Henry and Chris are still recovering from the experience of watching Fantastic Four, so we called in Phil Kollar for help to figure out just how this pile of mistakes came to be. Plus, we cover new Secret Wars, DC’s Earth 2, eating at Denny’s, Disneyland rumors, and much, MUCH more…
In case you missed it, there’s a new Laser Time Patreon going, with some really cool rewards and milestone we’d love to reach with your help! Lots of new comic book content on Laser Time too. You should definitely check out our YouTube channel. It’s got winning shit like this!
Additionally, if you’ve yet to check them out, Laser Time has special commentaries for The Avengers and Iron Man 3 available on the Laser Time Bandcamp page, along with many others. Pick ’em up for $1.99 apiece.
CAPE CRISIS RECOMMENDS:
Cape Crisis #150 Question: What did you think of The Fantastic Four film?
Disneyland talk! YES!
Looking forward to this! Did anyone read that recent Hollywood Reporter article? It casts Trank in a pretty damning light. From the sounds of it, he had more control than previously thought and refused to listen to anyone else. Plus, he sent out an email a few days before the release saying the movie was “better than 99% of the superhero movies out there”.
So it kind of sounds like he did have a major say in the final cut. That also sounds like the kind of guy who would completely backpedal and blame the producers as soon as he found out his movie was garbage.
The fact that Fox has pretty much said they’re going to continue with the sequel baffles me. This movie has no fans, isn’t doing well financially, and most importantly, Fox has no contractual obligation to do it for 10 years. I really wish they would just let go…
Their studio heads are probably citing their revival of X-Men back from the brink as evidence that the same can be done with Fantastic Four. After Last Stand and Wolverine 1, X-Men was dead, until First Class. Now, Days of Future Past and Apocalypse are back in the money-printing business.
Consider the eight years between Batman & Robin (1997) and Batman Begins (2005). Fox has FF under contact for seven, right? It’s in their interest to hold the property and take another spin at the wheel because the Nolan equivalent might come along at the right time. Granted, Warner owns DC, but the situation is almost identical.
I promise, in all their desperation to participate in the Franchise-Movie landscape, Fox believes the safer bet is even the POTENTIAL in Fantastic Four 2, over any other tentpole.
Tentpole = life. That’s why Fox has two “Alien” movies and a Predator reboot(ish) in the hopper.
They are following the trends and movie fans have told them that it is possible to be forgiven for bad superhero movies.
Fantastic Four is easily the worst possible thing the 150th episode of Cape Crisis could have been celebrated with.
As someone who doesn’t care at all about wrestling, I will totally watch that Stephen Amell match.
Henry,
I know you said you don’t celebrate it, but thanks for 150 entertaining episodes.
I came a bit late to the Patreon but I wanted to post something related to comics and your Simpsons show, Talking Simpsons. Mimi Pond, the writer of Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, is a comic book writer and artist. Last year she published a graphic novel called Over Easy. It’s about working in a crazy hippie/punk diner in 1970’s California.
http://www.amazon.com/Over-Easy-Mimi-Pond/dp/1770461531/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439509576&sr=1-1&keywords=over+easy
Here is an interview where she talked about the comic and her Simpsons episode…and unfortunately never being asked to return due to the guy’s club mentality in the writer’s room.
http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/shows/the-treatment/mimi-pond-over-easy
Regardless, interesting stuff and I wanted to return the favor because you’ve gotten me to read many comics that are written and drawn by women. Squirrel Girl rules!
Also – one more thing – Mimi Pond has a Pee-Wee connection. Her husband, Wayne White, helped design the sets for the TV show and is the voice of Randy. You can see White and Pond in this doc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIv4PHJqCnM
I see Hank was real sweet on the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack this week. Nice to hear. 😉
wooo! let me get my black magic, mason jars, because there’s a lot of venom flying around in the second segment. XD
seriously, I had the lowest of low expectations for FF. it was just a way for fox to hold on to the property rights. so sad.
this episode was really great though. you guys had a lot of energy. did you record this earlier in the day or just really excited for comics stuff this week? both? well, i loved it.
y’know… sometimes Doctor Doom sounds a lot like Bowser. or Bowser come across as very Doom like? hmm…
I think that Roger Corman has still directed the best Fantastic Four movie out there
On a completely unrelated note, I just showed my girlfriend The Punisher (1989) for the first time and two things surprised me: Not only did she actually like the movie, but she was also quite smitten with Dolph Ludgren’s look. She went out of her way twice to point out how good he looked with dark hair.
