#......I have a follow up scene in mind but it’s mostly gratuitous world building based around my own headcanons sooooooo unless anyone is in

[megaera-of-pigeon]

“Steal the sword, Louie says.” Yvette muttered under her breath as she trudged through the frigid snowy tundra. “That’s our only path to victory, Louie says. Sure, but what he doesn’t bother to mention is that the sword has a mind of its own, and will take everything I say literally, and can also teleport!”

“It also has ears,” the sword supplied helpfully from where it hung at Yvette’s waist. “Well. Metaphorically, at the moment. Rest assured, darling, I can hear everything you’re saying about me. I’m an intelligent being, the least you could do is address me directly when you complain about me!”

Yvette groaned. She’d glare at it to express her displeasure, but she felt a little strange giving an inanimate object the evil eye... or rather what, what should be an inanimate object.

“How did I work for Nidhogg for so long without realizing he has a talking sword?” She grumbled as she pulled her cloak more tightly around her shoulders and tried not to let her teeth chatter. “You were in his office! I saw you every day, and didn’t hear a single peep! I even polished you once!”

“He commanded me not to talk while we were undercover,” the sword said, and somehow it managed to sound pouty. “It was no fun at all to sit in that little display case, day in, day out—we were supposed to be partners, but he treated me like a decoration! Me, Dark Verdict, the Sword of Midnight, forged of Kindred Tears and Elven Blood, turned into a knick knack! You know I was thrilled when King Cesare transferred me to him, thinking that I was finally going to be doing something interesting, but no! Apparently there’s something called the ‘Blood Curse’ now that means he didn’t want to stab everyone? So strange, you humans. Cursing your own blood like that!”

Yvette shook her head. She now had several questions for the sword, both about it and about Nidhogg, but the biting Northern wind was starting to cut through her clothing, and her trudging through the snow was seemingly leading to nowhere. “So, uh.... Dark Verdict, where exactly did you take us? Are we by a town, or even somebody’s house?”

“We are ‘away’,” the sword said. “That’s all you asked for. If you wanted to be by other humans, you should have been more specific.”

Yvette gritted her teeth. “I wasn’t talking to you though, I was using my comm device to—never mind. If I ask again, would you take me to the Nameless Knight headquarters?”

“I won’t,” the sword responded cheerfully. “Not because I wouldn’t want to, but because I’m too tired. It takes a lot of energy to teleport my wielder, and since I’ve hardly killed anyone since being awoken, it takes me a long time to recuperate.”

Yvette groaned. “So thanks to your ‘help’, I’m going to freeze to death?” So much for her grand redemption in the eyes of the light... her first big mission was going to end with her becoming a human icicle! At least Nidhogg would have to do without his magic taking sword from now on... Louie and Agata would have to take it from there, she supposed.

“You’re worried about the cold? If that’s all, I can help with that!” A dark cloud of mist began to flow out of the hilt of the sword. Yvette had to stifle a shriek as a moment later, a woman stepped out of the cloud.

She was.... tall. And intimidating. And beautiful. She had long, flowing salt white hair and sharp blue eyes that were almost glowing. She was dressed in a black and gold Northern Army-style uniform, and had two long swords made of a strange dark metal hanging from her waist.

“Um. Who are you?” Yvette asked, although she was sure this was something else to do with the damn sword.

The woman tilted her head. “I’m Dark Verdict; this is my flesh form. What, did you suppose one of the greatest weapons in all of Miraland would be limited to a single physical existence?”

Yvette blinked a few times and shook her head. “Silly me,” she muttered while mentally cursing Louie for what she was beginning to realize was a woefully inadequate intelligence briefing. “So, you’re a sword, and also a woman. Fine. How does this help me?”

The woman smirked as she shrugged off her long back coat and swung it around in one fluid motion, stepping forward so she could drape the fabric around Yvette’s shoulders. “You are affected by the cold, while I am not, therefore I will allow you to borrow my coat,” Dark Verdict proclaimed gallantly.

