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Blue Beetle came in at a record-low weekend box office opening for DC, despite wonderful critic and user reviews. And it just cemented something we’ve all known for a long time. As far as films are concerned, to the general audience, the DC cinematic brand is broken. Yes, Marvel can get comic C-list titles like Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy and turn them into box office gold. But Warner Brothers has struggled for a decade to make anything click that’s not Batman, or Batman-related like Joker. Sure, Wonder Woman and Aquaman made a lot of money, but those are the exceptions and not the rule.
The DC Movie Stigma Is a Hard One to Overcome
We can get into the why of it all, but the “why” is a matter of opinion. Some folks believe the initial Synder tone of Man of Steel, BvS, and Justice League was too much of a turn-off to many in the general audience. Certainly, a vocal bunch of folks think turning away from Snyder was the problem. Whatever you think it is, the box office numbers don’t lie. The audience is just not here for the DCEU as we know it in large numbers. As for as this iteration of a cinematic DC universe goes, it was long past time to put a fork in it. DCEU, R.I.P., 2013-2023.
So what do DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran do? They’ve already laid out their initial slate of films and streaming series. They’ve titled DCU Chapter 1 as “Gods and Monsters.” Some say their announcement of the new DCU killed any enthusiasm for whatever DC films were left after the fact. While they might already have their approach in mind, at this critical moment, when the DC brand in movies has the stink of failed promise and struggles to lure in moviegoers, it’s time to look towards the past. Because DC has been in this exact place before. DC Comics, that is.
In the Early ’80s, DC Comics’ Biggest Challenge Was Marvel
From the ‘40s all the way through to the ‘60s, DC Comics was the brand to beat in terms of comic book sales. Nothing could touch them. Then, in the ‘60s, upstart publisher Marvel Comics changed the game, and by the end of that decade, DC seemed like your grandpa’s comics. Marvel continued to grow and grow in popularity. By the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Marvel left DC in the dust, sales-wise. By 1984, Marvel titles like Hercules and Dazzler and even ROM were easily outselling DC’s pop culture icons like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League. Only DC’s New Teen Titans, and to a lesser extent, Legion of Super-Heroes, sold in numbers comparable to Marvel. And in many ways, they were the most Marvel-esque books, focusing on the interpersonal melodrama of attractive young heroes.
DC Comics Rebooted Their Entire Universe with Crisis on Infinite Earths
So DC Comics did what they had to do, and took drastic measures. They blew it all up. With Crisis on Infinite Earths, they destroyed their previous multiverse, and five decades of continuity, and started fresh with their biggest icons in a newly rebooted world. In 1986, Superman got a massive reimagining, jettisoning years of clutter around the Superman mythos, under the guidance of former X-Men creator John Byrne. Wonder Woman received an even bigger transformation, under the guidance of writer/artist George Perez. The stalwart Justice League of America became the action-sitcom Justice League International. And Flash became the first true legacy hero series, about a young ex-sidekick taking on a huge heroic legacy.
And then, of course, there was Batman. Frank Miller reinvigorated the Dark Knight’s mythos and brought him back to his 1939 roots with Batman: Year One. From there, it was off to the races. The fog that surrounded Bruce Wayne’s reputation ever since the Batman ’66 series suddenly lifted, and he was a big player again. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention DC taking a gamble on old forgotten titles like Animal Man and Sandman, titles that changed how the mainstream perceived comics. All of these things happened within a span of just a couple of years. But DC’s gambit worked. Their newly rebooted universe didn’t dethrone Marvel, but gone were the days of DC doing time at the bottom of the top 100. DC was finally a contender again.
The Rebooted DC Universe Led to a Sales Renaissance
According to the comic book sales history website Comichron, the difference between where DC Comics were selling pre-Crisis and post-Crisis is significant. Superman, which in 1984 was in the #76 and #80 positions in the Top 100, was the #1 monthly comic from June-October of 1986, and sold well in the years after that. Justice League, which was in the bottom 50 in 1984, was a consistently top 10/top 20 series by 1987. Flash and Wonder Woman were also selling in numbers they hadn’t in decades. And Batman? Well, by early 1989, Batman was neck-and-neck with Marvel’s X-Men. All of these things would have been unheard of just a few years before.
