Tag: Hollywood

It’s clonely at the top

The video-conversation continues in today’s strip, with Durwood taking passive-aggressive swipes at his long-time pal. The “sponge clone” that Darin is busting Pete’s chops with, of course, was actually what Pete used to take The Amazing Mr. Sponge “to the top”. Of course, that is “to the top” of an industry whose best-seller nowadays typically moves less than half the volume of a mid-1960s issue of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen with all of its lunacy and bait-and-switch cover art.

Even so, “I came up with an idea that sold more copies of my writing” is pretty much the first thing I would put on my resume if I was an unemployed writer.

To Re-Pete This Message, Press 1

Despite his seeming disdain for most internet activity and his unabashed nostalgia for videotapes, compact discs, band boxes, and Space Invaders, TB seems to fully embrace one certain piece of modern technology, as we see again in today’s strip.

That technology, of course, is videoconferencing. TB LOVES to depict the technology of communicating face-to-face via screens that in the pre-Skype world of just a little more than a decade ago was accessible only to wealthy early adopters and Star Trek characters.

Monday, May 11

billytheskink here, back for my third non-consecutive fortnight of guest weblogging. Today’s strip was not available for preview, so we’ll have to all be unpleasantly surprised together. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll get a month-long break from the usual schmucks and watch Mr. Clean repair the band box, gear by gear and piece by piece.

Failing Up

No doubt TB means to suggest that a “Netbusters” movie is barely a notch above “straight to cell phone.”

Me, two days ago

OK, I stand corrected: they are equivalent. For once, Batiuk seems to have achieved synchronicity between seemingly divergent plotlines, and the results are just as implausible as you’d expect. Pete, who sat practically mute as his editors shitcanned him, vents at length to his Skype wife Darin (these guys are too cutting edge to just talk over the phone; anyway, Pete’s panel 3 air quotes would be lost in translation).

“The Hollywood writers don’t know how to handle superheroes…” This has to be the most howlingly funny and asinine thing that TB has written in years. Comic book adaptions continue to be among the biggest-grossing movies year after year, and probably not on the strength of the writing. Mason Jarr the movie star, because he has just so much clout in this town, decides that the answer is to “bring in some fresh talent” from the comical books. This of course spells opportunity for Pete Reynaldo, freshly chewed up and spit out by New York, whose epic struggles vs. deadlines should play just fine with the studio.

City of Tiny Lites

Mason Jarr the movie star is nothing if not wistful. During his Ohio sojourn, he remarked that Westview reminded him of his dear old hometown, while tonight the lights of L.A. remind him of Christmas. They kinda remind me of the backdrop of the Johnny Carson-era Tonight Show.

We’re treated to another glimpse of Batiuk’s understanding of How the Movie Industry Works: the movie Mason was signed to star in last summer is slated for production “this year” (well that’s vague enough), but, as happened with the ill-fated Lust for Lisa telepic, the script still needs work. It’s certain that Les, who wore out his Hollywood welcome on his first try, won’t get the call. Perhaps Mason should offer to write the script, seeing as how he must now be an expert on Starbuck Jones.