Cool News
And The Tone Of The SHAZAM Movie Will Be... ??
Merrick here...
I'll be the first to admit I'm not the most qualified person to write this post. I'm familiar with this concept only in general terms & from the iffy live-action Saturday morning show back in the 70s.
As such, I'm not sure what to make of this news other than...instinctively...I'm not convinced this approach is necessarily the right one. Comedy and superheroes have never mixed well for me; I suppose such hybridization could work if there's ginormous heart and soul behind it.
The opposite of this is: I'd rather have a successful comedic superhero movie than a tightly wound, self-important crappy one.
Like I said...what do I know?
Over at MTV, screenwriter John August (CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, BIG FISH, and the two CHARLIE'S ANGELS films) talks a bit about his plans for the SHAZAM movie.
“It’s not Spider-Man plus jokes. There’s really good comic potential there,” he asserted, revealing that his film — an origin story — owes as much to “Big” as it does to “Superman.”
“Yeah, I avoid saying that because that incenses certain people,” August laughed of the comparison. “But the people that are going to go see this movie opening weekend are going to be excited to see [action and comedy] together.”
...says a blog entry that can be found HERE.
This is news to which I say...
When I was a kid, I often watched SHAZAM on Saturday mornings. I thought that RV was sooo damn cool...a house you could drive!? But it also had a lightning bolt on it! That rocked. It never occurred to me that I could draw my own lightning bolt on a piece of poster board and tape it to the front of my mom's pick-up. Seeing this footage, looks pretty much like what they did when making the show.
I wonder if August is incorporating an RV with a lightning bolt on it into his script? Probably not. If not, I'm sooooooo disinterested...
“Yeah, I avoid saying that because that incenses certain people,” August laughed of the comparison. “But the people that are going to go see this movie opening weekend are going to be excited to see [action and comedy] together.”
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Sweet!
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First
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Shazbot! or should that be Shazam?
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...spin on Green Lantern and will probably use it for Cpt. Marvel. Lame.
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Let Shazam get the yuck yucks.
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so I think the comedy spin might work. Kid superheroes never sat very well with me, even if this one can *poof* himself into an adult.
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and execution... on purpose? I mean, wasn't a main character in the series a worm with glasses?
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Sha-ZAYAM!!!
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Screw this, I want a Greatest American Hero movie. Put Owen Wilson in the role, that oughta cheer him up!
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it was going to be harcore gay porn.
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yes, initially he was pretty silly. But he got extremely popular for some strange reason and even rivaled superman in sales in like the 60s or so. Later, DC started treating him a little more seriously. Probably the peak of his "seriousness" was in Kingdom Come where he battled superman until he realized superman was right and sacrificed himself by flying into a nuke before it destroyed everything. Their rivalry made everyone geek out cuz superman is weak to magic and punching cpt. marval is basically beating the fuck out of a grown man with a childs mind.
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C'mon. Shazam has Mary Marvel, Uncle Marvel, a talking tiger, and his #2 bad-guy nemesis is a worm. WATCHMEN this is not. Have some fun with it.
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this one's strictly for the kiddies
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As long as it's not ridiculous slapstick comedy, it could be great, especially for kids. I loved Big as a kid, and applying a similar idea to Billy Batson seems very natural. "Comedy" doesn't always mean "brainless shit"--The Incredibles is still one of the best superhero movies out there.
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Wasn't there a movie with Will Smith attached about a washed up superhero? Despite John August ( you forgot to mention "Go" ) this still smells like smegma.
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If you were a kid and you could turn into Captain Marvel, why in heck would you EVER want to turn back to Billy? Heck, if _I_ could turn into Captain Marvel, I would never want to turn back. So I think a comedy is fine.
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if capt. marvel is good enough for ken kesey, he's good enough for me
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love Shazam, man trapped in a little boy's body.
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... with some script assist by Alan Moore. Hear me out; in the beginning the good Captain was more than just a silly character. There was clearly some intelligence and wit behind the story that was being told, (whether Captain Marvel was fighting world-dominating worms or teaming up with talking bears) which kinda reminds of the Coens’ “Fargo” and “Raising Arizona”… you got the feeling that the writers were playing some kind of joke on the readers. This added some special ness to the stories, and made CM more enjoyable to read than say, Superman or even Batman back in the day. I felt that the character’s revival in the 1970s was misguided because DC brought back the goofiness of the character but none of the wit from CM‘s Fawcett days. Captain Marvel’s special ness became further eroded when he became more a straightforward, “serious” character in the 1980s on. I wish that the screenwriter hadn’t mentioned “Big,” but instead mentioned something like “The Hudsucker Proxy” or even “Yellow Submarine.”
