DC Movies- if at first you don't succeed...

[Christopher R Taylor]

I haven't seen it but what I have sen suggests The Batman is basically the Gotham TV series as a setting 10 years later.

[Steve]

Thanks to streaming it on Warner, I could split up watching “The Batman” over two nights. I thought it was decent, but some of the plot elements padding it’s time should have been removed. Catwoman was not really needed.

 

I’ve been noticing that Batman movies have been steadily ramping down the campiness of the character since Adam West played him. A lot lingered in the 80s movies and a bit still remained in Nolan’s films. There’s even less in the current offering. The current version of the Riddler is about where Nolan’s Joker was at.

[Twilight]

2 hours ago, Steve said:

Thanks to streaming it on Warner, I could split up watching “The Batman” over two nights. I thought it was decent, but some of the plot elements padding it’s time should have been removed. Catwoman was not really needed.

 

I’ve been noticing that Batman movies have been steadily ramping down the campiness of the character since Adam West played him. A lot lingered in the 80s movies and a bit still remained in Nolan’s films. There’s even less in the current offering. The current version of the Riddler is about where Nolan’s Joker was at.

Rather hope they stop dialing back the silliness of the character's myself.  I mean nobody's calling for a return to Adam West super camp, though I did love the Adam West Batman, but there's surely a happy medium between that and Frank Miller grim dark.  Some of those silly elements are things I want after all, like Penguins trick umbrellas.  I'm not even asking for the really silly ones just the gun disguised as an umbrella, or the umbrella that sprays knock out gas, stuff like that.

[unclevlad]

Penguin's an example of a villain that can absolutely play that card, too, with the trick umbrella.  He looks like he shouldn't be taken seriously.  Joker probably should be a combo...most of his stuff is Mostly Harmless...but then, there's the occasional VERY nasty surprise.  Joker's utterly bugnuts;  you don't have to work to make that terrifying.

[Lord Liaden]

Joker has always been a prime candidate for "harmless-looking but deadly" thematic gimmicks, and various incarnations of the character over the decades have actually used them: lethal-voltage hand joy buzzer, acid-squirting lapel flower, thrown bladed playing cards, exploding juggling props or party favors, gun that projects a "Bang!" flag but then shoots the flag stick for lethal penetration, and of course several delivery methods for his trademark "Joker venom" that makes its victim literally die laughing.

 

Once you accept the premise of a guy fighting crime in a bat suit, all that other stuff is just extension of the convention.

[Lord Liaden]

6 hours ago, Twilight said:

Rather hope they stop dialing back the silliness of the character's myself.  I mean nobody's calling for a return to Adam West super camp, though I did love the Adam West Batman, but there's surely a happy medium between that and Frank Miller grim dark.  Some of those silly elements are things I want after all, like Penguins trick umbrellas.  I'm not even asking for the really silly ones just the gun disguised as an umbrella, or the umbrella that sprays knock out gas, stuff like that.

 

3 hours ago, unclevlad said:

Penguin's an example of a villain that can absolutely play that card, too, with the trick umbrella.  He looks like he shouldn't be taken seriously. 

 

 

[slikmar]

I am rewatching The Batman and realized the one thing that I think they got wrong. He didnt figure out what Riddler was doing until too late. The whole point is that The Batman is supposed to be the one person who is as smart or smarter then The Riddler. But the city got flooded. It sort of reminds me of Rorschach and Ozymandius - What, do you think I would stand here telling you my whole plot if you could stop it? I did it 30 minutes ago.

[Pattern Ghost]

On 4/25/2022 at 9:25 AM, Christopher R Taylor said:

I haven't seen it but what I have sen suggests The Batman is basically the Gotham TV series as a setting 10 years later.

 

Pretty different, tonally. Gotham leaned more camp near the end (or middle?), IMO.

 

----------------------/anti-post merge line/----------------------

 

3 hours ago, slikmar said:

He didnt figure out what Riddler was doing until too late.

