#it has a sort of old Hollywood type of feel | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mlmxreader · 2 months

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Shining Star | Kuai Liang x gn!reader

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↳ ❝ Hi can I request “Just know you were always my star” with Kuai Liang please? ❞

: ̗̀➛ Kuai Liang has always supported your career, and when you recieve some wonderful news, he's right there to tell you how proud of you he is.

: ̗̀➛ swearing

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There were many nights when Kuai Liang would stay up late, gazing up at the midnight stars with his head tilted slightly to the side; the stubble along his jaw growing thicker and longer the more he allowed it to grow.

You said you liked it, so he kept it.

He didn't mind so much, although he was never particularly fond of being scruffy; he was the Grandmaster, he had to look the part, and he remembered once being told that scruffiness should not be tolerated.

But you liked it. You kept telling him that it suited him. So he kept it.

He would look at those stars until they disappeared with the light, feeling his chest begin to sink and gain weight as it sank further down into the cavity below his ribs.

Settling on his stomach until he felt sick and disorientated. He would look at them and think that you were a thousand miles away, looking at the exact same stars.

Maybe he wasn't the type for Hollywood glitz and glamour, but he hoped that the light pollution wasn't so bad; maybe he should have taken Hanzo's advice and gone with you.

It was your first red carpet, your first premier; from Johnny Cage's personal assistant to writing your very first film. There was no doubt that Kuai Liang was proud of you.

Very, very proud.

He could still remember the nights, sprawled out on his bed as he watched you work yourself into the ground and agonise over every word of the script; he was all too proud that you had come so far. Kung Lao kept him updated, mostly telling him that your film was being received very well - there were talk of awards and accolades for you.

But just as Kuai Liang was about to move, he felt a hand upon his shoulder, and relaxed at the familiar weight, a small smile coming to his face. "You didn't-"

"I couldn't do it without you," you said softly, sitting down beside him. Still wearing your red carpet outfit. "I... you make me brave, y'know, and I couldn't do it without you."

A sharp sting cut through his stomach as he frowned, furrowing his brows. "But this may be your chance."

You shrugged, putting your head on his shoulder and tightly holding his hand. "It's a premier. Johnny told me it's no big deal, he'll sort it."

He nodded slowly, swallowing thickly and almost audibly. "I think Hanzo may be right... I should go and support you."

"You don't have to," you said softly. "I'd be happy just to stay with you, beside you. The film's been made - and anyway, everybody cares more about the actors anyway."

"I don't," he said quietly.

You couldn't wipe the smile from your face as you gently squeezed his hand. "I know... thank you... I mean, all those sleepless nights, and all those times I got funny with you... and you still stayed..."

"You're my star," Kuai Liang said softly, pulling his hand from you and moving his hands slowly yet with great craft until a small star settled on his palm. "Always."

You grinned after licking your lips, nodding slowly. "And you're my favourite snowman."

He rolled his eyes, grumbling at the joke as he pressed the little star into your hands. "You know that I'm proud of you, don't you?"

"I know," you hummed. "Kung Lao tells me you haven't stopped asking for updates on my film."

He shrugged, a little bashful as he rubbed the back of his neck and hung his head slightly. "I may have asked him for some details."

"You old softie," you teased, nudging him gently. "How does it feel now you're dating a Hollywood big shot?"

"At least your ego isn't as big as Johnny Cage's," he chuckled softly. But when you shivered, he frowned. "Do you want to go inside? The fire is still burning, it should be warm."

You shook your head, letting out a quiet yawn as you rested your head on his shoulder and relaxed. "I'm alright, just a little nippy... I didn't think Johnny's famous designer buddy would make such thin stuff, is all."

Slowly, Kuai Liang put his arm around you, doing his best not to smile. Of course he still felt guilty for pulling you away from your premier; but you didn't seem to mind at all, and he guessed that you pulled out before you had to go, as he could still smell the stale stench of aeroplanes on you.

He knew it was selfish to keep his star all to himself, but when you grumbled softly and snuggled into him a little more, he didn't feel so terrible.

At least you were both looking at the same stars for once, and at least he could feel your warmth against his icy skin; it made a shiver run up his spine as he smiled, leaning against you and closing his eyes for a moment. Just basking in the moment for as long as he could, not wanting it to end even though he knew that it would.

Your phone buzzed, and he frowned when you pulled away to fish it out of your pocket; you grinned when you looked at him, your brows slightly raised.

"Critical acclaim," you said softly, nearly bursting with laughter. "The fucking film I wrote is officially critically acclaimed."

A massive wave of pride washed over him as he grinned back at you, tilting his head slightly to the side the exact same way he did when he was looking at the stars. "I knew you could do it. I knew you would... and I am so proud of you - but just know, you were always my star."

"I know," you nodded. "But I couldn't have done it without you, either. You know that. I love you, Kuai Liang, and if... if you'd let me, I would like to take you to a screening of it - no aeroplanes or anything, I'll get the director to send a copy, and we can watch it here... at home."

"I would love that."

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gothicprep · 5 months

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did you see this 5,000 word article that's speculating on taylor swift's sexual orientation that was published earlier this month? i can't believe this was in the new york times. anna marks must have some blackmail on someone important there lol.

but, like, if you're taylor swift's management, how do you even respond to something like this? i know her fans have speculated for years that she's some unspecified flavor of queer, but that's on twitter. not the new york times. if she puts out a statement that says "i'm straight", it's going to come off like she's treating this as an accusation and she'll look reactionary, conservative, or like she's lying. there's no version of events where she can say "i support the lgbt community, but i'm not part of it".

i know one person on her management team talked to cnn anonymously and said it was invasive and over the line. iunno. i'm trying to contextualize this article against the history within the hollywood gossip press of speculating but in a very cagey way about the sexuality of closeted celebrities. it used to be a real thing in, like, 1950s hollywood with celebrities like tab hunter and rock hudson to sort of wink at the fact that these men were gay. and people kind of knew they were gay and there would be a little bit of a conspiracy within the studio system to obscure the truth about these men's sexuality by setting them up with these faux-romances with their female costars. and this would give the gossip press something to sink their teeth into so they wouldn't write the true thing that would be a huge scandal and ruin people's careers. it was kind of a symbiotic relationship where tab hunter would go on "dates" with natalie wood, and they'd write "oh, he's going out with natalie wood, but is he really the kind of guy that she wants? is he really the right type of man for her? wink wink nudge nudge." but there was a line. it was restrained.

and i think to see something like this in the nyt, even thought it is in some senses on a continuum with that kind of thing, it ultimately hits very differently. it does feel like, from a paper of record, acting as sort of cultural enforcer, trying to conscript taylor swift into this sort of culture war that she's been very actively trying to avoid involvement in for basically her entire career. prior to this, there was all this kind of pointed coverage about "why doesn't she disavow her right wing fans?" they've always been trying to drag her into this and kind of back her into a corner where she has to come out in support of democratic politicians, or she has to come out as an ally to the lgbt community.

to me, this article feels much less like the wink and nudge of old gossip press, and much more like, say, if at the height of when the biggest news story was the end of roe v wade, they published a 5,000 word op-ed that read more like an investigative report saying taylor swift had an abortion. it leaves such a bad in my mouth that they did this.

#i've been rolling this around in my head for like 3 weeks now

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serial-serializednovelreader · 18 days

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Nova’s Notes - DD - May 24

It’s officially Suitor Squad time!!!!!!!!!! Truly a beloved letter from our dear Lucy.

So we now know our girl has a September birthday and that she’s currently 19! I’m not a Zodiac girlie, but I’d love to see the discourse on whether she fits the type of a Virgo or Libra more (I have my guess, but I won’t say).

“Here am I, who shall be twenty in September, and yet I never had a proposal till to-day, not a real proposal, and to-day I have had three. Just fancy! THREE proposals in one day! Isn't it awful! I feel sorry, really and truly sorry, for two of the poor fellows. Oh, Mina, I am so happy that I don't know what to do with myself.”

I love the way she writes in this letter, because it feels like the way she probably talks — very enthusiastic and just saying the first thing that comes to mind. Not in a bad way, just impulsive! Also, notice how she says “not a real proposal” — I wonder what that means. The fanfic potential is endless…

I love the modernity coming through with the “THREE proposals in one day!” and then saying she feels awful for two of the men (already implying she accepted one suit), as well as saying in the next sentence saying how perfectly happy she is. How very Lucy of her!!!! /pos

“But, for goodness' sake, don't tell any of the girls, or they would be getting all sorts of extravagant ideas and imagining themselves injured and slighted if in their very first day at home they did not get six at least. Some girls are so vain! You and I, Mina dear, who are engaged and are going to settle down soon soberly into old married women, can despise vanity. Well, I must tell you about the three, but you must keep it a secret, dear, from every one, except, of course, Jonathan. You will tell him, because I would, if I were in your place, certainly tell Arthur.”

