#all of juno's internalized doing good being good stuff yeah | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theradioghost · 4 years

Note

Can you talk more about the history of the language and storytelling techniques/conventions of audio dramas? That's an incredibly intriguing concept but I wouldn't have the first idea where to look for more info about it. It reminds me a lot of the idea of video game literacy and how a lot of games aren't accessible to people who are brand new to video games because there are so many established conventions that aren't explained to new players

It has taken me nearly a month to reply to this, which I know is in reply to this post, and I am sorry for that! But also, yes!!!!! Hell yes, yes, I see exactly what you mean about the video game stuff.

Unfortunately I think there’s not much out there already written about the developing conventions of the new wave of audio drama. In large part, I think, because coverage of new audio fiction from outside the community has been so notoriously poor. But maybe also partly because there seems to be a strangely negative take on classic radio drama from a lot of the US sector within that community? Which I think really comes down to exactly the things I was talking about -- Old radio drama feels wrong to a lot of people now, because its storytelling language just doesn’t exist in our culture the way it once did; and even fewer people are familiar with late-20th-century American audio fiction like ZBS that might feel more comfortable or closer to other present-day mass media storytelling techniques. I see it claimed sometimes that there’s something inherently unsophisticated about old time radio storytelling, which is just flat out untrue, and I would highly encourage anyone who’s wondering to check out something like the “Home Surgery” episode of Gunsmoke or “The Thing on the Fourble Board” from Quiet, Please to see just how effective and well-done a lot of those old shows were.

(Leaving the UK out of this, because audio fiction stayed way more prominent there and I do not think the same problems exist, and leaving everywhere else out because unfortunately I just don’t know enough about how the medium fared elsewhere, or how it’s doing now. Alas.)

I’ve been thinking lately about parallels to this in other media that I have been able to study and read other people’s writing on, and I think a good comparison is possibly novels? The western “novel” as we think of it is really something that didn’t exist at all until about the 18th century (there are earlier works that have been kind of retroactively labeled ‘novels,’ some of them centuries earlier, but even if they have the characteristics of what we now call a novel, they’re very much disconnected from the evolution of the novel as something we have a name and a definition for). There are no novels from the medieval period, from the Renaissance. There are books as long as novels, but they’re not novels.

The thing is, when you read 18th and even 19th century novels, it shows, because the techniques for telling a story in that form hadn’t been really figured out yet. What you get is a lot of meandering, episodic doorstoppers, some of which have hundreds of pages before the main characters even enter the picture. A lot of writers at the time, and into the 19th century, actually hated the whole concept of novels. I think it’s a bit like going back and watching Monsters, Inc. and then watching Monsters University. The first one was revolutionary, yeah, and it’s a good movie still, but it’s not hard to see the visual difference between the two just in terms of the tools that the people making them had available to them. Before you can write a story or animate hundreds of thousands of individual hairs on one character, you have to figure out how.

One of the big, obvious things about novels from that period, though, is that many of them are first-person, and many are epistolary. It’s hard to find one that isn’t supposedly a memoir or a journal or a set of letters. The third-person perspective in long-form prose was something that had to be figured out; it didn’t just exist in the void, automatically summoned into existence the moment we started writing novels, which I think is really fascinating. There’s a lot of work in those early novels that’s being put into explaining why, and how, and to whom the story is being told. Because otherwise, how does it make sense that the book exists? It’s not a poem, or a play; it’s not taking the form of a traditional story or myth, not attempting to be an epic. Those early novels were about contemporary, real-seeming people, so the writers and audiences wanted an explanation for how the story had been recorded that relied on other existing forms of writing -- letters, journals, memoirs, sometimes claiming to be older texts that had been “found” (gothic novelists seemed to like this one). Sometimes the narrative voice is just the author using first person to actively tell you the story. They hadn’t yet bought into the presumption that we take for granted now, that a novel can have a voice that knows everything, without being the voice of any character in it.

And I think that it’s fascinating how similar that is to the heavy use of recording media as frame narrative in modern audio drama. It’s worth noting: classic radio drama doesn’t do this like we do now. By far, the standard for OTR is the same as the third-person omniscient perspective, the film camera; the storytelling presumes that you’re not going to need an explanation for how you’re hearing this. The audiences those shows were made for were used to fiction told solely in audio, in a way that a lot of modern audiences are not, and so that narrative leap of faith was kind of inherently presumed.

There’s also a way more common use of omniscient or internal narration in old radio drama that I feel like I mostly see now only in shows that are deliberately calling back to old styles and genres. A good example is The Penumbra; we hear Juno’s internal thoughts, just like so many of the noir-style detectives from the 40s and 50s I grew up listening to, and we never really ask why or how. (Except, of course, when the show pokes fun at this affectation, which I think really only works because it feels more like lampshading the stock character tropes of noir, as opposed to the actual audio storytelling technique it facilitates.) To take it further, there are some old radio shows like the sitcom Our Miss Brooks which go so far as to use an actual omniscient narrator to facilitate a lot of the scene transitions, but do so in a much more confident and comfortable way than modern shows like Bubble, where the narration reeks of “we’re making this audio drama in the hopes we can finally make the TV show, and we actually hate this medium and don’t know how to work in it, so rather than learning how to make what’s happening clear with just audio, we’re going to tell you what’s happening and then reference that we’re just telling you what’s happening.”

Bubble’s narration doesn’t work, because it’s actively pushing against the show, telling you things that sound design could have told you just as easily, sometimes actively acknowledging that the narration feels wrong instead of just not using narration. Our Miss Brooks is admittedly not one of my favorite old radio shows, but its use of narration is much smoother, because it’s written with a confidence that it’s only being used to clarify the the things that would be the absolute hardest to show with audio alone; confidence that they know how to tell everything else with sound. Internal narration from the likes of Juno Steel or Jack St. James or my favorite classic detective Johnny Dollar works because noir as a genre is inherently tied to the expressionist movement, where the (highly idiosyncratic) personality and worldview of the characters literally shapes how the world around them appears to the audience; it works to hear their thoughts, because we’re seeing the world through their eyes. We don’t have to know how they’re saying this to us, they just are.

None of which is at all to say that there’s anything inherently wrong with using framing devices! Actually the opposite, kind of. First of all, because I genuinely do think that it’s a sign that we are actively, at this moment learning how to tell these stories, and how to listen to them, which is just so, so exciting I don’t even have words to express it. And secondly, because as a person who loves thinking about stories and storytelling enough to write this kind of ridiculous essay, I am obsessed with metafiction. I’m a sucker for the likes of Archive 81, The Magnus Archives, Welcome to Night Vale, Station to Station, Greater Boston, Within the Wires. They’re stories that take the questions that framing devices are used to answer for writers and audiences who don’t feel comfortable not asking them -- Why is this story being told? Who is telling it? Who is it being told to? -- and use those questions to the full advantage of the story, exploring character, creating beautifully effective horror, creating a bond with the listener. (Hell, one of the admittedly many things that Midnight Radio was about for me was exploring how much value and comfort I have found in listening to stories that acknowledged I was listening to them.) I think, though, that not all stories necessarily are their best selves when they feel like they have to address those questions, and as fiction podcasts become a bit more mainstream I’m really hoping that writers will feel more comfortable in trusting the audience to suspend that disbelief, and that audiences will feel more comfortable doing it, and that framing devices will be less unjustly maligned.

Of course, all of that is focused on writing techniques, and I think that’s because I’m a writer who has studied writing! I know very little concretely about the part of audio storytelling that relies on sound design, so while I have a definite feeling that classic and modern audio fiction is using different sound design languages, or that the audio language of British audio drama (where there’s much more continuity in the history of the medium) is different from audio fiction from elsewhere, that’s a lot harder for me to put into words like this. It’s something I would desperately love to see explored by someone who did know that field intimately, though.

