Ben Affleck, DC Comics, 'Family Guy' Remember Adam West

Frank Miller, Mark Hamill and more remember actor whose Batman portrayal "exemplified heroism"

Rolling Stone

Ben Affleck, who currently portrays Batman in films, paid tribute to the man who first brought Bruce Wayne to the screen following Adam West's death at the age of 88.

"Adam West exemplified heroism," Affleck said on Twitter. "Kind, funny and an all around great guy. Thank you for showing us all how it's done."

West was an early supporter of Affleck's Batman casting after the Argo star took over the role following Christian Bale's Dark Knight tenure. "Ben, you're going to be very good," West told Affleck. "Shave the beard, make that costume work for you."

Val Kilmer, another big screen "Caped Crusader" in Batman Forever, wrote, "Ah dear Adam West. He was always so kind when we met. A real gent. Once when I was a kid we found ourselves in front the Batmobile. I got in."

West's Batman cohort Burt Ward, who played Robin on the original TV series, told the Hollywood Reporter, "I am devastated at the loss of one of my very dearest friends. Adam and I had a special friendship for more than 50 years. We shared some of the most fun times of our lives together; our families have deep love and respect for each other. This is a terribly unexpected loss of my lifelong friend, I will forever miss him. There are several fine actors who have portrayed Batman in films, in my eyes there was only one real Batman and that is and always will be Adam West; He was truly the Bright Knight."

DC Comics also remembered the man who helped turned their comic book superhero into a multi-front franchise.

"Like many others, Adam West as Batman was part of my childhood," said DC Entertainment president Geoff Johns said in a statement. "Watching those reruns every day after school, Batman made reading comics that much more real for me growing up."

DC publisher Jim Lee added, "Batman's popularity will be forever linked with Adam West. He brought joy to legions of fans around the world and was the gateway for many of them to discover or in some cases rediscover their love of comic books. He'll be deeply missed."

Comic book legend Frank Miller, whose graphic novels reimagined the classic Batman as the grittier Dark Knight, tweeted, "Adam West kept Batman alive and thrilled my generation. It's a sad day."
Over the past decade, West has played a caricatured version of himself as Mayor West on Family Guy. On Twitter, that cartoon's creator Seth Macfarlane penned a remembrance to the actor.

"Family Guy has lost its mayor, and I have lost a friend," MacFarlane said in a statement. "Adam West was a joy to rk with, and the kind of guy you always wanted to be around. His positivity, good nature, and sense of fun were undeniable, and it was always a big jolt of the best kind of energy when he walked in to record the show. He knew comedy, and he knew humanity."

MacFarlane added, "I am beyond fortunate to have had the privilege of working with him, and he will be profoundly missed by all of us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have given, Mr. Mayor. You’re irreplaceable."



Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who along with West was a regular on the comic convention circuit, said of the actor, "Adam West was such a wonderful actor & so kind, I'm so lucky to have worked w/ him & tell him how much he meant to me & millions of fans."

ChristianAnswers.Net Reviews Pagan Films! Wonder Woman Addition!!!

http://christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2017/wonderwoman2017.html

For the whole review, click the image above...

Moral Rating - Average

Positive Messages - "...For the most part, Diana represents a true, honest hero. She looks out for others ahead of herself, and only desires to protect the world. She cares for everyone who comes to know her. We see her devastated and nearly moved to tears by observing all the injured in the war. In many ways, she looks at the world with a naiveté similar to Giselle from “Enchanted.” Ultimately, her selflessness and love for humanity is very inspiring and brings to mind 1 Corinthians 13.

“Love suffers long and is kind;
love does not envy;
love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
—1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NKJV

Characters repeatedly sacrifice their lives to save others. The movie goes into a surprisingly thoughtful discussion about how honest love makes a real difference in the world. ..."

