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adulttrio-imagines · 5 years ago

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🌡️☁️🛁 for adult trio please?

I’m just gonna combine these 2 asks since they’re pretty similar!

☁️ - Soft headcanons

Hisoka

It’s no secret there he likes his sweets and has a horrible sweet tooth, he may act all coy and standoffish, but he’ll appreciate any type of dessert you make him, no matter how he acts

He loves games, card games, video games, mind games, he can spend hours trying out a new game and getting completely engrossed in it, he absolutely loves games and loves mastering them; he also enjoys adding his own twist to games to make them more interesting

He likes teaching and explaining things to people, and is a surprisingly good teacher. He is patient and gives decent (although questionable) examples, and is always willing to see his students improve (for his own gain). In another life, under different circumstances, he would have been a very good mentor with eccentric methods

Chrollo

He has a soft spot for children. It’s incredibly, incredibly small, but not nonexistent. He may not necessarily know how to act around them or like them per say, but he is undeniably softer in his actions towards them, ever so slightly in his own way

He appreciates their innate curiosity and desire to explore the world around them, something that gets more and more difficult to find the older he gets, he also likes being informed of their opinions and outlooks on life

If you can’t sleep during the quiet hours of the night, he’ll make you a cup of tea and read whatever he’s on aloud to you, as it’s something that helps him whenever he cannot sleep

Will and can talk about his current focus of interest for hours, he gets all excited and hyper focused with plenty of excited hand movements, before he retreats into his mind to sort out his thoughts and ideas, and for just those precious moments, his eyes shine

He would never admit it but his favorite books to read are simple hero adventure novels, something about its simplicity just comforts him

Illumi

During the earliest hours of dawn, before he’s fully conscious and aware of everything happening around him, he doesn’t shy away from your touches and lets you hold him close

He has a green thumb and can spend hours tending to his greenhouse, he says it’s to discover new combinations and increase his poison resistance, but it also relaxes him and fills up the emptiness in the mansion

He had a role in helping Kalluto develop his hatsu, and was the one who introduced his brother to origami. It originally started as dexterity training, where they would compete to see who could fold the most cranes; it was also one of the non-harmful training methods he could think of

Before Mike, there used to be another dog that guarded the mansion, and it was Illumi’s best friend and only friend during his earliest years as an only child

🌡️ - Sick headcanons

Previous post here

Hisoka

Hisoka gets sick in three stages; the brat phase, the hallucination phase, and the blackout phase

He can get extremely demanding and pushy in the brat phase; he’s not feeling his best, but he’s still functional enough to be taking advantage of the situation and getting you to adhere to his whim and fancy

He likes wrapping himself out like a burrito using his multitude of blankets since he’s not used to feeling cold

If he’s sick enough, he would start hallucinating and seeing things that aren’t there; they’re harmless for the most part but occasionally his past memories would resurface and force him to hide into himself

Finally he blacks out for days at a time, and remains completely delirious until he gets better, not remembering anything that happened the past week

Chrollo

After leaving meteor city, he’s got all his shots like a dog; medical treatment was a privilege not available to him growing up, and is something that he cannot dream to pass off on now

When he does get sick though, he still pretends that everything is find and dandy, and nearly overdoses himself on whatever flu medication he can get his hands on

Will also stuff himself with vitamin C supplements all in an effort to recover faster

He’s a lot more willing to engage in physical contact whenever he’s sick, and may even initiate himself, he likes leaning against people and just falling asleep on them since he’s so exhausted

Most willing of the three to try out new/non-traditional medications, just to see if it’ll work. He’s always curious about everything around him, no matter how ill he gets

Whenever he’s in a feverish state, he’s almost delirious and makes the most rash of decisions, being a total opposite of his current self

Illumi

He has a tried and true method that cures any illness: sleeping

Since he works himself so hard, when he does get sick he blacks out for at least a full weak and barely remembers anything that happens

Somehow still manages to take care of himself, including cleaning himself up, since he is the most self-sufficient out of his siblings

He is very careful at what he consumes, and has a few dishes that he eats only when he’s sick to boost his immunity and speed up the healing process

When he’s awake and can’t sleep, he likes using this rare moment of spare time to catch up on his reading and give into his guilty pleasure of watching trashy horror films

🧨 - Unexpected headcanon

Hisoka

He’s actually a very organized person when it comes for his own things and can be responsible in fulfilling things that benefit him; he remembers deadlines and completes his tasks just fine, it’s usually a matter of whether he can find the motivation to do so

While he doesn’t know what he finds sexually attractive since almost anything can turn him on, he is always entranced by faces and can spend hours staring at them; if he dates you he would more often then not trace the details of your face whenever you’re asleep

He’s a big switch, even when it comes to spooning. He will always insist on being the big spoon, but secretly he enjoys being the little spoon as well

Chrollo

He’s a huge conspiracy theorist and spend hours reading about unexplained situations, while he is mostly skeptical, the idea that world governments play a huge role of fueling such situations isn’t surprising to him

He hides plenty of food and treats in that big jacket of his, coming from meteor city made him well-acquainted with starvation and it’s a feeling he never wants to be reminded of again

As much as Chrollo is a sapiosexual, he is just as likely to be a moronosexual as well. Something about a loud idiot just amuses him to no end and entices him for reasons beyond his understanding

He loves his loud-mouth dummies, their honest, straightforward and direct nature draws out the best in him, and he sees their ability to call him out on his bullshit as a way to improve himself

Illumi

As much as he resembles his mother, he takes after his father more and used to have a good relationship with the man

He actually went through a rebellious teenager phase during his earlier years and became quite a handful for his parents, something they didn’t know how to handle since it was so different from the quiet, obedient son they had before

Puberty combined with external factors from his job made him quite emotionally volatile and his parent’s’ solution to his actions was to send him for more jobs/punishment, which worsen the situation

Of course, it all calmed down after killua was born and he was stripped from his title as heir to the Zoldyck family, in part due to him believing that if he returned to the way things used to be he’ll be able to get his parent’s attention and love again

🛁 - Bathing headcanon

I’ve written for Hisoka and Illumi here, so I’m going to keep theirs short

Hisoka

His favorite thing to do in baths is to see the blood of his victims slide off him and mingle with the clean bath water, it just mesmerizes him

When he does take a shower, he likes it burning hot, enough for him to steam up the whole bathroom and come out lobster red

Chrollo

He’s the type of person who would listen to podcasts in the shower, bonus points if they’re true crime podcasts

He is pretty indifferent towards showers and baths, and does either depending on his mood, sometimes he wants it to be quick and sometimes he just wants to soak in the bath

While he is pretty neutral towards water temperature, he really appreciates a shower head with good pressure and loves blasting himself with it

He can spend a full hour in the shower just by getting lost in his thoughts and just forgetting where he is

Will imagine hypothetical situations and arguments in the shower and think up the best ways to counter them

His hair takes the longest to wash despite its length due to it being naturally oily, the liberal amounts of gel he uses doesn’t help his case either

Growing up, since clean water was so hard to come by, bath time usually also meant washing his clothes, and it’s a habit that he hasn’t necessarily shaken off

Illumi

He brushes his teeth in the shower, it’s just time-efficient

He lets his hair towel dry, and doesn’t like using hair dryers since it makes his scalp itch for days afterwards

#hunter x hunter #hisoka #chrollo #illumi #adult trio #hisoka headcanon #chrollo headcanon #illumi headcanon #which of them pee in the shower #👀👀#vote now on your phones!#asks #anon

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kolbisneat · 5 years ago

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MONTHLY MEDIA: March 2020

So like most of you, this month has seen more time spent at home consuming things. Now, more than ever, I think it’s good to share what we’re doing and seeing and hearing. Here’s how March went.

……….FILM……….

The Invisible Man (2020) Stressfully fantastic. I was relieved when it was more of a thriller/suspense sorta film (as opposed to straight horror) and hoboy does it deliver on making everything tense. Well-acted and relevant. Also very stressful.

The Muppet Movie (1979) First time seeing this and it holds up. I would say I recognized maybe 5 of the celebrities that were featured, but could easily tell when someone was supposed to be a familiar face. Man fame is a weird thing. Anyway, the songs and origin story were lovely and I really think what works about the muppets are their blend of absurdity and sincerity. Sure they snark each other sometimes, but their general motivation is to put some good in the world and I think that’s a great addition to our media diet.

Jenny Slate: Stage Fright (2019) This is the first of Jenny Slate’s specials that I’ve seen and it was a lot of fun! The interweaving of home videos, interviews with family, and her stand-up added an extra layer to everything. Oh also very funny!

Black Christmas (2019) We missed this in theatres and were anxiously waiting for the blu-ray release and...I think that built up too much anticipation. I’m all for what the movie was trying to say, but how it said it was muddled. It also managed to be fairly boring for 2/3 of the runtime. Bummer.

……….TELEVISION……….

Love is Blind (Episode 1.01 to 1.02) We’ve barely started this and I wasn’t sure about it during the first ep, but knowing the series quickly moves past the blind dating is reassuring. Very keen to see how this all plays out.

McMillion$ (Episode 1.01 to 1.03) I know there’s a far more popular (and tiger-centric) docuseries in the zeitgeist right now, but I’m really enjoying this. They limit the insane FBI agent after the first episode, and it’s the right call. It’s true crime that we can all relate to via the McDonald’s element, and for that alone I think it’s worth checking out.

Locke & Key (Episode 1.01 to 1.10) Wonderfully whimsical. The last two episodes have some questionable writing that really only stands out because the previous 8 were so strong, but I suppose part of that is likely due to setting up a second season? I dunno. It did make me interested in returning to the series (as the first volume didn’t click with me) so that’s saying something.

What We Do in the Shadows (Episode 1.08 to 1.10) Consistently strong season of television! It’s refreshing to watch something where each episode works on it’s own, while still offering lots of through-lines across episodes. Also that finale gave us lots to get excited for with the next season! Very very good series.

The Bachelor (Episode 24.10 to 24.12) What a dud. This season ended the way it started and that really makes one question why they watched it at all? It certainly wasn’t for the beautiful friendships formed between contestants. It wasn’t for the deep and meaningful conversations while the lead tried to find true love. It wasn’t even for the genuine drama about silly things. It all just felt overproduced and undercooked. Such a bummer.

……….READING……….

Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett (Complete) I love a good Discworld novel (this being number 12!) It’s like comfort food in these complex times. The Witches are always fun and I really picture the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus and that adds another layer to things. If you’re looking for light, humours fantasy chock full of tropes, check out this series.

The Incal by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Jean Giraud (Complete) After having read this just once and barely remembering it, I decided to come back to it. I still find it a little wordy, but the overall plot is so operatic and psychedelic that I’m glad I gave it a reread. It feels 70s future in a way that I can’t describe, and I can totally see why Jodorowsky wanted to direct DUNE. This is political and weird and has everything he couldn’t make happen with that movie. Anyway, it’s worth picking up.

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell (Complete) A wonderfully illustrated short story. Enough of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White has been changed and merged to make it a fresh interpretation and Gaiman finds a good balance of creepy and all-ages appropriate.

……….AUDIO……….

Twin Temple (Bring You Their Signature Sound.... Satanic Doo-Wop) by Twin Temple (2018) A lot of folks have been posting their fave listening online while we all quarantine and it’s introduced me to so much (including this)! The title says it all and “Satanic Doo-Wop” perfectly encapsulates their sound.

OOZEFM (Spotify Account) I’ve started a dedicated Spotify account for Booburgh’s radio station, OOZEFM. Curated playlists abound and I hope you enjoy!

……….GAMING……….

Neverland: A Storybook Campaign Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) My RPG setting! The ongoing campaign is continuing along well as the group spends more time in the mountains while waiting to find a fallen star. They’ve also come across a few pirates, so that’s also fun. I also ran a one-shot with the Mof1 Podcast that you can listen to here (well, the first half)!

A Red & Pleasant Land (Lamentations of the Flame Princess) The group continues to explore the dual towers and after killing an egg man, rescuing a spider, and fireballing a bunch of the King’s court, they’ve been presented with a choice: door #1 or door #2.

Celeste (Matt Thorson and Noel Berry) Such a beautiful game. The controls and concept are so perfect and each new stage offers something fresh. I wish those stages were broken up into smaller chapters, as I’d be more likely to revisit if I didn’t have to commit to the whole thing at once, but I’m splitting hairs at this point. Absolutely check this out.

Wilmot’s Warehouse (Finji) Wonderfully relaxing and exactly as the trailer describes: for people who love to organize things. The stress of getting deliveries/getting items to customers is balanced by stretches of free time where you can rearrange and organize your supplies at your leisure. I’m about 60% of the way through and find not much has evolved. I don’t know if I’ll finish it but I’ve really enjoyed the time spent with it so far.

And that’s it! As always, share any recommendos and stay safe out there.

Happy Tuesday!

#Monthly Media #Rambles #Kolbisneat #Andrew Kolb

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letterboxd · 4 years ago

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How I Letterboxd #5: Will Slater.

Talking mullets and other manes with the man behind the internet’s definitive ‘exploding helicopters in movies’ catalog.

“Man cannot live on helicopter explosions alone. Even I need some occasional intellectual nourishment.”

A London-based PR man by day, by night Will Slater has a thing (and a podcast, blog and Twitter account) for movies that feature exploding helicopters. According to his Letterboxd bio, it’s “the world’s only podcast and blog dedicated to celebrating the art of exploding helicopters in films… as well as shaming those directors who dishonor the helicopter explosion genre”. As Will tells Jack Moulton, he also loves film noir, Wakaliwood, masala movies and much more. Just don’t get him started on the one action movie cliché that never fails to disappoint.

Sylvester Stallone takes aim in ‘Rambo III’ (1988).

First things first, have you ever had a ride in a helicopter? Will Slater: What, do you think I’m mad? Of course I’ve never flown in a helicopter! If I’ve learned anything from watching hundreds of films where helicopters spectacularly explode, it’s that they are a singularly dangerous form of transport. You never know when Sylvester Stallone is going to pop up with an explosive-tipped arrow and blow you out of the sky.

I’m going to say the words ‘the definitive action hero/heroine’. Who pops into your head first? No runners-up. Go. Snake Plissken, no question, for a number of good reasons. First, there’s the look: that eye-patch, the beaten-to-hell leather jacket and Kurt Russell’s lustrous mane of hair. Second, there’s the attitude: his contempt for authority, the drawled sarcasm and all-round bad-assery. And I also like that he doesn’t have any special abilities. Action heroes generally tend to be either musclebound slabs of beef—Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stallone—or martial arts specialists—Jean-Claude van Damme, Jackie Chan—Plissken is just a pissed-off, angry dude who’s trying to stay alive. He’s very relatable. Plus, I’d argue he pretty much invented the whole anti-hero formula that rules our screens today.

Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken in John Carpenter’s ‘Escape from New York’ (1981).

When did you start your podcast and which film got you into looking deeper into the topic? It was while watching the cheesily bad Cyborg Cop that I first had an epiphany about the weird and wonderful ways in which helicopters seemed to continually explode in movies. But the film that convinced me to start documenting the phenomenon was Stone Cold. If you’re not familiar with the film, it was an attempt to turn former gridiron star and mullet-king Brian Bosworth into the next big action star. It goes without saying that Stone Cold did not transform ‘The Boz’ into the next Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the film wasn’t a total failure as it features a helicopter explosion that is as brilliant as it is gloriously stupid.

And that was the prompt to start the Exploding Helicopter. I launched the website in 2009, and the podcast followed 2015. Since we started, our aim has been a simple one: to celebrate the strange and inventive ways that helicopters explode in films.

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Motorcycle crashes into helicopter in mid-air, ‘Stone Cold’ (1991).

When did you join Letterboxd? What are your favorite features here? I’ve been around since 2013. As for the features, the stats are very cool. When you dig into your viewing history, you can learn some very revealing things about yourself. For example, I generally like to think I have a commendably broad taste in film, and watch only the most important and influential works from every decade, genre and country. But then you look at the data and find you’ve watched Thunderball nine times in the last five years, so maybe you’re not as cool as you thought.

We noticed that your profile faves are low-key and explosion-free, given your theme of choice. Why these four and not Die Hard four times? Man cannot live on helicopter explosions alone. Even I need some occasional intellectual nourishment, between watching whirlybird conflagrations. There’s a little bit of nostalgia tied up in The Ipcress File. I first saw it as a kid, and it made a big impression on me. It’s very stylishly directed, has a great John Barry score and a star-making turn from Michael Caine. I’m a big film noir fan and Sweet Smell Of Success is a beautifully sour tale of cynicism and manipulation. To borrow the words of Burt Lancaster in the film, it’s a “cookie full of arsenic”.

Jean-Pierre Melville is my favorite director and Le Samouraï was the first of his films that I saw. What Melville does so masterfully in this, and his other crime films, is distil the elements of film noir. Basically, he takes the genre’s iconography—the gun, the trenchcoat, the fedora—and familiar plot tropes—the betrayed assassin, the heist gone wrong, the criminal doing one last job—then elevates them above cliché into something almost mythic. And what do I really need to say about Taxi Driver, other than it’s a masterpiece?

