This may come as a surprise to some of you, but there are some weeks that I loathe writing this thing. I mean, no one’s got a gun to my head, but I love a good streak, and I like sticking to a schedule. That said, I often promise that this post is meant to be an escape from all the craziness of “The Real World”, and there are just some weeks where I can’t keep that promise. I mean, how do I write about the past week without mentioning Shannen Doherty, Dr. Ruth, Richard Simmons, Bob Newhart, or ear bandages?! So, I’ve got to do my best to dance around it. “Sayin’ it, without sayin’ it!” Let’s see how well I do with that…
Ya know, this is really the only thing I’m passionate about from the past week: Lay off Jack Black. As many of you know, Black is a member of the duo Tenacious D, along with partner Kyle Gass. After the political events of last weekend, Tenacious D had a concert where everyone took a minute to celebrate Gass’s birthday. When it came time to make a wish, Gass said “Don’t miss Trump next time.” Well, this obviously didn’t go over well with everyone, and it resulted in Black halting the Tenacious D tour, as well as Gass being dropped by his talent agency. In fact, the future of Tenacious D is now in question. Meanwhile, folks are mad at Black for “trying to protect his Kung Fu Panda money”. And I don’t blame him one bit.
When you are in a partnership, you are no longer just representing yourself. Anything you do affects your partner, and a seemingly glib moment could have pretty disastrous consequences in today’s society. It’s not about “selling out” or “Free Speech”. Black didn’t sign off on Gass’s comment, so why should he go down with him? “Solidarity” works both ways. If Gass didn’t care enough to think of Black, then why should Black fall on the sword for Gass? Plus – and I know some of y’all are gonna hate this – but there are certain things a “decent person” doesn’t say aloud. If you don’t want to think in terms of “Decency”, then there are certain things a smart person doesn’t say when business is involved. There’s no way the entire Tenacious D fan base is comprised of Trump hating Liberals, regardless of what one might wish to think. It’s a bad look, and it’s bad for business. Period.
I’d even go a step further, as I’m reminded of something comedian Gary Owen said recently in an interview: “No good marriage has ever ended over cheating.” That’s to say that a strong union can get over one transgression. I’d wager there’s more to this than folks know, and perhaps this was just the final straw. What do I know? I know, probably, one Tenacious D song. What I do know is I’d be pissed if my partner’s inability to read the room/wait out the “too soon” margin ended up affecting my livelihood. And you’re not gonna change my mind about that.
In the world of comics, Bleeding Cool revealed DC Comics’ fall plans surrounding the Absolute DC line. Long rumored to be DC’s answer to Marvel’s Ultimate line, the Absolute books are meant to reimagine the DC characters for a new audience. We’ve got Absolute Batman, by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta; Absolute Superman, by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval; Absolute Wonder Woman, by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. What we’re seemingly getting, however, is a Bruce Wayne with no wealth, a Wonder Woman with tribal tattoos, and a flop-haired himbo Superman. The stories might be good but, visually, these just aren’t doing it for me. And comics are a visual medium.
Whenever there’s one of these comic industry pissing contests, I always feel like it’s DC’s fight to lose. They’re the older publisher with, dare I say, more recognizable characters. Yet, they always manage to screw the pooch. I’m already upset with their mischaracterization of Amanda Waller in the current Absolute Power event, and the Absolute stuff isn’t making me feel any better about the future of the industry…
Trailer Park
The Killer (Peacock, August 23)
I’m not a big John Woo guy, but I am familiar with his patented “gun fu”, and this remake is supposed to be a “return to form” of that. That said, streaming is always being sold a “peak TV”, and this does not look “peak”. I can’t decide if it looks like a mediocre TNT drama or one of those shitty movies that Lionsgate releases straight to digital. Bottom line: This does not look good. Plus, the main guy’s acting is horrible. Did he win a sweepstakes or something for this role?
