Did I call it?... Maybe not

Spider-Man musical to resume production

According to MTV's Splash Page, Spider-Man will be hitting the Great White Way after all. From the report:

According to Variety, production on "Turn Off The Dark" could resume as early as this week or as late as next week.

No official comments have been made by the show's producers, who suspended the musical due to "a cash-flow problem" in August, but Variety's report cites rumors around the theater industry that "Spider-Man" will swing back into action shortly.

However, despite what I predicted in Monday's post, MTV goes on to say:

As for who saved "Spider-Man," the obvious guess is the Walt Disney Company, who recently acquired Marvel Entertainment in a $4 billion deal. But the musically-minded entity is apparently not responsible for "Turn off the Dark's" salvation, according to the report.

Then... who is responsible? According to a snarky report from the NY Post's Michael Reidl:

Bono's too smart to put his own money in the show, but word on the street is that he's tapped into his vast network of rich friends and business associates to restart production.

Hm...

On the lighter side, here's some video from the musical's open casting auditions (courtesy MTV):

MTV Shows

And here's G4 Tech TV's analysis of what Disney ownership might mean for Marvel:

Video Games - E3 2009 - Attack of the Show

More responses can be found on Hero Complex.

Is there any comparison? Part II

Mr. Ellis weighs in

A little background: Adrian Ellis and I go way back to High School, but have only reconnected in the past couple of years when I moved out to T.O. He's a wicked cool artist that composes for film but also composes and does sound design for theatre, most recently Staged & Confused's successful production of The Crackwalker.

Those of you that are interested in the nitty-gritty of the film composer's creative process should definitely check out his blog The Music Creative. I think its fascinating, and I totally dug his latest post on Music for Theatre. Oh, and you can also follow him on Twitter, you know, if you're into that sort of thing.

Aside from the fact that I think he's a righteous dude (and that we're planning to do some collaboration on the next incarnation of Superhero Live! as soon as I get this REALITY itch out of my system), I bring all this up because he wrote me an email the other day about my recent post that I wanted to share with y'all.

Check it out:

Hey Aaron,

You should open up your blog for non-Blogger users to comment!! ;)

(Aaron says: this is now fixed, by the by. Anybody who wants to post comments is now free to do so. Thx for the heads up, dude.)

I actually think this is a fascinating topic. Here are my thoughts:

Slimy producers vs. greedy wanna-be's

'If you build it, they will come'.

The producers see a need, and a cheap way to create programming that the public consumes like fresh baked double chocolate frosted cupcakes. As with most things that people lament about our consumerist, hyper-capitalist world, it is the public's acceptance, nay, requirement and hunger for entertainment in the form of sadism. They love to see people persevere and overcome, but even more, they love to see someone fail. This is what I find truly disturbing, not one opportunistic producer or fame-hungry stars in waiting, but the fact that people desire this highly negative, judgmental form of entertainment.

Why do they do it

Very very very very few artists have even the faintest clue about the music or film industry. There is an incredible deficit of proper and realistic education about the ins and outs, pitfalls of 'The Biz', and resources and strategies for success. Instead, people are transfixed by the myths and false promises of the industry - the big bucks and fame, that somehow, magically and by their (supposed) talent, they will be found, recognized, and in every way shepherded (bum patted) to success. Beyond this, even if an artist is somewhat educated about these things, they are not in any way prepared for what to do when 'it' does happen (you've won the lottery, now what?). A career is an incredibly difficult thing to manage, and even if you 'make it' a lot can happen. To make it you have to have a plan, and a sustained career has to have a plan.

So to answer your questions:

I'm trying to figure out what drives people to Reality-TV, despite the overwhelming odds and risks associated with it. Is it the money? Is it the lure of fame? Is it something else?

What drive artists into our profession, despite the overwhelming odds and risks associated with it? Is just passion? Is it the lure of fame? Or is it something else...


I think it's ignorance of the realities of the industry, and moreover, of the nature of reality tv. Recently, filmmaker friends of mine wanted to join the 'On The Lot' program, where filmmakers 'compete' against one another in order to have a film produced by Spielberg (or something, can't remember). I said, forget it guys. They really thought it was a shot at fame.
1. It's a lottery,
2. The best do not always win
3. The producers aren't interested in making stars, they are interested in making dramatic television that retains a high viewership. They will put you in positions that will make you look terrible (by design or post-production), and at worst will cost you your integrity and any real credibility you might have. Do you think the 'winner' of this show will have real clout in Hollywood? Never. It's a joke. They really had no clue what it was really about.

