I'm not Zach, I love DC and I love Marvel.
But in the matter of Warner's layout of the DCEU, I am very supportive of director Zach Snyder, and I am very moved to see the good news that the official announcement of the Zha director cut version will be launched in 2021 on May 20, 2020. Truly a "Lifetime" series.
I will express a few points:
1. Is Zack Snyder the best person to direct the DCEU?
2. Is the official announcement on May 20 a victory for the fan movement, or is it a trend of business development?
3. What comic hero movies should the DCEU present to us?
OK, start:
Can't say Zack Snyder is the best DCEU director, nor can he be the best. But objectively speaking, he is suitable because he knows what fans want - which also causes DCEU to present two kinds of evaluations in passers-by and fans. I've bought a lot of DC comics. Looking at them as a whole, this is not a hodgepodge of cartoon characters, or the stereotypical popcorn plot of heroes fighting monsters, but a very well-developed, thinking and philosophical work, which also contains the right There are even a lot of political elements in real life, so the age level and knowledge level of the overall audience are higher.
It is generally believed that the masqueraded image of Sunshine Superman in 1978 and Gothic Batman in 1988 is DC. In fact, every director has his own understanding of the original work, and this understanding will also change with the times. Changes, iterations of works are slowly reconstructed.
From 2005 to 2013, with his understanding of human nature, crime, responsibility and redemption, Kristof Noonan created a more realistic version of the Batman story for us, which has won unprecedented praise. Not only is the character close to reality, but more importantly, the darkness of human nature and the chaos of order are presented to the audience through various survival competitions and "tram experiments", so the rhythm, soundtrack, logic, and core are all very high - frankly It is said that the world view given by Noonan is not suitable, and it is impossible for a character like Superman to appear - the style of painting will change.
Zack Snyder took over the DCEU in 2013. In fact, after watching Disney's Marvel universe gradually spread out and gained unprecedented attention and commercial value, Warner decided to use the perfect IP to cash in. So I found a very artistic, persistent and thoughtful guide to build DC's own universe.
Zha Dao's 2009 DC [Watchmen] score broke 8.4 (note, it's a director's cut version), and it is also known as a masterpiece in the industry - the political philosophy and artistic performance in it are very good, and there are almost zero bad reviews. The essence of the comics is restored to the original flavor - it can be seen that Zha Dao understands the meaning of the original work very well, and reflects the artistic conception through the design of the picture.
Looking for an expert who understands works better than fans, as the swordsman of the DCEU is obviously a perfect fit - but art and business are two different things.
In 2013, "Superman Man of Steel" was born as the pioneering work of the DCEU. It was a commercial success and made a profit at the box office. But the word of mouth is also polarized, passers-by feel that it is too dark, and it is not the same as the traditional Sunshine Superman they know - but DC fans have harvested the comic-like superhuman fighting scenes and big big boys that they have been looking forward to for more than ten years. Open and close, simple and rude plot. Regardless of the comprehensive reviews, at least the commercial return is completely willing to spend more money on the development of follow-up series for the gold owner, Warner.
BVS was launched in 2016. At this time, Zha Dao's ambition for the work has completely surpassed his business balance. This pit is too big. Although the director's cut version has earned a reputation, the too deep core has persuaded many passers-by. ——Few fights, unreasonable conflicts, and inexplicable plots (suddenly the Flash travels through, and suddenly there is a blackout of the apocalypse), and although the box office is a global hit, the cost of more than 300 million US dollars does not make Warners eat very well. Therefore, for the follow-up to let Director Zha finish the story, there will be no patience to form a closed loop of DCEU - business is such a reality!
For me, BVS is very exciting to watch. It is really a stalk that only DC fans can get, but business is traffic business after all, fans only represent a small part of traffic, and most of the traffic is restricted - this is Commercial failure.
I think Zha Dao also understands, but he sees the problem in a long-term perspective. The value of DCEU is not reflected in one work, but after the three stories of Man of Steel—BVS—Justice League, can you evaluate it. I only saw the panorama, this is what I said about Zha Dao's ambition.
