the West inherited from the ancient Greeks. They are not only willing to destroy the cultural icons you love, they downright revel in doing so. You cannot understand what they are doing unless you grasp that. And once you understand them, you can anticipate what they are going to do next.
Which is why I expect they will not even hesitate to destroy Marvel in the same way they have destroyed Star Wars.
It would appear someone is VERY upset at Disney, as the story for the big wrapup of the current version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has leaked, according to Bounding Into Comics. Don’t read more if you don’t want to know what may, or may not, be the movie.
While creating their own Infinity Gauntlet presents challenges, they face even greater challenges in attempting to duplicate the Infinity Stones. Not only do they travel to some of the major events of the past films including Age of Ultron, Thanos discovers their plans and decides to hunt them down.
However, Doctor Strange saw this possibility and placed spells on the Time Stone that trap Thanos at the time of the first Avengers film during the Invasion of New York.
With Thanos trapped in the past and understanding the consequences of affecting the past, the Avengers continue to seek out the other Infinity Stones. They even visit the Ancient One to get their hands on the Time Stone.
They will also visit Valhalla as they seek out the Valkryie’s legion. Thor will even reunite with Odin and Frigga.
Their time traveling adventures will not be perfect. The Avengers will fail on numerous occasions forcing them to try different times to get their hands on the Infinity Stones.
The Avengers will eventually run into Captain Marvel during the third act, but her power has been significantly reduced to Thanos’ attack earlier in the movie.
Thanos will eventually confront the Avengers on Xandar. Thanos’ power is still near unstoppable. It takes all of the Avengers to hold him back while the Hulk attempts to bring back those who were wiped out by Thanos.
However, Hulk’s arm explodes before they are able to defeat Thanos. Captain America then takes control of the Infinity Gauntlet and uses it to defeat Thanos, but also bring back all of his fallen comrades and those who were wiped out by Thanos’ snap. However, his body can’t handle the power and he ends up disintegrating.
While Captain America brings back the Avengers who were wiped out by the snap, it does not appear he brings back Gamora. She supposedly remains dead.
Captain America’s sacrifice not only defeats Thanos, but it also destroys the Infinity Stones. However, with the destruction of the Infinity Stones, a cosmic entity is freed that will more than likely be the next major threat the Avengers will have to face.
The film ends with Captain America’s funeral and Tony Stark announcing his retirement.
The fact that the story involves killing off Captain America certainly gives it credibility. You know Disney wanted to do that above all else.
Warner Bros. confirmed to Gamespot that Gunn will write the next installment of the Suicide Squad. They told Gamespot, “It is confirmed that James Gunn is writing the next installment of the Suicide Squad franchise.”
According to The Wrap, Annapurna Pictures has run into financial difficulties as of late, culminating in the “jettisoning of two upcoming films with marquee talent” and the exit of its film division head…. Coming in December, Annapurna will be releasing the Christian Bale star vehicle “VICE,” another leftist propaganda film in which Bale plays former Vice President Dick Cheney opposite Sam Rockwell playing President Bush. The film is reported to have cost a “bloated $60 million to produce” when it should have cost only half that. Factor in marketing cost and the film hasn’t got a prayer.
“There is a financial issue going on,” a source told The Wrap. “Her dad has put a lot of money into the company and I don’t think he wants to support her behavior and what’s been going on. There are restraints — the money is not flowing.”
Annapurna also recently dropped its slated film about Fox News founder Roger Ailes just three weeks away from starting production. It had been approved for a whopping $35 million budget.
A source close to Megan Ellison says she has been making political passion projects with zero regard for financial cost or box office potential.
“She makes bad decisions,” the source said. “She wanted to chase all these expensive movies that weren’t going to make money, and she said, ‘I don’t care whether they make money.’ That’s not how you run a company.”
