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  • VFX Veteran Talks ‘Black Panther’s Final Act and the Challenge of the Industry’s Demand

    VFX Veteran Talks ‘Black Panther’s Final Act and the Challenge of the Industry’s Demand

    The discussions surrounding the use of CGI in modern blockbusters have been heated. Most use it as the basis for their take on what makes or breaks a modern blockbuster, even going as far as to break down an entire film into one single screenshot. What is lost in the shuffle is the dire state of the entire industry, as many VFX companies are forced to close shop and work under problematic deadlines.

    While a general industry issue, it has been boiled down to the MCU due to their film’s reliance on special effects. Still, VFX veteran Todd Sheridan Perry sat down with Inverse to discuss the general situation in the industry and how VFX has to be created within short deadlines, as the count grows while postproduction time windows shrink.

    It falls squarely on the shoulders of studios that set a release date and then work backward from there. The time isn’t enough to live up to the ambition of the project.

    Todd Sheridan Perry

    Perry has worked on the infamous Black Panther third act, where the effects have struggled even as the film received critical acclaim. He highlights that “there were multiple things going on in act three” that played a factor. What does paint an interesting picture is that Marvel Studios actually recognized the time crunch and wanted to support the production studio. The only issue is that the good intention accidentally leads to a different issue as they utilize very different software that doesn’t cooperate as well.

    We’d already done tons of development work on the vibranium mines and it all had to be packaged up and sent over to DNEG. Even if you’re in the same company and sending it to a different department, packaging all that up and having it work requires a lot of elbow grease. DNEG didn’t have the time to polish their shots as much as other companies who’d been working on the film for seven or eight months, and they were caught at a disadvantage. I’m not saying DNEG is a bad company – they have a closet full of Oscars. They thankfully took it on and it actually got done. We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish it otherwise.

    Todd Sheridan Perry

    Understanding the context adds up a lot to what exactly happened. Marvel Studios seemingly had good intentions in supporting its VFX company. Yet, they also still fall into some old issues such as some of their biggest films getting finished a week before release, which is something that they hopefully start learning to avoid moving forward.

    Even the Marvel films, which have all the resources in the world, play this dangerous game. Avengers: Endgame had 1,000 VFX shots delivered one week before the film was in theaters.

    Todd Sheridan Perry

    Yet, there are some productions that also push it to their brink, such as the infamous work on Cats, which he also highlights in his interview.

    The worst example is Cats. Cats didn’t just suffer from bad CG, but missing CG. And it’s for all the reasons we’ve talked about.

    Todd Sheridan Perry

    He has praised productions like Parasite and Little Women for “absolutely invisible” VFX work. These films work under very different circumstances with less pressure of putting out a high-budget blockbuster within a specific release date. There’s a general issue in the modern-day that content needs to be dropped at a fast pace, as it is believed to keep interests and franchises alive. That issue is definitely affecting big-budget projects, especially Marvel which only can rely on its singular IP. Demand and supply have created a cycle that will be hard to break. Yet, hopefully, the cycle breaks before the talent that manages to provide amazing work under extreme pressure.

    Source: Inverse

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Breaks Digital Sales Record as it Passes $800M Domestically

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Breaks Digital Sales Record as it Passes $800M Domestically

    Spider-Man: No Way Home continues to be quite the powerhouse at the box office, and now it looks like even in digital sales. While the film is the only one of three to pass the $800M landmark, the film has also broken an industry record in digital sales within its first week. No Way Home has been made available on 88 platforms and has seemingly made more than 2.1M in its first week alone in the US. So, it’s not only still proving it has legs at the box office after releasing back in December, but people have been anxiously awaiting to watch this film at home.

    In regards to the box office success, the film has now joined Avengers: Endgame ($858.3M) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936.6M). It’s crazy to think that Sony almost called off their dealings with Marvel Studios before this film was released. The film was already on its way to passing $1.9M worldwide and it’s unclear if they’ll keep the film in theaters so that it can scratch the $2 billion mark as closely as possible. The numbers are quite impressive if you take into account that the pandemic is still an issue and affecting other releases in specific markets. Yet, it seems that Marvel Studios and Sony’s latest isn’t being held back.