In the DCEU constructed by Zha Dao, through the destruction of the metropolis at the end of the Man of Steel, it led to the appearance of Batman in BVS and the acquaintance, killing and acquaintance with Superman, and led to Steppenwolf and other members of Zhenglian, while Zhenglian was After Steppenwolf appeared, Darkseid, who led to a greater crisis, appeared on the stage, causing the death of Lewis, thus blackening Superman and turning the earth into the end of the world, so the Flash will travel back to BVS in the end of the series. , warns Batman: Superman is the threat, Louis is the key.
The three works are interlocking, the body of steel buried the line for BVS, BVS paved the way for Zhenglian, and Zhenglian closed the loop and returned to BVS. This ambitious pattern and design is something that Marvel has not done - Marvel is The easter eggs after each independent hero movie complete the foreshadowing of the next story, but do not do back and forth in the entire universe view (not to mention six stones).
To put it simply, Zha Dao wrote the steel body, BVS, and Zhenglian as a script, a story, and a movie. Warners, on the other hand, judged the pros and cons of each work separately. One is the requirement for the long-term value and artistic core of the brand, and the other is the judgment of the short-term commercial investment return, which is contradictory. But neither is wrong. Artists and professional managers have different starting points for their decision-making and thinking. One is responsible for the audience and works, and the other is responsible for the position and the company—but the latter is the final decision maker.
Therefore, after the completion of Zhenglian's shooting materials, due to the accident of Zha's family, it just gave Warner a reason to adjust its business strategy (Warner did not accept the original script of Zhenglian). The adaptation is simpler and easier to understand, allowing more people to accept it, bringing more laughter, and harvesting more box office - the final result is that the plot becomes another story, the main line is disconnected, and the world view is destroyed Yes, the box office is acceptable - but it has not brought excess returns, and the commercial performance is mediocre. It can only be said that it is not a loss. But the word of mouth is consistently poor, both among passers-by and pure fans.
The subsequent [Shazam] and [Birds of Prey] almost completely broke away from the DCEU's worldview, existing independently, with inconsistent styles, no obvious connection between the stories, and extremely poor reviews. This also severely hit Warner in the face.
The brand of DCEU has been screwed up. Seeing that the rival Disney's Marvel Universe is in full swing, it has repeatedly broken various records, especially when the Avengers 4 at the end of the first stage achieved a success in film history, Warner did not say anything, and could only rely on [Joker] Independent movies take a different route - the DCEU in the future is gone, and more are independent movies of various characters in the DC universe. But they also know that the works can bring resonance and unlimited commercial value only if they form a sustainable cosmology.
To sum up, Zack Snyder is a very suitable swordsman for the DCEU, but unfortunately, in the short-sighted effect of commercial capital, he temporarily lost.
Again, why did you release the director's cut version of Zha Dao again?
First of all, I have to say - this is not a victory for fans to insist on shouting, and it is essentially profitable for capital, which is why this result is produced.
The Zha Dao cut version has always been very quantum mechanics, that is, it exists and does not exist, it is a mystery. In the past two years, the voice of fans around the world has grown louder and louder, and Warner has almost never given feedback-occasionally a celebrity voice said: it does not exist. And Zha Dao himself did not make any response, but only sent fragmentary flowers and photos on personal social media. This has fans constantly arguing.
Until May 20, 2020, whether it is Warner or Director, it has been officially announced that the director's cut version will be released on HBO streaming media in 2021. Everyone was screaming, excited, thinking that this was a landmark event for fans around the world, the result of everyone's hard work, and we won.
But I want to say: this is a capital consideration.
Remember the "囧 Mom" that was released on the streaming media on the first day of the Chinese New Year? Although Xu Zheng was condemned by industry insiders, this wave of business operations was a success. It’s almost a win-win situation – the audience watched the movie for free, the platform earned enough traffic during the same period, and the investors quickly recovered their capital and made profits during the epidemic.
In contrast, [Women's Volleyball] and [Jiang Ziya] are in the schedule of the first day of the new year, and it is impossible to follow Xu Zheng's operation. After all, others have taken the lead, and their own moral benchmark FLAG has also been established, so We can only wait for the end of the epidemic, and investors will not be able to recover their capital.
But as long as the business logic is reasonable, everything is possible - the same is true for Zha Dao's cut version.
