#not one of my favorite Elvis films but i decided to give it another watch

[hooked-on-elvis]

Rusty Martin: I would like you to give a look on my motor. It whistles.

Lucky Jackson: Well, I don't blame it.

Viva Las Vegas (MGM, 1964) Directed by George Sidney | Elvis Presley as Lucky Jackson, Ann-Margret as Rusty Martin and Cesare Danova as Count Elmo Mancini

#lol #viva las vegas #1964 #elvis #ann margret #elvis presley #elvis the king #elvis fans #elvis fandom #elvis history #60s elvis #elvis movies #elvis films #60s movies #not one of my favorite Elvis films but i decided to give it another watch #so far so good

[ohtobemare]

**serious post read at your own discretion**

disclaimer–religious triggers, personal opinions

I'm not usually one for celebrity documentaries.

But, a mutual recommended Val Kilmer's documentary, since he's one of my favorite actors and has been since I was a kid and watched Batman Forever, so I decided to give it a go.

It amazes me that the cream of the crop (read: Michael Jackson, Elvis, Whitney Houston, etc.) always seem to rise out of some of the most tragic childhood and life experiences. Michael Jackson came out of domestic abuse and body dysmorphia. Elvis, the loss of his twin and poverty. Whitney, drugs and alcohol.

For Val– the loss of a brother, his parents' divorce, emotional abuse, and later a divorce himself resulting in separation of his children. He's arguably one of Hollywood's most prolific, real method actors, someone who embodies each and every character with heart and soul. He believes in real storytelling, not the modern knock-off we see in shallow blockbusters today.

He's one of the good ones. From Doc Holliday to Batman to the infamous Iceman, I'd argue that nobody is quite as talented as Val. A fact I've overlooked for a good few years now.

All throughout his career Hollywood and "the business" has labeled him difficult and eccentric because of his dedication to storytelling and authenticity, of keeping true to the theme. Because every movie has a theme, a message it communicates, since film is a medium of communication. He documents an experience in Australia, where a film was completely gutted for the sake of a production schedule, which left him baffled and broken.

And his journey with tracheostomy and throat cancer and the inability to speak. Wow. He really bares his soul and the reality of what fame being stripped away is really like. I cried quite a bit over this documentary, because even robbed of the one thing you absolutely need as an actor –your voice–Val is still 100% committed to the field. To the experience of storytelling. He adapted and threw himself into art, a studio, and documentation of his experiences and what it means to be a storyteller. He's passionate and raw, not swept up in fame.

Hollywood cost him everything. He even says he lost himself for awhile, that Hollywood is like stepping into hell. He's right. Fame will take until there's nothing you can give, and Val is one of the few to transcend actually caring.

Who knows how much of this is *actually* true, since Hollywood is infamous for smoke and mirrors and deception (if you know anything about the dark underworld of the industry) but I'll take it at face value.

Regardless of the question of honest truth, this was a refreshing look into acting. While I think it still ignores, or chooses to hide, the ugly and spiritual side of what it takes to make it in Hollywood, I can't think of a better or more raw approach to explaining the journey of fame and the art of visual storytelling. I always knew Kilmer was good–and there's a reason why. Art is in his soul, just as music was in Michael and Elvis'.

Hollywood took Val Kilmer and ran with him, and left him high and dry and hollow at the end. But, he's choosing to rise out of those ashes. I can commend him for that.

Yet another testament to how we don't know the full story of our peers' lives until we come up close and personal to it. God can make anything out of any backstory–a prostitute to anoint Him for burial, a hotheaded fisherman to become the rock of which He built His church, a shepherd to be the greatest king of Israel.

Despite Val not serving the same God or understanding the same Jesus Christ that I do, his life is a picture of just exactly what the world can offer you. Nothing. There is freedom in forsaking the standards of society and pursuing what God has destined for you, unabashedly. I can only pray Val Kilmer, and the host of others like him, can come to knowledge of who he is in Christ, and experience the passionate love of Christ's salvation.

10/10 documentary, and I hardly EVER give full marks. Worth your watch.

See Yas, From a former film reviewer

#val kilmer #movie recs #val documentary #fangirl #christianity #in all seriousness #my thoughts #val kilmer is officially my first stan

[hyzenthlayroseart]

I know it's the cinephile in me but I have a huge fascination with Elvis's film career.

A short summary is that he wanted to be a serious actor in dramatic roles, and while he did get chances to show off his serious acting chops, he eventually just ended up in cheesy, formulaic musicals which just got worse and worse because his demon of a manager cared more about making money off of the movie soundtracks which lead to Elvis become bitter and depressed about how his film career had turned out. Eventually though he did the 68 Comeback Special on TV and was on top of the world again, but that's a story for another day (or you could research it yourself).

To give another summary about his film career each decade, there were the four pre-army films in the 50s, wildly considered to be his best films, and my favorite of his movies came out that decade (King Creole) so I'd say I agree. Although they were musicals they had still had more of a serious feel than the musicals that would come later, andElvis's characters in these were rebellious, sort of edgy characters (especially in Jailhouse Rock and King Creole).

His post-army films in the 60s were where things changed, with him going from playing rebel characters to starring in family-friendly formulaic musical comedies. Now I'll admit I'm a bit of a hypocrite here. More than anything I mourn the fact that he never got to be the type of actor he wanted and was instead stuck making these types of movies. However, I admit I do have films from this period that I enjoy (G.I. Blues, Blue Hawaii, It Happened at the World's Fair, Viva Las Vegas and Girl Happy). That being said, I don't want to watch every film from this period because I know a lot of them are downright terrible and I guess I want to avoid them out of respect or to avoid second-hand embarrassment. But I'll get back to the 60s period soon.

In the 70s, he didn't actually have anymore films, save for two concert films, Elvis: That's the Way it Is and Elvis on Tour (I highly recommend both if the idea of Elvis concert films sounds interesting to you).

Now back to the 60s. I said that his films at that time were just musical comedies, and that's true. BUT, he did actually make three serious, dramatic films at that time too. The problem is, audiences at the time made them all flop because they wanted to see more formulaic musicals. Yeah, he could've finally had a chance to become the type of actor he wanted but audiences decided they wanted shitty musicals. 

The first one was Flaming Star, a Western. Interestingly, there were gonna be four songs in this movie, but Elvis demanded that two of them be removed, and thankfully it worked. The first song in the film is actually just a song played over the opening credits with the film's title in the lyrics, and the second one is one played in the beginning during a party scene. Since the second song was played during a party scene and therefore fit into the scene naturally as opposed to a song from a musical where breaking out into song and dance happens spontaneously and doesn't make sense logically, I don't consider this film a musical. Anyway, it's an excellent film imo.

The second one is Wild in the Country which is my favorite of the three. In this one Elvis plays a troubled man ordered to live with his uncle on probation and is sent to a psychiatrist who helps him pursue a literary career, but he ends up falling in love with her as well which causes a scandal (a lot more stuff happens but that's my attempt at giving a shitty plot synopsis). The first time I watched it I was floored by how amazing of a film it was which made me even more furious that audiences in the 60s let it flop because we could've had more roles like this. It kept reminding me of his rebel roles from the 50s which is probably a big reason why I loved it so much. Now this one did have a few songs in it but overall it's definitely a dramatic film first and foremost.

And the last one is Charro, another Western. Look, I wanted to like this one so badly. Elvis in a completely non-singing serious role in a dramatic Western? And he has an awesome beard? That sounds awesome! Unfortunately...I found this one so BORING. It's painful to admit, but it's true. I saw a Letterboxd review say that this feels like a sequel because all the characters have an implied history together, and yeah I know what they mean (not saying a film can't have characters with implied history that's up to the audiences to figure out, but here it just feels like it was done wrong. Idk, I can't explain it). It felt like it wanted to have a Spaghetti Western feel, so the whole time I kept thinking how amazing it would've been if it was more like one of Clint Eastwood's iconic Spaghetti Western films like the Fistful of Dollars trilogy. Definitely my least favorite of the three, I'm sad to say.

Soooo yeah. I hope you enjoyed my long-ass ramble, this was actually me trying to contain myself from writing more because like I said, I just find his film career fascinating lmao.

#fan art #elvis presley #flaming star #pacer burton #wild in the country #glenn tyler #charro #jess wade

[enightshade89]

For the alternate OC asks, I went with Daybreakers because I remember it the best lol. I have to give Mississipi another watch though because that film was fantastic

So for Wendy:

Charles Bromley (Sam Neill)

Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke)

thank you! :)

Wendy McCoy x Charles Bromley (Sam Neill):

This choice is very interesting! Ignoring the fact that he isn't around when Wendy's story takes place; I honestly don't really see it working out as Wendy is a firm believer in the human condition and Bromley prefers to stay turned for immortality, but what makes this relationship intriguing to me is that I could definitely see Bromley act as like a dark seducing figure towards Wendy as he tries to convince her that she should give into becoming a vampire so he that he can keep her safe and they can be together forever. What Wendy wants most is stability and family so Bromley would want to play into that and do whatever he could to be the only one who would give it to her. The lengths he would go to do so. Hunting down his own daughter so that they could be a complete "proper" family. Wendy would be horrified if she heard what he had done and saw for herself that his own child was feeding on herself after she was turned by force and would flee him entirely. Believing that if he could do such a thing to someone so close to him, he would absolutely do it to her. Bromley would still try to convince her that he only wants what's best for her out of his love for her, but she would still resist him of course although his words would nag at her in the back of her mind later on and she would honestly give it some consideration before ultimately deciding not to go through with it. So, unless Bromley decides to keep her prisoner against her will thinking it's for her own good in a Dracula esq. Beauty and The Beast situation, i could see them as a forbidden star-crossed lover's type scenario that doesn't end happily for them.

Wendy McCoy x Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke):

Not gonna lie this would be a cute alternative! In my AU Wendy does develop a great friendship with Edward over their shared experiences losing their younger brothers and the two of them just genuinely being passionate about what they do and believe in. If that were to turn romantic, I could see them building a bond that makes them both stronger for it. They would be able to confide in each other much faster than Wendy does with Elvis. Edward would talk about how empty it was to feel frozen in place, helpless with no real possible purpose while being a vamp, and Wendy would open up a bit easier about how she felt the same after the situation with her dad happened when she started drinking. They would be connected at the hip. Wendy would show off her favorite bands and tease Ed about his when he reveals them. Deep conversations late at night that Wendy would actively look forward to and would purposely decrease her travel distances for because he keeps her grounded and she loves hearing his thoughts. They would have each other's backs in frightful situations and Ed would feel all the more appreciated to have found her after he had gotten his second chance at life. Feeling more alive with her than he had ever remembered before and more willing to share that with her for rest of whatever time he has.

#these were really good!! #i like thinking about the what ifs :D #my ocs #wendy mccoy (daybreakers) #oc asks #oc ask game #daybreakers

[carmenxjulia]

I put together a transcript of the 2 hour Q&A Interview the Carmen Sandiego Discord did with Showrunner Duane Capizzi. All of the questions were submitted by server members. You can read everything below the break!

Duane Capizzi:

Hi there!

Am I in? Is this thing on?

PizzaHorse:

Hi, welcome!

Yep, you're in the right place!

Duane Capizzi:

Sorry I'm late, I was wandering around some empty Discord hallways looking for the right room haha

PizzaHorse:

No worries. Let's get started!

Who is your favorite character?

Duane Capizzi:

Moose Boy!

KIDDING!

Alright, how to NOT get myself in trouble if my answer isn't "Carmen" haha.

But really, they are ALL my babies.

So I know it's going to sound like a cop out to some that I can't pick just one. But hmm, some for instances...

I love that she's so morally evolved at such a young age; her ability to always take the high road and never lower herself; her drive and conviction and dedication. Her ability to kick serious booty and look good while doing it. Her progressive values, her fashion sense. I could go on and on. But then there's Shadowsan and his arc; Chase and his. Julia, who's every bit as strong as Carmen but shows it in different ways. The Cleaners don't get enough love.

I'll close that question with an anecdote about The Cleaners ...

I love that all our characters are embraced and that everyone seems to have favorites. Our sound engineer Marcel is a pretty serious guy: he has a serious job that takes high levels of focus and attention. He's always deeply focused and not prone to small talk. Anyway, we were in the middle of our first or second sound mix, and he suddenly stops in the middle and turns around to face us. I'm thinking, "uh oh, we're giving too many notes." That's when I notice he's freeze framed the Cleaners. He says "I really like these guys." Then he turns around, hits play and gets back to work.

PizzaHorse:

What was the biggest challenge for coming up with new stories and plot for the reboot?

Duane Capizzi:

THE biggest? Sigh. I'm not sure I could come up with just one. Plotting is always challenging and we had the brain trust of the room, our trusty white board, and writer assistant to keep the threads of the ongoing storyline together. I think the single biggest ONGOING challenge was tracking which character knew what at any given time.

The caper part was challenging - coming up with new capers and keeping them interesting and fresh. But, it was the characters and their interactions that kept things fresh and interesting. Another museum heist? That's okay - Chase is on the case and he gets to interact with "X" this time (for instance).

There were also some episodes - Duke of Vermeer and Crackle Goes Kiwi come to mind - where there was SO MUCH SET UP needed to get the payoffs to work. I was really worried about too much talk/too much detail. Very "Swiss watch!" It took a lot of work to make sure it all clicked and was clear - hopefully it seems effortless on screen but I can't say there wasn't some sweat and the occasional tear (mostly from me - I'm a big cry baby

But really, what made it fun was that we had so many buckets to draw from: sometimes a story germ initially began with a character idea; sometimes it was inspired by global location; sometimes it was a clever way to update or reimagine an idea from old Carmen lore. Usually, it was some combination of all of the above!

PizzaHorse:

What was your favorite scene to write?

Duane Capizzi:

I think we have a theme here! "How can I pick just one ...?"

As a film buff, I got to indulge in some serious fan nerdery on this show: I got to write spy movies, yakuza movies, spaghetti neo-westerns (though turning it on its head: spaghetti westerns usually involve REVENGE and because of Carmen's character make up, this was sort of anti-revenge).

Is writing coming up with the idea or typing it? Haha. An "if a tree falls in the forest" question. The writing team and I had so many cathartic "that's how it goes" in the room. But on my own, writing the Pilot, was a very inspiring time for me: I remember laughing out loud the moment I thought of Chase falling on his own car (in part because of doing my spin on "that trope" that we've seen in so many hard boiled movies recently). But also how emotional I got when I imagined the simple but potent image of Black Sheep deciding to take her destiny into her own hands and walk that long corridor to the Faculty who we were about to meet for the first time.

