#at least tom and greg won
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#succession#successionedit#at least tom and greg won#like this scene#too much chemistry#tomgreg#tom x greg#greg x tom#tom wambsgans#gregory hirsch#matthew macfadyen#nicholas braun#love#gif#gifs#gifset#insane#4x10
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i don’t think this is how things are going to shake out, but i do think (and this clicked into place reading the AV club recap of all things) the events of 4x09 have set it up to make CEO greg plausible in a way that i wouldn’t have imagined could exist, because like, if the CEO position is obviously and transparently a puppet to do matsson’s bidding, it’s actually pretty easy to imagine he would prefer greg, who’ll do fucking anything anyone tells him as long as they explain how it serves his interests, over shiv, who actually wants things and is a pregnant woman (and who passed that info on to matsson btw? her brothers didn’t have the time at the funeral to sell her out like that. it would have had to have come from the one person she had told - tom - or else from the one person to whom tom spills fucking everything, because [and this is why i feel surer of nothing than i do of the fact that greg ends up on top of tom at least] he’s arrogant enough not to have clued into the fact that greg’s loyalty expires the day he spots a better offer literally anywhere else). how the fuck he would convince the board on this is beyond me but god knows it’s not like kendall and shiv have won themselves a lot of friends in that crew, and in terms of PR, greg, unlike the kids from the clown car, has actually been steadily employed at the fucking company for a while and is in fact a member of the family. i also have talked myself into believing this would work thematically - before, greg CEO seemed too comic and stupid an outcome for the finale of a show as weighty as this, but if the CEO position is itself hollowed out of power, then it becomes kind of a commentary on the emptiness of the entire game, and the specific ways the kids have been trying to use him this season while still treating him like shit make it also a way of underlining how incapable they are, to their own strategic detriment, of seeing most people as human beings or even as threats. again i DON’T think this is how it’s gonna go* and this is not a “prediction.” but it’s fascinating to think about how even as things are closing in the world of succession keeps opening things up.
*except the part about greg coming out on top of tom either through betrayal or maneuvering that part i would bet money on. not a lot of money. but like, five bucks
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Round 3
Propaganda under the cut
Shiv Roy
She's honestly kind of a canonical victim of yaoi almost. She and her husband Tom have a loveless marriage but never end up getting divorced. Tom has a weird psychosexual obsession with Shiv's cousin Greg and at one point literally compares them all to the time Emperor Nero pushed his wife down the stairs and then castrated and married a slave boy named Sporus (Tom is unwell). Anyway the show just ended and long story short Tom is now CEO of Shiv's family's evil company and she is reduced to being his pregnant wife (which is the result of her voting not to authorize either of her brothers as CEO in order to save them from themselves) and Tom made another weird comment about literally owning Greg. And now people who ship Tom and Greg are like "omg it's canon we won" but I don't. Think that they did. Sorry I'm rambling it was just a really good finale idek if this counts but
I will be honest I'm not really tuned into the tomgreg fandom, but tons of people wanted tom to leave shiv and get with greg and tons of people thought shiv was the devil incarnate and refused to see any nuance in her character and I don't think those two things are a coincidence.
She gets a lot of hate from fans, largely just for being a woman who reacts in a non pretty way to abuse and for doing the exact same shitty stuff her brothers do. But also a large part of the hate she gets comes from the people who ship her husband with her cousin. To the point where people claim she's abusing her husband who views her as an accessory, a baby factory, and a ticket to money. Don't get me wrong, their relationship is incredibly toxic and unhealthy, but it is so on both of their parts. But Shiv's the only one who gets criticized for it
Peggy Carter
She’s a victim of Stucky mainly bc of the way marvel used her to give Steve an ooc ‘happy ending, but I know I’ve seen some posts calling her toxic or something it was 2019 so In CAT:FA, she’s introduced as a confident British agent. She has some chemistry w Steve Rogers (although more fans (on tumblr at least) preferred Steve and Bucky). She wasn’t just *woman who is strong*, but also had some emotional depth, with an actual range of emotion outside of angry and sad. She had a spin-off show, and she just continued to fight Russians and misogynists, even having chemistry in an almost wlw relationship and an eventual marriage to a famous shield agent. She went through character development and just was an awesome character. Then you know what endgame does? It has Steve Rogers travel back in time and take all of that development away. Most fans were mad at Marvel, and a lot were mad at Steve, but some fans threw Peggy completely under the bus, saying that they traded the (fanon?) queer ship/(canon) friendship for a bland love interest, which, um, she was so much more then that? I remember people really disliking Peggy, which isn’t fair to her character when she is/was so much more then that.
Peggy is vilified by people who ship Steve with his war comrade Bucky Barnes. I’ve even seen people claiming baselessly that she was secretly HYDRA the whole time.
She gets in the way of stucky which OBVIOUSLY gives people, most of them women themselves, the right to be ridiculously misogynistic. Dismissing her character arc, traits, presence in the movies and her part in Steve Roger's life, saying she is insignificant on the ground of very subjective readings is one thing, but outright calling her 'just some old coochie', among other colourful, wonderful things, is another. They also keep reaching to villainize her (saying she's a literal nazi which she's not) and cancel her so their ship is somehow made more valid for it, erasing the competition as it were.
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Roman vs Kendall
A post about promotional posters and some of my own thoughts.
First Poster:
Logan stands in the middle as the company, he is the company. By the way, the series is also a beautiful circle, the 1st episode of the 1st season began with Logan's birthday, that's where the fight for succession began, the 1st episode of the 4th season began with Logan's birthday, this season will end with the fight for succession.
On the left we have the sibling team, on the right the Logan team (we can already see on the poster that Roman betrayed).
Each character is someone's reflection:
Connor and Greg: I don't know if there's going to be a fight between them, I don't think so, I think it's like the Season 3 poster with Shiv and Connor, they have to put them somewhere, and since they're similar in behavior and thinking in some ways (in context of being a bit childish), they are a reflection of themselves.
Shiv and Tom: here probably no doubt, there will be a fight between them.
Kendall and Roman: and this is the most interesting, many people compare their relationship/history to Romulus and Remus, and that they are the main competitors in the battle for succession, this poster seems to confirm it, then Kendall and Roman will have to fight each other for power.
Individual looks:
Connor as well as Kendall and I think Shiv too (although he may be looking at Tom but I'm not sure) are looking at Logan as the one they will mostly oppose.
Greg looks at his reflection as the one who will take care of himself and his survival.
Tom looks to Shiv as the one he will have to fight.
Roman (just like Logan) is the only one who does not look at anyone or at his reflection, he looks forward, in front of himself, it seems to me that this may be the greatest indication that Roman will win Succession as the one who looks into the future.
Second Poster ans thoughts:
As one of the posters has a plane (announcement of Logan's death in the plane), in these posters we have Logan in the middle as a company and reflections of people, Greg with Connor (as the least important), Shiv with Tom (as a marriage war) and Roman with Kendall, while Roman and Kendall's reflections in one of the posters are facing Logan and Logan's reflections are facing them, this shows that the real fight for the company will be between Kendall and Roman, this is also heralded by the song that Connor sings at karaoke, which is about one of the brothers killing the other in a fight:
And what can I tell you my brother,
my killer
What can I possibly say?
I guess that I miss you,
I guess I forgive you
I'm glad you stood in my way
moreover, all the people in the poster are looking in someone's direction, Kendall is also looking at Logan (this is a cutout from the first poster), the only people who are not looking in someone's direction and looking ahead is Logan and Roman, sorry, but Roman from season 1 has gone through such a path of development that no siblings have gone through, he himself was taught by a member of the old guard Gerri and in the most brutal way (her betrayal at the end, of course right, but still), Roman has childhood stories about going to a military school, being kept in a cage like a dog, Logan beating him as a child, two dogs fighting (Kendall and Roman, which also foreshadows their fight for the company from the beginning, in this story, Kendall always won, so now in the fight for the company, Roman will win), about fishing trips with Connor, sorry, but I don't remember any stories about Kendall, Shiv or Connor's childhood, apart from one from season 3 where Connor says he took them camping because Logan couldn't, Roman has the biggest background as a character, plus the very mythology of Romulus and Remus (where Roman's name comes from and Logan himself often calls Roman Romulus especially when he's mad) where Romulus killed his brother Remus, and one more shot from the trailers, where Kendall hits Roman against the wall, he clearly has a reason to be mad at him, Roman has been clearly, step by step, set by the creators to be the CEO and winner of Succession.
