Jennifer Lawrence: Nerdage’s #5 actress with geek appeal
Jennifer Lawrence (AP)
Kentucky-born Jennifer Lawrence was nominated for an Oscar for her role in “Winter’s Bone,” and, at 20, had a leading role in a No. 1 movie this summer — she starred as the shape-shifting mutant Mystique in “X-Men: First Class.” She also co-starred in Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver.” The actress comes in at No. 5 on Nerdage’s actresses with geek appeal.
She recently talked to the Syndey Morning Herald about her “Mystique” role.
”She’s a young insecure woman trying to cope with being a mutant,” Lawrence said. ”Mystique is discovering her sexuality and how she fits into the world. It’s very much a coming-of-age story.”
She said the few times in the film that her full body had to be painted blue, it was an eight-hour process involving seven people.
Near the end of the shoot, she tired of the three-hour process to remove the blue paint, and did it at home.
”I actually lost the safety deposit when I moved out of my apartment because the bath had turned blue,” she said.
Upcoming for Lawrence are the films “House at the End of the Street” and “Hunger Games.”
- Matt Price
Click past the cut for more Jennifer Lawrence images.
Wolverine battles Cyclops in X-Men Schism teaser
Marvel has released the above teaser for “Schism,” the X-Men event that leads to the conclusion of the “Uncanny X-Men” series.
Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso says about “Schism”:
“‘Schism’ is the X-Men’s ‘Civil War.’ The biggest X-event in a decade divides the mutant universe across distinct battle-lines and asks readers the question: Whose side are you on? And there’s a reason ‘Schism’ ends at exactly the same time as ‘Fear Itself.’ Next summer, the entire Marvel Universe will have its eyes on the X-Men.”
- Matt Price
Marvel to end Uncanny X-Men
Marvel’s longest-running title, “Uncanny X-Men,” will come to an end in October, according to a news release from Marvel.
A schism between Wolverine and Cyclops will tear the team apart, ending the Marvel Universe’s longest-running title.
“Uncanny X-Men” is Marvel’s longest-running title without a relaunch, going back to 1963. (The title has undergone some temporary changes throughout its history, however, including a stint as a reprint title, and four months of being replaced by “alternate universe” X-Men.)
“Well, as anyone who’s watched the movies will know, the traditional axis of the X-Men has been the polarity of Magneto and Xavier. Xavier basically believes in peaceful integration. Magneto doesn’t,” writer Kieron Gillen told the Associated Press.
“In the last five years or so, the X-Men have been exploring a different angle. A catastrophe reduced the population to a couple of hundred mutants, and no new ones are being born,” he said. “This fledgling species was looking at extinction – and the militarized forces of prejudice moved in for the kill.”
The remaining mutants have been working under Cyclops since that time, but now differences of opinion among the team are leading to a “Schism.”
“The X-Men are getting torn apart from within. The events of ‘Schism’ do more damage to the X-Men than any villain has ever done,” Nick Lowe told the AP. Lowe has been editing X-Men books for Marvel for six years and “Uncanny X-Men” since 2006.
Jason Aaron (“Wolverine”) is the writer of “X-Men: Schism,” the first two issues of which ship to comic shops next month.
Gillen said ending the “Uncanny X-Men” series is necessary based on the story beats of “Schism.”
“The X-Men has always been a book with ideology and ideas at its heart, and to be fair to them – to best present them – you have to be entirely true,” Gillen said to the AP. “And if the story we’re telling demands that you end the `Uncanny X-Men,’ you end the ‘Uncanny X-Men.’ No, it’s not taken lightly – but it’s taken if it’s necessary to do it.”
Eric Neal, of Second Chance Books in Warr Acres, wonders if this relaunch could be partially in reaction to DC Comics’ announced relaunch of its entire line.
“If I were cynical, I’d say they were trying to get some press after DC’s big announcement,” he said.
He said the X-Men universe of books remain very popular at his shop, and fans will likely be excited about the upcoming story.
“Any big change is always exciting, as long as the stories are done well,” he said.
He said he could see a Wolverine-Cyclops split eventually leading to two books, perhaps with a team led by each man.
“A lot of X-Men fans like both characters,” he said. “I think Wolverine is a favorite character. But Cyclops … may have a more noble cause. It may tear fans up a bit, not being sure which one to root for.”
He said he does hear complaints from fans and collectors when long-running series restart or renumber.
“That’s a point of contention for collectors,” he said.
But, he said, story will ultimately win out fans more than a number.
“Any time they make major changes, it all boils down to the story,” he said. “If it’s an awesome story, you can get away with murder.”
- Matt Price
“X-Men First Class” tops box office, doesn’t top previous X-films
Minus the notable stars and characters of the other “X-Men” films, “X-Men First Class” opened with $56 million, according to Box Office Mojo. That was enough for first place this weekend, ahead of “The Hangover II,” which made $32.4 million in its second weekend.
The “First Class” first weekend total is below all the other X-Men films but the first, which opened to $54.5 million in 2000.
