Hollywood

Prequels and Sequels and Spinoffs, Oh My!

| LizT.

If you are someone who is tired of seeing the same 7 or 8 franchises roll into theaters time and time again, I feel bad for ya, son. I got 99 problems, but that is definitely not one of them!

I LOVE them! And I’m not saying all of them or any of them deserve Oscars.

Look…it’s true, some of them are not good at all! But for every stinking sequel there’s a Force Awakens. For every sloppy spinoff, there’s an Agent Carter (her cancellation is not her fault!) or a Rogue One (which I’m already certain will be blowing us all away in under a month.) And for every poorly written prequel there’s a Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And I’d watch a thousand bad prequels for the chance to get something as delightful as Fantastic Beasts in front of my eyes!!

Fantastic-Beasts-And-Where-to-Find-Them.jpg

We are certainly living in the age of reboots, re-imaginings and big budget franchises. But again I say, I LOVE IT! When word broke that Disney had purchased Lucasfilm and there would be a slew of new stories from that galaxy far, far away I was overjoyed. I love expanded universes. The deeper a story goes, the more involved it gets, the more I can lose myself in the fiction. That’s what makes the worlds of Harry Potter, Marvel and Star Wars so compelling and why they inspire the ticket and merchandise sales that they do.

Do you run the risk of overkilling something people dearly love? Of course. But the alternative is putting that franchise up in a box never to be touched. Never to be reimagined by someone who comes along and loves the world JK Rowling has created as much as JK herself. Art imitating and inspired by art is such a cool thing.

16732_une-apple-watch-sur-le-bras-de-jj-abrams-lors-de-la-conference-star-wars.jpg

JJ Abrams grew up on Star Wars, got into movies because of Star Wars and there he was directing his very own Star Wars movie. No matter what you thought about the film itself, doesn’t that inspire you?! JJ is one of us, one of our people (we the geeks) and he got to do what so many of us have only dreamed.

Just think, Harry Potter fans…think of the possibilities that the Wizarding World of JK Rowling holds for you. That world is not closed off. It’s not a 7 book, 8 movie story. There’s so much more and that means big things for you and your imagination!

So I say, prequel it up all you want, Hollywood. Just use Fantastic Beasts as a barometer on how to do it and do it well.

Liz Tailor: The College Years

| LizT.

I wouldn’t categorize my upbringing as “sheltered.” I knew what went on. I had friends who were told about all that “adult” stuff in deep and gory detail. So I got the scoop when necessary. And my parents did their best to prepare me for the world. “Make good choices, young grasshopper!”

But the truth is, when you get to college, there is an immediate freedom that comes along with it. As well as easy access to all the things you weren’t allowed to do under your parents roof.

So I immediately took it upon myself to watch R-rated movies and every single episode of Dawson’s Creek I could get my hands on. After all, those were quite forbidden in my house.

College is a time of awakening and experimenting. And boy did I go crazy! I experimented heavily with hair dye. Some were extremely bad choices (me with bottle died black hair = really bad decision!) I experimented with staying out all night and line dancing at Stetson’s on the Moon. I even tried my first alcoholic drink, a Midori sour and it was so gross!!!

Ok… maybe I was a little sheltered after all, a little naive.

Back then I liked a boy and I truly thought that if I never told him I liked him and just pretended that we were friends that miraculously God would hit him with a love dart and he would see me as he never had before. We would ride off into the sunset and happily ever after would ensue. Remember that I’d never had a boyfriend up to this point and still didn’t have one. One need not wonder why.

In reality, that boy barely knew me and what he did know of me, he merely considered a friend and nothing more! NOTHING.

Imagine my shock and disappointment when I didn’t get a happy fairytale ending with me married at 23. (Thank God, whose plans are far greater for me than my own!)

If you’ve seen the latest episode of my little web series, then you’ll hear about a particularly ridiculous occurrence in the life of little Lizzie (truth be told, I went by Beth back then.)

My roommate and I, at the time, entrenched ourselves so deeply in Hollywood movie land that we actually thought that if we picked a place off the top of our heads, that maybe God or fate or destiny would step in and make magic happen. Funny thing is that magic did happen while we weren’t looking.

We stayed blessedly single and became very good friends. The kind that can still laugh about the dumb things we did way back then! (Am I right Becs?)

See, if I had gotten what I wanted back then and got married right off the bat, life would have been fine as God can use all things for His glory. But I wouldn’t be who I am today. And, you see, I am exactly where I’m supposed to be. So… I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m still on the look out for the occasional fairytale. I never really gave them up. But reality is so much cooler. I’d take that over Serendipity any day!!!

10628144_10105149927725403_8777609993714613687_n

Love,

Liz Tailor

The Hugh Jackman Effect

| LizT.

I saw The Wolverine yesterday. And may I just say ‘Ummmmm…!!!’ Wait I meant ‘Yum!’ I didn’t know a man could have so many abs!!
image

Hugh Jackman has reportedly said that as long as Marvel wants to use him as Wolverine, he’s in. And I have to say, thank God! Cause he is goood.
image

I’d pretty much see anything he is in. From Kate & Leopold to Les Miserables. From X-Men to more X-Men. The man is bankable. Obviously Hollywood has figured this out already. Good on them!

Now, listen, was the movie fairly predictable? Yes. Was it fully entertaining? Absolutely. Was Hugh Jackman ripped and shirtless? Duh! Plus there was a little surprise in the credits. Stay for the credits. For pete’s sake if you are watching a Marvel movie…STAY FOR THE CREDITS!!!
At this point, if you leave, you have no one to blame but yourself. It’s Marvel… sit back down.
image

All in all very enjoyable entry in the franchise. Worth a watch.