    They already have more in the pipeline. So, this film’s success may have definitely solidified their partnership moving forward. It’s unclear if the appearance and tease for Doctor Strange in the film may also boost the numbers for their next major tentpole release in May. Morbius is also on the horizon as Sony tries to build a separate franchise but is still struggling. Just recently, the director spoiled most of the film’s major plot points ahead of its release and it’ll be interesting to see if that negatively affects its box office.

    Source: Deadline, The Numbers

  • ‘Halo’ is Paramount+’s Most-Watched Series Within 24 Hours

    ‘Halo’ is Paramount+’s Most-Watched Series Within 24 Hours

    While it seemed that Halo opened to surprisingly little fanfare, the series was still quite the hit on Paramount+. Pablo Schreiber takes on the role of Master chief in this new live-action adaptation based on the popular Xbox gaming franchise. We believed that it was a decent opening to a new series–you can check out our review by clicking here–it looks like Paramount has been quite satisfied with the release. Chief Programming Officer for the streaming service, Tanya Giles, shared the following statement on its success:

    Bringing ‘Halo’ to life as a streaming series has been one of the most rewarding efforts for Paramount+ to date and we could not be more thrilled at the massive fan responses to the series’ debut. Along with our phenomenal partners at Showtime, 343 Industries, and Amblin Television, we cannot wait for fans to experience more of this incredible universe.

    Tanya Giles

    As per usual in the streaming world, we don’t have any exact numbers but it was highlighted that it was a clear winner. Considering the project started initially back in 2013 and has been in production for quite some time, these numbers are definitely a sigh of relief for Paramount+. They already renewed it for a second season with a new showrunner. So, it seems that the early renewal was definitely the right move and we’ll see if it can keep up that viewership over the next few weeks as it rolls out the rest of the episodes.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Moon Knight’s Ethan Hawke Denies Hulk Rumors

    ‘Moon Knight’s Ethan Hawke Denies Hulk Rumors

    For quite some time, there have been rumors that we’ll see one Avenger join the upcoming Moon Knight series. Yet, the project has mostly been shown as a very independent storyline from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Surprisingly, it seems that Mark Ruffalo‘s Hulk was the one teased as a potential addition to the Disney+ series. Yet, it seems there might not be that much after all to the rumors.

    Even as there hasn’t been much proof outside of Ruffalo being sighted near the production, it didn’t stop the rumor from making the rounds on multiple occasions. Ethan Hawke, however, was asked during The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on the rumors surrounding the project, where he quickly denied it having any real weight.

    That would be cool, right? That would be cool. Except I know Mark Ruffalo, and I think if we were in the same show, he would have at least texted me or something. So I don’t think that one’s got a lot of legs. [Audience groans ] I know, I know. Maybe in another one.

    Ethan Hawke

    He does go on in the interview that his personal hope is to see Mahershala Ali‘s Blade make an appearance but he wouldn’t know if they filmed anything in that regard. Given the darker direction for the character, it would make the most sense. Yet, we’ve been surprised in the past and who knows if he appears in a post-credit sequence that Hawke wasn’t involved with. Of course, there’s always the chance that he’s just denying it outright as he can’t break his NDA as part of the series. For now, we have to wait and see.

