#Martin is a useful character whose primary motivation is LOVE

[yellowocaballero]

so your web!jon is amazing but what abt web!martin :0 (or do you have any other idea of that avatar he would fit/would be interesting to write?)

No, see that wouldn’t work, that makes too much sense askdfjasfd

I definitely always play Martin close to the web. One of my central character traits for Martin is ‘manipulative’, and I view him as being very good at reading people. I think there’s also a connection between the Web and theater, and I’m constantly connecting Martin and theater. He definitely did some work for the web in another story I wrote, Feste. So it’s definitely a direction I tend to lean him, and it’s a direction I find really interesting for his character.

The only other time I’ve written Martin with a strong connection to an Entity was my roleswap AU with Slaughter!Martin. It was 100%, entirely because it was funny to make Martin Melanie. Another part of my characterization for Martin is that he’s pretty much five minutes away from going apeshit at any particular time, so Slaughter was really very fun to write for him, and it let me do an exploration into his darker sides and create a really funny Jonmartin, but I wouldn’t have written that in a serious context. Similarly, I have another comedy story where he’s an arsonist, but Martin destroying shit is just funny. 

So I guess both Web and Slaughter makes sense to me, and I could play him both those aways. However, that being said...I wouldn’t write Avatar Martin.

It just has to do with character arcs in the story. Which characters, thematically, are about being people, and which are about being monsters. I think Martin really hates being a person sometimes, and that he hates caring about other people because it never gets him anywhere, and that his self-concept relies heavily on feelings on powerlessness. He’s never really felt human. So being an Avatar just doesn’t work with his story at all - because Martin’s a monster struggling to be a man, and Jon’s a man struggling to be a monster. I could twist it into literalizing that and flipping this over, but I find it more interesting this way. 

Even more than that, and this is more personal to my writing, is also narrative roles. I write Martin as a survivor. That’s another one of my central character tenets for him - that he’s a survivor, who will do whatever it takes to survive, and he survives through manipulation. Martin is impressively good at not dying. But part of acting as that survivor part is always remaining the underdog, and existing in a permanent state of powerlessness. Both in the stories I write, and in the way Martin thinks of himself, he’s the ‘NPC’. He’s the nothing. He’s the background character. I’m most explicit about this in Feste, but if you’ve read Web!Jon then you know what I’m talking about. Narrative role-wise, Jon’s cast as monster and Martin as the human, and the rest of the story erupts from that. 

Martin is that guy who slides into the background, who you don’t really notice, who’s not really that threatening, who you think would be pretty easy to push around...until he sets your Institute on fire lol. This is pretty web of him, but it creates a better sense of narrative tension and investment if this insane shit is just something Martin can do because he’s insane. Like, this is all the most entertaining if he’s Just Some Dude. Martin thinks of himself as Just Some Dude and he will continue thinking of himself as that as he undertakes an apocalyptic murder revenge tour. 

There’s also just the narrative thing? The most interesting romantic relationship dynamics to me are ones where they’re foils. I always write Georgie & Jon as foils (my early characterization for Georgie was as simple as ‘everything Jon is not’) and I always write Martin & Jon as foils too. If I were to make Martin an Avatar, then Jon and Martin would be having the exact same character trajectories and problems, which is dull. Jon’s constant scrabble for power to keep himself safe and Martin weaponizing his lack of power to keep himself safe. Martin working hard to keep the team together and Jon being completely self-obsessed. Jon’s selfishness and Martin’s selflessness. Martin’s refusal to ever ask for help or admit he needs help and the way that Jon is always reaching out a hand. How Martin very purposefully tried to lose his humanity and how Jon was extremely forced into it. How they’re both empathetic, but Martin weaponizes that and Jon pretends that he isn’t until it’s crushing. How in S4 Jon becomes Martin and Martin becomes Jon, I like writing Monster!Jon, so a lot of the stories I have contrast them as a powerful monster out of touch with humanity vs a powerless guy who’s one of the most human guys you’ll ever meet. And as a powerful monster who is painfully human vs a powerless guy who can be as cold and monstrous as the best of them.

jalsdf did that answer your question?? I feel like I did not. I feel like I should have supplied headcanons. But I tend to think of these things as ‘how would they work in the narrative’, so that’s my lens. I never know if I’m answering these right dlkjsf

 I’m pretty aware I write Martin really, really, different than most people do. So I could only give an answer with the Martin I have, which is not most people’s Martin, lol. But...I feel like people prioritize the development of the relationship over the development of the characters...and that people struggle to write romantic relationships where both characters are severely and sincerely flawed people...and really nobody in TMA is a great person and I hate making Martin the exception to that, and I think it’s great when he’s terrible just on his own merits as a dude...and -

jasklfd thanks for the really interesting ask, I enjoyed thinking about Martin in this context! 

#my writing #I struggle with Martin which you can see in my early stuff #he was a character who was just so completely different than me I just couldn't get him #I ended up forcing myself to write a few Martin POVs so I can actually decide on what I wanted to do with his character #Martin is a useful character whose primary motivation is LOVE #but that just gets the story kicked off you know? #once LOVE sets him in motion then the rest of the character arc and the story can start churning #like legally blonde. exactly like legally blonde. #anyway I think the reason you got the answer you did is because I'm writing HR2 #and good GOD Martin in this story is fucking great to write #Sasha: that creepy little psychopath martin with bad taste in men is plotting in the corner again #Martin in the corner plotting: how the fuck do I survive until 28 I'm too young and ugly to die

[princeescaluswords]

Hi I love urban fantasy so teen wolf has been on my radar for a while, but the treatment of Scott in the fandom, (idk about actual Canon at this point) is keeping me away. Is there any way I can avoid the racist double standard or should I just steer clear and find something else?

