This is going to be short, but here goes. I've been testing the waters out the last two months and have tried to get content out every day. It's learning the ropes as you continue on and this past week, I've gotten some of my highest pageviews through sharing my posts throughout the day they are published. Thank you for viewing them if you are reading this blog. That being said, I do want to plan out my intentions with this, and here is a few things you might expect.
1. 1-2 blogs a day: My intentions are to have this site get new blogs every day. I will plan out at least one. Sometimes, I might pull off two because either I might plan that or something sudden came up, like what happened to Charlie Murphy recently. (http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/04/health-issues-and-famous.html) Either way, I hope to keep people coming to the blogs. If you know people that would like my content, tell others and follow the blog.
2. Specific blogs: I'm thinking of putting out certain things on certain days. I want to review every short of The Simpsons beginning April 19th and continuing to do so starting Tuesday the 25th. Every Tuesday, you'll get to see a new review. I also liked the fact that my channel trailer blog got 30 views, so every Friday starting next Friday, I will put up what I have done on YouTube for the week and keep doing that unless I don't put up any videos for the week.
That's about it for now. I want to have a schedule on the content and again, give a sincere thank you for anyone viewing the blogs and continuing to show up and read them. It's greatly appreciated. Here's to hopefully a stronger future.
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Damaging a career: Colin Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick was immediately put into the stardom when he took over for the San Francisco 49ers in the middle of the 2012 season. Replacing Alex Smith who got a concussion, he found his way to making it to the Super Bowl, but to lose to the Baltimore Ravens. His 2013 season was his first full starting season and he didn't disappoint. He could run. He could throw. The team, even though they lost in the NFC Championship game, looked like they had a future quarterback for years to come. Then, 2014 came, and while he had a good year, it was not a strong one, missing the playoffs and coach Jim Harbaugh gone after that season.
For 2015, Kaepernick struggled and was benched. His numbers were far from good, and one would think this past season he would have been the starter under Chip Kelly's offensive scheme. However, the former coach decided to go with Blaine Gabbert, who didn't exactly light things up. Kaepernick was put in towards the middle of the year and posted some good numbers. They didn't translate to wins, though. San Francisco only won one game under him and he was let go after this past season. However, the point of this blog comes from what he did during pre-season.
You see games on television or in person and you see the National Anthem. The ones at the games, playing or spectating, look up to the flag. Kaepernick decided to kneel. It drew a lot of backlash and criticism. As far the NFL goes, some players on teams like the Miami Dolphins did it as well. Others, like the entire New York Giants team, stood for the Anthem. Kaepernick's reasoning was that because of the oppression of African Americans. The last few years haven't exactly been positive things, especially with shootings in the United States and a bunch of other things. He still hasn't been picked up and it begs the question on why he hasn't.
I think it comes down to two things. The first is obviously the protest he did. I'm not an expert on public relations despite going for mass communications, but this is truly a nightmare that will never be fixed. No matter how much stuff he does to help his image or others, he's still going to be really hated. I wouldn't be surprised if teams are concerned about what he could possibly do off the field and in interviews. The National Anthem is something you don't take lightly. Personally, I would stand up for it like everyone else. And especially considering the last few years, there are better ways to show protest than kneeling.
The other, which is also a huge factor, is if he can play. Could he have the energy to play well and start all 16 games in a season? This week, 49er coach Kyle Shanahan talked about why Kaepernick was not a fit for the offense he wants. Kaepernick's style of play is similar to other quarterbacks like Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, and Robert Griffin III. However, Wilson is really the only one who has developed into a passer, putting up huge numbers the last two years. Newton kind of has, but his numbers were far from the strongest last year compared to 2015. Shanahan also said about not doing everything, which you see a little bit. Guys like Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, and Joe Flacco have all done well as pocket passers that ultimately got them Super Bowls. Sometimes, they do have to run, but getting the ball to their receivers is a huge key to their success and a huge shot for the Hall of Fame (Flacco, I'm not sure yet).
I'm inclined to agree somewhat on the idea of repetitiveness. A team has to cater to Kaepernick's approach to the game. Whether he adjusts to another system is another story. If he wants to be relevant again, he's going to have to do a lot more to not only repair his image if he wants to, but also work on passing mechanics. He needs to show the NFL that he can still play, and he needs to put a very strong effort to be the starter for a team that is desperate for a quarterback. Or at the very least, have a backup in case things go sour with the other starter, which seemed to be the case this past season. He is still young enough to last a long time in the league and has big talent, but he has to put up the effort. Otherwise, he's a case of what if's along with other mobile quarterbacks like Michael Vick and Randall Cunningham.
Only Colin Kaepernick can dictate where he wants his career to go. If he changes for the better, then he can try to win back the fans. If he can't, then good riddance. He had everything and it crumbled around him. Whatever he does will affect his future, whatever he has left of a future.
For 2015, Kaepernick struggled and was benched. His numbers were far from good, and one would think this past season he would have been the starter under Chip Kelly's offensive scheme. However, the former coach decided to go with Blaine Gabbert, who didn't exactly light things up. Kaepernick was put in towards the middle of the year and posted some good numbers. They didn't translate to wins, though. San Francisco only won one game under him and he was let go after this past season. However, the point of this blog comes from what he did during pre-season.
You see games on television or in person and you see the National Anthem. The ones at the games, playing or spectating, look up to the flag. Kaepernick decided to kneel. It drew a lot of backlash and criticism. As far the NFL goes, some players on teams like the Miami Dolphins did it as well. Others, like the entire New York Giants team, stood for the Anthem. Kaepernick's reasoning was that because of the oppression of African Americans. The last few years haven't exactly been positive things, especially with shootings in the United States and a bunch of other things. He still hasn't been picked up and it begs the question on why he hasn't.