With new, younger stars and different characters, I actually think this isn’t a bad number for the movie. And given the positive reviews, word of mouth may help the film have smaller second-week dropoff.
- Matt Price
Despite artistic misstep, X-Factor provides payoff
X-Factor 25-50
plus: Quick and the Dead one-shot; She-Hulk 31
As part of my 2,011 in 2011 comic-book reading challenge, I’ve read a lot of Peter David’s “X-Factor” from the last part of the last decade, and the series is, for the most part, both consistent and consistently underrated. There is an artistic misstep in the middle of this two-year run, however.
(more…)
Thor: Tales of Asgard giveaway; DC Comics relaunch; death at Marvel; Valiant Comics to return
Kyle Roberts and Matt Price have a giveaway of “Thor: Tales of Asgard” with this week’s Planet 46 Comics podcast. Just leave a comment below with your favorite Thor character.
Also this week:
Matt and Kyle discuss the DC Comics relaunch (we say “reboot” a few times because we filmed this before
the “this is not a reboot” e-mail). We look at the Marvel Comics death in Fear Itself #3 and its possible impact. We discuss the planned 2012 return of Valiant Comics with former Marvel Comics CEO Peter Cuneo. And we discuss X-Men: First Class.
REVIEW FILE: Flashpoint #2, Amazing Spider-Man #663, Criminal: Last of the Innocent #1
Comics read in 2011: 741. Still to go: 1270
Celebrate “X-Men First Class” with Ray Wall’s X-Men Rock Opera
Like the X-Men? So does rocker Ray Wall. He’s created the The X-Men Song: A Super-Hero Rock Opera. To celebrate the X-Men First Class movie opening, he’s giving away the 4-minute “Radio Edit” of the song as a free 
download during the X-Men: First Class movie opening days for people who “Like” the Ray Wall Band on Facebook.
Go here: http://www.facebook.com/raywallband to like the Ray Wall Band and the Sounds of Superheroes!
The Ray Wall Band has also created songs inspired by the Joker, Watchmen, Fantastic Four and Iron Man.
- Matt Price
Click past the cut to hear the radio edit of the X-Men Song, via Geek to Me.
“Mystique” collection features “X-Men First Class” character, spy elements
Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in "X-Men First Class."
The X-Men go back to the 1960s — the decade they were invented — with “X-Men: First Class,” the latest film from director Matthew Vaughn (“Stardust.”)
“The best way of describing it is X-Men meets Bond, with a little bit of Thirteen Days thrown in for good measure,” Vaughn told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s set in the ’60s, and I basically molded a young Magneto on a young Sean Connery. He’s the ultimate spy — imagine Bond, but with superpowers.”
Superman’s fight against the KKK and more examined in “War, Politics and Superheroes”
War, Politics and Superheroes by Marc DiPaolo
What’s Superman’s stance on the death penalty? Who might Spider-Man vote for? Marc DiPaolo, assistant professor of English and film at Oklahoma City University, has examined the political leanings, often subtextual, of comic-book superheroes.
“War, Politics, and Superheroes: Ethics and Propaganda in Comics and Film” was released by McFarland and Co. last month.
Famke Janssen: Nerdage’s #13 actress with geek appeal
Director Famke Janssen talks about filmimg the movie "Bringing Up Bobby" during a cast party in Nichols Hills, Okla., Saturday, August 14, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
“X-Men” star Famke Janssen, who portrayed Jean Grey, put herself behind the camera in 2010, directing “Bringing Up Bobby,” a movie filmed largely in the state of Oklahoma.
Janssen told The Oklahoman’s Gene Triplett that the state fascinated her.
“I was introduced to Oklahoma through my boyfriend Cole Frates and, being a foreigner, even though I’ve lived in the United States for about 20 years in New York, I thought it was a unique and different place, very American in a way that I think New York is sort of its own little country.
“I was fascinated by it, it intrigued me and Cole and I just sort of started developing this idea … which became ‘Bringing Up Bobby.’ And Oklahoma just seemed the right setting.
“I kind of felt like my space ship had landed because it was so different from what I have experienced growing up in Holland and living in New York. It really just inspired me.”
The film was recently shown at the film market in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival.
Janssen plays an FBI agent in “The Chameleon,” set to open in limited release on June 10. She’ll co-star in “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” with Jeremy Renner in 2012.
- Matt Price
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- Director Famke Janssen watches a monitor during filming of a scene for the movie “Bringing Up Bobby” on a location in Nichols Hills Friday, August 13, 2010. Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman
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- Director Famke Janssen talks about filmimg the movie “Bringing Up Bobby” during a cast party in Nichols Hills, Okla., Saturday, August 14, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
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- Director Famke Janssen talks about filmimg the movie “Bringing Up Bobby” during a cast party in Nichols Hills, Okla., Saturday, August 14, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
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- at the at the 64th international film festival, Famke Janssen in Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 13, 2011. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)