A lot to take in here! So, of course by the “girls”, she must mean their former classmates and friends they keep in contact with. I know it sounds kind of pick-me-girl-ish of Lucy, but we all know that one person who wants to one-up you, so I get the need for secrecy. Plus, Lucy’s reputation with her mom will be dampened by this and might be led to think she ENCOURAGED three men to propose to her all on the same day (oh, what’s that? Hollywood producers have been portraying her as doing just that for years? My case stands.). Of course, she understands the need for Mina to tell Jonathan about this — who she likely assumes is already home with Mina since it’s been more than a week since Mina’s last letter :’(((( — and then she drops who’s proposal she accepted — to no one’s surprise, it’s Arthur!

I don’t know why, but the first time I read this part of the story, I guess I just skimmed over that part? Because I genuinely didn’t think she mentioned Arthur until the last possible second.

But rereading it here, she writes as if she can’t contain herself, like yes she wants to tell Mina about the three proposals — because why wouldn’t you tell your bestie about the THREE PROPOSALS IN ONE DAY — but she can’t help and drop the fact that yes, she’s engaged to Arthur, and yes, she’s as excited as Mina to be “old married women” who “despise vanity”. At least, that’s what I’m picking up. I think it’s another one of those things where the Dracula Daily memes gave me a Mandela effect of Lucy talking endlessly about everyone except Arthur, which she kind of does, but she doesn’t neglect him entirely.

On to the first proposal!!

“I told you of him, Dr. John Seward, the lunatic-asylum man, with the strong jaw and the good forehead.”

This sentence lives rent-free in my head. I absolutely love it. “Yes Mina, dear, the lunatic-asylum man with the good facial features, I would’ve set you up with him if you weren’t engaged already!” Strong start to this rollercoaster.

Previously she had described him as “imperturbable”, but she seems to have heavily amended that statement. Here, she describes him as nothing but nervous, almost sitting on his hat and…playing with a knife?!?!?! Seward, that’s not…how you….ok….she said he was “playing with it in a way that nearly made [her] scream” and I don’t blame her one bit — I would too!

What’s interesting about John’s proposal is that he doesn’t mince words here. He simply tells her she makes him happy and is dear to him, so marry him maybe? It does lean to this side of guilt-trippy when he starts to tell her that if she doesn’t care for him, he’ll be unhappy, until she *actually starts crying* because that’s the kind of empathetic person Lucy is!!!

That’s when John’s caring side comes out. He immediately chastises himself and promises not to add to her troubles. I wonder if, perhaps, he asked a colleague for advice on proposals and they gave him some ill-informed idea on how to “lightly encourage” (read: guilt-trip) a woman into accepting your suit.

It could have very well been his own idea (those who have read Dracula Daily before will know Seward is not as naturally empathetic as, say, Lucy); the only reason I think this is because he’s also socially awkward (if fidgeting with a knife didn’t give it away) and I could very well see him going to a colleague asking for advice on how to ask for a lady’s hand in marriage from someone who’s done it before.

This is when I think if he has been taking advice from someone, he stops and starts speaking from the heart.

“Then he broke off and asked if I could love him in time; and when I shook my head his hands trembled, and then with some hesitation he asked me if I cared already for any one else. He put it very nicely, saying that he did not want to wring my confidence from me, but only to know, because if a woman's heart was free a man might have hope.”

Awwwwwww his hands trembled?? 🥺 I’m so sorry Seward…this genuinely hurts to read. Although, just because someone doesn’t have another person they’re interested in doesn’t mean they’ll automatically grow to like you back — “might” being the operative word here, I suppose.

What I do love here is how well he takes it once she informs him she does love someone else. He simply takes her hands, looks into her eyes and asks her to count him as one of her best friends. This is still sad for Lucy, however, because while he has done this, she still feels like she’s “lost” him in a way and he still walks away with a broken heart, causing her to cry all over again, and defer finishing the letter. :(

Again, it just shows what a kind person Lucy is that even while she feels happy, she still can feel so upset on behalf of another person. That’s one of the things I love the most about her!!!

On to the next proposal!

Happy (belated) Quincey P. Morris Day!!!! Everyone get out your cowboy hats and get ready to lasso yourself into a world of fun with this cowboy. <3

Quick note: It looks like Arthur visited her and that’s what caused her to be able to finish her letter by lifting her spirits. So he must’ve visited her twice in one day, since she already knew about the proposal when she first started the letter? Ugh, love that for her!

“I know now what I would do if I were a man and wanted to make a girl love me. No, I don't, for there was Mr. Morris telling us his stories, and Arthur never told any, and yet—— My dear, I am somewhat previous.”

Hehehehe oh, Lucy!!! Even when talking about this dear cowboy and his stories you can’t help but bring up Arthur.

Quincey exaggerates/makes up his American slang just for her!!! That’s adorable.

“'Miss Lucy, I know I ain't good enough to regulate the fixin's of your little shoes, but I guess if you wait till you find a man that is you will go join them seven young women with the lamps when you quit. Won't you just hitch up alongside of me and let us go down the long road together, driving in double harness?'”

If I’m not proposed to in this goofy — yet sincere — way I 👏 don’t 👏 want 👏 it. But I do love that once he sees that Lucy doesn��t *seem* to understand this approach, he becomes more serious and earnestly asks for her hand with a series of beautiful words.

Of course, Quincey can perceive this isn’t going the way he would hope and asks if she is otherwise engaged of the heart to which — poor Lucy!!! — she cries once more.

“Why can't they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble?”

And so the polycula is formed!!! Hehe, but to be fair, I do read this in the camp of Lucy being a chronic people-pleaser who wants to make everyone happy and hates refusing Seward and Quincey. As someone who is also a people-pleaser, I can relate — I too often have things I wish I could do to just “save me the trouble” of having difficult conversations with people. But also, polycula, I’m excited to see what all of the fanfics and fanart that y’all come up with this year lol!

“‘Yes, there is some one I love, though he has not told me yet that he even loves me.’”

“‘If that other fellow doesn't know his happiness, well, he'd better look for it soon, or he'll have to deal with me…’”

“‘Won't you give me one kiss? It'll be something to keep off the darkness now and then. You can, you know, if you like, for that other good fellow—he must be a good fellow, my dear, and a fine fellow, or you could not love him—hasn't spoken yet.'”

I love this so much. I love that Lucy feels comfortable enough to confide in Quincey that she’s worried about Arthur’s reciprocation of feelings and he reassures her that a) she will make Arthur’s happiness and if he doesn’t get that, Quincey will intervene (in more ways than one, I’ll wager ;)) and b) he’s not jealous of Arthur and thinks of him as a good man, why else would Lucy love him?

I honestly think him asking for a kiss — and Lucy giving him one — is adorable because it’s done in a way where it doesn’t feel forced or that Lucy is uncomfortable. I think of it as a kiss goodbye or a kiss of what could have been, or, as Quincey himself puts it, a kiss sealing their friendship! No matter what way you read it, it’s sweet and I love this moment.

“Oh, about number Three—I needn't tell you of number Three, need I? Besides, it was all so confused; it seemed only a moment from his coming into the room till both his arms were round me, and he was kissing me. I am very, very happy, and I don't know what I have done to deserve it.”

I know we all make memes about this passage — and for good reason, but the way I interpret her not wanting to talk about Arthur’s proposal is that it’s too intimate to her. Do you know those moments where something so wonderful has happened that you just want to keep it all to yourself? Even though you know you need to tell the loved ones in your life the good news and they’ll want to know everything? I know I do! I think this is part of what Lucy is feeling here, but she doesn’t want to tell Mina that per se; after all, she just wrote to her about longing to be back together and sharing their deepest secrets. So, I think she chooses to lightheartedly brush this moment off with a “oh yes and btw Arthur proposed, you don’t need the details, right? I don’t remember half of them myself!”

I think that’s why she makes so much of describing Quincey and John’s proposals — both to make up for her lack of detail when it comes to Arthur’s proposal, and, perhaps, to distract from it as well. That’s just my interpretation, though, I’d love to hear what you think!

