Sammo Hung

A feature story on Sammo Hung from The Hollywood Reporter

Tokyo: Kung Fu Legend Sammo Hung on His Seven-Decade Career, Working With Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen

Hung popularized comedy-martial arts flicks, created the horror-kung fu genre and broke ground as an East Asian lead in the CBS series 'Martial Law.'

In a career that has spanned seven decades, Hong Kong action movie legend Sammo Hung has seen a lot, and moreover, his body has been through a lot. So it wasn’t a surprise to see the 72-year-old use a cane as he took the stage for a masterclass session at the Tokyo International Film Festival. But as he captivated an appreciative audience, the confidence and humor that have seen Hung through his illustrious career in martial arts movies shone bright.

Born into a showbiz family, Hung’s career began as a child actor while at the China Drama Academy, a Peking Opera school in Hong Kong. He made his film debut in the early 1960s, aged nine. A slightly grainy, black and white clip of the film showed a fresh-faced boy Hung, to coos from his assembled admirers. “Training at the school was very severe. We learned all the fundamental movements. By the time you’ve graduated, you can do nearly any move,” said Hung.

One of his big breaks came when he fought Bruce Lee in the opening scene of 1973’s seminal Enter the Dragon. Lee’s death that year left Game of Death unfinished, and in 1978, Hung was charged with the fight choreography for the reshoots.

“I didn’t really get to spend much time with Bruce Lee. But his artful cinematic work made a big impression on me,” recalled Hung. “I was heartbroken when he died so young. It shocked people not only in Hong Kong, but all around the world. His fans and those of us in the industry who respected him so much were devastated.”

In his 1977 directorial debut The Iron-Fisted Monk, in which he also starred, Hung incorporated more of the comedy touches he had noticed audiences reacting well to in previous films. It helped kick off a trend for comedy kung fu flicks, made famous by rival and collaborator Jackie Chan in classics such as Drunken Master.  “And Hong Kong films at that time were mostly in Mandarin, but we used Cantonese [for The Iron-Fisted Monk], and from then on decided to do all our films in Cantonese,” said Hung.

His 1978 Enter the Fat Dragon, which he again directed and starred in, was released in Japan as Moeyo Debu-gon. All of his subsequent films have included Debu-gon (fat man) in their Japanese title, explained film critic and producer Jun Edoki during his introductory remarks.

Hung was also instrumental in creating the jiangshi genre of horror kung fu in the 1980s, inspired by his childhood love of ghosts and monsters. “I was always thinking about new elements that I could add to my action movies,” he said. “I barely took any time off during that golden era of Hong Kong cinema. I was still young and could go at that pace. Making movies was preferable to resting.”

While the 1990s didn’t see Hung reach the heights of previous decades at home, he starred in two seasons of CBS’s Martial Law from 1998 to 2000, making him a rare East Asian lead on a U.S. broadcast network show. Co-starring with Arsenio Hall, the show was a surprise hit, despite Hung’s dialogue being limited by his English ability.

“The hardest part of it all was the language. When people asked me if there was anything I would like to change about America, I told them I wished everyone would learn Chinese to make it easier for me,” said Hung with a big laugh.

Next up was a clip of the iconic table-top fight scene between Hung and Donnie Yen in Ip Man 2 (2010). Hung was asked if it was difficult to shoot the combat sequence with the athletic Yen, known for his martial prowess and training across multiple disciplines.

“It wasn’t hard work with Donnie, he’s very skillful, and I’m also very skillful. We could do a lot of those in one take. Donnie is incredible, but I’m even more incredible,” smiled Hung, to laughter and applause from the audience.

Sean Connery

(CNN) Sean Connery, the Scottish actor whose five-decade-long movie career was dominated by the role of James Bond, has died at the age of 90, according to his publicist.

The actor "died peacefully in his sleep," publicist Nancy Seltzer said in a statement Saturday.

