Spontaneous Musings

1. Yes, I know everyone is bored of the Whedon thing. But, this is kind of interesting. I found it finally on Twitter - it's about what lay behind the whole CC reveal, and those who followed. Hint - it wasn't about Buffy or the Marvel movies or for that matter, The Nevers. No, it is about Whedon's long running attempt to get into the DC film verse after leaving the Marvel film verse.

Or rather it's about the Zack Snyder Justice League film that Whedon took over. I don't know if you saw the Whedon version? I did. Or read about what was happening behind the scenes at the time - I did. Or saw all the films in the DC verse prior - I did. I'm a fan of superhero flicks and superhero comics, goes back to my college days, when I discovered the medium. I remember doing my thesis next to a guy in a library basement - typing away at computers in the 1989. The guy basically looked like Billy Idol except with curly hair. It was the 1980s and he was into punk rock and comics. He was doing his thesis on the death of the superhero in the graphic novel medium, specifically Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns, Red Son, and the Watchmen. I'd read all three - we had a very long discussion about it. This was long before we got good superhero flicks.

Anyhow, I've read a lot of the comics here and there, and seen all of the films in the franchise. With a few exceptions here and there. Also a good portion of the animated ones (not all, but a portion) and a portion of the television series.

Snyder had a mixed reviews - Snyder is a painter. His background is in high art. And he's a director - dealing mainly with visuals and FX. He also works in film - as most directors do, not digitial. Prefers film.
Watching a Snyder film is akin to watching a painting. Or being immersed in a visual world. His films often work best on a big screen. He's not really a writer - Nolan's brother tends to write Snyder's films, he's a director first and foremost - and works very well with people. The cast on Snyder's films - were his friends. His battles were with the WB, Geoff Johns (the comic book writer) and the studio heads - who wanted him to cut his film down to size, lighten it up a bit, etc.

What happened? Snyder's daughter died by suicide and he got tired of fighting the WB, and put his family first. The rest of the story is...appalling to say the least. And complicated.

You can find it HERE. It does not show various film critics, comic artists, comic fans, Whedon fans, Whedon, WB or comic writers in the best light. They basically took advantage of someone else's tragic loss for their own personal gain. It is appalling. They also lied about it.

It's an interesting read - because it shows how difficult the film industry can be and why so many go off and do their own things.

At any rate - there's apparently a Snyder Cut of Justice League premiering on HBO MAX tonight - ETA, misread, it's dropping 3/18/2021 - March. It's four hours long. And none of it includes Whedon's footage. Also, only five minutes of it were shot during the pandemic and after 2017. And Whedon's version only contained five 30 minutes of the original Zack Snyder cut - which is possibly why - the re-shoot was hell on wheels - because they basically re-shot the entire movie in less than four months. Cutting everything they did previously. After already shooting and working their asses off on the previous version. AND - various actors ended up with their scenes cut completely. It was - if you can imagine - shooting an entire movie over two years, only to have the director you've bonded with - get fired after his daughter died from suicide - and have a new director that you don't know jump in and throw his weight around. Force you to work hard and long hours, and say lines that you don't feel were in character, and do it in breakneck time, and act as if everything you did the past two years was pointless.

I'd have wanted to skewer Whedon and the WB for that alone. I don't blame the cast for hating them. Add to that - Whedon's version bombed, and the actors struggled afterwards. Plus the anticipated sequel was cancelled.

Now, finally, they get to see the version they worked hard on and were proud of - air. (They spent years trying to get to this point. The previous film aired in 2017.)

I can't see it tonight, but I'll try to see it over the weekend. I'm curious. Although - I'm not really a huge fan of Snyder's films - they give me a headache - all the fight scenes are like paintings, but also feel like watching a video game. So we'll see if I make it through it.

The twitter feeds mentioned Chris Helmsworth has been indicating issues with Whedon for years. So I looked.

Recalls Joss Whedons fury when Avengers Cast Kept Screwing up a Take

I think writers make bad directors for the most part.

2. Winter Storm and Texas Power Outage Map

Texas wanted its own power Grid to avoid the Federal Government - Now What?

Ted Cruz is not having a good year. Nor for that matter is Texas.

But I feel for my poor family members. I have three cousins, their kids, and youngest Aunt in Texas. I'd prefer that they be okay. So far they are.

3. Footloose or Dancing in the Movies



Off to bed. Assuming they quiet down upstairs. It is quiet. It just sounds like someone is moving furniture above me every once and a while.