#also sorry I’m late on this again lol #happy belated quincey day to all who celebrate #dracula daily #dracula #re: dracula #suitor squad #lucy westenra #quincey morris #quincey p morris #john seward #jack seward #dr seward #arthur holmwood #novas notes

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dykesynthezoid · 7 months

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@cookietastic lmaoo I would never!

The original dream was fairly limited but mainly focused on Sam and Tory having to share a hotel room while traveling for work that was somehow fashion focused and also clearly very 70s. And ofc they were work rivals but I think Tory may have technically been in a position below Sam’s; Sam wasn’t necessarily her direct superior but Tory was still in more of an intern/assistant position than Sam was. But it also seemed like Tory expressly took advantage of this to often fuck w Sam deliberately and even sabotage her and make her look crazy. And also there was only one bed

In expanding on the idea I can’t help but imagine they both went to interview at the office at the same time and had some sort of run in that made them instantly hate each other lmao. Assuming it’s a fashion magazine they’re at I could see Sam pursuing a job there because she’s trying to make a career in journalism, while Tory is just looking for something that pays well enough and maybe has some mobility (and also— bc it’s the 70s— she gets to work in an office where it’s considered socially acceptable to wear pants to work. Bc it wasn’t, still, in a lot of places. And I doubt she would be coping with that well)

I could see both of them going for the type of magazine that was like, similar to Cosmo/Glamour, esp considering Cosmo was really revolutionary at the time for talking about things like sex and contraception openly, and Glamour had long had a reputation as being a magazine for working women. So on some level it would both feel more relatable to them and also is more intriguing for Sam who wants to be able to write about cultural issues and current events.

Most of women’s fashion magazines have historically been based out of New York, but there are plenty of lifestyle/media magazines that were/are based in LA, like Variety or The Hollywood Reporter, so it’s not entirely unthinkable for a women’s fashion magazine to be based in LA (I think Glamour originally was, actually), especially if it got its start talking about the fashions and trends in Old Hollywood.

But yeah the early 70s were hugely transformative for both the fashion industry and publishing and also it’s just fun. I think Sam would inevitably do shit like tell Tory to go get her coffee just to be annoying, and Tory would come back and just spit right into the cup while making full eye contact. And then bc Sam is stubborn she would stand there and drink it anyway, still maintaining eye contact, as a power play. And anyone else in the office watching this is just going “Hey what the fuck. What the fuck is going on there”

Meanwhile Sam has been sweating all day bc she’s convinced the zipper on Tory’s zip up jumpsuit has slowly been getting lower and lower and she’s not unconvinced Tory isn’t doing it intentionally just to fuck with her (she isn’t, Sam is just gay and going sort of crazy about it).

They get told last minute that they’re being put on the team going to some fashion event (maybe the first official paris fashion week? Or maybe it’s something local?) Hence them having to share a hotel room. They get free clothes from the company to wear to the more important events, which means Sam ends up needing help getting into a little mod mini dress bc the art directors at work keep telling her she needs to lean into that cutesy girl next door image or whatever. She kind of panics bc she’s not sure she can even sit down in the thing, and Tory is very heavily rolling her eyes at her even though she’s this 👌🏻 close to frothing at the mouth and clawing at the ground after helping Sam get changed

Sam ends up being handed a valium by someone on the way to the event bc she’s panicking, so she’s kind of zonked out of her gourd the whole time, and meanwhile Tory is chainsmoking bc being around so many rich people is making her nervous. It’s true love

#samtory #samantha larusso #tory nichols #ck

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naturalrights-retard · 9 months

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It is difficult to escape the media news that 48-year-old comedian and actor Russell Brand has been accused of rape, assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013. Despite the fact there has been no legal trial the government has joined the media in the role of judge and jury. They have assumed Brand’s guilt without evidence and are pursuing the cancellation of him on social media platforms.

The accusations against Brand are not a political issue, nor should they be of interest to the government, but it seems they are using them as an opportunity to silence dissenting voices, starting with Russell Brand who will act as a deterrent to the rest of us.

“This is the type of action we see from the world’s worst regimes,” – Lawyers of Light.

Why Now?

Russell Brand is said to have completely changed his world around by attempting to lead a ‘quiet’ and ‘zen’ lifestyle in the Oxfordshire countryside with his pregnant wife Laura and their two daughters and the accusations against Brand were relating to the period where he was at the height of his fame working for the BBC, Channel 4 and starring in Hollywood films.

While yes, there are all sorts of valid reasons why victims of crimes may take a while before speaking out about what they went through, but why did the Sunday Times, the Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches feel the need for an investigation into Brand at this time?

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reflections-in-a-critical-eye · 3 months

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I haven't done lists in a while and there's a lot pilling up just this week so it's time to bring it back.

1. I'm revisting Old Hollywood again now that I've watched most of the films nominated for Oscar this year. The Be Kind Rewind youtube channel has been sort of the trigger for going back to the past and for that I have to thank @shimako for the recommendation 🩷 I've watched the 2 hour and a half video essays on the Valley of The Dolls and the behind the scenes story is far more interesting that the film itself.

Not to say that the themes addressed in the film wouldn't be, like disillusionment in Hollywood, personal grievances, what it means to be an actress and especially not a really succesful one. It reminded me of Didion's Play It As It Lays (which I think it's a better piece of literature although the film adaption seems to have turned into a failure?)

2. Anyway, that made me go down the rabbit hole and watch other essays on Ruth Gordon (amazing woman) and Katharine Hepburn.

3 . Speaking of Hepburn, I realized yesterday that I've only seen her paired on screen with Cary Grant and not with Spencer Tracy (I know!). So I rectified that mistake and I watched Adam's Rib (George Cukor, 1949) and I finally understood what all the fuss was about and I have some sort of theory. Grant and Hepburn together are like this very performative version of a couple in which the constant bickering takes center stage, but even when they do get together, it lacks something. A bit of authenticity. But with the Hepburn-Tracy duo, you can almost feel it. It's right there in the small, natural gestures. Instant chemistry and love. They work so well together. I guess the off screen affair of 26 years helped that as well.

3. I love Mommy Dearest and Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford. The screaming, the crying, the makeup, "No wire hangers!". Poor baby Christina. It's a shame though that Faye Dunaway distanced herself from it because of how "bad" it turned out, but I understand why she felt she had to do it.

But I also couldn't help but think of DeNiro in Cape Fear and his own campy performance in a very 90s ridiculous film that allowed Scorsese to try his hand at that type of thriller. DeNiro's career didn't suffer because of it, as opposed to Dunaway's version of camp, which I prefer actually. It may have been hated at that time, but Mommie Dearest is a cult classic.

*Bonus: Currently listening to another You Must Remember This podcast series. It's Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper, aka the famous old Hollywood gossip columnists.

Now, for some ridiculous internet & showbiz drama:

4. People going conspiracy mode over Kate Middleton? Some of us lived months without any sign from Jimin. They could learn from that. But love the memes.

5. I feel sorry for those kids in Glasgow. They really experienced the effects of AI used by assholes who wanted to make some money. The lady in green hair has been all over twitter and whilst funny for us, it is shitty to be in her shoes. The Unknown! 🤦‍♀️

6. Who was an ass to Rebecca Ferguson on set? The consensus is that Jake Gyllenhaal was the culprit and I wouldn't be surprised. But it needs more investigating.

7. Over in K-Pop Land Karina gets a boyfriend, her fans are devasted and Koreaboo is pumping "articles" by the minute. What else is new?

8. Stans of all types are stanning and fighting. One day 🐥 girlies, the next day 🐰 girlies and all the other crazies all week long, no break. I do read the stuff in my inbox, but I'm really not in a mood to comment on every shitty thing that happens so often. I know that once I do it, then I just invite more and it's just pointless. There's no actual JM and JK which is frustrating enough and no travel show on the horizon and it's just too bleak at this point.

We're waiting, clock is ticking. At least release a travel show as a summer content, ok?

9. I did see that Billboard kpop 100 top. Yeah, I don't understand the logic of including individual artists if they haven't charted on their own. Don't these people have editors to point out the flaws in the listicles? It's just dumb.