#there also ARE books out there about (mainly classic) audio fiction and I really need to read some of them #anyway! here's today's ridiculous ramble about The Medium #hope this was maybe enjoyable and/or interesting rather than just self indulgent lmao #stories and media tag #geekeryisafoot #asks #my posts

239 notes · View notes

krissy-kat · 4 years

Text

PJOverse Headcanons Pt 4:-

(Sorry my hand slipped)

Peter age 15 Harley 16

• Peter doesn't go back to Camp due being busy patrolling Queens as Spiderman

• Harley is really upset when he hears that Peter won't be coming to Camp, he had finally gathered all his courage and was finally going to ask him out but never gets a chance to

• That year Harley's father came to visit him

• "Why are you here, you abandoned us, didn't even tell us that you were a God"

• "Harley listen I'm sorry but I had to"

• "Then tell me the goddam reason"

• "So do you know about our Roman counterparts and children "

• "Yes, they live in New Rome now along with few Greek demigods and don't talk to me in circles"

• "You know that Greek and Roman demigods have recently found out about each other and before that we weren't allowed to tell you, your sister was daughter of my Roman form Vulcan and if Hera or Juno had found out, I don't what she would have done"

• Harley didn't know what to think about it, he knew his sister was a demigod when he found about his dad being a God but he didn't expect her to be a Roman demigod

• "Ok, but I still haven't forgiven completely "

• "I didn't expect you would, but it's a start right "

• "Maybe"

• Peter would still IMs MJ, no matter how much she'll deny it she considers Peter a friend, she also tells him about the on ongoing fight about how his half siblings says that his superhero persona can't be trusted and how Flash with his whole Cabin will come to defend him

• Some time later Civil War happens, Peter didn't tell Tony about him being a demigod because he thought it wasn't relevant when he comes to recruit him

• Tony takes Peter under his wing and they get close

• Tony is absolutely furious when the events homecoming occur

• "Peter, I thought we were close, why didn't you tell me that you were chasing after a murderous psychopath"

• "But Mr Stark.."

• "A building fell on you, you could have died"

• "But.."

• "I don't want you moonlighting as spiderman for atleast a month"

• "Ok, but what am I supposed to tell Aunt May about the internship"

• "You know what from next week you're going to be my personal intern, real intern this time and I'll able to easily keep a eye on you"

• "Ok, Mr Stark"

• ( Infinity War and Endgame doesn't happen because this is my Au I'll do what I want to)

Peter age 16 , Harley age 17

• Harley decided to tell his mother and sister about being a demigod and his father being a God and going to the Camp since he was 12, a month before summer vacation

• They thought it was an elaborate joke

• Harley looked up and says out loud "If you want me to forgive you, help me out here"

• Hephaestus appears out thin air

• "Aaah! What are you doing here "

• "You asked for my help"

• "It was more along lines of sending a Celestial bronze dog or dragon like Leo's"

• "You know Tony Stark, she would have thought it was a prank "

• "Ok, you're right she would have definitely thought that"

• "She's right here, you both are talking about me like I'm not here. Harley I'll talk to later about hiding this stuff from me. And you, you don't think it would have easier to tell me you were a God when you left, I would have been a lot less of mess than I was "

• "I'm Sorry "

• "I'm sorry doesn't cut it, did what Harley told us about Roman counterpart and Abbie being a roman demigod is true"

• "Yes"

• "Ok, I understand your situation but you aren't forgiven "

• "Understood "

• "Now Harley, you are grounded until your graduation except your summer vacation because of the summer Camp thing"

• "But it will be my senior year next year "

• "No buts and you (pointing at Hepheatus) will you be staying for dinner"

• "Gods don't.."

• Hepheastus steps on Harley's foot

• Harley glares at him

• "Of course "

• "What were you saying Harley"

• "Nothing "

• In Summer vacation Harley goes to Camp Half blood and asks Abbie if she wants come too

• "After the Giant war, many roman demigods come to Camp Half Blood during summer, and I'll be staying first week at Tony's are sure you still want to go to Camp Jupiter "

• "Mom's still angry at him for not telling her I doubt she'll let me stay there, I still think it's miracle she allowing you to and I'm a Roman demigod I'll be fine in Camp designed for Roman demigods"

• "Are you sure, you'll get a tattoo there and it's quite painful from what I have heard"

• "I'll be fine and I'm sure it will look badass"

• "Do you want me to come with you to Camp Jupiter, I'm sure they won't mind"

• "I'm 13 Harley, I can take care of myself besides Mom will be staying in New Rome for the first week"

• Harley was still upset she won't be staying with him at Tony's and going to Camp Half Blood

• Harley always stays the first week of his summer vacation with Tony, so he was looking forward to meeting Spiderman, no matter how much Athena Cabin said you can't trust him

• "Sorry kiddo, he's grounded and I still blame you for the lecture I received from your Mom"

• "What do you mean he's grounded "

• "His Guardian found out he was moonlighting as Spiderman, so she grounded him, he's not even allowed to visit the tower"

• "Wait he's a teenager, now I want to meet him even more"

• "Oh no I know that look, I won't be introducing you two anytime soon, you both will make my hair grey twice as fast as they already are"

• "Aww, you're no fun at all Old Man"

• Meanwhile at Peter's home

• "Please Aunt May, I need to meet Mr Stark's other protege, how else am I supposed to know whether I can be friendly with him or I'll have to compete against him "

• "I told you are grounded so no Tony Stark and Ned for three weeks and no spiderman for a month and it has only been one week so you are still grounded"

• "But he won't be there then"

• "What part of being grounded don't you understand Peter"

• "Why am I not allowed to hang out with Ned anyway"

• "He should have told me when he found out and I know it's as much punishment for him as is it for you and you both know it"

• After his grounding is over Mr Stark hugs him tightly since he missed Peter and he's like a son to him

• Peter shifts to Tower part time because there is a shortage of employees at May's work place and she has to work overtime

• Peter while IMing MJ complains that his last Camp t-shirt was torn and he misses it, three day later he get a package with 2 new t-shirts saying that she couldn't bear Peter complaining anymore

• Rouge Avengers are pardoned soon after and since Tony still hasn't forgiven them completely and doesn't trust them with Spiderman's identity he asks Peter to tell them he's his personal intern when anyone asks why a civilian was with him

• The first time he runs into Captain America he gives him the death glare that MJ taught him, suffice to say Captain America never have been scared so much from a teenager

• Peter was in the kitchen and peacefully eating his cereal when Mr Barton comes in and see him and looks at him in confusion then his face turns into a determined look

• "FRIDAY call Tony into kitchen right now tell him it's a emergency and please make a excuse if anyone tries to come in"

• It was Peter's time to confused

• "Why the hell to call me at this ungodly hour this better be important "

• "Why the hell didn't you me a warning that you adopted another demigod"

• Tony stares dumbfounded at him

• "What to you mean by that?"

• "Come on Tony, he sitting right here eating cereal in Camp T-shirt"

• "Excuse Mr Barton, Mr Stark didn't know that I'm a demigod also he didn't adopt me"

• Tony and Clint didn't know what to say

• Finally Clint broke the silence

• "I think you both need to have a conversation so I'll just leave"

• "Sooo.. you are demigod huh?"

• "I'm literal brain child of my dad and athena, so yeah I'm a demigod"

• "Wait a sec, aren't children of Athena are supposed to scared of spiders"

• "Who said I'm not scared shitless of them, it's just I have spider powers that's why I go around as spiderman"

• Uncomfortable Awkward silence

• "So I was thinking of making you a iron spider suit with nanotechnology "

• They quickly change the conversation and pretend the previous never happened

• Meanwhile at the Camp Harley was thinking how many nicknames can be given to a superhero

• The nicknames used to discuss Spiderman were getting more and more ridiculous because every name is banned as soon as it is has been heard by Chiron

• The names which have been banned till date include Spidey, the web-slinger, the wall-crawler, the arachnid and after this the people stopped feeling creative and thus SM, SpiderM, the Man of Spiders and worst one yet Sipdeydude

• The name they were referring to Spiderman right now was S-Man

• Flash was arguing with Annabeth who has been part of two Great Prophecies but Flash didn't give a dam about it because nobody says something bad about Spiderman and get away with it

• Suddenly a voice breaks the fight apart

• "Annabeth, we should get going if we want to catch the train in time, so stop arguing with my sibling about Spiderman"

• "But Pipes, a person associating themselves with Spiders can't be good, why can't he understand "

• "Yes they can, this is your irrational fear for spiders speaking "

• "I have fought Arachne I assure you it is not irrational "

• "Yes, it is now let's go we don't need to miss the train unless you want to get to New Rome a day late"

• Piper and Annabeth leaves

• The next Chiron asks Harley to do a supply run in Queens and asks him to take any two campers with him

• He was asking MJ to go with him when Flash overhears him then forced Harley to take him too because he was determined that they might able to see Spiderman

• Unfortunately while on supply run they encountered a full grown cyclops so they lured it into an alley to fight it

• Peter was just patrolling in his neighbourhood, he didn't expect to run into demigods fighting a cyclops

• Since he had a tendency to go headfirst into danger, he forgot that it might reveal the fact he's a demigod to them

• It was only after he webbed the cyclops's eye and both his legs together that he sees the demigods fighting the cyclops were MJ, Flash and Harley

• When the cyclops was trying to take web out of his eye he webs his hands to his face

• "I hope you guys will handle this situation from here"

• He swings out of there

• Harley was in a daze, Flash has turned into a overexcited puppy and MJ was suspicious because she was like 67% is was Peter

• I mean come on he could see the monster so either he was a demigod or mortal with the vision and mortals tends to ignore the demigod stuff. Also the fact that he didn't came to Camp last year when Spiderman started appearing and this year he came up with a flimsy excuse

• So after getting back at Camp while Flash and Harley were busy telling about their encounter to everyone MJ slipped out to IM Peter

• Peter was in his room in Stark Tower, and thinking back it was a big neon sign about Peter being Spiderman

• "Hey MJ"

• "You're Spiderman "

• "W-What?"

