Sorry, folks, but there are some things one just shouldn't joke about ... and -- for what it's worth -- I think pedophilia is amongst them.
Back in the early days of SciFiHistory.Net, I had this podcast I listened to daily, and the host knew it. (No, I'm not gonna name names because, ultimately, 'who' isn't important.) In any event, there was this one morning amidst all of the -- ahem -- kerfuffle involving James Gunn's online identity -- it would seem he has had a tendency in the past to make jokes about his sexual predilections or if not his sexual predilections some very inappropriate ones -- and I was listening to this morning podcast wherein the host actually defended Gunn despite the writer/director recently having been fired from the Walt Disney Company. (This was following Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, I believe.) The bloke's position was that if we wanted to get the very best in entertainment then we were just going to have to look the other way on a storyteller's personal foibles because -- in his opinion -- conservative artists just don't tell good stories.
Yeah. You read that right.
In any event, I kinda/sorta put out a challenge on that front, suggesting that turning the other way is what kinda/sorta got us in this mess culturally to begin with and maybe such topics really couldn't, shouldn't, and wouldn't be off limits in any forum. The long and the short of it is, then, this podcast guy used his platform to pretty much bully me for my position; and he wound down his sermon with his own testimony of how he wears a button at conventions for the protection of anyone against bullies. I'm guessing this fellow wasn't bright enough to understand the irony of his statements; and I've never listened to his show or any of his affiliates ever since. In life, you gotta stand for something; and I choose for standing on substance ... not for being proud enough to wear a button yet do nothing to demonstrate what the button allegedly stands for.
As most know by now, none of this hubbub actually hurt Gunn's career. In Hollywood, it's been said such behaviors are career enhancements; and certainly the storied careers of one Harvey Weinstein, Joss Whedon, and even Bill Cosby show that such insiders are all-too-happy to look the other way if there's some financial gain involved. Eventually, even the Mouse House recanted on their position, bringing the writer/director back into the fold to wrap up his Guardians saga; and it wasn't long after that Gunn was hired by Warner Bros. to head up their all-new revamp of DC Studios. (See what I mean? Such folks are sought after in Tinseltown, don't you believe otherwise.)
Of course, I've no way of knowing whether or not Gunn actually partook of those things he alleged to have done in his various Tweets and the like. (Yes, yes, and yes: I've heard he claims he was just joking, but -- as I said at the top -- there are some topics a bit too taboo so far as I give a damn.) Truth is never something that gets bandied about in public, after all: the rumors are usually far more salacious and intriguing, which is why I do try to avoid them when and if at all possible. While Gunn's stories haven't been to my liking, it's pretty clear that he's crafted an audience for his stuff, and it's that reality that probably brought Warner to making the decision to hand him the keys to their and DC's oft-maligned kingdom.
Well ...
We're really about to see whether or not this was all worth the controversy as DC Studios released a promotional trailer for Creature Commandos -- what I think is the first truly Gunn-initiated effort. Though he's sounded off on other properties along with leaving a talent like Gal Gadot kinda/sorta hanging in oblivion, Gunn will now be allowed to sink or swin on his own merits. I've not seen a specific premiere date in all of this (there could be one in the trailer, I watched it yesterday, but I honestly forget now), so all I can say is you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for this one to hit the small screen.
Back in the early days of SciFiHistory.Net, I had this podcast I listened to daily, and the host knew it. (No, I'm not gonna name names because, ultimately, 'who' isn't important.) In any event, there was this one morning amidst all of the -- ahem -- kerfuffle involving James Gunn's online identity -- it would seem he has had a tendency in the past to make jokes about his sexual predilections or if not his sexual predilections some very inappropriate ones -- and I was listening to this morning podcast wherein the host actually defended Gunn despite the writer/director recently having been fired from the Walt Disney Company. (This was following Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, I believe.) The bloke's position was that if we wanted to get the very best in entertainment then we were just going to have to look the other way on a storyteller's personal foibles because -- in his opinion -- conservative artists just don't tell good stories.
Yeah. You read that right.
In any event, I kinda/sorta put out a challenge on that front, suggesting that turning the other way is what kinda/sorta got us in this mess culturally to begin with and maybe such topics really couldn't, shouldn't, and wouldn't be off limits in any forum. The long and the short of it is, then, this podcast guy used his platform to pretty much bully me for my position; and he wound down his sermon with his own testimony of how he wears a button at conventions for the protection of anyone against bullies. I'm guessing this fellow wasn't bright enough to understand the irony of his statements; and I've never listened to his show or any of his affiliates ever since. In life, you gotta stand for something; and I choose for standing on substance ... not for being proud enough to wear a button yet do nothing to demonstrate what the button allegedly stands for.
As most know by now, none of this hubbub actually hurt Gunn's career. In Hollywood, it's been said such behaviors are career enhancements; and certainly the storied careers of one Harvey Weinstein, Joss Whedon, and even Bill Cosby show that such insiders are all-too-happy to look the other way if there's some financial gain involved. Eventually, even the Mouse House recanted on their position, bringing the writer/director back into the fold to wrap up his Guardians saga; and it wasn't long after that Gunn was hired by Warner Bros. to head up their all-new revamp of DC Studios. (See what I mean? Such folks are sought after in Tinseltown, don't you believe otherwise.)
Of course, I've no way of knowing whether or not Gunn actually partook of those things he alleged to have done in his various Tweets and the like. (Yes, yes, and yes: I've heard he claims he was just joking, but -- as I said at the top -- there are some topics a bit too taboo so far as I give a damn.) Truth is never something that gets bandied about in public, after all: the rumors are usually far more salacious and intriguing, which is why I do try to avoid them when and if at all possible. While Gunn's stories haven't been to my liking, it's pretty clear that he's crafted an audience for his stuff, and it's that reality that probably brought Warner to making the decision to hand him the keys to their and DC's oft-maligned kingdom.
Well ...
We're really about to see whether or not this was all worth the controversy as DC Studios released a promotional trailer for Creature Commandos -- what I think is the first truly Gunn-initiated effort. Though he's sounded off on other properties along with leaving a talent like Gal Gadot kinda/sorta hanging in oblivion, Gunn will now be allowed to sink or swin on his own merits. I've not seen a specific premiere date in all of this (there could be one in the trailer, I watched it yesterday, but I honestly forget now), so all I can say is you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for this one to hit the small screen.
Now, yes, I realize that Gunn has a few other properties that have come before with DC, and I'm not arguing the contrary. My point is that this -- to my knowledge -- is the first to come to fruition since he took the top job at DC Studios and Warner Bros., and that's it. His Suicide Squad was clever enough, but I think I turned off his Peacemaker series after the second episode. I really didn't see the point. We'd already seen that schtick with Amazon Studios' The Boys program, and Peacemaker really felt like more of the same. So ... it fell flat with me.
Meh. It is what it is.
In any event, enjoy the trailer.
-- EZ
Meh. It is what it is.
In any event, enjoy the trailer.
-- EZ
RSS Feed