Total Number of Ratings: 6
Learning to Be Less Judgemental... Maybe
Thursday, December 4, 2008 1:41 AM
I am, much to my surprise, a judgmental bastard.
How do I know this? How did I come to such a moment of incisive personal clarity?
Well, I am a huge fan of Clint Eastwood. And in this case, specifically, Clint Eastwood the director*, and to be even more specific, Clint Eastwood the director post-Unforgiven.
(Well, except for Space Cowboys, I don’t know who was responsible for that, but I can’t imagine it was a master filmmaker.)
Being such a big fan of Clint Eastwood’s work, it’s always an exciting time when the release date of his newest film nears. I found myself in such a state of excitement when the release of Changeling, Eastwood’s last work, was announced. I had seen the commercial many times, and watched the trailer and the extended trailer on YouTube. And as I am known to do with things I am excited about, I did some research into Changeling to see what it was all about and that’s when it happened. I found out that Clint Eastwood’s newest picture was written by J. Michael Straczynski.
A little background here.
J. Michael Straczynski is a writer and producer with a long career in Hollywood. He is probably best known for being the creative force behind the Babylon 5 TV series that many people I have met and known are fanatical about but I have never seen even a single frame of. But in some circles (including one of my own) he is a famously polarizing comic book writer.
Straczynski is a comic book writer with a long and checkered track record. He is known as someone who comes up with great concepts that tend to fall apart after the first chapter. He is famous for turning Spider-Man (perhaps the most famous science-based superhero) into the latest in a long line of mystical spider-warriors. He took Peter Parker’s saintly dead girlfriend Gwen Stacey and revealed her to be the secret mother of the Green Goblin’s children. He reimagined the Marvel Universe without Captain America in a story that went... nowhere.
(Which is not to say he hasn’t done some good work – Midnight Nation and Supreme Power were both worthwhile stories and The Twelve gets a lot of praise heaped on it.)
So why did I physically recoil when I saw that Straczynski was the writer of Eastwood’s latest film? Why did I immediately think about not seeing the movie because of it? When did I become such a knee-jerk reactionary? I used to give artist a chance. Artists live and die on the merits of their work, and not their reputation. Or at least that’s how it used to be for me. I used to give a much longer leash.
Maybe it’s because there is so much out there to choose from, so much to consume. There is less time and therefore I’ve become a more discerning purveyor of art. Discerning... that’s a much nicer way to say judgmental, isn’t it?
Either way, I didn't see the movie. But I'll NetFlix it.
I swear!
* I am also a big fan of Clint Eastwood the actor, but that is not pertinent to this story,
Conor,
As you get older, you will become more comfortable in your status as a judgmental bastard. Recoiling from from experiences that have burned you before is a sign of wisdom, not a character flaw.
Most of the stuff I've seen or read from JMS has been crap. Babylon 5 was overwrought, and preachy. The Marvel stuff employed some of the most tortured logic, and poorest characterization mainstream comics of that era had to offer.
The only problem with shunning Changeling based on JMS' involvement is that Eastwood (from what I've read) maintains near total control of every production; right down to the catering. I seriously doubt he'd think twice about making necessary changes to a script.
Perhaps there's room in my Netflix queue as well; but this is his last chance.
your guys whole anti-jms stuff is funny to me, because it's so insanely public that those stories you're complaining about were editorially mandated. jms wanted his name taken off of the last issue of 'one more day'. sins past was quesada's idea. and so on. when he's had (mostly) total creative control on books like the twelve, thor, rising stars, or supreme power, he's knocked it out of the park. thor is probably the best ongoing marvel has (arguably their green lantern).
in short, i think you guys blame him for things that aren't really his fault. just saying!
Hey, I wasn't aware that J.M.S. is also writing the Silver Surfer Movie.
I didn't know there was a chance for a spin-off. (Of course all sorts of projects stop and start.)
I'm guessing that wouldn't tempt you anymore than a Clint Eastwood film.
I really didn't enjoy Babylon 5, and have since avoided most of his other efforts.
In your case, I think you just need to remember -- W.W.M.B.D. or "What Would Majel Barrett Do?"
Majel Barrett, who just recently died, was married to Gene Roddenberry and is the voice of the Enterprise computer on Star Trek. (Okay, who doesn't know this.) When the silly rivalries between Star Trek and Babylon 5 fans were getting to be too much for her, she appear in an episode of Babylon 5 as an act of goodwill.
I always thought this was a nice thing to do, and keeps me feeling better that I don't like J.M.S.'s work, not necessarily because of the guy himself.
It sounds like to me you just hate his work, and not necessarily him. So I say feel proud, and don't feel bad about avoiding it.
But I can understand your conflicting emotions here too. I was bummed when I heard J.M.S. was hired to write the Forbidden Planet remake. I enjoyed the 1956 story (always forcing myself to ignore the portrayal of women in the movie), and was very eager to see a remake. But now that he's writing it, the movie already has this very serious strike against it. I'll see what the trailer looks like, and that might help make up my mind.
I'm the same way, my roommate is the opposite and will see anything, love it and tell me to go see it. His recommendation is meaningless to me now and I've told him so. He even loved Punisher: War Zone.
Respond
I finally saw CHANGELING and I quite enjoyed it. It's an Eastwood film all the way.