Character of the Month: November 2017: Jigsaw (Marvel Comics)

Hello, and welcome once again to the Blog Of Hell’s Kitchen. This week, we have a Character Of The Month about Jigsaw, who’s considered The Punisher’s archnemesis. Jigsaw will be appearing in November’s Marvel’s The Punisher as the main villain of the show and will be portrayed by Ben Barnes, which is why I’ve selected him for this Character Of The Month article. Jigsaw has only once before appeared in live-action, played by Dominic West in 2008’s Punisher: War Zone. However, as per usual, this article will only go over the featured character’s history from the comics, and not what they’ve done in other film and television projects. So, without further ado, let’s get to it.

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Jigsaw was born Billy Russo. At the age of ten, Russo’s abusive father kicked him out of the family’s home. After he was kicked out of his home, he joined the New York Italian Mafia and went on to become one of their top hitmen. His good looks earned him the nickname “Billy the Beaut” from his cohorts in the mob. He later married a woman named Susan. Billy and Susan had a son named Henry, and Billy would routinely beat both Susan and Henry. Once, Billy forced Henry to drown kittens he had brought home under threat of Billy shooting Susan.

After this, Billy was hired to take part in a gangland execution that inadvertently led to the deaths of Frank Castle’s wife and children. Russo was again hired after the execution to kill everyone close to Castle, as well as Castle himself. The attempt ends with everyone close to Castle, except Castle himself, killed in an explosion set up by Russo at Castle’s home. Hours after the explosion, Castle tracked Russo down to a Mafia-run nightclub. Castle gunned down all of Russo’s associates but decided to leave Russo alive so he could send a message to the Mafia, but not before knocking Russo through a pane of glass, which caused deep cuts over most of Russo’s face, which earned him the nickname “Jigsaw”.

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Alright, thank you so much for reading. If you want to see more of Jigsaw, you can find him in Marvel’s The Punisher, which will debut on Netflix November 17th. Please remember to tune in Wednesday for my Expectations of Thor: Ragnarok, and again on Friday for my theories on Thor: Ragnarok. Thank you again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

Ghost Corps Cast

Hey, everyone, and welcome to this, the final week of Horror Month 2017. And with this, I’m finally going to go over who I would really want in a Ghost Corps movie. I expect this to be short because I outline a lot I want in the characters in the last article, so let’s get into it. Oh, and like I said last article, I want Ghost Corps in New Orleans. It comes in later, that’s why I mention it.

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Director

James Wan

Now, James Wan was one of my directorial examples in the last article, when I talked about him and Scott Derrickson leveling out the inevitably cheesy-seeming scripts of Aquaman and Doctor Strange with some real action, kind of like how Marvel Studios hires Taika Waititi to balance the exceedingly dark script of Thor: Ragnarok with some comedy. I think he’d just be perfect to even out that inevitably script with some horror and action. See, that was Paul Feig’s big problem with Ghostbusters: he just wasn’t good enough to balance out the ridiculous shit in the script.

Ghostbusters

Matthew McConaughey, Chris Pratt, Daniel Dae Kim, Donald Glover

Obviously McConaughey would be the leader, he’s one of the most apt seeming actors in Hollywood, he just oozes the confidence needed to make one seem like a convincing leader. He’s also from the Cajun area of the country, so he’d have a convincing knowledge of the area. Chris Pratt is there for some comedic relief. He knows the villain well, is maybe he could have worked for the villain in the past, maybe as a weird voodoo priest from suburban Ohio, or just something funny like that.Daniel Dae Kim would kind of be the Dom Toretto of the gang, in manor that Dom Toretto was very serious in the original Fast and Furious movies. He could be the kind of weapons designer of the team, the Jillian Holtzman, but a lot less crazy. And finally, Donald Glover would be the kind of bridge between everyone, he’d get along with the nerdy side of Chris Pratt’s character, the weapons and intelligence side of Daniel Dae Kim’s character, and he would be the only other Ghostbuster, alongside Matthew McConaughey, before Chirs and Daniel join throughout the film.

The Villain

Idris Elba

Now, like I said in the last article, I want a type of voodoo mobster in the villain role. I said in the last section that I want Chris Pratt’s character to have worked for him as a voodoo priest, giving him an edge. I say Elba’s character would want to take over the world with spirits. I think by the end of the movie, Elba would have gained the voodoo knowledge to simply bring the spirits to Earth himself, instead of needing Chris Pratt’s character to do it for him. Then, the Ghostbusters would come together, and kick some serious voodoo ass, given their combined knowledge. I’d only have Elba in one film though, save for a reference or two in the next film.

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Alright, guys, thanks for reading, and thanks for sticking with me throughout Horror Week 2017. I’m thinking about doing either the Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter franchise for next Horror Month in October 2018, or the Universal Monsters franchise. But I’m open for suggestions. Okay, again, thanks for reading, see you next week for my Character Of The Month on Steppenwolf, and remember, have a nerdy day.

