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fuckyeah-jessicabiel · 1 year

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Deep Dive: The whole story about Jessica Biel’s infamous March 2000′s Gear Magazine cover, 7th heaven and it consequences

If you are old enough to be around the time 7th Heaven aired on TV, you must have heard about Jessica Biel’s scandalous photoshoot by Frank W. Ockenfels for Gear Magazine released right after her 18th birthday.

What you have heard or remember: Jessica was unhappy with her role in 7th Heaven and wanted to be fired so she posed naked for Gear Magazine. And it got her fired from the show. What actually happened: Not exactly what you think. She regretted doing that photoshoot pretty soon, felt like she was taken advantage by the industry, took a break and went to College on the East Coast. Let’s dive in the past for more accurate informations.

May 1999: During Season 3, 17 year old Jessica was pretty open how unhappy she was with the role of Mary Camden. Back then TV actors had to sign a 6 year contract, they can’t leave or renenogiate their salary until thoses 6 years were over. Jessica signed that contract when she was 14. It was her first role.

“Mary’s totally cool and all, but dude, don’t just turn yourself in. She has this conscience thing. She’ll do something and feel so guilty. It works for the show because it teaches lessons like ‘Don’t lie,’ but sometimes it’s not real. I don’t think I’d be confessing. I’d be like, I’m not saying a thing.” - Young & Mondern, May 1999

Jessica already got in trouble for cuting her hair in 1998 during season 3. It was forbidden in her contract. But the Gear photoshoot was another level.

“I cut my hair the day before the season started. I was sick of it. I’d had long hair forever. I’d told everybody I wanted to cut it, but they said they were happy with it and it looked good. It was in my contract, but I just took it into my own hands. The producers were pissed. I told them, ‘Hey, it grows back.’ But they didn’t see it that way.”- Young & Mondern, May 1999

March 2000: Jessica wanted to break her “good girl” image from 7th Heaven and posed naked for adult magazine Gear. It was kind of rite of passage for 90s actresses at the time (Before her, Melissa Joan Hart for Maxim in 1999). The show producers were not happy, it didn’t fit the religious family show image. 7th Heaven was the most watched TV series ever on the WB (above Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson’s Creek, Charmed, Felicity,,...). It holds the record for the WB’s most watched hour at 12.5 million viewers; 19 of the WB’s 20 most watched hours were from 7th Heaven.

She also talks about how out of touch 7th writers were with teens stories. Aaron Spelling, the most powerful TV producer at the time (Dynasty, Charlie's Angels, Beverley Hills, Merlose Place, Charmed,..) told her he “owns her” when the producers didn’t want to accommodate her schedule to film a movie.

She characterizes the show's writers as being hopelessly out of touch with a teen’s reality. She cites an episode where her sister complains about Mary sticking her feet out of the car window. Her retort: “Hey, I've got to air out my dogs.” Or another show where her 21-year-old brother’ girlfriend says she feels uncomfortable doing laundry together because they handle each other's underwear. “Come on, Jesse says, rolling her eyes. - Gear, 2000

“I own you” - Aaron Spelling to Jessica Biel

During season 4 (1999/2000), since Jessica was openly critizing the writers, you can see the change with her character. Mary went from the smart athletic sister receiving awards for sports and education in episode 5 to the rebellious daughter with bad grades who trash the gym in episode 8 (!) .

Jessica was vocal about the importance of education and the wish to go to college in the East Coast during that time.

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She did the photoshoot to be fired?...Maybe. Was she fired?...No.

Even though the Gear interview hightligh her wanting to leave the show thanks to the photoshoot, she also say if she really wanted to leave she would just shave her head and dye it in blue.

Could these photos get her fired? “I hope so,” she says lightly. “Actually, if I really wanted to get fired, I'd just shave my head. I'd probably be fired on the spot. Then I'd dye what was left blue” - Gear, 2000

After the photoshoot, Aaron Speliing made it clear she still has two year left in her contract and he still wants her in the show.

“I like Jessica Biel, I’m not against Jessica. I’m not suing Jessica. She’s a very good actress. I love to work with her. I’d love for her to stay. She’s got two years left on her contract. -Aaron Spelling, USA Today 2000

Aaron Spelling didn’t sue Jessica but did sue Gear magazine for $100m for using his name on it. The magazine shut down in 2003.

TV producer Aaron Spelling has sued Gear magazine for its red-hot feature on “7th Heaven” star Jessica Biel. The suit — filed Tuesday in Los Angeles country Superior Court — seeks $100 million in damages for defamation from the magazine and its owner, Bob Guccione Jr. - NYpost, 2000

In a letter, Spelling's lawyer, Bertram Fields, sent to Gear, he calls the magazine "sleazy" and denies the "false assertion" that Spelling told Biel he owned her. It also said that the appearance of Spelling's name on the masthead insinuates that he "approved and arranged for this reprehensible article featuring 11 nude and highly salacious photos of a minor child... an article that, in light of Ms. Biel's youth, appears to violate various criminal acts." TV Guide, 2000

The reason her screen time was reduced during season 5 (2000/2001) is because she attented Tufts University in Massachusetts. The producers finally accepted to accommondate her schedule. She was only filming 7th Heaven during her school break. That’s why Mary was sent to Buffalo by her parents. Jessica took a break from Tufts University after two semesters and was back full time for season 6 (2001/2002) and filmed the movie The Rules of Attraction during summer 2001. Her 6 years contract was finally over, she choose to leave the show and only appear in couples of episodes in the next seasons.

Now, as she is focused, laser-like, on getting us through the storm, she seems thoughtful about the whole episode. “I really wanted to go to college, and it all kind of happened at the same time. I did this photo shoot; the photo shoot came out; it was terribly embarrassing. I had to apologize to everybody, including my parents. It was a big learning experience: learning how to have boundaries and how to say no.”

Not surprisingly, Biel has a lot of empathy for young girls dealing with adolescence in front of an audience. “I have this overwhelming motherly feeling toward them. Just do what you gotta do, girls! Hold it together! I wish everyone would just leave them alone.” Vogue, 2010

After the photoshoot, 7th heaven writers took it another level , they made Mary a selfish sister who cared about no one and anything in season 5 (2000/2001). They paired her with a guy 3 times her age at the begining of season 7 (2002). During season 9 (2004/2005), Mary abandonned her husband and baby even thought Jessica was not appearing in the show anymore. The writers know what they were doing since viewers often link characters to the actors.

Jessica appeared in 0 episodes of season 9, you can see how mad the writers were, dragging a character that was not even on screen for a whole year. Season 9, Episode 21:

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From 2001 to 2010: She did multiple interviews talking about how she regretted doing that photoshoot, it was not what was planned she got encouraged to take her clothes off when it was supposed to be just a sexy photoshoot. She couldn’t stop the pictures to be published because she had no contract.

She was most forthcoming and, regarding her experience with a failed Gear magazine photo shoot early in her career, genuine in her explanation of what it takes rebound from a mistake and put her career on track. It was unexpectedly moving to hear her talk about the event because her voice cracked a couple times. Who couldn't feel for her? A kid who tried to do something fun and it backfired.

“I want to say that… because…. I was seventeen years old. It was my first kind of adult photo-shoot where it was supposed to be… it was supposed to be sexy and fun… it wasn’t supposed to be naked, it wasn’t supposed to be, you know, underwear. I got in a situation where I was encouraged. And I was not looked after by the people that I was working with. And it really got blown out of this planet. I’m not apologizing for it.I mean, I think that was going to happen naturally. As, you know, you get older and you look different and you act and your ideas are different. You change like every year, so much. I mean, when that photo-shoot came out it was really horrible for me. I don’t regret it because I’ve learned and this is going to sound so cliché I cannot even tell you how much I’ve learned about being able to stand up for myself and being able to say, “You know what? No, I’m not going to wear that.” And knowing the people to put around me to keep me on the right path. You know what got it started? I had a lot of men around me at the time. I was working with a lot of men, because of my managers. And, you know, it just wasn’t a good thing for me. I really needed to be surrounded by a woman. Women who would say, “You know what? That’s really not such a smartest idea.” And also, I was seventeen.I think this happens to so many girls. And this is not some sob story. I’m not looking for people to go, “Oh!”. I mean, this was one of the hardest times I went through in my whole entire life. I really embarrassed my family. I embarrassed myself. And thank God for 7th Heaven and for the fans and for Aaron Spelling, who was so forgiving. He was like, “Look, you made a mistake. It’s OK.” I had to go through all this stuff in front of everybody, in front of the whole world. And I never really said anything. My mom was like, “Let’s make a statement. Let’s say something and say that this is not what it was supposed to be. This was not some, like, let’s get off the show. That was not what it was about.” And, you know, when you’re seventeen years old… you think you know everything. You want to be twenty-five. You want to wear the sexy clothes. And when someone says, “Yeah, that looks great! Why don’t you just slip that off?” You’re like, “OK, yeah.” And then it just escalates. And at the end of that shoot I was just bawling to my dad. I said, “Dad, you need to get rid of this. This just didn’t go the way I wanted it to go. And then, you know, we didn’t have things signed, and whatever." I mean, I’m not going to say that I’m completely free of guilt. I went along with it. But… you know, it was a very nerve-wracking photo-shoot. And at the end of the day I went home to my father and I said, "Dad, I don’t want to tell because I’m very embarrassed, but I just need you to help me and we need to just forget this whole thing.” - IGN.com, 2003

Speaking of parents, yours must have been pretty freaked about your pictures in Gear. First of all, I wasn’t happy with those pictures either. I saw pictures that were different from the ones that ran in the magazine. We thought the layout was going to be much more subdued. I’m talking about how much was shown of my chest area. So I was shocked and my family was heartbroken about the pictures that ran. It was really difficult, but you know, it’s over now and I’m OK with it and my family knows that that’s never ever going to happen again. Have you mended fences with everyone at the WB and the series itself? Yes, but it really was difficult for a while. That photo shoot was just a really bad decision on my part and I got myself involved with people who weren’t thinking about me and were instead thinking about what kind of a story they could get out of it. I learned a whole lot from the experience, so it was definitely a blessing in disguise. I don’t look back on it negatively like I used to. There was speculation that you were trying to get fired by appearing too sexy to play Mary. I think it boils down to the stupidest thing ever. I just wanted to cut my hair and dye it a different color, but they wouldn’t allow it because we were in the middle of episodes. I was 17 years old and totally rebellious, so I was just like, “What do you mean I can’t dye my hair? You can’t tell me what to do!” I look back now and I’m like, “God, I was a nutball!” And I’ve really changed from that. I had to learn in front of the entire country, but I guess that’s a really poignant lesson. As far as changing my image, I do want to do different movies and play as many different characters as I can. I want people to see me as a really normal human being who screws up. Just like everybody else. EW, August 2001

Her boyfriend at that time, Adam LaVorgna (Robbie Palmer in 7th Heaven) was not happy about that photoshoot. There were some tensions between them while she was spending time with the interviewer.

