Whedon and Fox = Dollhouse. I just don't get it.
Nov 01I understand the whole concept of “it’s not personal, it’s business”, but surely at some point in the history between Joss Whedon and Fox, Whedon would just give up on them and their idea of business.
But then, I think this might be more due to Ms. Dushku’s deal with Fox – Joss just happens to be providing the idea. Still, it’s gotta suck a bit.
Regardless – new Joss show, and with Faith, no less. I’m in.
Kanye teh nerd
Oct 30My respect for Kanye spiked when he went off-script on the Katrina fund-raiser, waned with his post-loss Grammy rant, and then spiked to new heights when his new single dropped. If you can rap over Daft Punk, you’re my hero. Automatically.
And when the video came out, well. I heart Kanye.
It’s not often rap and various electronica acts pay direct homage to their sampled sources, especially in their videos (start with Run DMC’s Walk This Way and start counting. Tell me when you get to ten) – so it was a huge treat to see Daft Punk (or at least their Robot Counterparts) guest-star in Kanye’s Stronger video.
But to make the whole video a giant, live-action nod to Akira. Let’s just say, if my… symptoms… persist for more than three hours, I’m going to have to see my doctor.
"Uh, Whistler…"
Oct 29“…I hate to tell you this. But, you’re blind.”
An interesting, real-world story that, as so often happens with me, triggers a movie quote.
I’ll buy you a chocolate bar if you recognize it.
Fox to Buffy fans – We Don't Need You
Oct 17No, no, they didn’t, but they may as well have said it. It’s October in Vancouver, and that means I’ve been walking around seeing posters for the Buffy Musical Sing-A-Long being held locally. This has been going on for at least a couple years now and it’s a rousing good time (particularly if you’re a guy, because it’s a ten-to-one ratio of male/female. But I digress.) What I didn’t realize is that the posters are useless.
You see, Fox has pulled the plug on the screening of the Buffy TV episode, Once More With Feeling, in several cities. I can’t seem to find a reason why, other than corporate lawyers are always looking for shit like this so they can keep busy.
The reasoning is simple to them – a theatrical showing, organized by fans, is a couple hundred people in a room watching one copy of a DVD, which isn’t as good as a couple hundred fans watching individual copies at home. The enforcement of copyright is easy to reason out from a strict monetary sense. It’s also kind of ridiculous from a broad, franchise establishment and promotion sense.
Reality – though exact numbers are difficult to gauge, since nobody has taking a poll or anything – is that most everyone in that audience already has the DVD. And the other DVDs. And the books, comics, figures, etc. Fox has made money off of them. These gatherings have an important role then – it helps reinforce the love existing fans have for the show or better yet increases that love in some fans. If someone brings along non-fans, you could have new fans. All in all. More. Money.
But lawyers don’t think that way – they are not allowed to think laterally about strategies for building a fanbase. And the marketers and execs who are allowed, never think to give the lawyers standing orders to talk to them before dropping the hammer.
Actually, it might not matter – business culture is a strange beast. “It’s not personal, it’s business” actually means something to them – to them, standard operating procedure is to crush the other side and if it gets worked out, you can do business again. They forget sometimes that a consumer isn’t thinking the same way – to them it is personal. It would be a shame if there actually is an executive strata at Fox that seriously thinks they can shut down the sing-a-longs, then figure out a policy, and then everyone can be friends again. No, no, Fox. They’ll be mad at you. They ARE mad at you, and really you should be thankful you have Joss Whedon talking directly to them. They are not beholden to you, but they are beholden to him and if this gets sorted, it will be Whedon that smoothed their ruffled feathers.
But wait – I have and idea.
England's most famous Star Wars fan to be in Star Trek
Oct 12Well, the word on the street (and by street, I mean, Internet) is that Simon Pegg has been tapped to star in the new Star Trek movie. I didn’t give a crap about this movie until this very moment. The question is, who will he be playing? We have Spock, we have villain. As rah rah as I am for his career, he’s no Kirk – plus, they’d be yelling it all over the place if he were. “We’ve found our Kirk! We’ve found our Kirk!”
Scotty? Accent. Light comedic relief, but some gumption when it’s time to act all mean, ‘n shit.
That’s my bet. Any takers?
