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Friday, January 31, 2020

Dumbo’s Original Source Material Remains A Mystery To This Day

Dumbo’s Original Source Material Remains A Mystery To This Day
Dumbo in sad clown makeup

In the discussion about Tim Burton’s Dumbo, most speak to its original source material as the 1941 Walt Disney Animated film of the same name – but while that’s not entirely wrong, it’s also not entirely right. While there is absolutely no questioning that the new film was heavily inspired by the classic cartoon, calling it the original source material ignores the fact that the first Dumbo movie was itself an adaptation. This by itself isn’t all that interesting, but what adds a few wrinkles to the situation is the fact that the first ever version of the story no longer appears to exist.


While the Disney film obviously popularized the tale of Dumbo, it was actually first envisioned by writers Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl and illustrator Helen Durney for a toy called a Roll-a-Book. It’s believed that a prototype was created, and there is some limited artwork still floating around, but apparently it’s impossible to actually find it.


This is not due to a lack of trying, however, as I learned earlier this month during the Los Angeles press day for the new live-action Dumbo. Having learned about this strange circumstance prior to seeing the Tim Burton film and become curious about it, I decided to inquire about the mystery of the Roll-a-Book during interviews with the movie’s producers. What I discovered was that efforts were definitely made to track down the original version of Dumbo, but nobody wound up having any luck.




I first sat down with producer Justin Springer and screenwriter Ehren Kruger, and right off the bat asked if they had any luck finding the mysterious invention. What I learned was that they did a full archive sweep shortly after development on the project started, and while they were able to find some incredible treasures that have been beautifully preserved by the Walt Disney Company, one item that wasn’t included with the wide variety of materials was the Roll-a-Book prototype. Springer explained,



It doesn't exist. Disney doesn't have it. As soon as Ehren and I started talking about it, we did go to the Disney archives and we were able to go to the animation archives and they pulled like 20 boxes of Dumbo stuff for us. And there were old treatments, and screenplays, and artwork, cell animation, early drawings, and model sheets. One of the opportunities at Disney is that you can go back to that source material and see what some of the original thinking was… But the Roll-a-Book itself was something that we found out about because we were doing research on where the original idea came from, and read about it. But we don't know that one exists.



The patent for the Roll-a-Book, filed November 2, 1938 and credited to inventor Everett Whitmyre, suggest that the device operated like an encased scroll that the user would navigate through with a pair of nobs. The reader would turn the nobs simultaneously, changing the image shown and letting the story continue. Specifically in the case of Dumbo, the story of a baby elephant with ears so giant that they allow him to fly.




Justin Springer and Ehren Kruger were unable to track down the Roll-a-Book, but interestingly it seems that their interest in digging through the archives was a touch contagious. The producer noted that the material they had found was passed along to Tim Burton and his team once they started becoming involved with Dumbo:



When I first met Tim [Burton] and Derek [Frey], when they were coming on-board the movie, I brought them a bunch of those files so that they could have them as well.



That was only the start for Derek Frey, though, as I later learned when I sat down with him and his producing partner Katterli Frauenfelder. During that interview I again opened by asking about the Roll-a-Book, and Frey admitted that the mystery was one that intrigued him as well in the making of Dumbo. And not only was it interesting to him, but it caught the attention of his wife Leah Gallo as well. Said Frey,





We looked [for the Roll-a-Book], and actually, my wife, who wrote the making-of book, she contacted Syracuse. I think it's Syracuse University has some kind of record of it, or maybe the original artwork. I don't think it's the Roll-a-Book itself, but they were so happy that we contacted them, because we wanted to get the information on like where did this originally come from? Obviously everybody thinks of the Disney animated picture, but they got the rights to do it based off of that little Roll-a-Book. So it's interesting.