    You can watch the full interview here:

    Source: YouTube via The Direct

  • Latest ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Merch Offers New Look at Thor’s New Helmet

    Latest ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Merch Offers New Look at Thor’s New Helmet

    It looks like the new ornament collection shared by Hallmark isn’t just leaking the costume for Black Adam, as another one has found its way online offering a look at Thor’s new updated design for the upcoming fourth entry in the franchise, Thor: Love and Thunder. We’ve gotten some glimpses in the past, most notably with the LEGO set, but this new one offers a good look at the overall design and on his new helmet he’ll be wearing at some point in the film. The image comes courtesy of @common_writer on Twitter:

    https://twitter.com/common_writer/status/1507463718472409091?t=CCjPz8zeW6JwE7pTSr5Vqg&s=19

    The new design is embracing more gold elements, and it’ll be interesting to see if this might have some connection to him potentially taking back the throne as the king of Asgard. We don’t know what the future has in store for Chris Hemsworth‘s character and just how his story will pan out after joining the Guardians after the events of Avengers: Endgame. We saw him rock a sleeveless shirt and jacket on some set photos, but it’s uncertain if he might summon this new design through his hammer or have a new armor forged.

    It would be great to see his armor actually forged, as most of the time he manages to use his electricity to gather the armor around him. Taika Waititi also is continuing his trend of adding more colorful elements to his design, as Ragnarok also introduced a very different depiction of the character. Instead of just focusing on the blue, black, and grey design elements from the originals, they’re adding details to make it stand out better, which fits his usual colorful visual style. It’ll be interesting to see if they include it in the first trailer.

    Source: Twitter

  • RUMOR: Marvel Studios May Be Facing Creative Issues With ‘She-Hulk’

    RUMOR: Marvel Studios May Be Facing Creative Issues With ‘She-Hulk’

    Marvel Studios’ venture into Disney+ has been quite the success so far. While not every show was considered a massive hit right out of the gate, they still found their audiences and proved the studio is willing to experiment. WandaVision was quite the departure from their heroic tale, as they explored grief through the eyes of a superpowered individual. And it seems that there might be some concerns or worries behind-the-scenes with the upcoming adaptation of She-Hulk. Jeff Sneider has briefly discussed the topic on the latest episode of The Hot Mic With Jeff and John, where he highlighted some concerns that have been happening behind the scenes.

    I’ve heard not good things behind-the-scenes… and I’ve asked whether it’s Moon Knight or Ms. Marvel or Secret Invasion or any of these [projects], they are always like, ‘She-Hulk is the one that could be a problem.

    Jeff Sneider

    He goes on to make a comparison to the Guardians of the Galaxy films, which helps solidify this less than a quality issue but potentially just a project that sticks out from a creative direction.

    I’ve heard it from people working on it, from people actually working on it who are just like, ‘We’ll see.’ I think that’s a lot of Marvel things, honestly, and you know where it’s just like, ‘Ugh, this could be really stupid, like we’ll see.’ I’m sure people making Guardians of the Galaxy felt that way, right? And most of the time [Marvel] pulls it out. But there will come a time where they won’t, that’s just the laws of moviemaking, the laws of numbers.

    Jeff Sneider

    The “laws of numbers” comparison is a bit curious, as that is more in overabundance leads to mediocrity if you stick too much to put out the same thing; a common provocation in the discourse surrounding the MCU. In this case, it sounds like they are trying to break away from the norm as Guardians did some time ago. He does add that it “is not shaping up to be very good” but there have been those kinds of rumors in the past, especially the more the studio departed from its usual fare. For now, the bigger showcase will be as we close in on its release which is still some time away. Some of the concerns could also be due to the CG-heavy reliance on a character like She-Hulk and Hulk on a smaller budget. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see.

    Source: YouTube via The Direct

  • The Many Personalities of ‘Moon Knight’

    The Many Personalities of ‘Moon Knight’

    Marvel Studios’ first 2022 project is set to introduce the titular Moon Knight to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even though its trailer quickly became the most-liked Disney+ series trailer on YouTube soon after its release, the character isn’t exactly a household name. Moon Knight is a caped vigilante; he was seemingly revived by the Egyptian moon god Khonshu, often dresses in all-white so that bad guys see him coming, and he may very likely be the MCU’s most violent and brutal character to date. But those aren’t exactly his most interesting traits.