• "You're Spiderman and you saved Harley, Flash and me from cyclops"

• "Nice one, MJ"

• MJ gave him her stop-the-BS glare

• "Ok, ok, but don't tell anyone "

• "I won't but you are a dumbass who revealed that you are either a demigod or mortal with vision by coming between our fight and now the whole camp knows some one will soon join the dots and find out you are Spiderman"

• "Would it hurt you to be a little positive MJ"

• "Yes and who else knows "

• "Aunt May, Ned, Mr Stark and now you"

• "Good, try to keep that way"

• "Ok, any other questions "

• "Well aren't scared shitless of spiders, how does that work for you "

• "Don't remind me, I still have nightmares from when I was bit by the radioactive spider at OsCorp during our field trip"

• "Interesting way of telling me how you got your power and I should go before someone comes to find me and overhear our conversation "

• "Do you have to scare me about accidentally revealing my identity to everyone, it's hardly been 10 mins since you found out"

• "Yes and bye loser I gotta go"

( I have some more ideas so there definitely will be a Part 5 just don't know when)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 5

Part 7

Part 6

Part 8

#peter parker #harley keener #parkner #michelle jones #flash thompson #tony stark #irondad #clint barton #captain america #son of athena! peter #son of hephaestus! harley #son of apollo! clint #son of aphrodite! flash #daughter of ares! mj #daughter of ares! michelle #pjoverse au #abbie keener #daughter of vulcan! abbie

56 notes · View notes

letterboxd · 5 years

Photo

All the Cinephiles!

Talking films with filmmakers at TIFF 2019, including Bong Joon-ho, Beanie Feldstein and Daniel Radcliffe.

The 2019 Toronto International Film Festival brought pay-offs for the Letterboxd community from some heavily anticipated world premieres: Taika Waititi’s “anti-hate satire” Jojo Rabbit, Rian Johnson’s entertaining whodunnit, Knives Out, Marielle Heller’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Todd Phillips’ Joker, and the Canadian premieres of big-hitters like Palme d’Or winner Parasite, The Lighthouse, Bacurau and Marriage Story.

The following films also went over well with the Letterboxd members in attendance: Blood Quantum, Saint Maud, Color Out of Space, La belle époque, Waves, 37 Seconds, The Burnt Orange Heresy, About Endlessness, The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão, Uncut Gems, The Obituary of Tunde Johnson, Dolemite Is My Name, Just Mercy and documentaries The Australian Dream and Collective.

We took the chance to ask some of the many filmmakers on the ground in Toronto about films they love (and the films they were there to represent).

Choi Woo-shik, Bong Joon-ho and Song Kang-ho at the Toronto premiere of ‘Parasite’. / Photo courtesy of TIFF/Tommaso Boddi.

Parasite

“All the cinephiles, the film geeks!”

We had just one question for Bong Joon-ho: how does he feel about Parasite being not just our highest rated film this year, but this decade? “I’m so happy with that. All the cinephiles, the film geeks! Me, also the cinephile, so I’m very happy with that news, thank you!”

Choi Woo-shik, who plays Ki Woo, the son in Parasite’s poorer family, described what it’s like to be directed by the acclaimed filmmaker. “This is my second time working with director Bong. He gives very friendly but subtle, very descriptive direction to actors, so I think that gave us a lot of confidence to act better.”

His favorite scene to film? “It must be the scene where the whole family’s drinking together in our semi-basement, right before my friend comes from work and gives me the stone. It was really fun working with director Bong and Song Kang-ho as my father. It was perfect.”

‘Parasite’ opens in US cinemas on October 11.

Producers Debra Hayward and Alison Owen, actors Beanie Feldstein, Alfie Allen, writer Caitlin Moran and director Coky Giedroyc. / Photo courtesy of TIFF/Phil Faraone.

How to Build a Girl

“That’s someone who’s really enjoying writing.”

Beanie Feldstein, admired for her work in Booksmart and Lady Bird, hit the TIFF red carpet for famed feminist writer Caitlin Moran’s adaptation of her semi-autobiographical novel, How to Build a Girl. Feldstein is a riot as Wolverhampton teen Johanna Morrigan, who reinvents herself as “Dolly Wilde”, a rock critic and “lady-sex-pirate”. Feldstein promised Letterboxd that if Moran’s next two books about Morrigan, which have been optioned by the same producing team, are also adapted for the screen, she’s in for the trilogy. “Of course! I mean, she’s my girl! I feel so protective of Johanna and I love her so much.”

We asked the reigning queen of the coming-of-age genre about the films that she loved, growing up: “I grew up obsessed with Funny Girl. Fanny Brice is my idol! Bridesmaids, my senior year of high school, was, like, the best movie ever. It was the most memorable theater-going experience of my life.”

How to Build a Girl is Caitlin Moran’s first film screenplay. (Working with her sister, she has previously adapted their family life for the British sitcom Raised by Wolves.) We asked Moran which screenwriters she most admires. “Oh my gosh. Who do I really love? If you read the scripts of Bruce Robinson, who did Withnail and I and How to Get Ahead in Advertising, those scripts read beautifully. All the description is there; he describes the sky looking the color of burnt sugar. That’s someone who’s really enjoying writing and you feel that vivacity come through on the page and in the character of Withnail. I love Bruce Robinson’s scripts.

“Juno was my favorite film of the last ten years. The way that that story was told just made me incredibly happy. I just love Diablo Cody so much. Like, when you read her stuff you feel her heart, sometimes her groin, and her massively exploding soul! So that’s what I’m always looking for. I just want to see things on screen that look real, that someone went ‘I’m going to have to write this or bust’. I hate films that look like someone went, ‘Oh, we’d better make a film that looks like a film’. I want people to have sat down and done a list of things where they’re, like, ‘What would I like to see on screen that I’ve never seen before?’

“And that’s what we tried to do with How to Build a Girl. I just literally, when I was writing the book, just [had] a list of things that I’d never heard anybody talk about with girls.”

‘How to Build a Girl’ does not yet have a scheduled release date.

Willem Dafoe, Robert Eggers and Robert Pattinson. / Photo courtesy of TIFF/Tasos Katopodis.

The Lighthouse

“I think the fart jokes work.”

The Lighthouse, directed by Robert Eggers and co-written with his brother, Max, is a film that the word “bonkers” has been thrown around a lot to describe. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson go head-to-head in the black-and-white, claustrophobic, psychedelic and disarmingly funny psychological horror.

Max told us: “I came up with the original conceit that, you know, the sort of horror-genre of a lighthouse, I’d never seen done. And then Rob needed a writing partner. Well, actually, he had said to me, ‘Do you mind if I steal this lighthouse idea?’ And I was like, ‘Sure, fine, whatever,’ not knowing where it would land me eventually!”

Writing as brothers, says Max, involved “a lot of turpentine being drank! That’ll make sense for people who see it later. No, I’m just joking. It was a perfect fit. We trust each other, and I think that’s the big thing about writing teams is you gotta trust each other. And brothers, you know, it’s easy. You’d hope it would be easy. Sometimes it’s not.”

When we suggested that the brotherly relationship likely influenced a lot of the flatulence comedy in The Lighthouse, Max agreed: “Yeah, again, it’s one of those things where we took risks. Comedy is about that. You’ve gotta be able to be honest and trust yourselves. We didn’t know how it was going to play but, thankfully, I think the fart jokes work.” (When asked at the TIFF Q&A whether those farts were real, Dafoe replied: “Half and half.”)

Robert, when asked about the film he remembers as inspiring him to think about filmmaking, immediately offered Star Wars, particularly because of the available behind-the-scenes coverage that aided the “discovery process”. Max couldn’t recall the first film that inspired him into a movie-making career, but “one that reaffirmed my work would be a film by Elem Klemov called Come and See, which is the greatest, one of the best films I’ve ever seen. Amazing film.”

‘The Lighthouse’ opens in US cinemas on October 18.

Taika Waititi at the TIFF premiere of ‘Jojo Rabbit’. / Photo courtesy of TIFF/George Pimentel.

Jojo Rabbit

“Adults are ridiculous.”

“To me, Kak was so visceral and real.” That’s Jojo Rabbit producer Chelsea Winstanley talking about her imaginary childhood friend, for whom her family would set a place at the table and open doors, at her instruction. Jojo Rabbit’s writer-director Taika Waititi is also Winstanley’s husband, so her producing role naturally started early in the process, when they would share stories at home about childhood imaginary friends. Waititi plays the title character’s imaginary confidante: a stupid, vain, petulant and badly-dressed version of Nazi despot Adolf Hitler. It’s a character not found in ‘Caging Skies’, the Christine Leunens novel from which the film was adapted.

