Vic Sage

revised 12/21/07 update on comic book/superhero live feature adaptations currently in production: Iron Man (May 2, 2008) - POST-PRODUCTION dir Jon Favreau, with Robert Downey, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick fury. "Based on the Marvel Comics Character; Billionaire playboy industrialist Tony Stark makes weapons for the U.S. government. While out on a field test of one of his inventions, he is wounded, captured and forced to make weapons for the enemy. Instead, he fashions himself a crude power armor to save his life and facilitate his escape. When he returns home, he revises his armor and finds purpose as the Armored Avenger Iron Man!" The Incredible Hulk (June 13, 2008) - POST-PRODUCTION dir Louis Leterrier, script Zak Penn, with Edward Norton & Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) living in shadows, scours the planet for an antidote. Upon returning to civilization, he is pursued by The Abomination (Tim Roth) -- a beast whose powers match The Hulk's own. Banner must call upon the hero within to rescue New York City from total destruction. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (July 11, 2008) - POST-PRODUCTION dir/script Del Toro, with Ron Perlman. Guillermo Del Toro and Mike Mignola have both been stated saying that they would love to complete the Hellboy trilogy off with a third film. However, if Hellboy 2 does not suceed in the theaters, they will make sure the Two-Disk Special Edition will indeed have a proper and suitable ending to relieve any questions of a third film. The Dark Knight (July 18, 2008) - POST-PRODUCTION "Batman (Christian Bale) raises the stakes in his war on crime in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight." With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker (Heath Ledger)." The rumored third Batman film is to be called "Shadow of the Bat" and is likely to be released in 2011. Punisher War Zone (Sept 12, 2008) - fILMING NOW dir Lexi Alexander, scr Holloway/Marcum, with Ray Stephenson replacing Tom Jane. "Continuing his crusade to punish violent criminals in America, former FBI agent Frank Castle arrives in New York to take on a underworld boss who plots to take control of the underworld." The Spirit (Jan 16, 2009)- FILMING NOW Writer/Director Frank Miller, with Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson. "Rookie cop Denny Colt returns from the beyond as The Spirit, a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces in Central City." Watchmen (MARCH 6, 2009) - FILMING NOW dir Zack Snyder, scrpt Alex Tse/ David Hayter;with Matthew Goode/Ozymandias, Billy Crudup/Dr. Manhattan, Jackie Earle Haley/Rorschach, Carla Gugino/Silk Spectre "Based on the landmark Alan Moore comic book series... In a gritty and alternate 1985 the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown, but after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so discover a deeper and far more diabolical plot." -------------------------------------------- currently in pre-production: The Flash (2008) - PRE-PRODUCTION dir: David Dobkin / script David Goyer While touring the crime scene lab of his uncle, Barry Allen, teenager Wally West is doused in chemicals after a lightning bolt strikes them, which enables him to run faster than any other human being on earth. Becoming the Flash, Wally sets out to protect the people of his city from the villainous threats that arise JLA (2010) - PRE-PRODUCTION dir: George Miller / script: Kieran & Michele Mulroney Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash and other superheroes unite to to fight against evil forces. Sin City 2 (2008) - PRE-PRODUCTION aka "A Dame To Kill For"; Miller/Rodriguez "The film's plot follows multiple storylines: "A Dame to Kill For" is a prequel to "The Big Fat Kill", and follows Dwight (Clive Owen) and his former love Ava Lord (Rachel Weisz), who betrayed him and ended their relationship for a wealthier man. After Ava frames Dwight for the murder of her husband, he seeks to clear his name, with help from Marv. Another storyline follows Nancy (Jessica Alba) as she grieves the