James Gunn needs to look at this era, especially for inspiration. Although DC rebooted its universe, giving tweaked updates to the hero’s origins, it was a universe with some history behind it. And a history that was more or less familiar. Superman, Batman and the Justice League had been around, we just learned that their histories became altered. Only Wonder Woman was presented as a fresh new heroine on the scene. A version of the DC history as we’d known it played out. However, DC writers were allowed to pick and choose what aspects to use. Sometimes this created big continuity messes. But mostly, it worked and truly gave these long-running characters a new lease on life.
It seems that already Gunn might be taking this approach. He’s said that his Superman: Legacy won’t be an origin story. And clearly, with the addition of many well-known DC heroes to that film, this will be a universe with history behind it. An older Dark Knight in Batman: The Brave and the Bold suggests the same thing. But while retaining a sense of history is important, much like DC Comics did, Gunn and Safran can’t be afraid to go nuts. Post-Crisis Superman changed many aspects of Kal-El’s lore for a new generation. Things like how Krypton was presented, and Lex Luthor’s role in his life. DC wasn’t afraid to jettison key parts of Wonder Woman’s mythos, either. Gone were things like her secret identity or her invisible plane, in order to update the concept. DC Comics was not afraid to take big swings. And DC Studios shouldn’t either.
Always Look to the Comics
We should note, that while DC Comics really re-jiggered their biggest icons, the successful series that pre-dated the reboot did continue intact. So, a big seller like New Teen Titans could go on as is, and it mostly worked. Gunn also seems to use this approach with Peacemaker, which existed, albeit tangentially at best, in the old DCEU. With something as successful, and as off to the side from DC’s “Big Guns” as Peacemaker and Blue Beetle, there’s no reason not to include them. The signal to the general audience that this will be a “new universe” will be in recasting their biggest most iconic characters. Not removing ones like Peacemaker or Blue Beetle.
Without a doubt, Gunn and Safran have their work cut out for them. The DC brand on film lies shattered on the movie theater floor. And they’re going to have to do a lot of work behind the scenes in front of the public to convince people that this new DCU is something different. But as history proves, DC Comics did it all before. DC Comics turned it all around, so here’s hoping DC Studios pulls the same trick. Really, in the end, the comics should be the source of inspiration for every live-action superhero movie property. No matter which studio it’s coming from.
The post James Gunn Should Look to DC Comics’ ’80s Renaissance for His DCU appeared first on Nerdist.
Blue Beetle came in at a record-low weekend box office opening for DC, despite wonderful critic and user reviews. And it just cemented something we’ve all known for a long time. As far as films are concerned, to the general audience, the DC cinematic brand is broken. Yes, Marvel can get comic C-list titles like Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy and turn them into box office gold. But Warner Brothers has struggled for a decade to make anything click that’s not Batman, or Batman-related like Joker. Sure, Wonder Woman and Aquaman made a lot of money, but those are the exceptions and not the rule.
The DC Movie Stigma Is a Hard One to Overcome
We can get into the why of it all, but the “why” is a matter of opinion. Some folks believe the initial Synder tone of Man of Steel, BvS, and Justice League was too much of a turn-off to many in the general audience. Certainly, a vocal bunch of folks think turning away from Snyder was the problem. Whatever you think it is, the box office numbers don’t lie. The audience is just not here for the DCEU as we know it in large numbers. As for as this iteration of a cinematic DC universe goes, it was long past time to put a fork in it. DCEU, R.I.P., 2013-2023.
So what do DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran do? They’ve already laid out their initial slate of films and streaming series. They’ve titled DCU Chapter 1 as “Gods and Monsters.” Some say their announcement of the new DCU killed any enthusiasm for whatever DC films were left after the fact. While they might already have their approach in mind, at this critical moment, when the DC brand in movies has the stink of failed promise and struggles to lure in moviegoers, it’s time to look towards the past. Because DC has been in this exact place before. DC Comics, that is.
In the Early ’80s, DC Comics’ Biggest Challenge Was Marvel
From the ‘40s all the way through to the ‘60s, DC Comics was the brand to beat in terms of comic book sales. Nothing could touch them. Then, in the ‘60s, upstart publisher Marvel Comics changed the game, and by the end of that decade, DC seemed like your grandpa’s comics. Marvel continued to grow and grow in popularity. By the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Marvel left DC in the dust, sales-wise. By 1984, Marvel titles like Hercules and Dazzler and even ROM were easily outselling DC’s pop culture icons like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League. Only DC’s New Teen Titans, and to a lesser extent, Legion of Super-Heroes, sold in numbers comparable to Marvel. And in many ways, they were the most Marvel-esque books, focusing on the interpersonal melodrama of attractive young heroes.