I think I've cited this in another interview, but there was a period where I was completely immersed in Chase's arc and the scene where he would crack the location of VILE island ... by listening to Julia in a dream ... was a big one for me. It revealed he was finally open to admitting he needed Julia more than he would ever admit - yet, it was his own subconscious speaking.

The next morning, after cracking that scene, I bumped into Raf Petardi (voice of Chase) ... at the supermarket! It was very strange and hilarious

PizzaHorse:

Did you scrap any lengthy or funny scenes that you would be able to share?

Duane Capizzi:

With few exceptions, most scene cuts are done at the script stage so that the story board team doesn't waste effort over boarding. A variety of trims to any script are common, but they are usually for the better

The easier question to answer might be scenes were part of our "wish list" at writer room stage, but never made it to story or script. I hesitate to go too deep here (in the event that we might ever do more Carmen episodes in this canon - I'm not giving up hope). And there were cases where things we wanted to do earlier in the series wound up getting nixed or not fitting for whatever reason, but we got them in later - USUALLY FOR THE BETTER. So there's sort of a reverse Murphy's Law/rule of good fortune somehow in these things. But some fun things that didn't make it into the show, that leap to mind were: a Bollywood dance sequence (!). A Vegas caper involving Brunt wanting to steal an Elvis jumpsuit against the backdrop of an Elvis impersonator convention. We also thought it would be neat to get Maelstrom imprisoned so that Julia could interrogate him and he would play mind games with her - very Lector/Clarice!

PizzaHorse:

Were there any different treatments of Carmen you pitched before settling on the one we ended up with?

Duane Capizzi:

I was one of several "pitches" that I'm sure HMH heard before running with my version. But I can honestly say I've never pitched anything as fully formed: the take on Carmen felt so right to me, and clearly HMH and by extension Netflix agreed

I'll answer your question with an anecdote: I had the entire Pilot pretty well worked out, and pitched it in the first meeting. But one key thing that changed (much for the better!), simply because it wouldn't have fit without slogging things down ...

In my Pilot pitch, Black Sheep's escape on the boat was off screen: we see Shadowsan corner her, then we cut away. The rest of the Faculty show up to find SS's broken sword on the rocks, and are led to believe BS killed him (!). In the present, Crackle points his weapon at Carmen and prepares to pull the trigger. We know that Chase is on the way and may rescue her. The compartment door opens to reveal - not Chase - but Shadowsan! Big surprise! Then we cut back to BS's escape and find out what really transpired etc etc.

Crazy, right? SS would have been hanging out with the gang in season 1; we might not have gotten to 203 with his back story, since his sword was broken and he couldn't return it. Just one of those magical things where "things work out" the way they are supposed to. THAT SAID, it made for a heckuva pitch

PizzaHorse:

Are there any characters that ended up taking a direction you didn't initially anticipate?

Duane Capizzi:

GRAY.

I didn't know we'd make him amnesiac when I wrote the Pilot, that was something we came up with in our first week Writer Room.

And even then, when it became clear he'd be a key piece of the bigger puzzle, we didn't know how exactly (mostly the Season 4 stuff).

We did get very deep with a version where 404 ended with his protective streak for Carmen kicking into high gear, and they would be fighting off Vile Guards back to back in perfect tandem. Then, having chosen Carmen over VILE, it was Carmen who actually orchestrates Gray going "off grid" so that VILE can never find him again. Funny, I know that is arguably the version of Gray's arc that many fans might have preferred seeing. But in the tradition of spy thrillers and film noir, and for a lone wolf character like Carmen who is focused on her life mission and not romance, we stand behind where we went with him. We felt it was so much more compelling ... and truly more emotional that he totally has a get out of jail free card when he sacrifices everything (including his life, potentially) to save Carmen.

when she needs him most!

I know I made some controversial comments about Gray "not being good enough for Carmen" and I'd like to clarify that I meant, until that final episode. What he did was so selfless and heroic. Is there hope for them in the future? Who knows?! But I do hope we get to explore that one day

I'm sure Gray is living off the grid somewhere now, inspired by Carmen's selfless good and thinking of her from time to time.

PizzaHorse:

You mentioned in the interview with Alicyn that Carmen is a love story, but you were cut off before you could finish discussing. Could you elaborate on your answer now?

Duane Capizzi:

Ugh, yes! Sorry about that. I actually answered that privately for someone so will cut and paste that response here. Let's see if it works.

Something we never said in the show, but something I imparted to the creative team was: Carmen Sandiego is (among other things) a LOVE STORY, where every character in our ensemble is in love with Carmen in one way or another. Even if they don't know it! That love can take different forms: we see how spurned by Carmen Coach Brunt feels and why she retaliates so excessively. Chase eventually comes to realize that he too loves Carmen, even if he wasn't initially aware of it haha. One of the most moving things to me about the series is how all of the different factions come to Carmen's rescue at the end when she's not "in her right mind," without knowing the others are there too. It's a massive group effort to bring back the Carmen they love. But we weren't looking for a fairy tale ending for Carmen with ANYone - Carmen's a classic lone wolf anti-hero, that goes with the territory. At least at this stage in her journey.

PizzaHorse:

Were there other locations that you wanted to feature in the show that didn't make it?

Duane Capizzi:

I think we managed to cover a lot of ground and "cadence" between different countries/cultures/continents was important to us. Many "iconic" locations of course, and it would have been nice to explore some lesser known locations if we had more episodes.

One that we almost did was Niagara Falls, Canada - actually literally going to the Falls and doing a big hydro-electric caper, where Player could actually get into the field with Carmen and the team.

But ultimately, we wound up bringing Player into the fold the way we did and wound up stronger as a result. It made his "first face to face" with Carmen even more impactful, IMO.

PizzaHorse:

Were there any changes in production between the first half and the second half of the series?

Duane Capizzi:

Well, there was that Covid thing

But while it was no doubt a colossal undertaking to get the entire staff transitioned to work from home (animators! and their equipment!), we managed to make up for lost time WITHOUT a dip in animation quality. My fedora's off to our amazing team at Wildbrain for pulling it off!

We did lose some staff between orders, but that is a natural part of production unfortunately. Namely, one of our episodic directors Kenny Park, our first storyboard artist Dennis Crawford, and our story editor May Chan were among those who moved on to other shows during the break. But, as hard as their shoes were to fill, fill them we did!

PizzaHorse:

What is your favorite season?

Duane Capizzi:

Easy. Hands down, Season 3.

(crickets)

KIDDING!

Again, another "they're all my babies" answer (and yes, I love Season 3 equally

It's hard, because really when you step back I'm sure you'll agree it's a series, with stand alone capers; but it's really all ONE BIG MOVIE.

Season 3 is like the scherzo of a symphony: the shortest movement of four, and the one that tees up the big finale.

That's my hoity toity answer but I'm going to put to rest all of the various theories on what happened with season 3. It was a combination of two things: Netflix's desire to experiment with different ways of "dropping" seasons, and their desire to do a holiday themed drop (in this case Halloween, naturally). It became our challenge to come up with a theme (easy enough: masks), and the bigger challenge to serve their need while not interrupting our ongoing narrative. A challenge to be sure, but a challenge met. I think the biggest bump was perception: it was a short season and I know that was disappointing to many. But, by design.

So, Season 3 = an essential part of the whole. I don't think there's a wasted episode, and it gets everyone into position for the big finish. I can't pick a favorite season - you can't make me

PizzaHorse:

Were there any characters you had wanted to give more time to but couldn't due to time/plot restraints?

Duane Capizzi:

Well, there's the "what was on the white board" answer but hopefully some of those ideas will see the light of day in some way, shape or form some day. I think if we had more episodes, we would have shaken up the internal dynamic of VILE a bit more (as hinted at Brunt's displeasure with Maelstrom for leaving her hanging out to dry at end of 405 - a seed we planted "just in case," as some have noted). And we had more scenes in mind with Chase's partnering with Carmen for the first time that we had to cut to the bone because of what little room we had in that otherwise packed episode (worry not: it's mostly more gags, more embellishment, more twists and turns - but the important stuff is there). Mostly, and I don't think it would have been right for Season 4 but I hope to tell in the future, I think there's an interesting history between Shadowsan and Lady Dokuso - possibly tragic - that I would love to explore one day. (She was a cameo in Duke of Vermeer at the dinner party BTW, I'm not sure if anyone noticed. And we built a bigger role for her out of that)

PizzaHorse:

What are some pre-2000/nostalgic Carmen references you snuck into the show? Do you have a favorite reference that was included?

Duane Capizzi:

Doing that was so much fun! I'd say roughly 60% of the characters were from previous iterations of Carmen, though often in name only. We had fun reimagining most everyone to make them more relevant or updated or giving them a more colorful personality for starters.

"Suhara" was Carmen's Japanese mentor when she worked at the ACME Agency in a flashback episode in the 90's series, for instance. I don't think I need to spell out how we turned that one inside out

And Tigress was also one episode only: she was a "rival thief" to Carmen, but revealed to be an ACME agent in disguise - a persona created solely to bait Carmen. It was really cool of course, but it seemed like untapped potential so we made her an ACTUAL Vile Thief.

My own internal rule was to make sure the references/easter eggs wouldn't confuse anyone - they were there for those who were in the loop and window dressing. The one and only time i broke that rule was Dark Carmen's line from 407: "I do it for the mental gymnastics." It was one of the most absurd lines from the 90's series (IMO) and i was determined to have it come out of Dark Carmen's mouth. I'm sure it left some 7 year olds scratching their heads

aside from that, the key references were the music: I still tingle at how we worked the Rockapella theme into the Interactive Special; and the 90's main title theme (composed by Mozart!), in our Vienna episode ("They're playing my song"). If you wanted Rockapella or Carmen as a bad guy, well ... be careful what you wish for!

PizzaHorse:

Was there any improvised content from recording sessions that made it into any episodes?

Duane Capizzi:

Yes! Not much, because a lot of it would have pushed us into TV-MA haha

Mostly Mary Elizabeth - Coach Brunt has a POTTY MOUTH!

Mikey and Abby usually riffed their banter WAY beyond what was on the written page and had us in stitches. Some bits definitely made it in! But mostly there was too much or it would get off point (hmmm, much like my interview answers maybe? haha)

Sharon Muthu did rise to Pun Goddess status with "Mask and you shall receive." And Raf pitched me "Chasse means hunt in French" after one session and I said: "I'm going to write that in." I don't think he believed me. You can't say I'm not a straight shooter.

PizzaHorse:

If you could get more season, would you do it, and what type of story would you tell?

Duane Capizzi:

Well if that hasn't been clear so far, ABSOLUTELY

There have been discussions of course. It's up to the powers that be at this point. I will say this: the beauty and tradition so far has been that every iteration has been its own thing. I definitely think there are more "different canon" versions of Carmen that can be had and be a part of this wonderful tradition. After all, there were many naysayers for our version when it was first announced.

I will also say that if we don't get to tell any more stories in this canon with these characters, we've left a perfect gem that will stand the test of time. I would rather go out on a high note than overstay our welcome.

All that said, we worked within the allotted episodes given, ended it as we wished, but left the door open for other stories. I'd love to do an expansion and a deepening: pick up where we left off; find out what happened in those two years; and proceed to do the equivalent of Godfather II or Better Call Saul as related to the amazing originals they followed.

Let's hope! Keep putting good vibes out there!

PizzaHorse:

If you could pick a character on Carmen Sandiego who'd you switch places with for a day (you get to control their life and they get to control yours) who would you pick, and why?

Duane Capizzi:

Okay, THIS is difficult. So you're going Freaky Friday on me?

on a Sunday?

Hmmm, I know Ivy would get along with my cat ... but then I'd have to hang out with Zack!

That's the trick: I can't pick my favorites cuz I couldn't hang out with them!

(not that I have favorites - they're all my babies haha)

Okay, I have one: ROUNDABOUT. I could fill Shadowsan's seat - how cool is that? Then, I could enact all my evil fantasies - but still have a get out of jail free card cuz he'd be sitting at my desk!

(cut to Duane being brain wiped - D'oh!)

PizzaHorse:

Who are two characters who don't really interact in the show that you think could be good friends or work really well together?

Duane Capizzi:

Hmmmm. Okay, now I'm going to give you quick and sassy answers. Gray and Julia! They'd be so cute banding together to rescue captive Carmen (for instance). And they could also duke it out and maybe settle things between themselves re: shipping controversies instead of dragging me into it

PizzaHorse:

The FINAL QUESTION. Have you learned anything super impactful while working on the show?

Duane Capizzi:

Aside from Iceland's terrifically low crime rate?

I think I have learned to never underestimate how meaningful characters can be to fans. Social media has obviously brought us a lot closer to our fan base in more immediate ways: it's been really gratifying to hear/see/read feedback and not be writing things in a vacuum. It's been gratifying to see that ideas that were meaningful to myself and the creative team on Carmen that were crafted with care, have also resonated with our fan base. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE who has traveled on this journey with us - for embracing Carmen's world view, and her friends and foes alike. Take care everyone! Stay safe! This has been fun, thanks for having me!

PizzaHorse:

HUGE thank you to Duane Capizzi: for being here today.

Thank you everyone for watching and reacting!

Duane Capizzi:

Okay, gotta run - just gotta find the door

Anyway, really: THIS HAS BEEN AMAZING. I speak for everyone involved in the creation and production of Carmen: it has been an amazing and inspiring series and we're elated to see it connect with such a CREATIVE, TALENTED and INTELLIGENT fan base. Take care everyone! Until next crime...

#Carmen Sandiego #Duane Capizzi #CS Crew #Interview #Transcript

[zebraslovescupcakestoo]

Blush Blush Wish List: New Boy edition.

If you read my wish lists from my previous posts, I did my first as random and a second one about clothing, which one of the clothing wish is coming true slowly, I decided to make a THIRD wish list, based on the Boy/Man bundle. We knew that there will be a new guy coming, plausibly the phone fling winner Poe, so here’s some dream ideas of mine that inspired me.

I will mark a disclaimer right here and now so please read it:

Any thing I write here is MY opinion, MY fantasy and JUST A THEORY. They are NON-canon, not project proof and they’re just fan fic/pic related to Blush Blush.