death of Detective Hartigan, after the events of "That Yellow Bastard". " Sin City 3 (2009) - PRE-PRODUCTION Miller/Rodriguez. On a dark night in Sin City, an ex-Navy SEAL named Wallace (Johnny Depp?)saved a young woman, Esther, from killing herself. After a night on the town, she was kidnapped by mysterious people. May God have mercy on those who stand in Wallace's way... Thor (2009) - PRE-PRODUCTION dir Matthew Vaughn, script Mark Protosevich, with Kevin McKidd (?) "Partially disabled medical student Dr. Donald Blake discovers his heretofore unknown alter ego, the Norse warrior, Thor." X-MEN ORIGINS: Wolverine (May 1, 2009) - PRE-PRODUCTION dir Gavin Hood; script David Benoiff, with Hugh Jackman, Brian Cox, Ken Watanabe. This is a prequel to the X-Men series. "The mutant known as Wolverine breaks off into his off spin-off film from the successful X-MEN! franchise. Hugh Jackman (X1, X2, Van Helsing) returns as Logan/ Wolverine-A mutant with regenerative powers, three claws on each hand and a skeleton all laced with the rare metal known as adamantium. Logan struggles to find the secrets to his past. After learning little information through the help of Charles Xavier (X2's Patrick Stewart), Logan takes his search even further by learning the full truth of his origin, while also heading in a bold, new direction." ------------------------------ projects that have been announced or are in development: Captain America (July, 2009) -ANNOUNCED script by David Self; director Nick Cassavetes; production is expected to begin by mid-2008 Based on the Marvel Comics character from the second World War, a mild-mannered young soldier named Steve Rogers volunteers for a special Super Soldier program for the US Army. Donning the colors of Old Glory, Captain America leapt into the hearts and souls of every American bringing hope and justice to a war-weary nation. Deathlok (2008) - ANNOUNCED Script by Raven Metzner, rewrite by David Self. A man unwittingly finds himself the subject of an experiment which slowly turns him into a cyborg, with computer and robotic parts replacing nearly his entire body... Ghost Rider 2 (2009) - ANNOUNCED. No info available. Ghost Who Walks, The (2009) - ANNOUNCED The Phantom, script by DeSouza Green Hornet (2009) - ANNOUNCED. No info available. Hands of Shang-Chi, The (2009) - ANNOUNCED dir W-P Yuen, script McKenna bros. Based on the Marvel Comics hero, a young Kung-Fu master learns his father is the world's worst criminal Iron Fist (2008) - ANNOUNCED dir Steve Carr, script John Turman, with Ray Park. "A martial artist fights evil with his consummate fighting skill backed with the ability to strike with a punch of superhuman force." Luke Cage (2009) - ANNOUNCED dir John Singleton, script Ben Ramsay, with Tyrese Gibson The comic book adaptation is about a former gang member who is framed for a crime he didn't commit. In prison, he volunteers for a medical experiment that goes awry, giving him superstrength and bulletproof skin. Using his newfound powers, Luke Cage escapes and becomes a hero for hire. Shazam! (2009) - ANNOUNCED dir Peter Segal, script William Goldman/John August, with The Rock as "Black Adam" Young Billy Batson finds himself gifted with the power of the wizard Shazam to fight against the forces of evil. With the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and speed of Mercury, he is the holder of the power of S.H.A.Z.A.M; he is Captain Marvel. Silver Surfer (2009) - ANNOUNCED dir Alex Proyas; scrpt JM Straczynski; a spinoff from FF 2 Spider-Man 4 (2009) - ANNOUNCED script: James Vanderbilt Superman: The Man of Steel (June, 2009) - ANNOUNCED followup, dir Bryan Singer, with same cast as "Superman Returns". Wonder Woman (2009) - ANNOUNCED Joss Whedon off project ------------------------------------- not much info: Ant-Man - IN DEVELOPMENT writers Edward Wright & Joe Cornish, and director Edgar Wright The Avengers -IN DEVELOPMENT Writer Zak Penn Nick Fury (2008) - ANNOUNCED Sgt. Rock (2008) - ANNOUNCED. no info Sub-Mariner (2010) - ANNOUNCED. no info. Teen Titans (2009) - IN DEVELOPMENT Witchblade, The (2009) - ANNOUNCED