The thing you have to remember about Teen Wolf the show is that for all it’s missteps (don’t think too much about the chronology), disasters (the way it treated Arden Cho starting in Season 5B), and fan service blunders (an entire season focused on a character whose actor couldn’t be there), it had really subversive plot lines, startlingly good acting, interesting characters (including Stiles), and a fearless approach to storytelling.

I talk about the negatives of the show and the fandom a lot not because the entire show was terrible, but because there are aspects that were the fly in the ointment, the stone in my shoe when it comes to enjoying the show.   I specifically focus on fandom problems, because it’s still pretty vibrant for a show that ended more than two years ago.

Here are the reasons to watch:

Scott McCall:  He’s certainly what drew me to the show.  He starts out as an everyman, but what’s better is that he remains an everyman.  He’s not the product of a great tragedy.  He’s not the lost scion of an ancient house.  He’s not a mystical or scientific prodigy.   He doesn’t become instantly competent in the first five episodes. He remains kind, compassionate and fair, not because it’s innate, but because he chooses to be kind, compassionate and fair.   He could easily have become bitter and angry at everyone, consumed by the wrongs that were done to him (and oh, boy, are there wrongs done to him) or wearied by the cost of his own mistakes.  He’s strong but not flawless, principled but not inflexible, and he’s so different between Wolf Moon, the first episode of Season 1 and The Wolves of War the last episode of Season 6 that it’s astounding, yet the writing is so clear you can track his journey.

The Supporting Ensemble: I don’t think that there is an actor among the main cast who isn’t top quality.   The best actors on the show are Tyler Hoechlin and Dylan O’Brien, but they aren’t best by much.   If these are A+ quality, the lowest grade I would give to the primary cast would be a B+ grade, and that would be for Dylan Sprayberry – and I blame that mostly on directorial screw ups.   I may not like some of the characters, but I always think they were expertly captured.  

Interesting Characters:  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a story where there’s a range of characters with different motivations, experiences, and diversity.  There were two homosexual relationships not just floating in the background but a significant part of the story line.   (There were significant cameo homosexual realtionships as well).   There were villains and heroes and people who weren’t sure where they stood.   The scripts were aware of class.   Was there room for improvement?   Miles and miles of room.  But it wasn’t an all-white hetero fest.  In addition, it wasn’t just the stars that shone.   I don’t know how anyone can’t enjoy the character journeys of secondary characters like Lydia Martin or Derek Hale.   

Risk Taking: The show went places it didn’t have to go for the sake of sheer storytelling.   It had some of the most intense horror scenes I’ve seen on a weekly television show.  It had the central romance end, amicably, with no more will-you, won’t-you stuff.   It purposefully damaged the central relationships of the show in order to demonstrate that people grow up at different rates.    It played with linearity, especially in one Season 3 episode.  It allowed actors to move beyond standard ‘realistic’ acting models.  (Remember the words “mountain assssssssssssssh.”)  Some times they worked.  Sometimes they didn’t, but I’d rather they tried something new than do the same old, same old.

Yes, there are significant drawbacks.  Minority characters got shafted, disappearing or dying without sufficient backstory or reason.   Fanservice retarded the growth of some characters.   The creator stuck stubbornly to certain concepts long past their usefulness.   And the fandom is very … difficult.  

Yet, I don’t regret any of the time I spent watching the show or in the fandom.  I would encourage you to watch the show at least – the fandom may be too much.

#teen wolf #myboyfriendisthecutest #scott mccall defense squad

[penbeatssword]

Review, from Book to Film: The Mountain Between Us

[**Serious spoilers ahead**]

So, last week I read Charles Martin’s The Mountain Between Us and on Saturday went with my mum to see the film. We both agreed afterwards that the credits should’ve said “loosely based on the novel” as the similarities were akin to a preliminary rough sketch that captures the general details and goes on to fudge the rest.

They changed a lot, both in terms of stripping away layers from the original story and adding things to create something new and awkward. This goes beyond the inherent need to cut down on content when adapting a book into a film. Here’s some of the changes:

The Names

So many names were changed, which I half understand because this is clearly not the same story as Charles Martin wrote so why pretend they’re the same characters, and half confuses me because why bother? Ashley Knox became Alex Martin, Ben Payne became Ben Bass (even though I only recall hearing his surname mentioned once near the end of the film), Grover the pilot became Walter, Rachel (Ben’s wife) became Sarah, Vince (Ashley’s fiancé) became Mark, and the dog named Tank – whose name they couldn’t remember so they called him Napoleon – was stripped of a name entirely (not to mention transformed from a Jack Russel to a Labrador).

The Occupations

Ashley Knox is a writer and Ben Payne is an orthopaedic surgeon, whereas Alex Martin is a journalist photographer and Ben Bass is a neurosurgeon. See Heart/Mind below for the significance on Ben’s occupational shift. Alex’s career alteration seems to be so the characters can use her camera to see further, so she can send photos of Ben to him near the end of the film and for the inclusion of a story I wasn’t sure what to make of where Alex explains befriending a young female guerrilla fighter and lending her lipstick, and later seeing the girl die and taking her photograph.

The Set-up

The book gives Ben and Ashley some time in the airport at the start to get to know each other and establish the characters and their motivations to get out of Salt Lake that night. It makes it believable that when Ben sees a charter plane and organises a flight, he thinks of Ashley who needs to get home for her wedding and is stuck in Salt Lake waiting to get to a hotel, and offers her a ride. The film gives us a glimpse of a busy airport, a frustrated Alex overhearing Ben talking about a surgery he has booked for the following morning, and approaching this stranger and proposing a charter flight. It’s rushed and feels contrived, and worst of all shifts the blame for the ill-fated flight to Alex.

