A Little Push 08.01.09: The Final Push

Posted by Rick Tym on 08.01.2009

A Little Push says goodbye with thoughts on the Alien prequel, comic book and movie cross-marketing, trailers for the latest from the Coen brothers and Steven Soderbergh, tidbits on District 9 and G.I. Joe and more.

Comic Books and Film

But it's not what you think. You've probably come to this, the last edition of A Little Push, muttering to yourself about how Rick Tym is going to regale you with tales of comic book adaptations for the umpteenth time. While it's true that the subject has been my bread and butter for the majority of my short stint here at what the cool kids call The Mania, I want to take a minute or two to talk about the latest wave of Hollywood advertising that, quite frankly, someone should've thought of a lot sooner.

Comics have always been used to tell part of the story of a film that's not going to be seen onscreen during the feature. Pundits claim that the comic Star Trek: Countdown fills many of the plot holes seen in J. J. Abrams's newest spin on the franchise. What many of you may have noticed is that the four-part limited series also served as a hell of a marketing tool to promote the picture before its release.


I didn't read it, but I've heard some things.
Of course, this isn't the first time this approach has been taken. Various degrees of success have been seen using the comic book build up approach with franchise installments and first forays such as Terminator: Salvation and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. One could even point to the (not so successful) Southland Tales tie-ins, but in that case it can be argued that the necessity for reading colorful literature should not be required in order to better appreciate the movie in question, and that's a stance the Push would gladly validate. However, when used to build interest in a film, it can be a pretty good marketing tool. And it seems that the Hollywood Machine is finally catching onto, and admitting, this little factoid.

The first property in question? Conan the Barbarian. While hardcore fans probably won't get their wishes when it comes to the adaptation of many of the finer works concerning the follower of Crom, they will get to see their favorite sword wielder in action before Paradox Entertainment's reboot/reimagining hits the theaters. That's because Paradox inked a deal with Dark Horse Comics, home of Conan, to launch books to familiarize the uninitiated with characters such as Dark Agnes, El Borak, Cormac Mac Art and James Allison.


Wait. Wrong picture.


Okay. That's better.
Conan's supporting cast members aren't the only ones getting such comic treatment. Dark Horse also began publishing a series of Solomon Kane books earlier this year in an effort to spread the word about the upcoming action movie while seeking to broaden the appeal of the 16th century swordsman, who will be played by James Purefoy. Paradox Entertainment president and CEO Fredrick Malmberg hopes that this will lead to higher box office revenue while reinvigorating the print franchise, saying, "Although it's a legacy character, a new generation had never heard of him."


Sounds like a good idea to me.
This is a great idea, plain and simple, and while it has been used to varying degrees of success, the Push stands by its "shoulda been done sooner" statement above when considering that this kind of marketing blitz should be used more often. (I also like that they're admitting it's all about the ka-ching, yo.) Think about it. Comic book sales have been on the decline to the tune of 10% over the past year, and this is just the kind of thing that can help push some publishing house's numbers out of the red zone. While DC and Marvel obviously dominate the sales charts, less successful comic companies are feeling the backlash of the present economy. What better way to generate interest in their product? TV shows have been highly successful in crossing the divide into the comic book medium. Take Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for example. The new comics from the Whedon juggernaut offer fans a season eight that otherwise never would've been possible, and have made up for the doldrums of Dollhouse in the meantime. Consider that the BtVS comic moves around 100,000 issues a month for Dark Horse, and the conclusion is inevitable. While DC's Wildstorm division only moved about 20,000 copies of it six issue Push tie-in, Dark Horse has sold roughly 57,000 copies of the first five issues of Solomon Kane.

Does every single movie need – or deserve – an accompanying funnybook brother, sister, or cousin? Probably not, but the payoff can be worth the effort. Both sides win, since the comic company sees a rise in sales, and the studios (should) see higher ticket purchases. Some are better than others, of course, but the Push applauds the concept. It speaks of creativity and business savvy, and any steps towards keeping comics on the shelves is okay in my book.

As long as there are no truly bad ones. No need to see the antics of the latest lame Eddie Murphy character months before we have to suffer through it onscreen.