I think it comes down to two things. The first is obviously the protest he did. I'm not an expert on public relations despite going for mass communications, but this is truly a nightmare that will never be fixed. No matter how much stuff he does to help his image or others, he's still going to be really hated. I wouldn't be surprised if teams are concerned about what he could possibly do off the field and in interviews. The National Anthem is something you don't take lightly. Personally, I would stand up for it like everyone else. And especially considering the last few years, there are better ways to show protest than kneeling.
The other, which is also a huge factor, is if he can play. Could he have the energy to play well and start all 16 games in a season? This week, 49er coach Kyle Shanahan talked about why Kaepernick was not a fit for the offense he wants. Kaepernick's style of play is similar to other quarterbacks like Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, and Robert Griffin III. However, Wilson is really the only one who has developed into a passer, putting up huge numbers the last two years. Newton kind of has, but his numbers were far from the strongest last year compared to 2015. Shanahan also said about not doing everything, which you see a little bit. Guys like Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, and Joe Flacco have all done well as pocket passers that ultimately got them Super Bowls. Sometimes, they do have to run, but getting the ball to their receivers is a huge key to their success and a huge shot for the Hall of Fame (Flacco, I'm not sure yet).
I'm inclined to agree somewhat on the idea of repetitiveness. A team has to cater to Kaepernick's approach to the game. Whether he adjusts to another system is another story. If he wants to be relevant again, he's going to have to do a lot more to not only repair his image if he wants to, but also work on passing mechanics. He needs to show the NFL that he can still play, and he needs to put a very strong effort to be the starter for a team that is desperate for a quarterback. Or at the very least, have a backup in case things go sour with the other starter, which seemed to be the case this past season. He is still young enough to last a long time in the league and has big talent, but he has to put up the effort. Otherwise, he's a case of what if's along with other mobile quarterbacks like Michael Vick and Randall Cunningham.
Only Colin Kaepernick can dictate where he wants his career to go. If he changes for the better, then he can try to win back the fans. If he can't, then good riddance. He had everything and it crumbled around him. Whatever he does will affect his future, whatever he has left of a future.
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Are 300 Million Dollar Movie Budgets a Possibility?
With The Fate of the Furious out in theaters now, it has a long road ahead of it if Universal intends on getting any profit out of this eighth film in the Fast and Furious franchise. Looking at its budget, it is at 250 million dollars. That is a far cry from the original's 38 million in 2001. Then again, they didn't build up the ante of being more than just street racing and working for the cops and FBI for the first few films. Even though since they have made huge success since the fourth one, Fast and Furious, are we getting to that realm that a 300 million dollar budget is inevitable?
Part of me thinks now we're heading towards that root. I'm more inclined to believe the thought process of Jay Chandrasekhar that we need those 20 million dollar budget films. From Back to the Future and Rain Man to Home Alone and Aladdin, these were movies that were able to succeed with decent budgets and give massive profits from a different era of film. I really don't know if you can justify Fate of the Furious' budget, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of cars if they weren't digitized (which they probably were) were destroyed in production with multiple takes. If you look at the commercials, they show some big damage with stuff like a wrecking ball and guiding a missile towards another car.
You look at comic book movies and it's hard to justify having these budgets since The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers being over 200 million. Sure, there are scenes that make sense to see why, but you have to wonder how much of this is going to the actors. Some people don't realize that behind the scenes, there is always some deal being made to where you get someone to appear in the film you want. Sometimes, they accept or reject and go somewhere else. It's really baffling and eventually these Marvel and DC films are going to crumble and hurt themselves and the companies that distribute (Disney and WB) if people grow tired of these films. Look at the last Ninja Turtles movie. Not even having throwbacks to the 80s cartoon helped it at the box office. There are exceptions like Deadpool and the latest Wolverine films, but those are rarities.
Animated films are something I wouldn't be surprised would get 300 million dollar budgets, but it seems like mostly Disney products would be the first if it gets to that. I wouldn't rule it out entirely, but I think a lot of companies know the risks. Even Disney has mellowed out a little bit since 2010 when Tangled came out that November and had a 260 million dollar budget. It barely two times its budget all together worldwide. And it's not like it had all sorts of big name actors in it, either. Either way, they trimmed down a bit to 150-165 million for their other original films. Frozen and Zootopia topped at 150 mil while Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6 were at 165 mil. The Pixar stuff varies, so it's hard to know what the budget is going to be for those. Since Toy Story 3, they have had mostly 200 million dollar budgets. The brand name can only get you so far, but we'll have to see when Cars 3 comes out in June and other other sequels the next few years like Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2.
Maybe it might not happen during the end of the 2010s, but the idea of a budget of 300 million could be seen in the 2020s. Film companies are going to have a tough time getting profits if it becomes reality. Hopefully it doesn't.
Part of me thinks now we're heading towards that root. I'm more inclined to believe the thought process of Jay Chandrasekhar that we need those 20 million dollar budget films. From Back to the Future and Rain Man to Home Alone and Aladdin, these were movies that were able to succeed with decent budgets and give massive profits from a different era of film. I really don't know if you can justify Fate of the Furious' budget, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of cars if they weren't digitized (which they probably were) were destroyed in production with multiple takes. If you look at the commercials, they show some big damage with stuff like a wrecking ball and guiding a missile towards another car.
You look at comic book movies and it's hard to justify having these budgets since The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers being over 200 million. Sure, there are scenes that make sense to see why, but you have to wonder how much of this is going to the actors. Some people don't realize that behind the scenes, there is always some deal being made to where you get someone to appear in the film you want. Sometimes, they accept or reject and go somewhere else. It's really baffling and eventually these Marvel and DC films are going to crumble and hurt themselves and the companies that distribute (Disney and WB) if people grow tired of these films. Look at the last Ninja Turtles movie. Not even having throwbacks to the 80s cartoon helped it at the box office. There are exceptions like Deadpool and the latest Wolverine films, but those are rarities.