"His wife Micheline and his two sons, Jason and Stephane have confirmed that he died peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family. There will be a private ceremony followed by a memorial yet to be planned once the virus has ended," the statement said.

Connery, who was awarded a knighthood in 2000 for his contribution to the arts, played the British spy in seven movies, beginning with "Dr. No" in 1962, the first of the Bond movies.

He wasn't just Bond, of course. Connery starred in an Alfred Hitchcock film, 1964's "Marnie," opposite Tippi Hedren; was part of the all-star cast in 1974's "Murder on the Orient Express"; played Indiana Jones' father, in 1989's "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"; and won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his performance as Chicago cop Jim Malone in the 1987 film "The Untouchables."

But like so many characters in the Bond films, he could never quite escape 007. He gave up the role twice before finally ending his involvement with 1983's puckishly titled "Never Say Never Again."

James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said they were "devastated" by the news of Connery's death in a statement posted to the official 007 Twitter account.

"He was and shall always be remembered as the original James Bond whose indelible entrance into cinema history began when he announced those unforgettable words "The name's Bond... James Bond" -- he revolutionized the world with his gritty and witty portrayal of the sexy and charismatic secret agent," the producers said.

"He is undoubtedly largely responsible for the success of the film series and we shall be forever grateful to him."

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was "heartbroken" to hear of Connery's death.

"Our nation today mourns one of her best loved sons," she said in a statement. "Sean was born into a working class Edinburgh family and through talent and sheer hard work, became a film icon and one of the world's most accomplished actors."

Sturgeon also paid tribute to Connery as "a patriotic and proud Scot," saying it was a privilege to have known him. "He was a lifelong advocate of an independent Scotland and those of us who share that belief owe him a great debt of gratitude," she said.

Actor Daniel Craig, the most recent Bond, said Connery had "defined an era and a style" and was one of cinema's true greats.

"The wit and charm he portrayed on screen could be measured in mega watts; he helped create the modern blockbuster. He will continue to influence actors and film-makers alike for years to come," said Craig in a statement shared by the official 007 Twitter account.

Actor Hugh Jackman tweeted: "I grew up idolizing #SeanConnery. A legend on screen, and off. Rest In Peace."

Britain's Pinewood Studios, where the Bond films are filmed, tweeted: "Memories of this outstanding actor and his unforgettable embodiment of superspy James Bond will forever be cherished at Pinewood."

Warrior

Bruce Lee fans might be interested in watching Warrior: Inside the Series (8 episodes) which features Shannon Lee presenting a lot of background information on her father.

Warrior is a Cinemax series based on Bruce Lee's writings.  Kind of a TV-MA rated version of Kung Fu (the TV series starring David Carradine).

You can currently watch season 1 of Warrior for free on the Roku channel.  (Season 2 started on October 2, 2020.)

What's the deal with Spider-Man and Sony?

Spider-Man is caught in a tangled web.

After Deadline reported on Tuesday that Sony and Disney were unable to come to an agreement over Spider-Man's movie appearances, Sony released a statement blaming Disney. A Sony spokesperson said that it was the Mouse House's decision for Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to not be involved with future movies.

"We hope this might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him - including all their newly added Marvel properties - do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own," Sony said. "Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue."

Spider-Man's big-screen journey has been a roller coaster, and this is just the latest in a series of headaches. To understand the current tug-of-war between Sony and Disney, you need to understand how the arrangement arose in the first place.

New 007

In news that will surely come as a shock to James Bond fans and the film industry at large, it was revealed today that longtime 007 Daniel Craig will pass the Walther PPK to black British actress Lashana Lynch in the iconic role.

For years there has been intense speculation about who would take over the reins of one of the most durable and profitable film franchises in history once Craig stepped aside. Much of that speculation has revolved around whether the series might make a nod toward diversity and cast a person of color or a woman for the first time.

But if the report from UK tabloid the Daily Mail is to be believed, the 007 producers are going for a radical twofer: casting a 31-year-old black female newcomer as Bond’s heir apparent.