“We talked a lot, shared stories like that, so I think it’s very clever that he introduced that,” Winstanley explains. “It’s almost like we want to have some kind of heroes in our lives but we don’t know if they’re good or bad. Jojo doesn’t know the actions of adults. We’re just ridiculous. Adults are ridiculous. So it’s a really incredible way to show this kid that [Hitler is] not such a great hero.”

Winstanley, a director herself, was last at TIFF with the female-directed anthology film Waru, and produced the acclaimed documentary Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen, which was picked up by Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing and is currently available on Netflix. “It’s amazing how I get messages, emails from people around the world who have watched it, because they can, thanks to Ava DuVernay. She championed this film to get out there. I have a massive girl crush on her.”

On the topic of inspiring women, Roman Griffin Davis, who has been gaining notice for his title role, praised his acting coach, New Zealand actor Rachel House: “She’s properly amazing. She’s a great actress and she’s very good at teaching acting. She kind of taught me how to act. Apart from my mother as well!” Fun fact: House is a long-time collaborator of Waititi’s (and voices Gramma Tala in Moana).

At the Jojo Rabbit Q&A, actor Stephen Merchant revealed the inspiration for his Nazi Gestapo officer: “I don’t think it’s going to come as a shock to anyone that I obviously watched Raiders of the Lost Ark. The great Ronald Lacey performance as the Nazi Gestapo officer… he’s very scary and terrifying so that to me seemed like a great guide; you can be comic but every so often you just turn on that chill factor.”

Meanwhile, Jojo Rabbit production designer Ra Vincent told us that the film Life is Beautiful—and the personal interests of filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson—were his key influences for the film’s design. “I’ve had quite a long relationship working with Peter Jackson and being around his interests, which are First World War memorabilia and stories. So I’ve had an opportunity to see how close to people’s hearts these stories are, and how it’s important to protect them.”

As for the films that made him want to be a filmmaker, Vincent, who began his movie career as a model maker, replied: “I think Star Wars did it to me. And also, oddly enough, Medusa [Ray Harryhausen’s work in Clash of the Titans], because of the claymation aspect to it. That’s my background.” Vincent is already working with Waititi on his next project, “a very nice little feel-good film about the American Samoa soccer team of 2011. It’s exciting to do a job at the beach!” (Michael Fassbender is reportedly in talks to play the team’s coach.)

‘Jojo Rabbit’ opens in the US on October 18.

Rhys Darby, Daniel Radcliffe and Samara Weaving. / Photo courtesy of TIFF/Phil Faraone.

Guns Akimbo

“Life’s too short to work with assholes.”

Daniel Radcliffe hit the red carpet this year for New Zealand director Jason Lei Howden’s Guns Akimbo, the follow-up to his micro-budget, metal-horror, splatter-fest Deathgasm. Also starring Samara Weaving and Rhys Darby, Guns Akimbo finds Radcliffe drawn into a live-streamed game in which guns have been bolted to his hands. It’s a far cry from Harry Potter and, looking over his recent output, we couldn’t help but comment that he must be having the time of his life picking roles as far from the boy-wizard as possible.

“I mean, I’m looking to be happy and live a nice life,” Radcliffe replied. “I’m very fortunate to be in a position where I can really pick and choose what I wanna do. No actor is in that position. That’s such a gift, so I’m very lucky to just get to work on stuff that I love and is maybe, I am told, weird, but I love it. And, yeah, also life’s too short to work with assholes, so I generally love to work with lovely people like Samara and Rhys and Jason. It’s very nice.”

Getting Radcliffe to name the film that made him want to work in movies is a tricky ask, since he started out so young. “That’s what’s weird about me is that I feel like most actors get into it by becoming a fan of film and then, like, ‘I wanna be an actor,’ whereas I was on film sets already by the time I realized I liked film. And I love film sets. I love being here. I feel like that’s what I fell in love with, was actually the experience of making things on set.” When pushed, he ponied up: “The first films I remember falling in love with are, like, Toy Story. Those are the first films that I remember seeing and going, ‘Oh, this is amazing’.”

Rhys Darby, who plays a down-and-out character named Glenjamin in Guns Akimbo, had been at the premiere of his friend Taika Waititi’s film the night before (Darby played Psycho Sam in Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople). “There’s nothing like it,” he said of Jojo Rabbit. “He manages every time to cast these fantastically comic-driven, gifted children, and [to] have so much pathos and heart. It was a triumph. I’m just jealous I wasn’t in it!”

Asked what the film was that made him want to get into the entertainment business, Darby responded: “Wow, that’s a good question. To be honest, I’ve always been a James Bond fan. I grew up watching the Roger Moore James Bonds, and it was the epic-ness of those 1980s films, which are ridiculous. The Roger Moore ones, there’s a lot of humor in them, there’s gadgets, and there’s these great locations, and I kind of dreamed of the idea of maybe being part of that world. It just seemed so ridiculous that it would never happen to a kid from Pakuranga, but it’s kinda happening!”

Darby recently achieved a dream of visiting Bond creator Ian Fleming’s home. “I actually went to Goldeneye! Yeah! Who would have thought that I’d get to go to Ian Fleming’s resort in Jamaica, and sit on his chair, where he wrote these novels? That was really special to me.”

‘Guns Akimbo’ does not yet have a scheduled release date.

#TIFF #tiff 2019 #TIFF19 #jojo rabbit #guns akimbo #parasite #bong joon-ho #daniel radcliffe #rhys darby #caitlin moran #beanie feldstein #the lighthouse #robert eggers #max eggers #james bond #chelsea winstanley #roman griffin davis #Scarlett Johansson

7 notes · View notes

pi-cat000 · 6 years

Text

Girl who made the night sky: p4

Summery: To return home Shikako splits herself infinitely across dimensions. A fault in one of the splits results in a discorporated Shikako stranded in the Naruto canon-verse.

part 3 here

part 4: Sakura has a nightmare

- Link to Juno-nine’s original post which inspired this work: Shikako hitches a ride with canon!Sakura

- My original post, Sakura continues to investigate under my Fanfic account: Starcat000

She was standing in the middle of a dirt field. In her hand was an awkwardly sized scroll. Across the field stands of people were watching in silent anticipation.

She was moving, swinging the scroll around till it hit the ground. Ink blossomed out from the point of contact, spiraling across the rock, dirt and grass. A city of stone rose up around her. Giant pillars of rock.

Was she doing that?

She was moving. Fast. Faster then she had ever moved. Seals flourished under her feet as she ran. Her opponent blocked her with waves of sand. Lighting danced between her fingers. Red hair flashed under the sun and her opponent ducked away. In the distance crowds were cheering. They were cheering for her. The world seemed to explode outward. The stone pillars were falling. She was falling. It was okay. Sand was cushioning her fall.

Then it was dark. The warmth faded to be replaced with a creeping cold.

Dust. It floated in the air, catching stray rays of light. A stone room. A stone floor covered in red. Red as far as the eye could see. The world was red. Shadows moved just out of sight, dancing out of reach. Something huge and unfathomable stirred.

It watched.

It knew she was there.

Fear, panic. She was trying to run but she had no body to run with. She was trying to escape but whatever it was had pinned her in place. She was shadow. She was nothing.

She was falling. Away. Away from everything.

Down, down, down.

Into the dark and shadow. It pressed down from all sides, sealing her in. Ahead a mass of dense backness blocked the way, offering a reprieve from the chaos. All she needed to do was sink. Sink and let it take her away.

/!WaKe uP!/

Sakura jerked, flinging herself upright.

Her muscles tense. Her breath short.

The world slammed down around her. Heavy and real. Instead of the suffocating darkness, there were soft blankets. Slowly, her vision seemed to clear. The dim outline of her wardrobe greeted her. For a few seconds she couldn’t breathe, her chest tight. The shadows around her wobbled and shifted like long appendages, reaching across the room.

Kako was a churning mass of frantic concern, hovering just out of reach. Sakura fumbled for her lamp, switching it on. Warm light illuminated her room, softening its edges. The shadows were just shadows. For several seconds Sakura sat in silence, listening to her hash breaths and pounding heart.

/Okay?/

The question and its underlying concern penetrated her disjointed thought. She swallowed.

“Okay,” she repeated dumbly.

“Okay. I’m Okay,” her voice sounded hollow and wooden in her silent room, bouncing off the walls. She shivered. Kako seemed to calm, pulling away, distancing herself.

“What was that?” Sakura asked, trying to pull Kako back in. She didn’t want to be alone. Not after that.

