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The Weekend Warrior February 21, 2020 – CALL OF THE WILD, BRAHMS: THE BOY II, THE IMPRACTICAL JOKERS MOVIE, EMMA and more!

After overestimating Birds of Prey… I mean, Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey… it looks like I underestimated Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog… I mean Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik… with Sonic. It truly spanked my lowball prediction in the mid-$40 millions, but I wasn’t alone there at least. Hey, it’s a fun movie and my positive review wasn’t off-base with the critical world at large, so there’s that, too. (Apparently, I liked both Downhill and Fantasy Island more than most people, including CinemaScore voters who gave the movies a “D” and “C-“ respectively… ouch!)

This is likely to be another down week as neither of the two new movies are particularly strong, which gives me a chance to focus instead on this week’s FEATURED MOVIES! And we have four of ‘em this week, no less!

That’s right. I think it’s time I go back to my previous desire to use this column to focus on smaller movies that you may have missed since very few of the bigger outlets bother to cover them, and there’s a few worth pointing out this week. I’m gonna start with the two foreign films, because hopefully, you’ve listened to Bong Joon-ho and his translator and are not as fearful of subtitles…

First up, opening on Wednesday at New York’s Film Forumis Jan Komasa’s CORPUS CHRISTI (Film Movement), Poland’s selection for the Oscar International Feature category, which was actually nominated for an Oscar in the category in which everyone already knew Parasite was always gonna win! It’s a shame, cause this is a really amazing film with Bartosz Bielenia playing Daniel, a troubled youth just out of juvenile hall who steals the trappings and identity of the youth prison’s pastor and is therefore mistaken as an actual priest when he arrives at a small community village that has suffered a tragic loss. It’s an amazing film about faith and forgiveness and redemption, and how the script came to Komasa from screenwriter Mateusz Pacewic is an equally amazing story. Seriously, if you get a chance, definitely check this powerful drama out, since it’s another fantastic film from a country that has continually been delivering the goods in terms of original storytelling.

I was just going to do three featured movies this week, but a really good German thriller is finally hitting the States, opening at the Quad in New York Friday then in L.A. on March 13 before a nationwide rollout. Michael Bully Herbig’s incredibly suspenseful German thriller BALLOON (Distrib Films USA) is about two families from the GDR (aka East Germany) who try to cross over into West Germany in 1979 using a hot air balloon, over a decade before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Based on the actual events, their story previously was adapted into the Disney movie Night Crossing (which oddly, isn’t on Disney+ yet-- I checked, but it’s on Amazon Prime if you wanna compare the two movies). The movie doesn’t spend nearly as much time in the balloon as something like The Aeronauts, as the family’s first attempt fails miserably, so much of the film involves them working towards a second attempt, while trying not to be caught.

Balloon is a pretty heavy film (irony?), sometimes a little overwrought with drama but it keeps you on the edge of your seat as it cuts between the families trying to figure out their escape plan and the authorities trying to put together the clues to find these defectors. There’s a particularly amusing man in charge of the investigation, played by the always-amazing Thomas Kretschmann (The Pianist), who is constantly berating his men, something that helps lighten the otherwise heavy tone that permeates the film. This is another fairly low-key foreign film that’s worth seeking out.

Another movie people should make an effort to seek out is Rashaad Ernesto Green’s PREMATURE (IFC Films), an amazing film that follows the relationship between two young people in Harlem over the course of a summer. We first meet Zora Howard’s Ayanna as she’s hanging with her friends kibitzing about boys, as they begin their last summer before Ayanna heads to college. Shortly after, she meets Josh Boone’s Isaiah, and the two hit it off. The rest of the film follows the ups and downs of their relationship including incredibly intimate moments that lead up to Ayanna getting pregnant.

I won’t go through the plot play-by-play style, because it’s interesting to discover the twist and turns in their relationship in a similar way as we do our own relationships. Needless to say Green has a pretty amazing partner and lead in Howard, who co-wrote the screenplay, which is probably why it feels so authentic and real. Sure, there are a few scenes between Howard and Boone, both fantastic actors, that feel a bit too showy dramatically but otherwise, it’s a fantastic second feature from Green who has mainly been directing TV since his earlier film Gun Hill Road. I’ll definitely be very curious to see what Green and Howard get up to next either alone or working together.

Opening in New York and L.A. this Friday but in theaters nationwide on March 6 is the latest incarnation of Jane Austen’s novel EMMA. (Focus Features), this time starring the wonderful Anya Taylor-Joy (from The VVitchand Split/Glass) as the title character, Emma Woodhouse, a 28-year-old matchmaker who prides herself on the relationships she’s put together even while unable to find her own mate. The film follows as the latter starts coming in the way of the former as she infiltrates herself into things as an “expert on love” who can’t find it herself.

Maybe it’s not surprising that I haven’t read much of Austen’s work and have missed this one altogether, never having seen any of the other iterations, but it’s a fairly wild and witty ride. Much of that is due to the amazing and wonderful cast around the young actor, the most surprising behind Mia Goth, who is in fact three years older than Taylor-Joy, but plays the younger wide-eyed Harriet who looks up to Emma and elicits her advice. Emma basically steers Harriet from the farmer she likes to Josh O’Connor’s Mr. Elton, the wealthy local vicar who is more than a little bit of a dark. This leads to a bit of a revolving door of who is interested in whom, etc especially when Emma’s nemesis Jane Fairfax (Amber Anderson) returns to Hartfield.

Some of the other men in the mix are Johnny Flynn’s dashing George Knightley – the brother-in-law to Emma’s sister – and Callum Turner’s wealthy Frank Churchill, whose attentions lead to more misunderstandings. Both were great but I was more impressed with O’Connor who transforms into a completely other person when Emma spurns his affections and seems like a different person from the way first-time features director (and photographer) Autumn de Wilde shoots him. Of course, Bill Nighy is as great as always as Emma’s father, always feeling a slight draft, but even more impressive is the wonderfully hilarious Miranda Hart (from Spy) as Miss Bates, a woman who gabs at length about how wonderful Jane Fairfax is, much to Emma’s annoyance. As much as Emma. is Anya Taylor-Joy’s show, it’s the ensemble cast around her that makes the movie so infinitely enjoyable, getting better as it goes along.

This is a very good first feature from de Wilde, who has directed quite a number of music videos for Beck, and Emma. seems very different from the movies we normally get from video directors, much of that to do with Austen’s source material and the cast. Either way, how things develop over the course of the film makes it more enjoyable as it goes along. (Although I have never read the book, the film seems fairly faithful to the book’s Wikipedia page, so Austen fans should enjoy it, too.)

I guess we can now get to the wide and semi-wide releases and the rest of the movies – merging my two columns into one means you get more 5,000-word columns, you lucky ducks!

The higher-profile of the two new wide releases is probably CALL OF THE WILD (20thCentury Studios), a PG adaptation of Jack London’s classic novel starring Harrison Ford and the most adorable CG dog (i.e. not real, so back off PETA!) you’ve ever met named Buck! Sure, dog lovers might say, “Why would we want to watch a movie with a CG dog when clearly, a movie with actors in green suits turned into dogs using CG would suffice?” But no, it’s actually a very heavily CG movie directed by Chris Sanders, who directed Lilo & Sitch, the first How to Train Your Dragon and The Croods before giving a go at live action. (Sanders also provided quite a few voices in earlier animated films like Disney’s Mulan and Tarzan.)

A film that already was well into production when Disney bought Fox (now 20thCentury Studios), Call of the Wild also stars Omar Sy (returning for next year’s “Jurassic World” finale), Karen Gillan, Dan Stevens, Bradley Whitford but the real star of the movie is the dog Buck, which is performed by the immensely talented Terry Notary, who you’ll know for his work on the “Apes” movies with Andy Serkis, Kong: Skull Island and some of the characters in the last couple “Avengers” movies.

Of course, opening the weekend after Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog, which has turned out to be a bigger hit than anyone imagined, certainly won’t help The Call of the Wild.

In many ways, this reminds me of the 2002 Disney movie Snow Dogs, which opened with $17.8 million over the 4-day MLK weekend. The combination of Ford (who appears in very few movies) and the adorable dog antics might be enough for the movie to make $15 to 17 million this weekend, maybe a little more, although it only has two weeks to do business before Disney’s next Pixar movie, Onward, takes over, not giving it much time to make bank.

Mini-Review: It’s pretty evident that this exceedingly faithful take on Jack London’s book will not be for everyone. While I personally was mixed, I expect this to be one of the rare positive reviews just ‘cause. Surprisingly, it’s also the most “Disneyfied” movie that could possibly come from the newly-renamed 21stCentury Studios as it’s a movie clearly made for kids and animal lovers even if never the ‘twain shall meet, in some cases.

The story follows a large St. Bernard named Buck (portrayed by Terry Notary – but we’ll get back to that), who begins his life as the spoiled and pampered pet of a wealthy judge in California but is sold to a man who trains Buck with his club sending the dog on a wild journey across the Yukon as part of a dog sled for a pair of Canadian postal workers (played by Omar Sy and Cara Gee from “The Expanse”). Eventually, he’s paired with an alcoholic frontiersman (Harrison Ford) and he finds true love, as the two of them go off looking (and finding) gold.

Some might be surprised that director Chris Sanders (who has an extensive animation background) decided to go for straight-up CG when depicting the animals and some of the environments in Call of the Wild. In fact, it feels almost necessary to make Buck as expressive as he needs to be to carry this film, and that’s where Terry Notary (Andy Serkis’ partner-in-performance-capture from the “Apes” movies) and the CG team comes in handy. Buck is already lovable but being able to make him so expressive doesn’t hurt, and the scenes where he’s interacting with other animals are pretty amazing.

We do have to discuss the negatives, and one of them is the episodic nature of Buck’s story that means that Harrison Ford, other than the narration and a brief appearance, doesn’t play a large part in Buck’s story until about the 45-minute mark. I didn’t think much of the performances by Sy and Gee or Dan Steven and Karen Gillan as the spoiled rich people who buy Buck to drive their dog sled off to find gold. Buck’s experiences as part of the first dog sled is far more positive even though it’s rigorous and it puts him at odd with the dog pack leader. The problem is that most of the human actors don’t come close to delivering what Notary does as Buck, the exception being Ford, but it’s still one of those odd CG-live action amalgations that doesn’t always work.

If you’re fond of Jack London’s Arctic adventures (as I generally am), Call of the Wild offers as much good as it does bad, but it’s worthwhile more for the amazing vistas and terrific use of CG (and Terry Notary’s performance as Buck) than anything else.

Rating: 6.5/10

I won’t have a chance to see the horror sequel BRAHMS: THE BOY II (STXfilms), but I never got around to seeing the first movie either, although this one, starring Katie Holmes, does look kind of fun. 2020 has not been a great year for horror so far with almost a new horror every weekend and few doing particularly well – The Grudge tops the heap with just $21 million and that opened almost two months ago!

I really don’t have a lot to say about this other than the fact that the original The Boy(not to be confused with The Boy, The Boy or The Boy, which are also movies about a different “Boy”), also directed by William Brent Bell, opened in January 2016 to $10.8 million on its way to $35.8 million domestic but it also opened at a time when there were no strong horror films in theaters. Some could argue that there are still no strong horror films in theaters, especially since so many of them quickly lost theaters after bombing. Still, there have been a lot this year already and the most recent one, Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island underperformed this past weekend, so why would anyone want more?

STXfilms’ marketing has been solid even as this moved from its December release to now, but I still think it will be tough for this to make more than $10 million this weekend and probably will end up closer to $8 million or less.

Opening in limited release but also sure to be exciting to the fans of the TruTV hidden camera prank show is IMPRACTICAL JOKERS: THE MOVIE, which brings the hilarious Tenderloins comedy troop – Q, Murr, Sal and Joe -- to the big screen as they go off on a cross-country adventure to attend a party in Florida, playing their usual prank-filled games to see which three get to attend. At this writing, I have no idea how many theaters it’s opening – I’m assuming 150 to 200 maybe? – so no idea how it might do although there are already some sold out showings in my general area (NYC) where the guys are from.

Mini-Review: It feels like there need to be two reviews for this movie – one for those who already know and love the show and find the Tenderloins hysterical (this includes me) —and then one for everyone else. The former can probably skip the next paragraph.

The Tenderloins are a group of four Staten Island friends (names above) whose antics led to a successful TruTV hidden camera show where they pull pranks and challenge each other to say and do whatever they’re told. The show has run eight seasons, and it’s made the Tenderloins such big stars they regularly sell out enormous venues (like Radio City Music Hall) to perform live for their fans. Considering the success Johnny Knoxville’s “Jackass” show has had in movie theaters where it can take advantage of an R-rating, there’s little reason why the “Impractical Jokers” shouldn’t be able to do the same. (For some context, I watched this movie with a theater full of the group’s friends, crew as well as Q’s firehouse buddies, in other words, 75% of Staten Island.)

The movie, directed by Chris Henchy, long time McKay and Ferrell collaborator – the film is presented by their “Funny or Die” brand –opens with one of a number of scripted/staged scenes to frame the road trip the Tenderloins to attend a party in Miami being held by Paula Abdul. Since they only have three passes, they need to compete in their usual challenges to determine who misses out.

If you are a fan of the show, I’m not going to spoil any of the challenges or pranks they plan on each other, but they generally get better and funnier as the movie goes along, to the point that when it returns to the “story” and the scripted stuff, the movie does falter a little. Although the Tenderloins aren’t the greatest actors, they are great improvisers and you can tell when they’re coming up with lines by the seat of their pants.