According to the report, the upcoming, yet-to-be-titled 25th Bond film will reveal Lynch as the new 007 with Craig’s character coming out of retirement for one last mission.

Stan Lee

Stan Lee, the legendary writer, editor and publisher of Marvel Comics whose fantabulous but flawed creations made him a real-life superhero to comic book lovers everywhere, has died. He was 95.

Lee, who began in the business in 1939 and created or co-created Black Panther, Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Mighty Thor, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Daredevil and Ant-Man, among countless other characters, died early Monday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, a family representative told The Hollywood Reporter.

On his own and through his work with frequent artist-writer collaborators Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko (who died in July) and others, Lee catapulted Marvel from a tiny venture into the world's No. 1 publisher of comic books and, later, a multimedia giant.

In 2009, The Walt Disney Co. bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion, and most of the top-grossing superhero films of all time — led by Avengers: Infinity War's $2.05 billion worldwide take earlier this year — have featured Marvel characters.

"I used to think what I did was not very important," he told the Chicago Tribune in April 2014. "People are building bridges and engaging in medical research, and here I was doing stories about fictional people who do extraordinary, crazy things and wear costumes. But I suppose I have come to realize that entertainment is not easily dismissed."

Lee's fame and influence as the face and figurehead of Marvel, even in his nonagenarian years, remained considerable.

Beginning in the 1960s, the irrepressible and feisty Lee punched up his Marvel superheroes with personality, not just power. Until then, comic book headliners like those of DC Comics were square and well-adjusted, but his heroes had human foibles and hang-ups; Peter Parker/Spider-Man, for example, fretted about his dandruff and was confused about dating. The evildoers were a mess of psychological complexity.

"His stories taught me that even superheroes like Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk have ego deficiencies and girl problems and do not live in their macho fantasies 24 hours a day," Gene Simmons of Kiss said in a 1979 interview. "Through the honesty of guys like Spider-Man, I learned about the shades of gray in human nature."

His way of doing things at Marvel was to brainstorm a story with an artist, then write a synopsis. After the artist drew the story panels, Lee filled in the word balloons and captions. The process became known as “The Marvel Method.”

Lee collaborated with artist-writer Kirby on the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Silver Surfer and X-Men. With artist-writer Ditko he created Spider-Man and the surgeon Doctor Strange, and with artist Bill Everett came up with the blind superhero Daredevil.

Movies Anywhere

[8/6/18] Today we are excited to announce that the Microsoft Movies & TV app for Xbox and Windows 10 devices now supports Movies Anywhere, which brings your favorite film libraries together in one place.

When you connect your Microsoft account with your Movies Anywhere account, all of your eligible movies from Microsoft can be enjoyed across your favorite screens at no extra cost. This includes Xbox and Windows, iOS and Android, smart TVs, and streaming devices.

In addition, eligible movies you previously purchased from other participating digital retailers will now be viewable through the Movies & TV app on Xbox and Windows 10.

As part of our launch, we have a limited time offer for anyone who connects his or her Microsoft account to Movies Anywhere for the first time. Once you connect, you will receive X-Men Days of Future Past in your digital collection on us. This offer begins today and only runs for a limited time, so head here to connect your accounts today or visit this page for complete details.

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[3/12/18] Fandano joins Movies Anywhere

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[10/12/17] Movies Anywhere is a new service that solves a major problem.

Using a single app, you can now access your Amazon, iTunes, Google and Vudu movie libraries. For real. That not only eliminates the hassles of jumping among four different services depending on what you want to watch, but also dissolves some platform barriers. For example, Roku owners can watch movies purchased from iTunes. Amazon Fire tablet owners can watch Google Play movies, and so on.

Ready to get started? Movies Anywhere is free, and when you connect at least two of the aforementioned services (which Movies Anywhere refers to as "retailers"), you'll score five free movies:

• "Big Hero 6"
• "Ghostbusters (2016)"
• "Ice Age"
• "Jason Bourne"
• "The Lego Movie"

[Actually I don't use the Movies Anywhere app.  Your movies largely migrate to all the services, so I generally use Amazon Video, or Vudu, or iTunes.

