Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Links - 13th February 2024 (1 - Get Woke, Go Broke)

Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Dominates Box Office, Suggesting Fans Are Fed Up With Woke Propaganda

The Corporate Media Blames COVID, Not Woke Content, For Diminishing Box Office Retuns : KotakuInAction

Victor Davis Hanson: Fight Cancel Culture with Counter-Boycotts - "Tens of millions of Americans coordinating a counter-boycott of corporations pushing left-wing politics “would have a profound effect,” historian Victor Davis Hanson stated on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Sunday with host Joel Pollak."

Meme - ""IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DONT WATCH"
Frosk @Froskurinn: "I've been angry for a long time with my peers for not using their power and voice to stand up for others in the industry. Had to come to some hard terms that people who I'd known for years, who I thought were good friends, just weren't. Devastated me for a long time."
Frosk @Froskurinn: "Anyway, I'm leaving the industry - found new work elsewhere. This industry is really messed up, and what happened to me, and plenty of others, wasn't fair. And it could have been avoided if we had all stood up together. You let me down, but I get why. Cheers and goodluck."

Meme - "How it started
Societal tastes have changed and we need to change Saints Row
"We are not backing down on this game. We get it, it’s new and it’s a shock reaction to a reboot like no other. The gif was supposed to convey that."
"“It wasn’t a choice where somebody on the publishing side, or somebody on the business side said, ‘You know what? Societal tastes have changed and we need to change Saints Row. It was our own thinking that drove this…I think that a lot of content creators and brands are trying to expand their audience. And that means not connecting with that type of humour. It’s about connecting with a type of humour that is more suitable for a larger audience.”"
Fake Saints Row fans when the "woke" Reboot is a financial success and Volition doesn't go out of business.
how it's going
Volition shut down by Embracer after Saints Row disappointment
The Saints Row reboot's lack of success likely was the last nail in the coffin for Volition Games."

Warner Bros. Discovery Defends Shelving $90 Million 'Batgirl' Despite Woke Backlash - "Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has defended the company’s decision to shelve the already completed Batgirl movie despite backlash online.  Backlash erupted online earlier this week when Warner Bros. announced on Tuesday that the $90 million Batgirl will not be released in theaters and will not be sold to a streaming service as part of its merger with Discovery. Similar to the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut phenomenon that led to the re-release of Justice League, a steady backlash began brewing online, especially over the fact that Batgirl star Leslie Grace checks a big representation box as a Latina American."

Meme - Long Live The Bat: "Congratulations to Batgirl for being Warner Bros. most profitable DC film of 2023."

Batgirl movie cancelled for being so 'woke' that it was 'irredeemable' - "Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah along with star Grace seemingly were as blindsided as the public when the news of the Batgirl cancellation broke. The director's posted a response on Instagram lamenting the decisions and saying they wished audiences could have seen their film. Grace, in her post, said she was proud of her work.  Arbi and Fallah were previously directors of the Disney+ show "Ms Marvel" which was also criticized for its reliance on woke tropes. Batgirl was written by  Christina Hodson who authored Birds of Prey, which some critics accused of outright misandry."

'Batgirl' movie gets 'shelved' by Warner Bros: source - "The reportedly $70 million movie (the source said the budget was actually more than $100 million), which was doing test screenings for audiences in anticipation of a late 2022 debut, would rank among the most expensive cinematic castoffs ever.    Those tests were said to be so poorly received by moviegoers that the studio decided to cut its losses and run, for the sake of the brand’s future. It’s a DC disaster. “They think an unspeakable ‘Batgirl’ is going to be irredeemable,” the source said. .. DC, which squanders legendary properties with abandon, appears to have no grand plan whatsoever."

