Latest news with #JackKirby
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Next Wave Of Comic Book Movies: Creator Documentaries
Legendary comics storyteller Jack Kirby (1917-1994) is set to be the subject of a feature length ... More documentary. Though comics and superheroes have been at the center of the franchise entertainment boom of the past twenty years, large chunks of the global audience remain in the dark about the artists and creators who initially brought these characters to life. That's about to change as a wave of new documentaries are under development, often via crowdfunding campaigns, to bring their stories to a wider audience. Following on the heels of 2024's Frank Miller: American Genius (about the iconoclastic auteur behind Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City, The 300 and Daredevil), new projects spotlighting Jack Kirby (Captain America, The Avengers, most of the rest of the Marvel universe, and the American comic book industry as we know it), Steve Ditko (Spider-Man, Doctor Strange), painter Alex Ross (Marvels, Kingdom Come) and trailblazing publisher/activist and artist Denis Kitchen (Kitchen Sink Press, underground comix) are all in various stages of production. You might not imagine that people who spent most of their time indoors slaving over a drawing table meeting intractable deadlines would make for very good subjects of a feature film. Indeed many of these folks were anonymous for a reason: temperamentally, they are or were artists first, preferring the company of their supplies and their muse to the spotlight enjoyed by more gregarious industry figures like the late Marvel empresario Stan Lee. This is arguably why these figures deserve their moment in the sun, even if the glow is unlikely to be as bright as that which shines on their creations. Each creator contributed immensely to American art and culture, while laboring in an industry that, until recently, produced very little financial rewards or respect. Kirbyvision, with Ricki Stern ('Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,' 'UFOs: Investigating the Unknown') in line to direct, is under development by a group led by Dan Braun and Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment ('The Andy Warhol Diaries,' 'Wild Wild Country'), with Mike Cecchini, Ron Fogelman and Christopher Longo. This film promises to be a long-overdue look at the visionary storyteller Jack Kirby, who burst on the scene as one of American comics' first marquee-name artists in the 1940s, created the visual vocabulary of superhero comics with his dynamic work on titles like Captain America and Sandman, launched or invigorated a half-dozen new genres including romance and crime comics, and, in one of the great second acts American culture, brought the whole constellation of Marvel characters to life in the 1960s, including the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Thor, Silver Surfer, The X-Men, the Avengers and the Black Panther. After moving to DC in the early 1970s to do what many fans consider his greatest work, followed by a coda at Marvel and some independent comics in the 1980s, Kirby and his family spent decades fighting for the rights to his artwork, credit, and financial compensation they believed were his due. A legal case with Marvel was finally resolved in 2014, twenty years after Jack's death. 'If there were a Mount Rushmore of 20th century pop culture luminaries, Jack Kirby should be the first one to be carved into the mountain,' said Josh Braun. 'Kirbyvision will let audiences experience the full scope of Jack's limitless imagination, creativity and heart.' The project enjoys the full support of the Kirby family and the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center. Kirby is also the subject of a huge retrospective show running at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, providing further evidence of his cultural reach. Kirby's compatriot in the rise of Marvel in the 1960s was Steve Ditko, whose idiosyncratic style defined the initial look of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Ditko's strong views about culture and philosophy kept him well out of the public spotlight at his own insistence, earning him a reputation as a recluse. But following Ditko's death in 2018 at the age of 90, his family began sharing photos, home movies, artifacts and anecdotes that cast new light on both his personality and his career. In conjunction with this effort, Steve Ditko: A Documentary promises to build on the scholarship of Ditko biographer Zack Kruse (Mysterious Travelers) and the wealth of new information coming from the family estate with a film that 'not only honors Steve Ditko's prolific body of work by expands on our understanding of the man himself.' Kruse set to direct and coproduce alongside Matt White, who has previously collaborated with Whoopi Goldberg and Snoop Dog. Another artist who changed the visual iconography of American comics is Alex Ross, who came along in the 1990s using a fully-painted illustrative style that gave his books a realism unprecedented in a medium that typically relied on simplification and cartoony-ness to tell stories. The Legend of Kingdom Come, produced by Ross's agent Sal Abbinanti and directed by Remi Atassi, tells the inside story of one of Ross's signature works, the Kingdom Come mini-series (later graphic novel) written by Mark Waid, which provided a chilling new context for the classic DC universe. After a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $463,000, the film screened at Chicago's Music Box Theatre earlier this month, ahead of a major retrospective of Ross's artwork set to open at the Dunn Museum in Libertyville, Ill. A documentary about underground comix publisher Denis Kitchen, Oddly Compelling: The Denis Kitchen Story, is also looking to Kickstarter to get it over the finishing line. Kitchen is an artist, publisher, historian and free speech champion who got his start in the underground comix movement in the 1960s, publishing work by Robert Crumb, Trina Robbins, Howard Cruise and S. Clay Wilson. He was a friend, publisher and agent for pioneering comic book creators Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman, and successfully transitioned his Kitchen Sink Press imprint into a mainstream independent comic publisher in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. One of Kitchen's most important contributions to the medium and the industry was the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit organization he launched in the 1980s to combat efforts to censor comics and their creators, and which has carried on into the present day. Buried beneath Kitchen's advocacy work and entrepreneurship is his own work as an artist and storyteller. He has recently published several collections of drawings and a career retrospective. According to the campaign announcement, Filmmakers Soren Christiansen and Ted Intorcio have captured hours of in-depth interviews with notable friends and colleagues of Kitchen, as well as archival footage, new animations of Kitchen's artwork, and his own reminiscences. The film hopes to be in release in Fall, 2025.
