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thevindicativevordan · 3 years

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On Supergirl

Figured I should put up my thoughts about Kara in the wake of her first film appearance being announced, and the final season of her TV show fast approaching. Short version is: Kara is very cool and DC needs to stop messing with her.

My Introduction to Kara

I was introduced to Kara the way most millennials/Gen Zers were I imagine, via the Loeb Superman/Batman arc which brought the traditional Kara Zor-El Supergirl take into Post-Crisis continuity, after years of DC attempting to have a “Supergirl” without violating the editorial mandate that Kal needed to be the literal “Last Son of Krypton” (an example of one of the dumb ways DC fucked Kara over). Story goes that one day Dan Didio was in line at the Superman ride at Six Flags (I love that ride even though it’s stolen my glasses every time I’ve ridden it, even when I left them in a locker!). The ride had signs that talked about various Superman characters. Didio was reading the entry for Supergirl where it talked about her not being Clark’s cousin but instead some weird merge of alien shapeshifter, angel, and human girl, and he realized how fucking stupid that was, and he went back to the office and told Loeb to bring Kara back.

Years later I would also be standing in line at the Six Flags Superman ride (probably at a different park location but who knows?) as a youngster and would read the new Supergirl sign that trumpeted that Superman had a cousin who shared all his powers, an update reflecting the new Loeb origin. I thought she sounded pretty cool, made a note to see if my library had any Supergirl stories next time I visited, then got on the Superman ride and promptly lost my glasses like an idiot because I wanted to take them off while I was riding and pretend I was changing from my “disguise” into Superman mid flight. My dad grounded me for this afterwards, but it gave me a funny story to tell at family get togethers and isn’t that what Six Flags is all about?

A month later (and with spiffy new glasses), my mom dropped me off at a new library next to where she worked, and they had one of the best Superman collections I’ve ever seen to this day. I was in heaven and while reading every Superman book I could find (I couldn’t check them out because I didn’t have a card, my mom’s card didn’t cover the area the library was in, and my mom wouldn’t have checked them out anyway since comics were “too violent”), I found the trade collecting Kara’s new origin. I read it and I thought both she and Superman were really cool, and Batman was a punk who had to beat Darkseid by cheating, the loser. Turner’s art to my young eyes was the best I had ever seen, and the panels got engraved into my brain.

I still get downright nostalgic whenever I see Turner Superman or Supergirl stuff. I also got my parents to rent the animated movie adaption of the Superman/Batman arc from Blockbuster (remember those?), and that sealed the deal. Seeing Kara hold her own against Darkseid convinced me she was as cool as her cousin. Next time my mom dropped me off at the library next to her workplace, I went looking for Supergirl stuff to read. I found the first volume of her new volume by Joe Kelly taking place after the Loeb arc and dove in.

It was... weird. 5 years later I might have enjoyed it but at the time I was majorly put off. Kara took a secret identity for a day and then ditched it because it was “stupid” and the kids bullied her. She was always getting into fights with Kal, and there was this weird plot that I couldn’t follow about how her dad had sent her to kill Kal, maybe or maybe not? Also she could grow crystals which I thought was dumb, and said she was stronger than her cousin which I couldn’t buy for a second given he looked like he was carved out of marble, and she looked like she relied on sunlight instead of food. I put the volume back on the shelf and kinda gave up on reading the character after that for a while.

I followed her via the DC wiki updates just like I did Superman, and everything I read seemed dumb and convoluted. She was split in two, moped around a lot, made out with an alternate version of her cousin, and basically just flopped about the same way the rest of the Superfamily did during the 00s. Nothing made me think I had made a mistake dropping Kara until I read the latest update to her wiki page.