During the time I spent with her, the Boyfriend (whom she asks not to name) is constant presence, though he’s more than 3,000 miles away in Boston. What he thinks and how he’ll react take up a large portion of Jesse’s thoughts. He’s nervous at her being perceived as sex idol, and having a writer from men’s magazine spend several days with her is not helping. Over the course of those days, the phone keeps ringing - the Boyfriend - and it’s stressing her. - Gear, 2000

It was reported that her dad and boyfriend were at the photoshoot. Even though Jessica denied it to protect her father from criticism, the boyfriend at the time, Adam LaVorgna, confirmed in a podcast in 2019, they were both there but were distracted by making them visit the building while they warn up her to take her clothes off. Adam was a guest on 7th Heaven during season 4 (1999/2000), Jessica got him the role of Mary’s boyfriend, Robbie Palmer, they have been dating since they filmed the movie ‘I’ll be home for Christmas” in Spring 1998. When it was time for Jessica to leave the show to attend college on the East Coast with Adam (Jessica at Tufts University and Adam at Boston College), 7th heaven writers called Adam to give him a regular role for season 5 (2000/2001). Adam accepted, dropped from college to be in L.A to film 7th Heaven but Jessica who needed a break still went to college in Massachusetts.

Initially, I just wanted to go to college. I hadn’t experienced traditional style high school. I wanted to be around kids my own age and to stop working full time. I was burned out.- LA Confidential, August 2006

Adam and Jessica broke up during summer 2001 and worked together full time in the show during season 6 (2001/2002) and the first episodes of season 7. The writers paired him with her sister, Lucy Camden, and then with another girl Mary was jealous of...

With hindsight, Adam regretted accepting the offer because now he feels like the producers asked him to comeback for season 5 to hit back at Jessica for leaving the show.

Like “Oh You wanna leave the show, We gonna take your boyfriend”. - Adam LaVorgna (2019 - worst ever podcast)

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2005: For years, Jessica had a no nudity clause in her contract. She was not confortable doing nudity anymore, she used a body double for the movie she did with her boyfriend at the time Chris Evans.

“I used a body double in this little indie, London, because they wanted a close-up of a breast and a bottom, and I didn’t feel comfortable. I thought, ‘That’s for my bedroom and my man, not for everyone else.’ I had to pick out the body double, and it was a really bizarre experience. I felt like a man,” I was just assessing their bodies. There are so many shapes of breasts. I never knew. You’re just used to what yours look like,” - Cosmopolitan, July 2005

A lot of people said to me, That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen anybody do,” she says. “But I was miserable. It was horrible. I was humiliated. I just wanted my family to forgive me….I was taken advantage of in many different ways. Now I can look at the pictures and not be disgusted, and I don’t have to cry about it. I look at it as a learning experience.” - Esquire, November 2005

As a teenager, I wanted to make everyone happy, even if it meant doing something I didn’t believe in. Posing [nearly nude] for Gear magazine was a huge learning experience. There have been times since when studios have wanted me to do photos in men’s magazines. It’s hard to say no because I want to please the people who hire me. But I won't compromise my integrity for anyone. If I lose a job over that,fine. - Self Magazine, January 2005

Will she do it again? Nope!

Q: What do you do now to protect yourself? BIEL:Well, first of all, I’ll only do a photo-shoot for a magazine that I think is reputable, that’s not about just kind of exploiting women. Q: FHM or Maxim? BIEL: No. I don’t think that’s important and that’s not what I want to do. I mean, that happened. I’ve already done that and it did not… it wasn’t something that I want to do from the beginning and I don’t want to do it again. You know, I’m so much smarter! (she laughs) I wish I knew what I know now. IGN 2003

2007: She was finally ready to do nudity for the movie Powder Blue also starring Forest Whitaker, Eddie Redmayne and Patrick Swayze and this time lesson learned everything was written down on a contract! and if they wanted more it should be discussed before the filming.

Jessica has made an effort to distance herself from gratuitious photoshoots since an ill-advised topless spread aged 17, which she claimed her former managers pressed her into posing. But the actress has changed her mind for the film. However, the cautious actress is keen not to see her scantily-clad image exploited, and has signed a contract that explicitly details the bare minimum fans will see. The contract is said to ban shots of her breasts (nipples from the front and side) and her bottom (side view only) – in the Crash-like ensemble drama Powder Blue. A source told Us Weekly magazine that although the director will film scenes that are even more revealing, 'Jessica will decide if she wants to show anything additional'. - Dailymail, 2008

"I don't have to be fully naked for the movie. I haven't decided exactly about the nudity. It's a tough one. I'm considering it but it's a very scary thing to do."It definitely feels vulnerable to be naked in front of anybody, let alone a film crew. - US weekly, 2009

More interviews talking about how horrible she felt after the photoshoot was published:

That was such a big mistake. I made a horrible, horrible choice. Those were not the people to work with and not the right thing for myself. A hundred percent I want to be a part of the show. I give ‘7th Heaven’ — the writers and everybody — all the credit. They gave me the chance. They did everything, and I totally appreciate that. If I hadn’t been on '7th Heaven,’ I wouldn’t have been doing anything. I don’t know what would have happened. But it gave me the chance to do what I like to do. I definitely miss it. I definitely love coming back. It really depends on my college schedule. Pretty much all the time '7th Heaven’ is working, I’m in school. Except, of course, for my Christmas and spring breaks. So I’ll do an episode during my spring break. If I could do more episodes without missing any school this year, I would do whatever I can with that. I think our writer, (creator/executive producer) Brenda Hampton, is very perceptive with what’s going on in everyone’s life. I think Mary came to this point in her life when she didn’t know what to do. And then she had to rise up from that and find a balance. To get rid of all her debts and start going to class with her grandmother. And choosing a path in life. I’m pretty sure that’s where Mary is going, and that’s sort of where I was going in my life. I was just a crazy kid, and I didn’t know what I was doing, pretty much. For the last four years, I’ve definitely grown up with everyone having an eye on me — checking your moves out, checking what you’re doing. But I would never give it up. I would never go back on it. I know I’ve made some mistakes. I understand that. I’m OK with that. It’s made me who I am today. It’s made me a completely different person than I would be if I hadn’t gone through it all. I don’t regret it, and I would never go back. I don’t want that image. I don’t want to be some bad girl. Things got misconstrued, and I don’t know what happened. But I don’t want that. I just want to be me, and I don’t know what that is yet. - DesertNews, 2001

Confronting her naivety is something Jessica has certainly had to deal with in the past; a mistake that centres around a photoshoot she did for Gear magazine that saw her go topless for its cover, hand placed strategically over nipple in nothing but a pair of frilly beige knickers. She was 17 at the time. “I had been the pretty, good wholesome girl in 7th Heaven for almost three seasons and I’d had enough of being virginal,” she explains. “I was asked to do this shoot for the magazine and, because I was young, had some money, a little fame and because I thought I knew best, I decided to go ahead with it. I thought I could look after myself.“When we started the shoot I was like, ‘Wow, I’m older and sexier - I’m hot!’ And then as the day drew on and I started to take off more clothes, things started to get more uncomfortable. I just knew in my gut. I was thinking, ‘This is wrong - you are starting to do things you don’t want to.’ But I went along with things because I was arrogant and didn’t have anyone looking out for me. I went by myself, no real guardian apart from an old manager. My dad did show up at one point but I was like, ‘No,you stay over there. I’m doing this shoot. I’m cool.’”When the shoot wrapped, Jessica found a quiet corner and broke down. “I called him [her father] in tears. I’d made a huge mistake, I knew it. That little girl in me was freaking out. I spoke to my dad and was like, ‘Dad, you’ve got to help me. We have to get the photos. I can’t tell you what happened, but I have to stop the pictures getting out!’ He kept asking me what was wrong and I couldn’t face telling him. I was sobbing, ‘I can’t tell you, I can’t tell you…’”Despite every effort from her family, the pictures ran. Aaron Spelling, the series producer for 7th Heaven, described the images as “child pornography”. Understandably, Jessica was dreading going back on set. “Everyone was, like, ‘What the hell happened?’ My family went through the wringer. I was truly, deeply embarrassed and humiliated. And I had no one to blame but myself.” Her boyfriend, too, failed to see the sexy side. “He was humiliated, his family was humiliated and it was all horrible. It was certainly the low point of my young little life. And I spent a lot of time beating myself up about it, feeling like an idiot.”Although not a direct cause, the trauma of being exploited made Jessica take a second look at her ambitions and her career, and it wasn’t long after that she made the decision to leave the successful TV series. Although almost 18, she realised she needed to get out of Hollywood and do what most young women her age do - go to college, get her head in a book and shoot lime daiquiris by the jug-load with her peers. “Me and my parents managed to get me out of my contract and I went to college in Massachusetts. I went to Tufts on the North East coast. It’s a tiny, liberal arts school with good sports facilities. I needed a break; I’d been working in that adult environment since I was 14 and I wanted to cut my hair, get a tattoo… be a normal kid for a while.” - GQ UK, January 2009

I certainly had to apologize to Aaron Spelling. I think my entire crew and cast were, needless to say, shocked. The worst part was I had to go back to work. The thing comes out and literally I had to go back to work that next morning. Everybody was… they didn’t know if they should look me in the eye and I was just a mess. I didn't…you’re young. You don’t mean to hurt people. You don’t mean to do this. It definitely wasn’t a calculated move on my part. I was not that smart to be making these calculated moves. I think I was 17, I’m a woman now, I’m a grown up now. I’m sexy, ya know, this type of vibe and honestly, it just went a little awry. It definitely never was meant to be some shocking, exposing situation and whether it was my own sort of ya know ability to try to be my own person by myself, ya know, confident woman. I said yes to things that probably I should’ve said no to. It was just one of those things that got out of hand. - Awards chatter podcast, 2018 (x)

After Powder blue, she has done nudity only in tv shows she produces. She keeps using body double for some scenes though.

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Sorry for my english, it’s not my mother language and I am not very literary (I am more a math girl).

#jessica biel #adam lavorgna #7th heaven #mary camden #london (2005)#powder blue #the sinner #gear #gear photoshoot #gear magazine #2000 #frank w. ockenfels #sorry for my english #i should have asked chatgpt to write it #been on my draft for a very very long time #deep dive

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rings-of-power-realm · 1 year

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10 star reviews about The Rings of Power 💚

The first season isn't even finished yet and already I have recommended this show to friends and family more than any previous media. Every episode so far (5 released) have surpassed my expectations, which were fairly high going in. As someone who has read all of Tolkien's published works (some more than I'd care to admit), anyone saying that "Tolkien is turning in his grave" has absolutely no idea what they're talking about. It was always going to be walking a thin line between creative choices and already established canon, but I can see, so far anyway, that they have absolutely aced it. If the show continues to be as great as it has thus far, I can see this being one of the all time great masterpieces of TV history, and for many years to come. It's incredibly rare that I won't have criticisms of some kind, especially for something I am passionate about, and the only criticism I have of the Rings of Power is that I can't listen to the sound track 24 hours a day, because I have to sleep at some stage. Bear McCreary has written a masterpiece worthy of being pinned up on the wall with Howard Shore's work from the Lord of the Rings.

