list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Phantom on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Phantom/93465/default.aspx Title: The Phantom
Year: 1996
Director: Simon Wincer
Plot: The first superhero ever, created by Lee Falk in 1936, gets another shot at movie stardom 60 years after achieving fame in comics and serials. Billy Zane stars as Kit Walker, who discovers that he's the 21st in a line of purple-clad African superheroes known as "The Phantom" or, to superstitious Bengalla Island natives, "the Ghost Who Walks." When he's not fighting the evil Singh Brotherhood with his faithful wolf Devil and white horse Hero, the Phantom lives in the hidden Skull Cave. Kit discovers that Xander Drax (Treat Williams), a slimy industrialist, is plotting to take over the world by uniting the three long lost magical Skulls of Touganda. So he travels to New York, where he finds allies in crusading newspaper publisher Dave (Bill Smitrovich) and his niece, Diana (Kristy Swanson), who's also Kit's ex-girlfriend. Kit and Diana tackle Drax's forces, including the conflicted Sala (Catherine Zeta-Jones), in a quest for the Skulls that brings both sides back to Bengalla for a showdown. The Phantom's mixture of elaborate stunts with liberal doses of tongue-in-cheek humor was characteristic of screenwriter Jeffrey Boam, whose previous films included Innerspace (1987) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 1
Number of Lists: 8
Number of blog posts: 2
SpoutRating: 2
]]>Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:00:49 GMTThe Phantom1996Simon WincerThe first superhero ever, created by Lee Falk in 1936, gets another shot at movie stardom 60 years after achieving fame in comics and serials. <a href="/players/P____78411/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Billy Zane</a> stars as Kit Walker, who discovers that he's the 21st in a line of purple-clad African superheroes known as "The Phantom" or, to superstitious Bengalla Island natives, "the Ghost Who Walks." When he's not fighting the evil Singh Brotherhood with his faithful wolf Devil and white horse Hero, the Phantom lives in the hidden Skull Cave. Kit discovers that Xander Drax (<a href="/players/P____76576/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Treat Williams</a>), a slimy industrialist, is plotting to take over the world by uniting the three long lost magical Skulls of Touganda. So he travels to New York, where he finds allies in crusading newspaper publisher Dave (Bill Smitrovich) and his niece, Diana (<a href="/players/P____69296/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Kristy Swanson</a>), who's also Kit's ex-girlfriend. Kit and Diana tackle Drax's forces, including the conflicted Sala (<a href="/players/P____36062/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Catherine Zeta-Jones</a>), in a quest for the Skulls that brings both sides back to Bengalla for a showdown. The Phantom's mixture of elaborate stunts with liberal doses of tongue-in-cheek humor was characteristic of screenwriter <a href="/players/P____82227/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jeffrey Boam</a>, whose previous films included <a href=/films/17094/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Innerspace</a> (1987) and <a href=/films/17012/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</a> (1989). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide1Slightly Tagged (1-5)822http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t02950qxlhy.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Phantom/93465/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/1/1/39018.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 1/1/2009 3:00:49 PM
Body: The Spirit drove straight into Tanksville last weekend, earning only $6.5 million dollars. But before we can claim that we saw it coming and gloat over its still-warm corpse, it might just be a sign that old-school comic book / radio / serial heroes just can’t make it with today’s audiences. Why is it that Batman and Superman can rake in hundreds of millions of dollars, but heroes that are arguably just as interesting end up tanking at the box office? Producers have tried to revive the nostalgic exploits of the cadre of “The” named heroes of yesteryear ranging from The Lone Ranger to The Shadow, but each time the box office take has been far less than the studios had hoped for, and the grand plans for a franchise of movies, action figure tie-ins, and a breakfast cereal get canceled. Below is a list of the high-profile attempts to revive old heroes that have fallen flat on their masked faces. The Legend of the Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger was first broadcast on radio airwaves in the early 1930s, eventually spanning more than 3,000 (!) episodes between the radio and television shows. However, in 1981 a feature film version tried to bring the hero back, and it wasn’t met with much enthusiasm. It wasn’t helped by the fact that the studio sought an injunction against Clayon Moore during filming that forced him to stop referring to himself as “The Lone Ranger,” and kept him from appearing in a cameo in the