Negative Images - "...In one scene, Captain Trevor takes Diana into a room for the night. He then closes the door behind him, kisses her, and the scene ends. The audience is left with the implication that they slept together. On a positive note, we don’t see anything beyond a kiss. However, considering Diana’s character, it is particularly disappointing.
The Amazons all wear tight, leotard-like outfits that are meant to help them in a similar way a leotard helps a gymnast. Wonder Woman dons a similar battle outfit that is somewhat low-cut. The camera resists the temptation to ogle Diana and the Amazons, but men do clearly ogle Diana, at times. One man says, “I’m both frightened and aroused.” One piece of art shows Amazons crawling out of the water unclothed, though their sensitive areas are obscured by water or their arms. ..."

**NOTE - SENSITIVE AREAS!!!  Bwhahahaha!!!

"...Other: Being a spy, Captain Trevor does deceive others as a part of his job (though Diana clearly isn’t thrilled with this). The film discusses Zeus and other Greek gods, and Ares plays a role. According to a friend who attended the movie with me, the overall mythology presented here isn’t in line with real Greek pagan idolatry. ..."

______________________________________________________________________

Editor’s Note to Parents: Not everything that appears to be good is good. Since more Wonder Woman films are planned, you may wish to know about this character’s secret origins and “psychological propaganda” purpose, especially if a child is likely to get caught up in the comic books and future films.

• The creator of Wonder Woman was originally a secret. It eventually came to light with the headline, “Noted Psychologist Revealed as Author of Best-Selling ‘Wonder Woman’”. The character and original stories were created by American psychologist William Moulton Marston, Ph.D. (and drawn by Harry Peter who had previously been doing editorial cartoons featuring suffragists). Marston invented the polygraph, hence the Lasso of Truth was featured in his stories.
• “FREE LOVE” without restriction—Marston had a mistress (Olive Byrne—a staff writer for Family Circle magazine under the pseudonym Olive Richard—and formerly Dr. Martson’s student in psychology class. She lived with him and his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston in a long-term polyamorous sexual relationship. (There was at least one other woman in this relationship—Marjorie W. Huntley.) Byrne is credited as being his inspiration for the character’s appearance and the bracelets. Dr. Marston gave the bracelets to Olive as a symbol of their love.
  

  “During the years when she lived with Marston and Holloway, she wore, instead of a wedding ring, a pair of bracelets. Wonder Woman wears those same cuffs.”

• BISEXUAL—“She was a little slinky; she was very kinky,” wrote researcher Jill Lepore (Smithsonian Magazine). Wonder Woman DC Comics writer Greg Rucka clearly stated that the character’s sexual orientation is bisexual, and gave her a backstory that includes relationships with women.
• Dr. Marston was a fan of PARAPSYCHOLOGY, METAPHYSICS, EROTICISM, BONDAGE AND SUBMISSION, and he worked these into his Wonder Woman stories. Her appearance was similar to Esquire’s Varga pin-up girls (centerfolds) at that time (1940s).
  Prior to writing Wonder Woman, he wrote a BDSM novel, Venus With Us. In his Wonder Woman stories, characters are frequently tied up, and her Amazon sisters engage “in frequent wrestling and bondage play… in his other writings and interviews he referred to submission as a noble practice and did not shy away from the sexual implications…”
  Her abilities included ESP, astral projection of herself, magic, telepathy, the ability to speak any language and to leave the planet through meditation.
• FEMINISM—In writing Wonder Woman, Dr. Marston was strongly inspired by early Feminists, especially contraceptionist and anti-Christian Feminist Margaret Sanger, who secretly was a member of his family—Olive’s aunt.
  

  “Marston hired Joy Hummel to help write Wonder Woman. And Marston’s mistress, Olive, gave her one book and told her to read this and you’ll know how to write Wonder Woman. And that book was… Margaret Sanger’s Woman and the New Race.”