Deadpool and Wolverine (Theaters, July 26)
I often lament that we live in a 3-trailer society when it comes to blockbusters, but it is what it is, I suppose. I didn’t need this. I was already on board. So, I guess I’m even more on board? Next Thursday can’t come fast enough!
Crescent City (Select Theaters & VOD, August 16)
That Lionsgate banner at the beginning of this trailer told me everything I needed to know. It’s like Alec Baldwin and Terrence Howard were tumbling down the career ladder, and grabbed onto Esai Morales once they reached his level. This looks like the kind of movie we used to stay up to watch on Cinemax. Yeah, it’s about murder, but you’re guaranteed to see a tit or two. I’m adding it to my list.
Will Around The Web
- Saved By The Summer continues, as the latest episode of Remember That Show? tackles Saved By The Bell: The College Years. Join us, as we relive the moment A.C. Slater discovered he was actually A.C. Sanchez!
- I’ve been on vacation at The Outer Banks this week, and I’ve actually done quite a bit of trade paperback reading. Seeing as how my comic/toy content is exclusive to TikTok these days, you’re gonna have to hop over there (@williambwest), if you care to check out my reviews!
Things You Might Have Missed This Week
- After 20 years in operation, Redbox is shutting down, following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy status being changed to a Chapter 7 liquidation status. I swear, physical media has taken more Ls this year than the Democratic Party!
- Kyle Carrozza, creator of Cartoon Network’s The Mighty Magiswords, was arrested for possession of child…yeah, I’m gonna stop right there. Some of y’all read this at work!
- Reportedly, the remake of The Toxic Avenger, starring Peter Dinklage, is “unreleasable”. How are you gonna tease me with a good time like that?!
- Reginald The Vampire, starring Spider-Man‘s Jacob Batalon, and based on the Fat Vampire book series, has been canceled at Syfy after 2 seasons.
- Bedrock, the Elizabeth Banks-voiced sequel to classic cartoon The Flintstones, is no longer moving forward at Fox.
- Halo, based on the hit video game series, has been canceled at Paramount+ after 2 seasons.
- Julia Fox, best known for her role in Uncut Gems, as well as for briefly dating Kanye West, came out as a Lesbian on TikTok. I mean, she dated Kanye, so…
- The Emmy nominations were announced this week, with FX’s Shogun garnering the most of any series this year, with 25 nominations.
- Fox is once again discussing a 24 movie, yet Kiefer Sutherland’s involvement at this time is unknown. I think I speak for everyone when I say no one wants a 24 project without Jack Bauer.
- MCU hitmakers The Russo Bros are reportedly in talks to return to direct the next 2 Avengers films, including whatever the Kang movie ends up being, as well as Secret Wars.
- Taylor Swift announced “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” as the second official single released from The Tortured Poets Department, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise, given it’s the only upbeat song on the album…
So, who had a great week? It sure wasn’t Hulk Hogan. It wasn’t Katy Perry. Nor was it country singer Ingrid Andress. Ya know, this week was such a dumpster fire that no one had a great week. So, instead of doing that whole thing, I wanted to pay tribute to my trusty laptop. You see, every post I’ve written, and every podcast I’ve recorded, since the beginning of 2020 was done on this computer. It’s a work computer, so that was probably a bad idea, but it was convenient.
I actually got a new work computer about 6 months ago, but never set it up because I wanted a “natural transition point” to move over to the new machine. I felt like this vacation would be the best time – especially since the past few weeks have suggested this one is at the end of its life. I really wanted it to go out in a spectacular fashion, like being thrown off the balcony of this condo. I would film it for TikTok, and it would live on forever. Or until the American government finally shuts it down. Then my work IT Guy started following me on Instagram, and, yeah…
So, this will have to do. I started this job six weeks before Covid, and I took this machine home when the world shut down. Over the past 4 and a half years, it has allowed me to post about all manner of pop culture, through good times and bad. Going forward, my podcast appearances hopefully won’t have pops and hisses, but they won’t have nearly as much love. This is its final post. Thank you for your service, Dell Latitude E5470. You won’t be forgotten.