Most, but not every movie is supported however.  And no TV yet.]

Star Wars movie chronology

The “Star Wars” universe has been rapidly expanding in recent years, with the new trilogy as well as standalone films like “Rogue One” and Friday’s release of “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”

But unlike many of its predecessors, deciphering just where “Solo” fits chronologically in the franchise has been a bit of a head scratcher (in part because it’s unclear how old Han Solo is in the prequel).

While die-hard fans may be able to accurately guess where the “Solo” film fits into the bigger timeline, more casual viewers will have a tougher time deciphering the proper order.


With that in mind, here’s a quick movie timeline, spanning from the introduction of a baby-faced Anakin Skywalker to the recent debuts of Rey and Finn, perfect for your next movie marathon.

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And here's a timeline including the animated shows.

Phantom Menace review

Brushwood mentioned this in the latest CordKillers (67).  He said the Phantom Menace wasn't all bad.  If it weren't for the Phantom Menace, we wouldn't have the Phantom Menace Review from Red Letter Media.

He said he's watched this way more times than the actual movie.

Fairly entertaining if you don't mind a few swear words thrown in periodically.  (Or maybe you find swear words entertaining..)

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Red Letter Media is pretty amusing (to me).  Their Wheel of the Worst for example.

Nightwing the series

Nightwing: The Series is a fan-funded mini webseries created by Ismahawk and funded by a Kickstarter campaign that quickly went viral. All the people involved love the source material - it's by the fans for the fans, so please be respectful. It's not meant to be movie theater quality, but the goal was still to get it as close to that as possible.

the trailer

episode 1

Spider-Man coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios announced today that Sony is bringing Marvel into the amazing world of Spider-Man.

Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel's Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017, in a film that will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger. Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.

Marvel and Sony Pictures are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films.

The new relationship follows a decade of speculation among fans about whether Spider-Man – who has always been an integral and important part of the larger Marvel Universe in the comic books – could become part of the Marvel Universe on the big screen. Spider-Man has more than 50 years of history in Marvel's world, and with this deal, fans will be able to experience Spider-Man taking his rightful place among other Super Heroes in the MCU.

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The Spider-Man move has been speculated for some time. Among the fanboy crowd, talk of a partnership between the companies arose last summer after the poor reception of Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Although the movie made $708 million worldwide, it was the lowest of all the franchise entries. More critically, the movie was widely panned by fans. Talks were confirmed when emails leaked during Sony’s hacking crisis although they seemingly broke down in the fall.

***

Now that Spider-Man is a part of Marvel's Cinematic Universe starting with a "new creative direction" slated for July 28th, 2017, Marvel Studios is pushing a number of its films back to make room and avoid competition. The next Thor movie would have gone head-to-head with Spider-Man but is now taking Black Panther's original November 2017 premiere date. In turn, Black Panther is taking Captain Marvel's slot, which in turn is taking Inhumans' slot, which is now slated for July 12th, 2019.

The two-part Avengers: Infinity War movies, however, are not budging. That does change which films happen in between Infinity War and pushes Inhumans to after every other film. Marvel's Cinematic Universe has so far been pretty big about keeping all its films within the same universe — each installment building on the same overarching narrative. Which is to say, there's a good chance that some of Larger Plot Points are now being moved around, and that Inhumans might be the beginning of a new Phase (to use its own parlance).

Here's the full list. Updates are in bold.

• Avengers: Age of Ultron: May 1, 2015
• Ant-Man: July 17, 2015
• Captain America: Civil War: May 6, 2016
• Doctor Strange: November 4, 2016
• Guardians of the Galaxy 2: May 5, 2017
• Spider-Man: July 28th, 2017
• Thor: Ragnarok: November 3rd, 2017
• Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1: May 4, 2018
• Black Panther: July 6th, 2018
• Captain Marvel: November 2nd, 2018
• Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2: May 3, 2019
• Inhumans: July 12, 2019

[via roy]

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A visual guide to Marvel character movie rights

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Which Marvel movies has Stan Lee not made a cameo in?

