R.I.P.D. joins a long line of Dark Horse properties to flop as films. The film features Ryan Reynolds as a young police officer killed in the line of duty who remains a cop in the afterline, partnered with a Wild West sheriff played by Jeff Bridges. It seems like a wasted opportunity to have the guy who would always be hired to play the rookie play the rookie in the one setting where you could cast it the other way, with Reynolds as the guy who’s been at it for centuries and Bridges as the new guy.
It’s controversial but I approve of the reunions between soldiers and their excited dogs.
Some bloggers and authors explain their preference for manual writing over computers.
Kieron Gillen remembers his father.
The anecdote I most tell about my Dad is that when he was first told that my Mum was pregnant, his immediate response was to go out and buy a book about how to play football as a gift. When finally old enough to look at it, I loved it and as a tiny child, and followed the implicit message. Dad wants me to read.
A smartphone photograph is now enough to make a copy of a key.
Blake Snyder may be the reason Hollywood films have become so formulaic, as his far more specific version of three-act structure has become the norm.
It also means that there’s far less wiggle room for even minor experimentation. Think of a classic popcorn flick like Jurassic Park. It’s a pretty classic three-act story, and it includes virtually all of the elements found in Snyder’s beat sheet. But they areout of order and out of proportion. Now compare that to a modern megablockbuster like The Amazing Spider-Man, which follows the Snyder structure beat by beat. There’s a reason that even Steven Spielberg is complaining that Hollywood is too reliant on formulaic blockbusters.
We can appeal to screenwriters to buck the trend. But why would they? The formula is incredibly useful.
The teaser for Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 looks good.
Comic store sales are doing pretty well relative to last year.
What Would Spidey Do? 