Man of Steel answers insight commentary episode 25 DCC you speculation creators and business I will ask the obvious question start asking questions and answers a welcome to Man of Steel answers insight commentary on your Man of Steel apologist Dr. awkward I cover a mosaic of topics for fans who love discussing the Man of Steel and the DC cinematic universe together will endeavor to answer the questions criticisms and controversies raised by Man of Steel and those eagerly anticipating the DCC you this episode we engage in speculation cover the creators the moviemakers and the movers and shakers then wrap with the business side of things this podcast dives deep into the DC cinematic universe to answer the critics and the confused the show is not meant to convert anybody but the celebrate the films of the DC cinematic universe reasonable minds will differ but this is a show for fans who love Man of Steel and who love to chew their food will there's been so much new DCC you info since our last mailbag month ago and we have an embarrassment of riches to talk about this isn't a show for breaking news but we do do news analysis to memorialize where we were in this moment so that one day we can look back and see where we work today were to tackle everything in three big sections first one to do a survey of the news from a story standpoint so what insights we can glean from the BBS synopsis the Aquaman synopsis suicide squad set photos and things like that then were to talk about the people behind the films like Greg Silverman James wan Patty Jenkins and David Ayer and then finally within a wrapped with a little business talk Warner Bros. as a studio licensing Expo and how licensing works so of course we begin with that synopsis spearing the actions of a godlike superhero left unchecked Gotham city's own formidable forceful vigilante takes on metropolises most revered modern day Savior while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs and with Batman and Superman at war with one another a new threat quickly arises putting mankind in greater danger than it ever known before that is a pretty long run-on sentence you ask okay before we completely over analyze this and I promise I won't ramble on this too much I want to take you back to 2013 where the official synopsis for Man of Steel included this line Clark Kent is a young twentysomething journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond anyone's imagination so maybe that was in the original film and cut especially if the film originally took its cues from birth right but the bottom line is that the synopsis was wrong and as far as we know Clark wouldn't primarily be described as a journalist in Man of Steel in other words speculation is fun and all but even an official synopsis can be wrong or misleading and in the past we've talked about the differences between the final product in the trailers if you watched my Man of Steel myths video with the many myths you might remember the confusion surrounding Jenny John which so whatever we read into this or speculate obviously take it all with a grain of salt were just having fun speculating so let's get into it just as a quick overall reaction it really seem to reveal all that much it essentially says when anybody who had just heard the BBS announcement and who had seen Man of Steel might be up to put together all on their own in up to heroes fighting and then a third act threat bringing the duos together as allies just like every first encounter of heroes from the comics but let's dig just a little deeper with all the grammatical nesting that's going on let's restructure this just to be a little bit more straightforward and concise so Batman takes on Superman fearing Superman's actions are unchecked Batman is Gotham's forceful vigilante Superman is the revered Savior of metropolis the world wrestles with what type of hero it needs Batman and Superman are at war a new danger to mankind quickly arises now it may seem a little pedantic to reword or break things up like that but it might illuminate some insights obscured by that original phrasing Batman takes on Superman will Batman takes on Superman makes it clear who the aggressor and the instigator is there's a certain comfort in that because it means that were not going down the path of the president sicking soupçon Batman like and TKR it also makes the matchup marginally more plausible if it's at Batman's behest rather than simply a defensive reaction in other words Batman had been aiming for this confrontation his preparations make more sense than if Superman just shows up and Batman is able to deal with him purely based on his paranoid preparations alone I'm not saying that such contingencies can't be a part of the character they obviously are but one situation is a little bit more plausible than the other so why does Batman go after Superman while the synopsis gives us a little bit of motivation fearing Superman's actions are unchecked only doesn't say Superman it says godlike superhero so first we know that Batman is motivated by fear and cynicism against actions that he acknowledges are superheroic and that can be interpreted as an issue of accountability rather than necessarily reprisal and I love that not hope that that's the case way back in episode two we talked about the idea of how Batman bringing a grievance against Superman specifically over collateral damage isn't necessarily as meaningful or resident and some other conflict on which reasonable minds can differ in which might speak to say larger themes or issues the question of accountability with great power has always been a compelling theme in an interesting parallel with the USA's arguable status as the last superpower the issues that Superman might wrestle with other kinds of issues that we wrestle with as a nation reciting my that Americans are saying now is commonly known as having only one what was in on we will reform policy choices and I believe Americans in a very very different the first I would call indispensable American and responsible revenues of we don't necessarily wanting a will is no one else is doing well wants to know else's remotely capable of using power vacuum is going to hurt everyone including we still be in charge building and supporting international institutions we still be the vanguard for promoting values that matter to as a second choice along very different choice was money polymeric idea United States was still the richest country in the world behind in a world in a promote democracy everywhere a lot of push to do is in the money spend our resources in the places that really matter the most us the virtual is a very different choice in the heaven America says still the world's only superpower our values are important but those are not important in telling everyone else what to do and how to being is so important as living behind them ourselves and actually meaning the world why example is an American means in other countries in the 100 problem is is is America's nightmare descendents troops all over the world America's not tell them how great is a lot of hypocrisy on American is going to be a sterling examples that will have something like enchantress as Marcel one little bit better system is the three radically new perspective on what the world only superpower with that's powered to show the world in a way that will not only more Superman and also gives us the best chance of having a bright future so the issues raised by the clip of the kinds of things on which people can reasonably differ in a really interesting way to set Superman and Batman apart from one another in response to their attitudes towards intervention involvement inspiration and so on the fact that Batman recognizes Superman as a hero is important because it means hopefully that Batman hasn't checked his brain at the door and simply ignored all the good deeds and intentions of Superman between his debut and their encounter suggesting that there is a more pointed purpose to their pugilism rather than just reprisal the rash will talk a bit more about checks and balances later but there is that phrase the actions of a godlike superhero I'm not a get into the phrase guy like too much there's clearly a theme that's can a continue on from Man of Steel and into Batman be Superman and we've already seen it raised repeatedly in a tiny teaser and that deifying language appears in the short synopsis not once but twice the phrase left unchecked implies it Superman hasn't been accountable until this point which is interesting otherwise it might refer to this specific situation that is to Batman may have been accountable but never had to be checked into whatever that inciting incident occurs in this film and the phrase forceful vigilante this phrase gives us to obvious insights first that Batman is going to be violent and use force and second that Batman acts outside the law traditionalists can breathe a sigh of relief if they had feared that this Batman might be a state actor it Superman isn't and the inverted the dark Knight returns I know I proposed it as a rationalization of how Batman could make sense but I think vigilante is a way more resonant rendering of the character these days when compared