Animated films are something I wouldn't be surprised would get 300 million dollar budgets, but it seems like mostly Disney products would be the first if it gets to that. I wouldn't rule it out entirely, but I think a lot of companies know the risks. Even Disney has mellowed out a little bit since 2010 when Tangled came out that November and had a 260 million dollar budget. It barely two times its budget all together worldwide. And it's not like it had all sorts of big name actors in it, either. Either way, they trimmed down a bit to 150-165 million for their other original films. Frozen and Zootopia topped at 150 mil while Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6 were at 165 mil. The Pixar stuff varies, so it's hard to know what the budget is going to be for those. Since Toy Story 3, they have had mostly 200 million dollar budgets. The brand name can only get you so far, but we'll have to see when Cars 3 comes out in June and other other sequels the next few years like Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2.
Maybe it might not happen during the end of the 2010s, but the idea of a budget of 300 million could be seen in the 2020s. Film companies are going to have a tough time getting profits if it becomes reality. Hopefully it doesn't.
Friday, April 14, 2017
Fumbling a Classic: The NES Classic
For well over a decade, there have been many plug and play systems with a set number of number of built in games. I've had a few over the years and they still work fine. If there was one that could have done it well, it was Nintendo. With a background of many titles from the last 35 to 40, they would give fans what they wanted. In the midst of this, however, was a big fuck-up that really shouldn't have happened in the first place. I'm talking about the NES Classic system.
Back in November, Nintendo released the NES Classic to stores. They had 30 built games. Some first party and some were third party. You would think theoretically this would be a home run and it was... kind of. From what I understand, not many places got enough stock and one of the problems now is scalpers selling them at ridiculous prices. Underestimating that many would not care is nothing short of baffling. If there's a candidate for the most stupidly loyal fanbase, Nintendo would probably be at the top if not, near it. And I'm not talking about the casual people who want to relive what they had in the late 80s and early 90s. Some are willing to pay hundreds without turning the other cheek. They did put out another shipment, but this is probably one of the most surprising things to come out of this company.
Nintendo has announced that they are discontinuing the NES Classic. It's not a surprise people are pissed about this. Whether you grew up on an NES like my family did or not, many are going to be very disappointed. For one of the hottest products this past Christmas, for it to not last even six months is a tragedy in itself. Nintendo really dropped the ball on this. Millions grew up on this 8-bit system. It was a lot of people's first system and for some, their only one. From a simplistic age and the titles they offered, they should have known it would have been a bigger deal than what they expected.
Honestly, who knows what the factor is for discontinuing. I'll say this as a heads up, but the more I do blogs about Nintendo, the more you'll know how I feel about them. Their Japanese division is one of the most incompetent companies in all of the world. They almost have a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde personality. At times, they do understand what audiences want. However, the other side is having no goddamn clue about what goes on outside of Japan. They put up a good effort or the minimal. When there's a hot product like they had with the Wii back in 2006, you try to give people what they want, not kill it off so quickly. I know it's apples and oranges, but, come on.
Speaking of Wii, there is the Virtual Console, which has continued on with Wii U, 3DS, and the new Switch system. That might make a little sense, but the audience for the Switch is different from what the NES Classic is going after. My family had an NES from 1987 until at least 94 or 95. I've had my own since June of 2009. If i didn't have one, I would have asked for this immediately. The NES isn't exactly the most reliable machine for video games. One of the few mistakes Nintendo did was not re-releasing it at a good time. For its top loader to come out in the fall of 1993 is one of the big blunders before they made mistake after mistake starting with the Nintendo 64.
I know it's been hacked and a couple of other things, but it's not like the NES is going to be forgotten as the years go on. This is one of the most important systems for the industry, especially in America where it helped recover from the Video Game Crash of 1983. Even with some of Nintendo's illegal methods, this is a part of history. I doubt we'll get anything sincere since President Reggie Fils-Aime is a puppet, but Nintendo better have a good explanation for this if they have any. There is no reason to kill off something that you could easily sell to many and make a good profit off of. The NES Classic was reasonably priced. There was games you could easily put tons of hours in. It did it right compared to other plug and plays. But now, it's just another black eye full of backlash that they haven't evaded since 1996. Stuff like this is why people give Nintendo the finger and not take them seriously.
Back in November, Nintendo released the NES Classic to stores. They had 30 built games. Some first party and some were third party. You would think theoretically this would be a home run and it was... kind of. From what I understand, not many places got enough stock and one of the problems now is scalpers selling them at ridiculous prices. Underestimating that many would not care is nothing short of baffling. If there's a candidate for the most stupidly loyal fanbase, Nintendo would probably be at the top if not, near it. And I'm not talking about the casual people who want to relive what they had in the late 80s and early 90s. Some are willing to pay hundreds without turning the other cheek. They did put out another shipment, but this is probably one of the most surprising things to come out of this company.
Nintendo has announced that they are discontinuing the NES Classic. It's not a surprise people are pissed about this. Whether you grew up on an NES like my family did or not, many are going to be very disappointed. For one of the hottest products this past Christmas, for it to not last even six months is a tragedy in itself. Nintendo really dropped the ball on this. Millions grew up on this 8-bit system. It was a lot of people's first system and for some, their only one. From a simplistic age and the titles they offered, they should have known it would have been a bigger deal than what they expected.
Honestly, who knows what the factor is for discontinuing. I'll say this as a heads up, but the more I do blogs about Nintendo, the more you'll know how I feel about them. Their Japanese division is one of the most incompetent companies in all of the world. They almost have a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde personality. At times, they do understand what audiences want. However, the other side is having no goddamn clue about what goes on outside of Japan. They put up a good effort or the minimal. When there's a hot product like they had with the Wii back in 2006, you try to give people what they want, not kill it off so quickly. I know it's apples and oranges, but, come on.