#m thoughts #lists #entertainment #thoughts on old hollywood #stan twitter

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somethingoriginal127 · 1 year

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the treatment of a young justin bieber and in turn my inability to see him as the enemy:

keeping my trend of just talking and giving my 2 cents on trending topics, in the matter of rich, cis white men being exposed as a literal scum of the earth people i am never moved or surprised. (i also don’t usually care bc it’s normally someone i was not a fan of before they were exposed for heinous behavior)

however i have never been able to shake my sympathy, understanding, and hesitance to write off the musician that is justin bieber. i just always feel as though there’s so much he deals with behind the scenes that we’ll never know about. that’s true of anyone famous but the reason i say this is because of the amount of documentaries this man has where they barely skim the surface of what he endured in the industry. the stuff they choose to discuss doesn’t even scratch the surface of even things we saw happen on live television

(early sexualization of a child, SA, SH, etc.)

his entire brand since he was 15 was also to essentially be a “boyfriend” to all his fans and the minute he dropped the persona because he wasn’t feeling up to being touched/groped/kissed/screamed at for the day he was in turn CRUCIFIED in the media for being a heinous human. which has always been so odd to me? like the media/general public has some sort of claim or ownership of his body since he was a developing child. it’s gross and it’s been like that since his formative years. (that has to be ridiculously damaging)

*update* i’m reading this back to make sure i articulated my thoughts in the way i wanted and i’m now angrier about his treatment then when i first typed it. bc why isn’t his body allowed to be his and why is he a villain for setting boundaries? bc he’s a boy? that’s actually is so disturbing to me the longer i sit with it. (no seriously i want you to think abt how physically and mentally he lost like all body autonomy at 14. and he has never gotten it back in all honesty.)

also him having a drug problem in (2014?) i think and knocking on deaths door at (18/19? years old) visibly deteriorating and reacting to his lifestyle/trauma he was given too young, adult celebs took to twitter to call him names and attack him when he was clearly a child (yes child idc that he was 18) crying for help was also extremely odd to me. laughing at the traumatized kid having a downward spiral and evidently no reliable adults in his life left a bad taste in my mouth, even then.

maybe it’s the blind items i keep seeing about his alleged SA or the clips of it happening from grown women in talk shows, or because the open discussion about his sex life/sexual preferences/when he was only 15 and growing up watching the general public use him (A KID) as a punching bag/toy for their own enjoyment gives me so much sympathy and is why i’ve always given him grace. it’s also worth noting those who are respected in hollywood and are close to him speak extremely highly of him which also makes me pause to think he’s not nearly as heinous as the media has always liked to paint him.

not to mention that interview he did with zane lowe ?? where he talks about wanting to protect billie eilish from what he endured in the industry because “he wouldn’t wish that upon anybody” and then starts to sort of crumple in on himself when speaking about it like he can’t even recount what he’s been through without it having a visible effect is SO sad/scary to me. that whole interview was very strange and sort of haunting actually.

to this day small things he does/says are blown up to insane headlines to make him look like he’s on some tirade and then you watch the clips with these insane titles and it’s just the man asking to be left alone for a little while ? he just seems like a deeply traumatized/cut individual to me.

i hate long post w no pictures or gifs so this is what justin bieber looks like if you didn’t know !😃

(i think everyone who’s had the internet longer than a week could identify this man in a line up of white men but i digress😭)

but that could just be because i witnessed his growing up in my lifetime so it feels closer than most lmao idk. it’s very possible i wouldn’t be as sympathetic if i didn’t watch him get broken down in real time.

#but hey maybe i’m wrong and he’s just scum #who knows these days #justin bieber #pop culture #child stars #child stardom #pop music #the only cis white male you’ll catch me defending like this😭#and i MEAN that lmao #watching him go from having fun being famous #to visibly hating life is sad to me idk #i find celeb culture interesting #and his upbringing specifically has had me curious from a very young age #also the rumor he’s getting britney treatment😬#i almost wish scooter never plucked him up #but that’s not totally true bc he rlly is a phenomenal performer #last thing i’m gonna add i think lmao #he’s also been the target of SO many fake stories ??#like at this point (ik he has done some shitty things i mean he’s been famous for over a decade #) i can’t even tell what he’s actually done and hasn’t #because they genuinely have been printing *proven* fake stories about him FOR YEARS #and he doesn’t even set anyone straight #he just minds his business usually

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tangledbea · 1 year

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9 Truths and a Lie: Which Tangled-Related Thing Has Bex NOT Experienced?

The truth revealed!

Seen the movie in theaters 5+ times

I have, indeed, seen the movie in theaters at least five times. I saw it twice when it was new, three times for special events at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, and three times in random theaters when Disney re-released it for a weekend.

Has been recognized by one of the face characters from previous visits

I’ve had this happen, and it’s a marvelous feeling. If you’re the sort of person who enjoys meeting the face characters, let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like them recognizing you. They light up upon seeing you the same way you light up upon seeing them. It’s like seeing an old friend, only it’s a beloved character. Anyway, it was Rapunzel.

Hung out with Zachary Levi for over an hour at Disneyland

July 15, 2017. Two of my friends and I had just finished day one of D23 Expo 2017, so we decided to go over to Disneyland to finish off the night. While we were there, Zac Tweeted that he was in the park, and to come find him, and would frequently update with his current location. We finally caught up with him in line for The Jungle Cruise. After we rode that together, we rode Thunder Mountain, then stopped and watched part of the Main Street Electrical Parade before he called it a night and sauntered off down Main Street.

Has multiple Tangled tattoos

I have two, right next to each other! They are, as I type this, the only tattoos I have (though I do want to get more).

I got the top one first, and the bottom one I got with @kelseyfitzherbert the day after the series finale aired. They’re both on my upper right arm.

Has cosplayed as at least three of the characters

I have cosplayed as Rapunzel, Eugene and Varian!

Has Disneybounded as at least three of the characters

I have Disneybounded as Rapunzel, Eugene and Cassandra!

Got Mandy Moore's autograph

If you voted for this, you are right! I do not have Mandy Moore’s autograph!

Has been approached by series crew who knew me before I knew who they were

I have been approached by not only Ricky Roxburgh at D23 Expo before I knew who he was, I have also had various animators who work at Mercury Filmworks approach me here on Tumblr! It’s funny, because Ricky became one of my closest friends from the crew!

Had a private conversation with Nathan Greno about the movie

This happened! I asked him about some specifics about the movie and he answered me!

Spoke to Eden Espinosa on the phone for a few hours

For those of you not familiar with Tangled Talk with Team Awesome, it’s a podcast that I, @kelseyfitzherbert and @darkprince-eugene ran while the series was airing. We had Eden on as a guest for the episode of TTwTA that covered “Once A Handmaiden...”! In order to have her on the podcast, she needed to call us, and we chatted before, during and after the podcast was done recording! (I was 1 AM for her when she called in! I felt so bad for keeping her up so late, but she said it’s her normal sleep schedule.)

So, that’s 9 Tangled-related truths and a lie about me!

#Tangled #Tangled the Series #Rapunzel #Eugene Fitzherbert #Varian #Cassandra #TTS #Zachary Levi #Mandy Moore #Eden Espinosa #Ricky Roxburgh #Nathan Greno #Tangled Talk with Team Awesome #Podcast #Links #Polls

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honoringthehorrific · 2 years

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I watched Barbarian so you…might not have to?

🍼As always spoilers under the cut 🍼

First can I say this was beautifully shot? I loved the looming leering shots that really make you feel like a voyer. I want to be clear i did not hate this movie but i can tell its something that wont be everyones cup of tea. It deals heavily with themes of sexual assault and its got plot twists every turn. Every monster you think is the bad guy, isn’t. We get some really interesting commentaries on what i think is trying to speak about sexual assault. To be honest with you, i would ‘does the dog die’ this movie and go in blind and then come back here because even though I’m on the fence about it it’s still a good watch.

We start off with Tess, our final girl, she is shaky as she finds out that the air bnb she is at double booked her with Keith. Keith is this creepy…typical nice guy type? He’s very pushy and he is genuinely kind but he just wont take no for an answer. I love how the movie keeps throwing you red herrings, someone Tess is interviewing for her job when she says where shes staying for the air bnb says she shouldn’t be there but does not elaborate further.

The horror truly begins in the basement. A basement that continues to go farther and farther with each persons story we get to see how far it goes. Tess finds the filming room, which we later find is where the original owner brought women to rape them and film it. However she doesn’t get far beyond the filming room as she encounters a person i can only with good conscience call mother, and mother promptly dispatches of Keith. We cut to AJ, a Hollywood actor and rapist and who owns the house now, or well the deed. See AJ is everything a typical rapist seems like? He’s this stupid charismatic dude bro who, when confronted by an old friend, admits that the girl “took a little convincing.” His attorney advises against him leaving California to go to the air bnb but he does so anyways. When he gets there he finds Tess and Keith’s things and calls the people who rent it out to ask who the hell it is thats been staying here because he thinks its squatters. The woman on the phone tells him no one has been there in Two Weeks he gets aggressive with her and we sorta watch his decline. He calls the girl he raped, leaving her a backhanded apology for a voicemail. Now, AJ is crazy stupid and through the movie you might consider “oh he’s had a change of heart-“ I want you to nip that in the bud now. I think this movie makes it clear that a rapist is an irredeemable person and I honestly agree.