Now you say you shame directors who dishonor the art of helicopter explosions? Which directors did you dirty? Well, one of the biggest names in our hall of shame is Tony Scott. For a man who specialized in hyper-stylized, pyrotechnic-filled action movies, he flunked every helicopter explosion he filmed. In our eyes, one of the most egregious offences you can commit is failing to show the helicopter explosion. And in both Spy Game and Domino, old Tony cheats the viewer by having the chopper fly out of sight before it explodes. Now, I can accept such visual chicanery in a low-budget film, where they presumably don’t have the money to stage the scene, but what’s Tony’s excuse? If you look at his filmography, at one time or another he’s wrecked trains, planes and automobiles in spectacular fashion. But for some reason, he repeatedly couldn’t be bothered to give us a satisfying chopper conflagration. At a certain point, it starts to feel like a personal slight. Tony, what did I ever do to you?

In your immortal words, “a film is always improved by a helicopter explosion.” When has this been especially true? When you see lists of worst-ever directors, Uwe Boll is a name that always seems to turn up. And, according to the internet, one of his worst-ever films is the video game adaptation, Far Cry. Now, I’m not going to try [to] convince you that the film is a neglected classic, but it does have a very imaginatively staged exploding helicopter scene. It’s too convoluted to explain here, but take my word that it wouldn’t be out of place in a Fast and Furious movie.

What about the unsung heroes; the stunt artists, the pilots, the pyrotechnicians, the VFX wizards who have worked on numerous iconic action moments, all of whom deserve a shoutout? Personally, I don’t understand why the Academy doesn’t have a stunts category. But if they did, I’d be lobbying hard for Spiro Razatos to get the first award. These days, he works as a stunt coordinator on the Fast and Furious and Marvel films, but I’d like to draw people’s attention to some of his early work. Back in the nineties, he did a lot of work with PM Entertainment films, an independent company that made low-budget action films for the home video market.

They might not have had much money, but they put every cent on the screen with glorious, raucously inventive set pieces that were often more spectacular than big-budget Hollywood offerings. And remember: this was in pre-CGI times, so every death-defying detail was absolutely ‘real’. Go back and watch films like The Sweeper or Rage, and you’ll can see why Super Spiro has now graduated to these more prestigious gigs.

Narrow this list down for us: which is the ultimate most spine-tingly epic “we got company” movie moment? As you may have gathered, I do like an action movie cliché. When you encounter one in a film, it’s like meeting an old friend. And one of my favorites is when someone uses this classic line of dialog to signal that a car chase or a gun battle is about to start. I’ve heard people deliver the line in all sorts of ways–funny, scared, angrily and often just badly. But if you want spine-tingly, then you can’t beat Harrison Ford in Star Wars. He drops the line during the detention-block scene after failing to bluff an imperial officer. As soon as he says it, John Williams’ iconic score kicks in. It gives you the ‘feels’ every time.

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“Boring conversation anyway.” Han Solo and Chewbacca in ‘Star Wars’ (1977).

And which action movie cliché can you simply not stand? Stop it: my hackles are raising just thinking about it. For me, the trope that never fails to disappoint is the ‘reluctant’ hero being convinced to take up arms and join the fight. You know the scene. Invariably, the hero has hung up their spurs and is living a bucolic existence ‘off the grid’, when a gruff buddy shows up asking them to risk almost certain death by taking on ‘one last job’. Now, dialog is rarely an action film’s greatest strength, and these beefcake actors generally are not cast for their dramatic chops. Which means we get subjected to the same perfunctory and uninteresting scene over and over again: “I told you, I’m out the game”, “Goddamnit, we need you”, “OK, I’ll do it”. These scenes just never work and are never less than painful to watch.

Which up-and-coming action director are you most excited about? In terms of up-and-coming action talent, I’d pick the director Stefano Sollima. I first noticed his work on a couple of TV series: the fantastic Italian crime dramas, Romanzo Criminale and Gomorrah. The way he composed shots really stood out, and it was clear he had a very cinematic eye. He rather reminds me of Michael Mann. He’s now on Hollywood’s radar and got to direct Sicario: Day of the Soldado the other year. And he’s lined up to make a Tom Clancy adaptation with Michael B. Jordan. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

Have you witnessed the glory that is Wakaliwood—Ugandan DIY action filmmaking—three of which make Letterboxd’s official top ten films by black directors? Which international films do you feel out-match Hollywood? I love the Wakaliwood films I’ve seen. It’s fascinating to watch action films from around the world and see their different styles and flavors. Recently, I’ve been trying to investigate Indian cinema and, in particular, what are known as ‘masala movies’. These mix action, comedy, drama, romance and dance numbers into one big, crazy, entertaining mess. They’re a unique experience. If you want to check one out, I’d suggest Dhoom 2. It’s bananas.

Can you believe there are only two female directors represented in your exploding helicopter list? Do you believe that’s due to systemic or thematic reasons? You have to say it’s systemic. Men have dominated filmmaking for more than a century. Until women have the same opportunities to direct and make films as men, it’s impossible to know what their interest may or may not be in blowing up helicopters. [Will has previously written about the search for “true gender equality in the world of exploding helicopters”.]

To address the elephant in the room, how has Kobe Bryant’s unfortunate death earlier this year changed the way you look at these scenes? Obviously, I appreciate that Kobe Bryant’s death was very shocking and a tragedy for his family and fans. But basketball really is not a thing on these grim shores, so it didn’t register with us unenlightened Brits other than [as] a sad headline about a US sports star.

What was your most anticipated movie event of 2020 before Covid-19 pushed every tentpole back? That’s easy: No Time To Die. I’m a huge Bond fan and as soon as tickets were available, I booked myself in to see it on opening day at an IMAX. But if the Daniel Craig era is synonymous with anything, it’s lengthy delays between films.

Freerunner Sébastien Foucan in the opening scene from ‘Casino Royale’ (2006).

What’s a fond memory you have in theaters related to the Bond franchise? I remember going to see Casino Royale. I was excited, but also nervous to see it. The Brosnan era had ended with the risible Die Another Day: invisible cars, kitesurfing and, worst of all, John Cleese’s awful Q. Since that had come out, we’d had Mission: Impossible, Bourne and the Triple X films, so it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility that Bond might be finished. Then the first ten minutes of Casino Royale happened. And while that outstanding parkour-inspired chase was terrifically exciting, it also hit me like cinematic Valium. I suddenly realised I could sit back and relax, safe in the knowledge that 007 was going to be just fine.

Are you planning on returning to theaters as soon as you can? When would you feel comfortable? I’m taking a wait-and-see approach. I’d love to see films back on the big screen again, but I want to know more about how cinemas are going to maintain social distancing inside.

Finally, what three Letterboxd accounts should we all be following? Why not give Todd Gaines, Jayson Kennedy or Fred Andersson a follow? If you’re interested in genre films that are a little off the beaten trail, they’ll likely all steer you towards some hidden gems.

#letterboxd #how i letterboxd #letterboxd member #letterboxd community #cine #film lover #exploding helicopter #chopper fireball #action films

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noconcernofyours · 5 years ago

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Pinning Down My Kind of Movie

Warning: Wanky, self-indulgent ramblings about Hollywood auteurs to follow

A couple of days ago, I sat down with my housemate to watch Miami Vice (2006) directed by Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral) and starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. Since we moved into our place, my housemate has gradually been exposed to my taste in movies, and the other day, sat in front of a strung-out Colin Farrell ordering mojitos to ‘Numb/Encore’ during an undercover sting, he finally confronted me with a crisis-inducing statement: “You know, I can’t figure out what your kind of movie is.”

If I am to be totally honest, it doesn’t take much to send me into an existential tailspin, but this observation got me thinking enough to want to sit down and write about it, so here we are. My name’s Daniel and I love movies! When I was a teenager, I was certain I wanted to be a film critic, so I started writing in earnest. The problem was I wasn’t that well rounded as a viewer. I confined myself to the world of comic book movies and Disney animation. I turned my nose up at pretty much everything else before realising that I didn’t actually know much or have much to offer about film. Instead, I turned to music criticism because that’s where my knowledge base is.

That being said, I still loved movies, and as the years have gone on, I have been rapidly expanding my film knowledge and broadened my horizons extensively. I got called a “film buff” for the first time recently, which really shocked me. I still don’t feel well-watched enough, or knowledgeable enough to fit a moniker like that. Maybe it’s imposter syndrome, but I really feel like I have a way to go yet.

My Letterboxd bio includes the phrase “admirer of film nerds”, and I think that admiration informs the entire way I look at the world of film. I read a lot of reviews and listen to a lot of podcasts by smart, unpretentious film obsessives like David Sims, Griffin Newman, Katey Rich, Karen Han and Bilge Ebiri, but that same admiration also informs the kind of films I enjoy the most. In confronting the statement from my housemate, I realised that while there are some genres I gravitate to more than others, my taste in movies is largely defined by the extent to which I can pick up on a single authorial voice driving the film. A director, writer, actor, composer or cinematographer who has a real, obsessive love for their craft whose influence and personality can be felt in every layer of a film’s construction. Franchises are a different beast, but it’s usually the entries in a franchise that feel like passion projects for individual filmmakers that I love the most, which is why Iron Man 3 is by far my favourite Marvel movie.

Over the last few months I’ve started building a fairly extensive Blu-Ray collection. I love physical media because I like to have a tangible representation of the art I love, but it also allows me to physically organise my thoughts about film rather than moving things around on a spreadsheet or in my head. It has also had an effect on how I watch films. Spending money on a film makes me feel more obligated to watch it through to the end in one sitting, to not be on my phone at the same time and to pay closer attention. It’s also made my approach to picking the films I watch more considered. I’ve been hunting down the films I haven’t seen by directors I love, fuelled by newfound completionism, and I’ve been subconsciously prioritising this kind of auteur-driven mindset in a way that has revealed, over time, who my favourite filmmakers are.

So, with that in mind, let’s transform this meandering, self-indulgent think piece into a meandering, self-indulgent listicle. Here are the filmmakers that have changed the way I watch movies:

Christopher Nolan

I know this is a bit of a film bro cliché, but I promise I’m not one of those film school douchebags who’s convinced they’re going to be the next great big budget auteur. Like a lot of other people my age, I discovered Christopher Nolan through the batman movies. I was taken to see The Dark Knight by my parents when I was 10 years old, not having seen Batman Begins, and it blew my mind. For years after that, I was one of those arseholes who had a terrible Joker impression that I whipped out at parties, until I became aware of the cliché and never did it again.

In the years since I’ve watched all of his other movies and gained a new love of Interstellar and The Prestige – movies that taught me a lot about the authorial voice and interweaving a central theme into every element of a film. I also learned that just because I find it annoying when the same tropes turn up in every Quentin Tarantino movie, recurring tropes throughout a filmmaker’s catalogue aren’t universally a bad thing.

The Coen Brothers

Representation is important. The tough thing about watching films from an auteur-driven perspective is that so many of the most important filmmakers in Hollywood are approaching their films from a white, Christian, male perspective. Scorsese is a particularly difficult director for me to appreciate because so many of his films are overtly informed by his Christianity. My Jewish identity is the most significant aspect of my identity, so naturally I’m always looking for films made from a Jewish perspective, overt or otherwise.

Whilst the Coen brothers don’t always make movies about explicitly Jewish characters or subject matters, their Jewishness always comes out in their writing, particularly in the totally undidactic way they approach the subject of faith in almost every film they’ve made. Their approach to God, fate, spirituality and religion is never one of moralising certainty, but rather a questioning one, which is a fundamental aspect of Jewish existence. I feel represented on multiple levels in the films of the Coen brothers, particularly in Inside Llewyn Davis which is my favourite film of the last decade, in ways that other directors could never manage. For the same reasons I will forever be excited about the potential of the Safdie brothers.

Stephen Spielberg

Whilst the Jewishness of Stephen Spielberg is a major attraction for me (Catch Me If You Can, his moody Christmas movie, comes across as weirdly Jewish to me), the thing that has solidified the guy as one of my favourite filmmakers is his approach to telling true stories. Unlike the Coen brothers, it’s Spielberg’s self-assuredness and didacticism that fuels my love of his work. His spate of recent, politically switched-on, historical dramas (Lincoln, Bridge of Spies and The Post) are all incredible achievements in effectively giving quiet dramas about people talking in rooms the tension and stakes of great action movies.

It’s the obvious thing to say at this point that Spielberg is one of the few genuine masters of the cinematic language, but while most will point to his massive, populist movies of the 80s and 90s as the definitive examples of that, I would point to his spottier late career with its moralising and earnestness as where his most exhilarating work lies.

Michael Mann

I like that Michael Mann is uncompromising. He makes films which, based on premise and star power, should be commercial knockouts, but they almost never are. He has an incredibly clear sense of self, and like Nolan has a lot of frequently recurring tropes in his films. Michael Mann makes films about Men Making Tough Choices™. He builds detailed, intensely researched worlds and he loves crime!

There’s something special when a filmmaker can tread the same ground over and over again and never convey the same central message twice. Nearly all of Mann’s movies are gritty, neo-noir thrillers with an obsessive attention to detail, but all of them deal with a totally distinct existential question which runs through every element of the film, from meta casting to set design, to music, to Mann’s pioneering use of digital photography. I’m just obsessed!

Stephen Soderbergh

Soderbergh is a hill that I’m going to be climbing for quite some time, I think. This is a guy who is relentlessly prolific, taking on a ridiculous number of roles on set himself, and working so fast that he often churns out multiple films in a year. With limited funds and a determination to watch movies legally, my progress through Soderbergh’s filmography has been slow, but I’ve loved every one I’ve watched so far.

As much as I love the guy’s mastery of the heist movie, and the way he slips those story telling devices into a lot of his non-heist stories, I think what really gets me about Soderbergh is the way his filmmaking style always seems to feel tooled towards portraying his characters with as much empathy as possible. Often his films are about people working or learning to empower themselves and coming to terms with their own identities. Anyway, go watch Out of Sight! It’s a damn masterpiece!

Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Bigelow’s career is full of insane ups and downs, but as far as I’m concerned, despite the difficulties she’s had getting her movies made and seen, she has three unqualified masterworks: Point Break, Strange Days and The Hurt Locker. On this list of directors, Bigelow has perhaps the most stylistically varied body of work, but her best work, much like that of other directors that I find myself drawn to, is largely concerned with obsession. Her characters are deeply flawed, but unwaveringly driven. What I love is that despite her drastic genre change from pulpy action thriller to hyper-realistic docudrama, she’s managed to hold on to that fascination with obsession, and an acute, outsider’s understanding of masculinity and its fragility.

Kathryn Bigelow has had to adapt to keep working, but because of that, she’s managed to develop a voice and a personality that is versatile enough to withstand her career shifts, but strong enough that it hasn’t been chipped away at by the difficulties she’s faced as a woman in Hollywood.

So, what was the point of all this?

Honestly, there wasn’t one. This was a piece of self-indulgence that allowed me to navigate an idea over which I was obsessing for a little while. That being said, I think if I had read something along these lines a few years ago, I would have delved into the world of director-focused movie watching far sooner. It’s hard to quickly and easily define the role of a director in contemporary film, particularly due to the ever growing influence of studios, but in the world in which the above filmmakers operate, the director has final say over all the creative decisions involved in putting together a movie. For me, the most exciting films are the ones that clearly and effectively communicate a single creative voice. Sue me, I love auteurs.

#miami vice #auteurs #christopher nolan #the prestige #the coen brothers #inside llewyn davis #stephen spielberg #the post #michael mann #collateral #steven soderbergh #out of sight #kathryn bigelow #the hurt locker #filmmakers #Jewish film #wanky bullshit

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noelclover · 6 years ago

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Off the Cuff 10/03/2019

2c on an article.

Based off of link here:

“Here’s the actual reality. Here’s where we actually are in the industry if you want to talk about quote access media. Every single person that wants to have access to things early, that wants to get access to things so that traffic is drawn to their site will on occasion. Everybody at this podcast, everybody in our industry occasionally has to play softball, occasionally has to look the other way a little bit. Everybody has to do it. In the sense that I hated a movie, but I won’t say that I hated a movie. Or an actor behaved a sort of way, and you don’t want to put it out there that that happened.” Horne chimes in, “Right, because you might not get the next review.” Roth continues, “To some degree everybody in our industry that is part of this quote on quote access media has to decide which battles they want to pick. Which of the ones where my voice is the one that has to get said.”

I’m not going to throw anyone under the bus for wanting to keep their job and make money. That’s absolutely fine. But this does prove that sometimes, critics could be rather disingenuous with their criticism, which of course, is also part of the reason why gaming journalists are generally treated with some degree of skepticism.

Well, that and the virtue signalling and sometimes rather obvious shilling. Saying that everyone does it does not justify doing it, it’d be like saying a member of the police is justified in taking bribes from their local drug gang because everyone does it. Sure, this isn’t necessarily a fair comparison, but it’s to highlight the idea that everyone does isn’t a justification.

“I think they should get rid of fans review entirely.”

When asked to elaborate he did, “It’s not a right. They run a website. They run a business. Critic reviews are critic reviews and that’s fine. And listen this isn’t me saying fans can’t have an opinion. But this is a tool. It’s obviously being abused more than it is being used constructively especially around particular films that politically rub some people the wrong way for certain reasons. It’s why we can’t have a nice thing. It would be nice if people used it the way it’s supposed to be used, but no one is. So screw it, goodbye.”

And he’s absolutely right, but it works two ways. If a critic critiques a work, they too can abuse said tool and simply give scores based off of their own political beliefs. Critics are human too and if critics are just as fallible, then perhaps they shouldn’t be given a platform to criticize.

