INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Trailer

The red-band teaser trailer for the new Coen Brothers movie has me wishing I were in France this week to see it at Cannes.

The "Robust" State of Projection

I particularly like Matt Singer thoughts regarding a recent LA Times piece about movie theater projection. In short, modern digital projection doesn't require the amount of staffing that the skilled profession used to require because "any idiot can push a button", according to the major exhibitors. None of these companies care that movies look like shit, more so now than ever before. They assume their customers won't complain and do nothing until (or long after) people do complain:

I saw "Zero Dark Thirty" for the first time at Sony Pictures' private screening room, in their corporate office building. The film looked magnificent; crisp, clear, and bright. About a month or so later I saw the movie a second time at a multiplex owned by one of the largest movie theater exhibition chains in the country. This time, the movie was dingy, drab, and dark. Projected improperly, the final raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound was completely incomprehensible, and even though I'd already seen the film, I struggled to follow the action. If anyone else in the theater but me noticed, they said nothing. Later, I wrote an email complaint to the theater on an unrelated matter -- there were all kinds of non-projection-related issues around the screening -- and I mentioned offhandedly at the end of my note that the projection was far too dark. My first email response from the theater's manager said no one had complained about the darkness of the movie, but after more correspondence he informed me that, yes, the bulb in that auditorium's projector was "defective," and was eventually replaced.

It's good that this theater cared enough about my complaints to investigate and fix them. But what if I hadn't said anything? How long would they have shown "Zero Dark Thirty" improperly to oblivious customers? It was eleven days between my bad experience and the email letting me know they'd fixed the screwy projector -- how many people saw "Zero Super Dark Thirty" in that time?

Support independent chains.

Legendary and Warner Bros.

I've been thinking about this nearly-week-old piece from Variety about the impending split of Legendary Pictures and Warner. The gist of the piece is that, based on how well WB did without them on Green Lantern (an unqualified flop), they would be wise to stay on the Legendary train as they hurtle toward making more big comic book movies like Justice League.

While sources close to the matter stress that there is no clear frontrunner amongst rival studios should the partnership with Warner end, many industry insiders are betting that Legendary and Universal wind up together. Legendary’s films could easily translate into theme park attractions at Universal Studios properties around the world and could be cross promoted across all of NBCUniversal’s media assets, including NBC. Universal will need to replace the massive hole that will be left once its outside production funding from hedge fund Elliott Management dries up at the end of the year.

It's been a good partnership thus far, and I wonder what happens to the DC universe movies without Legendary's guiding hand.

In the end, Legendary could still stay put at Warner Bros. Tsujihara will presumably make further attempts to make Tull feel more welcome. And, earlier this year, Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes told analysts there was “problem solving going on” between the two companies.

Maybe we'll hear something at San Diego Comic-Con?

By mid-to-late summer, Hollywood should know whether Legendary and Warner Bros. still need each other.

An "All-New Secret Uncanny Savage Mighty Dark Dark" Experiment

I loved the idea the instant that Image Comics announced Skullkickers #19 would be re-numbered and rebooted as Uncanny Skullkickers #1. What I recall as days later, they announced #20 would be Savage Skullkickers #1. The joke is easy to spot for comics fans, with Marvel and DC both undergoing massive re-#1-ing, re-adjective-ing of their entire lines over the last 18 months.

Writer Jim Zub (who was on Giant Size #4) has written an exllecent, insightful blog post about a five-issue "unbooting adjective" experiment that he and Image Comics did with his three-year-old, swashbuckling adventure comic Skullkickers:

As Skullkickers continued through our 3rd story arc, we’d settled into a low-but-stable sales pattern. Although we were picking up new readers through our web comic site or trades, most new readers weren’t going to jump on board buying singles 18+ issues into the series.

In the spirit of the sarcasm that permeates the Skullkickers concept, I came up with a way to try hyping things in an irreverent way, announcing new adjectives and new #1′s for our entire fourth story arc, making it clear that these would be the next issues in our series but that we were having fun with the whole “reboot” thing and that Skullkickers was worth checking out. I figured our hardcore audience would stick around no matter what but that we might be able to gather some new readers by playing with adjectives and cover designs based on mainstream superhero homages.

Here’s the checklist of names and release dates we rolled out:
FEB: The Uncanny Skullkickers #1
MAR: Savage Skullkickers #1
APR: The Mighty Skullkickers #1
MAY: The All-New Secret Skullkickers #1
JUN: Dark Skullkickers Dark #1

The last one might be the best name for any comic ever printed.

