Spidey Freak

Okay but SpiderByte was trying to put into context how impressive that performance is for D&W, not pulling NWH down a notch

It's clear they don't think these movies outside of Venom will be too big which is why they are keeping the budgets low and probably hoping for MCU Phase 1 type 300M-450M WW smaller hits that make black even if they don't set the world on fire. The problem is to keep the budgets so low, outside of the actors, they are hiring the cheapest talent possible, who are either not very experienced or not very efficient (or both), especially when it comes to the hard task of transitioning supporting characters to leads. It's creating major bombs that aren't even meeting the already low expectations set for them.

I'll say this. It's honestly funny how this was the female Spidey film to not get shelved versus ones that seemed to have more potential like that Silver & Black Black Cat and Silver Sable film or the Spider-Gwen animated spin-off (tho I feel some of that got absorbed into Across the Spider-Verse and possibly even Beyond). Whatever you think of Olivia Wilde's personal life, even her rumored female Spider project wouldn't have been this panned. Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney could have literally starred in Silver & Black instead of this and it would have done much better (especially since the director attached to that project, Gina Prince-Blythewood went on to COOK with The Old Guard and The Woman King). Or maybe Gina dodged a bullet considering what happened to Nia DaCosta and Chloe Zhao.

HotD is much better written than GoT so you may want to check it out. I enjoyed Alcock but didn't find her to be anything earth-shattering though. Some fanboys also fetishized her a lot and used her as a shield to launch misogynistic attacks against other actresses on the show, especially the non-binary actor who replaced her (due to the character ageing). I didn't want that particular brand of toxicity to shift to the Gunnverse considering Gunn has also had a spotty track record with his depiction of women and their sexuality in the past. Still optimistic. Will just need to stay away from all the online convos surrounding Milly's Supergirl.

Post-MCU and especially Guardians success, character awareness among GA wasn't really a big deal though now people have certainly become more selective when it comes to superhero films. I think Sony chose Madame Web to set her up as their own Doctor Strange kind of mystical/magic adjacent mentor and guide required for any Multiverse and Spider-Verse shenanigans. Which if rumors are true about the NWH follow-up, they want to do more of even against Feige's suggestions.

Warm Bodies was from the guy zombie's POV and I don't think it was targeted primarily at women as a romcom but as an all-genders "zomcom" like Zombieland before it. It also came out at the best time for zombies in the early 2010s at the peak of The Walking Dead popularity and a couple of months before World War Z I don't think you can make Frankenstein's monster desirable in any way. SNL even made a Twilight spoof for Taylor Swift's first appearance on the show with the entire premise being the absurdity of using Frankenstein like sexified vamps

How many markets was it even opened in?

That title might be fake as there's a preview for the Superbowl teaser where the VO names the movie as We'll find out soon enough anyway

The meat of the story happens in the second part. And there are signs pointing to Villenue sidestepping most of the issues critics had with Oppenheimer and KOTFM. It wouldn't be exactly wild if WB is expecting a Fury Road level reception here.

Good for Ayer. He seems like a good egg with a decent level of talent. Hopefully this helps him finally move on from Suicide Squad as he's wasted a lot of his time and energy online mulling over Would've Could've Should'ves and trying to push for the dead elephant that is the Ayer Cut in the last few years.

With Vaughn and Jenkins, going downhill as soon as they were separated from the writers who worked with them on their most successful films (Goldman and Heinberg respectively). They share that in common with the Russos too. Taika is an interesting one because he became a 'celebrity' with his comfort in front of the camera, similar to Lin Manuel Miranda. As a result, there were people who didn't like the personality he presented and then it just became a game of waiting for him to falter.

Appears Jane Goldman was the real star. Vaughn's been terrible without her.

Umm... spoiler alert?? (Even if they're unverified rumors so far)

Looks are often prioritized above talent for Superman vs. Batman where Keaton taking on the role gave it a sheen of respect and appeal for more established actors like Bale, Affleck and Pattinson. So not really a curse but just the kind of actors cast. There's no Spidey curse either considering Garfield started raking in the nominations and accolades after the TASM films.

How have ya'll not mentioned the biggest example that is Charles Manson and his psycho groupies, less than 5 years after Once Upon A Time In Hollywood? The original Mad Love portrayed Harley poorly, showing she slept her way to her degree so technically wasn't qualified for her job, got a job in Arkham hoping to write a sensationalist tell-all about the insane villains, and victimized easily by the Joker. Recent reinterpretations like Harleen have had a more nuanced take in showing she was a brilliant student who still slept with her college professor tho not for grades but instead for reasons stemming from neglectful, uncaring parents and daddy issues. Set up the angle of looking for love in the wrong places in a much better way and made The Joker much more threatening and cunning in identifying Harley as a mark despite her capability and efficiency while making Quinn much more sympathetic.

Always hated the Cap Sam suit so this change is welcome

By that logic, Inside Out 2 shouldn't have a nostalgia boost as well considering the kids who were 11 in 2015 like Riley will be college goers now and she'll just be turning 13 in the sequel.

Mike The White Lotus/School of Rock White WROTE THIS?? Film may be a stronger lock for a Billie then any of us suspect. Can't wait to see his take on Gru and the girls as he personally shares an incredible relationship with his dad (I know this as they appeared together on The Amazing Race)

I guess it's cheaper than stop motion?

Honestly think the Barbie outrage is subdued and mature enough considering this is the second time Gerwig has been snubbed. There were protestations over the Little Women snub in 2020 too so I feel this is a lot of pent-up frustration among fans building up over the years that has finally exploded and amplified by the fact that Barbie is a much bigger film than LW (the 2020 awards in general were crappy to women as highlighted by this great video by YouTuber Be Kind Rewind) Now compare that to the dumbass Rachel Zegler Snow White manufactured outrage that seems like a collective kindergarten tantrum. The Oppie fans would have also burned the house down if something like The Color Purple had replaced it in the Best Picture category.

The White Lotus helped them find the light and sent them to the nunnery

Meg Donnelly is also voicing Supergirl in the current DTV animated universe which is about to end because Gunn wants his own animated projects to take centerstage with the live action actors voicing the characters. So if she misses out on this, she'll be losing a job in hand and a much more lucrative opportunity 😬

The Oscar Expert bros said Williams could die and an AI program could be installed in his place and the Academy would still keep nominating whatever it generated 😭😭

It's not that Barbie is being 'targeted' in particular but if you want to see the male bias among the Academy then just see the difference between the performances of the two Netflix films, Maestro and May December. Both are featuring respected talent and MD was better received by critics but for some reason the Academy chose Maestro for the big noms (I'm glad they didn't give Cooper a BD nom at least) Ditto for Past Lives and Celine Song/Greta Lee missing out on BD and BA. I haven't seen The Color Purple and I know it's of a more contentious quality but seeing how a lesser critically favored film like Maestro has gotten recognition, don't see why TCP couldn't have received more accolades as well. Outside of Oppenheimer, this could have been a completely female dominated year if the Academy had chosen to. And let's not even get into the bias against animated films.