to the glitzy police man of Batman 66 the next key phrase is revered Savior of metropolis so again we get that deifying language and this idea is consistent with the monument that we've seen in the teaser is not Messerli consistent with the graffiti on the statue but as we discussed in the past the very existence of the statue shows the prevailing view the insight that this line gave me is that I may have been taking Superman saving the world for granted in the past we talked about Batman having perhaps enough sense to recognize that Superman saved Gotham when he stopped's odd and within the confines of Man of Steel that is a perfectly reasonable conclusion because who else could or would stop sod however if the door to the DCC you has been cracked open and were getting a peek into magical kingdoms off book government agencies gods and monsters that assumption is a little bit less certain which is to say depending on how slow's odd scheme was and how long it talk the possibility exists that something from those worlds and powers hidden away from us would have stepped in may be looked this is assumption on top of assumption but imagine if the black zero event was viewed through this kind of lens imagine if humanity believed that he could have fought back and one against sod the only difference Superman's intervention made was to spare metropolis from becoming that battleground of last resort or a smoking radioactive crater under that lens the gratitude toward Superman globally might be more diffuse Batman in Gotham would necessarily credit Superman as their Savior thinking that they would have survived anyways but metropolis would adore Superman all the more because without him humanity would've had no option but to completely sacrifice and level metropolis to stop sod maybe again is one of the things I admire about Man of Steel is how open ended it left things so that either of these possibilities are still on the table even after all the world building and the events of this world changing epic those who have to carry the ball forwards can go anywhere because Man of Steel was conscientious about not writing the world into a corner but speaking of the world we get the next phrase which has the idea that the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs I love this because this is a deeper theme and meaning that goes beyond something as specific as collateral damage because the world wouldn't have to wrestle over that issue too much this means that the film is likely to confront different defining ideologies that make up and contrast the dark Knight and the Man of Steel and I hope the answer is an either/or but both that's the conclusion that the world's finest come to them selves in their traditional team ups and with their justice league membership it's why Superman provides Batman with the gift of kryptonite as a means of checks and balances and trust and that has to be the conclusion that the world reaches in order for it to embrace the justice league after all the heroes to come out of Superman's debut for the DCC you I like the idea that the world has to wrestle with this because that's also a continual theme from Man of Steel things that we've always accepted as givens and simply taken for granted now have to be seriously questioned Wade thought about and consider were made to revisit past assumptions with healthy skepticism and informed optimism and that seems to be a more modern attitude all in saying is that I admire even lip service to the idea that the world doesn't simply accept what it's given without question even if we know that the ultimate answer is the justice league and the wild world of the DCC you now what each hero represents with Superman's hope light and idealism versus Batman's concern darkness and pragmatism will talk about in some future Batman focused episode I think given that Superman's already taken a life as the ultimate act of pragmatism it will be really interesting to see what somatic differences the DCC you chooses to adopt will talk about this some other time but I wonder if they may continue with countering our trope driven expectations it's debatable whether they landed their attempt at anti-romance or whether their effort was received so while my inclination is towards that trope driven dichotomy between Batman and Superman they may go for something much more realistic and nuanced simply because in the real world rarely are two people ever so diametrically opposed yet unified in core ideals that make them allies real life is messier but we can already see hence that the DCC you is tending towards a more stylized realities but that's enough of that let's quickly run through these last two lines Batman and Superman are at war I have to think that war is hyperbole but the only to notes that I have here is that war implies the gravity the debt in the scope of their enmity or at least their combat it doesn't sound like this is just going to be a casual misunderstanding with a few back-and-forth attacks before they play nice there's an implication of costing casualty hopefully meaning that this will be an epic and enjoyable face-off I know that there's an ongoing criticism about the conflict being earned will tackle that another time I think the second note that I have here is that were has rules and despite that saying that all's fair in love and war incidentally that sentiment came from the delusional Don Quixote in the particular phrasing came from an English novelist neither of whom had ever seen actual combat war has been paradoxically civilized and it is not an unrestrained free for I know this because there face-off may take the character of a dual more than a no holds barred may lately perhaps get a hint to that with the teasers suggestion that the exchange words and that Superman even bothers to drop in front of Batman as opposed to say dropping a rocket on his head we don't know what those rules are or why they may comport to them the comments from cavil suggest that Superman doesn't engage in free-for-all's for no reason and finally I last line an idea a new danger to mankind quickly arises so many have justifiably raised the issue that how can this third threat put mankind into greater danger than is ever known before if sod threatened planetary extinction and honestly I wouldn't worry about it this is a synopsis maybe it's written by marketing maybe it's wrong maybe it's hyperbole but if it's absolutely true while then there's apologetics we can go in one of two ways either that the threat is actually greater than the extinction of all mankind or that Zide didn't actually threat in the extinction of all mankind I don't know what that first case might be maybe a battle for humanity so I don't know for the latter we very discussed this earlier in revisiting why metropolis might be more beholden to Superman than the rest the world if we reinterpret Superman as saving metropolis instead of the world would arguably this threat is something problematic to the planet I'm not too bothered by this third act threat I know that there are some who would rather the film focus on just Batman and Superman but thematically it makes sense and it follows Man of Steel and the modified three act structure is Man of Steel is the birth of the superhero in three acts Act I Clark reconciling his identity act to being outed and confronted by Zide and then Act III overcoming Zide for earth and becoming Superman and Batman be Superman could predictably stand as the world dealing with the superhero phenomenon Act I establishing the nature of Superman's public existence act to Superman and Batman coming to blows over the tensions caused by Superman's debut an act to three is Superman and Batman coming together with wonder woman to tackle the spinal threat tending to resolve the world attitude towards Superman's public existence at a minimum Batman is on board with the league after all and what's exciting about that is we see how Batman be Superman fits into a grander three act structure between Man of Steel Batman be Superman and justice league Man of Steel is the birth of the superhero Batman be Superman is the world reacting to an embracing the superhero and then justice league is the world of the superhero Snyder's modified structure tends to be third act heavy and that gets reflected in the idea that justice league is a two-part film again this is all just speculation but along those lines a speculation why could this threat be a think of the hold off speculating too much but I think my approach to speculation go something like this Lex Luther is definitely in the movie Lex Luther on his own probably isn't enough to threaten the world in a visually compelling manner and in order to make Luther's screen time economical the themes and the conflicts that he develops should precipitate into the final threat or put another way even if I wanted to imagine the threat to be the Amazons of the Atlantean's or something more cosmic than that she tried to imagine a way where Luther plays a role in getting there so that the threat is the payoff to Luther's machinations by now I'm sure you're aware that the prevailing theory is doomsday and I gave my thoughts about that way back in a previous