The National
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
How to watch all the Marvel films in storyline order
This month's release of Thunderbolts* marked the 36th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and the final film in the timeline before Avengers: Doomsday in 2026. Before the release of the 1960s-set The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July, which sets the stage for next year's game-changing team-up, there's plenty to catch up on. For those looking to begin a venture into, arguably, cinema's most popular worlds of the past two decades, it's best to start at the beginning. Here is how to watch all movies of the MCU in chronological order. A great intro to the MCU, set during the Second World War, it has Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) being recruited as part of the super-soldier experiment, causing – hey presto – the birth of Captain America. We also get a first look at an Infinity Stone, the power-wielding jewels that will escalate in importance. Rating: 4/5 While this marks the fourth iteration of the Fantastic Four assembled for the big screen – an unreleased movie from 1994, the two modestly successful films from the 2000s and the calamitous 2015 reboot – the latest version seems poised to be the greatest. Harkening back to the 1960s setting of the original comics run by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, this period film promises to adapt one of the Kirby and Lee's most popular stories – the coming of the world-eater Galactus, announced by his herald the Silver Surfer. But because it's set decades before the rest of the MCU, fans are eagerly awaiting the many intersections it may include of the overarching Marvel story – and how it may connect with the multiverse. Rating: TBD Arriving in the nick of time before Avengers: Infinity War, cosmic hero Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) gets her origin story here – all set in 1995 – as two alien races come to blows. The fun part is seeing Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury, a regular from the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D., as his younger self, before he got that distinctive eye patch. Rating: 3/5 It all began here. Back in 2008, Jon Favreau's Iron Man was something of a risk. But casting Robert Downey Jr as the snarky Tony Stark, an inventor-billionaire who builds himself a weapon-clad suit, was a masterstroke. An entire generation-defining movie series got off to a splendid start. Rating: 4/5 Downey Jr flexed his muscles further against Mickey Rourke's whip-cracking Russian baddie, but this is most notable for introducing Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff – aka Black Widow, the ultra-limber spy who will eventually join Iron Man in the S.H.I.E.L.D. superhero gang The Avengers. Rating: 3/5 It took Marvel three goes to get the angry green giant right. This wasn't it. Following 2003's Hulk (not part of the MCU), this reboot had Ed Norton take over as Dr Bruce Banner, before Mark Ruffalo later inherited the mantle. It pre-dates The Avengers, though it's unclear where it sits in the timeline. Iron Man does make a cameo, though. Rating: 2/5 Set six months before The Avengers, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston first appear as Asgard warrior Thor and his mischief-making, power-grabbing adoptive brother Loki, in a fine effort by Kenneth Branagh, who compared it all to King Lear. Intern Darcy Lewis, later to return in TV spin-off WandaVision, also makes her MCU debut. Rating: 4/5 Marvel's so-called Phase One came to a resounding close in Joss Whedon's titanic superhero flick, as the Avengers assemble against Loki and his alien hoards. Watching Iron Man bicker with Captain America and 'Hulk smash' were only two of the highlights of a film that also, properly, introduced Jeremy Renner's archer Hawkeye after his Thor cameo. Rating: 5/5 Six months on from The Avengers, Iron Man deals with the fallout from those events while coming up against the Mandarin, the leader of a terrorist group known as the Ten Rings. Shane Black directs with his usual wit, though Sir Ben Kingsley's role – a huge twist in the film – left some fans a bit bemused. Rating: 3/5 Directed by Games of Thrones' Alan Taylor, this second outing for Thor – which concludes with half of Greenwich in London being destroyed – was inferior to the first, owing to Christopher Eccleston's generic villain Malekith. It does introduce Benicio Del Toro's infinity stones-hoarder, the Collector, though. Rating: 3/5 The first of four essential MCU movies directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Captain America's second solo outing, digging further into S.H.I.E.L.D., comes two years on from The Avengers' climactic Battle of New York. Drawing from 1970s-style conspiracy/espionage tales such as Three Days of the Condor, it further expanded Black Widow's character too. Rating: 4/5 Director James Gunn's first entry into the MCU arrived with this insouciant tale of intergalactic rogues. Chris Pratt leads the way as Peter Quill – aka Star-Lord – but the show is stolen by Rocket, a talking raccoon, and his pal Groot, a tree of very few words. Rating: 4/5 A disappointment after the highs of its predecessor, but still a lot of fun – with the Guardians again patrolling the outer reaches of the galaxy. It also expands on the Celestials, the cosmic beings that created the Eternals, with Kurt Russell as Ego. Rating: 3/5 As the Avengers team up to fight Ultron, an AI enemy hellbent on destruction, more get