Ghost Corps: How To Save It

Hello, and welcome to my continuation of Horror Month my Ghostbusters 4 Fancast article. This is all about a possible Ghost Corps film, which because of how atrociously the new Ghostbusters film did in the box office, so let’s get started right away.

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A change of location would do wonders for the film, actually seeing the impact and influence of Ghostbusters teams in other parts of the United States and the world. San Francisco and New Orleans would be prime opportunities for the franchise, as they are regarded (at least throughout the U.S.) as home to the wacky, weird, and mystical, with San Francisco being the locale of the Winchester House (one of the most famous horror attractions in the world), among other scary places, and New Orleans is the “sin capital of the world”  tied with Las Vegas, and home to countless proprietors of black magic and voodoo, which would be fantastic if that was factored in some way to the film. If NOLA is the place they decide to use, then and only then I would be good with Channing Tatum being the film, considering his Cajun roots, his ability to know the area, and his other, more prominent ability to do a great Cajun accent.

Most people would put Matthew McConaughey in the resident representative of the French Quarter, but Ghost Corps absolutely needs young, talented, likable stars that are appreciated by the generations that grew up with the original Ghostbusters films, and the current generation who would be the ultimate deciders of the societal success of the film, which ends up creating the SPF, or Sequel Potential Factor. Spider-Man 3 made bank, but since the film’s release, the generation that were kids when the film was released into theaters (kids born from 1990 all the way to 2002), has absolutely obliterated the film in a critical sense. I don’t blame anyone of them at all. Big box office response doesn’t mean it’s a good film, simple as that. Back to the stars, they need guys under forty (or guys that can look under forty), so the generations of the past and present can agree on a cast, if that makes sense. I’m talking about guys like Michael B. Jordan, Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Daniel Dae Kim, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Hardy, and Joaquin Phoenix. Again, I know about half of these guys are older than the forty-year-old mark, but all of them could pull off being in their mid- to- late thirties with relative ease. We won’t want four stars exactly like that, though, we would need some variation in personality, age, going younger than 40 on all but maybe one character.

For the director however, I would want someone who’s more well known for horror than comedy, action, or adventure, so I would pick Scott Derrickson or James Wan. The reason I would want someone more inclined to horror so they can even out the inevitably joke-heavy script. This idea came to me when I first heard about Taika Waititi, a primarily comedic director, was hired to direct Thor: Ragnarok to bring a lighter tactic to smooth out the reportedly dark edges of the third film and final film in the Thor trilogy’s script. I use this idea in reverse, hiring a horror director to helm a comedic script, instead of a comedic director heading up a darker script. Both Derrickson and Wan will have had comic book movies coming out within thirty months of each other, with Derrickson’s Doctor Strange hitting theaters back in November last year, and Wan’s Aquaman with Jason Momoa and Amber Heard in the two lead roles. Watch these films closely, especially if these guys actually end up on the shortlist for helming Ghost Corps, because these films look like they could have a lot in common with Ghost Corps. I would have the villain be very Papa Mid-Nite esque (Meaning a kind of voodoo mafia hitman, Frankie the Eunuch from Preacher mixed with 45% of Bayou population) (Also, Papa Mid-Nite is one of John Constantine’s most formidable and interesting villains. Harold Perrineau plays him perfectly in the short-lived Constantine show) if they went in the New Orleans setting, as in I would want a suave mobster- type guy with a knowledge of black magic, kind of what I would want from the character of Levi from my Ghostbusters III, but must more devious. So, to recap;

1. Get a horror director to even the script out
2. Hire likable thirty-something actors to reign in the cast of this mega-franchise
3. A voodoo mobster badass villain
4. A locale associated with horror
5. Sequel Potential Factor accounted for in the script

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Alrighty, as always, I’ve had a lot of fun writing this. Expect the Character Of The Month for June 2017 next week, which will be on Danny Huston’s character, who’s name escapes me at the moment. Anyways, thanks for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

Ghostbusters 4 Fancast

Hello, and welcome to this second edition of Horror Month 2017, and today, we’re going over how terrible last year’s Gohstbuster was for the franchise, and how I could easily change it for the better. So, let’s get to it.