episode we only knew a fraction of what we know now now something I didn't raise is how Lex Luther and doomsday would work together as a dark somatic mirror to Superman Batman both pairs feature a cynical billionaire pragmatist with the kryptonian powerhouse however one represents what good can do with such tools and the other shows how they can be debased and go awry and if Luther is the problem and the world's finest is the cure it would tend to resolve the angst about aliens if terrestrial threats like Luther and a presenting a greater problem than Cal Al ever did and it would open the world towards embracing the league maybe we'll see let's be optimistic and keeper minds open okay so one of the things to come out of all the news that we had of late is a short synopsis for Aquaman all the same disclaimers that we discussed before apply here things could change things could be wrong etc. nonetheless this is what were told Aquaman the King of the seven seas this reluctant ruler of Atlantis caught between the surface world constantly ravaging the seas and the Atlantean's looking to lash out in revolt is committed to protecting the entire globe there's a lot to unpack here but I think I'll just go quickly with seven points for seven seas first that are titular character will be referred to as Aquaman maybe second it sheds light on the initial reveal and slightest week by saying that he's the king of the seven seas so you night the seven would tend to strongly refer to the same seven seas under his rule 30 is indeed a ruler a King and reluctant forth Atlantis exists and for there to be a kingdom and a monarchy means that it preexisted Superman's debut and that that world of weird was hidden from mankind until now fifth the tensions are described the ecological crimes of the surface versus Atlantean's desire for reprisal note not necessarily the involvement of the kryptonian world engine six to lash out in revolt suggests insurrection and unrest will be villain be a would-be usurper to the throne seventh and finally Aquaman has committed to protecting the entire globe which should put him in good company with the rest of his fellow league members the descriptive words that we get arcane reluctant caught committed and protecting and it tells the tale of somebody has to by woes and responsibilities but with a strong moral compass and heroic outlook despite Aquaman's rough looks and 90s visage might this be a more political and regal take on the character maybe more game of thrones than comment I can't wait to find out moving on to suicide squad I have no idea where to begin many are making so much of the set leaks but I'm to take air at his word that their secrets are intact before these images I would've sworn that suicide squad would've been a straightlaced military or covert ops thriller based on Ayers military background in the documentary styled and watched but after seeing everything that's coming out from the streets of Toronto and listening to some of the interviews with a or I'm starting to suspect a highly stylized over-the-top action felt I'm really intrigued by the Joker scenes but honestly more interested in the world building because Batman's appearance along with the Batmobile really brings the world together and places it squarely in the DCC you but it's got a be stylized I mean outside of action tropes when does it ever makes sense to cling to the roof of a car plus we seen a lot of magic meadows and suicide squad alone seems to more than double the supernatural and paranormal people that we would have known about only going by the slate announcement and that makes me excited and nervous I'm excited because this is such a quick leap into DC proper but I'm nervous because magic is tough to tackle them blend with a contemporary setting but it reads like a genre fans dream with big guns sci-fi superpowers and fantasy magic all on the streets of Midway Gotham and Tara born parish all in all I'm way more relaxed towards suicide squad analysis because I don't think there's any way that I can rationally predict or account for magic or over-the-top reality we just don't know what the rules are yet we don't know if tattooed man is a Green Lantern level threat or just somebody who can put on the light ship we don't know why the suicide squad gets an escort and what they can do that their escort can't we don't know when the Joker mobile scene takes place or how those aircraft were downed or what infected those soldiers why Waller had a gun or where the enchantress is everything we've seen just raises questions and I like being intrigued for now my main prediction is that the suicide squad is going to deal with magic and the supernatural more than you'd expect initially finally the last part of our speculation section I could do an entire episode on just the Batmobile and a been trying to rein myself in with these notes for the costumes the gadgets are tangible they have specs and they have a design process and that means loads of lists so it should come as no surprise that the Batmobile got its own blurb and a list of specs that makes my brain tingle and do the happy dance that said you can get a much better breakdown of all the details including the interior@collider.com put a link in the show notes I do want to point out three quick things first if you didn't know what active armor means it's probably more commonly called reactive armor and I've always admired the counterintuitive ingenuity of blowing yourself up to protect yourself from attack you can wiki or YouTube reactive armor for a full explanation but the gist of it is setting off a superficial controlled explosion on the surface of your armor in order to disrupt destroy or diffuse an incoming attack is one of the best ways to light in the armor on a vehicle without giving up high-end protection I don't imagine that it will figure into the film but these kinds of technical details show the loving care in the world building going on behind the scenes I eat that stuff up and I'm sure prospective licensees due to it is a lot easier to sell merchandise surrounding tangible objects and characters than ideals or abstractions but I'm getting off topic will talk about business at the end of this episode one other note I had about the car was the listing of the spec on the turret guns as 50 cows or 50 BMG's and that's an interesting choice because it's almost a boring caliber in the context of such a crazy custom car but if it's with a modular ethic and the plug-and-play of a proven systems that work and are ubiquitous perhaps and the last note the blurb about the Batmobile says it is single-handedly designed and fabricated by Batman which is a slightly insane proposition it also says that includes quote unquote the latest in covert military grade armaments stealth and active protection systems in stolen Wayne industries technologies which suggests a cutting-edge vehicle now if this is true we get a little insight into Batman in that he's terrifyingly intelligent and industrious on comic book levels beyond the more grounded Nolan Batman who more realistically outsourced this kind of thing now because of the dark Knight cues and being informed that Batman is tired and weary many have assumed that Batman is retired but if his Batmobile is built to spec with the latest technologies then doesn't that tend to imply the Batman is still active in order to take advantage of the latest technologies unless Batman is retired from crime-fighting and has put all that passion and effort and thought into the Batmobile as an outlet for his pent-up in unfinished work like that man he doesn't know what to do with himself in retirement and start spending all his time working on cars of course like with anything coming out of licensing it could just be a throwaway line never meant to make such binding proclamations or these implications okay that's it for the speculation section I know I didn't go that deeper cover everything but I'm doing the best with the time I have after the licensing Expo any three I'm swamped at work but it's fun to take a break and go over all this DCC you stuff with you it's deftly fun to speculate wildly and make lots of guesses about what's going on inside the world of the DCC you but I thought we take a peek behind the curtain and behind the scenes to the moviemakers the movers and the shakers the exec is directors and actors making these things in our next section probably the biggest piece of substantive news that we got was an interview between Warner Bros. executive Greg Silverman and the Hollywood reporter's Pamela McClintock which is clearly a follow-up or rebuttal to her editors earlier piece on the DCC use lack of direction journalists have their strategies and tactics to sell masters gets 1000 words to start a fire and then McClintock offers 1000 words to Warner Bros. to put out the fire with an exclusive interview how could the WB declined it's all fun and games in the entertainment news game and it's their job to get the news and it's the studio's job to protect and promote the studio and to play along with the politics of it all and while executives aren't as exciting as actors are directors the arguably have more sway over what you'll see in