recruited, including Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), Vision (Paul Bettany) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), aka Falcon. Doesn't hit the highs of Whedon's earlier movie, though. Rating: 3/5 Its tortured genesis notwithstanding – director Edgar Wright quit the project, Peyton Reed took over – this is one of the most irreverent MCU entries. Thief Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is shrunk to insect-size by tech invented by Michael Douglas' former S.H.I.E.L.D. employee Hank Pym, just in time to join the fight in the coming Civil War. Rating: 4/5 One of the great comic-book movies, as Iron Man and Cap come to blows and the Avengers' infighting escalates to epic proportions. This second Russo brothers' MCU effort includes the glorious introduction of Tom Holland as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man – the third, and certainly the best, actor to play Stan Lee's web-spinning hero in the 21st century. Rating: 5/5 Taking place directly after the events of Captain America: Civil War, this origin story for Romanoff also introduces her "sister", Yelena (Florence Pugh), also trained in the so-called Red Room. To stay spoiler-free, avoid the post-credits sequence, though, until you've watched Avengers: Endgame. Rating: 4/5 Set post-Civil War, Jon Watts' effort goes all The Breakfast Club, with Peter Parker hanging out at Midtown School of Science and Technology with his pals, including love interest MJ (Zendaya). Michael Keaton pops in as the bad guy, Adrian Toomes, with an axe to grind against Stark Industries. Rating: 4/5 This intro for Benedict Cumberbatch's mystic, time-bending neurosurgeon came under fire for Tilda Swinton's casting as the Ancient One, a Tibetan character from the comics refashioned as Celtic. But no question, this is the MCU's most surreal movie yet and a vital primer for Avengers: Infinity War. Rating: 4/5 Never mind its place in the MCU, Blank Panther was a genuine cultural moment, when Marvel unveiled the fictional African nation of Wakanda and Chadwick Boseman in the title role. The first superhero movie to get a Best Picture Oscar nomination, this fired imaginations in its positive, passionate representation of black culture. Rating: 4/5 The best Thor movie yet, thanks to the arrival of Kiwi director Taika Waititi, who imported his off-kilter humour perfectly into the MCU. With Thor fighting against Cate Blanchett's Hela, the Asgardian goddess of death, it also brings in Loki and Hulk for a hugely enjoyable space romp. Rating: 4/5 Be careful here. The post-credits scene ties into the finale of Infinity War, so maybe hold off on watching until you've seen IW. But timewise, this quantum realm-hopping adventure begins two years on from Scott Lang's initial involvement with the Avengers in Civil War, with him now under house arrest. Rating: 4/5 The pinnacle of the series and everything the MCU was building towards, as the Avengers confront alien megalomaniac Thanos, now in possession of the Infinity Stones and with a major grudge against the universe. Filled with genuine jaw-dropping moments, this was comic book fare on a Shakespearean level. Rating: 5/5 It became the biggest-grossing movie of all time (before Avatar's re-release before the sequel in 2022). This conclusion to the MCU's Infinity saga storyline is another epic, spanning five years. Dealing with the theme of sacrifice for the greater good, it might just be the most emotional Marvel movie yet. Be warned: not everyone makes it out alive. Rating: 5/5 Eight months after Endgame, Spidey takes a European holiday with his classmates and comes up against the Elementals and Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio. Watts's sequel neatly touches on the Americans-abroad trope in a breezy and much-needed pick-me-up after the apocalyptic events of before. Rating: 3/5 Picking up directly after Far From Home, this mind-bending multiverse movie sees Holland's Spider-Man face friends and foes from parallel universes in a film that feels like a joyous slice of fan service. Spinning a wild web, it feels like a movie that will send the MCU in an entirely new and bold direction. Rating: 5/5 Director Destin Daniel Cretton says his effort takes place in the 'present day' so that makes it the most up-to-date entry in the series. Starring Simu Liu as the titular trained assassin, who left behind a life of killing, it reacquaints us with the Ten Rings in a more satisfying way than Iron Man 3 managed. Rating: 4/5 Five years on from events in Infinity War and eight months after Endgame, Eternals comes late in the MCU ordering. But – just to confuse you – there are some flashbacks to ancient Aztec, Babylon and so on, as the world's oldest superheroes are introduced in their battle against the alien Deviants. Rating: 3/5 In the wake of King T'Challa's death, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and her daughter Shuri (Letitia Wright) along with M'Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje, the team of women who serve as special forces for Wakanda, are in a fight to protect their nation from new intervening and threatening world powers. As Wakanda rises up to embrace its future without its king, the heroes must work together to forge a new path for the kingdom. Rating: 4/5 A combination of drama, comedy, familiar faces, nostalgia and heart-warming moments the superhero franchise has become known for, Waititi returns with his signature humorous touch in this sequel to Thor: Ragnarok (2017). Thor reunites with Dr Jane Foster, who broke