It is if you’re an SJW. From a Financial Times article in 2014:
She is Megan Ellison and, depending on who you talk to, she is either the saviour of an industry that has succumbed to brain-numbing comic-book movies and superhero sequels or a wealthy heiress who splashes the cash on films that don’t necessarily make financial sense.
It would appear we have the answer to that question.
After reading this account of the falling out between Terrence Howard and Robert Downey Jr., I very much look forward to competing with Marvel in the movie space:
Appearing on Watch What Happens Live, a caller asked Howard if he would ever appear in a future Marvel film now he is civil with Robert again.
Prompting him to reply: ‘You know what’s so funny? Even though I love Don Cheadle so much and I love what he’s done, I still hear a lot of fans asking, “Am I going to come back and be War Machine? Am I going to come back and be War Machine? I think they could have a huge franchise off of it. But f*** ’em.’
The feud began after Howard accused Downey, 53, of abandoning him when he tried to negotiate a better fee to appear in Iron Man 2.
He previously explained: ‘We did a three-picture deal, so that means that you did the deal ahead of time. It was going to be a certain amount for the first one, a certain amount for the second one, a certain amount for the third.
‘They came to me with the second and said, ‘Look, we will pay you one-eighth of what we contractually had for you, because we think the second one will be successful with or without you.’ And I called my friend – that I helped get the first job – and he didn’t call me back for three months.’
In other words, Howard didn’t try “to negotiate a better fee,” he tried to get paid what he was contractually obligated to be paid. Marvel tried to stiff him of 7/8ths of what he was supposed to be paid because they calculated, correctly, that his presence was not required for a successful sequel, so he walked away.
This behavior is completely consistent with what we have learned of Marvel’s treatment of freelance illustrators and colorists; their behavior towards writers tends to be even worse. It’s informative to learn that while Howard has forgiven Downey for not having had his back, he has neither forgiven nor forgotten Marvel’s shoddy treatment of him.
As you may have noted, nearly all of Castalia’s, Arkhaven’s, and Dark Legion’s various creators continue to work with us, and even those few who don’t tend to remain on good terms with us and may well work with us in the future. And on a not-entirely-unrelated subject, Bounding Into Comics is less than entirely enthusiastic about the upcoming Disney Channel film, Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors.
Looking at the Comichron numbers for the one-shot comics under the Marvel Rising brand, they are rather poor. In June, Marvel Rising Alpha would only ship 21,290 units. It didn’t even make the top 100 comics for the month. July would see Marvel Rising: Squirrel Girl/Ms. Marvel only ship 17,995 units. And then a different Marvel Rising: Squirrel Girl/Ms. Marvel would only ship 15,558 units in August.
If one takes into account the average sell-through percentage, Alt★Hero is already competing very effectively with the Marvel Rising brand without taking the crowdfunding aspect into account. And we’re not even in the comic stores yet.
So there was very, very disappointing news for Star Wars fans today just a few hours ago. Variety and some other entertainment news sources reported that the woman who is primarily responsible for the destruction of the Star Wars franchise, the ongoing destruction of the Star Wars franchise, has actually been signed to a three-year contract with Disney and apparently is still going to be in charge of the Star Wars movies. Now, I personally think this is fantastic news, I think this is wonderful news, because it means that there is a tremendous opportunity out there for those of us who are creating alternatives. If you look at what has been done with Galaxy’s Edge, if you look at what we are in the process of doing with Faraway Wars, if you look at a lot of the other stuff that people are doing in a similar vein, this is an excellent opportunity for the Star Wars fans to find better and more worthy alternatives because it is now very, very clear that Disney is not going to fix what George Lucas broke.
In fact Disney is going to continue to make it worse. Disney is going to make Star Wars even more converged than it is. You might not think it’s possible, but believe me it is. There’s a good question, “Vox, why do they ruin everything?” They ruin everything because they don’t understand anything. You have to understand that culture and technology and art, all of these things, are black boxes to SJWs. They do not understand what they are, they don’t understand how they work, they don’t understand the nature of their appeal to other people. SJWs are essentially cargo cultists.