Something i think to be interesting is when we find Tess, she survived because mother just wants to pretend you’re her baby. Not to dig in where commentary might not be made but seeing AJ be so resistant to the rules to survive, the rules that helped Tess live, it sort of reminds me how as girls you have to learn to protect yourself at a young age, you have to learn to survive quickly while men, sort of just get to breeze by. And thats what happens…

We slowly find out that mother lives in this basement collecting people because she wants babies. The original owner has holed himself away in a deeper part and…mother wont approach his door when AJ finds his room. We are told mother is the result of the original owner breeding with his offspring over and over after raping women and them having his children. She is “a copy of a copy” whats shocking is that AJ when met with what hes done from an outside perspective, watching this disgusting old man’s tapes, he asks him what the fuck is wrong with him. The old man’s response is to kill himself with a gun that AJ promptly takes. See, in this time, Tess got free, Called the cops (who did nothing and i think thats also an interesting comment on rape), got help from a homeless man from earlier, hit mother with her car, and went back in to help AJ. And what happens when she goes back? He shoots Tess. Tess is brought out of the house with him but mother is gone and she is bleeding out fast. It is getting dark which mind you is one of the only times mother comes out. They make it to the homeless mans shelter who tells them he’s been living there for years and shes never bothered him here, however i assume because he has her babies, its different now. She attacks the man.

The final climax starts as AJ and Tess race up a water tower with mother in pursuit. AJ like the butterfingers he is drops his gun when trying to shoot her. Despite his heroic speech at the homeless shelter, he tells Tess HE can survive, but she will have to slow her down. He grabs Tess and throws her to which mother promptly dives after her ‘baby’ AJ runs down to grab his gun and finish the job but when he sees Tess is alive he immediately deals her excuses, and issues blame on her. “I didn’t even shove you you just started slipping, you understand right?” However once Tess slips off of mother, AJ comes to the rude awakening that mother also survived her landing and she promptly dispatches of the man who hurt Tess. We come to this final scene which ill be honest made me cry…

Tess grabs the gun while mother tries to motion her back to the house. Tess cannot be moved because of her wound and keeps telling her she cannot go back. She keeps trying to rub her face and say mama…she keeps nudging her to try and help and Tess shoots her point blank in the head… and while in some capacity i knew it had to happen it made me cry… mother had saved Tess’s life yet she had to die. She couldn’t live any other way…I’m not sure who the real monster is in this story wether its men like AJ or men like the original owner or maybe rapists in general. I don’t think mother was ever a bad guy…

I give this movie a 10/10. Even if i don’t fully understand it. It was gorgeous, the gore was great and looked great, it made solid commentary, and threw you for a loop every step of the way. I recommend watching it even if its hard to stomach at times. Over all it was a good movie and a good scare. The monsters truly are the friends we met along the way 💕🍼

#not an aesthetic #regurgitated reviews #reanimated reccomendations #barbarian #barbarian 2022

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lyriumsings · 1 year

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oh damn I was just wondering if I should ask if you took oc questions and I saw a post about you wanting to talk about them. so. this is your sign: free pass tell me whatever you want about whoever you want. I’d like to know stuff about them (please. thank.)

This ask has literally been sitting here for like a year and I can’t stop thinking about my infamous mc so i’m gonna use this as a sort of preview introduction lol so anon if you’re out there im so sorry lmaooo and i absolutely love asks about my brain blorbos or anything really ngl i’ll probably copy and paste all this information to their Official Art ™️

Name: Octavia “Tavvi” Blackwater

Stage name: Tavvi

Pronouns: they/she

Sexuality: Bisexual

Band name: Beneath the Challenger (BTC). Octavia came up with the name and it’s basically a metaphor for them being super depressed lmao. It comes from the Challenger Deep which is the lowest point on earth beneath the Mariana’s trench.

Vocal Insp: donna missal (pinnacle voice bc for them tbh), The pretty reckless, the haunt

Music Insp: The Pretty Reckless, The Haunt, (for all of these bands i have very specific songs that i plug in as BTC’s lyrics lmao i have a playlist for them that i basically hc as their songs), Bad Omens (Just Pretend is SUCH a seven x mc song and i hc it as BTC’s best song), Mothica (VICES tho), and Honey Revenge! Here’s their playlist it grows everyday lmao

Fandom: Aquanauts. I hc that Maya figured out the bands meaning and picked based on that, Octavia genuinely loves it and finds it cute. And somehow the fact that the name makes sense to what the band name is makes them feel very seen and comforted tbh

Ep: Under the Water

Favorite unreleased single: The Slowest Heart (Which i actually took from Gilded Lily bc that song has heavy Octavia x Seven vibes) They have “the slowest heart” tattooed on there left rib age side boob area lol Although I feel like if she wrote it it’d be closer to the sped up version and a bit angrier mixed with hurt but the lyrics are perfect)

Romance: Seven’s ex. Still has his initials and doesn’t bother to cover it. And they are harboring a very blatant crush on Orion that if they’re being honest about started specifically because Orion seems pretty unattainable and they have no actual expectations of that fantasy becoming a reality (at least at first). Some cute stuff about them and seven tho: I hc fans called them Seven8 cuz Octavia means 8 or i guess Setavia works but Seven8 is so cute to me. And that seven had them in his phone as “8” and Octavia had him as “7 Ducky”

Some backstory:

Octavia is biracial her mom is white and her dad is black (specifically has afro indigenous roots but he was a foster kid so very estranged from these cultures) does not have a good relationship with their parents at all. Their parents didn’t really want kids? Sort of had Octavia because that’s what they were “supposed” to do next after getting married. Octavia is very much just an item checked off a list in a lot of ways regarding them. Very much the type of people who probably shouldn’t have had a kid not because they didn’t provide physically but they’re just emotionally nonexistent and incredibly dismissive lol. So yeah, so she had a very lonely childhood.

They did lots of ballet/contemporary dancing and soft ball which she does still actually enjoy as hobbies presently, but for the most part she’s obsessed with music and making music. They have a bat from highschool that they call “Lucky Lucy” where for two separate games in a row she hit nothing but home runs with it. Now, she takes it to every show and makes everybody touch Lucky Lucy before performing.

Octavia is obsessed with old hollywood glamour and old movies/shows from that era— most specifically Audrey Hempburn. They have several references/quotes from her tattooed on them: “never throw out anyone” is a partial quote from “People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw anyone out.” that they have tattooed directly under their S.D. tattoo which is my favorite lol and another is “i was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.” probably on their opposite forearm from S.D. (There’s more but i gotta map them out.) They can do a transatlantic accent, and did so for many months as a teen to annoy their parents.

Lastly, romantic history: before Seven they had a girlfriend, Maria. Who was pretty much their polar opposite—very straight laced, serious, and structured but also incredibly sweet, polite, absolute wifey material—and honestly while she supported Octavia’s dream on a surface level she thought Octavia needed a more concrete plan for the future. They dated for about half of high school and split amicably when it became clear that Octavia wasn’t going to change/Octavia’s underlying feelings for Seven became a bit too obvious to ignore. They’re still in contact and friendly and Maria is married and has two kids.

Post Seven, Octavia had one serious relationship that was on and off for 8 months about a year after their initial split. It was bad. Incredibly toxic content warning type bad. Dean Clayton was the lead singer of another indie band Violet Vapors and was a general misogynistic piece of shit. It was a they just didn’t see the red flags until they were already in it type situation, bc no one advertises themself as a pos partner obvs. She doesn’t like to talk about it and borderline actively ignores it, but if they ever saw him again they’d probably take their bat to him tbh. Octavia is in a muuuuch better place now (comparatively speaking, which i mean the bar is in hell so do with that what ye will) still does drugs and drinks but it’s not nearly as bad as uhhh this era of their life.