up with him "eight years, seven months and six days, give or take" ago, putting this timeline to between 2023 and 2025 and after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. A fun ride from beginning to end, and possibly Hemsworth's last outing as Thor, this one is all about growing up, getting older and finding the one you love. Rating: 4/5 The film takes place after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home and sees Doctor Strange continue his research on the Time Stone. However, when Strange casts a forbidden spell, he accidentally opens the doorway to the multiverse and unleashes evil. Faced with old enemies and new foes, he is forced to break the very seams of reality to save it. Rating: 3/5 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania signals the start of the fifth phase of the MCU. The story begins when the family of microscopic heroes – which include Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) – are unwillingly sucked into the Quantum Realm. However, the deeper we venture into the story, and the Quantum Realm, it becomes clear that the film is less about Ant-Man than it is a vehicle to introduce the big baddie of phase five of the MCU: Kang the Conqueror. Rating: 2/5 The last instalment, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, is bittersweet. The film is a testament to director and writer James Gunn's singular vision where action, comedy and emotional storylines meet powerful music for a gripping cinematic experience. Unlike the previous films, the Guardians aren't facing off against one ominous villain whose plan is to eradicate half of all life in the universe. But on the whole, Gunn has delivered to audiences what they expected and always loved about the Guardians of the Galaxy universe: an adventure full of heart, humour and friendship. Most importantly though, what Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 achieves is ultimately a satisfying finale to a story of unforgettable characters. Rating: 4/5 While Deadpool & Wolverine was billed as the debut of the two titular characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this manic, violent and thoroughly R-rated buddy comedy features very little interaction with the MCU. Instead, it acts as a coda to the 20th Century Fox Marvel film universe, including Blade, Electra, Fantastic Four and the X-Men series, which unofficially ended when Disney bought the studio back in 2019. While there is one scene set before Avengers: Endgame in 2018 when Iron Man was still alive and numerous scenes in the in-between world established in the Disney+ Loki series, Deadpool and Wolverine probably won't enter the proper Marvel timeline until the coming Avengers: Doomsday, which is set for a 2026 release and will star Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom, or Avengers: Secret Wars, which is set to release in 2027. Nevertheless, while it falls apart a bit in the final act, it's a must-watch for Marvel fans new and old, and proves that the MCU still has some tricks up its sleeve. Rating: 3/5 Set in 2026, The Marvels is not merely a sequel to the 2019 hit Captain Marvel, which introduced Brie Larson's hero of the same name, it also continues the female-led stories established in Disney+ MCU series WandaVision and Ms Marvel, the latter of which introduced Kamala Khan, Marvel's first Muslim superhero. The breezy tone runtime makes it watchable if mostly forgettable, but the film also adds little to the overall Marvel narrative, with only Iman Vellani's committed and fun performance as Ms Marvel to buoy the proceedings. Rating: 2/5 In many ways, the Captain America franchise has been the beating heart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, establishing Steve Rogers as the grander story's moral centre. His successor and former partner Sam Wilson tries to do the same in his first solo film, to near-disastrous results. While Sam has earned a lot of good will from fans of the past 15 years, Captain America: Brave New World fails to provide a good reason why he should be Marvel's main character moving forward. Here, he mainly goes through the motions in one of the least watchable political thrillers ever put to film, which goes from boring to silly when president Harrison Ford begins turning into a big red monster because he'd been given the wrong pills. Taking place in 2027 (we know this because Sam Wilson says that Bucky Barnes, born in 1917, is 110), this sets the stage for Sam-led Avengers team to potentially debut in Avengers: Doomsday in 2026. But honestly, you can skip it. Rating: 0/5 When Marvel is at its worst, keeping up with the ins and outs can feel like homework. When Marvel is at its best, everything clicks into place even without context. Thunderbolts*, which is set in 2027 after Brave New World, finds Marvel once again at its best, uniting discarded supporting characters from other stories and turning that seeming weakness into the film's greatest asset. Told with empathy and humour, this is a story of flawed, human characters that audiences can't help but root for. And thanks to director Jeff Scheier's reliance on old-fashioned in-camera stunt work and committed performances from top-tier talents in Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan in particular, the film ultimately earns its second name The New Avengers – which ensures that these characters will be a prominent part of Avengers: Doomsday. Rating: 4/5
Los Angeles Times
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The Altadena theater students who rose up after the Eaton fire; plus L.A. arts and culture this week
