Seeing how the reviews are mediocre at best and talks of most of the show being long long expositions of the large cast, did she not understand the MCU as a whole? Did Disney jump the shark putting her at the helm of a high budget movie after only doing 4-5 small independent movies? Mind you, critic reviews aren't always synonymous with the audience.
shareIt’s possible. Some reviewers said this movie dives deep into the marvel lore but maybe it is too esoteric to translate for casual audiences?
shareBig elephant in the room: Chloe Zhao is a diversity hire.
Why that matters so much? Disney has been using diversity hires to play main characters, but most directors used to be the usual disposable white males. That's changing, though: Shang Chi used an Asian director behind the cameras, Black Panther, a Black director (because, you know, God forbids some director dares to make a movie about some story if he doesn't belong to the Correct Race!).
That's a big problem for a formula-movie company like Disney. Previous directors had their hands tied by the company: it was Disney way or no way. Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Edgar Wright discovered it the hard way.
Now the big elephant in the room: if Chloe Zhao was doing some Indie Auteur boring movie, which producer would dare to take a step forward and treat Chloe Zhao the way they treated Wright or Lord/Miller?
Let me guess, not a single one.
The problem with diversity hires is that people are afraid of opposing them, and that includes producers and executives. When the staff who is allegedly in charge is afraid of disagreeing with an employee, your company is screwed.
i am in the difficult position of not liking you personally while agreeing with most of the things you say.
i don't like that.
i am in the difficult position of not liking you personally while agreeing with most of the things you say. i don't like that.
YOU'RE REAL GOOD AT TALKING YOURSELF UP.
sharepersonally, i don't think you do your position any favours by being so one note and combative.
because i actually quite agree with a lot of what you say. this is not a question of my core beliefs being attacked. i hate racial pandering. i hate the empty-headed intersectional demonization of all things white and male.
and yet the two of us have had at least one, maybe two pointless, silly fights. & if you're fighting with people whose positions overlap with yours, at least they do as far as i can tell, then i'd say you're likely not advancing your ideas.
maybe you're just looking for fights?
if you're not taking human nature into account when trying to forward an argument, then you're really not accomplishing anything, are you?
i mean, you might be able to annoy and prod and provoke some people to your side, but you're just as likely to repel more.
i say this because i think your ideas are a-ok for the most part, and i think people who put those things out there, if they're serious about them, should do a better job of being an advocate for good thinking.
my 2c, for you to dismiss or whatever.
Wrong.
This is not the first "diversity hires" in Marvel: Black Panther (black), Captain Marvel (woman), Shang Chi (asian).
All three movies have rave reviews, would you call them the proofs that Marvel "afraid of opposing them?"
The really difference this time is OSCARS. A director won three biggest awards: best picture, best director, best actress. Who is Kevin Feige? What he won? Nothing, zero. How dare you opposing a director won three biggest movie awards!
Wrong. This is not the first "diversity hires" in Marvel: Black Panther (black), Captain Marvel (woman), Shang Chi (asian).
Wrong.
Why you assume producers afraid opposing diversity director in Eternals, but not in Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Shang Chi?
Because they've "merit?" Do you even saw Black Panther and Captain Marvel? You want to talk about "merit" in them?
No, most likely reason is this: OSCARS. The first big director Marvel has ever hire.
Why you assume producers afraid opposing diversity director in Eternals, but not in Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Shang Chi?
Wrong, wrong, and wrong.
1. I didn't say you said "this was the first director diversity hire for Marvel."
2. Your theory take a lot of assumptions: "merit," "pro team-worker," "lucky." How do you know they are?
3. I ask you again: Why you think Eternals get bad reviews because "producer afraid of opposing them?" Why don't you think Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Shang Chi, get good review because "producer afraid of opposing them?"
Big elephant in the room: Chloe Zhao is a Oscars winner.
She won a fucking Best Director Oscar, and you still call her a "diversity hire"?
This is how it works. If a white man who's made some indies wins a Best Director Oscar, they're just a director to people like you. But if anyone who isn't a white straight male does anything remarkable, you dismiss them as a "diversity hire", because even though you undoubtedly believe that you're not racist or sexist, you reserve your right to be impressed by certain things for straight white men.
Not that any of that makes "The Eternals" a good movie. It is or it isn't, whoever directed it.
Is it any more of a diversity hire than Ang Lee for the ordinal try at a Hulk movie? OK, Ang Lee did do Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon which had some fantastic and action elements. Still an odd and ultimately unsuccessful choice. I think picking Zhao for this one is more of a prestige hire than a diversity hire, although that probably didn't hurt her chances either. It could also just be a stupid, unneeded and unwanted super hero movie that failed to interest anyone.
The real elephant in the room: did she deserve to win for Nomadland? If you think yes than probably it was simply a bad career choice for her and a bad personnel choice for Marvel. If you think no and that she only won because she was Asian than it won't really matter anyway.
*She did dare to offend China without groveling and begging for forgiveness like faux tough guy John Cena, so she gets a good social credit score in my book.
Couldn't it just be possible someone had a bad movie? Not every movie made by a director has to be amazing Oscar winners.
Even Oscar winning directors can make flops. And it is not some nefarious diversity agenda. While I begrudgingly have to agree with your parentheses comment :"because, you know, God forbids some director dares to make a movie about some story if he doesn't belong to the Correct Race!", I feel Disney took Chloe Zhao because they thought she'd do a good job.
The Eternals and most contemporary movies seem to have that checkbox for diversity and stricter rules - black people have to make black movies with black cast and so on etc. and a movie or tv show or heck even an ad must have people who are white,black,brown,yellow always etc. nonsense. but in this case, perhaps that wasn't the main crux but more that she is an accomplished director and could do well.
Maybe the movie is terrible, maybe it is not. The trailers made it look campy but fun so lets see. Personally I absolutely hated those Spider-Man movies of Tom Holland because they're really pretty bad and idiotic but many seemed to love them so could be people are beginning to dislike Marvel content more? Also, the premise is a bit off - where were these guys all along when Thanos was snapping away half the Universe?
The thing is, the MCU often hires independent directors or even TV show directors. It often works but maybe Zhao is a bad fit.
shareOkay, I will give you that, but did these independent directors have short a list of films done as Zhao's? I'm still hoping for its success since I already pre-ordered my tickets for it on the 5th.
shareJames Watts had a pretty short list. I think the directors of Captain Marvel did too. That one was directed alright but the script and acting were bad.
shareIt's not the first time this has happened, that an indie director landed a big movie that didn't quite work out. Also, this was to be part of a new wave of MCU movies where being different was the intention.
shareDi$ney thought she could get them Oscars out of this. The only awards it might get now are token ones.
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