Speaking of Wii, there is the Virtual Console, which has continued on with Wii U, 3DS, and the new Switch system. That might make a little sense, but the audience for the Switch is different from what the NES Classic is going after. My family had an NES from 1987 until at least 94 or 95. I've had my own since June of 2009. If i didn't have one, I would have asked for this immediately. The NES isn't exactly the most reliable machine for video games. One of the few mistakes Nintendo did was not re-releasing it at a good time. For its top loader to come out in the fall of 1993 is one of the big blunders before they made mistake after mistake starting with the Nintendo 64.
I know it's been hacked and a couple of other things, but it's not like the NES is going to be forgotten as the years go on. This is one of the most important systems for the industry, especially in America where it helped recover from the Video Game Crash of 1983. Even with some of Nintendo's illegal methods, this is a part of history. I doubt we'll get anything sincere since President Reggie Fils-Aime is a puppet, but Nintendo better have a good explanation for this if they have any. There is no reason to kill off something that you could easily sell to many and make a good profit off of. The NES Classic was reasonably priced. There was games you could easily put tons of hours in. It did it right compared to other plug and plays. But now, it's just another black eye full of backlash that they haven't evaded since 1996. Stuff like this is why people give Nintendo the finger and not take them seriously.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Police Squad: Victim of a Different Era?
TBS has put a lot of stock into their line of comedies and continues to do so with Angie Tribeca. The police procedural from the minds of Steve and Nancy Carell has entered its third season of solving crimes with lots of gags all around an episode. For people to still be interested in it says a lot. Then again, there's not too many parody shows these days. However, it draws similarities to the cult favorite, Police Squad, a show that some considered shouldn't have been cancelled very quickly.
Police Squad is from Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Brothers, David and Jerry. Their first big project was the movie The Kentucky Fried Movie. It was not a huge hit in 1977, but they built their reputation beginning with Airplane! three years later. The humor to their approach on disaster films catapulted the film to major success that summer in 1980. Almost two years later was Police Squad in March of 1982. It was built on competent cops solving cases while dealing with all sorts of visual gags, word gags, and a few other things that suited their style throughout the 80s and early 90s. With Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin, how did it wind up getting cancelled after four episodes with two airing in the summer?
The show aired on ABC, and the head of the network, Tony Thomopoulos thought people really needed to watch it to give it any appreciation. I'll interpret that he thought nobody would understand the fast pacing of the jokes and gags. I do think it's a pretty bad reason to cancel a show, but you gotta think about it for a second. Back then, the Zuckers and Abrahams were kind of new to the world of Hollywood. Not long after was a few more movies together such as Top Secret! in 1984 and reworking Police Squad into the The Naked Gun films from 88 to 94. Your biggest sitcoms were shows like M*A*S*H and Happy Days. Nobody was doing the style of comedy they were doing back then.
This is probably a big hypothetical, but how long could the show have lasted if it didn't get cancelled so quickly? Personally, I don't think it would lasted a long time. I'd say two to three, maybe four years, tops. It's hard to know if people would have kept on watching it after it's initial start. Television is a different animal compared to the movies. Eventually, some of the stuff you liked a few seasons prior may not garner the same reception in a current season. Police Squad was so elaborate in its comedy, it would have had the issue of being a little stale if it continued for a good length of time. Even getting to the last few episodes of the show a few years ago, it felt a little repetitive.
If Police Squad aired today, it would have a run similar to Tribeca. How many episodes, though, I'm not sure. No doubt, it is a victim of the era it was in, but it worked much better with The Naked Gun films. I think what has helped Tribeca is that it is thorough in its parody. It isn't a cheap thing done by the Friedburg and Seltzer duo. There is care put into it, and it's nice to see something similar to Police Squad. Abrahams and the Zuckers were amazing together with their movies. Let's not forget the importance of their only TV show and why they were a force to be reckoned with in the 80s.
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Health Issues and the Famous
Another day, and you hear about another death of a Hollywood celebrity. If people thought Bill Paxton's death was very shocking, I wonder how much shock there is on Charlie Murphy. Today, he passed away from a battle of leukemia at the age of 57. Similar to other deaths, you want to hear if it's legit. I don't really trust TMZ, because they are nothing more than paparazzi losers. It is confirmed by other sites beyond them. The last thing you think about is someone having some health issue that you wouldn't think otherwise.
Sometimes, you don't want things leaked to the press or tell them what has happened to you. For some of these celebrities or famous individuals, they don't want to be bombarded with all sorts of questions that otherwise become the number one topic for who knows how long. For Murphy, he probably wanted to continue on with doing his work as an actor without having the media breathing down his neck. Considering he has seen heartbreak with the passing of his wife due to cancer in 2009, you would think he would talk about his situation a little bit. You know what, it is his personal life, though. He has the choice to talk about it or not.
One actor that comes to mind for me is Michael J. Fox. For over 25 years, he has had to deal with Parkinson's Disease every day. When he found out about it in 1990, he decided to not say anything to anybody outside of family. That would come to a complete stop around the end of the decade, where he opened up on what he has suffered. Now these days, he focuses on trying to find a way to cure this disease and give awareness to it. In one of the biggest stunts to understand Parkinson's, Fox spoke in front of a Senate committee. He did not take any medicine and as it showed, you saw the effects of what would happen without keeping it at bay. Luckily, he's still around, and still trying to find the cure. He's even made fun of himself in stuff like Curb Your Enthusiasm, where he manages to get Larry David kicked out of New York City.