I was super into what I was reading about the Busiek/Johns era of Superman online. Lex was back and making a big revenge scheme that involved all the other Rogues! Old Superman Rogues were getting revamped and made cool again! Johns reintroduced Brainiac and made him a big threat, with Kal and Kara teaming up to fight him! Busiek was revamping Prankster and telling big ambitious Superman stories! For the first time in a long while, the consensus on the Internet was that Superman was good again. My “home” library had zero Marvel books and no Superman or Batman books, all their DC stuff was Flash or Green Lantern, mainly written by Johns. Insane to think back on now. My hopes that because Johns was involved with Superman, Superman books would show up at my library were fulfilled. They started bringing in Busiek and Johns collections, and someone there also ordered Sterling Gates’ first volume of Supergirl, and I checked everything out since I was old enough to have my own library card, and my parents were worried more about the violent video games I was playing rather than comics.

I read everything and loved it. I also really liked Gates’ take on Kara. She was still an imperfect teenager but she wasn’t insufferably angsty or constantly fighting with Kal. She was going to give the secret identity another try and Lana had “adopted” her. It’s funny remembering how I enjoyed all that given my current thoughts on how Kara should work, but it was great at the time. I liked Gates introducing new foes for Kara, some classic Superman Rogues adapted for her like Bizzarogirl, others crafted specifically for her like Reactron. Gates’ basically rekindled my enjoyment of Kara the same way Busiek & Johns rekindled my enjoyment of Superman.

Of course it ended terribly like everything Superman-related seems to.

I’ve got a whole post I want to do about New Krypton and what came after. In short that is the most blatant example of “hitting the reset button” that I’ve ever seen. All the potential got wasted, and afterwards everything except Lex’s Action Comics stuff just didn’t appeal to me. Gates got booted off Kara for Nick Spencer who ended up leaving himself later, a promising Teen Titans line-up with Kara on it didn’t happen, and the last proper Pre-Flashpoint Superfamily story was a crappy team-up with Doomsday against Bigger Doomsday (thank God for Cornell’s final Luthor/Superman confrontation at least). When news of the reboot arrived, I was honestly happy. The Superline needed an enema.

Controversial opinion time: I liked New 52 Supergirl. It’s weird because a lot of the stuff I hated about Kelly’s run was here, and a lot of the stuff I loved about the Gates’ run was not. This was angry, moody, emotional Kara again, fighting with Kal and not fond of Earth. But I was in my teens at this point, and I didn’t want happy go-lucky Superman or Supergirl. I wanted my heroes angry, scared of the future, ready to go out there and smash some cars. Morrison’s Action Comics was 100% my jam (still is once I really understood the deeper meaning beneath the work) and this Kara felt like a natural fit for this universe. Plus we got Asrar on art and that guy made it damn pretty to look at, lots of cool science fiction stuff going on, even with the dumb H’el storyline.

I loved all the new Rogues Kara got. I loved her new Fortress under the ocean. I loved how traumatized she was by the loss of Krypton, that she wanted more than anything to go home, that her cousin was like a stranger to her since they had been apart for so long. I found all of that incredibly relatable. A lot of the New 52 Supergirl stories might have been schlock but it was my type of schlock damnit, and I enjoyed it!

I kept with her New 52 series all the way through the Red Daughter Saga (which I loved). As someone who grew up on Johns GL (since that was the only comics my home library had), seeing a Supercharacter join a Lantern Corp was the hypest thing ever. I loved the finale about Kara finally letting go of her anger and losing the ring while smashing her foe into the sun, it was incredibly cathartic for me as an angry teen myself. I finally stopped following her series sometime after since I was no longer enjoying the Superline or really DC as a whole. It wasn’t until I heard that New 52 Superman died and the “old” Superman was back, that I checked back into DC.

DC Rebirth & How I Think Kara Should Work

I did not enjoy Supergirl Rebirth, and I think I’ll talk about my problems with it alongside how I think Kara as a character should work since the two are related. A pet peeve of mine that has formed over the years is this: I don’t like it when Superfamily members get turned into Clark clones. Kon wearing glasses and going to Smallville High. Kara going to high school and being involved in journalism. Jon more or less being written as a copy of his dad personality-wise. I hate that kind of stuff because it’s boring. What’s the point of a Superfamily if everyone is just copying Clark? It also doesn’t fit the characters especially in Kara’s case. Why the hell does she want to be a journalist? Were there journalists on Krypton? I don’t remember ever seeing one! Shouldn’t she want to be, I dunno, a scientist? That seems to have been the El family tradition, wouldn’t she have been groomed for that?