  Sanger claimed that promoting sexual abstinence was ridiculous and “is injurious—often highly so.” Her book directly opposed Biblical teachings and attempted to create “a new sex morality,” as well as promoting population control and eugenics to eliminate groups of people she called “defectives” “…to raise the human race on to a higher level.” Sanger insisted that a woman’s “mission is not to enhance the masculine spirit… not to preserve a man-made world, but to create a human world by the infusion of the feminine element into all of its activities.” Out of her work grew a militant Feminist political movement and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
  Years later, Mrs. Marston “boasted about how well she had known Sanger.” “I spent a lot of time with M.S., both at her home and mine.”
  In 1937 (4 years before Wonder Woman’s introduction), Dr. “Marston held a press conference in which he predicted that women would one day rule the world.” After creating and writing Wonder Woman stories, he said,
  

  “Frankly, Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world.”

  Thus, in “Wonder Woman,” a female run society is a PARADISE—on an island resembling Lesbos. All the women are wonderful and good. Without men, everything is beautiful, and the women live in harmony with Nature. That is, until a MAN appears on the island bringing war in his wake, and everything that is ugly, brutal, corrupt and incompetent.
  
  

  Premiere issue of Ms. magazine. Cover illustrated by Murphy Anderson.

  

  Ms. cover, Fall 2012.
  FEMINIST ICON—“Wonder Woman evolved as a frontrunner of emancipation for the suffragettes who fought for the rights of women in the early 20th century.” In 1971, self-described “radical Feminist” and well known atheist, abortion activist, and Liberal political activist Gloria Steinem placed the character on the cover of Ms. magazine and said,
  

  “Looking back now at these Wonder Woman stories from the ’40s, I am amazed by the strength of their feminist message.”

  Wonder Woman was named a “Symbol of Feminist Revolt.” In 1972, Dr. Marston’s wife walked into the offices of Ms. and said, “Hello, I’m Elizabeth Marston, and I know all about Wonder Woman.” She told the staff that she was “100% with them in what they are trying to do and to ‘charge ahead!’” (The following year, abortion was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court.)
  Wonder Woman Researcher Jill Lepore reports that the character owes a debt not only to Feminism, but also “to Greenwich Village bohemianism, socialism, free love, androgyny, sex radicalism…,” etc.
  
  
  CELEBRATION OF FEMALE EMPOWERMENT—The design decisions for this new “Wonder Woman” film reportedly came primarily from Director Patty Jenkins and costume designer Lindy Hemming as a “celebration of female empowerment.”
  

  “Hemming crafted a look to show off the Amazons’ ripped shoulders and toned legs, emphasized by wrist braces and heeled sandals, because, Jenkins explained, ‘As a woman, I want Wonder Woman to fight and look great at the same time.’”

  Thus, the film gives us a hot Amazon supermodel secretary with super powers—a woman who has no idea how attractive she is, and has the strength to defeat any man and can toss a tank.
  In 2016, the United Nations named Wonder Woman a UN Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls. Later, due to controversy, she was dropped.
• PAGAN RELIGION—The character is a demigoddess. “A distinctive trait of her characterization is a group of signature mythological exclamations, such as ‘Great Aphrodite!’… ‘Great Hera!’, ‘Merciful Minerva!’, and ‘Suffering Sappho!’” (Sappho is a symbol of female homosexuality or bisexuality.) Some of these exclamations “were contributed by Elizabeth Holloway Marston.” Eventually, Wonder Woman rises to full godhood as the Goddess of Truth.

(Sources: The Secret History of Wonder Woman—Knopf 2014, Smithsonian Magazine, NPR, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Sanger Papers, Wikipedia, etc.)

_____________________________________________________________________

All of the Viewer Reviews were Negative This Time, at least so far....yikes!

Negative - 

Negative—The heroine murders countless people in this film, but because it is WWI, and she’s fighting Germans (more like proto-Nazis), it’s “okay.” Very well-made film with extremely high production values, good acting, and good story (with a few very good moments), but the agenda and “moral” of the picture are crystal clear: believe in yourself, rise to your own “godhood”, we’re all to blame for the problems in the world, but we can choose to be a part of the solution, we all have light and darkness within us, and only love conquers the darkness.
Sounds good, eh? (only if you don’t know your Bible and haven’t been born again, perhaps). However… Jesus is not the Son of God in this film, and the Father isn’t even God. It’s Zeus and the Greek pantheon.

