WB's "no joke policy"

[Flint Marko]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/new...os-no-jokes-batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice

Zack Snyder is deep into production on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a film that's not merely the second outing for Henry Cavill's Superman, the introduction of Ben Affleck as the new Batman and Gal Gadot as the first ever big-screen Wonder Woman; but also Warner Bros. big all-or-nothing gambit to launch a proper DC Comics movie brand to rival Disney/Marvel's industry-redefining Cinematic Universe.

Now, journalist and film-critic Drew McWeeny has reported that he (and other industry-watchers) are hearing a consistent two-word answer to the question of how Warner Bros. plans to set the world of The Justice League apart from that of The Avengers: "No jokes."

The full implication of the "no jokes" mandate (which was also mentioned by Badass Digest writer Devin Faraci on Meet The Movie Press) would suggest that the studio wants its superheroes to be serious business; perhaps as a deliberate contrast to the lighter Silver Age-inspired Marvel approach most recently seen in Guardians of The Galaxy - a film widely expected to become the highest-grossing film of the year in the near future.

There has been no confirmation or denial from anyone involved in the production of the DC Comics movies regarding any "no jokes" policy, nor any clarification as to whether it will extend to proposed films based on traditionally lighter/kid-friendly characters like Aquaman or Shazam.

Several websites have been reporting this and I haven't seen it anywhere on these forums, and felt it was worth posting. It's just a rumor at this point, but I think there could be something to it.
If true, it shows a pretty myopic, wrong-headed view on WB's part. How do you know the appropriate tone for a film that hasn't even been put into production yet?

 

[The Endless]

I dont think this is true. If it is though... Its the dumbest thing ive ever heard. So Flash or Captain Marvel are gonna be played completely straight and portentously? Do me a favour.

 

[Boom]

So I suppose Col. Hardy sticking Lois in a broom closet with a "bucket in the corner," Superman advising Lois to step back a little further, the captain thinking Superman is "kinda hot," Superman making a dreamcatcher out of the guy's truck, and Superman destroying a $12 million dollar satellite weren't meant to draw laughs. Noted.

 

[Flint Marko]

So I suppose Col. Hardy sticking Lois in a broom closet with a "bucket in the corner," Superman advising Lois to step back a little further, the captain thinking Superman is "kinda hot," Superman making a dreamcatcher out of the guy's truck, and Superman destroying a $12 million dollar satellite weren't meant to draw laughs. Noted.

Not sure what your point is here. Man of Steel came out over a year ago, and the articles reporting this supposed studio mandate came out just yesterday.

 

[Steamteck]

I'd like to believe they're not that stupid and don't mean it as an absolute.

 

[Jason Kane]

I'd like to believe they're not that stupid and don't mean it as an absolute.

Oh they are. They really are

 

[NosfeRomas]

I am sure they meant "no stupid jokes".

 

[CaptainWagner]

I really hope they aren't this stupid. Yes, Marvel is known for humor in their films, but they still manage to have separate tones for separate characters. Shazam and The Flash should have vastly different tones from say, Batman and Aquaman.

 

[Loki882]

Yeah, this would be unbelievably stupid on their part. Heck even MOS and the Nolan films had humor, and those took themselves quite seriously overall. Now if it's a mandate about not having too much humor so that it doesn't overwhelm the film and take away from the drama, then I could see that. It's one of my big complaints about IM 3 and TDW, they were so concerned with being funny that it took away from the moments that SHOULD have been more serious/killed the tension. Plus the humor wasn't all that good either.

 

[SpideyFan866]

So I suppose Col. Hardy sticking Lois in a broom closet with a "bucket in the corner," Superman advising Lois to step back a little further, the captain thinking Superman is "kinda hot," Superman making a dreamcatcher out of the guy's truck, and Superman destroying a $12 million dollar satellite weren't meant to draw laughs. Noted.

I think there's more to the mandate than just "No Jokes".

I don't think its saying no humor period, but just no jokes. Jokes likd, for example, Eric Selvig running through stonehenge naked in "Thor: The Dark World" and having no pants on for most of the movie; Trevor Slattery in "Iron Man Three", or Thor getting on a train to get back to the final battle against Malekith. Or even Star-Lord singing "Oooh Child..." during the "Guardians of the Galaxy"'s final confrontation with Ronan, who could kill them all at any moment during.


Those scenes and lines are crafted to be jokes. Outright jokes, joke characters (Not counting joker ) and joke scenes like that are what they are asking to be avoided.

