MoonChyld’s Entertainment – No Jon, You Did Nothing Wrong

Here is another one of my articles for Throwback Thursday  that I am very proud of. It’s about…well the title and article speaks for itself. Thanks for reading and enjoy!!!

This version of Nick Fury was drawn in the likeness of Iconic actor Samuel L. Jackson by Brian Hitch for Marvel’s Ultimate Marvel comic books. He gave Marvel permission to use his image as the S.H.E.I.L.D. agent and it looks like it was a good move – he was cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the agent who is also head of the Avengers Initiative.

 

There was an article in Entertainment Weekly about Iron Man and future movie projects for Marvel Studios (Issue #991, May 16, 2008). In this well written article by Adam B. Vary and Clark Collins, there was a sidebar piece about Samuel L. Jackson’s cameo as Nick Fury. According to the article, the Jackson inspired Fury is featured in an alternate Marvel universe series; it appeared to be a red flag for some hardcore comic fans. The question presented was how an alternate Nick Fury can talk to the actual Tony Stark from the original universe? To put it in simple terms – if done the right way it can be one of the best moves made by Marvel; turns out it was.

Jon Favreau, who directed the summer blockbuster and co-starred with Ben Affleck in Daredevil, said he didn’t think of that. “Maybe we should have used David Hasselhoff.”, he tells EW. If you saw the 1998 made for television movie starring the Baywatch star, then you know that Jackson was the much better choice because the movie wasn’t all that great. It’s safe to say the anticipation of seeing the scene after the credits wouldn’t have generated the buzz Jackson did. Everyone loves Sam; to see he and Robert together is surely something to look forward to. If nothing else, those of us that have witnessed the now legendary scene are already planning to see the sequel in April 2010; Hasselhoff wouldn’t make a convincing Fury by today’s standards. He wasn’t convincing period when played the part in ’98.

If you followed both Marvel and DC comics, you know that their big screen adaptations on some occasion or three did not follow character portrayal to a tee. Here are a few examples:

In 1989, Warner Bros. released Tim Burton’s Batman where Harvey Dent aka Two-Face was played by Billy Dee Williams. In the comic book series he’s white. That brings you to 1995, Batman Returns is released and Tommy Lee Jones takes the role of the DA turned twisted villain. In this year’s The Dark Knight, Aaron Eckhart plays the troubled Dent who was unable to control his dark side. As you can see, Harvey’s gone through some changes.

In 2003’s Daredevil, Michael Clarke Duncan of the upcoming summer film Kung Fo Panda is Hell’s Kitchen mob boss Kingpin when it is clear that Wilson Fisk is also a white man like DC’s Dent. Duncan cast as the Kingpin was a decision made by the studios; one factor being his physique matched that of the comic book character. Based on the rave reviews of his portrayal, this proves you don’t have to be completely accurate.

If there was a movie, or in this particular case a series of movies, where universes were woven together, it is definitely X-Men; there are so many storylines from the comics that are seen in the films and some not referenced. Take for instance Rogue meeting Wolverine in Canada. In the comic book world she’s Anna Marie; not Marie as told to Logan in the film. These characters didn’t meet until after Rogue joined the Brotherhood of Mutants with Mystique taking Rogue in as her daughter. It’s said that Mystique is also Nightcrawler’s mother but you’ve seen it wasn’t addressed.

Pyro’s true origin is that his name is St. John Allerdyce as opposed to just John in X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand. Another difference between the comic; in the movies he’s American. Pyro was originally part of the Brotherhood of Mutants and was part of the X-Men in the Ultimates universe.

This is to show that there is much room for imagination. Think of these and future comic book films in the way you look at comics. You’ll notice that every writer, artist and inker has put their own spin on some of your favorite characters over the years. Some have even revamped characters from the past with stories that are taking them to another level.

Iron Man did just that with Sam’s appearance as Fury, Favreau put his spin on the character. As a matter of fact, Sam’s Fury is currently part of the original Marvel universe. In The Mighty Avengers: Secret Invasion #13, the Jackson inspired Fury is featured in the story with a twist of a detail. You’ll have to get a copy at your local comic book store to see for yourself.

If that’s not enough for you, look at how moviegoers were and still willing to stay after the credits just to get a glimpse of Sam and Robert working the scene together. There will always be people who aren’t open-minded enough to accept such a move based on creativity. Fans and critics alike enjoy Sam’s work on screen because even if his time in the film is minimal, he makes it work. Remember the final scene with George Clooney in Out of Sight? The point has been proven.