Bonus: in both poster, in both Shiv's reflection and Tom's reflection, Shiv is behind Tom's back, does that mean she's going to get revenge and stab him in the back, or does Tom's being in front, mean he win their marital confrontation?
#succession#succession thoughts#succession theory#roman roy#kendall roy#shiv roy#tom wambsgans#logan roy#greg hirsch#connor roy
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the funny thing is I actually really enjoyed Tom as a character like truly mathew was a joy to have in class I was very entertained by his batshit insane performance of a batshit insane individual. that being said Tom literally deserved to win the least out of any of the characters (along with Mattson & Greg, who won too when they should have lost & also died violently), & he especially didn't deserve shivs help. like he doesn't even have the excuse the Roy siblings have of being raised to be sociopathic cutthroat capitalists, he had a normal upbringing but is nevertheless an absolute monster bc that's just who he is. Ditto with Greg. And Mattson made me angrier than anyone else on this entire show like I truly hate that man more than god
I just wanted Kendall to win & the Cycle to continue tbh. Like it was always gonna be him!!! I guess the writers thought it was too "obvious" & wanted a twist. Sad! Oh well there's other shows
#lying. there is no other show & im mourning so severely#i wanted another season we were supposed to get five.i wanted five million#succession spoilers
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That’s okay, thank you for writing such an amazing fic in the first place! Take your time ❤️ I’m excited but this is a good exercise for my patience haha take care 💓💓
Thanks so much! Below is a WIP snippet sneak peek to tide you over. (And for anyone who hasn't caught up yet, you can read the first three chapters here)!
Tom clears his throat. “Anyway, you were great,” he says before Greg can expose him further, pivoting back to a lighthearted spirit, favoring his giddiness over his melancholy. “Almost had me fooled,” he adds with an awkward chuckle.
Greg’s expression falters momentarily before he spreads his smile further. “You were convincing too, man.”
“Well, our performances certainly won over the Academy. Speaking of, can you believe Connor made an appearance?”
“I know, man! Shocking!”
“Not ideal that we’re homeless, though,” he adds, hoping his tone provides levity to their otherwise difficult position.
The taller man blows air from his lungs. “Big time.”
“Whatever, Greg. Once I lock in your promotion, you’ll be able to afford nicer than Kendall’s hammy downs anyway. Fuck that place!”
“Yeah, fuck that place! I mean, it was nice. But uh, now that I think about it, I always thought the countertops were perhaps not crafted to the utmost quality? Like, one time I spilled coffee everywhere and I swear you can still see the stain.”
“Mm.”
“What about you? I mean, you own your apartment with Shiv, right? Maybe we can flex the blackmail a bit harder, strong-arm her to drop that end of the bargain—”
Tom extends a calming hand. “No, no, Greg. Best not push our luck right now.” He sighs, slips his hand into his slack pocket. As much as losing his apartment daunts him, it’s hardly the first time the possibility has crossed his mind. He pushed his wife down the stairs—it was only a matter of time before her ghost appeared, exiling him from her halls to haunt them in peace.
“I’ll figure it out later,” he continues casually. “For now, I guess I'll pack whatever the fuck I can fit in my suitcases and wheel them back here like a bohemian vagabond.”
Greg blinks. He points a finger to the floor. “Here?”
“We already paid for the night, why waste the booking? We’ll extend our stay a few days until we find our footing.” Tom swallows, warm. “Unless you’d rather us find another hotel? Midtown’s not ideal long-term, obviously, but—”
“No, no,” Greg interrupts.“This is nice. It’s just, to confirm, it’s cool if I stay here too?”
Tom cocks his head. “What, Greg, you think I’d let you rot on the streets? Did you forget everything I promised you an hour ago? Did my magical hands massage away the memory?”
“No, but I wasn’t sure if you were gonna make me stay in another room or something.”
Tom pushes at Greg’s shoulder, playful. “Of course you’re staying here too, asshole.”
“Cool,” Greg says, cheeks rosier than before. “We’re safer together, anyway, right? Like, if Ken were to discover we’re already separate bedding, that would weaken our story. Can’t have trouble in paradise!”
“Right!” Tom doesn’t remind Greg that they’d booked a suite with only one bedroom and that one of them would be relegated to the pull out couch—that’s the least of their worries right now. “Exactly!”
“And might be quicker if we packed together? We could go to mine first, then yours after? If you’re amenable?”
Tom thinks it would be quicker if they split up and packed independently, but he doesn’t have the heart to decline Greg’s thinly-veiled request for help. Plus, he doesn’t want to be alone while he stows his whole life into luggage, anyway.
Tom chuckles. “Sure, silly string bean, we can pack together.”
Greg smiles back, nose scrunched a bit at the affectionate moniker. “Shall we head out then, um…sweet…potato?” He cringes.
“The fuck, Greg,” Tom snorts, teasing instead of admitting he finds sweet potato fucking adorable.“That’s terrible. God deliver whomever you actually date.”
The younger man rolls his eyes, toothy grin peeking from his smirk. “I don’t know! I tried. You’re so weird, man.”
“You’re weird, asshole.”
“You’re weirder.”
“Go get your things, will you? I’ll call us a car.”
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Things I love about ‘Ring out your Dead’
Gavin signing Tom up for Campanology on the fly and Tom being absolutely off his head about it causing Gavin to flee.
The terribly punctuated death threats, such as ‘who put him in’
Gavin has witnessed some gruesome murders but is traumatised by a woman cutting up clothes.
Peter Fogden and his main character vibes.
“What? What’s up with you now, you mad old badger?”
One of the rare episodes where Gavin isn’t problematic and is incredibly likeable.
Gavin’s obvious anxiety around women but inability to speak up or flirt back.
Screaming at the tv, because Liam should’ve been done with aggravated assault or bodily harm against Emma when he went for her in the Church.
It’s somehow always someone who’s either friends or knows Joyce Barnaby going on a killing spree.
Avenging a distant relative who existed and died nearly 100 years before you were even born.
Reggie naming his cat ‘Spitfire’.
A murder that occurred a century before your birth places you in outstanding debt in Midsomer.
Peter technically having truth when he suspected the rival bell ringers because they were the Badger’s Drift bell ringers.
Maisie’s insanity.
Joyce being friends with Maisie.
Gavin finally getting back at Tom for all the times he’s thrown him into uncomfortable situations.
Joyce siding with Gavin, yet again.
Gavin not usually being the smart character but somehow was the one holding the investigation in the palm of his hand while Tom didn’t do all that much.
Gavin not usually being smart but knowing Emma’s lack of English skills would mean she wouldn’t know what the word tryst meant and couldn’t have written the letter.
Tom always being unsympathetic to his Sergeants when something happens to them especially given it was his fault.
At least Tom got out of the afternoon of bell ringing practice.
Peter’s overdramatic reaction when they won the bell ringing competition.
Everyone hating Peter and yet he somehow wasn’t even a bad person.
Peter was the most passionate about bell ringing and he didn’t die first.
Gavin being Gavin.
“What were you going to do? Start robbing banks?”
The terrible Robbery attempted by Hugh.
By Season Five, it’s Gavin doing all the investigation work while Tom has a singular thought and spontaneously solves a case based on that one thought.
Did anyone actually arrest Peter for admitting to stealing the and possessing the two guns?
Peter being misunderstood the whole episode.
Liam being treated like a saint when he literally in front of people tried to harm his Fiancé over a fake note that he knew she didn’t write.
The delightful waitresses.
Gavin actually holding a snarky remark in when the waitress made her disgust towards him and Tom obvious through her words.
Gavin usually being snarky and pompous af has finally mellowed out and sees everyone as equals.
The stolen guns apparently being left and not acknowledged for years yet they were sitting at the top of the clothes in an open clothes drawer.
Everyone literally having reasons to be arrested and yet still walking about.
Marcus’ obsession with Emma.
Rosalind seducing Gavin to get out of vandalising Greg’s belongings and succeeding.
The actress who played Rosalind was in a bond film so I can understand why Gavin had such a big crush on her.
Tom’s attitude problem.
Joyce always having something to do with murderers.
Tom was nearing retirement with the way he was acting through the whole episode.
#midsomer murders#barnaby#gavin troy#daniel casey#tom barnaby#john barnaby#john nettles#ben jones#dan scott#john hopkins#jamie winter#neil dudgeon#nick hendrix#jason hughes#gwilym lee#ring out your dead
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If it weren't the Rugby World Cup
If it weren't the Rugby World Cup Madden nfl 24 Coins, the league could have played at least four events in London in the year 2015. as per the report. There's likely to be a chance of having four games in 2016. This is the next step in we move forward with Madden NFL 24 intends to increase its reach to rest of the world.