If you don’t like them or disagree, that’s OK! we can talk about it in the comments or ask box like big girls.

Without further ado, here are my Manimal ideas:

1. Racoon Thief!

I’m staring off with what I already mention on my first and my personal favorite.

I used to read one of the first few books of Arsene Lupin by Maurice Leblanc a few years back and I also watched the old French TV series from the 70′s. I also used to own a film based of him from 2004? and I love it. There is also a 90′s animated series from YTV called Night Hood.

I also noticed that there was a PS2 game with a couple of sequels and a PSVita remake with all the games in one. If you ever played Sly Cooper, this would be a very nice compliment to a legendary Gentlemen Burglar.

I imagine about how the player was on a detective mission, like Cole’s, and he/she stumbles a burglary scene from a bakery store. Player noticed some crumbs leading to an alley and soon find a well dressed racoon... Speaking some French accent, the Gentlemen racoon would explained that since he’s somehow got in a situation that prevents him to go to his ‘job’ he had no choice but to ‘borrow’ until he’s back to normal. With past experiences, you’d tell him that you can help him revert back if he’d promised to pay all of the goodies he has taken from.

I can imagine a Persona 5 references or Lupin the 3rd Easter egg dialogs.

2. Beauty Guru BF!

BEFORE anyone has to say about Jeffree, I’m gonna say HERE that I’ll understand if you don’t like or support him, this is just a reference and ideas.

Now, my second idea for a next Manimal, it would be a beauty guru BF.

Now I would go for someone between Jeffree Star and Kimora Blac. Someone’s that’s very influential, a bit controversial but not that serious and very honest.

So imagine a scenario when the player decided to take a break from streaming and just surfing on Youtube when they came across a makeup review tutorial with a face of an animal. Any animal. Player then clicked it and the animal said:

“Hello everybody and welcome back to my channel! Today, I woke up, got to a mirror... beyoch... The Panda Team, is crazy!!!”

Somehow the player texted on the comments and then sends some pictures that proves you can help him, so he flew from his private jet to meet you!

If this gets canon, let the team know about Jeffree Star and try not to copy him too much like they did with Markiplier.

3. Fashionista Drag Queen BF!

Following from the previous, another LGBT representative would be the man with good fashion taste, RuPaul!

I thought about how the Player would one day be shopping for new clothes and then notice an animal giving out fashion advices. He does admit he’s sadden cause of his physical state, he can’t dress up whatever he’d normally wear.

He’d also would reference from high brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Guicci, random Italian brands, ect... 

Imagine on his semi or full human form, he’d be wearing RuPaul inspired tuxedos or a dress option DLC. 

4. Royalty Prince charming!

I know that on Phone Fling, we have the self proclaimed Arabian Prince Sascha, but think about an EUROPEAN prince!

Imagine Player was doing gardening and then all of a sudden they heard someone complaining.

“Why are they treating me like I am some pet?! I am a PRINCE!”

You notice the ‘Manimal’ and told them your ‘specialty’ after introducing. “So you’d help your prince from this curse? Should we do true love’s first kiss? Fairly well, but you must prove it!”

This could inspire Disney prince references. ;) You take your pick!

5. Native American Boy.

Before I explain, I just want to say that I respect the Natives and they’re are one of the nicest people, I’m just saying as a character perspective.

If you remembered on my first wish list, I asked for more diversities so here’s one of them!

Player was walking in the nature park and decided to take a rest on a table park when they noticed some thrash that some human dumpster fire was too lazy to put it in the thrash so you did. All of a sudden you head someone said thank you. You turned to see the Manimal in question. “It is so nice of you to think conscious about our home environment when you knew you weren’t the one who done it. May the Great Spirits looks on you.”

I kinda lean towards the Eagle or a Bear cause the Wolf is already taken.

I think it would be a nice reminder for a dialog to us about the environment once in a while and also Disney’s Brother Bear.

6. Frank Sinatra the 2nd! Old school but cool!

THIS is probably one of an interesting idea about an ‘old’ soul. It’s kinda like Myx but classier. Swag are for boys, Class are for men.

Remember the Old Looney Tune cartoons? Remember that character Tweety Bird? Yeah, I go with a canary or maybe a yellow-crested cockatoo with this number.

Imagine Player decided to play a mainstream music from their room, when after about a minute in, you hear someone screaming from next door.

“WILL YOU TURN THAT OFF-TUNE BLIP BLOP?! I’M TRYING TO REGAIN MY SINGING SWING!” 

At first you thought it was probably you neighbor, but come to find out, it was a talking bird in a cage. You asked him and he answered. “I just moved in from my relatives and now I’m stuck with feathers instead of a classic bow tie. You said you had experience with this?”

This Manimal would be one of those nerds with bowties and sweaters on shoulder prep boy. He’s more like Frank Sinatra (Pic 1 and 2 with Elvis), Dean Martin or Sammy David Jr. A bit more old fashioned but about the same age as college kids.

Imagine the dialogs would be more like Tweety birds whenever Cole is change in between and had comedy accidents like the cartoons to prevent being his next un-cook chicken nugget!

7. Ancient temple guardian!

If anyone had played Crush Crush, you know about the Suzu bundle in the shop. She’s a white fox spirt that the player had accidentally broke the statue.

Now imagine the same thing, but this time you notice that one of these statues are not the same cause they don’t breathe.

8. Marine surfer/oceanic enthusiast!

Remember when I said there’s no Marine Animals (Yet?) If they do, I hope to see a hot guy who was turned into one while I was just looking at the waves.

Imagine Little Mermaid in a gender swap perspective. He wants to learn about the ocean like Jacque Cousteau and sometimes collects sea shells or old object from the 18th centuries that was from sunken ships.

9. German Soccer coach!

Remember when the German won the soccer tournament from Brazil by 7-1 a few years ago? Now imagine someone from that country that’s the new soccer/football coach for your team.

Player wanted to try a new sport so they go for it, but noticed the coach is a big German Shepperd. He’s Strict, Disciplined and very Passionate.

We need a good doggo for 2021!

10. Eastern Master Chef

I think I saved a nice one for last, but my random card tells me that we need a chef in that game. CC have Bonnibel, we have a Michelin star chef!

I thought about an old school 90′s Iron Chef stars like Chef Hiroyuki Sakai and Chen Kenichi. But this one is from China, where they eat anything with four legs except tables and anything that flies except planes.

Honorary mentions of Gordon Ramsey in the dialogs but he’s too nice and... I want to see someone else besides him.

AND THAT IS IT!!

That’s all I have for Manimal ideas for now. Do you like any of them? Do you have any other ideas? Please tell me of what you think!

#blush blush #manimal #OC #ideas #non canon

[satanfm]

lux and ivy’s playlist @ivcsisms THINKING ABOUT A GIRL.

It’s 2 am and I’m thinking about the girl I have a crush on but she’s taken so I spend your night writing about her instead while wondering how it feels to make out with her.

the less i know the better by tame impala --- “someone said they left together i ran out the door to get her she was holding hands with trevor not the greatest feeling ever said, "pull yourself together you should try your luck with heather" then i heard they slept together oh, the less i know the better the less i know the better oh my love, can't you see yourself by my side no surprise when you're on his shoulder like every night oh my love, can't you see that you're on my mind don't suppose we could convince your lover to change his mind so goodbye she said, "it's not now or never wait ten years, we'll be together" i said, "better late than never just don't make me wait forever" don't make me wait forever.”

i kissed a girl and she kissed me by kid bloom --- “i get excited when you come round won't you try to make it right i know i've been waiting don't start with me baby i don't know don't sympathize lately let it go this time my heart can't take much more don't start with me baby i don't know.”

her heart isn’t beating for me by semi attractive boy --- “she's got the look of love out of her cheeks she doesn't seem the want to give it to me i've got the feeling that i could be setting her free she's got her eyes so wrong she's seeing my friend she doesn't see the love that i think it feel i got the feeling that her heart isn't beating for me.”

lovefool by no vacation --- “guess i was a fool for believing you. yeah the truth hurts more than a lie or two. more than a lie or two. door closes and you're gone. you left me hangin' on this love. for far too long.”

getting it on by the sales --- “what did you forget was something what did you get, what did you get a part of it was always there and i found out on the way, out of your heart.”

a million other things by pronoun --- “is this how it ends is this how it starts when you love somebody while they falling apart love somebody while they falling don't know where it leads don't know if you know when you keep on holding tight instead of letting go keep on holding tight instead of letting go but you gotta come home come back baby, come back first gotta come home first come back baby, even if it hurts cause there's a million other things we can do in the world.”

come on mess me up by cub sport --- “i found comfort, i fell in love with avoiding problems we were riding on smith street we were right on track i left it behind without sinking, they all said i wasn't thinking i found comfort, i fell in love with avoiding problems but i want this, you know i want this so come on, mess me up and you can break me if you'll still take me ruin me, if you'll let me be one of the ones you say you won't forget 'cause i want this, you know i want this.”

let it lie by morning tv --- “i wanna know why, i’m still crying i know its time to let it all lie  i wanna be with you, i want for you to be with me but all of our ideals of ourselves they fall from a reality.”

you might be sleeping by jakob ogawa & clairo --- “baby, when you're near it's warm inside sometimes when you stare our hearts entwine and in the morning i'll be here you might be sleeping without a care and in the morning i'll be here you might be dreaming play with your hair.”

rivers bend by the doorbells --- “cut me open sew my wounds shut i wanna be yours truly meet me at the rivers bend i wanna feel what you feel i wanna lose when you lose i wanna cry with you i wanna smile when you smile.”

fool by frankie cosmos --- “your name is a triangle your heart is a square i'd love to see you way over there once i was happy you found it intriguing then you got to me left me bleeding you make me feel like a fool waiting for you you make me feel like a fool waiting for you.”

not my baby by alvvays --- “now that you're not my baby i'll go do whatever i want no need to turn around to see what's behind me i don't care and it's true, i've been checking out lately i go do whatever i want no need to turn around to see what's behind me i don't care because i'm really not there i'm really not there.”

dreaming by mac demarco --- “someday i'll find her and i'm still reminded maybe she's the best in dreams she's still the best i've seen dreamin' dreamin' dreamin' baby, i'm dreamin' out on her windowsill baby remember maybe i'm out of luck maybe it's running still dreamin' dreamin' dreamin' baby, i'm dreamin'.”

velvet sheets by goth babe --- “i've got my feelings on they've got a mind of their own can i call you now please won't you pick up the phone i need a face to touch mine is getting old where is my home im really feeling old, old, old some day soon i'll run with you.”

i’m never going to understand by elvis depressedly --- “trembling for forgiveness tiny calloused hands i'm never going to understand  i will love you bunny as long as i can i'm never going to understand  now me and your sickness forever hand in hand i'm never going to understand i can't love you bunny try as hard as i can i'm never going to understand.”

best friend by rex orange county --- “i should've stayed at home 'cause right now i see all these people that love me but i still feel alone can't help but check my phone i could've made you mine but no, it wasn't meant to be and see, i wasn't made for you and you weren't made for me though it seemed so easy.”

warned you by good morning --- “she looked to me, it's no surprise well i well i i could die but i warned you.”

lose it by swmrs --- “when we drove up the coast we had a soundtrack we made it feel like a film on a reel and our story didn't have a happy ending but it still sounded good despite the way i feel the last thing i want is another broken heart to drive me to the brink of crazy in the end i couldn't take it cuz i knew we wouldn't make it so come on, come on and tell me why'd you have to have such a damn good taste in music? ya if all my favorite songs make me think of you i'm gonna lose it.”

little uneasy by fazerdaze --- “we are young, so we untie we are young, we get tired walking on rooftops, feel so heavy i could never leave you if you let me try go on and let me try steady now, but falling slack stepping out, but falling back under-passing all your dreaming i'll admit feeling a little uneasy about you want to cut me out just one more take i'm still feeling my way.”

love song by bad luck --- “i spent 5 years nailing myself to a cross, that i destroyed overnight, through what we'll call "a talk", in a parking lot, in a town that would, later on become, where i lay my head with you. i'd say we all rise up from the dead here again and again. ooh, wouldn't you, say you do too, say you do too, say, "i'm like you", oh i like you, and in some time more, we'll be home somewhere else, with our dog and our children, but i'm in no rush, we have all our lives, we can just get high, and watch time pass by, then again there's nothing we can't do. and i think i'd be fine living life wanting to die with you.”

i wanna be your girlfriend by girl in red --- “i don't wanna be your friend i wanna kiss your lips i wanna kiss you until i lose my breath i don't wanna be your friend i wanna kiss your lips i wanna kiss you until i lose my breath oh hannah tell me something nice like flowers and blue skies oh hannah i will follow you home although my lips are blue and i'm cold.”

one last time by summer salt --- “baby girl when was it that you had decided you'd call it off and on you were just having fun with loving one last time still i'd catch you when the days through at my side passing by wishin' someday you'd make up your mind alone, alone again on valentine.”

why do i wait (when i know you have a lover) by the zolas --- “i can lose a day in a gothic maze. why do i wait when i know you've got a lover? barcelona crush half-capped in the sun. why do i wait when i know you've got a lover? the hands flail up in the clouds. i am their king with the chemical crown. why do i wait, do i pace a figure-eight ain't it easy to decide to go?”

talia by king princess --- “hey, my love i buried you a month or two ago i keep thinking that you're standing on my floor that you're waiting there for me hey, my love you've walked out a hundred times out of us supposed to know this time that you wouldn't call that you wouldn't come home but four drinks i'm wasted i can see you dancing, i can lay down next to you at the foot of my bed if i drink enough i can taste your lipstick, i can lay down next to you but it's all in my head if i drink enough i swear that i will wake up next to you.”

malibu by lucys --- “baby you see my love is ever changing like the candle light that keeps melting but that don't mean i'm over you like this rose i hold for you oh sweet girl you've made me blue time and time again i feel out of tune you wind me up and spin me round tear me up and tell me how baby i just want to make you mine and i die for a bit of your time oh love you’ve got me enticed … enticed.”

i want you by alex lahey --- “you're the kind of person who likes going to the movies alone you only drink cider and you're aching to move out of home i don't know much more about you but it seems to me that you're my kind i get so excited when i hear that you are coming 'round it used to surprise me when you'd say that you weren't homeward-bound i don't know much more about you but it seems to me that you do things that people only do when they think that they like me too i want you even when you're out of town even when we're up and down i want you even when i'm all alone even when we're on the phone i want you even though you'll never know from the day you said hello i want you.”

