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grogusmum · 3 months

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Please Mister Please

JOEL MILLER X F!READER (nicknamed)

SUMMARY: You can't seem to escape that one song even after the apocalypse. Joel and Ellies friendship brings you some comfort, and maybe Joel is interested in more.

WORD COUNT: 1700ish

WARNINGS: None to speak of. Unless you need one for soft Joel. As always, if you see something I've missed, let me know in my DMs, and I'll add it.

A/N: Just a little something inspired by the Olivia Newton-John's song of the same name. (She was in her country music era) It's hardly edited, written on my phone, and Imma just yeetin' it out there. Oops. It's just the usual fluffy hurt comfort. But it IS my first go round with Joel. I hope you enjoy it! 💚

The jukebox was found on a supply run at some honky tonk out Fort Collins way called Sundance something or other. You laughed at your first thought, which was it's wasn't one of those new ones with CDs, realizing "those new ones" were now 40 years old... but this one was truly an antique, with vinyl in it and everything.

A Wurlitzer in all its chrome, brightly colored bakelite, and satisfying push button glory.

You shake your head now, thinking you should have known the moment you heard. Everyone was so excited. Because, of course, they were! How fun is an old timey jukebox full of country-western ballads, anthems, and line dance classics?

It brought an energy into Jackson, the likes you hadn't seen before it. You'd gotten in early on, and watched its evolution from place where people were merely surviving to an industrious hive of busy bees, creating abundance but there wasn't much room for joy and then out of the clear blue sky - line dancing. At first they couldnt keep it plugged in all the time, it was turned on for a half an hour at the end of the day, until they had a good handle on the dam and the power plant was working consistently. You're sure it was the inspiration for Maria's attention to holidays and socials after seeing the excitement and morale lift from it. Suddenly, y'all were living, not just staying alive. So it seems silly, with so much real life and death shit to deal with, to get so hung up on one song, but it carried so much weight for you, you just couldn't shake it. If only it wasn't so sweet, if only it wasn't so catchy… Maybe people wouldn't have noticed it among all the other tracks. But it was sweet and it was catchy, and about making it after all the shit they'd been through...

So naturally, at five songs for a quarter, it ends up in the mix at some point. (It's the only reason the town has any coins. Paying it could have been bypassed, but dropping the 25¢ seemed to be part of the fun.) So when you least expected it, it would start to play, and so far, it continued to flip your stomach and make your eyes glass. And think about how he and you didn't actually make it.

Joel and Ellie have been in Jackson several months now. Ellie dove right in, school, taking care of the horses afterward, trying to socialize. She's a little guarded sure but mostly funny and eager. Joel started helping Tommy right away, but it seemed to you more to keep busy than to join the community. He's wary and taciturn. When they weren't in those organized work times, they stuck close. When Ellie ventured into social activities, Joel let her go, but he was ever watchful, with Ellie checking in often even just a look over her shoulder, just to see if he was still there. He always was. They reminded you of a bonded pair of strays.

You liked your place, Catnip's Apothecary. They'd come in twice so far, once when Joel brought Ellie in for a poison ivy rash and once when Ellie brought a very grumpy Joel for inflammation in his knees Ellie found all your jars of tinctures, teas, herbs, and powders fascinating. Asking what everything did, looking at drying plants hanging from rafters in wonder, pspspsing the cats.

“Are you a witch?”

“Ellie!” Joel admonished, but looking at you for a tell. Were you? You could see him wondering.

Tonight, Ellie is at the rec center, a movie theater for the evening, awaiting the start of none other than Star Wars.

You only laughed. Sure you were, but what they were seeing here was hardly witchcraft, just herbalism, mostly. Joel and Ellie are both bright and observant - you're pretty sure they both noticed you didn't answer.

Where did they find all these 70s flicks? Nevertheless, A New Hope's a great find. You can't resist going, even though you know it by heart, and you'll have to force yourself not to recite all the dialogue. Sitting smack dab in the middle, surrounded by all these kids and young adults, seeing it for the first time, you munch your popcorn and smile.

You don't see Joel, but it's not like you are actively looking for him… just curious, given their perhant to stay together and you figured he will know the movie too, maybe he's more of a Trekie. When you catch Ellie's eye, she waves animatedly and moves to sit beside you.

“Sssoooo, you're like one of the only grown ups here.” there is a gremlin glint in Ellie’s eye.

“Yeah, I thought there'd be more nostalgia watchers-” you say a little sheepishly. “ But it's okay, I'll see it with a soon-to-be New Generation of Star Wars Fans. Bear Witness!”

“And what if it sucks?”

The noise you make is somewhere between an indignant scoff and a gasp of purest offense. But you rally.

“Oh just you wait padawan-”

"What's a pada-"

As quickly as the lights go down the attention commanding drums of the 20th Century Fox fanfare begin.

“Oop here we go! Buckle up, buttercup!!”

You live vicariously through the new audience for the next two hours, and it is a pure joy.

The young people of Jackson laugh at the Laurel and Hardy comedy stylings of Threepio and Artoo, they eat up the “though she be little she is fierce” snarky spirit of Princess Leia, gasp at Alderaan's fate and Obi Wan's sacrifice, cheer at Hans return, hold their collective breath when Luke turns off his targeting device to use the force, and burst into applause when he makes the one in a million shot, womp rats in Beggars Canyon take heed.

“Aw man I really hope we can see Empire some day,” you say as the credits roll.

Ellie is elated, peppering you with questions about the sequel and then Return of the Jedi and you do you best, not wanting to spoil too much if she actually gets to watch it.

“I'm this way,” she says suddenly, as she peels off from the town center, “see ya!”

You head toward the Tipsy Bison, to join the adults, most of which took advantage of the kids being off at the movie to do a little drinking and dancing.

The spring has brought high spirits, and with it bright chatter and the stomp of line dancing in progress. Grabbing a spot to watch, you order yourself a drink. When the song ends, there's hoots and applause, and the next one is slow and sweet, and it only takes the first note for you to feel the drop in your belly.

Joel saw you come in, he had seen you from the street actually, when the community center emptied after the film, he had his eye out for Ellie and saw her come out with you, talking animatedly and laughing. He smiled. You were his age, or close enough he guesses, not only from both the smile and worry lines but your points of reference when talking, only missing references that are local to growing up in Texas. It's comforting, you remember Before. You also have a light he can't get enough of, you didn't confirm nor deny it but he is sure you've enchanted him witch or not. He's just been to, 'shy' isn't the right word... he just hasn't been able to make any sort of move.

Now you sit alone, a moment ago smiling, tapping to the music. He had been taking in some liquid courage, in the form of whiskey, to ask you to dance. But the light in your eyes is replaced with a shine, not in the way he loves. He's seen this a couple times, he realizes. Times when your eyes go far away and a sadness descends on you.

He gets up and checks the jukebox, taking note of the song. He's pretty sure he's right. He can't bypass a song on a jukebox, nor can he tell a DJ to change it. But he's gonna talk to Walt the barkeeper, first chance he gets.

Then he does his best to saunter over to your little table, drink in hand. He's pretty sure his sauntering days are over.

“Hey Catnip, can I sit?”

You look up wiping your wide eyes.

“Oh, sure, Joel, please,” your smile tries to reach your eyes, but it flickers and can't stay.

“So," joel starts, he's not good at this. He's gotten better but, “You're Still the One, huh? For me it's Vince Gill- When I Call Your Name ”

You just look at him, and he starts to think maybe he hasn't improved at all.

“I don't know that one, it was kind of a fluke that our song, his song was a country song. It's not my usual genre.”

“Well it wasn't my lady and my song, it was the song that I listened to after she left. Sarah was so little. I felt so lost in those early days. Now I can't even hear the open-”

“Opening chords,” you finish with a chuckle, “yeah, I can't- and now of course it all wrapped up in the Before Times, too. But here it is, in a jukebox of less than 200 songs, the one song that represents my husband walking out on me before the shit hit the fan.”

“I can't even picture anyone leaving you with nothing but a song.”

“Yeah, well, I can picture it quite clearly. I can't imagine someone leaving you with a little baby girl to raise.”

“We are in the same boat, darlin’ until it happened I would have been with you on that. We were very young, 22, she panicked.”

“Aren't we a pair?”

“Why don't this pair go for a walk then?”

Joel holds his breath, looking into your lovely face.

“I'd like that.”

Standing, Joel holds out a hand to guide you up and out of the bar, it settles comfortably on your lower back, the song long over. His hand tingles and theres a flutter in his chest at being allowed to touch you this way.

It smells like petrichor, though the skies are clear. Joel's hand leaves your back to your chagrin, but he gently holds out his elbow, and with a crooked smile you slip your hand in the crux of it.