Recently, Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden has been picking momentum as a head coach candidate. The top three NCAA coaches choosing to return to their schools -including Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Chip Kelly (Oregon) and Bill O'Brien (Penn State) The marketplace has narrowed for teams that are in need of vacancies at HC.
The Eagles, Jaguars and Chargers are the three major teams in the hunt for the next head coach. But, many of the potential candidates are looking or focused on the postseason.
This has caused it being possible for the Bengals OC, brother of Jon Gruden, the coach who won the Super Bowl and his brother Jon Gruden, rising up the ranks of several teams' rosters this week. The Chargers could be an intriguing place to go, but after having hired the former Colts personnel director Tom Telesco as their GM, one would have to think this is the case. Bruce Arians is the favorite.
There are many people out there believe that they are the Jaguars are waiting for San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman. After being the lowest-ranked team in the league for a long time It's clear that the Niners offense is one of Madden 24 Coins Cheap the most interesting stories in Madden NFL 24 this year.
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succession takes that make me 😵💫😵💫😵💫
- ppl commenting “just like Logan said they are not serious people” about every goddamn thing the siblings do like ok we get it but there are also other reasons they act the way they do commenting this all the time is boring … and while we are at it also failing to acknowledge that Logan made them the way that they are like … it’s literally his fault
- “Kendall turned into Logan” no. you’re boring
- “roman really won” “shiv really won” “tom won” “ greg won” …. like what does winning really even mean to you this is not the olympics it’s more complex than this
- “Kendall doesn’t even care about his kids … he forgets they exist “ and another classic “at least now he can focus on his kids” 💀 first of all kids are not a project to focus on and second of all he may not be father of the year by a log shot but the show has made it clear multiple times that he loves and cares about them a lot. he just can’t be a good dad due to his baggage and issues he even said in the s3 finale that he doesnt feel connected to them and that was something that clearly weighed heavily on him this doesn’t = he doesn’t care about them
- all the fucking debate about the siblings not being ~ good people and which one of them is the least bad person ….. this is boring and irrelevant move on
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I've seen too many posts linking Tomgreg to Pride and Prejudice (2005) so before I go to sleep I imagined another AU fanfic that combines both universes:
What if the similarities between Mr. Darcy/Elizabeth and Tom/Greg were not "coincidence"?
What if actually Greg and Tom were destined to love each other from before birth and they were the reincarnations of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy respectively?
Perhaps not all of their past relatives would meet them again in this life, but the love that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy had for each other was so powerful that on the day they lay dying, all they asked of God was to allow them to meet again.
Regardless of the bad circumstances, regardless of whether they once again had different ideas or were involved in family problems, none of that matters, the only thing that mattered to them was that their path would be the same again and that they would love each other.
But maybe God had other plans for them...
And although he "kept" his promise that they would meet again, he knew that his path would be even more difficult than in his past life. Because no one completely repeats the personality they had before or the physique, not even the gender.
If in her past life Elizabeth was determined, sure of herself and a little proud, Greg might only partially fulfill the first point. If Elizabeth was small and beautiful, Greg would be "giant" and maybe not ugly, but much less handsome.
Mr. Darcy would retain his passionate love and physical traits, but he would lose the respect he had in his past life, and would only retain people's bad talk towards him.
Also his tactfulness when talking about him would worsen, and make him even more difficult to accept in society.
Because his weird attitude was considered mysterious, attractive, maybe haughty but fascinating in the 1800s... but in the middle of 2018 they are nothing more than awkward personality traits for everyone.
And of course; Tom and Greg don't know that they already loved each other once, and lived happily ever after...until the oldest of them starts having dreams.
Dreams where he sees himself next to his beautiful wife in her luxurious mansion, taking care of her two beautiful children, laughing, dancing and sometimes fighting, but loving each other madly.
Tom wonders why he has started to dream this, and remembers that the first time it happened to him was after he met Greg.
But this is not possible right?
Because Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are fictional characters from a classic novel...they couldn't have existed! And much less could he be the handsome Mr. Darcy who has conquered the hearts of hundreds of women around the world, that is; he can't even woo his wife properly.
he refuses to believe that reincarnations is true, but he begins to reconsider when he sees that Greg, for small lapses of time is determined, is strong, is brave as Elizabeth was. In his free time, he is in charge of reading and enjoying simple things, just as his "wife" demonstrates in his dreams. And his smiles are the same, full of affection and admiration only dedicated to him.
So it's a fact that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were real but... wasn't Elizabeth supposed to represent the author and she hadn't been married? Or maybe...
Maybe Jane Austen was never Elizabeth, but she was Mary, and she told the story of her sister and her brother-in-law through her eyes or whatever.
The dreams increase and Tom becomes more and more aware of the similarities between them and his past lives. He even makes her wonder if at least one of the people around them in their current life was a family member or friend in their past life. He greatly regrets that in this life he does not have his beloved sister Georgiana by his side, much less Bingley. But he begins to believe that Shiv is indeed the wayward Caroline who at least this time "won his love."
At least; he is grateful that in this life he hasn't abused Greg as much as she did with Elizabeth.
Tom sometimes wants to tell Greg everything he's dreaming about, but he regrets it every time he tries, because he doesn't want to be considered crazier than he already is. So he only considers one way: to show Greg the love he professed in his past life, maybe in a less sweet way like Mr. Darcy, but just as intense love after all.
Convincing himself that everything has to go on like this for a while, not realizing that Greg knows it too.
Because he too has seen these dreams since he was a child, but he hadn't given them any importance until he met him.
That's why when Tom asked him if he would kiss him, he hesitated and didn't answer yes or no...because he thought that Tom had also noticed the resemblance of him to his past life.
Greg thought that Mr. Darcy's attitude was still hidden, but it would show up soon and Tom would love him, just as Mr. Darcy loved Elizabeth.
But things don't always move fast, and he will have to be patient.
Meanwhile, Willa also watches everything from afar, just like in her past life almost nobody notices her in the Roy family, she is still the shy Mary of her past life, or rather the creative Jane. But now, although she is less fortunate in her career as an artist than before, she at least won't be left alone.
And she accepts that things cannot always be the same.
#pride and prejudice#tomgreg fic#tomgreg#tomgreg au#mr darcy#tom wambsgans#elizabeth bennet#greg hirsch#funny ideas for fanfics#I know this is weird but I loved writing it
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succession s3 e8 recap: macaroni and memorial services 4/5
ok a conundrum for you all: you get to drink exceptional wine and eat fresh pasta and nice cheese, but it has to be seated at a table with these guys:
do you do it?
i'd probably do it. i'd do it for pasta.
anyway, logan agrees to see kendall for dinner, but is a bit wary of having his chefs cook for him. he says there are things he can't eat because of his health, but really, he seems legitimately scared that ken might poison him.
throwback to the donuts!!! but ken would never, surely!
logan is still is paranoid self, though, so he has iverson take a bite of mozzarella.
ken wants out because he has realized his father is better than him at this. but instead of just saying that, he adds that his father is a corrupt man in a corrupt world, so of course he is better than ken.
ken is just a good, nice guy who can't make it in this horrible business....
to which logan plays the dead waiter card.
ouch...
he asks kendall how long he thinks the kid was breathing in water before he died, implying that ken could have saved him. logan knows exactly where to point a sharp stick.
i'm annoyed ken couldn't just be like "you won, that's it". then he'd probably walk away with two billion... or am i being naive?
back in shiv and tom's room, shiv says they should have a baby because her mother told her she shouldn't do it (she left that last part out). in terms of rebelling against her parents, shiv is very obvious...
she's also ready to fight again, after a brief moment depressed in bed. they talk business. they talk dirty. she tells tom she doesn't love him and he looks sad. not exactly what i consider a turn on, but hey, what do i know of this sex vegas shiv is speaking of...
greg is flirting with some royal who sells fermented yoghurt on the side. at least he got some use out of that lil watch of his. ew.
there's another laurie spotting!!!
upon rewatch, i highly doubt that roman's obsession with gerri is going to end any time soon, despite the whole drama... his father not allowing it will surely just make it more forbidden end tempting, no?
i know i'm meant to ship these people and want them to like... idk get married? but i don't. i just want them in scenes together and i'm here for the drama:)
shiv's idea of "lets have a baby" is "let's freeze some embryos and make a possible future baby popsicle.
she's so romantic.
roman leaves for lake como in order to save the deal with gojo.
mattson is being especially scandi, if you ask me, talking about all his ennuie and loneliness.
people always disappoint this bootleg elon musk, it seems, and he only wants the best the world has to offer.
long story short: he is asking for more than roman thinks waystar is willing to give him. roman's trip to lake como was seemingly a waste. but i guess that's better than finding yourself, i don't know, in tom and shiv's marriage?