The real reason why we can’t have “a nice thing” is because a platform to look at something critically isn’t nice. Also, the implication here seems to be 1/10s are bad, but 10/10s are totally not politically motivated and the critique people have while claiming a movie is absolutely perfect is completely, utterly legitimate. Which is not true, most movies, when viewed objectively, fall under the 6ish score sadly. Note: I said most, not all.

Swiderski’s comments echo Samuel L. Jackson’s who also responded to the Captain Marvel Rotten Tomatoes controversy saying:

“The mere fact that you give a voice or a platform to people who normally don’t have a platform is part of the problem. You can have an opinion that you don’t really have to be responsible for because nobody’s going to see you, nobody’s going to challenge you on it and if you want to bring somebody down or just ruin somebody’s day, you can say anything. Everybody doesn’t want to be uplifting and that’s pretty much what that problem is.”

Except critics who pander to a product don’t necessarily have to “be responsible for it”. Dean Takahashi was a great example. Adam Sessler called for people who were on the opposite political spectrum to be doxxed. Brianna Wu claimed Samus was transgender before throwing her co-author for the article under the bus when realizing how big a fuck up that was. I’ve not seen them so much as apologize over these things, where’s the accountability? They were challenged, yet nothing happened. Youtube comments have a lot of verbal spars going on, opinions get challenged all the time.

Sure, they don’t take personal accountability for it in that their names as such aren’t there, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t challenged. It was. And for the record, viewers aren’t getting anything out of this. They don’t get paid at all to leave critique, and a blanket statement like that does people who offer detailed critique (which you can agree or disagree with, given that critiques are, at the end of the day, opinions) injustice.

Critique does not have to be uplifting. Critique should look to a product and point out what is good or bad about something. The delivery of said critique on the other hand, matters quite a bit and while I do think that the people who said they weren’t going to watch Captain Marvel because Brie Larson said something in a rather asinine way a while ago have the right to do so, I do think that the critics and Rotten Tomatoes jumped the gun on this one.

Personally, I think that many people can’t critique movies. There’s this weird idea that a movie has to be “THE BEST THING EVARRRR” or absolute garbage, an unholy fusion of the Resident Evil movies and whatever Uwe Boll’s made that hurt my movie buff friends and acquaintances. Most movies aren’t absolute 10/10s, and they sure as hell aren’t 1/10s, they’re usually decent bits of entertainment.

Note: This is not a personal attack on critics. It is a point on why people are skeptical towards critics and what I perceive to be a rather hypocritical stance given the fallible nature of people, critics included, and an opinion on what critique is and should do. This piece is a critique, if you will.

I personally think that one should sift through an arbitrary number of comments from both sides of scores and take a strong look at the middling ones. That’s where the glimpse of the real story can usually be found.

🍀 🍀 🍀

And for that one person on Twitter who went, I paraphrase, “movies that feature a minorities shouldn’t have be good” and people who think like them I’d like to say, no. They absolutely should, and we should judge them as we would other movies.

One shouldn’t ignore them if they’re not absolutely amazing or praise them to the High Heavens because they’re not Diablo 3 crimes against humanity. Hope that they’re entertaining, wish that they’ll be good and pray that they’ll make enough money that a sequel, a better, stronger movie that will shine brighter than this one, will be made. Don’t make an excuse for a product before it’s out, don’t cut them slack. That would be dishonouring the efforts of the people who made the product. Take them as seriously as they took their work, they’ve earned your honest opinion.

#don't mind me #Off the Cuff

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dailydoseinterviews · 6 years ago

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INTERVIEW WITH TC LOVER KEVIN LOMBARDO

1) When did you first find yourself loving true crime?

“When I was 12 years old. And I’m 22 now so that is a decade of true crime obsession.”

2) Was there a specific book, tv show, documentary or other form of entertainment that opened your eyes?

“Mean Streets by Martin Scorcese. He divulges so deep into the crime scene and dark operations going on behind closed doors and all his work is affiliated with the New York/ east coast mafia in the 70’2, 80’, and 90’s. It’s all based on true stories.”

3) Why do you think you are fascinated with true crime as a genre?

“I am a director, writer, anything in the industry…I want to write crime. I want to write stories, short, feature films, I want all my scripts to focus on true crime. I want to dip deep in to the psychology and deep characteristics of human beings. Why would they do this, how did they do this, what drove them to this point, what is their purpose….every criminal has a motive and as a screenwriter I need to research true crime so I can write the characters in my stories genuinely and motives drive a great feature film. A story about an ordinary person in an extraordinary situation.”

4) Do you have a specifically favorite true crime story?

“Fuck give me a second… Probably the Gambino Crime family. That is real mafia, and I love mafia. I read that someone just got shot affiliated with them like a few weeks ago. It is wild and happening constantly.”

5) What is your favorite non-fictional crime book?

“The Tale of a New York City Cop. It is so good.”

6) What is your favorite non-fictional crime podcast?

“I dont listen to podcasts but I have heard amazing things about Serial and I am going to start.”

7) What is your favorite non-fictional crime series?

“The Ted Bundy tapes. I loved that series on Netflix. Because you can see first hand how fucking insane people are and how crazy he is. It is crazy how Ted Bundy thinks and can be in SUCH denial about guilt! He maintains his innocence throughout the whole series and it is wild. The real footage, photographs, tape recordings, newspaper clippings….its a really great series and a fantastic divulgement into Ted Bundy. I saw a side of him I didn’t know existed.”

8) Do you think true crime is lately a pop-culture obsession?

“It is totally pop culture, and I honestly think Netflix had a lot to do with that. My dad would tell me stories about the Night Stalker when he was a kid because it was around Palms where he was living, and one person who was killed by the night stalker was murdered five houses down from him. So I think I personally have always been interested in crime because of the stories my dad would tell me where he was personally affected, but lately, in pop culture there are mediums like Hulu and Netflix that make true crime stories more accessible and fun.”

9) Are serial killers being romanticized?

“I think so. Some people are weird like that…it’s actually insane. Like sending letter to them in prison and all. Bizarre.”

10) Do you think people enjoy crime as a psychological relief they are not the victim?

“I mean I never think that. Subconsciously maybe we all do but I dont think that is a big driving force why I am interested in crime.”

11) https://www.buzzfeed.com/remeepatel/only-a-true-crime-expert-can-get-more-than-710-on-this-quiz?bfsource=bfocompareon&bfsource=bfocompareon <— what did you score on this quiz?

“6 out of 8! Pretty good. One of them was tricky because there are two nightstalkers”

12) Do you like talking to other true crime lovers?

“Oh absolutely. I could talk for hours about cases and random stories, there was a case recently I heard about because my friend’s friend’s father was the one murdered and I just decided to look her up… its a crazy story about a playboy bunny, jewels, club bouncer, car on fire… and I couldn’t wait to call everyone I trusted and knew would talk with me in confidence but also loved true crime.”

13) Do you think Reddit pages, Tumblr account or other online talk forums for talking about crime glorify or condone murder?

“No I think its normal and healthy to be fascinated with crime. It is abnormal and we as humans are attracted to the gritty, crazy, abnormal, bizarre, extraordinary… Again a good movie is made from an ordinary person in an extraordinary situation.”

14) Anything else you want to say about True Crime?

“Watch Zodiac! And watch out for a film of mine coming out in the future. Kevin Lombardo written and Directed.”

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vmheadquarters · 6 years ago

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Twelve years ago today, UPN (RIP!) premiered a cult-classic neo-noir about murder, class warfare, sexual assault, and forbidden love. It was quippy and campy and smart as hell—and it just happened to center on a pint-sized blonde who looked like a cheerleader but thought like Sherlock Holmes. The show was Veronica Mars, and even if the last decade has muddled its legacy with a much-hyped but ultimately disappointing fan-funded follow-up film and, of course, the extremely meh third season, the high school years remain an unparalleled success. Veronica Mars seasons one and two were better than anything that had come before, far surpassed its competition in quality, and set a high bar for future shows that has only barely been met by a few episodes of television here and there. So give my regards to Friday Night Lights (a family show, not a teen show) and Degrassi (please), but Veronica Mars is the best teen show of all time*.

1. Nuanced Class Conflict

Gossip Girl and The OC did it well, but Veronica Mars did it better. Even though Neptune, CA, is technically fictional, it's as real a place as has ever been portrayed on television. Its particular problems and reputation informed everything from law enforcement (the question of whether or not to incorporate the town into a city and make the sheriff's office into a police department) to the biker gangs riding through on their way up and down the PCH. The levels of privilege/lack thereof were so nuanced and specific. Other shows divide people into the Haves and the Have Nots; on Veronica Mars, everyone has something a little different. At the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder is Weevil, whose background is not only impoverished but criminal; the only community he can "afford" is a gang (though his crew isn't all bad—you'll find nary a broad stroke or generalization in the world of Veronica Mars). In the center of things are Veronica and Keith, who lived comfortably when Keith was sheriff, but have buckled their belts since he became a private eye. On the one hand, they own a small business! On the other, they live in a pretty crap apartment complex and have nowhere near enough saved to send Veronica to college. Then there's the nouveau-riche Echolls', who have all the glamorous trappings of wealth (cars, booze, mansion) and pretty much none of the cultural capital. At the top of the heap are the Kanes; while the Echolls' have enough money to "get away" with murder, the Kanes have enough money to get away with it, cover it up, frame someone else for it, and get the sheriff fired for looking into it. Money problems are basically the least-juicy of TV plots, but by using wealth disparity as a way to develop the characters, essentially building it into the DNA of the show, Veronica Mars created a TV universe just as interesting and complicated as that of Friday Night Lights or Parks and Recreation.

2. Lianne Mars

A girl with a missing mom is a fairy tale trope as old as time, rooted in a deification-of-the-female version of misogyny that I don't have time to get into right now. Suffice it to say, a dead or absentee mother is usually a sign of lazy writing. It's a way to reduce the character count and set a heroine adrift while, not coincidentally, making it so the (usually male) writer doesn't have to think of what a grown woman would think or talk or act like. At first, this is the fate of Veronica's mother, Lianne Mars. She was just conveniently...gone, another casualty of the fallout from the Lilly Kane murder investigation. Her absence lets Veronica be angsty and ill-supervised even as Keith Mars entered the canon of Bestest TV Dads of All Time (which he is! Love Keith forever and ever). But then she came back, with baggage, and the trope was, if not redeemed, at least put to good use. Lianne is an alcoholic who couldn't deal with the disappointing turns life took, and she finally cracked when her husband ran directly into conflict with her lost love Jake Kane, for whom she still pined. Even when she decides she wants to be a mom again, she can't quit being an alcoholic. And as heartbreaking as it is to watch Veronica play the parent, it's also a moment of growth. Veronica realizes—or rather, decides—that she isn't doomed to repeat her mother's mistakes. She is a stronger, better person than Lianne. A person big enough to love her flawed mother, even strong enough to forgive her. In the third episode, Veronica says, "The hero is the one that stays, and the villain is the one that splits." By the end of the series, Veronica has learned what true villainy looks like, and it ain't her mom. Showrunners, take note: This is how you do a realistic redemption story.

3. The Guest Stars and Bit Players

The casting department at Veronica Mars did flawless work. Obviously, the core cast is great, but the semi-regulars and guests are also amazing. There's an entire season devoted to Steve fucking Guttenberg. Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin play the negaverse versions of themselves. Ryan Hansen and Ken Marino do their Ryan Hansen/Ken Marino Shtick, and why shouldn't they? Max Greenfield (a.k.a. Schmidt on New Girl) and Tessa Thompson (from Dear White People and Creed) both had recurring roles long before they were famous, and even Tina Majorino (Mac) and Michael Muhney (Lamb), who didn't really "break out" in a major way after the show, are perfect in their roles. The second (SECOND) IMDb credit for one Jessica Chastain is an episode of Veronica Mars, and of course, Leighton Meester appears in two episodes. Yes, there are other teen shows that feature young actors who went on to bigger, better things, but I maintain that Veronica Mars is notable for encouraging real actors to do real work.

4. The Mysteries Were Smart AF

The show trusted its audience to keep up and pay attention. Maybe even a little too much. In the era before binge-watching and old episodes being able on demand, Veronica Mars suffered from the same issue that plagues the first few seasons of The X Files: Viewers who weren't "caught up" on the season-long mystery arc found it difficult to get into. VM had low ratings throughout its run, and when it used the shift from high school to college to introduce shorter, quicker mysteries, well, we all know how season three went. But looking back, it's clear that the show was ahead of its time, telling smart, twist-y weekly stories while teasing out a longer mystery that deeply impacted the main characters' lives. (Can't you just imagine how they'd advertise the show now? Moody teaser trailers with the tag line "Who Killed Lilly Kane?" and fansites and podcasts devoted to all the clues and hints and easter eggs from every episode?) There are other teen mystery/crime-fighter shows, sure, but they tend to put their characters in immediate peril, which makes the audience ask, "What's going to happen?" Instead, Veronica Mars is an intellectual exercise, evidence and theory based, and the question becomes, "What has already happened, and what does it mean?" That's the kind of meaty writing that inspires, if not legions of fans, a loyal audience to sing its praises. Veronica Mars was so smart it was niche. I'm not making a case for VM as overlooked prestige television, but then again I totally am. WHY didn't it win any Emmys?

5. They Didn't Explain Every Little Thing

See: above "trusting the audience smartness" factor. They didn't explain why sleeping with a "consenting" teenager is still wrong, or why Logan and Veronica went from adversaries to lovers in the space of like, a week, or why money equals power. They got that the audience got it. So, the exact opposite of a show like, say, Secret Life of the American Teenager. There were episodes that touched on privilege and entitlement and infidelity and the abuse of power by law enforcement, but it was subtle and real instead of, you know...Degrassi.

6. The Humor

It wasn't dark and humorous, it was darkly humorous and humorously dark. (Think combining the creepy weirdness of Twin Peaks with the banter of Moonlighting.) Logan's poignant answering machine messages, Veronica's epic takedowns, even Lamb got to be withering and snarky while he systematically fucked over the whole town.The humor kept us invested even when stories dipped into sentimental, Dawson's Creek-esque territory and deflected the romance-y moments that might have turned it into a mystery-style Felicity. Veronica's and Logan's jokes, in particular, also serve a psychological purpose: mask their pain at any cost. Unlike in Gilmore Girls, where every character speaks like a hyper-intelligent stand-up comic and not at all like a teenager or real human being, Veronica and the residents of Neptune make comments that feel true to their characters and relevant to their circumstances. If you watched any episode of Scream Queens and thought, "I guess they're trying to imitate...Scream? Heathers? Clueless? With the smart/bitchy blondes and the snappy comebacks and the eye rolls?" I understand. But actually, they were trying (and failing. Hard.) to do Veronica Mars. Smart sassy cute mean heart of gold flirty clever repartee? Yeah, that's Veronica Mars, and Ryan Murphy, bless his soul, is not Rob Thomas.

7. The Rape Plot(s)

From the very first episode when, in a flashback, golden-haired, white dress-clad Veronica walks, almost in a stupor (have you ever seen a more "perfect" victim?) into the sheriff's office to tell Lamb that she was raped—because she is a good girl and good girls go to the authorities—only to have him, basically, shrug it off, rape and sexual assault were core themes of the show, central to its purpose and story engine. Creator Rob Thomas initially envisioned the story as a YA novel with a male protagonist, and changing the lead's gender to female is arguably the best and most important decision he ever made. Veronica's sexuality is everything. How she flirts her way out of scrapes, plays innocent when it can help her, distrusts it when she's attracted to the "wrong" person, is allowed to enjoy it with Logan and, of course, how her virginity was taken from her one night she can't quite remember. The show takes Veronica's rape seriously as not just a plot point or easy motivation, but as a defining part of her character. She cleans obsessively and looks over her shoulder. She's sensitive to the potential aggressors—and victims—at her school. She knows that her rapist was someone she knew, and she has to live with that mystery every day. But it's complicated. That night she can't remember might have been semi-consensual, but then we learn, no it wasn't. Yes, there's a story about a false rape accusation (against Adam Scott!), but the truth only makes the situation murkier. And in an unfortunately rare move, Veronica Mars also depicts the aftermath of the sexual abuse of boys, including an exploration of how the stigma against male assault survivors re-traumatizes them. (The third season is, in my opinion, a missed opportunity to tackle the campus rape epidemic. By blaming the rapes on a psychological experiment gone awry, the show unfortunately ignores the fact that toxic masculinity isn't a role-playing aberration but a pervasive national issue. But its heart is in the right place, if not its logic.)