The majority of the movie is basically what we see on the show without all of the commercial breaks cutting in just as things start to get outrageous, and as someone who watches more of the show than I probably should admit, I find it hard to believe no one watching the movie will at least get one good snicker out of the movie. There are a few recurring gags throughout the movie as well as a follow-up to a memorable punishment from an earlier season. (Like with the show, you’re likely to feel bad for Murr and Sal, the nicer half of the group who always get the most abuse because of it.)

If you’re already a fan of the Impractical Jokers, you’ll probably like the movie, but if not, you might not get it and there’s just no real use trying. In other words, not a great intro to the “Impractical Jokers” but a fine bit of fun for the already-converted.

Rating: 6.5/10

This week’s Top 10 should look something like this…

1. Sonic the Hedgehog (Paramount) - $29 million -50% (up $1.5 million)**

2. Call of the Wild (20th Century) - $17 million N/A (up .3 million)** 3. Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey (Warner Bros) - $9 million -48%

4. Brahms: The Boy II (STXfilms) - $7 million N/A (down .6 million)**

5. Bad Boys for Life (Sony) - $6 million -48% (down .1 million)**

6. The Photograph (Universal) – $5.5 million -55% (down .6 million)**

7. Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island (Sony) - $5.3 million -57%

8. 1917 (Universal) - $5 million -38%

9. Parasite (NEON) - $3.6 million -35%

10. Jumanji: The Next Level (Sony) - $3.3 million -42%

-- The Impractical Jokers Movie (TruTV) - $1.8 million*

-- Las Pildoras de mi Novio (Pantelion/Lionsgate) - $1.3 million*

* These last two projections are made without much info on either movie, including theater counts for the former.

**A few minor tweaks as we go into weekends with actual theater counts, although this weekend will still mostly be about Sonic the Hedgehog. I still don’t have any theater counts for Impractical Jokers on Thursday night so I guess we’ll just have to see if the theaters playing it report to Rentrak and it gets some sort of placement, presumably outside the top 10, on Sunday.

LIMITED RELEASES

There are lots of other new limited releases this weekend beyond the ones I mentioned above.

On Wednesday night, Fathom Events is releasing Masaaki Yuasa’s new movie RIDE YOUR WAVE (GKIDS) across the nation for one night only in some places, although it will get a limited release on Friday at New York’s Village East and maybe other places, as well. If you’ve seen any of Yuasa’s other films like 2017’s The Night is Short, Walk on Girl or Lu Over the Wall or Mind Game, then you can probably expect this to be another wild ride, except this time it’s on a surfboard. It follows the story of a surfer and a firefighter who fall in love. You can learn more about how to get tickets here.

Like Portrait of a Lady on Fire last week, Una director Benedict Andrews’ SEBERG (Amazon) received a one-week release in 2019 but it’s getting a legit limited release this Friday. It stars Kristen Stewart as French New Wave icon Jean Seberg who came to the States in the late ‘60s and began a relationship with civil rights leader Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie), putting her in the sights of the FBI who were hoping to use her to bust the Black Panthers. The film also stars Jack O’Connell, Margaret Qualley, Vince Vaughn, and Stephen Root, and it’s a pretty solid historical drama, although I haven’t seen it so long I’m not sure I can say much more about that.

I was never a huge fan of Bob Dylan or the Band but I found Daniel Roher’s doc ONCE WERE BROTHERS: ROBBIE ROBERTSON AND THE BAND (Magnolia) (about the latter) to be quite compelling as the story is told by various people who were there, including the film’s exec. producer Martin Scorsese who directed the band’s legendary concert film The Last Waltz. This is also produced by Ron Howard and Brian SGrazer of Imagine, so you know it’s gonna be a quality music doc, and it certainly is, although I’m not sure it will be of that much interest to people who aren’t already fans of The Band.

Opening in roughly 350 theaters this weekend is LAS PILDORAS DE MI NOVIO (Pantelion), translated as “My Boyfriend’s Meds,” a comedy about a woman (Sandra Echeverria) who falls for a mattress store owner who suffers from multiple personality disorder and when they go on vacation… he forgets to bring along his meds! Humor abounds. As usual, this won’t screen in advance for critics.

Tye Sheridan stars with Knives Out’s Ana De Armas in Michael Cristofer’s thriller The Night Clerk (Saban Films), Sheridan plays a hotel clerk with Asperger’s Syndrome who witnesses a murder in one of the rooms but ends up as the main suspect by the lead detective, played by John Leguizamo. The film also stars Helen Hunt and it will be released in select theaters (including New York’s Cinema Village), on demand and digitally this Friday. Just couldn’t into this one, having at least one good friend with Asperger’s, due to the way Sheridan played this often-debilitating disease. (Think Rain Man without the talent of Dustin Hoffman.)

Opening exclusively at theMetrographFriday with an expansion on March 3 is Portugese filmmaker Bruno de Almeida’s Cabaret Maxime (Giant Pictures), starring Michael Imperioli as Bennie Gaza, the owner and manager of the title nightclub specializing in a mix of burlesque, striptease, music and comedy. Bennie is fairly old-fashioned so when a modern day (translation: trashy and demeaning to women) strip club opens across the way, Bennie finds himself pressure to make changes to stay in line as he starts getting pressure from his mobster financer to change. I was kinda mixed on this movie, which delivers another typically great performance from Imperioli but the way it cuts between various acts and disparate scenes that do very little to move the story forward (including the far-more-interesting subplot about Bennie’s wife Stella, a performer suffering from depression, as played by the amazing Ana Padrão). I think one of the reasons I just couldn’t get into the movie is cause a friend of mine attempted a similar film based out of a nightclub and the film never got much traction. De Almeida should have paid more attention developing the storytelling than showing off his talented musical singing/dancing friends.

A second Portugese filmmaker, Pedro Costa, also releases a new film this week. Vitalina Varela (Grasshopper Film) will open at New York’s Film at Lincoln Center on Friday. The title of the film is also the name of the non-actor who returns from Costa’s Horse Moneyto play a woman from Cape Verdean who comes to Fontainhas for her estranged husband’s funeral and sets up a new life there.

Also opening at the Quad Friday is the latest from the Dardenne Brothers, Young Ahmed (Kino Lorber) about a 13-year-old (Idir ben Addi) who has come under the grips of radical jihadism in his Belgian town, putting him at odds with various factions. When he carries out an act of violence, he ends up in a juvenile detention facility. The Dardennes won the Best Director award at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where their films have been honored with the Palme d’Or twice. I’ve never been much of a fan but what do I know?

Opening at the IFC Center Wednesday is Nicolas Champeaux, Gilles Porte’s documentary The State Against Mandela and the Others, which is built around recently recovered audio recordings of the 1963-4 Rivona trial in which Nelson Mandela and eight others faced death sentences for challenging Apartheid. The film mixes animation showing the trails with contemporary interviews with the survivors including Winnie Mandela, about their fight against the country’s corrupt system.

Another doc I know little about is Andrew Goldberg’s Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations, which will open at the Village East Friday but it includes the likes of Julianna Margulies, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton as anti-semitism rears its ugly head over 70 years after the end of World War II and the Holocaust.

Also opening at Cinema Village is Matt Ratner’s Standing Up, Falling Down (Shout! Studios) starring Billy Crystal and Ben Schwartz (the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog!), the latter playing a stand-up comic whose L.A. dreams have crashed and burned leaving him with little money, forcing him to return to Long Island. Once there, he pines over his ex (Eloise Mumford) and becomes friends with an eccentric dermatologist (Crystal) as they help each other deal with their respective failures.

Playing at the Roxy for a one-week run starting Friday is Sam De Jong’s Goldie (Film Movement), starring actress/model Slick Woods as the title character, a teenager in a family shelter pursuing her dreams of being a dancer while trying to keep her sisters together. This premiered at the Tribeca Film Festivallast year.

Oscilloscope (the distributor that brought you the cat doc Kedi) is doing something called “Cat Video Fest 2020,” which will take place at the Alamo in Brooklyn (although the Saturday screening is sold out there) and the Village East Cinema. This screening of pre-selected cat videos is also taking place at other cities throughout the country, and you can find out where right here.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

This Friday, the Metrograph will debut its newest series “Climate Crisis Parabels,” a series of varied future shock films, this weekend with Robert Bresson’s The Devil, Probably (1977), Steven Spielberg’s 2001 film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke (1999) (hosted by Naomi Klein Sunday afternoon, but also playing as part of the Playtime Family Matinees”) and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: The Final Cu ton Sunday night. “To Hong Kong with Love” also continues with screenings of Stanley Kwan’s Rouge (1987) and the 2016 film Raise the Umbrellas. The ongoing Welcome To Metrograph: Redux also continues with HarunFarocki’sdocumentary Before Your Eyes: Vietnam (1981). This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph is another Japanese thriller, Hiroshi Teshigahara’s 1966 thriller The Face of Another, and the Metrograph’s Japanese love continues as Playtime: Family Matinees will also show Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke from 1999.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” is Ken Russell’s 1987 film Gothic, and this week’s “Kids Camp” offering is the 2006 animated Curious George with a special “pick your own price.” In preparation for the release of Emma. On Friday, the Alamo is doing a “Champagne Cinema” screening of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley, which unfortunately, is sold out already. (Waugh Waugh) Monday’s “Out of Tune” is the Prince film Under the Cherry Moon from 1986, which is also sold out. (Hey, Jeremy Wein, why don’t you tell me these things are going on sale so I can go!?!) Next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is the horror classic Candyman (1992), which is ALSO almost sold out and then we’re back to “Weird Wednesday” with next week’s offering, 1985’s soft-core actioneer Gwendoline.

If you’re one of those poor souls living in L.A., you can also go to see Don Coscarelli’s 2002 film Bubba Ho-Tep, starring Bruce Campbell, on Wednesday night or the 1986 Little Shop of Horrors on Thursday at the grand, new(ish) Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Downtown Los Angeles. Saturday afternoon is a matinee of Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight (1998), starring George Clooney and J-Lo and Saturday night, you can see Cassavetes’ Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), starring Seymour Cassel and Gena Rowlands. Monday night is Juliet Bashore’s 1986 Kamikaze Hearts, which looked into the X-rated SF underground of the ‘80s. The West Coast “Terror Tuesday” is Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula, starring Keanu Reeves, Gary Oldman and Winona Rider!

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Wednesday’s afternoon matinee is the classical musical The Sound of Music (1965) and then Weds and Thurs night’s double feature is Robert Redford’sThe Hot Rock (1972) and Cops and Robber (1973). Friday’s matinee is the late Tony Scott’s The Hunger (1983) and then the Tarantino-pennedTrue Romance (1993, also directed by Scott), will play Friday midnight and Saturday’s midnight movie is the 1967 film Carmen, Baby. This weekend’s Kiddee Mattine is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). Monday’s matinee is Terrence Malick’s Badlands (1973) and the Monday night double feature is A Man for All Seasons(1966) and The Mission (1986). Tuesday’s Grindhouse double feature is 1980’s Super Fuzz and 1977’s Death Promise, both in 35mm, of course.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Weds’ “Black Voices” movie is William Greaves’ 1968 film Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, and then on Friday night in the Spielberg Theater, you can see the 1913 film Traffic in Souls with live music as well as a couple shorts. The Japanese horror film Kwaidan(1965) will play in the normal theater. On Saturday, the Egyptian is presenting “Leigh Whannell’s Thrill-A-thon” a series of four films that helped to inspire Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man, which comes out next week with some great options worth seeing, including 1987’s Fatal Attraction, David Fincher’s 2014 film Gone Girl, Rob Reiner’s Stephen King adaptation Misery(1990) and the classic Aussie thriller Dead Calm(1989) starring Nicole Kidman … all for just 15 bucks!

AERO (LA):

The AERO’s “Black Voices” film for Weds. is the great Stir Crazy, starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, and then on Thursday afternoon, you can see Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 classicDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb for $8 (free to Cinemateque members!) New restoration of the Russian film Come and See (also opening at the Film Forum in New York) will play on Saturday evening as part of the “Antiwar Cinema” series. Sunday’s double feature in that series is Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957) and the Russian film The Ascent (1977). Tuesday’s “Black Voices” matinee is Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust (1991) and then Greg Proops will screen the 1996 film Ridicule as part of his Film Club podcast which precedes the film.

MOMA (NYC):

Modern Matinees: Jack Lemmon��continues through the end of the month with Mister Roberts (1955) on Weds., Billly Wilder’s Avanti (1972) and the classic (and one of my all-time faves) Some Like it Hot (1959) on Friday. This weekend also sees movies in the continuing “Theater of Operations” series, which will include Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker (2009) on Saturday afternoon and a bunch of docs including Werner Herzog’s 1992 film Lessons of Darkness on Sunday. Weds also kicks off “Television Movies: Big Pictures on the Small Screen” – pretty self-explanatory, I think – with 1953’s The Trip to Bountiful and 1955’s Tosca on Weds. and Sunday, 1967’s Present Laughter Thursday and Tuesday and more. (Click on the link for full schedule!) Following Film Forum’s focus on black actresses (for February, Black History Month, get it?) MOMA begins a “It’s All in Me: Black Heroines” series with All By Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story and Julie Dash’s Illusions, both from 1982, on Thursday and many more running through March 5.

ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES (NYC):

The Anthology still has a few more films in its “Devil Probably: A Century of Satanic Panic” including Eric Weston’s Evilspeak (1981) tonight in 35mm, but also David Van Taylor will be at tonight’s screening of his 1991 film Dream Deceivers. I’ve never seen either of these, by the way. Robert Eggers’ The VVitch and Alan Parker’s Angel Heart screen one more time on Thursday night, as well. This weekend also begins a new series, “Dream Dance: The Films of Ed Emshwiller” but since I have no idea who that is, I have nothing further to add. (Sorry!)