This one-off by Shea is honestly the only acceptable outcome for Kara going into journalism for me. She realizes she’s just copying her cousin and switches to something she wants to do. So Orlando copying the show, which already basically turned Kara into an expy of her cousin, just did not appeal to me at all. What had worked for me under Gates way back when was not clicking for me this time. I wanted to see Kara embody the principles of the S-shield in a different way than her cousin did. So I really enjoyed when Rebirth ended and we moved into the Bendis era with Andrekyo relaunching the title as Kara in space.

Kara in space has always felt like a good fit for me. Unlike Kal I’ve come to believe that Kara really shouldn’t be all that fond of Earth. For him it’s home, but for her it’s just where she ended up after her real home got destroyed. I think Kara works well as a sort of nomad, occasionally making stops back home to Earth to check on her cousin, but otherwise? She’s more comfortable out in space than she could ever be on Earth. Out in space she can be Kryptonian (which is what she should think of herself as in contrast to Clark being torn between his Kryptonian biology and human upbringing, and Jon/Kon identifying as human), be her true self, not have to pretend to be human to fit in. Kara founding a moon refuge was one of the best ideas for her that I’ve seen, I would love if DC made her Future State refugee center on the moon canon. I’m excited for more Kara adventures in space with the upcoming Tom King story.

Also love that her and Krypto are getting tied together, if they don’t want to use Krypto in Superman’s stuff, let her have him! Bring on cosmic adventurer Supergirl!

Personality & Other Traits

Kara to me should be more hot-tempered than her cousin. All the Superfamily members should have a temper in my opinion, I see that as the “Deadly Sin” of Superman and his family. But while Kal is like a simmering pot that will explode if it’s left cooking for too long, Kara is like dynamite. Light her fuse at your own peril because she will go off on you.

I also like the idea of Kara being rash. Kal’s got a maturity that came from over a decade of having to live with Lex Luthor constantly getting away with all his evil schemes. He’s patient because he’s been forced to be. Kara? If you ask for her help she’ll give it, but beware because she doesn’t really care about the long term impacts of her decisions. She’s an invulnerable teenager after all.

Really liked that Venditti Annual where Kara got tutored in history by a reincarnation of Hawkman. Kara having a passion for history is a neat trait, would be nice to see her teach Kal or Jon some Kryptonian lore, or have her lead a Kryptonian holiday celebration for the Superfamily because she’s the only one who remembers how to do it.

Sexuality wise I know a lot of people ship Kara and Lena on account of the chemistry between the two in the show. I haven’t watched the show myself but I’m fine with making Kara bisexual, the Superfamily could use some LGBT+ rep, and Lena hasn’t done anything of worth as a villain, so undo that and throw the two together. If we’re letting Harley and Ivy get away with murder I think we can let Lena off the hook too, undo the Ultrawoman weirdness and put the two together. Could be fun seeing the two building that moon refuge together.

All in all I think Kara is a great character who is a stronger embodiment of the immigrant experience than even her cousin in some ways. I hope King does a good job with her, she’s treated better than her cousin on the film side, and that overall the 20s are a better decade for Supergirl than the 10s were.

#supergirl #superman #lena luthor #krypto #dc comics

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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The Enduring Legacy of Classic Baseball Movies

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There’s one specific memory from A League of Their Own that actor Lori Petty carries with her.

Every night, co-star Tom Hanks would move his trailer onto the outfield grass of Wrigley Field in Chicago, the site of the film’s tryout scene, and park it in front of the historic ballpark’s famed ivy wall. The film’s stars cracked beers, took batting practice, and soaked in the big league atmosphere after hours. One evening, Petty, who played Rockford Peaches pitcher Kit Keller, and Hanks were having a casual game of catch when the future Oscar-winning actor paused the throwing session to take in the moment.

“Petty, you know when people go, ‘Remember when?’ That’s this right now,” Hanks said. “This isn’t going to happen again. This isn’t every movie. You’re going to do a lot of movies. This is not going to happen again.”