People have stars in their eyes. Everyone believes they have a special talent that is unique and will be recognized. The truth is, no one cares. You have to fight tooth and nail (just like any other entreprenuer!!!) to make your art heard/seen/cared about. Go online and check out some unknown indie-bands on myspace or whatever. There are tens of THOUSANDS - and many are good, if not great! Why are they not famous? Well, they can't ALL be famous, even though they 'deserve' it.

As far as the non-reality star chasing artists are concerned? Man, it takes all types. Let's assume they know the odds of the industry. Well, you gotta still somehow believe that you are going to have a go at it and make it because of god knows what reason. Faith, I guess? Yea, some are in it for the money, some the fame... more are starting to get it that those days are probably over, but there are real ways (hello, Internet distribution/marketing) to make a living - but it's hard and will take tons of work. Me? I do it because I absolutely LOVE what I do, and I want to spend as much time as possible being creative with the BEST creative people - and that means, doing it professionally. I no longer chase fame/fortune - I know the chances are miniscule, and mostly dependent on luck. But, I do know if I bust my ass and do the best work I can, I have an ok chance of at least making a decent living doing what I love.

CHEERS!

Adrian

The Hero Factory

I love this...

I know, I know, I said I was gonna move on to "dramatic theory" and details about what I'm working on now, etc. ... but this is WAY TOO MUCH FUN not to share.

Thanks Mike for pointing it out.

Enjoy!

An(other) interview w/ Matej Andraž Vogrinčič

PART TWO

This is the second half of my interview with Matej Andraž Vogrinčič, a cool, international visual artist originally from Slovenia. You can check out Part ONE here.

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Aaron ~ So, Matej, the reason why we're chatting right now is because of a blog post I wrote last year about Run For Love, a cool multimedia/theatrical piece at the 2008 Aurillac International Street Theatre Festival. I was inspired by seeing that production and would love to get some insight on the process.

MAV ~ Okay.

Aaron ~ How did you get involved with Run For Love?

MAV ~ Ja, I first worked with Matjaz Pograjc 17 years ago. We have the same producers in Ljubljana.they've continued to work with Matjaz for all that time and then they also worked with me on my Liverpool biennial boats project in 2006. So they suggested, "how about you two working together again?" So, we had couple of brainstorms.

Aaron ~ How about Ez3kiel? I mean, the music was such a huge part of the project... Was there any prior working relationships there?

MAV ~ I had never heard of Ez3kiel before. But the project was done as a collaboration with a cultural program called Tandem. It's a French project that invites artists from France and another European country to collaborate. So we started to listen to some French bands and this one seemed to fit.

Aaron ~ International cultural collaboration... believe me, we're all very envious back here in Canada! So, did you all collaborate together? Was it one person's vision or did everyone come up with the idea together?

MAV ~ It was more one person's vision of how to put separate works together into a single theatre piece. How to bring a contemporary art piece, a concert and a story all together into a theatre piece. Or an "urban spectacle" as some critics used to call it.

Aaron ~ And, how do you personally communicate your ideas to others?

MAV ~ In most of the cases I just talk about them. Sometimes I do some drawings, but drawings are normally totally different from the end project, so I do not use them as much.

Aaron ~ Does the way you communicate change depending on the country you're working in? I don't mean just language barriers: I mean different cultural histories and attitudes towards art.

MAV ~ The way I communicate has not changed so far. My approach, especially using public space, is really basic. And, at this basic level cultural histories and attitudes in my opinion are not so very different.

Aaron ~ I guess you would know: you've travelled around the world to create site-specific art. BTW, is Ljubljana still home for you?

MAV ~ Hm, I have to think about it. Yes, I guess it is still my home. But I know it is not my only home. Home for me is where my love is. And also where the stove is burning and people are gathered around a freshly cooked meal. Well. I guess those two are connected somehow.

Aaron ~ After working on Run For Love, what would you say the main difference is between an public space installation piece and a public space performance piece (like street theatre)?

MAV ~ Well, in my case, the main difference was the site specific element. The majority of my projects are done just for a single space. Especially for that space and so the piece can not travel. Also, the majority of installations are there for longer. They do not have the same "performance magic" of just couple of hours and then everything is back to normal. But. if I start to think about it, the boundaries become more vague. Depends also on how we define street theatre and installation

Aaron ~ That's probably a can of worms we don't need to open right now. Moving on! Digital media is becoming more accessible (and affordable!) for many artists, and was a big part of Run For Love. Do you plan to use more digital media in your work?

