5 Fascinating Questions Coming Off The Superman/Batman Movie Announcement

As you all must have heard by now, Warner Bros. has announced that Superman and Batman will finally be appearing in shared live-action film in 2015. This is obviously big news, I even saw them cover it here where I live during today's noon news hour.

I have to say, the announcement came as a total surprise to me , I did not see that coming at all - frankly it's still hard to believe. It is certainly an interesting development though, and it brings to my mind a few fascinating questions;

1. Who will be the new Batman? This is the first and most obvious question following this announcement. Audiences will have to adapt to a new Batman just 3 years after the end of The Dark Knight trilogy, as Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan have both stated that their vision of Batman is complete and WB will take Batman in a new direction, one in which he's more suited to a world where other superheroes exist. Will they be looking for an older actor for Batman or a younger one? Will this Batman have been "in costume" and active before the events of "Man of Steel", or do those events precede (or even motivate) Bruce Wayne's emergence as Batman? Are any of the fan-casting suggestions realistic, such as Jon Hamm, Josh Holloway, or Karl Urban? (and yes, I know my favorite of those three)

2. Will it be Superman & Batman, or Superman VS Batman? Is Batman going to be antagonistic towards Superman because of events in Man of Steel? Is the dynamic between the heroes going to be the main conflict in the film, or are they going to team-up against a common enemy? I would think the safe bet is on both. Bruce Wayne getting close to Lex Luthor through some business deal seems a very plausible scenario... could we even see a Batman villain involved?

3. When will Superman get his "The Dark Knight"?
The thought of seeing Batman and Superman together in live action makes the 5-year-old in me all giddy, but I'm curious how this affects the Superman franchise going forward. Does this movie effectively replace Man of Steel 2, or is it meant to fit in somewhere between a trilogy of Superman films? Or is Batman in reality going to play a smaller part than we're all thinking right now? Will we still get the chance to see a fully-formed, fully-realized Superman at his best, facing off (as Batman did) against his greatest arch-enemy Lex Luthor, in a spectacular, engaging film? Not a team-up, but a solo movie, one that is quintessentially 'Superman", and is as memorable and revered as "The Dark Knight" is for Batman?

4. What will the Batman franchise look like after Superman/Batman? What are WB's plans for Batman after this film? When might we see a new solo Batman flick? Will it come after the inevitable Justice League film? It will almost certainly be a more fanciful take, perhaps with more colorful versions of Batman's rogues gallery. Are we more likely to see Robin in this more fanciful world?

5. Why does WB feel this is the right time for a Superman/Batman Movie?
How long has the studio been planning to make this move? Was it a decision that Zack Snyder and David Goyer were involved in, or did the idea come down from WB higher-ups? Did they count on "Man of Steel" making more than it has (which has actually not been bad at all!) at the box office, and are looking to give the next film the "Batman Bump"? Are they just really eager to get the shared DC Universe moving on the silver screen the way Marvel has? Perhaps they just came up with a great story for these characters that they are anxious to show moviegoers. Frankly, I don't know whether it is or is not the right time, but like the rest of the world I'll be watching the developments closely!

Are You A Nitpicker?

Do you see yourself as a nitpicker? I think when it comes to nitpicking - especially when it comes to movies and tv - the Nostalgia Critic puts it well. Give his editorial a watch;

Justin Bieber... Kids Love 'Im!

A piece of art from a children's arts and crafts fair I was invited to judge a while back.

Kids just love Justin Bieber... or "Justin Beaver" as the tag says.

The News About Smoking!

Something I think you'll want to hear today... I was surfing around this morning and saw the headline on a news page; 

"New Study Proves Quitting Smoking Extends Your Life"

Have you heard about this yet? Well needless to say, I'm quite happy about this news! Now that the proof is in, I intend to buy some cigarettes and start smoking right away, as I want to start quitting as soon as possible. 

Right now I'm drawing up plans for a healthy rotation schedule where I'll smoke for 3 weeks, then quit for 3 weeks before starting up again. I estimate I should probably be able to extend my life indefinitely this way. 

The only sad part is that this study was not conducted years ago!

Well, pass on the news, folks! Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

A Question for Jim Carrey...

So apparently Jim Carrey's latest movie role has troubled him. He has had a change of heart with respect to the level of violence portrayed in it.

As he says in his tweets on the subject, he just "cannot support" it;

I haven't seen the first one, and don't really care to see the 2nd, but in response, I do have to ask this question;

You surely didn't act in this movie for free, did you Mr. Carrey? If the level of violence in this film is something you "cannot support", tell me, is this film something you're going to let support you?

Shredder... Is a White Guy?

So a few days ago we got the news that William Fichtner has been cast as The Shredder in the new Michael Bay produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie... and I'm confused.

Now, I've seen Fichtner in a bunch of different roles - most notably the angry, shotgun-wielding banker from the opening heist scene in The Dark Knight. I like him, he's a good actor. But his being cast as The Shredder raises some big questions for me.

If Shredder is not Japanese (or asian at all), what does that imply?

 Is he no longer Oroku Saki? Is this Shredder a white guy who went to Japan and recruited a clan of ninjas? Did he know Hamato Yoshi back in Japan? Has he even been to Japan? What will his motivations be? Will 'honor' be important in Shredder's mind? Is there a foot clan at all, or are Shredders' minions just mercenaries or something?

Will we see Shredder's face at all?

I mean, I really don't anticipate them using make-up to make Fichtner look asian, that would be weird - among other things. If Fichtner's casting is to be taken at face value (and we'll wait to see), then - whether for good or for bad - it seems like we're in for some pretty radical changes to the Turtles stories we know and love.

In Man of Steel, I found the traditionally white role of Perry White to be played wonderfully by Lawrence Fishbourne. In that case though, his ethnic background is not an integral part of the character or his character's history. I think the same applies to Samuel L. Jackson's casting as Nick Fury.

No, this is something else entirely.

So what is the motivation behind this casting? Are the producers just "trying something new"? Are they attempting to make a Shredder more "relevant to the times"? Are they softening him a little for the kids?

Or maybe they're afraid of a villainous Japanese Shredder offending a large cinema-going asian audience? I donno, if that's the case, you still have Hamato Yoshi (later Splinter, or in some iterations Splinter's old caretaker/master) to be a positive, heroic Japanese character. 

Or maybe I should just wash my hands of the whole thing and say "Well, Michael Bay's an idiot."

I just don't know

My Dad Said It...

"Oh yeah, that young Spock. Is he ever good... what's his name... Quintio Ferrignio or something."