Humor like what you mentioned was in MOS, or even the sort that was featured in the Nolan batfilms, is fine. But outright joking like the MCU does is bad.

 

[Mace Dolex]

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what becomes of this. Like a previous poster said Batman is a serious character so that's expected of him but you can't all of a sudden make Flash all serious and depressed, many fans here grew up on the practical joking Flash from the Justice League cartoons and that's what they're expecting.

 

[Infinight888]

Yeah, this would be unbelievably stupid on their part. Heck even MOS and the Nolan films had humor, and those took themselves quite seriously overall. Now if it's a mandate about not having too much humor so that it doesn't overwhelm the film and take away from the drama, then I could see that.

I really didn't see all that much humor in Man of Steel. Or, at least, the little humor it did have felt kind of flat. The lack of humor was one of the reasons I didn't care for the movie.

The Dark Knight was very good with the humor, utilizing side characters like Alfred and Lucious very effectively for this purpose, in a similar way to how they should have used Lois in Man of Steel.

 

[Mee]

There's no way this is true. WB/DC have done some dumb things but this can't be true.


Even Nolan's Batmans as dark and serious as they were had humor. You have to. And with the success of Marvel's movies like Iron Man 3, Avengers and Guardians that are pretty heavy on one-liners and comedic bickering, how could WB look at that and go "yeah let's not do that."

 

[agentorange]

Lol "Drew McWeeney". But I agree with the others, idk how a no jokes policy would work with The Flash & whatnot.

 

[Human Torch]

I sure hope this isn't true,but it wouldn't surprise me if MOS was any indication.The (few) attempts at humor there were as flat as a pancake.I'm thinking this is their way of differentiating themselves from Marvel.And while I'm OK with them using their own approach to their characters,this to me,is a terrible idea and -mark my words- will backfire on them.

 

[Loki882]

Really, because most of humor worked from what I saw. There were at least ten occasions where most of the people in my theatre laughed at the jokes. I can even name most of them.

 

[Human Torch]

I don't remember anybody laughing at anything at either showing of MOS I was in.

Maybe some minor snickering at the "he's hot" line.(but then that turned into an internet target for why the humor was not so hot)

 

[Gabe99]

Why Superman and Batman may lose the war to Marvel before they even begin
It's all going to come down to people falling in love with these icons

Last week was about the fifth time I've heard that there is a mandate at Warner Bros. regarding any of the DC superhero films in development, and it's very simple and direct and to the point.

"No jokes."

It would seem like a crazy rule to set for an entire series of films. How can you know what the tone is for every story you'll be telling in a series before you've even started telling it? The thing is, DC has taken a few stabs at establishing this larger universe on film, and they've gotten smacked down for everything that hasn't had Batman in it. "Man Of Steel" made money, and I'm certainly not the only person to like the film. I may be one of its more ardent defenders, but I'm not alone. I think you'd have a far harder time finding someone to defend "Green Lantern," the studio's other big attempt at launching one of the core Justice League characters with a film franchise of his own.

 

[Pickleweasel]

Seth Rogen says its not true

 

[The Endless]

The only bit that made me chuckle in MoS was the "0days since an accident" thing in the final battle.

I just cant imagine or want to imagine a Flash movie that isn't funny. Even if he doesnt get his own movie but is only used in JL he simply must be the more comedic and wise ass personality of the group. Who the hell wants to see a superhero team full of dour faced miserable gits? I sure as hell dont and i doubt audiences will either.

There is a danger to taking this inherently silly **** too seriously and portentously. You play it too straight faced and itll come off as unintentionally corny.

 

[Milu]

I'm calling BS on this.

 

[Evil Twin]

I'm calling B.S. on this too.

Especially with the upcoming Flash show looking like serious business, all the time. (That's sarcasm.)

Does WB want to stake out the more serious side of the superhero spectrum to some extent? Probably. Does WB actually have a "no jokes" policy. No way in hell.

I mean, come on, Argo has some drop dead funny stuff in it.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

yes because when we think of the worlds greatest superheros we think of nothing but humorless robots

i mean look at that flash character damn that guys more serious than a heart attack

 

[luis4u]

@slashfilm @russfischer this is ********.


@slashfilm @russfischer by that I mean it's not true.



debunk

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yes, it's true. All of it. Which is why the Joker will never ever ever ever ever be used in any format ever again.



Seriously, come on. This is BS, or it's an exaggeration of a policy WB put in place to avoid another Green Lantern fiasco. But not surprisingly, it's given the "Marvel does everything better" crowd another chance to gloat about how they've "won" again.