Anyone feel that way? -
He says this movies going to be gay.
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... and not "Shazam." "Captain Marvel" is a cooler title, first of all, and its usage would distance the movie from the awful 70s TV show. And also, while DC couldn't use "Captain Marvel" as the name of the character's own book (because Marvel Comics actually has the rights to it... long story), I'm sure this does not apply to the title of the movie.
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Just wondering.
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Tom Hanks would do an awesome job.
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Thanks for NOTHING!
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Aug 30, 2007 1:04:08 PM CDT
Billy Batson is the sexiest tomboy beanpole on the ....
by thepurplelantern
Honestly though, this is a great idea.
I like comparing this to Big, arn't we talking about a teenage boy, switching back and forth, to a superhero?
I think the Jack Black casting choice, if it turns out to be true, is awful, but, I like the Big approach.
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...it might as well be Shazam. It's got evil worm geniuses and anthropomorphic tigers for crying out loud!
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Am I the only one who doesn't give a shit about SHAZAM!? Firstly, it's called "SHAZAM!”, which is enough to warrant our hatred, but secondly, it's about a CHILD who turns into a SUPERHERO - that... is gay. I'm sure the younger crowd will eat this shit up, but I'm not sure why anyone on AICN would give two scoops of fuck about this film, whether it was based on a comic or not.
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JonQuixote, that there was also a rabbit in the Captain Marvel costume, as well.
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Marvel owns the Captain Marvel trademark, so in all likelihood, DC can't use that title for a comic book or a movie. It's why the '70s tv series was called "Shazam" as well. So they're stuck with "Shazam!"
Also, in the '40s, Captain Marvel did become bigger than Superman, in large degree because of the fact that he turned from a boy into a superpowered being. DC sued Fawcett for copyright infringment, and there were 12 years of litigation about it, including a pretty famous copyright case. Fawcett ultimately settled with DC. -
is with the old show...
yeah.."I'm not the most qualified person to write this post" - is an understatement. Superman meets Big sounds pitch perfect actually -
As Captain Marvel...there's a thought.
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Make it so and I'm there.
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Head CG'd onto a youngster's body for Bill Batson. I'm totally sold on this film now!
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This movie will probally be an action comedy,I doubt there gonna go for a dark edgy film.
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...to achieve *that* look.
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They can't call the movie Captain Marvel. As I said, Marvel owns the trademark to that title. That's why DC couldn't use Captain Marvel for the title of the comic or the 1970's television series.
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The writers of this show are my new writing heroes. They must have been laughing their asses off every day working on this show. Genius or result of being drunk off their asses I'm not sure. Yeah, how about The Rock as Captain Marvel. I'd see that movie. Possibly drunk off my ass, but still.
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Not sure on the spelling...but it was an early Hanna-Barbera cartoon. (And you DID dream the last part.)
And it had a winged camel called Kaboobie, with a laugh that was apparently the prototype for Scooby Doo.
It was before my time...but because I'm a librarian, I know useless things like this. -
As I kid, I thought Sivana's epithet for him, 'The Big Red Cheese' was hilarious.
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Think about this for a minute. Forget whatever fond memories you have of reading this as a child, and actually THINK about the plot of this film: it's about a child... who says a magic word... and becomes a superhero... That my friends, is lame.
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I always loved Shazam, as a kid the tv show was awesome! Later when I started reading comics I loved the whole Marvel family including the talking tiger. Shazam is the wizard's name who gave Billy Batson his powers. At first, DC had no idea what to do with Captain Marvel and played him as a kid in a superhero's body. More recently they have played up his magic capacity. Superman is vulnerable to magic; Captain Marvel is just as strong as Superman but he IS magic. The supporting players such as Mary Marvel, Dark Adam and Isis (her show came on right after Shazam back then) have been very fun. It sounds like the movie is going back to kid in Superheroe's body which is a step back in quality as far as I'm concerned.
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I'm thinking Armin Shimerman (though it may be because I've been marathonning Buffy DVDs the past coupla weeks) or Wallace Shawn. If Shimerman is cast as Sivana, let Shawn be the voice of Mr. Mind. Can't you just picture that little worm screaming, "Inconstheivable!" I also like the idea of Billy Bob Thornton as Uncle Marvel.
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When DC sued Fawcett they did win and ended buying the characters, and the tv show was really its own thing barely had anything to do with comic, but Waid and Ross's take would be the way to go.
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Verne Troyer as Shazam?
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Has a nice ring.
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If Joel Schumacher gets his hands on it!!!
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Way back when Captain Marvel was more popular than Superman.
He's a Golden age character and I think a comedy is the right route to go with this.