#succession#succession hbo#succession season 3#succession spoilers#succession recap#kendall roy#jeremy strong#logan roy#brian cox#shiv roy#sarah snook#tom wambsgans#matthew macfadyen#greg hirsch#nicolas braun#roman roy#kieran culkin#gerri kellman#alexander skarsgard#lucas mattson
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I watched last weekend’s Comedy Awards show tonight (got it from here, if anyone wants to see it). I’m glad I did. It wasn’t the highest level of entertainment or anything. But it was nice for an evening that I wanted to spend without paying too close attention to anything. And I did skip around a bit through parts that were outside what I know about. I’m very happy for all those Sex Education people for winning all the awards, but I haven’t seen that show and skipped its clips and speeches. They seemed to be having a good time, though.
I’d already seen a few posts on here about the Taskmaster acceptance speech, but I hadn’t actually watched the video of it and I’m glad I didn’t because it was funnier in context. It was cool to see how many of the people in the crowd have been on Taskmaster before (and how many other people in crowd haven’t been on Taskmaster, but it would be great if they were). It really did give a sense that Taskmaster is a show that’s taken over a big swath of the British comedy scene, as it should have. Like it’s a thread that tied together a lot of people on different sides of that room.
They should have gotten Ed Gamble up on stage when they went to accept that award, though. I mean, I have no idea how any of that works, and I assume there are a lot of good reasons why Ed Gamble did not go up there, because it was only for people who’d worked on the actual show. But if there was any discretion in who does and doesn’t get to climb on stage and stand behind Greg and Alex – come on, Ed is doing a lot with that podcast to keep up the interest of the people who are big enough fans of that show to listen to a podcast discussing it in depth in addition to watching the regular episodes. At this point, Ed Gamble is responsible for at least some of the level of Taskmaster’s cult following.
For some reason, I found it incredibly funny that the only time Tom Allen (who hosted the show, and did a great job) called out an individual comedian who was actually there, it was James Acaster. I don’t know why that was so funny. It just seemed so specifically targeted. He made a bunch of jokes about groups of comedy people who were in attendance (“The cast of We Are Lady Parts are here!”, “The cast of Ghosts are here!”), he made a number of jokes about comedians who hadn’t turned up, and exactly once he just pointed to one specific person in the crowd to say “You! I am going to make a joke about you!” The joke was about how James was nominated for a bunch of Edinburgh awards but had never won one, and Tom said we’d see whether James’ losing streak would continue that night. Which isn’t really fair, because the only award for which he was nominated was Outstanding Male Comedy Entertainment Performance (for Hypothetical), in which he was up against Sean Lock. I mean, how was that supposed to go for him?
Actually, now that I think of it I realize he wasn’t quite the only individual comedian Tom Allen picked on personally during the show. At one point Rosie Jones was running around and Tom asked her what she was doing. But to be fair, she invited that by running around the room when everyone else was sitting down. James was just sitting there and got picked out for no reason. It was pretty funny.
And because I feel like I can’t write about this without at least briefly mentioning it, I will say Tom Allen’s shots at comedians who didn’t show up to the event included two jokes at Jimmy Carr’s expense, referring to his recent, in Tom Allen’s words, “career suicide” (though it wasn’t actually career suicide, it’s just going to be a few months of tabloid stories and then he’ll be fine because cancel culture doesn’t really exist). And then Katherine Ryan defended Jimmy Carr, but in a roundabout way by saying she was defending “roast comedy”, which didn’t really make sense. I mean, it would make sense out of context. Jimmy Carr likes “roast comedy”, “roast comedy” is not as popular or widespread as it used to be, it would be reasonable to Katherine Ryan to stand up at a comedy event and say, “Hey everyone, let’s give some love to this waning comedic style I like and someone who does a lot of it.” But in context, she was clearly defending Jimmy Carr from the current reason why people are mad at him, which means it doesn’t make sense for her to have brought up roast comedy because roast comedy has nothing to do with it. Unless she’s trying to argue that it should be considered legitimate and acceptable comedy to “roast” genocide victims and it will be a tragic loss to the comedy genre if people think otherwise. Okay, I’m done on this subject now. I said before that the world doesn’t need my take on that situation, and most of the time in situations like this, the “canceled” celebrity just gets more fame and attention off the back of the tabloid and tabloid-style outrage and I’m loathe to contribute to that. So I’m done now.
I knew the Sean Lock tribute was coming; I hadn’t read beforehand that would be in it, I just knew it would because how could it not be? It still made me cry. The way they did it was nice, actually. Those things are always hard. A celebrity memorial is going to be sort of inherently cliched, sort of inherently contrived and awkward. Me, as a viewer, ending up with tears in my eyes while watching a celebrity memorial is definitely inherently cliched, and then I sort of feel self-conscious and awkward. I appreciated the way they pre-empted that with some jokes about how contrived the whole “post-humous tribute” thing was, which sort of gave us permission to laugh at that and break down some of the awkwardness.
Reminded me of the livestreamed funeral for a friend of mine that I watched last year (lockdown funeral, livestream was the only option), in which both of his brothers kept having to stop their speeches to acknowledge how the guy who’d actually died would be laughing at them, and the rest of us, for getting so emotional. And those memories were definitely part of why the Sean Lock tribute got to me so much, that it hit all those same notes as the funeral for my friend who died last year – he wasn’t this guy, he wasn’t the kind of guy who’d want people to make sad and serious speeches about him, none of this fits him or feels right, but what else are we supposed to do? But everything else aside, the Sean Lock stuff definitely also got to me for reasons related to Sean Lock and no one else. I started out by telling myself that I am not going to cry at a post-humous tribute to a celebrity at an awards show because I am not the sort of person who does that, but as soon as Lee Mack and Bill Bailey started telling stories about him, that went out the window.
To lighten things up a bit: Jesus, Rose Matafeo looked gorgeous on that night.
I was sorry to see her not win the breakthrough comedian award, but if it’s any consolation, I’m pretty sure she’s on track to be nominated for, and winning, bigger and better things than that soon. Also, I couldn’t be too annoyed about her losing her category because I do like Munya Chawawa.
I was about to say Rose Matafeo will get her day, but she already has, given that just a few years ago she won the award for the best show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (an award for a great show called Horndog, which I have up on my Google Drive in case anyone wants to see it). So it’s not like Rose is an up-and-coming comedian still waiting for her big break. She’s had that already and is very much on an upward trajectory.
It was a pity to see Ghosts not win any awards either, though I’m pretty sure that show has already won plenty of awards as well. And its cast members appeared to be having a great time, so that’s what’s important.
Watching that awards show sort of reminded me of why getting so into this comedy stuff has worked so well for me as a band-aid while my real life, which involves coaching a contact sport that is very COVID unfriendly, was gone. Every shot they showed of that room was dripping with the awkward, drunk, uncomfortable and unpredictable atmosphere of all the awards banquets I’ve been to, after the national championships when they give out the MVPs for the best athletes of the year, best coaches, most improved, all that. This weird sense of all these people from different teams in different cities who normally only see each other in specific contexts like at tournaments or post-tournament parties or camps or workshops or hotel hallways, all in a room dressed in fancy clothes and sort of there to compete for awards but also sort of just there to get drunk. The last awards banquet I went to as a competitive athlete, a girl who’d beaten me to a medal at a major national championship the day before, whom I’d never spoken to before besides awkward pleasantries when we ran into each other at social occasions, came up behind me while I was in line for food, took out my hair elastic, and started playing with my hair. We struck up a conversation. It was weird.
That night, I also stopped one of my female teammates from hooking up with a guy from another team with whom I was on a different team years earlier and knew him to be a predator. And I watched a man whom everyone in that room knew was known for physically, verbally, and sexually abusing his male and female athletes, win Women’s Coach of the Year (the award being for “best coach of women”, not “best woman who is a coach” - there are hardly any female coaches and none of them won any awards). Let’s hope I didn’t watch the equivalent of that happening at the Britcom awards! Because as an outsider to that community, I’d have no way of knowing if that did happen! Yeah a lot of things in the world are bad.