If you can’t tell where this is going, however, the efforts ultimately didn’t bear any real fruit. Even with all of the resources of the Walt Disney Company supporting the search, the original Roll-a-Book prototype that inspired Dumbo remains a lost item… if you can even call it lost, given how it’s unclear whether or not it ever physically existed. Derek Frey summed it up this way:



From what I understand, it's kind of like one of these myths. There was a Roll-a-Book being planned. I guess the fact is I don't know if anyone's actually found a physical copy of one. I think there's imagery of it, or artwork that was created for it, and there could have been like maybe like a prototype created for it. But I don't think there's actually a physical Roll-a-Book. We didn't have one, but we looked.





Frankly, this sounds like a case where the thing will randomly turn up in someone’s basement someday, with the person in possession of it being totally and entirely clueless about its pop culture significance. But until that day comes, we’ll just have to live with the material we know exists.


On that note, the original Walt Disney Animation classic Dumbo is widely available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital. And if you're curious about the new live-action take, Tim Burton’s Dumbo – starring Colin Farrell, Nico Parker, Finley Hobbins, Eva Green, Danny DeVito, Michael Keaton, and Alan Arkin – is now playing in theaters everywhere worldwide.

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Us Box Office: Jordan Peele Horror Dethrones Captain Marvel In Massive Debut

Us Box Office: Jordan Peele Horror Dethrones Captain Marvel In Massive Debut
Us tops the weekend box office for the first time

Daaaaaamn, Jordan Peele. We knew Us would make a lot of money -- much more than the initial projections from $38 million to $48 million -- but Us' opening weekend nearly doubled that. It made $70.2 million from March 22-24, which is literally double what Captain Marvel made this week in its third time on the chart. This is the first time Captain Marvel has been dethroned at #1, after its own better-than-expected debut. Us has set all kinds of records, and we'll get to that and more, but first check out the full top 10 domestic box office chart:


Us set a new record for an original horror movie, easily passing A Quiet Place's $50 million debut. It marked the third best horror opening of all time behind It and Halloween. Also -- and this is pretty cool -- it's the best opening for an original live-action movie since Avatar in 2009, per Deadline. Huzzah for original films!


Us demolished the $33 million opening of Jordan Peele'e previous hit, the 2017 film Get Out. That movie won Jordan Peele the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. It was a tough act to follow, but it also added more anticipation for this film, which must've contributed to the huge opening box office. Plus, no one likes to be spoiled, so many fans rushed to theaters to see what happened in Us before someone spoiled it for them online. (If you're still confused on exactly what happened, here's help.)




Very strong reviews are also known to help at the box office, although fans don't seem to be quite as fond of Us as the critics. The movie currently has a 94% fresh rating from critics but only 69% from RT users, and a "B" CinemaScore from moviegoers polled on opening night.


Us winning doesn't really mean Captain Marvel loses. The MCU movie did see a drop of -48.5% this week (and a loss of 32 screens), but those chart numbers are just from the domestic box office. Captain Marvel currently has a worldwide total of $910,298,835, and it's expected to hit $1 billion later this week. One billion dollars within a month of release? Not too shabby.


Most of the chart order above looks the same as last week's figures from Box Office Mojo. There are some changes, though, like the arrival of Gloria Bell in the top 10. Julianne Moore's movie added 615 screens, putting it up to 654, giving it a box office boost of +394.5% over last week.




Other that that, this weekend pushed How to Train Your Dragon 3 very close to $500M worldwide -- it's currently at $488M -- and Alita: Battle Angel is barely a hair under $400M with a current worldwide gross of $399,866,842. The total may be above $400M by the time you read this, depending on how much still comes in from the impressive foreign box office. But the question remains on whether it can reach $500 million, which seems to be the benchmark people are looking at for profit/sequels.


At any rate, Us should enjoy #1 while it can, because next weekend we have Dumbo and then it's Shazam! time. And in just over one month, Avengers: Endgame will arrive to show every film how box office winning is done. Keep up with everything headed to theaters in busy 2019 with our handy movie schedule.