Among them: X2, Elektra, X-Men: First Class, Guardians of the Galaxy

Which has he been in? (enjoying the video from the above Guardians of the Galaxy link):  X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Hulk (with Lou Ferrigno), Spider-Man 2, Fantastic Four, X-Men: The Last Stand, Spider-Man 3, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Iron Man (as Hef), The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 (as Larry King), Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man.

This updated list also includes: The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Agents of SHIELD, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Guardians of the Galaxy (contradicting the article above), Big Hero 6.

And I recently just saw him on Agent Carter.

And the best is yet to come?

Unbroken

Like many who have read Laura Hillenbrand’s book Unbroken, the impeccably researched story of Olympic runner Louie Zamperini, the film version was greatly anticipated — even more so for my wife Susan and me, because we were part of a small, ad-hoc group that organized Zamperini’s visit to Oahu a few years ago when he spoke to several hundred Marines and sailors aboard the USS Missouri.

The story, briefly, is of a bright, high-spirited, live-onthe-edge kid raised in the small town of Torrance, Calif. Because he was frequently in trouble with local cops for petty crimes, he learned how to run very fast. He honed his running skills to the point of eventually making the varsity track squad at University of Southern California, and qualifying for the 1936 U.S. Olympic team to compete in Germany. He was a shoo-in for the 1940 team to compete in Japan, but the onset of World War II made those games impossible, so instead — like many of his “Greatest Generation” contemporaries — he enlisted in the military.

In May of 1947, as an Army Air Corps bombardier, his crippled, Hawaii-based B-24 bomber crashed into the Pacific. He and a fellow crewman survived in a rubber life raft, drifting westward for 47 days. Ultimately, they were captured by a Japanese patrol boat, then transferred to a prison ship to Japan, where they were POWs for the next two years.

Zamperini’s time as a POW was made even more hellish by a certain Japanese prison commander, who knew of Zamperini’s Olympic experience and immediately detected the American’s defiant attitude. “The Bird,” as he was known by the POWs, hounded him mercilessly, administering frequent beatings without reason. He singled him out for the hardest prison work details, grinding him down physically and mentally. “Zamp” became obsessed by his hatred for The Bird, vowing revenge no matter how far off in the future.

The war ended in August 1945. The POWs were repatriated, and Zamp’s homecoming with his family was all he had hoped for. Because of his Olympian fame, he got more press and adoration than the average returnee. There was enormous interest in hearing him speak. He soon met and married a 20-year-old beauty named Cynthia Applewhite. He couldn’t believe his good fortune when she accepted his proposal. Even then, he doubted his worthiness.

This was only the first of many doubts that would haunt him. The social whirl and demand for his presence started going to his head. He started drinking more of the drinks people wanted to buy him. Soon he was adding whiskey to a normal cup of coffee at breakfast. He had become more and more obsessed by his hatred for The Bird. He would plot in his stupored mind how he would return to Japan to hunt down and kill The Bird. He had nightmares about his POW days.

He began to mistreat Cynthia, who was now pregnant. She attended a revival session, held in a tent near their Hollywood apartment. She urged Louie to come and listen to the words of a young preacher named Billy Graham. He did, but when Graham announced the alter call, Louie “took Cynthia by the arm and bulled their way from the tent.” When she threatened divorce, he gave in once more. The next night, when Graham invited the alter call, Louie stood up in that back row of the tent ready for another fast exit. But suddenly he had a flashback: He was lying on the bottom of a rubber raft, and he recalled a promise he had forgotten until that very moment: “God, if you will save me, I will serve you for the rest of my life.” This was the last flashback he would ever have.