Hanks’ prophetic words under the stars at Wrigley Field actually undersell the impact A League of Their Own would go on to have with now three generations of viewers, including countless young women who were inspired to take up baseball or softball because of the movie. A League of Their Own isn’t exactly in a league of its own when it comes to baseball movies. Baseball and cinema have been intertwined for over a century, according to Baseball Almanac. Baseball may have more at-bats at the theater compared to other sports, but the game also has an exceptionally high batting average in Hollywood classics, one that would make Ted Williams proud.

Being part of a favorite baseball movie in some ways is like signing onto a lifetime contract with a team. The actors who played notable roles in these films carry their legacies with them wherever they go–to new projects, to ballparks around the country, even to Cooperstown, the site of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, for an annual film festival. Yet even as other sports have gained popularity in recent decades, and baseball has kept a perilous grasp on its status as “America’s Pastime,” several classic baseball movies continue to see their impact grow.

Petty and Tracy Reiner, who played Betty “Spaghetti” Horn, joined Den of Geek on a Zoom call earlier this year to dig into the impact of A League of Their Own. Most of the baseball films that appear on “Best Of” lists are fictional. A League of Their Own, although a fictionalized story, was based on the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which ran from 1943 to 1954, and notably entertained Americans while some of Major League Baseball’s finest players went off to fight the Second World War.

Petty still feels the love from athletes who were inspired by Kit Keller’s rocket arm and youthful tenacity. Reiner, who had an emotional scene in the locker room when her character, Betty, finds out her husband was killed in combat during the war, often hears from veterans and “anyone who’d gotten that letter during World War II and their families were affected.”

Reiner says the film continues to resonate with anyone it touches: “Every coach, every parent, every grandparent, every father, every mother, every girl who felt all of a sudden she was given permission and acceptance.”

Part of Reiner’s fondness for the film is also tied to memories of her family. Her mom, the late Penny Marshall, directed A League of Their Own, and numerous family members worked on the film in various capacities. While Marshall had a long career as an actor and director, including directing Hanks in Big, Reiner says it’s gratifying to see her mother’s legacy live on through new generations of fans.

“Even to this day, [young] girls dress up like us for Halloween,” Reiner says. “You can’t make a kid dress up like something they don’t want to dress up like for Halloween. You see all these children [dressing up] and all the fan mail and photos. These are kids born in 2010. Our movie came out in 1992. This is the third generation.”

Count the most recognizable softball player of all time, Olympic Gold Medalist Jennie Finch, as another directly inspired by the film.

“I remember watching that movie on repeat,” Finch tells Den of Geek. “I’m so thankful for those women for paving the way and providing the opportunity. I usually get to run into them at All-Star events, and that’s always one of the highlights. After my first Olympics, I became a mother, and so going through the Olympics and the tour with a bus and my child, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m living A League of Their Own out.’”

A League of Their Own made an immediate impact upon release given the historical significance and A-List talent, including Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell. In the case of The Sandlot, it took a quarter of a century to become baseball movie royalty.

Patrick Renna, who played ‘Ham’ Porter, recalls the Westwood premiere, the press tour at the Ritz Carlton, and initial buzz around the film. And then it faded. At the time he was a young actor feeling out his career, and he’d next go on to have a lead role in another sports film, the 1995 Disney soccer flick, The Big Green, and guest star in a monster-of-the-week episode of The X-Files, then at the absolute peak of its popularity. The gravity of what The Sandlot would become only sunk in years later. Around the time of the 20th anniversary, and then again in celebration of the 25th, Renna started to realize the staying power of one of his first major film roles.

“Every five years it gets more and more over the top because it’s just older,” Renna says of the excitement for the film amongst fans. “There are more generations to bring in. So now you’re at like three generations that all love it. It’s a pretty humbling thing to be part of. It’s why actors perform, to be part of something that’s lasting.”

Some actors resent a catchphrase that helped make their career. Renna has leaned into it, even naming his new podcast “You’re Killing Me” after Ham’s iconic “You’re Killing Me, Smalls!” line. Although Ham Porter didn’t make the big leagues like Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez, the character lives on through real-life Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, who used “Ham Porter” as his alias at hotels and restaurants on the road, according to Renna.