If you've read enough of my newsletter intros, you know how much I love kids — and not just because I'm a mother. I love kids because they are unique and often fearless — they haven't yet had socially accepted conformity hammered into them. Kids make the world seem new and full of possibility. If you spend enough time with kids, and if you really listen to them, you'll learn so many wonderful things. Which is why it was such a profound and moving experience for me to write about a group of 60 kids from Altadena Arts and Eliot Arts Magnet schools who — after losing their homes, neighborhoods and schools to the Eaton fire — went on to perform their spring show, 'Shrek the Musical Jr.,' at the Ahmanson Theatre on April 18. I was lucky enough to shadow these kids — who ranged in age from 11 to 14 — when they first stepped foot on the giant Ahmanson stage after their own theater had burned down. And I got to watch them rehearse at Pasadena's McKinley School of the Arts, which has served as their temporary academic home since the fire. I also had the pleasure of interviewing some of them about their experiences, and I spent time with their incredible drama teacher, Mollie Lief, and their exacting choreographer, Billy Rugh. On show night, I got to watch them do their thing from the wings backstage. It was pure magic. During each and every encounter with these incredible kids, I found myself wiping away tears. And after my story ran, online and later on the front page in print, I heard from readers and colleagues who also found themselves crying. These young people have been through so much, but they have remained graceful, kind, passionate, dedicated and devoted to each other, their families, their teachers, their community and their craft. I'm grateful to them for letting me into their world for a brief period of time, and am so excited about the paths that they have yet to carve out for themselves in life. We could all use a bit more of their spirit in our daily interactions. I'm arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, inviting you to spend some time talking with a kid today. Ashley Lee and I have you covered for arts news this week. 'Jack Kirby: Heroes and Humanity''He was known for drawing the square jaw and rippling muscles that became the prototype for the comic book hero, and for the perspective that made fists seem to fly off the page in dramatic battles,' wrote former Times staff writer Myrna Oliver of the Marvel Comics legend who brought Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, Black Panther and more to life. 'Unlike many contemporaries, he gave his characters changing expressions and made them human and vulnerable despite their super-human abilities to thwart evil.' The exhibition traces the life of Jack Kirby, from his experiences as a first-generation Jewish American and a World War II soldier to his six-decade career as an artist of both fine and commercial art. It opens Thursday and is on view Tuesday through Sunday. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Alexander ShelleyThe newly appointed artistic and music director of the Pacific Symphony — succeeding Carl St. Clair, the symphony's music director for 35 years — makes his first appearance since the announcement leading the orchestra through Beethoven's 5th Symphony and Emperor Concerto. Shelley will be just the third music director in the history of the symphony, beginning an initial five-year term in the 2026-27 season. The three concerts, taking place Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., include preperformance talks at 7 p.m. with KUSC midday host Alan Chapman. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 'The Delicate Tears of the Waning Moon'Playwright Rebeca Alemán stars alongside Eric K. Roberts in her drama about a Latin American human rights journalist fighting for justice after a violent attack. Based on the harrowing true stories of Mexican journalists Miroslava Breach and Anabel Flores, the production from Latino Theater Company and Chicago's Water People Theater is directed by Iraida Tapias and will be performed in English with Spanish supertitles. Performances begin Thursday and run through May 25. Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., downtown. — Ashley Lee MONDAYBeyoncé Three months after 'Cowboy Carter' finally brought her a Grammy Award for album of the year, Queen Bey begins a five-night stand in Inglewood.7 p.m. Monday, Thursday, May 4, 7 and 9. SoFi Stadium, 1001 S. Stadium Drive, Inglewood. TUESDAYEva Aguila: Vino de Sangre The artist's first solo museum exhibition, an immersive installation of newly commissioned artworks, traces 500 years of the Mission grape, colonization, religious conversion and the subjugation of Indigenous p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, through Sept. 13. Vincent Price Art Museum, East Los Angeles College, 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park. Cataclysm: The 1972 Diane Arbus Retrospective Revisited The first major survey of the iconic photographer's work in Los Angeles in more than 20 years re-creates the landmark exhibition from the Museum of Modern Art, New York.10 a.m.- 6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through June 21. David Zwirner, 606 N. Western Ave. Constance Brantley: The Island The painter explores her identity through two disparate locations that shaped it: Guimaras Island in Philippines and Long Island, New through May 24. Taylor Fine Art, 6039 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Karin Gulbran: The Pink Pepper Tree A solo exhibition featuring the artist's ceramic sculptures features a range of forms and motifs, alongside her first publicly exhibited painting in 25 years. