Fantastic Four: Grade, Review, Discuss, Sequels?...SPOILERS likely

[Guy Gardener]

I honestly don't see how Fox can do another FF film, even years from now. Marvel will stick to its guns and say "We're not doing ANYTHING with ANY of the Fantastic Four - no comics, no TV, no video games, no action figures, not even trading cards, NOTHING - as long as Fox holds on to the film rights." No support whatsoever. Fox would be holding on to the rights of a franchise deader than Highlander. At that point studio accountants will corner the execs and say "Give it back to them already, it's a loser, what are you trying to prove?"

I don't think anyone has mentioned that the Fantastic Four comic book was cancelled 2 months ago.

http://www.popculturebeast.com/final-issue-fantasticfour-coming-april-2015/

The movie comes out for the first time in 54 years that the book has been out of print.

(The entire Marvel Universe was destroyed by shenanigans. Most books have been cancelled while the MCU is being jiggered by some alt universe bullshit where Doctor Doom is God, before he's toppled and everything returns to starting principles.)

Sure there's a new issue number one on the Horizon, but look at this placement of the movie.

A month before the new issue one, and 2 months after the final issue of the 50 plus years of (kinda) ongoingness is the void in which FOX decided to release their movie.

1. FOX are ignorant ###holes with no hope of accidental synergy.

2. FOX the genius trust has a monopoly. No comic means that they are the only Fantastic Four in operation. All the comic readers starving for a fix, fricking tweaking, have to see this movie.

3. Marvel planned this walk out (quite publically for the last 8 months.) to coincide against the movie's debut so that they would no in any way prop or bolster these ass####s further zombie####ing of their brand FOX won't damn well give back.

4. It's weird fluke?

 

[JWPlatt]

Who wrote the contract for Marvel to grant rights without an ultimately definitive expiration?

 

[Guy Gardener]

StanLee (among others) sold the rights to a German production company called Constantin Films in 1986 for 1/4 of a million dollars. Constantin still owns the rights, not FOX. Fox and Constantin have coproduced the last 3 movies, and Constantin produced the first movie independently in 1993.

FOX doesn't have the power to sell shit back to Marvel.

http://entertainment.ie/cinema/news...ovie-was-never-released-in-cinemas/368720.htm

I somehow doubt that Constantin had any risk or loss whatsoever surrounding the three Fantastic Four movies they made with FOX, although with the current movie they have probably made less money than they probably thought that they would have.

It's like if Eli Manning wants to play foot ball with your foot ball.

He can't be a superstar until you hand over your ball, and if you have to go home for dinner, you're taking the ball with you, even if he still wants to keep playing.

 

[Hound of UIster]

I've often suspected that the "young" version of FF in the Ultimate universe was some misguided corporate marketing decision that thought making FF teenagers would snag the Harry Potter/Hunger Games/Twilight audience.

Ultimate Fantastic Four - 2004
Twilight - 2005
Hungry Games - 2008

So you are completely and utterly wrong in regards to two of these. As for the third, as the situations, the context and everything in these books bears no resembles to Ultimate Fantastic Four in any way.

As a theory it is a complete bust.

I meant that type of audience. The YA audience. I apologize for my lack of clarity.

No. The prime audience for comic books was/is mostly 30 or 40 something year old males. It's only recently that they are targeting younger audiences again with stuff like Spider-Gwen and Star Wars.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Ultimate Comics was because the bulk audience was 30 to 40 year olds.

Younger characters (Peter Parker was 15 and in high-school again for frakks sake) zero continuity and a new issue #1 starting at day one.

It was an attempt to plumb new markets.

Hook'em when they're young.

But as it turned out, the 30 to 40 year olds just wound up buying more comics each week.

 

[Christopher]

Who wrote the contract for Marvel to grant rights without an ultimately definitive expiration?

Marvel was in much more dire financial straits when it sold off its movie rights back in the day. The studios were in a stronger negotiating position and were able to get highly favorable terms.

 

[theenglish]

Younger readers have not been flocking to comics books over the past few decades because of the simple fact that comics cost too much for them. For the price of three or four comics, you can purchase an ebook and a month's worth of streaming music or a movie ticket or a few cans of beer or whatever. Teens have to learn how to make their money stretch a little.

 

[Guy Gardener]

As a kid I was saddened every time I chose beer over comics, both times.