The black coat was surprisingly warm for something that hadn’t exactly existed a minute prior. Yvette would have usually felt a little awkward about letting a near stranger give her their coat, but it was freezing enough that she didn’t currently give a damn about normal social conventions.

“Thanks,” she muttered as she quickly stuck her hands outside of the shelter of her own sleeves so she could shift Dark Verdict’s coat to be more effective cover. “This is good. But it doesn’t solve the problem of us being stranded in the wilderness with no way back to civilization. What am I supposed to do when night falls? I’ll still be exposed out here in the freezing cold!”

Dark Verdict pursed her lips and ran a hand over her chin before snapping her fingers and grinning. “I shall start a fire for you! I’m a magic sword, it won’t be that hard.”

Yvette sighed. “And what about shelter?”

The woman only smiled and shook her head. “I shall guide you to shelter. Don’t fret, darling; as long as you carry that sword, I am your devoted servant. Command me as you will, and if it be in my power, I shall do it.”

Yvette bit her lip. Just doing whatever her wielder told her to do? That sure sounded like a shitty, limited existence for a powerful, magical being. But again, now was not the time to worry about that. Maybe she’d have Dark Verdict find her shelter first, and discuss the concept of agency and self determination with her later...

“So... find me shelter, then?”

Dark Verdict’s blue eyes glowed as she grinned, looking more inhuman than she had since she’d materialized. The air around the two of them prickled with an odd energy that made the hair on the back of Yvette’s neck rise up, and Yvette wondered just how little she understood about this magnificent person that had been Nidhogg’s tool. “Your wish is my command, daring. Just until you loose track of that sword, that is.”

[rivahadi]

Noah Film Analysis Paper- Comparing two Different Plots of the Same Biblical Story

Both Evan Almighty (2006) and Noah (2014) depict the biblical story of a man called to build an ark. However, the plot of Noah is more violent and filled with brutality while Evan Almighty is more humorous and light-hearted resulting in slightly different themes and messages between the two movies. Noah is based on a violent story. In the Biblical account it says, “Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out.” (The New Oxford Annotated Version, Genesis 7:23). What can be understood is that the world that was then, the world of Noah, was incredibly corrupt. Genesis 6:6 tells us that “the Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” The depraved actions of mankind grieved God in His most holy heart. God responded to man’s sin in a holy and righteous manner, but also in a way that salvaged mankind. “So the lord said, ‘I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the lord” (Genesis 6:7–8). Yes, all people on earth died except the eight people who were found righteous in the eyes of God: Noah, Noah’s wife, and Noah’s three sons and their wives.

In the movie Noah, every frame, every angle, every shift speaks to the able hands of director, Darren Aronofsky. Darren Aronofsky uses multiple close up shots with dramatic music playing in the background to emphasize the importance of Noah. He also uses lighting to show how the movie is a dark and gloomy version of the Biblical tale. As a young boy, Noah witnesses his father, Lamech, killed by a young Tubal-cain, this results in a lot of hate built up inside Noah against Tubal-cain and will lead to violence later in the movie. Noah is tortured by his visions, not always at peace with the mission God sends his way. The film portrayed the visions beautifully. He used very strong imagery, which is elegantly and almost poetically edited. The director uses fade- ins and fade- outs to show his visions, for example in the scene when Noah saw the heavy rains, there was a fade-in used from above to below to show how the water had risen several feet. In this movie Noah is filled with catastrophe. Noah builds an ark for his family and all the animals on the earth, the skies rain down from the heavens; drowning nearly everything, and humans are nearly feral as they battle each other for survival (Alleva). The director uses low angle shots to show the destruction of houses, cars and everything on land during the flood scene. The director also uses multiple bird’s eye view shots showing the flood and how everything is slowly being covered by the water. This shot makes the viewer feel godlike and I think that was the intent of the director as the flood is sent down by God. As the rain starts pouring the Watchers fight off Tubal-cain and his mob of followers, sacrificing themselves and ascending to heaven, their reward for protecting Noah. As the flood drowns the remaining humans, an injured Tubal-cain climbs onto the ark, he is later killed when he tries to kill Noah. There's plenty of brutality and gore: mountains of dead bodies are shown, sometimes using close up shots, humans beat each other to death, sometimes with rocks, spears and knives. There is one part where the "evil" people tear apart an animal with their bare hands and eat it. It happens so fast that there are animal parts flying and blood splattering.There's plenty of bloody fighting and death - not to mention the mass drowning - but it's all purposeful rather than gratuitous. Although, each death is sad and people suffer a great deal. At the beginning, middle and end of the movie, Darren Aronofsky uses establishing shots to show us what the setting looked like before, during and after the flood. I don't mind violence in films when the consequences are realistically portrayed, and that's mostly true in this movie.

