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The Warner Archive Program and Hollywood History
A month ago Sony announced that it was laying off 450 employees, most of them in the home video division, due in part to recent declines in DVD sales. The Wall Street Journal notes that last year was...
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Auteurism vs. Superhero Synergy
Last month the L.A. Times announced that Christopher Nolan would produce yet another reboot of the Superman series, as well as direct a third Batman film. By hitching their wagon to Nolan, Warner...
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The Lingering Power of the Domestic Box Office
It’s well known by film industry professionals and scholars that domestic box office numbers are over-emphasized by the news media. Although the winners and losers of the previous weekend’s horserace...
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Conan and the Warm Embrace of Narrowcasting
By naming Conan O’Brien the heir to Jay Leno’s throne, NBC replaced a comedian known for his broad appeal with one in the mode of Leno’s old friend/nemesis, David Letterman. Like his idol Letterman,...
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Charlie Chan and Contemporary B-Movie Fandom
Professor Yunte Huang’s recent book Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History (W.W. Norton and Co, 2010) attempts to rehabilitate the reputation...
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DC Comics Goes All In
DC Comics’ plan to “relaunch” its comic line in September with fifty-two #1 issues is a bold move predicated in part on the assumption that there is a large untapped audience for monthly comics. Each...
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The Comics Arms Race and the Failure of Diversity
Nearly two years after I detailed DC Comics’ “New 52” relaunch for Antenna, I thought I’d take another look at the state of American comics publishing. Despite competition from Image and IDW, American...
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Letterman’s “Stooge of the Night” and Late Night Politics
On April 22, Late Show host David Letterman introduced a new segment called “Stooge of the Night,” targeting the 46 senators who voted “no” on the Manchin-Toomey gun control amendment. Each night...
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The Guardians of Good Taste: Critics and the “Fanboy” Menace
The Los Angeles Times’ Steven Zeitchik, writing about Guardians of the Galaxy, revives a critical argument that refuses to go away – the idea that narrative is largely irrelevant to the contemporary...
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David Letterman: So Long to Our TV Pal
Post by Bradley Schauer, University of Arizona Much of the press coverage of David Letterman’s retirement has framed it as the end of an era. According to this account, the traditional late night talk...
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DC Comics’ Halfhearted Appeal to an Alternate Readership
A panel from Gotham By Midnight. Post by Bradley Schauer, University of Arizona In recent years DC Comics has come under criticism for its monolithic publishing line – grim, violent books aimed at...
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