One more “waiting for ‘Avengers'” episode before I actually finally see the damn thing.
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One more “waiting for ‘Avengers'” episode before I actually finally see the damn thing.
MOVIEBOB CENTRAL 
That ark thing is pure genius, Bob.
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Totally agree on the Ark, Bob.
Also, “For Better or For Worse” made me laugh. Wasn't expecting to see that here…
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You suggest a Raiders shout-out like it's an improbable joke, and not exactly what Spielberg is actually going to do.
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Not sure which I love more, the belly laugh I had about the Ark or that everyone else commented on the same thing.
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Friggin' Alien vs Predators, or Freddy vs Jason. No thank you.
Please don't give Hollywood any ideas how to be even less original than they are now.
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Kinda reminds of some other sorta-kinda-almost shared continuities in the previous films. Like Val Verde, the fictional island nation that plays a part in Commando, Predator, & Die Hard 2. Or how Quentin Tarantino likes to tie all his movies together with stuff like Vince Vega from Pulp Fiction being the brother of Vic Vega from Reservoir Dogs. Or the Necronomicon from Evil Dead being used in Jason goes to Hell.
Sure most of these are non-canon references, but it's still a sort of infant version of shared movie continuity. Hell, Toho been doing this shit with their giant monster movies for decades now.
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Didn't Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse kind of beat them to the punch on this one? Either way, the implications of Marvel's investment will be huge if it pays off
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Remember how Micheal Keaton's FBI character popped up in both Out of Sight and Jackie Brown? Most people didn't notice but it was a nice little easter egg. I wouldn't mind stuff like that but I do not want Marvel style continuity throughout unrelated films.
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Actually Bob, I don't need to wait a few weeks.
The Avenger's premieres on April 27th down here in México, I already have my tickets and everything!
This Thursday at midnight, I'll be with 8 of my friends watching the Avengers! If I hurry I might even finish my Loki costume.
😛
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I'll be watching it in just 27 hours! 😀
And that arc thing…AWESOME!!
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Wahlberg's role from Departed going after Affleck's role from The Town?
Hand me a cigarette, because I just came.
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I would actually really like it if they started doing continuity in ways we woudl never suspect, but still make totall sense. OK, say you have a vampire/werewolf movie, or whatever. Some movie where the monsters of the old world are still roaming around in some way shape or form. Towards the end of the movie, you throw in a curveball monster: A troll! In an Underworld esque movie! Mah Gawd! But then comes the kicker. The main character is saved…by the dude from Troll Hunter! Mr Standard McAllAmerican hero gets his butt saved by the calm ironic disgruntled Trollhunter, who simply walks off as if its no big deal afterwards. Wouldnt that be cool?
What? Oh shoot me, im Norwegian, and i just want the one and only proper monster movie that actually got made in norway and not hollywood to be noticed 😛
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Osama Tezuka pretty much already did that all the time in his manga. He considered his characters to be 'actors' who'd be recast in different roles in his manga all the time.
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also, Dark Knight Rises reported to kick TDK right in the balls:
http://movies.cosmicbooknews.com/content/exclusive-dark-knight-rises-described-as-better-than-the-dark-knight
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@Aiddon
Wanna know something funnier than that? I heard that DKR will have its next major trailer during the screening of the Avengers film. Tell me that isn't gutsy. If it turns out to be better than TDK, Avengers will definitely have a run for its money. I'm gonna like this summer!
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As for continuity in film, I kind of sort of see that in Judd Apatow or “Frat Pack” films, only the actors come back, as different people, but the personalities seem the same.
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Kevin smith has been doing it for years. Even jay and silent bob as jay and silent bob made a cemo in one of the “Scream” movies. Also, didn't John Hughes do the same with his movies? and Kevin smith mention that fact it in “Dogma”
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Having just got back from The Avengers (Australia, f*** yeah!), I can say that it definitely paid off. If the movie itself doesn't soil Bob's trousers, then the post-credits reveal will. At least Marvel were kind enough to not force bladder-challenged patrons to wait to the very freaking end of the credits this time around.
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The one stumbling block to a shared continuity in future movies is that you basically have to sign “major” named actors to multi movie contracts.
Now you have a big scheduling thing to work around. Will major actor from movie 1 be available to be in movie 2 when you start filming? Will major actor demand a lot more cash up front to play along with this thus making film one a very risky gamble. If film one tanks, actors may still be guaranteed payment for future films which may or may not be filmed since the first one bombed.
