Marvel’s Worldwide (Box Office) Domination

Marvel Studios continues to dominate box offices worldwide as Avengers: Infinity War posts the highest global opening weekend revenues of all time. According to comScore, the global total of $640.4 million for the weekend ending April 29, 2018 includes a record-setting $257.7 million from North American box offices. Through Monday the overall weekend total brought in by the Avengers exceeds $725 million.

The story doesn’t end there, either. 

Black Panther which smashed so many records in March is still hanging in there. Worldwide weekend totals of more than $5 million are enough to keep it at #10 despite only bringing in $800,000 internationally.  At home, Black Panther remains significantly more popular ranking #5 in North America with a weekend total of $4,381,000. Cumulatively the film has earned more than $688 million. 

Such unprecedented success befits many a Marvel character. Whether that character is a hero or a villain, remains to be seen, even after 10 years and 19 films (or 20 years and 25 films, if you’re counting from 1998’s Blade film). After all, even Marvel villains enjoy some significant successes before a tragic flaw brings them down and the hero (and heroines) eventually triumph (despite their own own).  

Book Review: The Devil’s Standoff

The second book of The Devil’s Revolver series by V.S. McGrath, starts with a whimper more than a bang. That’s probably only to be expected when you’re running in circles through the desert trying to shake any and all pursuers. The desert is not just a good place to hide outlaws like Hettie, it’s also well-suited to disguising foreshadowing as something less significant. And there are always oasis and rocky outcroppings providing temporary havens.

Most of the action in The Deveil’s Standoff takes place in just such a refuge. Villa del Punta is much more than just a refuge, however. It’s Walker’s past, Hettie’s present and…well, we’ll just have to wait and see whose future it turns out to be. There’s a lot going on here, much of it beneath the surface and all tied up with family, magic and expectations. Love plays a big role in this book, but not always the way it should. As for happy endings…it is a middle book. Nothing much get resolved and stays resolved, which keeps things interesting even though it’s not totally satisfying for the reader.

The continuing adventures of Hettie Alabama and her magic gun are definitely worth following. The Devil’s Standoff isn’t as fast reading or engrossing as The Devil’s Revolver but it is still a good story, well worth your time. Despite the setting, this book feels more like a dusty fantasy or alternative science fiction story than western, as even the titular revolver is trasformed. this isn’t just more of the same although there are enough similarities that the story won’t quite stand on it’s own. Readers are definitely left wondering what will happen next.

Coming to a Theater Near You: AR Gaming

Moviegoers wanting to take their theater experience beyond merely suspending disbelief are getting their wish this spring. National CineMedia (NCM) has announced two new augmented reality (AR) initiatives will be arriving in theaters throughout the U.S. just in time for the summer blockbuster season.

Movie, cinema vintage concept. Tickets on retro film reels and boxes. 3d

NCM is partnering with Moviebill to provide exclusive AR-driven “connected print” content to Regal Entertainment Group theaters. With Moviebill AR, opening-weekend audiences for the biggest films will be able to read and engage with exclusive augmented reality content, special features, and bonus materials from major studios/brands (can you imagine having access to this kind of content when Black Panther hit theaters??)

With the help of Noovie ARcade Games, NCM is also bringing augmented reality gaming to 1,700 top theaters and 49 local/regional theaters across America. Initially, three AR games will be available to moviegoers:

• Cinevaders – Aliens pour through a galactic wormhole and players use powerful lasers to protect the theater (and maybe the world since if these things get out…well, have you seen or heard War of the Worlds?)
• Emoji Escape – Look out! The emojis on your phone are escaping and wreaking havoc in the theater lobby! Catch them before the movie starts (because, let’s face it, silencing your phone won’t trap them inside and nobody turns their phone off…ever).
• Munchie Mania – This one is for everyone who has ever thrown popcorn at to get someone’s attention in a theater. You guessed it: players toss flying popcorn kernels to fill up their popcorn bucket (without wasting any of that wonderfully greasy edible stuff we all overpay for). As an added bonus, this game can be played at home as well as in theaters.

To play, you’ll need to arrive early to catch the Noovie pre-show. You’ll also have to download the Noovie ARcade app to your phone (or presumably other iOS or Android device) before arriving at the theater. The pre-show will alert players when the game is about to start. Players can unlock the larger than life AR experience by aiming their cell phones at the big screen or other triggers in the theater lobby and compete with friends and fans from across the country!

“Noovie ARcade interactive gameplay is the only immersive experience that ties the ubiquity of the smartphone to the magnitude of the movie scree and shifts the Noovie experience from passive viewing to active gaming and play,” notes Lawrence Snapp, NCM’s Chief Digital Officer and SVP, Corporate Development. “It aslo dovetails perfectly with out audience of yourn Millennial movie influencers in search of what’s next in entertainment. Going to the movies provides a social and personal experience that they crave.”

 

 

2 Magical Experiences Often Overlooked in Orlando’s Wizarding World

It’s not hard to have magical experiences in Orlando, the “Theme Park Capital of the World”. That said, some experiences are more magical than others and, like many uses of magic, often ignored in the muggle world. Here are two under-the-radar magical experiences witches, wizards, squibs and even muggles won’t want to miss:

Send a “Wish You Were Here” note from Hogsmeade

Not everyone is lucky enough to visit the wizarding world in Orlando. Though gloating isn’t very nice, you can tell your BFFs, frenemies, classmates, siblings, sweethearts, parents or really anyone else a very message from Hogsmeade. Write your note on wizardly stationary available only inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort then send it via the Hogsmeade Owl Post. Messages will require special postage (owls aren’t generally employed by the US Postal Service or indeed any muggle postal service in the world), recieve a Hogsmeade postmark and surely delight both senders and recipients! (Remember: for grandparents and maybe even parents, postcards were staples of every vacation before Facebook and Instagram took over.)