/A Dream/

“That was a dream,” she whispered. It had been so real. The sound of her voice was absorbed into her carpet. Barely audible. She shivered, swallowing and pulling her knees to her chest. Silence ticked by, slow and uncomfortable. In the back of her head, Kako watched, also silent, reminding her of the dream. That thing had also watched from the shadows. It had seen her. What if it was still watching? Her breath hitched and the sound echoed, impossibly loud. Even the beat of her heart seemed too loud for the unnervingly silent room.

/Tea?/

The comparison shattered. Kako was Kako again, her concern palpable and warm. Sakura breathed, glancing up, shaking her legs free of the blanket. The movement felt good. Tea was a good idea. No way was she sleeping now. Quietly, she padded down the hallway and past her parent's room.

On first glance, the kitchen was dark and still. Closer inspection revealed the far window, half open, letting in the sound of crickets and the street outside. A soft breeze pulled at the drapes. Moonlight illuminated the dining table in a soft glow and reflected on the metal appliances.

The motions of brewing tea, boiling water and finding cups, calmed her nerves, giving her something to focus her thoughts on. She poured a cup for herself and, after a second of hesitation, poured one for Kako as well, placing it opposite her own. For a few minutes she sat, watching the steam on both drinks rise, dispersing into the air.

/Better?/

Sakura took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of herbs and spices. She did feel better.

“Yeah,”

She took a small sip of the hot tea.

“Thanks,” she mumbled. All that fuss over a nightmare. And she called herself a ninja. What sort of Shinobi was scared of their own bedroom?

Kako stirred uneasily, /No thanks needed/.

Sakura focused inwards but Kato had pulled away, cornering herself off and out of reach. Maybe the dream had disturbed Kako as well. When you shared your emotions with someone you began to pick up on these things. She thought of the red and that thing, that terrifying thing watching.

A full body shudder. Maybe it had been more than a dream. Where they in danger?

Kako, sensing her distress, returned, edging back. A new warmth tickled the edges of her mind as Kako smoothed over the worst of her anxiety. No. They weren’t in danger. She took a sip of tea and relished its fruity taste. Whatever that ‘not-dream’ was, she wasn’t in danger. She trust Kako.

In fact, now she thought about it- before the whole thing had spiralled down into a nightmare-it had been fun, exciting even. She had been fighting someone in some sort of tournament. No. That wasn’t right. It hadn’t been her fighting. She had been more of a passenger, reliving a past memory. Like those times she dreamt about Taijutsu class. So, if it hadn’t been her then…

It had to have been Kako. She was almost 99% certain. Sakura, shadowy monsters momentarily forgotten, turned her attention to Kako.

Intellectually, she knew ninjas had the capabilities to literally move mountains. She supposed she had never internalized what this might mean. The way Kako had combined seals and Taijutsu and Fūinjutsu. The speed, moving so fast the world became a blur. Explosions at the touch of a hand. It had been incredible. Better than anything Sakura thought possible. Better than anything she thought she was capable of.

“That was you fighting against the red-haired man wasn’t it?” How could it have been anything but?

Kako didn’t respond but her silence was enough for Sakura.

“You were amazing,” she muttered to her cup. Not for the first time Sakura wondered who or what Kako had been before she had ended up in her head. Did she resent being stuck with someone like her? Someone weak.

Kako remained silent, seemingly surprised by her words.

/Possible for you/

Sakura snorted, “How? I’m not strong. All I can do is read and memories stuff.”

She tried not to let the taunts of her peers influence her but, in situations like this, it was hard.

/Training/ Kako declared with finality, amusement echoing outwards. That was easy for her to say, Kako was a disembodied voice. When would she even have time for extra training? She bearly had enough time to pursue her own interests as it was.

/Anyone can be strong/ Kako encouraged, sounding like she actually believed it.

Maybe if she started waking up earlier she would be able to fit more training in. It wouldn’t be fun but if she managed her time correctly then perhaps she could work something out.

“If, hypothetically, I wanted to be able to do things like that where would I even start?”

Kako gave off an amused hum, /Stamina/.

Sakura scowled. Her least favourite of the shinobi arts.

/Basics first / Kako reiterated, almost gleefully. She was getting the feeling that Kako was planning something unpleasant.

/Stamina is important/.

“Okay, fine, I’ll wake up early from now on and work on my stamina,” she agreed already regretting bringing it up. She just had to keep believing that this was better for her in the long run. Seals were all well and good but she needed to be able to apply them in combat, meaning she had to be faster, stronger, smarter, and all-around better than she was now.

She thought back to the ‘not-dream,’ to the sensation of flying and the ground to disappearing beneath her steps. She wanted to fly like that. She wanted to never feel that powerless again. Sakura shivered. Whether it be in a dream or in real life.

With the power of good time management, anything was possible.

#DOS #dreaming of sunshine #shikako nara #gardens shikako #fanfiction #naruto

18 notes · View notes

thewolfmancometh · 5 years

Text

That Time I Talked to Robert Englund – October 3, 2017

I’ve never been a big A Nightmare on Elm Street fan. There, I SAID IT! But, in my defense, I am 1) an idiot and 2) not a fan of any particular franchise, with Nightmare on Elm Street being no exception. I like the first movie and think A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and Freddy vs. Jason are a lot of fun, but just never made a strong connection with Freddy Krueger. New Nightmare, on the other hand, is ambitious and fascinating, and as a big fan of Scream, I appreciate the ways in which Wes Craven began toying with the more meta elements of the genre. Despite not being a huge fan, when I had the chance to speak with Robert Englund, there was no way I was going to pass that up. Not only is Englund an icon for his work as Krueger, but he has starred in dozens of other genre efforts, making him a contemporary horror icon alongside the likes of Lon Chaney Jr. or Boris Karloff. While the reason for our talk was about his film Nightworld, I managed to guide the discussion towards his more famous role.

Robert Englund – October 3, 2017

WolfMan: Thanks for speaking with me, Robert, how’s your day going so far?

Robert Englund: Pretty good. I’m doing laundry. I got to fly to Spain tomorrow. I just finished a big virtual reality project with Alexandre Aja.

WM: Oh, that’s great. I’m a big fan of his work.

RE: I’m going to be a guest at a film festival in Barcelona with Guillermo del Toro and Alexandre, and I’m really looking forward to seeing The Shape of Things, Guillermo’s new movie that everybody’s talking about, because I’m a huge fan of his.

So I’m looking forward to some red wine, some tapas, and seeing Guillermo’s new movie. But I’ve got 10 days worth of underwear I’ve got to wash, because I’ve just gotten back from somewhere else. So I’m packing today, but I made time for you.

WM: I appreciate it, sir. And I’m a fan of Aja so I look forward to what you two are cooking up.

RE: Oh, he’s so good. I love the actors in his movie Horns. There’s just some terrific new talent in that movie.

WM: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple…

RE: Yeah, and he was mentored by Wes Craven a bit, you know, and approved for the remake of Wes’s film. Gosh, I think he’s even worked second unit with Alexander Cuaron. I’m not sure but I think I heard that somewhere. Don’t quote me on that.

WM: Too late.

RE: But I mean, I think he did, and Cuaron is a genius too, you know. I love all those guys. It’s just there’s such a great interpretation of new cinema coming from a certain Latin perspective that I really love. I mean, Robert Rodriguez, I just did his new animated show Spy Kids and I had to turn down his TV show From Dusk till Dawn because of a conflict. But I just really love his work and I love Guillermo’s work. I think Devil’s Backbone is one of my favorite movies.

It’s easy to love Pan’s Labyrinth but Devil’s Backbone is like one of the best ghost stories ever, and it’s political, and Eduardo Noriega fucks a girl with a wooden leg. I mean, what’s not to like, you know? That should be a double bill, you know. That and Romeo is Bleeding. “Amputee Fucking” starring Gary Oldman and Eduardo Noriega.

WM: You mention you’re doing laundry, so will that be part of the immersive virtual reality project you’re working on with Aja?

RE: No, doing laundry will not. But I’ll tell you, it’s like another world working with virtual reality. Oh my god. It’s crazy because there’s 10 cameras and each one of them, you have to check the memory card, you have to check the electrical impulse, you have to clean it. And for the first time ever, Alexandre had invented, well his people did, they’re called Future Lighthouse, but what they had invented, playback for virtual reality after every take. But you have to watch 10 playbacks because there’s 10 versions.

So you have to watch every one of them. So if you’re cooking in a scene and you really got something going, after every time they say cut, it’s like 45 minutes. So you really have to get into that. You have to re-pace yourself and sort of surrender to the camera because it’s really god on a virtual reality project.

WM: Well I know how why you have to wash so much underwear, that process sounds terrifying and exhausting.

RE: It was awful hot and we were in the woods and everything.