“Such a gentleman.”

He smiles and brings you to the newly constructed, yet to be painted, gazebo.

You climb the handful of steps and look at the town from this new vantage point.

Behind you, Joel comes close, his hand casually on your hip, like you did this everyday. His mouth close to the shell of your ear and a quiet hum floats in, the controlled breath tickling, you smile knowing the very apt song choice,

“Are you making fun of me Joel Miller?”

He chuckles, then the words over take the hum -

“Please mister, please, don't play B-17

It was our song, it was his song but it's over

Please Mr. please, if you know what I mean

I don't ever wanna hear that song again…”

Joel turns you, arm around your waist, his other hand sliding into yours -

" I'd sound a bit better with my guitar, but when we couldnt dance, so-"

He starts a simple box step, as he sings quiet and low, just for you, while turning you around the gazebo.

You join in singing whispering in his ear the chorus when it comes again. It feels cathartic. Then you step back - who is this man? Not the guy who came in with a little girl, a gut wound that should have killed him, poorly healed knuckles, and the weary eye of someone who is always waiting for the other shoe to come down on him like it's made of lead. But looking at him now, those brown eyes wide but the little crease between his eyes holding his concern. His jaw soft, making you take more note of his natural pout and the salt and pepper scruff, the little spot that just won't fill in, it looks like a heart… you wonder if it's as soft and smooth as it looks and if he'd let you touch it to find out.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING 💚

Please consider commenting and reblogging. If you are interested in reading more of my writing, you can find my masterlist here. If you would like to be notified when i post more work, you can find my taglist form here.

#joel miller #joel miller x f!reader #the last of us #tlou #pedro pascal character fics #pedro pascal characters

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reelaroundthedavekan · 1 month

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For the Movie recs: 8, 9 and 20 please!

8. A film from the year you were born - 1969 has a pretty good list of films, but it is also an odd mix of old school Hollywood and movies pushing boundaries. You've got Hello Dolly, Paint Your Wagon and True Grit alongside Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice so big differences in what was being made. But I will choose Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for my movie, which I would still consider a classic and a must see.

9. A film set in a place you always wanted to visit - How about Narnia or Middle Earth or Wakanda or if I pick the place do I have to be involved in what is going on in the movie? So certainly not a place that is in danger, no monsters or explosions. Can it be an exotic vacation location where I get to enjoy my trip and not get into any shenanigans? A world that is not as messed up as ours, maybe the Star Trek universe?

20. A film where the vibes are immaculate - I'm not sure I understand the concept of Immaculate Vibes, but I would say movies that build a world that is unique or a style that fits the story so well. For recent movies I would say the Spider-verse movies and Barbie. The amount of effort and attention to detail are out of the park. I think Prey was really well done, the first John Wick certainly had a unique world and vibe. Paddington 2 was pretty immaculate, I'll go with that.

Thanks for tagging me @smartgrrrl

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watchmenanon · 1 year

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A chat with Noah Schnapp, the 11-year-old Montrealer who voices Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie

'I listened to as much as I could find online to get the voice right. Winning the role took a lot of hard work'

Special to National Post

Published Nov 06, 2015

Noah Schnapp, the 11-year-old actor, son of former Montrealers Karine and Mitchell Schnapp, was selected to provide the pipes for the ever-flappable Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie after an extensive hunt. For good reason: his take is dead-on. It turns out that wasn’t accidental.

“In preparing for my recording audition, my mom told me to YouTube the old Peanuts Thanksgiving and Christmas specials to hear how Charlie Brown speaks,” the articulate Schnapp says in a phone interview from his family’s New York City base. “So I listened to as much as I could find online to get the voice right. Winning the role took a lot of hard work, but good fortune as well. There were a lot of other talented kids up for the part, too.”

After studying the character, Schnapp says, he can relate to Charlie Brown in a lot of ways. “Charlie never gives up, and I try never to give up either. And my dog Spaghetti is a bit like Snoopy — a real wise guy.”

Schnapp already has an impressive resumé — moviegoers can catch him in Steven Spielberg’s new Bridge of Spies, and will soon be able to see him in the indie feature, We Only Know So Much, based on the book of the same title.

He is commuting between New York and Atlanta, where he is in the midst of shooting Stranger Things, a supernatural thriller series for Netflix.

And he spent a portion of last spring in Park City, Utah, where he took part in the Sundance Directors Lab and played the lead in director Brent Green’s Untitled Loveless Fable. No surprise, Schnapp was the youngest person invited to the event, which was also attended by such heavies as Robert Redford and Ed Harris.

To top it all off, he was just listed in Variety’s Youth Impact Report as a rising star under 21 to watch out for.

Pretty heady stuff for a kid who only started acting in community theatre three years ago.

Schnapp plays the son of Tom Hanks’s negotiator character in Bridge of Spies, and is most convincing as a kid who’s concerned about a Soviet nuclear retaliation at the height of the Cold War. He dutifully learns the ludicrous duck-and-cover technique should a missile strike while he’s at school, and keeps his bathtub full of water should it strike while he’s at home.

“I have to be honest and admit that before I started working on that project, I actually didn’t know much about that period or who they (Hanks and Spielberg), were,” Schnapp says. “But you have to understand that I was only nine at the time.

“However, when we started pre-production, I watched most of their movies. Then I went: ‘Wow!’ I hadn’t realized how big and how important they were.”

He was particularly struck by Hanks’s manner.

“He’s just such a selfless, generous actor,” Schnapp marvels. “In most of his movies, he’s usually playing the hero and good guy, which is what he really is. He would always be holding on to my shoulder (during shooting), and putting me into the spotlight. And not just me — he was always trying to make everyone else shine, too. It was really such a great experience working with him and Steven Spielberg.”

Schnapp is nothing if not determined. Because of his lack of experience, he figured he was a long shot to land the roles in The Peanuts Movie and Bridge of Spies.

“It was kind of crazy — those were some of my first auditions,” he recalls. “I was very excited, but I didn’t really think I could get the work in Peanuts. Still, I really, really wanted it, because I knew I could do it. And I got it.

“It was the same thing for Bridge of Spies. It was crazy, too. Then I just started getting more and more roles.”

Apart from Hanks, he’s had some solid parental figures watching his back when he’s on the job. In We Only Know So Much, Jeanne Tripplehorn plays his mom, while Winona Ryder takes on that role in Stranger Things.

The Sundance Directors Lab was a great learning experience. “There were about 200 directors, actors and screenwriters. I learned that it was OK to experiment with scenes and improvise new lines. We were like a big family — everyone became my friend.”

Though he didn’t start acting until he was eight, Schnapp says he caught the bug two years earlier.

“After I saw Annie on Broadway, I came out of the show crying, because I wanted to be on that stage. Then when I watched TV, I just knew I wanted to be that person in the TV, too.”

#noah schnapp #byler #<target audience

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bornforastorm · 9 months

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3, 5, 35?

:) :) :)

3. Any old school favorites (pre-70s)? hell yeah!!! I LOVE old movies!! here's some I love: Freaks (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), The Petrified Forest (1936), Pygmalion (1938), Dawn Patrol (1938), Remember the Night (1940), Pimpernel Smith (1941), Ball of Fire (1941), Palm Beach Story (1942), Murder, My Sweet (1944), Nightmare Alley (1947), The Third Man (1949), Rodan (1956), Libel (1959), The Coward (1965), The Great Race (1965), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

5. Favorite dead actor/actress? Leslie Howard! Leslie the man from before my time I would risk it all for.

35. Favorite comedy movie? probably The Great Race! It's my favorite 3 hour comedy and it makes me laugh so hard.

#movie ask!#about me #I loooove old movies #I grieve not having TCM any more #thanks for the ask darlin!!!

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slcwshow · 2 months

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smoke tricks. eating leftover takeout directly out of the fridge. dancing around in your underpants. making up constellations. giving your clothes the sniff test. the alleged van. never accomplishing anything because you’re too scared to try. socks with holes in the toes. stealing every sweater you’ve ever been lent. art for art’s sake. lazy summer afternoons. a collage of posters and concert tickets. staying up all night talking. saturday morning cartoons. pizza with all the toppings.

statistics.

full name: daniel sundance dixon (seriously) nickname(s): danny name meaning: god is my judge age: twenty-five date of birth: june 29th star sign: cancer place of birth: castle village, galdoran current location: wherever the road takes him (but, like, pelican town) gender: trans-male pronouns: he/him sexual orientation: pansexual occupation: travelling merchant family: david dixon (father), shawna dixon (mother), laura dixon (older sister) education level: high school graduate (barely) living arrangements: lives in his bitchin' van loved gifts: pizza, pepper poppers, battery pack hated gifts: wine, coleslaw, raisins

biography.

