Ryan Riley: February 2009 Archives

By Ryan Riley, Contributor

I was proud to see Heath Ledger posthumously win the Best Supporting Actor award at the Oscars on Feb. 22, 2009. It is, in fact, the only reason I would have ever entertained the thought of watching the Oscars at all, and as luck would have it I happened upon that moment during the telecast when I was channel-surfing. I might not be remembering my Academy Awards history correctly, but it seems that Ledger is the first actor (at least in recent memory) to be nominated for an Oscar for playing a character from the genre of sci-fi/fantasy. This speaks volumes to how powerful Ledger's performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" was.

I personally had my doubts about how well Ledger could pull off playing the Joker before "The Dark Knight" came out. His past body of work didn't scream "Joker" to me, and I thought it was a gamble to cast someone not known for edgy roles in that part. I don't think I'm alone when I say that the gamble paid off handsomely, because his portrayal of the Joker floored me. He was that good.

I feel that Ledger truly deserves every honor and award bestowed upon him since his untimely death last year. I stress this point because what I am about to say will seemingly deviate from it. It is my opinion that, had Heath Ledger lived, he would not have been nominated for an Academy Award, even though he definitely deserved the nomination. This is not a slam on Ledger by any means. This is an indictment of the selection process generally used by the panel that selects Academy Award nominees every year. They have a tendency to ignore the increasingly awesome achievements made by films in the sci-fi/fantasy genre and focus strictly on dramatic films for their major nominations, such as Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, etc. Sure, they throw nomination bones like Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects. That's pretty much a given, seeing as how the vast majority of sci-fi/fantasy films are effects-driven. "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" broke down the walls Y2J-style for the Best Picture and Best Director awards back in 2004. But other than the nominations for Ian McKellan (as Gandalf in "Lord of the Rings") and Johnny Depp ( as Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean") the actor categories still seemed unattainable until Ledger came along.

The Academy voters are a slow bunch when it comes to change. With their past voting history, they would have been reticent to follow the lead of other award shows like the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards in nominating Ledger had he still been alive. But since he is dead, they saw fit to nominate him due to a combination of politics and pandering. He deserved the nomination, but it took his death for the Academy to recognize that.

In case you need an example of how snobbish the Academy can be, just look at the last guy to play the Joker on the big screen, Jack Nicholson. He was an Oscar winner prior to Tim Burton's "Batman", and he didn't get any recognition from the Academy for that role (or for his role the same year in the "Chinatown" sequel, "The Two Jakes"). Sure, his performance wasn't nearly as intense as Ledger's, but his performance was at least as good as those of Best Actor nominee Gerard Depardieu (for "Cyrano de Bergerac") and Best Actor winner Kevin Costner (for "Dances with Wolves"). But because of the genre of the film he acted in, he got no love from the Academy.

I'm going to give the Academy the benefit of the doubt with this one, because they seem to be finally warming up to the sci-fi/fantasy genre. The voters could have just nominated him to shut everyone up and selected one of the other nominees from the bunch. They ultimately decided to give the Best Supporting Actor award to the actor that turned in the most powerful performance, and it happened to be Heath Ledger. This was a major change in thinking for the Academy, and I hope this opens the way for more mainstream love of the sci-fi/fantasy genre.

It does help that the movie studios are finally attracting brilliant actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Gary Oldman to act in these types of movies (comic book movies in particular). If the upcoming "Watchmen" is even half as good as the graphic novel that spawned it, I don't think I'd be out of line in demanding that the Academy nominate Zack Snyder for Best Director. And it wouldn't be out of the question to see Downey eligible for a Best Actor award if they ever adapt the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline from the Iron Man comic into movie form. These scenarios are a lot more likely now then they would have been five years ago, and it's largely thanks to Heath Ledger.

By Ryan Riley, Contributor

I haven't been all that impressed with the movie offerings that have been at theaters since last Christmas. I didn't think there would be any movies that would be worth checking out until "Watchmen" on March 6. But I have to say, there are a couple of films coming out this weekend that look pretty good. "Coraline", a Tim Burton-directed animated film based on the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman, looks like an intriguing all-ages film, and "Push", featuring Chris Evans (the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four movies), appears to be a well-executed action movie in the vein of the classic "Scanners". As I was scanning through the other films being released this weekend I noticed that "Fanboys" is being released on a limited amount of movie screens.

"Fanboys" tells the story of a group of friends that are Star Wars fans in 1998, the year before Star Wars Episode I came out. A time when no one could have anticipated how much Jar Jar Binks would negatively affect the good will fans felt toward George Lucas. When they find out that their friend Linus has cancer, they decide to break into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch and pilfer a print of the film so he can see it before he dies. The film stars Sam Huntington ("Superman Returns"), Dan Fogler ("Balls of Fury") and Kristen Bell ("Veronica Mars").