8. Veronica

Choker-wearing, dog-owning, private-detectiving blonde badass Veronica Mars. She's most often compared to Buffy, that other crime-fighting cutie with a ragtag army of friends and a ne'er do well love interest, and the comparison is apt. Both possess skills their peers do not and use those skills to solve problems both thrust upon them and sought. But the difference is that in the space that Buffy uses to explore the supernatural, Veronica Mars plays with loyalty and ethics. Is it wrong to snitch on your friends? Is a rumor evidence? Can you break the law to serve a higher good? These are issues Buffy doesn't wrestle with; it's pretty much a given that evil vampires are worth defeating (yes, there are definitely instances when Buffy is tested because she's fallen for a vamp or one of her friends is possessed or whatever, but that's not like, the thing of the show). And while so many other "outsider/observer/new kid" teen show protagonists (Ryan, Dan, Dawson, Lindsay Weir) long to get "in," Veronica's been there. She's been popular, and (a little) wealthy. She's not exploring a new world, she's re-learning her old one. In that she has more in common with Angela Chase, but way less whiny. You watch My So-Called Life and think, I'm totally Angela. You watch VMand think, I wish I were Veronica. When people talk about the strong but vulnerable but smart but flawed but cool but real but beautiful but relatable but empowered but conflicted but modern but iconic but a good role model but not unattainable with a job not defined by that job "interesting" female characters on television, a few names tend to come up again and again: Carrie, Murphy, Ally, Roseanne, Olivia, Dana. To that (very white!) pantheon I humbly submit: Veronica.

*....except for Freaks and Geeks.

#veronica mars

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copperbadge · 7 years ago

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Heist movies! This reminded me that somehow, the serious, nuanced meditation on intolerance I'm plotting has morphed into an 8th century paper caper (like literally stealing paper from the Chinese) and I am wholly ignorant on where heist/caper tropes end and their clichés begin. Other than Leverage, can you or your readership recommend good motion pictures examples of the genre?

A PAPER CAPER. What a great idea!

Hmm, heist films. Well, there are a couple of subgenres. And some examples of the genre are really good examples of the genre while not necessarily being very good movies. But let me see if I can break it down a bit.

(NOW UPDATED with Crowd Recommendations!)

Movies I Have Seen: To Catch A Thief - focused around crime and theft but the classic caper is actually carried out by someone else; I think it’s a great movie but it is quite long and not everyone agrees with me. How To Steal A Million - the heist sequence itself is a bit clunky, but the movie is charming and well-written for the most part. It’s somewhat of an outlier in terms of using heist/caper tropes but fun to watch. Ocean’s 11 (classic) - this is a Greek tragedy written as a heist. But it does have great music and it’s a fun Rat Pack film.Ocean’s 11 (modern) - a great example of heist genre tropes and inversions of same (pickpockets, hackers, a laser grid, a bait and switch, etc)Ocean’s 12 I felt betrayed its viewers somewhat; I don’t think it’s a very good heist film. I haven’t seen Ocean’s 13, but @sailorsol says it goes back to a more traditional heist feel. I am SUPER EXCITED about Ocean’s 8 because it looks like it’s a return to what made Ocean’s 11 so good. Entrapment is a heist film and I remember when I saw it in 1995 I loved it, but I don’t know how well it has aged. Inception is considered by some to be a heist film. I don’t care for it, but it does use several heist-related tropes (a ragtag group of experts, an elaborate plot, a lot of thinking on one’s feet) so I think it’s worth a watch if you’ve worn out your other movies. :D The Sting is based on supposedly real-life events. It is an EXCEPTIONAL film and a good introduction to many con-man and heist tropes. Its central conceit, the telegram fraud, is riffed on in an episode of White Collar. The Thomas Crown Affair (classic) - contains several heists, but I would consider it more of a psychological thriller. An enjoyable film in general. The Thomas Crown Affair (modern) - An adequate remake with a great heist at the end; on its own it’s a decent film, though it pales in comparison to the original. Now You See Me - Considered by some a heist film, I’m not entirely sure I’d agree; they do pull off several heists but it’s more focused on illusionism. I didn’t care as much for Now You See Me 2, but it does have a very The Sting-like denouement that is useful if you’re analyzing heists. Dog Day Afternoon has been riffed on endlessly as a bank robbery film; I’m not sure I’d classify it as heist/caper, but there’s no denying it has had a huge impact on anything to do with media and bank robbery. The Saint: suggested by Anon and also by @drivemetogeek, I had forgotten about this movie and I love it a lot, though again it’s more spy-thriller-with-heist-tropes than a heist. The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan: Anon suggested Great Muppet Caper, which reminded me that there’s a great send-up of high-tension heists in Muppets Take Manhattan. Both are absolute classics. @sailorsol pointed out “If you want to get pedantic, Star Trek IV: The Journey Home is a heist film too" and a) totally true and b) it’s my favorite Star Trek movie, so highly recommend. @jmathieson-fic recoomended Catch Me If You Can, which I had forgotten about and agree is a really fun and also quite touching film, based on real events.

Movies I Haven’t Seen:Logan Lucky JUST came out and I haven’t seen it yet but it has Sebastian Stan in it so I will. :D Similarly I’ve head Baby Driver is great, but I haven’t seen it. @radiozilla says “Baby Driver is indeed fantastic, but I don’t really consider it a heist movie. It focuses on a group of heisters, but the heists themselves aren’t shown in detail. During them the focus is more on the driver parked outside, then the car chase.”And I’ve just had Going In Style recommended to me by @enduring-reality, who says “Its a 2017 film about grandpas getting screwed over and stealing from their bank! funny and entertaining. starring morgan freeman and michael caine. 10/10 would recommend!“The Usual Suspects is a movie I haven’t seen but is generally thought to belong to the heist/crime genre and to be a good example of it. The Italian Job (classic and modern) – the modern one considered an excellent heist film and a comedy. I know nothing about the classic. Likewise The Taking of Pelham 123 (classic and modern) I know very little about, but they’re both considered heist films. @jmathieson-fic recommends the original as “Classic and awesome.”Snatch - I honestly know nothing about it but it shows up on a lot of lists. @miss-kitty-fantastico recommends it. The Great Train Robbery - I’ve been meaning to see this one for ages but don’t know a ton about it. The Fast And Furious films - most of these are considered a form of heist film. I’ve seen several of them but they all kind of blur together. They are very good viewing, action-film wise. A Fish Called Wanda - supposedly quite funny; I don’t know much about it. @delphia2000 says “one of my very favorite films..worth borrowing from your library” and @prince-atom adds “A Fish Called Wanda is hilarious, for the most part. I would caution that it comes with a major content warning for animal death, however.”Heat and Inside Man both came to my attention from a 99% Invisible episode, and while I’ve never seen either one, Inside Man sounds amazing. Anon says “Sneakers is a classic, and I think Hackers counts as one too. And The Real McCoy.” @miss-kitty-fantastico says “Also consider Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Another Guy Ritchie film and although the Heist part is sort of told oddly, it is done really well.”@rsfcommonplace suggests “Sam Whiskey, a 1969 film which is both a Western and a heist film in reverse. (They have to put the gold back. Once they retrieve it from the depths of the Platte River.)”@jmathieson-fic suggested “The Hot Rock (based on Donald E. Westlake's excellent novel)” and @geekerypeekery seconds it. @geekerypeekery also suggests “the often-overlooked Quick Change, a Bill Murray heist film from 1990. Hilarious and also quite meta on the heist tropes.” @onceuponacupoftea suggests “David Mamet’s Heist and also House of Games, which is a con film. The Spanish Prisoner is “neonoir suspense”, according to wikipedia, but also involves espionage and cons.” (I feel like I’ve seen The Spanish Prisoner and compared it semi-favorably to The Sting but I don’t recall if it’s the actual movie I’m thinking of.)@brownhairandeyesonline says “Out With A Bang is good fun (though I haven’t seen the original)”@annechen-melo recommends “The Ladykillers, and though I enjoyed the classic more than the remake, the modern film has its moments.”@laughingacademy says “This list needs some Jules Dassin: Rififi, a noirish “one last job” story in which a break-in and safecracking plays out for half an hour with no dialogue, and Topkapi, a comedic caper film and the origin of what’s now known as the Mission: Impossible Cable Drop.”

Are They?Often spy thrillers are classed as heist films because they usually involve an elaborate multi-stage plan to steal something. So you’ve got your Mission Impossible films, your Man From UNCLE, and I would consider Rogue One this very serious, very dramatic form of heist film. I don’t know if I’d consider Kiss Kiss Bang Bang a heist film exactly, but it plays on a lot of the tropes. I don’t like it, as a film, but it does have Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer in it and that’s not nothin’. In theory, you could consider Captain America 2: Winter Soldier to be a sort of heist film. It’s more of a spy thriller and I wouldn’t classify their attack on SHIELD as infiltration or a multi-stage elaborate plan, but there’s some elements there. Apparently Ant Man is also considered a heist film but I haven’t seen it.

TV Shows and Etc:Leverage as you already know is a great primer for heist tropes because many episodes involve a heist that is structured after a movie trope.White Collar is even more explicit about lifting its heists from cinema, so it’s also excellent (at least in the first few seasons) for learning the standards. I can’t really recommend viewing after 3rd season, but YMMV. I have never seen the original Man From UNCLE tv show, but I hear it’s pretty compelling. @spadesandaces says “Idk if the man from uncle tv show counts as heist centric...don’t get me wrong, I love it, but it’s not like leverage or ocean’s” while @peoriarhetoriapeoria says “the show has many episodes that may not be exactly heists but hew close enough to the tropes they might as well.” Same for the classic The Saint series -- I haven’t seen it but I hear it’s good. @drivemetogeek seconds the recommendation for the Saint tv series. @glymr says “It’s not exactly a heist show (at least, not mostly), but if you want to see the Grifter to end all Grifters, watch the Rockford Files. It’s a show about a P.I. played by James Garner, and he is a Master of social engineering." @drivemetogeek says “seconding Rockford.... the Leverage writers referenced it constantly.” though you guys, I have to admit I’ve watched a few episodes and I found them less than engaging. 99% Invisible did a FANTASTIC podcast about heist films. There is a GREAT book about early 20th century con men (it’s the first place I encountered the characters from The Sting) called The Professional Thief. I don’t know that a lot of people who write heist genre have read it, but the stories inside it have obviously trickled out into our crime media. It’s a really enjoyable read as a sociological study of individual-level crime in the early 20th century. Also gonna throw in a quick recommendation for the Stainless Steel Rat books by Harry Harrison (particularly A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born) and the Raffles short stories by EW Hornung, who wrote a gentleman burglar in response to his famous in-law, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writing Sherlock Holmes. :)

Wikipedia also has an extensive list of heist films and a decent definition of what they generally entail.

One last note – don’t necessarily think that just because the heist genre is rife with tropes, you can’t use tropes and cliches. Most heist films of the modern day really lean into them; they’re fun to play with and there’s a reason they became tropes in the first place. Don’t be afraid to write a “standard” heist – as long as you enjoy writing it and the readers enjoy reading it, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the most original idea in the world. Think of it as a rube goldberg machine, where the formula is essentially the same but the components vary and provide the fascination. Heist films are fun in part because there’s a formula, and that formula is comforting when followed and fascinating when defied.

Good luck! There’s tons of media out there and a lot of it is just fun. Enjoy yourself!

(Did you find this useful or educational? Prevent me from robbing a bank and drop some change in my Ko-Fi or at my Paypal!)

#justalurkr #heist films #crime

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tabloidtoc · 4 years ago

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Globe, January 25

You can now buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: COVID patient Larry King’s nasty battle over $50 million will

Page 2: Up Front & Personal -- Shia LaBeouf shows off his tattooed belly on a walk, Jessica Alba matches her mask to her shoes, Simon Cowell works out as he continues to recover from breaking his back

Page 3: Amy Schumer on the beach in St. Barts, Peter Weber is a total cue ball, Jenny McCarthy hauls garbage outside her Illinois home

Page 4: David Bowie’s supermodel widow Iman confesses she gets lonely but will never tie the knot again because the singer was her true love -- she made her revelation in the January issue of a fashion magazine where at age 65 she’s still hot enough to be the cover gal -- David and Iman’s daughter Lexie asked her if she would ever marry again and she said never and that their life together was beautiful and ordinary and that David was a very funny warm gentleman

* Kindhearted Kelly Ripa is so spooked by her new gruesome true crime series about digging up murder victims’ bodies that she’s having terrifying nightmares that have driven her to a shrink for help -- Kelly and actor husband Mark Consuelos are bigwig producers behind Oxygen channel’s series Exhumed that debuted January 17 featuring unearthed corpses to solve cases -- many nights Kelly will awaken haunted by a case she and Mark reviewed and realizing the horror and heartbreak the victims and their families went through is something you don’t forget once the lights are out -- while Kelly and Mark aren’t on the show as executive producers they have to approve the episodes and become intimately involved with the devastated families who help tell their heartbreaking stories -- her immersion in the grisly material has had a chilling effect on Kelly who is an empath which is a highly sensitive gal who can often feel the pain and suffering others are going through and Kelly’s therapist encourages her to do positive meditations each night before bed and think about at least two things that made her happy that day and Kelly is doing her best to follow doctor’s orders but she is so affected by the plights of other people that somehow the nightmares still manage to find their way into her dreams

Page 5: Onetime Bond girl Tanya Roberts passed away at age 65 less than 24 hours after her prematurely announced death -- Mike Pingel who was a rep for Tanya says he told the world that she had died at L.A.’s Cedar-Sinai Hospital on January after speaking with her distraught beau Lance O’Brien -- following a goodbye visit with the ailing star mistaken Lance claimed she died in his arms but bizarrely the very next morning sobbing Lance said he was told by the hospital that Tanya was still alive in the ICU while filming a TV interview about her untimely end -- however according to Lance she finally perished hours later on January 4 after being taken off life support -- Tanya reportedly collapsed in her California home after walking her dogs and rushed to the hospital she remained on a ventilator from December 24 until her death which was not COVID related

Page 6: In Denmark a bitter feud between royal wives is tearing the ruling family apart -- Danish Crown Prince Frederik’s Australian wife Mary detests her French-born sister-in-law Marie who is wed to Frederik’s kid brother Joachim and Mary helped banish Marie and Joachim to Paris to get her sophisticated rival out of her hair -- Frederik’s wife who is the future queen desires to be treated with the deference befitting her station even by relatives while Marie is far less stuffy and very outspoken and she’s made it plain she was unhappy when her husband was ordered to become military attache at the Danish Embassy in Paris in 2019 -- shortly after his arrival in France Joachim suffered a blood clot in his brain and when Frederik showed up to visit his ailing brother Mary was nowhere in sight

Page 7: After failing to land plum roles in A-list movie blockbusters Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry inked a $40 million deal to crank out podcasts and the first installment was branded a bomb after airing late last month -- despite superstar Elton John dropping by for Archewell Audio’s first holiday special the highly hyped recording embarrassingly landed at No. 17 on the Spotify podcast list behind entries like Deep Sleep Sounds which features whale sounds -- many in the royal inner circle are gloating and smirking over the arrogant couple’s disastrous debut and even with Elton’s help Meghan is still a second banana to whale noises and no one wants to listen to the couple’s self-absorbed drivel

* Not only has royal renegade Prince Harry traded London for L.A. he’s ditched posh palace pronunciations and speaks more like an American during his public appearances -- while doing his first Archewell Audio broadcast Harry dropped the refined Received Pronunciation favored by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth and sounded like a regular American

Page 8: Anti-vaccine crusader Bobby Kennedy Jr. has been kicked in the teeth by his powerful political clan after triggering fears about immunizations and the desperately needed cure for COVID-19 -- brother Joe, sister Kathleen and niece Kerry Kennedy Meltzer who is a doctor battling the virus on the frontlines publicly accuse Bobby of putting Americans’ lives at risk by telling lies about vaccines in general and attacking injections aimed at stamping out the killer virus -- family members were always skeptical about Bobby’s slightly off-kilter anti-vax ideas but they supported him because the Kennedys stick together and hate to show a rift in the family but now they have shifted against him

Page 10: Garth Brooks’ sloppy habits during nine months of lockdown have iron-willed wife Trisha Yearwood in a tizzy and their marriage is dangling by a thread after she clobbered the slob with a strict set of house rules -- after exasperated Trisha spilled her guts to pals a friend advised she put the rules in writing and hang it where he’ll see it and she did but Trish’s demanding ways are pushing Garth to the brink and he’s ready to walk unless they can find middle ground, one that doesn’t include Trisha calling all the shots -- Trisha has given Garth a list of do’s and don’ts that include wearing deodorant at all times and stop leaving the bathroom a mess and to remove his clothes from the dryer once he’s done but on the top of Trisha’s list is a ban on Garth’s constant 24/7 whistling that has her pulling her hair out

Page 11: Dynamic diva Jennifer Lopez is bored with fat-cat fiance Alex Rodriguez and is struggling to keep their romance alive -- after postponing their marriage and saying there was no real reason to tie the knot Jennifer has kind of hit a wall with where she and Alex can really take things and she is particularly frustrated by ho-hum Alex’s lack of motivation -- those who know J.Lo want her to stick to her wheelhouse by making movies and recording music however those endeavors don’t offer retired baseball player A-Rod any position to play -- they haven’t fallen out of love exactly but they have run out of the joint projects and goals that were the rocket fuel for their relationship and they’re stuck with no obvious places to go next

* Teresa Giudice and new beau Luis “Louie” Ruelas are already shacking up together and plan to buy a pad of their own and Teresa can see herself marrying Louie and combining his kids and hers under one roof -- he stays over most weekends and some weeknights at her place in New Jersey and they cook Italian together and stay up late watching movies -- her four daughters like Louie too and see how happy he’s made her

