One day there won't be movie news, I swear;

Okay, so there's a lot of things I found out about that I need to unpack. Hang on.

An animated Joseph and the Amaxing Technicolor Dreamcoat movie.

The 'Live Action' Lion King CGI movie.

And originally this was about the teaser teaser trailer for IT was here, but now the actual trailer is out,and you all know my feeling about it. So, moving on!

 There are more things to esoteric I'm not able to even form a cohesive blog about them at this point.

"I cannot be everywhere at once, people!"

Okay, quick rundown: not sure how I feel about Joseph. I'm in a minority of theater people who genuinely like the show, but there's already a filmed version.

Nothing intensely fantastical happens; it's not like Prince of Egypt where you could show miracles and the sea parting. So...why?

As for the non-live action Lion King (full CGI since there are no humans), again, I have to ask why? James Earl Jones is coming back...or will they just be re-using the original audio? Hell, why not just record Donald Glover over Ferris Buller, re-release the original, and call it a day?

I present our Simba!

Presented below were my thoughts before seeing the proper trailer. Make of them what you will, they remain unedited.


Okay, no more bullshit. This is the real deal, people. I'm gonna watch the footage AS I WRITE THE BLOG. Be right back.

SON OF A BITCH, IT WAS A TEASER FOR THE TEASER!

Apparently, the actual teaser premiers tomorrow. Damnit. At least we got some pictures.

 Pretty standard, this could be any point in the movie.

 The werewolf attack in the house on Neibolt street, near the climax, for sure.

Probably Mike showing the kids photo proof that Pennywise has existed as long as the town.

"You kids wanna buy some drugs?"

Aaaaaaand a poster. It's...fine. It's creepy, and it captures the feelings IT should evoke, but after that teaser for a teaser, I just can't muster the excitement. Tune in tomorrow when I'll have another IT Spot, dealing with the trailer.

The IT Spot; Tease

The teaser trailer for IT has been released.

Okay, lets take this apart. There will be spoilers, but if you've seen the old IT and just watched this trailer, you're fine.

The things that bother me are as follows:

• Pennywise looks too scary at the outset. He is supposed to look normal, at least at first. No kid is gonna trust that clown. I prefer the accuracy of the Tim Curry Pennywise where the creepiness was only intensified by how much more 'normal' Pennywise looked. The point is that even normal clowns look creepy.
  

• Is the kid's timeline not set in the 1950's. I saw a modern(ish) copier behind Ben. Their clothes, cars, bikes and other tech looks like it's from the 80s/90s. This isn't goddamn Stranger Things (despite the presence of Finn Wolfhard). The things kids and adults say in the 1950s are very different from what people would say 30 years later, so most, if not every line will need to be changed. This isn't a change in medium sort of issue; you can re-create either time period with similar difficulty. This feels like it's being done so the adults can exist in 2017. That is lazy. I don't want cell phones and iPods in IT

• Why the hell didn't Bill stutter? His name is literally Stuttering Bill. The stutter existed before Georgie was killed, albeit in a lesser form. In fact, Georgie's death made it that much worse, and it occasionally fades when Bill gets worked up; it's gone but begins to resurge when he's an adult. This is a point that cannot be let go, and if it has, the whole point of his character, and eventual beating of IT are going to be weakened so much that this film will lose and credence with King fans. 

• Why did Georgie still have both his arms when his ghost/projection is talking to Bill? Pennywise better rip his damned arm off. Pennywise is brutal, savage. If he just kills Georgie and leaves him in one piece, we've got problems right from the start. There is a lot of colorful imagery King attached to the missing arm; the blood on the yellow slicker, the horror of the adults and kids seeing the body (or the ghost). It should be addressed. I hope it is.
  

The things I liked:

• The wax on the tabletop is Gulf brand. That's a small detail from the book, but if they're paying attention to this, it gives me hope that they're paying attention to other things. 
  
  
  

• Georgie running down the street, and whanging his head on the sign. THAT is authentic. The sheets of rain, the fact that he's totally alone, even though he's in the heart of the suburbs; these are important items that set the tone. Look at how small and alone he is! This is a well-framed shot, and shows the film makers know how to shoot a movie. 

 

• The projector thing, instead of just regular physical pictures that Pennywise comes to life in. This is one of those 'The change is for the better due to the medium' changes. This is a change that I understand, endorse, and appropriate; the effect is creepy, the acting looks good. IT WORKS!

 

•  The kids, from what little we've seen, seem to be capable actors, and look correct for their parts (Bev's hair and other updates to fit the non 1950's aside). The child actors from the original miniseries were far better than their adult counterparts (who we still have no idea about for these movies).

• The look of things. The sewers are on point. The house of Neibolt street looks amazing, and the whole atmosphere puts off the perfect 'even when things are right, they're wrong' vibe. This is perhaps the most important thing about Derry, and it gives me hope. Look at the sunflowers in the yard. Seems strange that something so bright and cheery would exist there, correct? This is another small detail that harkens back to the novel, and another small spot of hope.