NITEHAWK CINEMA (NYC):

Williamsburgis showing David Lynch’s 1990 film Wild at Heart as part of its “Uncaged” series on Friday just after midnight and John Singleton’s Poetic Justice on Saturday morning as part of “California Love.” They’re also showing Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride on Saturday morning for an “All-Ages Brunch Movie.”

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Elem Klimov’s 1985 Russian drama Come and See (Janus) will have a DCP restoration premiere at the Forum and Sunday afternoon will be a screening of the 1953 Mexican film El Corazon y La Espada in 3D. This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” is the 1953 pseudo-doc Little Fugitive. Monday night is a screening of David Rich’s Madame X (1966) introduced by actor/playwright Charles Busch.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

This weekend’s Weekend Classics: Luis Buñuel is the Mexican film The Exterminating Angel (1962), while Waverly Midnights: Hindsight is 2020s will screen Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Mnemonic and Late Night Favorites: Winter 2020is taking a surprising weekend off.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

Still waiting to see if Pandora and the Flying Dutchman continues through the weekend, as at this time (Monday), there is nothing repertory listed.

BAM CINEMATEK(NYC):

Horace Jenkins’ Cane River continues through Friday. Saturday night’s “Beyond the Canon” is a double feature of Ida Lupino’s The Hitch-Hiker(1953) and Malick’s Badlands (1973).

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

This weekend’s “See It Big! Outer Space” offerings include1974’s Space is the Placeon Friday and 1924’s Aelita, Queen of Mars and the 1980 Flash Gordonscreening on Saturday and Sunday. As usual, 2001: A Space Odysseywill screen on Saturday afternoon as part of the ongoing exhibition.

ROXY CINEMA(NYC)

Weds’ Nicolas Cage movie is Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out the Dead (1999) and then Thursday is a 35mm screening of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)!

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Friday’s midnight movie is Who Killed Roger Rabbit (1988).

STREAMING AND CABLE

Let’s see what’s going on in the world of streaming this week, shall we?

Netflix is debuting Dee (Mudbound) Rees’ new movie THE LAST THING HE WANTED on the streaming service Friday, even though apparently, it opened in select cities last week, including New York’s Paris Theater, although it got such terrible reviewsout of Sundance, maybe Netflix didn’t want any more bad reviews before it begins streaming. Regardless, it stars Anne Hathaway, Willem Dafoe, Ben Affleck and Rosie Perez, and it’s based on Joan Didion’s novel about a D.C. journalist named Elena (Hathaway) who abandons her work on the 1984 campaign trail to run an errand for her father (Dafoe). I guess I’ll watch it when it’s on Netflix just like everyone else but my expectations have been suitably lowered.

The Jordan Peele-produced series “Hunters,” starring Al Pacino, which is about a group of Nazi hunters will hit Amazon Prime this Friday as well, and a new season of the popular series“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” will debut on Friday on Disney+, adding to the amazing amount of content already available on that network.

Next week, Saw and Insidious co-creator Leigh Whannell revamps The Invisible Man for Universal with Elisabeth Moss, and there’s also (supposedly) a movie call The Ride, which I know nothing about. You can guess which movie I’ll be focusing on.

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or send me a note on Twitter. I love hearing from readers!

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dweemeister · 6 years ago

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2018 Movie Odyssey Awards

And that’s it folks. That’s all the posts they wrote on the 2018 Movie Odyssey. All the films featured here were films that I saw for the first time in their entirety over the last calendar year (the entire list of which you can see here). Except for the Worst Picture category at the bottom, this entire post is a roll call of cinematic excellence. You can’t go wrong with the winners and nominees in these many categories. Submitted for your consumption and reflection...

Best Pictures (I name ten, and never distinguish one above the other nine)

The Blue Angel (1930, Germany)

Charade (1963)

8½ (1963, Italy)

The Heiress (1949)

A Man Escaped (1956, France)

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Pyaasa (1957, India)

Roma (2018, Mexico)

Shoplifters (2018, Japan)

Stalker (1979, Soviet Union)

This is the first Movie Odyssey Best Picture lineup without an entry from either the 1990s or 2000s. It is the first Best Picture lineup since 2015 without a silent film being among the top ten. But what is not here should detract from the excellence of what is here. There are no 9/10s here... The Blue Angel, Charade, and Pyaasa received 9.5/10s; everything else received a 10/10. From the romantic antics in Charade (as part-spy thriller) and The Philadelphia Story; lust masquerading for love in The Blue Angel and 8½; standing resolutely on one’s own self-worth in The Heiress and Pyaasa; the desperation of A Man Escaped and Stalker; and the modern instant classics of Roma and Shoplifters, this is the best Best Picture slate in the last three years.

Best Comedy

Blondie (1938)

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Incredibles 2 (2018)

My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999, Japan)

Overboard (1987)

The Philadelphia Story

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Stowaway (1936)

The Whole Town’s Talking (1935)

Wonder Man (1945)

It didn’t make me laugh the hardest (that goes to Incredibles 2 and Spider-Verse), but The Philadelphia Story managed to reaffirm what is most important in loving someone and seeing in others what isn’t necessarily the most visible thing. Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Ruth Hussey are an amazing ensemble. Close behind are those two aforementioned animated movies and another animated peer, My Neighbors the Yamadas. The Whole Town’s Talking also was in the mix.

Best Musical

Girl Crazy (1943)

Grease (1978)

Moon Over Miami (1941)

The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968)

Pete’s Dragon (1977)

Pyaasa

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

South Pacific (1958)

A Star Is Born (2018)

Stowaway

This category favors musicals that are original, not adaptations. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers would never be made today, because no one would get the satire for its gendered misbehavior. But with its incredible musical score, outstanding choreography, and appealing performances despite a brow-raising plot, it is by far the best musical I saw this year for the first time. Girl Crazy, Family Band, and Pyaasa would have been next up.

Best Animated Feature

The Cat Returns (2002, Japan)

Incredibles 2

Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2017, Japan)

Mirai (2018, Japan)

My Neighbors the Yamadas

Perfect Blue (1997, Japan)

Pom Poko (1994, Japan)

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

The Wacky World of Mother Goose (1967)

There was a lot of separation from the top films and the bottom films in this category. The excellent family comedy My Neighbors the Yamadas sends the late Isao Takahata a winner (its comedy entirely based on Takahata’s strengths in observing human behavior), in what was also the last Ghibli film I needed to see to complete the studio’s filmography. Close behind were Perfect Blue and the best animated feature of 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Best Documentary

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years (2016)

Don’t Look Back (1967)

Free Solo (2018)

Pick of the Litter (2018)

RBG (2018)

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

It was the cinéma vérité of Don’t Look Back versus the emotional power of Won’t You Be My Neighbor? in the end. And at the end, what appealed to me most was the latter. Mr. Rogers was a part of my childhood, and I’m only learning more about him and the lessons he imparted to all his neighbors in my mid-twenties. I never imagined I would be revisiting him now, but here we are! The harrowing (at least, in the final half-hour) Free Solo - dont watch if you’re afraid of heights - was solidly in third in this category.

Best Non-English Language Film

The Blue Angel, Germany

8½, Italy

Floating Weeds (1959), Japan

Gojira (1954), Japan

A Man Escaped, France

My Neighbors the Yamadas, Japan

Pyaasa, India

Roma, Mexico

Shoplifters, Japan

Stalker, Soviet Union

With four entries, this was Japan’s to lose. In what was essentially a toss-up between Federico Fellini and Andrei Tarkovsky, it was the former’s film that will this category for me. I first saw a part of 8½ almost ten years ago now, deleting the recording after realizing there was something about the film that I, as a teenager, could not get. There is only one movie you need to watch, probably, about artist’s block, and that’s 8½. Considered just after that and Stalker are Roma, Pyaasa, and Shoplifters. Gojira - best known to all as Godzilla - was not expected to be here because I once saw the American cut/dub of the film (which cuts a lot of the tragic and allegorical elements). There is no better monster movie than the original Godzilla.

Best Silent Film

Camille (1921)

Caught in a Cabaret (1914 short)

It (1927)

Mabel’s Blunder (1914 short)

Mare Nostrum (1926)

Piccadilly (1929)

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1927)

West Point (1927)

I honestly did not see enough silent films last year. But that doesn’t take away from how good West Point is - as a drama, a comedy, a romance, and a sports film. Edward Sedgwick’s film juggles a lot of hats, and by sheer charm of its performances, manages to find the right balance. Trailing West Point were Piccadilly and a strong adaptation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Personal Favorite Film

Charade

Christopher Robin (2018)

A Corny Concerto (1943 short)

Gojira

Incredibles 2

The Journey of Natty Gann (1985)

My Neighbors the Yamadas

The Philadelphia Story

The Whole Town’s Talking

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

1) The Philadelphia Story; 2) Won’t You Be My Neighbor?; 3) The Journey of Natty Gann; 4) Charade; 5) Incredibles 2; 6) My Neighbors the Yamadas; 7) Gojira; 8) The Whole Town’s Talking; 9) Christopher Robin; 10) A Corny Concerto

You folks have no idea how many times my top three switched places while considering this. So much to love about them all. Since I haven’t mentioned Natty Gann yet in my comments, let me do so here. Sometimes, I’m in the mood for a simple, but beautifully shot Disney film out in the wilderness. Meredith Salenger as the title character must make her way from Chicago to Washington state after an unfortunate accident where she is separated from her father. I just adore the nature shots, Natty’s wolfdog companion, and James Horner’s ridiculously beautiful score.

Best Director

Robert Bresson, A Man Escaped

Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

George Cukor, The Philadelphia Story

Stanley Donen, Charade

Guru Dutt, Pyaasa

Federico Fellini, 8½

Hirokazu Koreeda, Shoplifters

Michael Powell, 49th Parallel (1941)

Andrei Tarkovsky, Stalker

William Wyler, The Heiress

A bit of an upset here, but my goodness it takes incredible skill to pull off such social commentary with the amount of artistry Pyaasa does. Ambitious in structure, aesthetic, and thematic approach, it is Guru Dutt who will take this home. Next up would have been Tarkovsky and Fellini.

Best Acting Ensemble

All This, and Heaven Too (1940)

Crossfire (1947)

Cry, the Beloved Country (1951)

The Heiress

Imitation of Life (1934)

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

The Philadelphia Story

The Post (2017)

Shoplifters

Splendor in the Grass (1961)

An excellent set of nominees for Acting Ensemble, with few weak links among them all. They might not be the biggest ensemble, but pretty much everyone is pitch perfect in Imitation of Life - essentially bolstered by its supporting actresses in Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington. The Philadelphia Story in a close second.

Best Actor

Cary Grant, Charade

Emil Jannings, The Blue Angel

Burt Lancaster, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

Canada Lee, Cry, the Beloved Country

James B. Lowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Marcello Mastroianni, 8½

Ganjirô Nakamura, Floating Weeds

Sidney Poitier, A Warm December (1973)

Paul Scofield, A Man for All Seasons

Jack Webb, The D.I. (1957)

Paul Scofield, as Sir Thomas More, is a man on a mission - a mission to stop Henry VIII to stop screwing things up even more. Reprising his role from the stage, to me Scofield is clearly the winner as he imbues More with incredible authority yet knowing vulnerability. An astounding, career performance from Scofield is trailed only by Cary Grant and Marcello Mastroianni.

Best Actress

Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

Bette Davis, All This, and Heaven Too

Marlene Dietrich, The Blue Angel

Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade (2018)

Olivia de Havilland, The Heiress

Audrey Hepburn, Charade

Katharine Hepburn, The Philadelphia Story

Waheeda Rehman, Pyaasa

Anna May Wong, Piccadilly

Natalie Wood, Splendor in the Grass

Olivia de Havilland’s growth throughout The Heiress is downright incredible to watch. How she asserts herself in the final minutes is the culmination of all that has happened up until that point - a film about a woman who finds the strength within herself to state her clearest intentions as pointedly as possible without breaking societal expectations. Just trailing are Yalitza Aparicio (please nominate her for this year’s Academy Awards) and the Hepburns.

Best Supporting Actor

Montgomery Clift, The Heiress

Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born

Rodney A. Grant, Dances with Wolves (1990)

Graham Greene, Dances with Wolves

Bob Odenkirk, The Post

Sidney Poitier, Cry, the Beloved Country

Anthony Quinn, Warlock (1959)

Mickey Rooney, The Black Stallion (1979)

Robert Ryan, Crossfire

Takashi Shimura, Gojira

I don’t know folks, this category seems to like villains. And Robert Ryan’s psychopathic, anti-Semitic murderer is as frightening as a film noir villain can get. Considering what I had seen from Ryan up to this point, there was no preparing me for that. Runners-up include Graham Greene (of Oneida descent), Sidney Poitier, Mickey Rooney, and Takashi Shimura.