MAV ~ Yes, I do. It is very important for me because it is a document. After a month, an installation is gone and the images are the only remaining document. I must say, for me, they are not just documents - they are pieces of art themselves. I prepare my installations knowing that the main product is not only this installation but also the photography. So far I have not had enough money to make movies about the whole process. but hopefully for my next project, a video or a movie about the installation with all the close ups and beautiful details will be another work of art here to stay longer than just a month.

Aaron ~ Speaking of which, do you have future collaborations coming up?

MAV ~ No, unfortunately not at the moment. I might work with Matjaz on some set designs for his new piece, but no future collaborations with somebody else at the moment.

Aaron ~ Hear that Canada? Opportunity is knocking.Okay, last question - and it's a goofy one, but totally fitting within the context of this blog. Do you read comic books? If so, do you have a favourite?

MAV ~ Uh. I am bad when it comes to comic books. But please tell me which one is your favourite one? I am in London at the moment so I hope they sell it here!

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If anyone has a comic recommendation for Matej (or has any questions for him that I didn't ask), please let him know by commenting on this post. I know he's watching.

Thank you so much to Matej for taking the time to chat with me and providing the cool pics. I wish him all the best, and look forward to being able to see his next project! (Hopefully in person!)

Holiday updates and gifts

Introducing Adrian Ellis -- new composer for SuperHeroLive.com

I blogged several days ago about having a new development grant in for Superhero Live! Well, as you may imagine, developing SHL! while me and Mike are in Toronto and Shaun and John are still in Edmonton would be a bit tough. So, after much discussion, Shaunny and Johnny have released their music to be adapted into a new iteration (dependent on funding). Our new composer: the brilliant and multi-faceted Adrian Ellis.

A new iteration you say? Well, yes. We're adding singing. We're going into a full on Rock Opera, instead of "spoken-word-rock-opera." After the holidays, I'll go into more detail about the reasoning for our new direction for the show... but for now, I'd like to share a gift from Adrian to all of you.


Adrian has recorded a number of alternative Xmas songs everyone to listen. Click here to download or stream 5 excellent tunes that will put a smile on your face during the season. My personal favourite is "It's Christmas and I'm drunk."

Happy fourth day of Channukah and Merry Xmas Eve!

The Force is strong with me

Or
"You WILL give me funding for my multimedia production"

I wasn't planning on writing about multimedia in theatre until much later... when my thoughts had coalesced and formulated a thoughful thesis on the subject. But the world has conspired to get me typing sooner than I anticipated. (Which is fine, as I'm a terrible procrastinator and usually need a good kick in the pants to get moving.)

Namely, the recent announcement of STAR WARS: A Musical Journey, aka. the musical-but-not-really-a-musical stage show. From the PR:

The show features an extensive selection of Oscar-winning composer John Williams' unforgettable scores from all six STAR WARS movies into an extraordinary two-hour musical event that features scenes from the movies, live narration and, at The O2, the 86-piece Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and choir.

Lucas' foray to the stage didn't really get me thinking about theatrical form because of its "innovative" structure. Personally, I think that Lucas is banking on the success of Video Games Live, to build a pre-existing market for his musical journey.

Er... other than the legions of STAR WARS fans that will throw down cold hard cash at whatever scheme Lucas concocts to further milk his signature franchise. (Myself included.)

Rather, I got thinking about form because what Lucas is doing is similar to what I want to do with my own pet project Superhero LIVE! (A little background about SHL! can be found on this blog here, and here.) I even have a couple of grants submitted for development.

Now, I don't pretend to imagine that I can amass the same kind of budget for my piece like Lucas can. And, after the '07 Edmonton Fringe run of SHL!, I had pretty much given up on any further evolutions of the play as "too damned expensive." Until I went to the Aurillac International Street Theatre Festival earlier this year and saw a piece called Run For Love (clik link and scroll down for You-Tube links and pics from the show). It was an outdoor concert/multimedia performance co-created and produced by the Betontanc dance-theatre company and Matej Andraž Vogrinčič, with live music by EZ3kiel. It was inspired by that scene in The Battleship Potemkin (S. Eisenstein) and featured live-feed video of dancers filmed in front of a blue screen with their images imposed against prerecorded film, projected onto 2 large screens.

Oh yah... it also had 7,000 slinkies crawling down a 2-story raked plynth.

Cool...

What inspired me was less the content of the piece but rather its spectacle, its popularity at the festival, and the fact that they actually got it done. I'm sure that they spent at least a third of their budget on the slinkies, and yet, the idea of producing something in a similar format... well... it just doesn't seem as impossible anymore.

So this post is less about multimedia theatre theory, but rather about possibility. It is possible. And, judging by shifts in the theatrical world around us... hell, it may be more and more probable.

As long as Lucas doesn't f@#k it up for the rest of us.