    Marc Spector, Moon Knight’s human persona, has dissociative identity disorder (DID), which is a mental health condition characterized by the existence of two or more personality identities in the same person. DID used to be known as multiple personality disorder, and in the past, the character’s own comics incorrectly referred to Spector’s disorder as schizophrenia. Because the portrayal of any mental illness can be fumbled, the makers of Moon Knight have indicated that they plan to take the character’s DID seriously and portray it as accurately as possible. 

    With that in mind, Marc Spector in the comics now generally has five core personalities, or alters, in the comics, some much more recent than others–though even more manifested at different points in time. Not every one of the primary five have been referenced ahead of Moon Knight, but you can check them out below:

    Marc Spector

    Moon Knight

    Marc Spector is the son of a rabbi, and a former Marine and CIA operative who became a mercenary. Spector was killed during a mission in Sudan, but was seemingly resurrected underneath the statue of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Spector’s belief that he is Khonshu’s avatar on Earth, or the “Fist of Khonshu,” leads to his Moon Knight persona. Spector is often the primary non-costumed personality nowadays, but there are times throughout the character’s history where the Spector alter is suppressed for long periods of time. So far, the Moon Knight trailers and promotions have only given us a tiny sliver of Marc Spector.

    Steven Grant

    Moon Knight

    Steven Grant is a wealthy, charismatic, connected businessman who took Marc Spector’s mercenary earnings and turned them into millions. He uses these riches to fund Moon Knight’s costly vigilante pursuits, including the Mooncopter and plenty of gadgets. Later, Steven became a producer and even produced a Moon Knight movie. In the trailers for the Disney+ series, Oscar Isaac seems to almost exclusively be portraying the series’ version of Steven Grant. Instead of a playboy millionaire, this Grant is a mild-mannered British gift-shop employee who seems to have little to no awareness of his alters.

    Jake Lockley

    Shadowland: Moon Knight

    Completely absent from all trailers and marketing for Moon Knight is Jake Lockley, Spector’s third classic personality. Lockley is usually depicted as a sometimes-seedy, kind of rough, street-smart cab driver who uses his position to stay connected with ground-level informants and criminals. In that way, he acts as a kind of detective for Moon Knight. Lockley also serves as the connection between Moon Knight and several major supporting characters, such as Bertrand Crawley, Gena Landers, and her two sons. Whether Jake’s absence from Moon Knight promotions means that he will not be making an appearance or that he will be a later reveal is yet to be seen.

    Moon Knight

    Moon Knight

    Depending on which Moon Knight comic you happen to be reading, whether or not Moon Knight is actually a separate identity is pretty ambiguous. In some, like the first-ever issue of Moon Knight above, Marc, Steven, and Jake together form the identity of Moon Knight. But more recent runs have made it more explicit that Moon Knight is indeed his own alter, not just (for example) Marc in a cape. Appointed as Khonshu’s fist and high priest, Moon Knight enacts justice to protect those who travel at night. Throughout most of his history, Moon Knight was never actually superpowered, though there have been times where Khonshu imbued him with special abilities–such as superhuman strength, speed, and durability–that could vary with the lunar phases. 

    Mr. Knight

    Moon Knight

    The fifth primary alter of Marc Spector is his newest by far, first making his appearance in 2014. Maybe the most visually interesting Knight of the two, Mr. Knight always wears a crisp, all-white suit with a white shirt, white tie, and white shoes. He also wears white gloves and a white mask with the outline of a crescent moon on his forehead. If the Moon Knight posters are any indication, Isaac is about to don a very comic-accurate rendition of this personality. Mr. Knight is somewhat of a casual version of Moon Knight–he is often talking to his psychiatrist, assisting in police investigations, and talking to people in need. 

    Honorable Mentions

    Moon Knight

    For a brief time during the Brian Michael Bendis run, Marc and Moon Knight found themselves without Steven and Jake. Instead, Moon Knight developed three new alters: Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Captain America. While it is highly unlikely for many reasons that any of them will appear in Moon Knight, the Bendis run is still worth a shot.

    Moon Knight hits Disney Plus on March 30th.