Best Supporting Actress

Louise Beavers, Imitation of Life

Stockard Channing, Grease

Wendy Hiller, A Man for All Seasons

Ruth Hussey, The Philadelphia Story

Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread (2017)

Sandra Milo, 8½

Anne Revere, National Velvet (1944)

Millicent Simmonds, A Quiet Place (2018)

Fredi Washington, Imitation of Life

Michelle Yeoh, Crazy Rich Asians

No one could really touch Paul Scofield in Best Actor. Likewise, no one could touch Louise Beavers in Imitation of Life. Yes, Beavers’ role in the film is that of a stereotypical “mammy” at first glance. But looking deeper - and with a major assist from an extremely thoughtful screenplay - Beavers is allowed to give this role so much more than many of her fellow black actresses were ever permitted to have. In a film on racial identity and belonging, she is what makes Imitation of Life tick. The distant challengers were co-star Fredi Washington, Lesley Manville, and Sandra Milo.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Robert Alan Arthur, Warlock

Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons

Ruth and Augustus Goetz, The Heiress

Sadayuki Murai, Perfect Blue

Alan Paton and John Howard Lawson, Cry, the Beloved Country

Casey Robinson, All This, and Heaven Too

Donald Ogden Stewart and Waldo Salt, The Philadelphia Story

Arkadi Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky, Stalker

Jo Swerling and Robert Riskin, The Whole Town’s Talking

Isao Takahata, My Neighbors the Yamadas

Best Original Screenplay

Rodney Ackland and Emeric Pressburger, 49th Parallel

Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread

Ari Aster, Hereditary (2018)

Robert Bresson, A Man Escaped

Robert Buckner, Dodge City (1939)

Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade

Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi, 8½

William Inge, Splendor in the Grass

Hirokazu Koreeda, Shoplifters

Best Cinematography

Eduard Tisse, Alexander Nevsky (1938, Soviet Union)

Caleb Deschanel, The Black Stallion

William H. Clothier, Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

Dean Semler, Dances with Wolves

Gianni Di Venanzo, 8½

V.K. Murthy, Pyaasa

Philippe Rousselot, A River Runs Through It (1992)

Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Alexander Knyazhinsky, Stalker

Nicholas Musuraca, Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)

Best Film Editing

Paul Crowder, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years

Robert Dalva, The Black Stallion

Jim Clark, Charade

Leo Catozzo, 8½

Tom Cross, First Man (2018)

Eddie Hamilton, Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Robert Kern, National Velvet

Harutoshi Ogata, Perfect Blue

Ralph E. Winters, Quo Vadis (1951)

Barbara McLean, The Rains Came (1939)

Best Adaptation or Musical Score

S. D. Burman and Sahir Ludhiyanvi, Pyaasa

Adolph Deutsch and Saul Chaplin, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn, and Irwin Kostal, Pete’s Dragon

Alfred Newman, Moon Over Miami

Alfred Newman and Ken Darby, South Pacific

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, The Greatest Showman (2017)

Walter Scharf, Hans Christian Andersen (1952)

Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band

Louis Silvers, Stowaway

George Stoll, Girl Crazy

It is one of the few wholly original musicals here. And though its score is not perfect, its highs are some of the best 1950s MGM has to offer.

Best Original Score (eleven nominees because this year’s slate was way too hard to decide on... even the ones I cut)

John Barry, Dances with Wolves

Aaron Copland, The Heiress

James Horner, The Journey of Natty Gann

Akira Ifukube, Gojira

Henry Mancini, Charade

Sergei Prokofiev, Alexander Nevsky

Nino Rota, 8½

Miklós Rózsa, Quo Vadis

Max Steiner, All This, and Heaven Too

Dimitri Tiomkin, The Alamo (1960)

Ralph Vaughan Williams, 49th Parallel

This was the most difficult category to call this year. This was the strongest collection of Best Original Score nominees in a few years, with arguments that could easily be made for John Barry, Akira Ifukube, Nino Rota, Max Steiner, and Dimitri Tiomkin. In the end, it was between the three composers not known for film scores, but their classical music: Aaron Copland, Sergei Prokofiev, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Prokofiev took third place as I found that the placement of music in Alexander Nevsky paled a bit compared to The Heiress and 49th Parallel. In the end, I went with the Englishman because his distinct sound has never really been replicated for movies, and Vaughan Williams’ works are less available in North America. There are other Copland scores - and some that I feel more strongly about. So in this titanic battle of film score composers, congratulations to Ralph Vaughan Williams!

Best Original Song

“Bless Your Beautiful Hide”, music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

“Candle on the Water”, music and lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn, Pete's Dragon

“Chaar Kadam”, music by Shantanu Moitra, lyrics by Swanand Kirkire, PK (2014, India)

“Charade”, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Charade (1963)

“Gunfight at the O.K. Corral”, music by Dimitri Tiomkin, lyrics by Ned Washington, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

“Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing”, music by Sammy Fain, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)

“Mystery of Love”, music and lyrics by Sufjan Stevens, Call Me by Your Name (2017)

“Rain”, music by Shin'ichi Nakajima, Saori Fujisaki, and Satoshi Fukase, lyrics by Saori Fujisaki and Satoshi Fukase, Mary and the Witch’s Flower

“Shallow”, music and lyrics by Mark Ronson, Lady Gaga, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt, A Star Is Born

“You're the One That I Want”, music and lyrics by John Farrar, Grease

Thanks to all those who participated in the preliminary and final rounds! And even those who didn’t participate but gave me the support power through this. Details are here!

Best Costume Design (TIE)

Konstantin Eliseev, Alexander Nevsky

Orry-Kelly, All This, and Heaven Too

Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther (2018)

Mary E. Vogt, Crazy Rich Asians

Sandy Powell, The Favourite (2018)

Edith Head and Gile Steele, The Heiress

Albert Wolsky, The Journey of Natty Gann

Elizabeth Haffenden and Joan Bridge, A Man for All Seasons

Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread

Herschel McCoy and Joan Joseff, Quo Vadis

You couldn’t make me choose, folks!

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison, and Lois Burwell, Braveheart (1995)

Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, and Lucy Sibbick, Darkest Hour (2017)

Samantha Denyer, The Favourite

Colin Arthur, The NeverEnding Story (1984)

Uncredited, Piccadilly

Charles E. Parker, Sydney Guilaroff, and Joan Johnstone, Quo Vadis

Uncredited, Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1953)

Amanda Knight and Francesca Crowder, Solo (2018)

Geoffrey Rodway and Biddy Chrystal, The Sword and the Rose (1953)

Perc Westmore, Jean Burt Reilly, and Ed Voight, The Woman in White (1948)

Best Production Design

Iosif Shpinel and Nikolai Solovyov, Alexander Nevsky

Peter Ellenshaw, John B. Mansbridge, Robert McCall, Al Roelofs, Frank R. McKelvy, and Roger M. Shook, The Black Hole (1979)

Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart, Black Panther

Otto Hunte, The Blue Angel

Max Rée, Cimarron

Ted Smith, Dodge City

Piero Gherardi, 8½

Edward Carrere and William L. Kuehl, The Fountainhead (1949)

John Meehan, Harry Horner, and Emile Kuri, The Heiress

William A. Horning, Cedric Gibbons, Edward C. Carfagno, and Hugh Hunt, Quo Vadis

Achievement in Visual Effects

The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)

The Black Hole

First Man

Flight of the Navigator (1986)

GoldenEye (1995)

Licence to Kill (1989)

Mare Nostrum

Mission: Impossible – Fallout

The Rains Came

Ready Player One

Solo

The Sword and the Rose

Tron (1982)

Wonder Man

All films in this category are declared winners. It would be unfair to compare a silent film to the newest Mission: Impossible film, so this is based on visual effects achievement in their respective time.

Worst Picture

Cimarron (1931)

The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964)

Die Another Day (2002)

It Happened at the World’s Fair (1963)

Kiss & Spell (2017, Vietnam)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Red Barry (1938 serial)

Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue

Tron

The Wacky World of Mother Goose

Holy mother of hell. Rankin and Bass, what did you DO?

Honorary Awards:

Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, for stewarding the James Bond series and decades of entertainment

Peter Ellenshaw, for his esteemed career as a matte artist and visual effects wizard

Bill Gold (posthumously), for his artistry in movie poster design

Salt of the Earth (1954), for its courage to speak truth to power, persevering through the judgment of time despite being the only American film ever blacklisted

Vitaphone, for innovative achievements in sound recording

FILMS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS (excluding Worst Picture... 61) Ten: 8½

Nine: The Heiress

Eight: Charade; The Philadelphia Story

Seven: Pyaasa

Five: All This, and Heaven Too; The Blue Angel; A Man for All Seasons; My Neighbors the Yamadas; Quo Vadis; Roma; Shoplifters; Stalker

Four: Alexander Nevsky; Cry, the Beloved Country; Dances with Wolves; Gojira; A Man Escaped

Three: The Black Stallion; Crazy Rich Asians; 49th Parallel; Grease; Imitation of Life; Incredibles 2; The Journey of Natty Gann; Perfect Blue; Pete’s Dragon; Phantom Thread; Piccadilly; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; Splendor in the Grass; A Star Is Born; Stowaway; The Whole Town’s Talking

Two: The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years; The Black Hole; Black Panther; Crossfire; Dodge City; Eighth Grade; The Favourite; First Man; Floating Weeds; Girl Crazy; Gunfight at the O.K. Corral; Mare Nostrum; Mary and the Witch’s Flower; Mission: Impossible – Fallout; Moon Over Miami; National Velvet; Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band; The Post; The Rains Came; Solo; South Pacific; The Sword and the Rose; Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Warlock; Wonder Man; Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

WINNERS (excluding honorary awards and Worst Picture; 41) 3 wins: The Philadelphia Story

2 wins: 8½; The Heiress; Imitation of Life; Mission: Impossible – Fallout; Pyaasa; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; Shoplifters

1 win: The Absent-Minded Professor; Alexander Nevsky; All This, and Heaven Too; The Black Hole; Black Panther; The Black Stallion; The Blue Angel; Charade; Crossfire; The Favourite; First Man; Flight of the Navigator; 49th Parallel; GoldenEye; Licence to Kill; Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing; A Man Escaped; A Man for All Seasons; Mare Nostrum; My Neighbors the Yamadas; Quo Vadis; The Rains Came; Ready Player One; Roma; Solo; Stalker; The Sword and the Rose; Tron; West Point; Wonder Man; Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

102 films were nominated in 26 categories.

#My Movie Odyssey #2018 Movie Odyssey Awards

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ironcrusaderebel · 4 years ago

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How Kaley Cuoco moved on from sitcom past to serve up racy sex scene in 'Flight Attendant'

For Kaley Cuoco, HBO Max's "The Flight Attendant" is 10,000 frequent-flyer miles away from CBS' "The Big Bang Theory." That was apparent during an intimate scene in the limited series involving her title character, Cassie Bowden, and a passenger-turned-lover (Michiel Huisman).

"Network 8 o'clock TV is a little different than HBO Max all hours of the night. I had scenes like that on 'Big Bang,' but this was like a true sex scene. I told Michiel, 'I've never done this before. Have you done it before?' He goes, 'Yeah, like 30, 40 times.' And I was like, 'WHAT?' " Cuoco says during a Zoom interview from the airy suburban Los Angeles home she shares with her husband, equestrian Karl Cook.

To maintain decorum between bedroom takes, Cuoco contorted herself above Huisman, who played Daenerys Targaryen's lover in "Game of Thrones."

"So when they called action, I still wasn't really giving my all," she says. "Michiel finally goes, 'It looks like you're hovering over a public toilet. What are you doing?' I'm like, 'I don't know what I'm doing.' So he had to awkwardly teach me how to have fake sex."

It should be obvious we're not in Leonard and Sheldon's apartment anymore. That's OK with Cuoco, 34, who takes a huge post-"Big Bang" leap as central star and executive producer of the eight-episode, darkly comedic thriller (the first three episodes stream Thanksgiving Day) based on Chris Bohjalian's 2018 novel of the same name.

Although her "Big Bang" character Penny and free-spirited Cassie share traits ("They both love to party"), the flight attendant has more troubling issues: a serious alcohol problem and disturbing childhood memories. And, oh, yeah, a bloody corpse in her bed.

"This is definitely my coming-out party in the sense of showing everyone I can do something other than comedy. It gets quite dark, quite emotional," she says. "This is my way of pushing the door down and going, 'I can do more and I love doing more.' "

She doesn't worry about the enormous shadow cast by Chuck Lorre-produced "Big Bang," a cultural touchstone and ratings blockbuster that ended its 12-season run last year.

" 'Big Bang' is so its own planet, own dimension, own lane. It takes the pressure off because I can never compare anything to that," Cuoco says, acknowledging how "special" the show is to her.

Steven Molaro, executive producer of "Big Bang" and spinoff "Young Sheldon," watched the first two episodes of "Flight Attendant" and was "blown away" by Cuoco's transition.

"It doesn't feel like you're watching Penny. She's a different person," he says, recalling a "Big Bang" scene where her unscripted tears added poignancy. "Between making incredible choices as an actor and being in the moment at the same time, I've never seen anything quite like it."

Nevertheless, fans can't always separate an actor from a career-making role. California native Cuoco considers that with wisdom developed in a long career that includes her first movie credit at age 6; playing childhood versions of Claire Danes' and Ellen DeGeneres' characters in their '90s TV series; working with John Ritter on "8 Simple Rules" as a teen; and joining the final season of "Charmed" a year before her "Big Bang" debut at 21.

"I know that for every person that loves you, there's like 20 that don't. So, I'm very aware of that and I'm ready," she says.

Cuoco started preparing for her future when "Big Bang" was still going strong, creating Yes, Norman Productions (named for her 14-year-old rescue pit bull mix, one of her seven dogs) in 2017 and acquiring the rights to "Flight Attendant."

Cassie's enjoyment of alcohol first plays comically but signals darker underlying issues. (The character chugs airline-size bottles of vodka as if they were water – which, fortunately for Cuoco, they were. She drank so many during the shoot, "I was constantly running to pee.")

