Movies are only one way to tell a story. There are many other forms of storytelling to be experienced. Books are the written word. Sometimes they are combined with pictures to help illustrate the story. Music, podcasts, and audio books are a way for an audience to hear a story. Same with those spooky campfire tales that people shared with each other while at summer camp or on a weekend camping trip with friends. Television shares the same audio/visual storytelling style as movies, only in a slightly different, more episodic, form.
Each method of storytelling has its own benefits. Video games are more immersive, allowing the players to navigate the world of the game as the characters. Movies and television let the audience view the action from the outside. It unfolds in front of them and that’s all there is to it. Most books give the reader some insight into the thoughts of the characters, establishing their motives and giving connection that other forms of storytelling might not. Audio storytelling can set the mood through different sound cues and vocal choices. Depending on the story being told, one form of storytelling may be chosen over another.
Sometimes, a story may begin in one form of storytelling, only to continue in another. I’m not writing about adaptations. That’s a whole other beast that I’m pretty sure I’ve covered in other posts. Adaptations are taking a story and retelling it through another lens. What I want to discuss in this post are stories that have transitioned from one form of storytelling to another. One story in one medium leads to another story in another medium. They are directly connected. Those are the stories I want to go over.
One of those stories involves this week’s movie, the ninth anniversary rewatch for Sunday “Bad” Movies. Southland Tales was a sprawling ensemble piece about election politics, energy capitalism, and amnesiac doubles that came out in 2006. Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson) was an action movie star married to Madeline Frost (Mandy Moore), the daughter of presidential hopeful Bobby Frost (Holmes Osborne). Boxer went missing in the desert and recently turned up in the arms of Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar). She wanted to use him for political blackmail, teaming up with Cyndi Pinziki (Nora Dunn) to potentially release some damaging videos. Meanwhile, the Neo-Marxists were planning to disrupt the election. Zora Carmichaels (Cheri Oteri) and her team were using Roland and Ronald Taverner (both played by Seann William Scott) to go after Boxer Santaros and Bobby Frost. Things took a turn, however, when Officer Bart Bookman (Jon Lovitz) got involved, causing Ronald and Boxer to be witnesses to a police murder caught on film.
Southland Tales, the movie, was only part of the story. It began with some exposition about how the world got to that point, then threw the audience right into the middle of what was unfolding. There was no time to get acquainted with the world. There was no time to learn what was going on. The audience was in the action as Boxer Santaros was already living with Krista Now. There was no time to adjust. It was the middle of a story, though the beginning of the story being told in the movie. This choice did provide an interesting connection to Boxer, as he was suffering amnesia. The audience knew about as much as he did when it came to what was happening.
When I say that Southland Tales started at the middle of the story, I mean that. Southland Tales was divided into chapters. The movie covered chapters four through six. That meant that, if there were only six chapters in the story, the movie began at the halfway mark. There was no previous movie to cover the first three chapters. It was just the one flick. So how did people get those first three chapters if they truly wanted to understand the Southland Tales lore? They got the first three chapters through graphic novels.
This meant that if someone wanted the entire Southland Tales story, they needed to commit to reading three graphic novels and watching a two-and-a-half-hour movie. That’s a tall order for some people. They don’t want to invest that much time into it, or they don’t have the time at all. They would rather just watch the movie. Even then, they want it to be shorter. People have an aversion to a story that will take more than two hours, even if they like the story. Unless it’s Marvel or Star Wars. They’re okay with those being long.
Southland Tales wasn’t the only time that graphic novels were used to tell the rest of a story. There have been other instances of part of a story being told in one medium while the rest was told through comic books. A notable example was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’m not going to get too deep into it, as I haven’t watched the show beyond an episode that was shown in a writing class. When season seven concluded in 2003, people wanted more. They wanted the continuing stories of Buffy and her friends. Joss Whedon ensured that the story would continue by teaming up with Dark Horse Comics to produce a comic series continuation. Seasons eight through twelve were produced as comic books, allowing readers to continue following the escapades of their favourite monster fighting vampire slayer.
I have two more examples that I want to bring up, with this next one being, perhaps, one of the biggest cross-platform franchises of them all. I mentioned it a couple paragraphs ago. It’s not Marvel. The comics are separate from the movies with the movies being adaptations rather than continuations. I want to take a few minutes to discuss the complicated continuity of Star Wars.
