WB's "no joke policy"

[DOBSON10]

Who the hell wants to see a Justice League movie with its own head stuck up its ass? I mean seriously what is with this angsty desperate need for superheroes in colourful spandex to be portrayed so sombre and depressingly? Its pathetic. Superheroes should be fun! They should inspire us and make us wish we could be them. A Justice League movie that doesnt embrace the INHERENTLY silly nature of itself but rather plays it portentous and sduper serious will be a total disaster.

It doesn't have to always be dark and depressing but I definitely prefer the characters to mostly take themselves seriously. What you're describing sounds more like superhero satire, where the characters and story are constantly reminding us about how silly and unrealistic everything is. To me that's only funny when it literally is a satire, like Kick Ass for example. And even then, good comedy is hard to pull off so that approach can fail far more easily for me. Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 are complete failures in my book because once you tell me that you're not taking anything seriously, I can't take anything seriously at that point and to be honest, I lose interest. Now, admittedly, that's my opinion and I understand others may enjoy that but I personally can't stand it.

As silly as the superhero genre is in technical terms (costumes, aliens, superpowers etc.) I'd prefer the movies to pretend like these things are actually happening in the real world and the consequences are real, the danger is real and once people's lives or the world in general is in peril (which happens in all of these movies) I'm not interested in seeing the hero running around hamming it up with jokes and making light of a situation with high tension and lives at stake. Like I said before, some characters are known to be able to be humorous during these type of life and death situations and that's fine with me. But once you start making everything into a joke then you've lost me and I simply don't care anymore. A few small moments here and there of making fun of a costume or the ridiculousness of a unrealistic situation is OK but it doesn't take much at all to go overboard. I prefer sprinkling in a few realistic jokes into the movie, jokes that feel natural and within reason. Once you start throwing in these over the top one-liners, a guy running around naked on TV or Trevor Slattery, you've lost me. It's just too much and it kills the tone of the movie to the point where it's hard to recover any level of intensity once the stakes get raised.

Obviously, a Shazam movie should be more light-hearted and geared almost as a children's movie and that makes sense because that's what the character is inherently. That's what they should do with a Shazam movie. I wouldn't want to see them make that character serious or that movie have a darker gritty tone, it's not meant to be. But that's also one of the many reasons why I couldn't care less about that character and won't be watching that movie, because that's not really interesting to me.

In the end it's all personal preference and I'm not begrudging people for wanting movies to be lighter and funny. I do like to see some comedy here and there in these movies but in general I definitely prefer the more serious tone that it sounds like they are going for.

 

[djsunyc]

Marvel completely overdoes the joking. Completely. I've come to really resent their tone, it's kinda annoying and they just rely on that now.

You don't have to turn a superhero into a joke just so that audiences will accept that character.

I hope this news is true to an extent. I think there will be minimal humor. Marvel's tone is basically superhero-comedy. Bleh. No thanks. I'd rather go for epic, gritty, and dark. That sounds way better to me

i think when people go to comic book movies...they are expecting a spectacle and...some humor. it's basically the formula for almost every single blockbuster summer movie (like independence day). having humor and making the audience laugh generates good word of mouth. the visuals are already built in - they don't need to be sold but if in addition to having a good story...there needs to be moments that make folks laugh and then tell people that the movie made them laugh. i think it's a very important and big thing for these genre of movies. MOS was a bit boring. if they injected humor into the movie at appropriate times, then it would've probably made a $100 mil more.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Every movie needs a little bit of humor, in my opinion, to keep it from being just downright depressing from start to finish. And while I get that Warner Brothers clearly wants to make their own brand of heroes different from Marvel, making Shazam or Flash dark and gritty just won't work. Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, they all work in a dark tone. But making all your films the same tone isn't a good marketing strategy, no matter how much it may distinguish you from the competitio.

 

[SlamAdams]

Every movie needs a little bit of humor, in my opinion, to keep it from being just downright depressing from start to finish. And while I get that Warner Brothers clearly wants to make their own brand of heroes different from Marvel, making Shazam or Flash dark and gritty just won't work. Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, they all work in a dark tone. But making all your films the same tone isn't a good marketing strategy, no matter how much it may distinguish you from the competitio.