I have no problem with a fantasy film, but to put this “theology” into a more contemporary setting, and even have the heroine blow up a church steeple and bell tower (where a sniper was hiding), then to stand upon it in triumph is a not-so-subtle message of what “works” and what doesn’t. more »

Lots of cheesy moments in the midst of the CG which looked like video game material, even freeze framing Wonder Woman in the midst of high speed action (several times) for no reason at all, except to visually say, “Look at this cool pose,” which, of course, takes you right out of the story.

I would not take an impressionable child to see this film.

My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
—Chris A., age 52 (USA)

I was looking forward to seeing this, but I am disappointed

Negative—I was looking forward to seeing this, but I am disappointed how much they went into this mythological story of where she came from. They talked about it a lot, through the whole movie, too. They talked about how this mythological creature created man. Then they called her the god killer, that she was to kill this god with this sword. Not what I thought the movie was going to be about.

It was very slow the first hour and much didn’t happen after the beginning, lots of talking, which was surprising. The real action didn’t happen until the end, and the movie was 2 hours and 20 minutes. I was surprised this was such a huge hit, but, also, it’s sad because there are so many confused people out there with spirituality and that will only confuse them more. more »

Sure, it was nice to see her be so strong and not take no for an answer and save lots of people, and her acting was very good. But, overall, it was nothing like I expected. Then, at the end, when she found the one she was supposed to kill, of course, they turned him into a demon-looking creature with horns. They both were floating around and destroying things, and I know usually super heroes do fly, but it was just odd. And I like other superhero movies like this, just for the imagination side, but this is going to influence so many young impressionable people.

My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
—Stephanie, age 43 (USA)

PG-13 is not an adequate rating

Negative—I agree with the negative comments here. I enjoyed the initial fantasy world—the beautiful island scenery, the unusual setting and the super strong women, but then the movie changed into a grim and violent war film that was too hard for me to handle, and I left about ⅔ of the way through. I was also a little thrown by the fantasy concepts of the birth of the main character and the “gods” of the story. Theologically, this is a very peculiar movie.

In retrospect, I did not like the juxtaposition of fantasy and reality and the very odd presence of humor that had no place in such a serious movie about people and nations killing each other. PG-13 is not an adequate rating.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
—Halyna Barannik, age 71 (USA)

Comments from non-viewers

Negative—Reading the reviews on this movie, the history of “Wonder Woman,” and the pervasive anti-male message of the movie, which ultimately is anti-family, it’s a no brainer to me. I won’t be supporting this with my hard earned dollars. Usually, if I’m not sure about content, I reserve some movies for the dollar theatre, but I won’t be viewing this one anywhere (i.e., boycotting “Wonder Woman”).

If so many of us “Christians,” weren’t more or less unscrupulous about the entertainment we purchase (Christianity is still the majority religion), then Hollywood wouldn’t be able to afford constantly indoctrinating our youth with these propaganda films. We get what we’re paying for. When mainstream Christians realize that we’re being assaulted in a culture war, and that we are losing, maybe people will begin putting their money where it counts, and we’ll start making a difference. It’s time for “deplorables” to boycott Hollywood!
—Harry, age 45 (USA)

The 'witch' who inspired The Handmaid's Tale

The Week



When Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid's Tale, published in 1985, she took inspiration from the rise of the Christian right in America during the 1970s and early '80s and the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

But another, much older source of inspiration for Atwood was the story of a real-life woman in 17th-century New England named Mary Webster, who may or may not have been related to Atwood.

"Some days, my grandmother would say we were related to her and on other days, she would deny the whole thing because it wasn't very respectable," Atwood says. "I was actually trying to write a novel about her, but, unfortunately, I didn't know enough about the late 17th century to be able to do it. But I did write a long, narrative poem called Half-Hanged Mary, because she only got half hanged."