Walter the pilot is given a miniscule amount of screen time, explaining that he met the love of his life a long time ago but she was already married so he’s alone. He suffers a stroke while flying and his passengers try to stabilise the plane as they crash. Grover the pilot, however, is a happily married man who explains that he is more in love with his wife now than when they married, who has been recently having chest pain which Ben makes him promise to have checked out as soon as possible. He experiences a heart attack while flying and somehow manages to crash land the plane as safely as possible (“off-screen” so to speak, the crash isn’t written), saving the lives of his passengers. Walter’s death is unfortunate but impersonal, and his burial by Ben is brisk to say the least. Grover’s burial, however, is treated with reverence by Ben as he finds a suitable place overlooking the mountain landscape, and gathers Grover’s possessions to later return to Grover’s wife.

The Expertise

Ben Payne loves hiking, and is a skilled outdoorsman. His supplies and skills are what keep himself and Ashley alive, including a Jetboil stove, sleeping bags, his use of Grover’s crossbow and Ben’s handcrafted bow drill. For some reason, in the film Alex has a large pack containing some camping gear with no explanation provided (we can assume this is somehow linked to her work), but neither Ben nor Alex talk particularly about any camping or survival skills. The only food they “hunt” is the cougar Alex and the nameless dog kill in self-defence, so most of the time the topic of food is just ignored. While Ben’s improvised snowshoes (followed later by finding real snowshoes) help them immensely in the book, they somehow make it across the landscape fine without them and with Alex hobbling in the film, and show Ben try briefly and fail to make snowshoes. The survival of Alex and Ben in the film is pure luck.

Ben is stripped not only of his camping and practical abilities, but as a neurosurgeon instead of an orthopaedic surgeon his medical skills are diminished as well. For the majority of the film, his medical care consists of pressing ice against one of Alex’s wounds once, wrapping and splinting her leg and primarily dabbing her face with a cloth. He does give the dog stitches, but does not for Alex or himself. The only glimmer of his original ingenuity and medical skill is when he constructs an improvised IV to save Alex after she falls through ice, and it feels weirdly out of place after the rest of the film works so hard to show that Ben isn’t much of a practical person and is kind of doing everything begrudgingly.

Importantly, his role of carer is removed almost entirely, helping Alex pull down her pants once to urinate and then disposing of the urine, and having Alex lean on him during their trek across the snowy landscape. This is because her injuries are reduced to superficial scratches and a break in her lower leg instead of femur. She operates on crutches, able to walk independently of Ben, and only for a brief time near the end of their journey is she dragged on a sled. This is a huge difference to the book. Ashley is entirely dependent on Ben’s care, which he carries the guilt for as he was the one who chartered the flight and encouraged her to come along.

Rachel and the Recorder

Very late in the book (later than necessary in my opinion), Ben reveals to Ashley that his wife Rachel passed away years ago. While pregnant with twins, Ben and Rachel are told that due to a medical complication she is likely to die if she attempts to carry the babies to term. On the slight chance that she and her children will survive, Rachel chooses not to have surgery. Ben doesn’t agree with her decision, they argue, and soon after Rachel and the twins die. Ben is revealed to have constructed a “house” (mausoleum) for her and their children.

Rachel is embedded throughout the book – Ben can’t go a single chapter without thinking of her, sometimes talking to Ashley about her, and regularly talking to Rachel and reminiscing on their shared past via voice recordings on a recorder she gave him. The recorder is a centrepiece of the book. Ben is continually making new, lengthy recordings which are also used as gateways into Ben’s past for the reader.

The film ditches all of this completely. The recorder is just a device for Alex to invade Ben’s privacy, listening to a message his wife Sarah left him to find out more about Ben. When Ben catches her, we hear the full message and Ben reveals that Sarah died of a brain tumour, and (as a neurosurgeon and her primary doctor) he couldn’t save her. Sarah is barely ever mentioned before or after this, and this avoidance of the subject with Alex, and Ben’s inability to save her, plays directly into the film’s focus: the dichotomy of heart versus mind.

Heart/Mind

Instead of taking the characters from the pages of Charles Martin’s book and putting them on the screen, the filmmakers created two new characters – or perhaps vacant shells is more accurate – and used them to illustrate a poorly executed display of Heart versus Mind. It goes like this:

One character represents Heart. They are emotional, impulsive, and often female (Alex). They follow their gut.

One character represents Mind. They are logical, rational and distant, and often male (Ben). They repress their emotions.

The film is really heavy-handed on this one. Ben is literally a neurosurgeon. He makes a stilted comment near the start about playing Candy Crush to occupy his amygdala just to make it clear to the audience that he’s intelligent, sees things scientifically and maybe doesn’t relate to other people very well. As always, the filmmakers are on the side of Heart, showing that even though Alex’s impulsive decision to take the charter flight and invite Ben along went badly, her gut instincts are right and Ben should be more emotional like her. Case in point: Alex insists on leaving the crash site as the best chance of survival, while Ben insists that in the event of a crash you should stay there to be found. Alex is later proven right when the plane’s beacon is shown to be destroyed. (See also the above Expertise: in the book, Ben explains to Ashley that they will need to leave as he knows that the usual advice is to stay at a crash site, but realises that the beacon wouldn’t have survived the speed of their crash).