Think Superman 3+ done well. -
the question about Captain Marvel is: when Billy becomes Captain Marvel is he Billy Batson in an adult's body or is he Captain Marvel a completely different person who is an adult that is Billy is almost the host body for Captain Marvel and when he says Shazam Captain Marvel replaces Billy . In the comics he has been depicted both ways.
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This guy Brandon Molale who was the asshole QB in 'Mr. Deeds'. Check it out! http://www.anonib.com/_hosting/index.php?t=439#p412
Cast this guy as Capt. Marvel and The Rock as Black Adam and I think they may have something... -
Marvel owns the trademark rights because there was a period of time when the Fawcett Captain Marvel wasn't being used (in trademark language - it was abandoned). When that happened, Marvel created their "Captain Marvel." While the character's real name was "Mar-vell" the trademark for the character and the book was "Captain Marvel." Since that time, Marvel has consistently used that trademark with various characters and new books. So they own the trademark.
DC didn't have a choice about using the name "Shazam." They couldn't use Captain Marvel as a trademark (i.e. in advertising, titles of book), but they can use the name for the character because they own the copyright for that character. There's actually been greater confusion about the DC character because of this because non-comic fans think his name is Shazam. I got really familiar with this info while in law school and wrote a paper on comic book characters and trademark and copyright laws, so I'm very familiar with this. -
Just as one more point, the title of the Marvel Captain Marvel books is not "Captain Marv-ell", it was Captain Marvel, as this cover shows:
http://www.steveenglehart.com/Comics/Comics%20Images/Captain%20Marvel%2033.jpg
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http://dh01.anonib.com/_hosting/images/718/molale2_anonib.jpg
That guy looks just like The Big Red Cheese. -
Google "Captain Marvel" and "trademark" and you'll see numerous sites with similar information.
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Especially after reading Alex Ross' take on Superheroes through Kingdom Come and other stuff that he's done. I always thought that Captain Marvel was kind of like Superman but just a different personality, more outgoing, plus it's essentially a kid in a man's body so there would inevitably be some comedic moments but not a comedy overall. It should be sort of a coming of age story, the transition from boyhood to manhood but not a slapstick comedy like Rush Hour.
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http://tinyurl.com/2u2cwx
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Ok, did anybody see this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2BvSqqmidM -
I'm still not seeing the damn film, no matter what.
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http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534045/bio
Just sayin' -
And all the parts are played by a CGI Liberace.
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...pwns Shazam
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fifteen years ago. Good Lord, he's 42 already. I understand the mental picture we have of actors is from something they did in the past but yikes.
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casting guidelines (don't hire anyone over 15) 42 is not ancient. This isn't Superman Returns, after all. So, Warburton's a MAN. I think that's what the part calls for. A boy that turns into a grown MAN superhero. Not a boy who turns into a gay wet dream.
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This will by far be the lowest grossing comic movie. It will make Electra look like a blockbuster. There's just no coolness or interest in Shazam/C Marvel.
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They should just make this recent 4 issue miniseries into the movie as it was an excellent reimagining of the origins of the character/supporting cast.
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That's his nickname...and he was kind of goofy in the comics too. Well the humor thing worked so well with Fantastic Four, that I'm sure this will be equally as sucky but fun for the kiddies.
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is Marvelman (or Miracleman). The Alan Moore/Neil Gaiman years would make an interesting movie.
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Isis is dead, and her storyline in 52 was not fun, pretty serious shit where her death was full of vengeance.
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Jerry Ordway in the origin 90’s miniseries Power of Shazam, and the tabloid sized Shazam Power of Hope by Paul Dini and Alex Ross. Those have the right mix. I'm still at awe how Ordway interlaced the character with an epic mythic Egyptian mythology and included a generational struggle that had everything to do with Billy, Billy's dad, Black Adam and the Wizard. To me that was Ordway’s strongest contribution to comics. Jerry, if you are reading this, you have my lasting respect for bringing respectability to Captain Marvel.
Paul Dini and Alex Ross brought realism in the vein of Chris Reeve Superman with their one shot tabloid size comic. Both Paul and Alex have an understanding of the characters, and my respect especially to you Alex who brought Cap to the real world, and your profound understanding of comic book characters in relation to fan appeal. You hit the nail in the head with your illustrations.
And final comment- yes, PLEASE CAST BRANDON MOLALE AS CAPTAIN MARVEL!!!!! Talk about born to play a part!!
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Why don't they just go for the general tone set in Jeff Smith's recent Shazam book? That shit was awesome!
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She was hot, but not as hot as the girl Ruth in the Ark II Saturday morning show. As bad as these shows were, I think they had the potential to be better than Greatest American Hero ever became. I hated that show--the whole concept.