by your side by flatsound --- “see myself in a screen wasting days, counting weeks getting more familiar with how you speak while you're away from me but i don't want to say goodbye because it's safer when i'm by your side it's safer when i'm by your side i want to be near you like i'm meant to.”

yellow by pity party (girls club) --- “love is sick, but we could try. i really like, i really like the things you do to me. the things you do to me. love is sick, i really mean. i want you close, right next to me. love is dumb, but we could try. i really like, i really like the way you stare at me. the way you stare at me. love is yellow, i really mean. i want you close, to die with me.”

mixed up and confused by gromz --- “we used to be, part-time lovers, our hands underneath the covers. now you've got me all, mixed up and confused. i don't know what to do, you got me all yeah you got me all i'm just searching for a way out but instead i'm just going back to you and it hurts me to think that you've got it going on with other guys.”

a shitty love song by jye --- “roses are red, violets are blue and i think i'm in love with you making me blush every time that i'm with you roses are red, violets are blue and i think i'm in love with you making me blush every time that i'm with you something about you that make's me wanna light up inside it's to do with you eyes nothing you say or do is ever gonna change my mind cause i'm in love.”

i think you’re alright by jay som --- “when i wake up in the morning i'll make you some coffee we'll lay about and let the day pass i'll wipe your blood off the concrete take you to the party we'll drink until our brains black out and god, you're so pretty your smile's unforgiving i'll place it where nobody can find i'll play all your favorite songs and shake when the lights go off i'll hide us in the warm night oh, i think you're alright.”

hourglass by catfish & the bottlemen --- “you know when you're gone i struggle at night dreams of you fucking me all the time and i know your tied up and i know your phone's fucked i'm craving your calls like a soldier's wife i wanna bring you home myself bring you home myself come back, move in, mess my place chest infect me, waste my days 'cause i know you love to drive me up the wall i know you love to drive me up the wall.”

girls by girl in red --- “i've been hiding for so long these feelings, they're not gone could i tell anyone? afraid of what they'll say so i push them away i'm acting so strange they're so pretty it hurts i'm not talking 'bout boys i'm talking 'bout girls.”

mice by billie marten --- “i don't understand why most of the time i'm living my life all wrong i felt nothing at all the freedom of the fall my smile is on the backseat, the back wall watch me as i go and separate the ones that i am made to love and hate.”

the way you used to love me by diamond cafe --- “searching for your touch i've been feeling lonely i know that it's my fault honey i'm sorry nothing can compare to the way you used to love me to the way you used to love me i've been dreaming for somebody to hold me not just anybody it's you that i'm holding nothing can compare to the way you used to love me.”

soft by babygirl --- “i feel soft around you i feel soft around you comfortable and warm and far from any harm i’m lost without you a broken clock without you and when i pull away i’m begging you to stay  oh you would swear i lost my mind, the things i do i know i’m hard to love sometimes but i’m soft around you  i’d be a mess without you fucked up depressed without you life would be worthwhile and sometimes i’d still smile but just less without you i’m so obsessed about you i know i’m touch and go i’m yes and then i’m no no no no.”

i’ll be around by floor cry --- “just like a sad song on a rainy day just like a heartache that won't go away all i've ever known is feeling alone just like a treasure that i cannot reach i bring a cake but i can't have a piece now something has changed my life rearranged sleepless nights i don't get no time off still i can't get enough you fit my heart like a glove sleepy days my head's no longer hurting i'm not sure if it's working i think about you too much.”

yellow velvet by wydes --- “tired friend, wash out my eyes burn into my head that if the moon is never gonna make things better instead i'll ride away come back to yellow velvet days when all the cops would run away  only diamonds for my baby girl only diamonds when i will afford them i've been in love before when i let you run away.”

valentine by suki waterhouse --- “guess it all goes somewhere unknown turn around and leave it all behind once again, i've drawn a line there must be a place where lost love overflows  tell the truth that in my mind we were always on borrowed time is it just that it always goes to a place where love lost overflows?  seems to me it's over i'll get used to it eventually over and over again, brutally it's just the way it's meant to be now your love's no good for me  beneath my smile my thoughts run wild though i try my best, i can't forget my past so once again i send it on to the place where love lost overflows.”

make me your queen by declan mckenna --- “i know that i mean nothing to you, babe i've tried my best to keep these thoughts away oh, i've tried to speak but there's nothing left to say 'cause i mean nothing to you, babe i know that i mean nothing to you, dear if ever i stop by, you're never here and i don't mean shit, i know you've made that clear 'cause i mean nothing to you, dear so make me your queen.”

#∘ ⋰ ╏ ♡ ﹕𝒇𝒕 . ╰ 𝙞𝙫𝙮 . ◞ #again #my brain? d e a d #y'all really expect anything less from me #also there's a few typos in the pictures but i'm too lazy too fix them #listen lux is a disaster n that's all you need to know

[citizenscreen]

This tradition began four years ago when I thought of no better way to share the joy of the season on this blog than to spread the magic of movies. In a Christmassy sort of way. ‘Tis the season, after all and paying movies forward in hopes that these memorable distractions take your minds off negative goings on is now my December lot in life. I’m asking that you join me, recommend your favorites and #PayClassicsForward on your blogs and across social media.

Give the gift of movies

I realize I am publishing this post much later in December than I have in the past, which leaves you little time to play with it if you are up for the challenge. However, if you are interested here’s the challenge…pick movie recommendations to the “12 Days of Christmas” theme as I’ve done below. Keep in mind that movie choices should be those you think would appeal to non classics fans and there can be no repeats. Let’s grow our community and #PayClassicsForward

Have fun!

On the first day of Christmas, etc., etc., etc…

One dream

Excluding the mother of all dream sequences, that is when Dorothy befriends a Tin Man, a Scarecrow, and a lion in a magical land, then I must go with a telling of Charles Dickens’ 1843 classics, A Christmas Carol. I didn’t set out to choose a Christmas story for this, but perused several lists of dream sequences in movies and was shocked that Ebenezer Scrooge’s legendary journey was not even mentioned. I correct that oversight with this entry as it is a dream to fill the heart.

Of all the adaptations of Dickens’ story about morality, human frailty, and redemption the best is Brian Desmond-Hurst’s 1951 movie starring Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge. This version of A Christmas Carol is good enough to watch all the year with Sim’s nuanced, affecting performance a standout. If you are a rotten person you might want to dream as Scrooge does in this movie and if you are a kind-hearted sort you might want to be reminded of why that matters.

Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge

  Two islands

I could have gone with fun times and music for this category, but decided on gloom and doom instead. Take a look and you won’t forget Earle C. Kenton’s Island of Lost Souls (1932), which features a terrifically creepy performance by Charles Laughton. Next I suggest you gather with seven guests who are picked off one by one in Rene Clair’s And Then There Were None (1945) based on one of Agatha Christie’s most famous whodunnits.

Island of Lost Souls

Before there were none in And Then There Were None

  Three gentlemen

No surprise here. See everything they’ve ever done.

  Four speeches

From Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940)

Hynkel/A Jewish Barber:

“I should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone, and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way…”

  From Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972)

Don Vito Corleone:

“But I’m a superstitious man, and if some unlucky accident should befall him… if he should be shot in the head by a police officer, or if he should hang himself in his jail cell, or if he’s struck by a bolt of lightning, then I’m going to blame some of the people in this room, and that I do not forgive.”

  From Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Jefferson Smith:

“Liberty’s too precious a thing to be buried in books, Miss Saunders. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: I’m free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn’t, I can, and my children will. Boys ought to grow up remembering that.”

  From Robert Mulligan’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Atticus Finch:

“Now, gentlemen, in this country, our courts are the great levelers. In our courts, all men are created equal. I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system – that’s no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality! Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review, without passion, the evidence that you have heard, come to a decision and restore this man to his family. In the name of GOD, do your duty. In the name of God, believe… Tom Robinson.”

  Five golden rings

Not that kind of ring! This kind…

Mark Robson’s The Harder They Fall (1956)

  Robert Rossen’s Body and Soul (1947)

  Reuben Mamoulian’s Golden Boy (1939)

  Michael Curtiz’s Kid Galahad (1937)

Edward G. Robinson and Bette Davis in Kid Galahad

  Eddie Buzzell’s The Big Timer (1932)

Ben Lyon and Constance Cummings in The Big Timer

  There are quite a few great boxing movies that most have seen like the ones with that Balboa guy. I chose a few that you may not have and should. By the way, I want extra points with Santa for not listing Elvis’ Kid Galahad (1962).

  Six Acting-related Stories

Assuming everyone has seen Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, Joseph Mankiewicz’s All About Eve, and the Donen/Kelly vehicle with dignity, always dignity, Singin’ in the Rain then I suggest the following glittering stories…

Victor Fleming’s Bombshell 1933)

George Cukor’s A Double Life (1947)

Robert Florey’s Hollywood Boulevard (1936)

Joseph Pevney’s Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)

Graeme Clifford’s Frances (1982)

Stuart Heisler’s The Star (1952)

The Star

Bombshell

Man of a Thousand Faces

Frances

Hollywood Boulevard

A Double Life

  Seven drinks

I thought it’d be fun to spread the joy with ideas for classic imbibing. Here are just seven of the many drinks had throughout yesteryear in the movies.

The Thin Man Martini

“…a Manhattan you shake to a Foxtrot, a Bronx to a two-step, but a Dry martini you should always shake to waltz time.”

1 1/2 oz Dry Gin

3/4 oz Dry Vermouth

Instructions:

Pour into a cocktail shaker, shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.

  The Casablanca Champagne Cocktail

Victor Laszlo’s drink.

Champagne Cocktail 1 bitters-soaked sugar cube 1 oz brandy or cognac Brut champagne Twist of lemon, for garnish

Place your sugar cube on top of the bitters bottle. While holding it in place with your finger, flip the bottle upside down until the sugar cube is saturated. Drop the sugar cube into a champagne flute and add your cognac or brandy. Top with Brut champagne, garnish with lemon and enjoy.

  Margo Channing and the “bumpy night” Gibson

This cocktail is also notable for making a cameo in the train car in North by Northwest, but Margot gets the official shout out today.

Gibson Classic Cocktail

4 parts gin 1 part dry vermouth pearl cocktail onion Combine the gin and vermouth in a shaker over ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a pearl onion.

  The Some Like it Hot Manhattan

This whiskey cocktail is popular in Wilder’s film and best served after stirring/mixing with a drumstick, cymbal, and hot water bottle on a trail with Sweet Sue and Her Society Syncopaters.

Ingredients:

2 oz bourbon 1 ox Italian sweet vermouth 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Recipe: 

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and enjoy.

  Blue Hawaii Mai Tai

1 oz white rum

½ oz Orgeat syrup

½ oz Cointreau

2 oz pineapple juice

1 oz orange juice

Dark Rum float (such as Koloa dark rum)

Pineapple spear and lime (for garnish)

Mix white rum, Orgeat, Cointreau, pineapple and orange juices in a shaker filled with ice. Pour drink into a glass with the ice, and float the dark rum on top. Top with pineapple spear and lime wedge.

Made by Angela Lansbury this is sure to be a hit at any party.

  The Breakfast at Tiffany’s Mississippi Punch

2 oz / 50 ml cognac 1 oz / 25 ml bourbon 1⁄2 oz / 12.5 ml lemon juice 1⁄2 oz / 12.5 ml sugar syrup 1 oz / 25 ml dark rum

Shake all the ingredients except the rum with crushed ice and pour into a Collins glass, unstrained. Top the glass with more crushed ice, gently pour over the rum and garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.

  The Scotch Mist from The Big Sleep

It’s important to offer a darker choice so I went for the kind of drink a femme fatale would order when sitting next to Humphrey Bogart.

Ingredients :

2 oz. whiskey (whiskey, bourbon)

2 oz. crushed ice

1 twist lemon peel

Pack a collins glass with crushed ice. Pour in scotch. Add the twist of lemon peel and serve with a straw. No garnish because garnish doesn’t fit in a dirty little world.

  Eight silents

I know many classic film fans that have not taken the journey into silent film. That was me when I started this blog, but since I’ve made a concerted effort to watch a silent film when time allows. There’s no doubt I would recommend some of the popular greats to the silent movie novice, or films made by the three comedy megastars and the likes of Metropolis or Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, to name just two. This past year I saw most of the following lesser-known gems for the first time and recommend them without hesitation.

Victor Sjöström’s The Wind (1928)

Erich von Stroheim’s Foolish Wives (1922)

Per Lindberg’s Norrtullsligan (The Nortull Gang ) (1923)

Leo McCarey’s Mighty Like a Moose (1926)

Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle’s The Cook (1918)

Lois Weber’s Suspense (1913)

Paul Leni’s The Cat and the Canary (1927)

Fred Guiol’s Duck Soup (1927)

Duck Soup

Foolish Wives

Mighty Like a Moose

Norrtullsligan

Suspense

The Cat and the Canary

The Cook

The Wind

  Nine Child Performances

No explanation needed for this lot of talented young ‘uns.

Roddy McDowall in John Ford’s How Green Was My Valley (1941)

Patty McCormack as Rhoda in Mervyn LeRoy’s The Bad Seed (1956)

Salvatore Cascio as Toto in Giuseppe Tornatore‘s Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Jackie Coogan in Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921)

George Winslow in anything, but for now I’ll go for his performance in Howard Hawks’ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Enzo Staiola as Bruno in Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Virginia Weidler as Dinah Lord in George Cukor’s The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Patty Duke as Helen Keller in Arthur Penn’s The Miracle Worker (1962)

Eva Lee Kuney as Trina in George Stevens’ Penny Serenade (1941)

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  Ten Stars and their Dogs

I recently read a startling statistic. It turns out that dogs given to children for Christmas often end up in pounds. Having a pet is a huge responsibility and it should be a choice for life, rather than looked at as a toy. So, if you are inclined to purchase a puppy or kitten for Christmas and haven’t thought about it carefully, spend your time looking at these images instead…

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Cat lovers can feast their eyes on this gallery of Cats and Movie Stars.