#infamous if #oc: octavia blackwater #ANYWAY YEAH ART COMING SOON HOPEFULLY #god that was a fucking novel #as you can tell they’re on my mind quite a bit #oc info #will probably reblog to my art blog later just so i don’t lose the information #asks #answered #long post #super fucking long post

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lindszeppelin · 2 months

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I'd like to chime in on 'pretty privilege' (re: the anon who said looks only get you so far). When I was a teenager and in my very early 20s, I was pretty. I feel kind of weird saying that, but it's true. It opened a lot of doors for me, which I didn't realize at the time. When I was in college, I was diagnosed with a chronic illness that screwed up my whole body, and it had a major effect on my looks. People stopped noticing me, and a lot of those doors closed. It was hard for me to get used to that. I had never been a mean-girl type, and being pretty wasn't my whole identity, but it was a big shift. I still struggle with it some days (almost 30; it's been several years since I got sick). Now I'm in a better place health-wise, although I may never look the way I used to. But having that pretty privilege taken away made me empathetic in a new way, and it made me realize in hindsight how many advantages my looks had given me. It also pushed me to nurture and embrace other aspects of my personality and humbled me in a way that I'm grateful for, as much as it sucks. Do I wish I could have my old face and body back? Yes, a lot of days I do, but I wouldn't want to go back to the person I was at 20. I am getting way too personal on anon, and I'm not even sure where this story has taken me. But you and the other anon are right, looks can only get you so far, and even the best-looking people need to have more going for them than just looks. I'm kinder, more creative, more educated and more curious than I was, and although I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone else, I'm glad I'm a better version of me. I wish I could tell every pretty girl to appreciate it while she can and work on herself every day, even if she'll never need it. Just my two cents, since I'm sort of in an unusual position of having experienced both sides of it.

anon you are loved and appreciated deeply, and thank you for sharing your story <3 unfortunately it really is the way society is...we protect and give all the opportunities to the people more conventionally attractive. psychologically there must be some biases in there that have been built up for a long time. even though the standard for what is considered pretty changes with every decade, it's clear that society is not kind to people deemed not pretty. that's why it's important to love yourself and commit to giving love to yourself, being kind to yourself every day. it's even harder to deal with when you're young. but i think when you get older you just don't care. like...we're all going to get wrinkles and have grey hair and there's nothing we can do to stop that. so, just realize your value and don't let anybody else define who you are.

in terms of the specific convo to be had about this, clearly Hollywood values pretty people because they have marketability. they can be put on magazines, be the face of brands, etc. there's something to be said about people less conventionally attractive that are almost like...idk, weirdly fetishized? like Jeremy Alan White and Adrien Brody. you know what i mean? unconventionally attractive people can't just be people, they are treated a little differently than idk Aaron Taylor Johnson for example. like, they get specific kind of roles that suit their features. Jeremy won't ever get James Bond type roles for example, but someone like Henry Cavill will. idk if im explaining myself well but yeah

#lindsay's anon asks

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lesbiancolumbo · 1 year

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hey i am getting into try to watch classic movies (as in i just saw the shinning for the first time or godfather) and what are some good resources to check out for good recommendations, cause honestly I am finding it hard to know where I should start- thank in advance for posting about old movies they have all been added to my ever growing list!

omg hello!!!! hello! this is the ask i needed tonight.

in terms of resources... if you don't have a subscription to criterion channel already, do yourself a favor and get one. they are almost always highlighting an old hollywood actor or actress (this month is joan bennett and they're showing a really hard to find pre-code she's in called me and my gal. just an example.) and they have a wide variety of well-curated stuff to check out. same with kanopy if you have a library that partners with it. but honestly, if you are in the US or canada and have cable or know someone you can bum cable information off of, turner classic movies has been (at least for me) the greatest resource.

and i could easily point you to a list of the best classic movie recs (AFI has a list of 100 films, sight & sound just did their big poll - for example), but here's the thing. like on the level..... i spent so many years in college watching movies because i was told i was supposed to like them, or that they were IMPORTANT and THE CANON and i got almost nothing out of this experience. when i left college, i spent a week moping in unemployment on my parents' couch dogsitting and watching literally anything that came up on tcm. i watched the bride of frankenstein, i watched an irene dunne romance, i watched spencer tracy and katharine hepburn fall in love. fred and ginger dancing. john wayne walking into the wasteland of a desert that doesn't want him. etc. i watched as many different kinds of things as i could, and i went, so these films worked for me. these actors mean something to me and these don't. and i kept going my own way.

i know that feels like a non-answer, but i think it's very easy to get caught up in the like ~canon of it all~ and it's more fun to just start watching shit and discover things you may have never discovered. i told myself this year that i wanted to watch more silent cinema and i proceeded to just.... type "best silent actresses" into ye olde google and add a bunch of movies to a watchlist lmao. so i'm gonna give you a few lists now lmao but with the caveat that instead you should just ask yourself what sorts of things you like, what films interest you, what films you like, and kinda go from there. who influenced your favorite filmmaker? what old films do they like? etc.

some lists:

i made a post two years ago giving recs on 30s films that i still stand by lmao

last year i made my official "personal canon" list which details my 200 favorite films from the birth of cinema to now

a critic i love, willow maclay, made her personal canon list last year and she's one of my favorites on cinema period, old and new

every year a critic i also love, justine smith, does a twitter thread of her updated canon. this is from 2022. i love watching her list change every year.

my amazing friend marya gates essentially answered your question in way fewer words that i did with her list here

i hope this was helpful, sorry for the length of this, and happy watching! i am happy to help nudge you in any further directions if you want more tailored recs based on what you've seen/want to see/are interested in. feel free to send an ask or dm me any time.

#asks #movie posts

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natromanxoff · 2 years

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News Of The World - 1985

(x)

[Photo caption: “No one ever loves the real me — everyone falls in love with my stardom”]

[Photo caption: Queen to Freddie is ex-lover Mary Austin — she’s the one constant person in his life and in line for his fortune]

[Photo caption: Mad or macho, Freddie always loves to shock]

[Photo caption: Performing is Freddie’s life. “I’m driven by my work,” he admits. “And I’ll go on as long as my system allows — until I go insane”

ROCK ON FREDDIE

As thousands of adoring fans flock to buy his first solo album this week, Freddie Mercury tells of the one thing that all his success and all his millions can’t ever buy… Sharon Feinstein reports

Freddie Mercury, the outrageous front-man of superband Queen, is addicted to his phenomenal success, but his fame and fortune have also been the source of his deepest misery.

Freddie loves creating bizarre stage images and thrives on the roar of his audiences and the beat of his music. But when the lights go down at the end of a show, he is left feeling lost and lonely.

"You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man, and that is the most bitter type of loneliness," says Freddie. "Success has brought me world idolisation and millions of pounds, but it's prevented me from having the one thing we all need — a loving, on-going relationship.

"It's like the old Hollywood stories where all those wonderful actresses just couldn't carry on a relationship because their careers came first.

"That's the way it is with me. I can't stop the wheel for a while and devote myself to a love affair because all sorts of business problems would pile up. The wheel has to keep turning and that makes it very hard for anyone to live with me and be happy.

"I'm driven by my work and will go on for as long as my system allows me — until I go insane. There's a voice inside me saying, "Slow down Freddie, you're going to burn yourself out”, but I just can't stop.

"You can't revel in the success and then, 13 years down the line, wake up one morning and say, ‘No, I don't want to be a superstar today. I want to go out in the streets on my own, or pour my heart into a relationship.’ It's impossible. Because this is it.”

"It" is being the extrovert lead-singer with probably the most successful rock band ever. In their 13-year reign, Queen have rocked the world in a way that no other group has before or since… not even the Beatles.

Today, Freddie and the boys — Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon — each earn over £1 million a year and need never make another record or undertake another tour. But they have no intention of stopping. Last year, Queen toured Europe and had yet another hit with Thank God It's Christmas, and Freddie released his first solo single, Love Kills — which made the top 10 — and began work on his new single and first solo album. Earlier this year, he and the band were the star attraction for the 250.000 fans at the rock festival in Rio, Brazil.

"It was awe-inspiring and mind-boggling to be up there, with all those people in the palm of your hand," says Freddie. "But the other side of the coin is that, though I was surrounded by masses of people who love me, I must have been the loneliest person there. Can you imagine how temble it is when you've got everything and you're still desperately lonely? That is awful beyond words.

"I don't want people to think, poor old Freddie, because I can deal with it. But I'm so powerful on stage that I seem to have created a monster. When I'm performing, I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man.

Of course, the stagey streak in me, where I love to jump around […]

"My love affairs never last. I seem to eat people up and destroy them"

[…] and be volatile, is real, but people don't realise there's more. They expect me to be the same in my personal life as well. They say, "Come on, Freddie, perform, give us some excitement."