your lifetime and if you have the time and inclination I highly recommend watching a November 2014 Roundtable featuring the top executives from the biggest studios including the WB's CEO Kevin Sugihara fielding questions from both masters and McClintock and I've time puppet some excerpts at the end of this podcast which go directly to questions that are still being asked today a can definitely see the birth of the narrative that Masters wanted to tell eight months ago despite those questions being asked and answered she wanted to clone fight he even back then but before we dive into the interview a little background on the current structure of Warner Bros. and Greg Silverman's place and it might help you understand who he is and how the WB works so prior to Sugihara as July 2013 Ascension to CEO the WB looks like a pyramid with CEO Barry Meyer at the top overseeing three divisions divided by media type movies TV and home entertainment Jeff Robin off was the president of Warner Bros. picture group the movies and he presided over the dark Knight trilogy inception Argo gravity and so on Bruce Rosenblum was Pres. of TV and Kevin Sugihara who had been with the company since 1994 was president of home entertainment which means video digital games cross-platform multimedia etc. in a bit of a game of thrones and corporate restructuring my are announced Sugihara as replacing himself as CEO and so there was a new pyramid topped by Sugihara arose and was no longer divided by media type but by function and goals one marketing and distribution to creative development and production and three
Cinema sue crawl was the president of marketing and distribution Greg Silverman as president of creative development and production and Toby Emmerich maintaining his position as CEO oh of
while also overseeing the WB's theater division the decisions that DCC you fans care about generally get made by a three person committee of Sugihara crawl and Silverman and with shazam under
Emmerich would be in on those meetings where is Robin off ran everything today it's silver met with an eye for the creative crawl with an eye for business and Sugihara overseeing it all from the top putting his cross-platform multimedia experience to use while the emphasis is on film note that this panel isn't divided by or for media anymore so they all have ideas on how things will work across media platforms and how a property translates from film to TV to games the toys and beyond this isn't a feudal system with the films where the movies look after movies and push TV around this is a panel system which has its hands in all pies marketing creative and corporate all working together on anyone project rather than fighting it out in what's a little hilarious is how unaccustomed Hollywood is to this kind of idea despite it being the way that many successful things are run not by Cingular dictator who beheads would be usurpers but by a cabinet of experts it's like no one will take the WB at the word that they're not engaged in an executive bake-off a death sport intended to pick executives against one another until only one remains well it's been a year later and the Council is still hard at work so no fight to the death for now okay so hopefully you get the idea now Greg is the one overseeing the DCC you temples he's also overseeing the Harry Potter spinoffs and the WB's attempt at original franchises Kevin works with him to make sure that everything makes corporate sense and Sue make sure that everything makes business sense this is broadly speaking and for illustration purposes obviously is much more nuanced and all three are competent for much more and responsible for much more but that she give you the idea for now this is the guy sitting down with THR to address the questions raised by the April THR article so let's get into it okay so the first few answers address the structure and the responsibilities which worry discussed he mentions how the new franchises like Lego movie or a big part of their overall structure of the first pointed question is how DC is different from Marvel and Greg answers that the strategy is to quote take these beloved characters and put them in the hands of master filmmakers and to make sure that they all coordinate with each other" in other words the studio isn't dictating how the films link up at this time the filmmakers are and are doing it with the Studios help if you're a long time comic book fan you probably know that that's how most comics are made it's up to the writer to fit their story into the world and the editor just gives guidance on how it might fit better or the publisher set up opportunities for the writers to get together and have a creative Summit on the direction that they want to go in yes sometimes editorial dictates a story and a direction from on high especially with events but generally the talent is left to their own devices neither approach is right or wrong they can both work and I'd rather have Snyder a or Jenkins and one excitedly and organically bouncing ideas off one another and has Snyder play fighting and tell these other filmmakers what their films were going to be now that doesn't just that the DCC you isn't going anywhere in particular but a certain point we have to ask ourselves does that matter if each film is in and of itself an event I'm not watching wonder woman because it's a way point to the justice league but because I waited my entire life to see her come to life with a big-budget on the silver screen whatever connective tissue we get to the DCC you is just icing on the cake and it's not why I'm watching the movie I think that's typically how it is for most comics you read it's on your polis because you want what that character or that creative team offers not necessarily some fractional piece of a larger story elsewhere maybe again there's no explicit right or wrong it's a spectrum of execution and putting passionate filmmakers in charge of their own vision seems like a step in the right direction to get films with something to say films with style and distinction it which can still connect and give you that payoff of a shared universe now the next question Greg takes on the allegations that Batman be Superman seems to dark his answer lit up the Internet but I don't think it's nearly as controversy oh is all that and fits exactly what we've discussed Silverman says that their quote making great movies about superheroes they aren't making superhero movies unquote in all that means is they don't plan to follow a cookie-cutter four quadrant formula or house style but they're going to let the filmmaking comes first Greg also says that humor is an important part which seems like a rebuttal that the WB ever had a no jokes policy consistent with that in means that the tones the films will not be dictated by a house style as he says the intensity and the seriousness of purpose comes from the characters and from the filmmakers not the studio none of this a promise that the films will be good but these are principles that I admire and I'm excited about from Batman be Superman to wonder woman Greg answers that Patty Jenkins was their next choice and not simply a token female director he commends her for her character work such as in monster now here I think he's being a little political but not disingenuous or dishonest the way that the question was posed in the way that the Internet is he be hard-pressed to say Jenkins being a woman was a factor without such response being taken out of context and robbed of nuance however I see no reason not to give him the benefit of the doubt as both McLaren and Jenkins are phenomenal candidates Marvel obviously picked Patty Jenkins for four to without any gendered agenda that we're aware of so why couldn't the WB have hired her for the same merits and talents Greg then addresses the parallel development with multiple writers he knowledges that every project is different so what they're doing here isn't what's happening in every case and we know that for a fact because the writing team for Man of Steel was very very tightly knit and probably could've used a little outside input we also know that suicide squad is also being run by a or script however here with wonder woman the studio provided a framework meaning that there is a plant and the writers were pitching on their takes on scenes within that framework now how much or how little the writers elected to collaborate wasn't up to the studio which Greg says treats its writers with quote unquote respect and grace sleet THR's alleged sources might disagree but the issue doesn't seem to be the competition but that the writers didn't know that they were competing and now that the cats out of the bag the writers can go in with their eyes open they can decline the job if they don't like it or they can embrace the challenge of trying to patch the most enticing idea basically the optional collaboration is occurring upfront rather than being a mandatory quote unquote collaboration while the film is in production and the writers have array become precious about their script there's much much more to that interview but you can check that out on your own let's briefly talk about Patty Jenkins Geoff Johns recently tweeted