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through June 14. Parker Gallery, 6700 Melrose Ave. Elizabeth Paige Smith: unshade me of you Selections of recent work from the Venice-based artist and furniture designer.11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through May 24. The Brick, 518 N. Western Ave. Vocal Dimensions Icelandic musician Daníel Bjarnason leads the L.A. Phil New Music Group in premieres of Israeli American composer Chaya Czernowin's 'NO!' and his own new cycle 'Hands on Me' for soprano and ensemble.8 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. WEDNESDAYBonnie & Clyde J. Scott Lapp directs a new musical featuring the exploits of the Depression-era crime duo with a book by Ivan Menchell, lyrics by Don Black and a rockabilly-, blues- and gospel-themed score by Frank May 18. Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. Celebrate L.A.! The nonprofit multicultural programmer Dance and Dialogue presents some of the city's leading dance companies.7:30 p.m. Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 4401 W. 8th St. Lights, Camera, Cabaret! The Epic Players present a neuro-inclusive celebration of Hollywood's hit songs.7:30 p.m. Dynasty Typewriter, 2511 Wilshire Blvd. Welcome to the Dream Factory MUSE/IQUE is joined by violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and vocalist Sy Smith to celebrate the Golden Age of Hollywood and the European immigrants who invented the modern art of film scoring.7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino; 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. May 4. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. THURSDAYFostered A couple looking forward to their golden years instead have their house turned upside down by the return of their adult children in this comedy written by Chaya Doswell and directed by Andy Weyman.8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday, through June 15. Pacific Resident Theatre, 703 Venice Blvd. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance John Ford's 1962 western classic features an all-star cast, including John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin and Edmond O'Brien.7:30 p.m. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd. 24 to 24 Music The orchestral collective Wild Up performs Arthur Russell's 1979 minimalist disco masterwork.8:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. Italian pianist Alessandro Martire made a splash when he performed while floating on a platform in Lake Como — more than 5,000 people showed up to watch from the shore, and the spectacle proved so memorable that Martire continued to perform on the lake, including in small shows for guests on boats. He went on to found a biannual festival for the Lake Como region that welcomes artists to the area for shows in immersive or historic environments. Martire has made a career of holding concerts in unusual places including on a snowy hillside in the Alps, in an Australian desert at sunset, atop the Duomo in Milan and in Kazakhstan's Charyn Canyon . He recently visited L.A. for a show at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre with the Orchid Quartet. During Gustavo Dudamel's penultimate season with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the music director and conductor continues to push boundaries and bend genres, writes Times classical music critic Mark Swed. Of particular note: 'Friday night he premiered Carlos Simon's stirring, gospel-inspired 'Good News Mass,' creating a near frenzy in Walt Disney Concert Hall. The next day, the L.A. Phil hopped on a bus for the second of its trailblazing appearances with Dudamel at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where the week before its concert ended with thousands of fans chanting, 'L.A. Phil! L.A. Phil! L.A. Phil!'' If you've ever spent a crazed weekend at the country's most revered music festival, you know what a huge deal it is to have young rock fans freaking out for a classical set. Famed Japanese artist Takashi Murakami has teamed up with the Los Angeles Dodgers on merch featuring Murakami's signature flower designs. The items originally sold out in a pop-up on Fairfax before the two-game, season-opening series in Japan last month. But now the collection is back, and there is more on offer — for a price, of course. Here's how to get it, writes Times staff writer Steve Henson. A new performing arts center is coming to Griffith Park. Late last week, the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks held a groundbreaking ceremony for the venue. The event was co-hosted by Councilmember Nithya Raman and the Independent Shakespeare Co. performed. (The company will use that stage for its annual summer Shakespeare festival.) The new project includes an outdoor stage, measuring 45 feet by 45 feet, in the Old Zoo area of the park, as well as a resurfaced parking lot, improvements to restrooms, path lighting, resurfaced walkways and a new path and bridge with added accessibility for the disabled. Fourteen teens with a passion for the performing arts have been named the grand prize winners of the Music Center's 37th Spotlight program — a competition and scholarship program that rewards top-notch talent in drama, dance, voice and music. This year's winners were selected from more than 1,600 applicants. They each receive a $5,000 scholarship and the opportunity to perform at the Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre during the Spotlight Grand Finale on Friday, June 6, at 8 p.m. To read all about the talented winners, and to reserve free tickets to the show, click here. 'A former Beverly Hills resident and owner of an L.A. pawnshop tried to sell stolen Andy Warhol art and lied about the scheme to federal agents,' writes Kaitlyn Huamani in a news story about the con. — Jessica Gelt I am currently engaged in a quest to check every taco off this list of the Food section's 11 carne asada tacos to try.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Comic Book Legend Jack Kirby Getting Definitive Documentary in ‘Kirbyvision'
