Disney

I don't know if I am going to continue this blog...the whole Disney thing has me looking at Marvel in a new light...I'm no longer excitedly following the growth of a dynamic upstart movie studio whose work is based on some of the greatest modern myths of our time...myths created by a small group of caring individuals known collectively as "Marvel"...I'm instead now following one more arm of a corporate behemoth with countless arms, decades of experience and unparalleled success in many fields...Marvel is no longer an underdog...and from the X-Men to the Hulk to Wolverine to Spider-Man, Marvel in my mind has always been fundamentally about underdogs...and their ability to eventually succeed...if they just...tried...hard...ENOUGH!

To me, it always seemed like the path of Marvel the company mirrored the path of many of its characters...for years, Marvel, the underdog, survived despite not having a giant corporate parent......recently, with Marvel Studios, Marvel forced itself onto a playing field occupied by long established and deep-pocketed mega movie studios...Marvel was playing with the big boys...it may have been harder for Marvel...but they were doing it! ...because they tried harder...because they understood great storytelling...because they cared...because they wouldn't sell out...and then...

They sold out.

I am not sure what I think at this point. I may or may not continue this blog. Maybe in time this whole Disney thing won't bother me. I know it's business. I know the characters are the most important thing. The stories. But somewhere, in the back of my mind, I always associated the company with the characters. Subconsciously even, while I read.

So I don't know right now.

'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' in 30 seconds

'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' parody. If you've seen the film you'll understand.


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MMB: WOLVERINE

Now imagine Wolverine with a perm

Most of you Marvel Movie fans know that Hugh Jackman was actually not the first choice of the X-Men producers to play Wolverine. But did you know that it may have been the perm Jackman was sporting at the time of his first audition that initially turned them off?
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MORE: IO9's TALES OF CASTING WOLVERINE
MORE: YAHOO'S 10 ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT WOLVERINE

James Kirk dethrones James Howlett

Star Trek took over the top spot at the box-office this weekend, pushing Wolverine down to number two. Wolverine still maintains the best opening weekend numbers of the year, but it looks like it may end up being the worst performing film in the X-Men franchise.
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MMB: WOLVERINE

Wolverine might have opened with $100 million or more

Fox is now saying that the pirated workprint of Wolverine has been downloaded over 4 million times. Hollywood Reporter does the math on that and arrives at an estimate of potentially 28.7 million dollars in lost revenue. Add that to the 85 million dollar actual opening and you're looking at what could have been a 113 million dollar tally.
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MORE: NEWSARAMA.COM
MMB: WOLVERINE

Spin-off of a spin-off

NOTE: A few of these links contain Wolverine spoilers
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X-Men gave us Wolverine, and apparently Wolverine is giving us Deadpool.
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MORE: PEOPLE
MORE: EMPIRE

Wolverine sequel already in the works?

Seems like the formula these days: big opening weekend, guaranteed sequel.
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MORE: DEN OF GEEK

$87 million opening weekend for Wolverine

'X-Men: Origins: Wolverine' took home 87 million dollars in it's opening weekend.
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MMB: WOLVERINE

Two claws down

NOTE: Many of the reviews linked to below contain spoilers.
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Yikes. Ebert not loving 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'.
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MMB: WOLVERINE

Wax on!

While we wait for the rest of the reviews to come in, let's take a look at Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas, where a wax sculpture of the mutant of the moment has just gone on display.
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MMB: WOLVERINE

Mixed bag?

NOTE: Many of the reviews linked to below contain spoilers.
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So we're getting more of this:
"Well-acted, with spectacular action and witty one-liners. The special effects are top-notch."
- Claudia Puig USA TODAY review

But now some of this:
"A keen disappointment as action and effects take over from a poorly conceived story."
- Kirk Honeycutt The Hollywood Reporter

No clear-cut general consensus seems to be developing at this stage. Let's see how it goes. There are a lot of major critics we still have to hear from. Wonder what Ebert will think of it.
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MORE: REUTERS
MMB: WOLVERINE

More reviews for 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'

NOTE: Many of the reviews linked to below contain spoilers.
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"X-Men Prequel is Kickass Kickoff to Blockbuster Season"
- Lou Lumenick NY POST review

We've seen some great reviews of 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine', but the aggregate rating at Rotten Tomatoes has cooled somewhat for the time being. It's still above average, but down from it's initial '100% fresh' rating. What we're seeing right now is preliminary - most of the major critics have yet to weigh in.
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MMB: WOLVERINE

Wolverine reviews are coming in!

NOTE: Many of the reviews linked to below contain spoilers.
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So far, so good!
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MMB: WOLVERINE

Wolverine premieres in Tempe Arizona

You have to hand it to Hugh Jackman. He's really making a consistent effort to incorporate the fans into the whole 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' process. Check out this little excerpt from an article about the premiere on ABC15.com:

Jackman also bought breakfast for the X-Men fans who camped out at the Tempe Marketplace early Monday morning. They were trying to stake out the best seats in the movie theater. "I was like, 'Man, that's what I love about Wolverine fans,'" Jackman said. "They're so passionate. I said the least I could do is buy them a muffin and a cup of coffee."

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MORE: HUGH JACKMAN SUPRISE VISIT AT COMIC-CON
MMB: WOLVERINE

Wolverine to have different secret endings?

Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net is reporting that Wolverine will have a few different 'secret' endings - and the one you will see will depend on what theater you see the film in!
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MORE: WIKIPEDIA - ALTERNATE ENDINGS
MMB: WOLVERINE

A new Wolverine clip from Empire Online

Check it out.
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MMB: WOLVERINE

More Wolverine leak drama

Here's the cliff-notes version:

• Tom Rothman, chairman of Twentieth Century Fox, says the workprint is "about 10 minutes shorter..." than the finished film.
• "Apparently that was a lie", says Scott Mendelson, film critic for the Huffington Post. He notes that both workprint and final film have identical running times: 107 minutes.
• MovieLine cites a Fox source as responding to Mendelson's assertion with: "It’s lunacy". The source goes on a bit and seems to speculate that Mendelson may have misunderstood Roth's full statements and may simply be confused.
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  MMB: WOLVERINE

Lauren Shuler Donner on 'X-Men Origins:Wolverine'

SCI FI Wire posted a brief interview with Lauren Shuler Donner this morning. In it she discusses the Gavin Hood/Richard Donner directing rumors as well as her thoughts on the workprint leak.
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MMB: WOLVERINE

New 'X-Men Origins:Wolverine' clip

Check it out.

Think before blogging

I just read this article about one of the 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' trailers and thought it was a great example of the predisposition some people have to 'bash first' and ask questions later. Are people really this eager to find fault with things? That they would not even bother to research something before they verbally rip it to shreds?