  Eleven heist movies

Jules Dassin’s Rififi (1955)

Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing (1956)

Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

Joseph Sargent’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Norman Jewison’s The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

Raoul Walsh’s High Sierra (1941)

Jean-Pierre Melville‘s Bob Le Flambeur (1956)

Robert Siodmak’s Criss Cross (1949)

Mario Monicelli‘s Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)

Fabián Bielinsky‘s Nueve Reinas (Nice Queens) (2000) – I was introduced to this Argentine gem during a course I took on heist films. It immediately became a favorite. Although it’s a contemporary movie, I know all classics fans would love it. It’s a twisty, well-acted labyrinth that’s well worth your time.

  Twelve Days

I would have included Dog Day Afternoon and The Taking of Pelham… here, but no repeats allowed. These are movies with stories that take place in one day.

Fred Zinnemann’s High Noon (1952)

George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1958)

Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men (1957)

Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979)

Frank Capra’s Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950)

Mike Nichols’ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe? (1966)

Sidney Lumet’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1962)

Walter Hill’s The Warriors (1979)

Carl Th. Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Fleming, Cukor et al…The Wizard of Oz (1939)

◊

Till next year, my friends.

#PayClassicsForward

Aurora

  #PayClassicsForward for Christmas This tradition began four years ago when I thought of no better way to share the joy of the season on this blog than to spread the magic of movies.

#12 Days of Movies #Classic Movie Recommendation #Movie Recommendations #Pay Classics Forward #Pay Classics Forward for Christmas

[the-canary]

Sky Full of Song - B.B (2/10)

Summary: Giving a recovering amnesiac the proper musical education he was missing, wasn’t supposed to involve feelings, right? (Reader/Bucky Barnes)

Prompt:  “Should I reveal exactly how I feel?”

Word Count:  1357

Masterlist

A/N: This is for @redgillan writing challenge. Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter. We had waffles at work yesterday and this chapter just came together really fast. I hope you enjoy. It also should be noted that the main character won’t be called by her “code name” alot, but I wanted establish what number she was within the group.

Feedback is always appreciated. 

Warnings:  Waffles and David Bowie references. 

Part 1 | 

“ Live without the sunlight. Love without your heartbeat ,” you hum softly as you enter the small room with a duffle bag in hand. Two nods in your general direction, but Four groans at the sound of your voice humming a familiar song. You take a seat on the chair next to him and slide the bag underneath your desk.

“How many times did you watch that awful movie this weekend?” he asks as you laugh. While, the three of you didn’t spend a lot of time together, hell you barely knew each other’s real names, there were certain quirks that showed every once and awhile.

For example, Two was really into gardening (all the plants and flowers blooming on her desk showed it), Four was really into the Pittsburgh Steelers (he never stopped complaining once football season started), and you -dear little Seven- were really into music of any kind, and musical movies were sort of your favorite thing.

“ Twice ! It was a good weekend,” green eyes roll at your enthusiasm because only you would consider Monday part of the weekend. While, it might have bothered you in the beginning, you knew that Four simply didn’t like the movie because it marked a decline in one of his favorite artists’ career, the man is dedicated to David Bowie (another one of his quirks) and for that you couldn’t really fault him.

“Please don’t forget to send your report to Three,” Two chimes in before going back to working on whatever she has placed on the metal table in the back. You give her an thumbs-up and proceed to get ready what you are going to present to Three – the most senior member of your group, because while you did have time to spare on watching movies, you had been more focused on the small mission they sent  you away for the weekend – collecting of data and software in ways only you could.

You grab a small hard drive from the duffel bag and connect it to your laptop. There are jitters running up and down your spine at the thought of seeing Three again, who wasn’t a scary man, but he was a father figure whose disappointment always made you feel bad about yourself. You let out an aggravated sigh and get up with your computer at hand.

“I’m gonna go raid the kitchens,” you huff as Two shakes her head. You get up and walk out of the room, Four yelling out at you to bring him some Nutella.

fourth night.

It was one of those nights where neither him nor Steve could sleep after a mission, they had gone running around the compound a few times and even trained in the gym for a couple of more hours. However, midway it was starting to become obvious that the jetlag and injuries were starting to get to them both, though Steve was far more willing to go to bed. Bucky was too afraid and unsure of what horrors and memories would wake him up this time around. It was just a few hours that he had to kill, he could find something to occupy his time with. He just didn’t know that certain something was in the kitchen, saying good night to Steve and promising not to leave it in ruins, like you had done the last time.  

It’s 3 in the morning when he finally decides to leave the gym, wearing baggy gray sweatpants and a white tank top-- and head back to face whatever might be lurking in his head, and while he wonders what had happened to the young music woman from a couple of nights before, he tries his hardest not to seek her out again – no normal person should be burdened with him. However, that’s easier said than done when you are standing in the kitchen once more with a bunch of food surrounding you like it’s nobody’s business. He walks over to you and this time you are ready for him.   

“Good morning, Sergeant Barnes,” you smile from behind the kitchen counter-top, a plate of waffles in front of you as the toaster pings up another pair, “Waffle?”

He shakes his head in affirmation and you grin before handing him the next batch. The fruits, syrup and a bag of chocolate chips are all placed near the laptop softly playing a voice that he remembers but can’t quite place. You take your own in front of the computer with a mouth full of waffle and powdery sugar, while typing out a few things. The song closes and another one begins with that same female voice slightly softer than before as she questions her romance in the song, until it clicks.

“Ella…Fitzgerald?” he questions and turns to look at you nodding, though your eyes are still on the computer.

“It’s Too Soon to Know . She sang it in 1948,” you explain and glance at him from the corner of your eyes, “My grandma used to like her earlier stuff.”

“How long did she keep singin’ for?” he shuffles in his seat before taking a bit of his whipped cream and strawberry topped waffle.  

“Early 90’s, if I remember correctly,” you explain as a strawberry falls onto his plate. His bright blue eyes grow a little in size at the comment, and it causes you to raise an eyebrow. Was it really that surprising that she lived for so long, I mean look at him . No, it had to be something else.

“To be honest, I love her older stuff from the 60’s,” you comment and a confused look crosses his face for moment before easing back into eating his sugary concoction.

“I haven’t heard any of her music past the 40’s,” he meekly explains as you turn your full attention to him, work completely forgotten now.    

“ Wait, Wait ,” you put your hand up in front of him as your voice gets a little higher at the prospect of this man missing decades of music. It hurt bottom of your very soul.

“Have you heard the Beatles ? Elvis Presley ? Queen ?” now you were just rambling to the poor man.

“I’ve heard of them,” he shrugged it off and while you could clearly understand where he was coming from –being the Winter Soldier and then a wanted criminal didn’t really give you time to hear the newest jams- but, it was high time he learned about what he was missing, no?

“David Bowie?”

“Who?”

“ Blasphemy ,” you seethe to yourself and you are sure Four would have cried out at such a crime, he certainly did when you explained you didn’t know any of the man’s music outside of a certain favorite film of yours. Though that wasn’t the problem you were facing right now. And suddenly, an idea pops into your head.    

“Well, we have to change that, Sergeant Barnes,” you grin at the flabbergasted look he gives you, but you are too deep into your own idea to backtrack on it now, “And you have the perfect teacher for it.”  

“Good, I guess,” he gives off an awkward smile, trying to understand what he has just gotten himself into, “When can we start?”

“ Now ! Now is completely perfect,” you give him a rueful smile before grabbing your phone and pulling out your Ella playlist, and secretly hoping that Two doesn’t find you slacking off again.

“Okay, Sergeant,” you pause and begin to play a song with her and the Delta Rhythm Boys. It was better to start him off with something closer to his time period before moving onto your personal favorites. He leans in close as the countertop and various placed toppings let him. However, he corrects you on one thing before the vocals set in.   

“Bucky,” you look up at him for a further clarification, “You can call me Bucky.”

“Oh! Well, you can call me Seven,” you grin as Ella’s voice leads you into the daybreak once more.

Part 3 

#maisieswritingchallenge #series: sky full of song #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #fabiola trying to write

[theriseofniall]

The Rise of Gerry

Presley and Henley share a love of all things Niall, that is until Gerry came along.  Henley has an instant attraction to the Irish drummer from the moment he pops on up on Niall’s Instagram account.

The two girls decide to return to their hometown of Nashville to see the boys preform live on the Flicker Session 2017 tour.  And maybe, just maybe they will meet the men of their dreams.

Chapter 1

“Presley!  Presley!” Henley called out.  When she doesn’t respond, she kicks her feet from under her butt and heads out to the living room walking a little harder than usual. Presley is sitting on the couch lost in Niall’s Instagram stories again.

Henley stood behind her and shook her head.

“I have been calling your name for like five minutes.”  Presley looks back at Henley, waiting for her to talk. “Have you seen Gerry’s latest post?”

Gerry being Gerry Morgan Jr., Niall’s drummer for his new band.  He showed up on Niall’s Instagram when Niall was introducing his new band for the Flicker Sessions.  Who could turn down a hot Irish drummer when he is a band member of her best friend’s celebrity crush?

Presley laughs and shakes her head.

“Henley you are bitching at me for being lost in Niall’s IG Story and you want to know if I’ve seen Gerry’s.  You are ridiculous sometimes.”

She sits down on the couch next to Presley and watches her click on Gerry’s IG Story from her iPhone.

“It’s a picture of him with a mud mask on.” She laughs at her and goes back to scrolling through pictures of Niall.

Presley and Henley have been friends since birth.  Their mothers had met in birthing class and bonded over their love of music.  No one was surprised when either of their moms names them after their favorite musicians, Elvis Presley and Don Henley.   They grew up in Nashville and fell in love with the music just like their mothers.  I think everyone would have been disappointed in them if they didn’t. They had to live up to the names they were giving.

Now the girls are 22 and living in LA like they have always dreamed.  It isn’t as fabulous as they thought but they were happy to have the opportunity to experience a different part of the country.  It was a daily struggle to find work and pay the bills. They both have been working for a temp agency hoping to find something that they would fall in love with. Henley had majored in Literature in college and everyone failed to tell her she wouldn’t be able to do much with it. Presley on the other hand had chosen a more practical career path with a degree in education but she just wasn’t ready to settle down with it.

Henley has been a fan of Gerry since the first time he popped up on Niall’s Instagram account. She always loved Niall but Presley called dibs from the start of One Direction.  Henley was completely fine with that and moved her attention to Louis.   Sometimes Presley was willing to share Niall but recently she was very territorial.  

Henley ignores Presley’s lack of interest in Gerry.  A few minutes later Gerry posts another picture to his IG account with under eye treatment pads on.

“I swear to god he is into skin care more than the average girl,” Henley laughs.

Henley decides to comment on the post. “Can you please share your beauty regiment with me?”

She takes a deep breath, “I’m going back to bed.  I had a stressful day at the office.  I think every computer was down and my boss had an issue with every client.”

The temp agency Henley worked at found her a semi-permanent job at a lawyer’s office in LA.  She had been there for two months but had no intentions of it turning into something permanent.

The next morning Presley starts to yell for Henley to get up.  Henley looked at the clock and pulled the blanket over her head.

Seconds later, Presley was jumping on Henley’s bed. “Trust me you will want to get up for this.” Henley slowly pulls the blanket back and rolls her eyes at Presley.

“You need to look on your Instagram account.  Just trust me.” “Yeah like I never heard that before. They will be your famous last words.”

Henley sat up and grabbed her phone wondering what kind of crazy shit she put on Instagram.

She immediately looks at her story feeds and sees that Gerry posted something new.  She clicks on his icon and smiles as she sees him on the screen. It was a video of Gerry responding to Henley’s question.

“To the girl last night who wanted to know my skincare routine here it is.” In a hilarious manor for over five video’s he joked around.

Henley starts to scream. “Oh my god!  I can’t fucking believe that The Gerry Morgan Jr. is talking to me!”

Henley quickly looked up excitedly at Presley to find her filming.

“What are you doing? I look like complete shit.”  She covers her face to hide it from the camera.

Presley puts down the phone and laughs at her.  “I am so posting that and tagging Gerry.”

Henley quickly grabs the phone out of Presley hand. “Absolutely not, I am good.  He noticed me and I can now go on with my life knowing that he knows who I am.  Don’t go and embarrass me.”

Presley walks out of the room knowing that she will get her phone back when Henley gets in the shower.

Henley looks at her phone and its 6:30am and time to start the day.  She whines to herself as she turns on the shower and waits for the water to warm up.  One thing that she hated about this apartment was the lack of hot water.  Once the water is lukewarm, she jumps in knowing her time is limited until the water becomes cold.

Once Presley hears the water turn on she sneaks in and searches for her phone.  Henley was never good at hiding things.  She always used the same hiding spot.  She opens the sock drawer and looks on the bottom right and finds her phone. She shakes her head as she grabs it. She knows that Henley would delete the video as soon as she got out of the shower so she had to act quickly.

She quickly posts the video on Instagram and tags Gerry.  When she hears the shower turn off she puts the phone back and runs out of the room.

Henley comes out of the shower and looks in the mirror.  “I seriously hope that Gerry never sees that video.  I am not anything special, especially first thing in the morning,” she talks out loud to herself.

She brushes her hair and dries it.  Pulling out her makeup bag, she looks inside and pulls out a few extra things that are not included in her usual makeup routine.  If Presley posted the video, she wanted the opportunity to post a selfie in case Gerry looked at her account.  She contemplated putting the account on private so that he would not be able to look at her.  She took 10 minutes to find the perfect outfit.  She couldn’t believe she was going through all this trouble for something she knew was unlikely to happen.  She walked over to the dresser and pulled out Presley phone.  She knew the pass code for the phone and went in and deleted the video immediately.  When she was ready to leave for work, she grabbed Presley’s phone and left it on the kitchen table.

“Ok Presley, I am heading out to work.  Your phone is on the table and the video is deleted.”

Presley was just finishing getting ready for work and shook her head when Henley said she deleted the video.  She couldn’t wait until later when she found out what she did.  Henley liked to play tough but it was all an act.

Presley was working at a daycare covering for someone on maternity leave.  In the next few weeks, she would be without a job.  She was feeling the pressure to figure out if she should look for another temp job or go back home to Nashville and become a teacher. She wondered if it was time to stop to running from her past.  She was also afraid to have the talk with Henley.  She wondered if Henley would stay in LA or come home.

#nillfanfic #niall fic #niallhoran #niall #gerrymorgan #flicker #flickersessions #flickerworldtour #onedirection #harrystyles #louistomlinson #liampayne #1direction onedirectionfanfic

[niialabellavita]

The three Icons  I would like to watch during Quarantine.

The three Icons  I would like to watch during Quarantine.  