“He used it until I said it on national television and then blew his cover,” Renna says with a laugh. “So I’ve gotten to become kind of buds with him. When I see Justin Turner [on the field], I’m like, ‘That’s my ginger brother hitting home runs. That’s been the coolest thing, meeting Major League Baseball players and seeing what The Sandlot meant to them. But then to hear it from these larger than life pro athletes who I watch crush home runs, that’s pretty special.”

The romanticization of baseball is an inseparable part of what makes many baseball movies memorable. Bull Durham became an instant classic by pushing back against just that. The film depicted the mundanity of the game, the larger-than-life characters who make up the minor league experience, and presented a sober outlook on climbing baseball’s professional ladder (minus a few bar fights).

Written and directed by Ron Shelton, a former minor league ballplayer, Bull Durham was a film about ballplayers, made by ballplayers, including the film’s technical advisor, then Durham Bulls manager and future Red Sox skipper Grady Little. Actor Robert Wuhl, who played Durham’s pitching coach, Larry, credits Shelton for bringing a ballplayer’s mindset to the film.

“[Ron] said most sports movies suck because they’re from the perspective of the fan. And the fan only cares about one thing: Did the team win or lose?” Wuhl says.

Through a love triangle between Susan Sarandon’s Annie, Kevin Costner’s Crash Davis, and Tim Robbins’ “Nuke” Laloosh, the film peels back the layers behind the mental and emotional journey of being a baseball player, or in Annie’s case, the perfect muse.

“It’s a movie about characters who work in baseball,” Wuhl says. “Bull Durham doesn’t have a big game. The best sports movies don’t have big games. It was about character and that was something I learned from Ron [Shelton].”

One film that does have “the big game” is Major League, the slapstick comedy written and directed by David S. Ward. In the film, the Cleveland Indians were the underdog of all underdogs, a roster of has-beens and never-haves carefully constructed to lose so the small market club could ditch Northeast Ohio for greener pastures and a new stadium in Miami during the offseason. The scrappy Indians spit in the face of baseball’s turning economic tide: they defeat the big market Yankees and, as we learn in the sequel, remain in Cleveland.

Now over 30 years since the film’s release, Corbin Bernsen, who played aging star third baseman Roger Dorn, still hasn’t soured on people quoting the film’s countless one-liners back at him, even lines that weren’t said by his character.

“It’s nice when you go out and people say, ‘Hey man, Roger Dorn. Don’t gimme this ole’ bullshit.’ And I go, ‘That’s not my line, but okay.’”

Bernsen, now 65, puts the continued love affair with Major League in the context of his own career. “I have this super diverse career of major movies, [TV shows], soap operas. I love the fact that I was in a film that for a long time now is an iconic baseball movie, an iconic comedy. It’s great to know that you’ve been a part of something that meant something, even if it is a silly comedy about teamwork.”

The Indians clubhouse was a group of misshapen puzzle pieces, but off-camera Bersen says he made lifelong friends because of his role in Major League, including co-star Tom Berenger whom he remains close with. “We made a film together that had some impact and that’s nice to know,” he says.

When films have ensemble casts, the actors tend to form strong bonds over the course of production. A big hit can tie actors together for life. The team element of these iconic baseball films adds to that dynamic.

“During an ensemble movie, there’s definitely perks to it because it doesn’t all rest on your shoulders and there’s a lot of interaction and there’s a lot of things you find just from hanging out with each other that end up in the movie,” Renna says. “I actually prefer it because everyone lends their hand to making something really great. Sports movies are the epitome of that.”

The 25th anniversary of The Sandlot put the film’s legacy into perspective for Renna, but also brought him closer to his “teammates” through events celebrating the film.

“I hadn’t seen Tom Guiry, who played Smalls, in 25 years. Chauncey Leopardi, who played Squints, and I have kept in touch over the years. We did three movies together. So we were buds in our early teens, through our late teens, and through our 20s and 30s. The other guys, I would just see once in a while. But the 25th, ever since then, we’re thick as thieves and we’ve got a group chat, and we see each other a lot.”