that he loved talking Diana with our amazing wonder woman director inspiring and Patty replied lucky to have the best of the best Geoff Johns on my team very excited about this film that were making well besides her insights into character driven filmmaking and really getting into the psychology of the character and getting that performance out of her actors I meet of trivia that you might not be aware of is that Jenkins is married to writer Sam Sheridan who has led an adventurous and perhaps relevant to life he graduated from Harvard he served in the merchant Marines at North folk he was a firefighter in New Mexico and then he became a professional we tie fighter in Bangkok Sheridan wrote a fighters heart and then the follow-up of fighters mind giving insight first into his journey and then into the minds of those in the combative arts and sports could Jenkins possibly have a better partner from which to draw worldly adventures and the warriors character from want to say yes but some spouses don't work together like that who knows but I thought it was interesting wonder woman has become such a bundle of compelling paradoxes but based on monster I believe Jenkins can find the threatens to leave the audience through that maze time for James one James one is definitely a hot director right now coming off the incredible success of furious seven with things so far off and Sony's Robotech in the mix I'm only going to comment a little I know that there is a press release so my rule is that I can talk about it not that I have to talk about it I think on paper he's a good fit furious seven proves that one can work within an existing world and that he can work with big budgets visual effects and movie stars but more than anything else furious seven proves that one can roll with the punches given how the devastating loss of Paul Walker might have brought other films to its knees one was able to rally his cast and crew and produce a film that grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide also from a paper perspective he's an Asian director working with a Polynesian lead after coming off a massive success that many attributed to the film's diversity that's another encouraging plus for the film especially as foreign markets outpaced domestic on these tentacles announcing him this early suggests that he'll be in on the ground floor for the preproduction the world building and relatively early in on the script process which we know that Warner Bros. has been tinkering with for some time but is now being overseen by Kurt Johnston I don't know enough about in order to comment but it means that he's got a be available for input with respect to justice league and to provide better cohesion for the DCC you is a whole he recently tweeted out in H.P. Lovecraft quote with the #world creation for ocean is more ancient than the mountains and waited with the memories in the dreams of time that quote sends chills up my spine and it suggests that one feels genuinely inspired Aquaman releases three years from now and he's already building worlds and visiting aquariums is a great piece at vulture about his process of put a link in the show notes one last note about Aquaman Silverman said that they intend for it to be a major tentpole and that's consistent with the view that each of these films are meant to be an event unto itself not something just a hold you over until the next justice league team up onto David air just a quick bit of trivia that he served two years in the Navy as a submariner I enjoy the sensibility of his films and his writing I've seen several of his films but I still just can't pin down what suicide squad is going to be and frankly I love that I love that the DCC you feels like it can still be a complete surprise to me and that's in no small part due to what we've seen from suicide squad I may love it I may not like it but I get that sense of adventure when I pull of random indie comic off the shelf of my local comic book store to give it a shot and that sense of open expectations to me is part of why films like guardians of the galaxy or fury road just floored the audience if we just take a second to look at the spectrum of direct tour real talent and styles in the next three years we are getting Snyder a or Jenkins Snyder may be Lord and Miller and then one at that point you can hardly accuse the WB of typecasting is directors and you would reasonably expect different styles and flavors from each of these directors and again that's just like the comic books even if it's all the same universe I expect and I am delighted by the differences between Morrison more and Miller been this game and gone way to Nellis even if my preference is one of those authors or that style I still love those other takes and voices and variations and variety not differences are change for its own sake but for diversity and artistry an adventurous palate doesn't mean that you lack taste it gives you greater appreciation for your preferences and I suspect that I'm going to enjoy the DCC use Slate but it's also going to give me greater appreciation for how carefully they constructed Man of Steel in a world without weird around every corner think were running along song going to skip casting and actors and get on twilight's think section on business and licensing so it's really easy for fans to get wrapped up in the world of film whether it's in terms of speculation or story without realizing how much of the content is driven by business and law rather than just purely creative reasons and for a lot of new and younger fans those kinds of realizations come early when they understand that Marvel and DC are different companies or perhaps today Microsoft and Sony as different platforms and corporations it sort of dawns on them that Batman ordinarily is not going to hang out with the X-Men and it's not because the audience doesn't see that with that the creators don't want to make it it's because business doesn't make it easy to allow that and as you get a little older more sophisticated you might get a better grasp of where those boundaries lie in what's going on behind the scenes in terms of rights management I imagine most filmgoers never gave it a second thought about the distinction between the rights holder a licensee the production company in the distributing studio and so on however this new era of superhero films has really started to bring those kinds of distinctions to the forefront for even the casual moviegoer audience sophistication in this area has increased enough that they generally recognize the distinction between a Marvel movie by Marvel Studios and a Marvel property movie license to either Sony or Fox licensing is the secret behind George Lucas his success was Star Wars licensing is why Disney bought Marvel and Star Wars but what is licensing what let's start with intellectual property intellectual property very broadly speaking is the legal right to exclude others from exploiting some intangible property interest like using your characters marketing it with a brand name and so well certain companies hold a bundle of intellectual property rights copyright trademark's trade dress etc. and licensing permits others to economically exploiting those intellectual property rights for a fee here's a brief clip from the licensing Expo hopefully explaining it a little bit you will stand out so how can retailers and manufacturers cause their products to connect with today's disenchanted public it starts by realizing that the brands consumers to years of it possible for resales and manufacturers to simply marveled at by labeling them as the marks of these trusted brands is growing marketing is called licensing is today's most effective innovation quickly and effectively communicating the product is why I don't trust and loyalty millions of all over the world and those consumers associate their favorite brands was specific important values for these values extended to product categories far beyond the ones currently it was Randall this little is going on Brand it often simply waiting for retail or manufactured according to use licensing is that the brand equity and therefore definitely we can mix with the exclusive advantage to the licensee will retail for miles ahead of their competitors today the regulars are only getting a return on a fractional to work so hard to create to license to bring those to allow retailers and manufacturers in the brain no cost to the brand creating multiple string and simply discovering the right connection licensing can repeatedly creatively we can only way to win for the same way you discover the you you you you you you you you you is you if you didn't get all that here's the gist imagine a twin maker that can make their own designs however consumers associate positive experiences with Warner Bros. intellectual property like Superman the consumer has a choice between buying an unfamiliar character by toymaker or Superman toys that gladly by the Superman toys but toymaker is allowed to make a Superman toy without permission from the WB Superman is their IP their intellectual property in the WB has the right to make and sell as many Superman toys as it wants however the WB doesn't make toys and so