Morticia Addams 

Morticia Addams of course is a fictional character from The Addams family TV and film series. She was created by cartoonist Charlie Addams and was based on his first wife, Barbara Jean Day. Legend. 

Morticia is described as a witch who is very slim, has extremely pale skin, and long straight black hair. She commonly wears black to match her shiny hair. According to Wednesday, her disturbed daughter, Morticia applies baking powder to her face instead of actual makeup. She frequently enjoys cutting the buds off of roses, which she discards (keeping only the stems), likes cutting out paper dolls with three heads and making sweaters with three arms, and cooking unusual concoctions for her husband.

In 2009, she was included in Yahoo!'s Top 10 TV Moms from Six Decades of Television and AOL named her one of the 100 Most Memorable Female TV Characters.

I wish I could watch Morticia right now on her perfectly curated self help/camgirl Twitch account. She’d for sure be on Twitch. Her absence of fear but dark passion during this un-settling time would be illuminating. That pinch of morbid humor personally feels even more needed to stay sane. I would also very much like to watch her gardening suggestions, beauty tutorials, at home craft projects, and self made mask ideas. 

She adored her husband Gomez, as deeply as he did for her and I would pay extra for some late night sex videos and relationship tips from the both of them. Her loyalty to her family goes beyond sanity and I love her for it. I would also love to watch her feed her personal pet Cleopatra, a fictitious breed of carnivorous plant called an African Strangler, to which she feeds hamburgers and other various meat. Or watch her strumming a Japanese shamisen, of course she was musically inclined duh-She’s perfect. 

 She seems to have a healthy but freaky sex life and her kids seem like they could survive anything. I’m not a parent but I’m pretty sure she’d have some great suggestions on how to keep your kids alive without them killing you vlogs.  Oh Morticia, how can I be as strong as you? What is in your drink? Her overall aloof outlook and dislike for happy social gatherings makes her a role model for us all right now. Stay creepy and freaky out there. 

2. Christopher Walken. 

Christopher Walken is an American actor, singer, comedian, director, producer, screenwriter, and dancer, who has appeared in more than 100 films and television programs that I’m not going to list. I’ll give you just a few fun facts. He was Born in Astoria, New York. When he was 15, a girlfriend showed him a photo of Elvis Presley which inspired  him to change his hairstyle to imitate Presley and he has not changed it since. As a teenager, he worked as a lion tamer in a circus. He attended  Hofstra University, but dropped out after one year, having gotten a role in an off Broadway revival alongside Liza Minnelli! Wild!

He initially trained as a dancer at the Washington Dance Studio before moving on to acting. He prefers to be known informally as Chris instead of Christopher. Walken won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Michael Cimino’s 1978 film THE DEER HUNTER.  In 1992, Walken appeared in Madonna’s controversial coffee table book SEX and the music video for her hit single, "Bad Girl" (directed by David Fincher) He’s been married forever with no children.  The quiet couple have a cat named Bowtie, and their previous cat was named Flapjack. They live in Connecticut. 

Lastly, Walken was one of the last people to see actress Natalie Wood alive before her drowning on November 29, 1981, while on a weekend boating trip near Catalina Island.

I would gladly pay for his Patreon account where I assume all proceeds go to helping animals and young artists during this critical time. 

Watching him make pancakes for his wife… Talk about his role in Batman Returns....Maybe even a little dancing around his garden would lift my spirits and boredom. 

His voice is as soothing as it is funny... it makes me frustrated and giddy with his long pauses yet, I’m waiting on every word. I would like him to read short stories and have his cat awkwardly enter the frame to block the camera.  In a time of chaos Christopher or Chris, is my calm. Actually his real name is Ronald. 

He makes me feel at ease. The tall striking man I’ve grown up watching in some of my favorite movies usually playing the villain but he’s really our hero. I can’t decide if he’d be in a bathrobe or perfectly groomed and well dressed for his first episode or perhaps it would vary keeping us all more engaged. 

I love you Walken. 

3._________________________

This next person already makes me feel guilty without even saying his name. BUT, during this time it’s important to try to keep going, keep learning, workout, yada yada yada.  Personally sometimes getting up to shower feels excruciating. I’ve lost my will to sing these days too weak to fight back tears that flood once I open my mouth, so I’ve turned to writing. Something... to try. I’m not great at it but whatever it passes the time. I can write about my ideas and fantasies anything to survive. This next channel pick is the survivor of all survivors who’s self tutorials I will never be able to complete but I’ll watch in awe until I die. 

Bear Fucking Grylls. 

Some Wikipedia shit on him to follow 

Edward Michael Grylls better known as Bear Grylls, is a British former SAS serviceman,  survival instructor, and honorary Lieutenant- colonel, and, outside his military career, an adventurer, writer, television presenter and businessman. He is widely known for his television series Man vs. Wild. In  July 2009, Grylls was appointed the youngest-ever Chief Scout of the United Kingdom and Overseas Territories at age 35, a post he has held for a second term since 2015. I don’t know what any of that means but it seems impressive and that he probably makes his bed every morning no matter what or where his bed is. 

His dad is a conservative politician that taught him how to climb, sail and skydive and most likely forced him to earn a second dan black belt in Shotohan Karate. HE speaks three languages.. I can’t keep going…its all too crazy for a normal human to process. 

The craziest in my opinion; Father of three in August 2015, Grylls left his young son, Jesse, on Saint Tudwal’s Island along the  North Wales coast, as the tide approached, leaving him to be rescued by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. (RNLI) as part of their weekly practice missions. Jesse was unharmed, though the RNLI later criticized him for the stunt, saying its crew "had not appreciated" that a child would be involved! What the fuck? Imagine if he was your dad? But also then I would know how to hopefully do a bunch more shit or survive if the world turns into the walking dead- which lately I think about often. 

I’m not even going to list his expeditions cause they will make you feel out of shape and guilty for not figuring out how to follow a simple stupid banana bread recipe online -  but they’re very impressive.  It’s all just too much. He hiked the Himalayan mountains, you know he’s that guy, but really THAT TOP GUY. 

I did watch part of his show where he took Channing Tatum into the wild and made him take his clothes off in freezing water to catch a fish by hand.  Loved that. 

But here’s why Bear is my pick- Because we are lazy and capable of so much more. Confined or free Bear is mentally and physically dialed in. 

I’d want to know his real opinion on what our bodies need to survive, house hold jobs, etc. Youtube would probably be his platform which a bunch of random copy cat accounts that think they are better than Bear.  Bear never insults anyone. He believes in us. We can survive if we keep learning and trying. From the master of social distancing and sustainability. His cooking suggestions I’d even try just to avoid another trip to the grocery store to be less wasteful and be more mindful of what I have rather than have not. 

Bear Grylls Boot Camp will save your life or at least help you loose a few llbs.

Who else would you like to see have a channel during this time and why? 

[allaccessproject]

ALLACCESS-ONSTAGE KING FOR A DAY BY ERIN FEINBERG

Every August during “Elvis Week” impersonators and fans travel from all over the world to visit Memphis, Tennessee and pay homage to The King. They come from all walks of life and vary in age, gender, ethnicity, shape and size. Some are part-time impersonators with day jobs and others earn a living as full-time tribute artists. When these artists step into the famous black leather outfit, the gold lame suit, or one of the various jumpsuits in which Elvis performed, they give spectators an opportunity to relive a moment from the past while introducing a younger generation to the King.

King for a Day, the new book by photographer Erin Feinberg is a photographic study of some of the most passionate Elvis impersonator she found during the contest.

How was “King for a Day” conceived and why did you do a project on Elvis’ impersonators?

This project found me. I was in Memphis, Tennessee years ago with my boyfriend who was recording a record there. Unbeknownst to us, we were there during “Elvis Week” – when Elvis fans from all over the world come to pay homage to the King during the week leading up to the anniversary of his death (on August 16th). Sideburns and pompadours were swarming the streets, and I just happened to be staying at the hotel where the biggest Elvis impersonator contest in the world is held every year! After watching some of these contestants perform, I knew I had to come back the following year and document this scene. I also wanted to explore who these people were and what drives them to impersonate their hero. These impersonators are so easily mocked, but I chose to present them in a sophisticated manner and honor them in my photographs.

Could you tell us something about the book’s process? How much time did it take to develop the project?

I photographed all of the contestants at the Images of the King contest, over four separate visits to Memphis. Each year I set up a studio in the lobby of the hotel where this contest was being held. I was available any time of day or night to photograph portraits. Mostly I pulled these subjects aside either before or after they performed. But there were also some impersonators who I crossed paths with outside of the contest, and I if I found them interesting I asked if they’d come to the hotel to be photographed. I made portraits of over one hundred “Elvis” and since many of these contestants return to this event year after year, I found myself photographing some of them a second and third time – and each time we had even more fun!

The pink background is a constant thread of the project. Why pink?

I decided to use a consistent backdrop in order to showcase their individuality – both in personality and wardrobe! And I chose the color pink as a tribute to Elvis – since he so often wore that color in the early days.

What was your working method and your approach to your subjects? What kind of directions did you give them before shooting?

I typically spend time talking with my subjects to establish a rapport before taking out a camera. Once I’ve gained their trust, a subject will open up more easily and can be themselves – and that lends to better photographs. Many of the Elvis impersonators needed to feel reassured that I wasn’t there to make fun of them. To begin, I always want the subjects do whatever they feel inspired to do in front of the backdrop. I usually have conversations with them while photographing and sometimes I’ll ask a question that may change their expression or trigger a different posture. I had fun asking these contestants what their favorite songs were, and invariably they would begin singing to me and showing me poses that they use onstage in their Elvis act. As you can imagine, it was very entertaining!

“King for a Day” was published by Kehrer Verlag. How was working with the publisher like?

Working with Kehrer was an honor as they are making many of the most beautiful photography books today. And they publish unique ones too – they take chances. And that’s what initially drew me to them. Working with Kehrer was a wonderful experience. They are experts in every aspect of publishing and take such pride in what they do. “King For A Day” is so beautifully printed. I couldn’t be happier. It was inspiring and rewarding to work with a group of people who are so passionate about photography, and always respectful and sensitive to the artist’s vision.

And based on what criteria did you select the impersonators featured in your book?

The first edit was based solely on which were the best photographs. And then as I fine-tuned the series, I began to take in consideration how one photograph may flow better than another. I did make an effort to display a wide range of people, emotions, and wardrobe.

What were your inspirations and references when working on this project?

I didn’t really have a reference for this. I just dove in and took a chance. After the first year, I knew I had something – and I returned to Memphis over the next three summers with my pink backdrops!

What did you discover and learnt after working on “King for a Day”?

Well there’s no denying their passion. I am drawn to passionate people – especially when it’s something that fills them with so much joy. My first reaction was to laugh when I saw all of these impersonators gathered in one place. But then as I spent time among them, I began to gain an appreciation for the more serious side of this craft. They put so much into it – both time and money. It’s a huge commitment. Of course, like anything, there is a range of talent. Some of these contestants are actually great singers and I really enjoyed hearing Elvis’s tunes – especially the ones that were more obscure to me. And then there were others who looked the part but couldn’t sing at all! Some of the contestants had absolutely no resemblance to the King, but were just out there having fun. And then there are always the few who take this act a bit too far and don’t really know when to put the jumpsuit away! I learned that these tribute artists, as they prefer to be called, come from all walks of life – and behind the wigs and flashy outfits I discovered integrity and commitment.

On a technical level, I also learned that working with the color pink in the printing process is very difficult!

This is not your first project on music, as you also did “Diehards”, turning the camera to the public to capture the energy and spirit of the fans. Where does your interest in such music scenes come from?

I am a music fan so it’s natural for me to be around the scene and experience these subcultures of people. Early on I could see shows for free if I photographed them for a publication. It was the perfect job! (Now things are different. You can’t make a living doing this, as photographs and photographers are ubiquitous). Whether I was at a show for a publication or just as an audience member, I was always observing the crowds and found that “other show” very fascinating. So I began documenting the fans – before, during and after the shows. That culminated in my book called “Diehards.” With “King For A Day” I had stumbled upon these impersonators because I was in Memphis to experience the music scene down there. I could have never gone looking for a project like this. But I am an Elvis fan so I got hooked on this scene very easily.

What are you working on right now? What are your projects for 2016?

I’m working on a couple of long term photography series – mainly portraits. But what I’m concentrating the most on this year is another music related project called “The Best Seat in the House.” It is a documentary film exploring music from the perspective of the drummer. And it follows my journey learning to play drums from the greatest musicians in the world!

-

Erin Feinberg is a New York City based photographer and filmmaker with a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University and a Master of Arts from both New York University and the International Center of Photography. 2014 she published her photo book, Diehards, about music fans from around the world (with an introduction by Bruce Springsteen).

King for a Day by Erin Feinberg is published by Kehrer Verlag, April 2016.

http://erinfeinberg.com/

Photo © King for a Day by Erin Feinberg. Courtesy of Erin Feinberg.

[textales]

“A Curious Cat”

The Egyptians had a thing for cats. They even had a religion where they worshiped the feline gods. And If any one of those elusive feline gods had been even remotely as bewitching as my childhood cat I totally understand why.

She was a Seal Point Siamese…with deep blue eyes and a shimmering coat with blonde and brown fur, and even a strand or two of blue and silver mixed in. She was unlike any “normal” cat you’d see loitering in back yards or on front porches – this cat was downright exotic and stuck-out like a fine French restaurant in a trailer park. Great Falls was a simple “all American” blue-collar town, best suited for plain cats like Morris, the fat orange thing from the TV commercials for 9 Lives. Weird cats belonged in places like Missoula or Seattle with hippies and tie-dye and lesbians. She was clearly an outsider and a total anomaly. She might have been imported from Egypt or the land of Siam - wherever that was.

We lived on the right side of the tracks….but only by a few feet.  As a matter of fact, old railroad tracks remained in our back alley, abandoned since the 1950s when trucks replaced rail cars for local delivery of freight. We were on the last street where the old residential area met the industrial zone, with a giant three-story warehouse and tire repair shop on one end of the block, and a family-owned lumber yard across the alley. Our teeny home was built in 1916 when Great Falls was a thriving metropolis.  I’m guessing it was originally occupied by workers from the copper smelter or one of the many hydroelectric dams that were built in the era. Another set of tracks, about a half-mile away between our street and the Missouri River, carried the Burlington Northern freight trains which rumbled by a couple times a day.