movie. It made only $12 million dollars at the box office, and when the WB tried to bring the hero back in 2003 with a two hour TV movie, that also tanked. Disney is working on a new version with Johnny Depp as Tonto, which could frankly go either way. The Rocketeer While Dave Stevens’ seminal Rocketeer comic books and graphic novels first appeared in the early 1980s, the character and storyline were meant as homage to pulp heroes from the 1930s and 40s. Disney spent $40 million dollars bringing the helmeted hero to the big screen, but it barely made that back at the box office, and thus Disney canceled plans for a franchise of films, and title hero Billy Campbell spiraled from feature film roles to parts in television shows. Dave Stevens unfortunately passed away earlier this year, but it would be great if someone could revisit this and do it justice. Especially with some decent effects, because some of the flying scenes in the first filmed version are just painfully bad. The Shadow Admittedly, this 1994 Alec Baldwin movie based on the old The Shadow radio serials is a guilty pleasure of mine. I own the DVD, and whenever I flip past it on cable, I usually end up watching it. It’s not a good movie by any means: Tim Curry applies way too much ham to his performance, they play fast and loose with The Shadow’s origin story, Penelope Ann Miller is miscast as the damsel in distress, and it just falls apart halfway through. Still, the shots of Baldwin in the billowing coat and fedora hint at what this could have been. It managed to pull in $32 million, but failed to make back its budget or to launch the multi-film legacy they’d hoped for. It also pushed then up-and-coming Highlander director Russell Mulcahy off the Hollywood bandwagon. The Phantom Whatever happened to Billy Zane? People always remember him as the jerk millionaire in Titanic, but they completely forget The Phantom, his starring pulp hero role from 1996. Zane played the titular masked hero, the Phantom, a mysterious figure who fights crime from a jungle sanctuary and passes down his mantle from generation to generation. This movie was advertised everywhere with giant purple posters that shouted, “SLAM EVIL!,” and you could get real steel Phantom rings with your Slurpee at 7-11. Despite that, the movie topped out at $17 million total and faded away. Recently it was announced that an $80 million dollar plus reboot / revamp is in the works. This time, most likely without Billy Zane. The Mask of Zorro / The Legend of Zorro The Mask of Zorro is one of those exceptions to the rule, but its sequel The Legend of Zorro falls squarely under it. Mask starred Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and pulled in over $250 million dollars worldwide. It paid homage to the original Zorro storyline by including Anthony Hopkins Don Diego de la Vega, who was the Zorro in the original pulp novels and the old Disney television series. Banderas portrays a new Zorro, Alejandro Murrieta, who takes up the mask after it is passed to him. The sequel, which inexplicably came seven years later, grossed $100 million dollars less and is considered to be far inferior… mostly because it skimps on action and treats the Zeta-Jones character as a fool. The Green Hornet The Green Hornet was actually inspired by The Lone Ranger, and he was even written as the Ranger’s grand-nephew. The Hornet and his faithful sidekick Kato fought crime with their tricked out Black Beauty hornetmobile for 16 years on the radio, but when the series came to television in 1966, it was canceled after only one season. Despite Bruce Lee playing Kato and a cameo appearance by the crimefighters on the popular Batman television series, The Green Hornet just couldn’t fly. Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg are working on an updated version for Sony, which should be in theaters in 2010. Rogen will play the title hero, and currently Stephen Chow is slated to play Kato. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:00:49 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com1/1/2009 3:00:49 PMThe Spirit drove straight into Tanksville last weekend, earning only $6.5 million dollars. But before we can claim that we saw it coming and gloat over its still-warm corpse, it might just be a sign that old-school comic book / radio / serial heroes just can’t make it with today’s audiences. Why is it that Batman and Superman can rake in hundreds of millions of dollars, but heroes that are arguably just as interesting end up tanking at the box office? Producers have tried to revive the nostalgic exploits of the cadre of “The” named heroes of yesteryear ranging from The Lone Ranger to The Shadow, but each time the box office take has been far less than the studios had hoped for, and the grand plans for a franchise of movies, action figure tie-ins, and a breakfast cereal get canceled. Below is a list of the high-profile attempts to revive old heroes that have fallen flat on their masked faces. The Legend of the Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger was first broadcast on radio airwaves in the early 1930s, eventually spanning more than 3,000 (!) episodes between the