If you're into adventure, swords and sorcery, Skullkickers might be a good fit. Ask your local shop about it.

Daily Grab 133: Murphy

I met Peter Weller at yesterday's Ain't It Cool News double feature of Star Trek Into Darkness and Robocop. Professor/Doctor Weller is a brilliant man, consummate raconteur...

...and my next confirmed guest for Screen Time, following Jane Withers (whose episode posts very soon). He'll be on live late this week or very early the next, unless his schedule changes (as they do). He asked me to call Monday or Tuesday when he's back in Los Angeles. Keep an eye on the 5by5 schedule for updates.

He told me to tell you that the one posting tomorrow with Jane Withers ("James Dean's Pink Shirt") is your homework.

We'll naturally talk a bit about his time with the Hong Kong Cavaliers, his work protecting Detroit and Gotham, and his exterminator pastime he kept up alongside a drug habit...but I'm more interested in talking about the power of myth and the nature of art. Everyone knows Peter Weller has a PhD in Art History, right?

An Endless Quest in the Shadow of COLOSSUS

One of my favorite longreads of last week is the years-long story of dedicated gamers searching every square inch of the classic PS2 platformer Shadow of the Colossus for undiscovered secrets, including a fabled hidden end boss.

Chapman Defends the Real Merida

Original director of Brave Brenda Chapman goes for Disney's throat, talking to the Marin Independent about the makeover of Merida for the character's induction as an official "Disney Princess:

In an email to the Independent Journal on Saturday, she said she has given Bob Iger, president of Walt Disney International, "a piece of my mind" for the entertainment giant's decision to glamorize the tomboy character she envisioned.

"There is an irresponsibility to this decision that is appalling for women and young girls," she said, writing from Chile, where she has been on business. "Disney marketing and the powers that be that allow them to do such things should be ashamed of themselves."

Chapman fumed. "When little girls say they like it because it's more sparkly, that's all fine and good but, subconsciously, they are soaking in the sexy 'come hither' look and the skinny aspect of the new version. It's horrible! Merida was created to break that mold — to give young girls a better, stronger role model, a more attainable role model, something of substance, not just a pretty face that waits around for romance."

"The Jakal"

...(on Colbert last Thursday) on The Great Gatsby (the book):

What, Dented Meat had no opinion?

Late Night with Seth Myers

I hope they have Don Pardo do his intro. As rumored and expected for weeks, Seth Myers takes over Jimmy Fallon's soon-to-be-former job, and Lorne Michaels fully ascends to become one of the most powerful men at NBC.

My friend Devin Faraci makes a terse, good point on Twitter with a followup:

How are late night talk shows even still a thing?

Maybe Seth Meyers can also get a column in a newspaper and a job as a milk man.

I wonder how many more hours in the day do we have to watch full hours of late night talk? What happens if/when Jay Leno pulls a "Jay Leno" and goes to Fox? The following "traditional" Late Night Talk Shows will be on the air this fall:

11:30pm EST

The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon
The Late Show with David Letterman
Conan
Jimmy Kimmel LIVE

12:30pm EST

Late Night with Seth Myers
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Untitled Pete Holmes Late Night Show (after Conan on TBS)

The top-rated Daily Show/Colbert Report block adds a new Chris Hardwick-headlined show in the fall, which solidifies a Comedy Central 11:00-12:30 blockade. It seems like most people only watch clips of these anymore regardless.

Code of the Wodehouse

Sebastian Falkes writing a new Jeeves and Wooster book came to my attention thanks for Andy Ihnatko, whose weekly omnibus program(me) The Ihnatko Almanac is a never-miss for me. Falkes has also authored his own stuff like

“Birdsong", and a best-selling James Bond book, “Devil May Care," has written “Jeeves and the Wedding Bells," to be released in the United States on Nov. 5

PG Wodehouse has incalculably huge shoes to fill. I don't envy this guy.

Daily Grab 132: Truth and Justice

Superman Unbound is a pretty stellar adaptation of Geoff Johns' source story, adding and enhancing the narrative of essentially six issues of comic book into something feature length. I'm most thrilled to see a new Superman animated project that finds him punching robots.

Cannes Showcases Japanese 8K TV Content

The theory I have going forward about traditional cable TV companies is that they can only compete on the side of picture quality compared to streaming "app channels" going forward.

At Cannes, Japan's NHK is showing off an 8K-shot comedy short titled Beauties À La Carte (press release PDF). It will be shown projected at 8K resolution, with 22.2 multichannel surround audio.

