Across the Board Talent Agency: May 2012

$200.7 MILLION UPDATE: It's official: Marvel's The Avengers smashed all sorts of opening weekend box office records, taking in $200.7 million domestically and bringing the worldwide total to an unprecedented $654.8 million. I'll give you a moment to let that sink in. This movie grossed over half a billion dollars worldwide in two weeks. Take note, Hollywood: this is what happens when you give your comic book properties to genuinely talented filmmakers who love and understand the characters and world.

This summer is dominated by two behemoth films: Marvel's The Avengers (May 4th) and The Dark Knight Rises (July 20th). Both are part of the comicbook genre, both have massive established fan bases, and both will makes tons and tons of money. Basically, it's a good time to be a fan.

But why does there seem to be this online rivalry between the two? Shouldn't we, the fans, be embracing the fact that we live in a time where The Avengers and Batman are actually in movies that people love? Last night the new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises was released, and the Internet is ablaze with debates and arguments about which will be the "better" film. Why can't both be great?

Now look, I'm a huge geek. I live for these sort of movies, and when I see people fighting over them it just breaks my heart. I had two different, yet totally visceral in their own way, reactions to the new Batman trailer and The Avengers one. With The Avengers, I choked up. Honestly, when we see that shot of Hulk catching Iron Man, tears swelled. These are images I'd waited my entire life to see, and to watch it all come together was a perfect experience. With The Dark Knight Rises I really feel it in my gut. This trailer hits my hard emotions—fear, sadness, finality, and I think that's the point. This is a beloved saga coming to a definitive conclusion. In an odd sort of way it feels like losing a loved one.

These two films are wholly unique from one another. They both represent conclusions: The Avengers is a 5-year saga coming together, and The Dark Knight Rises is the Nolan-Batman trilogy reaching its end. The Avengers opens new doors, The Dark Knight Rises closes them. They are two very different movies, occupying two very different universes. They are incomparable. I don't expect to feel the same when watching both, and that's absolutely okay. I love films because they are dreams come to life...and dreams are never the same.