Wickedness in general, man’s inhumanity to man and impiety against God are all themes in the film, along with environmental themes. The environmental theme is depicted from the very beginning of the movie. Noah’s first words in the film are to his son Ham, correcting him for picking a tiny flower because it’s pretty. Noah explains that all living things have a purpose, and men should take only what they need and can use (Aronofsky). Noah, played by an authoritative Russell Crowe, is the hero, but that doesn’t make him saintly, he is portrayed as harsh, ruthless but in the end merciful. We see the theme of mercy during the end scenes of the film when Noah spares the two twin baby girls. Instead of killing them with his knife he kisses their foreheads and in that moment he talks about how his heart was filled only with love. He could not possibly bring himself to kill them and this was a very important choice he made in the movie (Aronofsky).

Evan Almighty is a humorous movie aimed to appeal to the whole family. There's no violence, drinking, or sex, and virtually no bad language. The plot revolves around Evan talking directly to God and then obeying his commands (Shadyac).The director of this film,Tom Shadyac, uses a number of shots taken from Noah's vantage point making the viewers feel like they’re part of the conversation with god. In the movie Noah, Noah never talked directly to God. The laughs, from Evan Almighty, are what you'd expect: lots of species and feces jokes, an overlong montage of Evan hurting himself while building the ark, and endless digs at Evan's appearance, which goes from clean-cut to grizzly man to white-bearded prophet in just a few scenes ( “Evan Almighty”). The main theme in the movie was family. Even though Evan’s family didn’t know exactly what was going on with him, they stuck by him and loved him. His family stood by his side even when everyone thought he was completely insane, they even helped him build the ark. His kids were just happy to finally be spending time with him. Another difference between Evan Almighty and Noah is the source of the floodwaters. Evan Almighty uses the breaching of a nearby dam as the source for the powerful local flood, whereas in the movie Noah, it starts raining and water starts sprouting out of the ground. The cause of the floodwater from the dam results in Evan Almighty having quite a different message. It shows that when you cut corners, don’t obey laws and aren’t honest there are repercussions, which makes sense as this film is intended for a younger audience and can teach them morals through this biblical story.

Evan Almighty’s themes are about people ‘believing in each other’ and ‘standing by one another’. In Noah the devastating global flood was sent to punish mankind for their willful rebellion against their creator, the world was filled with terrible wickedness and violence.

The plot differences in Evan Almighty and Noah result in different themes such as: family, mercy, and environmental themes, which translate into different overall messages. They both showcase some good work on characters, visuals, camera angles and lighting, making it a movie which stands out among other movies with similar themes. I would rate Evan Almighty a 7/10 and would recommend it to younger kids as it  displays the biblical story in a comedic way and has a good family friendly message. I would rate Noah an 8/10 as it made the biblical story come to life more accurately. I recommend this movie to slightly older people as it has a considerable amount of violence, brutality and a morally complex core.

Writing this film analysis paper was something I found quite difficult. It’s something I’ve never done before and so it took me quite a while to write and make it something I was proud of. Whenever I watch movies, I never think about all the things that go into making the movie excellent. Doing this paper helped me notice all the details that go into making just one scene of a movie. The different camera shots and angles, the lighting, the music and the set are some examples of things that I’ve never focused on before but from now on I definitely will. My writing process included taking multiple breaks in between, re-watching scenes from both movies on youtube, going through the basic film terms so I knew what I was writing made sense, and a considerable amount of time spent just staring at my computer screen. Through this whole writing process, I do feel more confident with citations and I feel like I have learned a lot more than I thought I would going into this. Yes, I did find it challenging but at the end of the day finishing it gave me a sense of accomplishment.