Danny was born in Castle Village, a distant town known for its community of adventurers.

His mother and father, Shawna and David, perhaps aren’t the sort of people you’d immediately associate with heroics and monster slaying. They’re both bermuda-shorts-wearing, fanny-pack-owning, glasses-on-a-string-around-the-neck types, aggressively pleasant and unfailingly kind. Their interest is less in killing monsters as it is in researching them, and they established the local tourist trap museum as a means of displaying all they've discovered.

Always an aimless kind of kid, Danny imagined he'd spend most of his life working the desk at his parents' museum, because it was easy and didn't require any major planning on his part. His mom and dad are very supportive of their son, to the point where it might've actually been hindering his ability to grow as adult, so he never felt any great pressure to get his life started.

Ultimately his impetus to leave Castle Village came on the back of the breakup of his first major relationship (they decided to just be friends, which is chill). Danny finally got around to fixing up the old van that'd sat on his parents' drive for the last eight years, and set off on his travels.

He's been bumming around the Ferngill Republic for the better part of a year now, collecting things from all over the continent and selling them to the residents of the small towns he passes through. It's a pretty sweet existence, all things considered, and he wonders if he'll ever feel inclined to settle in one place again.

other things.

Sundance was Danny's middle name even before he transitioned, and his sister had to sit him down and very seriously talk to him about not making it his first name afterwards.

His van is a complete jalopy, but the exterior is painted with a bitchin' mural of a team of adventurers slaying a giant slime.

He’s a pretty good bass player, but he could probably be a great bass player if he actually bothered to practice.

A not-insignificant portion of the van's interior storage is taken up by tapes. Danny keeps telling himself he'll upgrade his music system to a CD player one of these days, but he never quite gets around to it.

Even though he's only in town a couple of days a week, he still has the high score on the Journey to the Prairie King arcade machine at the Stardrop Saloon.

Sincerely believes in all things supernatural, and is very knowledgeable on the topic thanks to his parents.

#danny: about #dew.intro #wow no sad topics in this bio am i feeling okay

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piizunn · 1 year

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mihkokwaniy

by joshua whitehead

mihkokwaniy

my kokum has many names:

the indian woman

the whitehead lady

a saskatoon female

but my favourite is:

the beauty queen;

they never meant to call her beautiful

what they meant by beauty was:

cheapdirtybrownprostitutedrugaddictalcoholicfirewaterslut

when they write: “an indian about 35 years old

naked from the waist down

died from asphyxiation

at the queen’s hotel

effects of alcohol

&sedatives”

they don’t mean beauty as in:

mino iskwēw

or: “pleasing the sense or mind aesthetically;

of a very high standard; excellent”

what they mean is

she is beautiful for a squaw in ‘62

she pleases the body

of white men who burn in the loins

for the teal-shade of a browning bruise;

when i type into google

“how to say beautiful in cree”

i get: shaoulle

& when i type that into google i get:

“brutal murder-sex assault case”

seeRE:rinelleharpercindygladuetinafontaine

that’s my grandmother:

she is a mino iskwēw

the beauty queen

a woman with a name:

rose whitehead

&shediedbecauseofit

i read somewhere that saskatchewan

is an economic machine

for producing rape—

seed&honey

& in tisdale you can buy a mug that says:

the land of rape and honey

that’s where my kokum is buried

& her grave is a modest little place

where rabbits visit & sometimes chew

where little dandelions bloom

grant wishes to the wind

to her children who are scattered

across the plains of kanata

looking for a quick fix

& for anger to heal

or at least amend

like it does for a judge

who gifts a man six years

for the death of three women;

i think of my nôhtâwiy

her son who lost his name to a polish man

& felt the sting of day schools

even if priests beat & made honey

with their fists smooshed

into the sweet rot of little brown boys

who liked hockey & lived in suburbs

with whites who made them wait

in the freezing cold

& broke their noses on the ice—

but you’re still not ready to apologize

for that just white yet

my kokum has made many headlines:

“woman found strangled”

being the most consistent

a fifty word article that calls for sympathy

not for the “strangulation death

of the whitehead woman”

but for the man:

steven kozaruk of esterhazy

who “was suffering from the effects

of alcohol and sleeping pills”

even with a “seven-man jury”

& “thirteen witnesses,” lives—

his whiteness is his weakness

(even if its biceps can crack a brown neck like a wishbone)

and that weakness is his innocence;

the life of my kokum is worth:

six years & fifty words;

all these things overlap

interweave, interlay, interplay, interact

penes

|inter|intra|

|probo|capio|vita|

terra|corona|letum|nullius

tansimaslow

my kokum is famous

a real holly golightly

i bet she even eats

fried bologna sandwiches

at tiffanys

aint that right gran?

when i visit your grave

in saskatoon

i see the face of kozaruk

on the prairie scene

fatteninginsuburbia

& here you are

with a rag-tag little monument

made of sticks & leaves

stems from jackrabbits

that seem to visit often

a little blue ribbon

god knows from who

& a sad little brown boy

with a million questions like:

how are you doing?

do you hate klik too?

what would life have been like

if you had lived beyond thirtyfive?

would i be alive?

would the cancers in my dad

not have crept & lived

spelled doom on his skin?

would i be able to speak cree

without having to google translate

this for you?

would you make me cookies

& teach me how to sew back on the limbs

to my plush rabbit floppy ears?

would you call me “m’boy?”

& take me to sundances

powwows, bingo nights too?

would you make sure i feed the rez dogs

when they all come around?

would you make me a jingle dress

cause i want to be a pretty dancer like you—

would you teach me what it means to be two-spirit

tell me i can be a beautiful brown boy in love?

make me say niizh manitoag—feel the power on the tongue?

would you teach me to knead bannock

make life from lard—

a real ratio for reckoning?

hi kokum?

can i call you on the phone?

i promise not to call collect

i just want to hear your voice

tell you i learned what it means

to say i love you

& feel the whole of cree

coalescing in my breath:

kisâkihitin; my god, kisâkihitin

hey gran?

can i ask you something quick?

are you okay up there in godknowswhere?

do you see what we’ve all done?

my dad says these things all happen for a reason

that i wouldn’t be here if they didn’t

hey gran?

i’m sorry—

you know that right?

did you have to die for me to be alive?

heygranheygranheygranheygran

i’ll let you be

& stop being sick’ning

i bet you’re busy

cooking macaroniandtomatosoup

for twelve hundred missing & murdered women,

girls & two-spirit folk

it’s just, am i supposed to hate him, gran?

tell him that with one death

he ruined the lives of an entire family?

i want to tell him that the life of a person

is an archive of memory

& when you he strangled the life out of you

in a queens hotel shoddy little bed

the last gasping breath you exhaled

held in it little particles

fragments of time:

a bay leaf boiling in tomato sauce;

a flake of tuna that a

cat named randy

licked&licked&licked;

the soft cry of a baby boy

plummeting into day;

the smell of sweet grass smudging

monsters from our bedrooms;

tell him: when you kill a memory

you snuff out metaphor

turn off the light in a home;

you destroy a world where children

are nursing still&still;

—& aint that the hardest truth?

to be honest

i’m no aeneas

no marvellous country house poem

no faeryland, no golden world

no chimeric homeric epic

i’m just a little brown boy

queered by his colour

writing for a kokum he’s never met;

but i promise you:

these spaces can transform

an injun into a warrior

who can claw, scrape, fight

who can write on a piece of paper

sign a name instead of an ‘X’

that says, “this is my kokum

& her name is Rose Whitehead;

and she is

beauty queen extraordinaire.”

I dedicate this poem to all missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit peoples; for their families, friends, loved ones, and kin. We are a collective trauma that demands to be examined, reconciled, resolved, and healed.

Today we survive; tomorrow we resist.

#i need everyone to read this #i'm in vancouver and i didn't bring my copy of full metal indigiqueer so i can't read this in the physical form #but being in vancouver feels so heavy because there is so much loss #vancouver and winnipeg are big for mmiw unfortunately #poetry #indigenous poetry #literature #full metal indigequeer #joshua whitehead #cree #oji-cree #art #indigenous art #indigenous authors #book reccomendations

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youcanseethecosmos · 2 years

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Ive been lurking on and off the dreamling tags here and there and I happened to find your actor AU as I am a sucker for the actors AU myself though I wouldnt label myself a kino. Some idk ideas to throw if youre up for it. For the endless being clasically trained, is it of the Julliard kind or the RADA/LAMDA/Vauxhall kind? I admit my knowledge to this is limited, apologies. You also mentioned in one of your HC list that Hob's shot to fame was from a film that premiered in Sundance (let's fucking gooo)and that he has the timeless look, do you think Hob would attend Venezia and unknowingly pulls a Paul Newman in the photos? From your characterisation of Hob, I had gleaned that he isn't so ingrained in the kind of films that Dream may have been exposed to early on, perhaps Hob may have had an odd feelings with French New Wave, but is tolerant to Varda, and holds a huge respect to the works of Scorsese and his World Cinema Project.