 

I didn't like that, either. They make a movie showing his detective skills (somewhat), then they have him fail to solve the case. The only thing I can come up with to explain it is if they were going to lean into a No Man's Land type story line in the sequel.

[slikmar]

IIRC, there was also a storyline for year one where the Riddler was killing people if no one could solve his riddles. I believe Gotham was flooded then also and, of course, Bruce shows up and answers the riddles while wearing a mask, prior to actually becoming Batman. Been a while since I read it, so I am not sure, maybe that was part of No Man's Land.

[Christopher R Taylor]

I don't recall anything like that, but I haven't read Batman for quite a while (stopped not long after No Man's Land) so it could have happened.  Riddler has always been about trickery and the riddles, not about killing or any serious crime; it set him apart from Joker and other deadly Batman villains.

[Bazza]

 

[Bazza]

I guess bots like to watch grim dark dystopia. 

[mattingly]

They're just trying to normalize grim dark dystopia, in hopes that we won't stop them.

[Christopher R Taylor]

On social media, bots are just accounts purchased to push something as if its popular; its standard for political groups and advertisers now.  Its almost hilarious because you can see like 300 posts that are almost identically worded sometimes to some statement or about some movie.  It reminds me of the old David Letterman bit about a play that hypnotizes people "it was better than Cats".

 

But it works on a lot of people and businesses who don't know any better.  They just see a poll or a lot of retweets or a lot of positive response, even though its all been purchased.

[Ternaugh]

1 hour ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

On social media, bots are just accounts purchased to push something as if its popular; its standard for political groups and advertisers now.  Its almost hilarious because you can see like 300 posts that are almost identically worded sometimes to some statement or about some movie.  It reminds me of the old David Letterman bit about a play that hypnotizes people "it was better than Cats".

 

But it works on a lot of people and businesses who don't know any better.  They just see a poll or a lot of retweets or a lot of positive response, even though its all been purchased.

 

The Amazing Alexander (SNL)

 

 

[slikmar]

Hadn't seen anyone comment on this: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/batgirl-hbo-max-movie-dc-canceled-1235191932/

 

[Christopher R Taylor]

Yeah according to reports the test audiences practically vomited at how awful the movie was, and I think WB decided to cut their losses.

 

The Black Adam, Shazam, and Sandman movies look like they might potentially not suck.  I am cautiously hopeful they are pretty good.

[death tribble]

44 minutes ago, slikmar said:

Hadn't seen anyone comment on this: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/batgirl-hbo-max-movie-dc-canceled-1235191932/

 

I mentioned in the Extra Extra thread as it was also about the work it brought to Britain. Should have crossposted here.

[Ternaugh]

The merger between Warner and Discovery is going to be painful, as they've already announced a goal of cutting several billion dollars in expenses and debt. There's an earnings call today for the company, where they are expected to announce plans for both HBOmax and Discovery+.

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/warner-bros-discovery-quietly-cutting-other-movies-amid-shock-batgirl-cancellation

 

 

[unclevlad]

Yeah, while I believe it got bad audience reviews, I do wonder if they were *as* bad as CRT reported.  Because that's Warner pulling a CYA move, potentially, when really, it's about Max Hatred.

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/warner-bros-discovery-quietly-cutting-other-movies-amid-shock-batgirl-cancellation

 

The earnings call hasn't happened yet...it's already noon West Coast time, so even if they're California-based, they're taking their sweet time.

 

I'm beginning to wonder if they're deliberately waiting for the market to close...which is NOT!!!! a good sign.  

 

Yahoo! Finance has a story;  it expects 

 

Quote

The company plans to lay off 70% of its development business, according to The Wrap, which cited "multiple insiders."

Sources told the outlet that CEO David Zaslav, known for his cost-cutting leadership style, will announce a major restructuring to both HBO Max and Discovery+ either during the earnings results or soon after.

