Legend of Korra Book 4.44: This is (Not) Anime

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > Legend of Korra Book 4.44: This is (Not) Anime

The Sharmat: Sep 5, 2011; by Lowtax

hiddenriverninja posted:

Talking about the movie reminded me of this video:

http://youtu.be/KHi1zaN0ooc

I've often thought that I wish there were shows like ATLA and Korra when I was a little kid and that I was cheated compared to modern children. Seeing this, I'm glad I missed the disappointment.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 18:18

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# ? May 29, 2024 07:29

Argue: Sep 29, 2005; I represent the Philippines

Someone claiming to have worked on the movie posted a defense of Shyamalan (not of the movie) on an Avatar forum once; I think it was linked from here somewhere much earlier on in the thread. I'm not sure I believe them, but if true, it laid out a fairly plausible series of circumstances leading to a number of decisions in the film; they implied that M. Night was actually trying to salvage a film that was wrecked by Hollywood execs making demands of the movie. That person did lay the blame for a few things like the name pronunciations squarely on Shyamalan, though.

Perhaps this is the ultimate Shyamalan twist; the movie was all a setup to blow our minds years later when we found out what a hero he actually was

# ? Nov 29, 2014 19:03

VanSandman: Feb 16, 2011; SWAP.AVI EXCHANGER

Counterpoint: Shyamalan is a hack who made one good movie, one ok movie, and a bunch of stinkers.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 19:24

Xelkelvos: Dec 19, 2012

Argue posted:

Someone claiming to have worked on the movie posted a defense of Shyamalan (not of the movie) on an Avatar forum once; I think it was linked from here somewhere much earlier on in the thread. I'm not sure I believe them, but if true, it laid out a fairly plausible series of circumstances leading to a number of decisions in the film; they implied that M. Night was actually trying to salvage a film that was wrecked by Hollywood execs making demands of the movie. That person did lay the blame for a few things like the name pronunciations squarely on Shyamalan, though.

Perhaps this is the ultimate Shyamalan twist; the movie was all a setup to blow our minds years later when we found out what a hero he actually was

Better twist: The poster was secretly Shyamalan the whole time.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 20:15

SpiderHyphenMan: Apr 1, 2010; by Fluffdaddy

The post in question:

quote:

Production wrapped 5 years ago so I don't think Paramount is going to care. They know it bombed.

What it came down to was M Night really was the only one who knew the show and what he was doing (the first draft of the screenplay? gorgeous. hence Bryke giving him the okay). The producers, who are actually in charge of at least 80% of production including casting.... not so much. They clearly never bothered to watch the show, nor had the ghostwriter who did the final screenplay.

Nicola was hired because she's the daughter of someone one of the producers owed a favor to as Hollywood loves its nepotism. (Her audition tape was subpar at best). In having to cast her they had to cast a guy who could pass as her brother - hence Jackson. His audition was actually pretty good. He's a funny guy and had clearly seen the show. Too bad the producers felt the movie didn't have time for intentional humor and cut all that out of the script. Noah was the only one who honestly openly auditioned and was chosen based on talent. He just needed extra help acting because with a lot of it being green screened he was talking to air a lot of the time. Experienced adults have a hard time doing that let alone a kid.

If you recall they initially signed on Jesse McCartney as Zuko. Why? Because otherwise the lead actor roster would be "starring: two unknown kids you never heard of and that guy who played a minor character in Twilight!". And then someone with a brain realized "wait a minute this show is kind of anime-esque and we're hiring a bunch of white kids. Um.". So what did they do? Because they couldn't can Nicola without someone being really ticked, Jesse willingly bowed out and went with another project offered at the time. Even still, they still needed a big name to draw people in but it couldn't be another white kid. Dev Patel just gave an Oscar-winning performance and was willing to sign on. And in getting him they had to make the rest of the Fire Nation match. Which is why it turned into heroic white kids VS evil brown people (which was intentionally unintentional).

And then it was horribly budgeted. The opening at the SWT all nice and pretty in Greenland? Cost big bucks. And then they realized with a story about people manipulating elements that couldn't be believably done with in camera practical effects. So they had to rebudget and gave most of the money to ILM for post production. You go from the beautiful SWT to everything looking dingy because everything else was shot in Pennsylvania. The Fire Nation Royal Palace? An old high school in Philadelphia. Parts of the Earth Kingdom (including Kyoshi Island which got cut)? Reading, PA. And everything that was the NWT.... some sets built in front of giant green screens in an old emptied aircraft hangar in the outskirts of Philadelphia. Yeah.