I’m not the biggest Star Wars person. I enjoy most of what I’ve seen from the franchise, but I’ve only just scratched the surface. There are a whole bunch of stories that I’ve been nowhere near that help to make Star Wars into a monster in the world of storytelling. Let’s start with the movies. That’s what everyone knows. Even if you don’t know any of the other aspects of the Star Wars lore, you’ve likely at least heard of the movies. There are nine movies in the main Skywalker Saga, telling the stories of Anakin Skywalker and his descendants as the light side and dark side of the force battle it out. There’s a Han Solo movie and a movie about getting the blueprints for the Death Star. That about covers the main theatrical movies.
The other theatrical movie was actually the pilot for The Clone Wars, which became a long-running television series. It was one of many television series spun off from the theatrical movies. Other television series include Star Wars: Rebels, The Bad Batch, The Mandalorian, and the upcoming The Book of Boba Fett. These are only the shows within current continuity. There was also a previous Clone Wars series, an Ewoks series, a couple Ewoks television movies, and a Holiday Special that were removed from continuity when Disney bought the Star Wars franchise.
That may have seemed like me just listing off names for the sake of listing them off. It was a list of names, after all. The reason things ended up that way is because there’s just so much Star Wars stuff. When the first three films came out in the late 70s and early 80s, they became such a huge sensation that audiences wanted more. They wanted the world expanded and the stories continued. That led to the television movies and the Ewoks series. That also led to the franchise branching out into novels. There was an expansive mythology created through the novels that followed the original trilogy of Star Wars films.
Video games like Knights of the Old Republic and The Force Unleashed were part of this old continuity that told stories within the world of Star Wars. They weren’t necessarily directly connected to the movies and those stories, but they were clearly set within the same world. The Force Unleashed was the more direct of the two, helping to shine a light on what happened between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. All the old continuity that was pushed aside when Disney wanted to make sequels were labelled Legends and are no longer in continuity.
Okay, that might be a bit too conclusive. Some of it is still within continuity. Star Wars: The Clone Wars was before Disney, but they kept that in continuity. Bits and pieces have also been finding their way back into continuity. Life Day, from the Star Wars Holiday Special, was mentioned in The Mandalorian. That made Life Day canon again. Little things like that keep popping up. They don’t make the Legends stories continuity, but they at least recontextualize concepts from the vast expanded universe so that they aren’t entirely lost.
The Disney era of Star Wars also created its own expanded universe. Beyond the movies and television shows, there have been a bunch of novels that expanded the stories being told. There was a graphic novel about a bunch of droids that explained why C-3PO had a red arm in one of the movies. That was a direct prequel to a movie to clarify a question people had. Star Wars continued to be a major multimedia franchise, even while much of the multimedia franchise was thrown out of continuity.
Finally, I want to get to one very timely franchise where the continuity branched through multiple forms of storytelling. I say it’s timely because there’s a brand new movie coming out in less than a month. People are getting hyped about it. They’re reminiscing about the previous movies in the franchise, returning to those movies, and appreciating those movies. The fandom never died down, but the fervor is rising as the release of a sequel approaches. That sequel is The Matrix Resurrections.
The Matrix franchise has been a contentious one for many years. While most people agree that the first film is a great science fiction flick, the sequels don’t get quite as much love. That’s fair. They’re different beasts from the first flick. I don’t remember liking them all that much. It’s been years since I’ve seen them, though. There was also an Animatrix movie, which was an animated anthology where each segment took place within the world of the Matrix films. It was a fun little way to expand the world.
Video games have been a little more direct with their continuity. Enter the Matrix was released the same month as The Matrix Reloaded and told a story that took place at the same time, following supporting characters from the movie. It was completely in continuity with the movies. It was directed by the Wachowskis, who directed the movies, and featured the actors from the movies reprising their roles. There was an entire hour of live-action footage written and directed specifically for the game, including an explanation for the change in looks of a major character.
Another video game was the MMORPG titled The Matrix Online. This one allowed the players to be a major part of where the story went. It wasn’t the most popular outlet for Matrix storytelling and ended up shutting down after four years. Some major developments were made in the story of the game, including the death of a main character, which seem to still be within continuity. Based on the trailers for the new movie, that is. There were also some comic books written within the continuity of The Matrix, as well.