But watching that awards show did make me think of all the little good and bad and awkward and in-between things about the rest of my life, and made me realize how much one of the hardest things about COVID was just the loss of the in-between community. I stayed in touch with my actual friends. But I weirdly miss the sense of just being part of something, something where a whole network of people have the same frame of reference, even if they’re not all connected one-to-one. I don’t miss the really awful things, like abusers winning awards. But I kind of miss the awkward things, the annoying things, as well as the unambiguously good things. That comedy awards show felt like it had a lot of all-over-the-place energy, you could sense the good and the annoying and the awkward.
Anyway, watching that show was a good time. I don’t think I’ve ever watched an awards show on TV before. I always check out when that time of year comes around and people start talking about Oscars or whatever. I really don’t care. But the comedy awards were fun to watch.
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The Gregnancy
1/?
(this text post from @mare-bare has stuck with me for months and, uh. hope this does the concept justice)
i.
Tom Wambsgans showed up at his apartment one Saturday morning, completely out of the blue. No courtesy phone call to let him know he’d be dropping in, no text. Not that Greg was surprised. There had always been a certain level of entitlement with Tom when it came to Greg’s time and space, hadn’t there—I’m your boss, I’m your cousin-in-law, I’m your goddamn family, buddy. We’re friends, aren’t we, Greg? I’m taking your bed, and you can sleep on the floor. I saved your ass, it’s the least you can do for me.
That wasn’t the surprising part.
One year after Kendall’s press conference, almost to the day, Tom Wambsgans showed up unannounced at Greg’s apartment on a Saturday morning with a suitcase, his dog and—
A baby.
“Hi,” Tom said sourly, when Greg opened the door and stared, blank and frozen and confused, at the bundle in his arms. “Gonna let us in, or what?”
ii.
“Um,” Greg said. “Is it. Like, you know.”
They sat at the little dinette in the kitchen, coffee growing cold in the forgotten carafe on the countertop. He couldn’t stop staring at the sleeping baby—like, there was a literal newborn baby sleeping in his kitchen, passed out cold in its car seat that Tom had set down on top of the kitchen table so he could keep a close eye on it. It hadn’t cried once all morning.
“Yours?” Tom deadpanned. His eyes were tired but they lit up with the flicker of a smile. “You know, funnily enough, Gregory, I didn’t think to get a paternity test.”
“That’s not… like, that’s not even possible, for starters,” Greg said, running an anxious hand through his sleep-mussed hair. “From a, like, from a purely biological standpoint.”
“Relax, I’m not here to shake you down for child support.”
Greg just looked at him.
Tom audibly swallowed. “She’s mine. And, ah.” His mouth tightened into a grimace. “Shiv’s.”
iii.
It happened like this:
Tom Wambsgans was pushing thirty. He had a job he liked in the city—finance, six-figure salary, a 401(k) match—but there was something missing in his life, and he knew in his heart of hearts that it was out of reach. He had worked too hard, grinded and groveled and scrabbled his way up the corporate ladder and sheathed himself in the uniform of the upwardly mobile social climber, to just give up now, and if he tried to settle down while he was still building up momentum, try the whole Mister Mom thing on for size, well. He might as well move back home to Saint Paul, ask his mother for a job at her firm, scrimp and save and clip fucking coupons for formula and Pampers and start looking at daycares.
He wasn’t ready for that kind of sacrifice, so he got a dog instead.
And for a while, that was enough.
Tom Wambsgans was pushing forty, and he was dating the most incredible woman—smart and sharp-tongued and gorgeous and in possession of possibly the finest ass on the face of the earth, literally the eighth wonder of the world—but she had this one teeny, tiny thing (minuscule, really; a bit of a nitpick, but it kept him up at night all the same) where she used these little white pills as a crutch to deal with the pressure of being Logan Roy’s only daughter, and he got that; he saw it firsthand, lived it, for Christ’s sake. He wanted to make an honest woman of her, and he wanted her to be the mother of his children, and he wanted a cute little house in Montauk with a white picket fence, but he had to get her sober first, and then he had to make her father fall in love with him, too.
No problem.
He wasn’t sure he’d really won Logan Roy over in the end, but that was all right. He was engaged to the most beautiful woman in the world, and he was going to spend every minute of the rest of his life making her happy.
Tom Wambsgans was forty-two, and he wanted kids, but Shiv Roy had a career to worry about, as if he didn’t have career aspirations of his own. Head of ATN, a real seat at the table with the adults instead of a booster seat over in Parks and Cruises. He wanted kids, but Shiv wanted an open relationship, and all the freedom that afforded her to go off and gobble the odd side dick, while he sat at home and brooded and watched HGTV home improvement shows on the couch with his dog, pointedly not looking at his phone, pointedly not wondering where she was or what she was doing or who she was doing, and why she was so proprietary over her head and her heart and her womb, like, Jesus Christ, were they husband and wife, or were they roommates? He wanted kids, but Shiv didn’t, and he wished that he’d known that before they got married, just like he wished he’d known a lot of things before they got married, but at least he’d had the foresight to send their prenuptial agreement to his mom for a little look-see before he signed his John Hancock on the dotted line, and she’d managed to negotiate a little something for him that Shiv’s lawyers begrudgingly agreed to, after mild haranguing on a conference call. I’d like Shiv to freeze. Embryos, not eggs. A little of me in the bank.
Tom Wambsgans was forty-three, and freshly divorced from an extraordinary woman, and he was about to make a life-changing withdrawal from a cryobank.
iv.
“It—” Greg opened his mouth, then shook his head. He was trying to do the math in his head, but something just wasn’t adding up. “Huh. That’s—uh, okay.”
“Spare me the sanctimonious judgment,” Tom said.
“No, I just,” Greg said. “Uh, you said she’s Shiv’s?”
“Yep.”
“Like, a surrogate, or—?”
“No, the stork came and dropped her off on my doorstep,” Tom said, rolling his eyes. “Yes, a surrogate, Greg.”
“Oh.”
A silence fell. Greg didn’t know what to say. What did you say, when your cousin’s ex-husband came knocking at your door at 8 a.m. on a Saturday with a baby and an armful of luggage and a dog? Congratulations?
He cleared his throat. “So…”
“We’re still divorced,” Tom said, reading his mind. “In case you were wondering.”
“Oh, uh, okay. I didn’t, uh, I didn’t know. If you were.”
Another silence.
“I just needed a place to crash for a bit,” Tom said, biting his lip. “It’s… not been easy.”
“Oh,” Greg said. That was surprising for a number of reasons. “You wanna—stay with me?”
Tom raised an eyebrow. “We’re not imposing, are we?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Just a parade of girls traipsing through Cousin Greg’s bachelor pad, I bet. I’m not cramping your style, am I?”
Greg flushed. “That’s not, uh. No, I’m actually—moving?”
“What? I thought this was Kendall’s favor to you. A little cousinly love.”
“It was, but I don’t have a formal lease agreement, per se, and uh, the real estate market’s moving again, so unless I can cough up a spare seven mil, I’m kind of, like. Effectively homeless, as of the end of the month.”
“Well, so much for loyalty, huh,” Tom said, and it felt pointed. Greg grimaced.
“Ha, yeah.”
“Well, listen, ah, I’m looking for a place in Jersey. Hoboken? A little quieter, you know, good for kids, and I’ve got a couple appointments lined up with my realtor this week,” Tom said. “Come along, if you’d like.”
Greg blinked. “Oh, uh. Sure, that sounds—yeah. Thanks.”
“Sure.”
“You can crash with me,” Greg said. He felt a surge of goodwill towards Tom, a guy he hadn’t seen in close to a year but had a lot of trouble forgetting despite his best efforts, and a weird sense that they were slipping right back into their old patterns. “You and, and Mondale, and—um.”
“Lucy,” Tom supplied, and Greg smiled.
“Lucy.”
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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
July 12, 2021
Heather Cox Richardson
Today’s news all centered around the Big Lie that former president Donald Trump won the 2020 election.
Yesterday, Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where the audience cheered through his meandering speech, in which he insisted that he won the 2020 election. “The entire system was rigged against the American people and rigged against a fair, decent and honest election,” he said. CNN’s Daniel Dale, who has fact-checked Trump’s speeches for years, called the speech “untethered to reality.”
But Trump was not alone: the whole three-day event featured speakers, including Representatives Ronny Jackson and Louie Gohmert, both Texas Republicans, focused on that Big Lie.
Just how untethered from reality this argument is became clear today when U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker held a hearing on whether the lawyers who tried to overturn the 2020 election results in Michigan should face sanctions. Those lawyers, dubbed the “Kraken” by one of their leaders, Trump-affiliated lawyer Sidney Powell, produced close to 1000 pages of affidavits intending to cast doubt on the election results. Michigan and the city of Detroit filed complaints with the bar after the lawsuits failed, calling for punishment for the lawyers who had signed on to the effort.