Bridget Marshall, an associate professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, has researched witchcraft cases that preceded the infamous Salem witch trials and one of those cases was Mary Webster's, of Hadley, Massachusetts.

Marshall tells Webster's story this way: "Hadley is a small, small community of Puritans. Church is pretty central to their lives. There's also a baseline level of absolute acceptance of, and belief in, witchcraft — that it's happening, that witches are talking to the devil and that the devil is active and walking around in New England causing trouble for the Puritans."

In January of 1685, Philip Smith, a leading light of the community of Hadley, falls very ill, Marshall continues. "He is very involved in the government, very involved in the church, a very well-respected man. The community says, 'Wait a minute, why is Phillip Smith suffering these torments?' In the Puritan mind, they don't know what's happening [so] they think it must be a witch. If someone who is so good and so pious could be in such pain and such torment, there must be a witch involved. They very quickly draw a line to Mary Webster."

Local farmers claim that their cart horses sometimes refuse to go past Webster's home, which is on one of the main roads. But, if the man goes inside and beats Mary, then the horse will go past. "So, the idea developed that her supernatural powers could be stopped if they somehow physically assaulted her," Marshall says.

Based on this, Marshall says, the community decides that to help Smith, they will "do something to Mary."

A few years later, in 1689, Cotton Mather, a minister, and author, publishes Memorable Providences, which includes a detailed account of Mary Webster and "an even more detailed [account] about Philip Smith, her supposed victim," says Marshall. Memorable Providences helps set the stage for the Salem witch hysteria that begins in 1692, when the community murders 20 people and puts 150 more in jail over accusations of witchcraft.

Mather's book fed into the idea that, "Witches are among us. Look at the terrible things they're doing. Men like Philip Smith, good Christian men, are being killed by witches, quite literally," Marshall says.

Not until 1767 does anyone mention Mary Webster's hanging. "A later historian gives us that detail," Marshall says. "Cotton Mather says that they 'gave disturbance to her.' What exactly the disturbance was is not quite clear, but we do know that she lives 11 years after the Philip Smith incident. So, no matter how much she was disturbed, whether it was by hanging or something else, she still survived him."

"You do think about these things off and on for a long time because you think about things to which you don't have the answers," Atwood says. "And the thing that we'll never know is, how did she make it through the night? What was she doing all night when she was dangling from a tree? What was she thinking about?"

"The Handmaid's Tale is dedicated to Mary Webster because she is an example of a female person wrongly accused," Atwood adds. "But she is slightly a symbol of hope because they didn't actually manage to kill her. She made it through."

This article is based on a story that aired on PRI's Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen.

This article originally appeared at PRI's The World.

June 7, 2017

Where does the famous giggling ghost of Mystic visit dining
guests? What practice in the 1800’s kept spirits out of people’s homes effectively? What local ghost left footprints on the floor of a well known establishment?

What historic artifacts and gravestone engravings have been found in Mystic's antiquated burial grounds? What famous soldiers, doctors, and ministers visit their scenic resting place? How can I capture a ghost on camera?

Find out all this and more legends and spooks when you take a Seaside Shadows Downtown Mystic tour or Mystic Moonlit Graveyard Tour. Connecticut native, and sensitive to the other side, Courtney McInvale Reardon, takes you by lantern light on the tour of your choice where she will answer these questions and more.

Lorde: "I'm basically a witch"

Sky News Australia

Lorde has said she believes she is 'basically a witch', and has insisted she has a 'connection' to the late David Bowie.

The 20-year-old singer has said she isn't 'weirded out' by supernatural beings such as ghosts and spirits because of her love for all things magical, and even claims to have a 'connection' with the late David Bowie, who passed away last year after suffering from liver cancer.

