Rolling Stone 3.8 - Nobody Loves The Hulk

Rolling Stone - Nobody Loves The Hulk

Genre: Drama

Director: Oliver Stone

Writer: D.R. Cobb

Based on the Rolling Stone magazine

Cast: Josh Hartnett, Aimee Teegarden, Lou Taylor Pucci, Karl Glusman, Alicia Witt, Marc Maron, David Costabile and Mark Hamill

Plot: August 1971. Brady Conroy (Josh Hartnett) is sitting in the conference room of the Rolling Stone magazine offices opposite Jann Wenner (Karl Glusman) and Ben Fong-Torres (Ross Butler). Jann explains that Brady's next assignment is to hop on a plane with Ben to New York City and meet with the people at Marvel Comics for a big cover story. Ben is excited since he is a big comic fan, but Brady isn't quite as familiar with the subject matter and asks if it has to do with Superman or Batman. Ben, annoyed, replies that those are DC Comics characters. He then proceeds to list superheroes like The Hulk, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. Brady nods his head, but it's not clear if he actually recognizes any of those names. Brady asks Jann if he's sure he should work on the piece since he's not very familiar with the subject matter. Jann says that's not important as the main article has already been written. He says that he needs Ben and Brady to interview some of the writers, get some quotes and descriptions of the Marvel offices and talk to the company's editor, a man named Stan Lee. One his way out of the offices, Kylee Hargrove (Alicia Witt) asks Brady if he's excited about the trip to New York. Brady admits that he doesn't know what to make of the trip.

Back at his apartment, Brady asks his younger brother Jimmy (Lou Taylor Pucci) about Marvel Comics. Jimmy's eyes light up and he begins to tell Brady all about the characters: how Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, how Bruce Banner was caught in the blast of a gamma bomb, how Doctor Strange harnessed the mystical arts. Brady is taken aback by all the information and asks Jimmy how popular these stories are. Jimmy is baffled by Brady's lack of knowledge on the subject, and tells Brady that the comics are super popular and the characters are surpassing old school characters like Superman with people today. Jimmy pulls out a Daredevil comic and tosses it to Brady and tells him to read it. Brady looks at the cover and asks what the hero's superpower is. Jimmy says that Daredevil is blind. Brady is confused as that is generally considered a handicap. Jimmy elaborates that the loss of his sight due to radioactive chemicals enhanced all of his other senses to superhuman levels.

Before Brady leaves for the airport, he checks in on Celeste (Aimee Teegarden), who has been in the bedroom all day. He asks her what she's been up to, and she tells him that she is touching up some material for the publishing guy she met at her class reading since she's meeting with him later. Brady wishes her good luck with that and gives her a kiss. She says thanks and tells him good luck with the superhero stuff. Brady then heads back out to the living room where Jimmy is just about to light up his bong. Brady tells Jimmy to hold off since he needs a ride to the airport.

Celeste meets with the man she met at her class reading, Peter Cousins (David Costabile). She hands him a stack of poems. He tells her that he loves them, but unfortunately his employers are not looking to publish any unknown poets at this time. Celeste's face drops, but Cousins says he does have some good news for her though. He has talked with a friend who works with City Light Publishers and they would like to meet with her and read her stuff. She asks him if he is talking about the City Lights that published Allen Ginsberg's Howl. Cousins says it is one and the same. He tells her that he has arranged to meet with the company's founder later that day and tells her to make sure her schedule is clear.

Brady and Ben arrive at the Marvel Comics headquarters in a nondescript Manhattan office building. Comic book covers line the walls of the reception area. Ben is distracted by the artwork, so Brady tells the receptionist that they are from Rolling Stone magazine and are there to see Stan Lee. The receptionist makes a phone call and tells them he'll be with them shortly. Brady takes a seat while Ben walks around staring at the art on the walls. Finally, Stan Lee (Marc Maron) comes out of his office and excitedly greets Brady and Ben. Stan sees that Ben has his eyes glued to a Fantastic Four cover and jokes that clearly Ben is more interested in meeting the Invisible Woman. Ben tells Stan it's an honor to meet him. Stan starts giving the men a tour of the offices. Brady admits to Stan that he's not really familiar with any of the Marvel comic books. Stan says that's alright and admits that some days he thinks he'd be happy if he never had to see another comic book for the rest of his life. Ben is shocked that someone like Stan Lee would admit to something like that. Brady asks Stan what drew him to writing superhero comic books since that surely wasn't his career plan as a child. Stan says that it actually was what he was always fascinated by. He liked the idea of using fantastical characters to explore real-life issues. At the end of the tour, Stan tells Ben and Brady that he sincerely hopes they got enough material for the big piece the magazine is doing. 

Cousins takes Celeste to City Lights Bookstore. They head into the poetry room where they are met by the company's founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Mark Hamill). He asks Celeste if she wants her work to be on the shelves in that room. Celeste nods her head and says very much so. Ferlinghetti tells her that her poems better be damn good then since he has managed to build quite the reputation in the city and wouldn't want to publish any works that would tarnish that reputation with is regular readers. Celeste hands him her poems and he tells her that he'll give them a look over and have Cousins contact her if City Lights decides to publish her poems.