[rachelbrosnahanweb]

New Update has been published on Rachel Brosnahan Web

New Post has been published on http://rachel-brosnahan.org/2018/08/24/press-photos-modern-luxury-people-magazine/

Press/Photos: Modern Luxury + People Magazine

Rachel is looking amazing on the September cover of several Modern Luxury brand magazines. I’ve add photos from them, as well as August 20th People Magazine scans, to the gallery. Check out the corresponding article below.

Rachel Brosnahan’s story reads like aspiring-actress lore. Her career, up until recently, was comprised of a series of impressive recurring roles—the type of roles that would render her face “recognizable” without making her a household name. There was a memorable multiple-season stint on House of Cards as Rachel Posner, a high-end lady of the night who suffered an unfortunate end, which earned her an Emmy nom. There were two seasons of the critically acclaimed Manhattan and a several-episode role on Blacklist, as well as guest stints on Grey’s Anatomy, Orange Is the New Black and several other hit shows. Then came the big one, the career-changing role: She was cast as Miriam “Midge” Maisel in Amazon’s award-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, co-created by husband-and-wife duo Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino of Gilmore Girls fame. That was when things really took a turn.

As the story goes, Brosnahan was so sick during her audition she could have blacked out. What she does recall involves her sweating profusely and her shoes coming off. “When you don’t feel well or you’re overexhausted, all of your inhibitions fall away,” says Brosnahan, who lives in New York City, where Maisel is shot. “You do some of your most fearless work because you have nothing to lose.” That was clearly a good thing because the now-27-year-old got the role. Adding to the string of good luck, Amazon bought two seasons of the series based solely on the pilot. (It was recently announced the show has been renewed for a third season as well.) And, before many people had even seen the show, Brosnahan was onstage clutching a Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy series (the show, too, won for best television series, musical or comedy). Just like that, Brosnahan was in need of recurring roles no more: She was a bona fide star. “Sometimes the awards stuff can feel awkward and strange,” says Brosnahan when I meet her for breakfast at The London West Hollywood. “The Globes were a nice reminder that [awards shows] are giant commercials in the best way possible. So many people reached out after the Globes saying, ‘I started watching the show,’ which was really encouraging.”

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel centers around a 1950s traditional, Jewish, Upper East Side housewife who discovers her husband—a businessman-by-day and aspiring-stand-up comedian by night—has been lifting his act from Bob Newhart and cheating on her with his secretary. In her anger and shock, Midge takes to the stage herself, proving she’s the one with actual talent. “Midge doesn’t start as a stand-up,” says Brosnahan. “She starts as a really funny woman whose life falls apart. And she’s sharp; she’s smart; she’s single-minded; she’s driven; and she finds her voice through stand-up comedy.” During Midge’s impromptu act, she—in a wine-fueled rage—flashes the crowd, sending her to jail for indecent exposure. Oh, and all of that happens in the pilot. “I get very frustrated by gratuitous nudity; it’s tired and distracts from storytelling, but I appreciated this pilot’s relationship to nudity because I think it’s funny,” says Brosnahan. “It’s not about sex or being sexualized. [Midge was] hitting a bottom she couldn’t have imagined.”

It’s ironic that the show, which premiered in March 2017, is now being watched in the shadow of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. After all, Midge starts off as a Stepford-esque character (one who takes off her makeup after her husband has fallen asleep and wakes up before him to reapply it), but she quickly becomes a self-reliant, strong, outspoken, modern woman. “The show was made before this moment erupted into what it is now, but it affected the way the audience viewed it and added another layer to the story,” says the actress.

