SCOTT CARSON
(Goalkeeper, Liverpool)
Future England No 1, I’m sure of it. He’s got the lot. Outstanding shot-stopper and gives it some welly, if it needs the big boot. Gets merciless stick but dishes it out, too. Just loves the banter.
JUSTIN HOYTE
(Defender, Arsenal)
If youcan get in Arsenal’s side at his age, you’ve got to be a bit special. Fantastic technique and positional sense, and very quick. Quiet lad but always comes out of his shell with us. It’s that kind of squad.
LEIGHTON BAINES
(Defender, Wigan)
The great escape with Wigan, and don’t we know it. Can’t shut him up. Never yet seen a winger get past him in a one-on-one and only Matt Taylor can match him from 30 yards with his left peg.
ANTON FERDINAND
(Defender, West Ham)
Flash so-and-so to those who don’t know him, but the real Anton is more down to earth than that. Even happy to be seen out with a daft Geordie like me so he can’t be that bad. Some defender, too.
GARY CAHILL
(Defender, Aston Villa)
Great lad, but once that Brummie accent gets into overdrive, you’ve got no chance. Can’t understand a word he says at times, but he’s built like a brick outhouse so you don’t like to tell him to his face.
NIGEL REO-COKER
(Midfielder, West Ham)
One thing I can’t work out — has anyone in football got a bigger forehead? It’s massive. Known as Akon because he has such a resemblance to the R&B singer. Born leader who keeps everyone’s spirits up.
WAYNE ROUTLEDGE
(Midfielder, Tottenham Hotspur)
So good to see him grow in confidence with every touch on Tuesday. Repeatedly went past his marker as if he wasn’t there and showed what a threat he can be. Nightmare for leftbacks in that mood.
JOE HART
(Goalkeeper, Manchester City)
No one could blame him if there were a few early nerves against Slovakia, but the way he settled down and helped win the penalty shoot-out showed he will be an asset in Holland. Quiet but down to earth.
BEN ALNWICK
(Goalkeeper, Tottenham Hotspur)
Known as ‘teeth’ because they tend to be more yellow than white. Probably can’t help it, but it doesn’t take much for a nickname to stick. We’re going to club together and present him with a tube of Colgate.
KIERAN RICHARDSON
(Midfielder, Manchester United)
It was agreed before the Slovakia game that, if we got a penalty, whoever got his hands on the ball first would take it. Kieran did and that says everything about his confidence, as did the kick itself. Cool as you like.
DAVID NUGENT
(Forward, Preston North End)
Might have been disappointed with missed chances against Slovakia but was just pleased with the win, which says everything about him. Always has a smile on his face, which reflects the enjoyment he gets from playing.
ASHLEY YOUNG (Forward, Aston Villa)
Answers to Pinhead, not willingly but he hasn’t got much choice. His head is tiny so what does he expect? Takes it all in his stride, and when you’ve got a stride like his, you can afford to. Ripped Slovakia to shreds with his pace.
LEROY LITA
(Forward, Reading)
What about the goal celebration on Tuesday! Showed what it meant to him, even though the game was already safe. So quick and direct that even if he’s not scoring, he’s winning you freekicks in dangerous areas.
LIAM ROSENIOR
(Defender, Fulham)
What is it with southerners? Don’t they ever shut up? Any banter, he will be in the middle of it. No cliques in this squad, and he’s one of the reasons. Will talk to anyone.
JAMES MILNER
(Midfielder, Newcastle)
You will have to have seen the film Waterboy to get this, but everyone calls him ‘Bobby Boucher’. Always drinking water. Whatever he is doing, and it is usually a computer game, there is always a bottle of Evian by his side.
TOM HUDDLESTONE
(Midfielder, Tottenham)
Gentle giant off the pitch but fearsome presence on it. So much going for him with his incredible range of passing and long-distance shooting. Has every chance of becoming a midfield great.
MARK NOBLE
(Midfielder, West Ham)
One of the reasons West Ham stayed up. Tevez got the credit, but it was Mark’s return to the team that coincided with their amazing transformation. Small but gets stuck in and has a keen eye for goal.
MATT DERBYSHIRE
(Forward, Blackburn)
Hails from Great Harwood and has an accent that is true to his roots. Broad Lancashire. But it’s just too good to miss, and he gets the full ‘aye-oop’ treatment from the rest of the lads.
NEDUM ONUOHA
(Defender, Man City)
Seems to have come from nowhere this season, but is in on merit. What a powerful lad. Very good defender who looks a natural right-back and won’t let anyone down. Has fitted into the squad easily.
JAMES VAUGHAN
(Forward, Everton)
There are few funnier sounds than Vaughany trying to come across as a Scouser. All right, he’s been on Merseyside a few years, but he’s a Brummie. He has a Birmingham accent, but the odd word comes out Scouse. You can’t help laughing.
PETER WHITTINGHAM
(Defender, Cardiff City)
Is there any more chilled-out character in the game? Which is why we call him ‘Bothered’. He looks really bothered! Great passing ability and one of the most technically gifted players in the squad.