Remember, it's not a public release! Instead, it is broadcast on a streaming media platform, even in a variety of episodes. Such an operation is also a three-win, no, it is a four-win, and there is no loser:
1. Director Zha can prove the praise that his work deserves through the disclosure of the edited version;
2. Fans can finally see the works that have been shouted for two years, and they can watch it for free (provided you have bought a HBO membership)
3. Warner put this work on HBO, which is the same as ByteDance’s purchase of [囧Mom]. It can make a lot of money, and it doesn’t have to bear the risk of the box office plummeting in word of mouth.
4. Under the competition of streaming media platforms such as Milkfly and Disney+, everyone needs traffic and members, and HBO needs an entry point to open a hole that no one else can get to compete - watching fans around the world screaming The attention caused by the effect of the film, and the confidence in the finished product of the director's cut version, using hundreds of millions of dollars (the purchase price has not been announced, guess) to bring traffic and advertising to its own platform, I believe HBO has calculated this account, which is acceptable. of.
Therefore, Warner can make money, and HBO can promote and drain traffic. Any social behavior, especially large-scale resource changes, is essentially driven by economic principles.
Finally, let me briefly say that there is a big difference between the Marvel Universe MCU and the DC Universe in the comic works themselves, and in the presentation of the movie series, they should also find their own different positions. DC should not chase the rhythm of Marvel, it needs to have its own core.
Marvel is more like an American amusement park and a carnival. It is a popcorn atmosphere suitable for family fun. There are monsters, handsome guys, aliens, and all kinds of strange characters. The color performance is very rich, the content is relaxed, and the rhythm is fast— - No wonder it was accepted by Disney, because Marvel itself is more in line with the values promoted by Disney, so it is popular, humorous and rich in positioning.
DC is more inclined to European-style operas. DC's original intention was detective comics. Batman was also a detective story at first, so the plot was not easy. With the later development, there were more characters, and the plot was very mainstream for a certain period of time. Bland and unrecognizable.
In recent years, DC has gradually found its own soul. From Miller's [Dark Knight], from [Heavenly Kingdom], from [Owl Court], etc., you can see political elements, you can see human nature and Divine philosophical thinking, you can see layers of exploration like political comics... DC comics are more adult-like, map realistic problems more thoroughly, and are more "dramatic" in terms of plot conflicts. So in the construction of the DCEU universe, I agree with Zack Snyder's positioning, which is obviously different from Marvel.
Only, with the same fare,
Is it because many people go to the circus carnival? Or how many people watch opera?
Most people are willing to laugh in the movie theater? Or silent reflection in the cinema?
Are gold master fathers willing to make most of the money? Or transfer a small number of people's money?
marve is successful both commercially and artistically, with accurate positioning. And the most important thing is to harvest "female fans", this group of extremely powerful spending power! !
You know, the concept of superheroes, before Iron Man in 2008, no girl would talk about it, girls are not interested in superheroes! Before your girlfriend would tell you how many episodes Tobey Maguire's Fat Spider was in? Will I talk to you about the superpowers of Big Ben's Daredevil? Will I tell you that Ang Lee's Hulk is cool? - Don't be silly, it's impossible.
But now, do you think the "shameful" names like Mr. Tao, Nini, Brother Hammer, and Jiu Sen were given by boys? No, it was taken by your girlfriend.
When they watch the plot, they prefer to watch Dundong and Hammer Ji fall in love with each other, Thor's chest muscles, and the US team's buttocks......
Maybe this is the unexpected highlight of the work. It is very rotten and not serious, but it has formed a unique super-English culture, which has brought great commercial success!
Sorry, DC can't do it at the moment, because DC is serious, if you change it to Marvel's, it's like Whedon's version of Zhenglian, the scene where Batman blushed and dared not watch Superman - too contrary and!
DC doesn't need to chase Marvel, get out of its own position! Some people like to drink Coke, but quality people like to drink red wine. But the global production value of cola far exceeds that of red wine, you can't say that red wine has no value. ——Inappropriate analogy, don't take it to heart, I'm not trying to compare who is who, I'm just saying, find your own position and make your own value.
The director is worth it, the fans are worth it, Warner, please be worth it in the future!
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