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Runic Films, a Los Angeles based independent film production house, is pleased to announce that May 2011 set an all-time record for its blog Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth featuring in-depth conversation by filmmaker Ben Alpi and comic artist Rick Arthur.

Jump right in at: http://www.mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com

Based on the number of page views, the growth of the Cap blog not just set single month page view total records but also was predicted to easily be three times the number from two months ago. Interest in a coming Captain America film from Marvel as well as strong word of mouth has helped create a fast growing blog.

“It is a little scary how rapidly this has expanded,” said Arthur. “We expected a drop off after our initial opening in February. This current growth has been so fantastic that Ben and I are heartened by the fact that we now reach readers in more than fifteen countries. It is humbling.”

Strong posts on a variety of topics including the recent THOR movie, Red Skull, screenwriting, patriotism, and Steve Rogers as a boy have all contributed to extremely positive reader reaction. The blog was designed to explore and discuss the idea of creating Captain America as a character for film from the perspective of Ben Alpi, filmmaker and Rick Arthur, comic artist.

Runic Films schedules new posts three times each week and can be accessed either on the blog site, on the Facebook companion page or Twitter. Do not miss a post and find out what a Cap movie character could be all about.

Discover the discussion today at: www.mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com
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Los Angeles-based Runic Films’ sponsored blog site Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth marks its first month of posts from creative team Ben Alpi, filmmaker and Rick Arthur, comic artist. Interest has been high for this careful reconstructing of the Steve Rogers/Captain America myth which blends factual elements from the WWII era with the wealth of Cap source material.

 
Visit at: www.mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com

 
Post titles include Going Home, Watch Out Red Skull, No Ordinary Man, Letters From Soldiers and many more. When asked to describe the project, Alpi said, “It is a unique search for character leading into new territory.”?

 
Arthur also commented,”We set out to build a living, breathing character for film. What we ended up with was very unexpected.”

 
Runic Films provided an excerpt from "Emails #8" as follows:?

Nature abhors a vacuum. Opposites attract. Fate will always bring them together. Captain America and Red Skull are trapped together in a web of hatred spun before either of them were born. Both play their part. Neither would dare stand aside for the other.?

 
As part of the hero’s journey, Cap must find the courage to destroy the Red Skull before the war can end. I would like to think that in the crazy last days of the war Cap pursues the Red Skull mercilessly. For his part, the Red Skull is privy to a lot of resources, troops, weapons and secret weapons. It is only on the last day, the last hour of the war that Cap catches up to and corners him. With no place to run, this will be the fight to the finish!

 
To give meaning to the battle, Cap must have faced the Red Skull before and been badly beaten and humiliated. Cap must be severely weakened or handicapped in some way while the Red Skull must be at the height of his powers and have home court advantage. At some point, Cap must be on the verge of giving up and the Red Skull must seem to have the advantage with victory almost in his grasp.

 
Why must Cap seem so weak? It is important that he be the underdog so that when he turns the tables it is all the more dramatic an example of his virtues defeating those of his opponents. If they are more equally matched or Cap has the upper hand going in, audiences will easily mistake the drubbing Red Skull gets as a personal vendetta compared to an act of bravery and heroism that the whole rest of the film tries to set up. Cap is not about vengeance.

 
Think about the final conflicts in a lot of the movies, particularly action movies and how many of them are predicated on attaining revenge. When you see the “hero” spouting pithy one-liners then killing a lot of bad guys the juxtaposition of elements tells you that they are not heroes at all but revenge seekers. Ultimately, there can be no pay off on a spiritual level. Revenge is not a virtue. Nothing is gained. In order for the audience to feel anything, the conflict must result in shock rather than growth. Entire films have been ruined this way with a strong build up and under satisfying finish.

 
If the villain is not dead at the end of the movie and the hero ends up in a block of ice, is it a victory?

 
Decide for yourself by visiting:
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LOS ANGELES, Friday, February 4th, 2011 marked the official debut of the blog entitled ‘Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth’ which is sponsored by Los Angeles-based Runic Films. First day visitors were impressed by the scope of the project and the detail involved. Favorite sections included an original script for a teaser and posts named “THERE IS NO TEA!,” “I must enlist, sir” and “Depression Era Imagination” among others.

The blog features discussion, opinion and sample scenes from filmmaker Ben Alpi and writer/artist Rick Arthur who spent over three years trading in-depth emails about how they would portray Captain America, the classic WWII Simon/Kirby character, in a modern feature film. Arthur stated that the exchanges are “…actual, raw emails so readers can expect an open, candid and often funny conversation between two friends… It’s unique.” Their results can now be viewed at: http://mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com.

“There was something about the ‘post 9/11’ times we’re living in that made us really want to see Cap on the big screen. Rick and I had been chatting about it which inspired me to write an original teaser for a film adaptation. That lit the fire,” Alpi said. ‘Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth’ explores the hero’s origins, motivations and relationships by digging deeply into the foundation of his myth even though the pair never expected their lengthy private conversation to be made public. “When I looked at the wealth of excellent content, I suggested to Rick we release it to the world,” Alpi explains.

“It’s really a lot of fun and we really look forward to opening it up to other fans and storytellers,” Arthur added. When asked about a possible target audience, Arthur commented that the blog would appeal to filmmakers, screenwriters, writers, comic book readers, history buffs and anyone interested in myth and the art of storytelling. ‘Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth’ will keep a brisk schedule with many month’s worth of entries already compiled. Runic Films confirmed that initial plans indicated a summer completion although “special” editions are already in the discussion.

Arthur added, “Response has been overwhelmingly favorable. I can’t wait to hear what people think as we continue the blog.”

Read and discuss the blog now at http://mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com. Sponsored by Runic Films, a production and entertainment company developing original properties for film, television and the Web. Located in Los Angeles, Calif.

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LOS ANGELES, Runic Films is proud to announce the release date for their much anticipated “secret” project: “Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth,” a new blog featuring filmmaker Ben Alpi and writer/artist Rick Arthur. The blog is scheduled to begin on Friday, February 4th, 2011 on http://mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com.

Three years ago, Alpi and Arthur began trading in-depth emails about how they would portray Captain America, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s classic 1941 creation, in a modern day feature film. On February 4th, the pair will open their private discussion to the world.

Alpi and Arthur reveal that “Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth” comprises a thoughtful, complex, substantive discussion of the impact of myth on modern storytelling. “We never thought we’d end up digging so deeply into ourselves as writers and readers to find what makes us really care about a character or what pulls us into a great story,” said Alpi.

The creators promise an easy, accessible style designed to invite discussion on topics ranging from hero myth, film storytelling, discovering character, World War II, comic books, the new film from Marvel Entertainment among many others. “We don’t pass up any opportunity to toss out a funny pop reference and we don’t pull punches,” Alpi remarked.

Arthur added, “I hope fans of comic books, films, television, myths and legends, history buffs, veterans, really anyone will find something interesting in our series. We certainly had a lot of fun writing it.”

The blog will launch Friday, February 4, 2011 on http://mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com and is sponsored by Runic Films, a production and entertainment company developing original properties for film, television and the Web. Located in Los Angeles, Calif.

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Follow @DiscussMyth on Twitter.