For a guy that had the nickname Sweetness, NFL player Walter Payton had issues that were anything but that. In early 1999, he announced to the public that he had liver disease and decided to get people aware of donating organs. At the start of November, he unfortunately succumbed to bile duct cancer. For me, I don't know how long he had this, but he could have been saved if his liver disease wasn't that severe before he announced it. Some people, famous or not, don't try to find a solution to their problems. By the time they do, it is too late. The treatment you get may not be enough, but you might be able to defy the odds, like ugly suit (and overrated) reporter Craig Sager. If only people could make that initiative when they find out and immediately attempt to get it dealt with.
Whether or not you view this next guy as a good or bad person, it's still a shocker he passed. Satoru Iwata took over as President of Nintendo in 2002. He oversaw the big rise of the DS handheld and Wii home console in 2004 and 2006 respectively. However, he was part of some of the big screw ups of the company, like not embracing online for the GameCube and the disaster of the Wii U. After 2009, they started to struggle and his approach at times was subject to huge criticism. Even though he still continued on, he noticed health issues a year before his passing and died from bile duct caner due to a tumor in July 2015 at the age of 55. Stress is a major issue. When you're in the level that Iwata had, your decisions will affect the outcome of a whatever you are in charge of. There probably was some from of panic, especially when Wii U didn't put up the numbers Nintendo did. You hear a lot of things of overworked people, and stuff like ulcers, but it happens to everybody in a company. It's sad, but unfortunately, it may hurt you at some point.
Out of all the people, you wouldn't think of someone like Charlie Murphy passing too soon. Wherever he is now, I'm sure Prince and Rick James will talk stories with him and maybe the Chappelle's Show skits. It's a shame.
Check out the blogs I did following the death of Bill Paxton
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-shock-of-death-part-1.html
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-shock-of-death-part-2.html
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-shock-of-death-part-3.html
Sometimes, you don't want things leaked to the press or tell them what has happened to you. For some of these celebrities or famous individuals, they don't want to be bombarded with all sorts of questions that otherwise become the number one topic for who knows how long. For Murphy, he probably wanted to continue on with doing his work as an actor without having the media breathing down his neck. Considering he has seen heartbreak with the passing of his wife due to cancer in 2009, you would think he would talk about his situation a little bit. You know what, it is his personal life, though. He has the choice to talk about it or not.
One actor that comes to mind for me is Michael J. Fox. For over 25 years, he has had to deal with Parkinson's Disease every day. When he found out about it in 1990, he decided to not say anything to anybody outside of family. That would come to a complete stop around the end of the decade, where he opened up on what he has suffered. Now these days, he focuses on trying to find a way to cure this disease and give awareness to it. In one of the biggest stunts to understand Parkinson's, Fox spoke in front of a Senate committee. He did not take any medicine and as it showed, you saw the effects of what would happen without keeping it at bay. Luckily, he's still around, and still trying to find the cure. He's even made fun of himself in stuff like Curb Your Enthusiasm, where he manages to get Larry David kicked out of New York City.
For a guy that had the nickname Sweetness, NFL player Walter Payton had issues that were anything but that. In early 1999, he announced to the public that he had liver disease and decided to get people aware of donating organs. At the start of November, he unfortunately succumbed to bile duct cancer. For me, I don't know how long he had this, but he could have been saved if his liver disease wasn't that severe before he announced it. Some people, famous or not, don't try to find a solution to their problems. By the time they do, it is too late. The treatment you get may not be enough, but you might be able to defy the odds, like ugly suit (and overrated) reporter Craig Sager. If only people could make that initiative when they find out and immediately attempt to get it dealt with.
Whether or not you view this next guy as a good or bad person, it's still a shocker he passed. Satoru Iwata took over as President of Nintendo in 2002. He oversaw the big rise of the DS handheld and Wii home console in 2004 and 2006 respectively. However, he was part of some of the big screw ups of the company, like not embracing online for the GameCube and the disaster of the Wii U. After 2009, they started to struggle and his approach at times was subject to huge criticism. Even though he still continued on, he noticed health issues a year before his passing and died from bile duct caner due to a tumor in July 2015 at the age of 55. Stress is a major issue. When you're in the level that Iwata had, your decisions will affect the outcome of a whatever you are in charge of. There probably was some from of panic, especially when Wii U didn't put up the numbers Nintendo did. You hear a lot of things of overworked people, and stuff like ulcers, but it happens to everybody in a company. It's sad, but unfortunately, it may hurt you at some point.
Out of all the people, you wouldn't think of someone like Charlie Murphy passing too soon. Wherever he is now, I'm sure Prince and Rick James will talk stories with him and maybe the Chappelle's Show skits. It's a shame.
Check out the blogs I did following the death of Bill Paxton
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-shock-of-death-part-1.html
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-shock-of-death-part-2.html
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-shock-of-death-part-3.html
Disney Remakes and It's 2010s Resurgance.
Another weekend, another top three performance by Disney yet again. In it's fourth weekend in theaters, their live action remake of Beauty and the Beast was number two at the box office, beaten barely by The Boss Baby, which entered its second weekend. Worldwide, it has made almost a billion dollars with impressive runs domestically and internationally. It is unbelievable that it's able to make that much very quickly. How and why do these films garner so much success at the box office?
For the 2010s, Disney has lit up the decade. It has had a big resurgence and has had a big era since at least the mid 90s. Their animated films on their own have picked up quite a bit. I see them as a lot more confident in putting them in theaters compared to the decade prior where direct-to-video was one of their big moneymakers. Stuff like Tangled, Wreck It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, and Zootopia shows that they can do well if they have the right people involved. Especially if you have people who worked on other project, whether from Disney or not. Of course, their Pixar library has done well despite a few bumps with things like Cars 2. The live action material still has its hits and misses.