Page 12: Celebrity Buzz -- Maitland Ward wearing masks on her breasts (picture), Demi Lovato battled a life-threatening secret eating disorder for years but today she bravely flaunts the stretched skin she’d once considered painfully flawed by wearing glitter paint on her stretch marks to celebrate her body and all of its features whether society views them as good or bad, Paul McCartney still gabs with dead pal George Harrison whose sprightly spirit has planted itself in a tree, Ray Liotta has asked girlfriend Jacy Nittolo to marry him and she screamed yes, legendary country star Ricky Skaggs is lucky to be alive thanks to an emergency quadruple bypass that saved his ticking time bomb of a ticker

Page 13: Mel Gibson steps out in Malibu with his arm in a sling (picture), Amy Poehler loads up at a Beverly Hills market (picture), brothers and Kinks bandmates Ray Davies and Dave Davies brew up an outing in London (picture), Michael Jackson’s one-time associate billionaire biz-wiz Ron Burkle snagged the late pop star’s beloved Neverland Ranch for the bargain basement price of $22 million

Page 14: Bryan Dattilo the 47-year-old soap star who’s played Lucas Horton on Days of Our Lives since 1993 now calls himself grandpa to a bouncing baby boy thanks to his 21-year-old son Gabe and his girlfriend and he’s also becoming a granddad on TV too with Alison Sweeney who plays Sami Brady, no more boozy days or nights for Chrissy Teigen and she declares she’s on the wagon and through with imbibing embarrassments

* Fashion Verdict -- Reese Witherspoon 7/10, Greta Gerwig 1/10

Page 16: Cover -- As 87-year-old Larry King battled for his life against killer COVID in an L.A. hospital his estranged wife Shawn was making a grab for the talk star’s $50 million fortune -- the cheating blonde is raging because in the months before his hospitalization Larry filed for divorce and cut her out of his will, leaving the fortune to their boys Chance and Cannon and Larry Jr. his son from his second marriage -- it’s going to be a fight to the finish literally and Shawn is trying to make sure she’s not left out when it comes to his cash

Page 19: 10 Things You Don’t Know About Anthony Anderson

* Kim Cattrall swore off motherhood because bedroom sessions with then-husband Mark Levinson didn’t fit into her Sex and the City shooting schedule -- Kim was 41 and newly wed when she decided to slam the door on pregnancy

* Bill Cosby is refusing to shower with other inmates a Pennsylvania prison to avoid contracting COVID-19 and he says he controls his stink by washing up in his cell’s sink but he doesn’t expect the situation to last forever because he’s hoping a court will toss his 2018 conviction

Page 21: LeAnn Rimes has admitted she checked into a mental ward after feeling bullied when news leaked she had cheated on her husband with married Eddie Cibrian -- she reveals she did 30 days in therapy in 2012 because she couldn’t handle the public shaming that rained down on her over her affair with future husband Eddie who was still married to Brandi Glanville and she was still wed to Dean Sheremet -- LeAnn calls her therapy the best gift she could have given herself

Page 22: True Crime -- Survivor villain Jonny Fairplay is living up to his bad boy image after cops busted TV’s evil liar accusing him of ripping off his dementia-stricken granny

Page 24: Marie Bobette Riales knows where the bodies are buried in actor Danny Masterson’s Scientology rape scandal and terrified church leaders want her silenced at all costs but Marie who dated the indicted actor and slapped the sci-fi faith with a civil suit won’t back down -- Marie’s impending testimony at Masterson’s criminal trial and in her civil case threatens to destroy the controversial church by exposing the intimidation used by ruthless Scientology bigwigs to hide the twisted secrets of its celebrity members

Page 26: Health Report

Page 30: Tom Cruise has taken on the mission to shield his movie crew from the rampaging coronavirus by building a disease-proof studio on a former top-secret army base -- Tom who is already taking heat for screaming curses at crew members who ignored virus safety measures is shelling out millions to build a secure shooting facility at the former English tank base in Longcross -- Tom is obsessed with finding ways to beat the fast-spreading virus ever since filming of Mission: Impossible 7 was shut down when the pandemic savaged Italy and when it spread to Britain

* Alec Baldwin’s yoga guru wife Hillary a.k.a. Hilaria Baldwin has been busted as a fraud after putting on foreign airs and talking with a Spanish accent -- the mom of Alec’s five young kids claimed to be from the Spanish isle of Mallorca where she was called Hilaria but her tale unraveled after a social media video showed her accent mysteriously drifting on and off and pals from Boston’s preppie Cambridge School of Weston began texting that she’s all-American with one saying her name was indeed Hillary Hayward-Thomas and she did not have a Spanish accent -- now Mrs. Baldwin is confessing she was born in Boston but spent a lot of time in Mallorca where her American parents called her Hilaria and she picked up the accent

Page 36: Angelina Jolie is panicking over her sky-high legal bills but she only has herself and her vengeful divorce war against ex Brad Pitt to blame -- she may be worth $100 million and rake in moolah from producing and directing but her high-maintenance lifestyle and refusal to finally settle her four-year divorce and custody war with Brad have left her cash-strapped and she’s starting to panic over her dwindling cash flow and every time she files a motion like her losing attempt to dismiss the judge it costs her money because these fancy lawyers can charge more than $850 an hour and it adds up -- more and more Angie’s having to dip into her savings but as much as it hurts she’s stubborn and refuses to settle and she blames Brad for everything -- on top of legal bills the luxury lifestyle she shares with her brood including a whopping $17.5 million mortgage on her L.A. mansion are a humongous cash drain and she also supports a household staff plus she’s never learned to say no when one of the kids wants an expensive high-tech toy

* Pop diva Taylor Swift’s image has been erased from a mural at Nashville’s iconic Legends Corner bar because some die-hard fans believe she turned her back on country music -- artist Tim Davis notes the saloon’s owners told him to replace Taylor with Brad Paisley -- furious Taylor fans cry that she won country’s highest honor the Pinnacle Award in 2013 but painter Davis notes Taylor has turned to pop and some inebriated bar hoppers have spit on her image specifically feeling betrayed by her venture from country

Page 40: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting unstoppable and savoring his favorite stogies just three months after major heart surgery but a medical expert warns the 73-year-old’s love for cigars could trigger a devastating health catastrophe and he should kick the habit -- however Arnold who had an aortic valve replaced in October has been feeling his oats with galpal Heather Milligan in resort Sun Valley, Idaho

* In the latest twist in Dr. Dre’s messy billion-dollar divorce the rap mogul admits he spent a night of passion with estranged wife Nicole Young after they split -- in legal documents the music tycoon claims that although Nicole moved out of their family home in mid-March the two continued to speak and socialize and see each other and he also revealed that on the couple’s May wedding anniversary Nicole invited him to dinner at her Malibu home and the two did the horizontal mambo -- Dre vehemently denies Nicole’s claim that he abused her during their 24-year marriage adding she was not and is not afraid of him and insists she’s lying to bolster her divorce claims

Page 45: Robin Williams’ wife Susan Schneider insists she’s haunted by his ghost who shows up when she needs him and she says she recently saw him in the yard

* Gilligan’s Island’s goody-goody girl Dawn Wells took a shameful regret to the grave that the perky pothead was accused of being a dope dealer -- the 82-year-old actress best known as girl-next-door Mary Ann Summers on the classic sitcom was still humiliated over her secret stoner past when she died of complications from COVID-19 -- her drug scandals dated back to 1998 when her friend and co-star Bob Denver who played Gilligan was arrested after a parcel containing half an ounce of pot was delivered to his house in Princeton in West Virginia and Denver later fingered Dawn as his connection and said she’d been selling him dope since 1995 but Dawn lawyered up and denied everything and was never charged -- she was busted for having marijuana in her car as she drove home from her 69th birthday party in 2007 and she was sentenced to five days in jail and fined and placed on probation -- her years as a pothead continued to haunt her until the end

Page 47: Bizarre But True

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sftswigan · 4 years ago

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Manchester gutter punks, The Battery Farm, talk to us about horrific crime inspiring a song and how they just had to form this band...

We’ve got frontman/guitarist Ben from the band.

Alright Ben, can you tell us about the band. Who plays what and how the band got together?

Hallo! We are The Battery Farm, four gutter bastards from Manchester playing gnarly, seething punk rock music.

Ben Corry on Vocals and Guitar, Dominic Corry on Guitar, Paul Worrall on Bass, Sam Parkinson on Drums. Me and Dom formed this band from the ashes of a band we'd previously been in together for 8 years. At the point we formed The Battery Farm we were in a low place, feeling like failures, feeling defeated by this thing that we'd built for years just imploding, feeling angry and scared and hopeless at the utter state of the world. We basically decided to do this in the pub one night when we felt like we had absolutely nothing to lose. It was formed as a desperate reaction to two lives and minds spiralling out of control in a hostile, hateful world.

That must have been tough but, seems like it’s worked out well and the band from what I can tell is going from strength to strength. How soon did you find the remaining members, Paul and Sam? What have they brought to the band?

It has actually. Helpfully, it was a fertile environment from which to create. The first wave of songs - stuff like I Am a Man - are the purest distillation of that sense of lashing out, that sense of desperation we were feeling at the time.

We found Paul pretty much straight away. I'd known him for years through Manchester's Fringe theatre scene, having been in a couple of plays with him. He'd come to see me in a play, I knew he was a musician as well as an actor (although I don't think I'd grasped just how good he is), so I asked if he fancied playing bass for our new band. Sam we actually didn't know before the band, and it took a little longer to get him in. He works for the same company i do and I'd heard he was a drummer, so I got his contact details, asked him if he fancied coming for a rehearsal with us. It all clicked, and the rest is history.

Paul and Sam bring a massive amount to the band. They lift the songs me and Dom write and add a very particular combination of power and melody which you'll be hard pressed to come by very often. They're fucking ace and they know what is good for the song. No ego, no fucking about. They know what's important.

Sounds like you needed that new band to form quickly and to find drummer and bassist when you did you was very fortunate. I watched an interview of you and Dom recently and you talked about inspiration for songwriting and I was interested in where 97/91 came from. When it comes to writing where do you first look to for ideas?

Yeah we did, finding a drummer was comparitively difficult and I think if we'd have really struggled then we honestly would have just given up on it. 97/91 came about after I read an article about the murder of Suzanne Capper in Moston, north Manchester, which is where me and Dom grew up. I'm not going to go into details but if you look it up you'll see that it's the most horrific thing you've ever read. It stuck with me for weeks afterwards, and part of that was because I knew the streets where it had taken place and the community in which it had taken place. The houses it happened in - numbers 97 and 91 - are still there to this day. I got to thinking about why I reacted so viscerally to that story in particular; atrocities happen every day and we don't bat an eyelid, not really. It had such an impact because I was so familiar with the setting, so familiar with the type of person involved. It was too real. 97/91 explores the idea that we make a trade-off in our lives, one which enables cognitive dissonance that shields us from the impact the mass, relentless violence of the world. It also means that when something evil happens in a familiar setting the impact is much greater.

How can it only be real when you can see it? 97/91 isn't necessarily about the Capper murder itself, but the murder is a jumping off point to explore the faustian pact at the heart of the human condition, the one that keeps us sane but also ebbs away at our souls.

Our ideas just literally come from trying to explain our perspective on the world, we don't necessarily make a conscious effort to look in one place for ideas. We just write about whatever moves us. That can be mental illness, corrupt political systems, or the fact that I've never been to Gorton, which is literally the title of one of our new songs.

I find reading about crime stories really interesting, it’s madness what goes on in this world! This is one I’m not aware of but this must have been difficult to write about with it being so close to home? I love the anger and aggression in your music and lyrics.

You mentioned being an actor earlier, do you think this has an influence on your performance as a front man?

Yeah I went through a short phase of listening to true crime podcasts earlier this year but i had to stop bec it was all too grim. It was difficult to explore the ideas that particular incident led me onto but the endgame wasn't to just write about the murder itself, so I suppose keeping that in mind kept my head clear and made things easier.

Honestly, i try to keep any ideas of acting and theatre separate from the band. The actor thing can be frustrating at times because people conflate that with what I do in the band and think that everything must be a performance of some kind, which it isn't. The whole idea of putting The Battery Farm together was that it could give us an outlet to express ourselves honestly, and to me the stuff I do as a frontman is just an honest reaction to what I'm singing and what it makes me feel. I try not to overthink that aspect of it because I feel like to do so would water it down. It needs to be raw, it needs to be stark, it needs to be reality. If it's an actor's performance I'm not really getting anything out of it.

It’s amazing how reading/listening to one can lead on to another one. But yeah hard to shake off once you’ve learned about them.

You’re performance on stage seems very honest and I love to see in a frontman.

Moving on to the music scene...Manchester in particular is buzzing at the minute. Did the band find it easy to slot in? What’s been your favourite gig up to now?

We did actually. We knew a couple of people anyway from being in previous bands but until now I'd always found the Manchester scene a little unfriendly. It's totally different now. Not only is it overflowing with incredible, original, exciting new bands but it's also full of amazing people, and in the year we've been gigging we've made some wonderful friends. There's a proper sense of inclusivity and community, a lack of ego and aloofness that wasn't there before.

My favourite, and I think the others would agree with me, is our first headline set which was at The Peer Hat last November. It was an Abattoir Blues night and they're always amazing. The venue was packed to capacity and the atmosphere was electric. It was the kind of big, simmering sweatbox that seems impossible to imagine in the current climate. I want every gig we play to be like that one.

Yeah it’s great to see bands appreciating each other’s music and plugging their stuff on social media etc. I love going to Manchester for a gig. It’s a great time for guitar music in the UK at the minute with bands like Idles, Fontaines DC and Sports Team doing really well. And also The Blinders bringing album 2 out very soon!

That gig sounds like a great night!

When all this is over and we get some normality back...what are the bands plans?

Well, we're heading into the studio later this summer to begin work on... something. Beyond that it's hard to say because like everyone else we can't really make plans at the moment. Like everyone else we're pretty much having to make it up as we go along. We do have gigs booked for November and December but whether they'll happen or not remains up to fate. Everything going to plan, we may be in for an exciting end to the year. Maybe.

Gonna be very exciting for all bands and music once gigs/recording etc can happen again isn’t it.

Got so many new bands I want to see. Have you discovered any new bands during lockdown? If not, what have you been listening to?

Lockdown's actually been really fruitful in terms of new bands releasing amazing stuff. I've been listening to a lot of Tinfoils recently, they're a delight! Also been loving new stuff from Cold Water Swimmers, The Red Stains, Richard Carlson Band, The Maitlands, loads of stuff. I've also recently discovered John Shuttleworth, a comedy singer from Sheffield who does weird Phoenix Club-type songs about stuff like margerine and vans. I love stuff like that, real end of the pier nonsense.

I love Tinfoils and down to have them on here in Wigan but then lockdown came. The other bands I’m aware of too but not the solo artists you’ve mentioned.

Yeah Tinfoils are great. John Shuttleworth has been around for years i think. I can imagine he won't be to everyone's taste. Richard Carlson Band are actually named after the actor Richard Carlson, who was in The Creatire From the Black Lagoon. There is no Richard Carlson in that band! They're absolutely ace, they released their debut single a few weeks ago and I've had it on repeat.

I’ll be sure to listen to your recommendations, love finding new music to listen to.

We’re coming to the end of the interview now, I’ve just got a couple of questions. You’ll get two options, you pick one answer...

Winter or summer?

Sex Pistols or The Clash?

Roast dinner or Chinese?

Film or Book?

Winter

The Clash

Roast Dinner

Book

Thanks for having me! Hopefully see you soon

Thanks Ben for taking the time to chat to us. Hopefully we’ll cross paths at a gig soon.

If you want to listen to the band please go and follow them on social media and their music is on Spotify etc.

youtube

#Batteryfarm #97/91 #Manchester #Punk #SFTSWIGAN #Youtube

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artificialqueens · 8 years ago

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A Head, A Heart, & A Crown {Biadore} Chapter 12 -C*NT

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter! This one ends on a really big cliffhanger so just a warning…Chapter 13 will be a time jump to the Autumn of 2017. Enjoy!!

Adore smiled at her new group chat in her phone. She couldn’t believe that Alaska was the one to go home, she was sure it was going to be Alyssa. Alaska and Katya were going on and on about something, but Adore didn’t really understand what they were talking about. She shut her screen off and grabbed a shirt and shorts out of her suitcase to put on for the day. Now she could say that she was a part of 2 Top 4 group chats! Her phone was never going to stop blowing up, she realized although her Season 6 Top 4 chat had been quiet for a while. She was excited for the final challenge that was happening later today. She pulled on her shorts and got ready to leave the hotel room NOW for the second to last time.

Everything that had happened yesterday with Bianca was weird. It was so up and down. First they were awkward, then they were fighting like a married couple, and then they were flirting and defending each other. The new dynamic didn’t make much sense to her, especially now that the line of friendship had been severely blurred. Were they friends? Acquaintances? Were they back to normal?

Adore felt the sexual tension between the two of them yesterday. Bianca was not very shy about letting her eyes fixate on the curves of her body, or letting her hands linger on her waist during their dance. It was clear there was still something there between them. There always was though, and maybe there always would be.

For now, Adore had to pack her things so she could go straight to her apartment to meet up with Jaremi at the bar. That way she could pick up her luggage, and be dropped off at her apartment by the uber.

Jaremi: Hey, we’re still on for tonight right?

Adore looked down at her phone confused.

Adore: Of course we are. Why wouldn’t we be?

Jaremi: Just wondering…did you happen to hang out with Bianca last night by chance?

Adore was even more confused now. Why would he be asking that?