yeah, yeah... that and $2 gets me on the bus.

soupcan wrote: I liked 'Star 80'. well, I like it, too. I like any movie where mariel hemingway is naked.

Lincoln center is hosting an 8-film Bob Fosse festival over the christmas week: http://news.yahoo.com/s/playbill/20071220/en_playbill/113682;_ylt=Aoyo50ubZ4Vc_rU3.GFt0.IE1vAI "Give a Girl a Break" "My Sister Eileen" "The Pajama Game" "Sweet Charity" "Cabaret" "Lenny" "All That Jazz" "Star 80" Kiss Me, Kate (1953) - Not included in the festival, this 3-D adaptaton of the Broadway hit featured Fosse's first movie role and screen choreography (uncredited), appearing as "Hortensio" and choreographing his own dance. Give a Girl a Break (1953) - the same year, he co-starred in this obscure MGM tuner with Debbie Reynolds, again choreographing his own numbers. My Sister Eileen (1955) - another co-starring musical role, but this time he gets his first screen credit for choreography. The Pajama Game(1957) - he adapted his choreography from his first Broadway hit (and the first show he ever choreographed). Including his famous "steamed heat" number. Damn Yankees (1958) - Not included in the festival, he adapted his choreography from his next Broadway show, also a hit. He also has a dance number with his wife Gwen Verdon. Show features his "whatever Lola wants" number How to Succeed in Business in Business (1967)- Not included in the festival He was not involved in the film version, which just recreated his choreography. After "Pajama Game" and "Damn Yankees", from 1956 - 1962, he worked mostly on Broadway, choreographing "Bells are ringing" (56), "New Girl in Town" (57), "Redhead" (59) (he also directed), "How to Succeed" (61), "Little Me" (62) (he also directed) and "Sweet Charity" (62) (also conceiving and directing). Sweet Charity (1969) - he directed and choreographed the movie adaptation of his Broadway hit, with Shirley MacLaine. features "Hey, Big Spender". Cabaret (1972) - Fosse directed and choreographed this film adaptation (a show he did NOT do on Broadway), and as a result pulled off the Director's Triple Crown in 1973, a still unmatched accomplishment. He received the Oscar for directing "Cabaret", the Tony for directing "Pippin" on Broadway, and an Emmy for directing the musical TV special "Liza with a Z", all in the same year. Never before, and never since. Lenny (1974) - Fosse's grounbreaking film work on the bio of Lenny Bruce earned him a host of other accolades. The Little Prince (1974) -Not included in the festival - the same year, Fosse was featured in a bizarre adaptation of this chldren's book, and his choreography and performance of "the snake" was memorable and not a little disturbing. During this period, he was also developing another Broadway musical for his estranged wife, Gwen Verdon, and "Chicago" came to Broadway in 1975. He tried for years to get a film adaptation going, but it never happened during his lifetime. Somewhere in this time of overwork, he had a near-fatal heart attack. As a result, he created his masterpiece. All That Jazz (1979) - Fosse tells the thinly veiled story of his life in spectacular musical theater terms. One of the greatest movie musicals ever made. Star 80 (1983) - he followed up with another biopic, this one of murdered Playmate Dorothy Stratton. Star 80 was neither a critical nor commercial success. Nor was his last Broadway musical, BIG DEAL. He died of another heart attack in 1986

that's cuz the roller coaster picks up speed as it goes down hill.

Imagine a Grisham-style legal thriller, but with moral and emotional complexity and depth of character. Thougtful and compelling. Clooney is terrific. Tom Wilkenson even more so. highly recommended.

it just came out on DVD. I once again refer it to your attention.

BEOWULF was pretty good, contrary to popular opinion. The movie, i mean. With a script by Neil Gaiman, one of the best fantasists of his generation, the story finally made some kind of sense to me. I wasn't crazy about the "motion-capture" style of animation, but it did allow them to create imagery that would've been impossible with live action. There's also a great song over the final credits, sung by Idina Menzel, "a hero always comes home".

* Jimmy Cagney said it, as the Queeg-like Captain, to Henry Fonda, in MR. ROBERTS what do i win?