🧝

Don't listen to the negative reviews. Some people have an idea of what something should be in their own mind. I too have read mostly all of Tolkien's books. You form a world in your mind from those words. It's yours it's personal. This show is Magnificent. It's a big bold dive into Middle Earth. Beautifully filmed and acted. The first too episodes are structured in a way to set a scene for the multiple storylines for multiple characters which as the series progresses will merge in to one common fight against the darkness. It's absolutely fantastic and if you don't watch it because of someone's snobby 1/10 then you will be missing out.

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I can't believe people who are giving this such negative reviews. Who cares if it's not the way you think it should be portrayed because of your version of what you think you read from his original works. It is fantastically entertaining, incredibly well shot and produced, and while the story lines were slow to get rolling, and I don't necessarily think that some of the characters lineup with how they were portrayed in the Lord of the Rings movies later, it really doesn't matter. These are NEW. I can't wait for each episode to come out, I look forward to watching these every week, and I would love to be able to see all of them in the theater. The first two we saw through a free preview, and I wish I could watch every single episode on a huge screen! Enjoy them for what they are.

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This is the first prequel I have ever seen that was not a disappointment. I love the acting, the faithfulness to Tolkien's vision, the use of reworked ideas/themes/dialogue from the Lord of the Rings, and the compelling worldbuilding. It is important to remember that this is an interpretation, not an adaptation, as this story is based on timelines in the Appendices to LOTR and not on Tolkien stories. Therefore, the showrunners had to invent story arcs and characters to flesh out the story. If they had note done this, then the show would be boring and empty. They did a great job filling in the gaps and told a story that I have already rewatched many times.

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I almost didn't watch because of other reviews but I've learned to not even pay much attention to them. This feels just like Lord of the Rings to me. It could actually be its own movie. The acting is great, the scenery and graphics are amazing. I've been hooked and entertained since the first episode! Can't wait to see more.

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I was putting off watching this for a while but one night I couldn't find anything to watch and I put this on and now I'm glad I did. It's the first thing I look forward to after a long day of work. I think the plot is fantastic. I read a review that said they didn't know where the plot was going but how can you not? It's very easy to follow. I'm in love with the series already.

I am blown away by the quality of this production. There is nothing like it. Although it is not an original story written by JRR Tolkien, it is an interesting one; an important backstory.

Although the story unfolds slowly, like in most series, it has a decent amount of action and suspense. Watch it and indulge yourself in Middle Earth. And about all the criticism... This is my take: To me, there are two Middle Earths. (1) The original one that you have imagined when reading the books. (2) The world created by John Howe, Alan Lee, Peter Jackson, make-up artists, actors, etc., etc. This series fits right into the later one and does it justice.

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Don't believe those fools who are giving bad ratings and negative reviews. I don't know why so much hate for this show. I'm so obsessed with this show right now and have watched all the six episodes non-stop and wanting more soooo badly. I mean the acting, the scenes, the dialogues and above all the VFX are soooo beautiful put together that will make your mind blown by this masterpiece. I've really enjoyed and didn't look away for a second while watching. It really took me to the place where I couldn't have imagine in my dreams. Please guys stop giving the bad ratings and reviews to a show like this one. This show deserve all the love and not the hate. We all should appreciate the work and efforts put in this show.

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I think this prequel was beautifully done. The visuals are stunning, and story is excellent. There is a very satisfying last episode of season 1. I'm excited to see more. I had no problem adjusting and accepting the younger version of known characters, specifically Galadriel and Elrond. I think the acting and writing felt true to Middle Earth. I'm a fan of the books (Hobbit, LotR and The Silmarillian) which I read before the movies were released. I'm thrilled to have new Tolkien inspired material even if it's from the imagination of someone else, it is brilliant and a wonderful addition to the Middle Earth lore. There seem to be too many of the instant gratification society who were too impatient to wait for the payoff. Looking at the dates of many of the reviews is frustrating seeing that people couldn't reserve judgement until 10/14 after the season could be viewed as a whole. People have become to used to being able to binge a new show in a few days and not have to wait and dwell over what might happen and the new information presented in each episode. It has been exciting to see it unfold week by week. I'm glad for the return to this method of releasing a new series.

Link to the 10 star reviews🍄

#the rings of power #positivity #and @ haters you're tel'athim #pls my elvish is rusty but there's so many good insults to choose from :D

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ianspideythompson · 9 months

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The Jump to Streaming - Was It Worth It?

I’ve been watching and covering the streaming wars for a few years now, and looking at the current state of it, along with the pandemic and the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike exposing how broken the industry is, it’s left me thinking this: was the jump and transition to streaming worth in the end? Because at this point, it sucks for everyone involved: the studios, the creatives, and the consumers.

Studios who decided to hop in the game and compete with Netflix by creating their own streaming services have found out that streaming isn’t profitable (or at the very least, it’s nowhere near as profitable as the box office, physical media, VOD, and linear TV) because the revenue generated is almost entirely based on subscriptions. Putting out a show or a movie on a streaming service is practically putting it out for free since those individual titles aren’t generating profit as they would on the aforementioned release avenues. Streamers just have to hope that the release of a show or film on their platform drives enough sign-ups to break even and generate profit. And as a result, studios lose millions, if not billions on their services.

The creatives (specifically the writers and actors striking right now) behind shows and movies made for streamers are getting little to no residuals from them. Writer Kyra Jones shared that the first residual check she got from writing on the ABC show Queens was $12,000. The first residual check she got from writing on the Hulu show Woke was $4. Writer Cody Ziglar’s episode of She-Hulk netted him just $396 in residuals, despite the episode (the one where Daredevil returns) being one the most watched episodes of one of the most watched series on Disney+. Kimiko Glenn, who played Soso on Orange Is the New Black, mentioned that many of the actors on the show still worked second jobs because they weren’t being paid enough to sustain themselves. For shows licensed to streamers, it’s essentially the same. Gilmore Girls, which ran on The WB in the 2000s, has been one of the most popular shows on Netflix since they started streaming it. Sean Gunn, who played Kirk Gleason on the show, said in an interview that he’s seen almost no money from licensing fee Netflix pays Warner Bros. to stream the show.

And for the consumer, the convenience of it has been diluted. In the early days of streaming, it was just Netflix and Hulu, and between the two services, they had pretty much everything you’d need to drop cable. Now there are too many streaming services, and with all the price hikes that occurred in the last few years, just subscribing to a few of the major ones costs the same, if not more, than cable at this point. Not to mention streamers have made it so that we can’t get attached to any original they produce. A streamer puts out a show that’s not an instant hit that you, me, and everyone we know watched, it gets prematurely canceled (Hey remember when Netflix use to save canceled shows? Oh how the tables have turned). And thanks to a certain studio introducing this precedent, prematurely canceled streaming shows now get yanked off the service, written off in taxes, thrown into the abyss, and then banished to the Shadow Realm. And since streaming media rarely get physical releases, they’re to stay in the Shadow Realm, never to be seen again.

As much as it doesn’t feel like it is now, and I think it’s safe to say it’s done more harm than good at this point, streaming is still ultimately the future. There’s no turning back from it unless every service goes under and shuts down. And even if that were to happen, I’m not sure if those who cut the cord are going to want to buy a new one. And as a strong proponent for physical media, nothing would make me happier than to see everyone start buying DVDs and Blu-Rays again and video stores making a comeback - but that’s likely not going to happen either.

I don’t know what the future holds for streaming. Truth be told, I don’t think it will ever be as profitable as physical media, VOD, or linear TV. But that isn’t going to stop from studios from trying to make streaming as profitable as the days of physical media, VOD, and linear TV. I won’t pretend to have the answers here, but it ain’t hard to tell that the current streaming model is unsustainable. Trying to cut costs by replacing writers and actors with AI won’t make streaming more profitable. Continuing to prematurely cancel new shows when they’re not instant smash hits and not giving them the chance to find an audience as well as having streaming services full of one-season shows won’t make it more profitable either.

Streaming may still be the future, but it clearly shouldn’t be relied upon as the primary means of media distribution. Perhaps studios should let films sit on VOD and physical media for longer than they currently do before dropping them on a streaming service. I remember growing up, a new film wouldn’t make it to TV until several months to a year later. And speaking of TV, linear TV may be dying, but it’s a slow death and for the studios who still have broadcast channels, it’s still a way to reach people and get sign-ups. In November of last year, Disney aired the first two episodes of Andor across ABC, FX, and Freeform. Earlier this year, they did this again by airing the pilot episode of The Mandalorian across the networks. And this fall they’re about to do it again with Ms. Marvel (although this is likely more as a result of the fact that they’ll be nothing on TV this fall).

But do you know what could ultimately help? By paying the actors and writers the residuals they deserve, not automating their jobs away, and giving them opportunities and tools to create more new and exciting films and shows, and in the case of television, not prematurely canceling them when they’re not hits straight off the bat and allow them to find audiences.

What do y’all think? Let me know and keep supporting the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Solidarity forever.

#streaming #WGA #WGA Strike #sag-aftra #sag #sag strike #writers strike #actors strike #workers solidarity #Solidarity Forever #residuals #current events #was it worth it?#i stand with the wga #wga solidarity #essay #in this essay i will

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girl4music · 1 year

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I have a confession to make. I don’t go to conventions for TV shows or movie series. In fact last year’s 25th Anniversary of ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ was the first ever time I went to any convention for anything ever. And I’ve never really talked about it because I was afraid that I’d be met with backlash for it. But the time has come to talk about it. Why I’ve never been before.

The reason why doesn’t actually have anything to do with not living close or working too hard or no one to go with. That’s the excuse I make. The real reason why is because the creators (writers/producers/directors) never go to them. Only the actors. And for most people, that’s all they care about. The faces and not so much the minds. I’m the opposite. I care very little for who portrays the characters I love and care very much so for who writes them. When I went to the Xena convention, I played it off like I was all excited for Lucy and Renee with all the other Xenites. But I actually wasn’t there for them at all. I mean yes, I wanted to get their autographs and photo ops. But when it came to the one-on-one or even dual stage time they both got - I had absolutely nothing to ask. Not that I would have had a chance anyway given the lines were so long for questions but that’s besides the point. Even if there wasn’t - I’d have no questions. All my questions were for the only two writers that even bothered to show up. Steven L. Sears and Katherine Fugate. I was constantly asking them questions. And I was actually able to since few others even wanted to. Especially Steven. I got to talk to him for a whole hour.