And ILM was rushed despite most of the movie's look being left up to them. And you had novice directors hired by producers to oversee that process. That's how come the pebble dance happened. Sadly at that point M Night was just tired of arguing with the overheads, gave up, and collected his paycheck. If you look at the movie's premiere and red carpet footage you can tell his excitement and happiness is fake. Bryke had little say in the film despite being listed as executive producers. That title was a fancy way of saying that they created the show it was based on and they're still alive so they need some kind of nice credit. The actual producers didn't know what they were dealing with and were only interested in a quick buck. Bryke and M Night gave up on the film around the same time for same reasons. The other people working on the film were a pain to deal with and Nickelodeon themselves only wanted the final product as quickly as possible and the money it would presumably make them.

At least they hired good caterers. The food was great on that set.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 20:39

thexerox123: Aug 17, 2007

SpiderHyphenMan posted:

The post in question:

On the other hand, here's what Shyamalan himself said about why they had Aang just make a big, disappointing wave instead of turning into a giant spirit fish:

quote:

Mike and Bryan were really heavily influenced by a film called Princess Mononoke for the ending of the show. Basically they borrowed from the movie, and then made their TV show. I can't make it back into a movie again, because then I'll be like 'stealing' from another movie, so I took the idea of what he [i.e. Aang] was going to do and made it more symbolic.

AKA the dumbest rationale ever.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 20:42

Arist: Feb 13, 2012; _{who, me?}

SpiderHyphenMan posted:

Maybe this thread wouldn't generate so many reports if you actually probated people who gleefully poo poo it up.

The mods don't care about us, we're subhuman garbage.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 21:01

Jackard: Oct 28, 2007; We Have A Bow And We Wish To Use It

When that happens there is only one thing left to do, and that thing is temporarily closing the thread!!

# ? Nov 29, 2014 21:06

Irish Joe: Jul 23, 2007; by Lowtax

MrAristocrates posted:

The mods don't care about us, we're subhuman garbage.

Its ironic that the OP and the former OP of the thread are the ones primarily responsible for making GBS threads it up with their constant loving bellyaching about other posters.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 21:48

Caros: May 14, 2008

enraged_camel posted:

is the ATLA movie worth watching?

The only good thing that came out of that movie was that I thought the initial trailer looked sort of interesting which made me decide to watch the show.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 21:56

Genocyber: Jun 4, 2012

Irish Joe posted:

Its ironic that the OP and the former OP of the thread are the ones primarily responsible for making GBS threads it up with their constant loving bellyaching about other posters.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 21:57

Arist: Feb 13, 2012; _{who, me?}

Irish Joe posted:

Its ironic that the OP and the former OP of the thread are the ones primarily responsible for making GBS threads it up with their constant loving bellyaching about other posters.

Uh, I'm not complaining, dude. I was including myself in that.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 22:07

The Sharmat: Sep 5, 2011; by Lowtax

We should probably stop making posts bitching about posts and other posters.

I realize the irony of this statement.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 22:11

Jesto: Dec 22, 2004; Balls.

So how many different people do you guys think Steve Blum will voice in the finale?

I hope the budget cuts were severe enough that they only had the funds to hire one VA and it was him. Steve Blum Steve Blumming it up with Steve Blum, every scene.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 23:10

The Sharmat: Sep 5, 2011; by Lowtax

The ultimate in budget voice work: Steve Blum as every male character, Jennifer Hale as every female character.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 23:14

JT Jag: Aug 30, 2009; #1 Jaguars Sunk Cost Fallacy-Haver

The Sharmat posted:

The ultimate in budget voice work: Steve Blum as every male character, Jennifer Hale as every female character.

I'm pretty sure this has already been done

# ? Nov 29, 2014 23:16

Jimbot: Jul 22, 2008

The Sharmat posted:

The ultimate in budget voice work: Steve Blum as every male character, Jennifer Hale as every female character.

Jen Hale voiced a character in Dragon Age Inquisition that no one knew it was her. Voice directors should have her do different voices. Same applies to Steve Blum and Nolan North and, especially these days, Troy Baker.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 23:19

The Sharmat: Sep 5, 2011; by Lowtax

JT Jag posted:

I'm pretty sure this has already been done

I'd watch it, to be quite honest.