A romantic romp through Bangkok turns nightmare when a drunk Cassie blacks out and awakens next to Alex's bloody corpse. That propels her on a roller coaster ride of mistakes and brave but foolhardy risks to avoid arrest, remember what happened and not get killed in the process.

As her life unravels, Cassie relies on fellow flight attendant Megan (Rosie Perez) and attorney Annie (Zosia Mamet), friends who have their own secrets.

Cuoco, who describes her acting approach as "fly by the seat of my pants," asked director Susanna Fogel if she should ditch her "wing it" style and prepare more studiously to play a character dealing with trauma.

"And she said, 'Do not change one thing that has gotten you to this point,' " Cuoco remembers. "I almost cried. It was so freeing."

Cuoco has the skills for the complex role and a personality that lets viewers know they're "in good hands" as she tries something new, says "Flight Attendant" executive producer Steve Yockey, who has story ideas that go beyond the book if the show gets a second season. "She has this effervescence and charm and is very open. But at the same time, she's shrewd in her decision-making. And she isn't afraid to take chances."

Besides "Flight Attendant," Cuoco voices the ribald title character of HBO Max's animated "Harley Quinn," now heading toward Season 3, and she will produce and star in "America's Sweetheart," a half-hour comedy being developed for Apple TV+.

Cuoco, who mentions Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Regina King as acting/producing role models, squeezed in a movie, "The Man from Toronto," after "Flight Attendant" wrapped this fall.

When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down "Flight Attendant" filming in March, stalling "workaholic" Cuoco for five months, it provided a personal benefit: She and Cook, whom she met nearly five years ago at a horse show and married in 2018, finally moved in together.

"We bought our dream house a while ago and just with our work schedules – he's traveling with the horses – we couldn't move in," says Cuoco, who has discussed living apart from her husband after more than a year of marriage in past interviews. "With the pandemic, we got to nest and do that whole thing. So it was actually a gift to both of us."

With "Flight Attendant" and "Toronto" completed, Cuoco is home again with plans for more horseback riding, which "keeps me very sane and normal," especially during the pandemic.

Some day, Cuoco envisions making a full go of ranch life with Cook.

"A big part of our relationship is the bond we have with our horses, that lifestyle that we really love. I could see us living in, like, Kentucky or somewhere where we could have a big ranch," she says. "That would be a dream."

#usa #tags

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davidmann95 · 7 years ago

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The day - the very day, mind you - after I politely informed DC what they should be doing with their movies from now on, they went ahead and reaffirmed they’re making ones I told them not to anyway. I swear, some days it’s almost like they’re not even paying attention to what I’m shouting into the void here!

Okay, let’s take this point by point (aside from Aquaman/Captain Marvel, since those are already in production):

* Wonder Woman II: Duh.

* Flashpoint: Guess they really are so far past embarrassment that they’re doubling down on an actual continuity reboot right after the spiritual one. Presumably this is Justice League II - especially given the word that this’ll be Affleck’s last turn - so while aspects didn’t play out I figure my theory still basically holds true that this’ll be more of a war of the worlds between two parallel Earths than a Barry-lost-in-time flick to justify the necessary scale, actors, and overall expense, especially since this will presumably be the last showing for a number of said actors alongside Affleck, most likely Cavill and Eisenberg. Speaking of whom, where’s this leave the Legion of Doom? Are they being shoved on top of this monstrosity?

* Suicide Squad 2: Aw jeez guys, really? I mean, I suppose it’s understandable to wanna keep Will Smith around and it’s easier to bundle him with Harley Quinn than give each a movie, but who wants this?

* Batgirl: Is this now independent of Whedon? Because I thought this was only happening because of him, but I can’t imagine him being given another potential tentpole after he couldn’t resuscitate Justice League.

* Green Lantern Corps: I think they need to work harder on shoring up the existing base before handing their next major player to fuckin’ David Goyer (again!), but it makes sense and should at least be pretty.

* The Batman: Cause fuck Superman uniquely among the big three I guess. I kid, I kid, and I do hope this gets to be the street noir trip Reeves wants. What’s this word about Jon Hamm crusading for it after years of saying he didn’t want to be tied to that kind of franchise though? I suppose Batman money makes the difference after years of people wanting him to try his hand at the other guy, because again, fuck Superman I guess.

* Justice League Dark: Decent enough idea even without del Toro in the driver’s seat, but while I recognize the original Dark Universe title is taken, someone for the love of god come up with a better name for this.

And there’s also the evidently scrapped movies: again, Superman’s screwed as usual, though as cosmic recompense Deathstroke also seems to be off the table. None of the Joker movies vanishing is a shock, nor are Harley Quinn’s if they’re determined to tie her to a sinking ship. Cyborg being out of the picture is a bummer though, as is Nightwing. While the latter had official news coming out pretty recently, I suppose it’s no longer ‘necessary’ if they’re recasting Bruce altogether and therefore don’t require a Dick Grayson to step into the cowl. Damn, I was looking forward to him putting on the big-boy cape in the comics again in response to that.

#DCEU #Opinion

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chronicbatfictioner · 7 years ago

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Theater of the Soul - Chapter 5

Somebody had brought food. Leftovers. If there is any difference between here and home, it's that there are more leftovers down here than back home, while the portions remained of the same size. People here do not need as much carbohydrates to keep themselves warm, he guessed.

He, however, needed to eat. He knew from experience that food were not as easy to come by when you live like he does. He gobbled up the entirety of the portion he was given, momentarily hoping that there was nothing inedible and/or hazardous and/or poisonous. Kicking away the slight thought of hoping the food would be poisonous so that he would die. No, he did not want to die. He wanted to survive this. He'd done it before, he'll do it again.

"Course of action?" Barbara wanted to know.

They made it to Los Angeles by the first week of June - after a lot of arguments, cajoling, threatening, and finally begging for Bruce to allow them to go.

Well, Tim assumed that there would be some valid, logical aspects of Bruce's argument - since they would be using his jet, anyway. And his penthouse at Wilshire Boulevard. And his car... --okay, maybe there were lots of valid aspects of Bruce's arguments. But it was not like he was hurting for cash, anyway. Barbara made sure that the company would still run for the next decade, if run progressively (e.g. if they spend a lot on beers and chips, for instance) instead of conservatively.

Either way, Tim and Barbara are now securely (and oh-so-comfortably) lodging themselves in Bruce's penthouse at Downtown Los Angeles. The penthouse was not only comfortably situated smack in the middle of the Downtown area, it was also highly secured. "Because Bruce is a kind of a paranoid twerp, Tim. And we're the conspirator of his paranoid lifestyle by having such appalling sense of self-preservation." Barbara had said dryly.

That, in Tim's mind, actually kind of explained how Napier decided to get to Bruce through people, instead of by other means. And as much as he did not want to admit, his brain was starting to spout out numerous conspiracy theories. He was quite surprised when Barbara, of all people, actually agreed with him when he sounded his suspicion on their way to Los Angeles.

"It makes sense," she had said. "Bruce, and in essence, the Wayne House, is the only house that has never wavered or even catch any kind of scandal in the past few centuries. Stands to reason that some people would want a part of it. Or see it fall. Whichever comes first."

"Right? I mean, Bruce's parents were murdered - yet the house did not fall, thanks to Alfred and Lucius Fox," Tim clarified. Lucius Fox has been the House's Marketing Agent since time immemorial. Between he and Alfred, the house could virtually run itself while Bruce would busy himself by looking for other ventures. Between the three of them, the Wayne Entertainment Incorporated had grown into a virtually self-sustaining business, and adding Barbara's uncanny financial management skills to the mix seemed to put the business template into solid concrete.

And now, sitting comfortably in the Penthouse, another thought struck him. "Maybe I'm getting over my head here, but I'm not sure that Napier is the last of the line of beneficiary..." he mused out loud.

Barbara glared at him. "Explain."

"Well, the one thing I know in entertainment business is that you don't need money, per se, more than the name behind it - to get ahead. Napier's first 'business' venture was as a Media Critic, generally easier to get in to than the operations-side of the business." he explained, feeling the explanations starting to cluster haphazardly in his mind. "And then the social media age came, he was starting to become obsolete, since most of his work was on printed media. So he's trying to get in to the operations by teaming up with a burlesque-slash-adult-entertainment side. i.e. Harley Quinn and her troupe."

"I'm starting to see a pattern here, but keep going." Barbara encouraged - reason number 46,587 why Tim loves her.

"But to move to the mainstream, he would need to have a name that is solid."

"Won't it be easier if he would just join Cobblepots' Iceberg Lounge? They do adult entertainments there, too." Barbara argued.

"It is in a short run, but in the long run?" Tim countered. "It's like, you know, porn actors trying to make a name for themselves in normal, or even family-based movies? It may happen, once in a blue moon - like Stallone or somebody like, ultra lucky. But it required a hell of a lot of hard work to turn your image around."

"I... am not going to ask how you know that, and I'd rather simply concluded it's part of the trivia world you're so well-versed in. But okay, I see your point." Barbara grinned mirthfully. "So now, boy wonder, where do we start?"

"Napier's assets." Tim decided.

"You're gonna tell me you've got a list of them already, aren't you? Because I don't think you're getting us all the way out here just to google."

Tim gave Barbara a withering glare. "I'm not inefficient." he said haughtily, presenting her with his tablet.

"I know you're not, that's why I grabbed the chance to bring you instead of anybody else." Barbara accepted the tablet gleefully. "I do not, however, think we should go alone to these addresses. I have a backup plan, and I hope you do, too."

"I take it said backup plan would include an adult..." Tim said dryly. "Even though I'm quite capable of protecting myself."

"An adult I would trust with your welfare, yes. Plus, it's not like you can drive, Timothy." she retorted.

Well, okay. At 15, Tim definitely could not drive around. Not to mention that Los Angeles area was really not made for walking. Bicycling, maybe, although that would likely end up with Tim having calves the size of Bruce's massive biceps.

Ick. No.

"Won't there be a chauffeur with the car?" he tried. He really was not looking forward to have a chaperone.

"That is optional, but I do not trust random strangers like a chauffeur. Not especially ones whose name do not start with 'Alfred' and ends with 'Pennyworth'. So no, tomorrow morning, you will meet my friends - one of whom will travel with you, the other will travel with me. Not objectionable unless they are proven ineffective." she said with finality. "Now, shall I left you on your own devices in the kitchen while I rest, or will you burn it?"

Tim grinned sheepishly. "I think I'll be utilizing the obnoxious amount of takeout menus I see hanging on the fridge. You want disgusting food or hipster food?"

"Something Tex-Mex would be nice, I guess. I'm going to take a long bath, and you better have something edible by then."

#Jason Todd #Tim Drake #Barbara Gordon #JayTim #SoulTheater!AU #no-capeAU #BatFam

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just-a-thought29-blog · 7 years ago

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D.C.’s Direction

Comic book movies are all the rage! Specifically, super hero movies. Almost every 3 to 6 months we are graced with a new or returning hero flying, swinging or running across the big screen. And as of this moment, Marvel seems to be dominating. Critics and fans alike praise the company’s characters, plots, special effects, and story telling to a point that it seems that Marvel could do no wrong when it comes to the big screen. But to be fair, they have been doing this for awhile now. 10 years to be exact I believe. So if they didn’t have their act together by now, I don’t think we’d all be very excited about a third and fourth Avengers movie coming out in the next two years. Marvel has found a formula and they’re sticking too it. Though the formula may be getting slightly predictable, the box office numbers are telling them “if it aint broke, don’t fix it.”

The same can not be said for the other beloved big screen super heroes. For the last few years D.C has been struggling with its cape and cowl to fit just right. Since deciding they were going to have a DCEU: D.C Extended Universe, things just continued to get messier and messier by the week. And it seems the last few weeks things have reached a point that even the most devoted fan would go “Holy Confusion Batman!”

There were two things that caught my attention that made me want to share my thoughts on this topic. The first was the announcement of an origin story to probably the most notorious comic book villain of all time, The Joker. I thought this was very interesting. The avid comic book readers are the ones who know the most about The Joker and his past. To the rest of us, we just remember him as either Cesar Romero from the hippie era, Jack Nicholson from Tim Burton’s movie, or Heath Ledger’s performance which could be argued as the best portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime to date. Hell, some of us would argue that Mark Hamill’s voice acting of the character is hands down the best Joker of all time! For decades there has been no shortage of adaptions of this character, and if D.C has their way he won’t be going away any time soon.

The second thing that caught my attention was an interview given by Jared Leto. We remember him right? He played Joker too recently. Didn’t really play him well in my opinion, but hey I’m not a casting director. But in his interview he shared something very interesting. He explained that even he was a little confused on what was going on in the DCEU. That’s something no D.C fan wants to hear. Why would the current actor portraying this iconic character be confused about what was going on? Oh! Did I forget to mention that The Joker origin movie is a “stand alone” film? Which based off the information we have kind of means its based on the D.C. character, but not a complete piece of the DCEU puzzle. And that the studio is eyeing Leonardo Dicaprio to play Joker? Yea. That’s where we’re at right now.

And it doesn’t stop there! Remember all those rumors dancing around like mad hatters that Ben Affleck wasn’t going to be Batman any more? And Ben went on record at SDCC that he loved playing the character, and he was the best hero to play in any universe and that he would even play a monkey if the current director, Matt Reeves, asked him to? Remember all that? Yea, now even that’s being rumored to be a “stand alone” film, or trilogy if you want to go further down the rumor hole, with the potential of a new actor putting on the cape and cowl. Even the Riddler at this point would say he’s confused! And to a non comic book reader or fan it all could be very overwhelming and potentially be even more harmful the D.C movie brand. But...should it?