Brosnahan is petite and pretty, dressed in a floral silk dress on the morning we meet. Her hair is down, and she’s in full makeup, which feels a bit surprising for 11am on a Sunday. I quickly find out it’s because she has already had to do press for the show that morning. If she’s tired, she doesn’t show it. Her demeanor is warm and down-to-earth, no doubt a reflection of her Midwestern roots (she was raised in Highland Park, Ill., outside Chicago). In high school, Brosnahan was a multihyphenate, both an athlete and a theater kid. She was on the wrestling—yes, wrestling—team and was a snowboarding instructor. But she soon realized performing was what truly had her heart. “I think it was something I always knew, but in high school I realized I never really wanted to do anything else,” says Brosnahan. “I loved performing and storytelling, and they were the only things I had interest in. At that point, I started pursuing it in an active way with an eye toward a future career.” She went on to NYU, landing roles throughout her time in college and yet still graduating because she promised her parents she would. “My dad made a deal with me when acting started to pick up,” she says. “He said, ‘I will cover your college tuition if you graduate. If you don’t graduate, you owe me every cent of tuition I have paid up until that point.’ I’m so grateful he pushed me to graduate because I don’t think I’d be here without such a well-rounded education,” she adds.

Brosnahan did graduate, but those initial roles led to bigger roles, and, finally, to her current much-buzzed-about Golden Globe-winning role. “The show is very theatrical,” she says. “It’s like shooting a miniplay a day. We do a lot of scenes where the camera is doing a dance with us. It’s heavily choreographed. I lost about 15 pounds shooting the first season, and I think it was just from the repetition of the walking and talking at such a fast pace.”

While Brosnahan plays a woman aspiring to be a successful stand-up, she harbors no secret desire to become one herself. “I have so much respect and admiration for stand-up comedians,” she says. “It makes me want to crawl into a hole. It takes a particular breed of brilliant masochist, and I’m happy to cheer them on from the sidelines.” Yet, playing a stand-up on TV has also given her a small glimpse into the difficult career choice’s appeal. “Toward the end of the season, I began to notice the difference between when the audience was laughing because they had to and when they were laughing because I made them laugh. I understood for the first time that thrill. It certainly would never make me want to go try stand-up myself, but I’m looking forward to doing more of it on the show.”

Beyond the incredible cast of characters that make up the show, including Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle as Midge’s parents, and Michael Zegen as her philandering husband, there is another major character that cannot be ignored: the clothes. “[Costume designer] Donna Zakowska’s process is so thorough,” says Brosnahan. “She pours through vintage magazines and looks for inspiration from Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and other fashion icons of the time. Donna is a real storyteller through the clothes.” According to the actress, approximately 85 to 90 percent of Midge’s costumes in the first season are built from scratch. “I knew I wasn’t allowed because we had a second season, but, one day, I am going to steal all of those clothes,” she says with a laugh.

Off camera, Brosnahan is far more casual when it comes to clothes, an unsurprising reaction to how formal her character is. “Comfort is key in my personal style,” she says. “The more I work, the more I go the other way in my real life. I’m someone who lives mostly in jeans and T-shirts.” When Brosnahan took home the Golden Globe she was in Vionnet. “I love discovering new young designers,” she says. “I just like to have fun with style. I’m learning a lot about designers I didn’t know before.”

Our breakfast meeting comes right before Brosnahan begins shooting the show’s second season, which she says will continue to dive into Midge’s evolution as an independent woman. “In season two, we will be further exploring the tension between her separate worlds: her life as a mother, a housewife, a daughter; and her life as a new working woman; and her life as an emerging stand-up comedian,” says Brosnahan. “I look forward to exploring all of the ways her different realities bump up against each other.”

As Brosnahan’s character evolves, so too does the woman playing the role. She hopes the industry she’s in follows suit. “I feel hopeful about the future, not only about the industry, but also the country,” she says. “I’m hopeful that women are empowered in a new way and that this is a historic moment we won’t look back from. But this is not the first—we are building on something that many generations of women before us started a long time ago.”

Source: Modern Luxury