There was however one actress I spent a lot of time talking with and that’s only because she didn’t hide away. She stayed in the vending areas selling her stuff. That was Jacqueline Kim who played Lao Ma. She was only in two episodes throughout all of the show and she still shows up to conventions year after year. I did have a significant question to ask her. Funny story actually - we clashed on our views about what we believed Lao Ma represented during her segment on stage. However, it was all good because she came up to me and explained why she disagreed with me. And once I heard her point of view thoroughly, I actually changed my mind about mine and agreed with her. I even danced with her at the last day after party Penny Cavanaugh of Xenites Retreat arranged - so awesome!

Anyway, all that aside. I honestly have more interest in the views and opinions of the creators than the actors. And I always will because I care about the narrative choices and in-depth thinking behind my favourite TV shows or movies. If Rob Tapert were to attend a Xena convention along with Lucy, that would be so amazing. I’d never stop asking him questions about the show that has changed my entire life and continues to teach me so much each time I watch it.

I just… all I really care about in interacting with art/entertainment is the learning process. The education. For me - it’s the behind-the-scenes crew that are the fundamental reason why a show is what it is to me. It’s never the cast. I love them. I do. I love that they portrayed my favourite characters of all time and I am extremely grateful for all their time and effort in doing so. But it’s the writers/producers/directors I want to talk with. Have in-depth conversations with. Because I know that they’ll be the ones to give me the answers.

With Xena - it’s a group effort. Lucy and Renee have always said that that everyone that worked on the set were the puzzle pieces to the whole picture we got. And I agree with them immensely. However, I know who it is specifically that I’d rather talk to about it. And for me - that was my favourite thing about con. The fact I got to meet and talk with the writer that I credit the entirety of Gabrielle’s representation and development to for a whole god damn hour! Because I know that it’s because of Steven why I am so invested in ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ to this day and always will be.

My experience with him meant more to me than everything else that happened at con combined and I hope that he knows how much I appreciate his presence in everything and anything to do with Xena.

#xena warrior princess #25th anniversary #convention #a salute to xena #2022 #steven l. sears #confession

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jewwyfeesh · 9 days

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A Chapter of Clouds and Mist - 1

Writer: Mitsuki

Character(s): Kagehira Mika, Saegusa Ibara, HiMERU

Translated by: jewwyfeesh

EN Proof by: Nayo @ smilebouquet (twt)

HiMERU / Mika: ……!?

Translator's note: HiMERU does in fact use the personal pronoun 我 (me, i) on multiple occasions throughout the story. I am personally unsure if its a mistake on the writer's part, or a conscious choice, and have simply translated it as-is.

[ ♪ ]

Season: Winter

Location: CosPro Agency Office

HiMERU: (...Hm? Those footsteps sound rather familiar. If HiMERU’s deduction is correct, the person that’s tailing HiMERU once again must be that—)

HiMERU / Mika: ……!?

Mika: Ngaaah…! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!

HiMERU: …Not to worry. If it weren’t for HiMERU turning his body so suddenly, you wouldn’t have tripped and fallen onto me. The one who should be apologising is me, not you.

Mika: Ehehe, HiMERU-san is as nice as ever. But, erm… I’m also in the wrong fer walkin’ while bein’ all distracted, thinkin’ ‘bout our upcomin’ meetin’… I’m real sorry…

HiMERU: Today’s briefing should be a mere smoothing over of the final details prior to the start of the show’s filming, so we just have to be quiet and listen. Even so, this movie worries me somewhat…

Let HiMERU guess… you have some questions about the pre-filming preparations? If you’re willing, you could discuss them with HiMERU.

Mika: Ngah… I’m always troublin’ ya with such things, I feel kinda bad… To be honest, there are a bunch’a things that I still don’t quite get.

Ibara: Oya oya? Two early birds catching worms, I see! Truly does wonders for the soul!

HiMERU: What great timing. Now that Vice President Saegusa is here too, you can clarify any doubts you have with him, Kagehira-san. Currently, there isn’t anyone who will drag him out to settle some business or another, so he can focus on answering your queries.

Ibara: HiMERU-shi, you sure speak harshly! But CosPro does attach a great deal of importance to this scheme — I’m sure the both of you felt that when you received your scripts.

HiMERU: We were initially told that we’d be starring in a TV series adapted from ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, but subsequently received two scripts, split into the ‘The Solar Chapter’ and ‘The Lunar Chapter’.

Not to mention, the only people who appear in both scripts are the characters played by HiMERU and Kagehira-san. In other words, our characters link the entire play together – this is what the Vice President wants to express, right?

Mika: But~ It’s exactly this point that I ain’t gettin’…! Even if the script’s split into two, why must the filmin’ be done separately? Notta mention, everythin’s gotta be kept a secret from the other half?

As the official date of filmin’ draws nearer, I get more and more nervous. Not only do I have ta focus on my role in the drama, I also needa pay attention to my interactions outside of filmin’, makin’ sure that the actors from both sides won’t find out ‘bout this. Aren’t we all shootin’ the same drama~?

HiMERU: Although HiMERU never had any objections to the Producers’ arrangements, HiMERU feels that Kagehira-san’s doubts are reasonable.

It’s just that… the answer to your question seems to lie in the core of what the agencies are trying to achieve with this three-way partnership. HiMERU is afraid it may be difficult for the Vice President to answer.

Ibara: Since issues on either side are inevitable, the interests of CosPro as a whole take precedence. Should Kagehira-shi be unable to feel at ease whilst on set, then that is a failure on my part. I have failed as the Vice President.

The reason why the arrangement is so special is because, other than to pay homage to the setup of the original work, the producers also hope to use this method to rouse interest in it. Such is a common marketing strategy in the industry.

Oh, I’m hearing some footsteps headed our way. With that, our ‘accidental information leak’ comes to a close. I look forward to your exhilarating performance ♪

Mika: (Even though I don’t quite get whatever Vice President-san said ‘bout the marketing strategies, it’s real unsettlin’, bein’ kept in the dark like this… I can only hope that the filmin’ will go smoothly~)

[ ☆ ]

Story Masterlist | Chapter 2 →

#enstars translation #intertwined sun and moon #Kagehira Mika #Saegusa Ibara #HiMERU #a chapter of clouds and mist

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lynxmuse · 2 years

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I am a longtime fan of Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers. During the Disney Afternoon era I saw each episode dozens upon dozens of times (since they repeated every 3 months or so). When I discovered them on the French station, I was most excited as it was like watching them anew. I collected the comics and wrote in to the letters page.* Various figurines and plush still grace my shelves. And no question, getting a photo with them in their RR garb made me giddy with delight.

So into that comes the new CDRR movie released on D+. When the first trailers for it dropped, I certainly had my reservations: If they wanted to make Roger Rabbit 2, why don’t they just do that? Will the world building be poor? Aren’t the washed up actors and estranged pals tropes already heavily mined? And haven’t we already passed both peak meta and peak nostalgia pandering? Not to mention this was being made by Walt Disney Pictures, the branch of Disney that has spent the past years producing nothing but retreads, remakes, or retellings of some sort of previous IP that have often ended up being soulless, uninteresting, or even disastrous takes on them.**

That said, I also could see that if the relationship between C&D and their interactions were well handled, it could make for something compelling and powerful. If they could tap into facets of the original series with a spirit that rings true, it could be a great new take with real rescuing and ranger-ing. There could be a path forward. Maybe!

Perhaps strangely… in the end all of the above came to pass. (Potential spoilers ahead!)

I’ve watched the movie twice before writing this, to be sure I was getting the full sense of it. And where I’m left somewhat torn.

To start, there is plenty of potential here, in no small part because they (correctly) realized that it is Chip & Dale’s relationship that lies at the core of all their stories. Right from when they made their first appearance in the Donald Duck cartoons, that best friend / frenemy dynamic is what makes them endearing and such a delight. And it is what drives many of their narratives, including in the TV series. Fortunately, the writers did recognize this and made it central to the story here. There’s a lot of good compelling stuff that could come out of it.

The themes that are broached also hold great potential: notions of fame, of living in the past and/or trying to recapture former glory, insecurities, and the ongoing commodification of art. And while the “washed up actor(s)” bit feels like it’s been already used a bunch of late, it’s still an interesting framing vehicle and is used well here, with Chip and Dale each dealing with the end of the show and their subsequent breakup in a different way, with Chip withdrawn and trying to ignore/forget it while Dale overcompensates and is being maniacally gregarious.

And dovetailing (Ducktailing?) off all those is the ur-theme of the commodification of not just art but the actors themselves, and what happens to them and, even more importantly, how we treat them when they are no longer in the limelight or have gotten stale, lived past their prime, or even pushed out

Throughout Chip & Dale are mostly on-model in terms of their personality and traits and ways of being, and there are interactions throughout between Chip and Dale that ring true.

So, a great starting point with some great material to work with and dive into. Plenty of promise!

However… alas… much of the execution doesn’t live up to that promise. Things are not followed through. The movie comes off in a very rote and paint-by-numbers fashion, with few of the themes truly engaged with in any way, whether to explore them, comment on them, learn from them, make them part of the plot, or whatever. They’re on the periphery like window dressing, but with little to add to the meat and meaningfulness of the story.

Worse, the storytelling is weak and ham-handed enough such that in the end little feels truly earned. All too often the movie relies on the characters describing something rather than doing the work to have it be an integral (and palpable) part of the world/narrative. This is doubly unfortunate when it comes to the characters themselves, with them stating things rather than simply being it (such that we can see their actions and track things without them needing to tell us about it). So many of moments in the movie come off as “they are saying this now because this is the part of the movie where this has to happen”*** rather than it organically coming forth into crowning moments of heartwarming or awesome. All in all, the story and storytelling doesn’t end up having the emotional resonance it could have had.

Which leads to my other prediction/concern that came to pass: There is a constant and relentless attempt at gags that I really think hurt the story. This relentless pursuit often leaves them desperately reaching such that many of the attempted gags feel shallow or threadbare. Often gags don’t land or, at best, elicit a minor chuckle. And then thre’s how they often fixate on a particular gag for Way. Too. Long.

Worse, though, is that many of the gags are isolated and not related to the plot or to the story or to the themes. They come off as gags for the sake of gags, because that’s what they are. And thus they feel hollow and meaningless. But the ultimate nail is how often they feel the need to have the characters directly set up, call attention to, and yes worst of all, explain the gag or joke. That’s… not good. (A clear example of this is the silly putty joke. Yes, we see it. We get it. It’s quite amusing and fits in well with the world! Great! But now you’re explicitly calling attention to it, explaining it and… just why?)

Gags I would totally expect and would even totally want in a movie like this. That’s a core of the “brand”! But the movie goes overboard to a level that detracts from and takes focus away from the actual story being told. Greater development of the narrative and storytelling while relegating many of the gags to the background would create a better balance (while also eliminating the need to reach for those threadbare gags) would have allowed the themes, the characters, and their relationships to be featured, developed, and to fully resonate.