Perhaps no ensemble cast is as close as the ladies of A League of Their Own. They stay in frequent contact on text chains and through Facebook, and appear together constantly at baseball and softball events, speaking engagements, and to throw out ceremonial first pitches (Reiner says their arms aren’t quite what they used to be, but the ladies still have their fastballs).

When one member of the cast is approached for an interview, such as this one, they often invite others to tag along because it’s more fun for the team to reminisce together.

“We’re all friends, “ Reiner says. Petty does her one better: “We’re family for life.”

The post The Enduring Legacy of Classic Baseball Movies appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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sobdasha · 5 years

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more books!

To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis Yoinked this one from the roomie's library, because someone gave it to her because it sounded like her kind of jam (Victorians, time travel, cats). Like The Goblin Mirror, the main character hasn't slept in ever. Unlike The Goblin Mirror, he's a hilarious drunk. This book is absolutely a straight-up comedy, and while I would not read this sort of thing all the time, it was fun. It was also a rom-com but, as Wiki described it "1940s screwball romantic comedy" I believe, it did remind me of various black and white things on Turner Classic Movies that mom greatly enjoys, so it gave me nostalgia. I still after all this time don't know that much about WWII Britain, and I know nothing at all about Waterloo, but the general gist of that in regards to time travel and idk the grandfather paradox or whatever--I readily understood the consequences. I did agree with some reviewer I saw talking about how the constant talk of Waterloo and other time travel paradoxes gets old quickly, and boring, and while it's understandable that the characters are anxious and it's logical they'd repeat the same conversations over and over maybe we could just chop those out and make it shorter. It bogged down for a while at one point, but I kept at it, and then it got hilarious again, and overall I enjoyed it. But as Willis' other books aren't specifically labeled comedy, and are prone to the same Waterloo tactic, I doubt I'd be interested in getting through the others. Anyway, good times and lots of laughs.

The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison I put this on my list because I saw it mentioned a few times (I think Leckie was one of them?). When I looked it up I kept thinking no, this won't be for me, why am I bothering? Because it kept being billed as "courtly intrigue" which doesn't sound up my alley. But I was wrong. Because as the majority of people leaving reviews assured me, the selling point and best part of this book is the main character, who is an utter cinnamon roll, a good soft boy who is very kind. Even though the main character is a boy, this novel reminded me of nothing so much as your typical YA princess story. Like I'm pretty sure he runs a whole princess gauntlet: trying to deal with sudden life changes, trying to deal with restrictive palace life, trying to have personal growth, having a lot of Feelings, trying to use Kindness on people even when it's Not Very Effective, etc etc. I was very charmed. Also, the marriage subplot turned out absolutely amazing. I kept giving it a side-eye but then it went and punched me in the face in the best way. It will be even better when I reread it. She gives me very sword lesbian vibes, which is a little awkward given that she's getting het married, but on the other hand it's basically a friend marriage with a guy who is a very soft pure emotional handmaiden so I'll allow it. She's a good feudal lord for him.

Lunatic Heroes, C. Anthony Martignetti So a while back I read The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer, and in it she talks a lot about Anthony, because she loves him, and also she talks about his book. Because the roomie's wizard library is, as the name implies, a shambles of books from the same series being scattered across four separate bookshelves...I did not realize at the time that she also had Anthony's book (because obviously you would put it right next to Amanda's, obviously, you would not put it anywhere else, and really it would be a nice gesture to put Amanda next to her hubby Neil Gaiman). So I didn't read it then. So I'm reading it now. Anyway, Amanda has a lot of feels about Anthony, and she gave those feels to me, so then I read this book, which also gave me feels. It's a memoir that's part upsetting, part depressing, part you-just-have-to-laugh, part redeeming. It's the sort of thing I wouldn't have read if I hadn't come into it with the context I did. I think mostly it's about how people are people, and life is hard, and anxiety is hard, and empathy is hard, and it's so easy to break the people you love instead of nurture them. But there are still ways to grow and love and find a kind of peace. Or basically, since I've made Fruits Basket comparisons before and they're still accurate: if The Art of Asking is like Tohru's character arc, then Lunatic Heroes is Kyouko. "Think of it like fertilizer. Sure it feels like crap, but it will help you grow!"