Essentially this dichotomy also sets up Ben and Alex for the typical Hollywood romance formula of the couple stranded together who initially dislike each other, eventually bonding through their shared struggle. Cue unwanted sex scene interspersed with random shots of the two of them walking through the snowy wilderness together. This is followed by the two of them agreeing that he should leave Alex there and continue on his own to get help, and him literally turning around and going back insisting to bring her too as some sign that he’s come to care for her and is maybe shifting away from pure Mind towards Heart.

For those who haven’t read the book, Ben and Ashley get along quite well from the very beginning, their shared humour helps keep both of their spirits up and he repeatedly refuses to leave Ashley. Their bond is realistic, underpinned by genuine friendship and compassion. Additionally, a few times Ben’s impulsive decisions are shown to end badly, such as near the end of their journey when he attempts to take a shortcut down the mountain resulting in re-breaking Ashley’s leg and nearly suffocating himself.

The Ending

Oh man the ending. The filmmakers could’ve/should’ve cut out three-quarters of the ending and used that time back at the start for a better paced set-up. Instead, the audience is subjected to a lengthy period after the main characters have been rescued, showing the difficulties of readjusting to their old lives and struggling to communicate with each other. We get to watch Alex being uncomfortable around her fiancé, and Ben being sad about Alex seemingly returning to her old life (and fiancé) with no acknowledgement of their sexy times in the mountains. After Ben finally contacts Alex after ignoring her calls, they have an awkward lunch (well, they sit in a restaurant and don’t eat) where they ultimately walk away before both executing a dramatic turn-around, running back to each other and embracing – cut to black. That was a lot of build-up for not very much, but then this whole film is guilty of making changes to ramp up the drama and conflict at the expense of substance.

 Bonus: here are some other things I didn’t mention:

Ben is no longer from Jacksonville, he’s from London (to fit in Idris Elba, I assume)

All backstories surgically removed

Most of the details of the journey completely changed, including the addition of going around a river and Ashley falling through ice into the lake

Jump-scare in the form of Ben stepping into a bear trap

No pilot’s wife means Ben just keeps the nameless dog

The huge shift from Ben being the focal character and lens through which we see the entire story, to Alex being the main character

Offshoot of that, Alex is given more agency than Ashley in the book, but as a result she ends up less likeable (more argumentative, less friendly, more nosy, less reasonable)

 TL;DR: The film characters are caricatures, their survival is a fluke and I need someone who hasn’t read the book to tell me if the film is at all worthwhile on its own.

#review #it feels good to write again #The Mountain Between Us #book to film #mine #writing #film #book #critique #Charles Martin #my writing

[somethingofagenius-blog]

Full name: Lydia Jane Martin !! Date of birth: March 19th, 1994 !! Myers-Briggs personality: ESTJ !! Location on the isle:  90 Bedford St. Apt. 20 !!

1. What color is your character’s hair?

NOT red, blonde, brunette, black. Be specific (e.g., “russet,” “strawberry blonde,” “raven black,” “the color of a caramel macchiato”).

2. What color are your character’s eyes?

NOT blue, green, hazel, brown. Be specific (e.g., “chocolate brown,” “silver-blue,” “dark green with flecks of golden-brown”).

3. What color is your character’s skin?

NOT white, black, tan. Be specific (e.g., “latte-with-extra-soy,” “pale as ivory,” “the color of golden-glazed bread fresh out of the oven”).

4. What special aesthetic characteristics does your character have?

Does your character have notable scars? Freckles? A small nose? Big feet?

5. Does your character have any piercings? Tattoos?

Give details: What do the tattoos look like? Why did they get them? If they lack these extra decorations, why?

6. What’s the sexiest physical characteristic of your character?

Everyone’s sexy in their own special way. Is your character tall? Broad-shouldered? With a well-proportioned face? Wielding thick lips? What feature is most likely to attract people to them?

7. What’s the ugliest physical characteristic of your character?

Everyone’s ugly in their own special way. What physical characteristics are unappealing about your character? Do they have a weight problem? Big ears? A large forehead? An obtrusively visible neck-mole? bonus: What element of their appearance is your character most insecure about?

8. What does your character wear?

Describe a typical outfit your character may wear, including fine details such as color, style, brand, and/or fabric.BONUS: Why does your character like wearing that outfit? bonus: Repeat question 8 to show different clothing/outfit types (e.g., casual, formal, or favorite outfits).

9. When your character smiles, what does their smile look like?

Do they show teeth? Is it broad? Do they dimple? Do they prefer to smirk?

10. What does your character’s laugh sound like?

High-pitched? Low-pitched? Nasal? Guttural? bonus: What sort of things would make your character laugh?

11. What is your character’s normal style of speech?

Do they speak quickly or slowly? Are they quiet or loud? Monotone or expressive? bonus: What are some memorable things your character has said that showcase their unique voice?

12. How does your character express/handle anger?

Is your character likely to yell? Become physically violent? Retreat? Become somber?

13. Does your character cry?

How often? Just when they’re alone, or in the company of others? With intensity or with quiet tears? bonus: What sorts of things would make them cry?

14. How easy is it for other people to read your character’s emotions?

Can the character’s friends easily read every emotion on their face? Or are they a sealed-and-locked book?

15. Is your character religious?

If so, what faith and to what level of devotion.

16. How does your character view those of other faiths?

Are they tolerant or rigid? Do they condemn or judge others for their differing beliefs? Do they feel judged themselves?

17. What are your character’s core values?

What, above all else, does your character feel must be conserved in the world? Family? Freedom? Beauty? Connection? Kindness? Hope?

18. How willing is your character to fight for those values?

Are they held only as aesthetic values or is your character willing to fight for them? How committed are they to their beliefs?

19. What is your character’s favorite food?

Not Indian food, pizza, burritos. Be specific (e.g., “chicken tikka masala,” “pineapple pizza with extra cheese,” “freshly baked french bread topped with herb-infused cheese”).