Unfortunately, the caper at the heart of the plot is also lacking. As Rescue Ranger story the caper ought to be… well, OK, to be fair the ones in the TV show were often quite a bit nonsensical. But that was the TV show, which is now a TV show inside of the movie, which means this movie is in the “real world”, and it’s also longer than a TV show… what I’m trying to say is that just as Zootopia’s caper is central to its plot, and just how Zootopia’s caper is the vehicle for all of its amazing philosophical and storytelling goodness, the caper this CDRR movie needed to be equally as solid. But! There are some noticeable holes in it: 1) the toons are preyed upon after falling behind on debts but 2) nothing really about their kidnapping seems to rely on them being in debt? Any ol’ washed up toon would seem ripe for it, even without being in dept. 3) While the bootleg thing is amusing, 4) the fact that Pete is running this operation because he got old is weird both 5) because it doesn’t appear that toon old age is much of a thing for everyone else? And 6) if he has a super machine that can perform cosmetic surgery of all kinds then 7) couldn’t he have just made himself look young again or 8) taken on a new svelte identity and started anew as the boy symbol he wants to be? 9) And, as an aside, if literal erasers are able to remove the mouths of toons then 10) shouldn’t redrawing of said toons also be a thing?

(Also, there’s an aspect to the caper that is unsettling, namely the real-world (as in the real-real-world not the in-movie-real-world – this gets confusing) history of what happened with Peter Pan’s actor, Bobby Driscoll. The short of it is that Bobby, hired at 10, was the darling of the Disney system and appeared in a number of movies plus voice acting roles. But eventually he was unceremoniously dropped by Disney and, reportedly, even banned from re-entering the studio. Things did not go well for him, and he died alone on a park bench at age 31. To make light of this and/or to mine this to create a villain to be defeated is very questionable.)

Lastly, the cameos. As expected for its premise, this movie is rife with them…. and let me say I am genuinely AMAZED and I marvel (pun semi-intended) at just how many cross-IP characters there are, not only from within Disney but from oodles of outside studios. It’s most impressive! My Little Pony! Old Coke commercials! Batman! Lego! Dragon Ball! Voltron! Loony Toons (minorly)! Those other chipmunks… (though, amusingly, Disney kinda owns them now through Fox). And even cameos from Dreamworks, which, if you know the history of Dreamworks & Disney, is an astounding thing indeed. Kudos to the team (and their lawyers) for the effort it took to get all of those. Much like Roger Rabbit (and in a slightly different vein, Wreck It Ralph), it makes for a more believable world/world building where toons are “real” to have this wide swath of characters.

And to that, most of the cameos could be background things and be totally fine. And most are, and it is mostly fine! Except where they turn the cameo into a gag… which often inherits all of the issues I noted above. That said, it would have been nicer to have a few of the cameos try to tie into a theme and/or be something specific about that character. There was an opportunity with Ugly Sonic, where it could have been great to rope in the theme ridicule and when actors/etc are unceremoniously cast out (especially since that’s the supposed theme for the main villain as well) but… no, they instead reached for a gag about his teeth and then fixate on it on not just once, but repeat the same gag a second time, and then use the idea yet a third time because that horse isn’t yet dead enough.

On the whole, the worldbuilding was not bad. The furgonomics and furchitecture aren’t as complete as Zootopia’s (but then again, what is?) but there was still an attempt to make at least some things appropriate for toons of all sizes to live in and among the humans. Yet, oddly, much was also not. Monty’s appt building is a fun and well-done example, but while Chip’s house is small it’s also appears to be on a regular human-sized lot in a human-sized area? So it isn’t complete. But I’m still glad they did put in some effort to make toons and their size difference feel like a real part of the “real” world.

The bits between Chip and his dog Milli are pawsitively adorable!

The animation of C&D is mostly good, and I like the difference in their styles!

It’s really great when C&D are doing chipmunk-y things, like when they casually climb down the outside of Monty’s apartment building.

It’s interesting that half the CDRR episodes they reference are real/released ones, and half were not. Was it done to pad out how long the show had been running in the movie, or were they doing it for self-convenience so they could invent episodes to fit their plot points rather than doing the work to find the elements they needed in the real cartoons?

For all I noted above of what didn’t work when it comes to gags, there are some killer gags that do work exquisitely, mainly because they (properly) remain in the background: the sign that reads “Wrong Side” on the edge of the train tracks, battering rams, the firework joke, “And I regretted it instantly!” (which also fits into Dale’s character), and oh wow, Lego Miserables is totally a movie I would love to see them make.

Though that Wrong Side gag is good, narratively and world-building-ly it’s a bit weird, because C&D go to the wrong side of the tracks and start down this shady bit before emerging onto… a shining happy main street full of people who seem oblivious to the underbelly. If it’s that shiny and popular, wouldn’t it have a more direct and less sketchy access?

There’s a fun cameo of two of Fat Cat’s accomplices hiding blurred in the background on Main St.

For whatever reason, I really loved Lumiere’s performance in this.

It was great that Tress MacNeille got to reprise the voice for both Gadget as well as high-pitched Chip (as she did Chip’s voice in the TV series). Ditto for Corey Burton and Dale, and C&D arguing in their old Donald Duck cartoon style was fun.

Interestingly, Tress’ voice for Gadget here was not exactly the same; I’m not sure if that was intentional (Gadget’s “real” voice vs her TV voice, same as C&D) or if she couldn’t quite get it again.

Also, never forget, that Jim Cummings is a treasure.

Captain Putty’s fight with Ellie is very creative and fun, making good use of his malleable body. Also, the slight twitchiness of his animation to match the stop-motion aesthetic is good.

I really wonder why they call the fake movies bootlegs – that’s not the term I’ve heard associated with it. Mockbusters is generally the term used for the knockoff movies used to hoodwink people at checkout lines. So… why bootleg?

I don’t remember anything in the CDRR cartoon ever being as toony as the cartoon bird trick. One of the neat things about the TV show was that they mostly played it straight, so why deviate from that here? Again, just like inventing new episodes it feels like lazy writing and lack of understanding or respect for the original material.

And to that end I’m surprised that in general there are not more allusions to the TV show. Or maybe I embarrassingly missed them, in which case I’ll need to turn in my RR cred…

While seeing the Ranger Plane was neat, I really wish they’d used the Ranger Wing instead. For no reason other than I think it’s a 100x cooler aircraft.

I am not a fan of the continued BS trope that police can’t do their job because of rules, and if they could just do whatever they want they could solve all the cases. We’ve seen very much real-world examples of just how much police often already run roughshod over rules, people, and communities.

I’ve noted it above, but I have to say it again… The amount of spoken exposition in this movie is downright astounding to me. It is shocking just how the writers seem to feel some odd, contestant, need to have some character or other explain every single plot point that is happening, or explain every single character development, or explain every single damn joke or gag. I’m flummoxed. “Show, don’t tell,” as the adage goes. And absolutely, as with all adages it can be taken too far, but there’s a reason why it exists as an adage.

And as for the jokes… if you need to spend minutes setting up the joke, and/or need to explain the joke, then perhaps you should find a better joke.

The ending credit sequence is pretty cool! And the remix song ain’t all that bad either.

I’m mixed about it all. As a longtime fan who would love to see an actual reboot or continuation, I think the movie’s concept is fine**** and could see some cool stuff coming out of it (including leading to said continuation of a CDRR series). There were plenty of bits and aspects that I enjoyed and seeing the team in action again was a joy. And in those moments where things truly come together, and when the movie remembers where to apply its focus, it can be great and the magic of C&D’s relationship is there.

But those moments are just moments, surrounded by a morass of lessor execution and without a strong throughline that could make them transcendent. It didn’t follow through or fulfill on its promise, and it left me wanting.

And therein lies the rub. While I didn’t mind watching it a second time I don’t foresee myself watching it a third (or more). There’s not enough there to make it worthwhile, and I can savour in my memory the good bits without subjecting myself to the greater amount of lacking bits.

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* …and those letters shall forever be an… interesting and visible part of my history.

** As opposed to, and it’s important to emphasize again, Walt Disney Animation, which has produced some amazingly new and fresh and well told work.

*** Not that direct heart-to-heart talks are bad per se, but better storytelling has a mix of showing as well as the H2H talks, and you can see that things are leading to those H2H talks so that when they happen they feel genuine and are impactful.

**** Especially given that C&D’s as the stars of the TV show was already a reinvention of sorts.

#rescue rangers #chip & dale #CDRR #disney #movies #disney afternoon #chip n dale rescue rangers

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signalwatch · 1 year

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Yeoh Watch: Heroic Trio (1993)

Watched: 03/20/2023

Format: Criterion

Viewing: Unknown

Director: Johnnie To

As far as I know, I hadn't watched Heroic Trio (1993) all the way through since some point in college. I know I saw it in the theater with JAL during a student sponsored film series where we'd all go to the old Hogg theater in the middle of campus and ignore the bats flying around overhead and throwing little batty shadows onto the screen. I recall watching part of it with The Admiral and Steanso on broadcast TV in about 1996. And I'm pretty sure I saw it again on VHS at some point. Jamie tells me we watched at least part or most of it in Phoenix, which I don't remember - but apparently happened.

The film has been very hard to find in the US for years now. Or I would have bought it on disc - DVD or Bluray.* But now it's on Criterion Channel as part of the "Michelle Yeoh Kicks Ass" collection that spotlights her pre-US produced films as well as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which took her Bond-based running start and made her a full-fledged star in the West.

Heroic Trio is more or less a fantasy comic-book movie with some post-Burton vibes in set design, but nuttier and occasionally much grimmer than Marvel or even DC fare, featuring a story that would need tweaking to be remade in the states. It's mostly vibes, and those vibes will change at the drop of a hat throughout the film as it can't decide if this is tragedy, comedy, horror film or what. And a movie can contain all those things, but sometimes those movies also need to find a ramping up and down into the change of tone. This movie is slapping down moods like playing cards.

Also - I'm still not sure what was going on for chunks of the movie. Some things seem to just happen like we lost a sequence or me blinking meant I missed a crucial beat.

how YOU doin'?

Michelle Yeoh's story is a giant tragedy burger, as indicated by the paper being blown around by industrial fans everywhere she goes, but it's not clear why her target (with whom she has fallen in love) HAS to make the Invisible Cloak when he knows it's a dangerous weapon and the process of making the cloak is killing him. I mean, if I had the option between voluntarily slowly killing myself or choosing a life with Michelle Yeoh (he doesn't know she's a turncoat), I think I know what I'd pick.

Straight up, my fond memories of my initial viewings of the film are likely based on a few set pieces and the film starring Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung and Anita Mui. All are talented actors, all of them are fun to watch, all of them grab the screen when they appear. As Jamie said "they've got so much charisma". If we're going by Danny's criteria for superhero films of (a) how much money did the movie make and (b) how hot are the actors - we can state that (a) info on box office is non-existent, but it seems like it was popular and earned a sequel, and (b) very to extremely.