Lets take a step back to the all these super hero movies’ source material: comic books. For years there have been multiple universes in comic book story lines that readers have had to keep track of. It wasn’t until recently, for example, that Marvel decided to sort of combine those universes into one. So now both Peter Parker and Miles Morales are in the same universe. So what if D.C. is just taking this idea and brining it to the next level? Could that work? Will audiences accept that there’s the DCEU with Jared Leto as Joker and BatFleck driving the Bat Mobile, but at the same time accept that in an “alternate universe” Leo is the Clown Prince of Crime and someone else is the Caped Crusader? Is this possible? My thought? Sure!...but not the way its being handled.

I’ve thought for awhile now that D.C is trying to play catch up. Marvel had 5 movies before the first Avengers movie came out. D.C had Superman and then gave us a Batman v. Superman movie and threw Wonder Woman in it almost out of nowhere. However I think we can agree that she was one of if not the best thing to come out of that movie. After that she got her own movie and now this fall we have an entire Justice League with the whole gang showing up almost out of nowhere. Marvel took their time to introduce us to its heroes that we would be seeing for almost a decade. D.C gave us heroes we were familiar with, Batman and Superman, and threw in a surprise hero, Wonder Woman followed by her own movie. They’re doing the same in Justice League. We’re now familiar with Batman, Superman and now Wonder Woman, and can be thrown three new characters: Flash, Cyborg and Aqua Man! All of who are getting their own movies too. Hell, Marvel did this recently in Civil War. We were familiar with everyone in that movie, but were thrown Black Panther and Spider-Man (he’s new to the MCU bare with me) as added bonuses. And just like D.C. solo movies were to follow for both of these characters AFTER they were introduced in a big cross over movie event. So why does one seem forced and the other flows like the pages of the comics they come from? Because it’s just that, forced.

One theme has been clear with Marvel and its MCU almost from the start, direction. From day one it seemed Marvel had a clear direction on where they wanted to take their time line, plots and stories they wanted to tell and worked hard to make them flow like they have. D.C hasn’t shown they have that direction. It’s almost like they have a certain desperation instead, Desperate to get a big team up movie out before the super hero genre dies. Desperate to get its big name hero, Batman, in as much as possible to draw in the audience. Desperate to announce any intriguing movie idea before they have a clear direction on how or where the film and its characters fit in. Don’t get me wrong, I’m beyond excited for a Night Wing movie...as long as it doesn’t get turned into something else like Gotham City Sirens turned into a Joker Harley Quinn movie.

It’s all starting to become clear that D.C is a little unclear on what direction they want to take. It’s safe to say we don’t want them to be another Marvel. We want D.C to be its own identity with its own themes. Are those themes getting attacked by critics? Sure they are. But they only have Marvel movies to base their opinions on. Wonder Woman is the first D.C. movie to praised by critics. But why? What was different? Simple, direction. The movie had a clear plot. It didn’t jump around or try to throw us so much information so we could all be brought up to speed. It was the first time it felt that they didn’t throw 100 ideas against the wall, saw what 25 of them stuck and tried to make a movie out of them. For once their direction was clear, and it showed at the box office and reviews.

D.C. needs to take the advice from one of their own movies. Why do we fall Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up. Maybe BvS and Suicide Squad was D.C. taking a terrible fall while Wonder Woman was them showing us that they learned how to get back up. Only time will tell though. And hopefully there’s clear direction when they assemble the league.

#dc comics #marvel #mcu #batman #superman #wonder woman #joker #dceu

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mandibierly · 8 years ago

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‘Veep’ Showrunner David Mandel Responds to Labor Day Theories

Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer (Photo: HBO)

It’s been a well-received season of change for HBO’s Veep, but as we found out when we posed showrunner David Mandel’s 13 questions to fans, there are two things you can count on remaining the same: viewers’ love-hate relationship with Jonah and their shared desire to know what Gary did for Selina on Labor Day.

Read on to see how fans answered Mandel’s queries, as well as his reactions to the most popular responses (including the Labor Day theories he shot down).

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DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 1.) Is Selina Meyer a good person in any way? Why do you root for her?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: Two-thirds of the fans who responded said they believe Selina has redeeming qualities, though they definitely had to reach to name some. Jess remembered that Selina cares for horses, “an indication she does have a heart.” She roots for Selina because she is “unapologetically female in a man’s world. Quotes like, ‘That’s the least reassuring sentence since ‘It’s okay, it’s just the tip!”” Ming Nguyen said, “She showed a hint of being a good person in [the abortion episode] ‘The Choice’ in Season 3. She could be a fierce fighter for women’s rights and equality.” Sydney Grullon spoke more generally: “I don’t think she’s inherently awful, I think deep down she thinks what she’s doing is good, at least what she was doing while in office.” Prakram Bhushan, meanwhile, was incredibly specific: “Selina is a good lover. Everyone roots for her.”

As for the naysayers, their position was summed up by Jamie Burgess: “No. She is everything that is bad about politics: no real vision or drive to lead via policy decisions. Making decisions based on polling with no overall agenda for the country or goals. I root for her because of amazing acting by her actor.” Or, put more bluntly by Eman Abdelmouty: “She’s the absolute worst. Yet we love Selina because a.) she kept it together while holding the nuclear codes, she never grabbed people by the p***y. b). Julia Louis-Dreyfus.”

MANDEL RESPONDS: Hearing that last answer, Mandel can only laugh: “Have our standards for what a president is dropped so in the last two years that this is what we’re saying is good about Selina Meyer?” But looking at the big picture… “I find that [two-thirds number] fascinating, because I think she’s a horrible person! I think it’s a credit to Julia, that she has found a way to make people care about this character. I like to think it’s a credit to Armando [Iannucci, the show’s creator] and the previous writers, and my current writers, that we can make you root for a terrible person. We love that dichotomy.”

Did Selina have good intentions when she was in office? Mandel thinks Jamie’s read was correct: “I think she only really tried to do good if she thought it was politically expedient. We do spend a lot of time thinking about the fact that she’s not 100% terrible at her job. I think people forget that she did rise up through the political system, and that requires a certain amount of street-fighting skills and an inherent political sense, and she has that. But I do think being skilled is different than being a good person. I don’t think she particularly wants to help the world. I think even when she’s ‘nice,’ there’s usually ulterior motives or things that will get her to throw it away in a second.”

And as for the assessment of Selina’s sexual prowess: “I think she would take a lot of pride in knowing that people think she’s good in bed,” he says. “I think that would be important to her.”

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DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 2.) What character on our show would you least like to work for?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: The top vote-getter was Jonah, with Dan as the runner-up (“I would need to work for someone who has a soul,” Minh wrote of the latter). Votes were also cast for notoriously incompetent Mike; groper Teddy; vicious Roger Furlong; war hero Danny Chung; stoic Kent (“Hard to read and even harder to please,” Jamie insisted); and puppetmaster Ben. “That guy has shown his dark side way too many times (Dan’s ‘resignation’) and has probably done some nasty stuff during his career,” Viktor Cegledi reasoned. “Plus, he has that weird nickname, ‘Buttf**ker.'”

MANDEL RESPONDS: He was shocked his personal pick, Amy, got no votes. “No votes? Oh my god, she’s the worst! I think she’s that kind of boss that would give you things to do, and before you even had 30 seconds to do it, she’d be asking where it was, and then she would take it back from you and do it herself. And there’s nothing you could do that would ever satisfy her,” he says.

As for the others: “I understand the Jonah one, but I think there’s an opportunity if you’re the right person. For example, when the beautiful men were working for Jonah last year as interns, and he really sort of took to them. I think he could be a great boss if he somehow liked you, or thought you were like, ‘his guy.’ Obviously he’s got a hair-trigger temper, but I do think the sun can shine from Jonah,” he says. “I think it’d be very fun to work for Dan. I guess as long as you weren’t a good-looking woman. I guess that would be a real problem. I think then you’re sort of in Bill O’Reilly territory. An incompetent boss [like Mike] is the greatest thing in the world — then you can do what you like. I agree [about Danny Chung] — you’d get very sick of hearing about a tank and stuff. Kent is certainly hard to read, but again, if you were the right kind of person for a lot of these people, I think you could survive. If you did your job and stayed quiet, I think Ben would be harsh, but he would be relatively fair. I think if you were a math person, Kent might actually take to you. To me, what defines the worst is that there’s nothing you can do. Furlong, I think would be up there with Amy. That’s just a horrific job. Will looks like he has PTSD sometimes. I don’t know quite what he’s doing there, but it’s kind of wonderful.”

Tim Simons as Jonah Ryan on ‘Veep,’ Rupert Friend as Peter Quinn on ‘Homeland’ (Photos: HBO/Showtime)

DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 3.) Do you think Homeland would benefit from a Jonah-type character? Who on that show should we trade him for?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: Mandel admits some of his questions weren’t necessarily designed to be answered. Still, a few folks went for it. Ethan Hart gave a vague response: “I’m not sure, but I would love to see a Veep character cry like Carrie on Homeland.” Sonia Murray, however, was very specific (Homeland spoiler alert!): “I think Jonah would be great on Homeland. We trade him for the sadly now deceased Peter Quinn. I feel like the possibility of Jonah’s impending death would be just as nerve-racking as all the times Quinn was in danger. Except the desired outcome would be the opposite: we’d be holding our breath to see if Jonah would escape danger but we’d be super upset and disappointed each time he survived…”

MANDEL RESPONDS: “That’d be very funny,” he says of having a Carrie-type crier. But don’t we already have Catherine? “Catherine does go kind of the full Claire Danes. She Danes-es it up,” he says. As for that Jonah scenario, “Maybe Jonah could get tortured. That could be enjoyable. Captured and kidnapped by some sort of terrorist act and put in a room with Sarin gas, like Peter Quinn.” His personal pick for a crossover? “This is not exactly an answer, but I’d kind of love to see a sit-down between Ben and Saul. I think those are two old souls that would really enjoy each other’s company.”

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DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 4.) What do you think will happen first: America electing a female president or Gary wearing corduroy?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: They weren’t happy about it, but roughly 60 percent said Gary wearing corduroy.

MANDEL RESPONDS: “Sadly, I think they’re right,” he says. And to answer Jamie’s question, “Why would Gary wearing corduroy not happen? He seems goofy enough to pull it off,” he simply says, “I think he just thinks corduroy is not very tasteful.”

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DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 5.) What’s your favorite episode of Veep?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: Season 5’s “Mother” — in which Selina lost both her mom and, perhaps more importantly, the popular vote — got three times the nods of any other episode. As Sydney wrote, “‘Mother.’ By a landslide. Between Sarah Sutherland’s Emmy worthy ugly crying and JLD’s Emmy-winning performance, I cry from laughter every time I watch this episode.” Other episodes tying for second with numerous shout-outs include Season 2’s “D.C.” and “The Vic Allen Dinner” (as Eman said, “It has everything: Kent being evil, ‘You’re a meme, ma’am,’ Selina singing, the line ‘Jolly Green Ji** Face.’“); Season 4’s “Election Night”; and Season 5’s “Congressional Ball” and “Kissing Your Sister” (aka Catherine’s documentary).

MANDEL RESPONDS: “It doesn’t surprise me that people like ‘Mother.’ I love ‘Mother.’ I guess it surprises me that it was such a clear winner, just because it’s that typical sort of thing — it’s hard to pick among your children, as they say. I think any opportunity where Selina can be dealing with a real political issue, a real piece of politics, and at the same time, we can mix in a personal issue — and it doesn’t necessarily mean someone’d be dying, but just anything smaller and personal — that’s a great combination for Veep, and I think ‘Mother’ fits into that world.” If he had to single out a personal favorite, it would be “Kissing Your Sister,” just because he had so much fun directing it. “I enjoyed it just because of the fun and the silliness of all the different time periods, and all that kind of stuff, the chance to do sort of the Gilbert Sullivan musical, and that kind of a thing.”

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DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 6.) Is it pronounced “CH-lumsky” or “K-lumsky”? We’ve never been sure, and now it’s kind of too late to ask her.

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: The majority got it right (K-lumsky). A few suggested either watching an interview online in which Anna says it herself (see above), or simply just calling her “Anna” to be safe.

MANDEL RESPONDS: “I just make it a policy never to say Anna’s last name,” he says. “It’s sort of the way I treat my in-laws, which is I never say their name, because my instinct is to call them Mr. …, and I’m certainly not gonna call them by their first name, so I just avoid calling them.”

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DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 7.) What line of work would best suit Mike McLintock?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: Fans had many suggestions: “a job with least or no stress, like ticket salesman to a museum which no one visits”; “a tired-but-friendly high school teacher who interacts well with the students (because doesn’t do his job and doesn’t teach)”; “Uber driver who keeps trying to show you photos of his children”; “shift supervisor at a small-town grocery store”; “food critic, Daily Mail journalist, Trump PR team”; “Boat rental, he seems really into boats”; or babysitting, both humans and pets.

MANDEL RESPONDS: “I could see that,” he says of Mike as an ineffective but well-liked high school teacher. As for the other options: “He owned a boat in the past and then had trouble getting rid of said boat, so I think he would be very happy in the boat world, although I don’t think there’s a lot of money in boat rental,” he says. “He’d love to be a food critic. I think he’d love to go to restaurants and be able to eat, but I’m not quite sure he’d have a lot to say.” His take? “I feel like the real road not taken for him would’ve been like a children’s dentist. I think it would have suited him quite well, and I would have really enjoyed seeing him in one of those dental smock things.”