20. What is your character’s favorite color?

Not green, blue, pink. Be specific (e.g., “pastel pink,” “teal,” “the color of mist on the mountain right after a storm”).

21. What are your character’s sleeping preferences?

Are they an early bird or a night owl? A heavy sleeper or a light sleeper? Do they sleep short hours or long? Can they sleep easily or are they an insomniac? bonus: What position does your character typically sleep in?

22. What is your character’s sexual identity?

What gender/sexuality identity do they declare? Does this differ from their internal experience? Where might they fall on the Kinsey scale?

23. What are your character’s sexual preferences?

Are they sexually conservative or liberal? How comfortable must they be with a person to have sex with them? What meaning does sex have for them? What type of play do they enjoy during sex? bonus: What sexual experiences or choices does your character feel especially good or bad about?

24. What type of music does your character like?

Feel free to include both genre types and specific song examples. bonus: Does your character have a song that is “their song”?

25. What is your character’s birthday?

Be specific (month, day, year). If you’re a genre writer, this is a good opportunity to think over your world’s calendar. bonus: Does their astrological sign seem to fit them?

26. What family structure did your character have growing up?

Were they an only child? Adopted? Raised by a single parent? Part of a nuclear family?

27. How well did your character get along with their family?

Are the relationships strained? Do they have a sense of belonging there?

28. What is the worst thing your character has ever done?

This should be according to your character’s beliefs. What are they most ashamed of from the past? Why did that deed stick with them?

29. What is the best thing your character has ever done?

What are they most proud of from their past? Why did that deed stick with them?

30. What is the most significant romantic encounter of your character’s past?

Who broke their heart? Whose heart did they break? Or are they as of yet inexperienced with love?

31. Has your character ever been in love?

Is that good thing or a bad thing?

32. Has your character ever been in lust?

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

33. What is your character’s level of sexual experience?

Are they a virgin? A sexual adventurer?

34. What is your character’s most embarrassing moment?

Tell the full story.

35. What is your character’s biggest goal in life?

Everyone has a narrative that structures their life. What objectives is your character moving toward? If they lack a strong objective, how does that impact their behavior and outlook?

36. What does your character believe is their greatest virtue?

Do others agree or disagree?

37. What does your character believe is their greatest vice?

Do others agree or disagree?

38. What motivates your character most?

Are they driven by sex, money, connection, fame, pride, respect? Are they honest with themselves and others about these motives?

39. Is your character objective-oriented?

If so, what are some goals they have accomplished in the past?

40. Would your character rather be a great person or a good person?

Sometimes in life we have to choose; which of these is more important to them?

41. Would your character rather be hated for being who they are or loved for pretending to be someone else?

Sometimes in life we have to choose; which of these is more important to them?

42. Is your character an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert?

Consider introversion and extroversion as a gradient rather than a multiple-choice question. How introverted or extroverted are they, and when do these characteristics manifest?

43. Is your character creatively expressive?

If so, how do they express that creativity? How much of their sense of identity is tied to that creative expression?

44. What’s your character’s disorder?

Manic-depressive? Obsessive-compulsive? Attention-deficit? Anxiety? Narcissism? We’re all crazy. What’s their crazy’s name?

45. What is your character’s standard emotional state?

How happy or sad are they normally? What is their go-to emotion when things get rough?

46. Is your character materialistic?

What experiences or beliefs are linked to this? bonus: What are some of your character’s prized possessions?

47. What is your character’s major learning style?

Are they auditory, visual, kinesthetic, or some combination?

48. What question isn’t on this questionnaire that your character is just burning to answer?

What question would really allow them to talk about what they feel is important in their life, outlook, and experience?

49. I am a _________. How would your character complete that sentence?

Surgeon, dancer, mother, Christian, socialist, activist, Canadian, train-wreck. What is the primary element of your character’s self-perceived identity?

50. Life is an act of _________ing. What verb would your character use to complete that sentence?

Loving, struggling, dying, creating, dancing, exploring. What does life boil down to? What metaphoric action is most appropriate?

#iop task #𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔩𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔢𝔵𝔱𝔯𝔞 #[ in progress ] .

[biofunmy]

Enthralled by ‘Euphoria’? Hunter Schafer Knows Why (It’s Because of Her)

It’s hard to upstage Zendaya, the Disney Channel star who soared through “The Greatest Showman” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming” into the Hollywood stratosphere.

But in HBO’s “Euphoria,” Hunter Schafer has done just that, in what is remarkably her debut acting role.

Schafer plays Jules, the new kid in town — a trans girl with a dreamy Sailor Moon vibe and a self-destructive yearning for affection — who becomes best friends with Zendaya’s addiction-tormented Rue at their sex-and-drugs-deluged high school.

Her performance as a sensitive, stabilizing force amid the insanity has captivated viewers and critics alike, who’ve anointed her the series’s breakout star. And its fourth episode, on July 7, explored Jules’s story, following her harrowing journey from a depression-filled childhood into a psychiatric hospital — and, eventually, a happier transition.

Shafer was modeling in New York, with plans to study fashion design at Central Saint Martins in London, when her agency informed her that she’d been asked to audition for “Euphoria.”

“I gave it a shot just because I had been mildly interested in acting, but it wasn’t something that I thought I would be pursuing seriously in any way, shape or form,” she said. “Then I just kept going back in and getting more of the scripts and eventually started to fall in love with my character.”

After landing the role, she spent hours with Sam Levinson, the show’s creator, helping to fill out Jules’s experiences transitioning. “We were just telling each other stories and bringing forward timelines that we thought could make sense for Jules and then conceptualizing and sharing ideas, and that was the beginning,” she said. “I feel like Jules was being built until the last day we wrapped.”