What I'd forgotten is the movie's tonal shifts and grasping for intensity mean we get plenty of anguish, spilled blood, loosened limbs, babies as targets, babies as accident victims, small young boys as cannibals, and "heroes" who make decisions like "let's kidnap babies" and "let's murder children". This shit would not fly for US mainstream audiences. Apparently the sequel - filmed the same year - takes place years later and a nuclear apocalypse has occurred between movies. Which seems like it's own story, but no. Let's just make the world even grimmer and then go back to fighting baddies.

The fights are high-wire choreography, meant to fully exploit the possibilities of wire work, editing and a supernatural storyline, and this should have/ could have made it's way into Western film but we lack any joy in our films. Paired with the physical talents of Mui, Yeoh and Cheung kicking the crap out of things, it's a lot of fun.

At some point you just have to sit back and say "I am clearly missing cultural clues and expecting a western-style story and this isn't that" so you need to just enjoy it for what it is, or check out. Thanks to the power of Michelle Yeoh, deciding to stick around was easy-peasy.

But, yeah, it's kind of kooky to see the 2023 Oscars went to actors who came out of genre, and see what Yeoh was up to as a fresh face, now thirty years ago. And - before leaving - it's mind-boggling to see Maggie Cheung here and then in In the Mood for Love. Versatility! And pour one out for Anita Mui, who passed back in 2003.

*it was listed as a future Criterion release for 2022, but it's 2023 and hasn't yet happened, but is on the Criterion Channel, so maybe soon?

https://ift.tt/wxilnto

from The Signal Watch https://ift.tt/d0WEcuf

#movies #film review #michelle yeoh #maggie cheung #anita mui #heroic trio

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waeirfaahl · 1 year

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Interview with Phil Weinstein, director of Balto-2 and Balto-3

There were also several interviews with Phil Weinstein, published in Animation Source in 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2012. Interview from 2008 is here in audio version, interview from 2011 is here, interview from 2012 is here, others will be published later. Here is the one from 2006 by Steet. steet : How did you get the prestigious directing place of the films? PW : I was just finishing up directing on the Hercules TV series and interviewed for the job. I don't know who else interviewed for the position but it is usually a question of being a good fit for the show and also being available when they were ready to start. I was very lucky. steet : What was concretly your job in the production of the Balto sequels? PW : The script was written before I was hired, so my job was to hire and direct the artists in creating the show. steet : Were there any deleted scenes? Any interesting changes between the original scripts and the final cuts? PW : The original Balto 2 script was a little bit longer, so we trimmed some scenes for time, but otherwise it changed very little. For Balto 3 Kodi do not help rescue his dad in the orginal script. I pitched the idea of Steele being the one who volunteers to go help Balto on the rescue since in the original draft Kodi wouldn't go. I thought it would be interesting for Balto and Steele to be out alone together, you would always be wondering if Steele would betray Balto! The dog alert was added and the flashbacks to Kodi as a puppy were added in Jenna's song. The opening song visuals originally told more of the story of Kodi, getting promoted from the dog in the back to the front, and also the opening began with a postman addressing a letter, we follow the letter as it gets sorted, then bagged in a sack, then placed on a sled to get delivered. There are some elements of this in the final. The close up of the letter stamped airmail at the end of the movie was really just a pay off for what was set up in the beginning. The ice bridge sequence was added too. steet : What was the real reason for the voice actors change? Low budget? PW : Budget and availability of certain actors. steet : Was Aniu meant to be the White Wolf from the original Balto? Was it a new character, or was she already planned by the team working on the original Balto? PW : Yes, she was the White wolf from the first movie. steet : Why did Balto eyes turned white in Balto 2? PW : That was a mistake on the character model. There are so many things to keep track of on a movie production that sometimes the most obvious things get overlooked. We fixed that in Balto 3! steet : Does Dusty have a crush on Kodi or Ralph in Balto 3? Many fans say that Dusty looks a lot like Aleu, was it intended? PW : Well, there was an implied relationship between Dusty and Ralph in one scene. I'd always hoped we could work on more of that in the story, but there wasn't time. Yeah, I guess Dusty does look a little bit like Aleu, but it was not intentional. steet : Do you have any idea about what pushed Universal to make sequels? PW : No, I'm sorry I don't. steet : What were the budgets of the sequels? If you're not allowed to tell, was the budget for Balto 3 higher than for Balto 2? PW : I'm sorry, but I cannot share with you this information. steet : Maybe you know already, but Universal isn't planning to make another sequel; in answer to our petition, they said that 'not enough people bought the last one to make it attractive to produce another'. What is your feeling about this? PW : I don't know what the sales figures were exactly. I have some idea, but I don't know what Universal considers enough of a success to warrant a sequel. I really love the Balto movies, I wish they would make more! steet : Partly due to that answer, some of us are trying to make a Balto 4...Of course not a whole film, only a trailer of a few minutes, and without any budget. No budget...isn't that what you're trying to do with your current project? So, how does things go? Is it really possible nowadays to make a film with nearly no budget? PW : Yes, much easier to make a film with no budget nowadays. Cameras are much cheaper, and you can do most of the production work on a home computer. By the way, we have changed servers, you might have noticed that projectnolight.com is down. If you go to www.projectnolight.org you will be redirected to my company web site, I'm currently reposting the old podcasts. steet : Thank you very much for answering.

#balto #balto movie #aleu #baltowolfquest #balto 2 wolf quest #balto 2

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the-desolated-quill · 2 years

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Controversial opinion time!

There’s nothing about that teaser trailer for HBO’s The Last Of Us series that makes me want to watch it. It literally looks like every other post apocalyptic story I’ve ever seen. There’s nothing about it that stands out whatsoever.

Which brings me to something that most fans probably don’t want to hear, but I’m going to say it anyway. I liked the first game. A lot. But it has since been overhyped and blown out of proportion. Yes the writing is good. For a video game. A medium that, let’s be brutally honest, doesn’t typically have the best writing in the world. That doesn’t mean it’ll necessarily be able to compete in the realm of films and TV. As unique as The Last Of Us’s story was among video games, they’re a dime a dozen in Hollywood. The Road. The Walking Dead. Terminator 2. Even Ghost Rider has done this story before.

Part of the reason why The Last Of Us Part 2 didn’t work was because Neil Druckmann let the success of the first game get to his head and started to get ideas way above his station. He arrogantly thought he was creating high art, when in reality the sequel had all the intellectual sophistication of a Rob Zombie movie. He’s about to get the same wake up call here with HBO. Because as well written as the original The Last Of Us was, when compared to similar stories that Hollywood has produced over the years, it really isn’t that special. The medium is what made it stand out, not the content.

#the last of us #hbo the last of us #hbo #criticism #this is bound to make me popular #lol

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dollycas · 2 months

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Special Guest - Denise Jaden - Author of Tragic Tuesday: A Tabitha Chase Days of the Week Mystery #AuthorInterview / #Giveaway - Great Escapes Book Tour @denise.jaden @denisejadenauthor

Tragic Tuesday: A Tabitha Chase Days of the Week Mystery by Denise Jaden It is my pleasure to welcome Denise Jaden to Escape With Dollycas today! Hi Denise, Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Thanks so much for asking! I live just outside Vancouver, Canada with my personal-trainer husband and filmmaker son. I have been a Polynesian dancer since I was eight, and love everything to do with the dancing and culture of the Polynesian islands. I also act in the background of many TV shows and movies that are produced around the area where I live, and while sitting around waiting to go to set I usually find lots of time to write. I’ve been writing for young adults, writers, and cozy mystery readers since 2003. What is the first book you remember reading? The first book I recall reading was Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. I didn’t grow up as much of a reader, and I was in my thirties when I was working at a church and one of the pastors was raving about this book. I told him I didn’t really read much, and he made me promise to at least give this book a try. I did, and I couldn’t put it down. I’ve been an avid reader ever since. What are you reading now? At the moment, I’m reading a couple of cruise ship mysteries, as I hope to set my next series on a cruise ship. I am especially enjoying A Cruise to Murder by Dawn Brookes. What books have most inspired you? Kane and Abel was really inspiring to me. I also really loved The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton. While reading, I found myself stopping and rereading sentences many times, just to admire the beauty of them. What made you decide you wanted to write mysteries? I love the puzzle of mysteries, but to be honest, I don’t know that I ever would have attempted writing one if it weren’t for an author friend of mine who was looking for a co-author for her series. I ended up co-writing two historical mysteries with Lee Strauss and it taught me a lot about plotting and writing mysteries. Do you have a special place where you like to write? While I’m at home, I write at my kitchen table, more out of necessity than anything. I would love to eventually have an office in my home, but so far that hasn’t worked out. From time to time, I will go to a coffee shop to write, but I get my best writing done while working on film sets. I often spend hours waiting to film, and working on my books helps pass the time beautifully, plus I love being surrounded by other creative minds. Where do the ideas for your books come from? My ideas come from all over the place. This latest one, Tragic Tuesday, was born out of a love for gardening that I discovered early on in the pandemic. More than once, I’ve been in a grocery store and overheard a conversation that gave me the seed of a new idea. I also spend time talking about story with other actors and many of my ideas are born out of those conversations. Is there anything about writing you find most challenging? I find whatever I’m not doing at that moment challenging. Let me explain: If I’m writing a first draft, I quickly get into the swing of things and could write first drafts for days, but the thought of editing exhausts me. On the other hand, once I get into the swing of editing, I can’t get my head around writing a first draft from a blank page. It’s all hard! But I love it, too. What do you think makes a good story? I’m a big fan of well-developed characters with past wounds and complexity. In my opinion, every great story has some memorable and complex characters at the heart of it. Which, of all your characters, do you think is the most like you? I think Tabby’s sister Pepper is quite a bit like me. She can be impulsive, but she goes after what she wants and she makes a good help-mate to her sister. I’m also a lot like Mallory from my Mallory Beck Cozy Culinary Capers. Mallory loves to experiment in the kitchen, and cooking helps her think things through, just like me. What makes your books different from others out there in this genre? There are a lot of paranormal cozy mysteries around these days, but mine comes from the perspective of a character who is skeptical of all things magical and otherworldly. I can relate to her in this way and I think it makes the supernatural a little more accessible to readers who usually read fiction that is more contemporary and real-world based. I also love the setting—the seaside town of Crystal Cove—where Tabby and her cat Sherlock live on a magical houseboat. What’s next on the horizon for you? Tragic Tuesday officially ties up the Tabitha Chase Days of the Week Mysteries, so I’m ready to embark upon a new cozy mystery series. I’ve been researching cruise-ship cozies and I’m really looking forward to this traveling setting! Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog! Your interview questions were a lot of fun! Thank you, Denise, for visiting today! ______ Keep reading to learn about Denise's new book. About Tragic Tuesday Tragic Tuesday: A Tabitha Chase Days of the Week Mystery Cozy Mystery 7th in Series Setting - Oregon Independently Published (March 14, 2024) Number of Pages - 250 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CNG892WH It’s springtime, and Tabby figures what better way to unite the town of Crystal Cove than creating a community garden! The problem is, she knows nothing about tending the earth. However, there are several folks in town who have strong beliefs in how to start a garden right—unfortunately, all of these strong beliefs seem to disagree with one another. Tabby thinks she has it handled when she comes up with a system that makes each group of gardeners feel valued in their plans and opinions, but when one of the most opinionated women turns up dead in the middle of the fresh soil, it seems she has another murder on her hands—and one she feels at least partially responsible for. Join Tabby, Jay, Aaron, and Sherlock as they investigate and try to get to the bottom of this garden tragedy. More About Denise Jaden For a limited time, stop by Denise's website at www.denisejaden.com, sign up for her newsletter, and get a bonus mystery just for signing up! Get freebies, exclusive content, and book news - you can unsubscribe at any time! Denise Jaden is a co-writer for the Rosa Reed Mystery Series by Lee Strauss. The Mallory Beck Cozy Culinary Capers will be released throughout the year. Her young adult novels have received critical acclaim and her non-fiction books are touted as staples for any writers' bookshelf. In her spare time, she acts with the Vancouver film industry and dances with a Polynesian dance troupe. She lives just outside Vancouver, Canada with her husband, her son (a budding filmmaker), and one very spoiled cat. Author Links Website Bookshop Facebook Twitter Instagram GoodReads BookBub Purchase Links - Amazon Also written by Denise Jaden TOUR PARTICIPANTS - Please visit all the stops. March 7 – Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense – AUTHOR GUEST POST March 8 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW March 9 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW March 10 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – REVIEW March 11 – Christy's Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST March 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW March 12 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT March 13 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW March 14 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT March 15 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT March 16 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT March 17 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT a Rafflecopter giveaway Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today! Want to Book a Tour? Click Here Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent Read the full article