Jon has done a great job with the movie from beginning to end; it made over $100 million opening weekend for a reason.

Jackson recently made a cameo appearance in the new addition to the Marvel Universe – Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. on ABC

MoonChyld’s Entertainment – The Evolution of Jamie Foxx

Award winning comedian, actor and singer Jamie Foxx built his stellar career to many heights that is continuing to shine.

In recent years, Jamie Foxx has been known to be a talent to look out for be it on screen or on the radio. There are many of us that remember him from the 1990’s when he was starring on In Living Color & Roc; the former opening many doors for him. It should come as no surprise to those that have followed his career to see Jamie at the level he’s in right now. And to think, it all started with a dare.

Before he was Jamie Foxx, he was Eric Bishop from Terrell, Texas being raised by his grandmother who instilled the skills and tools as he would say that benefited him along the way in his career; not to mention the golden rule of being a southern gentleman to the ladies. He was a student at United States International University (now Alliant International University) in San Diego and while hanging out at a comedy club with a girlfriend, she dared him to take the stage during an open mic night and make the crowd laugh; the rest is history. After a few gigs in the comedy club circuit, Eric decided to change it up a bit by way of changing his name. He noticed that the female comic were called to the stage before the men so he came up with the name Jamie Foxx. Jamie can be considered an androgynous name where both a male and female can be named; his last name is paying homage to legendary comedian Redd Foxx. This proved to be a successful move for the Texas native because he obviously obtained more gigs which would eventually lead him to the Fox Television Network.

While at the then up and coming network, he became a featured cast member in the sketch comedy show In Living Color giving us memorable characters like Wanda and Carl “The Tooth” Williams; his Little Richard impressions wasn’t too bad either. He joined the show in season 3 with a then unknown Jennifer Lopez who was the newest Fly Girl at the time. Unlike Lopez, Jamie would stay on for the duration of the show. While on ILC, he had a recurring role on another Fox show called Roc as the title character’s co-worker. He then went through what I would like to call “the A-List package”.

The A-List package for a comedian consists of the following: you get the HBO Comedy Special, have a successful sitcom and start developing your film career beginning with supporting roles that will get your foot in the door making your way to being the top biller on the film. He even entered the music arena early on in his career with his 1994 debut album Peep This. I actually saw that coming when I first saw Straight From the Foxxhole and he gave Mary Mary Quite Contrary an R&B spin to it. I was impressed even then not only by his piano playing (I play piano myself so he earned extra points with me on that) but by the fact that he took something as simple as a nursery rhyme and made is suitable for the radio. What did surprise me was the lack of interest the album got – they weren’t ready to accept it. Of course this didn’t stop the show for Jamie; he just kept on pushing into the path of superstardom.

He had a successful sitcom on the WB aptly named The Jamie Foxx Show and co-starred with SNL alum Garrett Morris and it had a successful run; it would be safe to say that there was some improvisation on that show. While on the show he was in such movies as Held Up with Nia Long, Great White Hype with Samuel L. Jackson and fellow ILC alum Damon Wayans; he also starred in Any Given Sunday with Al Pacino & LL Cool J to which he spoke on his second comedy special I Think I Might Need Security. He made mention of the scene in the film where the players were in the showers; his and LL’s character had a few words that led to a physical altercation – turns out what we saw in the movie was real. Oliver Stone even confirmed that the blow wasn’t scripted and he kept it in the film; sometimes I find myself looking at that moment a little deeper whenever I see that movie. Nonetheless that movie presented Jamie as someone who can carry a non-comedic role as well as his skills on the football field; another attribute that he obtained in high school that would become a defining factor in getting the part of Willie “Steamin” Beaman.

He would continue to work in films while doing stand up as well as his music, his great ability to play the piano would play a huge part in taking him straight to the A-List level – he rightly won the role of playing the legendary musician Ray Charles in Ray.

This has to be considered one of Jamie’s top 5 moments in film; this didn’t come to be a smooth process as the man himself would have the final say. And what better way to do this than having a test run on the ivory keys? In the special features of the DVD, Ray is giving Jamie some chords to mimic off him and the Rio star was able to go key to key with the versatile entertainer. There was however a moment I can relate to during their jam session; there was a slip of the finger on the piano and Ray caught it quick. It reminded me of playing a bit too fast or playing the wrong key and my piano instructor catching it before I could open my mouth and acknowledge what I did; but that makes us work harder to get it right and that is just what he did. His piano skills weren’t the only thing that he had going for him; believe it or not his comedic talent was a useful tool as well.