Hi! Wow genuinely a lot of the things you asked aren't things I thought too hard on.

When I say that the endless are classically trained, it's however you see it as!

What I do know is that at least to me (so take all of this with a grain of salt!) the best actors have done classic theater. Actors who have brought life to scripts of old and the most notable is, of course, Shakespeare. You see British actors specifically always have to go through at least one Shakespeare adaptation or play. Similarly, British actors more often than not have done at least one regency era film.

Again, my knowledge on this is hazy and I'm going off what I have observed. I have not thought about what schools they've gone to or institutions they're trained in. I was an acting major but I didn't continue past college. However, Dream probably went to the same schools Tom Sturridge went to irl. So make of that what you will.

In terms of the Hob sundance film, I didn't specifically say That was his shot to fame. It just happened to be one of the notable films he's done in his short career so far! I hope that cleared it up a bit haha

Also yes Hob is pretty much a normie in terms of the film and cinephile community. What he knows of Film is whatever Destiny taught in his lectures. And Hob didn't grow up with the privileges The Endless had, he was a common man. So he watched whatever movies were playing in the old theater in the town where he lived. And not often. He doesn't get psyched up about directors and producers. He just likes what he likes. He's very simple like that.

But what Hob is totally passionate about is literature. He loves novels, short stories, manga, comic books, plays, poems, and even fan fiction! He likes reading, probably more than Dream (and has most likely encountered the books Dream wrote under his pseudonym at one point). Even with his ire for Shakespeare, he's read all his plays. One thing you can always count about Hob is that he's a sponge. When he reads something, he retains it easily. That's why he's also really good at memorizing scripts.

Anyway, this got long but thank you so much for asking! Gives me opportunity to flesh out the characters more. Hope you have a lovely day!

#lights camera action: sky's dreamling actors au #asks

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tilbageidanmark · 1 year

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Movies I watched this Week #118 (Year 3/Week 14):

My 3rd re-watch of Lawrence of Arabia, David Lean’s magnificent, all-male epic and the movie that Steven Spielberg had seen more than any other film. It’s so grand that the nearly 4 hours spectacle opens with 4+ minutes of orchestral music prelude on a dark screen and includes an ‘intermission’.

It got me to realize that most all movies (maybe because of the economics of movie-financing) always show deference to authority; The influences they represent, whether government, military, religion, civil powers, or simply ‘the big man’, the rulers are always accepted as masters.

🍿

The Garden of Words, my second anime ever, and coincidentally also my second by Makoto Shinkai (After ‘Your name’). A melancholy and poetic story about a 15-year-old aspiring shoe-maker student who keeps meeting a woman skipping work on a park bench at the beautiful Shinjuku Gyo-en gardens during the raining season. Gorgeous visuals of nature and rain.

The Wikipedia page for this film is nearly as long as the one for Obama!

🍿

3 more terrific debut films by young female directors:

🍿 For some unclear reasons, I’ve seen a large number of Parisian high school dramas recently. Spring blossom is one of the best. A gentle drama of a shy 16 year old girl who falls in love with a 35 man she sees outside a local theater.

And like Quinn Shephard’s ‘Blame’, it’s twice as impressive, because it was written by the talented Suzanne Lindon when she was only 15, and she directed it and starred in it before she was 20. Je l'adore! 8/10.

🍿 The Hive, my first film from Kosovo. Another on my growing list of “Debut films directed by female filmmakers”. The “first film in Sundance Festival history to win all three main awards – the Grand Jury Prize, the Audience Award and the Directing Award – in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition”. Based on a true story, it tells simply but touchingly about a war widow who started a small business, making homemade Ajvar and empowering the women in her village. Highly recommended. 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. And of course, reminiscent of the Macedonian documentary ‘Honeyland’. 8/10.

🍿 Rye Lane, a cute new rom-com about two young black South London strangers who meet at random and spend the day getting to know each other. Fresh and original.

🍿

My 7th by Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki. Every time I watch another of his movies, I get elated. There is nobody who make movies like him, he’s one of a kind. The man without a past, the second of his “Losers” trilogy, opens with a cinematic gut pinch and doesn’t let go until the end. My favorite of all his films so far?...

The trailer. 9/10.

🍿

The Hollywood Reporter Critics put out a new list of their ‘50 best films of the first 21 years of the 21st century’, and I decided to go through the ones I haven’t seen yet.

First was Far from Heaven, my 4th tragedy by Todd Haynes. A precursor to his masterful ‘Carol’, this is another Douglas Sirk-inspired melodrama of oppression and unrequited desire in middle class America of the mid 50′s. Drenched in luminous colors over all (except of the scenes of illicit dangers, in the gay bar and black cafe), and accompanied by another expansive score, it’s a devastating tale of the price of conformity. The husband who can’t control his homosexual urges, and the wife who falls for a black gardener are doomed, and their lives will be shattered. The poor players had simply nowhere to go. 8/10.

🍿

‘Today I learned’ about ‘Elite Panic’ describing the “behavior of members of the elite during disaster events, typically characterized by a fear of civil disorder” and the shifting of focus away from disaster relief towards implementing measures of "command and control".

New order, my third memorable film by Mexican auteur Michel Franco (after the terrific ‘Sundown’ and the disturbing ‘April’s daughter’) describes a society collapsing, the exact moment when the shit finally hits the fan, when the riots on the TV screen cross over and knock on your door. It’s a brutal and unforgiving story, ugly, violent and without any sentimental sympathy. Shocking anarchy escalates quickly when the pressure gets too much.

When the revolution comes down, it will bring some serious bloodshed. No wonder the greatest boogieman the ruling class warns us all about is “Class Warfare”. The most distressing film of the week - 9/10!

🍿

To catch a thief, Hitchock’s romantic thriller. The Good: Grace Kelly on the French Riviera, the ultimate glamour of the lifestyles of the rich and famous at Cannes and Nice, Hitchcock’s first (?) use of helicopter shots and modern car chases. The Bad: The genre roles & sexual politics of the husband-seeking unmarried young woman would not fly today.

I watched it solely because of this clip.

🍿

2 with Brigitte Fossey (of ‘Jeux interdits’):

🍿 “...The square is mine!...”

I forgot that she played the grown-up Elena in Cinema Paradiso, one of Ennio Morricone’s most popular movies. And yes, without his magnificent score, the 3-hour long nostalgic trip to the heart of cinema, would not be half as enjoyable.

The question that was not well-answered was: Why did he not bother to visit his mother for 30 year? (Re-watch).

🍿 The happy road, a mediocre 1957 children comedy about 10 year old American boy and French girl, who escape from a Swiss boarding school, and hitchhike to Paris. Directed by and starring Gene Kelly, falling for the girl’s mother. 3/10.

🍿

Inside, the new Willem Defoe survival thriller. He’s an art thief who breaks into a hi-end NYC penthouse of a wealthy art collector, intending to steal 3 paintings by Egon Schiele. But the security system traps him inside, and he’s unable to escape for many months. Captivating hi-concept and one-trick film, but a bit too long. 6/10.

🍿

...”Never forget how much he loved you, Kubo”...

After being seriously obsessed with everything ‘Coraline’ all of last year, Adora moved on to Laika Studio’s next stop-motion animated story Kubo and the two strings. A Japanese-inspired action story about a one-eyed Samurai son who creates magical origami figures from his 3-stringed shamisen. But it was as if all the pretty parts were combined by an AI-engine. 4/10.

I will introduce her next to ‘The Iron Giant’, and ‘Isle of dogs’.

🍿

First watch: The green room, one of the last few François Truffaut films I haven’t seen yet. In it, he plays a somber 1920′s journalist obsessed with death who builds a shrine to everybody he had lost. I love his human directing style, but this was a confusing mess. 2/10

🍿

RIP, Ryuichi Sakamoto X 2:

🍿 In remembrance of his passing I started re-watching Bertolucci’s ‘The Last Emperor’, but to be honest, I got bored after 30 minutes; I blame the less than HD version of my pirated copy. So maybe I’ll try it another time.