DC Comics Rebooted Their Entire Universe with Crisis on Infinite Earths
So DC Comics did what they had to do, and took drastic measures. They blew it all up. With Crisis on Infinite Earths, they destroyed their previous multiverse, and five decades of continuity, and started fresh with their biggest icons in a newly rebooted world. In 1986, Superman got a massive reimagining, jettisoning years of clutter around the Superman mythos, under the guidance of former X-Men creator John Byrne. Wonder Woman received an even bigger transformation, under the guidance of writer/artist George Perez. The stalwart Justice League of America became the action-sitcom Justice League International. And Flash became the first true legacy hero series, about a young ex-sidekick taking on a huge heroic legacy.
And then, of course, there was Batman. Frank Miller reinvigorated the Dark Knight’s mythos and brought him back to his 1939 roots with Batman: Year One. From there, it was off to the races. The fog that surrounded Bruce Wayne’s reputation ever since the Batman ’66 series suddenly lifted, and he was a big player again. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention DC taking a gamble on old forgotten titles like Animal Man and Sandman, titles that changed how the mainstream perceived comics. All of these things happened within a span of just a couple of years. But DC’s gambit worked. Their newly rebooted universe didn’t dethrone Marvel, but gone were the days of DC doing time at the bottom of the top 100. DC was finally a contender again.
The Rebooted DC Universe Led to a Sales Renaissance
According to the comic book sales history website Comichron, the difference between where DC Comics were selling pre-Crisis and post-Crisis is significant. Superman, which in 1984 was in the #76 and #80 positions in the Top 100, was the #1 monthly comic from June-October of 1986, and sold well in the years after that. Justice League, which was in the bottom 50 in 1984, was a consistently top 10/top 20 series by 1987. Flash and Wonder Woman were also selling in numbers they hadn’t in decades. And Batman? Well, by early 1989, Batman was neck-and-neck with Marvel’s X-Men. All of these things would have been unheard of just a few years before.
James Gunn needs to look at this era, especially for inspiration. Although DC rebooted its universe, giving tweaked updates to the hero’s origins, it was a universe with some history behind it. And a history that was more or less familiar. Superman, Batman and the Justice League had been around, we just learned that their histories became altered. Only Wonder Woman was presented as a fresh new heroine on the scene. A version of the DC history as we’d known it played out. However, DC writers were allowed to pick and choose what aspects to use. Sometimes this created big continuity messes. But mostly, it worked and truly gave these long-running characters a new lease on life.
It seems that already Gunn might be taking this approach. He’s said that his Superman: Legacy won’t be an origin story. And clearly, with the addition of many well-known DC heroes to that film, this will be a universe with history behind it. An older Dark Knight in Batman: The Brave and the Bold suggests the same thing. But while retaining a sense of history is important, much like DC Comics did, Gunn and Safran can’t be afraid to go nuts. Post-Crisis Superman changed many aspects of Kal-El’s lore for a new generation. Things like how Krypton was presented, and Lex Luthor’s role in his life. DC wasn’t afraid to jettison key parts of Wonder Woman’s mythos, either. Gone were things like her secret identity or her invisible plane, in order to update the concept. DC Comics was not afraid to take big swings. And DC Studios shouldn’t either.
Always Look to the Comics
We should note, that while DC Comics really re-jiggered their biggest icons, the successful series that pre-dated the reboot did continue intact. So, a big seller like New Teen Titans could go on as is, and it mostly worked. Gunn also seems to use this approach with Peacemaker, which existed, albeit tangentially at best, in the old DCEU. With something as successful, and as off to the side from DC’s “Big Guns” as Peacemaker and Blue Beetle, there’s no reason not to include them. The signal to the general audience that this will be a “new universe” will be in recasting their biggest most iconic characters. Not removing ones like Peacemaker or Blue Beetle.