The next morning he lay still next to Cynthia. As Hillenbrand wrote: “What was resonating with him now was not all that he had suffered, but the divine love he believed had intervened to save him. He was not the worthless, broken, forsaken man Bird had striven to make of him. In a single silent moment, his rage, his fear, his humiliation and helplessness had fallen away. That morning he believed he was a new creation. Softly, he wept.”

The shame is that the movie ended right after his release from the Japanese prison and portrayed none of his struggle to forgive and move on — a struggle in many ways more difficult than the years as a POW. Ultimately, the message of Unbroken is about the redeeming qualities of forgiveness. All of this was only summarized in three brief paragraphs of script at the end of the film — a real disappointment for those who had read the book.

-- Jerry Coffee, Midweek January 14, 2015

Berlantiverse

Since it was announced that Warner Television and DC Comics were working with Greg Berlanti (Green Lantern, Arrow, The Flash) and CBS to develop a new DC Comics television series starring Supergirl, the Kryptonian cousin of Superman, it was widely specualted as to whether or not Supergirl would exist in the same universe as Arrow and The Flash, since the shows would be airing on different networks. Well, there is no longer any speculation. It has been confirmed that Executive Producer Greg Berlanti does indeed to have Supergirl set in the same universe as his CW shows, which most refer to the DC Television Universe but which I have taken to calling the Berlantiverse.

top ten trailers

better than the movie

(yeah, those Tron Legacy trailers were pretty cool and hey, I liked Godzilla)

free movies?

I'm talking about pirate sites (I will not mention who told me about them to protect the non-innocent).  I'm always leery of these sites because of the danger of spyware.  But sometimes I'm curious and might sneak a peek in order to see whether it might be worth my time (and money) to watch the movie legitimately.

Anyway, here's a few sites that might (or might not) work for you.  (And might or might not be safe.)

couchtuner.eu
solarmovie.ws
movietube.cz
movieondrive.com

(Use at your own risk.)

[4/28/15 - I'll post this with date 11/6/14 so as to kind of bury it]

Batman vs. Marvel: battle of the 75 year olds

Marvel Comics isn’t the only comic book institution celebrating a 75th anniversary this year. A certain Dark Knight also hits the big seven-five.

Created by Bob Kane and the criminally underrated and overlooked Bill Finger, Batman appeared for the first time in Detective Comics #27 (cover dated May 1939), and he’s been an American icon ever since. In fact, Batman’s popularity has grown with each passing decade, and he’s probably one of the most resilient fictional characters of all time, up there with Sherlock Holmes and Dracula (two creations, incidentally, that were instrumental in Batman’s conception).

Today, Batman and Marvel stand as the two greatest examples of how far superheroes have come since the late 1930s, as well as the benchmarks of the genre’s current popularity.

Because we live in a time when one success can only be celebrated by pitting it against another in merciless competition, we’ve decided to ask—as well as answer—the most important question when it comes to these two pop culture paragons:

Which is the more successful septuagenarian, Batman or Marvel Comics?

[spoiler: this movie had some bearing on the outcome.  Interesting.  Written by David Goyer.]

Actors Who've Played Multiple Comic Characters

Well, there's Ben Affleck who's played Daredevil and is going to play Batman.

There's Chris Evans who played The Human Torch and is playing Captain America.

Who else?  read on...

While Affleck will attempt to remove the memory of "Daredevil" as Warner Bros.' new Batman, THR looks back on other actors -- including Chris Evans, Halle Berry and Samuel L. Jackson -- who've donned tights, capes or masks more than once.

Marvel killing the Fantastic Four?

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Marvel superheroes are a powerful force in the movie universe, but it's going to take a huge plot twist to get them all fighting on the same side.

When Disney (DIS) bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion back in 2009, it secured the rights to Marvel's entire comic-book universe including Captain America, Spider-Man, The X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four and The Hulk. It just didn't get the right to put all of them on screen, and it's still a little bitter about it half a decade later.