She told the Daily Telegraph newspaper 'I have always felt connected to (David Bowie), even though I spent only about five minutes in (his) company. I felt he was watching over me in a way. It would be no surprise to anyone I am not weirded out by ghosts or spirits. I am basically a witch.'

It isn't the first time the 'Green Light' musician has spoken about the late 'Space Oddity' hitmaker either, as last month she admitted she wrote much of her upcoming second album 'Melodrama' with the star in mind.

She said 'I feel like the whole time spent writing this record, I've had him in my thoughts, I've had him in my heart. It's hard not to make something and not think, 'What would David think of this? If I could play it to him, what would he say?

''Meanwhile, 'Yellow Flicker Beat' singer revealed she is 'no good at selling the dream' of stardom and 'finds it very jarring' when she is put in the spotlight.

Buy Lorde's New Album Melodrama Here!!!

 She said 'I am not a good famous person. I am a writer, that is what I am good at. I can build stuff and sing stuff, but I am not good at selling the dream. I don't look like magic when I get out of the car. Some people tell their story through these photos, but that is truly not my strength.

'I hate it and every time it happens to me, I feel unsafe. I still find it very jarring. I feel very lucky that I don't draw attention. I love the fact that I can go play before the headliner at Coachella and then I can be, like, 'Bye-bye! I am going to New Zealand.''

**Spoilers** Wonder Woman Easter Eggs

Terry Gilliam Wraps Production on ‘The Man Who Killed Don Quixote’ After 17 Years

IndieWire

By Michael Nordine

Terry Gilliam finally knocked down the windmill. After nearly two decades of work, several failed attempts and any number of different actors attached to the project, “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” has finally wrapped production. Gilliam — whose efforts to loosely adapt Miguel de Cervantes’ timeless novel inspired the documentary “Lost in La Mancha” — marked the occasion with a celebratory Facebook post.

“Sorry for the long silence. I’ve been busy packing the truck and am now heading home,” he wrote. “After 17 years, we have completed the shoot of THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE. Muchas gracias to all the team and believers. QUIXOTE VIVE!”

Jonathan Pryce and Adam Driver star in the film, which was announced at Cannes last year; Jean Rochefort, Johnny Depp, Robert Duvall, Ewan McGregor and many others were previously involved.

Won't it be wonderful when headlines aren't phrased: "'Wonder Woman' Sets a Record Opening for a Female Directed Feature"

Box Office Mojo

by Brad Brevet
June 4, 2017

Wonder Woman exceeded all expectations this weekend, delivering an impressive $100 million opening, the largest opening for a female-directed feature, vastly out-performing the previous record holder Fifty Shades of Grey, which debuted with $85.1 million back in 2015. Meanwhile, Fox's release of the DreamWorks Animation feature Captain Underpants came up a little short of Mojo's forecast while mildly outperforming the studio's modest expectations. Overall, the weekend dramatically outperformed the post-holiday weekend from 2016 by a massive 38% as the top twelve delivered a combined $176 million.

At the top, Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot in the title role, went into the weekend boasting the best reviews out of the four films that have been released in the DC Extended Universe so far and the critical opinion definitely aided the film's awareness as the buzz only continued to grow throughout the week. Following an impressive $38.76 million Friday that buzz was no longer due to critics as audiences gave the film an "A" CinemaScore, pushing the film over $100 million for its opening weekend, the first female directed feature to achieve such an opening. And as far as female-led comic book adaptations are concerned, it's by far the largest opening as the second closest is Paramount's Ghost in the Shell, which debuted with $18.6 million earlier this year.

In fact, Wonder Woman delivered the 16th largest opening weekend for a comic book adaptation all-time. It's the sixth largest opening among that group if you don't count sequels and, based on estimates, the sixth largest June opening all-time. Looking ahead, given the strong word of mouth, it would be no shock to see it deliver $300 million domestically or at least very close to that figure.

Beyond the CinemaScore, the film played to an audience that was 52% female vs. 48% male, 14% of the audience was under the age of 18 and 47% was over the age of 35.