Without a doubt, Gunn and Safran have their work cut out for them. The DC brand on film lies shattered on the movie theater floor. And they’re going to have to do a lot of work behind the scenes in front of the public to convince people that this new DCU is something different. But as history proves, DC Comics did it all before. DC Comics turned it all around, so here’s hoping DC Studios pulls the same trick. Really, in the end, the comics should be the source of inspiration for every live-action superhero movie property. No matter which studio it’s coming from.
The post James Gunn Should Look to DC Comics’ ’80s Renaissance for His DCU appeared first on Nerdist.
Yet another fan-favorite video game series is making the transition to television. Fallout is heading to Prime video with Westworld‘s Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy helming the show. Their pitch for the Fallout TV series based on the successful post-apocalyptic franchise received a straight-to-series order from the streaming service. And now its cast is coming together. Ella Purnell, who recently starred in Yellowjackets, will lead the series, alongside Walton Goggins and Kyle MacLachlan. Most recently, Prime Video released a first look at the Fallout series, as well as a release window for when we can expect the show to air.
Fallout TV Series Release Date Window
While we still don’t have a specific release date for the Fallout series or even a specific month, we finally know more about when we can expect the show. The official social media accounts for Prime Video shared, “Fallout, an original series, coming to Prime Video in 2024.”
We’re glad to hear it. Somehow 2024 isn’t far off. We’ll have to stay tuned for more information on the exact release date of the Fallout series.
Prime Video’s Fallout Series Will Take Place in LA
The release date window announcement also signals the Fallout show will take place in Los Angeles, a location the series has never before gone in the games. We’ll be curious to see how this version of the apocalypse takes shape in the city of dreams/angels.
Our First Look at the Fallout Series
Some time ago, Prime Video shared a first-look tease for the Fallout series. The first look doesn’t reveal too much, just a glimpse at Fallout‘s Vault 33. But we’re excited to know the show is coming along. In the Fallout, ghouls “are mutated humans or animals affected by the phenomenon of ghoulification… Despite their zombie-like appearance, the flesh of ghouls is not actually rotten… They have greatly extended overall lifespans and are immune to (and sometimes even healed by) background radiation and/or nuclear fallout.” So we expect to see a lot of that in the show. We wonder how ghouls will stack up against The Last of Us‘ clickers and bloaters when they arrive. We suspect they will all give us nightmares.
More About the Fallout Series
Nolan and Joy’s Kilter Films is producing the Fallout series together with Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks. In a statement, Joy and Nolan said, “Fallout is one of the greatest game series of all time. Each chapter of this insanely imaginative story has cost us countless hours we could have spent with family and friends. So we’re incredibly excited to partner with Todd Howard and the rest of the brilliant lunatics at Bethesda to bring this massive, subversive, and darkly funny universe to life with Amazon Studios.”
When the initial announcement dropped in mid-2020, Amazon released a short teaser video, which you can watch below:
In addition to Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins, and Kyle MacLachlan, Xelia Mendes-Jones and Aaron Moten also joined the cast of the Fallout series. Their roles are currently under wraps.
The post-nuclear apocalypse games have been best-sellers since their debut in 1997. The Fallout franchise has expanded to include 10 games since then. The game’s world is based on a harsh future. Post World War II, Americans hoped for a future rooted in nuclear energy. They had a utopian vision of a better world. However, that results in a full on nuclear war in 2077. The Great War that wrecks the United States provides the setting for Fallout world. Players travel through a total wasteland. Although the games are mostly serious in tone, they also have their share of ironic humor.
Rumors of a Fallout television adaptation have circulated for a long time, so we’re glad to finally see it in action. There have been many video game series adaptations released recently, and we can’t wait to see how this one turns out.
Originally published on July 2, 2020.
The post FALLOUT TV Series Shares Release Date Window, Setting, and First Look appeared first on Nerdist.
When Adult Swim canceled the epically brutal “Metalocaplyse,” it didn’t look like fans would ever find out if the prophecy surrounding Dethklok, the band at the center of show, would be fulfilled. The last episode/special, 2013’s “Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera,” ended on a cliffhanger. As time passed, any definitive conclusion seemed less and less likely.
The team behind the show, however, wanted to give the series its proper finale. Smash cut to August 22, 2023, when the new film, “Metalocalpyse: Army of the Doomstar,” makes its debut to wrap up Dethklok’s saga.
The film is utterly delicious, a satisfying meal* served up with plenty of humor, gore, and darkness.