The hunky, dark-haired singer, who takes pride in his rippling muscles and ever-changing appearance, once joked that he'd had more lovers than any Hollywood star.

"But they never last," says 38-year-old Freddie. "I seem to eat people up and destroy them. There must be a destructive element in me because I do try very hard to build up relationships, but somehow I drive people away.

"They always blame the end of the love affair on me because I'm the successful one. Whoever I'm with seems to get into a battle of trying to match up to me, so all the time I'm feeling guilty and over-compensating… Then they end up treading all over me.

"I can't win. Love is Russian roulette for me. No one loves the real me inside, they're all in love with my fame, my stardom.

"I fall in love far too quickly and end up getting hurt all the time. I've got scars all over. But I can't help myself because basically I'm a softie — I have this hard, macho shell which I project on stage but there's a much softer side, too, which melts like butter.

"I try to hold back when I'm attracted to someone but I just can't control love. It runs riot. All my one-night-stands are just me playing my part. What I really like is a lot of loving. And I spoil my lovers terribly. I like to make them happy and I get so much pleasure out of giving them really wonderful, expensive presents."

Freddie has admitted that he is bisexual, but says: "I couldn't fall in love with a man the way I could with a girl". The one love of his life and the only person he really trusts is 31-year-old Mary Austin, a quiet fair-haired woman. Freddie and Mary had a seven-year romance.

"Our love affair ended in tears but a deep bond grew out of it, and that's something nobody can take away from us. It's unreachable,” he says. "All my lovers ask me why they can't replace her, but it's simply impossible.

"I don't feel jealous of her lovers because, of course, she has a life to lead, and so do I. Basically, I try to make sure she's happy with whoever she's with and she tries to do the same for me.

“We look after each other and that's a wonderful form of love. I might have all the problems in the world, but I have Mary and that gets me through."

The seal of Freddie's commitment to Mary is his decision to leave her his millions.

"What better person to leave my fortune to when I go ?" he smiles. "Of course my parents are in my will and so are my cats, but the vast bulk of it will go to Mary.

"If I dropped down dead tomorrow, Mary's the one person I know who could cope with my vast wealth. She works in my organisation and looks after my money side and all my possessions. She's in charge of the chauffeurs, maids, gardeners, accountants and lawyers. All I have to do is throw my carcass around on stage."

Freddie is one of the world's richest rock stars but he never has a […]

"You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man'

[…] penny in his pocket and has no idea of how many millions he owns.

"I love having so much money," he admits, "but I don't believe in counting it. And because I have far more than I need, I give a lot of it away to people I like.

"I try to enjoy life and if there was no money I wouldn't let it stop me having a good time. In the early days, when I hardly had anything I'd save for two weeks and then blow it all in a day so that I could have a blast of fun."

Certainly, money hasn't always been so free for Freddie. Born Freddie Bulsara on September 5, 1946, his father was a government accountant, which meant Freddie spent some of his childhood in Zanzibar and India. After school, he did a graphics course at Ealing College of Art in London (he designed the band's logo, using the four members' birth signs as inspiration). It was in late 1971 that he joined May, Taylor and Deacon and the Queen phenomenon began.

The biggest visible mark of Freddie's success (and millions) must be his magnificent 28-room mansion in London's Kensington, for which he paid over £1/2 million… in cash!

When Freddie bought the house four years ago, he had three of the eight bedrooms knocked into one for himself, and filled the mansion with handmade furniture from Harrods and priceless Japanese carvings and paintings from Toyko. Outside, an army of gardeners carved out a country retreat in the grounds.

But the king of the castle still hasn't moved in. For the first time Freddie explains why: "Every person who makes a lot of money has a dream he wants to carry out, and I achieved that dream with this wonderful house.

“Whenever I watched Hollywood movies set in plush homes with lavish decor, I wanted that for myself and now I've got it. But to me it was much more important to get the damn thing than to actually go and live in it. Maybe the challenge has worn off now. I'm very much like that — once I get something I'm not that keen on it any more. I still love the house but the real enjoyment is that I've achieved it.

"Sometimes, when I'm alone at night, I imagine that when I'm 50 I'll creep into that house as my refuge and then I'll start making it a home. Anyway, as it is, I can only spend 60 days a year in England for tax reasons."

Freddie has spent the last few months in Munich putting the finishing touches to his first solo album, Mr Bad Guy, which he has dedicated to his dead cat, Jerry.

The album, which is out this week, is packed with new material taking […]

[Photo caption: In 13 years with Queen, Freddie may have changed outwardly, but inside the heartache is the same]

[…] Freddie in an exciting new and different direction.

"I've put my heart and soul into this album,” he says. "It's much more beat orientated than Queen's music and it also has some very moving ballads."

In between hard work he also found time to begin a new friendship with a German actress — 42-year-old Barbara Valentin.

"Barbara and I have formed a bond that is stronger than anything I've had with a lover for the last six years," he says. “I can really talk to her and be myself in a way that's very rare."

Among his existing close friends, Freddie counts Rod Stewart, Elton John and Michael Jackson.

“Rod, Elton and I were going to form a band called Hair, Nose and Teeth after the three of us," he laughs. "But it hasn't happened because none of our egos can agree on the order of the words! Naturally I want it to be called Teeth, Nose and Hair.

“I'm very fond of Rod and Elton. They both came to my last birthday party and sang happy birthday when the cake was wheeled in. I shouted out, ‘This is probably the first time the two of you have sung without being paid for it!' and they laughed like mad.

“Michael Jackson and | have grown apart a bit since his massive success with Thriller. He's simply retreated into a world of his own.

“Two years ago we used to have great fun going to clubs together but now he won't come out of his fortress. It's very sad. He's so worried that someone will do him in that he's paranoid about absolutely everything.

“I get worried about that myself but I'll never let it take over my life like that.”

Freddie has said that if he wasn't a rock star with Queen, he'd have liked to have been a ballet dancer.

He once appeared with the Royal Ballet dancing to a selection of Queen hits, and it was at a glittering Royal Ballet party that Freddie met Prince Andrew.

“I was wearing a white scarf and holding a glass of wine when I was introduced to Prince Andrew. But I was so nervous I didn't realise my scarf was dangling in the drink,” Freddie recalls.

"There I was trying to be really cool and suddenly the Prince said, “Freddie, I don't think you really want this getting wet. He squeezed out the scarf and that broke the ice between us.

"I said, 'Thank goodness you've put me at ease. Now I can use the odd bit of dirty language.’ Then we both burst out laughing.

"He really got into the spirit of things and even had a dance. He's really quite hip in those sort of situations.

“I have a lot of respect for royalty. I'm a tremendous patriot."

Yet another unexpected side to the king of Queen. But then there's much more to Freddie Mercury than most of us ever see. Underneath the bizarre clothes and images that have become his trademark, there is the other Freddie. He sums it up simply… "Sometimes, I just long to be perfectly ordinary as well."

#queen #queen band #freddie mercury #queen scans #news of the world 1985

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destinyc1020 · 4 months

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can I say a confession. I kinda lost all my interest in the MCU not even the prospect of zendaya and tom returning in sm4 is exciting to me obviously I would eat up a press tour but not the movie. I dont post end game this MCU has been rather flat and dull. No hate to people who love the MCU, I really hope the MCU delivers yall some magical stuff. Its just watching other major blockbusters and seeing their quality like top gun or mad max or dune or spiderverese like Im reminded at what cinema can be when creators are given time and freedom to build their own worlds and create unique moments story telling or when we see great cinematigraphy and sound design.

Like Im glad I opened myself to see smaller things or films I've never thought I would watch like poor things, american fiction, la chimera, all of us strangers, past lives and just being transported and experiencing something amazing and emotional and feeling rewarded as an audience member. I dont know I feel like mcu is kinda lagging behind and I feel lile audiences deserve better products and the MCU just dont deliver anymore.

Thanks for your confession Anon. 😊

Idk if you meant for me to hold this "Confession" off until Sunday so that you could have immunity lol 😆, but I saw this posted to my inbox yesterday, and it didn't say to hold off from posting until Sunday, so I assume you wanted me to post it. 🤷🏾‍♀️ If I misunderstood, I apologize.

Anyway.....

