Superman Reboot

[The Laughing Fish]

For the sake of providing further context why Toxic WB is so full of sh*t with this black Superman project, Ice Cube revealed he has his own issues with the studio, and claims they have a racial bias when it comes to budgeting and star power.

In the case of "Straight Outta Compton," the 2015 biopic about the rise of N.W.A., New Line would only make the movie for less than $15 million, he said in an interview. Ice Cube was told it was a niche film that wouldn't have wide success or do well overseas, he added. Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures, which ended up making the movie, spent nearly $30 million, and the film generated more than $200 million in world-wide box office.

With "Ride Along," starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, Ice Cube said he was told by Warner Bros. executives that an action movie with two Black stars wouldn't do well, particularly overseas. Again, Universal made it in 2014 for $25 million, and it made $135 million in U.S. box office and another $20 million abroad plus a successful sequel.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/friday-franchise-frozen-as-ice-cube-and-warner-bros-fight-over-new-movie-11625173229

"an action movie with two Black stars wouldn't do well"...this sounds like the same attitude Toxic WB had over not wanting ZSJL's Cyborg because "we can't have an angry black man" at the center of the film.

But sure, this Superman production is a really good demonstration of how progressive Toxic WB is. What a laugh!

Before anyone says anything, yes, I know this racial bias issue is commonplace throughout Hollywood. It was revealed today that Fox didn't want Will Smith to play one of the leading roles in Independence Day because they thought him being black would've hurt the international box office.

Evidently, this historical account of discrimination isn't exclusive to WB. But it becomes farcical when these companies play the woke card in an attempt to appear progressive, when we know it is a blatant PR lie. It makes it even funnier when this sh*t doesn't even work, hence the term "go woke, go broke".

One more thing, Ice Cube doesn't think very highly of WB Pictures President Toby Emmerich either:

I really apologize to my friend for not getting the next Friday movie made," he said. "It's not my fault. Some dumbass people in Hollywood at New Line Cinema, if you wanna ... you can email Toby Emmerich and Richard Brener if you feel like I feel.

"Yeah, you punks had two scripts and you didn't wanna do them. That's the real. We were tryin' to make that movie for years and we couldn't get it done. We got the other three and we got our memories."

https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.60810/title.ice-cube-revives-free-friday-campaign-making-warner-bros-public-enemy-no-1

Would you believe it, the Snyderverse isn't the only series that is in limbo thanks to this jackass.

There are some thorny issues to work through here. Hollywood doesn't dare besmirch the CCP. But it is true that China is a major box office territory these days. And the simple fact of the matter is that Chinese people want to see two kinds of actors in films. Either Chinese people or else Europeans/whites generally and those of Nordic extraction especially. For whatever reason, the Nordic gene pool is considered exotic and extremely beautiful to a lot of Asians. But rly, the European descent is helpful (or at least not harmful) in Asian territories.

What the Chinese do not want to see is people of African extraction at all anywhere at any time ever.

You can call that racist or whatever else all you want. But those are the facts. Except, movie studios dare not speak that truth out loud. You don't bite the hand that feeds you. So, they typically fall on their own sword, promise to do better in the future and then largely don't do better in the future.

I have some personal experience with this. I am of Celtic extraction, myself. My pasty skin, red hair and blue eyes were a gigantic hit with the natives when I visited Tokyo and Kyoto. They don't see people like me very often in person. But I turned heads literally everywhere I went in Asia whereas in America, people who look like me aren't such a big deal.

But I digress. My point is that if Hollywood casts a certain number of black actors in a film, they may as well not release it in China. Straight Outta Compton lost money in China, for example.

Now, yes, around here we all know that it's ludicrous to argue that action films with dual black leads can't make money. The Bad Boys franchise proves that. From a combined $239 million budget, those movies have earned a combined $841,251,824 worldwide (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Boys_(franchise)) and that's not chump change or chump margin. That's SUCCESS by any standard. And yet, Bad Boys For Life also cratered in China.

Movie studios are caught between a rock and a hard place. They have to include enough "representation" to appear woke to American audiences. But they need a high enough concentration of Asian generally and Chinese specifically actors alongside white actors as well to appeal to Chinese audiences. The higher the budget, the more the scales have to tip toward non-black actors. Marvel not that Finn was the only black character with a large role in the Star Wars sequels. Those movies need to perform well in China, after all.

It's an impossible balancing act and I just adore it when the studios get called out.

This is why I have a hard time believing this project will get off the ground. It makes no sense they will pander to overseas markets that don't like black actors in leading roles, but they will go ahead with this reboot.

It's nothing more than a PR stunt to desperately distract people fom bad publicity Warner has been getting lately, and if Ta-Nehisi Coates is really woke then he will see through see this and bail.

It is a bit ironic how Warner doesn't want to see "angry black men" like Cyborg as leading characters, and yet, ZSJL reportedly broke streaming records in China.

https://www.small-screen.co.uk/the-snyder-cut-crosses-400-million-views-in-china/

[The Laughing Fish]

From @newlinecinema to @wbpictures—from Friday to Justice League. Toby Emmerich appears to be a common denominator for these race-based and discriminatory issues...🧐

I'd love to pick @icecube's brain about his experience.

https://www.twitter.com/ray8fisher/status/1413219287175684102

It's only a matter of time before Toxic WB uses one of the trades to run another puff piece promoting the Superman reboot, to distract everyone from more bad publicity.

[The Laughing Fish]

A day after Ray Fisher said this...

Does anyone know when Walter Hamada plans to come out of hiding?

Asking for a friend.