He may have made jokes about celebs in his stand up, on ILC and his TV show but this ability to impersonate someone and do it so well they can make you feel it’s the actual person. He did that with Ray Charles – he was Ray. He deserved the accolades and awards he received after the release of the film. Along with his nomination and ultimate Oscar win for his performance he was also nominated for his performance in Collateral with Tom Cruise in the Best Supporting Actor category. He is the second actor to achieve this accomplishment – Al Pacino was the first. He’s certainly in good company.

Getting back to another love of his, music, Jamie was featured on Twista’s 2004 single Slow Jamz of which he sang the hook; reminding folks that he can really sing. He was also featured in Kanye West’s track Gold Digger giving his award winning Ray Charles impersonation starting the song out with the chorus of Charles’s single I Got A Woman. Another standout performance was when he, along with Alicia Keys, paid tribute to Mr. Charles at the 2005 Grammy Awards performing Georgia On My Mind; this was the right time to release another album and show the naysayers how wrong they were. That same year he released the double-platinum album Unpredictable which released the title track featuring Ludacris and Blame It (On The Alcohol) featuring T-Pain. This album earned him his second Grammy – the second being for Gold Digger with Kanye. Things would only get better for him after this.

The movie roles kept coming in for Jamie and there were all in various categories. Thrillers like Law Abiding Citizen with Gerrard Butler, The Kingdom with Jennifer Garner and Jarhead with Jake Gyllenhal were box office successes proving him to be a definite money maker for the film industry. His third biopic film, The Soloist, co-starred Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. who was the newspaper reporter that takes noticed of a gifted cello player Nathaniel Ayers (played by Foxx); this performance garnered positive reviews as well.

Naturally he would maintain his comedic status in films like Due Date with his Soloist co-star Downey Jr., the romantic comedy Valentine’s Day with Kingdom co-star Jennifer Garner and Breakin All the Rules with Gabrielle Union. He still does his standup from time to time only now it’s been incorporated in his music tours; talk about killing two birds with one stone. That is however the smart way to stay relevant. He was part of another cast for the musical film Dreamgirls with Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson; the latter winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. He played Curtis, a Detroit car salesman turned music mogul; he did all his singing of course. This was a nice turn for him as it showed he can play the villain quite well. He would also have his hand in action films like Miami Vice with Colin Farrell and Stealth with Jessica Biel.

His next venture would be to establish a satellite radio station on XM Radio suitably called The Foxxhole. This entertaining station delivers a mixture of music, interviews and clips of comedic routines including some of his work. The next cinematic milestone in his career was reuniting with Kerry Washington for the Quentin Tarantino southern western Django Unchained co-starring Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio and longtime Tarantino collaborator Samuel L. Jackson. His performance in this film was polished and on point; he didn’t compromise his integrity as he understood the truth behind the story itself. Sam said this about Jamie’s performance in a behind the scenes interview:

“He’s done a wonderful job as a silent character. He speaks he needs to speak and acts when he needs to act.”

Very true Sam.

Jamie Foxx has accomplished so much in his career in television, film and radio; he’s enjoying where the ride is taking him. It continues on with future projects that will provide a busy schedule for this multi-talented individual. He’s starred in White House Down with G. I. Joe star Channing Tatum where Foxx is the latest Commander in Chief  that defends his country and family like Bill Pullman in Independence Day and Harrison Ford in Air Force One. This project reunited him with another actress, his Jamie Foxx Show co-star Garcelle Beauvais as the First Lady. He’s also set to star in Rio 2 with George Lopez as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 where he will play villain Electro; there are production photos of him in character and I have to say it looks good. Surely Stan Lee would have no objection.

No matter the project, Jamie has given his 100% and everyone can see it paid off for him very well. He has his head on straight, no real drama since the casino incident with his sister, and he glows as a proud father of 2 girls. We all know his grandmother is very proud of her baby as she continues to shine and watch over him.

nment.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/060118_001.jpg”> Jamie Foxx hasn’t skipped a beat since his well deserved Oscar win.[/caption]

That’s my opinion and

That’s my opinion and everyone is entitled to one.

T. S. Jones