DC has something up its sleeve. I guarantee you. (Fan image, but very accurate)

Ok, let's talk film. Happy Tuesday to you. Little less hot this week. Last week was a scorcher. Flames on the asphalt. Made me miserable that's for sure. So I was reading this blog on MTV news by Jennifer Vineyard. She says that DC comics is suffering in the moviesphere when it comic book movies. DC is the comic book universe that brought us Superman and Batman. Marvel is the genius who inundates our culture with Iron Man, Spider Man and X Men. According to Ms. Vineyard, DC is in big trouble because they are not Cross Pollinating in DC films and Marvel is. Marvel seems to hold the corner stone in Cross pollination. Right now Marvel is Pollinating Iron Man with The Hulk and vice versa, (with Tony Stark only, no real cliffhanger, See last weeks blogs for more brilliant misspelled analysis by me). So she pleads to DC to take up the challenge of cross pollination and cash up. Here is my humble opinion on this. DC has been making comic movies when Marvel was still in film diapers. DC broke 300 mil at the box office in 1978 with the first Superman. That's about 800 mil in todays box office numbers. ALSO, They made a little above the combined total of 300 mil with all the Batmans. Which is also about the same with todays ticket prices. DC doesn't need to get on track. Marvel has been trying to catch up all this time.



Marvel BTW has Howard the Duck, The Punisher, and Fanstasic Four (miscast disaster, better cast-no disaster.) No wonder they are bringing everything to the screen that they can. They are trying to yell from the rooftops that they don't suck! So why the misplaced article, Jennifer? If I have just proven that DC is more successful long term than Marvel, why the pleading article asking for what DC has already given us all these years? All I can surmise from this misinformed Jennifer jargon points to me she is too young to remember Spider Man and Burton's Batman. For her I guess Cinema started recently. I am not going to bag on her, she appears to be very smart, BUT, yes BUT, she needs to look at the big picture and realize DC has been pimping Superhero movies consistently for more years than Marvel.

Sure DC has not cross pollinated, but here is another theory for you to dismiss immediately. I think DC has something up its sleeve. I think there will be a Clark Kent reference in The Dark Knight. I think DC execs would be stupid not to. And mind you I don't think execs are stupid when it comes to finding the gold goose hidden in the corner. They are not behind Marvel, they are going to take the candy right out of their hands. Look at this gem. Marvel is buying the candy for DC. They have set the stage. All DC needs to do is reach down and take away the candy from Marvel. Get this! You have cross pollination in two Marvel movies this year. Comic Book fans are pleased. Tony Stark and David Banner are going to be comrades. Yay. I couldn't be happier. One director (Jon Favreau) will get fired from this. Tough break. One big Marvel sequel. In the new big sequel, Peter Parker will stick his head in at the end and say hello in Lieu of a real cliffhanger. See the trend here?

Yet look at the ground work Marvel has given DC the opportunity to swoop down here and steal the thunder here. All they need to do is have Clark Kent make a cameo in Dark Knight and have caught up. They have stolen the candy. Ok here's a better idea and one Nolan (The Dark Knight Director) would do. He would do something the Marvel execs could not see over their Sushi power lunches, they would have Batman be in trouble a non inescapable situation and at the end of the film have Superman on the way to the rescue. GASP! They could have done that with the Hulk. David Banner could have been in grave danger ("grave danger? Is there any other kind". Sorry Few good Men reference)and have Iron Man on the way to rescue. GASP again! A real cliffhanger. "No, No we can't do that" Say the grumbling execs at Marvel. "Why they would be too creative, we can't do that!"

But FilmFans! That's a real cliffhanger. That is true cross pollination. Having Tony Stark cameos is not true cross pollinating! Come on Gale Ann Hurd. I am sure James Cameron has this told you this idea of having another super hero come to the rescue as a real cliffhanger! Why didn't you listen?

And as for Jennifer Vineyard, you plea for something that is going to pull the rug underneath you. And if Clark Kent doesn't do a Tony Stark cameo or if Nolan has better plans for The Dark Knight ending, which I am sure he does, You still have Marvel putting a David and Goliath move on DC. Thought the outcome may not be as good as it was in the Bible. Well there it is all laid out. The correct formula for success for Marvel and maybe DC, though they have a far better thing with Batman Begins and Dark Knight AND the whole Superman thing they have been doing for years.

ANYWAY, I really want to talk about the Pixar hating in Hollywood. Every year Pixar comes out with a film that shows just how non talented everyone who is not Pixar really is. No I am not talking about individuals. There is plenty of singular talent in Hollywood. I am talking about the execs at Pixar. How SMART they are. How they work together and share ideas and help each other. They tell each other when an idea is bad. They work in a total creative environment. If you tell a Warner's exec, they suck, they would fire you. If you Tell John Lassiter he sucks, he would laugh and wonder what exactly make you say that.

The very definition of talent in Hollywood, Andrew Stanton (Oscars for Finding Nemo and Ratatouille) and John Lassiter (Multiple Oscar Nominee and thankfully fired by Disney for being a forward thinker) YES! Its totally true!

AND I will do you one better, the Pixar execs are the Directors themselves. The execs are not accounting and marketing majors. They are Lassiter and Andrew Stanton. They totally cut out the upper man who runs the focus groups like they are the book of Revelation. Well I will write more about this later. I think you get the idea though. Until Tomorrow! Let's talk film!