Do “Real” Magic

Be careful how you wave your wand when visiting Orlando’s Wizarding World. You wouldn’t want to “put someone’s eye out”, as Hermoine warns. For safety and security reasons the Ministry only permits magic performed with special interactive wands obtained on site at Ollivander’s Wand Shop to perform magic in Orlando. Get your hands on one of those, however, and you will reveal hidden secrets, send objects flying and ever cause water spouts throughout both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

Orlando is home to seven of the top theme parks in the world. Starting with the Magic Kingdom,  as Walt Disney World is known  and extending to Universal Studios, the area is notable for its dedication to making the fantastic film worlds real if only on vacation.

Book vs. Film: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

It’s a debate as old as…well, film. For as long as books have been adapted to film readers and veiwers have argued about which is better: the book or the movie?  Rarely, however, do we get to compare trailers. Fortunately, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter offers just such an opportunity.

Film first, mostly because, well, it was everywhere a few years ago so you’ve probably already seen at least one of the trailers:

Trailer #1

Trailer #2

Trailer #3

And now for one you may not have seen. The book trailer.

So…which do you prefer and, more importantly, why? If you haven’t seen the fim or read the book would any of these trailers motivate you to do so? Why or why not? And if you have seen the movie or read the book did it deliver on the promises the trailers made?

Review: George Washington Werewolf

Could America’s first president, the father of the nation, George Washington be hiding a terrible secret? According to the novel George Washington Werewolf he certainly was.

The idea isn’t as far-fetched as it could be when you consider few Americans know FDR was largely paralyzed by polio let alone that Thomas Jefferson owned his mistress, Sally Hemmings. Still, George Washington as a werewolf? Could it be?

Rumors of werewolves have persisted for centuries. Proof, however, is hard to come by. There’s also the fact that most North American werewolf legends are borrowed from Europe, particularly the French. Of course, the French were allies of the colonists during the time of the Revolutionary War…so perhaps they brought more than just legends with them.

Intrigued?

Good. But you’ll have to read the book to determine whether the rumor is true.

 

 

There’s a Unicorn in your cereal…

Lucky Charms is getting a new marshmallow. That’s right, hearts, rainbows, stars, moons, hourglasses, horseshoes, red balloons, and 4-leaf clovers weren’t enough. General Mills is adding…wait for it…UNICORNS!

The newest Lucky Charm features bright blue and purple colors. The design was both inspired by and voted on by kids so it should be popular at the breakfast table. Fortunately for grown-ups (who worry about things like, you know, nutrition and too much sugar) Lucky Charms are made with whole grains fortified with 12 vitamins and minerals so they aren’t a completely guilty pleasure (Sorry!). The unicorns have already begun appearing in some boxes of Original and Chocolate Lucky Charms however their presence won’t be widely felt until March 2018.

The arrival of unicorn marshmallows marks the first time in 10 years that General Mills has added to the Lucky Charms family. Unfortunately, it also means saying farewell to the hourglass charm.

“Our goal is to not only create a cereal that families and cereal fans will love and enjoy, but to inspire magical possibilities and help spark imagination and fun no matter what the age,” said Josh DeWitt, marketing manager of Lucky Charms. “That’s why, after 10 years, we decided to introduce a new charm with the help of the keepers of magic themselves – kids. They spoke, and after hearing their love for the magical unicorn, we listened.”

 

 

 

Zombies: Coming to a Bottle Near You

People love The Walking Dead. Whether it’s the comic book or theTV show, these loyal readers and viewers put the “fantatic” into fan. Still, we’re not sure the rest of the world are ready for walkers in their wine bottles. That’s exactly what fans are getting when The Walking Dead Blood Red and Caberet Sauvignon hit shelves this month just in time for the series to return to the small screen.

“We know how enthusiastic fans of The Walking Dead can be and we expect they will embrace the Living Wine Labels app and The Walking Dead wines with real excitement,” said Seth Hynes, who is leading the introduction of the wines for The Last Wine Company, a partnership between Skybound Entertainment and Treasury Wine Estates.

To bring the labels to life, you’ll need the Living Wine app and, of course, a bottle of The Walking Dead wine. The app is free but each bottle of wine will set fans of legal drinking age back $18.99. But hey, they are supposed to have a collectable cork…. No word on whether the app will work with empty bottles.

 

Project CR8 Deadline Approaching

“In a world where the barriers to the craft of filmmaking are less than ever before, we are thrilled to be part of this opportunity to find and nuture the next great filmmaking talent,” says Brian Robbins, President of Paramount Players, who along with BET Networks launched PROJECT CR8 for aspiring screenwriters. Original screenplays can be submitted through March 3, 2018 at BET.com/CR8

 

Blade & Black Panther: An interview with Wesley Snipes

This weekend belongs, unqestionably, to Black Panther. That being said, many people don’t recall (or maybe never knew) Wesley Snipes tried to bring the iconic comic book character to the big screen two decades ago. Things fell through and Snipes ended up bringing Blade to life instead in 1998.

Blade, of course, marks the beginning of films based on comic books (despite the fact that Snipes was apparently unaware Blade came from the world of comic books). The black vampire who did marshal arts (and wore a cool black leather coat like Shaft) stood alone as the Marvel Cinematic Universe exploded until this weekend when Black Panther has taken unapologetically and unequivicably taken over the box office. Fortunately, Black Panther is unlikely to be the opposite bookend from Blade but the start of something even more special.

Discover more about the fascinating Hollywood backstory behind two iconic superheroes of color in Episode #80: Wesley Snipes talks Blade and Black Panther from Slate Represent over on Panoply. It’s worth the listen just to hear Snipes “Rawrr” not to mention the hints he drops about upcoming possibilities….