Did you predict a $70 million opening for Us? If so, now's the perfect time to brag in the comments below. (No one will believe you without proof, but that's fine.)



Dark Phoenix's Nicholas Hoult Would Totally Play Beast In The MCU

Dark Phoenix's Nicholas Hoult Would Totally Play Beast In The MCU
Beast in Dark Phoenix

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is on everyone's mind currently, as Avengers: Endgame has been in theaters for nearly two weeks. The Russo Brothers delivered a blockbuster that was the true cumulation of 22 movies, and included just about every character you could imagine. There is still one movie left in Phase Three, but the public has been theorizing about what might come in the next slate of movies.


One of the biggest questions looming above Phase Four is the Fox/Disney merger, and the new characters that might join the MCU. Chief among them are the Fantastic Four and X-Men, although the latter group offers an interesting set of challenges. But will Marvel Studios invite any of the current X-Men actor to return, or just recast? Nicholas Hoult has been playing Beast since First Class, and recently expressed his interest in joining the MCU, saying:



Yeah, I think that would be cool if they do blend them together. I’m not sure what their plans are, but I loved playing the role and I got to take him to a new spot in this film and try different things. So if there was a way to keep growing within that character then that’d be something I’d be interested in.





Dark Phoenix marks Nicholas Hoult's fourth movie as Beast, and it looks like he's not quite done with the big blue guy. And he'd love to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe if Disney Studio decides to somehow combine the franchises.


Nicholas Hoult's comments come from his recent chat with MTV International. While publicizing his role as the title character on Tolkien, the conversation eventually turned to Hoult's superheroic tenure as Beast in the X-Men franchise. Dark Phoenix has been teased to be the final installment in the property as we know it, but there are lots of fans hoping the mutants will be brought into the MCU.


Related: Nicholas Hoult Doesn't Make A Big Deal About Working With Ex Jennifer Lawrence On X-Men Set




But Marvel Studios' plans for the future are almost a complete mystery, save from Spider-Man: Far From Home and Black Widow. Studio head Kevin Feige did recently claim that the X-Men wouldn't be brought into the MCU for years, likely allowing audiences to move on from the long running franchise. But the MCU is a place full of twists, so there's always the possibility that those comments were a red herring.


Comic book fans have been waiting for the X-Men to meet The Avengers since the MCU introduced serialized storytelling to the film world. While this seemed like an impossibility for the last decade, Disney's acquisition of Fox seemed to open the doors. But exactly how Marvel will be introducing the beloved mutants to the greater shared universe is unclear.


If the current class of X-Men are offered, Nicholas Hoult is one actor who is ready to crossover to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Let's just hope that Kevin Feige and his team are considering this as an option.




Nicholas Hoult's Tokien arrives in theaters on May 10th, and Dark Phoenix will debut on June 7th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Triple Frontier's Twist Was Actually Ben Affleck's Idea

Triple Frontier's Twist Was Actually Ben Affleck's Idea
Triple Frontier Ben Affleck find something curious in the house raid

Warning: spoilers for Netflix's Triple Frontier are in play. If you haven't seen the film yet, and want to remain unspoiled, bookmark this page and come back later.


It's a moment that comes as a shock to everyone who watches Triple Frontier: the moment where Ben Affleck's Tom “Redfly” Davis is taken out by a fatal headshot, thanks to a rash action he'd taken earlier in the film. The karmic consequence of killing a handful of farmers, it's a kill that shocks and surprises anyone who would expect someone like Affleck to make it to the end of the movie. But as co-writer/director J.C. Chandor recently explained, the decision to kill Ben Affleck's character was not only spawned in a re-write, it was from a note from Affleck himself. Chandor's version of events goes like this:



When I first read the script it was a secondary character [who got killed], I can’t even remember which one of the other guys it was. It was someone else… It was actually in meeting with Ben for the first time, he suggested it. He said would you ever be willing to do that? I had actually moved it to a different character than the one that I originally read [in Mark Boal’s draft of the script]. I won’t get into who, but it was to another character and it was very secondary. Ben said, ‘Would you ever be willing to, if I got the studio to agree to it, to allow that to be me?'