Absolutely. The no joke policy seems more like an elaborate troll. At the moment, DC has only one movie that matters, Man of Steel, because its the start of something bigger. That big tonal overhaul was daunting for a lot of people, including myself. It reeked of them learning the wrong lessons from Nolan's Dark Knight movie, which were actually quite funny. I don't think WB is that short-sighted

 

[TheNextNolan22]

I'm just copying what Roach said earlier:

*Snyder shows cool action scene to WB execs.*

WB Exec: "Oh my god. That's awesome. This movie is gonna be no joke."

*FixHits Guy listening at door*
FixHits Guy: "WB just said no jokes in their films.

 

[Flint Marko]

Was Cap turned into a joke? Guardians of the Halaxy was exactly like the comics in terms of tone. And it used comedy as a form of characterization.

The ignorant idea that comedy is a lesser form of story telling is laughable. Its actually very difficult to make it work. Marvel has had more successes than failures in this regard. I advise you to read FILM CRIT HULKS write up of Guardians and be enlightened.

Also the idea that dark and grim and sombre is inherently more mature is the attitude that led to the 90s era comic

Who the hell wants to see a Justice League movie with its own head stuck up its ass? I mean seriously what is with this angsty desperate need for superheroes in colourful spandex to be portrayed so sombre and depressingly? Its pathetic. Superheroes should be fun! They should inspire us and make us wish we could be them. A Justice League movie that doesnt embrace the INHERENTLY silly nature of itself but rather plays it portentous and sduper serious will be a total disaster.

Preach.
A movie does not have to be self-important or pretentious to be a great movie. The idea that it can't have fun with itself and the ideas presented are absolutely ludicrous. The avengers was the perfect example of this; serious when it needed to be, and light-hearted and funny when the time called for a joke. There was nothing forced about it.
Once again if you prefer your movies to be more dour and humorless, that's fine. But don't for a second sit here and lay down the rules of what a "great" movie does or does not do. As I said earlier, one size does not fit all.

 

[haephestus]

Obviously a miscommunication.

DC has mandated that the next solo Batman film will be based on "The Killing Joke" which, through Chinese whispers, has been translated to "kill all jokes in all DC movies".

 

[TheNextNolan22]

I posted this in the All Things Superman/Batman thread and I'll just repeat the same thing:

Ignoring the source (the source being the same dude who gave Man of Steel an A+ in his review), there some subtle moments of levity in Man of Steel and I expect nothing different in Batman V. Superman. Assuming this was even said, it’d be more logical if they meant no making the characters into jokes, or reinforcing bad jokes about them.

And nothing says "DARK, DOUR, AND SERIOUS" than casting "The Most Electrifying Man in All of Entertainment" in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a film about SHAZAM, who is basically a goofier version of Superman, right?

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

If this is literally a 'zero joke' policy, which I doubt, then god help us all.

but most likely it was a miscommunication of execs pointing writers in the direction of MOS/TDKT, opposed to Green Lantern or Dr. Selvig running around naked.

If this is true though, I hope it only applies to the Justice League universe, and I hope Shazam will be something seperate, and ridiculous.

I would really hope that this is completely untrue though, and that they don't feel the need to 'unify' the tone of the JLeaguers' movies. MOS and Ch'p in the same universe. Why not.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Seth Rogen pretty much debunked it calling it untrue and he's working on the Preacher TV series for AMC.

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

Well judging by the tone of the Flash, obviously all the TV stuff would not be affected by this mandate. The report says it's for the movies.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

True, but Rogen has much more of an in than Drew does.

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

True. But having more of an in doesn't mean there can't be something you don't know.

I can believe that the producer of the Preacher TV show, which has nothing to do with any of the other DC properties, doesn't know something that McWeeny, whose job involves actively fishing for info surrounding the DC movies, does.

That being said, Rogen's willingness to call BS on it might mean that he's in contact with someone in the DC movie-sphere who would know the truth (opposed to Rogen calling BS on it just based on the fact he never heard about it).

 

[NoLaNitE007]

Preach.
A movie does not have to be self-important or pretentious to be a great movie. The idea that it can't have fun with itself and the ideas presented are absolutely ludicrous. The avengers was the perfect example of this; serious when it needed to be, and light-hearted and funny when the time called for a joke. There was nothing forced about it.
Once again if you prefer your movies to be more dour and humorless, that's fine. But don't for a second sit here and lay down the rules of what a "great" movie does or does not do. As I said earlier, one size does not fit all.

I actually thought Cap 2 was pretentious, contrived and the humor was forced and over the top in certain scenes. I don't want the DC film verse to copy Marvels comedy act in it's films. I like variety....

 

[NoLaNitE007]

This "no joke" policy rumor sounds like a joke in itself....hehe

I'm done with this BS topic now.