Holy Wokery Batgirl! TOM LEONARD investigates why Warner Bros' $90million superhero film was axed - "it seems that not even a lengthy spell in the editing room could rescue it. Nor was it good enough to send 'straight to video', as used to be said of films too bad for the cinema. Despite being completely finished and reportedly having cost $90 million (£75 million), Batgirl will never be released in any format — not even on one of the internet streaming services that often seem willing to broadcast any old tat.  It may even be the most expensive film ever made that will never see the light of day... the audience feedback was so awful that — in an almost unprecedented move — Warner Bros has decided the reputational damage of releasing such a dud would be even worse than wasting the tens of millions of dollars it has already spent on it. 'It just didn't work,' said an insider. The decision is also a blow for Glasgow, which had stood in for Gotham City in the movie. Given the low standard of so much of the content on Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services, and the fact that superhero films have a fanatically loyal audience, it all represents a jaw-dropping failure... Some have alleged the film may have been scrapped rather than released for tax reasons; Warner Bros can now claim Batgirl as a tax write-off — helping it recoup some of its costs elsewhere. However, that doesn't account for why the film was so bad in the first place.  And here there are certainly strong clues to suggest that Batgirl was only the latest in a long and disastrous line of Hollywood films that have prioritised politically correct values over entertainment. As Robin might say, Holy Woke, Batman!... The film was directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, young Moroccan-Belgians best known for the TV series Ms Marvel, about a Muslim Pakistani-American teenage girl who is bullied at school until she develops superpowers.  When Ms Marvel was released in June, it received a tsunami of abuse from comic book fans complaining about its unbearable wokeness.  (The series is made by Disney, so progressive nowadays that it applies racism warnings to the crows in Dumbo and offers a children's show — called 'Baymax!' — which features a scene in which a robot asks a transgender man what sort of sanitary product he should buy for a 12-year-old girl.)  Batgirl's screenplay was by Christina Hodson, the British writer of ultra-feminist film Birds Of Prey, accused by one critic of 'hating on men — all men . . . [and] dull to the point of numbing'. Batgirl also featured a transgender character, Alysia Yeoh, Barbara Gordon's flatmate, played by the trans actor Ivory Aquino.  The appearance, critics say, is of a film putting its 'progressive' values ahead of all other concerns. And not for the first time. Superhero films — normally somewhere audiences might go to escape our era's endless culture wars — have increasingly become major repositories of wokery... With one recent exception — 2017's entertaining romp Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot — films with female superheroes as the main attraction have generally not been commercial and critical triumphs, whatever their diligent support for girl power. Many have been simply dismal. The trend began as far back as 1984, with Supergirl, a feminist remake of Superman starring Helen Slater and with supporting actors including Peter O'Toole and Faye Dunaway.  This has notched up an execrable 8 per cent approval rating on the critics' aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.  Catwoman, which arrived in 2004, scores only 9 per cent and regularly features in critics' 'worst movies ever' lists. The film starred former Bond girl Halle Berry as Batman's anti- heroine love interest (with superhuman feline abilities and a black leather catsuit).  The following year, Jennifer Garner squeezed into a similarly revealing outfit to star as Elektra, a supernatural assassin who has to protect an innocent man and his daughter. Nice switch of traditional gender roles there — except it, too, was a clunker, earning a dire 11 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes."

Meme - John LeFevre @JohnLeFevre: "Victoria's Secret. Spun off from $LB in 2021 as $VSCO. 2021 Market Cap: $6.3 billion. Current Market Cap: $1.3 billion. What happened? *Unattractive models*"

Victoria’s Secret Head Says Brand’s Going Back To ‘Sexiness’ After Woke Push Equals Sales Plummet - "Victoria’s Secret and Pink brand president Greg Unis said the brand’s going back to “sexiness” after the company’s woke push has not translated into increased sales — and instead caused them to plummet.  During a meeting last week in New York, the lingerie brand head told investors that the new direction for the company is “sexiness” and increasing its lingerie, swimwear, and activewear lines... The company said while the move to push LGBTQ identities was favored by critics, it didn’t equal better sales. The brand is projecting revenue of $6.2 billion this fiscal year, which is down 5% from the previous year, and 15% from 2020.  Over the last two years, Victoria’s Secret ditched its glitzy annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show — and sexualized ad campaigns with VS Angel models — that made people like Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum and Adriana Lima famous among so many others.  Instead, it said the company would push a more “inclusive” lingerie campaign, featuring liberal activist soccer star Megan Rapinoe, trans-identifying male model Valentina Sampaio, plus-size models and others. In 2021, activist Rapinoe called out the company, claiming that before its woke push, the company had sent out a “really harmful” message that was “patriarchal, sexist, viewing not just what it meant to be sexy but what the clothes were trying to accomplish through a male lens and through what men desired.”  “And it was very much marketed toward younger women,” she added, at the time."

Why Did We Buy What Victoria’s Secret Was Selling? - The Atlantic
Too bad woke was even worse for sales

Woke Kellogg's Is Breaking Up After Years of Disappointing Performance

Comic Book Readers Reject Sodomy-Filled 'Alan Scott: Green Lantern' Book By Tim Sheridan - "Comic book readers chose not to purchase the sodomy-filled Alan Scott: Green Lantern comic book by writer Tim Sheridan despite Sheridan begging his followers to purchase the book to spite Comicsgate... Not only did the book fail to chart on the ComicHub system, but the book is ranked 25,763 in the Kindle Store and #170 for Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels."

