The big story right now is Spider-Man. If you’ll recall, Sony and Disney came to an agreement to share the IP in 2015, following the failure of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and some behind-the-scenes complications. Despite shifting around The MCU to accommodate the web crawler, fans were excited; after all, Spider-Man in The MCU was every superhero fan’s dream! And now it was happening! And Marvel was one step closer to being whole! What could go wrong?
If recent news is indication, a lot. For starters, the agreement Sony and Disney had was 95%-5%. This meant that while Spider-Man was technically part of Marvel, Sony could still make films with him and his villains separate from The MCU. Additionally, both studios could only make a proper Spider-Man movie if it included Peter Parker in some way. And any and all merchandise sales had to be Sony-exclusive.
Disney, obviously, wasn’t happy with the agreement. They wanted a 50% share, not part, and after two films in a row made $1 billion at the box-office, the deal began to fall apart and Sony threatened to take back the character. If this sounds messy, it is. And the average consumer’s picking up the tab. Isn’t corporate politics fun?
I’m won’t pretend I’m an expert, but fans are being a touch irrational. On the side of Disney and Marvel, while this is a big loss, I don’t think being greedy is reasonable. While Disney’s been doing quite well this past decade, they’ve also been slowly taking over Hollywood. They purchased 21st Century Fox in 2017, for example, and acquired a ton of new franchises and IPs. They then laid off hundreds of low-level workers, cancelled lots of really interesting projects (like Jojo Rabbit) and completely retooled the studio. Sure, they might’ve acquired X-Men and Fantastic Four, saving them from further abuse, but at what cost?
Still, I don’t think Sony’s fans are being reasonable either. It might be “great” that they’re “sticking it to the man”, but that misreads the reality that is Sony as a company. Not only are they also “the man”, but they’ve grossly-mismanaged a lot of their own projects. And this extends to Spider-Man, as for every Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, they’ve given us Spider-Man 3, Venom and The Amazing Spider-Man movies. This doesn’t cover the behind-the-scenes complications and failed projects, which I don’t have time to cover.
Essentially, this is a lose-lose situation for everyone, especially Spider-Man fans. And while I’m not suggesting Disney buy Sony Entertainment, because that’d be terrible for industry creativity, I don’t think rooting for everything to continue the way it’s going is helpful. I want another, better deal to come out of this, one that’d benefit everyone. I also want Spider-Man to complete his MCU trilogy, because that cliff-hanger was brutal! And I want Ike Perlmutter to not have an excuse to mess with Spider-Man in the comics, something he’s been known to do to Marvel’s other properties out of spite.
A lesser-known and overshadowed story was the announcement that The Matrix franchise is getting a fourth entry, courtesy of director Lana Wachowski. While rumours about another film had been floating around for a while, this announcement has made them official. I don’t know when the movie will release, but for fans of the franchise, which I half-am, this is exciting. As is the news that Keanu Reeves will be returning alongside Carrie-Ann Moss. Yes, you read that last sentence correctly.
I have some questions: what will the movie be called? When will it take place? How is Trinity still alive? How is Neo still alive? And if they’re planning to have it take place after The Matrix Revolutions, are they retconning that film’s ending?
I’m also concerned because of Lana and Lily Wachowski’s legacies. I know they’re darlings in the trans community, and I respect that. I’m also aware that they’re the rare breed of modern directors, like Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino, who receive the time and financial freedom to do whatever they want. But while that’s all fine and dandy, they haven’t exactly “delivered” post-The Matrix. The sequels to their most-beloved film didn’t do so hot, and every project since has disappointed. Even their most-ambitious movie since, Cloud Atlas, was a bit of a mixed-bag.
I don’t want to seem like I’m unfairly attacking Lana and Lily Wachowski. I’m sure they’re lovely people, and they seem to have resonated with a lot of moviegoers. But that doesn’t mean that I’m gonna praise their work for being out-there and weird. M. Night Shyamalan’s also out-there and weird, as his body of work has shown. He’s equally as pretentious and self-indulgent, and it shows too.
I don’t feel like praising directors for being inventive when their projects keep frustrating and failing to resonate. That’s dishonest, reductive and unhelpful. Remember, movies are a business. If they don’t produce results, then there’s no point in throwing money at them. To paraphrase the late-Albert Einstein, that’s insanity.
But who knows? Maybe Lana Wachowski will do this movie justice. It’s her baby, and she clearly seems to care. I’ve also seen bigger comebacks, so it’s possible that this could end up good. But I’m not fully on-board yet.
If anyone Follows me on Twitter, you’ll know that I was sexually assaulted when I was 7. I haven’t exactly kept quiet about that. I’m also pretty much in-favour of Me Too, thinking that, in some ways, it has lots of room to tackle abuse culture. And while it may not be the only place where this is rampant, I’ve hoped for years that the stories at Fox News would finally get their chance in the spotlight. I’ve hoped for this since Bill O’Reilly’s assault settlement.
And now, as if the Lords of Justice have heard me, we’re getting this story at the end of 2019. The movie’s called Bombshell, and it takes place in the years leading up to the aforementioned settlement. The trailer was short and short on dialogue, but it said everything it needed to. I think the most-amazing part was how well-realized Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie are as their respective characters. In particular, I’m most impressed by Theron as Megyn Kelly.
There’s a lot to really talk about, but since I’m not a film analyst I’ll stay away from getting too in-depth. What catches my eye, however, is how intense the 90-seconds of footage are. Especially in the elevator! The entire time, I was waiting for someone to say something, anything. Yet no words materialized. But I’m not angry, because the tension and body language of Theron, Kidman and Robbie said it all.
I hope Bombshell dissects the sexism and bigotry that permeates Fox News. I know it’s not exactly cool to dunk on them anymore, but this could make for an interesting film. Because sexual assault, especially under the late-Roger Ailes, was pretty rampant, and this is a story worth telling. It’s a story that I’d also like to see with-say-CNN, or MSNBC. It’s a story about the cutthroat nature of work culture, essentially.
Ultimately, I hope this movie’s success makes more people comfortable to talk about their Me Too stories. Sexual assault/harassment and rape culture haven’t been properly dealt with in the past. Now that the dirty laundry’s being aired, that could start the healing process. Even if it doesn’t lead to justice, simply talking is therapeutic. I know that sharing my story has been helpful, especially with those willing to listen.
That about does it for now. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time.
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