Sony (SNE) still holds the film rights to Spider-Man and all the villains, sidekicks and other characters created specifically for his books. The folks at 21st Century Fox (FOXA) hold similar rights to both the X-Men and Fantastic Four. Neither Disney nor Marvel are happy about that situation and, recently, issued an edict to Marvel's writers not to develop anything new for the Marvel properties owned by Fox.

X-Men writer Chris Claremont recently appeared on the Nerdist podcast and told Len Wein, Marc Bernardin and Heath Corson that he's been “forbidden to create new characters… all because all new characters become the film property of Fox.” And -- “because why promote Fox material?” -- the Marvel staff has been told to put exactly zero effort into producing new X-Men merchandise.

Keep in mind that the X-Men franchise has brought in $1.3 billion in the United States and more than $3 billion worldwide. Fox has released seven X-Men films since 2000 and the latest, X-Men: Days Of Future Past, just brought in $746 million around the globe this summer. In the U.S., the X-Men franchise ranks No. 11 just behind the Transformers in overall box-office receipts, not including merchandising and home video.

The Fantastic Four, meanwhile, might just get killed off for making money for the wrong company. Marvel Chief Executive Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter -- portrayed by The Hollywood Reporter early this summer as the media equivalent of a miserly millionaire who dresses in rags and subsists on stale packets of oatmeal -- apparently was so enraged about Fox rebooting the Fantastic Four film franchise that he's killed all licensing and merchandising for the title. As Bleeding Cool reported, workers in Marvel's offices “pulled down lest Perlmutter see one and have his ire raised.”

Also, it looks as if the Fantastic Four themselves are getting the ax, as Bleeding Cool adds that the upcoming Fantastic Four: The End Is Fourever storyline could be the group's last once it wraps up in early 2015. With the Fantastic Four franchise making $620 million worldwide from two films released since 2005 and with the newest installment releasing in August, cutting off the franchise's ability to generate cash from anything other than the films themselves is no small deal.

As the more than $1 billion produced worldwide by 2012's The Avengers makes clear, however, Marvel just loves getting as many of its high-priced heroes under one roof as possible. Combined, the Marvel Cinematic Universe films with rights owned exclusively by Marvel have made more than $7 billion worldwide at the box office from the release of Iron Man in 2008 through the box-office run of this year's Guardians Of The Galaxy. When all Marvel Comics properties are combined, however, they've produced nearly $7 billion in the U.S. alone, and more than $15 billion worldwide.

Marvel and Disney want all of that, which is why recent murmurs surrounding Marvel, Disney, Sony and Spider-Man might just produce a way forward. Sony is desperately attempting to exit the movie business and, according to The New York Times, might be talking to Marvel about getting Spider-Man back into the Marvel universe as the franchise loses steam.

Sony's original Spider-Man made more than $400 million in the U.S. alone when it released in 2002. Adjusted for inflation, that's more than $566 million. The latest installment, this year's Amazing Spider-Man 2, had a tough time cracking $200 million in the U.S. and made just $700 million worldwide compared to the first film's $890 million 12 years ago. Amazing Spider-Man 3 isn't scheduled for release until 2018, a Spider-Man supervillian movie The Sinister Six is coming in 2016 and Entertainment Weekly notes that a flop by either film could put Spider-Man back into Marvel's hands.

Comic books companies have made a habit of killing off beloved characters from Superman to Captain America to make them profitable again. Sacrificing its own creations to pry money out of Fox and Sony's hands? Marvel's true believers have read similar stories before.

El Rey

El Rey is new channel I just noticed on Oceanic 36.  It was playing an old Kung Fu movie, Dragon Missle, evidently playing all month on El Ray.  It was launched in 2013 by Robert Rodriguez and carried by Time Warner Cable, Comcast, and DirecTV.

What else is on El Ray besides old kung fu movies?  Well I see Starsky & Hutch, Dark Angel, X-Files, Texas Justice.  And a bunch of infomercials.  Then I see Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer this weekend.  Like that.

The Princess Bride

Ten things you (probably) didn't know