Killing off any random character that wasn't Ben Affleck might have worked in Triple Frontier. Doubly so, considering that by time Affleck's lead is killed while defending his friends in a mountain range fire fight, it really felt like the whole team would be walking away from this caper with their lives. But even in the movies, when it's your time to go, it's time to go.


According to remarks Ben Affleck made to Collider during the Triple Frontier press day, that decision was inspired by, among other things, a random crime drama from the 1980's. That specific film, and the effect it had on Affleck's decision, can be read below:



I thought that would be interesting and I wanted to see somebody actually pay a price for what happened. I always liked To Live and Die in L.A., how Bill Peterson’s character died. It kind of takes you off guard. I wanted to do the same thing. This is a little bit later in the movie than Bill Peterson’s character, but it highlights the risk to people’s lives. It focuses on the mortality question and theme, which I think is really interesting.






As mentioned before, Tom's death is the consequence of his cold blooded murder of South American farmers trying to claim some of the money stolen in Triple Frontier as their own. If it wasn't for that particular incident, Ben Affleck's character wouldn't have been hunted down by one of the farmer's sons, and he would have lived happily ever after. Or as happily as he could have with $5 million. But who was originally supposed to die?


While J.C. Chandor isn't divulging which Triple Frontier character was originally on the chopping block, the smart money would be on either Garrett Hedlund's Ben or Charlie Hunnam's William originally taking the big dirt nap. With one being shot during the actual robbery, and the other going out of their way to protect their brother, the process of elimination helps narrow it down to those two characters. And comparatively, they could be considered characters secondary to Affleck's Tom or Oscar Isaac's Santiago.


This only makes the effect of this big rewrite all the more impressive. The finished film doesn't feel like it has just two “star” team members and three “secondary” characters. Rather, the entire team of Triple Frontier is important in their own individual ways. So no matter died, it would have stung. But the fact that it was Ben Affleck is even more shocking, as it violates the conventional wisdom that a star of his stature always makes it to the end. A decision to which we, as movie fans, must say bravo.





Triple Frontier is currently available on Netflix, and being shown in limited theatrical release.

Avengers: Endgame Writers Have An Easy Answer For The Spider-Man Confusion

Avengers: Endgame Writers Have An Easy Answer For The Spider-Man Confusion
Spider-Man Far From Home Flash Thompson Ned Leeds Betty Brant

SPOILER WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame. If you have not yet seen the film, read on at your own risk!


Thanks to its time travel wackiness and an unannounced future slate of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Avengers: Endgame is a film that has audiences asking a lot of engaging questions while coming out of screenings – and one of the most significant has been about Tom Holland’s Peter Parker and his high school classmates. Because the blockbuster jumps ahead in the timeline five years, some have wondered why it is that many of Peter’s friends appear to be basically the same age in the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home as they were when we last saw them in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War.


While this may seem confusing to some, Avengers: Endgame co-writer Stephen McFeely has a pretty simple explanation for the situation: anyone who appears to be the same age after the events of the movie were turned to dust following Thanos’ snap, and are still the same age they were five years earlier for the same reason Peter Parker didn’t get older. Said the screenwriter,





That one seems easy to me. Isn't it clear that anybody who looks the same blipped, and they're back just like [Peter] is? I don't know what happens in [Spider-Man: Far From Home] at all, but I can only assume that most of the main characters got blipped, and maybe some ancillary characters are now older, and then you'll get some comedy from that? I don't know.



I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely as part of the latest episode of our HeroBlend podcast, and it was early in the interview that the subject of Spider-Man and his pals not aging came up. I’ve personally had many conversations with friends about this particular aspect of Avengers: Endgame, and while explanations similar to McFeely’s have generally resolved the debate, it’s nice to hear it directly from one of the filmmakers involved with the film.