WM: To call you a genre icon feels like a bit of an understatement, as not only are many of your roles iconic, but also your own personality has a legacy all its own.

RE: Well I like to think of myself as, and this is what I want in my obituary, a veteran character actor, because veteran really implies you’ve done a lot, and I think I’m coming up here, I think I’m between 75 and 80 films now. Now, I don’t brag about that because I get drunk with Lance Henriksen, and he’s done 150 movies.

We were doing our toast to Bill Paxton a while back and I realized just how many movies Lance has been in. God almighty, and he calls some of them alimony movies. But still, that’s the life of a working actor. That’s what we are. We’re players, we’re troubadours. I spent the entire ’70s as an A-list sidekick and best friend. I worked with everybody from Henry Fonda to Barbara Streisand to Susan Sarandon to Jeff Bridges, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sally Field. I think I just quoted six Oscars right there.

I was starring with them. I was starring with those people in movies and doing nude scenes with them and fighting with them and shooting pool with them and playing their best friends. But that’s like a chapter. Then I became this TV star from a science fiction show that elevated special effects. That’s a chapter.

But during that time, I did this little independent horror movie for New Line Cinema, and I did it to work with Wes Craven because I really was curious. I really thought he was a talented guy, and then that made me international. That’s the great, happy accident that I got from being a genre actor. Wes taught me how to respect the genre. Then the world respected me. So that just like a natural volition after that. From then on, I just went wherever people wanted me and didn’t worry about career or image or anything like that.

I think somewhere along the line, I became a road company Vincent Price. When I got out of the makeup in 2003, I’d aged and I got this craggy, Scottish face, and my beard came in white when I grew it in. It had been a little bit of red and brown before that. With my weird dirty blonde hair, now my beard came in really nice and gray with some white streaks in it, and I looked sort of like Max von Sydow. I looked a little bit like old George C. Scott. I looked a little bit like Trevor Howard, the old English actor. A combination of all that, and it really served me well. As an older actor, I began playing the professor and the scientist and the stepfather and the old poacher. And the psychoanalyst. So I never would’ve probably been offered those roles because I’ve been this happy-go-lucky sidekick. Nerd, best friend.

In the ’70s, I did a lot of comedy in the theater, and because of my face, and because of my dues in fantasy and science fiction and horror, I’m allowed these roles now. I’m asked to play these parts. Like, the one we’re calling about, Nightworld is an example of that. It’s my fussy little Eastern European contemporary Van Helsing character.

It’s fun for me, at my age and I’ve got three movies coming out. It’s just fun to still be wanted.

WM: You might be most well-known for Freddy Krueger, but you have dozens of roles people love. Personally, I’m fond of your role in Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer.

RE: Well you know, it’s strange because there’s a bigger fan base for retro horror than I realized, and practical horror. I get a lot of feedback on that one. But what’s great about Jack Brooks is kids can watch it. It’s real kid-proof. I do tons and tons of cartoon voiceovers all the time. I just finished doing the new animated Spy Kids for Robert Rodriguez. But I’m always giving a picture of me with all my cartoon characters to the kids if I’m at a convention or a film festival. But I feel very safe about telling them to watch that. Also, I think, on early mornings now, sometimes on SYFY channel, and on Robert Rodriguez’s El Ray channel, they run V, and V‘s great for kids. Kids love V.

And it’s nice for them because it sort of stretches their attention spans because it’s a miniseries. Then a series. So I finally have things I can recommend kids to see, other than my cartoons. But yeah, Jack Brooks was fun to do. I did the old Goat, what do they call it? You know, they put the kind of goat bladder skin on you, and then they fill it with air, and they did it off of a makeup of my own face. They did pieces, I think it was on my temples and my jowls and my wattles on my neck. I don’t think it was in the middle of my forehead, but they brought the seam of the piece up like on a diagonal above my eye. So when they expanded my head, it really worked. It’s a really great practical effect. That was fun to do.

WM: Everyone loves Freddy Krueger and obviously that’s your most famous role, but is there another character you’ve played, whether it was from a horror, comedy, or drama film, that you wish got more attention?

RE: The thing is, with the new paradigm of streaming and cable and Netflix and … I’ve got on-demand, among other things, and I can go every Friday to the movie section: New Releases, Sundance, Independent. I can click on Horror and I can watch trailers for a half-hour for free of all the new horror movies that come out. Then on another site on on-demand, they’re all listed alphabetically. So people are finding this stuff. This is what’s great. I have one, when I do my homage to Donald Pleasence, I have one called, “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.”

I’m really proud of it and it has some terrific acting in it. Scott Wilson, Zelda Rubinstein, the lead boy, Nathan Baesel. And, by the way, it has a great sequel script, but I think that the producers want to see if they can peddle it as a limited series. But it’s a terrific, terrific movie within a movie. Just a great sequel script with doppelgangers and everything going on. Hollywood doppelgangers. So that movie, now, is actually probably achieved official cult status and gotten discovered.

My business manager had a movie, a little gem called “Suicide Kings”. It didn’t do any business when it came out, but it was on Cinemax every Saturday night for a year. Quentin Tarantino saw it, and then he put it in a box set with Jackie Brown, a movie I love, and Reservoir Dogs. So now, it’s a full-established cult classic. So that happens a lot with films and you can’t really predict it.

I did films in the ’70s that I’m really proud of that just didn’t quite click. I did one called “Stay Hungry” that’s about the new south of Jimmy Carter, and it’s that shift in change. It’s also the first movie that addresses the vanity of the fitness craze and whether it’s a good thing or not, the whole going to the gym rat thing. But it also deals with exploitation and real estate and gentrification. Also roots, it really deals with your roots.

I was hanging out on that movie with Scatman Crothers and talking about The Shining and I was getting my back massaged with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was getting drunk with Sally Field while she sang AM rock n’ roll hits like karaoke. So it was just this great chapter of my life. But that movie never clicked, even though the guy that directed it had just directed Five Easy Pieces. So you never know.

I’ve had projects that we didn’t fully finance. I spent a year in Italy scouting for a great Russian horror fable, and I had Christopher Lee promised and Donald Sutherland, and I had Amanda Plummer and maybe Lance Henriksen, and maybe the guy from Under the Tuscan Sun and maybe Jessica Lowndes. I had all feelers out to all these people, and some promises that I’d used up a lot of my capital and a lot of friendship on it. Then the recession hit, and the European financing fell down.

But that’s one that is gone with the wind. But for every one that’s gone with the wind, there’s something new in the hopper and something new on the back burner, and something new coming out. I did a movie with giant puppets last year. I know it takes long because it’s animation. But I’m waiting to see what that’s going to look like. Chris McDonald’s in that. A lot of good people. So it’ll be interesting to see how that comes out.

WM: You mentioned Donald Pleasence earlier and, with a new Halloween on the way, petitions sprang up to get you to play Dr. Loomis in the new film. Is that something that interests you at all?

RE: Well I hear this stuff, but you know the internet is so crazy. You know it. I mean, we know now that every time on the internet you saw the word Benghazi or the time you saw the words “emails about Hillary Clinton,” we know now that’s a plant. That wasn’t your friend. That wasn’t your buddy, that wasn’t your mother. That wasn’t somebody that you know saying, “Did you hear?” It was like a plant by Russians in a troll farm in Macedonia in an industrial center. A bunch of poor students in crappy turtlenecks doing that. I mean that’s unbelievable to me.

The same thing happens with fake projects because people get that energy going out there and it looks real, and then sometimes they get lucky and get financing because they get a lot of hits. But no one has ever talked to my agent. Now, I love that guy that’s producing it from Eastbound and Down.

WM: Danny McBride and David Gordon Green.

RE: I love Danny McBride. I love Danny McBride, and I think he loves horror, just like Jordan Peele, and I think he’s probably going to do a great job with it. Because this is a guy that can do anything he wanted, and knows Robert Downey, you know, the richest man since God, and he can probably do anything he wants and he chose Halloween, which he’s got a lot of pressure on him and he’s got a lot of burden to do it right. But he’s got Jamie Lee Curtis, it sounds like. He’s going to figure it out right.

But I can think of English actors that are probably better than me for that role. There’s a couple I can think of. One or two are in Game of Thrones. One or two were in Harry Potter, just actors I love. But the thing is, I’ve already done my salute to Donald Pleasence, who I loved all my life.

Since the ’60s when I was in college, I’ve loved his movies. I discovered him in a weird little Roman Polanski movie. I’ve always been a fan of his. Then he was a big Pinter star, and we were all in love with Sam Shepard and Harold Pinter back in the day, and Edward Albee. So I loved that stuff, yeah. But I’ve sort of done that role now in Behind the Mask. I don’t really need to do it again.

