Showbiz Sandbox 446: How the B-Team Grew Into the Marvel Cinematic Universe
April 29, 2019
When Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios, set out to launch a movie franchise based on the company’s comic books he hired an erratic actor with a history of drug addiction to play a superhero hardly anybody knew and a director whose last film bombed. At the time, Geoff Boucher, now the genre editor of Deadline, wrote an article headlined “Here Comes The B-Team”.
Well, 12 years and over 22 films later the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a $20 billion franchise whose latest entrant, “Avengers: Endgame,” made $1.2 billion in its open week. Boucher joins us to discuss how Feige managed to oversee one of the most profitable movie properties of all time.
Meanwhile, the Writers Guild is nowhere near reaching an accord with the Association of Talent Agents over packaging fees. Even some of the smaller agencies, who don’t package television series and don’t have affiliated production companies, are unwilling to sign the proposed code of conduct.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the moviegoing subscription service Sinemia shuts down, the Chinese government grows a little wary of the TV smash hit “The Story Of Yanxi Palace” and Steven Spielberg doesn’t actually hate Netflix.
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Geoff Boucher’s Hero Nation
https://deadline.com/v/hero-nation/
Avengers: Endgame’ to Finish Weekend With $329 Million China Haul
https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/avengers-endgame-weekend-haul-in-china-1203199721/
‘Avengers: Endgame’ Rips Up All The Records: $109M Saturday; Awesome $350M+ Opening; Overall Weekend Biz Near $400M+ – Sunday Update
https://deadline.com/2019/04/avengers-endgame-opening-weekend-box-office-record-1202602445/
Box Office: ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Opens to Record-Smashing $350M in U.S., $1.2B Globally
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/avengers-endgame-box-office-rockets-record-156m-friday-1205348
Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” Delivers The Biggest 3D Opening Of All-Time With Approximately 45% Of The Estimated $1.2 Billion Worldwide Opening Generated From 3D Ticket Sales
https://celluloidjunkie.com/wire/marvel-studios-avengers-endgame-delivers-the-biggest-3d-opening-of-all-time-with-approximately-45-of-the-estimated-1-2-billion-worldwide-opening-generated-from-3d-ticket-sales/
Why Are Comics Shops Closing as Superheroes Make a Mint?
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/26/why-are-comics-shops-closing-superheroes-avengers-endgame
Average Movie Ticket Price Falls Slightly as Box Office Lags in 2019
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/average-movie-ticket-price-falls-slightly-as-box-office-lags-2019-1205084
China Govt Not Happy W The Story Of Yanxi Palace Success
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/in-china-shows-like-story-of-yanxi-palace-go-viral-and-the-party-is-not-amused
Sinemia Shuts Down U.S. Movie-Ticket Subscription Service
Sinemia Shuts Down U.S. Movie-Ticket Subscription Service
2019 Record Store Day Yields Historic Week for Vinyl Album Sales
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8508474/2019-record-store-day-historic-week-vinyl-album-sales
All-Time Shazam Record Smashed by Florence + The Machine Track in Game of Thrones
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/all-time-shazam-record-smashed-by-florence-the-machine-song-in-game-of-thrones/
Nora Roberts Sues Brazilian Writer Who She Says Plagiarized Her Work
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/books/nora-roberts-plagiarism.html
BTS Scores Third No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With ‘Map of the Soul: Persona’
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8507977/bts-map-of-the-soul-persona-no-1-album-billboard-200-chart
‘Empire’ Cast Pens Letter in Support of Jussie Smollett Returning to Fox Drama
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/empire-cast-wants-jussie-smollett-return-fox-drama-1204457
Spielberg Vs Netflix? Not really
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/business/media/steven-spielberg-netflix-academy-awards.html
Spotify Loses Catalog Of India’S Oldest Label After Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spotify-loses-catalog-of-indias-oldest-label-after-copyright-infringement-lawsuit/
India-Based Music Streaming Firm Gaana Hits 100M Monthly Active Users, Expects To Top 200M In 2 Years
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/amazon-is-readying-a-hi-def-music-streaming-service/
Talent Agencies’ Fight With Writers May Impact IPO Plans
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/talent-agencies-fight-writers-may-impact-ipo-plans-1204251
The Fine Print: Why Smaller Agencies Won’t Sign WGA’s New Code Of Conduct
https://deadline.com/2019/04/hollywood-agencies-writers-code-of-conduct-issues-wga-ata-1202601526/
Doris Roberts dies at 90; Italian mamma from ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-me-doris-roberts-20160418-story.html
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