Biting the Wax Tadpole, Elizabeth Little I mean, you see this title sitting on the shelf of the wizard library, and it's subtitle is "Confessions of a Language Fanatic", so I thought...why not. As a self-styled nerd who is interested in the idea of learning other languages but not in actually putting in the work and effort and researching, otherwise I'd actually have learned to speak some real French and Mandarin and Japanese and what have you by now, this was a fun read of tidbits of the crazy stuff languages do. Also I liked the occasional parts where I was like "ah yes I recognize those words/grammar concepts/etc" because it makes me Feel Good. Highlights: - talking about some Welsh numbers for counting sheep, and describing them as "nothing so much like the names a young Will Shakespeare might have conjured up for a litter of adorable kittens: yan, tan, tether, mether, pip, azer, sezar, akker, conter, dick, yanadick, tanadick, tetheradick, metheradick, bumfit, yanabum, tanabum, tetherabum, metherabum, jigget." Coincidentally I'd been curious about yan, tan, tether (tetra?) from Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books, so extra relevant. - helpful Mandarin tips, like trying to get a little closer to the r sound by curling the tip of your tongue back a little (retroflex fricative) to really get that good combo of r, l, and j. Also, the most useful description I've ever seen of Mandarin tones: 1st tone - when you're in the doctor's office and say Aaaaah; 2nd tone - ask it like a question; 3rd tone - the skeptical tone of "Okaaaaaay" when someone is telling you some shit that's obviously shit but you'd like to watch them continue to dig the hole deeper; 4th tone - any sudden curse word.

#sobdasha booking

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brulermag · 6 years

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The Chester Lockhart Interview

Tell me a little bit about your childhood.

I grew up in Southern California in a white trash town. I was obsessed with theatre, dance, choir, Hollywood musicals from 1950, Whitney Houston, etc. and I did NOT FIT IN. My parents are very conservative Christians... so there was a lot of conflict there being gay and dealing with accepting that. I was bullied relentlessly because I couldn’t help but be my odd self and eventually I just learned to own it, then the bullying stopped. I eventually went out on my own and immediately moved to LA and started working in the entertainment industry.

What are five things people don't know about you?

As a teen I was so deep in the “scene.” I had side bangs, a mullet, girls jeans. I exclusively listened to death metal for a few years: Suicide Silence, Job For A Cowboy, Impending Doom, etc.

I have probably seen every movie musical from 1940-1955. Gene Kelly was my first crush and made me realize I was gay.

I’m equal parts Korean, Japanese, Danish, and Norwegian.

I’m lactose intolerant.

I have a lazy eye.

We know you mainly from Todrick's Whimsical Youtube videos inspired by The Wizard of Oz and Disney inspirations. Tell me about that experience and that relationship.

Todrick is my best friend in the world, literally my sister and mother rolled into one. Toddy and I met doing Hairspray the Musical. Then a little while later, I started working as his assistant, and went to work and live with him for years. We literally would spend 22 hours a day together and became inseparable. He and I just get each other and we turn to each other for advice on everything, whether it’s about our creative projects, love, fashion, everything.

Talk to me about Glen Coco. That video went viral and you are perfection in it.

That was actually a last minute thing. We got into the school to film and we had such limited time to throw the video together and we realized no one was there to be Glen Coco and I jumped in right then. Luckily, it went well but it almost didn’t happen at all.

You're a Producer. Tell me about that.

Well I’m both a Video Producer and Music Producer. Working with Todrick I wore every hat behind the scenes so I would set up every video shoot, hire talent, sometimes help with choreography, get locations and equipment and sometimes film stuff. As a Music Producer, I didn’t have too many friends growing up and I had a very active imagination, so I would tinker in GarageBand and eventually taught myself how to produce music, but it was a long time before I told anyone about it.

We share a horoscope sign: Aries. So are you a natural born leader too and love Cheez Its as much as I do?