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talenlee · 4 months

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Decemberween '23 — Survivor Histories

Last year I spoke about how I had taken to leaving a channel of ‘horror movie summarised’ videos up on a second screen while I watched. It was effectively, asking a nerd with some very shallow media analysis skills to advertise horror movies at me and while I found it meaningfully engaging for just long enough to get my brain around the problems I was facing at the time, it was remarkable the ease with which I completely dropped the entire idea this year. I think I wrote that article and immediately forgot even the name of the channel, which is why I haven’t gone and looked it up since, even though as you read this and as I write it, I should be linking it. It’s a blog, it should be cross referenced.

But nah.

Anyway, I think it’s important to recognise the junk food you eat. This year, I spent a month or so learning everything I ever wanted to know about Survivor, and then forgetting it just as quickly.

Survivor is a long running TV series. It’s probably ‘always’ been on TV as much as you remember and if you’re like me you might cast your mind back thinking ‘hang on, wasn’t that on in the 90s?’ Not quite but close enough that your feeling isn’t wrong. The first season of Survivor screened in May 2000, and Season 45 of Survivor just finished screening three weeks ago. That is a rate of about two seasons a year, more or less, with each season composed of about thirteenish episodes. Some were longer, some were shorter, and the show is in general a piece of media that seems to keep getting made because of its remarkably even quality and production values. For a show that involves a lot of sets and going somewhere hard to access, it seems that there’s been enough fuel in the tank to produce forty six episodes of reality TV which has now got its own internal mythology and lore.

And that means there’s space for Youtube channels that want to explain things.

The Scary Cult Alliance of Survivor: South Pacific

Watch this video on YouTube

Now, these episodes feel like they’re made by an elaborate scripting language, I’m going to be honest to you. The presenter has a consistent delivery and tone that feels like someone who’s had a retail job working a tannoy. I don’t remember much of anything this video series gave me except that there have been times when incidents have transpired, and those incidents have led to occurrences.

It may sound like I’m dunking on this channel for being boring but it’s the opposite. Survivor is the absolutely median piece of millennial media culture, the most mediocre thing that somehow has sustained itself across multiple distribution networks and the steady elevation of its host. It, like Chopped is something you can put on while you’re doing other things and care about exactly enough while it’s playing, and that’s how I feel about these videos.

Oh, one incident I remember is that someone on the show outed a trans person as part of a strategy, that sucks, and I hope that person got punished for it by the rest of the islanders. I don’t imagine they did.

Okay okay okay so why am I preaching this vast well of mediocre media analysis of mediocre media? Because mediocre is enough. Because not everything is going to elevate you, not everything can demand an equal amount of your attention. And this is a show that has produced forty-six seasons. This is a show that has produced more seasons than The Simpsons. This is a show which mixes some incredibly basic beach games alongside camping and then holds the entire experience together with a set of social deduction/negotiation games. These games are however, not being played by elaborate game theorists, or people who can map out sequences of information, and they are tainted further by the possibility that they’re contending on the regular with irrational actors. It’s a great example of how ‘gaming things out’ needs to account for people making mistakes accidentally or on purpose. It might not surprise you but a lot of ‘characters’ on Survivor are just, like… people, and those people are often going to make decisions based not on a top-down ‘best strategy’ position and focus more on their emotional needs.

What is the Survivor Purple Edit? (And How To Spot It)

Watch this video on YouTube

Basically, people can be silly and people can be assholes and sometimes they can be silly assholes.

What’s more, if you’re planning on predicting rational actors, your plans get harder and harder to affirm if people are being again, silly assholes.

What’s more, sometimes people just do things that don’t make obvious sense. Some folk decide they’re not happy with the situation they’re in so they try to throw their weight around by destroying food or throwing challenges, figuring that they can reposition and they’re not necessarily going to get bounced from the tribe for it.

Eugh. Tribe.

And it’s not just like watching a game of Werewolf play out slow and stupid, it’s also got that extra dash of being a show that’s twenty years old, and when you get to remind yourself that in your lifetime, gay marriage went from a thing we don’t mention to a thing that’s brought up as a plot point to a thing that’s old news and boring. And on the other hand you’ll hear some words that, historically, are slurs, back in the early conversations.

Survivor is an interesting series. It’s designed to hold interest. Getting my attention and holding it is its job. But what’s remarkable about it in hindsight, after I watched all these videos explaining the history and the context and the greater linked precedence of how much you can hurt yourself in a Survivor Challenge, it all slid out of my memory like it was made out of oil. I had nothing going on in between my ears once I was done with all of this.

Still, it held my attention and it was what I needed when I got it.

Maybe if I was going to make a bunch of buttons…

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#Decemberween 2023 #Media

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your-dietician · 2 years

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'All-American' and undocumented: Rafael Agustin's funny and touching memoir strikes a chord

New Post has been published on https://medianwire.com/all-american-and-undocumented-rafael-agustins-funny-and-touching-memoir-strikes-a-chord/

'All-American' and undocumented: Rafael Agustin's funny and touching memoir strikes a chord

In high school, Rafael Agustin was desperately trying to be a “normal” Southern California teen. He was a young American who liked action movies, television shows like “Saved by the Bell” and of course, the singer Paula Abdul.

But he had a big secret.

“We came as immigrants and they never told me we were undocumented,” Agustin said, speaking about his parents, who were physicians in Ecuador — an anesthesiologist and a pediatric surgeon — but had working-class jobs in the United States. “I grew up an ignorant but all-American kid and, in high school, I couldn’t get my driver’s license because I didn’t have papers. It was like a shock.”

Agustin, 41, an acclaimed screenwriter (“Jane the Virgin”), producer and actor, has received widespread praise for his recently published book, “Illegally Yours,” a memoir in which he describes growing up in the United States and grappling with his undocumented status more or less on his own. He has written it in a style that combines humor and heartbreak — and best describes the way he sees life.

“I always wanted to tell our story as a comedy because, for me, it is very important that it be accessible and entertaining. I have read other memoirs that are — very sad, but I don’t see the world like that,” he said. “I want anyone, documented or undocumented, to be able to read the book and not only laugh or have fun, but also feel identified.”

“Illegally Yours” elicits both tears and laughter as he writes about trying to become the most popular student in high school while wrestling with his immigration issues, upbringing and heritage.

Agustin, the CEO of the Latino Film Institute, came to the U.S. as a young child in 1988 when his parents emigrated from Ecuador seeking better opportunities.

In his book, the author explains that he finally became a U.S. citizen after his parents obtained their permanent residence, but the long years before that happened inspired him to write his memoir.

He evokes the memories of his upbringing with large doses of humor and many pop references. Legendary TV series such as “Full House,” “Family Matters” and “Alf” and action movie classics such as “Terminator” and “American Ninja” parade through its pages.

Afraid of speaking Spanish

One of the most moving moments of the book captures a terrifying incident for the author. Early one Sunday morning in the late 1980s, he was walking with his father on the beach in San Clemente, California.

Suddenly, a man ran past and was later stopped by two armed immigration agents. Agustin never forgot two things. He asked his father what was going on and then saw the intense fear in his dad’s eyes as he ordered Agustin, ‘Don’t speak Spanish!’”

“Now that I’m an adult,” Agustin said, “I understand that he was telling me not to speak Spanish while the migra (immigration authorities) were there. But since I was a child and I saw the terror in my dad’s eyes, I decided not to speak Spanish for the rest of my youth, and that hurts a lot.”

He said it wasn’t until high school that he started speaking Spanish again with his parents, a little bit at a time.

Agustin’s book joins a series of notable memoirs that have stood out for vividly capturing the U.S. immigrant experience. These include “The Distance Between Us” by Reyna Grande, “Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen” by journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, and even the recent collection of poems — “Diaries of a Terrorist” — by Christopher Soto.

“We have to change the narrative of immigrants in this country to change the minds and hearts of Americans,” he said. “People have to remember that most of the immigrants from Europe who came to Ellis Island were undocumented and processed in two, three hours. We can do that today, but we don’t want to and that’s the problem.”

Below is an edited and condensed version of the interview with Agustin.

An important moment in the book is when you find out that you were an undocumented person in the U.S. What do you remember about that time in your life?

In high school, the whole truth falls on me. The truth is that I was very ignorant of our immigration status, imagine that I was always very nerdy but I couldn’t find my place. I liked both hip-hop and punk rock or Carlos Vives, so I didn’t know what my group was and when my parents told me that I didn’t have a social security number, I got depressed for a while. But then, I started wanting to be the most popular student in school because I didn’t want anyone to find out about my reality.

Was it a way to compensate for the insecurity generated by not having papers in the country?

Sure, I believed that if I was class president or prom king or an honors student, no one would think I was undocumented. So it was as American as it could be so that people wouldn’t find out what I was experiencing.

One of the successes of the book is to be able to recount the hard experiences of your migratory experience with a great sense of humor. How did you achieve that narrative balance?

It is true that life is difficult and work is hard, but we never lose our sense of humor or happiness and I wanted to put all that pride and love in the book. Very soon, I realized that my parents understood that the American dream was not for them but for their children, and I think that is the reality of many immigrants in this country.