Instead, I went back to my of favorite ‘Black Mirror' episodes, and the only one he composed the score for, Smithereens. It was directed by the same man who did my other cherished story ‘Hated in the nation’, and was also about online media frenzy that spirals out of control. This ‘Tyranny of the Screens’ parable received mixed reviews, because it wasn’t futuristic enough, but for my money it is a tense thriller on par with the best of them. 10/10.

Sakamoto’s dark score is subtle and minimal. You have to strain to notice it. Perfect!

...”This is my last day!”...

🍿 Psychedelic Afternoon, a 2013 animated short, featuring David Byrne, and released to raise money for children who survived the 2011 tsunami.

🍿

‘Mad men’ is one of the few TV-shows I've seen, and I’ve seen it 3 or 4 times (including once last year). “Hazel” of YouTube ‘Dream Dimension Productions’ analyzes one “Perfect Scene” from Season 3 finale “Shut the door, have a seat”.

A terrific breakdown, which got me to watch it again, together with a few more.

Extra: Her ‘Netflix has a content problem’, which I also agree with, as I was attempting to avoid 90% of all their content.

🍿 Talk to her, my 3rd unsatisfying film by Pedro Almodóvar (after ‘All about my mother’ and ‘The human voice’). A twisted story about two unappealing men who befriend each other at a clinic where they both care for comatose women. His editing choices and scattered direction, constantly focusing on unrelated detail in every scene turned me off. Some artistic perversions (like a silent film clip of a tiny man entering a giant vagina) notwithstanding. I guess I’m not a fan. 4/10.

🍿 2 more by Noah Baumbach (both with Adam Driver):

🍿 The last film I saw this week was also the best one:

I started watching the new Adam Driver dinosaur fantasy ‘65′. but it felt so stupid the moment Adam Driver opened his mouth, that I had to switch it off within 5 minutes. Instead, I turn to Marriage Story again. An absolute masterpiece, so painful and so true, for all divorced couples and parents of children of divorce. (That 10 minutes long scene at the apartment was raw! - Screenshot Above). 10/10 deservedly and without any reservations.

(And now I must see ‘Two for the road’!)

🍿 (Actually, I ended up with his uneven While we’re young, which didn’t measure up to that. The milieu of hipster millennial poseurs and Brooklyn wannabe documentary filmmakers was uninteresting, and I also can’t stand Ben Stiller.)

Still I will look for the rest of his movies I had missed.

🍿

(My complete movie list is here)

#movies

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picsinhead-blog · 1 year

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Quick Sundance/Slamdance Recap

I went to Park City, UT for Sundance and Slamdance* last week, only my second time in person (the first was 2010). My primary purpose was to meet with filmmakers and to promote filmmaking in the Rochester/Finger Lakes region; I did, however, make some time to see some films. When I’m participating in a festival or event for work, I choose the films I see based on a set of criteria – it’s not about what Tim WANTS to see, it’s about seeing the work of filmmakers I’ve connected with or hope to connect with. The nice thing about this is that I usually don’t even read a synopsis of the film before I see it, so I get to experience the film without preconceptions – which means surprises.**

This is a rundown of last week in Sundance/Slamdance screenings, in the order I saw them, with brief reactions. Each and every one of these films is worthy of a lengthy review and discussion, and I’m more than happy to chat about them – but this is a document of my week in movies in Park City, not really about the films themselves.

Mutt (Sundance, Eccles Theater, Monday, 1/23 2:55 PM – PREMIERE) 24 hours in the life of a young trans man in NYC, during which individuals from various parts of his past enter his life, each challenging and illuminating aspects of his identity. I got to the theater by the skin of my teeth – the Sundance pre-roll had already begun. There was some confusion about the buses – I met a couple of filmmakers from LA, and we followed the advice of a very friendly person who seemed to know what she was talking about, but almost certainly added ten minutes to our ride to the theater. The lower level of the Eccles theater was packed, so I was up in the balcony. The screening was open captioned, I’m sure because several of the characters are bilingual, but also perhaps because of a push for accessibility at Sundance screenings.

Love Dump/Mahogany Drive (Slamdance, Treasure Mountain Inn Ballroom, Monday, 1/23 8:00 PM) Mahogany Drive is a wild short about three Black men who discover their Air BnB is killing white women. Love Dump is a parody of Hallmark romances about a couple finding each other among the trash in Chicago. My first Slamdance screening! The ballroom is small, with risers and individual chairs for perhaps 60 people. I met the filmmakers (director, writers/stars, and DP) in the hallway as they were encouraging people to see the film (it hadn’t sold out). I also met a young guy from New Hampshire who was attending film festivals in lieu of film school, and chatted with him about (relatively) obscure Cronenberg films.

Fremont (Sundance, Virtual, Tuesday 1/24) Fremont is the story of a young woman who served as a translator for the US Armed Forces in Afghanistan, and is now working at a fortune cookie factory. Wry and understated, Fremont is a delightful film.

Fuzzy Head/Write a Song About Heartache (Slamdance, Treasure Mountain Inn Ballroom, Tuesday 1/24 3:15 PM) Write a Song About Heartache is a clever short about a country singer and his unusual songwriting partner (you have to see it!). Fuzzy Head is a trip through the cluttered and unreliable recollections of a young woman whose mother has died of a gunshot wound – and the question of who pulled the trigger. Back to the ballroom at the Treasure Mountain Inn! Wendy McColm, Writer/Director/Star of Fuzzy Head had left printed sheets with ornate poetry and metal keys on strings with QR codes taped to them by hand. The QR codes led to her website (https://www.wendyfilms.com/). I found this personal touch, this engagement with the audience, to be very moving, and emblematic of the attitude of Slamdance filmmakers. I took one of the keys for my four year old niece, who I hope will use it as inspiration as she develops her creativity. I spoke with the Fuzzy Head team (Wendy herself, and her producers, cast, and art director) – they’re passionate filmmakers and lovely people.

Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (Sundance, Virtual, Tuesday 1/24) With echoes of Ernest P. Worrell, online character Onyx the Fortuitous makes his feature debut in a story involving a devil worship cult, a haunted mansion, and some precious action figures. What’s remarkable to me about this film, which is described as a “throwback,” is how it melds internet culture with tried and true genre filmmaking – to me, it seems less of a throwback and more of a bellwether. Frustratingly, I was fighting sleep for the last part of the film, so I’m very much looking forward to revisiting it.

The Accidental Getaway Driver (Sundance, Virtual, Wednesday 1/25) An elderly rideshare driver picks up three prison escapees; they kidnap the driver and over the course of their time together, unexpected bonds develop, existing bonds are tested, and the four men’s pasts are uncovered as their futures become increasingly certain. It’s an intense, involving film that melds thriller elements with character study.

MiND MY GOOFiNESS: the Self Portrait (Slamdance, Virtual, Wednesday 1/25) Shot in portrait mode, this is a day in the life of one guy in LA who bounces from encounter to encounter – with friends, relatives, and strangers – with each encounter revealing at least some of how he sees himself. Quirky, engaging, and offbeat – a bit of a riff on Slacker.

Space Happy: Phil Thomas Katt and the Uncharted Zone (Slamdance, Virtual, Wednesday 1/25) A straightforward, pleasant, engaging documentary about Pensacola, FL local celebrity and late night television personality Phil Thomas Katt, whose lo-fi music videos for an eclectic group of would be local stars took YouTube by storm in the late aughts. There are moments in this doc that moved me more than anything else I saw during the week.

Past Lives (Sundance, Ray Theater, Thursday 1/26 8:15 AM) After emigrating from Korea as a child, a woman reconnects with a childhood friend years later at very different points in their lives. This was an early morning screening and it was fun to start the day with an excited audience.

Free LSD (Slamdance, Treasure Mountain Inn Ballroom, Thursday 1/26 5:00 PM – PREMIERE) Free LSD is a nearly indescribable sci-fi/horror/fantasy head trip starring the members of punk supergroup OFF! as parallel versions of themselves who have to save the world through their music. And drugs. The closing night film of Slamdance 2023, this was a super cool experience – an excited crowd, filmmakers who were seeing their film, a true labor of love, with an audience for the first time, and a film festival putting the closing exclamation on an exuberant year of programming. The best thing for me: the guy I’d met at the Love Dump screening sat with me, and after the film looked at me and asked, “Have you ever seen anything like that?” And – I mean, yeah, I have, sorta, but I’m twice his age, and it was so exciting to be there for someone having a singular, eye-opening filmgoing experience.

Jamojaya (Sundance, Virtual, Friday 1/27) A young Indonesian rapper is in Hawaii to record his major label debut and to shoot the accompanying video, when his father (and former manager) shows up unexpectedly, creating unforeseen complications. It’s a simple setup for a complex, ornate, stylish film that examines complex relationships across cultural boundaries.