The first time I saw this trailer, I was unhappy. I watched and watch and watched this over and over again for this blog, and my original ending to this post was one of being unhappy, but still trying for optimism.

Then I saw this shot, and really looked:

This is something that wasn't in the original mini-series. This is a series of burned hands grasping around a door with fire behind, as Mike Hanlon looks on. This is a reference to a horrifying story in the book. A story I won't spoil here, but one that adds to the horror that is Derry, Pennywise, and human nature in ways that outshine most other things I've ever seen in a film. But it's not connected to the main plot in an 'important' way. I assumed it would be cut, and never looked back.

But it's there.

It's been changed. There's no scene where Mike sees the story first hand in the book, he learns it from his father. But IT HAS BEEN CHANGED FOR THE BETTER FOR THE MEDIUM.

I've never had so severe of a 180 based on a trailer in my LIFE, people. I was ranting to Bahamute last night about how the changes were going to destroy the story I hold so dear to my heart. Even the start of this blog I've left unchanged, so you can have a hint of my anger and distress; I changed while I was taking the pictures for it.

I was wrong.

This does mean, that I, like the film makers, apparently can see the forest and the trees. 

At this time, I'll still need to see the movie to know for sure. But my hope and faith is back. I think I can even deal with the time period changes now. This one shot shows the film makers understand the story.

And that's really all I want.

Electric Boogaloo

After years of waiting, my favorite computer animated film Wreck-It Ralph is getting a sequel!

Accurate representation of my feelings.

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 is the title. The fans have known for a while that this sequel was going to delve into the world of online gaming. Plus, everybody is coming back; possibly even Alan Tudyk.

This asshole.

I'm actually really excited about this; there's so much for Ralph and the gang to explore beyond arcade gaming, and the possibilities for stories are rich and exciting. Characters I love dealing with new challenges? Yes! That is exactly what a sequel should be!

It doesn't hurt that the director Rich Moore also directed the first one, and worked on The Simpsons, The Critic, and Futurama.

In context, this is a very classy joke. Don't believe me? Better watch it to be sure.

And just won an Oscar.

So once again in regards to not getting my hopes up...

Media blitzkreig

So, some more trailers have dropped; notably, Spider-Man Homecoming and Baywatch.

Both have lots of red spandex.

There's a bunch of others that I haven't mentioned like Pirates of the Caribbean 5, Transformers 5, and The Justice League.

To be frank, at the time of writing, I haven't even seen the trailer for Justice League. There's just so much coming out, it's actually overwhelmed me. I have officially reached the point where I'll just wait to see a trailer in front of whatever youtube media I'm catching up on.

And that's just 2-5 minute trailers overwhelming me. I still haven't seen Kong Skull Island, and it has a bunch of my favorite actors in it. I never ended up seeing Kubo and the Two Strings, Hidden Figures, or La La Land.

I did see this, though. Neat!

Partly I can blame 12 Angry Jurors since many of my nights have been taken up by assistant directing. I have a pretty long vacation coming, and my father in law has Netflix. Maybe it's finally time to catch up on some backlog.

I'm also quickly running out of Law and Order SVU and Devil is a Part Timer episodes. What combo of drama/anime to tackle next...

WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!

How did I not know Bruce Timm (one of Harley Quinn's daddies) was directing a Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie?!

This was announced back in July, and somehow I totally missed it. I am ashamed, but also way to excited to feel ashamed.

Here's the first picture from the movie:

Look at that! It's close to classic DCAU, which gave us the first iteration of Harley, and my favorite Batman, Kevin Conroy.

Favorite Batman. That includes every live action one.

 There doesn't seem to be an IMDB page for this movie yet, so I have no idea who is playing Harley. And as much as I enjoyed Margot Robbie's portrayal, there's only one real animated Harley: Arleen Sorkin.

Ms. Sorkin retired from the role in 2012, though, and her IMDB comes to a stop at the same time. Since then Harley's been voiced by a trying very hard Hynden Walch, the flat Janyse Jaud, the Betty Boopish Meghan Strange, the capable, if grating, Tara Strong, and a host of others that I'm either unaware of, don't care for, or just did it once and not notably at that.

There's rumors of course that Ms. Sorkin may return, and while I'm trying not to get my hopes up...

This is in full effect.

It's too early to be ecstatic, but the art style and Bruce Timm directing are great indicators that the movie will be good, and true to Harley's character.

Even if Ms. Sorking doesn't return, we did just get a really good animated Harley by way of Jenny Slate, so who am I to complain?

Contrary to what you just saw, Ms. Slate is not the worst, and was a good Harley.

So, when I hear more, I'll make another blog. Until then, time to ravenously surf the internet for any tidbits about the movie!