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A marvel: how did X-Men ’97 become one of the year’s best shows?
Fri, 17 May 2024 07:44:31 GMT
What seemed like another lazy nostalgia cash grab became a favorite, with lessons that Marvel’s universe could learn from
It should have been what Magneto refers to as a “nostalgic parlor trick” – reviving the X-Men cartoon that aired on Saturday mornings throughout much of the 90s for the Disney+ streaming service. Isn’t this what all streaming services do? They comb through their back catalog to see what IP can be exploited, promising both nostalgia and, of course, a fresh new spin on whatever thing you’ve already seen before. So while it was a given that a certain number of X-Men fans would be on board for X-Men ’97, which just completed its 10-episode first season with a second already on the way, it’s still a bit surprising that a revival of an ambitious, sometimes-clunky 90s-kid object of obsession would become one of the year’s most beloved TV shows.
Some of it may be hunger for any kind of ongoing X-Men series outside of the comics, which remain, as ever, a relatively niche interest. (For every restart at issue no 1, there’s several volumes of backstory that must be summarized to even begin to understand what the hell is going on.) After the Fox network aired the X-Men cartoon, the live-action movie studio adapted the characters into the first major superhero movies of the new millennium, helping to kickstart a major cultural trend. The Fox X-Men movies ran for an impressive 20 years, but Disney’s purchase of the studio coincided with a couple of box office flops in the form of Dark Phoenix and the much-delayed, pandemic-released The New Mutants. A curtain call of sorts is coming this summer with Deadpool & Wolverine, but that movie will also integrate the wisecracking Ryan Reynolds mercenary (who spun off from the X-Men movies) into the broader MCU. As such, it’s been four years since there was an X-Men movie in theaters – and longer since the last one that really connected with audiences, 2017’s Logan.
Continue reading...The blockbuster franchises are showing signs of serious wear and tear, so why don’t the studios take on newer worlds created by the likes of Christopher Nolan and Alex Garland?
Some of the greatest genre movies of all time are sequels. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; The Godfather Part II; The Dark Knight; Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow. OK, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. There is absolutely no reason that lightning can’t strike twice, or even three, four, five, six times, if the will and creative verve are in place.
And yet there is also a law of diminishing returns. This week Planet of the Apes writer-producer team Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver revealed that they are planning another five films in the dystopian sci-fi series, after the barnstorming box office and critical success of latest instalment Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Last week we discovered that Lord of the Rings legend Peter Jackson is overseeing a new movie about Gollum that will retread territory skipped over in the Oscar-winning trilogy from the turn of the century. The Mandalorian and Grogu, which this week announced that sci-fi scream queen Sigourney Weaver is joining its cast in an undisclosed role, will be the 12th full-length live action Star Wars film to hit the big screen. The Marvel Cinematic Universe currently stands 33 movies strong. And these are the big budget, tent-pole franchises, the ones with the bucks to hire the top talent. Can any of us honestly say they are all getting better?
Continue reading...It was like I was trapped in a movie – with a hideous plot twist
I met Eric on a dating app in early 2018 when I was living in New York. He was handsome, talkative and interesting. I was falling for him – but there was something he needed to know. In 2015, I’d been in love with a guy called Mike. On my 30th birthday, my parents threw me a party at their house. Everyone was having a great time until I heard my brother scream Mike’s name. As I ran towards the noise, I saw Mike on the ground by my parents’ pool. He’d slipped into the water and wasn’t breathing. I frantically tried to do CPR on him, but he remained unconscious.
At the hospital, I was told that Mike wouldn’t ever wake up. No one knows how he got hurt. He broke some bones in his back, and had a brain injury, but we don’t know how that happened.
Continue reading...Owners of historic buildings used in likes of Bridgerton warned of potential damage to possessions and reputations
When the owner of Drayton House in Northamptonshire was approached to allow his 127-room mansion to be the location of a film called Saltburn, it was “100%” the generous fee on offer that swayed his decision, he said, adding: “These houses don’t run on water.”
But there were unintended consequences of Charles Stopford Sackville’s decision after the movie’s release last year. The popularity of Emerald Fennell’s class satire led to a rush of selfie-taking trespassers after TikTok videos giving directions to the estate went viral.
Continue reading...Yes, there were more flame-throwers, but working on Furiosa was pretty similar to starring in Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir, says the actor. So how does he duck the crossfire that comes with playing JK Rowling’s Strike?
When Tom Burke was cast in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the prequel to the crash-bang spectacular Mad Max: Fury Road, he sat his 77-year-old mother down in front of the television and showed her the previous film in that post-apocalyptic series, just to give her some idea of what he was letting himself in for. Afterwards, she looked concerned. “Will you be mainly inside or outside?” she asked.
Any parent would worry. As Praetorian Jack, he helps the young Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) take revenge against the pharaoh-like warlord (Chris Hemsworth) who killed her mother. Jack’s job is to sit at the wheel of the War Rig, one of those whopping great tankers without which any Mad Max movie would be underdressed, and shoot high-speed pursuers off their motorbikes. The character is kitted out in battered black leather, not unlike Mel Gibson in the original trilogy, with a smudge of grease across the top third of his face like the mask on a cartoon burglar. In addition to the actor’s own scar from childhood surgery on a cleft lip, which has left a jaunty crimp on the upper right side of his mouth, he sports as Jack a crooked duelling scar under one eye.
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Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
As brutal police repression sweeps campus encampments, schools have been cutting ties with pro-Palestine faculty members without tenure.
The post University Professors Are Losing Their Jobs Over “New McCarthyism” on Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
Four lawsuits alleging Hamas ties against Students for Justice in Palestine, the AP, UNRWA, and a cryptocurrency exchange share many of the same plaintiffs.
The post October 7 Survivors Sue Campus Protesters, Say Students Are “Hamas’s Propaganda Division” appeared first on The Intercept.
It is the NHS’s worst treatment disaster – with 30,000 patients infected. Two survivors, Ade Goodyear and Andy Evans, explain why it took so long for it to be brought to light
Ade Goodyear was 15 when he was told he had contracted HIV. Like about 30,000 other NHS patients – including more than 300 children – who were given blood transfusions or commercial blood products before 2019, he was infected by contaminated blood. Some patients got HIV and hepatitis C from blood transfusions after childbirth or other medical procedures. Ade was infected with HIV at the medical centre of his school.
Pupils at his Treloar’s college, which had a specialist haemophilia unit, were among those given injections of a blood plasma product called factor VIII concentrate. Concerns had been raised a decade before by the World Health Organization because it was a commercial product that mixed plasma from tens of thousands of often high-risk donors. If one had an infection such as HIV, it could contaminate the whole batch.
Continue reading...At least seven schools have reached an agreement with students around investment transparency and exploring divestment from Israel.
The post Some Universities Chose Violence. Others Responded to Protests by Considering Student Demands. appeared first on The Intercept.
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