Blog Archives
Four Years Later & I’m Still Looking to the Horizon
Exactly 1/10th of a score and two years ago (4 years total), I started Jimmy’s Daily Planet.
Paying homage to the greatest (albeit fictional) newspaper of all-time, The Daily Planet, this blog was founded on my love of my favorite superhero and disguised human of all-time: Superman and Clark Kent. The scene from Richard Donner’s 1978 classic Superman that showed us Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent walk through the bullpen of The Daily Planet for the first time was the moment I knew I wanted to be a journalist. The chaos, palpable energy and big city, skyscraper setting flew from the screen and landed directly into my impressionable imagination.
These few minutes showing reporters preparing to get the scoop, watching exciting individual and group dynamics (papers scattered, people typing, talking and moving) and hearing creative storytelling pitches is arguably my favorite journalistic hook.
I wrote my first blog post (Eight Years Later & We Look to the Horizon) about what the next Facebook would be in the future. The “next big thing”/new dominant social platform hasn’t arrived yet to eclipse Mark Zuckerberg’s social network from his days at Harvard.
This revelation will be realized, it just hasn’t happened quite yet.
One of the questions in blog #1 was whether or not we are an app generation? That answer has not conclusively been determined since July 13, 2012, but people seem to be embracing a hybrid. This translates to using popular sites and social media platforms (ie-Facebook) while simultaneously choosing a diverse selection of acutely personalized social media apps.
The best answer for July 13, 2016 is that we are a splintered population (or customer base) concerning our use of social media and digital applications (sorry, apps). Individualism rules.
What’s next?
That’s still the question. Not the question that Shakespeare wrote for his brilliant play “Hamlet.” Although, in a way, it sort of is. “To be, or not to be – that is the question.” Who will we be in the near future? How will someone revamp our already complex and extensive communicative grid? How will we change as a result? This very idea is thrilling to cogitate because, as Americans, we know a newfangled innovation will collide with destiny. And destiny is a very good friend with this country.
“I know something big and new is coming because that is the American tradition of big sky-big idea dreamers. Until then, start drawing on your dorm room window and think big, plain and simple.”
That’s the final paragraph of my first blog post on Jimmy’s Daily Planet. I remember writing that four years ago and I still believe it’s true today, whatever the wildly crazy idea or dream may be.
Plain and simple.
The Ultimate Superhero Face-Off?
Wednesday is a wonderful day to wonder about what could have been. For instance, what if Nicolas Cage was cast as Superman?
Before you start laughing too loudly, this was, at one point in the late ’90s, a legitimate conversation.
The rumored title of the movie was Superman Lives. Probably not the best title in the off-chance it wouldn’t get made (check) because of the obvious counter headline for reporters: Superman’s Dead.
C’mon screenwriters, that was too much of a lay-up.
However, thanks to creative video editing, YouTube user “Epic Wolf Films” has given fans a glimpse into what Nicolas Cage would look like as Superman in the Dawn of Justice.
As absurd as it is, Nicolas Cage is still 7 kinds of crazy awesomeness. He’s certainly not my pick to play Superman, the greatest superhero in history, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t not watch the movie in the trailer above…
The film could be titled Superman: A National Treasure.
It’s quite the declaration, but Superman is a character with a certain degree of independence.
Happy Monday!
Forget Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao, Batman v. Superman is the ultimate fight.
Comic-Con in San Diego is the premier annual gathering of all things comic books, superheroes and fantasy adventures. Fans dress up in costumes with striking detail (completely normal) and is the destination for all things nerd. Movie stars will surprise fans, sometimes in full costume. In 2011, Andrew Garfield, dressed in a costume store Spider-Man outfit, surprised the crowd with a heartfelt thank you to the fans before he introduced his movie’s panel.
In recent years, the teams behind blockbuster movies within this popular, ever-growing genre have used this venue as a launching pad for their projects. Watching and participating in exclusive panels with the stars and directors of these films are the hottest tickets, which includes the great likelihood of witnessing first-looks and trailers before everybody else.
The new trailer is here, the new Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer is here.
Have a Wonderful Week!
Superman’s Bright(er) Future
This blog is called, “Jimmy’s Daily Planet.” Therefore, intriguing Superman news naturally takes some precedence.
When fans saw Man of Steel in summer 2013, the tone was darker than past film adaptions of the greatest superhero in history. It was understandable, since it was an origin story rooted in realism and constructed in the same spirit as the successful Batman Begins. The latest Superman movie was co-conceived and co-executive produced by the brainchild of Batman Begins and its two cinematic follow ups: Christopher Nolan and Co. For The Dark Knight trilogy, that bleaker color scheme was a brilliant visual decision. However, Superman is not as emotionally dark and conflicted as Batman. There can be moments of inner-friction, but nothing sustaining.
Superman proudly stands for “truth, justice and the American way.”
The brightness of the character and his surroundings never illuminated to full potential, specifically at the end. This seemed to dispel what appeared to be a clever diluting technique that would have symbolized his “coming into the light” of himself, his super powers and his grand purpose in life.
VideoLab produced a fascinating video analysis comparing the real colors when filming versus the finished altered colors in Man of Steel, a final call made by director Zack Snyder.
When the true Man of Steel sequel (not Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) comes out in the next couple to few years, it’ll be worth noticing the brightness of the film’s color scheme.
Here’s to hoping that “S” will really pop-off the screen when his journey continues.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 