As today’s hearing proceeded, it became clear that the so-called Kraken lawyers had made no effort to verify much of anything they presented to the court. Repeatedly, Parker asked if anyone had tried to verify any of the affidavits they had filed; repeatedly, they indicated they had not. At one point, Parker said, "I don't think I've ever really seen an affidavit" like this. "This is really fantastical," Parker said. "How can any of you, as officers of the court, present this type of an affidavit?"
Parker suggested that the whole point of the lawsuits in the first place was to spread lies to make people think the election wasn’t legitimate. "My concern is that counsel here has submitted affidavits to suggest and make the public believe that there was something wrong with the election...that's what these average affidavits are designed to do, to show there was something wrong in Michigan….”
Although Kraken lawyer Juli Haller began to cry during the hearing, Trump-affiliated lawyer Sidney Powell made it clear that, far from backing down, she wanted to move forward. Repeatedly, she and other lawyers demanded a trial or at least an evidentiary hearing, clearly trying to legitimize their claims by presenting them in an official setting. Like other Trump supporters, Powell is hoping to use official procedures to legitimize lies. We saw this in the hearings before Trump’s first impeachment, when lawmakers such as Jim Jordan (R-OH) used the official proceedings to construct a narrative for rightwing media.
David Fink, an attorney representing Detroit, called that pattern out: "Because of the lies spread in this courtroom, not only did people die on January 6, but many people throughout the world...came to doubt the strength of our democratic institutions in this country.”
Also today, news broke that, back in November, the Republican National Committee’s chief counsel, Justin Riemer, called claims that Trump had won the election “a joke.” Speaking of the lawyer pushing such claims, Riemer said, “They are misleading millions of people who have wishful thinking that the president is going to somehow win this thing.”
And yet, the Republican Party itself is tethering itself to Trump.
In Oklahoma and Alaska, state Republican Party leaders have backed Trump-supporting challengers to James Lankford (R-OK) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Lankford was actually speaking on the floor of the Senate on January 6, preparing to object to some of the certified ballots, when the rioters broke into the Capitol. After the insurrection riot, Lankford chose not to continue his objection to the counting. He now faces a primary challenger.
So does Murkowski, who, when party leaders similarly primaried her with someone backed by former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in 2010, won a write-in campaign. Shortly after the insurrection, Murkowski said to a reporter: "I will tell you, if the Republican Party has become nothing more than the party of Trump, I sincerely question whether this is the party for me.”
In Pennsylvania, the chair of the state senate's Intergovernmental Operations Committee, Trump-ally state senator Doug Mastriano, is demanding an Arizona-type recount of the 2020 vote in his state. Blocked by Democratic governor Tom Wolf and the state’s attorney general, Mastriano today issued a statement saying he would continue to fight for what he called a “forensic investigation.”
Meanwhile, in Texas, at least 51 of the 67 Democratic lawmakers are leaving the state to block Republicans from passing voter restriction laws. By fleeing the state, they will deprive the legislatures of enough lawmakers to do business, a number called a “quorum.” The Texas legislature is in special session this summer in part because the Democrats blocked these laws in the same way in May. In response, Texas governor Greg Abbott vetoed funding for the legislature. Today, once again, he accused them of abandoning the duties for which voters elected them.
And yet, the Republicans’ argument for further restricting the vote is based on the Big Lie that the state needs to be protected from voter fraud after the 2020 election.
Tomorrow, President Joe Biden will go to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to make a speech on voting rights. He is expected to call out the Big Lie and to talk about “actions to protect the sacred, constitutional right to vote.”
—-
Notes:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/12/politics/fact-check-trump-cpac-election-lies/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2021/07/12/1015315950/texas-democrats-leave-state-in-effort-to-block-gop-voting-restrictions
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/12/cpac-dallas-trump-election/
https://news.yahoo.com/time-lisa-murkowski-join-democrats-093326694.html
https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/videos/watch/senator-lankfords-floor-speech-is-interrupted-when-protestors-enter-the-us-capitol
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/fight-over-trump-loyalty-okla-gop-chairman-endorses-sen-lankford-n1273269
https://www.businessinsider.com/sidney-powell-lin-wood-michigan-lawsuit-sanctions-hearing-2021-7
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/pa-republican-asks-counties-hand-over-ballots-effort-start-arizona-n1273275
Senator Doug Mastriano @SenMastrianoDespite attempts of obstruction by the Wolf Administration and the Attorney General, the Intergovernmental Operations Committee will press forward in the pursuit of a forensic investigation:
senatormastriano.com/.../mastriano-…
July 12th 2021
2,032 Retweets6,139 Likes
/photo/1
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-kraken-powell-wood-giuliani-b1882871.html
Andrew Feinberg @AndrewFeinbergHaller, one of the Kraken lawyers, is crying.761 Retweets3,683 Likes
July 12th 2021
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/12/trumps-kraken-gets-an-intense-grilling-testy-court-hearing/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rnc-trump-stop-the-steal/2021/07/12/79e58a02-e320-11eb-934f-7e6c1927f261_story.html
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/12/joe-biden-donald-trump-big-lie-speech
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/07/12/texas-democrats-walk-out-voting-bill/
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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
#quotes#Letters From An American#Heather Cox Richardson#The Big Lie#January 6 2021#political 2021#corrupt GOP#criminal GOP
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[Cover: GREG WILLIAMS/AUGUST IMAGES]
Tom Hardy interview and exclusive David Bailey shot
Tom Hardy interview and exclusive David Bailey shot
By DANIELLE DE WOLFE
02 September 2015
ShortList meets the British actor who took on the Kray twins and won. Plus an exclusive image of the actor taken by the inimitable David Bailey.
Interviewing Tom Hardy is not like interviewing other film stars. From the moment he arrives – alone, dressed down in hiking trousers and black T-shirt, puffing away on a complex-looking digital e-cigarette – it is immediately clear this is not someone who will be exhibiting any kind of on-promotional-duties polish. He is very, very nice (I get a hug at the end of the interview), but there is unmistakably a wired edginess about him. When we sit down, it starts like this:
Me: I’m going to start with an obvious question, which is…
Hardy: Have you seen the film?
Me: Yes. I…
Hardy: Right, well that’s the first question, then. The second one is, “What did you think?”
I tell him I loved it, and why, and he is pleased (“That’s a f*cking result!”). When we move on to me asking him questions, his answers – again, in contrast to other film stars, with whom the game is to get them to veer slightly away from prepared, succinct monologues – are smart and eloquent, but long, drawn-out and enjoyably all over the place, veering off into tangents prompted by thoughts that have clearly just formulated. At the end of our allotted time, we are told to wind it up not once but twice, and even then he is still going, launching into theories about American versus British gangster films and life and humanity and such things (“Sorry man, I can talk for f*cking ever!” he laughs). He will be talking with a seriousness and sincerity (“All the risk was taken by [writer and director] Brian [Helgeland], to be fair…”), then will switch without warning into a piercing, mock-hysterical falsetto (“…letting me PLAY BOTH F*CKING ROLES, MAN!”).
In fact, briefly, while we’re on the subject of the way he speaks…
Tom Hardy’s normal speaking voice is not something we have been privy to onscreen. Since he delivered – whatever your opinion of it – the most imitated cinematic voice of the decade in The Dark Knight Rises, we haven’t come close. That thick Welsh accent in Locke, The Drop’s quiet Brooklyn drawl, the Russian twang in Child 44: we just never hear it. And this might be because it doesn’t exist. It’s five years ago, but if you watch his Jonathan Ross appearance in 2010, where he is very well spoken, he confesses he “sometimes picks up accents, and sometimes I don’t know how I’m going to sound until I start speaking”. If you then watch another video of a feature on GMTV, dated just a month previous, while addressing some young people from troubled backgrounds as part of his charity work with the Prince’s Trust, he is speaking to them in a south London street kid drawl. Today, in the flesh, he is about halfway between these two.
A natural-born chameleon.
Tom Hardy shot by David Bailey for ShortList
BEING DOUBLE
The role we are here to discuss today does not, by Tom Hardy’s own standards at least, involve a huge stretch accent-wise. But it is “the hardest thing that I’ve ever done, technically”. This is because, as mentioned, he plays not one role, but two. In the same film. You will likely have seen the posters for Legend by now, depicting Hardy as both of the Kray twins. Which seems an ambitious, almost foolhardy undertaking.
