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'Shazam' movie official thread (because he deserves one too)
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1,885 posts in this topic

22 minutes ago, bronze_rules said:

Don't know much about Billy Batson's origin, but I did feel the film origin here strongly borrowed from ASM 15 origin. E.g. Abuse of powers, with great powers comes great responsibility moral.  I suppose it would be archetypal for any naïve youth coming into power...

I think you are right in that Stan Lee probably referenced the same foundational details that so many of these stories fall back on. Here are two key Captain Marvel/Shazam stories with his origin.

Whiz Comics #2 (December 1, 1939)

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Marvel Family #1 (published November 21, 1945)

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There was stuff on the screen that I never, ever thought I would see in a Hollywood film. Characters I have loved not just treated with respect, but brought to vivid life by people who took care to do it right.

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Which leads me to my favorite aspect, the family. I'm adopted AND a foster parent. This stuff is rarely handled well. But I cried at the bumper sticker, that's how they nailed the family element. The BUMPER sticker.

Second, the parents. If you didn't love those two and want to go live in that house with holes in the walls, YOU ARE DEAD INSIDE. Best superhero parents ever (sorry, Jor El!). That is how to portray good people with just a few choice scenes. Fantastic.

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And finally, the best thing in the movie, the anchor for the whole film for me, was Freddie. I can't remember the last time an actor the age of Jack Dylan Grazer so completely owned the narrative of a big film like this. I loved every line reading Freddie did, he carried much of the emotional weight of the film, and the scenes between Shazam and Freddie are my favorite parts of the entire experience. Just a wonderful performance.

Someone who saw the same movie that I saw three times so far...  (thumbsu

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Somebody brought up a good point. Billy and Shazam! are obviously the same person, so why does Shazam! act more immature than his actual child version? When we see 14 year old Billy, he's kind of a moody loner kid, while Shazam! is almost the exact opposite, fun loving and sociable. If they're going to be different, then Shazam! at least should have had the wisdom of Solomon, which he clearly never displayed until the end when he realizes power must be shared, which is a total King Solomon move.

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6 minutes ago, @therealsilvermane said:

Somebody brought up a good point. Billy and Shazam! are obviously the same person, so why does Shazam! act more immature than his actual child version? When we see 14 year old Billy, he's kind of a moody loner kid, while Shazam! is almost the exact opposite, fun loving and sociable. If they're going to be different, then Shazam! at least should have had the wisdom of Solomon, which he clearly never displayed until the end when he realizes power must be shared, which is a total King Solomon move.

:popcorn:

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17 minutes ago, paperheart said:

Those who’ve seen Shazam‘s production cost of $102M-plus, plus its global estimated $120M-$130M distribution expenses spend should turn a nice profit.

Box Office Mojo already confirmed $100M production budget. Though other sites are still noting $85M. :smile:

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2 hours ago, paperheart said:

Hughes' $40MM P&A is a tad hallucinatory apparently.

Mark Hughes engages with WB frequently. I would hope his low P&A figure comes from reality.

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Zachary Levi thanking everyone that attended the opening weekend. He is definitely one of the big selling points, along with David Sandberg being so dedicated to the comic books (would a non-fan director have gone with that mid-credit scene appearance?).

 

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The Hollywood Reporter posted an interview with David Sandberg yesterday. It goes into leading a small-budget film, involvement of actors that didn't even realize they were portraying superheroes, and setting up the future. Also, on the online negativity he experienced when the Shazam trailer didn't come out on a rumored date never announced by the studio but rather from some bloggers 'in the know'.

@therealsilvermane this could also answer your question about Billy vs. Shazam mannerisms.

'Shazam!' Director David F. Sandberg on Those Surprise Cameos

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Sandberg is particularly proud of the marketing for Shazam!, since it managed to protect the film’s many secrets. Among those secrets are quite a few cameos, including the superhero alter egos of Billy’s foster family. Two of those cameos are performed by Adam Brody (superhero Freddy) and D.J. Cotrona (superhero Pedro) — who have had an interesting history with DC Comics adaptations.

 

“We sort of realized afterwards that both Adam Brody and D.J. Cotrona were cast in George Miller’s Justice League: Mortal, the movie that almost happened," Sandberg tells The Hollywood Reporter. "Adam Brody was The Flash and D.J. was Superman. So, afterwards, we said, ‘Oh, mess! They finally get to be superheroes in a DC movie…’ They didn’t even know they were auditioning for superheroes.”