The reason that I am writing this article is that this film has been a long time coming. I remember this film being announced at the San Diego ComicCon back in 2007. I saw the trailer for it and was psyched to see it when it was to originally come out on Aug. 17, 2007. This release date was postponed because the film's director, Kyle Newman, received more funding to shoot additional scenes. It was delayed again to accommodate the schedules of the actors, with reshoots to be directed by Stephen Brill ("The Mighty Ducks") instead of Newman. It was announced later that the cancer storyline would be removed from the film, turning it into a lowbrow road trip film in the vein of "Sex Drive". When Star Wars fans went online to protest the proposed change, Brill responded with a profanity-filled tirade and called them all losers. If there's one thing I've learned in my 35 years on this planet, it's that you can't snarl and bite at the people you are trying to sell your wares to. No good can come of it. Afterward, Newman was brought back to re-edit the film to include the cancer plotline with the newly shot material. Despite the fact that the new cut of the film got rave reviews at the 2008 San Diego ComicCon screening, the release date kept getting pushed back. And now finally, the film has been released, albeit in a small amount of theaters.

I got the chance to see the film recently, and even though there were a couple of scenes that made me cringe more than laugh (the scene where the boys are forced to strip to a Menudo song by a group of Mexican bikers comes to mind), I thought it was pretty darn hilarious overall. Of course, the gags wouldn't have worked as well as they did without the ensemble cast that Newman gathered together. Besides the core cast, there are a ton of celebrity cameos throughout. Newman raided talent from Judd Apatow (Seth Rogen, Will Forte), Kevin Smith (Smith, Jason Mewes & Ethan Suplee), and the TV show "The Office" (Craig Robinson, David Denman) to round out his cast. As great as those guys were in their cameos, it was the inclusion of Star Wars vets Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Ray Park and Star Trek legend William Shatner that really put this Star Wars lovefest over the top.

Still not convinced you should check the film out? OK, I didn't want to have to resort to this, but I know a deal-sealer that might provide an impetus for you: Kristen Bell in a Slave-Leia outfit. You heard me right.

"Fanboys" is playing locally at the Edwards 26 Theater over at the Long Beach Towne Center on Carson St. at the 605 Freeway. Definitely check it out because it's likely to make a quick exit from theaters like "Mallrats" did back in 1995.

By Ryan Riley, Contributor

If you've been to a comic book store lately, you might have noticed that a particular comic book issue with a cameo appearance by a certain newly-elected president going for upwards of $200.00 at comic book stores. Amazing Spider-Man #583 contains a back-up story with Spidey preventing a rather clumsy attempt to take the place of Barack Obama at his inauguration by C-list Spider-Man villain the Chameleon. It is the best-selling single issue of a comic book since, well, the Obama biographic comic from IDW. The issue is in such high demand that a first printing is selling for a king's ransom, and Marvel is releasing a fifth printing of the issue to satisfy all takers.

The creative team on Amazing Spider-Man, writer Zeb Wells & artist Todd Nauck, will be signing copies of the Obama issue over at Pulp Fiction comics on February 14, 2009. So ladies, before your man takes you out for a night on the town for Valentine's Day, humor him with a slight detour over to Pulp Fiction and buy a signed copy.

I recently had the opportunity to ask artist Todd Nauck some questions about the issue. Here's what he had to say regarding the issue and its historic impact on the comic book industry.

Modern Mythology: Who at Marvel came up with the idea for the Obama cameo in Amazing Spider-Man?

Todd Nauck: I'm not sure who exactly. All I know is the Spider-Man editor, Steve Wacker, contacted me to see if I was available to draw a 5-page story.

Modern Mythology: Describe for us the reaction you had when you found out that you were assigned to do this story.

Todd Nauck: When I was first contacted, I didn't even know what it was until the next day. And when I found out, I was a little awestruck. Then when I found out it was running in Amazing Spider-Man #583 the week before the inauguration, I realized this was gonna be big.

Modern Mythology: What's your take on the other comics that have featured Obama that have been released in the last few months (the Savage Dragon appearances, the bio comics)?

Todd Nauck: I didn't read those. I'm actually behind on a lot of my comic book reading. I ought to check those out!

Modern Mythology: Did you expect the Obama guest-appearance issue to sell as well as it has?

Todd Nauck: I knew it would sell well. I figured people who like Obama, whether they read comics or not, would be going to pick this comic up. I didn't expect it to go to five printings, though!