Geek Sheets - First Week of October

by Steve Monnich, Owner/Operator of “The Fruit Cellar” in ‘Dahntahn’ Pittsburgh

Welcome one and all to this week’s edition of the Geek Sheets.  The reason we here at GGR get so passionate and interested in the pop culture media the way that we are is that it provides a level of escapism that allows the mind to wander away from the stresses of the world.  Not that one should dive so deep into that pool that they can never reemerge, but having a refuge away from the serious matters that have captivated our daily focus is refreshing.  So not to start off on too hot a topic, but I do want to address something very controversial that is happening in our world today…The Steelers are tied with the Browns 4 weeks into the NFL season.  I’ll give you a moment to catch your breath or tend to old woman next to you who just fainted from shock.  Has there ever been a time where the world has needed a place of respite more?! I would suggest reading this article, subscribing to our podcast GGR Pirate Radio and then bunkering yourself down and listening to our entire back catalogue until these dark times have passed!

Dark Phoenix trailer drops, then the film is immediately delayed

Based off Chris Claremont’s run in Uncanny X-Men, the new X-Men film Dark Phoenix has had quite a few tidbits of news come out recently.  Firstly, the new trailer has been released and its theme is reminding everyone of X-Men 3: The Last Stand.  Tiny little hints at some space travel are shown, but it is evident that the Phoenix Force will continue to be Jean Grey throwing a temper tantrum with her powers instead of being tied to a wicked awesome space crystal. One of the bright spots the movie appears to have is the aesthetics in costume design.  The team is clad in matching blue and yellow uniforms that just beg you to look at X-Men #1 for reference.  The other notable point is that just a scant number of days after the trailer’s initial release, Fox made a statement to the public that a handful of their films are being shuffled around in release order.  Dark Phoenix is now being pushed back into a June slot to give Alita: Battle Angel the X-Men’s original February release date.  All this is being done to accommodate a PG-13 version of Deadpool 2 just in time for the holidays.  Oh Fox…

Gary Kurtz passes away at age 78

It is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge the passing on of famed producer Gary Kurtz.  While the list of films tied to his name is not as lengthy as many others in his field, the impact they have had might be in the upper echelons of Hollywood.  His career was mostly tied to his involvement as a producer on George Lucas’s early projects, namely American Graffiti, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, only leaving the Lucasfilm team after creative differences surrounding the story structure of Return of the Jedi caused tensions between Kurtz and Lucas.  He continued on with his production duties with connections made via Lucasfilm, namely Frank Oz and Jim Henson, working on the cult classic The Dark Crystal. Geek fodder for decades can be linked back to this titan, as without the influences of early Lucasfilm and namely the Star Wars films, we wouldn’t have dozens and dozens of subsequent pieces of film, television, books, comics, video games and more that are directly tied to or inspired by these works.  May the Force be with you Gary.

Venom film purportedly to have 2 Post Credit scenes

In the first entry into what is being dubbed the SUMC (Sony Universe of Marvel Characters, yeah cause nothing bad ever happens when you name your cinematic universe on the first entry…COUGH*DarkUniverse*COUGH) fans are starting to wonder what Sony is building towards.  A few future projects have been teased, such as a Jared Leto led Morbius The Living Vampire flick, something involving the Sinister Six, a Kraven the Hunter standalone movie, a film revolving around the hero Silk (basically lady Spider-man, got bit by the same spider), Silver and Black which is a buddy cop like picture starring Black Cat and Silver Sable, and of course any sequels and spin-offs this new Venom film produces.  This Universe of movies based on “what Spider-man characters we got rights to?!” will almost certainly have some Easter Eggs and possibly a post-credit teaser interwoven into Venom, attempting to make it Sony’s Iron Man.  Another popular theory suggests that Carnage will have his origins shown or suggested in a scene, further establishing Venom as the keystone piece of the SUMC. Some statements from the cast and crew petitioning Marvel to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET US BE IN THE MCU has fans thinking that Venom’s post Credits will indeed shock the world and bring Tom Holland’s Spidey on the scene.  Only time will tell what dumb thing will happen before we all forget the SUMC was a thing just like Emo-Spider dances or electric Eel powered movie villains. 

SIGH! Just no amount of awesome, interesting, well-written nerd news topics can get me over this Steelers funk. When he’s done recording his new show Stop Me If You’ve Heard This, I’ll have to ask Time Lord and the Last Son of Krypton Mike Lunsford what it feels like to have a home team with a winning record.  I mean for those of you that don’t watch sports imagine this completely hypothetical scenario where you love one comic book company and can’t stand the other.  Both are putting out films and your favorite is just laying turds, gets one win and then goes right back to meh, all the while the other franchise is doing great and you can’t get what is going wrong.  Oh sorry DCEU fans, I guess I’m the juicebag this week being salty over my team.  Until next time, I’m Steve Monnich and don’t be a juicebag (like me).