Jimbot posted:

Jen Hale voiced a character in Dragon Age Inquisition that no one knew it was her. Voice directors should have her do different voices. Same applies to Steve Blum and Nolan North and, especially these days, Troy Baker.

Jennifer Hale didn't really have this problem quite so much until she was FemShep. Steve Blum has been typecast for ages.

But yes I'm fully aware that they actually have huge range despite being made to do the same few voices over and over.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 23:22

Zedd: Jul 6, 2009; I mean, who would have noticed another madman around here?

The Sharmat posted:

The ultimate in budget voice work: Steve Blum as every male character, Jennifer Hale as every female character.

So this but with elemental martial arts? I'd watch that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icr2vGP9vQs

# ? Nov 29, 2014 23:34

The Sharmat: Sep 5, 2011; by Lowtax

Zedd posted:

So this but with elemental martial arts? I'd watch that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icr2vGP9vQs

...I haven't played this game.

I'm starting to feel like I should play this game.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 23:36

X_Toad: Apr 2, 2011

Jimbot posted:

Voice directors should have her do different voices. Same applies to Steve Blum and Nolan North and, especially these days, Troy Baker.

What does Nolan North do these days? Is he stuck in "roguish explorer" (Nathan Drake, the Prince of Persia), "crazy person" (Deadpool) and "crazier person" (Steven Heck) roles? Oh sorry, I forgot about "bird-obsessed british nobleman" (the Penguin) and "Scottish Viking" (Stoick the Vast, tv series).

thexerox123 posted:

On the other hand, here's what Shyamalan himself said about why they had Aang just make a big, disappointing wave instead of turning into a giant spirit fish:

I'm pretty sure the guy said that Shyamalan really couldn't say anything bad about the movie even if he thought it was a pile of crap. I mean, he opened up his post by saying "Well, it's been five years, I don't think they will care anymore".

# ? Nov 30, 2014 01:01

Killer robot: Sep 6, 2010; I was having the most wonderful dream. I think you were in it!; Pillbug

thexerox123 posted:

On the other hand, here's what Shyamalan himself said about why they had Aang just make a big, disappointing wave instead of turning into a giant spirit fish:

AKA the dumbest rationale ever.

I can believe it. Part of being in show business, and in fact a whole lot of other businesses, is smiling and explaining how when the people writing your checks screwed you over it was actually an opportunity for something new and amazing, and how the subpar results you made were your ideal all along. It can be pretty painful for those involved.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 01:36

ImpAtom: May 24, 2007

Honestly, that's a lot of entertainment. You really can't come out and go "yes, I was completely hosed, gently caress those lovely assholes" because that can look bad to other people you might want to work for. (Hell, you're not even supposed to badmouth old places of employment at a job interview.) It sucks, especially when you end up as the one taking the blame.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 01:52

pentyne: Nov 7, 2012

Killer robot posted:

I can believe it. Part of being in show business, and in fact a whole lot of other businesses, is smiling and explaining how when the people writing your checks screwed you over it was actually an opportunity for something new and amazing, and how the subpar results you made were your ideal all along. It can be pretty painful for those involved.

Shamalayn will be a cautionary tale in film schools starting in the next few years about letting your ego override your own technical abilities. His first 3 movies were pretty good, Sixth Sense and it's ending were a huge cultural topic at the time though now people how come to expect shock twist endings because of him. Then he just kind of...lost it. The Village or whatever was a good idea that he mishandled, Lady in the Water was his personal fairy tale fanfic he wrote himself into as a metaphorical Jesus, the one with the mysterious suicides was hilariously bad, and everyone knows how awful ALTA movie was, like failing first year basic movie making lessons.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 02:49

romanowski: Nov 10, 2012

did you guys see devil. that movie rocked

# ? Nov 30, 2014 03:00

romanowski: Nov 10, 2012

there's a scene in which a hispanic security guard tries to convince everybody that they're in the presence of el diablo because the toast he drops on the floor falls jelly-side down

# ? Nov 30, 2014 03:01

MatildaTheHun: Aug 31, 2011; here's the thing donovan, I'm always hungry

Wait are you kidding?