If you seek to understand what happened to George Lucas after Star Wars and what Steven Spielberg did before Jurassic Park, look no further than the Indiana Jones franchise. Almost subtly, these two cinematic masterminds unleashed one of the most iconic and unsuspecting heroes in film with Raiders of the Lost Arc in 1981. Jones had a way about him, thanks to a young Harrison Ford, that played well across just about every demographic. And while many though that Indy was a thing of the past, a relic to be locked up in the vault of cinema history, another film is due out in 2008. In classic Indiana Jones fashion, the guy may be down but he is certainly never out.
Everyone knew that Spider-Man would make this particular list, but I bet you didn’t see it going so low in the pecking order, did ya? Whether it is my unbridled anger toward Sam Raimi for the most recent installment’s tremendous suckage or the fact that I personally think Batman could kick Spider-Man’s ass, I just don’t see Spider-Man as the end-all-be-all of movie franchises. Sure it has grossed billions world-wide between theatrical releases, DVDs and merchandising sales, but Spider-Man’s true fanbase is born of the iconic comic book hero, not Tobey Maguire in tights.
I know what you are thinking; Shrek? WTF? And as much as Shrek may not belong in the same arena as some of the franchises yet to come on this list, there is no way to look past the power it has over the kids of world. The big green Ogre and his posse have proven with their third installment that even without much of a story, a Shrek movie can still be successful. Because it is animated and encompasses a great amount of characters, this franchise could live on forever. And even though the big kids may not appreciate it, the little ones will continue to devour everything Shrek, leaving mommy and daddy’s rising credit card debt in their wake.
George Lucas has his big franchise, which we will get to later in the list. But what about the other guy behind Indiana Jones? Doesn’t Steven Spielberg get any power franchise love? Of course he does, as his 1993 film Jurassic Park brought both dinosaurs and the lore of ILM to life and into the American mainstream. Even with 2 lukewarm sequels, Jurassic Park still stands tall as one of the crowning achievements of computer-aided graphics and it is to this day one of the most prominent blockbusters of all-time. And it was inspiration for a Weird Al Yankovic song. ‘Nuff said.
Unlike many of the franchises on this list that are based on epic comic books or great novels, the Pirates of the Caribbean films were based on a ride at Disneyland. While that may not have sounded like a good idea to most people back in 2002 before the release of the first film, leave it to the folks at Disney to show that they could market just about anything. It is a franchise that solidified Johnny Depp as a big star, brought back the Pirate as a popular Halloween costume and brought some flair back to Disney in general (because let’s admit it, they haven’t had a live-action franchise like this since The Mighty Ducks. And hanging your hat on Emilio Estevez is just no good.)
In my personal opinion, there is no bigger badass in the history of superheroes than the Dark Knight himself. Many people wouldn’t know that if their limited experience with the character consisted only of the cheesed up films directed by Joel Shumacher back in the late-1990s. It wasn’t so bad that he put nipples on the Bat-suit as it was that he put George Clooney in the Bat-suit. But thankfully the gods of cinema sent Batman fans a savior in Christopher Nolan, whose Batman Begins set a new standard for the entire franchise, giving the Caped Crusader some balls once again. And with a new movie just around the corner, fans not only have their savior, they have plenty of hope for the future.
What would a great “Epic Movie Franchise” list be without Peter Jackson’s mammoth Oscar-winning trilogy based on the equally as popular books by J.R.R Tolkien. The final installment of the series, The Return of the King won 11 Oscars and is ranked #9 on IMDB’s top 250 films of all-time list. And that is not to mention that the first two films didn’t do too bad, either. The journey of Frodo, Sam and a gaggle of others to save Middle Earth is one of the most well-documented cinematic adventures of all-time. And with rumors of a “Hobbit” spin-off running ramped, it doesn’t look like LOTR is done bringing in the bank just yet.
Of all the great epic movie franchises, Harry Potter is definitely one of the youngest, but by no means the weakest. The first Harry Potter book by author J.K. Rowling was released circa 1998, with a major film adaptation coming in 2001. Since then the franchise has gathered one of the largest followings since Christianity with 4 films, 6 (soon to be 7) books and a web presence that is unprecedented. From fansites to podcasts to merchandising deals that would rival any major sports star, people go absolutely nuts for that awkward, pubescent little magician and his memorable friends. How long will the Potter lore last? J.K. Rowling could probably write books forever and people would buy them up, but the films have a shorter lease on life, as they won’t be too much fun when Daniel Radcliffe is 25 trying to play the part of a 17 year old…
The star of one of the most abundant movie franchises, James Bond is also one of the most recognizable characters in all of film. The world loves his swagger, his sex appeal and his underlying badass nature. They even love to compare him to himself, with a rotation of actors constantly fueling the debate of who is the best bond? Some would say that Roger Moore had it down, others live and die by the Connery Bond and others still have been greatly impressed with Daniel Craig as the spy who shags often. But no matter who tops the list as your favorite Bond, we all know that there is no spy, no man of action who commands more attention than 007 himself.
With 6 films that have grossed almost $2 billion dollars at the box office and one of the most dedicated fan bases in all of pop culture, there is no question that Star Wars is the most powerful film franchise in history. Even despite a lackluster showing with the most recent 3 films, George Lucas is bombarded daily with questions about the future of the franchise. It is a franchise that has spawned countless spin-off projects, is the butt end of so many pop culture references and is constantly looked upon as the pinnacle of geekdom. Since the first film hit theaters on May 25, 1977 there has been no turning back; Star Wars is the king of all movie franchises, there is just no way around it.