The Persian Version (Sundance, Ray Theater, Friday 1/27 2:15 PM) A young writer explores her history and that of her family, from her parents marriage in Iran in the 1960s through her childhood in the 1980s and 1990s spent between Iran and the US. (Honestly, I don’t know how to describe this film in one sentence – I think I kind of did it, but I know I didn’t sell it. It’s a magical film that dances (sometimes literally) among tones, among generations, and through the lives of its characters. See it!) I bought my ticket to this screening about an hour before the Sundance awards were announced – this one won both the audience award and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the U.S. dramatic competition. I was even more excited to see it, and the theater filled up with people making last minute decisions to see the film. It was wonderful to laugh and cry (not me, but the rest of them) with an audience through an utterly unpredictable film. I sat next to a young Sundance Industry volunteer from LA who had a loud and infectious laugh.

A Perfect Day for Caribou (Slamdance, Virtual, Saturday 1/28) An old man reconnects with his adult son and seven year old grandson in a cemetery on the day he plans to commit suicide. Offbeat, droll, often very funny, and gorgeously shot in black and white, A Perfect Day for Caribou explores generational rifts and the complexities of relationships defined largely by shaky memories and secondhand recollections.

Young. Wild. Free. (Sundance, Virtual, Saturday 1/28) In a weird mashup of Bonnie and Clyde, Something Wild, and Menace II Society, a Black high schooler meets a free spirited foster kid who pushes and pulls him through new experiences that range from mischievous to dangerous to exciting and ultimately to tragic. This is the only Sundance film I saw (out of eight – nine if you count Infinity Pool, see below) that did not fully work for me. Avoiding spoilers, I will just say that the narrative problems created by the ending are not justified by any dramatic contributions it makes to the film as a whole.

Unicorn Boy (Slamdance, Virtual, Saturday 1/28) A young animator in Los Angeles becomes entangled in the affairs of a parallel world filled with unicorns and rainbows and fantastic creatures, while trying to come to terms with personal crises in their real life. Okay – the only possible negative about this film is that I think it’s overlong, but it’s a wildly creative and very moving independent animated feature. It’s great.

Waiting for the Light to Change (Slamdance, Virtual, Saturday 1/28) A group of friends spend a week at a lake house belonging to one of their relatives; during the time, relationships are grown, tested, altered and redefined. Sort of a lo-fi, modern take on The Big Chill, the film is quiet and restrained, chilly, sincere, and honest.

*For those who may be unaware: the Slamdance Film Festival runs concurrently with Sundance in Park City, and is a festival with a very different vibe and energy – punkier, scrappier, smaller, but just as devoted to filmmakers and film lovers.

**For instance – most of the films I sought out were American productions, but I was surprised when nearly every one from Sundance heavily featured non-English dialogue – Spanish in Mutt, Dari and Cantonese in Fremont, Vietnamese in The Accidental Getaway Driver, Bahasa Indonesian in Jamojaya, Korean in Past Lives, Persian in The Persian Version.

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fvkmerrick · 1 year

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(—) ★ spotted!! MERRICK KINGSLEY on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid! many say that the 36 year old looks like MAX IRONS, but i don’t really see it. while the DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER is known for being INSIGHTFUL my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be BLUNT i swear, every time i think of them, i hear the song VERY FEW FRIENDS BY SAINT LEVANT { he-him / cismale}

if you were to ask merrick what the worst thing that had ever happened to him was, he would tell you with absolute certainty that it was becoming famous.

growing up he had never intended on chasing the limelight, he was far more comfortable behind the camera, he would film day trips to london, home videos, the school play. you name it and he could make it into a beautifully shot short film.

into his teenage years these grew into smaller home mades with his friends and goofing around before he finally went to school for film production. it wasn’t like he didn’t want making movies to be his profession, he loved it more than anything in the world, he just had smaller dreams.

ones that were ruined when one of his friends submitted one of his indie films to sundance and it only went and won.

the next thing he knew scripts were landing on his doorsteps, he was being shipped from london to la and the work just wouldn’t stop.

each film became bigger than the last, the people he was working with more and more famous, bigger names fighting to be cast in one of his films. the awards were never ending, the things he managed to achieve unfathomable to even himself.

the only problem was that with all of this work came recognition, oscars, academy awards, it meant his face was as known as his name and suddenly just slipping under the radar was not an option.

he quite honestly hates most people he works with, but is also smart enough to recnognise talent and potential when he sees it. will never be found without a cup of tea in reach.

grew up with a brother and sister, they’re coridal for siblings but were all so different they never really managed to gel and it’s set him up to being awkward for life. his parents were no better either, everyone always so busy working.

has refused to let his british accent perish and will vanish to london at any given chance.

#intro.#hillzhqsintro #this is bad but you get IT

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broketraveler87 · 1 year

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Hey Void and Fans of Lewis Pullman,

Many of us are excited to see Lewis Pullman’s new movie The Starling Girl premiering at Sundance Film Festival this weekend.

This is the first in person festival Sundance has hosted since 2019 and there is early buzz for a lot of films except The Starling Girl. It’s not mentioned in The Hollywood Reporter: Sundance Preview article (I am getting Variety later today).

As a independent filmmaker (my night job): we need buzz to build around movies old school through word of mouth and then maybe the major industry publications will take note.

I am excited to see this film for several reasons but mostly for writer/ director Laurel Parmet who developed the movie at The Sundance Institute. I am interested in the subject matter (having been raised in a similar fundamentalist religion).

Please talk about this film, share the trailer when you can, and keep an eye out for it at local film festivals

#the starling girl #sundance film festival #lewis pullman #Laurel Parmet #Eliza Scanlen #Sunday morning ramblings

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bossymarmalade · 1 year

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Ciao from your SRS 🧑🏼‍🎄 Such an eclectic list of movies; you are quite the film aficionado. I, too, love LOTR and Moulin Rouge! What old-school productions can compete? I may not be able to suggest a movie you have never seen. So I'll offer a list in the hope that you may find a few you haven't viewed. Hope you don't mind--I extended my own boundaries of 50s-70s to make recommendations. 📼

The Thief Of Bagdad (1940) fantasy/full movie on Youtube under DK Classics Down Argentine Way (1940) a Hollywood try at diversity; great musical numbers. Also available under DK Classics Some Like It Hot (1959) filmed in b & w to make Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon more believable in drag but it really reinforces the 20s aesthetic Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969) bffs Sweet Charity (1969) Bob Fosse directed and choreographed Lady Sings The Blues (1972) Billie Holiday bio with Diana Ross (full movie on Youtube) Excalibur (1981) based on Le Morte d'Arthur

Since I'm guessing that you may have seen some of these, may I offer one bonus suggestion: Watership Down (1978) animation (full movie on Youtube)

This is such an amazing and well thought-out list! I've seen (or half-seen) many of them but there's still a couple that I haven't and will check out. I ADORE Butch and Sundance, and I think there's a Bessie Smith bio with Queen Latifah out so I might make that a double feature with the Billie Holiday bio!

But omg. You have unwittingly hit upon something that's VERY dear to me from my childhood, and that's Watership Down. Dear secret santa at one point in Grade 7 we were asked to do a 5-page book report on anything we liked. I chose Watership Down and produced a 20-page report complete with charts of the rabbits and their personalities. My teacher gave me full marks and commented "I didn't ask for this". XD

Needless to say I was also obsessed with the movie and still rewatch it now and again and this has prompted me to revisit it once more! I can't be the only one who gave scandalized laughs whenever Kehaar yelled "PISS OFF" at the rabbits and had nightmares about Woundwort's bloody froth.

Incidentally, once I did a fic challenge asking my dreamwidth friendslist to make outlandish requests, and @stupidlullabies wanted me to write a kyrielle for Watership Down. I haven't thought of that in ages. It's here on AO3:

act of frith

Thank you for this unexpected trip down memory burrow. XD

#srs22 #watership down

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popentertainment-interviews · 1 year

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Brian O’Halloran

Clerks Star Recalls His Career and Irish Heritage

by Brad Balfour

If it weren’t for events such as the Big Apple Comic Con — now taking place this March 25th and 26th (www.bigapplecc.com) — American actor, producer, and podcaster Brian O’Halloran wouldn’t have had the chance to reach out and meet his audience in a friendly setting. But a con like the BACC is totally conceived with the touchy-feely experience in mind.

It’s no wonder he draws fans to such an event. By playing Dante Hicks in Clerks, Kevin Smith’s 1994 debut, he became part of a low-rent comedy of punkish pop characters that became a cult classic.