Sometime in the mid-1970s my dad remodeled and we got all fancy with expensive Masonite paneling and a velvety couch and love-seat combo purchased from the House of Furniture for $499. We had multi-level shag carpeting and recessed lighting on dimmers, and the cottage-cheese ceiling had shiny silver sparkling bits.  

Ours may have been one of the nicer homes on the block - but just barely. I’m pretty sure the only reason it looked as good as it did was because my dad was always trying to out-do his sister who lived across the river in a double-wide. Hers was a very nice, color-coordinated double-wide, with full skirting and tip-outs. But according to my father it was still a “goddamned trailer.”      

My dad worked at a glass shop a block away. There was a vacant gravel lot between the shop and that three-story tire store/warehouse, and two tiny old houses between the warehouse and our place. His commute was better than that of a modern day “telecommuter” – his 30-second walk provided a little exercise and just enough separation between work and home to give him a decent “work-life” balance.

The glass shop was essentially our “second garage.”  We spent tons of time there when we needed to do big projects that required more space and the big air compressor. I have fond memories of that place. We painted our old Ford pickup in that shop…twice.  We did multiple overhauls on multiple engines for motorcycles, snowmobiles and lawnmowers, and we rebuilt at least one transmission in that space - all on nights and weekends after my dad had spent a solid 40 hours working. Who knew a glass shop would be such a good place for honing cylinders and grinding valves?  

I was in that shop with my dad and friends Lloyd and Wes the day Elvis died. And it was there where my dad and I had a big one sentence talk about “the birds and the bees” after my teacher sent me home with a note to advise the class had viewed the sex education film that day.  “Well, if you need to know anything about any of that shit, you just let me know.”  Thanks, Dad. 6th grade was so awkward.

Nobody seems to remember exactly when, but a Siamese cat showed up at the shop and didn’t want to leave. She didn’t need a new pane of glass for her cathouse - she was lost. My father took a liking to this adorable thing and offered up a little food and some attention.  

An exotic animal like this must certainly be someone’s pet. Perhaps it crawled from the back of a station wagon when its human came to get a makeup mirror fixed?  “Someone will come to get her” my dad explained as he poured Friskies into a makeshift serving dish fashioned from a decorative glass block.

After a couple days and no reports of a missing cat, Red decided he’d take this thing home. It would be easy to retrieve her should the owners come looking, and it couldn’t live at the shop anymore because the manager was allergic.

I was maybe five or six years old and hardly qualified to name a pet, but for whatever reason my parents gave me the opportunity so I decided her name should be Susie.  Where that came from I have no idea…it’s not like Susie was the name of a famous movie star, super model or even a family friend. In retrospect, and knowing her personality, that name was way too plain and simple for this enigmatic feline who had few characteristics typical of a domestic house cat. Susie was my spirit animal, and honestly I think she belonged in a circus.

She was a curious cat. Susie didn’t like milk, refused to eat Tuna, and loved the vacuum cleaner.  At least once a week my dad would spend an hour grooming her with the old Filter Queen, a beige-colored canister unit the size of a modern day shop vac. She’d come running the second it was brought out of the closet and would lie down in front of him, letting him suck her tail into the tube before extending her legs spread-eagle style waiting for the suction to take away whatever excess hair she would otherwise shed onto the carpet.  

Susie didn’t use a litter box. She’d hang by the back door and would announce with a polite meow when it was time for her to do her business.  Even if it was ten below zero she’d go outside.  The smell of her fur when returning from the frozen outdoors was something I wish I could bottle – I know I’d make millions on that magic scent.

We had a clothes hamper at the bottom of the stairs where she’d hide until we walked by. Then like a Jack-in-the-Box she’d pounce and start gnawing on your Achilles tendon. You’d think we’d have gotten used to it but it was always somehow a surprise.

My father would tease Susie by wagging a finger until she exploded and jumped from the floor into his arms.  She’d purr like the engine of a freshly rebuilt Mercury Cougar until she decided she was done with it, then without warning those beautiful blue eyes turned into fire, the fangs came out and she swiped with a vengeance.  Felines are so fickle.  

Canine Kryptonite.

Susie was like one of the guys. Far from being feminine, she wanted nothing to do with girlie things and could outfox and outrun any of the dogs in the neighborhood. She was far more masculine than Lloyd’s dog, Velvet, who played with rocks. She was far fiercer than Grandma’s Chihuahua, Cubby, and she had bigger balls than Aunt Kathy’s French gay male poodle, Shante.   

Neighbor Doug had a police dog, a German shepherd that looked like Rin Tin Tin. Susie scared the shit out of him – he knew to steer clear when she was on patrol.  

Susie and our cock-a-poo Peanuts loved to watch my dad and I work in the garage. They had a favorite spot on a 4-foot-high wooden ladder. The dog would sit on the top rung while Susie hung out on the tray intended for the paint can. Peanuts usually slept. Susie, on the other hand, paid close attention.  She was probably taking notes on how to operate the equipment and would be preparing a report for her alien overlords on the mother ship.

My brother and his wife were school teachers in the far-away lands of the Tri-Cities in Washington state. Just like the Egyptians, my brother’s wife had a thing for cats.

I recall one trip when they came thru town with a bizarre hairless cat like Mr. Bigglesworth from the Austin Powers movie. This cat and Susie had a lot in common (both being exotic and suitable for the circus) and Gloria fawned over Susie.  I can only imagine how pissed-off she had to have been, having spent thousands on exotic cats imported from breeders.  And we got ours for free because she was essentially a homeless drifter, rescued at the glass shop.

“Turn Me Loose, Set Me Free…Somewhere in the Middle of Montana.”

It made little difference where we were going, but on the weekends we just had to get out of town. In the summers we’d pack-up the pickup, hook on the travel trailer and head to a campsite somewhere. Whether a forest service campground or a gravel parking lot in a town 20 miles away it didn’t really matter - my dad just had to escape. Maybe something about the glass shop and our house being so close together didn’t provide the separation from home and work that he had hoped for? Hell, I don’t know…

Susie and my dog knew the routine: they’d wait patiently near the back door at 5:15 PM every Friday after work as we prepared to embark on another adventure. Peanuts knew instantly where he would sit in the cab of the truck between my mother and I on the bench seat. Susie usually jumped up onto the dashboard where she could sun herself and enjoy the view.

Susie was a swimmer - not to be left on the sidelines when the guys went fishing, she would jump in the water, “cat paddling” to the rubber raft floating out in the lake.  A cat that swims? Yes. And she would jump in the bathtub every so often.  This cat was crazy.

Once on a trip to Canada with my Aunt Ruby we met an Australian woman who really took a liking to Susie. When we went to leave the cat was nowhere to be found and my dad was convinced that the Australian chick had stolen her. She insisted she hadn’t, and joined our search party.  After an hour of panic and calling her name we’d almost given up. All the while she was in the tree directly above us, sprawled out with her legs hanging over the tree limbs. Immediately upon hearing the truck start she started meowing. Twenty-seven seconds later she returned to the dashboard and international peace was restored.

“Too many motors.”

My mom had reached a breaking point. “We have too many motors,” she exclaimed, slamming down the glass of “Chillable Red” she just filled from the box.  She then took a drag from a Newport menthol and promptly called the Tribune to place an ad in the classifieds.  We’d be having a big garage sale that weekend, to offload some excess items with engines that included at least one lawnmower, a go-kart, and the Honda 50 mini-bike I’d outgrown.  

Other goodies for sale included a collection of my mother’s hand-made doilies - you know those round frilly things that go underneath lamps or get used as an emergency potholder just once until you burn the shit out of your hands?  And we’d be offing a ceramic cookie jar, a creation of “Kathy’s Busy Bee Ceramics,” the studio for which was in a trailer next to the one my Aunt Kathy lived in across the river. This cookie jar was in the shape of a Christmas tree.  I hated that effing thing, especially when it sat on the counter well after the season was over.  I thought, but didn’t dare say out loud: “It’s not Christmas in July for Christ’s sake – so let’s get rid of this goddamn thing.”

The Garage Sale attracted all kinds of bargain shoppers including one family who arrived in a 1971 Plymouth Satellite Sebring station wagon plucked right from a Brady Bunch episode, complete with wood grain paneling, driven by a woman with a black bouffant hairdo and looking a lot like the country singer Loretta Lynn.

Susie got bored hanging out on the paint tray on the ladder and decided she’d explore the mysterious world of the Plymouth. It was warm, with strange smells and plush carpeting.  Its humans were different, and there were “stink sticks” (incense) from the Import Depot. A leftover wrapper from Burger Master smelled interesting, but after wondering “Where’s the Beef” she quickly went to sleep in the Sebring.  Nobody took notice and Susie went for a ride for a while, cruising the Garage Sale Circuit all over town.  

Of course she woke-up and started howling. She was not for sale. The kids wanted to keep her, but she wanted nothing to do with them now. She was agitated, and wanted to get back to her native habitat where she could guard the roost - even if it had too many motors. Those motors belonged to her and she needed to watch over them.

They had to back-track, returning to all the garage sales in reverse order until they found us. “Is this your cat?” asked the Loretta Lynn look-alike.  Susie was returned annoyed and unharmed.  Like a wayward teenager busted drinking at a party and retrieved by her parents, she was reluctant to show any emotion and quietly leapt from the tailgate of the Plymouth and returned to the paint tray on the ladder in the garage.

“Houston Means that I’m One Day Closer to You.”

In my junior year of high school I took my first trip on an airplane to see my sister who lived in the northern suburbs of Houston.  It was around Christmas of 1982 and I’d finally go inside a real building taller than ten stories.  I’d go to NASA where astronauts would say they had a problem if there were one, and I’d shop at a fancy shopping mall with an ice rink inside. Everything was fascinating and I tried not to stare, but I’m sure I made a quite a spectacle and an embarrassment of myself.

When I left Montana there was snow on the ground and it was maybe in the 10s. Since I was in the blistering hot warmth of Texas, I could get a little tan before returning to the frozen tundra up north. The neighbors had to wonder WTF as they looked through the shutters at some albino kid wearing shorts and laying out on the side lawn in the middle of winter.  It was maybe in the low 60s the day I tried to tan.

At the mall with the ice rink I remember looking for stuff you just couldn’t get in Montana.  I was kind of bummed I couldn’t find the platform tennis shoes like those worn by Stewart Copeland of the Police, but I did buy a cool, slightly “off color” dark-comedy cartoon book from one of the novelty stores there. I’m not sure what motivated me to buy it other than wanting at least one souvenir from Texas, and the book was easy enough.

Later that night I called home to check-in.  I was having a great time, and I told the parents I’d see them in a week. This town was fascinating and it was fantastic to be in a “real city” with 8-lane freeways and tall buildings and radio stations that played more than classic rock or country.  

“Your cat’s been moping around, so we’re going to take her to the vet.”  This message didn’t really alarm me.  Susie was getting old, but she was bullet proof. 

When I got back to Great Falls a week later I was greeted at the door by Peanuts but no Susie. “She was sick so we had to put her down” said my father as he fought back the tears. “She had feline leukemia” my mother said.

It was a bit of a shock, but really….Susie was no spring chicken (I think she was at least ten years old at that point) and it’s not like it was devastating.  Cats die. We all die.  And it’s not like I hadn’t thought about it.

Oh, and what was the name of that book I bought at the shopping mall with the ice rink?

“101 Uses for a Dead Cat.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have bought the book?

#sealpoint siamese greatfalls trains

[techmagzines]

John Travolta's Top 5 Roles From Danny Zuko To Robert Shapiro

Whether it’s comedy, drama, singing or dancing, actor John Travolta has proven time and again he’s a jack of all trades when it comes to the entertainment business.

See Full Article here: Robert Shapiro

Since getting his big break in the role of Vinnie Barbarino in “Welcome Back, Kotter,” Travolta has not only been a household name but continues to prove he’s got more tricks up his sleeve with each passing year. Whether it’s critically acclaimed roles in TV or film, there’s no telling where the actor will pop up next.

On Feb. 18, Travolta turns 66 and shows no signs of stopping his illustrious career. As the star enters another year of his life, now is the perfect time to take a look back at some of the roles that made him one of the most famous names in Hollywood:

“Saturday Night Fever” (1977)

John Travolta earned his first Oscar nomination for his role in 'Saturday Night Fever.' (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, File)

After spending a couple of years on “Welcome Back, Kotter” Travolta was sitting comfortably as a TV heartthrob with countless fans. He went into the production of “Saturday Night Fever” with a lot of wind at his back. While that may sound good, Mental Floss notes that it actually harmed production on the film. When production began in Brooklyn, it didn’t take long for fans to hear that Travolta would be in their neighborhood.

Co-star Donna Pescow previously said: "The fans—oh, my God, they were all over him. It was scary to watch."

Fortunately, the producers managed to wrangle the crowd and the actor was able to give an Oscar-worthy performance. In what was his first major film role since being cast as Barbarino, Travolta shot from everyday TV heartthrob to Academy Award nominee. Although he didn’t win in his category, the role propelled his career to new, previously unfathomable heights.

It even sparked a sequel in 1983, “Staying Alive” where he reprised his role as Tony Manero.

“Grease” (1978)

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta starred in 'Grease,' which proved to the world that the young actor was a talented singer in addition to TV heartthrob. (Paramount/Getty Images)

“Saturday Night Fever” showed the world that Travolta can dance, but “Grease” showed that he can also sing. He agreed to star as Danny Zuko in the 1978 adaptation of the 1971 musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey.

Set in the 1950s, "Grease" follows a group of high schoolers as they navigate love and class through song, dance and some pretty awesome hot rods. The film continues to grow legions of fans with every new generation, despite being marked by its decidedly dated time period. Speaking at an event for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2018, the actor posed his theory on the enduring interest in “Grease.”

“The two writers, the original writers of ‘Grease,’ were obsessed with their teenagehood in the 50s. They did a microcosm of every great aspect of the 50s. The best of James Dean, the best of Brando, the best of Elvis, they did this microcosm and put it in one communication,” he explained. “So it could be that it triggers our favorite moments of a decade all in one movie instead of separate movies… Just an idea.”

“Pulp Fiction” (1994)

John Travolta earned his second Academy Award nomination for 'Pulp Fiction.' (Miramax)

Although he worked consistently throughout the 1980s, a series of commercially successful but critically maligned films made it seem like Travolta’s career was as dead as the disco craze he’d helped start. Fortunately, he managed to secure a role in Quentin Tarantino’s smash hit “Pulp Fiction” as the drug-addicted hitman, Vincent Vega. The role would ultimately lead Travolta to his second Oscar nomination and a complete revitalization of his acting career.