And I also, because of the baggage I bring, as a genre actor, I could possibly throw it out of balance. Although I do understand the quest. But if I was casting, I could probably improve on Robert Englund. I look like him, and if I shave my head it would be very interesting and shaved it would be very interesting. I do a very good English accent because I went to school over there. But I don’t think that’s in the cards. But I do appreciate the fan love.

WM: Well speaking of fan speculation and the return of iconic figures, you’ve said that you’ve moved on from the role of Freddy Krueger, but support someone like Kevin Bacon taking on the character if there was a new movie.

RE: Well, Kevin did a great horror movie called “Stir of Echoes.” Kevin was in Friday the 13th. I know way down deep, Kevin has a respect for horror. He’s not one of those guys that goes on the talk show and says, “This isn’t a horror movie. It’s a psychological drama.” There’s a lot of people that still put down the genre.

Wes taught me to respect it. We used to all have to sit by the kitchen door in the commissary at the studios. Well now we’re top 10 every week, and now the horror, science fiction, and fantasy people are running the town. Every week, we have a top 10 movie and I’m really proud of that. Kevin, I really think of Kev, even though he’s a good-looking, rock n’ roll guy, I think he’s really a true character actor. I think he might have fun with it.

And he’s the right size and weight. I think it would be interesting. But it all comes down to the script, and I hope they don’t remake the original again. I hope they jump forward after the Jackie Earle Haley one. Maybe do part two, or maybe go and combine part three and four. God, I hope they don’t remake part one again. I don’t think that’s a good idea.

via WordPress https://ift.tt/2KuTeRv

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes

lindyhunt · 6 years

Text

How Nikki Yanofsky Found Her Sound and Herself on Her Newest Album

To quote Nikki Yanofsky, it’s been “a minute” since the 24-year-old singer released new music. You remember Yanofsky. She sang I Believe, the theme song–and certified banger–from the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. It was basically our unofficial National Anthem that winter. But, you might also know her as the youngest performer ever to headline the highly-regarded Montreal International Jazz Festival when she was just 12 years old.

But after taking a short hiatus to focus on truly finding her sound, Yanofsky is releasing an album that’s 100 per cent true to herself. The first single Big Mouth debuted today. She wrote it in response to the Women’s March in New York City earlier this year. An accompanying video also dropped, shot by Emma Higgins, who’s previously won a JUNO for Video of the Year for her work with Mother Mother.

When it comes to having a big mouth, this singer isn’t afraid to admit she’s got one. And we’re very excited to see all the things she’ll say (and sing) with it. Check out our interview with Yanofsky below, as well as the brand new Big Mouth music video.

youtube

What’s been different about the process of working on this album, in comparison to the previous work you’ve released?

I think this is the first album that I’ve really found my sound and known very clearly what I want to say. Every song is written very clearly and with intention. It just feels like me for the first time compared to all my other stuff. I mean, everything I’ve worked on has a special place in my heart, obviously, but I feel like right now, it’s the most me because I’m the most me I’ve ever been. You know, it’s different working on an album at 16 and working on an album at 24, I feel like I’ve found myself.

Because this album has so much of yourself in it, does that mean you write all your own stuff? Is the music based on real-life experiences?

Yeah, so I write or co-write all of my own music and it’s definitely based on my own experiences. I’d say mostly all, because sometimes I’ll hear a story and think, oh that would be a cool song and I get inspired. But really, my strongest stuff is stuff I’ve really lived because it comes across genuine. And it’s not necessarily even an experience. Like in this song, Big Mouth, I’m not really telling a story, it’s more me commenting on a movement. It’s about having women be proud to speak their mind and to stand up for themselves and to never dull their shine for anybody. That’s what I want the song to do. I’ve always been a kind of in-your-face person, but I’ve definitely had my fair share of moments where I’ve felt, oh maybe I shouldn’t have said that or just felt ashamed. I wanted to write a song to remind women everywhere that no, never be ashamed of being you.

You wrote Big Mouth in response to the Women’s March in New York earlier this year.

Yeah, I actually couldn’t make it to the march, but I saw it on the news and I felt so inspired watching woman after woman speak and be so poised and articulate. It felt like history and I just wanted to have something forever to remind me of that moment. Songs, in my opinion, are like tattoos. You write them and you put them out and then they’re there forever, you can’t take them away. I just wanted to have a tattoo of that moment in my head.

I love the concept of twisting that “Big Mouth” perception from a negative into a positive. Why did you decide to release this song as the single? Why did you want this to be the first taste of the new album?

I think I wanted Big Mouth to be the first taste because in terms of messaging, it’s exactly what I wanted to say to the world. And it’s been a while – like I havn’t released anything in a minute—and I wanted the first thing I said to be important and to have a real sense of self. This is a song that’s so me and I think a lot of women can identify with it too. My whole life my family has always called me “Big Mouth”, that’s like their nickname for me. It’s because I don’t stop talking, I don’t stop singing, whatever it is, I’m using my voice. And I was like, what if I use that voice to encourage others to do the same? That’s why I thought Big Mouth was an important single. I think also, with the current climate of the world, it’s important to have a song that celebrates women like this and doesn’t have to be so serious all the time. You know, you can also play to the softer sides and the funny sides and the sassy sides of women.

View this post on Instagram

ITS OUT!!!!! Listen with the link in my bio !! I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!!! 👄🎉🎉🎉🎉👄 #femmefortefriday

A post shared by Nikki Yanofsky (@officialnikkiy) on Sep 13, 2018 at 9:00pm PDT

You mentioned that you haven’t released new music in a while. Has there been a reason for the break?

I think there’s been a bit of a break because I wanted to get it right and I’m definitely a perfectionist. I think up until now, I was hesitant to release anything because it didn’t feel like me yet. I was still finding my sound while I was finding myself and I think now they’ve both coincided. Now, I feel stronger than ever with where I’m at, from a professional standpoint musically and also personally.

Speaking of your sound, on this album do you think you lean more towards your jazz background or more towards pop?

It’s really melted together. There’s definitely a lot of jazz influence in what I do, because vocally I stem from jazz so everything I sing–even if it’s in a pop world–will have a bit of that inflection. But this album is really walking the line of both. I call it like a very happy, playful, fun Amy Winehouse-type. I mean Amy is a huge influence of mine. In the past I’d play someone something and they’d be like, okay so describe your sound, describe what you are, and it was hard. But now, when they hear it, they get it. I don’t have to describe anything. They can picture what I would look like, what I would dress like… and that’s great.

Have you felt that industry pressure in the past to lean more towards the pop side?

Not necessarily to lean towards pop, but just to pick a lane. I don’t know, for me, music is genre-less. Good music is good music, right? I never wanted to have to commit myself to just one and I feel like now I don’t.

Where does that love for jazz come from? It’s not necessarily a typical sound, especially for such a young artist.

Definitely not. I think my love for jazz came from finding Ella Fitzgerald on iTunes when I was like 11. I just stumbled upon her. But I was always into older music growing up. I listened to a ton of Motown–like Aretha Franklin is one of my biggest influences. Who else? Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, there were so many. And then Ray Charles was kind of walking that jazzy line and then I got into Ella, Sarah Vaughan, Amy Winehouse–who was at the time, really big–and Nina Simone. Something drew me to it. I can’t even really explain it, it just felt like I’d found my sound.

At 12 years old you walked out on stage at Montreal Jazz Fest to sing, I can’t even imagine having that confidence. Were you nervous?

You’d be surprised. I think in a way ignorance is bliss. When you’re so young, you can’t really grasp how big it really is. It kind of worked to my advantage. I think if I had been more self-aware I probably would’ve been more nervous, but because I was oblivious to it, I was just excited and confident and just went out there at 12 years old and performed for almost 100,000 people. But it’s funny because my confidence did go up and down. I started out super confident and then when I was a teenager and more aware of myself I went to being sort of unsure. But now, I feel super confident again.

Because you started so young, did you ever find it hard to find that balance between your music career and just being a teenager and growing up?

It’s funny, I never felt like I was missing out on anything because that was my normal. Because I started so young, I never had anything to compare it to so that was just my life, that was just normal for me. I think my parents also did a really good job of keeping me grounded and making sure I never missed out on important things, especially with friends and school. I did everything. I kind of had this double life, I always say I was kind of like Hannah Montana in high school!

Looking to the future, what are your hopes for your career?

I hope that I’m just able to sing for my whole life. I don’t know what that means for my career, I can’t predict the future, I just know that presently I’m so happy with where I’m at. I just want to take things one day at a time and keep this sense of peace and happiness and really work on just bettering myself as a musician and as a person. Obviously, I want as many people to hear this stuff as possible because that’s what my goal is as an artist, but even if this all just helps one person, then I’m good. I’m happy.