With the remakes, it goes back to when Alice in Wonderland hit theaters at the start of 2010. I think what helps with these films is the curiosity of what could possibly happen if you were to see it. In the case of Alice, when it's headed by Tim Burton, you know there will be a style that he has done since the days of Beetlejuice and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Not to mention how it is different from the animated film. It didn't have the strongest reception, which is the case with most of these live action adaptations, but made it to over a billion dollars. Disney had this and Toy Story 3 that year as the top two films that with over a billion each. Woody and the gang made just a little more.
While these next two weren't remakes, they caught some attention. The first was Oz: The Great and Powerful in early 2013. I should say these movies had very expensive budgets. We're talking at least 200 plus million with a few of these films. It made big money, but did not make it to half a billion worldwide and had a mixed reception. The next one was Maleficent in the summer of 2014. From what I understand, this is the villain from Sleeping Beauty. The star power helps when you have Angelina Jolie as the title character. I'm not saying that's the only reason it did well, but it gives a little edge when you make hit after hit. At the same time, you do get to see Maleficent's origins and what she would become. If the idea of a live action Sleeping Beauty does come into fruition, it could be bigger. Once again, there wasn't a hugely positive reception but made over 750 million worldwide.
The last two years prior to 2017, Disney has gotten back into doing remakes. Two years ago, they did Cinderella, which made over 500 million worldwide, and had the cheapest budget of the remakes at 95 million. However, its reception was a bit stronger as it was well received. Last year saw The Jungle Book hit theaters and it was very huge, critically and commercially. Prior to Beauty and the Beast, it was the biggest remake of these films. It's an intriguing thing because you wouldn't think of these necessarily translating well into live action. Cinderella is an odd choice out of the films Disney has done to be put into live action. The Jungle Book would be a lot more demanding due to the many characters and set pieces that are seen. Whatever they did with these two, it worked. The company must be feeling very confident considering they got the same director for Jungle Book, Jon Favreau (Elf, Iron Man 1-2) to direct the live action Lion King film.
What helps a bit is that there are people who obviously grew up on some Disney films as kids, whether seeing them in the theater or seeing them on VHS, DVD or TV. As some have kids of their own, there might still be that love for Disney and you want to show your child some of the stuff you grew up with if they weren't very stubborn in protecting the films. When you look at the company's output since the 1930s, a lot of these animated films have that timeless appeal. Even if you don't have a kid, you could be very excited or concerned and have a certain emotion when you do see the final product in theaters. As I said, it's curiosity for the most part.
I think as long as they don't deviate too much from the source material if it is that and the animated versions, Disney could wind up doing more versions of their animated films in live action. Whenever The Lion King comes out, it's going to be very huge. When it came out in 1994, it was nearly a billion dollars worldwide. It could possibly reach that mark very quickly in live action. If the reception is still good, who knows what it will take at the end of the 2010s and into the new decade. People will always be intrigued and Disney will find a way to put butts in seats.
For the 2010s, Disney has lit up the decade. It has had a big resurgence and has had a big era since at least the mid 90s. Their animated films on their own have picked up quite a bit. I see them as a lot more confident in putting them in theaters compared to the decade prior where direct-to-video was one of their big moneymakers. Stuff like Tangled, Wreck It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, and Zootopia shows that they can do well if they have the right people involved. Especially if you have people who worked on other project, whether from Disney or not. Of course, their Pixar library has done well despite a few bumps with things like Cars 2. The live action material still has its hits and misses.
With the remakes, it goes back to when Alice in Wonderland hit theaters at the start of 2010. I think what helps with these films is the curiosity of what could possibly happen if you were to see it. In the case of Alice, when it's headed by Tim Burton, you know there will be a style that he has done since the days of Beetlejuice and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Not to mention how it is different from the animated film. It didn't have the strongest reception, which is the case with most of these live action adaptations, but made it to over a billion dollars. Disney had this and Toy Story 3 that year as the top two films that with over a billion each. Woody and the gang made just a little more.
While these next two weren't remakes, they caught some attention. The first was Oz: The Great and Powerful in early 2013. I should say these movies had very expensive budgets. We're talking at least 200 plus million with a few of these films. It made big money, but did not make it to half a billion worldwide and had a mixed reception. The next one was Maleficent in the summer of 2014. From what I understand, this is the villain from Sleeping Beauty. The star power helps when you have Angelina Jolie as the title character. I'm not saying that's the only reason it did well, but it gives a little edge when you make hit after hit. At the same time, you do get to see Maleficent's origins and what she would become. If the idea of a live action Sleeping Beauty does come into fruition, it could be bigger. Once again, there wasn't a hugely positive reception but made over 750 million worldwide.
The last two years prior to 2017, Disney has gotten back into doing remakes. Two years ago, they did Cinderella, which made over 500 million worldwide, and had the cheapest budget of the remakes at 95 million. However, its reception was a bit stronger as it was well received. Last year saw The Jungle Book hit theaters and it was very huge, critically and commercially. Prior to Beauty and the Beast, it was the biggest remake of these films. It's an intriguing thing because you wouldn't think of these necessarily translating well into live action. Cinderella is an odd choice out of the films Disney has done to be put into live action. The Jungle Book would be a lot more demanding due to the many characters and set pieces that are seen. Whatever they did with these two, it worked. The company must be feeling very confident considering they got the same director for Jungle Book, Jon Favreau (Elf, Iron Man 1-2) to direct the live action Lion King film.
What helps a bit is that there are people who obviously grew up on some Disney films as kids, whether seeing them in the theater or seeing them on VHS, DVD or TV. As some have kids of their own, there might still be that love for Disney and you want to show your child some of the stuff you grew up with if they weren't very stubborn in protecting the films. When you look at the company's output since the 1930s, a lot of these animated films have that timeless appeal. Even if you don't have a kid, you could be very excited or concerned and have a certain emotion when you do see the final product in theaters. As I said, it's curiosity for the most part.