Actually, given the gravity of Dethklok’s—and the world’s—situation, there’s more darkness than usual for a “Metalocaplyse” jam. The fictional death metal band—lead singer Nathan Explosion (co-creator Brendon Small), bassist William Murderface (co-creator Tommy Blacha), drummer Pickles (Small), and lead guitarist Skwisgaar Skwigelf (Small)—have completed their heroically reluctant rescue of previously kidnapped bandmate Toki Wartooth (Blacha), their rhythm guitarist. But instead of starting the film feeling triumphant, Dethklok is in a funk.
Nathan in particular is having a hard time. Having mistaken his fling with Abigail Remeltindrinc (Raya Yarbrough) for something more, Nathan mopes, wallowing in his heartbreak. He can’t continue like that for long, though, as The Tribunal, which has been monitoring Dethklok throughout the entire series, is ready for the prophecy of the Metalocalypse to come to fruition. The only thing that can prevent the world’s doom is a song, specifically the Song of Salvation that Nathan must write to stave off utter doom.
Standing in the way is the sinister Mr. Salacia (Mark Hamill), leader of The Tribunal, who has his own nefarious reasons for hastening the Metalocalypse. Can Nathan overcome his self-doubt (and near-total idiocy) to write the Song of Salvation and prevent Salacia from achieving world destruction? Can the rest of the band get over their hurt feelings to help Nathan save humanity (which, in this case, is almost entirely made up of Dethklok fans)?
“Metalocalpyse: Army of the Doomstar” fully lives up it its poster’s tagline: “It will be brutal.” But in that brutality is a lot of beauty by way of the painting-like backgrounds. The clouds and embers which swirl overhead are rich, feeling almost 3D, which create a palpable tension between the beauty of the background and the horrors of the approaching Metalocaplyse. Additionally, the score and the soundtrack, which includes the single, “Aortic Desecration,” give “Metalocalpyse: Army of the Doomstar” the feeling of an event. Add to this the rock star voice work by Small, Blacha, Yarbrough, Hamill, Victor Brandt, Malcolm McDowell, Jon Hamm, Laraine Newman, Juliet Mills, and, well, everyone in the film, and you have a headbanger of a good time.
The Blu-Ray contains an exclusive poster and the featurette, “Behind the Metal Curtain,” wherein Small and some of the writers, animators, and musicians discuss the practical effects used to achieve the backgrounds mentioned above, as well as give vital insight into the creation of the whole package—film, soundtrack, and score.
Above all, “Metalocalpyse: Army of the Doomstar” brings the TV series to a fittingly brutal and funny conclusion.
You can check out the Trailer only on Youtube (Age Restricted)
*See our interview with Small for the genesis of this metaphor
“Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar” will be available on Blu-Ray and digital on August 22, 2023. “Dethalbum IV” will be available on August 22, and the original score to the film will be available on August 25, 2023. “Metalocalypse: The Complete Series” is already available for purchase.
The post Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar Brings Dethklok’s Saga to a Brutal Close appeared first on The Nerd Element.
I’m going to steal something from the playbook of Leroy “Roy” Johnson, the main character and main antagonist of HBO’s BS High. I’m going to say that, in my non-libelous opinion, Roy Johnson is a preening maniac and nowhere near as charming as he thinks.
What I won’t say is that, in my opinion, he scammed underprivileged young men out of an education and potential athletic careers — since libel becomes an actionable claim once it’s made about criminal actions — but I will stick to the gray areas Johnson seems to adore so much and say that, at the very least, that’s just what I heard from HBO’s captivating new documentary.
Executive produced by Adam McKay (Succession, The Menu, Don’t Look Up) and directed by Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe (Two Distant Strangers), BS High is the story of Bishop Sycamore High School, a so-called charter school that failed to either educate its players or prepare them for college athletics via the football team it was built around. Further, it is about Roy Johnson, aka the Big Bad Wolf if he were a balding, self-satisfied middle-aged man.
The well-crafted doc does its best not to make everything about Johnson, so I will make the same attempt in this review. But you have to know that’s a tall order. If the cliché is true that a story is only as good as its villain, then this story is amazing.
What can one say about Johnson as presented in this documentary? He’s occasionally charming but always with something behind his wide-eyed demeanor that reads as either neurotic, acquisitive, or both. The first time we meet him, he explains that he has studied body language in school (with no way to tell if that’s true or something he just says to confer authority upon himself), and he worries about how he’ll come off depending on the position of his hands.