The Wrap explained that the move "will result in a gutting of HBO Max, significant layoffs for its executives and staff to minimize redundancies with HBO and a combined streaming service with Discovery+."

There will also be a harder line between scripted and non-scripted content, the source claims.

 

I'd say that counts as news that will drive the stock price down substantially, personally......................  

 

I also figure that many analysts may go to a solid SELL position on Warner generally, as I think few will expect their reliance on theatrical releases to work.  And as we said over in the other thread...pushing reality shows is a massive turn-off for a LOT of people.  

 

 

[Scott Ruggels]

Midnight's Edge Reported that the Supergirl Movie was also cancelled. Also a few HBO Max Properties, as we3ll as Scoob 2.  Andrej is of the opinion that they may cancel Flashpoint, because Ezra Miler has become such a liability. Most interesting is that, Zaslav said that the vaulting of Batgirl was done to "protect the brand", which is what departed Warner executive, Ann Sarnoff, was trying to change, similar to Marvel, to replace DC's trinity of Heroes with Batgirl, Supergirl and Wonder Woman, to make a "Safe", female Centric, DC Universe going forward. Zaslav, who is a strict dollars and cents executive, turned out Sarnoff, and most of her allies, and didn't bother hiring anyone to fill her position at Warner Brothers. Several Television shows on HBOMax were also cancelled, with a possible more announced later.  YouTuber Culture Casino, was of the opinion that if They can re-negotiate Henry Cavil's contract to play Superman again, Flashpoint will also most likely be vaulted, as well. If they cannot come to an agreement with Cavil, then Flashpoint will be released sometime next year, should Ezra Miller not appear in court before then.

[Ternaugh]

HBOmax and Discovery+ will be merging into one service, probably with multiple tiers, including a basic free with ads level. No name yet for the new service. 

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/hbo-max-discovery-will-combine-single-streaming-service-rcna41551

 

Here's a piece about Warner Bros. Discovery's president and CEO, David Zaslav, which states that the real reason to cut many of these projects is that they are more valuable as a multi-year tax write-off than as an actual product. Zaslav isn't much into scripted works, and the rumor floating around is that HBOmax could be losing up to 70% of its development team to layoffs.

 

https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/david-zaslav-hbo-max-warner-bros-discovery-batgirl/

 

[unclevlad]

1 hour ago, Ternaugh said:

HBOmax and Discovery+ will be merging into one service, probably with multiple tiers, including a basic free with ads level. No name yet for the new service. 

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/hbo-max-discovery-will-combine-single-streaming-service-rcna41551

 

Here's a piece about Warner Bros. Discovery's president and CEO, David Zaslav, which states that the real reason to cut many of these projects is that they are more valuable as a multi-year tax write-off than as an actual product. Zaslav isn't much into scripted works, and the rumor floating around is that HBOmax could be losing up to 70% of its development team to layoffs.

 

https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/david-zaslav-hbo-max-warner-bros-discovery-batgirl/

 

 

I've certainly seen massive layoff rumors;  whether these are really separate, independent suggestions or simply the Internet Echo Chamber at work, we don't know.  

 

But if he does cut 70%, then many HBO Max subscribers will flee;  another big chunk will shift to a lower-cost, lower-access plan focusing on movie (especially older, movie library) access.  

 

I've been thinking that there would be some major shakeouts in the streaming marketplace, as we get major players moving heavily into the arena.  I didn't expect that one of em would be due to necrotically toxic management.

[Christopher R Taylor]

Warner Brothers is deeply in debt, DC Comics makes no money (as in none), and their movies are barely making anything, often bombing.  Its pretty clear to even the dullest intellect that WB was doing things wrong and needed a severe change.  That's the new CEO's job: cut the fat, change directions, find ways to earn.

[slikmar]

So now the DCU movies will somehow be reality shows? well, probably same level of realism, honestly.