I think as long as they don't deviate too much from the source material if it is that and the animated versions, Disney could wind up doing more versions of their animated films in live action. Whenever The Lion King comes out, it's going to be very huge. When it came out in 1994, it was nearly a billion dollars worldwide. It could possibly reach that mark very quickly in live action. If the reception is still good, who knows what it will take at the end of the 2010s and into the new decade. People will always be intrigued and Disney will find a way to put butts in seats.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Channel Trailer 2017
I run a YouTube channel and have done videos for the last four years. This is a new channel trailer for anybody looking for videos on games. I'll explain more in a later blog.
TV Review: The Merrill Howard Kalin Show
Public access television is one of the more intriguing things to look at for viewing programs. Sure, we hope things are like Wayne's World, but that's not the case at times. I don't know who had the bright idea of having someone with developmental issues host a cooking show, The Merrill Howard Kalin Show ran on public access at some point between 1990 and 1992 in Illinois. Produced in cooperation with the Little City Foundation in Palatine, this is one of those shows that started off promising, but quickly headed for disaster. I heard a few bits from Opie and Anthony and The Lazlow Show (the GTA guy), but for the sake of this, I'm gonna pretend that I didn't watch those two's videos and look at the entire video of Kalin.
I do advise anyone reading to wash their hands before, during, and after preparation of food. Not to mention cleaning utensils and other stuff between prepping food. From the intro up until the first set of commercials, Kalin prepares chicken and salad. I'm not sure if I agree with the idea of tearing the skin off chicken with your own hands. A knife would have been useful. Then comes the barbecue sauce which he only puts on one side of each chicken he had on the cutting board. After that came the salad. Outside of the lettuce, Kalin did a good job with cutting cucumbers and tomatoes. He kind of babbles on about cooking and saying that his method is the right thing. Really, the only thing to complain is not cleaning the cutting board. Contamination of food is one thing that puts certain eateries and restaurants out of business. Other than that, this was the best part of the show.
After the first set of commercials came the Jello. With this part, Kalin looked out of touch and was slow to adapt to different things. However, this is where you see things head for disaster. He cut a banana fine, but this is where he starts doing impressions. I'm not the best impersonator on the planet, but this guy does it so horribly. No matter what celebrity he does, it's his voice but with a different pitch. That's what ruins the second part and third part which we'll get to. He overloads his Jello with apples and the banana, which he doesn't even do a good effort and still contaminates it by not cleaning his utensils and cutting board. He is focused completely on that, even when he starts doing the stuffing. That's an example of how not to make food.
The third part seemed like Kalin ran out of things to discuss. He showed off the finishing product of chicken and stuffing, along with getting some salad. That's the only thing he really had. He took a bite of salad and a piece of tomato. He still has that focus on the Jello. Even with that, he doesn't try any of the chicken or stuffing. Not even the Jello. Kalin goes on about telling people to not cook alone, leaving that impression that he thinks everybody still lives with their parents, which wouldn't surprise me if he did at that time. Then he goes on about where people can write to him and then does more awful impersonations. After that is talking about the next show talking about Motorola and expectations for the show (if there were any episodes after that) and concluding the show.
Anybody's guess is as good as mine as to how many episodes there were for this. There was at least three, considering the end credits mentioned about staying tuned for a fourth Merrill Howard Kalin Show. How many of these actually made it to public access, I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if Kalin's family did not want people outside of Palatine to see these kind of disastrous shows. The idea seems nice on paper, but my goodness. I'm gonna assume someone regretted doing this after noticing how he made it look like a joke.
If it wasn't for that first 10 or so minutes, this would be a 1 out of 10. But with how competent Kalin was with the chicken, salad, and to a certain extent the Jello, this is a 3 out of 10. Honestly, this shouldn't have even been filmed in the first place.
I do advise anyone reading to wash their hands before, during, and after preparation of food. Not to mention cleaning utensils and other stuff between prepping food. From the intro up until the first set of commercials, Kalin prepares chicken and salad. I'm not sure if I agree with the idea of tearing the skin off chicken with your own hands. A knife would have been useful. Then comes the barbecue sauce which he only puts on one side of each chicken he had on the cutting board. After that came the salad. Outside of the lettuce, Kalin did a good job with cutting cucumbers and tomatoes. He kind of babbles on about cooking and saying that his method is the right thing. Really, the only thing to complain is not cleaning the cutting board. Contamination of food is one thing that puts certain eateries and restaurants out of business. Other than that, this was the best part of the show.
After the first set of commercials came the Jello. With this part, Kalin looked out of touch and was slow to adapt to different things. However, this is where you see things head for disaster. He cut a banana fine, but this is where he starts doing impressions. I'm not the best impersonator on the planet, but this guy does it so horribly. No matter what celebrity he does, it's his voice but with a different pitch. That's what ruins the second part and third part which we'll get to. He overloads his Jello with apples and the banana, which he doesn't even do a good effort and still contaminates it by not cleaning his utensils and cutting board. He is focused completely on that, even when he starts doing the stuffing. That's an example of how not to make food.
The third part seemed like Kalin ran out of things to discuss. He showed off the finishing product of chicken and stuffing, along with getting some salad. That's the only thing he really had. He took a bite of salad and a piece of tomato. He still has that focus on the Jello. Even with that, he doesn't try any of the chicken or stuffing. Not even the Jello. Kalin goes on about telling people to not cook alone, leaving that impression that he thinks everybody still lives with their parents, which wouldn't surprise me if he did at that time. Then he goes on about where people can write to him and then does more awful impersonations. After that is talking about the next show talking about Motorola and expectations for the show (if there were any episodes after that) and concluding the show.