Adore: I wouldn’t call it hanging out, we had to do a challenge together. Why?

Adore waited. And waited. It seemed like it was taking him forever to respond.

Then the screenshots came in. Bianca had basically threatened Phi Phi. What the fuck? She angrily picked up her phone and dialed her number.

“Well well well, it takes winning a challenge for you to call me? I should’ve come on-”

“’ ‘Just know that I’ll have her back, even when this relationship doesn’t make it.’ God Roy how big of a fucking disaster do you think I am?” Danny yelled into the phone.

Roy felt his heart stop as he realized Phi Phi had ratted him out.

“I-I don’t think you’re a disaste-”

“I don’t understand you! You let me go to basically BE with Jaremi. Now you’re threatening him?! What do you want Roy?”

It was silent over the receiver. Danny and Roy both sighed.

“I just want you to be happy.” Roy finally said.

“You don’t think Jaremi will accomplish that?”

“Jaremi is sneaky, Danny. I’m not understanding why you don’t see that.”

“Oh and you’re so perfect Roy. You’re not sneaky at all going behind my

back and kissing Courtney, and not telling me you were going to come on the show. Jaremi is just misunderstood,

you’re just a fucking asshole.”

“Okay listen queen, I didn’t tell you I was filming because I didn’t think you were actually here-”

“You know what that’s another thing, you think I’m just a big fucking selfish party animal. Maybe I was when we first met, but not anymore. I was fucking there for you Roy!” Danny was starting to cry in frustration. The sobs were breaking Roy’s heart. It was this moment where he realized that he had broken him.

“Danny please don’t cry.” Roy tried to comfort him.

“I’ll cry if I fucking want to Roy. How dare you come at Jaremi like that when you kissed Courtney and cheated on me! I’m sorry I’m not a fucking size 2 Australian supermodel with thousand-dollar custom made gowns.” Danny sobbed.

Roy felt like an absolute idiot. Of course Danny was still upset about it, and now

he realized why. He didn’t feel like he was good enough for him. By him kissing Courtney, that was the validation in Danny’s mind.

“Danny you are more than that. You’re amazingly talented, intelligent, and beautiful.”

“But that still wasn’t enough for you Roy! I even opened up my apartment for you and it still wasn’t enough.”

“Danny it was-”

“I should go.” Danny said numbly.

Roy held his breath as he felt the tears coming.

“Okay.” Roy’s voice shook.

But when he looked at his phone, Danny was already gone.

—–

“Meow you already know my name

You know I’m the messiest slut in the game

The number 1 fan fave of all time

I was the Season 6 runner up, and that’s the true crime.

Monsoon, hurricanes I’ve been through them all.

But bitch I’m back, and I ain’t gonna stall

Couture, Gowns, Dresses that hit the floor,

If you ask why I’ll tell you this is what you came for

I’m a fucking mermaid, a woman of the ocean

I can make your hips rock in slow motion

Sorry but you can’t deny that I’m a messy whore

But trust and believe mama there’s so much more

Fuck, party, chola, that was my start

But my motherfucking voice is off the charts

I’m here to win it all, so I can buy more pizza

so sit back and watch this fucking Libra win the crown mamacita.”

“That was great! Excellent work Adore.” AB Soto exclaimed.

Adore smiled and took off her headphones. She had come up with the rap last night after she had gotten back from her hotel room. She had also finished another song last night, called “Out Of The Blue” that she thought was describing her current situation with Roy quote well. She hoped her rap was good enough for the judges.

“Go ahead and head over to the next room where you will be recording your What’s The T podcast with Ru and Michelle. Great job today. ”

The song was really good. She liked what Ru had come up with making the top 3 queens each have verses. She smiled and waved goodbye to AB Soto.

The ‘What’s The T’ podcast was literally one room over, so all she had to do was walk through another door and she was basically there.

“Oh look who’s joined us, it’s Adore Delano!” Ru exclaimed.

“Sit baby, sit.” Michelle smiled and gestured to the chair next to her.

“Hi guys!” Adore said with a wide smile.

“You have made it to the Top 3 of All Stars 2, Adore how are you feeling?” Ru asked as he took a sip of his hot tea sitting on the table.

“I feel amazing, like I never thought I’d be in this position again but I’m so glad I am. I’m eternally grateful.” Adore expressed.

“You’ve come a looooong way from your season girl.” Michelle commented.

“I agree; you have had wonderful runway looks; which in your season wasn’t as widespread as it has been this season. Did you have any help with some of the outfits you’ve worn?” Ru asked.

“Not really no. I kind of just picked a few things that I thought would be really pretty. I’ve only gotten help for three of my outfits, one of them being the leotard I wore last night. Bianca had offered to make it for me really fast cuz she thought it would be cute if we matched. She also picked out 2 dresses for me, I’m not going to say which one I’m wearing tonight because I want it to be a surprise.”

“So basically, she doesn’t want us to think Bianca was the one that has helped her win her runways.” Michelle laughed.

“Oh Michelle, we know Bianca hasn’t though. Adore, you have still kept yourself within all of your looks and it shows. Yours and Bianca’s style is so very different.”

“I agree, I’m not like a pageant queen like she is or a damn seamstress so it’s a little bit different for me.” Adore laughed.

“Which brings me to my next question. Bianca has built an amazing empire after your guys’ season. If you were to win All Stars 2, how would you build something similar?” Ru asked.

That was a tough question. Kind of a shady one, Adore thought. She hated being compared to Bianca since they were two completely different queens with two very different aesthetics. Her empire would be completely different from hers though.

“God, I don’t know man. I would be honored to carry on your legacy. But we would have completely different empires. Bianca’s a comedy queen, and an actor; she’s so talented. We’re very different, but I would probably try to be more involved with the youth and do a lot of volunteering and interacting with them and such. I feel like it’s very important to educate the next generation and tell them that it’s okay to express themselves. And of course I’ll always be making music.”

“Can I just say, that you have grown so much since I first met you Adore?” Michelle said.

“I agree, even just from the first episode of this season you seem different. Everything about you seems more

polished, yet still you. I’m very proud that you have stayed true to who you are.” Ru said with pride.

“Thanks Ru.” Adore smiled.

“Now, I sensed something between not only you and Phi Phi but you and Bianca as well. Care to elaborate?” Michelle asked.

Adore’s eyes widened at the blunt question. Michelle smiled with a “I know what you’ve been up to” look.

Oh fuck. She knew she hadn’t been totally discreet about her and Bianca in front of the cameras, but for Michelle to pick up on something between her and Phi Phi was concerning.

“Oh girl, we’re all just friends!” Adore exclaimed.

Michelle raised an eyebrow at her. She knew some of the things that had happened between her and Bianca on tour. They were really close when they were touring together so Michelle had heard pretty much all of the shit that went on, whether she wanted to or not. There were many nights where Adore would sneak into her room and ask her for advice.

“Friends with benefits, perhaps?” Ru joked.

“Maybe with one of them.” Adore admitted shyly.

“Do tell darling!” Ru said.

“Me and Phi Phi have kinda had this little thing going on since the middle of the competition. So I’m actually seeing her later tonight.” Adore said smoothly.

She didn’t want to tarnish Bianca’s privacy with pointless gossip on a podcast. Plus, the exposure for Phi Phi would be good for her career. Better to let Phi Phi have the publicity then Bianca.

“It’s interesting because you two don’t seem very alike.” Michelle commented.

Adore was getting sick of Phi Phi being painted as the villain. Sure, she could be a bitch but she wasn’t this terrible monster everyone always seemed to make her out to be. It saddened her how after her season aired no one gave her a chance.

“We’re more alike than I think a lot of people realize. We’re both misunderstood in the drag world.” Adore shrugged.

“Well, let me tell you something. I adore you, Adore and I hope you can understand you’re very special.” Ru smiled.

They wrapped up the interview and Adore headed back to the workroom to start rehearsing her dance number. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to wear the gold trumpet dress her and Bianca had picked out, or if she wanted to save that for the finale. She still had the gold leotard that Bianca had insulted yesterday for the dance part, but she had also brought the black one from one of her music videos that she was leaning towards.

She decided she would try to choreograph her own number and figure out her wardrobe after the fact.

——–

“What was your gaggiest most favorite part about being here Miss Katya?” Alyssa asked as they all had sat down to do their makeup.

Adore had decided on the gold dress for tonight and the black leotard for the dance segment.

“Just enjoying every moment really. Not having anxiety attacks and such. Having fun and feeling sexy!” Katya laughed.

“What about you sweet thing?” Alyssa turned to Adore.

“Oh god, the whole experience has been amazing but I’d have to say when we did the dance challenge yesterday.”

Adore smiled as she patted down her foundation with setting powder.

“Oh yeah that was fucking amazing!” Katya exclaimed.

“Girl, that was my favorite too.” Alyssa agreed.

“So two blondes and a brunette huh?” Adore asked as she looked at the first set of wigs that were set out.

Adore had decided to wear her long curly black hair, while the other two had opted out for blonde.

“The carpet has to match the drapes right?” Katya joked.

“Well ya’ll, in that case, I should follow Miss Delano’s lead and pick out a brunette wig!” Alyssa exclaimed.

The queens all laughed.

“Yo, like how do you guys feel about like, the winners of our season judging us?” Adore asked.

“My judge is fucking Jinkx Monsoon bitch. I think I’ll be good.” Alyssa laughed.

“I mean; I don’t have a problem with it. We’re all friends so I don’t see them saying anything overly terrible about us.” Katya shrugged.

Great. So Adore was the only one that was nervous about this. The other queens probably didn’t just get into a huge fight with the winning queens of their seasons however. Bianca could throw shade at her like never before and not think twice about it with the way their phone call ended earlier.

“What’s got you so worried girl?” Alyssa asked as she studied Adore’s face.

“I just feel like in the judges’ eyes, I like don’t compare to Bianca. Like they look at me and go 'oh that’s her runner up’. That and me and Bianca kind of got into it this morning so I’m hoping she doesn’t throw me under the bus just because.” Adore said sadly.

“Girl you gotta stop doing that to yourself. The judges don’t think that- you do. And once you stop thinking that, you are going to blossom.” Katya said as she walked over to give Adore a hug.

“Let’s be real here, Adore. You have the biggest following out of both of us, and the biggest career. So far.” Alyssa threw in at the end.

Adore laughed.

“Bianca would never throw you under the bus girl. She loves you boo.” Alyssa reassured.

Love, that was hilarious. Bianca definitely didn’t love her. Maybe if she did they would still be together, and Courtney wouldn’t’ve even tried to kiss her.

“Sorry, I’m just being insecure.” Adore admitted.

“We all get that way baby it doesn’t matter to me.” Alyssa smiled.

They finished getting ready and went over to their clothes racks to get dressed. Adore slipped on the black leotard and some knee high boots and checked herself in the mirror last time.

She looked fucking hot, and Bianca could eat her fucking heart out at what she lost. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and headed towards the workroom.

—-

The tune to Read U Wrote You started and the top 3 walked down the runway. They were each wearing a black leotard with knee high boots, however Katya’s was sequined and Alyssa’s had silver swirls embroidered into hers.

Adore was in the middle since her verse was up first. She could see both Jinkx and Bianca eyeing her, while Violet was fixated on Katya. She thought she saw Bianca’s lips curve into a small smile, but it could’ve been in her head.

The two other queens went to the side of the stage, and the pit crew came to help Adore with her dance number. All she was really doing was a sexy strip tease sort of dance, but she knew it would drive Bianca crazy.

Meow you already know my name

You know I’m the messiest slut in the game

The number 1 fan fave of all time

I was the Season 6 runner up, and that’s the true crime.

She saw Jinkx and Violet cover their mouths as Adore winked at Bianca. Bianca was cackling and clapping loudly, it wasn’t often that Adore threw shade at her. She was living for it.

Monsoon, hurricanes I’ve been through them all.

But bitch I’m back, and I ain’t gonna stall

Couture, Gowns, Dresses that hit the floor,

If you ask why I’ll tell you this is what you came for

“Is that a sex joke about you guys?” Violet asked Jinkx and Bianca.

“I guess? I didn’t know Bianca and her had a thing though.” Jinkx teased.

“Go back to sleep, I like you better that way.” Bianca grumbled.

She had to admit, Adore’s rap was really good so far. However, all of the intimate lap dancing was starting to make her blood boil. Adore was enjoying herself way too much as she grinded on one of the Latin pit crew members.

I’m a fucking mermaid, a woman of the ocean

I can make your hips rock in slow motion

Sorry but you can’t deny that I’m a messy whore

But trust and believe mama there’s so much more

Adore shoved the same pit crew member down on a chair and started giving him a lap dance. The judges cheered and Bianca was gripping her dress as she smiled. She hated that she had lost her, now she had to watch her grind on some fake ass Fabio wanna-be.

Adore was so much more than what everyone else saw though, Bianca thought. A lot more than anyone knew too. Bianca knew Adore better than anyone in this room, inside and out.

Fuck, party, chola, that was my start

But my motherfucking voice is off the charts

I’m here to win it all, so I can buy more pizza

so sit back and watch this fucking Libra win the crown mamacita.

Bianca was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe. Adore had killed that last part of her verse, and had looked incredibly sexy dancing and lip syncing it. Even if it pissed her off, she can’t deny that she did a good job.

Alyssa was up next, taking her place in the middle of the stage as Adore and Katya danced on each other. Bianca was fixated on how sexy Adore looked in her leotard. Adore looked up and made eye contact with her, brown eyes smoldering into hers. Bianca had opted out of wearing her contacts tonight, mostly because she ran out of time. But mostly because she knew Adore loved her eyes without them.

It’s your girl Alyssa Edwards, Texas representing

All Stars 2 is about to be ending

I’m not joking bitch, I’m gay

Me Quoting Coco? You must think I’m loco

What the fuck is going on in here on this day?!

I’ve conquered the competition, y'all other queens are deceased

What I can tell you Ru is that I’m a goddamn BEAST!

“That wig makes her look like a beast.” Bianca murmured under her breath. Jinkx slapped her arm playfully. Bianca froze at the impact. She tried not to let the memories of abuse come to the surface but it was too hard. She thought of everything Jason had done, but then realized it was getting easier to think positive thoughts instead of letting her past consume her.

“Not everyone can be singer like your boo, Bianca.” Jinkx laughed.

Bianca was still trying to shake off the memory. She finally responded after a few extra seconds.

“She’s not my 'boo’ queen.” Bianca stated.

Her arm throbbed and triggered the memory of not being good enough, of Jason beating her and hitting her. Now here she was watching someone she wanted, that she herself would never be good enough for. Adore was a star, burning brightly and Bianca felt like all she would do was bring her down.

Tongue pop tongue pop where for art thou tongue pop

My back rolls gone cuz I went and gave them the chop

Because I don’t get cute I get drop dead gorgeous

And if I’m not the winner then this shit is rigga morris

Alyssa snapped her fingers and walked back to the side of the stage. The three of the queens came together and danced with one another, prancing from each side of the stage.

“Rigga what?!” Bianca roared as she laughed at that last line.

“I think she meant like mortis.” Violet observed.

“What is going on with you and Adore?” Jinkx whispered.

“Can you shut the fuck up, there are cameras everywhere!” Bianca hissed.

“There’s obviously something!” Jinkx hissed back.

“We were a thing, now we’re not, end of story.” Bianca whispered and turned towards the stage.

“Darling, it’s never that simple.” Jinkx mumbled.

Katya came up to the middle of the stage to do her final part of the challenge.

Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova

But your dad just calls me Katya

“Oh my god!” Violet exclaimed. Bianca and the rest of the judges were laughing as well.

I’m the bright red scare with the long blonde hair

Always keep 'em coming back for more

You’re a basic ass hoe and it’s your time to go

So bitch let me show you the door

Cause it’s me whose getting laid and I’m always getting paid;

The only high class Russian whore

I’m a scorching hot mess in a skin tight dress

That’s a rash, not a herpes sore

Lenin in the streets, Dostoyevsky in the sheets

Baby, are you ready for this Cold War?

Katya Zamolodchikova

The girls danced to the beat of the song and had acquired books from some of the backup dancers. As the song finished, they tore the pages out of the books and threw them at the bottom of the stage and dropped the books on the floor.

“Oh my god! Yaaas!” Rupaul cheered as the rest of the judges clapped.

Adore was smiling from ear to ear and caught Bianca’s eye again. Her face had the look of pride written all over it. She really felt like she killed this challenge, and apparently Bianca felt it too.

“You may leave the stage to get changed into your best drag.” Ru announced.

——–

“Girl, we gotta talk.” Jinkx said as she pulled Bianca to the corner of one of the old Untucked lounges. Everyone was on a break right now as the top 3 got ready for their runway. Violet was outside talking to someone on the phone, and the rest of the judges had gone into their personal dressing rooms.

“Girl are we even supposed to be in here?” Bianca rolled her eyes as Jinkx grabbed her arm and they shut the door.

“I don’t know but it’s the only place that doesn’t have cameras! So talk!” Jinkx demanded as she crossed her arms.

“I don’t need to tell you shit!” Bianca huffed as she started to walk away.

“You love her.” Jinkx stated.

Bianca paused at the door.

“I can’t. I don’t.” Bianca whispered.

Jinkx smiled wide and jumped up and down. Bianca rolled her eyes at her. She assumed being a narcoleptic meant random bursts of energy for no apparent reason.