without licensing everyone is losing the consumer doesn't get to bias Superman toy toymaker can't make a Superman toy and the WB doesn't make Superman toys licensing is limited permission to enjoy another's rights although the WB has the right to make toys because it doesn't make toys it might as well license the rights to toymaker so now they have permission to make Superman toys and a toymaker pays the WB for the license it tends to be a win all around the consumer now can get a Superman toy toymaker can sell a product of the consumer wants and the WB gets and money for the value of Superman applied to toys now I think most people get these basics but perhaps they overlook a few nuances believe them confused with things like Marvel or character embargoes so we get that the licensee here toy maker is paying for the privilege to produce Superman toys but what else are you getting for your fee paying for the privilege is another way of saying that your paying not be sued right towards if toymaker doesn't secure a license and then starts making and selling Superman toys whose can a stop them and what is the penalty her punishment for the punishment is that the WB the rights holder will sue toymaker for violating their IP rights so by securing a license that's an agreement not to be sued by the WB for exercising agreed-upon rights your also paying for exclusivity to some degree why would toymaker go through the effort of negotiating paying for securing a license if toymaker's competitors say doll maker make Superman toys without paying for a license and the WB doesn't suit right in other words by paying for a license toymaker expects the WB to go after competitors infringing on toymaker's license to justify that license and this explains why you sometimes see companies going after infringers who seem otherwise irrelevant or harmless is not necessarily that the rights holder really cares about the infringing activity is more like an obligation to a licensee to preserve the terms and the value of that license a lot of these burdens can shift and change negotiations and skillful drafting were just covering the basics so the license is paying for the privilege underpaying not be sued in the paying for protection and exclusivity what else are they paying for part of what they're paying for is duration and certainty and what I mean by that will be paid for licensing you never had to give it back in there were absolutely no conditions on it and that really is in a license having you just bought the actual thing at that point in other words the rights holder always has hold something back if they didn't it's a permanent sale of the rights they have to act like a landlord with a lease agreement and who keeps a spare set of keys they can't act like somebody who hands you the deed the only keys that the house and then disappears forever so there are always rules and conditions for the rights in the license to go back to the original owner and these are decided by contract and they can be anything from a duration to what money amount to a lapse in the exploitation in the Lords leaving the license inactive for too long or some morality clauses which cause the rights to revert back to the original owner however these clauses need to be fair and reasonable and duration nobody's can a pay for license that reverts back at will and without explanation right so hopefully this helps you understand why Marvel's license persists with Sony and Fox so if Fox never would've bought licenses that they couldn't control the expiration however Marvel wouldn't sell a license that permanently gives up the rights instead the license requires that Sony and Fox exploit that is use the license every so often to justify the continual license the cancer they don't the license reverts back to Marvel so that they can exploit the rights themselves or they can license them out to somebody who will use them which is the most efficient use of the rights for the consumer and the rights holder rather than to have them sitting unused unexploited with a licensee who isn't doing anything is going on longer than I expected I had a section on derivative works and how this all comes together to explain in bar goes but that's another 30 minute lecture and you didn't sign up for that so let's License and here and let's say that embargoes are another episode because were going long been a skip the Man of Steel business analysis I'm sorry but considering how long it just took to explain the broad cursory basics of licensing is can a take way too long to explain Hollywood accounting and how Man of Steel is a success on many fronts from its massive amount of marketing partners to the amortized cost and the appeal of enduring product placement and more if I ever the time own inclination I might do a blog post but if you want a nice introduction to Hollywood accounting I recommend a great video by film IQ up with a link in the show notes and I'll give you a little insight into why Man of Steel was a success the quickest and the shortest retort to any claims that Man of Steel was a financial failure is the existence of not one not to knock three but entire slate of films undergoing active production based on the bedrock of Man of Steel it doesn't matter how badly Warner Bros. wanted comic book movies to be a thing if Man of Steel was a failure they wouldn't build on it and I would define the person to point out any other time multiple films were produced based on a failed film looking at my notes I've got to skip the licensing Expo two which is perhaps just as well at had my fill of that through work I do love that wonder woman is going to be pushed justice aggressively from a licensing perspective as Batman and Superman which should reinvigorate her icon and bring her back into our collective consciousness anticipate some blowback from those who expected or imagined Linda Carter is the one and only wonder woman but I think there's been enough time and the show wasn't quite as big as Donner Superman that it won't be as bad especially since wonder woman isn't headlining Batman be Superman so I expect her to be a welcome surprise who steals the show but another way if you watch a movie laden with expectation that's a lot for the film to overcome but if wonder woman blindsides the casual audience not expecting her she can make a great first impression leaving the public clamoring for more there were so many new details picked up by scene her costume close-up and in insanely high resolution which I could wax on for hours but we got a wrap this up what we just sum it up like this if you look at the fine detail work on the Trinity's costumes it is so rich and world building storytelling and reality a genuinely get moved at how much work went into them to make them emblematic of tradition but also reside within the reality of the world Superman's kryptonian heritage is laced throughout his science fiction form Batman looks like he stepped out of our collective comic book consciousness and wonder woman is approached so carefully that they took on the challenge of a completely confronting costume but made a cultural I could feel the history of the civilization it's from an the magic real or imagined meant to imbue her arms and armor it really does make the Trinity out to be royalty and it gets me excited to see how much the putting into this world that they're building are a quick two-minute tangent since I don't know when I've ever bring this up again except in a business segment but consider this a short Warner Bros. pep talk about their history of overwhelming success now according to box office Mojo in terms of domestic market share over the past 15 years Warner Bros. has been the number one studio seven of those years think about that level of consistency for a second that means of the dozen or so major studios for the past decade and a half Warner Bros. has come in above all other studios in market share as number one the best of the best every other year imagine if a sports team won seven championships at of the last 15 years and them what about the years were Warner Bros. wasn't number one well in the past 15 years if the WB wasn't in first place it was a second or third every year except 2006 when Superman returns came out but even then the WB placed a respectable fourth that year now consider the top 600 worldwide grossing films of all-time Warner Bros. accounts for 100 of those films that is a single studio accounting for 1/6 of the greatest grossing films of all time so to wrap it up this is a studio with a sterling record for making money in the modern era or films are competing with online entertainment video games television streaming on-demand and who has position themselves with the CEO who understands that basically when people predict that the sky is falling and that the WB doesn't know what it's doing ask them what's the last seriously competitive sports team with the consistency to win the championship seven times out of the last 15 years and then remind them that that's the kind a track record of the WB is working with her at the end here been a skip San Diego comic con speculation and just going to enjoy this calm before the storm as if we get a torrent or deluge