radio and television shows. However, in 1981 a feature film version tried to bring the hero back, and it wasn’t met with much enthusiasm. It wasn’t helped by the fact that the studio sought an injunction against Clayon Moore during filming that forced him to stop referring to himself as “The Lone Ranger,” and kept him from appearing in a cameo in the movie. It made only $12 million dollars at the box office, and when the WB tried to bring the hero back in 2003 with a two hour TV movie, that also tanked. Disney is working on a new version with Johnny Depp as Tonto, which could frankly go either way. The Rocketeer While Dave Stevens’ seminal Rocketeer comic books and graphic novels first appeared in the early 1980s, the character and storyline were meant as homage to pulp heroes from the 1930s and 40s. Disney spent $40 million dollars bringing the helmeted hero to the big screen, but it barely made that back at the box office, and thus Disney canceled plans for a franchise of films, and title hero Billy Campbell spiraled from feature film roles to parts in television shows. Dave Stevens unfortunately passed away earlier this year, but it would be great if someone could revisit this and do it justice. Especially with some decent effects, because some of the flying scenes in the first filmed version are just painfully bad. The Shadow Admittedly, this 1994 Alec Baldwin movie based on the old The Shadow radio serials is a guilty pleasure of mine. I own the DVD, and whenever I flip past it on cable, I usually end up watching it. It’s not a good movie by any means: Tim Curry applies way too much ham to his performance, they play fast and loose with The Shadow’s origin story, Penelope Ann Miller is miscast as the damsel in distress, and it just falls apart halfway through. Still, the shots of Baldwin in the billowing coat and fedora hint at what this could have been. It managed to pull in $32 million, but failed to make back its budget or to launch the multi-film legacy they’d hoped for. It also pushed then up-and-coming Highlander director Russell Mulcahy off the Hollywood bandwagon. The Phantom Whatever happened to Billy Zane? People always remember him as the jerk millionaire in Titanic, but they completely forget The Phantom, his starring pulp hero role from 1996. Zane played the titular masked hero, the Phantom, a mysterious figure who fights crime from a jungle sanctuary and passes down his mantle from generation to generation. This movie was advertised everywhere with giant purple posters that shouted, “SLAM EVIL!,” and you could get real steel Phantom rings with your Slurpee at 7-11. Despite that, the movie topped out at $17 million total and faded away. Recently it was announced that an $80 million dollar plus reboot / revamp is in the works. This time, most likely without Billy Zane. The Mask of Zorro / The Legend of Zorro The Mask of Zorro is one of those exceptions to the rule, but its sequel The Legend of Zorro falls squarely under it. Mask starred Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and pulled in over $250 million dollars worldwide. It paid homage to the original Zorro storyline by including Anthony Hopkins Don Diego de la Vega, who was the Zorro in the original pulp novels and the old Disney television series. Banderas portrays a new Zorro, Alejandro Murrieta, who takes up the mask after it is passed to him. The sequel, which inexplicably came seven years later, grossed $100 million dollars less and is considered to be far inferior… mostly because it skimps on action and treats the Zeta-Jones character as a fool. The Green Hornet The Green Hornet was actually inspired by The Lone Ranger, and he was even written as the Ranger’s grand-nephew. The Hornet and his faithful sidekick Kato fought crime with their tricked out Black Beauty hornetmobile for 16 years on the radio, but when the series came to television in 1966, it was canceled after only one season. Despite Bruce Lee playing Kato and a cameo appearance by the crimefighters on the popular Batman television series, The Green Hornet just couldn’t fly. Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg are working on an updated version for Sony, which should be in theaters in 2010. Rogen will play the title hero, and currently Stephen Chow is slated to play Kato. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/7/15/32584.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 7/15/2008 4:00:55 PM