However, according to a Vanity Fair article from 2013, one tried desperately to ensure he wasn’t cast in the film, now-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

At the time, Weinstein was given a terms sheet that he agreed to for the film, with the exception of casting Travolta in the lead role.

“And it came back: ‘The entire list is approved … except for John Travolta.’ So I got together with Harvey, and he’s like, ‘I can get Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn, William Hurt,’” Tarantino told the outlet.

It wasn’t until longtime Tarantino collaborator Mike Simpson put his foot down and literally threatened to walk away from Weinstein’s funding in 15 seconds that the movie tycoon was forced to relent. When the movie became a smashing success thanks in large part to Travolta, Weinstein is said to have jokingly taken credit for the decision to cast him.

“Hairspray” (2007)

John Travolta had a big say in how his character in 'Hairspray' looked. (New Line Cinema)

By 2007, Travolta had seemingly done everything there was to do in Hollywood. With a myriad of both successful and not-so-successful roles under his belt, the actor agreed to take on the gender-bending role of Edna Turnblad in the film version of “Hairspray.”

The movie tells the story of a young overweight girl in 1962 named Tracy who gets a shot on her favorite local TV show, “The Corny Collins Show.” Because of her weight, she struggles to be taken seriously, giving her a bond with her African-American co-stars, who are fighting against segregation. Tracy’s journey inspires her mother, Edna, to feel comfortable in her own body as well. The famous play originally had Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein in the role of Edna, playing it more like an over-the-top caricature. But Travolta opted to play her a different way.

According to a New York Times article written prior to the movie’s release, Travolta had countless costumers, special makeup artists and even prop masters to craft a suit and look that would make Edna feel more grounded in reality, while still upholding the tradition of having a man play her.

“American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson” (2016)

John Travolta returned to TV in a more dramatic role, playing Robert Shapiro in 'American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.' (FX)

After immense success in the film world, Travolta decided to return to the place where he got his big break — television.

However, unlike “Welcome Back, Kotter,” his take on real-life defense attorney for O.J. Simpson Robert Shapiro had precious few laughs. Shapiro was one of the members of the famed football player’s legal team in his 1994 criminal trial for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman.

“American Horror Story” helmer Ryan Murphy dramatized the story for TV and Travolta donned heavy makeup in an effort to look the part. After two Oscar nominations, the role gave the actor his first Emmy nod. Although he lost in the supporting actor category, the show at large took home the Emmy for outstanding limited series that year.

Former Woodbridge CEO Shapiro Pleads Guilty, Faces Up To 25 Years In Prison

Robert Shapiro, a former Roaring Fork Valley resident and former CEO and president of the Woodbridge Group of Companies LLC, faces as many as 25 years in prison after pleading guilty last week to running a $1.3 billion Ponzi scheme that claimed more than 7,000 victims.

Shapiro, 61, of Sherman Oaks, California, entered his plea Wednesday in South Florida federal court. His sentencing hearing is scheduled Oct. 15 before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.

Shapiro pleaded guilty to orchestrating and leading a massive investment fraud scheme; he also pleaded guilty to tax evasion for his failure to pay more than $6 million in taxes due and owing to the IRS for calendar years 2000 through 2005.

According to the indictment and court documents, Shapiro spearheaded and concealed the Ponzi scheme through his business, Woodbridge. Woodbridge employed approximately 130 people and had offices located throughout the United States, including in Carbondale; Boca Raton, Florida; Sherman Oaks, California; Tennessee; and Connecticut. The scheme ran from at least July 2012 to December 2017, when Woodbridge declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and defaulted on its obligations to investors.

The pitch to investors was that Woodbridge held real estate loans that would pay them rates of interest between 5% and 10%.

In fact, the real estate also was owned by Shapiro through 270 shell companies and did not generate the necessary money for investors. Sometimes, the properties didn’t even exist.

It became a Ponzi scheme that paid older investors with money from newer ones, court records show. Five states entered cease-and-desist orders because Woodbridge was selling unregistered securities.

As part of the plea agreement, Shapiro and his wife, Jeri, agreed to forfeit assets including paintings by Picasso (“Face With Circles, Picador and Fish Subject”), Renoir (“Portrait de Rosita Mauri”), Chagall (“Le Clown Flutiste Au Coq”) and others. They also will hand over to the government numerous pieces of jewelry, including a pair of 14-karat, white gold earrings with two black diamonds, two gray diamonds, two rose-cut diamonds and 266 round diamonds as well as a platinum ring with an emerald and a variety of diamonds.

“Mr. Shapiro has taken personal responsibility for the failure of Woodbridge. His guilty plea follows his decision to voluntarily place hundreds of millions of dollars of assets under bankruptcy court supervision and the consensual resolution of the SEC enforcement investigation,” his lawyer, Ryan O’Quinn, said in a statement. “Mr. Shapiro hopes that these decisions allow the estate to focus on maximizing the value of the real estate portfolio for the benefit of Woodbridge’s creditors.”

Shapiro once lived at Aspen Glen in the lower Roaring Fork Valley. Woodbridge developed high-end properties the in upper and lower Roaring Fork Valley, as well as other parts of Colorado and California.

A number of Woodbridge homes in the Roaring Fork Valley have been or are being sold as part of Woodbridge’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Woodbridge closed its Aspen Glen office in Carbondale in November 2017.

#RobertShapiro

[jillmckenzie1]

Remember the Rules

If you went back in time and told the younger version of myself that a) there would be a gigantically popular TV series about the zombie apocalypse and b) that I would have tapped out on it after the third season, Younger Me would have immediately called 911 and had you arrested with extreme prejudice.

Consider that The Walking Dead began as an independent comic book. Now, it’s getting started on its 10th season, has one current and one upcoming spinoff series, and there’s talk about releasing three connected theatrical films. To paraphrase a former Vice President, The Walking Dead is a big f*cking deal.

If you love it, I give you all the credit in the world. Unfortunately, it doesn’t scratch the itch for me any longer. I’ve come to realize that, in order to achieve maximum enjoyment, I need a soupçon of humor. While The Walking Dead has oodles of gore and scads of drama, it has virtually no chuckles. I get that the series is about the apocalypse and desperation and “We are the walking dead!” and blah blah blah. I also get that humor is an essential component of the human condition and can be found in even the weightiest works of art.*

My flavor of zombies includes a degree of silliness. That blend of carnage and chuckling is why 2009’s horror-comedy Zombieland is so dear to my heart. Ten years later, we’re presented with a sequel. Is Zombieland: Double Tap necessary? Oh, no. Did I laugh a great deal and have a blast watching it? Oh, hell yes.

Ten years have passed since the events of the first film. A plucky band of survivors has not only managed to survive the rampaging hordes of cannibalistic ghouls but also created something that looks an awful lot like a family. They are:

  Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a neurotic man who has avoided getting chomped by adopting a host of rules.**

Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a cranky zombie killer who loves Twinkies, Elvis, and the creative slaughter of the undead.

Wichita (Emma Stone), a canny survivor who excels at acidic put-downs and sucks at writing notes.

Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), Wichita’s younger sister and a rebellious young woman ready to explore.

  The good news is that they have made their home in The White House. The bad news is that there’s trouble in paradise. Little Rock wants to meet people her own age and get out from under the overbearing glare of her father-figure Tallahassee. Using the Hope Diamond, Columbus proposes to Wichita. She’s terrified of both settling down and settling down with him. The really bad news is that both women take off, and Little Rock decides to ditch Wichita and strike out with Berkeley (Avan Jogia), a guitar-strumming hippie.

The really, really bad news? Zombies have evolved, and the worst of them are known as T-800s. They’re stronger, faster, and tougher. As a result, the gang must go on the road again to rescue Little Rock. Along the way, they’ll run into Madison (Zoey Deutch), a ditz who’s survived by living in the freezer of a Pinkberry, and Nevada (Rosario Dawson), a tough-as-nails woman running an Elvis-themed motel. There’s also Albuquerque (Luke Wilson) and Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch), a couple of guys who share more than a few similarities with our heroes.

In these times of political polarization and near-constant anxiety, sometimes you just want to be entertained. Let’s be clear, I’m not talking about a “turn off your brain” movie, as these tend to be actively insulting. There’s a vast world of difference between fun and stupid, and Zombieland: Double Tap manages to be consistently entertaining without actively causing brain trauma to viewers.

It gets a little weird, though, and it starts with the director. There are some actors, such as John Travolta, that are frustratingly inconsistent. The right filmmaker can guide Travolta to an Oscar nomination for Pulp Fiction. The wrong filmmaker guides him to a clinically insane performance in The Fanatic. Director Ruben Fleischer has precisely the same problem. Take a gander at his filmography and you’ll see stinkers like Gangster Squad and Venom, movies that feel anonymously made.

Yet the two Zombieland films hum along with creativity, humor, and a sweetly beating heart. Double Tap feels like another 97 minutes tacked onto the first film, and I was 100 percent okay with that. Like before, we see Columbus’ rules for survival amusingly popping onscreen, rapid-fire pacing, and a host of zombie kills that blend gore and humor.*** Fleischer directs with style and verve, and it baffles me that only a few of his films are this good.

Perhaps it’s all due to the script. Original writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick return, along with new scribe Dave Callaham. You can tell these guys love their characters, love the zombie genre, and love tweaking them both in ridiculous directions. While I’ll admit the narrative is slight and there’s a very real episodic feel to the whole thing, I still loved returning to this world. They have crafted a hangout movie set during the zombie apocalypse.

The original cast hasn’t changed a bit. Stone and Eisenberg have charming chemistry together, Breslin brings a spiky realism to her role, and Harrelson is a swaggering goofball. Together, they’re a formidable comic team that utilizes precise timing to deliver big laughs. Of the new characters, Zoey Deutch makes the most of her role. She’s playing the old dumb blonde role, but Deutch is a creative and intelligent actor who excels at going one direction just when you think she’ll go another.

In yet more evidence that we live in the darkest timeline, the dominant piece of zombie pop-culture is relentlessly po-faced and grimdark. For a minute, there was talk about a Zombieland TV series. Its failure is proof that we can’t be trusted with nice things. However, if Fleischer and his cast and crew can keep delivering sequels every 10 years that have the zippy spirit of Zombieland: Double Tap, perhaps we’ll get the entertainment we need, if not the entertainment we deserve.

    *There’s a scene in Schindler’s List in which Oskar Schindler interviews a succession of women to be his secretary. It ends with one of the most perfectly timed jokes I’ve ever seen in a movie.

**A few of my favorites are #3-Beware of bathrooms, #18-Limber up, and #26-A little sunscreen never hurt anybody.

***My favorite kill takes place thousands of miles away from our main characters.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/remember-the-rules/

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Kevin Wozniak on Kevflix: Review – Zombieland: Double Tap

          A lot has changed in the world since 2009.  Looking back, it seemed like a much simpler time then.  We weren’t so dependent on technology, America wasn’t in complete disarray, and it kind of seemed like everyone was just in a good mood.

Now much has changed in the world of Zombieland, however.  Sure, our characters may have gotten older, but everything seems to be roughly the same.  The world is still overloaded with zombies, though now they have been classified in terms of how intelligent they are, actual humans are few and far between, and our foursome from the original film are still up to their old ways.  Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) is still a gun-toting psycho who loves killing more than anything in the world.  Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is still as neurotic as ever and has created more rules than he had before.  He is in a relationship with the badass Wichita (Emma Stone), who isn’t as in to the relationship as Columbus.  But it’s Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) who has gone through the most change.  Having lived with these three for most of her childhood, she begins to crave a different life.  She wants to be with people her own age and wants a different life besides the one she has been living, which causes her to run off with the first boy she has met in nearly a decade, a guitar-playing hippie named Berkeley (Avan Jogia).  This forces Tallahassee, Columbus, and Wichita to leave their comfortable and relatively safe home in the White House to go out searching for her.

On their road trip, the trio encounter a slew of new humans.  While roaming a mall one day, Columbus encounters Madison (Zoey Deutch), a wildly ditzy, Ugg wearer who had survived by living in a freezer.  She becomes the apple of Columbus’ eye after he and Wichita get into a fight.  She tags along on their trip but not without causing some tension between Wichita and Columbus and saying things that make you question how she hasn’t been eaten yet (according to Tallahassee it’s because zombies eat brains and she doesn’t have any).  Deutch gives my favorite performance in the film and really elevates the humor of Double Tap.  The sentences that come out of her mouth are so dumb and her outlook on life is so bizarre, you have to wonder how somebody got to be this way.  This is easily a character that could have been annoying or half-assed, but it isn’t.  Deutch makes her interesting and hilarious.  There’s a great mystery to Madison, but it isn’t where the character is from or how she survived in a freezer for so many years.  It’s what crazy thing is she going to say next.  I loved this performance and this could be a wild card pick for my Best Supporting Actress nominees at the end of the year.

The cross country journey takes the crew to a number of different places, including Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland, of which Tallahassee is obsessed with, as well as discover a super zombie they’ve labeled the T-800 on account of how hard it is to kill.  There’s a lot of blood, gore, chaos, and comedy on this trip and director Ruben Fleischer keeps the same fun, violent, thrilling tone that made the original so great.

Double Tap also doubles down on the heart of Zombieland.  The first film was about a few loners who came together to become a family.  Double Tap looks at family turmoil and that old adage of, “you can’t pick your family.”  Tallahassee as grown to become a father figure to Little Rock and when Little Rock wants to leave the nest, we watch as Tallahassee is witnessing  the possible loss of another child while also accepting that people grow up.  We also see the relationship of Columbus and Wichita and Wichita’s fear of opening up in this zombie-filled world world while Columbus realizes how great he has it with Wichita.  It’s this emotional center that elevated Double Tap to more than just a bloody comedy.

There’s a ton of blood, a ton of laughs, an incredible mid-credit scene, and a lot of heart in Zombieland: Double Tap.  This is a worthy sequel to the 2009 gem that makes me want them to do more with this franchise.  I would be totally down if they decided to make a Zombieland every ten years.  Why wouldn’t I want to see an 80-year-old Tallahassee shooting his uzi into the air while he breathes through an oxygen tank and rides around on his motorized scooter with the number three written on the side of it?

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          The post Review – Zombieland: Double Tap appeared first on Kevflix.

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