Even if you weren’t familiar with the totes awesome Scott Pilgrim series, it’s already clear today’s release of the Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World the movie is heralding in a cultural phenomenon on the level of Napoleon Dynamite (by that I mean a sleeper late-summer hit driven by geek-energy that consumes the mainstream. By that I hope I don’t mean we’ll be seeing “Team Scott” T-shirts on middle aged house dads or key chains that spew Wallace Wells quotes sold in Spencer Gifts).
Early reviews from the SP-geek illuminati have been strong, so there’s every hope that this will save the blah summer movie season. Or at least get rid of the general numbness in my face caused by The Expendables.
The reason to be hopeful here is the apparent fealty to the source material from director Edgar Wright, who, in his previous films, has exhibited the rarefied art of balancing parody and reverence for the genre in question (zombies, cop movies, manga). As a testament to that, someone made a video swapping out the live-action trailer for its original Brian Lee O’Malley book art.
BONUS: Watch Scott Pilgrim Vs. Animation, from adult swim! Featuring the back story on Kim and Scott’s relationship, and some great River City Ransom references. Continue reading →
Really, Russia? You’re gonna spy on us now? And after we just treated you to some hot slabs of American cuisine? And right before HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA weekend too, no less!
Might we remind you how the last Cold War ended? With Slyvester Stallone pummeling your national pride into a bloody mess in front of a rabid agitprop-prone crowd. One spectator was reportedly so devastated her only consolation was a several year bizarre televised relationship with American time clown Flava Flav.
I am way too overworked and still recovering from last night’s TOTALLY AWESOME Brokelyn to do big posts this week, but this one is a simple way to end the week. Is this the first recorded TWSS joke? From Hitchock’s 1929 film “Blackmail.” (via Dave Mazur)
Technically it’s “as the girl said to the soldier,” but it’s close enough. Does the river of boilerplate humor have its mouth at Hitchcock? I think the girl said that to the soldier too.
This great video is worth all the attention its getting on the internet this week:
Of course, this is highly reminiscent of the Futurama Episode “Anthology of Interest” wherein Fry queries to the what-if machine: what if life were more like a video game?
In hopes of giving a sales push (from Inverted Soapbox’s five readers) to Models Inc., the comic series edited by roommate Charlie and featuring Tim Gunn in the Iron Man suit, here’s a video of Charlie, Tim Gunn and another Marvel rep on stage at the TriBeCa Barnes and Noble last night, dishing on superhero fashion trends:
(The end of the video kinda trails off so feel free to stop watching at the pause break)
Yes, I had to look up “semiology” after Gunn used the word like four times (This is why apps were created).
Charlie also wrote the teaser headlines for these mock-up model covers used in the series, including probably the best Hulk fashion faux pas joke you’ll read all day:
I have never watched a minute of Project Runway, but I’ve found myself a rather vehement Tim Gunn fan for some reason, through things like this and his Daily Show interviews and whatnot.
As little as I care about what’s ostensibly fashionable from day to day (insert Freudian acknowledgement about how dad worked at Men’s Wearhouse and other clothing stores for his entire career here), Gunn has a great sense of humor about himself and a refreshing mindset about the fashion industry, with an understanding that just because something like fashion is unnecessary to human existence doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with reveling in its aesthetics.
Also, when someone asked him last night what the No. 1 crime against fashion is, Gunn didn’t hesitate: Crocs.
This led the Marvel boys to speculate that about a future Tim Gunn comic where the fashion icon attacks some sort of crocodile villain with his Blazer of Justice. That’s some semiotics we can all appreciate.
Inverted Soapbox 