This section was made possible by a truly slow news week due to the aftermath and exhaustion of Comic Con. The Variety article is a good ‘un, so if you're a comic book fan or just curious about the latest resurgence of cross-marketing comics and movies, be sure to hit the link and give it a read.

The Latest from the Coen Brothers…

…is titled A Serious Man. Check out the trailer…



Looks like another wacky, witty and solid effort from the Coens. The Push enjoyed last year's Burn After Reading even though others may have not. It's just amazing to me that they pump out movie after movie, year after year. Sure, most of them follow the same basis structure – down on their luck folks get even further down on their luck – but nobody does it better than the directing duo of Joel and Ethan. A Serious Man opens on October 9th.

Alien Prequel Moving Forward…With Ridley!

No, not Ripley. Ridley. Ridley Scott has been hired to direct the Alien prequel which will be written by Jon Spaihts, who has been dubbed an up-and-comer even if he hasn't had anything produced yet. Variety reports on Spaihts latest projects and how he became the writer of the first Ridley Scott helmed Alien film since 1979:

Spaihts has become a go-to-guy for space thrillers. After Keanu Reeves became attached to his Warner Bros. sci-fi script "Shadow 19," Reeves hired Spaihts to write the space journey epic "Passengers," which is berthed at Morgan Creek. That script got Spaihts the meeting with Fox and Scott Free, and he won the job with an "Alien" reboot take that the studio and Scott loved.


Cute, ain't he?
The Push doesn't know much about Spaihts the writer, but it sure does know a lot about Ridley the director. A little while back I lamented the fact that 20th Century Fox was going back to this xenophobic well, but all bets are off now. The great Ridley Scott is returning to the franchise he established, and that's good enough to guarantee a ticket purchase from this fan.

Just an Aside About District 9

I'm just putting this here because, like I said, it's been a slow news week and I just really dig this poster. There's been some advertising floating around touting the upcoming scifi film, and the more I see, the more interested I get.


I was going to say "ain't that cool?" but I didn't want to be hit with copyright infringement. Still, it is pretty cool, ain't it?

Even better is the buzz surrounding the film after its Comic Con screening. Reviews have been creeping in all over the internet and I've yet to see a single bad word uttered about the plight of aliens in South America.

What's even more mind-boggling – based on the trailers and television spots, anyway -- are the reviews surfacing of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. People are saying that it's actually a – gasp! – decent summer action flick! Will wonders never cease?

Matt Damon's At It Again

And so is Steven Soderbergh. Here's another trailer for their latest, The Informant.



Not much to say. It's Damon. It's Soderbergh. It's a comedy. You know you wanna see it.

Closing Time

Man, in a previous edition of A Little Push I joked that there was nothing going on in the entertainment industry. See what I get? There's really not much to report on. I could rehash the last of the Comic Con reports floating around out there, but you've all read them so doing so isn't necessary. (The Lost panels were, of course, a personal favorite.) I wish I could've gone out with a bigger bang, but sometimes life hands you lemons. What you do with them is up to you.

What I'd like to do is thank all of you that tuned into this news report since I began last September. Some of them have been pretty good (I think), some of them have been merely "meh," but I've enjoyed putting every one of them together every weekend I've been able to. Without all you guys and gals, there would be no reason to do so, and for that I humbly offer my thanks and best wishes as I retire (for now).

Thanks also to Ashish, Larry and Chad for giving me the forum from which to spout my views on the Hollywood Machine. Writing for you guys has been a blast, and it's an experience I wouldn't want to trade for anything. Special shout-outs also to all of my 411 brethren, including but not limited to Steve Gustafson, George Sirois, Shawn Lealos, and Joseph Lee. I enjoyed my interactions with you as well as the rest of the staff. All of you have made it a good place to call home for almost a year.

And oh yeah, I can't forget a special "wassup" to my buddy, Ben Piper. Thanks for the opportunity to take part in Get LOST during season five. It was an honor to be a Lost geek with you. Can't wait to join up with you again in a limited 411 capacity for the final season.

What, you guys thought you were rid of me for good? No way. I've gotta meet up with Ben to see what happens after Juliet smashed that bomb into oblivion.

And with that, I'm outta here. Thanks again for all the good times, readers and writers. See you…perhaps sometime soon. Take care.


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