GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

So for some people a walk in the park is a pleasant experience, for others not so much (like me) but when a walk is for a good cause, then we all win. The Epilepsy Foundation is hosting a Walk to End Epilepsy with the Houston Zoo. It's Saturday April 13^th at 7am with registration at the front gate of the Houston Zoo. They're promising 95% of proceeds will be donated and this whole event will be held at zero cost to the community, that's awesome. So come on and hang out with the animals and other walkers and celebrate all of you coming together for a great cause this weekend.

THATS A LOT OF MOVIES

So it technically started yesterday but it goes for 10 days so it's cool, right now it's the 52nd Annual Worldfest-Houston at the Memorial City Cinemark. People from all over the world are here for ten days to screen independent films and attend galas and just have a good time taking a stab at the craft that is Hollywood. When I say a lot of movies, I do mean a lot of movies there will be over 200 screenings during this 10 day period, and I don't think Hellboy is going to be a single one of them. Anyway if you want to try something different, I recommend going out there and giving it a try, you never know what you might discover.

SPEAKING OF

This weekend will see the debut of Hellboy. If you're a fan of the first two films, I have some bad and confusing news, this one is a reboot. Guillermo del Toro isn't directing, and Ron Perlman isn't starring in this third Hellboy movie. Taking a stance closer to the horror themes of the Mike Mignola source material and featuring finally rising star David Harbour of Stranger Things this is a new take on the existing concept. While Del Toro had always said he had a planned trilogy in mind and had a definitive story he wanted to tell, the timing and funds never quite lined out the way it was supposed to go, with at one point there was finally studio support for the third Hellboy movie but it was contingent on Pacific Rim reaching certain box office numbers and that didn't happen. The movie as its own project looks interesting, I'm not sure if this is going to be the movie everyone wants to see this weekend with all the other things scheduled around it but we'll know the answer to that come Monday.

ANYTHING FOR SELENAS

I hope you've been practicing your Washing Machine and you held on to your brassiere because tonight at Barbarella Houston it's Selena night. The music will be featuring her hits and there will be a costume contest, so you know, this is pretty flipping cool. Selena is one of those Houston Icons that we hold onto near and dear because the consensus was she was talented and it was honestly just a matter of time before she broke out into mainstream music. Its easy now looking back at the pop music of the past few eras to see where she would have fit in perfectly abd the interesting things is her career launched two stars, hers and Jennifer Lopez in the biopic. Before that there hadn't been a ton of heat on Jennifer Lopez but that movie proved she could sing and act and suddenly the world loved J.Lo. RIP Selena.

I DO LOVE WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER

​So Disney has been busy making announcements these past few weeks and plans for the back half of 2019 are starting to clear up. One of the biggest pieces of news has been the various announcements for shows on the Disney+ streaming service. Recently they've announced a Marvel themed show that will focus on people having an impact in their community, and another series of documentaries focusing on the iconic history of Marvel comics and those are neat but not anywhere near as neat as these other announcements, A Falcon/Winter Soldier crossover series, a Loki Series, a Scarlet Witch series and a Hawkeye based series centered around Clint Barton training his young protege Kate Bishop. This is a big deal because there had been some casting in Avengers that was making a lot of people think we might see a young female hero debut in Avengers End Game, either daughter of Scott Lang, Stature or protege of Hawkeye, Kate Bishop. While this doesn't guarantee either, it makes Kate Bishop the likely candidate if either is even correct.

NOT THAT ANYONE ASKED

So one thing that is a little worrisome about Disney acquiring Star Wars and Marvel and now 20th Century Fox is now Disney owns roughly 27% of the movie industry with this move. This is potentially a problem because Disney themselves have had struggles over the years for direction and have had some odd starts and stops, including once exploring the idea of a "Dark Disney" like adult themed movies and things that had no appeal to the younger demographics but they did eventually get away from that idea. When someone has most of the cards, sure that usually marks them as quite successful but it doesn't always make that for the best. This isn't me wishing for them to fail, this just means they become gatekeepers in a sense. Recently a stand up comic chose to do his stand up special with comedy central instead of Netflix because Netflix would only offer him a 30 minute special with a clause requiring a second special because that's how Netflix thinks comedians should progress, however Comedy Central offered him an hour special and better money for just a one special deal, and while he will likely get fewer viewers he is able to make his next move much sooner this way. The reason this story is relevant to my point is this: The fewer options the creatives have to create, the fewer chances we have to see something new and special. This might be great, but it might be trouble.