Out of Print Watch: Criterion's LÉON MORIN, PRIEST for $20

At the end of March, almost all of Criterion's Jean-Pierre Melville titles went OOP. Among them was the Jean-Paul Belmondo-starring Léon Morin, Priest, the Blu-ray of which Amazon has back in stock for $20 while they last. Grab it while you can. The movie is a rare opportunity to see Belmondo play reserved and pious.

OZ 3D Blu Lacks 2D Disc, Pay-Workaround Announced

Disney didn't include a 2D Blu-ray in the 3D Blu-ray edition of Sam Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful. People were upset. Disney said "pay us another $6 and we'll send you the 2D disc".

Huh.

Daily Grab 131: Breaking Free

Upstream Color has been one of my most anticipated movies of the year since its completion was announced. It was the best possible way to start SXSW 2013.

The new Blu-ray is beautiful. Even though it features none of the extras that home video collectors have come to expect and demand, the movie looks and sounds great, and that's the most important thing here. I'm not sure what sort of extras I'd even want for this movie. It either works for you and does something to your head, or it doesn't. The movie's narrative and themes rely entirely on the ebb and flow of your emotions, what happened to you that day, and the uncertainty of next week (or tomorrow). The greatest discomfort for some viewers will be its gentle nudging of you toward reconsidering the cycles we all engage in voluntarily and those we find ourselves drawn into with regard to love, money, security, and relative happiness. I'm convinced that the most terrifying thing for most people to consider isn't speaking in public, nor death, but rather, to contemplate breaking away from lives full of complacent causality.

The case is a very handsome, unobtrusive, and slim "digipack". Is that an extra?

Disc News Digest: More Disney, FUGITIVE 20th, Another TNG "Movie", Godard, Fuller, UK Imports

•Disney is further shrinking the number of its Animated Classics not on Blu-ray by releasing Oliver and Company on 6 August and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on 27 August. No notable new extras were announced for either title. Here's hoping we finally get Black Cauldron in HD at some point.

•Warner Bros. has announced a Blu-ray double dip of 1993's The Fugitive, with no mention of whether this is a new transfer. It does include new extras (marked in bold) alongside the held-over original Blu-ray supplements:

• The Fugitive: Thrill of the Chase featuring Andrew Davis, Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones and more
• Introduction by Andrew Davis and Harrison Ford
• Commentary by Andrew Davis and Tommy Lee Jones
• On the Run with the Fugitive Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
• Derailed: Anatomy of a Train Wreck Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
• “The Fugitive" [2000 WB Pilot]
• Theatrical Trailer

•CBS is putting out its second "movie cut" of a Star Trek: TNG season-ending cliffhanger with 30 July's Blu-ray of Star Trek: TNG "Redemption", the end of season 4 and beginning of season 5. I guess The Best of Both Worlds did well for them.

•Scream Factory has announced an August timeframe for a Blu-ray release of Q: The Winged Serpent. Expect quality and extras to match the already-impressive slate from Shout!Factory's newest sub-label.

•Twilight Time is releasing a limited run of 3000 Blu-ray copies of Brian DePalma's Body Double on 13 August.

•Olive Films has announced four more June Blu-ray releases, including two from Jean-Luc Godard (How is it Going? and Keep Your Right Up), and Sam Fuller's Shark!, starring Burt Reynolds.

Import Watch

•Sony UK has announced a Blu-ray of From Here to Eternity for 7 October. It is a Region-All coded disc. The US disc has not been announced, but its release may coincide with the UK release. Then again, we could be left waiting for months like we have for Fox's Cleopatra, which they got last year, or Sony's own Lawrence of Arabia, which was Region-All, just like Eternity will be. Import without worry, as whatever extras it has (none announced as of now) are likely to mirror this one, just as with Lawrence.

•The BFI has announced additions to their July-August-September slate, with the most exciting titles to me being the 19 August release of The Adventures of Prince Achmed and Rosselini's Voyage to Italy (which they translate as "Journey"). Equally exciting is the 15 July Blu-ray debut of John Cassavetes' The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, complete with two cuts of the movie on one disc. All titles listed in the Blu-ray.com news piece are expected to be Region B-locked, but keep an eye on them as more information hits Amazon.co.uk.

Disc News Digest collects recent, relevant, and upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release dates in one place rather than fill your feed with a ton of individual stories for individual discs.

YouTube to Add Premium Paid Channels

We'll see if this actually works. No one is used to spending money on YouTube, and it'll take very enticing content and drastically improved queue management for it to catch on at all.