Yes, Joe Russo’s Video Response was, indeed, Ill-considered and Irritating

In October, Francesca Scorsese, whose father is the legendary Oscar-winning American filmmaker Martin Scorsese, posted a fun video on the social media application TikTok in which Martin Scorsese jokingly and playfully directs the family dog named ‘Oscar’ through an ‘audition’ for ‘a role.’ Explaining jokes defeats the purpose of the joke, but, for the purpose of this article, I should stress that the joke has nothing to do with the dog’s name — rather what is so funny and charming about the video is, first, the reveal that he’s talking to a dog, and, later, the family dog’s responses (or lack thereof) to his direction. I, and many others in the online film community, enjoyed the video quite a bit. Then, sometime thereafter, frequent Marvel collaborator and Avengers: Infinity War co-director Joe Russo posted a video response to Instagram, in which he said that he, too, has a Schnauzer as a pet, and then he makes note of the Scorsese family dog’s name before announcing that it’s ‘cute,’ but his dog’s name is Box Office.

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Snyder Cut: Zack Snyder’s Justice League is on its way to HBO MAX – Special Features #70

During a watch-along of his film Man of Steel, today — May 20th, 2020 — director Zack Snyder, alongside his wife and creative partner Deborah Snyder, announced that, in 2021, Warner Bros. will, finally, ‘release the Snyder cut’ of Justice League (2017) on HBO MAX. DC Comics’ vocal fan base has been heard. In this week’s edition of Special Features, I will answer some questions about this piece of news, and I will tell you exactly how I feel about Warner Bros.’ decision. Let’s get to it. Continue reading “Snyder Cut: Zack Snyder’s Justice League is on its way to HBO MAX – Special Features #70”

Box Office Predictions – July 2019

In July, Sony and Disney duke it out for the box office bucks. Though there are a lot of really interesting films that I’m looking forward to this month, I’m focusing on two blockbusters in this edition of Box Office Predictions. Can a live-action remake dominate the month that also gives audiences the follow-up to Avengers: Endgame, or will another superhero movie define a month of the year? Continue reading “Box Office Predictions – July 2019”

Box Office Predictions – May 2019

In May, Warner Bros. is kickstarting a new fan-favorite series with Detective Pikachu, but can it catch the top spot in its opening weekend, or will Avengers: Endgame keep its golden box office crown for another week? Make no mistake, Avengers: Endgame has been breaking records left and right and we still need to talk about it. Continue reading “Box Office Predictions – May 2019”

Box Office Predictions – Biggest Opening Weekends of 2019

And we’re back. As you may have noticed, Box Office Predictions has been on a hiatus since July 2018, but the article series is making its grand return in 2019 today. The first predictions of 2019 are all about the biggest opening weekends at the North American box office. Will Star Wars: Episode IX suffer due to the widely-reported fan divide that defined the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi? I will do my best to answer this and many other questions right now as I list my predictions for this year’s biggest opening weekends. Continue reading “Box Office Predictions – Biggest Opening Weekends of 2019”

Box Office Predictions – July 2018

And now we are officially into the second half of 2018. It still feels like the year just started, but, hey, here we are, and it is already time for the third (!!!) and final Marvel Studios film of 2018. Ant-Man and the Wasp is the big topic of discussion for July 2018, but I am also going to be talking about one other major July releases. Let’s get to it.  Continue reading “Box Office Predictions – July 2018”

Solo: A Star Wars Story’s Opening Weekend is So Low – Special Features #24

Bad news. It looks like Solo: A Star Wars Story could turn out to be a box office flop, if the recent projections for its opening weekend are to be believed. The spin-off film that was reshot by seasoned director Ron Howard may turn out to be the first box office disaster of the Disney era of Star Wars.
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