Anybody's guess is as good as mine as to how many episodes there were for this. There was at least three, considering the end credits mentioned about staying tuned for a fourth Merrill Howard Kalin Show. How many of these actually made it to public access, I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if Kalin's family did not want people outside of Palatine to see these kind of disastrous shows. The idea seems nice on paper, but my goodness. I'm gonna assume someone regretted doing this after noticing how he made it look like a joke.
If it wasn't for that first 10 or so minutes, this would be a 1 out of 10. But with how competent Kalin was with the chicken, salad, and to a certain extent the Jello, this is a 3 out of 10. Honestly, this shouldn't have even been filmed in the first place.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Sonic Mania: A Summer Hit?
One of the projects that has a caught a lot of attention for the industry is one of the new games in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Sonic Mania, which is set to release sometime this year, is one that many have set their eyes on. It's approach is eerily similar to what was seen on the Genesis from the original trilogy. That being said, it could be one of the big and possibly surprise hits to come out this year from Sega. However, this all goes back to when Sonic CD came out on modern systems in 2011.
Sonic CD released on the Sega CD in the fall of 1993 and it's only re-releases were on Windows 95 in 1996, and an emulated version for Sonic Gems Collection on the GameCube in 2005. In 2009, an Australian named Christian Whitehead began work on the game with the use of his engine, the Retro Engine. Unlike most old games that have been re-released in the last eight to ten years, this was built from the ground up. With it finished, Whitehead showed off the game as a proof of concept and talked to Sega about it. Within two years they put up a release of it on Xbox 360 and made to the PlayStation 3, Steam, and IOS systems.
The game had a multitude of features while retaining what it did well (or failed depending on perspectives) for the re-release. It's positive reception lead to Whitehead developing a few other ports of the series. With a another member of the Sonic community who would form Headcannon Games, the IOS got the first two Genesis Sonic games in 2013. Like CD, it retained what was good along with adding in certain features. The most notable being Hidden Palace Zone in 2, which was something magazines showed in 1992. And it has come down to Sega allowing Whitehead and a few companies to headline and create the next new Sonic game with Mania.
With what has been seen in the videos on YouTube, Mania will keep people wowed. Graphically, it looks phenomenal. The impression I get is being similar to Sega's ill fated 32x add-on and the game, Knuckles Chaotix. It blows that game out of the water as far as visuals go. Everything from the colors and backgrounds to the animations is amazing. From what I've read, it's a 32-bit engine and that it's going for things that you wouldn't have expected on 16-bit systems. Nostalgia overload will set in on a few. That Sega look is there and is about on par with, if not, better than what a Neo-Geo did.
Whitehead's stuff comes from the days of the Genesis, and Mania is going after the style of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles. It looks like it'll be a lot of fun. Expanding some of the levels of the originals intrigue me a little bit. Some of the newer levels look inspired from other games. This is a game made by fans for fans. It wants you to explore. It wants you to go fast. The different styles of play from each character adds a bit of value to the playthroughs. Whatever it's doing could be a sign for things to come if the game were to sell and be held in high regard.
Sega has been on the ups an downs for the last 10 years, and they have tried to improve their image. With accepting Whitehead and a few others since 2009, this could be a brand new chapter for the company and for other projects beyond Sonic the Hedgehog. If Mania takes off, who knows what kind of project could be seen next. The minority has begged for many franchises to come back. A lot of companies could come to Whitehead to head a major project that will feel like a labor of love. Mania will come out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Hopefully, it catches everyone's attention whenever it cout.
Sonic CD released on the Sega CD in the fall of 1993 and it's only re-releases were on Windows 95 in 1996, and an emulated version for Sonic Gems Collection on the GameCube in 2005. In 2009, an Australian named Christian Whitehead began work on the game with the use of his engine, the Retro Engine. Unlike most old games that have been re-released in the last eight to ten years, this was built from the ground up. With it finished, Whitehead showed off the game as a proof of concept and talked to Sega about it. Within two years they put up a release of it on Xbox 360 and made to the PlayStation 3, Steam, and IOS systems.
The game had a multitude of features while retaining what it did well (or failed depending on perspectives) for the re-release. It's positive reception lead to Whitehead developing a few other ports of the series. With a another member of the Sonic community who would form Headcannon Games, the IOS got the first two Genesis Sonic games in 2013. Like CD, it retained what was good along with adding in certain features. The most notable being Hidden Palace Zone in 2, which was something magazines showed in 1992. And it has come down to Sega allowing Whitehead and a few companies to headline and create the next new Sonic game with Mania.
With what has been seen in the videos on YouTube, Mania will keep people wowed. Graphically, it looks phenomenal. The impression I get is being similar to Sega's ill fated 32x add-on and the game, Knuckles Chaotix. It blows that game out of the water as far as visuals go. Everything from the colors and backgrounds to the animations is amazing. From what I've read, it's a 32-bit engine and that it's going for things that you wouldn't have expected on 16-bit systems. Nostalgia overload will set in on a few. That Sega look is there and is about on par with, if not, better than what a Neo-Geo did.
Whitehead's stuff comes from the days of the Genesis, and Mania is going after the style of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles. It looks like it'll be a lot of fun. Expanding some of the levels of the originals intrigue me a little bit. Some of the newer levels look inspired from other games. This is a game made by fans for fans. It wants you to explore. It wants you to go fast. The different styles of play from each character adds a bit of value to the playthroughs. Whatever it's doing could be a sign for things to come if the game were to sell and be held in high regard.
Sega has been on the ups an downs for the last 10 years, and they have tried to improve their image. With accepting Whitehead and a few others since 2009, this could be a brand new chapter for the company and for other projects beyond Sonic the Hedgehog. If Mania takes off, who knows what kind of project could be seen next. The minority has begged for many franchises to come back. A lot of companies could come to Whitehead to head a major project that will feel like a labor of love. Mania will come out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Hopefully, it catches everyone's attention whenever it cout.
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