I'm definitely a self-proclaimed "Marvel Girl" (always have been 😊), but I also love DC comics as well. I'm not one of those who feels like fans HAVE to choose btwn one or the other. 👀

With that said, Marvel to me is like the fun, exciting, "junk food" of cinema. Like eating junk food, watching Marvel movies is fun to digest, it's enjoyable, it's exciting, you feel GREAT while watching it, and you can't wait until you see some other new films coming out.

But, you can't exist SOLELY on junk food and be healthy, just like if you're truly a fan of film, you can't ONLY watch Marvel films and be 100% satisfied in your movie-viewing life. 🤷🏾‍♀️ You need a balance.

It sounds like you're definitely a fan of film, and you watch a variety of stuff. That's awesome! 😃 👍🏾☺️

While I love Marvel, I too have noticed that some of their more recent films have left some fans a little disappointed, and just feeling a little "Marvel Fatigue".

I honestly think that they got worried that after they killed off most of the OG Avengers, that fans would lose interest, and so they started just churning out more and more films and series in order to put out the "next phase". But in all honesty, I kinda feel like after NWH and Wakanda Forever came out, I sort of feel like Marvel should have taken a little bit of a BREAK, and allowed the fans to miss them (sometimes, absence makes the heart grow fonder), and really taken their TIME in writing better films going forward after resting for a few years. 👀

Cuz you're right, some films are feeling a little sloppy and rushed, and honestly, when you compare some of the newer Marvel films to films like "The Dark Knight" , or even "The Batman", or shooot.... even "Spider-man 2" lol 😆, you can kind of see the STARK difference. (No pun intended lol)

Obviously, Marvel films aren't going to be like "Poor Things" or "All of Us Strangers", so I wouldn't even compare them to those types of films rofl 🤣

But yea, like when you even compare some of the Marvel films to a movie like "Top Gun: Maverick" (which was AWESOME and brought back old school style Hollywood filmmaking), you can tell the immediate difference in how you feel when watching it, the writing, the cinematography, the MUSIC, everything....

I think Marvel reigned Supreme for many many years (over a decade), and so maybe they got lazy or felt that MORE content more OFTEN was "better", but I actually think the opposite. 👀 🤷🏾‍♀️

#sorry for the dissertation

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ojcobsessed · 5 months

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The British actor, who broke out in Netflix’s spooky anthology series from Mike Flanagan, speaks to Tom Murray about his thrilling new movie ‘Jackdaw’, his pride at appearing in ‘Hollyoaks’, and why he thinks he’s ‘too emotional’ to play 007.

Ihave this thing in my head,” Oliver Jackson-Cohen is telling me. “I don’t know where it comes from, but I am always convinced that everything I do is going to be s***. So I’m always pleasantly surprised that it’s not as s***ty as I think.”

The London-born actor really doesn’t need to be so anxious. Since landing his breakout role of heroin addict Luke Crain in Mike Flanagan’s Netflix anthology series The Haunting of Hill House in 2018, Jackson-Cohen has proven time and again his skill at playing damaged goods. Whether it’s his sociopathic turn as businessman Peter Quint in Flanagan’s sequel series The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), or as Dakota Johnson’s terrifying boyfriend in The Lost Daughter (2021), or as Elisabeth Moss’s see-through ex in The Invisible Man (2020), Jackson-Cohen has cemented himself as one of Hollywood’s go-to baddies.

But in his latest film, the 37-year-old is taking a stab at being the hero... sort of. Jackdaw is set against a bleak, wintry North East of England, with Jackson-Cohen playing an ex-motocross champion and army veteran who commits a crime in the hopes of starting a new life for his family.

The actor is the first to admit that the Jackdaw script was “fairly straightforward” for the action-thriller genre: a criminal job goes awry, family member gets kidnapped, man must save kidnapped family member. But he says that the film’s director, first-timer Jamie Childs, wanted to prove that genre films like these don’t have to be the preserve of the US. “He wanted to make movies that would be made in America in the Nineties, but set in the North East,” Jackson-Cohen explains. “He wanted to really showcase that and show that we can make these sorts of high-concept movies on small budgets in the UK.”

There are blatant American influences on the film – it’s all synths, rain and neon, like it’s been put under an Instagram filter named “Blade Runner”. I tell Jackson-Cohen that his character in the film, Jack Dawson, feels like a mash-up of Ryan Gosling’s criminal characters in Drive (2011) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) – brooding, morally questionable types with good hearts at their core. “Yeah, like a Northern, poor man’s Ryan Gosling,” he jokes. “Listen, I’ll happily be a poor man’s Ryan Gosling for the rest of my life.”

Jackson-Cohen has a face that looks like it’s been carved by Bernini, so it’s no surprise to learn he originally found success as a model. On the day of our conversation, he’s wearing a frame-fitting black jumper; his stubble is grown out but perfectly manicured, as is his thick brown hair, which is styled into a messy quiff. A 2012 Harper’s Bazaar interview conducted at a London hotel noted a “perceptible thrill” that “rippled through the female staff” upon his arrival. His looks, accent and 6ft 3in height have also made him a perennial fixture in predictions for the next James Bond. But Jackson-Cohen is worried he’d be “too emotional” to play the part. “It’s such an iconic character, isn’t it?” he says. So if 007 producer Barbara Broccoli were to call, he’d send her to voicemail? “Of course not! No one’s gonna say no to Babs are they?”

If he does end up firing guns and sipping martinis for a few years, Jackson-Cohen would be the first Bond to have appeared in Hollyoaks, the teen soap infamous for its annual Hunks and Babes cast calendars. He booked a single-episode role on the show when he was 15 – his first acting gig. “I remember getting the phone call and being like: ‘This. Is. It,’” he says, grinning. “Walking into school the next day I was so full of myself.”

After training at London’s Youngblood Theatre Company and then the famed Lee Strasberg Institute in New York, he began booking supporting roles in a number of American films you probably don’t remember: the Dwayne Johnson clanger Faster (2010), Anna Faris’s What’s Your Number? (2011), or Going the Distance (2010), one of Drew Barrymore’s lesser romcoms. He’s spoken previously about the grand expectations he placed on his early film work, assuming they’d propel him into the big leagues. He was shattered when they didn’t, leading him to take a nine-month break from acting.

The Haunting of Hill House, in 2018, proved to be a turning point. It was a smash hit, earned him a rabid fanbase, and helped launch him into a particular kind of recognition – something he describes as “Netflix famous”. “It’s quite an interesting thing,” he says. “You’re the most famous person in the world for a while and then the next show comes along and that completely takes over.”

Regardless, the role was not without catharsis for him. He has spoken about how his own experience with childhood sexual abuse and PTSD influenced his take on the character. He first discussed it in 2017, during the #MeToo movement, writing on Instagram: “[I] have spent most of my life living with PTSD, pretending it didn’t happen, and now, trying to rebuild what was shattered. The thing about sexual abuse is that the moment it is done, however brief or however long, it changes the course of your life permanently.”

I ask him how the part impacted him, and for the first time in our conversation, the actor’s geniality falters and his face takes on a visible strain. “I think, if you speak to any of us from that cast, those characters meant so much to us because we put so much of ourselves into them,” he says. Flanagan, he says, was “incredibly collaborative” and “allowed me to just take the reins with it and left me alone to do that.” He also knows the part struck a chord with audiences. He remembers being approached by strangers in public who’d share their stories of addiction. “I think ultimately all of us feel incredibly proud that it hit a note with people and it allowed people to open up a discussion, to feel like they could talk about this stuff.”

As soon as Hill House was released, Jackson-Cohen says he was sent “a slew of horror scripts” that were “all the same thing, just a watered-down, less good versions [of the show]”. He names Ira Sachs’s raunchy gay drama Passages, Jonathan Glazer’s new Holocaust film Zone of Interest and Justine Triet’s awards season darling Anatomy of a Fall as films he’s admired from afar this past year. “I don’t think there’s a formula of: you work with this director and this writer and then, success. But I do think you reach a point where you’re like, ‘Oh I do actually want more out of this.’”

He knows, for instance, that he’s seen a certain way by casting directors. “I’ve played quite a lot of toxic men. But I’ve become fascinated with the question of, ‘how do we humanise these morally corrupt characters?’ There’s a challenge in that, which I think is quite fun. But, like anything, you go through periods where you like to play a certain thing and then it’s time to move on.”

So no more baddies? He weighs it up.

“I think I’ve played my fair share now.”

‘Jackdaw’ is in cinemas now.

#oliver jackson-cohen #oliver jackson cohen #jackdaw film #jackdaw #haunting of hill house #2024 #interviews #queue #cw: csa

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