The reason why I argue that this is objectively bad, mechanically bad, and not just a plot twist that happens not to please me is this:
There are three components to any criticism of art. One is to look at the mechanics of the art form, regardless of content. That is an objective matter. The poem either has fourteen rhyming lines or does not; if it is a thirteen line poem, or blank verse, good bad or indifferent, it is not a sonnet. The next component is a judgement call: did the artist achieve the effect he was attempting? Was the audience moved as he was trying to move them? The final is subjective reaction: did I like it? And why did I?
It is often said in the modern day that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which, in effect, says there is only one component to criticism: the subjective one. Nonsense. A fair-minded critic could, for example, be no fan of horror movies, or even dislike the whole genre, and still be able to tell John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN is well-made horror movie and Ed Wood’s PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE is not. More to the point, he could tell that MY FAIR LADY is not a horror movie at all.
In this case, in story telling of any kind, in film or print, any plot point needs set up and follow through if it is to be emotionally satisfying.
Example: The set up for a character like Rick Blaine in CASABLANCA, or Han Solo in STAR WARS, who at first wants no part of the fight is to have him show his reluctance. Hence the scene in CASABLANCA where Rick looks on indifferently as Ugarte is arrested and executed; hence the line in STAR WARS where Han will not stir a foot to rescue the princess until he is reassured that she is rich. That is the set up. The follow through is the about-face: when Rick sends away the woman he loves, despite the personal cost to him, or when Han returns unexpectedly to swoop out of the sun and blast Vader’s pursuit-ship as it is closing in on Luke for the kill.
In this case, we saw the set up for Finn’s reluctance in this last film and in this one. He attempts to steal an escape pod, and is zoinked by a zoink-dwarf with a zoink-wand. The follow-through was the about-face and the noble sacrifice to save his friends. Except that the suicide run is said over the radio to be in vain: a pointless gesture. Either Finn would have destroyed the gun by ramming it, or not. If not, it is not a real about-face. It is just a wasted character trying to waste himself to escape this wasteland of a film. But if it would have worked, preventing the sacrifice (at the sacrifice of everyone else) prevents any follow-through on the character arc: he is still, through no fault of his own, back where Rick and Han started out.
Good, bad or indifferent is another matter. Whether you personally liked it or not is another matter. On an objective level, having an event that robs all the meaning out of the set up event, and then leads nowhere to nothing, is a mechanical error in story telling. Story telling consists of telling about meaningful events, not meaningless ones. Even if you want to tell a nihilistic story, whose point is that life is pointless, the story itself must be told in a pointed way, and the events in the story must be meaningful in order to carry the message to the audience, even if that message says that meaning is illusion.
Basically, the story telling is objectively bad when the character in a drama loses all dramatic potential. There is no more story here. What is our Token Stormtrooper now? He is a hero who fails to be heroic. No chance to try again was given, not in this film. If the self-centered cynic, like Han Solo or Rick Blaine, has a certain romantic glamor to him, a cool self-possession. But a flunked suicide? What has he got? He is neither selfish nor selfless. He has no personality at all. The character becomes nothing.
The force is strong with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy — for another three years, to be precise.
The veteran producer and chief of the Disney content giant behind “Star Wars” has renewed her deal through 2021, an individual familiar with the negotiations told Variety, following a tumultuous year for the label under her control.
The studio had no immediate comment on the new deal.
The re-up comes as the division gets back on solid footing following “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” the Alden Ehrenreich Han Solo spinoff that suffered disappointing box office returns and behind-the-scenes drama after the studio dismissed directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller well into production. They were replaced by Ron Howard, who was tasked with bringing home the pricey standalone (which cost at least $250 million).
Why? Because doubling down is what SJWs do. After all, they can’t possibly admit they were wrong and those evil NaziHaterWhiteSupremacists who said the movies sucked were right, can they?
This is great news, as far as I am concerned. Opportunity beckons….
