The best thing about the digital revolution is that there are almost no rules. Like independent films in the early ’90s, creators are using available technology to push boundaries and reinvent the way things are done. Thus, the rise of the e-book and the availability of self-publishing now allows a superfan to create their own digital scrapbook of their favorite writer/director/podcaster/author.
It’s common in popular culture to claim that someone is ruining their legacy.
We are living in the age of the podcast. Old media individuals (including the incomparable Howard Stern) may call them “losers” and scoff at audience size or ad revenue, but podcasts are both the present and the future. One look at the phenomenon of Serial proves that.
I am a Ben Affleck defender, so much so that my latest book was partially inspired by the fact that I wanted to defend him so I dedicated a chapter to him (the racial undertones in the hatred for his relationship to Jennifer Lopez are all too real). I think he’s underrated as an actor and he’s going to make a great Batman.
This was a long week.
It is often said that so many things need to go right on a movie set that it’s amazing that any films survive long enough to make it to the theater. Also, many scripts and plans take years to develop with various directors and actors becoming attached to productions before dropping out of them and pursuing other avenues of work.
Here is a short list of just some my favorite what ifs in the film industry:
Christopher Pierznik is the author of eight books, all of which can be purchased in paperback and Kindle. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, and many more. Subscribe to his monthly reading review newsletter or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
In the mid-to-late ’90s, Warner Brothers began development of a revival of Superman. Kevin Smith even wrote a script for it before Tim Burton became attached and brought in his own writers. He immediately cast Nicholas Cage as Clark Kent and there are rumors that Jim Carrey was in talks to portray Brainiac.
The project never took off for a variety of reasons, a major one being the fact that Batman & Robin was so awful that Warner Brothers decided to remove itself from the entire comic superhero universe for a few years. So Joel Schumacher, who has made some great movies in his life, ruined not only Tim Burton’s Batman franchise but also his Superman franchise.
Still, this is a fascinating film about a film that was never made. Seeing Nicholas Cage with the giant S logo on his chest and listening to what they had planned makes one wonder how it all would have turned out.
Update: The film has been ripped off YouTube so here’s the trailer:
Previously in Documentary Tuesday:
Room 237 | Exit Through the Gift Shop
Christopher Pierznik is the author of eight books, all of which can be purchased in paperback and Kindle. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, and many more. He has been quoted on Buzzfeed and Deadspin. Subscribe to his monthly reading review newsletter or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Thanks for stopping by. So, with the start of October, I decided to try something new.
This should’ve been Clerks II
Christopher Pierznik is the author of nine books, all of which can be purchased in paperback and Kindle. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, and many more. He has been quoted on Buzzfeed and Deadspin. Subscribe to his monthly reading review newsletter or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
The Passion of Christopher Pierznik 