of information or imagery for me to comment on a breakdown think I'm going to be up to contain myself and you might just get nightly fevered ramblings about the sorted deliberate analysis in contemplation that I tried exercise before gushing I'm trying to keep my expectations in check hopefully come July 9 I'll be up to say my body is ready pics that's a meme that dates back to E3 of 2007 speaking be three and actually not nevermind of say that one for my students know what let's just call it okay I think I've rambled on long enough here some shows I suggest you check out if you want to extend your enjoyment of the Superman mythos got it together from the far reaches of beings that are assembled and that's what got dedicated to the bust greatest superhero is safe to Superman like featuring Superman: a the DC comics presents crisis Superman podcast is Superman this you will podcast is Superman forever and about the you you you you are you will podcast KL from Superman homepage.com is John Wilson really help you are leaving my present bride your retailer Michael they start to Sam result is the original Mario is given by an highlighted I gave Younis and how has Gotti they because that what thanks so much soliciting I just love discussing the stuff and if you been sticking with me hopefully you do to I'm genuinely grateful for each and every listener and hope you'll join us Man of Steel answers.com that way if you got a question that you want answered or insight you want to share commentary to make you can post in the comments for all your like-minded apologist to see or you can email me at mosaic@ManofSteelofSteelanswers.com if you like what you heard please review the show on iTunes or stitcher and subscribed this is Dr. awkward your DC cinematic universe apologist signing off CNX time that answers so if you stuck around after the signoff the following excerpts come from a November 2014 THR Roundtable interview with top studio executives and I definitely recommend checking out the full thing but I selected a few excerpts where Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Sugihara tackle some really salient questions honestly I could do whole podcast just on this in walleyed love to do the commentary I'll just leave it to you to interpret for yourself because I got Father's Day duties to attend to if you have any questions or comments or insights be sure to send the men but for now please enjoy these excerpts directors All-Star at all the glory the dialogue of any of Herod clearly control of his family some of a ministry that has set up on everything that we can have a place chairman and CEO 20th Century Fox telling whoring chairman want to see how if they chairman and CEO Kevin Sugihara chairman and CEO Warner Bros. entertainment the Hollywood reporter Roundtable will come to the Hollywood reporter executive Roundtable crank Ken and Levaquin talk I want to come in born Disney Kevin Sugihara of Warner Bros. welcome to all him to be asking the first question which is what is your biggest concern going forward for each of your respective company expressed maintaining a creative excellence me I think that it takes care of itself if you make great movies and we are focused on having a very large bratwurst late and it's challenging is challenging to find that much material for all of us are more competition for the material and as you said there's incredible competition with the quality of television programming getting a strong as it is with video games and you look at that the ads for some of these video games and the quality is absolutely amazing that's not even considering the Internet content the you know saying out there so there's competition across a broad level of spectrums but you also have to figure out how you can maintain it creative excellence in all that mixed on earth I think your there is elusive balance among all the different media available to the prospective audience the windowing issue is very challenging for us finding the balance between domestic and international box office return what kind of movies to make scheduling movies in an increasingly conflict (marketplace there also the choices available to consumers out there just expanded and is great television being physically gray television and there is a finite amount of leisure time so how do we get to go out leave the house go fear watch a film in the future so we can at least start especially as the cost of movies has increased telling you mentioned television and you have probably the biggest franchise of sorry guys that he does seem to a franchise factory Pixar Lucasfilm Marvel of course Disney animation thing a lot of personality to manage this sure payment all of this competing films that what dates but I also wonder that television what people are flocking join television is exactly what you guys are doing and you're going to be playing just the way it is for the film this was visit but I wish I would presume just before the film business but draws we have a brand that we think resonates out there in the security of audiences and we first Detroit native English okay will do is do what we do across the brands that you mentioned there that means are lots of films that we cannot or will not do but when were in our will house that seems to work with us ally the television programming that is a doing so well at their breaking bad a game of thrones in a house of cards only shows are shows that the speak to a different audience segment that our product does so we decided we just going to try to do what we do as well as we can hopefully continues to work out there given interesting think now breaking that kind of works aren't worth 1980 never-ending out been meaning to TV kind of adult really offbeat things which seem you are doing as much as Fisher think he could make things work on both platforms feel look at what were doing with cost of different that universe is the flash and how that different universes to arrow on television versus what were doing on the movie side they all feel very different method you could make the world more as long as you think through the implications of it and I think we're all about our companies are making very mean great television programming as well as movies and I he about the presentation you guys presented DC comics and yesterday these guys presented to a roomful a careful screening fans to Warner Bros. and Time Warner's again that is the investor day versus going to the fans what is that I think it was just about an opportunity to use the platform to lay out our plan for DC movies I think first and foremost I would if I was wearing a hat tip my hat off to out in Disney they've done an amazing job on the movie side with Marvel and I think it's nothing short of incredible be look at guardians mean but I called if it was amazing and the biggest movie this summer but I don't think that the venue that we chose to kind a way that out versus what you did at the El Capitan is aiming about the quality or the types of movies or what were looking to achieve on the movie side than what counts trying to do on the movies ever just try to make great movies return the common say that the DC libraries filled with fabulous characters in his own surprise that we would all look to the resources available to us to try to make films that their work out there and that the audience seems to really enjoy so I'll figure the venue is particularly important to do the story and the story is that were all going to our resources to make the best of the Was speaking that meeting first that were you trying to one of Warner Bros. television there's no one upping the rating we wearing competition with every studio that does all kinds of movies including the other colleagues here at this table world competition but will it it's not about this there's nothing personal there's nothing anything about it will were trying to do is put together a program I will save his become increasingly the practice to designate release states for the bad as it is I think of them as a large tentpole movies delivering as the so-called event movies increasing number and there are a limited number of weeks a year there are months when January for example it doesn't seem like the most ideal to release a large movie because you want a large audience available to see it these tentpole movies they have thought big-budget they require big returns they demand international acceptance or their hard to do so all was all jockey around in the space trying to find events that this is a question for now several of you aren't you worried about superhero overload with you how many movies in the next year through 2028 we started out the conversation about great movies and whether the John risk comedies dramas romantic comedies and if you use example of animation they should be one or two animated films a year now there's 10 or 12 call about great movies without hologram animated movie called great movie think that what you have to do is make great movies and if you do that and you saw the summer when you had what for superhero movies you movie at the end of the summer which was the fourth the line between you a thought that was can ever be fatigue would've been there was