I just see movie studios avoiding the whole tangled mess of scheduling conflicts and risky investments (which are hard to justify in todays market… coughJohn Cartercough) and sticking with isolated films. And if by lucky happenstance the cards fall just right maybe you get another movie in the same universe.
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“The one stumbling block to a shared continuity in future movies is that you basically have to sign “major” named actors to multi movie contracts.”
Or they could just re-cast a character. Like they do. All the time. For example, Bruce Banner…
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I wish I had your excitement for the movie Bob, I can't get myself excited for any of the comic book based movies since the The Dark Knight. Its just starting to feel like I have seen the idea somewhere else.
I can't blame the studios themselves for we are paying for the movies and I would think they don't have to spend as much to develop the movie for the characters, world, and possibly plot has all been created in the comics themselves. I just hope with Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers being released this year there might be some break to the release schedule so I might have fun watching the genre again.
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@ Pyrian
That is true but if you recast more than that one character (who is going to be spending half his time as CG) and it starts tipping toward a reboot. The thing that makes movie continuity work is same actors playing same roles in same universe. Recast too many actors and it just doesn't work.
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I totally agree with Raphael, because that would be AWESOME! (I've only seen The Town, though, so I only half-came)
And the Ark thing MUST HAPPEN!!
Also, this reminded me of John Munch. The man is essentially the TV version of Agent Coulson, but on more than just Law and Order shows!
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/JohnMunch
I want to do this when I make movies. Heck, I'm ALREADY doing this with movies I'm making now! I'm gonna have a consistent news anchor guy in any upcoming thing where I need a news anchor, and I'm putting one of the main characters from Thugz Mansion into my next film, making a cameo as a gangsta.
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Television has done crossovers almost as long as comics have. In fact, there's one great bit of fanwank about how about 280 television series are all the daydream of an autistic little boy.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StElsewhere
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~kwgow/crossovers%28full%29.jpg
Also, here's a bit of trivia you'd probably enjoy: The Fast and the Furious franchise has included a character from Better Luck Tomorrow ever since Justin Lin was signed to direct. Yep, even that series likes your pet idea.
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Ah, I see I've been beaten to the punch on both the View Askewniverse and the St. Elsewhereverse. I'd also bring up the shared universe of Doctor Who/Torchwood/The Sarah Jane Adventures (RIP Liz Sladen, *sob*), but those were (a) TV rather than film, and (b) British, which might make a difference.
Also, given that clearly the Ten Commandments story *happened* in Indiana Jones's universe, and it'd save having to have someone design the thing all over again, I'd actually be surprised if the Ark of the Covenant wasn't the same one. Which bums me out a bit, as I kind of like the Middle-Eastern historical perspective on what the cherubim actually looked like and/or the quasi-Kabalistic theory on what they were doing, but I'm probably alone on those – especially the second one. Far more alone than you are on your suggestion, anyway.
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Great vid, Bob. Very interesting ideas here… a lot of writers will probably fuck it up, especially if they try and pull EVERYTHING together, but I generally think the idea of linking films – in subtle ways, when appropriate – is a good one.
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28 of April and I just watched the Avengers here in Greece and OMG, Joss Whedon is a true artist after some point the hole cinema was laughing yealing and claping watching this movie with less 100 people is a hole different expierience
just wait[spoiler free] for the momment black widow say “80 people” you will know what I am talking about when I say everyone in the room laughing
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“Sure most of these are non-canon references, but it's still a sort of infant version of shared movie continuity. Hell, Toho been doing this shit with their giant monster movies for decades now.”
As a huge toho/godzilla fan, I have to say… you're wrong. Some of their movie's were bad, but at least they never sacrificed them at the altar of continuity like marvel, like they did with iron man 2 or captain america.
Everything in your first paragraph were easter eggs, which is mostly what toho liked doing(outside of direct sequels of course.) Here goes my best example of why your point is wrong. In return of godzilla, the dialogue establishes that only the first movie happened, no others from the showa series. The audience is expected to accept this and move on(which they did). Marvel could never do this, they would have to created a “alternate continuity” and establish that it is still happening off-screen. Then, in the heisei series, the over-all continuity didn't matter that much(it was there, but didn't really make any sense after vs. king ghidorah.) Once again, no way with marvel. Just like the amercian comic book genre as a whole, continuity is more important than writing or characterization. With toho, continuity is a bonus but not the point. The movies are the point. Period. I enjoyed the recurring characters, in-jokes, easter eggs, etc. I actually do enjoy continuity when it's used correctly. But the movies stood or fell on their own. Continuity is not a crutch for lazy writers. But you people will ensure it continues to be. Have fun.
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