Disney Digest 3/14/24 (“The Greatest Hits,” X-Men, NFTs, and More)

Have you recovered from the cultural moment that was Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version? Our Marshal will be recapping the whole show, but until then, today’s column is going to focus on the news coming out of SXSW today.

The Greatest Hits

Searchlight Pictures, fresh off their Oscar wins for Poor Things and The Last Repair Shop, debuted their latest film The Greatest Hits at SXSW today. This continues the multi-pronged release strategy that the speciality label has employed. Oscar-buzzy films get a full theatrical release, while more mainstream fare might get a limited release before heading to Hulu. I asked our resident SXSW reporter to give his quick take of the film (although you can read his full review as well). So here is what Alex had to say…

The Greatest Hits is a music-driven romantic drama about a young woman with a peculiar condition – a forced time jump whenever she hears a song connected to her deceased boyfriend. Writer/Director Ned Benson delivers an eclectic playlist of songs to underscore his unique concept, adding stakes to the plot with the protagonist (Lucy Boynton) searching for a track that could save her old boyfriend's life. Acting performances are strong all around, with undeniable chemistry between Lucy Boynton and her present-day love interest (Justin H. Min), creating a new kind of love triangle. There are elements of a romantic comedy scattered throughout the film, which walks a line somewhere between an independent film and something designed with commercial success as the end goal.

So maybe this film straddles the line of theatrical Searchlight and Hulu Searchlight, to its detriment. If The Greatest Hits isn’t your cup of tea, Searchlight also announced today that they will be releasing Kinds of Kindness which reunites Oscar winner Emma Stone with her Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos. It is scheduled to hit theaters June 21.

X-Men or NFTs

Today, Marvel revealed the post Krakoa age at SXSW. But they also awkwardly transitioned that to a conversation with NFT company Veve, which will be selling comics digitally.  While that news seemed to be a dud, I did ask our resident Marvel expert Mike Mack to give me his take on the future of X-Men comics ahead of the debut of X-Men ‘97 and their upcoming MCU debut.

The lineup of new comics that will comprise “X-Men: From the Ashes” is incredibly exciting. An all-star team of comic creators will deliver brand new stories featuring some of the most interesting mutant characters across “X-Men,” “Uncanny X-Men” and “Exceptional X-Men.” Of those titles, it’s “Exceptional X-Men” that excites me the most. Kate Pryde has been a fascinating character and seeing her take on a leadership role for new young mutants is very intriguing. Of course, those classic ‘90s costumes of “Uncanny X-Men” are also a big plus.

While many of us were introduced to Marvel from the X-Men animated series, the comics have also been inaccessible with complex plots and multiversal madness.  It seems that this new era is leaning into the nostalgia to open the franchise up to more casual friends. But no matter what happens, the X-Men will always make more sense than NFTs.

Quick Hits:

6 Things to Watch For Tomorrow:

Tomorrow kicks off my Spring Cleaning Weekend before Disney picks up steam. It is going to be a wild spring and summer.