Internationally, the performance was equally strong, as Wonder Woman brought in an estimated $122.5 million from 55 markets, which includes a $38 million debut in China, bettering the openings for the likes of Man of Steel, Thor, The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Additional openings include the UK ($7.5m), Mexico ($8.4m), South Korea ($8.5m), Brazil ($8.3m), Australia ($4.9m), Russia ($4.8m) and Indonesia ($4.7m). Still to come are openings in France next week, Germany on June 15, Spain on June 23 and the film opens in Japan in August. 

In second, Fox's release of DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants delivered a bit of a ho-hum opening with an estimated $23.5 million. While enough for a second place finish it's one of the smallest opening weekends for a DreamWorks Animated title, in fact it ranks 26th among 35 total films. Fortunately, the studio made the film for a fraction of what it cost to make previous DWA titles, such as Rise of the Guardians, which was made for $145 million and only opened to $23.7 million before just barely topping $103.4 million domestically. So, should Captain Underpants holdover well things might not look so dissatisfying, but with Cars 3 and Despicable Me 3 just around the corner it's going to need to hustle.

Captain Underpants received a "B+" CinemaScore from opening day audiences and played to an overall audience that was 54% male vs. 46% female, of which 65% where under the age of 25 and of the younger audience, 60% were boys and 91% of the audience ranged from the ages of 7-12.

Internationally, Captain Underpants debuted in just eight markets where it brought in an estimated $740k led by a nearly $300k debut in Portugal.

Moving along, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales appears to be sinking fast domestically as it dropped 65.7% in its second weekend, bringing in an estimated $21.6 million. The film's domestic cume now stands at $114.6 million. Internationally things look a bit brighter as it brought in another $73.8 million pushing its global cume over $500 million after 12 days in global release with the film still yet to open in Japan.

Disney also claimed the fourth spot this weekend with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which delivered an estimated $9.7 million as its domestic cume now climbs over $355 million. Internationally it added another $4.4 million as its global gross now stands at $816.6 million, making it the fifth highest grossing worldwide release among the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Rounding out the top five is Paramount's Baywatch, which dipped 54.1% in its second weekend for a domestic cume of $41.7 million. The film did roll-out to 31 international markets this weekend where it brought in $23.8 million including openings in the UK ($5.8m), Germany ($3.9m), Australia ($2.7m), Russia ($1.8m), India ($1.6m), Italy ($729k) and Hong Kong ($701k). The film's global cume now stands over $67 million with openings in Brazil, Mexico, Spain and France coming in the next few weeks.

Elsewhere, in moderate release Lionsgate released Pantelion's 3 Idiotas into 349 theaters where it grossed an estimated $600k and Cohen Media's release of Churchill starring Brian Cox opened with $426k from 215 theaters.

In limited release CBS Films' Dean brought in an estimated $60,366 from 15 theaters ($4,024 PTA); IFC's Band Aid brought in an estimated $31,500 from three theaters ($10,500 PTA); China Lion released Beautiful Accident into 15 theaters where it grossed an estimated $25,000 ($1,667 PTA); A24's The Exception debuted in just two locations with an estimated $23,337 ($11,669 PTA); Vitagraph's Letters from Baghdad debuted with $18,250 from two locations ($9,125 PTA); Samuel Goldwyn's Past Life brought in an estimated $16,215 from four locations ($4,054 PTA); and finally, Matson's Radio Dreams opened in one location with an estimated $2,053.

Next weekend Universal will kick off their Dark Universe with The Mummy starring Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella in 4,000 theaters while Bleecker Street releases Megan Leavey starring Rooney Mara; A24 will debut the horror feature It Comes at Night; and Fox Searchlight will release My Cousin Rachel into ~500 theaters.

You can check out all of this weekend's estimated results right here and we'll be updating our charts with weekend actuals on Monday afternoon.

Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo and author Brad Brevet at @bradbrevet.

**SPOILERS** Marvel Just Killed Off A Major Character

Warning: spoilers for the Secret Empire event are ahead!