Elizabeth Banks Claims 2019 "Charlie's Angels" Remake Was A Huge Failure Because Of The Media's "Gendered Agenda" - "In 2019, she spent much time complaining about the fact that all the other superhero movies that were successful—Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, etc.—were a huge hit because they appealed to men and belonged to the "male genre." But her remake of Charlie's Angels was going to be different; at least, that's what she kept telling people when it first came out. Banks whined about the fact that Wonder Woman was a hit because it fed into the larger comic book world, which is dominated by men.  "We need more women’s voices supported with money because that’s the power. The power is in the money,” she said in 2019.  So which one is it, Elizabeth? Because you can't have it both ways. Either you marketed the film and promoted it as a big moment for women's empowerment or you didn't like the fact that the media marketed it as a women's film. Only years after the movie was a complete failure and she felt embarrassed about the way she handled the press surrounding the film is she coming forward to say that it shouldn't have been pushed as chick flick. Hindsight is 20/20, though. Maybe Banks will take a different approach with her next female remake—although she'll probably double down once again and try to transform another classic into a feminist anthem."

Meme - "Fan-Blaming Bingo
You're just toxic fans!
You're just Phobic!
You don't like strong women!
They are all just bots!
Go touch grass!
It's being review bombed!
It's always been political!
It's a show for kids!
It's good because I can see myself in it!
It wasn't diverse and inclusive enough!
Orange man bad!
You're just an internalized misogynist!
Safe Space
Don't like it, don't watch it!
It wasn't made for you!
The original IP was offensive!
It is good because it subverts expectations!
You harassed (insert actor or actress here)!
It's been updated for modern audiences!
You are just a bigot!
You are just racist!
Only incels hate it!
Only white straight males hate it!
You are just looking for reasons to hate it!
It was meant to be bad!"

Disney Falls From #1 Studio at Box Office for the First Time Since 2015 - "2023 was the first year since 2014 (2020 and 2021 notwithstanding) that Disney failed to cross $1 billion with a film."

Meme - Miles John @GabaghoulComics: "Thanks to you, Disney can only afford to make 17 Disney Plus original shows next year instead of 20."
Ethan Page @EthanPage8: "To all so-called "animation fans", WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?! YOU JUST RUINED A FAMOUS STUDIO'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY, AND ONLY POINT AND LAUGH LIKE ARROGANT JERKS!!! HAVE YOU NO SHAME AT ALL?!  #JusticeForWish"

Meme - HopeMania: "Imagine it being your 100 year anniversary. You're the most successful and popular entertainment juggernauts of humanity. And to celebrate an accomplishment You lose to an Adam Sandler movie" ToonHive @ToonHive: "'Leo' scored 34.6 MILLION views, debuting at #1 on Netflix's Top 10. It has the biggest debut for a animated film in Netflix's HISTORY."

Rob Schneider on X - "Disney got financially spanked by American families who don’t want their children indoctrinated by idiotic Woke lunacy. Now they will return once again to being the great entertainment company for ALL Americans. Thank YOU, America!"

Disney CEO Bob Iger says movies have been too focused on messaging - "Disney  Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said Wednesday he will no longer tolerate his company’s partners and creative team prioritizing messaging over storytelling.  “Creators lost sight of what their No. 1 objective needed to be,” Iger said at the DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday. “We have to entertain first. It’s not about messages.”... Iger said Disney’s prioritization of messaging over storytelling peaked “while [he] was gone” in 2022, alluding to the 11 months he left his job as Disney’s executive chairman. Iger had been in charge of “creative endeavors” in 2020 and 2021, even while Bob Chapek ran the company as CEO. “We have entertained with values and with having a positive impact on the world in many different ways. ‘Black Panther’ is a great example of that,” Iger said. “I like being able to entertain if you can infuse it with positive messages and have a good impact on the world. Fantastic. But that should not be the objective. When I came back, what I have really tried to do is to return to our roots.” Disney has dealt with blowback from Republican politicians, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and critics on social media for including a same-sex kiss in 2022′s “Lightyear” and an openly gay character in 2022′s “Strange World.” 2023′s “Elemental” also includes a nonbinary character... Iger reiterated that he has emphasized to his creative executives and production partners that making engaging stories has to be Disney’s first priority.  “I’ve worked hard since I’ve been back to reminding the creative community who are our partners and our employees that that’s the objective,” Iger said. “And I don’t really want to tolerate the opposite.”"