Body: After seeing the sleek teaser trailer for The Spirit, Frank Miller’s adaptation of the classic Will Eisner comics, it’s hard to believe that this new leaked trailer (originally posted on Film School Rejects, where it may still be available) is for the same movie. It begins with an arty, perfume-ad sort of misdirected marketing angle and then evolves into a goofy mix between the campy Batman series/movies, Sin City, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Brenda Starr (remember that piece of crap?). And I’m not alone in thinking it now looks pretty terrible. Bloggers and commenters around the web are mostly critical of Samuel L. Jackson’s look. Personally, I think Gabriel Macht, as the lead, looks about as lame as Billy Zane in The Phantom (is it possible domino masks are never cool on an actor?). For a roundup of what others are saying, since you probably can no longer see the clip out yourself, check out some links after the jump. Wired’s Underwire blog says the new trailer “sucks” and “just doesn’t capture, well, the spirit of The Spirit.” Cinematical’s Eugene Novikov fears that “The Spirit will prize style to the exclusion of a story that can be taken seriously” and admits about Jackson: “I can’t imagine I’ll be able to watch him in the movie without giggling.” Peter Sciretta at /Film has a good point that “The actors come off as actors wearing costumes, rather than comic book characters brought to life on the big screen,” and asks a question I too wondered: “what is up with the psychedelic image of The Spirit falling out of the lips of a woman’s mouth? Am I missing something?” Josh Tyler at Cinema Blend may have the answer: “Apparently, The Spirit is some sort of sex fiend? The trailer focuses on his weird dalliances with women, some of which seem to happen inside 80s music videos and some of which happen inside Sin City.” At FirstShowing.net, Alex Billington attempts some positivity: “I actually think it doesn’t look that bad.” io9’s Meredith Woerner has a lot of negatives to counter that: “Let’s disregard the godawful late-90s rock music in the background for a moment, and focus on the big bad. First, you’ve got a ton of things going on that make no sense. The Spirit is seen climbing across big fat lady lips, that’s a bit jarring. Next there’s the dialogue: it’s rotten. It reeks of trying too hard. ‘You’re so close,’ coos Lorelei. Finally, the barrage of Hollywood hotties seems more like a desperate play for sexiness than picking the right actor for each role.” Mike Sampson at JoBlo gives this confusing response: “I’m straight up dying to see THE SPIRIT because I can’t believe how unbelievably bad it looks.” Finally, some simple, full-on positivity from Carolina at Hollywood.com: “Movie comes out in December. Looks pretty good. Any other Frank Miller fans?” Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:00:55 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com7/15/2008 4:00:55 PM After seeing the sleek teaser trailer for The Spirit, Frank Miller’s adaptation of the classic Will Eisner comics, it’s hard to believe that this new leaked trailer (originally posted on Film School Rejects, where it may still be available) is for the same movie. It begins with an arty, perfume-ad sort of misdirected marketing angle and then evolves into a goofy mix between the campy Batman series/movies, Sin City, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Brenda Starr (remember that piece of crap?). And I’m not alone in thinking it now looks pretty terrible. Bloggers and commenters around the web are mostly critical of Samuel L. Jackson’s look. Personally, I think Gabriel Macht, as the lead, looks about as lame as Billy Zane in The Phantom (is it possible domino masks are never cool on an actor?). For a roundup of what others are saying, since you probably can no longer see the clip out yourself, check out some links after the jump. Wired’s Underwire blog says the new trailer “sucks” and “just doesn’t capture, well, the spirit of The Spirit.” Cinematical’s Eugene Novikov fears that “The Spirit will prize style to the exclusion of a story that can be taken seriously” and admits about Jackson: “I can’t imagine I’ll be able to watch him in the movie without giggling.” Peter Sciretta at /Film has a good point that “The actors come off as actors wearing costumes, rather than comic book characters brought to life on the big screen,” and asks a question I too wondered: “what is up with the psychedelic image of The Spirit falling out of the lips of a woman’s mouth? Am I missing something?” Josh Tyler at Cinema Blend may have the answer: “Apparently, The Spirit is some sort of sex fiend? The trailer focuses on his weird dalliances with women, some of which seem to happen inside 80s music videos and some of which happen inside Sin City.” At FirstShowing.net, Alex Billington attempts some positivity: “I actually think it doesn’t look that bad.” io9’s Meredith Woerner has a lot of negatives to counter that: “Let’s disregard the godawful late-90s rock music in the background for a moment, and focus on the big bad. First, you’ve got a ton of things going on that make no sense. The Spirit is seen climbing across big fat lady lips, that’s a bit jarring. Next there’s the dialogue: it’s rotten. It reeks of trying too hard. ‘You’re so close,’ coos Lorelei. Finally, the barrage of Hollywood hotties seems more like a desperate play for sexiness than picking the right actor for each role.” Mike Sampson at JoBlo gives this confusing response: “I’m straight up dying to see THE SPIRIT because I can’t believe how unbelievably bad it looks.” Finally, some simple, full-on positivity from Carolina at Hollywood.com: “Movie comes out in December. Looks pretty good. Any other Frank Miller fans?” Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/superhero/MemberTagFilms.aspxsuperhero
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