“Euphoria” may be her first on-screen gig, but Schafer is no stranger to attention. Raised in Raleigh, N.C., she was a plaintiff in the American Civil Liberties Union’s 2016 lawsuit against North Carolina House Bill 2 that required people to use the restroom for the gender they were assigned at birth. She wrote about the experience of navigating bathrooms in her public high school for i-D, and for her convictions made Teen Vogue’s 2017 list of “21 Under 21.”

In a phone interview as she shuttled between a photo shoot and her New York hotel room, the sunny Schafer, 20, talked about her newfound fame, representation in entertainment and why she doesn’t want to be called an activist.

These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

How does it feel to be having this moment as a breakout star?

It’s pretty surreal. I feel so lucky to have “Euphoria” as a first experience with taking on a character and exploring acting, and in having this group of people as well. I couldn’t be happier about the situation, and so whatever people are calling me is just the cherry on top.

You’ve said that your life was similar in certain ways to Jules’s. How?

I transitioned in early high school, and her transition might have been a little bit earlier than mine. But transitioning while you’re in public school is a pretty intense experience, so I knew I could bring that to her. And then Jules’s drive and motivation for the way she acts from the start, as far as a desire to be treated “like a woman.” And I’m saying that with quote fingers because that’s a loaded term. But I think one of Jules’s main battles is her desire for romance and normalcy and love, which I think she’s kind of locked down a routine as far as getting some form of that. But of course it’s not healthy, and I can relate to that point in my life. I didn’t act out on it, but I certainly desired to be treated a certain way in order to affirm my femininity.

What’s it like working with Zendaya?

She’s amazing. Z was my main scene partner for most of this season and I just feel so lucky to come out of this experience with a new best friend.

As an aspiring fashion designer, did you have any input into Jules’s distinctive style?

Some of Jules’s looks were already written into the script, and it was clear that she was expressive and stood out at her school. But as far as narrowing down what that aesthetic was, that was something that was really fun to work on with Heidi Bivens, our costume designer. I remember she let me make mood boards coming into filming. Then throughout Jules’s arc I think we start to witness a little bit of a change in style, which was fun to navigate as well. Heidi and I were just constantly sending each other references and photos and general guides that we think Jules could inhabit so it was really collaborative.

The Parents Television Council issued a warning about “Euphoria” before its premiere, calling it a “grossly irresponsible programming decision” for its graphic content. Does the show ring true to your memory of your own high school experience?

I can’t say I lived the way these characters do, just because my default is to be internal and stay home. Making artwork was my saving grace in high school. I didn’t really go out to parties very often the way these characters do. Oftentimes their actions make their experiences kind of messy where there’s no parents involved. But it’s interesting because my siblings have recently seen it, and I think they have a different experience of high school than I did. And they found it extremely true or relatable. It just sort of clocked high school in a way that they hadn’t seen before, which I was really excited to hear.

You’ve been what most people would consider activist, and yet you say you don’t like that word. Why?

When I think of an activist, I think of a community organizer who is working every day and directly with community members, and making it a job to take care of and speak up for a community in some way. So as an actor and an artist whose primary focus is making artwork or world-building, I don’t think I fall into that category. There might have been a point in my career where, because people have been telling me I’m an activist, I took on that label. But in retrospect, I don’t think that’s what I am — or what I’ve been — just because I’m vocal about my identity sometimes.

You’ve listed “Pose” as one of your favorite shows. How do you feel about trans representation and opportunities in Hollywood?

I think it’s always preferable that a trans person plays a trans person — one, because there’s enough cisgender actors in Hollywood, and two, because trans people can bring levels of experience to the trans experience that they might be portraying. A cisgender actor might be able to conceptualize and get it down to a T but won’t have the experiences in their back pocket that they can bring forward to use for that character. Trans people deserve to see themselves represented on their own TV screens, not being inhabited by people who might not completely understand them.

You’ve walked the runway for Helmut Lang, Miu Miu and Marc Jacobs, to name a few. Any plans to return to modeling?

I think I’ve taken a step back for now just because I really liked the way I felt in front of the camera acting and I want to keep exploring.

Are you auditioning for other parts, and do you have a dream role in mind?

I’m still kind of winding down from “Euphoria.” It’s taking a bit of time, just because we were doing this for eight months and I’m very immersed in that world, and I’m still in the process of letting it go. But I think I will start auditioning soon, and I’m really interested to explore what other characters I could inhabit. Jules was so parallel to me in a lot of ways. I would love to branch off to someone who is cisgender or a fantasy role. There are many different ways to go and I feel so new to acting and really excited about the art form. I’d love to just keep exploring.

In a 2016 interview, you said you came out first as gay, and then trans. Then you began exploring non-binary identity. Could you explain what you mean?

Earlier in my transition, I think I relied on a vantage point of the world that was very close to the gender binary and was only able to be myself in the gender-binary viewpoint. And as I’ve learned more about my community and come to understand gender as a spectrum, and the gender binary as something that’s nonexistent and a construct and a product of colonialism, I have sort of let go of the idea that I need to do the one or the other — and just let myself be.

In Episode 4, we see Jules admitted to a psych ward as she struggles with body dysmorphia and self-harm, and her desire to transition initially treated as a mental illness. Was that something you could relate to?

That experience is something from Sam’s life actually, something that really happened to him, not necessarily because he was trans but because he was dealing with similar symptoms of anxiety and depression that I think Jules was dealing with at that time as well. He was talking about being on the set and how it looked exactly the same and how intense that was.