 

“When we first started talking about how to shoot [Shazam!], I was in my sort of normal low-budget mode,” Sandberg says. “The line producer, Jeffrey Chernov, actually took me aside and said, ‘As a line producer, I don’t usually say this, but you should think bigger.’ Then, I felt more free to just come up with cool mess until he eventually said, ‘Okay, that’s too big.’”

 

THR: One of my only concerns going into this movie was Zachary Levi and Asher Angel potentially having to imitate each other, since they’re both playing Billy Batson. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that they’re quite different in terms of personality. Asher’s Billy is a kid who has had a heavy life, while Zach’s Shazam is Billy without the lifelong burden. Did you know early on that you wanted to avoid imitation between the two of them?

 

DS: Asher’s character really evolves throughout the movie. He starts out in not a great place, and then sort of evolves. We tried to have Zach and Asher hang out and learn a little bit from each other. We even talked about having a tick that they could do; they both touch their ears and things. But it felt like that would be too on the nose or too much of a “Oh, I see what they’re doing.” So, it felt like it was better to just have that natural progression to the character.

 

THR: Superhero fandoms can be quite volatile toward directors. Did that factor into your decision to helm the movie?

 

DS: No, because I didn’t really realize how hardcore people can be. Early on when I got the job and it became official, someone asked me online, “Who would win in a fight between Shazam and Superman?” And I made some joke about how in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman realizes the humanity of Superman because both their mothers’ names are Martha. So, I made some joke about how Shazam doesn’t have a mother named Martha, so he probably wouldn’t stop [the fight]. I got so much mess for it online; people were so upset and saying, “Oh, you don’t get Batman v Superman.” That made me realize that some people are not ready for jokes. The same thing goes when joking about Marvel. To me, I’m just as big of a fan of Marvel as I am of DC; I go and see all of these movies. I’m rooting for all superhero movies to be good. So, it was a bit of a shock to realize how sensitive some people can be about this, but overall, most people are quite sane about it. It’s not the majority of people that get that upset. You just realize that maybe you shouldn’t crack too many jokes, especially not about sensitive subjects. I just didn’t realize before taking on the job that that was as much of a thing.

 

Edited by Bosco685
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1 hour ago, Bosco685 said:

The Hollywood Reporter posted an interview with David Sandberg yesterday. It goes into leading a small-budget film, involvement of actors that didn't even realize they were portraying superheroes, and setting up the future. Also, on the online negativity he experienced when the Shazam trailer didn't come out on a rumored date never announced by the studio but rather from some bloggers 'in the know'.

@therealsilvermane this could also answer your question about Billy vs. Shazam mannerisms.

'Shazam!' Director David F. Sandberg on Those Surprise Cameos

 

Sorry, but that weak-sauce response does not remotely address the stark differences in their performances.  Never at any point in time did it seem the teen actor and Levi were playing the same or even a similar persona individual.  

-J.

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The wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules... etc

No where in there did it say "Billy Batson".....

I thought it correlated decent for the movie, I don't consider that a "hang-up"....

imo 

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14 hours ago, paperheart said:

Those who’ve seen Shazam‘s production cost of $102M-plus, plus its global estimated $120M-$130M distribution expenses spend should turn a nice profit.

Really ?

Venom is this movie's direct recent comp. 

If that turned a $250MM profit (after ancillaries) on an $850MM worldwide BO,  how does this movie "turn a nice profit" on the $350MM-$400MM it is expected to make?  (shrug)

-J

 

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5 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

The wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules... etc

No where in there did it say "Billy Batson".....

I thought it correlated decent for the movie, I don't consider that a "hang-up"....

imo 

He is supposed to gain those traits as Shazam (although none of that came through in Levi's performance either), not become a completely different personality. Levi never came off as more than a kid playing with a new toy, including the end sequence where the movie went a bit off the rails.  

-J.

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6 minutes ago, Jaydogrules said:

Really ?

Venom is this movie's direct recent comp. 

If that turned a $250MM profit (after ancillaries) on an $850MM worldwide BO,  how does this movie "turn a nice profit" on the $350MM-$400MM it is expected to make?  (shrug)

-J

 

Maybe because, unlike Venom, it won't book more than 30% of its revenue from China?

Edited by Gatsby77
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