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So I just watched the Melissa McCarthy Ghostbusters trailer again, and I read a couple reviews, to prepare for this article, because I didn’t want to watch the movie again. They aren’t the good kind of trailer, though. It like the ones that rednecks live in with their sisters wives; filled with crap and crazy people we laugh at and not with. It was like the movie equivalent of Honey Boo Boo on the Society’s-Bullshit meter. The original trailer was okay for about twenty seconds, until I realized the only similarities the first and second films have to the third are that they are Ghostbusters, and one’s black. Go, watch, take your time, get some popcorn, and put that trailer on a hour long loop. I mean, three of my six female comedians that I actually like are in the movie, and I still hated it. So, my theory is, scrap it all, and make a new one in five to seven years, and let me explain my pitch;

Okay, so, Ghostbuster 4 should start with a variation of the original Ghostbusters III script. You know, the one when they go to a different dimension and a different version of Manhattan called “Manhellton”, where every citizen is a ghoulish version of the original inhabitants. Since The Flash is currently covering the whole dimensional rift thing, and the DCEU films seem to be getting close to that with Ezra Miller’s Flash appearing in Batfleck’s sweet dreams of torture and dead sidekicks in Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, let’s change the plot a little, just to avoid claims of plagiarism. Here’s a description of my GB4;

“The Ghostbusters return to live action cinema for the first time in over twenty-five years with Ghostbusters III. The original has spawned countless other sects of Ghostbusters across the globe, and at the forefront of these teams, the successors of the Manhattan team, lead by former Marine and holder of multiple doctorates Wallace Zeddemore, the nephew of original Ghostbuster Winston Zeddemore, who is accompanied by his on and off girlfriend Vanessa, smooth talking occult expert and street wise con man, Levi, and acclaimed particle physicist Oscar Barrett, Dana’s son. The team is forced to advance to the astral plane where ghosts are seemingly leaking into the real world from, and find the ‘ghostopia’ of ‘Manhellton’, a ghoulish variation of Manhattan which is ruled by Satan himself. The team, with very little help able to be procured from Winston and Ray, but also with the help of the minor angel, Samael, must defeat the Lord Of The Underworld and his fiendish demons in order to prevent the incursion of the two planes and literal hell on Earth.”

Okay, not to toot my own horn, but I kinda came up with that as I went along, and I really like it. I would watch the crap out of that movie. Okay, let’s get the fancasting.

DIRECTOR: EDGAR WRIGHT

I really enjoyed what Wright did with the Cornetto Trilogy, and I think they all have the comedy to action ratio I would be looking for in the film, except I would want to scale the humor down to a PG-13 level, so it would be more marketable to the younger generation, and so it would be more similar in tone to the first and second Ghostbusters, but slightly more gritty to appeal more to the millennials.

ALTERNATE PICKS: Doug Liman, Rupert Wyatt, Joe & Anthony Russo, Shane Black,                                                        David Leitch

ANTHONY MACKIE AS WALLACE ZEDDEMORE

Mackie is probably most well known as Falcon from the Marvel movies. My theory of Mackie is that he’s shown plenty of leading man potential in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, so he might do good. Plus, I don’t want to go the 4 megastars route, and Mackie’s a nice middle ground of “megastar” and “major supporting actor”. Another bonus is that he’s had quite a bit of experience with franchises, appearing in 4 Marvel films thus far. The basis of the character would be the original plan for Winston Zeddemore, which was to be a former Marine or former member of the Navy, depending on where you read, and to have multiple doctorates.

ALTERNATE PICKS: Michael Jai White, D.B. Woodside, Michael B. Jordan

MORENA BACCARIN AS VANESSA

When she’s not portraying twelve comic book characters at once, she kicking ass. She give off the strong female lead vibe, like in Deadpool and Serenity. She’s got an assload of charisma and wit. And, she fills my slot of a female member on the team.

ALTERNATE PICKS: Evangeline Lilly, Scarlett Johansson

OSCAR ISAAC AS LEVI

I was thinking about Star Wars while writing this, got on the subject of Poe Dameron, and started to realized how he could very much play a cunning anti-hero type. He would have to amplify the suave and fox-like attributes of the Dameron character. I would really like if Isaac had just a tinge of a Guatemalan accent.

ALTERNATE PICKS: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morris Chesnut, Joaquin Phoenix

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT AS OSCAR BARRETT

I really love most of his movies, most of all Inception and The Walk. He’s a very eloquent actor, but he can seem like a normal guy. I wanted a young Reed Richards type for this role. The Oscar Barrett character is actually returning from the first Ghostbusters film, as the son of Dana Barrett, and the object of Gozer’s desire, so factoring in that, like he’s still affected by Gozer’s influence, as in constant nightmare would be interesting to see. In the original GB3 script, Oscar is actually a Ghostbuster.

ALTERNATE PICKS: Oscar Isaac, Joaquin Phoenix

CHRISTOPHER ECCELSTON AS SATAN

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why the goofiest Doctor ever and the worst MCU villain ever, even among the ever-worsening roster of MCU villain?  Well, Eccelston is just what I’m looking for in the character; British enough to be evil, snarky enough to be funny in a couple of scenes, like yelling about letting the Ghostbusters get away or something like that, and I want the Devil to seem a little dorkier.