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Aug 30, 2007 9:12:02 PM CDT
As long as any comedic pauses can be broken up by
by detective_fingerling
Black Adam ripping a D-list villain in half, I'm so there.
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"I wonder if August is incorporating an RV with a lightning bolt on it into his script? Probably not. If not, I'm sooooooo disinterested..."That's like being pissed about Nolan's Batman not having a song that goes, "nah nah, nah nah, nah nah, nat... BATMAN!!"Get a grip, Merrick. There were more decades of Captain Marvel in print than the number of years you've been alive BEFORE that horrid show you hold so dear. Lemee guess -- you ain't down unless he gets to second base with Isis either, right?
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...THE WIZARD OF OZ but with action! I mean, the comics have talking tigers, a little worm who is really a genius, etc. It's a fantasy world. But, I'm afraid, it seems to all be shaping up to be more like that UNDERDOG movie.
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...for the same reason why there hasn't been a Krang in any of the four Turtles movies.Which, incidentally, is why there was no giant purple galactic samurai in the Fantastic Four sequel.Which, incidentally, is why there will never be a MODOK in any of the upcoming Iron Man sequels.And why? Because exaggerated big brain characters (characterized with big craniums) in superhero adaptations are never used as a main foil in film, but instead as comic relief. I give you Mr. Medulla of Spy Kids for the most recent example. But for the best example, I give you Lex Luthor, both Hackman and Spacey.
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the guilty can claim that they meant it to be funny--even if you are laughing at them instead of with them.
Butts covered again. That's what making movies is all about. -
My money's on worse.
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PERFECT casting and the tone would be spot-on!
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I can't figure out how da hell they kept their 'fros so perfectly round. The last time I grew my 'fro out I couldn't seem to keep the damn lumps and naps out. Well it WAS the 70's so who knows? They probably soked their heads in moose between takes.
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BITCHES! IM COOL NOW!
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... Or just smacks Sivana so hard on his bald head that his Coke-bottle eyeglasses turn into X-ray specs that penetrate Mary Marvel's superhero costume! ***WE'VE GOT BUSH!!!***
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and Batman's take on him. "People like him. He's.....sunny" Heh.
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My Super Ex-Girlfriend...or...Sky High. That will be the "tone", folks. It will def be geared towards the kiddies...What kid wishes he could say a word and become Superman? All of them, that's who....That's always been the appeal of Capt. Marvel...and that's exactly who this flick will cater to...with a couple lame "grown up" jokes for the parents who may attend for the nostalgia factor. If the writing isn't "Incredibles" good, this will tank faster than...uh...Sky High did.
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Captain marvel always was a lame idea for a super hero, Im not holding my breat for this one. And man , dont even get me started on Mr tawny the talkin tiger (i mean come on, what the fuck ? A tiger in a buissness suit? What?)
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Sky High almost doubled its budget, so I would think the suits would love for it to "tank" like sky high did.
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Sorta has the same plot (Kid and his Grandad plus sister traveling in an RV learning to use his powers as several different superheroes), but it is going to be made into a live-action TV movie directed by Alex "Bill S. Preston, Esq." Winter on Cartoon Network. Rather see that.
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The Incredibles should be the model for a lighthearted superhero movie. I think the key is that you mix the comedy with elements of real jeopardy and drama. On a tangent, I'm amazed that even with The Incredibles out there as a model, the Fantastic Four movies still managed to suck! Oh yeah, a good director helps too. I hope the filmakers just don't make Captain Marvel a superhero version of Big - he's a kid, but a kid with the wisdom of Solomon... so he's innocent but not stupid...
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As long as they don't take a serious hero like Green Lantern and fuck that up we're ok.
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Captain Marvel is not the magic-based Superman. Captain Marvel has a giant talking tiger that wears a bow tie, a whole family of superheroes (Mary, Uncle and Cap Jr.), and his list of nemeses include an alien earthworm bent on world domination. Captain. Marvel. Is. Meant. To. Be. Comedic.
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And Capt. Marvel initiates him.
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...priceless.
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You know, I kind of agree with you on The Greatest American Hero movie with OW. It would def. be better than this. I used to watch this as a little girl, back in the day and my memories were a little fuzzy, 'till I watched those vids. Yeah, it sucked.
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http://tinyurl.com/yompu8
and his interview with Wizard mag: http://tinyurl.com/2dblfg -
Sep 01, 2007 12:33:25 PM CDT
should be a comedy anything else will be the suck
by allpowerfulwizardofoz
this has lost me.
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Sep 01, 2007 1:06:29 PM CDT
Wait, I must have misread. This is going to be comedy?
by allpowerfulwizardofoz
Well in that case I am totally down. It should not be serious. Should be total camp like the old Batman and Robin TV show. Anything else would be pointless.
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