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Along with creating “The Wire,” David Simon has been a self-described “lifelong union man” as a member of the Newspaper Guild and the Writers Guild of America, and as the WGA strike continues, he made it clear how little he thinks the entertainment industry’s top execs respect him and his peers.

“The truth is, there has always been a healthy contempt for the creative element in this industry, not on the part of everybody, and I’ve had good relationships with people at the studios and certainly there have been moments in my career where I’ve been very grateful for working with somebody who understood the complexity of what we were trying to do,” Simon said on “Freakonomics” author Steve Levitt’s podcast “People I (Mostly) Admire.”

“But certainly the people who are closer to the Wall Street analysts and the people who are closer to the money...

The Avengers was the first time the biggest heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the time teamed up, but two Avengers members actually joined forces in a TV movie 24 years before The Avengers came out. After introducing each member of the original Avengers team either in their solo movies or in the movies of fellow team members, these superheroes finally worked together in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, where they joined forces to stop Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the Chitauri army as they invaded New York City.

Although each Avengers member brings different and useful skills and traits to the team, their personalities initially clashed and it took them a while to get used to working together, but with time, some of them became close friends and even went on adventures together aside from their missions with the Avengers. Such is the case of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Bruce Banner...

Sneak Peek Marvel's first live-action 'Thor' in the 1988 TV movie, "The Incredible Hulk Returns", written by Stan Lee and Nicholas Corea, produced by New World and distributed by NBC as a 'backdoor pilot' for a potential "Thor" television series:

Thor's appearance differed from the Marvel Comics character created by Lee and co-plotter/illustrator Jack Kirby, resembling a more realistic and divine version of the 'Norse God of Thunder' but following the comic book in that he is sent to earth to learn humility, the first and only time that magical, supernatural or otherworldly elements have been used in the universe of the "Incredible Hulk" TV series.

'Thor' was played by Eric Allan Kramer and 'Dr. Donald Blake' by Steve Levitt. In this version Blake does not become Thor, who is a separate character. By holding Thor's hammer 'Mjolnir' and shouting "Odin!" Blake can summon the Viking Warrior to help him.

We’re currently in a boom period for superhero films, with plenty more on the way. It’s the golden age for comic book fans. Characters like Wonder Woman, Dr. Strange and the Justice League are all coming to theaters, joining established franchises like Thor and Captain America. But some of you may not know that these characters all had live-action movies made about them before. Cinelinx looks at 7 obscure super films you probably haven’t seen.

#1. Doctor Strange: In 1978, a two-hour made-for-tv movie aired about the master of the mystic arts. Dr. Strange was meant to be a pilot for a proposed weekly CBS TV series. Peter Hooten played Doctor Strange and Jessica Walters played villainess Morgana Le Fey. CBS was already airing Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk and was trying to go for the hat trick, bringing the Doc to TV. However, it was not to be.

Take another look @ the first live-action adaptation of Marvel Comics' 'Thor' in the 1988 TV movie, "The Incredible Hulk Returns", written by Stan Lee and Nicholas Corea, produced by New World and aired by NBC as a 'backdoor pilot' for a potential "Thor" television series.

Thor's appearance differed from the Marvel Comics character created by writer Stan Lee and co-plotter/illustrator Jack Kirby, resembling a more realistic and divine version of the 'Norse God of Thunder' but still closely following the comic in that he is sent to earth to learn humility, the first and only time that magical, supernatural or otherworldly elements have been used in the universe of the "Incredible Hulk" TV series.

'Thor' was played by Eric Allan Kramer and 'Dr. Donald Blake' by Steve Levitt. In this version Blake does not become Thor, who is a separate character. By holding Thor's hammer 'Mjolnir' and shouting "Odin!

Sneak Peek Marvel's first live-action 'Thor' in the 1988 TV movie, "The Incredible Hulk Returns", written by Stan Lee and Nicholas Corea, produced by New World and distributed by NBC as a 'backdoor pilot' for a potential "Thor" television series.

Thor's appearance differed from the Marvel Comics character created by writer Stan Lee and co-plotter/illustrator Jack Kirby, resembling a more realistic and divine version of the 'Norse God of Thunder' but still closely following the comic in that he is sent to earth to learn humility, the first and only time that magical, supernatural or otherworldly elements have been used in the universe of the "Incredible Hulk" TV series.

'Thor' was played by Eric Allan Kramer and 'Dr. Donald Blake' by Steve Levitt. In this version Blake does not become Thor, who is a separate character. By holding Thor's hammer 'Mjolnir' and shouting "Odin!" Blake...

In August 1962, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Larry Lieber created Thor, a new superhero based off of the Norse God, and from that issue of Journey into Mystery, the God of Thunder has gone onto become one of the iconic heroes associated with the Avengers. Even though his big screen debut was in this summer’s Thor (reviews here and here), and will be seen next year in Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor has had numerous incarnations on TV, both in live-action and in animation, so with Lionsgate’s release of Thor: Tales of Asgard May 17th on Blu-ray/DVD, Killer Film takes a look back at the other appearances of the God of Thunder.

God of Thunder and rock and roll. The spell you’re under, will slowly rob you of your virgin soul – Kiss

Four years after his first comic book appearance, Thor appeared on the animated show...

Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.

This Week’s New Instant Releases…

Promised Lands (1974)

Streaming Available: 04/19/2011

Cast: Documentary

Director: Susan Sontag

Synopsis: Set in Israel during the final days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, this powerful documentary — initially barred by Israel authorities — from writer-director Susan Sontag examines divergent perceptions of the enduring Arab-Israeli clash. Weighing in on matters related to socialism, anti-Semitism, nation sovereignty and American materialism are The Last Jew writer Yoram Kaniuk and military physicist Yuval Ne’eman.

Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2009)

Streaming Available: 04/19/2011

Cast: Barbara Sukowa, Heino Ferch, Hannah Herzsprung, Gerald Alexander Held, Lena Stolze, Sunnyi Melles

Synopsis: Directed by longtime star of independent German cinema Margarethe von Trotta, this reverent...