  • James Gunn Teases Runtime of ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ 

    James Gunn Teases Runtime of ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ 

    This Christmas, Marvel Studios will debut its first-ever holiday special in the form of the aptly titled The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. The project will be new territory for the production company, which has previously stuck to making feature films, television shows, and short films called “One-Shots”. As such, many fans have found themselves in the dark on just how long the Holiday Special will be.

    Debates have been raging as to whether the final runtime will match a series episode or be closer to the aforementioned short films. Luckily, director James Gunn has opened up about the topic on Twitter, revealing the special will be about the same length as the traditional programs that have come before it.

    https://twitter.com/jamesgunn/status/1507537666656686085?s=21

    While he doesn’t give the exact runtime, Gunn’s comments about the Holiday Special being “TV Special length” would seem to confirm it being somewhere between 30 minutes to an hour-long. Old fashioned animated specials like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving have been at the half-hour range, while live-action projects like the Star Wars Holiday Special have clocked in at around an hour and a half. This means, at the very least, fans can expect the special to be longer than a One-Shot, and probably closer in length to an episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

    For anyone thinking ahead, this could also be a good indication of how long Michael Giacchino’s rumored Halloween Special will last upon its completion as well. It seems Marvel plans to make holiday-themed specials a recurring concept going forward, and Gunn’s wintery extravaganza will likely set the standard later this year.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ Will Introduce Multiple New Characters to the MCU

    ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ Will Introduce Multiple New Characters to the MCU

    We have quite a few exciting MCU projects on the horizon that will continue to expand the franchise in creative ways. Not only that, but they are also starting to try out new expansions such as a Halloween and Christmas special later this year. While both are currently filming, Gunn has recently offered a few teases of what’s to come. He also shared a few details on Twitter as a follow-up, he teased what we can expect from the project such as that the upcoming Disney+ Holiday special will introduce not just one but multiple new MCU characters.

    https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1507546334387126274

    Of course, this opens up a lot of potential questions on who we might expect. As it is a Christmas special, we have jokingly wondered if we’ll see the MCU’s incarnation of Santa Clause. In the comics, he’s an actual character that exists. If Khonshu is a real being so why couldn’t old Saint Nick also make an appearance? Plus, he may be the first MCU-based mutant to get introduced into the franchise. If we exclude the upcoming appearance of Patrick Stewart‘s Xavier who was briefly teased in the last Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer.

    The most difficult connection to make is if the story is going to remain in space or be earth-based. Star-Lord making his way back home to visit his family would be a nice way to bring a Christmas story together, as he also faces his own family. With the upcoming Vol. 3 teased as the final entry for the team, or at least its current roster, there’s a chance that this might be his only chance to also make up for running away. We briefly saw his grandfather appear in the second entry. It would be nice for him to face his family and maybe even visit his mother’s grave after the events of the last film. He was already on Earth with the battle against Thanos. So, it’s time to face his demons in the holiday spirits.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Better Nate Than Ever’s Tim Federle on Directing an Adaptation of His Own Book

    ‘Better Nate Than Ever’s Tim Federle on Directing an Adaptation of His Own Book

    Tim Federle wrote the book Better Nate Than Ever back in 2013, but now got the chance to not only write the script for the Disney+ adaptation but even get to sit in the director’s chair. So, the director got a chance to share his enthusiasm for taking on this new role during the press junket, and especially how where he is now also strongly echoes the message of his film.

    It’s a dream come true. I mean, my background was as a theater kid from Pittsburgh, who dreamed of getting out of my hometown and dancing on Broadway. I never really dreamed of turning it into a movie, and I think the amazing thing about […] growing up is it never stops happening if you surround yourself with people who allow you to dream.

    Tim Federle

    Federle has been busy and is no stranger to working with Disney+, as he also was an executive producer and writer on the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which has a third season on the horizon. He also co-wrote the Blue Sky Studios’ film Ferdinand back in 2017. So, the author has been quite busy, and with the chance to sit in the director’s chair and the potential success of Better Nate Than Ever, he hopefully gets a chance to also the sequel Five, Six, Seven Nate! life.