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DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 8.) Our writing offices were one flight above Rizzoli & Isles. Are you a Rizzoli or an Isles?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: So 50 percent had no idea the former TNT series existed. Forty percent said they were a Rizzoli (Angie Harmon’s blue-collar detective character) and 10 percent said they were an Isles (Sasha Alexander’s more polished medical examiner).

MANDEL RESPONDS: “I think that speaks to what’s going on in America, to the anti-intellectualization,” he says. “I think Isles is clearly smarter. She’s a scientist. And I think this is the problem, it started many years ago, which is that people are looking down on elitism and education. They were putting those two things together and thinking that education is bad, and I’m sorry, I think that’s wrong.” On a personal note, Mandel says the Rizzoli & Isles writers were wonderful neighbors. “They sent us something when we won the Emmy. They were very lovely, we miss them, and my mom loved the show,” he says.

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DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 9.) Could Veep exist on a regular TV network?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: Please. Ninety-nine percent of fans said no, with most lamenting the would-be loss of the Season 5 episode “C**tgate” and the series’ signature insults. As Erica Macy-Lesperance wrote, “I wouldn’t want Veep to air on a regular network because I don’t want to lose any of Selina’s colorful vocabulary. That’s Washington D.C. for you… District of C**ts!”

MANDEL RESPONDS: “They’re not wrong,” he says. He does like the “intellectual exercise” of imagining how the show could be done without TV-MA language. “But it really is impossible,” he says. “The problem is, I’m happy to get rid of the incidental swearing. We talk a lot about that. Because it’s HBO, and it’s Veep, there’s a tendency for the actors and the writers to just throw in the casual “that f**-king thing” because you can. We police that and try to not have that, so that when you do get a chance to say “f**k” it’s a very special “f**k.”

Does the language make it difficult to choose clips to use at awards shows? On the contrary. “It’s sort of fun,” Mandel says. His favorite experience was when the American Film Institute showed clips from the 10 series it was honoring and, alphabetically, Veep came last. “So the other nine, most of them were dramas. There were a couple of comedies: Atlanta was in there, I think Better Call Saul had a very funny clip, because they’re a comedy-drama kind of a thing. And you got to us, and it was the clip of Selina yelling at Penny Nickerson from ‘Congressional Ball,’ and she just tears into her and her dress, and how she’s gonna shake her district like a nanny from South America, and up her husband’s ass with cancer, all this stuff. It just was so stunning to hear the language in this giant ballroom at the Four Seasons. People started laughing, and then it just started that kind of rolling laughter, because you’d watched nine shows of very clean, normal clips, and then all of a sudden Julia just called down hellfire. And it was very funny, too, because there was no next clip. They were switching over to the movie side, so the lights came up, and there was no one saying like, ‘And now we’ll go over here.’ They were taking a pause, and the pause allowed the laughter to keep rolling, and people kind of stared back at us. It was kinda great.”

TRUMP MOMENT as @VeepHBO closing credit scene is ???????????? (Based on @Walldo tweet) pic.twitter.com/aZpKydSbkn

— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) March 31, 2017

DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 10.) In the Age of Trump, are you less interested in watching a show written by Jewish writers?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: We all know attempts at sarcasm don’t always translate well in print. But it was nice to see Veep‘s international fanbase come out to play: “I’m European, and Europe has a wonderful history regarding our attitude towards Jews,” wrote Viktor, who’s from Croatia. “Hahahaha,” Brazilian fan Luiz Guilherme Romagnoli laughed. “I only would be less interested if Trump was the writer. (Luckily I’m not American, then I don’t have to live under Trump direction.)”

MANDEL RESPONDS: “It’s interesting. The international opinion on Trump is quite clear, so I think they are fascinated by [what’s happening], and horrified, much like a lot of Americans. They are looking to Veep for a little bit of comedy, because he makes them so nervous,” he says.

Mandel has stated many times how grateful he is that the writers decided Selina would lose the election and not be in the White House in Season 6. “I don’t think we can compete. The joke I always say is, we would sit around trying to think of the stupidest, dumbest thing a president or his staff could do… and they kind of outdo that on a daily basis.”

Yes, he enjoyed seeing people turn real Trump team gaffes into Veep closing-credits sequences like the executive order one above or Sean Spicer’s infamous Hitler remarks below.

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“It was fantastic. I loved it, because it was obviously a salute to the show, but by the way, was also proving my point,” Mandel says. “Even though I think Selina is a little bit anti-Semitic, she’s not nearly as anti-Semitic as the entire Trump administration, so it’s hard to compete.”

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DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 11.) What stories would you like to see next season? Please provide a detailed outline with jokes.

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: While multiple fans would enjoy seeing Gary sleep with a Russian spy (“Oh lord,” Mandel says), Cecille had another idea for him: “Gary actually quitting or getting fired from his post? Just because I’d like to see how the two will function without each other and see who suffers the most. I just want to determine who really is the ‘human crutch’ in their relationship.” Another popular suggestion: Jonah ends up running for president — either opposing Selina or with her help. Ethan has it all thought out:

Jonah, given his cancer scare and his ability to relate to the American people (because we’re all Jonahs, really), becomes one of the rising stars within the party and easily wins re-election in the midterms. Party leaders, looking for someone to beat the popular Laura Montez, turn to Jonah to run for President and throw their support behind him. Selina, bitter with Doyle after the debacle in Season 5, begins grooming Jonah to run under the condition that he appoints her Secretary of State, and in return, she’ll finance his campaign. The whole team (reluctantly) returns to work for Jonah’s campaign. In the primaries, Jonah’s run mirrors Selina’s initial run: he starts out popular, but ends up losing to DANNY CHUNG. Chung asks Jonah to be his running mate, and he accepts. The Chung/Ryan ticket goes on to win the election, and they take office. However, proof begins to surface that Chung was actually born overseas (in like Brazil or something unexpected) and he is thrown out of office. Jonah then ascends to the presidency Considering Chung made all the cabinet appointments, there are no new spots for Jonah to offer Selina, except for one newly vacant spot: the vice presidency.

MANDEL RESPONDS: As far as Gary and Selina parting ways, “We think about that. Not exactly that story per se, but just the notion of ‘Gary on his own,'” he says. “I’m just not sure either of them has the ability to get to that step. Before he walked out the door with his box, he would be back working with her. I’m just not sure it’s feasible for either of them to leave each other.” And while Selina has already expressed interest in running for President again (an idea that Ben, mercifully, shot down in the Season 6 premiere), is Mandel rushing to get her back to Washington? “Not really,” he says. “I feel like the sun has set on her career.”

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DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 12.) Do you want to know what happened on Labor Day?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: Yes, 85 percent of people said they’d like to know what Gary and Selina were referring to in Season 4’s legendary “East Wing” blowup when he yelled, “Can you find somebody else who did what I did?” and she responded, “You mean on Labor Day? ” About half of those people, without provocation, also added that they’d like to know what was in the trash bag that Selina made Gary retrieve in Season 2’s “Shutdown.” The 15 percent who said no to a Labor Day reveal feel as Eman does: “Some things are more beautiful when left unexplained.”

MANDEL RESPONDS: “I didn’t know the trash bag was on their minds quite as much, but that’s fascinating. I kind of love that. But I also sort of agree [with Eman]: With Labor Day, at some point you worry that there’s no answer that would satisfy anybody,” he says. “But I kinda like the idea of finding out more, so we’ll see what happens.”

DAVID MANDEL ASKS: 13.) What do you think happened?

ANALYZING THE ANSWERS/MANDEL RESPONDS: We read him a list of popular theories. Starting with the most obvious…

Gary disposed of a body for her. “I’m just gonna simply say too easy. That they murdered somebody — just too easy,” Mandel says.

Gary and Selina were… intimate. “Not the way they talked about it, no.”

It’s related to Selina’s off-camera miscarriage, revealed in Season 1’s “Full Disclosure.” “It’s hard to imagine it being something that they had already talked about. It just seems like it has to be something we don’t know about at all.”

Gary had to tell Andrew that Selina wanted a divorce, just as he had to tell Ted about their split in that same Season 1 episode. “Oh, that’s interesting. I think it’s worse than that.”

Had Mandel decided what happened? “I don’t have all of it, but there’s a key piece of information that I would love to get in at some point,” he says. “I’m hoping that we’ll get it in this year, but I’m not sure we will. It’s hard to say anything other than that without giving anything away.”

Veep airs Sundays at 10:30 p.m. on HBO.

Read More From Yahoo TV:‘The Puppy Episode’ Turns 20: ‘Ellen’ Writers Look Back‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Postmortem: Elisabeth Moss on That Breeding SceneReview: ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ and ‘The Five’ Turn Ann Coulter into a Martyr

#_revsp:wp.yahoo.tv.us #_uuid:b93400ec-ab14-3e73-91bf-47183d147da1 #Veep #David Mandel #Ask the Fans #_author:Mandi Bierly #_lmsid:a0Vd000000AE7lXEAT

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cinnalock · 6 years ago

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Quinn Rhea-Broderick Masterlist

((The collection of info/headcanons for Quinn. Like with some of my other OCs, I’ll make new, separate posts for any new headcanons for her, but then I’ll update this list as well so everything can be altogether for convenience.))

Quinn Rhea-Broderick is an albino with very short white hair, pale skin, and green eyes and she has a mole under her right eye. She’s tall (5’8”) and has a toned, but not bulky build with defined muscle structure.

Quinn is the only daughter of Martin and Charlotte Rhea. Martin was the former hero Black Corsair and had telekinetic-based shielding powers; he died when Quinn was a child by trying to smother an explosion that would’ve killed tons of civilians. This has made Quinn slightly resentful of heroes as she believes they’re glory-seekers who don’t care about the people they leave behind.

Charlotte re-married Aaron Broderick a few years after Martin’s death. Aaron is an ex-Marine and former championship boxer, but he settled down after marrying Charlotte and built a farm next to their house. Quinn was slow to warm up to Aaron, but with time and patience his presence helped her cope with the loss of her biological father.

Quinn dropped out of high school at age 17 to enlist in the Marines. She actively served 6 years before she started working at an autoshop in Sternbild for the brother of one of her commanding officers. The brother ended up attempting insurance fraud by burning the business a few months after she started. He was caught and arrested for this, and Quinn moved on to being a bartender and bouncer for a strip club afterwards.

Quinn’s NEXT ability is called “Feral” and it functions similarly to the 100 Power. While Feral is activated, Quinn gains immense physical strength, speed, and agility (though not to the same capacity as 100 Power) and heightened senses. There is no time limit to how long Feral can be activated, but when it’s deactivated it has a 4 hour “cool down” before she can use it again. The downside of Feral is that the longer she has it activated, the less rational Quinn gets as she slowly becomes a rabid beast. If she’s too far gone to know to deactivate Feral, the only way to stop Quinn’s violent behavior is to knock her out.

Quinn is a mechanical genius. It all started with her working on cars, tractors, and other farming equipment with Aaron but even as an extremely young teen the inner workings of machines just “clicked” with her. Her mother tried to convince her to go to college and get an engineering degree, but building and fixing machines isn’t her passion as much as it is a skill and a mild hobby at best.

She also has an extensive knowledge of agriculture due to her family owning a farm, and she knows how to cook very well because of her mother and step-grandmother, but doesn’t think she’s good since she’s not as good at cooking as they are. Their farm was relatively small and had cows and chickens, but was mostly a produce farm along with a few pecan and apple trees.

She owns an iguana named Charlie and an african grey parrot named Hilda. Hilda’s a very intelligent, but mischievous bird with a wide vocabulary due to Quinn leaving the TV on for her while she’s at work.

Quinn’s a former smoker and struggles with the addiction on a regular basis. She started in high school shortly before she dropped out and it got worse when she enlisted. Once she started working at the autoshop, she put in an active effort to stop. She’s quit for the most part, but she still has an electronic cigarette she uses if she’s desperate and it’s not uncommon to see a nicotine patch on her arm.

Quinn’s background music would be “Spiteful” by CFO$. 

Quinn’s voice actor would be Ashly Burch (Cassie Cage, Mortal Kombat). 

Quinn starts the series with short hair and starts growing it out through the timeskip.

Quinn enjoys drinking sweet tea, and God have mercy on any soul who brings her unsweet tea and sugar packets thinking it’s the same thing.

She spends a lot of her spare time at the gym or at a circus arts school where she takes classes in acrobatics and pole dancing.

Quinn’s favorite food is prime rib with horseradish sauce. (in reality her favorite food is basically horseradish and she’ll eat anything smothered in it, but she thinks it goes best with beef)

Martin, Charlotte, and Quinn are white. Aaron is half-black, half-Korean and Quinn is fluent in Korean because of him and his mother (her step-grandmother), but she cannot read Korean.

Martin’s parents live on the other side of the country. They grew distant with Charlotte and Quinn after Martin’s death, but became hostile towards Charlotte and harassed her via the phone and internet when she decided to marry Aaron and the family severed ties with them completely. Charlotte took Aaron’s last name, Broderick, but Quinn’s last name is Rhea-Broderick.

Quinn’s guilty pleasure is Animal Crossing (or at least a non-copyright T&B equivalent of it). She bought a 3DS specifically for New Leaf, but now anytime she’s staring at her phone there’s a 100% chance she’s playing Pocket Camp. Marjorie is the only one she speaks enthusiastically about the game with, but she’s horribly embarrassed about it in front of anyone else.

When Quinn becomes a hero herself, her hero name is Sergeant Wolf. “Sergeant” comes from her rank in the Marines, “Wolf” references her Feral ability. Quinn’s hero suit is similar to a military stealth uniform (imagine a hybrid between Omega Squad Teemo from League of Legends and Ana Amari from Overwatch) which includes a cowl with decorative wolf ears, bodysuit/fatigues, and a gas mask.

