Movie News & Miscellany

TIL: Hasbro is more serious about making a shared movie universe than DC/Warner.

Paramount Pictures and Hasbro, Inc. today unveiled its top talent writers room which will have responsibility for developing Hasbro’s cross-property interconnected onscreen universe featuring the brands G.I. Joe, Micronauts, Visionaries, M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) and ROM. This group includes some of the most notable creative talent in Hollywood, including Academy Award Winner Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), who will have responsibility for overseeing the writers room on behalf of Hasbro and Paramount as well as serving as Executive Producer for all of the films. Joining Goldsman will be Lindsey Beer (Wizard of Oz, Kingkiller Chronicle), Pulitzer Prize Winner Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay), Cheo Coker (Luke Cage, Ray Donovan), Joe Robert Cole (Black Panther, People vs. OJ), Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel), Jeff Pinkner (Lost, The Dark Tower), Nicole Riegel (Soldier Girls), Geneva Robertson (Atlantis, Tomb Raider) and Brian K Vaughan (Under the Dome, Lost).
(GeekDad)
 
Hasbro also owns Transformers. Why wouldn't they list that property in this shared universe? Especially since it already makes buttloads of money.
 
There's nothing like a post apocalyptic magic adventure to go with futuristic robot mask cars and an international army fighting terrorists to really go for a cohesive movie universe.
 
There's nothing like a post apocalyptic magic adventure to go with futuristic robot mask cars and an international army fighting terrorists to really go for a cohesive movie universe.
I'm surprised that they didn't try and rehabilitate the Jem brand in this. She'd make a great drop cover operative for either MASK or GI Joe
 
Supposedly, last I heard, Hasbro was planning to keep pushing Transformers as its own big, cohesive universe. I don't know if that's still the plan, though.
 
Also too bad that those two did not get pulled into Marvel Phase 4. In the 80's both titles where HUGE in Marvel's space based titles. Bug and Rocket Raccoon fighting back to back would be fun.
Bug's appeared in the GotG comics and is an official member of the roster, as recently as 2012 or so I think.
 
You're more optimistic than I am, after having watched trailers.
I put more faith in Paul Feig's track record, and the comedy stylings of everyone involved. Trailers are all lies made up by marketing firms that weren't involved in the movie's production. A clever editor can make 2 minutes of any movie look good, bad, and anywhere in between.

If a bunch of my favorite reviewers/critics start dragging it, I'll change my tune, but I'm really just expecting anything between "Better than 2" and the original at this point.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
I put more faith in Paul Feig's track record, and the comedy stylings of everyone involved. Trailers are all lies made up by marketing firms that weren't involved in the movie's production. A clever editor can make 2 minutes of any movie look good, bad, and anywhere in between.

If a bunch of my favorite reviewers/critics start dragging it, I'll change my tune, but I'm really just expecting anything between "Better than 2" and the original at this point.
I'll grant you Knocked Up wasn't bad, and though I haven't seen it, I've heard good things about Spy, but I found Bridesmaids nigh-unwatchable and heard that Peanuts missed the point entirely, despite many positive critic reviews. And then there was The Heat and Bad Teacher... I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
 
I'll grant you Knocked Up wasn't bad, and though I haven't seen it, I've heard good things about Spy, but I found Bridesmaids nigh-unwatchable and heard that Peanuts missed the point entirely, despite many positive critic reviews. And then there was The Heat and Bad Teacher... I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
I'm not sure what you looked at - as a director, Feig has done Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy, and a lot of funny TV (Office, Parks & Rec, Weeds, Bored to Death, Freaks & Geeks), and his writing partner only did The Heat, Parks & Rec, and MadTV (everyone has to start somewhere D: )
 
I'll grant you Knocked Up wasn't bad, and though I haven't seen it, I've heard good things about Spy, but I found Bridesmaids nigh-unwatchable and heard that Peanuts missed the point entirely, despite many positive critic reviews. And then there was The Heat and Bad Teacher... I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
I have to say that as someone who avoided Spy based on the previews and is leery of comedy in general, my wife rented it and I laughed my ass off. Everything in the previews were wrong. So I guess score another one for Charlie's "previews are lies" theory.

It was risky. A bad horror/action/sci-fi/basically anything else can be so bad it's funny. A bad comedy...that's just time you're not getting back.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
I'm not sure what you looked at - as a director, Feig has done Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy, and a lot of funny TV (Office, Parks & Rec, Weeds, Bored to Death, Freaks & Geeks), and his writing partner only did The Heat, Parks & Rec, and MadTV (everyone has to start somewhere D: )
I apparently conflated some movies he had an acting role in or produced with movies he directed.

TV doesn't always work for movies (and I'm not sure I'd like to see Ghostbusters done in the style of Parks and Rec/The Office, even though I mostly liked them), but as far as movies go, then, it seems, my revised list would be -

Bridesmaids - bad
The Heat - bad
Spy - good
Ghostbusters - ?
 
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