Meme - Benny Johnson @bennyjohnsen: "South Park drops a BANGER destroying Disney for woke swapped trash remakes. Less than 24 hours later Disney admits total defeat and completely DUMPS their woke Snow White film, FIRES actors and announces a TOTAL rewrite & reshoot of entire film. We're winning"

ETHAN VAN SCIVER on X - "Twelve years ago, you badgered Dan Didio into allowing more women into DC Comics.    Most women don't know how to write comics for its primarily male audience.  They believe male power fantasies are sexist and stupid, and their attempts to write Superhero comics reflected that.  Here's where we are today.  Retailers are going out of business and shuttering their doors.  A lot of this is your fault, Heidi.    I can see why you're so defensive, and why the gaslighting must carry on."

Corrupt Comics "Journalists" Finally Admit: Comics Industry IS in Trouble - "Leftwing industry shills all claim that the comics industry has never been better. They say this because the left took over the industry and turned it to woke SJW propaganda and full “diversity” hiring. They want to claim this all “worked,” and due to the industry going Full Woke, it has Never Been Healthier (TM)... here are some of the ways the shills have been able to hide the fact that the industry is contracting and losing money:
Covid and PPP loans.
Dramatically inflating the cover cost of comics.
Goosing sales with gimmicks that appeal only to speculators.
Including Manga as “comic book sales.”
Including kid’s picture books in the category of “comic book sales.”
Including the sales figures of ComicsGate pros purged from the industry in the industry’s numbers to make the industry look healthier than it is...
   Long story short, if you pointed out that there were many, many reasons to suspect the comics industry is not, in fact, Better Than Ever (TM), including the fact that assistant editors at even Marvel seem to be making wages that you simply cannot live on, you are routinely dismissed by the shill comics “press” as alt-right Nazis who just hate comics and diversity or whatever.     Except now, when comics companies start missing payments to artists by such lengthy periods that the artists are forced to begin openly complaining, it kind of makes hard to claim that everyone’s flush with cash and the industry has Never Been Healthier (TM)... There is no problem in the comics industry – until the comics industry media starts missing checks.     Then they’re prepared to say: There’s a big problem...    I hear even Marvel and DC, despite being owned/backed by trillion dollar corporations, are paying their artists late, too."

Meme - Joe Glass The Miracles OUT NOW! @JosephGlass: "You know, instead of boycotting comics because they changed, you could just buy different comics. There's all kinds out there for everyone! THAT is what will actually help retailers, a ton more than throwing a tantrum like a giant baby and refusing the buy anything at all"
StarfighterInteractive @StarfighterInt1: "People are buying different comics. It's called manga, and it outsells western comics 10 to 1."

Meme - Comics MATTER w/Ya Boi Zack: "The Self-Destruction Of The American Comic Book Industry never ceases to shock me. Who could have ever foreseen that a thriving industry would be hollowed out by a few dozen pre-homeless losers who endlessly spam the SAME tactic ("uR a NaZi!")."

What's Changed in All 'The Color Purple' Adaptations - "the book's acclaim also came with controversy; it was critiqued for its depiction of Black families and particularly Black men, criticisms that heavily intensified when the book was adapted for the big screen by director Steven Spielberg. Like Walker's novel, Spielberg's 1985 film adaptation was both critically acclaimed and hugely controversial. Starring Whoopi Goldberg as Celie, Oprah Winfrey as her daughter-in-law Sofia, and Danny Glover as Mr., the film was notably nominated for 11 Academy Awards, but won none, despite being a box office hit (it grossed $94 million domestically in its initial run in 1985, making it the fourth highest grossing film that year). It was also roundly critiqued for having both a white male director (Spielberg) and a white male screenwriter (Menno Meyjes), a denunciation that was even more glaring in light of the contention leveled at the film because of its depiction of Black men, which many people and advocacy groups felt reinforced racist stereotypes of Black masculinity as violent. Another critique of the film that took issue with representation was Spielberg's decision to soften the depiction of the lesbian relationship between Celie and Shug, a central storyline of the novel... That Bazawule and Gardley are the first Black creatives to helm an adaptation of The Color Purple is not lost on them."
“The Color Purple” remake only generated $5 million in box office sales, despite costing $90 million to produce and $40 million to market - "a lot of women united to go to the theaters to watch the film."
If a lot of women united to watch it, this shows that marketing to women is a losing strategy

blog comments powered by Disqus