I remember when I was early in my transition and had just come out and was starting to get help, I had to meet with a therapist for a year and have that therapist confirm to doctors before I could have access to hormones — have that therapist confirm to them that I was, in fact, female in my head, which is nuts just to have to have some doctor making decisions about your identity when you know the whole time. I don’t think it’s like that everywhere but that’s one experience that I remember specifically that was just really weird and not affirming as far as people believing me when I’m saying who I am.

This episode is also the moment we see Jules rethinking the ways in which she has pursued affection. And then that kiss with Rue as they’re lying in bed …

What I just loved about the script is that we see her start to recognize [her reliance on men] and eventually move away from it, particularly with her relationship to Rue, which I found really exciting as well as a young trans girl in a not-heterosexual relationship.

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Actors recall living in fear of Jerome Robbins — yet dying to work with him

It’s a legend that even now, 20 years after Jerome Robbins’ dying, threatens to outline him: Whereas berating his actors, he stepped farther and farther again on stage till he toppled into the orchestra pit. And nobody stated a phrase to cease him. Some say the present was “Name Me Madam,” “Excessive Button Sneakers” or “Billion Greenback Child.” (An eyewitness tells The Put up it was, in reality, “West Facet Story.”) However the underlying message is similar: The choreographer and director was a terror to work with. Final month, after a “Chicago” actor killed himself following what was reportedly a brutish rehearsal, many recalled Robbins and his penchant for pushing dancers and actors to the breaking level. Nonetheless, it’s exhausting to think about Broadway or the ballet with out him. Which is why Robbins — who was born 100 years in the past and died at 79 on July 29, 1998 — is as revered as he’s reviled. His centennial 12 months is being celebrated throughout the nation and in Germany, France and the Netherlands. On Aug. 9, there might be a tribute aboard the Intrepid in Manhattan, with performances and panels moderated by Robbins biographer Amanda Vaill. In ballets and such musicals as “West Facet Story,” “Peter Pan,” “The King and I” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” Robbins introduced a naturalism to dance and motion that was revolutionary — motive sufficient why those that survived each him and his wrath have a tendency to recall the grasp, not the monster. Jerome Robbins throughout a 1974 rehearsal Getty Photographs Getty Photographs Getty Photographs Getty Photographs 4 View Slideshow “Stephen Sondheim stated that Robbins was the one genius he’s ever recognized,” stated Vaill, who had entry to the director’s diaries and papers whereas writing 2006’s “Someplace: The Life of Jerome Robbins.” And he was, she factors out, self-taught: Unable to afford greater than a 12 months at NYU, younger Jerome Rabinowitz dropped out and ferried between Weehawken, NJ — the place his father urged him to be part of the household corset enterprise — and New York, the place he kick-started his dance profession. Alongside the way in which, he developed what Vaill calls “a form of tunnel imaginative and prescient — as soon as he’d seen what he needed, nothing else was necessary.” Within the identify of artwork, he’d make actors and dancers undergo their paces repeatedly, typically screaming at them and hurling insults. “Jerry not solely attacked you, he attacked your loved ones, your background, the place you lived, the way you lived, who you studied with,” Tony Mordente, a “West Facet Story” forged member, advised biographer Greg Lawrence. Yet Mordente and plenty of different stars say they owe their careers to him. “The acute battle between his admirers and disparagers made my e book an emotional ordeal to write,” Lawrence advised The Put up of his 2001 biography, “Dance with Demons: The Life of Jerome Robbins.” A perfectionist, Robbins was even exhausting on his collaborators, together with “West Facet Story” composer Leonard Bernstein. “My father had to battle with so many points of Jerry’s difficult character,” Bernstein’s daughter, Jamie, advised The Put up. “He was impolite and imperious and harsh and terrible to artists . . . and yet my father managed to set it apart and go on working with Jerry.” Jerome Robbins circa 1950Getty Photographs However others by no means forgave him — if not for his cruelty, than for naming names earlier than the Home Un-American Actions Committee (HUAC) in the 1950s. As his biographers found, Robbins dropped the dime on his colleagues much less from fear of being blacklisted than that of being outed. A bisexual whose best love, many consider, was for a ballerina — Tanaquil LeClerc, the spouse of his idol, George Balanchine — Robbins additionally had affairs with males, Montgomery Clift amongst them. Not solely did he fear his household’s wrath, however homosexuality was then punishable by jail. Like many artists, he’d flirted with communism and the post-World Struggle II concept of Soviet-American friendship. All of the whereas, the FBI was watching him. So was Ed Sullivan. A decade earlier than he launched the Beatles, Sullivan was placing fear into the hearts of leftists by vetting them for his TV present, typically writing damning objects about them in his newspaper column. In 1950, Sullivan pressed Robbins to reveal his actions and that of his fellow Soviet sympathizers, one of them Robbins’ sister. When Robbins refused, Sullivan canceled his look. However three years later, subpoenaed as a “pleasant witness,” Robbins caved. He gave HUAC the names of eight celebration members, seven of whom, Vaill stated, had been already recognized. Robbins later advised “West Facet Story” author Arthur Laurents that he wouldn’t know “for years” whether or not he’d finished the best factor. “Oh, I can let you know now,” Laurents replied. “You had been a s–t.” Zero Mostel overtly disdained Robbins. Blacklisted himself, although not by means of Robbins’ doing, the burly actor noticed his movie profession wither and die. Nonetheless, he knew a genius when he noticed one, and went on to star in 1964’s “Fiddler on the Roof,” which Robbins choreographed and directed. Sheldon Harnick, the present’s lyricist, remembers that first fraught day of rehearsal, and the way he and the forged awaited Robbins’ arrival. When he lastly got here in, Harnick stated, “He and Mostel checked out one another. Then Zero stated, ‘Hello, there, blabbermouth!’ and everybody broke up.” Even so, there was all the time stress between the forged and their director, who by no means left a single second of a present to probability — and did no matter he had to do to make his imaginative and prescient actual. “Perhaps I’ve tried to blot it out from my reminiscence,” Harnick, now 94, advised The Put up, “however Jerry could possibly be merciless, particularly to some of the ladies. If he had a criticism, he would specific it in a very chilly and merciless manner.” Austin Pendleton, who performed the present’s timid Motel the tailor, remembers one lacerating encounter so private, he advised Robbins’ assistant not to let the director discuss to him once more for every week. And Robbins obeyed: “He’d say, ‘Inform Austin to cross left,’ after which, every week to the day, he was supportive once more, and my efficiency had actually pulled collectively.” Jerome Robbins circa 1965Getty Photographs Now a director himself, Pendleton stated, “He was more durable on himself than anybody else.” Had Robbins not been a director, he might need been a puppeteer. Or so he advised Carol Lawrence, who performed Maria in 1957’s “West Facet Story,” when he confirmed her his puppet assortment. It was metaphor for a way he noticed the world. “He needed full management,” she advised The Put up. “You had been below his fingertips.” A agency believer in the strategy faculty of appearing, Robbins inspired off-stage enmity between his actors, typically with violent outcomes. Underneath Robbins’ course, Larry Kert — the Tony to Lawrence’s Maria — received a nightly pummeling. “Hit him more durable!” Robbins urged her as they rehearsed the scene in which Maria assaults the person who killed her brother. Someday, she recalled, Kert walked into her dressing room, his chest bandaged, and so in ache he may barely communicate. “The physician stated you’re loosening my lungs from my rib cage,” he whispered. “However I can’t inform Jerry.” As a substitute, Lawrence advised him. “And with no second’s pause, Jerry stated, ‘So hit him in the top, you received’t damage something there.’” Jerome Robbins throughout a rehearsal in 1965Getty Photographs Even Bernstein, who wrote the music for that present, got here in for a pounding, at the least psychologically, when Robbins crossed out some of his orchestrations. Years later, at Bernstein’s memorial service, Laurents stated his “West Facet Story” collaborator was afraid of solely two issues: “God and Jerry Robbins.” Many years earlier than Martin Charnin wrote and directed “Annie,” he performed a Jet in “West Facet Story.” He was, he advised The Put up proudly, the primary individual to sing “Gee, Officer Krupke, Krup you!” on a Broadway stage. Now 83, he remembers watching Robbins fall into the pit. He stated it occurred throughout a rehearsal in Philadelphia. “We needed to see how far he would go and he ended up going one step too far,” Charnin stated of himself and fellow Jets. Had the bass drum not damaged his fall, Robbins would have been badly damage. Why didn’t anybody cease him? “I actually don’t know,” Charnin stated. “Perhaps there was a collective second of tit for tat . . . I’d like to consider that it was only a mistake, and we had been terrified — we didn’t need him to get damage. “For all of how robust Jerry was, he additionally had one thing inside of him that was actually good,” he continued, “and that goodness manifested itself in the work. He knew what he needed, and what I realized and used in my profession actually got here from a fountain known as Jerome Robbins.” Jerome Robbins in 1988Getty Photographs Chita Rivera, whose multi-Tony-winning profession took off after her function in “West Facet Story,” goes additional. “All I do know is that I used to be in love with Jerry,” she advised The Put up. “I bear in mind feeling euphoric once I noticed him work — it was simply so stunning, and so proper and on the nostril . “He taught us how to be. Once I was operating by means of the door to the window after [the song] ‘A Boy Like That,’ he stated, ‘Don’t dance to the window. May you simply return and stroll to the window?’ “He taught us how to dance as individuals, not as dancers.” It was dancers with whom Robbins selected to spend his final twenty years. After “Fiddler,” he and his “West Facet Story” group tried and failed to get one other exhibit the bottom. Disenchanted with Broadway, Robbins returned to the place he began, making the ballets which might be nonetheless being danced in the present day. “I believe with the ballet dancers, he had a barely gentler edge, although he may nonetheless rip and destroy somebody,” stated Christine Redpath, who teaches the Robbins repertoire at New York Metropolis Ballet. “He had just a few individuals right here and there he’d beat into. I bear in mind one man being utterly devastated, in tears . . . however he survived.” It helped that Robbins beloved canine, his personal and everybody else’s. One of Redpath’s golden retrievers got here in useful throughout the making of at the least one ballet. “When he was choreographing ‘Brandenburg’ in the early ’90s, the rehearsal pianist stated, ‘I’ll offer you cash if you happen to carry Emma into the room!’ ” Redpath advised The Put up. “So I did and he or she’d lie below Jerry’s seat. When he received tense, he’d look down at her and he or she’d have a look at him and he’d smile and the temper would change.” Others observed it, too. As “West Facet Story” dancer Grover Dale advised biographer Greg Lawrence a 12 months after Robbins’ dying, “I typically puzzled what the work would have been like had he been as candy to his dancers as he had been to his canine. “Maybe ‘contentment’ and ‘being a genius’ don’t combine very effectively,” Dale stated. Share this: https://nypost.com/2018/07/26/actors-recall-living-in-fear-of-jerome-robbins-yet-dying-to-work-with-him/ The post Actors recall living in fear of Jerome Robbins — yet dying to work with him appeared first on My style by Kartia. https://www.kartiavelino.com/2018/07/actors-recall-living-in-fear-of-jerome-robbins-yet-dying-to-work-with-him.html