“What did you say first? You can’t. That doesn’t mean you don’t.” Jinkx grinned.

“Jinkx, I fucked up severely. Bottom line is that now she’s moved on.” Bianca said.

Jinkx frowned.

“Adore will never move on from you.” Jinkx said as she rolled her eyes.

“No girl. I TOLD her to go be with someone else basically. I let her go. I gotta wait until this shit plays out, if it plays out.” Bianca said.

“Awww.” Jinkx cooed.

“How is that an aww moment? I fucked up!” Bianca exclaimed.

“You really are an idiot aren’t you?” Jinkx asked.

“What the fuck do you mean bitch?”

“You think that you don’t love her, yet what you did was literally the purest form of love. You let her go because you were being selfless and wanted her to be happy.” Jinkx explained.

Bianca rolled her eyes. She hadn’t even been with Adore for a week, there is no possible way she could love her.

“What do you know about love?” Bianca grumbled.

“Well, I don’t know much. But I fall easily for people. I know when I love someone, and what you did for Adore you wouldn’t do for anyone. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say one bad thing about Adore.” Jinkx admitted.

Bianca had never read Adore, especially not the way she would read Jinkx, Lady Bunny, Courtney, etc. What other queens classified as “reads” from Bianca, were actually truth bombs. But since she said them while she wore a wig, everyone thought she was joking.

“She’s not a moron that’s why.” Bianca finally said. She decided not to answer the other half of Jinkx’ statement and let her silence on the matter be the answer.

“We should probably leave this room now.” Jinkx awkwardly suggested. There was obviously no getting through to Bianca, she thought.

“You think?” Bianca snorted as she heard the music on the main stage start. It usually played for a few minutes before the queens walked down the runway. They left the room and rushed to their seats at the judges’ panel.

——-

“First up, we have Katya!” Ru announced.

Adore wasn’t first? That was weird, Bianca thought. It was All Stars so anything goes, she guessed.

Katya came out on the runway in a black and gold lace gown with a full skirt. It was also a high low cut. Her hair was a short shoulder length bob that was permed.

That was definitely a classic Katya choice. Bianca didn’t know her that well, but she knew her well enough to know that she was quirky enough to wear something like that.

“Black and gold eleganza!” Ru exclaimed.

“What’s she hiding underneath that skirt?” Michelle asked.

“Come through!” Violet yelled and Katya winked. She exited the runway and waved bye to the judges.

“Next up, Alyssa Edwards!” Ru called.

Alyssa came out on the runway in a long red one shoulder gown complete with ruffles down the skirt. The shoulder was completely bedazzled with red rubies and she had her hair to the side. She looked good, Bianca would give her credit for that look. It was definitely a much more polished Alyssa.

“That is beautiful.” Violet commented.

“Everything’s coming up roses!” Michelle exclaimed.

“She’s got a scarlet letter girl.” Ru laughed.

Alyssa winked at the judges and finished her walk down the runway.

“Next up Adore Delano!” Ru exclaimed.

Adore walked out on the runway, looking like a true queen in the beautiful gold gown Bianca had bought her at the store in the mall.

She had chosen to wear her shoulder length black wig with the platinum blonde pieces in it, and pair it with a bright sky blue lip. She was also wearing the same shade of blue on her pair of plastic heels. She was cinched as well, and looked breathtaking. The stage lights reflected off of her golden tulle skirt and made it look angelic.

“Incredible.” Bianca murmured.

Jinkx and Violet nodded their heads and agreed.

“Silence is golden, or in this case Adore Delano is golden.” Ru commented.

Bianca snorted. Some of the shit Ru says is so damn cheesy.

Adore smiled as she walked towards the side of the stage to do a spin. She smiled even bigger at Bianca, exposing all of her pearly white teeth. It was in that moment, that Bianca felt her heart skip a beat and her hands became clammy. She had only felt this way about one other man, and that was a very long time ago. But she knew that what she was feeling was love. It scared the living shit out of her, especially since Adore wasn’t even interested in being with her right now.

But she was in love with her. Bianca had to accept it at this point. Her pale blue lips, infectious laugh, and her unique style were mesmerizing. There would never be anyone like Adore. No one would be able to capture Bianca’s heart the way she did.

She would just have to wait for her to forgive her. She would wait forever if that were the case. But Bianca realized now that Adore was perfect for her in every way.

Adore walked back down the runway and turned to smile at the judges one last time. Her smile always seemed to take her breath away. Bianca smiled back at her, and just like that she had disappeared behind the stage.

—–

“Now ladies, we are here to give you your final critiques. Let’s start with Katya.” Ru suggested.

“I love how much of a different look this is for you. On our season, you still provided amazing looks but this is so polished.” Violet commented.

“I could live without the skirt. But other than that, I love it and couldn’t be more proud of everything you have overcome. Your part of the rap and the dance number was so amazing.” Michelle admitted.

“Thank you.” Katya nodded.

“Alyssa Edwards! Hey girl.” Ru smiled.

“Hello mama Ru.” Alyssa answered.

“This is a classic Alyssa look-but better. So polished and so refined. You know I love my pageant girl dresses and pageant girl hair. I loved the dancing in the number tonight as well.” Michelle gushed.

“I don’t know shit about fashion, but I know I love this look. You’ve come such a long way since our season, in almost every avenue so condragulations.” Jinkx laughed.

“Then we have Adore!” Ru gushed.

“Adore, this look is amazing. To see where you came from on Season 6, to now at the final episode of All Stars 2; it’s amazing the transformation you’ve made. Your rap was also very funny and very you. Yeah, I haven’t always liked your aesthetic but you really outdid yourself tonight. If I could cry, I would.” Michelle said.

Adore teared up at the comment and wiped a tear from out of the corner of her eye.

“Thank you.” Adore answered.

“Now Adore,” Bianca started.

Adore fixated her blue eyes onto Bianca’s and saw her eyes were glassy as well. She smiled softly and nodded her head, encouraging Bianca to continue.

“I am so proud of you. You look beautiful.” Bianca smiled.

When the judges turned to look at her funny for not making a witty remark, she added

“Sorry bitches, but she looks the best out of all of y'all.”

“We all know Bianca is not biased in her judgement.” Ru winked.

The queens laughed and Adore was staring at Bianca. Not even after everything that had happened, Bianca couldn’t read her. She was surprised to see she had left her blue contacts out tonight. She could see her brown eyes deepening under the stage lights, as she continued to scan Adore’s face. She smiled at her and got lost in her eyes as well. No matter what, there would always be something between the two of them. Her feelings for her would probably never go away, but she needed to explore things with someone else while Bianca found herself.

“Ladies, I have one final question. Why should you, and not your competitors be crowned the next All Star?” Ru asked.

“We’ll start with Katya.”

“I have brought you uniqueness, and talent. Not so sure about charisma, we’ll see after I’m done with this speech.”

Bianca cackled and the room erupted into laughter.

“Michelle would probably say I have nerve for wearing this dress. Which is fine. I want this so bad, and I just want to thank you for believing in me Ru.” Katya teared up.

“Of course darling. Thank you Katya.” Ru answered sweetly.

“Alyssa Edwards, you’re up!”

“Charisma. Check. Uniqueness. A plus. Nerve? Y'all are well aware of it by now. Talent? Yes gawd! I believe I deserve this title because I am one of a kind. You aren’t ever going to see another Alyssa Edwards. I’m memorable and I will do everything I can to carry on your legacy as an All Star.” Alyssa explained.

“Thank you Alyssa. Last but not least, Adore.”

Adore gulped nervously and looked at all of her peers around her. There were a lot of amazing queens in the room with her right now, she realized. She had made it to this point by herself. She had redeemed herself and shown America that she could get to the top 3 without Bianca’s help.

“I’m sorry, I’m getting like super emotional. This has been such an eye opening experience for me. I think I deserve it over my competitors because I had the most growth out of all of these talented ladies. I have shown that I have grown as an artist and as a person, and I can take that new knowledge with me and expand your platform even more Ru. Thank you for everything you have done for me, you’ve changed my life.” Adore explained teary eyed.

“Thank you Adore.” Ru said.

Bianca had gotten teary eyed watching Adore give that beautiful speech on stage. All of them were good, but hers was the best in her opinion.

“Now, I have some news.” Ru said.

The crown and scepter were sitting on a pillow over on the side of the stage. Adore and everyone else had assumed the crowning would be today, and the reunion would be in a year. Just like it was with the first season of All Stars.

“We will not be crowning anyone today. We will be doing that at our finale, drag race reunited!” Ru exclaimed.

Adore’s heart sank. So she would have to wait a year basically to find out if she was going to win the crown. She was going to have to wait no matter what, but she still would’ve liked to have been crowned today. That’s why she chose the dress she did.

“So tell me America, are you Team Adore, Team Alyssa, or Team Katya? Let me know on social media. And remember, if you can’t love yourself how in the hell you gonna love somebody else can I get an amen up in here?”

Everyone chanted Amen and the music started pumping through the set.

All Stars 2 was over. Adore had made it.

—-

Adore was the last one to get her things out of the workroom. She grabbed her suitcases full of clothes, wigs, jewelry and makeup and walked outside of the studio. It was 5 pm, the sun was starting to set and she was still in her gold gown and full makeup.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Adore turned around to see Bianca leaning against the wall. She must’ve been waiting for her uber as well.

“Hey. Thanks for not reading me to filth.” Adore said shyly. Bianca smiled.

“You know good and well I would never read you Adore.” Bianca said as she moved to stand next to her.

“That means a lot, thank you.” Adore murmured.

Bianca smiled and put her arm around Adore.

“Ugh, you’re so tall in these heels queen. But I have to say, you made this dress look incredible.” Bianca

admired.

“I’m sorry, I’m like a giraffe!” Adore laughed. Bianca was fixated on her smile as the sunlight hit her face. She was so beautiful and so free.

“Adore?” Bianca asked.

Adore turned to look at Bianca. She was so perfect with her smooth skin and dark lips. She wished she was in a better state of mind, maybe they could’ve actually worked out.

“Yes baby?” Adore asked.

Bianca was only inches away from her at this point. Adore was frozen in time as she felt her pull her to her lips. They met softly, but then Adore closed the distance between them and pulled Bianca close to her. Their mouths moved in unison and Adore slipped her tongue in Bianca’s mouth as she grabbed her neck. Adore moaned as she felt the grab and then realized what she was doing.

“Bianca I-”

Bianca grabbed a fist full of hair and started moving up her lips up her neck. Adore moaned and lost her train of thought as Bianca closed in on her again. She felt her trailing down from her neck to her chest where she bit down and sucked, trying to leave a hickey.

“Bianca stop, I can’t.” Adore pushed Bianca off of her gently. Bianca looked at her with wide eyes. Their lipsticks were all over each other and then some, there was a lovely mix between the two shades all over Bianca’s face.

“Why not?” Bianca finally asked. Both queens were breathing heavily trying to catch their breath.

“Because! You don’t know what you want B! You tell me to leave and be free and then you’re here kissing me. It’s fucking confusing.” Adore exclaimed.

“I want you Adore. I’m stupid, I should’ve never let you go.” Bianca said trying to grab her hand. Adore shook it off.

“No. You can’t just decide when you want me B. I can’t do this. Not until you get better. Maybe you just need a break from dating. Cuz you broke my fucking heart.” Adore tearfully said.

“I never meant to break your heart Adore…” Bianca frowned. Her eyes were getting red again, she felt like crying with Adore.

“Bianca, no Roy. I have to go. Please just take care of yourself. Take a break from dating. It’ll spare yourself and whoever you’re with the heartbreak.” Adore said.

Adore’s uber had pulled up. She sighed and started getting her suitcases together to load in the trunk.

“Adore.” Bianca stated.

Adore turned around, her long dark curly hair flowing in the wind. Her makeup was ruined, lipstick was all over her face and chest and her eyeliner and mascara were nonexistent. But Bianca had never seen her look more beautiful and free.

“I love you.” Bianca said.

Adore’s eyes widened at the 3 words. She shook her head and put the last suitcase in her car.

Adore looked at Bianca one last time before she got into her uber. Her usually perfect makeup was anything but perfect right now as she stared at her.

“Goodbye, Bianca.” Adore said trying to keep her voice from cracking.

#ahahac #biadore #bianca del rio #adore delano #c*nt #rpdr fanfiction #submission #canon compliant

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thewebofslime · 5 years ago

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As soon as Keith Raniere was arrested and charged with sex trafficking and a bunch of other charges, it became inevitable that there would be a slew of books, movies and podcasts about him and his sex-slaver cult. Keith Raniere sitting inside a Mexican police vehicle on March 26, 2018. It is our last known photograph of the Vanguard. Treasure it. That’s because the underlying story had all the elements that make for a good story: SEX Hollywood actresses, SEX, money, SEX, dead and missing women, SEX, a cult – and, oh yeah, SEX. And that’s exactly what’s happened. ***** Escaping the NXIVM Cult So far, only one film has been released – Escaping the NXIVM Cult – a made-for-television docudrama that first appeared on the Lifetime network on Saturday, September 21st. It was re-broadcast last night – and for those of you who still haven’t seen it, you’ll get another chance at 12:00 Noon on Saturday, October 5th. Those who have seen the film have generally been impressed with the portrayals of the main characters – which, per Lifetime’s perspective, are Catherine Oxenberg, Keith Raniere, and India Oxenberg. Andrea Roth played Catherine Oxenberg in the Lifetime film Given that this movie was based on the novel written by Catherine – Captive: A Mother’s Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult – it is certainly not surprising that those would be the three main characters in this movie. Peter Facinelli played Keith. As Entertainment’s review of the movie indicated, “Instead of telling of telling the story of how (Allison) Mack became one of the leaders of the group that resulted in her pleading guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges, viewers actually saw the true-crime case play out from Catherine Oxenberg’s perspective as her daughter India became brainwashed by the group. Dynasty actress Oxenberg used her own memories and writing from her book Captive: A Mother’s Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult as well as all the research she did into NXIVM for the movie’s plot”. Jasper Polish played India Because the movie only covers the timespan from when Catherine and India first attended a NXIVM training seminar until when India breaks from the cult following Raniere’s arrest in Mexico, it leaves out much of the cult’s 20-year history. There’s no mention. for example, of Gina Hutchinson’s supposed suicide, Kristin Snyder’s disappearance, the break-away of the NXIVM Nine, the Times Union award-winning series on Raniere and the cult, or the many local officials who were bribed or intimidated into allowing the cult to become an international criminal enterprise. The film also conflates various events – and just makes up others in order to streamline the story. I say that not to be critical but simply to forewarn Frank Report readers that have not yet seen the movies to understand that it is a “docudrama” and not a “documentary” (A docudrama is generally defined as “a dramatized television movie based on real events”). Catherine has made clear on several occasions that she had no control over the content of the film – and given Lifetime’s reputation for maximizing the use of “creative license” in making such films, no one should be disappointed that it does not always portray what happened in real life. The fact that this film brought some much-needed attention to the real-world dangers of cults like NXIVM is reason enough for people to watch it. Trina Cokrum plays Clare Bronfman. Amy Trefry as Lauren Salzman Lauren Salzman Sara Fletcher played Allison Mack. Allison Mack A Few Quibbles Notwithstanding my support for the film, there are a few things that I wish Lifetime had done a better on. Such as: I wish the film had given more credit to the role that Frank Parlato played in taking down Raniere and NXIVM. While it does show Catherine calling Frank to seek his help in getting India out of the cult – and the two of them discussing the difficulty they both faced in getting law enforcement officials to do anything – it totally omits the role that Frank played in putting together the dossier of incriminating materials that Catherine eventually delivered to the authorities. I also wish that the film had made it clear that, although frustrated with the lack of response from law enforcement officials after he had broken the story of the brandings that were going on in DOS, Frank never once thought of giving up on his quest to take down Raniere and NXIVM. Scene from Lifetime movie showing Frank with Catherine To the contrary, the lack of any response to his initial reports on the brandings only spurred Frank on to keep digging into the story – and coming up with the names of more and more women who had been duped into getting branded with Raniere’s initials on their pubis. It was Frank who would-be defectors were calling at all hours of the night – and asking for advice on how to escape from Raniere’s clutches. It was Frank that others were calling to provide him with the names of more branded DOS women. It was Frank who worked so closely with New York Times reporter Barry Meier to ensure that there was factual evidence to back up every detail in the story that Barry eventually wrote about NXIVM and DOS. And, unbeknownst to many, it was Frank who had arranged for the story about NXIVM and DOS to be published in another major newspaper if the New York Times had procrastinated much longer. ***** More Serious Criticism While many have lauded the movie and came away with the notion that it was Catherine alone who took down Nxivm, others who were deeply involved with the fight felt they got the short shrift or worse were portrayed insultingly. This does not include Frank Parlato who said, when asked about his ridiculously diminished role, “It’s only a movie”. But some of the people who really deserved credit – such as Bonnie Piesse – who worked hard to get Catherine to understand the danger India was in and Mark Vicente, who had a huge role in the take down of Nxivm, [both of whom were side by side with Catherine in most of her brave endeavors] were represented very poorly and in a most unflattering light. It could be called in some respects a slap in the face to those who made all the difference. [Sarah Edmondson also comes off rather foolish in the film.] Yet these were the people who did their best to help her rescue her daughter and without their help and Frank Parlato’s help, India might still in Nxivm and Raniere still branding women. You wouldn’t know it from the movie. At the end of the day, her critics say, Catherine might have done more to protect some of her friends and see to it that they were represented more honestly. Though Catherine has said she gave up creative control – it is probably true that before making the deal with Lifetime, she could have insisted on some protection from distortion of her work. While she has gained some glamour and renown from the movie of “Catherine single handed takes down the cult” – some of the very people who made it possible were hurt and insulted. What does that augur in the real world of authenticity? You make yourself more famous, but you hurt your friends who in real life actually saved you? Kristin Booth who is 45 plays Bonnie Piesse in the Lifetime movie. Piesse is 36 Bonnie Piesse Sean Skerry plays Mark Vicente. Mark Vicente Upcoming Documentaries For those who prefer more fact-based presentations, there are several upcoming documentaries about NXIVM and Raniere that will, hopefully, be much more fact-based than the Lifetime movie. These include the following: Beyond the Headlines: Escaping the NXIVM Cult with Gretchen Carlson – A&E: This already aired on September 21st right after the Lifetime movie – and it included terrific interviews with Catherine and Frank. We’re still looking to see if this might be rebroadcast sometime soon. Catherine Oxenberg and Gretchen Carlson NXIVM: Self-Help or Sex Cult – E! Hollywood Story: October 6th – 10:00 PM (EDT The Lost Women of NXIVM – Investigation Discovery: Dec. 7 The Vow – HBO 8-part series: Tentative airing in January 2020 In addition, we have also heard word of three other documentaries that may be coming out next year. One of those is being considered by the BBC – and the other two are on French and Australian television. ***** Books & Podcasts Sometime soon, we will be publishing our reviews of all the NXIVM-related books that have been released to date (There are also at least two others being written right now). If any readers would like to share their thoughts on any of those books, please send an email with that information to Frank at [email protected]. And, as always, if you have a tip that you’d like to share with Frank – either on the record or anonymously – you can reach him at 716.990.5740.