Oh, and for a low budget, New World Pictures movie from 1989, The Punisher totally holds up (in spite of some terrible child acting).
One day we’re going to see a documentary on what the hell happened behind the scenes on the new FF, and it’s going to be the greatest thing to come of this.
Congrats on 150 episodes!
Also as per the conversation that comes later in the episode regarding the “first” Marvel crossover; I’m preeeeetty sure the Human Torch/Submariner fight from the 40s predates any Fantastic Four comic. And for that matter, The Invaders!
Congratulations on 150 episodes, Hank! I have to agree with Chris on God Hates Astronauts. It’s probably one of the batshit, insane books I’ve read in recent memory. Also Earth 2 is probably one of my favorite New 52 books in recent memory because it’s constant “everything keeps going to shit” action and how separated it is from the main universe. Finally, my last name is pronounced Cum-mins, not Cue-mins, but kudos for trying to making my last name sound cleaner that it actually is. Fun Fact: There is a good reason the Cummins got into making engines and are notoriously pro-choice.
When I saw Ant-Man, the trailers the cinema ran before it included an exclusive sneak peek look at… Ant-Man.
Congrats on 150 episodes and I’m sorry that it had to include so much FF film talk. I really enjoy that episode logo.
Here’s to another 150!
Congrats on 150 episodes and I’m sorry that it had to include so much FF film talk. I really enjoy that episode logo.
Here’s to another 150!
The trailer goof you saw was strictly human error. The movie studios have no say in what movie theaters place in front of movies. They might suggest certain titles, but the theater has final say.
Digital projectors are programed no different than if you were making an iTunes playlist. They drag and drop the files they want in order (IE: theater promos, a “Coming Soon” graphic, trailers, and the movie itself). Whoever was in charge of setting this up just forgot to delete that trailer from what was probably an already existing playlist. I’ve seen it happen before.
I hope Dave shows us some badass magic tricks when he gets back.
Congrats on hitting 150.
In talking about Fantastic Four homages, you missed my favorite (though not surprising as it is a more obscure and DC one).
It was in Adventures of Superman #466. A team of four scientists (crash land after absorbing lots of cosmic radiation. One that ends up a rocky hulk, another that is flamed on, the … uh, the wife of the head scientist, and finally the head scientist named Hank Henshaw.
Yes. Hank Henshaw a.k.a. the Cyborg Superman started out as a tragic homage to Reed Richards.
Not sure what the current fate of Hank Henshaw is after DC’s multiple crisis-gasm over the last few years, but my ears did perk up when the head of the military outfit in the Supergirl pilot shared that same name.
Anyway, here’s to 150 more. Or 6000. Or whatever number you reach.
Don’t forget.
You’re here forever.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were extraordinarily intelligent engineers who were also physical specimens. They were sent into space because they could pilot the spaceship and fix almost anything that was on the ship AND they were physical supermen. They were literally certified badasses who are better than everyone at everything. That’s why they got sent into space.
I feel like we need to be careful with wishing FOX would release a different cut of this movie. We may start seeing a trend of “Rogue Cuts” where FOX can shoot two cuts of the same film for the price of one. “Fant4stic: The Seriously Buy This Version Cut”
FOX EXEC – “You guys liked X-men Age Of Apocalypse? Well in this cut of the film, we replaced Apocalypse with a duck! Awesome, right?! Then in this cut, we dubbed Patrick Stewart’s voice over James McAvoy. We didn’t really do a precise job, though. We kind of recorded the lines on a cell phone over mimosas last weekend.”
Sometimes I get nostalgic for those halcyon days when our biggest concern about the Fantastic Four movie was a lot of hand-wringing over the possibility that Doom might be a blogger.