# ? Nov 30, 2014 03:12

Pomp: Apr 3, 2012; by Fluffdaddy

TheModernAmerican posted:

Wait are you kidding?

No.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 03:19

ImpAtom: May 24, 2007

It's worth pointing out that M. Night did not write or direct Devil.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 03:23

achillesforever6: Apr 23, 2012; psst you wanna do a communism?

Jimbot posted:

Jen Hale voiced a character in Dragon Age Inquisition that no one knew it was her. Voice directors should have her do different voices. Same applies to Steve Blum and Nolan North and, especially these days, Troy Baker.

I don't know Troy has been doing a lot of different roles lately; there is :smug:

Troy, British Troy, Regular Texan Troy, Joker Troy, and Over the top Troy.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 03:25

hiddenriverninja: May 10, 2013; life is locomotion
keep moving
trust that you'll find your way

achillesforever6 posted:

I don't know Troy has been doing a lot of different roles lately; there is Troy, British Troy, Regular Texan Troy, Joker Troy, and Over the top Troy.

To be fair, Joker Troy is the second best Joker VA after Hamill.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 03:40

achillesforever6: Apr 23, 2012; psst you wanna do a communism?

hiddenriverninja posted:

To be fair, Joker Troy is the second best Joker VA after Hamill.

Yeah I wasn't knocking Troy, he's great and hell he should be Hawkeye in the MCU. :colbert:

Also a good musician

# ? Nov 30, 2014 03:45

Madurai: Jun 26, 2012

Jack Skeleton posted:

At this rate we're never going to see the modern day fire nation.

We've seen their navy, at least.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 04:44

ETB: Nov 8, 2009; Yeah, I'm that guy.

Madurai posted:

We've seen their navy, at least.

And their dreamy general. :allears:

# ? Nov 30, 2014 04:52

romanowski: Nov 10, 2012

ImpAtom posted:

It's worth pointing out that M. Night did not write or direct Devil.

well that's a shame, because it's great

# ? Nov 30, 2014 05:05

MatildaTheHun: Aug 31, 2011; here's the thing donovan, I'm always hungry

Pomp posted:

No.

What am I even supposed to say.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 05:26

ShadowCatboy: Jan 22, 2006; by FactsAreUseless

I remember reading that insider post when it was first made. While I can accept that Shyamalan wasn't fully at fault for the shitfest that was TLA, too much of the film had his signature for him to be alleviated of much of the blame.

The stilted and awkward prose, the lovely bland camerawork, and the lack of genuine humanity in the characters are all hallmarks of his work.

Like, look at this line from the film's Admiral Zhao: "Sire, I have good news. As you know, I conducted a raid on the Great Library, which most said didn't exist." Seriously, try reading it out loud as if you were Zhao. Does it sound awkward? Yeah, that's what I thought. That's because real people talking in real life don't expand their sentences with adjuncts like that. You see this sort of dialogue in Lady in the Water and The Happening.

Shyamalan is also a fan of long, panning continuous shots and absurd closeups (which is probably what he's referring to when he speaks of his "European style"). While potentially fitting for a psychological thriller or an indie film, it just looks awkward and lovely and boring for a big budget action film. Compare this scene from Signs to the yammering talking heads of Aang explaining the Avatar Cycle to Sokka and Katara.

And yes, he also has a habit for writing unrealistic wooden characters. Just take a look at everything in The Happening.

Also, Shyamalan has only the crudest capacity for writing humor. Example from TLA, and example from Lady in the Water. He's basically got the mind of a grade schooler if his idea of brilliance is "tee hee I'm breaking the fourth wall" in the second clip.

ShadowCatboy fucked around with this message at 10:09 on Nov 30, 2014

# ? Nov 30, 2014 09:40

Bongo Bill: Jan 17, 2012

Some directors are competent enough to achieve a graceful compromise between idiotic production demands and their own understanding of cinematic quality. Some are not.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 09:42

Steensma: Nov 2, 2014

I remember way back when the movie was announced, back in 2006 or 2007, there was talk going around that Shyamalan wrote about a 400-page script that got every major plot point from book 1 in. It was a total passion project that even Mike and Bryan had to get him to tone down.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 15:19

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# ? May 29, 2024 07:29

hiddenriverninja: May 10, 2013; life is locomotion
keep moving
trust that you'll find your way

I'm just glad that he never got to finish books 2&3.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 15:41

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