Documentary film director, Ricki Stern ('Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,' 'UFOs: Investigating the Unknown'), is set to direct 'Kirbyvision' a feature length documentary telling the complete and fascinating story of legendary artist, storyteller, and creator, Jack Kirby. Dan Braun and Josh Braun ('The Andy Warhol Diaries', the Emmy-winning 'Wild Wild Country') will produce under their Submarine Deluxe production banner, a wholly owned subsidiary of Submarine, alongside Mike Cecchini, Ron Fogelman, and Chris Longo. Kirby is widely regarded as one of the comic book medium's most innovative, prolific, and influential creators. At the height of his nearly six decade career, Kirby created or co-created many of Marvel's major characters including Captain America (with Joe Simon), the Avengers, Black Panther, the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, Thor, the X-Men, and countless others (with comics impresario Stan Lee). He worked similar magic for DC Comics, where he created the sprawling, psychedelic 'Fourth World,' a series of political and psychedelic sci-fi epics often considered his most ambitious work. His creations as writer, artist, and editor include Darkseid, Mister Miracle, OMAC, The Demon, and many others who are mainstays of DC's publishing and screen projects to this day. In the decades since his passing, Kirby's name has become synonymous with epic sequential art storytelling and unrestrained creativity. But the influence of his work extends far beyond the page, and his name is often celebrated by not only the entire comic book industry, but blockbuster filmmakers, contemporary artists, best-selling novelists, musicians, and more. To bring Kirby's remarkable story to life, 'Kirbyvision' will work with the Estate of Jack Kirby as represented by the Rosalind Kirby Family Trust, his daughters Lisa and Barbara Kirby, and grandchildren Tracy and Jeremy Kirby, as well as the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center to access a treasure trove of personal documents, home movies, and creative materials, many widely unseen by the public until now. 'We are thrilled to work with such a dedicated, passionate, and knowledgeable team of filmmakers,' Lisa Kirby said in a statement. 'The legacy of Jack Kirby is in good hands, as Ricki, Dan, Josh, Ron, Mike, Chris, and their team share the same creative energy that helped my father create boundless universes of characters that continue to inspire us and shape our imaginations.' Variety first reported the news. The post Comic Book Legend Jack Kirby Getting Definitive Documentary in 'Kirbyvision' appeared first on TheWrap.
Euronews
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Fantastic Four: Why has there never been a good film adaptation of Marvel's first family?
In this era of somnolent superhero fever, it's hard to imagine a time when a gang of quibbling cosmic-powered vigilantes felt fresh, exciting and novel. Cast your minds back, if you will, to 1961 - a time of space races, youthquakes and Kennedy-mania. Values and perspectives were changing at a rapid pace, propelled by growing civil unrest, counterculture and an increasingly turbulent atmosphere that swayed fervently between uncertainty and idealism. Meanwhile, a small cornerstone comic book company called Marvel Comics was struggling to make ends meet. Its competitor, DC Comics, had recently released a popular series called 'Justice League of America', in which an organisation of the world's most powerful superheroes fought crime together. Writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby took note, then set about co-creating Marvel's very first family: The Fantastic Four. A "fourtaste" of things to come 'The first Fantastic Four issue in 1961 is the first true entry of what we know as the marvel universe,' Alex Grand, author of 'Understanding Superhero Comic Books' tells Euronews Culture. It focused on a crew of adventurers: scientist Reed Richards, his wife Susan Storm, her brother Johnny Storm and their pilot friend Ben Grimm. After launching into space, they find themselves caught in a cosmic storm that crashes their shuttle back down to Earth - and leaves them with superpowers. Reed's body can suddenly bend and stretch like rubber, Johnny bursts into flames, Susan becomes invisible, while Ben transforms into a boulderous monster. Unlike most superheroes, The Fantastic Four never hid their identities, instead embracing a celebrity status under their chosen monikers of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch and Thing. Their family ties also meant they bickered and bonded like authentic people, each with their own vulnerabilities and strengths (an especially rare thing for female characters at the time, who were usually typified as damsels in distress). All of this tapped into a new sense of realism and relatability for the genre. 