Retelling Stories
Well, the Fantastic Four are about to hit the screen...again. Good luck to you, First Family of the Marvel Universe!
I have been a fan of the Marvel Universe for a long time. When I started getting comic books, I found I was more drawn to Marvel than to DC, not that I thought DC was inferior. I was just hooked into the Marvel Universe far more deeply than with DC.
As such, these last few years have been good for Marvel fans. The movies that have been produced have been spectacular - mostly, anyway. But I have found that the great specter of money and politics have gotten involved in the Marvel Universe (cinematic), and it kind of makes me cringe.
For example, the studio that owns the right to the Avengers doesn't own the right to X-Men, and subsequently can't use the word mutant. The sad thing, though, is that while studios have this or that right to this or that character, Marvel fans know their universe and recognize that in order to tell the stories in the movies, certain hoops have to be jumped, and particular language and scripts have to be written in order to cover legal bases. Iron Man can't reference Reed Richards or fight Dr. Doom on screen (and Dr. Doom can't seem to find a good screen adaptation yet, either). Nor could Spider-Man talk about the Black Widow, or could we ever hope to see Wolverine go up against the Hulk. All politics, legal wrangling, and so on.
Of course Marvel fans understand this and we just sit back, disappointed that studio execs are looking for more money than they are allowing Marvel to really flesh out a fantastic cinematic universe. In the meantime, though, we do have to suffer through the promise of another Spider-Man reboot. WE KNOW THE STORY OF SPIDER-MAN'S ORIGIN! We don't need it again! What we do need is a good throw down between Spider-Man and Venom. Hey, Reed Richards would be involved in the solution, so ...tie in!
What this is, of course, is the complicated story of telling a story. Even the comic writers had issues - why do you think Iron Man's armor went from red and gold to red and white in the late 80's early 90's? Legal issues.
The problem is, when the rights and the money and the use of particular words are what call the shots, the story often suffers. Not because the movies are poorly written (though that does happen), but because the fans who know the stories won't be able to see a faithful adaptation. This, of course, is the problem when almost any book becomes a movie. It isn't ever going to be the same.
However, I do find it interesting that it seems to be with the comic movies that we find the flaws in the system so well. From costumes to even words like 'mutant,' concessions are made long before we see any image on the screen. That seems to be less the issue with movies such as, lets say, the Godfather, though it does have some big plot differences.
It is interesting to think that story telling can be so hampered. Suddenly you find yourself telling an altogether different story than the one you hoped to tell because of constraints and legalities.
It may always be that way. Just an observation.
PS - I started writing this before the new Fantastic Four movie came out. From what I hear, it isn't looking too good. I certainly hate to hear that. The FF may have yet to have a good movie adaptation, but their legacy certainly lives long and deep in the Marvel Universe.
I have been a fan of the Marvel Universe for a long time. When I started getting comic books, I found I was more drawn to Marvel than to DC, not that I thought DC was inferior. I was just hooked into the Marvel Universe far more deeply than with DC.
As such, these last few years have been good for Marvel fans. The movies that have been produced have been spectacular - mostly, anyway. But I have found that the great specter of money and politics have gotten involved in the Marvel Universe (cinematic), and it kind of makes me cringe.
For example, the studio that owns the right to the Avengers doesn't own the right to X-Men, and subsequently can't use the word mutant. The sad thing, though, is that while studios have this or that right to this or that character, Marvel fans know their universe and recognize that in order to tell the stories in the movies, certain hoops have to be jumped, and particular language and scripts have to be written in order to cover legal bases. Iron Man can't reference Reed Richards or fight Dr. Doom on screen (and Dr. Doom can't seem to find a good screen adaptation yet, either). Nor could Spider-Man talk about the Black Widow, or could we ever hope to see Wolverine go up against the Hulk. All politics, legal wrangling, and so on.
Of course Marvel fans understand this and we just sit back, disappointed that studio execs are looking for more money than they are allowing Marvel to really flesh out a fantastic cinematic universe. In the meantime, though, we do have to suffer through the promise of another Spider-Man reboot. WE KNOW THE STORY OF SPIDER-MAN'S ORIGIN! We don't need it again! What we do need is a good throw down between Spider-Man and Venom. Hey, Reed Richards would be involved in the solution, so ...tie in!
What this is, of course, is the complicated story of telling a story. Even the comic writers had issues - why do you think Iron Man's armor went from red and gold to red and white in the late 80's early 90's? Legal issues.
The problem is, when the rights and the money and the use of particular words are what call the shots, the story often suffers. Not because the movies are poorly written (though that does happen), but because the fans who know the stories won't be able to see a faithful adaptation. This, of course, is the problem when almost any book becomes a movie. It isn't ever going to be the same.
However, I do find it interesting that it seems to be with the comic movies that we find the flaws in the system so well. From costumes to even words like 'mutant,' concessions are made long before we see any image on the screen. That seems to be less the issue with movies such as, lets say, the Godfather, though it does have some big plot differences.
It is interesting to think that story telling can be so hampered. Suddenly you find yourself telling an altogether different story than the one you hoped to tell because of constraints and legalities.
It may always be that way. Just an observation.
PS - I started writing this before the new Fantastic Four movie came out. From what I hear, it isn't looking too good. I certainly hate to hear that. The FF may have yet to have a good movie adaptation, but their legacy certainly lives long and deep in the Marvel Universe.
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