Have you recently seen any positive change in the representation of Latinos in Hollywood?

The truth is, no. I agree with studies by the Norman Lear Center that show that, in real life, undocumented immigrants have higher levels of education, own more businesses and commit fewer crimes than what we see on television. It’s a big deal, which is why I wanted to write this book because we never hear the story of undocumented immigrants who are American in every way but one.

I always like to remind people that in Ecuador, I am not Latino but Ecuadorian. In Mexico, they are not Latino, they are Mexican. And that is the case in all countries. But in the United States, we are Latinos, so, for me, being Latino is something authentically American.

Many critics see that lack of representation as a step backward, even compared to the situation in the entertainment industry in the last century.

Definitely, one of the people who inspires me the most and who impacted the industry the most is Cuban American Desi Arnaz. When people ask me about the problem of the lack of diversity in Hollywood, I always say that in the ’50s, we were used to one of the main characters of “I Love Lucy” — the most important series in the country — being a Latino and being in our homes every holy day. We’re trying to get back to where we were in the ’50s, go figure.

Despite the fact that the U.S. has a large Latino population, that’s not reflected in shows. What is the challenge for Latino creatives in this social context?

My dream is to continue writing in English for television and film because for many years when a Latino story is written, it’s automatically assumed that it will be in Spanish, and I want to make sure that Hollywood executives know that we exist. We live in this country and we are bilingual — some of us don’t even speak Spanish and that’s fine.

But to meet that goal, we have to understand how to write our stories and the difference between Latinidad and a genre. It can be a love story or a horror story or a comedy — Latinidad is not the genre … It’s important that we start writing commercial stories that understand that.

Many “Dreamers” (young people brought to the U.S. as young children who lack legal immigration status) live in situations very similar to those you narrated in “Illegally Yours,” which makes it a very timely book. What is your message to those young people who are struggling to have a better future despite bureaucratic and legal measures?

We are fighting politically for your future and I know it is very frustrating because I have suffered that frustration, but I want you to know that you are not alone. We listen to them, we see them and we are going to continue fighting for them, and it’s very important that they know that they are Americans. It doesn’t matter what anyone tells them, or what the politicians say, because they are Americans and we have to treat them that way.

An earlier version of this story was first published on Noticias Telemundo.

Follow NBC Latino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Read the full article here

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teensdemo · 2 years

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Is there any new stuff planned for the cowboy bebop series

Original anime series director Shinichirō Watanabe is a consultant on the series, and original composer Yoko Kanno returns to score the live-action adaptation.Ĭowboy Bebop is executive produced by André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg of Midnight Radio, Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements of Tomorrow Studios, Makoto Asanuma, Shin Sasaki and Masayuki Ozaki of Sunrise Inc., Tim Coddington, Tetsu Fujimura, Michael Katleman, Matthew Weinberg, and Christopher Yost. Production on Cowboy Bebop wrapped in March. So far, we’ve seen Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Logan (Brian Cox) take their side and pick their players. The highly-anticipated live action adaptation has experienced delays over the course of production due to Cho’s on-set injury, which put the show out for seven to nine months. We have a lot of stuff planned for it that I cant even talk about right now, but its the most excited Ive been by podcasting. We’re entering Week 6 of Succession, and the drama is still coming. It’s been confirmed that Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop Season 2 TV show is already in the works and the first season of the live-action Cowboy Bebop remake has not even finished filming. Cowboy Bebop also features Geoff Stults, Tamara Tunie, Mason Alexander Park, Rachel House, Ann Truong and Hoa Xuande. a stellar job bringing this Blu-ray set to North America, and while it is THE. Netflix’s images also reveal the Bebop in its mechanical glory, Ein the experiment-turned-pet Corgi and a key scene between Spike and nemesis Vicious, who will be played by Alex Hassell. : Cowboy Bebop - The Complete Series : David Lucas, Wendee Lee. The only member of the original Bebop gang missing from the series so far is hacker protégé Edward, a.k.a.

It may be a kickass song, but you need a LOT of good songs to make it a good soundtrack).Dave Chappelle Met With Mixed Reactions From Students At Alma Mater On April 3, 1998, Cowboy Bebop premiered for the first time on Japanese TV and instantly changed the anime game forever. I dont like ecchi in general, not because I watch stuff with my brother haha.

All in the, sort of, bow related but some new gadgets he has in addition to the bow.' He went on to assure that Hawkeye is 'totally there' and 'a part of the world' That still doesnt tell us if hes actually going to appear in Infinity War or not. Were developing a lot of interesting stuff for him. My question is- could it be the best Soundtrack ever, beyond any game, movie, or special piece you've heard? And if not, what do you think is?(remember- one song can't make a good soundtrack. I can guarantee in the 2nd season of Soma, theres only one super mild 'ecchi' stuff in it since the judges of the competitions are now old men. 'Hawkeye is getting a lot of cool new stuff. Some of the greatest are the opening theme- "Tank!", the Final Theme, "See You Space Cowboy(a dramatic rendition of The Real Folk Blues, with different lyrics but same melody and feel), "Blue", the final episode's ending theme, and countless more songs I've enjoyed, from tons of different styles.Īnd now, as I rediscovered the soundtrack to the movie to Cowboy Bebop, I am once again reminded of the elegance, and power, by the song "Gotta Knock a Little Harder"(right through the door). LOL I feel like shit is about to go off the rails, but I’m enjoying the ride into the unknown. This series is, as the kids say, wildin’. Many of the songs from it are on my perma-playlist, and I have on tons of my CDs- and have only burned 2 that don't contain it. Episode 8’s got this show feeling like a straight comedy with the trio running over Jet’s plan. But, Bast holds power and cunning of unknown strength and ability. My favorite song holder place has long been held by "The Real Folk Blues", the standard ending theme to Cowboy Bebop. Wielding Dragnipur, the night-bladed sword, millenia of fighting experience, and the ability to turn into a dragon Anomander presents a daunting challange to Bast (cause he can turn into a freaking dragon).

#Is there any new stuff planned for the cowboy bebop series

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authornathanielryan · 2 years

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If we wind the clock back several years -- let’s say, somewhere around 2008 or 2009 – I woke up one day and had the bright idea to start making my own movies. I always thought it would be cool to have a screenwriting/filmmaking career akin to Kevin Smith or Quintin Tarantino. I wanted to have full creative control of the movies I made and I wanted to work with people that were friends. I never liked the idea of “Hollywood” filmmaking. Or as I like to call it, “Board Room Filmmaking”. Seriously, there’s nothing worse than a bunch of suits shouting out changes to your script all for the sake of money.

I decided to ask my long-time friend and brother from another mother, Keith Melcher, if he wanted to team up with me on this. I wanted to work with friends and, in my opinion, there was no better place to start than teaming up with the dude I’d spent the previous few years writing screenplays with. Boy oh boy, if either one of us had any idea what we were getting into... but that’s a story for another time. This, however, is a good opportunity for me to jump into the “screenwriting” part of the true screenwriting story.

So, there we were, poised to make our own movies. I figured since we were new to this strange world of cinema that it would be best to dip our feet in the shallow end of the pool and start with short films. I very clearly remember saying that we needed to start with something simple. Something that wouldn’t require a lot of special FX or technical knowledge. Something that would be so easy to produce, so easy to cast that there was no possible way we could screw it up. We both set out to start writing said scripts and what you see below is what I started writing... And then couldn’t stop.

I called it “Bleeder”.

If you’re looking at that photo and thinking to yourself, “But Ryan, that doesn’t look simple at all!” then you, my dear reader, would be correct. “Bleeder” is many things, but it sure as hell isn’t simple. A couple quick facts for you: First of all, this story started off as a short film I called “Saviors” and it was originally intended to be a noir-detective story (black and white movies had to be cheap to make, right??) and it was centered around our cliched lead, Detective Roth, who was trying to find a missing girl. The girl would later be revealed to have been kidnapped by... wait for it... vampires!! I know! What a twist, right?!... Am I right!?...... Yeah, I’m right.

What started as a short film quickly evolved into a shorter, more manageable web series which quickly evolved into a full, 45-minute-long TV pilot. And by quickly, I mean within the first 72 hours of the original script being written. I don’t remember which version of the script I handed to Keith but judging by how he emphasized the very low probability of us being able to make it I’m assuming it was the longer version with all the ‘splosions and the underground city of vampires and the elaborate car chases. I’m not sure when I settled on the title “Bleeder” either, but I do remember being pissed off at one point because I discovered that some other twerps had used it for their vampire web series. Thankfully, the stories couldn’t have been farther apart. And since my story was obviously cooler, I kept the title... Suck it other vampire web series!

As you can probably tell, I became pretty obsessed with “Bleeder”. So obsessed that I wasn’t satisfied writing a single pilot episode. No sir. I wrote the whole damn series. Four seasons. Eight episodes per season with the 8th episode being a 90-minute season finale. The final episode clocked in around the 2-hour mark (this was all before streaming existed, mind you so I had the Netflix format long before Netflix was a thing - POINT FOR BREWER). You can’t see it in the photo, but there’s also a lengthy series bible called “Eternus Vita” which I wrote from the perspective of one of the shows sub characters. The entire series was intended to be a Vampire epic. Most vampire stories are very isolated, usually revolving around two or three characters and locked within a single location with small-scale consequences. I figured it would be cool to do a vampire story with larger, world-wide consequences rather than the usual normal-woman-falls-for-hot-dude-who-turns-out-to-be-vampire-and-they-have-forbidden-kinky-vampire-sex-and-hot-vampire-dude-dies-because-human-dude-is-righteous/jealous/incel-and kills hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim....... You can't hear it but I did a voice while I was writing that...

To this day, “Bleeder” is the story that if I made it tomorrow, I could die happy the next day. Fulfilled. Satisfied. Mayhap complete. I even slapped an official copyright on it just in case. I never did re-writes on it. What you see are the original first drafts (and I promise you they read like first drafts). Don’t let the file dates fool you either. I’m fairly certain I began writing bleeder in 2008 or 09 at the latest. Migration from different computers and newer versions of Final Draft however automatically updates the last time the files were opened as is clear by season 4, episode 7 which I obviously opened today (as of this writing).

A lot has changed and I always wanted to re-write them. It would be a necessary evil no matter what especially since I’ve had time to develop new back stories for some of my favorite characters. Lena comes to mind. She’s always been my favorite and she was the only one that didn’t originally have a backstory. It took over a decade to get there, but her backstory eventually came to me and I was overwhelmed with the desire to revisit this series. In fact, the short film I made two years ago called “Familiar” was intended to take place in the same universe and Lena was originally supposed to play a big part in the feature film version. The feature film then inspired me to do re-writes (which I clearly have yet to start).

I’d still like to see it get made. Some day. Preferably before I go blind...

#screenwriting #horror #vampire #vampire goth #scriptwriting #series

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