ALTERNATE PICKS: Mark Hamill, Jude Law, Joaquin Phoenix

CHARLIE DAY AS SAMAEL

I want a rumpled, kind of crazy uncle that’s your mom’s youngest brother thing going on. Like Mark Zuckerberg with hot Cheetos stuck on his hair and clothes, like a white Donald Glover in The Martian; exactly as he is in It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. In an alternate take with Michael Peña, he would kind of be a hyper, friendly guy, just like he was in Ant-Man.

ALTERNATE PICKS: Michael Peña

DAN AYKROYD AND ERNIE HUDSON AS RAY STANTZ AND WINSTON ZEDDEMORE (RESPECTIVELY)

My God, Aykroyd, the years have been terrible to you. Ernie, on the other hand, looks great. This is more omission than addition to cast, in the fact that Bill Murray doesn’t want to return, and that Harold Ramis is dead. It would be much cheaper for the studio to just say Venkman and Egon are just in other parts of the world, training new Ghostbusters, then to have their likeness on a CG ghost or something. Plus, it would be a nice nod to the characters and fans.

THE VERDICT

Listen, I’m not opposed to an all-female Ghostbusters, nor another all-male Ghostbusters movie, but the way it seems, considering the outlandish wackiness of the trailer, and the Ghost Corps losing the Russo Brothers to Avengers: Infinity War: Part 1 and Part 2, things are looking low for the franchise.  But considering Ghostbusters is all but wrapped, we need to look to Ghost Corps, it’s the franchise’s only hope now, and consider how bad Ghostbusters went over. Ghost Corps needs to both distance itself from this shitstorm, but also stay close to the core material of Ghostbusters I and II.

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And that’s it for now. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next Friday for my continuation of Horror Month 2017 with my Ghost Corps editorial. I’m having fun with this series, but honestly, I can wait for November, so we can get to Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League. Anyways, see you later, and remember, have a nerdy day.

Featured News: September 2017

Welcome once again to another edition of Featured News. First, we have some key roles cast for the new Titans TV show. Secondly, we have news from HBO concerning a Watchmen TV series. Finally, we have some news concerning who will be in the director’s chair for the sequel to Suicide Squad. So without any further ado, let’s get into it.

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First off, we have some casting decisions for some very important characters for the new Titans TV show on DC’s soon-to-be-released streaming company. Brenton Thwaites (Gods Of Egypt) will star as Dick Grayson/ Robin/ Nightwing and will serve the leader of the Titans. Anna Diop (24: Legacy) will star as Koriand’r/ Starfire, Titan and Grayson’s love interest in the comics. Teagan Croft (The Osiris Child) will be playing Rachel Roth/ Raven, a sorceress, and Titan. Other recurring characters include Alan Ritchson (Blue Mountain State) and Minka Kelly (500 Days Of Summer) will play iconic DC Comics duo, Hank Hall, and Dawn Granger, also known as Hawk and Dove, and Lindsey Gort (The Carrie Diaries) will play Amy Rohrbach, a police detective that is Dick Grayson’s new partner. Two members of the main cast that has yet to be cast are Garfield Logan/ Beast Boy and Barbara Gordon/ Oracle, but those spots are expected to be filled by the end of October.

Secondly, HBO has revealed some news concerning a Watchmen TV show that was reportedly in development from Lost producer Damon Lindelof. HBO has revealed that they have officially ordered a pilot for the Watchmen show, and have also commissioned backup scripts for the pilot. Lindelof has also revealed he has started to hire writers for the show’s writers’ room and says the casting process will begin in the coming weeks. HBO has also confirmed that Zack Snyder is no longer involved in the making of the show on HBO.

Finally, we have some news concerning who will be in the director’s chair for the sequel to Suicide Squad. Gavin O’Connor has been hired as the writer and director of the sequel, which is tentatively named Suicide Squad 2, or as I like to call it, Tuicide Squad.  O’Connor’s last film, The Accountant, made about 4 times its budget and is a personal favorite of mind, but I’m not sure if the dark and gritty aspects of that film are right for a movie with a human crocodile, Margot Robbie, and Hawkeye with bullets. I’m sure O’Connor is able to change his style, but almost all of his movies have the same feel. Also, he is writing and directing the movie all by himself, which was a big reason why David Ayer’s Suicide Squad wasn’t as great as it could be. Coincidentally, Bill Dubuque, the main writer of The Accountant, will also be taking a role in the DCEU as well, as he has been hired as the head writer on the Chris McKay Nightwing film.

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Alright, guys, thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Please remember to come back Friday for my continuation of Horror Month 2017, which will be a fancast of a fictional Ghostbusters 3, which takes up the same storyline as Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2, and will throw Ghostbusters (2015) out the window. Alright, again, thank you once again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.