Magnum P.I | the m0vie blog

Holding Out For an Anti-Hero: The Rise of the Morally Ambiguous Protagonist…

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Darren

Sure, comedies have a long history of featuring genuinely unlikable characters as leads, but I think the last number of years have seen an explosion in the number of morally ambiguous (and sometimes downright villainous) protagonists, both on the big and small screens. Of course, the entire film noir movement was based upon the idea of a compromised hero, in recent times we’ve found ourselves increasingly cheering for the bad guy.

A serial charmer...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, Boardwalk Empire, Charles Bronson, Deadwood, hbo, jack bauer, Magnum P.I, miami vice, Movies, Shield, Showtime, the sopranos, villain | 4 Comments »

When it Hits the Fan: What Do Creators Owe Fans?

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Darren

Fans are a very dangerous group to court – although I suppose that’s implied, what with the word being an abbreviation of “fanatic”. Sure, they’ll follow a particular project with zeal and enthusiasm that most producers could only dream of, and (perhaps) prove an invaluable marketing tool in this era of the viral campaign – at the very least, they are more likely to invest a lot more money in your product than a regular consumer. However, that investment comes with a downside – one that I wonder how much creators ultimately end up resenting. To call it “demand” perhaps understates the matter – after all, plenty of non-fanatic movie fans wait for the big blockbusters of the year – but there tends to be a note of what is best described as “possessiveness” or “entitlement” that comes with a large invested fan group. And is that necessarily a good thing? Do these fans feel that these creators “owe” them something for their extended loyalty? Is it fair to demand that from any producer or writer or director?