Hardy agrees. “It is one of them situations,” he says. “You get an actor to play two characters, and immediately, it’s pony. It’s gonna be rubbish. Just: no. It’s a bad idea.”
This particular “bad idea” came to him when he first met writer and director Brian Helgeland (who had previously written screenplays for – no biggie – LA Confidential and Mystic River) for dinner. Brian wanted Hardy to play Reggie (the hetero, alpha male, more-straight-down-the-line Kray). Hardy, though, had read the script, and of course, being Tom Hardy, was drawn to the more complex character. “I was like, ‘Well, I feel Ronnie,’” he says. “So which actor am I gonna give up Ronnie to, if I play Reggie? Errrrrggh…. I can’t have that. ’Cos that’s all the fun there! And Reggie’s so straight! But there was a moment when I could have come away just playing Reggie. We could have gone and found a superlative character actor to play Ronnie, and that would have been the best of everything."
But Helgeland sensed the dissatisfaction in his potential leading man. “I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Oh, he wants to play Ron,’” he tells me. “And the paraphrased version is that by the end of the dinner, I said, ‘I’ll give you Ron if you give me Reg.’”
And so began their quest to turn a risky, potentially disastrous idea into something special (as Brian puts it to me, “the movie’s either gone right or gone wrong before anyone even starts working on it”). Hardy found some comfort in Sam Rockwell’s two-interacting-characters performance in Moon. “I’m a big fan of Sam,” he says.
“And Moon gave me reason to go, ‘I know it’s possible to hustle with self, to create a genuine dialogue with self.’ So then it’s the technical minefield: can you authentically create two characters within a piece at all? So that the audience can look past that and engage in the film? It is what it is: it’s two characters played by the same actor. But I think we got to a point where people forget that and are genuinely watching the story."
This was the ‘why I liked the film’ reasoning I gave to him at the beginning of the interview. And it is a remarkable performance, or pair of performances, or triumph of technical direction. The opening shot features both Tom Hardy Krays sitting in the back of a car, and feels strange, but very quickly, within about 10 or 15 minutes, you settle into it, and forget that it is actually the same guy. This was made possible, in part, by Hardy’s stunt double from Mad Max: a New Zealander named Jacob Tomuri.
“He inherited the hardest job of my career,” Hardy grins. “I put on a pair of glasses, played every scene with Ron, then took ’em off and played Reg. And we went through every scene in the film, recording it on the iPhone. So he’s got every scene of me doing both characters, on his iPhone. He actually played both brothers, had to learn all of the lines. He was paying attention twice as hard to keep up. But he superseded that, and was eventually ad-libbing. There’s a line that ended up in the film, where Ronnie goes, ‘I bent him up like a pretzel, I hurt him really f*cking badly.’” “Where did that come from?!” Hardy shrieks, in that falsetto again. “It came from New Zealand."
The wife’s tale
The other big potential pitfall, as Hardy sees it, was contributing to the ongoing glamorisation and eulogising of two brothers who were, to say the least, not very nice. Somehow they have become almost as iconic a piece of the Sixties puzzle as the Beatles or the Stones. But this was not something that Legend would be setting out to reinforce. “One has to approach these things thinking about the families of the victims who were involved in the other end of it,” he says. “Before you find the heart to like somebody, you’ve gotta look at their track record as best as possible: the people who’ve been hurt, the bodies, the suffering, people who were bullied, who lived in terror, who lost significant parts of their lives in the wake of these two men. There’s a lot of sh*t to wade through. And a lot of people who do not, quite rightly, want to see anything to do with these two men. And if I were them, I wouldn’t want to be involved myself, but there’s also part of me that wants to know. That wants to get under the skin.”
So how do you go about doing that? About humanising, to any extent, such people?
“I think the first port of call is, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do and say whatever you wanted to do and say in the world, regardless of the ramifications and the consequences?’ Ultimately, when I – we – go to the cinema or read a book or we go to escape, we respond to certain types of characters that go, ‘F*ck it: I’m gonna do whatever I want.'
And that’s because we can’t. Because most people would feel a responsibility.”
The answer to how Legend would do this came in the shape of a person who did feel some responsibility, namely Frances Shea: the troubled wife of Reggie, who died in 1967. Played by Emily Browning, she became the centre of the film when Helgeland met Krays associate Chris Lambrianou, who told him that “Frances was the reason we all went to prison”.
“We could have put more of the carnage and the crimes in that film,” says Hardy. “Not to say that it is not there, but what you do see, really, is Reggie, Ronnie and Frances. That’s the dynamic we focused on, that space, which hasn’t been seen before. What was that dynamic like? I don’t know if we came anywhere near the truth, because we weren’t there. But that was the playing field, if you like: Frances Shea, future ahead of her, caught up in something, and no one with her, the suicide. That sits with me in a way as the lead. She’s who we forgot. Ronnie, Reggie, they’ve done their bit. Frances was forgotten. And that kind of all ties it together for me."
FUTURE LEGENDS
The initial praise for Legend has been plentiful, but the mindset of Tom Hardy right now is such that he does not have the time to bask in it. There are other quite ludicrously challenging projects to be pressing ahead with. Coming in autumn is The Revenant, starring his good friend Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu of Birdman fame. Its trailer, as well as doing the not-going-anywhere trend for big beards no harm whatsoever, suggests that it will also match Mad Max in terms of an unrelenting barrage of intensity. Further into the future there’s the Elton John biopic Rocketman (initial challenge? Hardy “can’t sing”) and another foray into comic-book adaptation with 100 Bullets (news of which broke just after our interview).
And right now, as in this week, he’s working on a BBC series called Taboo, which is set in 1813 and stars Hardy as an adventurer who comes back from Africa and builds a shipping empire. The story has been developed by his production company Hardy Son & Baker (formed with his father, Chips) and has been written and directed by Locke/Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, with Ridley Scott also exec producing.
“We’re sat on something really awesome,” says Hardy. “And it’s trying to piece it together. I’ve never produced anything before, so I basically don’t know what I’m doing. But I’ve got some options and solutions: if you say something is not working, you better come up with at least four other options. But it’s good. It’s just different.”
Another day, another big challenge. Another chance to do something different. It isn’t an easy life being Tom Hardy. But neither will it ever a boring one, and that’s good news for us.
Legend is at cinemas from 9 September
Words: Hamish MacBain. Images: David Bailey, Studio Canal
You can also read the Hardy interview in this week's ShortList Magazine. It'd be a crime to miss it.
Source: https://www.shortlist.com/news/tom-hardy-interview-and-exclusive-david-bailey-shot
#shortlist#bewareoftheman#tomhardydoesntbiteunlesstherolerequiresit#tomhardy#interview#exclusive#davidbailey#shot#danielledewolfe#september2015#legend#gregwilliamsphotography
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Akatsuki Show Part 5
Kevin: Welcome baaaaccccckkkkk everyone today we are doing things different. We have decided to partner with Tobi Tea to host and fund these events. Now some of you may have heard of it and some of you may have not. But, either way it's gonna be a blast. Now as I said last time we are switching things up as in switching partners.
Kisame: I think the fuck not
Deidara: Tobi that weasel!
Sasori: I hate him
Hidan: Damn Tobi really do us like that.
Kakuzu: He's getting the money isn't he? Besides he said he'll give half to me.
Hidan: Oh how lucky for you
Kevin: If you guys look on the board you will see you and your new partner names.
Sasori: How did boss allow this
Deidara: I don't know
The board
Hidan is now with Kisame.
Deidara is now with Kakuzu
Sasori is now with Konan.
Pain is now with Itachi.
Hidan: Damn
Sasori: Hey what about Zetsu?
Kevin: He's Tobi's Co Host
Pain: That son of a bitch
Kakuzu: Never trust plants
Kevin: Now go and have fun guys.
Tobi: Yeah guys
Deidara: Don't talk to us Tobi
Tobi: :c
--------------------------------------------------------------
At the hideout with Hidan and Kisame.
Hidan: I can't believe Tobi would do this to us!
Kisame: I mean he is succeeding shouldn't we be proud?
Hidan: No we shouldn't that ass hat practically sold us!
Kisame: Well the past is past. How about some tea and donuts?
Hidan: Your even more of a stick in the mud then Kakuzu
Kisame: Am not
Hidan: Then watch Gravity Falls with me
Kisame: Fine
After binge watching the whole ass show.
Hidan: GODDAMNIT BILL WHY DID YOU LOSE I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU! YOU LOST TO TWO DAMN KIDS AND TWO CRUSTY OLD MEN.