'The team's uncertainty, especially the Thing, reflected the anxiety and uncertainty of the 1960s. That became a sensation with readers who felt the same way,' Grand explains. 'This comic stood alone among Marvel's more simple monster comics and DC's 40s and 50s approach to the un-relatable, perfect superhero behaviour of the Justice League. The success of Fantastic Four paved the way for Spider-Man, Thor, Hulk, Iron Man and more.' The franchise marked the dawning of a vision that would make Marvel the most popular comic book company in the world, where spectacular people and the world's they inhabited were the same as ours, just enhanced with possibility. As Lee once said: 'Marvel has always been and always will be a reflection of the world right outside our window'. A series of fantastic flops Now a behemoth of box office pop culture, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) actually began with one of their least popular comic book characters: Iron Man. Yet there's still never been a successful movie version of The Fantastic Four. The first attempt is one that most forget - mainly because it was never officially released. Produced in the early 90s by the late, great B-movie legend Roger Corman, it was an ashcan movie - made purely to preserve license rights. Kitsch, campy and ridiculous, it's gained somewhat of a cult status since the release of a 2015 documentary Doomed!: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four. 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) took the helm in 2005, releasing the commercially successful but critically panned Fantastic Four, starring Chris Evans, Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd and Michael Chiklis. This was followed up by an equally naff 2007 sequel, The Rise of the Silver Surfer, the lukewarm response to which led to any plans for a third instalment being shelved. The final nail in the coffin seemed to be Josh Tank's 2015 reboot, Fant4stic. Plagued by production clashes and a convoluted plot devoid of any fun or real purpose, it was nearly universally hated, leaving the franchise dormant for almost a decade. But could things finally be about to change now that Marvel's been handed back the reins? Last week, the first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps was revealed, due out in July 2025 and starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Most promising is its decision to take things back to the 60s, with slick space age set design and sense of retro sitcom whimsy, reminiscent of 'The Jetsons'. This period setting, Grand feels, is essential for connecting modern day audiences with what made The Fantastic Four so beloved initially: 'The magic of the FF has always been based in a science fiction family of the 1960s, navigating the uncertainty of the universe around them. I think previous iterations tried to make it flashy and edgy like the X-Men, and missed the mark on what makes the comic enjoyable. By setting the film in the early 1960s, it's bringing to viewers the Jack Kirby and Stan Lee originality that made the comic successful.' Fans online have shared similar sentiments about the film adaptations being too concerned with special effects over relationship dynamics, while others have pointed to the tone never being quite right - even trickier in an age of self-serious or sardonically self-aware superhero adaptations. 'The first two films tried to make FF too cool, and Fant4stic tried to make them too serious," a Reddit user writes. "The key to the Fantastic Four is accepting that they're goofy as hell and rolling with it.' Another common criticism is the previous films' failures in accurately depicting two of Marvel's most complex and terrifying villains - Doctor Doom and Galactus, turning the former into a mutant and the latter a rather ludicrous-looking cloud of smoke in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. 'They missed the mark and the look [of Galactus] completely and gave the character no on screen presence, since he spontaneously disappeared at the end of the film as soon as he appeared,' Grand says, noting that the new film looks to rectify this by taking the character back to its original comic book appearance. '[Doctor Doom and Galactus] both bring the threat of true status quo change. Galactus may consume our planet. Doom may actually take us all down. Both [have] relatable drives that compel us to both root for and dread them. They're not necessarily evil, but rather hungry. Something that previous iterations on screen failed to capture in the writing.' Doctor Doom, a role now being taken on by Robert Downey Jr. for two upcoming Avengers films, will reportedly not appear in The Fantastic Four - yet, at least. Ultimately, it won't take much for The Fantastic Four: First Steps to be considered the best adaptation so far, but for it to truly capture the original comic book's magic and surpass a middling response, the key seems to be somewhere between simplifying the spectacle and ramping up the corny yet adventurous spirit at its heart. After all, it was never the superhuman abilities that warmed audiences to The Fantastic Four, but rather their comforting realness and drive to explore the universe, which spoke to a world suddenly glimpsing beyond the boundaries of possibility. 'And Marvel said, Let there be The Fantastic Four. And there was The Fantastic Four,' Lee wrote in his introductions to each comic. 'And Marvel saw The Fantastic Four. And it was good.' Here's hoping cinemagoers soon agree.