="Frayed Knot"]="Vic Sage"]As for DHs, if they put up HOF worthy numbers, then they should get votes accordingly. Their defense cannot help them, obviously, but neither should their lack of defensive opportunities be held against them. I think it should - not to the point of making them ineligible but at least to a certain extent. The reason they're DHs is because they're not good enough/nimble enough to play anywhere else, even at the less impotant corner spots. To me that it means they'll need to make an even bigger offensive contribution than even a non-descript fielder to get over the bar. The offense is still going to be the main make-or-break factor. But I see being a full-time DH as a bigger strike against borderline candidates than I would almost anyone who played somewhere with a hunk of leather on one hand. Yes, some guys are DHs because of defensive insufficiencies, but others are DHs despite being decent fielders, because they are not as good as somebody else at their position on their team; some are good fielders but DH because of persistent injury problems. It's up to the manager to decide what position a player gets to play. And DH is a position. It has certain demands unique to the position. Some would argue that its harder to hit when you're uninvolved in the game. Its like pinch-hitting 4 times a game. Now, certainly, a borderline HOF candidate who was primarily a DH doesn't have the advantage that another borderline player may have who was a good defensive player. And that's an appropriate disadvantage. But i think anybody who counts Molitor's years as a DH against him, or those of Edgar Martinez or Frank Thomas, is just flat out wrong. They played their position and excelled at it.

]unnecessarily spent on a crap pitcher But you're begging the question: why is the money being "unnecessarily" spent? And how do you define "crap"? With Pedro and El Duque likely to miss at least 20 starts between them, we'll need another starter in ADDITION to a 5th starter. So, i'd say the money would be "necessarily" spent, because I haven't seen anything from our kiddie corps that gives me confidence that any of them could give us 200+ even merely mediocre innings. And i don't think guys who produce around league average are "crap"... at least not compared to kids who haven't shown any indication of even being mediocre.

]if i give up that run as a poor fielding shortstop or a poor fielding pitcher, its still the same run that my poor fielding has given up. agreed. But in the absence of reliable stats to determine defensive runs, i simply weight the positions by their defensive "importance" (i.e., the positions where most defensive opportunities exist -- up the middle) a run is a run. but until you can measure those runs, the only thing to do is measure the opportunities. As for DHs, if they put up HOF worthy numbers, then they should get votes accordingly. Their defense cannot help them, obviously, but neither should their lack of defensive opportunities be held against them.

what's going on with Freddie Garcia? Is he supposed to be coming back from surgery this year? I'd sooner take a flyer on him, or Mark Prior, then either Lohse or Silva.

i don't know why anyone thinks signing an "innings eater" is going to block anybody from getting into a rotation with Pedro and El Duque as 2 of its mainstays. There will be plenty of opportunities for a "6th starter" this year.

So Rick Wise is a catcher, too? Great pickup!! ]So, we've added Wise, Stokes, and Register to our bullpen mix. None of these are a big splash, but bullpens are splash-resistant things, and it's very often innocuous moves that make the difference with them yes, innocuous moves like Bell+Ring for Adkins+Johnson. But a good bullpen is often a matter of just getting guys at the right time, and being willing to dump guys going south to try others. That's why its hard to have a good one year-in and year-out.

yes, but how much should it detract? And does it detract the same whether a guy is a 1bman or a SS? First, one would have to agree as to the relative value of "fielding" (not "defense") to a player's total contribution. There are a number of studies and stats on this issue,none of which are definitive or flawless by any means. But in the aggregate, the quantitative analysis suggests that: if BASEBALL = 50% OFFENSE + 50% DEFENSE (because every run scored is a run surrendered), and DEFENSE = 75% PITCHING and 25% FIELDING (because the pitcher can dominate a game irrespective of fielding, but even a great defense can't defend against HRs, BBs and line drives to the gaps), and therefore FIELDING is 25% OF 50% = 12.5%, and the 12.5% of BASEBALL that is Fielding is distributed amongst 9 fielders at a time, with the greatest share of that 12.5% going to the catcher, ss and cf, then the fielding of corner players would have to have been so horrific to outweigh their offensive contributions to detract from their major leage legacy that they couldn't actually hold a job on the ML level. And while the fielding of up-the-middle players weighs more heavily, it still would take a pretty bad fielder at important defensive position to outweigh HOF offensive production. In such a case, that up-the-middle player is generally moved to a corner slot or dh, so it becomes a moot point. Contrarily, an up-the-middle defender of such a great magnitude as to be considered HOF worthy would still have to produce a significant amount of offense to be a legit candidate. So, no. Frank thomas is a HOFer and Keith Hernandez is not. And Ozzie Smith became a good offensive player in St.L. Concepcion never really did. So Ozzie is in and Davey is out.