“Do I look like a con artist?” he asks the directors with a smile. “I don’t wanna look like a con artist.” Later, while giving a list of his “qualities,” he explains, “I’m insecure, I’m an extremist, and I’m very resourceful.” And, as he’s just self-aware enough to know: “This is a bad combination.”
He’s a man who has ostensibly spent his entire adult life trying to profit off of others while providing nothing in return. He doesn’t see his actions in terms of “good” or “bad” but rather “legal or not.” This is not to say he doesn’t often break the law; he certainly does, leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid hotel bills, parking tickets, etc. in his wake. It just means that when he isn’t outright disregarding the rules, he’s contorting them in his favor. In all, Roy Johnson is a man who has studied the topography of the law enough to ascertain the depths of its gray areas.
All of this culminates in the day his “school” plays against IMG, a Florida sports academy that houses one of the nation’s best high school football teams. Bishop Sycamore (cheekily referred to as “BS” in the doc) is trounced. It’s a 58-0 blowout that, because it was broadcast by ESPN, leaves the BS players humiliated on a national scale. From here, investigations begin and the results leave people like journalist Andrew King, Ohio student athletics investigator Ben Ferree, and Johnson’s former partner John Branham Sr. feeling annoyingly vindicated that they were right about Johnson back when no one cared to listen.
BS High transitions from comedy into tragedy when we see the toll of Johnson’s eager mendacity. He is a preposterous figure, and it’s definitely funny to watch him equivocate and half-truth his way into a bad facsimile of a justification for his actions, but then there’s the effect these lies had on his players.
Testimonials from former BS players suddenly make this an uneasy watch. Quarterback Trilian Harris was depressed to the point of suicidal ideation after not only feeling duped but having the result of this confidence trick play out on live television and, worse, Twitter. Cornerback Adrian “Pahokee” Brown Jr. feels cheated out of his football dreams and his opportunity to focus on getting into a real college. And stories like these repeat themselves until the joke has lost its punch.
Roy Johnson, in his hubris and delusion, is hilarious; what he did to these kids is not. As featured sports journalist Bomani Jones puts it, “The coach is seen as another father,” and Johnson exploits this expectation of a positive role model to the detriment of disadvantaged and vulnerable teens.
What may surprise some viewers, as it surprised people at the time, is that Johnson is a Black man. Bomani Jones makes it clear why this shouldn’t shock anyone. If there is a question of “how could he do this to his own people,” people that, for one reason or another, likely would have a hard time getting into college and especially college football, Jones posits the answer as this: “He did that to his people because that’s who you could do this to.”
What makes the documentary ultimately a devastating viewing experience is that we see how much these kids, young men aged anywhere from 18 to 20, wanted this to work out. They came to Johnson because they were love bombed and promised the world. What they got was a $12k “tuition” fee and injuries from the IMG game that may last a lifetime.
If it sounds like I’ve exhausted every narrative thread in this doc and spoiled it, please believe me when I say there’s so much more. There’s the school’s precursor, Christians of Faith Academy, that failed spectacularly before morphing into BS. There are the bizarre, occasionally disturbing anecdotes about Johnson’s actions, including the time he ran over geese for fun. And then there’s the legal fallout (or lack thereof) that Johnson faced for his actions beyond his two fake academies. There’s so much more, and it’s all packaged into a nice 97-minute runtime.
Directors Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe set out to tell a wacky story about a woefully overmatched team from a fictitious school and the con man behind it. What they got was this and also a meditation on how this was only possible because the con man knew how much import is placed on high school football in America and how much money, which students never see, can be made from someone enterprising enough to put together a robust program. Johnson’s problem was that he was foolish enough to think he could do this with only his oily smile and Grandma-why-are-your-eyes-so-big disposition.
I want to stay in a Johnsonian libel loophole, so I’ll say this: I think this documentary is amazing, necessary viewing because it is about a man who (I think) preyed on the disadvantaged remorselessly. Johnson will be (I think) silly enough to really believe all publicity is good publicity and will continue his life being (in my opinion) a tiresome, egoistical bore.
It’s just a good thing this documentary is out to warn about folks like him and the problems they represent.
BS High premieres Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at 9:00–10:40 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max.