I definitely only know how to be myself!! I can be a little controlling sometimes but I try to be open to suggestion. One of the reasons I do everything myself (music, videos, art direction) is because I have such a strong point of view and can’t bare to let other people do anything.

Okay, let's talk about "Save Me From Myself" a beautiful single that really showcases Chester front and center. The video is gorgeous too (directed by you).

Thank you!! The song is all about how we can get sucked into this age of Instagram and Hollywood where we see people posting pictures of their luxury cars and beautiful mansions but underneath people are completely broken and unhappy. I filmed the video in decrepit parts of Las Vegas and felt because the subject matter was so dark it would be a nice contrast to have it be this odd karaoke video so we can also sing along to how messed up we are.

What does your music mean to you vs. Making music for someone else.

I have a pretty vibrant personality but I find that the darker times in my life are what inspires my music. So each song captures an important moment in my life and I try to make that song feel exactly like the mood I was in. For other people, I stay true to myself but I find it is naturally a little more upbeat.

What are preconceived notions people always have about you?

That I am always “on.” People either see me being a glittery unicorn in a Youtube Video or being some dark depressed boy in chains. But really I’m somewhere in between. I also get “Wow, you’re actually kind of intelligent,” or “I didn’t think you would care so much about real world issues.” ….Surprise! She cares.

What are 3 bad habits you have?

When I go on one date with someone, I start planning out the rest of our lives immediately. What color are the table cloths at our $10 Million wedding? Where will we keep all 200 of the doves for the reception? etc.

I compare myself to everyone and everything. Even if its not in my lane or even my freeway…. I’ll find a way to make myself feel inadequate.

I drool when I sleep on planes. Every. Time.

What are your TV Show guilty pleasures?

Maybe not a guilty pleasure but I have always been obsessed with late night anime. Also, anything featuring Tiffany New York Pollard.

Thoughts on Trump's America.

Not a fan.

Name 2 people who really ride or die for you.

My best friend, Todrick, is always going above and beyond for our friendship. He’s one of those people that is in a competition with himself to be “#1 best friend of all time.” He’s always incredibly supportive and also puts me in my place when I need it. Same thing with my mom. She’s such a fierce Korean business dragon. She always pushes me to go above and beyond what I expect from myself. She also makes bomb Kimchi Jjigae.

What's the sexiest you've ever felt?

I’m not a particularly “sexy” feeling person. But when alone in my room, humidifier on full blast so it looks like fog while dancing to “I’m Your Baby Tonight” that’s when I’m really a sultry 80’s goddess.

If you had LGBT children sitting in a room with you for two hours, what would your message be to them?

Learn to forgive. Forgive those who don’t understand you or what you’ve gone through. Forgive yourself for whatever shortcomings you think you have. We are all on this earth for a short time, learn to have love in your heart for everyone and everything, even those who may try to hurt you. No more hatred.

If you could do any job for a week what would it be?

Dr. Pimple Popper’s assistant. Dream Job.

Talk to me about the lush Roses EP.

I had been sitting on a lot of music material for a long time and I hadn’t told anyone about it so kind of at the spur of the moment I just finished up a few songs I had written at the beginning of 2016 (with the exception of “The Man I Love” which is a cover of a classic Gershwin Brothers song from the 1920s). I was in a weird funk, dealing with some health issues, and watching a lot of Turner Classic Movies. I was hearing tons of really robust string arrangements in these classic film scores and that combined with my glumness, produced an EP about beautiful but difficult times. I produced and recorded the whole thing in my closet.

Will we be expecting an album for 2018 to make our lives better?

I’m currently working on a project called “When Night Falls.” Can’t tell you exactly what it will be yet, but I’m going to be releasing new material constantly this year.

What is your favorite pair of underwear and why?

Marco Marco briefs. It’s like a warm hug for your butt.

What can we expect from you in 2018 Overall?

Content that will make you feel love, loss and everything in between. Also I’ll be starring in a show at the Paris hotel in Vegas with Scheana Shay from Vanderpump Rules until May 6th. It’s a subtle show called “Sex Tips.”

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XAVII MATISSE

JANUARY 16, 2018

#chester lockhart

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