Editing 633: Blockbuster Mining

{{comic
| number    = 633
| date      = September 7, 2009
| title     = Blockbuster Mining
| image     = blockbuster mining.png
| titletext = The 2007 Bridge To Terebithia trailer put me off too much to see that particular movie, but I am cautiously optimistic about Where The Wild Things Are.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] has acquired the {{w|intellectual property}} rights to produce a movie, but is unsure of how to make it appealing to a wide audience. An off-screen character suggests hiring {{w|Michael Bay}}, a director and producer well known (and occasionally criticized) for his style of film adaptation. Cueball is unsure that the IP would be a good fit for a summer blockbuster, but is dismissed.

The following panels depict violent and gritty scenes from a spy thriller, starring an unknown and brutal female spy. In the last panel, she is revealed to be {{w|Harriet the Spy}}, the 11 year old protagonist of a bestselling children's book written by Louise Fitzhugh, as well as other spinoff books written by various other authors.

The comic references Hollywood's search for new stories to adapt to film, and how poor (not to mention {{w|Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters|violent}}) some of these adaptations can be. There is additional humor in the fact that the original novel is about school-child concerns such as friends and is not violent.

The {{w|Bridge to Terabithia (2007 film)|film adaptation}} of {{w|Bridge to Terabithia (novel)|Bridge to Terabithia}} had trailers that made it appear to have very little in common with the themes and tone of the novel.  The actual movie is one of Hollywood's better book adaptations {{w|Bridge to Terabithia (2007 film)#Reception|[1]}} but the trailers were extremely misleading and off-putting to fans of the novel, as in the title text.  Viewers who were unfamiliar with the novel and saw the movie with expectations based on the trailer were also unprepared for the actual movie {{w|Bridge to Terabithia (2007 film)#Marketing_and_promotion|[2]}}.  The trailer was essentially every single special-effect shot from the movie, giving the impression it was a special-effects extravaganza, which would have been very inappropriate based on the novel, and does not reflect the actual content of the movie.

The {{w|Where_the_Wild_Things_Are_(film)|film adaptation}} of {{w|Where the Wild Things Are}} was met with {{w|Where_the_Wild_Things_Are_(film)#Critical response|favorable responses from critics}}, the public, and the {{w|Maurice Sendak|book's author}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball holds a script in his hands.]
:Cueball: We've acquired some new rights, but I'm not sure it's in the spirit to make it a blockbuster--
:Voice: Do it anyway. Take $100 million, hire Michael Bay.
:Cueball: But--
:Voice: ''NEXT!''

:[Panel is inverted, white on black background.]
:[Two men are pointing machine guns at Harriet. Harriet points two handguns back at them.]
:Harriet: They said if I were captured I should take my own life.
:Harriet: But I'd just as soon take yours.

:[Harriet jumps off a cliff carrying a spiral notebook and a gun, while the cliff explodes behind her. In the background is a helicopter, some mountains, and the sea.]
:'''BOOM'''

:[Panel is inverted, white and red on black background.]
:[Man is tied to a chair. Blood is pooling on the ground below. Harriet stands in front, holding a bloody pipe.]
:Man: Stop! I'll talk!
:Harriet: No, I know everything. This is just for fun.

:[Crosshairs follow a man.]
:Harriet: I'll be watching.

:[The panel is inverted color, white on black.]
:Harriet
:the
:[in red] ''SPY''
:[A bloody spiral notebook, with blood streaks leading from it.]

==Trivia==
Apparently, ''Harriet the Spy'' was actually adapted into {{w|Harriet the Spy (film)|a film}} in 1996. Presumably it was more faithful to the novel than this xkcd.

{{comic discussion}}
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