There’s no denying the power that Rotten Tomatoes has on making or breaking a studio tentpole. This is something that we’ve been seeing at the box office since the summer movie season started. Studio tentpoles aren’t critic-proof no matter how many times these actors or filmmakers say that it wasn’t made for the critics. Critics are people, too. The first thing I ask myself when I start to write a screenplay is whether it’s a…
"Studio Tentpoles are hurting this summer"Tag: Wonder Woman
Universal Pictures was hoping a reboot of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise would launch their Dark Universe franchise. Unfortunately for the studio, critics and audiences alike panned the film. Starring Tom Cruise, the Alex Kurtzman-directed film finished this weekend in second place with an estimated $32.2 million at the box office. In addition to Cruise, the film stars Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance and Russell Crowe. Taking into account the four…
"Box Office: The Mummy tanks for Universal"
Are American audiences ready for their first transgender superhero to hit the big screen in a movie adapted from comic books? With the recent release of DC’s Wonder Woman and Marvel’s Black Panther due out next February, this is a question that has been on my mind mostly due to communities that tend to be under-represented in television and film. I’m a writer myself, mostly with a lot of ideas of television and film but…
"Comic Books: Will a Transgender Superhero ever hit the Big Screen?"
It was reported today that Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has not yet signed on for the film’s sequel. I would expect that this will change soon and also come with a hefty pay raise following the film’s opening weekend. Wonder Woman is expected to smash Tom Cruise’s The Mummy at the box office this weekend. With actress Gal Gadot playing one of the DC trinity, she has options in her contract for appearing in…
"Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins not signed for sequel"
With the release of Wonder Woman, the female heroine created by William Moulton Marston, finally got her long-overdue origin story on the big screen. Directed by Jenkins, Gal Gadot leads a cast that includes Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen, Elena Anaya, Ewen Bremner, Lucy Davis, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Eugen Brave Rock, and Saïd Taghmaoui. Jenkins directs from a screenplay written by Allan Heinberg. The story was written by Zack Snyder…
"Wonder Woman Lives Up to the Hype"
An article on ComicBook.com drew a lot of outrage this week when the author suggested that Israeli actress Gal Gadot, who stars as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince, is a person of color. It led to journalist S.I. Rosenbaum writing an epic thread on Twitter about Jewish identity, Ashkenazi/Sephardim, and whiteness. I’d encourage you to read this thread rather than the ComicBook.com article. The line that has been drawing all the outrage is as follows: It might…
"Wonder Woman: Gal Gadot is NOT a Person of Color"
Memorial Day used to mark the kick-off of the summer movie box office season but that changed the minute that Sony dated Spider-Man for release at the start of May 2002. Many films released this past month have opened below studio expectations. Are audiences tired of these tentpoles or are movies thought to be critic-proof no longer critic-proof? Before I started writing reviews regularly, I would turn to the likes of Roger Ebert for my…
"Summer Box Office: Is Tentpole Fatigue in Play?" Wonder Woman is the next movie to be released in the DC Cinematic Universe. Between Marvel and DC, it’s the first comic book movie to be released with a female lead. Unfortunately, that doesn’t say much because I don’t have high hopes for it’s success. Critically speaking, DC hasn’t done well of late with the exception of the Dark Knight trilogy starring Christian Bale. We could nick and pick all we want about what’s happened…
"I Have Low Expectations for Wonder Woman"
The History Channel will air the two part-documentary, Superheroes Decoded, on Sunday, April 30 and Monday, May 1 at 9PM ET/PT. Sunday night’s airing is labeled American Legends whereas Monday night’s second part will focus on American Rebels. The filmmakers were given access to creators at both DC and Marvel Comics, thus we are able to see how the rise of superheroes also show a parallel to America’s climb as a superpower. We are shown…
"Superheroes Decoded: The Origin Story"
It was reported yesterday by The Hollywood Reporter that David Ayer would be re-teaming with Margot Robbie on Gotham City Sirens, a movie that would feature all the female villains of the DC Universe. Robbie’s Harley Quinn was the breakout star in Suicide Squad this summer. Robbie was likely the best thing from Suicide Squad, which was horribly trashed by the critics but went on to gross nearly $750 million worldwide. In addition to Quinn,…
"Gotham City Sirens in the works for DC Comics with Margot Robbie"