#TheWebOfSlime

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joneswilliam72 · 6 years ago

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Film as catharsis. - A chat with writer/director Daniel Farrands of The Amityville Murders and The Haunting of Sharon Tate.

I caught up with writer, director, and producer Daniel Farrands for a chat on filmmaking, horror, true crime, influences, the ethics of treating a true tragedy in cinematic form (a subject I've written at length about for The 405), film as catharsis, and more as it relates to his latest, The Amityville Murders, in theaters, On Demand and on Digital now, and his other project The Haunting of Sharon Tate, coming April 5.

The Haunting of Sharon Tate takes its cue from a curious episode which happened to Sharon Tate before her murder in 1969 at the hands of the Manson Family, in which she had reportedly had a premonition of her death.

Stay tuned to The 405 for more on The Haunting of Sharon Tate as it gets closer and watch the trailer for it below this interview. Also, check out my interview with The Amityville Murders star Diane Franklin, at this link.

Ms. Franklin is a veteran of the Amityville franchise, having starred in Amityville II: The Possession where she played daughter Patricia Montelli – a loosely-based on a true story character. In The Amityville Murders, however, she plays one of the real victims, Louise DeFeo, in a tour de force performance that adds tremendous humanity to this very dark story. The Amityville Murders as a film does this too, while giving us a truly disturbing look into the underbelly and dysfunction of what – for most outside accounts – seemed like a normal New York family.

On the night of November 13, 1974 in Amityville, NY on Long Island. Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr., also called "Butch", (played by John Robinson in the movie), aged 23, grabbed his father's .35 caliber hunting rifle and went room to room in his family's huge, rambling Dutch colonial house, shooting his mother Louise, father Ron DeFeo, Sr., and his 4 siblings as they lay sleeping in their beds.

One of the oddest parts of the grisly discovery at 112 Ocean Avenue was that only 2 DeFeos stirred as Butch went room to room firing a rifle with a report louder than a jet engine – not even a single neighbor heard the shots. All of the DeFeos were found on their stomachs in bed. There was also zero evidence of drugs in the victims' systems.

The DeFeo Murders happened two years before the Lutz family would move in and have the experiences that shaped the original 1979 Amityville Horror. As for Butch, he is still in jail (serving 6 concurrent sentences of 25 years to life), after having told a number of stories about the murders – including saying it was actually the mob who killed his family and (at a different time) that voices compelled him to kill. To hear more on the true crime details, check out the Real Monsters podcast here. I will be on it Thursday February 14 for our episode on this bizarre crime.

The rambling Dutch colonial at 112 Ocean Avenue after it became a crime scene. Source:historyvshollywood.com

The DeFeo children. Source:historyvshollywood.com

Enjoy the interview below and catch The Amityville Murders in theaters, on Digital, and On Demand now.

Hello, Dan.

Hello.

How are you?

Hi there, I'm doing well. How are you?

Not bad. Getting right into it what initially inspired you to do a film on the DeFeo murders?

It goes back a lot of years. I had done – back in the 2000s for the History Channel – a two part documentary that was kind of a reinvestigation, if you will, of the truth behind the haunting of the house. The family that is there is there subsequent to the DeFeos but the story also functioned as a kind of a recap and a look back on those mass murders.

Interesting.

So that began my interest in it all and flash forward to all these years later, I had done a movie called The Haunting in Connecticut, that I produced. So I was kind of a person that seemed to be, kind of drawn to or at least looked at these based on a true story movies, with super natural elements to them. And the DeFeo story had never, I felt like, been told very well…

Nope it hadn't. Till now.

And, I thought that it was an opportunity to direct it in a totally different way while, sort of a nod or homage to the earlier films and, the so called, Amityville franchise. I don't know why they even think of it as a franchise but, there are a lot of movies with the word "Amityville" written in the title.

Indeed. Just a cursory Google search yielded 21 titles, including The Amityville Murders.

Indeed, I just thought you know what of the variety of this crime and that there were so many elements that were, to this day, unexplained. I think it's a very interesting, subtle place to sort of look back on it. And really look at it, first and foremost, as a sort of relationship and with drama. You know, and sort of seeing what the dynamics of that family may have been. But that's what interested me from the get-go.

I understand that. And that's exactly what I was thinking while watching it. To my knowledge there has never been a movie that's focused more on the murders, versus the rest of it…

Yeah, the second movie in what they call the Amityville franchise. Amityville II: The Possession, which was way back in the early '80s. Kind of adapted the DeFeo story but then you see them bringing the make believe trying to sensationalize it for everyone. Then there is the exorcism at the end and insanely active haunts.

Yeah. Not exactly realistic.

It was a movie of that generation where the devil was a really free in American; it was like he was haunting all of us. The Amityville movies, The Omen, The Exorcist, all of those things that scared us so much.

Indeed.

I wanted to kind of do away with all the Catholic frills. I didn't want a priest showing up at some point to exorcise the house. All of that kind of stuff. I wanted to focus more on this idea that has three different parts to it. One being that Butch Defeo [John Robinson] was this young man who lived under the iron fist of his very controlling and an abusive father.

But also this dynamic where Butch being a greedy kid. He got cars and money and was probably given too much. He is from Brooklyn on Long Island. Kind of a product of the "I want it all!" generation.

The third is what if there has been some kind of dark force within this house that the family believed resided there? There was a lot of talk. To this day people would say things about the house, that they don't necessarily want to say publicly. That people do still think that there is something to the haunted house aspect of it.

Yeah. It's arguably one of the more enduring supernatural tales in American history, no matter what one thinks regarding the veracity of the Lutz family claims at 112 Ocean Avenue.

So as the movie goes on it becomes more and more focused from Butch's point of view. So you're never quite sure, and I don't want the audience to be quite sure of whether or not this is really happening or is he losing his mind essentially. So I wanted the paranormal in the movie to be ambiguous: is it figments of his imagination, ramblings of a very disorganized mind…

Either influenced by drugs or obviously the other mental issues going on in the household. But I did borrow… and filled in some missed pieces from my researching the story. There is a lot of that too.

(L-R) Paul Ben-Victor as Ronnie DeFeo, Diane Franklin as Louise DeFeo, Kue Lawrence as Jody DeFeo, Zane Austin as Marc DeFeo, and Noa Brenner as Allison DeFeo in the “THE AMITYVILLE MURDERS” a horror film by Skyline Entertainment. Photo courtesy of Skyline Entertainment.

Oh, absolutely. That actually was a question I had… What were the challenges like, and the one that I would be particularly curious about, what are the ethical challenges like when you're doing something based on a true story?

Always a tough line. You want to be respectful, but at the same time film in an art form. You are telling a story that is meant to be seen in a dark theater or on Netflix.

That movie is the type that has to have a structure and it has to have momentum and it has to have that "Boo!" moment. And it has to do what a movie of that type does.

Right.

You know I did also want to be careful about not going too far in any one direction. And just sort of… I didn't want to exonerate Butch DeFeo, and make him out to be a victim. He was a perpetrator for sure.

Yeah. I didn't think you portrayed him as a victim here.

I also don't like the fact that Dawn [Chelsea Ricketts in The Amityville Murders], his oldest sister, has gotten some bad press over the years because of him saying that he theorizes, you know he comes up with all these different theories from his prison cell – he sits there to this day saying who did it, he did it, they did it, everybody else did it. He didn't do it.

The one theory he kind of sticks to is that-was the one where he said that Dawn had been the one that committed the murders and he killed her in self-defense. But I have looked at the crime scene photos, and there was hardly a struggle. She was in a night gown. She was tucked into her bed… You know I don't see that that was the case. And I don't think any serious investigator would ever give that much credibility to him.

Agreed completely.

In a way I wanted to show the family as being a loving family, but who were living under extreme conditions with a father that's just tyrannical in many ways. He abused the mother, children and certainly Butch was the focus of a lot of his wrath… Butch would leave and dad would bring him back. It was this see-saw thing going on. I thought of the whole thing like more of a Greek tragedy more than a standard horror film.

It really was more of that Greek Tragedy-tinged kind of psychodrama than your usual horror fare.

…Just thinking about the crime, I think, for me like most people, what sticks out the most is that nobody heard the report of the 30-30 rifle that night.

I know.

That is such a loud gun. It’s report is actually louder than a jet engine at takeoff.

Yeah, oh my god it's a hunting rifle. It would've been heard a mile in every direction. And it wasn't, Listen, I'm sorry, if I am asleep in the dead of the night and I hear several gun shots going off in my house, I'm gonna jump out the window.

Yeah, oh yeah.

I don't know how that could even happen. They weren't drugged. There was no silencer piece – that was all proven in the trial. Even the investigators, they couldn't explain it. Why did no one in the neighborhood – it wasn't like in the movies where the house was kind of off on its own on a lake. This house is built right next to all the other houses quiet literally in this bedroom community. How would the neighbor on either side of the street not hear gunshots?

Oh absolutely.

Doesn't make sense.

That probably is one of the elements that made me think, maybe there is something more to that dark energy throughout the story. Who knows? I don't think we will ever know because only Butch Defeo is alive to talk about it and he is never going to tell the truth.

Chelsea Ricketts as Dawn DeFeo in the “THE AMITYVILLE MURDERS” a horror film by Skyline Entertainment. Photo courtesy of Skyline Entertainment.

I think you're right on that, sadly. Switching gears just a bit to a question I like to ask everybody, slightly modified for you. What makes great horror?

I think it's that primal fear of death.

We fear the unknown; we fear the thing in the closet, that thing in the darkness. But we also fear what's in ourselves and the potential we all have for doing something unthinkable and not being able to take it back. I don't think it's monsters, I think it's what's in us and the potential we all have for evil. I think that's what's scary about it, is that we can all look at moments in our lives where we may not have been good or something has driven us... Just little things that people do to get back at each other.

Very true.

Look at social media, in some ways it's just a platform for people who are angry to vent that anger. And that has resulted in real violence, in the real world. That scares me more than anything. Our inability to connect with each other.

That's very well said, most definitely. And like you were talking about the sensory ambiguity in your movie, that really hit me too. That's one thing I always love in a horror movie – when the ambiguity is done right. Like The Shining, for instance, I think does it pretty well too. I’ve actually written about that aspect of Kubrick’s movie before.

Right, oh gosh. To even be compared to that would be. But that is just the perfect way. Because Jack as a character is so, he is troubled but he's still sane at the start. Then there this influence of this location that brings out the madness in him. I think there is a similar trajectory if you want to call it that, to the Amityville story and what happened with Ronald DeFeo – at least my depiction of that story.

I hadn't thought of that. That's a good point.

Definitely well done in your movie too. Both of them. Its kind of –

Much lower budget but we tried [Laughs]

[Laughs]

...and I have to give a lot of credit to my production designer [Billy Jett] on the movie who just pulled out so many different little miracles for me. I mean he trotted in a house in Los Angeles – he found that Dutch Colonial, which is rare to find in L.A.

I imagine. Wow.

They transformed the interior of that house to look like the 1974 DeFeo house. We had the crime scene photos as reference: from the red tacky carpet going up the stairs, to the tackier gold and purple curtains at the top of the stairs. We even replicated the family portraits that were hung on the stairwell.

I love that attention to detail.

The cast was posed exactly as the family did in those portraits and it was really something. We even created the foyer tile to be exactly the way it was in the house back when the DeFeo's lived there. There were a lot of little touches that you find really interesting, then you start to feel like, oh my god this is where the lights were. We are set in a certain way from midnight so you really get that energy of what that house must have felt like back then.

That sort of thing – and how it relates to mise-en-scéne – is always crucial for me in order to suspend my disbelief and properly get into a movie.

John Robinson as Butch DeFeo in the “THE AMITYVILLE MURDERS” a horror film by Skyline Entertainment. Photo courtesy of Skyline Entertainment.

Let's see, another one I would like to ask everybody. What directors and films would you consider most influential on you as an artist?

Another big question… [Laughs]

[Laughs] it is…

…that's a great question.

I was such a John Carpenter fan as a young person. I try to emulate his movies; but my first big break came when I was 25 and I was hired to write Halloween 6. So that to me was, I felt like I had gotten the golden goose right away. But I had gotten that job because I was such a fan of Carpenter's work and of Halloween in particular. So I would have to certainly say John Carpenter.

Nice.

I would certainly think George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Scorsese, William Friedkin – oh my gosh, I could go on and on. Certainly let me mention Stanley Kubrick. All great, great film makers, I hold them very high. My admiration of their talent.

Fantastic list there. You know I didn't realize until I was doing a little bit of research on you the other night that you had also wrote The Girl Next Door, based on Jack Ketchum's book of the same name. I remember first seeing it in college – actually renting it from the video store. Damn that's a profound piece of horror – so sad and so true.

So traumatic. Yet another one based on a true story. With the Sylvia Likens case – oh gosh, just monstrous. It's one that I really can't revisit…

I don't blame you one bit Dan.

…that's just one in my list of films that I have been involved with. I appreciate what the movie was. I appreciate the work that went into it. But it's so difficult in knowing that happened and continues to happen. Just last week there was story of a little boy that was starved to death by his parents. Forced to live in a cellar.

Absolutely disgusting. They withheld food as a form of punishment. They were sentenced to 25 years (the husband) and 20 years (the wife).

The Girl Next Door is one I would hesitate to recommend to our readers. Not because it's a bad movie – it isn't, it's a fine film – but because it is that extreme and unsettling in its story – and I'm the type who has a high shock threshold. It takes a lot in a movie to really disturb me. "Watch it only if you have a strong constitution" is usually the position I fall back on with it.

You know its stuff like that that's just the stuff that keeps you up at night. That I can't reconcile how that kind of human cruelty even exists. The children and animals…

Absolutely.

At heart despite the movies I make, I'm a cry baby I think. I have to say and I think that those are the things that upset me and define me in a way. I think by me telling some of these stories, it exercises a little bit of that sadness that I feel. For stories when you hear and when you read of these things. But that one really gets you on a really deep level.

Absolutely. The catharsis.

It's just horror beyond imagination, it really is.

Definitely.

We are actually at the last question. Which is, what's next for you?

Oh gosh, you're killing me. [Laughs]

[Laughs]

After this we have… I did a film last year that's coming out the end of April that's called The Haunting of Sharon Tate. Which has already become kind of controversial because of the title. It's because people don't know what the movie is yet, and I hope that they go in with an open mind. I didn't make a movie to exploit the murders of Sharon Tate and her friends.

From our chat now I can't imagine you doing that either Dan.

That is the last thing in the world I would want to do or ever put my name on. If fact what I wanted to do was give that story a twist so that the victims of that horrific crime were actually given a fighting chance. So I kind of rewrite history a bit in a way that keeps it interesting and then empowering.

…I can't wait for that one. It being 50 years since the crime too.

It's going to be amazing, everyone involved in that film did it with so much care and respect especially for Sharon Tate and her friends who were butchered at the hands of this horrific cult. I don't even give them names in the movie, I don't even look at them as people. I look at them as phantoms or boogie men. Charles Manson is not even a character in the film so they're just not people to me. The only human beings are Sharon Tate and her friends, and that's the way I want them remembered.

Hilary Duff as Sharon Tate in the forthcoming THE HAUNTING OF SHARON TATE.

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THE AMITYVILLE MURDERS trailer.

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THE HAUNTING OF SHARON TATE trailer.

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THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (2007) trailer.

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HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS (1995) trailer.

from The 405 http://bit.ly/2tnuBfY

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