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe presses forward with its Phase Three plans and the inevitable battle with Thanos, the Marvel Comics universe is currently caught up in the Secret Empire event, where Hydra controls the world and Captain America, a hero who's fought the terrorist organization for years, is actually one of their high-ranking agents. While Secret Empire has seen other Marvel heroes joining Hydra's ranks, others have remained diligent and are fighting back against them. One of those heroes is Phil Coulson, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent extraordinaire. Unfortunately, he's now out of the game permanently thanks to Wade Wilson, better known to everyone as Deadpool.

Unlike most of Captain America's other close allies, Phil Coulson noticed something was off about Steve Rogers after he'd been de-aged back to his youthful self. This week's Deadpool #31, which takes place before Hydra rose to power, saw Coulson discovering how Cap was responsible for the Chitauri attacks on Earth. As recapped on the Marvel website, Coulson tried to send out a message to pass on what he'd learned to the right people, but his flying car Lola was shot out of the sky by Deadpool. Yes, for those of you who haven't been keeping up with Secret Empire, Deadpool has been one of the Marvel protagonists helping Captain America as part of Hydra's Avengers Unity Squad.

Surviving the crash and knowing he didn't stand a chance of eliminating Deadpool, Phil Coulson made it to a safe house, but he didn't stay safe for long. Deadpool squeezed off a gunshot and mortally wounded Coulson. As the agent died, he realized that without Deadpool's interference, he would have successfully stopped Steve Rogers' master plan. Deadpool also blew up the safe house, leaving no doubt that Coulson was killed.

Unlike most comic book characters, Phil Coulson didn't originate from the comic books. He was created specifically for the first Iron Man movie, and after the character, played by Clark Gregg) was well received, he returned for Iron Man 2, Thor and The Avengers, serving as one of the primary connective threads between the MCU movies in Phase One. Coulson now leads Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on TV, but the character made his comics debut in 2012's Battle Scars #6, and since then has been a S.H.I.E.L.D. mainstay across numerous titles. Sadly, he was taken out five years later. However, the regular comic book readers out there know that death is rarely permanent for heroes and villains alike. So while Coulson isn't technically "super," there's still a chance he'll be brought back one of these days, whether it's through resurrection, a reality rewrite, as an LMD, etc. He may be gone now, but don't permanently rule out a return.

You can check out how the Secret Empire series and its tie-ins are progressing digitally or at your local comic book store.

Fox Animation Picks Up 'Witch Boy' Graphic Novel

Hollywood Reporter
Courtesy of Scholastic
Molly Knox Ostertag

The book is the first solo graphic novel outing for Molly Knox Ostertag, who works as a designer on the Disney Channel show 'Star vs. the Forces of Evil.'

Fox Animation has preemptively picked up the feature film rights to The Witch Boy, an upcoming graphic novel by Molly Knox Ostertag.

Witch Boy centers on 13-year-old Aster, whose family raises all their girls to be witches and boys to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. The boy hasn’t shifted, and he’s fascinated by witchery. When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help … but as a witch. With the help of a non-conforming friend, Aster will have to find the courage to save his family while also be true to himself.

Scholastic Press, which is behind such graphic novel best-sellers as Raina Telgemeier’s Sisters and Ghosts, is set to publish The Witch Boy in October.

Fox senior executive Darlene Caamaño Loquet will oversee the project for the studio.
Ostertag graduated in 2014 from the School of Visual Arts, where she studied cartooning and illustration, and currently works as a designer on the Disney Channel show Star Vs. the Forces of Evil. The 25-year-old recently collaborated with author Sharon Shinn on the sci-fi graphic novel Shattered Warrior, which hit shelves earlier this year from First Second Books. Witch Boy is her solo graphic novel debut.

Ostertag, who also illustrates the popular webcomic Strong Female Protagonist with co-creator Brennan Lee Mulligan, is repped by APA and Linnan Literary Management.