On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss Warner Bros.’s plan to indefinitely shelve Coyote vs. Acme for tax purposes and what that says about the streaming business writ large. Then they review The Marvels, which recently had the worst opening ever for a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and continues the studio’s cold streak. Make sure to swing by Friday for our bonus episode on AI provisions in the new SAG-AFTRA contract. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
I wish I lived in the timeline in which you reviewed The Holdovers (which I loved).
This episode made me want to drink and hide under the covers
Really good discussion, especially the end regarding comic books and Marvel’s treatment of other worlds.
The problem I have the GOTHG3 (G3) was what was said about Dark Phoenix. During G3 a planet with a modern (to us) civilization is destroyed, but hey we rescued some baby racoons.
What the award-winning Alyssa said here was spot on. “There is a generation of art that we have missed because of this.”
Apparently, they've reversed their decision. So glad because I really WANT to see this movie! https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/coyote-vs-acme-wb-warners-canceled-reversal-shop-film-1235645372/
I didn’t think The Marvels was a terrible film, I’m just not as invested in the whole project as I was ten years ago. They’re essentially the same stories which is fine if you have great characters. Unfortunately Marvel still, somehow, struggles to write good villains.
I'd hesitate to call it a cold streak, too. I thought GotG3 was successful both critically and commercially. If it was an outlier, that still breaks a "streak".
That said, the Paramount Marvel movies all had an edge to them that Disney got rid of. I think Iron Man 3 would have done the alcoholism storyline based on the amount of drinking Tony did in the second film. Cap was too expensive a soldier to be wasted in war,even if he's have ended the war sooner (like an atom bomb). Thor was a warmongering dick! But those edges remained enought to carry that group of characters. The new class doesn't have that edge. Shang Chi likes drinking and karaoke, for example. Weak. Better is Wong as a cage fighting sorcerer supreme on the side! I think Giant Girl and Kate Hawkeye can fix some of that if they are allowed. I don't think any of this is actor/director issues. They just need to be a bit bolder otherwise they are all the same.
Some movies are so enjoyable that people might want to purchase a copy so they can watch it whenever they want and not fund a poor business model.
Hockey fans who have watched Slapshot over and over again know all about tax writeoffs.
Local news announced last night that Warner Brothers was making it available to other streaming services.
Well, they're letting the filmmakers shop it around.
The schadenfreude will be good.