 

[Human Torch]

Was Cap turned into a joke? Guardians of the Halaxy was exactly like the comics in terms of tone. And it used comedy as a form of characterization.

The ignorant idea that comedy is a lesser form of story telling is laughable. Its actually very difficult to make it work. Marvel has had more successes than failures in this regard. I advise you to read FILM CRIT HULKS write up of Guardians and be enlightened.

Also the idea that dark and grim and sombre is inherently more mature is the attitude that led to the 90s era comic

Who the hell wants to see a Justice League movie with its own head stuck up its ass? I mean seriously what is with this angsty desperate need for superheroes in colourful spandex to be portrayed so sombre and depressingly? Its pathetic. Superheroes should be fun! They should inspire us and make us wish we could be them. A Justice League movie that doesnt embrace the INHERENTLY silly nature of itself but rather plays it portentous and sduper serious will be a total disaster.

 

[jmc]

There's nothing wrong with humour, a film can still have humour regardless of it's tone, it just has to fit within the context of the film itself. TDK showed how you do it in a serious film, the scene with Bruce and Alfred in the bunker a perfect example of humour within the context of the film. It's funny, but it's not played for laughs, it's humour in the moment of the story. Marvel by contrast plays for laughs with one-liners and visual gags, they don't take themselves too seriously and are content with that decision. The thing WB have to remember, if this is indeed a mandate, is that once you play these films as serious business the creative team has to follow through, that means no mcguffins, fully fleshed out characters, stories that make logical sense and of course a film maker who can pull it all together, ie, no short cuts. Marvel can get away with some of that stuff because they're not interested in making thought provoking, serious movies, they are about having a good time with interesting characters.

 

[Airwings]

When the Justice Leaguers need to team up, the threat against our planet is something out of the extraordinary. Usually mighty beings such as these DC heroes could handle the dangers alone, but now they must stand side by side. This means serious business and the film should mirror that. Why take the edge off the matter and infuse jokes?

As for solo films, the stakes are smaller and more humor can be allowed. But the dramatic tense just has to be there or else it will become silly.
Depends on the character, though. But the likes of Hawkman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman can't be handled like a kids' adventure.
Just for a fun comparison, I can ask you what Jack Black flic that's the best cinematic experience - Gulliver's Travels or King Kong.

 

[Flint Marko]

I actually thought Cap 2 was pretentious, contrived and the humor was forced and over the top in certain scenes. I don't want the DC film verse to copy Marvels comedy act in it's films. I like variety....

What did you find pretentious about Cap 2?

 

[piccolo]

Good. Rather this than turning serious movies into clownfests like Thor 2.

 

[Loki882]

What did you find pretentious about Cap 2?

People should really stop using words when they clearly don't know what said words actually mean. People don't like TWS, ok fine. I disagree, but I can still respect their opinion. But when they start throwing out meaningless "trigger" words, then I kind of just tune them out. "Pretentious," give me a break. If TWS is "pretentious" then A LOT of the DC films are even more so.

 

[Flint Marko]

People should really stop using words when they clearly don't know what said words actually mean. People don't like TWS, ok fine. I disagree, but I can still respect their opinion. But when they start throwing out meaningless "trigger" words, then I kind of just tune them out. "Pretentious," give me a break. If TWS is "pretentious" then A LOT of the DC films are even more so.

Agreed. That's why I asked, I'm curious to see if he has a reasoning behind that statement or if he's just slinging mud in an attempt to get a reaction. I didn't find a single second of that film to be "pretentious" or anything like it.

 

[Goshdarn Batman]

Superhero movies should have some humor in them. But it depends...I wouldn't like it if they gave us scenes where Lex Luthor made fart bubbles in his jacuzzi, or Batman did the macarena dance.

 

[Vlad]

The ignorant idea that comedy is a lesser form of story telling is laughable. Its actually very difficult to make it work. Marvel has had more successes than failures in this regard. I advise you to read FILM CRIT HULKS write up of Guardians and be enlightened.

It depends on the reactions a director is trying to get from the audience. Comedy is cool, but if you´re trying to convey a strong sense of tragedy, it´s not the best way to go about it.

 

[SlamAdams]

Superhero movies should have some humor in them. But it depends...I wouldn't like it if they gave us scenes where Lex Luthor made fart bubbles in his jacuzzi, or Batman did the macarena dance.

Luckily these aren't produced by Chuck Lorre.