the biggest movie of the summer so I really do think that it's about having the best known greatly the term superhero has become sort of all-inclusive but in fact I think there's delineation that might be appropriate for me In America is a satisfying movie to us into my respects by four is a Shakespearean drama in some respects I know that okay literature my radar superhero but we know about as Kevin says all out just making good reason all of us at the table or in that business with all the action marbling of Helen's friends at Marvel the fantastic four comic for now and how to deal with the feeling that balance monolith trying to strangle your marbling MacPhail have a decision came about the you is not a huge seller fantastic four Zuberi established you know who the characters in the film is also so yeah you know I think I'm how that played into their decision but it wasn't wasn't in the bulk wasn't selling as well as others so it doesn't matter from your perspective completely independent decision by letting no better analysis real but that's the game warns will continue to do that will do it to the point where where where making the 45 of those franchises pretty horrifying is a lot and Ideas the experiments are actually I am I am such great regard for her Kevin and for everything that that the success marvels had but will the paramount speaking of paramount is hundred and two years old show business by definition is always it's always in so I believe these movies will exist for a very very long time will it be predominant will they be the pictures that we all look at every year in terms of box office years and years to come I don't know I don't know but I do know that will all try to entertain and we will be around were Studios will be around for very long time to come with that strategy so that is that's how were dealing with that Wichita stories we figure and entertained is there any other executive pay Going on for you guys and your studio now perception is not endorsed hearing a year from now will have the same structure I think that what's working with structure I think the it shows in the quality and what were doing the performance of our movies is started existed I think it's about collaboration it's about teamwork and it's working clarify from people to know relating to you have a committee structure then you have to crawl you have to the emirate and others that
your film studio and have a committee running a studio think you find the structure that works for your company and whether it's unique your company or models after another company I think you have to find what works and it's working I think that the performance of our movies and are Slate are reflective of the teamwork that those executives and many others mean you genetically gripped very difficult summer so on the performing think that it was now we all had the summer wasn't what I think any of us run the stable expensive and I think that's pretty was always in our there is a times and he is as is but that's it was a cyclicals to cyclical businesses within volatile it's a very volatile challenging summer but I think that if we were to go back to talk about the false talk about the beginning of year we had Lego in February we had Anabel and I will begin a do over $250 million worldwide in a very small on a very small budget Jamin so post you have to look at Slate of movies American I think it look a body of work and I think when you look at that we may end up the year and finished the year up with me and the hobbit level bosses to interstellar with Brad inherent vice with with Paul Thomas Anderson then we have a very very strong slate of movies, in a way and not to mention the final movie of the year that will be limited release but very proud of American snipers well back on the sale question do you are laying people off and HDL which is read meeting and money layoffs it looks like dressing up for sale now were actually not gusting up for sale at that's a nice word gussied up for other things but not for sale morning was funny gussy up you slipknot and it we've all gone through these types of layoffs before everybody runs table and the very very difficult because we are leaning in the film and television production and create a bit parts of our business were not impacted because were actually increase your investment there but it had nothing to do with the fact that were looking to do anything other than to grow our business and we think that we needed to do certain things that will allow us to position ourselves for growth going forward and I think that was a lot of focus around the franchises that we talked about with Lego and fantastic visa DC movies but we we really are focused on creating a really broad diverse slate of movies they certainly have material to work with interest the French-you often example is you and I think that that's very important it will continue to do that we talk a minute about China has happened is that if you want someone he met and some of you obviously there's a a lot of suspense about China can come in and in and buy one of its companies in Connecticut seemed able to do that with the change in the sofa cushions this question of Ali Baba immediately offensively were here was streaming material in part there's no opportunity like China in the world mean you look at the size of what that businesses can be in 2018 in the number 66 and have $7 billion a box office there's just nothing like it growing and I was a great company is Jim said his other great companies as well and I think that all of us are going to look at every opportunity we have try and build a gym setting aside businesses were involved with On a Venture on Restraining Venture for Netflix Type Service There That's Quite Successful and I Think That We Need to Build More Successful Businesses Because the Appetite for Our Films a Local Films Is Massive and so We Have To Do What We Do Make Great Movies and Great Content the Story in China Is Even Last Decade Has As His Is a Stunning Transformation They Haven't Really Really Grown As a Market the 20,000 Screens in China We Have over 44,000 in the Domestic Marketplace or Four Times A Day People As Reading the Building 18 Screens a Day to Vote for Them up Already There Really Really Changing the Face of the International Marketplace so That Anyone Would Ignore China His or Her Peril Is an Extremely Final Question Another Summer We Didn't Dealing with Some Exceptions Especially in the US A Lot Of Tentpole Sort of Flattened out around 250 Which Was the First Know There's Been Many Years Where Stuff Is Gone over 300 409 Is Younger People As We've All Talked about Here or Go to Other Technologies Did This Summer Alarm You Guys in the US I Know That Internationally Was Just As Strong As Wonder If Catering to the International Audience Wind up Costing You Some Domestic You Know I Think That Those A Lot Of Factors at Play in the Summer I Think One of the Things That We Probably Underestimated a Little Bit Was the World Cup the Woke up in Those Ratings That You Saw It Here and in the Last Ratings for Little or the Highest Ever Have and If My Household Is the Is Any Kind of Barometer the Kids Played Soccer All the Way through Loved It Watched It Religiously and so You Look at That I Think It Deftly Had an Impact the Subletting Product Had Had Somewhat of an Impact and Always the Content of Another Kind of Forms of Competition Also Played Can't about That Was One Single Factor and I Don't Think You Could Look at That Because You Look at the False Glory Picked up the Ball and Enemy That to Be Honest Women Seen a Tentpole Still Love Guardians I Guess As at Three Years Know Three out 20 Thematically the We Increasingly Look at a Global Return It Really Had for These Large Movies That You Are Referring to When You Are Focused on What They Drive Is a Global Marketplace Because It's the Only Way to Look at Them Their Expensive and It's Not Uncommon for These Pictures to Do Twice of His International Visitor Domestically and in the Being Very Very Successful for As Outset a New It We Didn't Go into on Transformers We Were in a World Where the Facts Are We Do over 70% of Our Business Now around the World Is Probably Going to Increase Was China What I Would Say in Terms of Transformers Was That All of the Choices Is Kevin Alluded to That Everybody Had over the Summer Probably Took a Toll on Transformers and the Lance Took a Toll on Transformers but to Michael Bay Is Going to Drive the Billions Who for Us Were Very Very Happy to Say That If You As We Is Nolan Here Very Smart Looking at the Marketplace and What Were Your Thoughts As to What Happened When You Think I Think Kevin's Point about the World Cup Is One of Them and I Think That Was the Were A Lot Of Choices and People Move onto the Next Weekend and Enjoy Great Movie but I Think When You're up There in the 202 50 Range That's A Lot Of Money and Now I Think It Reflects the Fact That There Are Diversity of Choices but Overall I Mean You Know Was a Great Mistrust a Great Summer in Many Respects for Everyone Is Great Langley Lenhart S Brad Grey Kevin Sugihara Jonathan Fearing Thank You Very Much for Joining Only Meet Him after Me Appreciate Your Candor and Good Answers