Kisame: If Bill didn't let his pride and his want for vengeance get in the way he might have won. When he had them he could have just as easily killed them and took whatever it was he wanted from the uncles.
Hidan: I guess your right but, damnit Bill. The bad guys always lose or turn good or some plot armor shit
Kisame: I think it was an amazing show.
Hidan: Really?
Kisame: Yes the characters were all interesting even the villains and minor ones, the buildup to the end is neat, and it kinda teaches you something about life.
Hidan: But, what gets o my damn nerves is Mabel. She says Dipper is selfish when all he has done is sacrifice for her. Like damn kid give him a break your worried about friends and he's worried about life as you know it.
Kisame: Yes she is a bit annoying. Who's your favorite chracter?
Hidan: Bill duh. He seems all nice and stuff but, before you know it it's too late. Notice what all is victims have in common? Desperation? All of them were so desperate to achieve something they would do anything to get it. He takes advantage of their weaknesses and exploits them. It's amazing he's so damn smart. And ya know what else is funny? Bill being a dream demon can only go into people's minds with the consent of people. He may be evil and shit but, without those people he wouldn't have gotten far. He brings out their flaws and weaknesses therefore they can't really blame him for it. I love him because he's such a complex character. (Not me making a whole speech on this nope)
Kisame: Wow your pretty smart to notice it too
Hidan: Heh thanks
Kisame: I get what your saying about Mabel but, she is a kid and kids are more likely to make more selfish choices then adults. But, when it come to character development she hasn't developed much like Dipper or Stanley. But, it's funny because when Bill brings it up about Dipper having to constantly having to sacrifice for Mabel that seems to be the main reason fans hate her. It's almost as if Bill is manipulating the audience watching as well.
Hidan: Woah that's some fourth wall breaking. Am I right author? Making us talk about Gravity Falls?
(I'm sorry back to the real story I just wanted to rant how good this show was)
Hidan: This wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be
Kisame: Yeah this was really fun
Hidan: Perhaps we can watch another one next later?
Kisame: Yeah
Leon walks in
Hidan yeets him out.
Kisame: Thank god
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin: They seem to be doing just fine. Let's check in on Deidara and Kakuzu.
Tobi: SENNPAAAAII
Greg: Team Bill
Jorge: I don't care what anyone says Mabel hella annoying
Rianna: But, Kisame did say she was just a kid. I like the way Kisame thinks new favorite.
Sofia: Bill is amazing regardless
Jorge: But Dipper is big brain
Sofia: Not too big brain to be easily manipulated by a flying dorito. The whole damn family fell for it
Rianna: It's just human nature we are easy to manipulate.
Greg: He's a smart flying dorito
-------------------------------------------------------------
Deidara: ....
Kakuzu: ....
Deidara: So...
Kakuzu: What do we do? Sit here all day? And say so?
Deidara: I don't know what do you and Hidan usually do?
Kakuzu: Fight each other, argue, listen to drama.
Deidara: Your nothing like Sasori other then the argue part.
Kakuzu: I'm flattered
Deidara: You got any vide games?
Kakuzu: Yeah I have a gameboy
Deidara: Damn your a boomer
Kakuzu: -_- You wanna play or not
Several hours later
Deidara: Damn your good at this
Kakuzu: I play it when Hidan isn't bothering me it's been awhile so I'm a but rusty.
Deidara: I see
Leon struts in the room.
Leon: Hello darlings I am here to ask you some questions
Deidara: Dramatic much?
Leon: Hun you shouldn't talk
Deidara: What's that suppose to mean?
Leon ignores him.
Leon: So Kakuzu how do you like the new teammate switch?
Deidara: I exist too ya know
Leon: Oh I know I just wish you didn't
Deidara: Now your asking for it
Leon: What are you going to do? Blow me up like you did yourself?
Deidara starts to get up but, Kakuzu grabs him and pulls him back.
Kakuzu: Ignore him he's just trying trying rile you up
Deidara: Well it's working
Leon: Guess your nothing without your boy toy huh?
Deidara glares at him.
Kakuzu: Stop messing with him Leon and just ask the damn questions so you can go
Leon: Alright alright. Kakuzu what kind of relationship do you have with Hidan?
Kakuzu: We are only friends
Leon: Really because you seems to always be at each others necks
Kakuzu: Just take the answer
Leon: And I'm guessing you and Sasori are only friends too Deidara?
Deidara: Yes
Leon: Hmph of course why would I even ask he wouldn't be interested in someone like you
Deidara stiffens and looks away.
Kakuzu: Leon if you want to keep your arms attached I suggest not talking to him that way
Leon stiffens but, regains his posture.
Leon: Ok time for me to take my leave.
Leon walks away as fast as fuck.
Deidara: Thanks Kakuzu
Kakuzu: No problem kid
Deidara: Ok boomer
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin: Damn Leon is grinding and not in a god way
Tobi: How dare he talk to my senpai that way!
Zetsu: Next up we have Sasori and Konan
Tobi: Ew Sasori
Kevin: Damn Tobi
Tobi: Shut up Tom
Kevin: My name
Tobi: Tobi doesn't care
Jorge: I hate Leon
Rianna: For real
Greg: Damn even Rianna hates him.
Sofia: But, Kakuzu and Deidara are wholesome af
Greg: Mhm
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sasori: I hope Deidara is ok
Konan: Don't worry Kakuzu won't let hurt him or anyone else. He doesn't want to deal with you
Sasori: He better not
Konan: Stop worrying Sasori come and sit with me
Sasori sits down.
Konan: You know this a great opportunity to get to know you better.
Sasori: Yeah defiantly
Konan: So what kind of books do you like?
Sasori: Romance, Mystery, Psychological, and Thriller
Konan: Oh Sasori I never took you as the romance type. (Please don't look at this wrong she's only being nice. Like an older sister)
Sasori blushes a little.
Konan: So do you like tea?
Sasori: Who doesn't?
Konan giggles.
They talk for awhile.
Konan: So do you have a crush?
Sasori: No what is this a sleepover?
Konan: No just me being nosy
Sasori: What do you have one?
Konan: Yes
Sasori: Is it Kakuzu?
Konan: No he's too in love with money
Sasori: Deidara?
Konan: He's yours
Sasori rolls his eyes.
Sasori: Is it Itachi?
Konan: He's handsome but, he's too attached to Kisame.
Sasori: Me?
Konan: That's cute
Sasori: Ouch. Pain?
Konan nods and laughs.
Sasori: I knew it
Konan: Yeah
Sasori: So when are you gonna tell him?
Konan: When are you gonna tell Deidara?
Sasori: Touche
Leon: Hello lovebirds
They both jump.
Leon: So we talking about crushes? Wanna know my mine Konan?
Konan: Get out
Leon: Moody much
Sasori: Didn't you just interview Deidara and Kakuzu?
Leon: Yes and your bf is mad
Sasori: What did you do?
Leon: Nothing
Konan: L e a v e
Leon: Tough crowd
------------------------------------------------------------
Tobi: Senpai won't see this right
Kevin: Nope
Tobi: Good because Sasori better back off Senpai is miiiinnnneee.
Kevin: Heh ok
Rianna: Sasori cute
Jorge: He's like 35
Sofia: Love is strange
Greg: Just like your taste in anime
Sofia: Stfu
Zetsu: Last but, not least we have Itachi and Pain.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Itachi and Pain have been sitting in silence for awhile until Leon came in.
Leon: Hello there boys care if I join you?
Pain: ...
Leon: Ok so what have you two been doing?
Itachi: Minding our own business
Leon: Feisty
Pain: What questions do you have for us?
Leon: So you two are single huh? Maybe we could I don't know go out?
Itachi: No
Pain: I'd rather go out with Hidan then you
Leon: Damn that was low
Pain: You were disrespectful to Konan
Leon: Not my fault she was being a cockblock
Itachi puts him in an genjutsu.
After dah genjutsu
Leon: Fuck you both Leon
Leon stomps off.
Pain: He was annoying
Itachi: Mhm
Itachi: Don't see how anyone could be mean to Konan
Pain: Yeah she's sweet I hope she's fine with Sasori
Itachi: Tch Sasori wouldn't hurt her
Pain: Yeah your right.
Goes back to silence.
------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin: That was...interesting
Tobi: Leon can go suck a lemon
Zetsu: Amen
Jorge: Omg Konan is so wholesome
Sofia: Pain is ma boi
Rianna: I'm just glad Leon got what he deserved
Greg: Mhm
Kevin: And that's all folks
----------------------------------------------------------
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