Bate-man

I'm working on two pretty big posts, but since I haven't posted anything this week, I wanted to share my favorite current commercial. 

This is State Farm's complete Batman vs. Bateman:

So much fun!

Batman Field Trip

For most of my teenage years, I spent summers attending or working as a counselor at an overnight camp just outside Morgantown, West Virginia. As a camper, you never left the campgrounds except for a once-a-session field trip to Coopers Rock where you climbed on or rappelled down, you guessed it, rocks.

Thirty years ago this summer, we were supposed to go to Coopers Rock but took an unauthorized trip to Mountaineer Mall instead to see the recently release film, Batman starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Kim Basinger. It was awesome!

In hindsight, I have no idea if the counselors really pulled this off on their own or if they got approval from the camp director. We were actually a well-behaved group of about 15 boys (as extreme as we got was one of my cabin-mates playing an Eazy-E cassette every morning), particularly compared to the other group of teenage boys. I also don't remember how we paid for movie tickets or snacks. Did the counselors use the money that was supposed to go towards Coopers Rock entrance fees for this?

While we were sworn to secrecy at the time, I now think that someone above must have given the okay on this trip. If not, sorry if you're only finding out about this now. I hope there’s a statute of limitations on this!


Photo via Warner Brothers.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

There seems to be a lot of hype about the upcoming Batman v Superman film. Personally, based on the picture below, I don't get it.

Of course, maybe the special effects will be unbelievable. I will give director Zack Snyder and the make-up people a lot of credit though. The Batman pictured doesn't look anything like Ben Affleck.

Dark Knight Rises Looks Unrealistic

If you haven't seen the trailer for Dark Knight Rises, please watch the video below. While the film certainly looks cool, I can't get past two portions of the trailer that seem completely unrealistic.

1. Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl kicking for a professional football team (1:08 mark).

2. Hines Ward returning a kick-off for a touchdown (1:21). He hasn’t returned a kick-off since 2000!



I'm not sure how I can even see this movie now. Maybe I'll see something more believable like Matt Damon buying and operating a zoo where Scarlett Johansson works or singing and dancing chipmunks.


Deadspin also has some great analysis of The Dark Knight Rises football scenes.

Conversation with a Wegmans Cashier (I’m Not Old!)

This is an actual conversation that I had with a male Wegmans cashier in his late teens/early 20s on Sunday afternoon.

Cashier (upon seeing that I’m wearing a Steelers T-shirt) - Are you a Steelers fan?

Me (in my head) - No. Actually, the Baltimore Ravens are my favorite team. There’s nothing I like more than wearing my purple camouflage pants on game days.



Me: Yes. Born and raised in Pittsburgh.

Cashier: That’s cool. Some of my favorite artists are from Pittsburgh. They’re more my generation. I like Wiz Khalifa.

Me (in my head) – Like other people of my generation, I listen to Pat Boone and Bing Crosby regularly on my record player.

Me - and Mac Miller?

Cashier (amazed that I knew Wiz Khalifa & Mac Miller) – Yeah. He’s awesome.

Me - They both went to the same high school. I have some friends who went there too. I’m always amazed that these two rappers went to Allderdice. (Yes, I’m dropping knowledge on you, son!)



Casher- Cool. Did you know they’re filming the new Batman in Pittsburgh?

Me (in my head) – I’m sorry. Bat man? Is this some sort of an experiment where someone breeds a bat and a man and they film it? Interesting.

Me (alternative thought) - You mean one the biggest movie in the world? I had no idea. Maybe I would have known if I read my blog.

We ended up talking about the film and his disappointment about seeing so much online already. (Perhaps Andy Greenwald was right.) He was also quite excited about the $5 coupon I had for Similac formula, although he needed assistance from a manager to enter the specific code. Additionally, the cashier stated that he only got three hours of sleep last night. Good times all around!

Fighting Batman and Other Links

There is a bit of a ridiculous article on Grantland titled "Dear Pittsburgh: Leave Batman Alone" critical of how folks are treating the filming of Batman. I have seen no complaints from anyone associated with the film as they, especially the movie company, probably love the buzz. Anyway, I felt the need to contact the author, but since he didn't have an e-mail address posted, I contacted Grantland directly.

Dear Grantland,

I am writing to respond to the “Dear Pittsburgh: Leave Batman Alone” column by Andy Greenwald. While I agree with the premise of the story that Pittsburghers should let the filmmakers work in peace, there are certain aspects that make this request impractical. First, the film used nearly 10,000 extras to fill Heinz Field for the football scenes. When you incorporate several Pittsburgh Steelers, including QB Ben Roethlisberger and Dancing with the Stars Champion Hines Ward, along with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and former coach Bill Cowher, into the movie, that’s national news which will naturally receive coverage. If Cleveland brought out their football stars, um Peyton Hillis and Colt McCoy, for the filming of Avengers, you would see the same pictures and videos throughout the internet, including the Hollywood Reporter. (Perhaps Cleveland Browns “stars” is a poor example though.)

There is one particular part of the article that is a bit hypocritical. The column starts with a video of the Batwing “flying” through the streets of Pittsburgh. If the author wants people to leave Batman alone, why share the video that is doing the exact opposite by rewarding the individuals who filmed the Batwing and showing off spoilers that people may not want to see?

Sean

I actually received a reply:

Sean,

Thanks for the feedback. You are far from the only person who had that reaction. We’re working on getting our commenting system up and running, but until then, you can respond to Andy directly on our Facebook page. We’re going to talk to him about diving in and answering some of the questions/criticisms leveled at him there too.

http://www.facebook.com/GrantLand33

All best,
The Editors

I didn't feel the need to post my e-mail on Facebook, but I'm curious to see if the author responds.

Speaking of Batman, check out the very cool pictures (like the one below) of the Bat signal with the Pittsburgh skyline. Actually, don't look because you may bother Andy Greenwald. [That's Church]



Congratulations to Get Fresh Designs on five years of blogging. Buy one of his cool T-shirts! [Get Fresh Designs]

An interview of Ron Lippock of the Pittsburgh Daily Sports Bulletin [Behind the Steel Curtain]

Not only are there six Woodland Hills football players almost certain to play in the NFL this season, but there are also four other graduates in training camp and three others about to start playing at Pitt. Go Wolverines! [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

This is funny. [h/t Puck Daddy]

Seeking Pittsburgh Men

I can't wait to see what type of internet searches people use to find my blog based on the title of this post. Anyway, I received an e-mail from Nancy Mosser Casting about an open casting call for the movie "Magnus Rex" filming in Pittsburgh this summer. The film seeks men to play prisoners/thugs, guards, police officers, business men & women (I assume the film wants women for the business women roles) and sports fans. Open casting calls are taking place this Saturday, June 18th from 9AM-1PM and 2PM-5PM and Sunday, June 19th from 10AM-2PM and 3PM-6PM at the Omni William Penn Hotel downtown.

There's more information about this opportunity at the Smith & Webster-Davis Casting website.

I'm not sure if he wants me to share this, but my brother was an extra in the film Outside Providence starring Amy Smart and Alec Baldwin. My brother's role in the film catapulted him to movie stardom.



Could being an extra in "Magnus Rex" be your springboard to Hollywood? If so, please remember Sean's Ramblings when you make it big all because you saw the announcement of the open casting call here.

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After I wrote this blog post, I decided to try to find more information about Magnus Rex. It turns out that Magnus Rex is really the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises." Everyone and their mom (does anyone still use this expression?) knows about the Batman movie and the auditions for this film. Darn it!