ODD BITS

Life is full of odd bits.  Things that don't fit.

When I counseled abused children, I used a talking Teddy Bear who had 50 random sentences he would speak. 

One was: "I don't understand."  I often catch myself saying those words exactly as he did.

ODD BITS:

Chris Evans told Variety that he is leaving acting after his Marvel contract is up to direct. 

Of course, he only has the freedom to direct now because of his Marvel fame. 

Once he stops doing Box Office Sensations, the directing offers will dry up.

It must be hard to grow up in the public eye. 

His first lead - Cellular. Was when he was what - 23. There is a ton of growing up that happens in people between 20 and 40,

And there are strong feelings that we all have at 20 that we look back on as the whimsy of our youth at 40. 

But bad decisions made then cannot be unmade.

ODD BITS:

Robert Downey, Jr. talks about Chris and his own being picked by Marvel for Iron Man.  He wasn't nervous.  He was begging for the chance.

Was he worried about type-casting? 

"Christopher Reeve went on and did a bunch of other great movies, and his notoriety from the “Superman” franchise helped that, and nobody held it against him.

But the other thing is, everybody knows Chris Reeve was a really good guy. A lot of it has to do with personality. Are you the type of person who incurs ill will?"

If Evans is the “captain of team spirit”as Johansson calls him, then Downey is the group leader,

 keeping the cast intact after tough renegotiations with Marvel last year following the global success of “Avengers.”

“Some actors get a backend,” Evans says. But not him.

Scarlet got $30 million for THE AVENGERS.  Chris Evans got $5 million.  Ouch.

Look at the poster for that movie.  Chris is teeny tiny, hidden by Thor.  Jeremy Renner is large right by Iron Man.

ODD BITS:

 

Flannery O’Connor was born on this day in 1925, and William Faulkner’s Pylon was published on this day in 1935.

The following is from “The Regional Writer,” a talk which O’Connor gave when receiving an award from the Georgia Writers Association:

"There’s a story about Faulkner that I like. It may be apocryphal but it’s nice anyway.

A local lady is supposed to have rushed up to him in a drugstore in Oxford and said, “Oh Mr. Faulkner, Mr. Faulkner, I’ve just bought your book! But before I read it, I want you to tell me something: do you think I’ll like it?”

 

And Faulkner is supposed to have said, “Yes, I think you’ll like that book. It’s trash.”

 

 

 

ODD BITS:

 Why?  Why insult a woman who has complimented you by buying a copy of your book?

Why would O'Connor like that story in the first place?

Written in three months and with an eye to the drugstore market,

Pylon features a group of dare-devil, bed-hopping aviators. The producer of the 1958 movie wanted to call it “Sex in the Air,” but he settled for The Tarnished Angels.

The cover blurb may give a clue:

"This is the explosive story of three people who had to defy death to live. Homeless, rootless, and lawless, they live from moment to moment in a world which few have penetrated.

Roger raced a condemned plane to pay for his wife's child by another man.

Laverne sacrificed her son rather than abandon flying.

Jack parachuted with a bag of flour and a prayer to pay his precarious way." 

ODD BITS:

The number of frequent moviegoers in the all-important 18-24 age group plunged an unprecedented 21% in 2013, according to MPAA annual statistics released Tuesday at Cinemacon,

while attendance in the 12-17 age bracket also saw a precipitous drop off, falling almost 15%.

Is Hollywood targeting a market that is shrinking?  How often do you go to the movies?

 

 

ODD BITS:

 

Just as the movie industry gathered this week at CinemaCon to discuss its future,

 

Facebook came along and changed it without even bothering to show up in Las Vegas.

 

The surprise $2 billion acquisition of virtual-reality headset maker Oculus Rift by a social network company might seem to have nothing to do with movie theaters or films.

 

But in the long term, this kind of technology is going to have a place in the entertainment business. It’s just a matter of time.

ODD BITS:

Fox and Ridley Scott are moving forward on a sequel to the 2012 sci-fi hit “Prometheus,” with Michael Green on board to script.

Green worked with Scott last year on a rewrite of the script for a reboot of “Blade Runner” from Alcon Entertainment.

Green’s credits include “Smallville,” “Heroes” and “Green Lantern.”

Two of those three were "Turkeys." 

 

Do you think Blade Runner actually needs a reboot?

  Makes you wonder about Hollywood some more, doesn't it?