When I first saw the trailer for Red Tails, I thought, “It’s about damn time.” There have been two films about the 442nd. Why haven’t we had a major motion picture about the Tuskegee Airmen?
And then my friend Dern and reader Kwadwo Amo-Mensah sent me this clip of George Lucas talking about the film on the Daily Show.
For those who can’t see the clip, it’s taken George Lucas 23 years to get this film into theaters. For those 23 years, he’s been trying to convince studios to take a chance on good old fashioned war movie. And for those 23 years, the studios have rejected the project saying that they don’t know how to market this film. The reason? The cast is predominantly Black. The studios fear that the international market can’t handle a minority cast and since they make 60% of their income on foreign sales, they prefer to play it safe (read: play it White).
Finally, Lucas got tired of waiting and much like he did with the Star Wars films, he funded the project himself.
George Lucas is the exact last person I would have expected to call out Hollywood and the studios on their seemingly institutionalized racism. But there you have it. I have a new respect for the man.
Red Tails opens on January 20. It looks absolutely amazing and I am going to see it in the theaters. I think it’s going to be a really big film and I hope it proves to the studios that rejected it that a minority cast in a classic action war movie can bring home big box office numbers.
AZM Ally Elliot Fox sent me this video and I nearly fell out of my chair. This is Riusuke Fukahori who paints on layers of transparent resin to build up 3D objects like tiny goldfish. It is absolutely astounding.
Though the video is remarkable, I would really love to see these pieces in person. The way the layers catch the light is amazing. If I didn’t know that these were painted, I’d swear that some sick fucker was embedding dead goldfish in resin.
In anticipation of the release of Star War: Phantom Menace 3D in France on February 8, French fast food chain Quick unveiled a number of Star Wars themed burgers. There are four in total, but honestly, we only really care about this Darth Vador burger. I don’t care how they get that bun to turn that color, but I must have it! It looks like it has some kind of pepper jack cheese and some kinda special sauce which I hope has some kick to it.
I love the idea of bun dying. At some point, I’m going to have to make some Blazing Sword Burgers and dye them in the colors of the Voltron Force.
The burgers go on sale January 31 and will be around until March 1. French readers, please please pleeeeeeeease get photos of these! And tell us how they taste! I expect a Sith burger to be spicy. Hopefully, Quick agrees.
Instead of gearing up for shooting next month, production on the live action Akira whateverthefuckitsgoingtobe has been halted. The production offices in Vancouver are shut down. Talent and crew are being sent home. And I would be jumping up and down with joy knowing that this stinking turd of a movie will never see the light of day were it not for this little tidbit from the Hollywood Reporter:
Producers, who include Appian Way’s Jennifer Kiloran Davisson and Mad Chance’s Andrew Lazar, will hunker down with director Jaume Collet-Serra for the next two weeks to iron out the script. It is unclear if Harry Potter scribe Steve Kloves, who did a pricey rewrite on the project a year ago, will be brought in to help out.
Oh. Dear. Lord.
They just won’t let this thing die!
Not only are they calling in rewrites, but they’re also looking to slash the budget. Originally slated for around $90 million, which is pretty low for an effects heavy action flick, Warner Bros is looking to get it down in the $60-$70 million range. Seems like a lot of foot shooting going on. I don’t know what they expect to get out of two weeks and a reduced budget, but it sure sounds like a recipe for shit.
It would really be nice to say that this mess is finally over and done with, but until I see a press release from Warner Bros explicitly stating that they will not pursue this any further, I fear that a live action Akira is going to happen in some form or another. And that form will be exactly the opposite of what anyone wants.
Thank you to pretty much everyone for sending this my way.