 

[Christopher]

Younger readers have not been flocking to comics books over the past few decades because of the simple fact that comics cost too much for them. For the price of three or four comics, you can purchase an ebook and a month's worth of streaming music or a movie ticket or a few cans of beer or whatever. Teens have to learn how to make their money stretch a little.

The direct-market system is also a factor. Comics used to be sold everywhere, even drugstore and convenience store spinner racks. They were easy for casual or novice readers to find and sample. Under direct distribution, new comics are seen mainly by people who already frequent comics shops. It's led to the audience becoming much smaller and narrower, which is no doubt a factor behind the rising prices.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Does Marvel, and others, want to switch over to completely digital?

Do away with the physical market and printing comics at all.

The physical market is the only reason that digital comics cost so much, because it's hogging the core customers.

 

[TemporalFlux]

FOX doesn't have the power to sell shit back to Marvel.

http://entertainment.ie/cinema/news...ovie-was-never-released-in-cinemas/368720.htm

There has to be something else in play; surely Constantin knows they can get a better deal with Disney? Why are they exclusively dealing with Fox?

The timeline is also off. According to the article, Constantin had an approximately 7 year window to make the movie and keep the rights (1986 to the day before 1993). With the movie made in 93 with intent for a 94 release, that would mean another movie was needed by 2001. That didn't happen. The rights should have reverted back to Marvel.

There's some more to this somewhere; it's not adding up. After Fox made the X-men in 2000, maybe Marvel sold the rights for FF to Fox after the reversion in 2001? Marvel was still stupidly selling it's movie rights in the early 2000's - for example, Spider-man:

http://variety.com/2002/film/news/inside-move-rights-snares-had-spidey-suitors-weaving-1117867146/

As for Constantin's continued involvement with FF during the Fox years, they could just be a production partner based on their development work and have no actual stake in the rights.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I too was wondering why the rights didn't lapse in 2000ish.

Heh, this is funny.

http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/feature/rights-for-nicolas-cage-officially-revert-back-to-marvel.php

The explanation for the rights extension is in the wikipedia entry for the 2005 movie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Four_(2005_film)#Production

The film was accused of being an ashcan copy, meaning it was only made to keep the license.[12] Lee and Eichinger stated that the actors had no idea of the situation, instead believing they were creating a proper release.[13] Marvel Comics paid in exchange for the film's negative, so 20th Century Fox could go ahead with the big-budget adaptation,[12] as well as a possible spin-off film starring the Silver Surfer for summer 1998.[14]

Marvel was so pissed off about how shit the 1993 movie was, that they set up the relationship with FOX, to make sure that another shitty shit-shit movie was not made with their product. Also because Marvel were actively involved in the procedures, and vouching for Constantin, and trying not to look like an asshole in front of FOX, they allowed the rights to be extended because of all the complications and set backs involved during the ten years it took to make The 2005 movie.

Golly.

 

[the G-man]

Here's how they do the next one:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/a...ive-in-ffarrested-development-mash-up-trailer

 

[Mudd]

Constantin Film is also responsible for Downfall, which makes the Hitler parodies on YouTube regarding FF all the funnier.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Didn't read most of the posts, but saw the overwhelming number of votes for "F". How many people actually saw the movie?

As bad as it might have been, that many F's????

 

[Guy Gardener]

It was dull, no love story, only one big fight scene at the end, and most unforgivable they had a "one year later" montage at the 1 hour mark.

 

[Corran Horn]

It was dull, no love story, only one big fight scene at the end, and most unforgivable they had a "one year later" montage at the 1 hour mark.

I assumed that 'one year later' was an after-effect of re-shoots. The footage shown during the briefing with Sue and the Thing training and on missions, etc, seemed to me like it might have been from the earlier version. Could be wrong.

 

[Christopher]

I assumed that 'one year later' was an after-effect of re-shoots. The footage shown during the briefing with Sue and the Thing training and on missions, etc, seemed to me like it might have been from the earlier version. Could be wrong.

That seems to be the case, yes.

http://comicsalliance.com/fantastic-four-trailer-scenes-cut-from-movie/

 

[Guy Gardener]

That's about right.

It's just a massive break in the momentum.

Sue knows 15 year old Reed for a week, they all get powers, hunts him for a whole Year across the globe, convince Reed that they're not evil, teams up, beats up her old boyfriend Doom, and then they buy a city together no money down.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I assume any hopes Fox had of crossing over Fantastic Four with X-men is dead now. Which is fine with me, I am very happy of the current direction of the X-men films. I am glad they did not force any cameos or references before this turkey was released.