He has also made appearances in most of Smith’s View Askewniverse films, either as Dante Hicks or one of Dante’s cousins. Born in Manhattan, he lived in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey, since he was 13. A second-generation Irish American, both his parents emigrated from Ireland. Sadly, the 53-year-old’s father died when he was 15 years old. Once he graduated from Cedar Ridge High School, he pursued acting starting with Clerks. He returned many times to reprise his role as Dante Hicks in its 2006 and ’22 sequels Clerks II and Clerks III.

O’Halloran is the lead actor in Vulgar a 2000 film about a small-town clown who is traumatized after he’s attacked during one of his performances. Writer/director Bryan Johnson wrote the lead specifically with O’Halloran in mind. He has worked on theatre productions since high school. Since Clerks, O’Halloran has primarily been a stage actor, working with the Boomerang Theatre Company, the New Jersey Repertory Company and the Tri-State Actors Theatre, among others. In 2020, O’Halloran began presenting his own pop culture podcast, “The O’HalloRant,” on YouTube.

What is it like being part of a franchise? Did you ever expect that would happen and hope that would happen? And as a result, how has it changed your life?

No. When we first made the very first Clerks back in 1993, [director] Kevin Smith was just writing about his actual job. The thing that he did was working at a convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey. The fact is that we then shot that film in the store after hours, late at night, and we were able to get accepted into the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, where it skyrocketed in popularity. Then being picked up by Miramax and being distributed around the world – going to the Cannes Film Festival and things after that. And then getting a deal with Universal and all these great studios, Lionsgate and stuff after that with these other films was a big shock, to be honest with you. Just some guys out of Jersey just doing the thing they loved to do, which is comedy.

Were you doing acting before you did that film? Was acting always in your blood?

Yeah, I had started doing theater in high school, college, and then local community theater in the Central Jersey area, Monmouth County. I did some off-off-Broadway stuff here in Manhattan and was doing that for about three or four years prior to meeting Kevin. Theater is the best training you can do as an actor. To be in front of a live audience, there’s no “Stop, wait, oh geez, what was that line again?” It just sharpens your reflexes. It sharpens your interaction. And it definitely sharpens your memory because you have to know an entire show from beginning to end.

Chasing Amy is probably my favorite Kevin Smith film, and it was a really critically acclaimed film in its time. It was ahead of its time. How has it impacted on you, and how have you seen people’s reaction to it?

It’s definitely one of the best-written films of Kevin’s career. It was nominated for a Spirit Award for Best Screenplay. Joey Lauren Adams, the lead in that film, was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance. So, it was giving more credibility to Kevin’s career. We had won awards at Sundance and at Con with the original Clerks, but this was a topic that I thought was never approached in a mainstream way like he did. It was based on real life experience that Kevin had experienced himself. So, it was good to see that that storyline resonated with so many people in many communities, not only the gay and lesbian community, but also in just the relationship. It’s a romantic story that just so happens to tackle gay relationships.

How much of Clerks was improvised and how much of it was scripted?

The first script was 95% scripted. Kevin was not a big fan of improvisation at all. When he got into Mallrats that was straight-up scripted. And Chasing Amy very much so. Even though Ben Affleck tried to riff, so to speak, from time to time, Kevin would be like, “Yeah, why don’t you just come back to my script? You go write your own script there, boy.” Then eventually he did and won an Oscar for it so, who knows. But what was good about that and Kevin is really his dialogue. His strength is his dialogue. That’s what brings me back to doing work with him all the time. He has such an ear for dialogue that’s realistic, yet funny, yet tackles subjects that you don’t hear normally in movies.

I believe you have some horror films in your background as well.

I’ve never done a horror film straight up. I’ve done a film that's a mockumentary about making up a horror film called Brutal Massacre, a comedy, and that’s about it with David Naughton, Gunnar Hansen, Ken Phiri, and many others. You’re watching a film crew as they make this horror film. Written and directed by Stevan Mena, it’s very funny. I do make a cameo in David Lee Madison’s horror film called Mr. Hush. I’m towards the end of the film for that one. Then there have been bit parts in other small films as well.

So now are you making films yourself in the future or that you’re working on?

Right now I have a couple of scripts that I’ve been writing that I’m still working on. As far as jumping on the other side of the camera, that is one of my goals right now. I’ve been in front of the camera most of my career, so I look forward to working and jumping to that side.

Now let’s talk about the most important bit of your history. Let’s talk about your Irish roots.

My family came from Ireland in 1965 here to New York City. We settled in the Bronx. I was born here in Manhattan in 1969, lived in the Bronx until 1979. Then we moved to New Jersey. But every summer we went home, as we would call it, back to the west coast of Ireland, hung out in Galway, went up to Sligo and stuff like that. So, I’m the only one who’s American here. My father used to tease me like, you’re the only one who could be president of this country. I’m like, well, who wants it. But what’s great is I’ve been able to go back numerous times. I love my Irish heritage. I’ve used it to my advantage a few times because I’m proud of it. I’ve done numerous Irish plays. I definitely would love to do a film over there at some point. The film industry in Ireland is huge.

It’s growing all the time.

It is growing all the time. And with the tax credits that the Irish Arts Council puts out, it’s really affordable. As you saw The House of Dragon was recently filmed there, many, many period pieces, especially when you film out into the West Coast on the southern coast of Ireland. It’s gorgeous. It’s an untouched country that really gives you that essence that I love. So, the fact that every time I hear, whenever I come to New York City, especially Manhattan, and I hear that accent, I’m like, oh, where are you from? Then we get to chat and then it only takes me not even a few days when I’m over there to get back into the accent. It takes me about a week once I’m home here to get rid of it.

I think there’s a movie in all this. Where’s your Irish movie?

Yeah, there should be, there should be.

But anyhow, what’s coming up?

People can follow me on “Brian C O’Halloran” on Twitter and Instagram and “The Brian C O’Halloran” on Facebook. I’ll be releasing a new website here next year where people can follow me as to what I’m up to. I’m in talks with two production companies right now for films next year. I know we’ve just wrapped up Clerks 3. That was the most recent release, which went really well for us. Hopefully, we’re working on Mallrats 2 next year, but we’ll see.

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#Brian O'Halloran #2023 #Actor Interviews #Clerks #Big Apple Comic Con #Brad Balfour #Thomas Lau

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shedidthatgirlinnovators · 2 years

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Girl Boss Directors

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Writer: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Stars: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Glenndon Chatman

Genre: Drama, Romance, Sport

Monica and Quincy love and play basketball together through many life challenges from childhood to adulthood.

Who is the director? Gina Prince-Bythewood led the decade of 2000 with one of my favorite romantic stories, Love & Basketball. Also, to her credit such shows as A Different World (1994) and Felicity (1998) This was an era that ushered in the female lead driving stories of varied interests and substance. She wrote and directed this film, that was received extremely well, especially in the black community. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earning Gina the coveted Independent Spirit Award. This helped her gain notoriety as a director, but she still faced challenges as a woman of color in the Hollywood film industry.

What do you identify as unique to the female perspective and the 'female gaze' in the film? The Secret Life of Bees (200 8) The Old Guard (2020) Gina has racked up an impressive resume as a Director and Producer, having worked on television shows such as the comedy, The Bernie Mac Show and Girlfriends (2000) Her perspective as a woman and culturally as a Black woman, she offers an authentic, unique gaze to the experiences, loves, loss and struggles of the young black woman's experience in America.

What rite of passage in the protagonist(s) life/lives does this story explore? What fresh perspective, if any, does the director bring to this story? Are sexual or gender taboos traversed in the process?

This film stars at the time an up-and-coming Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan, who portray the characters Monica and Quincy who both share a reverence for and love of "the game". What is heartwarming is to watch the rites of passage they both experienced as children to adults; and exploring the love they have always had for one another. What is unique to this story that Monica is not shown as a weak, typical young woman looking for a man to rescue her. She is neither portrayed a young black woman suffering from an addiction or single mom. She has interests, is a tomboy and is a full developed character that women can relate to and is universal. This was before the popularity of women in sports but more importantly it showed young women that they can have interests other than "a man".

Does this film shed new light on the mother/daughter and family relationships? How? Monica wanted to play for the Los Angeles Lakers and wear the number of NBA player, Magic Johnson-number: 32 & Quincy wanted to be like his father and play for the Clippers. They both have the same dream and must deal with their own personal struggles in life and each other to achieve it.

Monica has a complicated relationship with her Camille who was a stay-at-home mother and wife. Monica's expectations of Camille were to be a good wife and mother and to "act like a lady". She expected Monica to be the typical American housewife void of personal dreams and fixated solely on family. She wanted Monica to give up basketball which Monica refused to, and this would be the struggle of wills between the two women. As a young girl Camille forced her to wear dresses and this set the stage for part of the struggles between both of their aspirations for one another.

