Dirk Vanover

I keep seeing Unexpected Chonk and keep thinking of when my 18 lb cat, who is generally not a lap vat, decides to sit on my lap.

My 11 yo was listening to a voice over on TV that she didn’t like and said it sounded like AI.

Big Fish is an underrated great film.

That’s every month around our house.

As a non-Milwaukee transplant, it’s always puzzled me.

My daughter and her friend are going to do this badge this year. The materials didn’t say anything about doing a mini con!!?? I love this idea.

A photo of a Wonder Woman slot machine that parted me from my money.

A photo of a non-Cromulent Conan slot machine that was unkind to my wallet.

Wonder Woman and Conan did not treat me well last night.

Nice work by all on that one.

I bought the cup. Pretty cool.

I saw the arcade machine popcorn bucket and resisted the urge to buy it.

Don’t call me out like that, Phil.

Exactly.

FWIW, I actually enjoyed the movie. It was mostly what I’d want from a Tron movie.

The publisher is still seeking that producer money, and they’re going to keep that money away from the original creators.

Bottom line: Know what you’re giving up and decide if it’s worth it to you.

(Not legal advice. Consult your own attorney for advice specific to your situation.)

/fin

All of this harms the original creators and, frankly, is disrespectful to creators.

Some publishers try to make it seem like they are “helping” creators by tweaking some of the compensation models — Creators get all of the option fee! Publisher takes a small fee! Option money separate! — but,

/5

It’s problematic for a publisher to take a split of option fees and also a separate producer deal.

It’s problematic because it incentivizes publishers to pursue a more lucrative producer deal/fee than the option agreement fee. This shorts the original creators.

/4

A particular provision that irritates me is when publishers carve out producer deals for themselves. And these producer deals that they are carving out for themselves? Guess what? They don’t want to share those fees with the creators of the work.

It’s very problematic.

/3

When I’m reviewing comics publishing contracts, one of the key things I look at are the media rights sections. Personally, I don’t think publishers deserve a single penny from media rights. But, they keep asking for more and more, often asking for 50/50 split of the option fee.

But…

/2

“No One Asked for This Reboot”: ‘Tron’ May Mark End of Jared Leto’s Franchise-Leading Days As 'Ares' disappoints, insiders question whether the self-styled boundary-pushing A-lister can still be counted on to carry a franchise vehicle to the bank.

“Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter he earned high seven figures for the role, plus a seven-figure producing fee.”

I should do a blog post on this, but I’ll do a brief thread here, as it’s something in the comics industry that riles me up.

/1

Absolutely loved that show. May need to do a rewatch soon.

Relevant again

It’s easy to be ranked #1 when the refs call everything in your favor, especially the no calls.

The Illini get *no* calls.

I was meeting with someone tonight who recently moved to Milwaukee, and Oconomowoc nailed him as a recent transplant.

I was going to watch it anyways, but between yours and David Rooney’s review at THR, my hopes have increased.

Is it just me, or are basketballs too orange these days?

Is there a genre of horror that works more for you than others? For example, slasher stuff doesn’t scare me, but give me a good ghost/spirit horror movie, and I might be grabbing the edge of my seat.

You have to love it.

And ridiculous that it was upheld.

Absolutely terrible call.