Every week there are dozens of film news stories. We read them all and bring you the five most important ones in the single most important blog post you’ll ever read (today [at this moment]). This week: format fumbles, humbled hobbits and late greats.
THE AVENGERS became a bonafide hit after making over $200 million over the past weekend and in the process setting a record for the biggest opening before adjusting for inflation. That’s some serious “geek” spending power right there. I’m happy for director Joss Whedon and after the success of this film the (Skrull filled) sky is the limit for him. The pop culture impact this film is having can be seen across multiple sandboxes in the web as a point of reference ranging from The Economist to Botticelli. Or rather with apologies to Botticelli, Julian Totino Tedesco created the above Avengers-themed illustration inspired by the master painter’s “The Birth of Venus.” Tedesco’s painting was one of many by various artists commissioned by Marvel to create Avengers covers in the style of famous paintings and genres. If Seurat were alive today and an Avengers fanboy he might’ve painted something like this.