This struggle follows both mother and daughter through Monica's education in high school, where her mother insists on her becoming more like a "girl". She wants her to embrace a life she chose for herself and from my perspective this is what most mother's want for their daughters. It seems to be an unhealthy way to protect them from a world they have no control over. Monica has issues with controlling her emotions which stems from her relationship with her mother, but she is able to channel this into her love of the game and helps lead her team to the state championship.

Describe the most startling/indelible/breakthrough scene of the film. I think most people would agree that the breakthrough scene is when they fall in love. Although Quincy (Omar Epps) checks her during a game and scars her face accidentally they share a first kiss. They have a complicated love/hate/competitive relationship that brings a new dynamic to their relationship. Most television shows and films at the time overlook the charm and universal theme of love in any culture. Predominantly it has been always through the gaze of white America like the television show The Wonder Years.

This showed an innocent moment that can and does happen in the black American experience. Childhood sweethearts has no boundary of culture, and this movie, Love & Basketball, shows that breakthrough.

Has the film received the recognition it deserved? Why or why not?I feel this movie did not become a block buster film to Hollywood standards, but in the black community this film is a classic in terms of romantic dramas with fully developed character's other than the typical gang related, high school dropout stereotypes that have been normally made in the 1990's to the early 2000's.

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queer-and-dear-books · 2 years

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Title: Hopepunk

Author: Preston Norton

Genre: YA Fiction | Drama | Friendship | Music | LGBTQ+

Content Warnings: Homophobia | Sexism | Sexual Harassment | Mentioned Self-Harm

Overall Rating: 8.2/10

Personal Opinion: “Hope is an act of resistance” so true. One day, Hope’s older sister, Faith ran away from home because otherwise, she would’ve been sent to a conversion camp. Devastated, Hope and her family tries to find meaning in the act and grow from it. When Danny is disowned by his family after coming out, Hope and her family tries to atone for what they did to Faith by protecting him. This book is powerful and funny and though the lyrics may be fictional, the impact is real.

Do I Own This Book? Nope.

Spoilers Below For My Likes & Dislikes:

Likes:

- The best part of this book is the found family trope. Hope, Danny, Astrid, and Angus are my ideal found family. The way they were there for each other during tough times and told each other that they loved each other openly, I loved that.

Some scenes that resonated with me most were when Hope called Astrid because she was thinking of self-harm and really needed someone to stop her and Astrid told her that the tattoo was a piece of Hope and not Shawn.

Then we also have Angus finding Hope passed out in her own vomit and him telling her that it’s okay to love. Even if they can’t love you back in the way you want, it’s not wrong to love.

Finally, we have Danny sharing that story from when he was 13. Hope had trouble forgiving Charity for outing Faith when she was 13 (I would too) but the truth is, she was 13 and molded by her hyper-religious surroundings. Just like how Danny was influenced by Dylan and Kaleb. All these scenes where they helped Hope just filled me with that good old found family joy.

- Mack is the greatest. A gay man with a husband who owns a bar in a very conservative town and no one gives a shit. He gave Hope a place where she could just express herself freely (karaoke) and allowed her to use his facility for free! Same for Danny! He’s so kind and he does what he can for LGBTQ+ youth and that is just beyond admirable.

- Frank is great too! He saved Astrid’s drums for her. And his niece is at Change Through Grace and he loves Hope Cassidy and the Sundance Kids for giving hope to those kids. And he kept showing up throughout the book to help Hope and the team.

- Mr. Britton is a big old teddy bear who I want to hug. He protected Hope from expulsion and tried everything within his power to get Alt-Rite banned from Battle of the Bands. And he’s a huge fanboy of Deja which I find hilarious and also so wholesome. But yes, the way he protected Hope from expulsion is by far one of my all-time favorite scenes. He got video of the incident, sent it to HR and the superintendent and I was legitimately cheering for him the entire time.

- Deja Williams is an icon. A local celebrity who just decides to manage a high school band. But not just any high school band, a band with a message of hope. Of changing the world for the better.

- And I just want to say, all three performances by Hope Cassidy and the Sundance Kids were iconic. First outside Change Through Grace. Then outside the feminine resource center to counter Alt-Rite’s protests. And then the final one at Inclusive Prom. And the lyrics of each of those songs were so impactful and inspiring in my honest and humble opinion.

- There’s a lot I can say about the Cassidy parents. But what I really want to say is that I love how mom changed. It’s a darn shame that it took her daughter running away for her to realize how wrong she was but in a way, that is proof that she loves her children. She had genuinely believed she was trying to save/protect Faith but when Faith ran away, she realized she was actually the one hurting her. So the way she tried to atone was by welcoming Danny into their household and protecting him. And it was badass. She really treated him like one of the family and it just makes me tear up.

- Mr. Cassidy is a good guy too. I don’t really get how he ended up with the missus when she was the way she was. But the way Mr. Cassidy shared his love of rock music with Hope was so wholesome and sweet. I want more of that in parent-child relationships.

- Hope’s favorite movie is Shrek. I think that is very iconic of her. Shrek is a good ass movie. And the fact that Astrid wanted to cheer up her friend by watching it was so sweet. Bless her.

- The comedy in this book hits just as good as Norton’s other book, Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe. But the funniest scene in this book is by far when Hope walked in on Danny shirtless and he just fucking slams his laptop closed like he was watching porn. I absolutely lost it. And then I lost it even more when it was revealed he wasn’t watching porn but was just watching a Western.

Dislikes:

- Who do I start with? Actually, it definitely has to be Dylan Roger. Sexist, racist, homophobic, just overall a real charmer. The best parts of this book were knowing that both Hope and Charity beat him up. Now if only Faith could’ve made it three for three with the Cassidy sisters. Seriously though, what a disgusting, vile little man.

- Then there’s the police, the Rogers, and Principal Reilly. Oh my god, they were all so blatantly bigoted, I wanted to puke. Reilly was worst of all but it was just so satisfying watching Mr. Britton strip away his power over Hope in that one scene. I was legit cheering, going “Yass King!” when Britton told Reilly that there was video proof of Dylan sexually harassing Hope. And then Mrs. Cassidy went and slapped him too and my god, I wanted her to get him again. Get him for me!

- Shady Shawn too. He’s not the worst but oh my god, when he said that the thing he and Hope had in common was that they were both white and straight, I had a conniption. Unfortunate that he never got a comeuppance for his complicitness in Alt-Rite besides the girl he likes pushing and screaming at him. I kind of wish he would see the error of his ways. But you know what, just forget him. He’s inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. What’s scary is I know people like Shawn though. People who are like “both sides deserve to exist” and no, tolerating intolerance is just asking for the tolerant side to get hurt or worse. Because the intolerant side doesn't want us to exist. Fucking Shawn. Fuck you and your hypothetical Confederate flag.

- Now for a real complaint that actually concerns the writing and not the content. The ending was lacking. I like the quote “Hate is blind but love can see,” but it just didn’t feel enough somehow. I don’t quite know how to explain it. I think it’s because I wanted to see Faith go to her parents and for them to apologize. Her mom for wanting to change her and her dad for not doing enough to protect her. I guess I wanted a final confrontation between Danny and Dylan too? Although I don’t know what I would gain from that. Maybe I just wanted to see Danny triumphant over Dylan.

- Also Danny and Hunter feels like a loose end to me. What were they? Were they a secret couple? Because that’s what Dylan seemed to imply. But we never got a confirmation nor a denial. But if Hunter was into Danny once, what the fuck is up with him being complicit with Alt-Rite? Same for Mavis! I get that she was hurting and using an unhealthy coping mechanism but did she hear/see the lyrics being sung? I get that she was only in it because her old childhood friend was in it but I could never.

- Andromeda and Tanks through Space and Time was overhyped. I don’t know, it just felt like the passages didn’t really contribute to the overall book. I do like that when Angus showed Hope the book, we were like GASP, it’s the book! But I kind of feel like it’d have been enough for Faith to mention the title of her book. No need to give us the novella within the book. That space could’ve been used to show a real conversation between Hope and her mom. Or Mack with Hope’s mom. Or even Charity with the whole family. I’m not saying it was a waste of space, it was just hyped up to be this amazing, life-altering piece of lesbian sci-fi and to me, it just felt like it was interrupting the real action.

#Booklr #Booksbooksbooks #Book Blog #Book Recs #Book Review #Hopepunk #Preston Norton #LGBTQ #Queer Books #Queer Lit #Queer Representation

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