Franchises can branch out into multiple forms of storytelling to continue building mythology and lore. An audience could see the action unfold on screen before diving into a continuation novel to get a better read on a character’s thoughts. A video game could allow audiences to feel more a part of the story as they control the characters. Each form of storytelling allows for different parts of the story to take center stage. The key to a successful multimedia franchise is to find how the story can fit into each method of storytelling.
Southland Tales, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Wars, and The Matrix are all known for being franchises that dipped their toes into multiple forms of storytelling. They began as movies or television shows before branching out into novels, comic books, and video games. They continued their story, within continuity, through the other storytelling forms. They found success. They kept their audience or found a growing one. Their legacy became more than that original project. The legacy of the franchises became how far they branched out and how popular they remained. Storytelling is a wonderful thing.
Now let’s get a few notes in here:
- Southland Tales was originally covered for week 428.
- Jon Lovitz was in Southland Tales. He was also in Bark Ranger (week 183), Mom and Dad Save the World (week 186), Hamburger: The Motion Picture (week 197), Sandy Wexler (week 231), Mother’s Day (week 233), and The Ridiculous 6 (week 344).
- Wallace Shawn appeared in Southland Tales, Furry Vengeance (week 162), Mom and Dad Save the World (week 186), Air Buddies (week 270), Cop and a Half: New Recruit (week 340), and Don Peyote (week 445).
- When Southland Tales was originally covered, it was Amy Poehler’s third Sunday “Bad” Movies appearance behind Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (week 20) and Free Birds (week 209). She has now also appeared in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (week 470) and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (week 470).
- You might have noticed Curtis Armstrong in Southland Tales. He could previously be seen in Jingle All the Way (week 160) and Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (week 221).
- Janeane Garofolo returned to Sunday “Bad” Movies in Southland Tales. She was also in 200 Cigarettes (week 161) and Sandy Wexler (week 231).
- Christopher Lambert was in Mortal Kombat (week 140) and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (week 260), as well as Southland Tales.
- This was the third time that Bai Ling popped up in Sunday “Bad” Movies. She previously appeared in Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance (week 241) and Wild Wild West (week 296).
- Dwayne Johnson was Boxer Santaros. He was also himself in Jem and the Holograms (week 238) and the title character in The Scorpion King (week 380).
- Will Sasso showed up in Southland Tales. He previously showed up in Movie 43 (week 243) and did voice work in Russell Madness (week 382).
- Senator Bobby Frost was played by Holmes Osborne, who was also in Air Buddies (week 270) and All About Steve (week 409).
- Finishing up the three-appearance people is Kevin Smith. He was in Southland Tales, but before that, he showed up in Vulgar (week 269) and Another WolfCop (week 411).
- First up in the two-timer section is Eli Roth. He had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance as a man getting shot on the toilet in Southland Tales. He was also in Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (week 110).
- Jill Ritchie was in D.E.B.S. (week 111) and Southland Tales.
- Mandy Moore returned to Sunday “Bad” Movies in Southland Tales, after first appearing in Chasing Liberty (week 155).
- Sab Shimono appeared in both Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (week 184) and Southland Tales.
- Southland Tales marked the second appearance of Seann William Scott in Sunday “Bad” Movies. He was previously in Movie 43 (week 243).
- Miranda Richardson could be seen in Fred Claus (week 265) as well as Southland Tales.
- Did you know that Becca Sweitzer has appeared in two Sunday “Bad” Movies? She was in Southland Tales and From Justin to Kelly (week 325).
- Justin Timberlake was Pilot Abilene in Southland Tales. He also had a small bit in the end credits of On the Line (week 342).
- Finally, Beth Grant appeared in both Southland Tales and All About Steve (week 409).
- Have you seen Southland Tales? What did you think of it? What do you think of multimedia franchise like these, where continuity is maintained between storytelling forms? Let me know on Twitter or in the comments.
- You can find me on Twitter or in the comments if you have any suggestions for movies I should check out for future Sunday “Bad” Movies posts. Suggestions are always welcome.
- Sunday “Bad” Movies is on Instagram if you want to see pictures, clips, and trailers.
- Next week, we’re into the next year of Sunday “Bad” Movies, leading up to both post 500 and the tenth anniversary. I’ve been doing these posts weekly (mostly) for almost a decade. Holy crap. For the first post of the next year, I’ll be checking out a Christmas horror movie called Silent Night, Bloody Night from the 1970s. There will be a post involving it in one week. I hope to see you back here then.
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