0 notes

mr-baradi · 7 years

Text

Erman LA interviews Sky Blu on life after LMFAO, new album

It’s been roughly a decade since SkyBlu, alongside his uncle RedFoo, broke into the mainstream as electronic dance duo LMFAO. From then, fame skyrocketed their brand into orbit with tracks synonymous with the club lifestyle like “Rock Party Anthem,” “Sexy and I Know It,” and “Shots,” solidifying their positions in pop culture and party-dom. While always rooted in hardcore hip hop, the duo rapped over electronic beats, something fresh at the time, giving their brand an untouchable spot in the music landscape. The accolades started piling, including a spot at Super Bowl XLVI, an international tour, and wins across the board at The Grammys, Teen Choice Awards, VMA’s, People’s Choice, Kids’ Choice, Juno, Billboard, Latin Billboard, Movie Awards, MuchMusic, VEVOCertified, World Music Awards, and other countless trophies. “Party Rock Anthem” sold over 10 mil. Hell, who could forget about that Shuffle Bot. Stardom came strong, as did more partying, more women, and more antics. To be fair, that was Sky in his 20’s.

Today, Sky (now 8ky or 8klyer 6ordy derived from his real name Skyler Gordy, 86 representing the year he was born) is flying solo, trekking a path that’s not so easy but worth the travel. While he’s forever grateful for the career LMFAO has helped him launch, the transition into 6ky is more an evolution than a continuation of who he was. Also, he’s just hit 30.

Fxck Yeah: Chaos to Consciousness comes in the form of a unique concept album with an equally ambitious release and promotional strategy. “Fxck Yeah,” as 8ky recites is an expression of true contentment. Collaborations include Grammy Latin nominated rapper Sensato, K.G. Superstar, Kitty K, Shev, and Chacho Jones. Embracing his deep, spiritual roots and his growth over time, Chaos to Consciousness delivers 8ky’s perspective on the duality of life and a “body of work” that fancies itself more of a movement than an album.

We’re transitioning into a new year, and you’ve personally just hit 30 which is a mile stone. For those of us who’ve known you for LMFAO, fill us in on the last 12 months. Any key moments?

It’s been amazing growing experience for me putting together the most intimate body of work so far, releasing it, and having a deep plan in promoting it. We’re going to promote this for the next two years, and this is one of my first interviews for this. In LMFAO, people kind of changed up the collaboration with me and RedFoo. I would write songs that I thought would help the brand and impress Foo because he is my uncle, 11 years older than me. I took some time off to really find who I am as an artist and really be able to express myself to the world. In 2016, I did just that. Fxck yeah.

Chaos to Consciousness. It’s honestly one of the coolest album names I’ve heard in a long time. Tell us how you chose this title.

It’s very deep. Growing up my father was very spiritual and studied all the world religions and was very philosophical. When I was young he taught me to meditate. Growing up I was always finding and ended up in 12 different schools. You know, I was the new guy and was good at sports so I’d take the jocks’ positions and girls. I’d have to throw down. I learned five different martial arts. After 12 different schools, I dropped out of school and never got a GED, lived in my car, and I was in the hood a lot. Things got crazy and we’d do really gnarly stuff. I could’ve went to jail for 25 years so I said, “No, I’m out.” I only did this stuff to make enough money for a studio and do my music. I saved enough money to go to Miami with my uncle. We toured the world. It wasn’t right away where things were poppin’. For a long time we did shows in front of three people. We eventually became one of the biggest groups. Then, came the temptation, the girls, everything at our fingertips. When Foo and I went separate ways I had a bad back injury and couldn’t walk for three months.

Damn. Really?

Yeah, man. I had all these things against me. And so…I’m all about art and creativity but now I’m about business. After parting ways with Foo I did two albums for free – one called Rebel Music and one called We Evolve Every Day, which was a collaboration with my boy Shwayze. I was constantly, you know, finding myself as an artist and creator and how I could express myself. I wanted to do something serious so I kept meditating, but at the same time I partied more and did more gnarly things. So, there’s this duality to life and I feel it’s so beautiful. That’s what joy is, when you have the balance of the hectic and the calm. I started off with seven songs, and even have three albums in the can that will come out after this. I did them out of order. I feel like this music comes through me and I listen to these songs over and over in my home studio. I figure out the best way for it to go. Then I’d be like, “Man, I don’t know if the world will be ready for this.” After seven songs I stopped writing and let it flow. The rest of the album just came from the heart. A lot of them were first takes. I found this unique relationship with my music. I’m writing so fast now. It’s amazing.

Do you feel a lot of this deep, profound way of making your new music comes with your age and where you are now?

When I hear a song I feel the concept and it resonates with what I’m going through in my life. I’ve seen so much, but I feel like I’m just starting at 30. We had, like, 13 tracks and I just kept going. We then had 25 songs. Everyone’s like, “We can’t put out 25 songs. But it all fits. How are we going to do this?” I talked to my boy Reek who’s my manager and I said my 30th birthday is coming up. That’s a big one. I’m never celebrating a birthday again. People only feel old because they believe they are. I told him we should come out with 30 songs for my 30th birthday. If you listen to the album, the first 15 are Chaos – that’s the overall vibe. The last 15 are Conscious. It’s like a gradient. It represents who I am. Coming from LMFAO, people expect me to be one thing. It’s kind of being more difficult than being a new artist because there are already expectations. I have to do something tremendous to show who I am. I’m here to be at the top and be one of the greatest to do it. The only way to do that is to create from the heart.

As we mentioned earlier, your base already knows you for LMFAO. While Chaos to Consciousness still carries some of those elements, it’s safe to say it goes in another direction. What can both old fans and new listeners expect? Thirty songs is a lot of content.

I really believe there’s something in the album for everyone. It really helped me grow. Some lyrics later on mean even more to me. A lot of people of who have listened, depending on where they are in life, resonate with certain songs. Some will connect more with the first 15 about girls, drinking, and drugs, because that’s where they are in life. They’re in the Chaos. I also have some very spiritual friends, some gurus, who are in their 60’s and 70’s who tell me the second half is unbelievable to them. Some people can listen to the first half and hear, “p*ssy this, p*ssy that” and think it’s just typical rap shit. But they see the story. The get to the second half and sense the body of work. For those who are at the point in their lives transitioning from Chaos to Consciousness, the second half means a lot more to them.

I know it’s like picking babies when artist is asked this but do you have a personal favorite off the record?

I believe it’s the spectrum of life. Each one of these resonates me in a different place in an equal way. When I wake up in the morning I may gravitate more towards “Fall in Line” but if I’m drunk at club it’s “Bon Appetit.” They’re all my favorite songs. Artists always say they’re never done with their art; it’s never finished. I don’t believe that anymore. When we were done we looked at each and said it took six of us to do this. We hugged other and felt like we already won. It’s perfect to us. We hear the album and it represents who we are. It’s not just about me, it’s about Reek, and Seven, and Tect. This is us. It’s so beautiful to make art you love 100% through and through. I love LMFAO and am thankful for it but people don’t know what went on behind the scenes. I loved the first album. It came from the soul. The second one was great but there were so much politics behind it that it was bittersweet.

Are there any music videos planned? I kind of seeing this happening in like short films.

I’ve already written every music for every song. Each one is a short film and when released one after the other, it’s a feature length movie. There you go, my dude!

Whether you’re a teen in high school or a housewife in her 40’s, what do you hope listeners will take away from the album?

You can use different words besides chaos and consciousness but everyone goes through that hecticness. For me, I party. That’s my Chaos. For others, it can be arguing with their spouses. For others it can be puffin’ a J just to relax. What will people take away from this album? Some people have been through it all. It’s hard for them to get to 15. It doesn’t resonate with them on a musical or lyrical level, and that’s fine. They haven’t evolved all the way yet to create a record that completely resonates. My whole upbringing is all music. I work hard to make music that resonates all the time. Once people start listening to the project, there are 30 songs so everyone will take away something different.

Can you tell us about any tours coming up in relation to the album? Maybe even special shows?

We will be throwing some secret shows. We are looking into tours right now. We have things up our sleeve in January.

Where do you go from here? Any plans for when you finally come up for air?

In LMFAO till now I’ve never taken a vacation. When Foo and I were number one in the world we’d still keep working on new songs. The thing is, you know, we really take everything in. We can be at the club and be like, “Fuck yeah, we got it.” But this is my life. I love my life and I don’t need to take a break from it. I’m always going to be pushing the project and the evolution of the project.

When it’s time to finally hang up the mic, what do you want to be known for? How does 8kyler 6ordy want to be remembered?

I want to be known for raising the consciousness of the planet through music as art. Really making art through music. I feel people can listen to the album and learn to ask the right questions after hearing different things. I want to see the world smile. There’s too much negativity in this world.

#music #8ky 6lu #8ky #lmfao #interview #media #hip hop

0 notes