Brubaker Reveals Secrets Behind "Velvet," "Captain America" & His Image Deal

[CBR News]

From the return of Bucky to Hollywood not understanding "Velvet," superstar writer Ed Brubaker shed light on the stories behind some of his most popular creations.


Full article here.

[randomengine]

So it appears we have proof that sales determine content? Or at the very least that sales determine what editorial allows in terms of content?

But honestly, when I got the book, I was asked, "What would you want to do?" and I said, "Well, I have this idea about how to bring back Bucky, where he is like a really cool bad guy who's actually an adult." And Joe Quesada said, "Oh, that's really interesting, because we just this big summit where we were arguing over whether we could bring back Bucky or not, because 'Captain America' is not selling."

[SJNeal]

While it's definitely a shame Hollywood is so chock-full of idiots, the flip side is that they know whats sells, and the idiots on the other side of the screen go a long way in determining that.

Either way a Velvet TV series would be awesome!

[cgh]

So it appears we have proof that sales determine content? Or at the very least that sales determine what editorial allows in terms of content?

It's a business. Of course their eyes are always on the bottom line. I'm not sure why this needs any kind of "proof" as it's axiomatic for all businesses.

[cgh]

While it's definitely a shame Hollywood is so chock-full of idiots, the flip side is that they know whats sells, and the idiots on the other side of the screen go a long way in determining that.

Either way a Velvet TV series would be awesome!

Still, the part about 40-something female execs killing a project that features a 40-something female superspy is pretty depressing.

[Dusk]

So it appears we have proof that sales determine content? Or at the very least that sales determine what editorial allows in terms of content?

It's the same in everything business related, even something as simple as newspapers. Don't try to make a headline out of common knowledge that might be news to ignorant audience.

[Bl00dwerK]

Still, the part about 40-something female execs killing a project that features a 40-something female superspy is pretty depressing.

Yeah, no kidding. I bet it would have been cancelled, or just plain terrible, because of NBC. If Bru wants to make a TV series out of it pitch it to Cinemax or one of those networks...

[Winterboy]

Fingers crossed to see a Black Widow/Velvet team-up some day.
bw velvet[1].JPG

[SJNeal]

Still, the part about 40-something female execs killing a project that features a 40-something female superspy is pretty depressing.

Oh, absolutely! However those 40-something female execs also love their paychecks, I'm sure...

[banky]

Oh, absolutely! However those 40-something female execs also love their paychecks, I'm sure...

It's still shocking that they would shoot it down. There are at least a half dozen TV drama shows out there with 40+ yr old female leads on cable and major networks. I don't get how an exec who approves something like 'Nurse Jackie' for example, would shoot down a Velvet project.

Diane Lane would be awesome. Melissa George would work too (i guess she's still in her 30s) and could pull off her younger days and current plotline.

[Dorktron]

It's still shocking that they would shoot it down. There are at least a half dozen TV drama shows out there with 40+ yr old female leads on cable and major networks. I don't get how an exec who approves something like 'Nurse Jackie' for example, would shoot down a Velvet project.

Diane Lane would be awesome. Melissa George would work too (i guess she's still in her 30s) and could pull off her younger days and current plotline.

I agree. TV today seems to be really open to changing their "status quo" and taking some chances, especially if those chances are from a comic book IP. Comic book IPs seem to be super hot right now. Strange decision from NBC although I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see a Velvet TV show on a cable network someday soon.

[Bl00dwerK]

Fingers crossed to see a Black Widow/Velvet team-up some day.
bw velvet[1].JPG

I love that picture. Are there any more of those?

[Deviancy]

Still, the part about 40-something female execs killing a project that features a 40-something female superspy is pretty depressing.

I don't see how it's depressing, it's just good business. Marketing teams have been getting a lot more aggressive as of late and are testing viewers more thoroughly, and they've found out a lot of things. Many women aren't against middle aged men in shows, in fact they often prefer the older male actors. But men, it's still pretty much the 80's, they prefer young white women. But I think a show with a 40 something female superspy would work on Syfy or Spike because those two networks, they're happy with 1.5 or 2.1 ratings, the majors however, they expect 10-12 million viewers to be happy. The spy thing also really isn't that big with the mainstream right now. The mainstream are into horror shows, cop shows, and lame reality shows, well sort of. Duck Dynasty and the Kardashians are finally starting to slip, think they lost about 30% of their audience this year.