Marvel Wants Some Cheap Superhero Movies, Too
The bigger the movies are that Marvel Studios is associated with, the bigger the budgets and the expectations tend to be. Granted, movies like “Spider-Man” and “Fantastic Four,” whose rights are secured by other studios, have their tabs picked up elsewhere. But, if you’re talking about movies like “Iron Man” and its sequel and “Thor” and “Captain America,” these flicks cost beaucoup bucks. I’m pretty sure “The Avengers” is going to spend more than you, your entire family, and everyone your entire family knows is worth. It’s true. You know it’s true. It has to be… I just wrote it on the internet. However, with Disney purchasing Marvel and all of the characters they didn’t sell off, they want to make sure 
they get the best return on their investment. The big heavyweights – Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, etc. – are all gone, and all Marvel has at this point is Nick Fury and… well, Nick Fury. Beyond that, it’s a bunch of smaller characters within the Marvel universe that no one knows too much about, for one reason or another, and these are the titles Disney and Marvel Studios are looking to tap into… at a great fraction of the cost that it would take to bring one of the more known blockbusters to live.
CHUD reports that Marvel Studios under Disney is looking to make smaller and cheaper films based on their lesser-known characters, somewhere in the range of $20-40 million. This would allow Disney to build their own brand from the ground up and reap the benefits of taking something like Luke Cage from obscurity to mainstream. “Filmmakers are being offered their pick of characters whose names are only familiar to comic fans. Properties like Dr. Strange, Ka-Zar, Luke Cage, Dazzler and Power Pack are among the many that are being tossed around right now.”
Marvel is taking pitches from writers and directors for just about anything that might be able to be made at a reasonable cost, in the hopes of catching lightning in a bottle with something that could turn a huge profit. If they can make a quality movie for $30 million that catches people’s attention, Marvel could potentially ride that all the way over the $100 million mark, creating a new franchise for themselves with huge financial upside that won’t break the bank. In 
addition, it would allow them to take some bigger chances and risk in their casting as well as in their choices for filmmakers. They wouldn’t be forced to go with bankable stars and names in order to make sure a movie gains traction with the public. They could go with up-and-comers and unknowns that would keep costs down, and, once again, that could potentially help create a franchise but, more importantly, a unique brand that they own.
I think this is a fascinating idea for Marvel and Disney to carry out. Most of the major Marvel names are elsewhere, and, as a result, it’s going to take some creativity on the part of both companies to mine what they have for something audiences may come to really want. Are there some hidden gems in the Marvel universe? Oh, absolutely. What are they? The fuck if I know. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. The prime example would be “Blade.” No one except the 12 Blade fans knew who the fuck Blade was before Wesley Snipes took up the role, and once that happened, they managed to get a trilogy out of it, not to mention a pretty nice flow of cash. Is there another “Blade” somewhere in the catalog that can be done right, done cheaply, and make money? The digging shall commence, and who knows what they’ll find, but The Kidd likes the idea of some more superhero movies entering the pipeline that are going to have to rely on excellent stories, smart scripts, and interesting characters, because big budgets, big explosions, and shiny special effects aren’t going to be in the cards to save them.
We all know Ridley Scott is absolutely making an “Alien” prequel that takes 
place some time before we ever get to meet Ripley and the events that lead to the next two movies (for all intents and purposes, let’s just pretend the third and fourth movies never happened). However, we didn’t know exactly how far back a prequel was planning to go. Now we do, with Ridley Scott spilling a decent amount of details as to the plan for what looks like two prequels to the original movie. In an interview withMTV News, Scott gave up quite a bit of information that everyone was clueless about to this point. “It’s set in 2085, about 30 years before Sigourney. It’s fundamentally about going out to find out ‘Who the hell was that Space Jockey?’ The guy who was sitting in the chair in the alien vehicle – there was a giant fellow sitting in a seat on what looked to be either a piece of technology or an astronomer’s chair. Remember that?”
“‘[The film] is about the discussion of terraforming – taking planets and planetoids and balls of earth and trying to terraform, seed them with the possibilities of future life,’ he explained. The initiative will be led by the Weyland Corporation, an early iteration of the Weyland-Yutani Corp. that causes so many problems throughout the series. ‘Weyland hasn’t joined Yutani yet, so they go and see Weyland,’ Scott said.” In addition, a woman protagonist will once again lead us through the “Alien” series, and there is the chance that the alien creatures will be given a new looks, with Scott describing the original designs as “worn out.”