In Avengers: Endgame the only friend of Peter Parker we actually see is Ned Leeds (played by Jacob Batalon), who apparently got snapped away just like his buddy - but the first trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home seemingly confirms that Spider-Man and The Guy In The Chair weren’t alone being affected by The Decimation. As seen in the screenshot above, apparently both Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori) and Betty Brant (Angourie Rice) also disappeared following the events of Avengers: Infinity War, given they look basically the same as they did in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and it seems that it’s also the same situation with Zendaya’s M.J.




This lingering Avengers: Endgame question was one of many that I got to ask Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely about during our interview, so if you want to hear more be sure to click play on the HeroBlend episode below and give it a listen:


Avengers: Endgame is now out in theaters everywhere, and Spider-Man: Far From Home will be hitting theaters this summer on July 2nd. For the latest updates about both Marvel Cinematic Universe titles, be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend.

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Captain Marvel's Stan Lee Tribute Is Perfect

Captain Marvel's Stan Lee Tribute Is Perfect
Stan Lee in Iron Man

The following contains minor spoilers for Captain Marvel**.**


When we lost Stan Lee at the end of last year, Marvel fans were in shock. when it wasn't necessarily an unexpected turn of events, the man who helped bring so many of our favorite heroes to life was loved by many who never met him that everybody felt it. Since then, we've seen tributes to Lee included in Once Upon a Deadpool and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but the one included in this week's Captain Marvel may be the best of them all. It doesn't wait until the credits roll where some might not see it. It drops it right into the opening seconds of the movie, by making Stan Lee the focal point of the Marvel Studios logo.


If you've seen any Marvel movie you're familiar with the Marvel Studios logo that plays either at the very beginning of every film, or after a short cold open. The current version of the logo is a collage of brief clips of various MCU films showing off all our favorite heroes in action. We see Captain America and Iron Man and Black Widow and the Hulk all looking awesome while the camera pulls back to reveal the Marvel Studios logo.





The one in front of Captain Marvel, however, is slightly different. It functions exactly the same way, only instead of seeing our favorite Marvel heroes, we get clips of Stan Lee in all of his various MCU cameos that he's made over the years. We don't see any other characters. No Iron Man. No Thor. It's just Stan. All Stan. As the logo fades away a text briefly flashes on the screen to say thank you to Stan Lee, then our movie gets underway.


It's an incredibly lovely way to say goodbye, one that touched the entire audience at my screening. The audience erupted in cheers and applause as soon as everybody realized what we were seeing. It was glorious. There may have been tears. From other people, I mean.


Of course, that wasn't the only time we saw Stan Lee in Captain Marvel's run time. Lee filmed his requisite cameo for the film before he died. It comes fairly early in the film. Vers (Brie Larson) has chased a Skrull onto a city bus and she's trying to figure out which of the humans on the bus is now the hiding Skrull. One of the people on the bus is Stan Lee.





Interestingly, unlike most of Stan's cameos, where he's playing a random nameless character, in this cameo he's actually playing Stan Lee. We see Stan on the bus reading a movie script and trying to learn his lines. Specifically, he's reading the script to Kevin Smith's 1995 comedy Mallrats. Yes, Stan Lee's cameo makes reference to another Stan Lee cameo.


We understand that Stan Lee filmed his cameo for Avengers: Endgame as well, so we'll likely see him again at least one more time. As it's only a couple months from now, maybe Stan Lee will be in the Marvel logo again then. It will be fitting to be sure Stan Lee gets a proper thank you during the film the entire MCU has being building towards. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing that again.

To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right Wonder Park Ticket

To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right Wonder Park Ticket
Wonder Park June and her friends watching a 3D movie with popcorn

The days are getting longer, the weather is getting nicer, and it's almost time for that age-old tradition of strapping oneself inside a metal roller coaster and defying gravity for fun! However, you might not have a local theme park open for the season, depending on where you hail from, so a movie like Wonder Park could be the thrill ride fix you need, mixed in with a family drama about the power of imagination. But, of course, there's something else we have to wonder about with this particular film. Yes, it's time to ask that beautiful question, “To 3D, or Not To 3D?”