there i agree with you.

current managers and coaches were nowhere on the list of proposed voters that either I or 83 put forth.

what you refuse to acknowledge is that they've eliminated about 10,000 of those "cheap seats", making them scarce and thus harder to obtain and fewer people will have access to them. Of course, this "scarcity" is the Mets right. But lets not pretend its fair to those least in a position to do anything about it.

there are any number of statistics voters could use in determining their HOF votes. Its just that many members of the BBWAA are too stupid to understand or use them, and prefer to rely on their subjective ancedotal views. And while stats would not be the sole basis for a determination, because deciding which stats are of must relevance and how best to interpet them are all matters of debate, they should sure as shit establish a rebuttable presumption of either inclusion or exclusion that those who want to assert "intangibles" would have an opportunity to challenge. If we can at least shift the debate to figuring out which accomplishments (objectively measured) should get a player into the HOF, instead of dealing with "I know a HOFer when I see one!" arguments, then that would be cause for some meaure of satisfaction.

Nymr83 wrote: communist propoganda generally gets a rise out of me, yes. in any case we're talking about a baseball game here ... please explain how it is "exploitation" or even "unfair" to raise prices on an entertainment for which there are many alternatives? if people don't like the ticket prices they can spend their money at the movie theater, buy a video game, read a book, etc. people "vote" on ticket prices with their wallets as it should be. your typical bullshit. the "exploitation" comes from excluding those least able to buy their product. They cut seating capacity by 10,000 seats. These aren't field level box seats they're cutting... its the cheap seats in the upper deck. So the working poor, who used to take their family to 1 or 2 games a year for $5/ticket have been priced out of the market, so Wilpon can sell more luxury boxes. These families aren't deciding between a Mets game and a book. Books don't cost $100 (4 tix, plus a program, and train fare to our new park). They'll have to choose between a Mets game and rent. And your "let them eat cake" response that they should "go watch it on TV" doesn't deal with (1) the fact that Mets games are mostly on pay cable, not free broadcast, so it still costs alot to see them, even on tv, and (2) the fact that going to a game is a different experience entirely... for some of us, a life-changing experience... that working class people will be effectively excluded from. I understand that this is fine with you. But as i said to Valadius, if he wants a society with some kind of morality built into the allocation of resources, a pure market economy is not the way to go.

everybody is a hero in their own story. Or, as Jeff Goldblum says in THE BIG CHILL: "Don't knock rationalization. Its more important than sex. Did you ever try and go a week without a good rationalization?" As cynical as i am, i'm willing to give Andy the benefit of the doubt in saying that he may truly believe he was "doing it for the team". He seems that sort of fellow to me. Regardless, HGH is not legally prescribed for healing, so Andy went thru the black market. In so doing, he had to know he was doing something wrong at the time, and he should be held accountable. And quick healing, as Rotty points out, IS a competitive advantage. So shut up already, Mr. Pettitte.

Nymr83 wrote: ]because they do so well with All-star balloting? but the writers who gave Palmiero a gold glove for playing 15 games at 1B that year do an excellent job. the fans would collectively do just as good a job as the guys who do it now. oh, i agree. which is why i want to minimize the vote of sportswriters, not EXPAND it, or throw it open to other know-nothings.

Nymr83 wrote: exploitation? please. watch on tv or not at all if you don't like the prices, which by the way are still a hell of alot lower than the other sports. i just KNEW i'd get a rise out of you with that one. And Valadius, why wouldn't it be about money? Its a comercial enterprise, not a non-profit institution with a public purpose. If you want your economy to have some morality, NYM83 will deride you like the pinko you are!

Nymr83 wrote: i think the general fan population should get some SMALL say in things. because they do so well with All-star balloting? we get a "say" by arguing about the selections. That should be sufficient.