Of course, The Kidd isn’t exactly the biggest fan of prequels, namely because 
they all suck. Now, whether or not an “Alien” one would be any different is yet to be determined. I do like the idea that Scott isn’t just getting lazy by telling the backstory of Ellen Ripley before she becomes entangled in this series’ canon, instead choosing to tell an origin story of an unsolved mystery from the first film. However, this could still backfire, as I’m sure many “Alien” fans have already drawn their own conclusions as to “Who the hell was that Space Jockey?” In those cases, a lot of times the final reveal is nowhere near as good as what fans have written or created in their own minds, and the backlash results. That’s what happened with “Star Wars” fans and their brief peek at the Clone Wars, an event they had built up in their minds so greatly that the end result sucked compared to their expectations. Then again, it could just run into the typical problem that all prequels inherently have built into them, which is that we already know where the story goes. There is reason to be somewhat optimistic, primarily because Ridley Scott is back in the director’s chair for this, and you’d have to think he wouldn’t come back to this unless it was quality… or unless they backed up truckloads of money to his house. Oh, man… there goes some of the optimism.
When something works in Hollywood, everyone wants to rip it off and try to make their own version until they drive the whole concept into the ground. It happened with raunchy comedies in the 80s. It happened with teen slasher films 
towards the end of the 90s, and it’s happened with countless other genres that took years to recover from the influx of copycats that helped destroy what was once an original idea. That’s what is on the verge of happening right now with buddy movies that take place in Las Vegas, as, fresh off the major breakthrough of “The Hangover” last year, which will lead to a sequel, everyone wants to make the next “Hangover.” Really…? How many of these fuckin’ movies do we need? The first “Hangover” was hilarious… downright absolutely hilarious. With bringing back the full cast of the first movie, I have no doubt that “The Hangover 2″ may not be as funny as the original, but, considering the talent involved, I anticipate it still being pretty good… not as good, but still pretty good. However, is it necessary to make a version of “The Hangover,” just complete with a bunch of old fucks? Because that’s what’s going to happen. According to Vulture, CBS Films is looking to make “LASt VEGAS,” which is being described as “Grumpy Old Men” meets “The Hangover,” two movies I absolutely love separate but think could be a disaster if put together. The story “follows four estranged male childhood friends from the fifties who reunite in Vegas to finally marry off Billy (no 
relation), the lifelong unmarried playboy of the group.” Oh, who’s been offered the role of Billy…? Jack Nicholson, who, if he accepts the role, would single-handedly be responsible for getting me to watch this. I mean… it’s Jack fuckin’ Nicholson. If you don’t automatically want to see a movie he’s in, then there’s something seriously wrong with you… seriously. Of course, that’s what led to my disappointment in the disappointing “Bucket List,” but otherwise, it’s Jack Nicholson. The man drops a deuce, and Oscars come out. I am curious who they’ll get to make up the rest of the old farts, as anytime old actors come into play, you’ve got to consider Clint Eastwood and James Garner… wait, he’s still alive, isn’t he…? okay, toss his name into the mix, and maybe the corpse of Jack Palance. I’m sure he can still do a tremendous job, and he probably still looks damn good for a guy who’s been in the ground for four years. Let’s cast this bad boy, and get it shot, because, if Jack accepts, we’ve got to get it done before Lakers season next year. We can’t miss this window, because I don’t know if I have any more hate to send towards Kobe.
Remember how much The Kidd hates the idea of an “Arthur” remake, A.) because it’s a remake, and B.) because it stars Russell Brand? Well, the movie just got a little bit classier, as The Hollywood Reporterreports that Academy Award winner Helen Mirren has signed on to play Arthur’s longtime nanny, which appears to be a change of the supporting role that scored John Gielgud an Oscar for the original. Ugh… thanks, Helen Mirren. Am I now supposed to assume that an “Arthur” remake might not be all that bad, because you’re in it, and Helen Mirren doesn’t make shit? What’s next…? Are you going to add Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett to the cast, so I have no choice but to succumb to these remake’s wily charms? Son of a bitch.
The contest for our advance screening of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” has come to a close, and the winners are now posted. If you entered, check to see if you made our final list. If you did, prepare to share your nightmares with the rest of us on Wednesday night. If you didn’t, oh well… too bad, so sad. Try again next time.
Of course, it just so happens next time is right now, as The Kidd launches his biggest, most exclusive, most different, and most difficult contest yet. What’s it all for…? Let’s just say that we’re kicking off the summer in some blockbuster fashion.
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Until tomorrow…