A>E

https://www.twitter.com/ray8fisher/status/1418375810067611648

...we're suddenly getting THIS:

Michael B. Jordan's production company is reportedly developing a Black Superman project for HBO Max that centers on the Val-Zod.

The project is separate from the Black Superman film WB is working on with Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Source: Collider aka anti-Snyder clickbait dumpster fire

https://www.twitter.com/ComicBookDebate/status/1418655057806036993

Coincidence? I think NOT!

I said elsewhere we should all expect Warner Butchers to continue doubling down in weaponising representation, as they desperately try to discredit all discrimination allegations made against them. Now they're not only using one, but reportedly TWO black Superman ideas to cover their asses?

WarnerMedia as a whole is a joke and a disgrace. Don't believe their attempts to make themselves look woke than they really are.

[thecolorsblend]

Not that I have much faith in WB. But it is worth remembering that a development deal isn't much to speak of. There's a lot of empty road between a development deal and a movie's opening day.

For example, Jar-Jar Abrams had a production deal circa 2002 to develop a Superman movie. He got paid for that deal. But obviously the movie never got made.

Bryan Singer had a production deal circa 2007 to develop a Superman Returns sequel. He got paid for that deal. But obviously the movie never got made.

All those woke development deals could be similar. It costs WB, what, $250k to sign poc talent to a development deal. It generates good press and it gets people talking. Not bad for $250k.

Coates and Jordan may produce actual black Superman movies. But the more I think about it, the more I realize I might've overreacted in losing my crackers about this when the news first broke.

On the other hand, I might also be at Stage 3 of Kubler-Ross. Hard to say.

[The Joker]

Being that Michael B. Jordan has shied away from race bending Kal-El, going so far as to state it's "unoriginal" in one interview, which he would be absolutely correct in, but being more open about Val-Zod, I can't say this is really surprising news. It is what it is.

Too bad Michael B. Jordan doesn't have more of an interest in portraying an original black character like Icon from Milestone. As I remember the aesthetic and costume from the 1990's, with the big green cape and all, looking very cool. Jordan's a good actor, and I'm sure he would've made Dwayne McDuffie proud. Plus, there would be the opportunity to take the route of introducing other Milestone characters, like the more known Static Shock character, that could also lead into a HBO Max spin off, thus creating a live action Milestone universe of television shows.

Oh well. I don't have a ton of interest in the Val-Zod series, but it's possible a teaser might change my mind. With the other project, "I'm out" on that. Abrams .... I'm indifferent on. Coates? F that guy.

[The Laughing Fish]

Despite the talk about black Superman, Mikey Sutton has been doubling down about Cavill making his return, from the rumours over Kal-El appearing in Black Adam in the black suit, to the restoration of the Snyderverse, and now this:

https://geekositymag.com/man-of-steel-2-in-works-with-henry-cavill-returning/

I don't buy this rumour to be quite honest.

[The Joker]

Cavill back as Superman, would require WB to actually give Superman fans the one thing they've been passionately clamoring for.

Having optimism isn't a bad thing, but this "is" WB we're talking about here.

[The Dark Knight]

Sutton has said a lot in recent times. His credibility is on the line. If all these projects don't pan out I will be paying very close attention as to how he explains things. That's how I'll judge his integrity. Does he say "plans changed" or "I got bad information"? Because all we have to go on is hope. And hope isn't good enough to go on. Sutton could be shooting in the dark and hoping for the best for all I know.

[The Laughing Fish]

The Val Zod project has two writers on board. Michael B. Jordan is expected to be an EP, but it's uncertain if he will star as the lead character.

https://deadline.com/2021/10/michael-b-jordan-val-zod-superhero-writers-darnell-metayer-josh-peters-hbo-max-1234863004/

I've heard rumours that the JJ Abrams project is in doubt because nothing has been written yet. No draft, no treatment. It's alleged that Emmerich and Hamada are not happy and would've prefer to have Abrams and Coates do a black Superman instead of the HBO Max project. Not sure how credible that rumour is, but I do think it's strange how suddenly there are two competing black Superman projects.

Once again, I gotta laugh how Warner loves to preach about diversity, but Batgirl and Val Zod will appear on streaming only to avoid box office risks they would've gotten at the theater.

Cavill back as Superman, would require WB to actually give Superman fans the one thing they've been passionately clamoring for.

Having optimism isn't a bad thing, but this "is" WB we're talking about here.

Agreed. As I said in the WW84 thread, the studio doesn't give a damn about what the fans want. These people won't learn until the fans start voting with their wallets. But if the fans can't do that then they have no right to complain.

If Cavill does play Superman again, it must be because somebody above Emmerich and co strong-armed them to bring him back.

[The Laughing Fish]

Henry Cavill on the idea of a black Superman project.

It's exciting — Superman's far more than skin color. Superman is an ideal. Superman's an extraordinary thing that lives within our hearts. Why not have multiple Supermen going on? Joaquin Phoenix did a wonderful Joker movie; so what if it's not tied to the rest of [the franchise]? They have multiple Superman comic book storylines happening at the same time.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/henry-cavill-interview-witcher-superman-1235044553

In addition to his suggestion of having multiple Supermen, Cavill insists "the cape is still in the closet". Because of this article, Mikey Sutton claimed in a video today that the Val Zod project will encounter Cavill's Superman at some point, and the latter is regarded as the "true" Superman. I don't buy one bit of it. Warner has shown not only animosity towards Snyder, but that includes Cavill too. It was only a few years ago that Mission Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie revealed he and Cavill worked on a pitch for a MOS sequel, but the studio turned it down. Yes, a lot can change in a few years, but the jackasses are still in charge of the place, and as I've said many times now, if it weren't for AT&T, ZSJL would still be locked up in a vault.