If you're wondering what we thought about Wonder Park as a movie, head over to our official review for the full scoop. But if you're wondering whether the film is worth the extra ticket money, or if you'd be better off throwing that money towards a box of popcorn at your local theme park, you've come to the right place. Glasses on, as we're about to ride the 3D attraction that is Wonder Park.


Wonder Park, at its heart, is a film about a young girl's imagination, and the theme park it inspires. So that alone would be a pretty big treat in 3D, especially during the theme park sequences in the film. But Wonder Park isn't content with just showing off impressive attractions with 3D panache, as it takes both the real and imaginary worlds of its protagonist and does a pretty bang up job of finding something to surprise the eye with in both.





Looking at the finished product of Wonder Park's 3D conversion, it's a clear verdict in how much time and effort was put into the execution of this enhanced version of the film. The overall package is crisp and eye pleasing, with none of the defects that crop up in some lesser 3D presentations. While there's still some holding back with the film's visuals, it's not to the extent that the film suffers from it.


There are a couple of key shots in Wonder Park that show the perfect example of a self-imposed limitation when it comes to the 3D presentation. Those shots have objects like ice cream cones and other debris from the various adventures the film engages in hitting an invisible camera lens / glass wall and bouncing back into the picture. While those little touches are kinda fun, and definitely play with the visual fourth wall, they cause the film to stop short of any sort of thrills involving the objects in play flying out towards the audience.


While objects may not fly out of the screen, and into the audience's laps, Wonder Park does happen to boast some of the best depth in a 3D animated film. And that's besides the standard shots flying through roller coaster loops and the far off vistas of Wonderland being shown in fantastic depth and clarity. This film goes the extra mile, and includes impressive panning shots of crowds occupying the park that are so well drawn, you can feel each individual guest standing in front of you. It actually feels like a crowd shot, and not just a background effect, which is the ultimate cherry on top of this visual sundae.





There are a lot of beautiful colors and night shots at work in Wonder Park, which are both the types of aspects that get lost in a film with sub-par brightness. Now your mileage may vary when it comes to the brightness of your Wonder Park showing, as theaters maintain their projection rigs to varying degrees. That fact alone throws in a variable that can't always be accounted for. But in this screening of Wonder Park, there was only a slight dimming between putting the 3D glasses on and taking them off at various points in the film. The colors still look beautiful, and the night shots aren't a pain to look at.


Speaking of taking your glasses off, if you're tempted to remove your glasses during any point of Wonder Park, you'll see that classic blur that is a significant part of any good 3D film's visual language. The level of blur you experience in a movie such as this usually indicates how well the 3D effects are being manipulated in service of the thrills portrayed on screen. In the case of Wonder Park, there is a beautiful spectrum of blurred vision, from the extremely blurred backgrounds to the subtle blur of close up shots with characters and objects they're interacting with.


As with any good theme park, there's a lot of fast motion, with spirals, dips, and whipping around in the visuals of Wonder Park. But don't get intimidated by that, as it all flows smoothly, and with great precision. Rather than confuse your eyes, or your stomach, the 3D thrills in this film will not rattle either into a sense of discomfort. So if you decide to take this ride, you won't have to keep a waste bag or eye drops handy, as you'll be able to enjoy Wonder Park with no discomfort whatsoever.





Wonder Park is a stunning film to look at, with the 3D aspect making things only that much more interesting. If you're going to see this movie, you're getting the best return on your hard earned ticket money by seeing it with the added bells and whistles. There's extra wonder in Wonder Park's 3D conversion, and you owe it to yourself to experience every bit of it.


Be sure to visit our full To 3D Or Not To 3D Archive.

 

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