As a hero, Quinn tries to utilize her military training as best as she can and uses Feral as a last result. Her arsenal includes batons, pepper spray, tasers, and various firearms equipped with rubber bullets and concussion rounds.

Given the nature of her hero persona, part of Quinn’s hero duties involves being a presenter and educator in firearm safety programs.

She likes dark chocolate and puts candy bars in the fridge/freezer before eating them.

Since Quinn has albinism, her skin is extremely sensitive. She uses spray-on sunscreen if she goes out during heavy sunlight or otherwise wears lots of clothing and sunglasses. She and Marjorie (@eclatantfemme) also splurge on hypoallergenic and/or organic laundry and bath products because they like to have scented products, but can’t buy mainstream items that’ll break Quinn’s skin out.

Quinn is bisexual, though she was never a huge one for relationships as much as she was open to just casual sex. Her “type” was feminine girls and androgynous/effeminate/twink boys. Keith is her first boyfriend who’s considerably masculine, but it doesn’t diminish her attraction to him in the slightest.

For the most part, Quinn’s bad with electronics. Not with the hardware, just using them for personal reasons. She doesn’t get on the internet or check her email regularly or use social media. She doesn’t get the appeal of streaming sites like Netflix and doesn’t know how to set it up on the TV if someone asks to switch to it from the cable. If someone tells her she should learn how to do these things or get an account on a social site or lecture her about not checking her email, Quinn just shrugs them off.

Quinn’s image song is “Bubblegum Bitch” by Marina and the Diamonds.

I’m having trouble finding an anime faceclaim for her, but currently she looks most like Najenda from Akame ga Kill. After the post anime series timeskip, she grows her hair out similarly to Ria Iwamura from King’s Game.

Quinn and Marjorie’s apartment is impeccably clean all the time. Between Marjorie’s speed and Quinn’s military training, chores get done fast and efficiently before they ever have a chance to pile up.

Since Marjorie’s power gives her a hyper fast metabolism and Quinn’s a gym junkie, they have an entire cabinet and a drawer in their fridge dedicated to high protein snacks.

Both of them are mature in general, but the girls get childishly competitive when they get into eating or drinking contests with each other. There’s two buffets in Sternbild that have banned them and a few more that are weary of them ever coming back.

Quinn is aware that Marjorie is a strong woman who can take care of herself, but Marjorie is her sister and if you hurt her then Quinn doesn’t need Feral to turn your face into a bloody pulp (upset Marjorie then just go ahead and skip town or maybe flee the country, for your own safety).   Quinn has this ritual/joke with Marjorie’s partners where she tells them that they have to beat her in an arm-wrestling match before they can date Marjorie. She’s never enforced this, though, and it’s mainly just to show them that if they hurt Marjorie then how easily Quinn could hurt them back with how quickly she wins the matches. The only one that’s ever beaten her is Barnaby; since he and Quinn are both super serious when it comes to how much they care for Marjorie, they actually ended up breaking into Feral and 100 Power to try and win over each other. Barnaby actually accidentally broke Quinn’s arm in the process, but she wasn’t upset despite him being apologetic (and a bit horrified with himself for taking a “game” so far) and she doesn’t hold a grudge. In fact, she was happy he didn’t hold anything back since she felt it showed how serious he was about being able to date Marjorie.

If she were a Pokemon or a trainer, her type would be fighting.

At the Disney parks, her most favorite ride is Mt. Everest at Animal Kingdom. She also loves Dole Whip and churros (especially the special edition flavors) to the point where her companions have to remind her she should probably drink water and eat a vegetable at SOME point during the day.

Quinn’s really great at carnival games that involve tossing balls (shooting baskets, getting the ball in the milk jugs with the rubber rims, knocking down the stacks of bottles). She’s surprisingly bad at any games involving guns (the water squirters and the shooting range). The only arcade game she’s good at is skeeball because #BadAtTechnology  Charlie’s a lot more docile than Hilda in terms of pet maintenance, but he’ll scratch at his terrarium (or just climb out) and crawl over to watch TV if cartoons are on because he likes the bright colors.

Speaking of Quinn’s pets, the two actually get along quite well despite being vastly different species. Even though Hilda loves causing chaos, one trick she actually obeys without question is when Quinn tells her to share their fresh fruit treats with Charlie; Hilda will fly over and drop the pieces in Charlie’s terrarium.

When talking about them, Quinn refers to Martin as “Dad” and Aaron as “Papa” (in the transition his name went from “Mister Aaron” to “Papa Aaron” to “Papa”).

Despite being physically active for the most part, Quinn does actually read a lot when she gets the chance. If she’s warming up the treadmill or bike before really getting into her work out, if it’s a slow shift at work, or if she’s waiting for tasks to complete for Pocket Camp, she’ll have a book to peck through to keep from getting bored. Since she’s not always a consistent reader she doesn’t like anything too complicated to read so it’s easy to pick up and put down as necessary. She mostly reads memoir books or books written by celebrities and saves any story/plot-heavy books to read before she goes to bed.

Quinn had a couple of summer jobs in-between school years before she joined the military. The first was at a small frozen yogurt shop that closed down the following winter due to not enough business during the colder months. The second job was as an assistant to one of her classmate’s fathers, a wedding photographer (she has a good amount of wedding horror stories from that summer alone).

Regarding her second summer job, most of her responsibilities were helping carrying equipment and assisting with directing posed photos (like she’d be the person to throw the bride’s veil up in the air and then jump out of the shot for an in-motion picture). Her boss taught her the basics of how to use a fancy camera, but the knowledge didn’t stick, but she managed a video camera just fine so he’d let Quinn manage that part if a wedding video was part of the contract. A meal for each of them was also part of the contract and, if she could, Quinn took a tubberware container to take a piece (or two or three) of cake to take home for her and Marjorie to eat while they gossiped about the event. (“Yeah, the groom and best man getting into a fistfight was bad, but the real tragedy was the bride thinking that lime buttercream would go with german chocolate…”)

#quinn rhea broderick #quinn masterlist

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trendingnewsb · 7 years ago

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Artie Lange Is Not Ready to Die: F*ck Em All

Its hard being friends with the notoriously demon-plagued comedian Artie Langewhich, full disclosure, I am. This is in no way objective. I truly want the guy to live.

I first interviewed Lange in 2006 as part of the New York Posts coverage of the annual New York Comedy Festival. He had just sold out Carnegie Hall in a few hours and was on top of the world. Over the next few years, we met at comedy clubs from time to time. I mentioned how healthy he looked in a May 2009 Page Six item about his visiting Colin Quinns one-man show (which he mentioned in his book Crash and Burn). When I interviewed him again on Oct. 30, 2009, it was a longer talk this time, with a few insights that surprised me. He talked about the game comics play of initially sabotaging a set with the audience, then seeing if you can dig yourself out of that hole. I asked if he had ever thought that he might be playing the same game with his own life. You should be a shrink, he said.

Sixty-nine days later, I heard the news, like anyone else who follows Lange: that he was near death after stabbing himself in the stomach nine times with a 13-inch kitchen knife.

Then on Sept. 27, 2010, I got a call from comedian Dan Naturman, who told me all about Arties triumphant return at the Comedy Cellar, which led to an incredibly feel-good lead item in Page Six called: Artie Lange Thrills Audiences Again.

I interviewed him several more times over the years, and when my husband Pat Dixon, who is also a comedian, started his own show in 2015 at Compound Media, run by controversial radio legend Anthony Cumia, I told Artie that he ought to consider joining the network. To my surpriseand unrelated to me telling him that, as the pairing of two Sirius refugees is a no-brainer for anyone who follows shock-jock radioin August 2017, he started a new show with Cumia called The AA Show. Now, not only did Lange have a regular broadcasting outlet, but the HBO series Judd Apatow and Pete Holmes enlisted him in called Crashing, where he played himself, was a bona fide hit. His third book, Wanna Bet?, was inked, his standup was doing well, and so if you were doing any kind of predictive sequence, what happened next was no surprise.

Oct. 16, 2017: Artie Lange rushed to hospital, cancels weekend show. Dec. 13, 2017: Artie Lange Arrested After Missing Court Date for Drug Charges. Dec. 15, 2017: Artie Lange Headed to Rehab on Private Jet After Drug Charge.

Less than a month later, on Jan. 12, Lange returned home to New York and tweeted out to his 364,000 followers: Im back guys. Clean & Sober 32 days.

On Jan. 18, after celebrating Dave Attells birthday (Artie just turned 50 himself), Lange met me in between sets at New York Citys Olive Tree Cafe. To avoid the requests for photos from fans and occasional paparazzi, we sat in his SUV and drove around the city for an hour and a half before returning to the comedy club. With one hand on the steering wheel and one on an unlit Marlboro Red, Lange talked about everything from Harvey Weinstein to Donald Trump to Louis C.K. to Aziz Ansari to the fundamental question at hand:

Artie Lange doesnt want to die… right?

The following interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Mandy: So I guess Im wondering at what point all of this is enough to get you to stop. Like, for instance, I have a friend who if he did cocaine one more time, the doctors told him his nose would collapse

Artie: Well half of my nose is gone. My nose has no septum. I mean Ive been snorting coke and heroin

Mandy: When was the last time you did coke or heroin?

Artie: Well I just pissed clean at Hazelden so thats 38 days. But heres the thing: 31 of them were in lockdown. So nows the real work. And Im not going to lie to you, its a struggle lying there every night.

Mandy: Whats the longest youve ever been clean?

Artie: Since I was 15, 11 months. And two weeks in my twenties.

Mandy: Do you take, what is it, methadone?

Artie: No, no. I was on methadone years ago. There was a methadone clinic on Eighth and 35th, and I would go there before Howard. They would give it out to me, like special, at 5:30 a.m. I had to stop doing heroin because I was losing my job. They gave me the methadone. Its fucking heroin, basically. I left during interviews to throw up. And I said, Well this is worse than fucking heroin, so why dont I stay on that. I take Suboxone now. Suboxone works well for me, and its accepted by society. It looks like a pill you take for blood pressure every morning, so thats how Ive got to look at it. It lets you not go cold turkey.

Aziz Im sorry is a better name. I dont have any respect for Aziz Ansari. Im glad nobody got raped.

Artie Lange

Mandy: You detoxed cold turkey in jail this last time?

Artie: Ive been in jail like eight times, and this past time, I detoxed. I kicked heroin, like lying on the floor. When I got arraigned, you always want to be very respectful in front of the judge. She was like, What are you doing? And Im thinking to myself, Well, your honor, Im dead. And you know, Im trying to stand up. Withdrawal, the physical stuff, people would see the first or the second day of withdrawals, girlfriends would say, Well, that was really bad. And Im like, You saw the opening act. That was The Clash. That was David Johansen. The Who is about to take the stage. The third or fourth day of heroin withdrawal, if youre a big user like I became, if youre not physically stopped from getting dope, youll get it. With heroin, I became an addict on the road. I always had money. Ive never had to steal. I dont judge those people. Like people say to me, Have you ever blown a guy for heroin? I say, No. But then again, no ones ever asked.

Mandy: If you do fall off the wagon again, are you scared of fentanyl at all?

Artie: No. A real heroin addict is not scared of fentanyl. Id do it in a heartbeat. I want strong shit.

Mandy: Have you seen the tiny amount it takes to kill you?

Artie: I dont know what it is, but draw it back one inch. I would accept fentanyl in a heartbeat. I had a fentanyl patch on in a mental home. It was unbelievable. Ive never ODed. Ive had dealers say, Jesus Christ. What the fuck. But the nose is bad now. I could get a brain infection. If I did it, anything would go right to the brain. But again, I heard that six months ago, and I went and used an hour after.

Mandy: So I mean… you must want to die.

Artie: No, I dont want to die. I want to be high.

Mandy: But that will eventually kill you.

Artie: Im 50. If you would have told me in 1995, if you tried to bring up 2018, it would be like The Jetsons. Id be like, What are you talking about?

Mandy: So youre having fun on borrowed time.

Artie: Im playing with the houses money. As far as Im concerned, Im an overachiever. A lot of money changed hands on the internet when I turned 50. I was so happy. Fuck em all.

Mandy: But I mean… your mom and your sister. Theyre the main people who keep you from wanting to to be reckless with the houses money, right?

Artie: Yes thats the… thats the worst.

Mandy: I called your mom when you were practically in a coma these last few weeks, and her voice was just so heartbroken. I dont think she thought you were going to make it.

Artie: Yeah, you know, my father left us with nothing. I love my dad. He was my best friend. But my father was a criminal. My dad was an impulsive guy, and thats what killed him. Just like my father, with me, there are real high highs and real low lows. Like my mother saw me at Carnegie Hall, when my book went to No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list, and I think [Barack] Obamas was like No. 7. She has that framed. But then shes also seen me withdrawing in jail.

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Mandy: Your mom discovered you when you tried to kill yourself in 2010, right?

Artie: That was not a suicide attempt. I was in such bad withdrawals. Believe me, I leave a note. The one other time, I left a note. But shrinks go, Youve never tried to kill yourself. Because there was always a mountain of drugs involved. I was in such bad withdrawals, I wanted to feel something different. I was by myself. I wanted to lose enough blood to pass out. When I woke up, I dont know, I figured Id put on a red shirt and go out. I didnt know my mother was coming over. They had an intervention planned that I didnt even know about. I go, Ma, you never planned a surprise party.

Mandy: Does your mom talk to you every day?

Artie: Yeah, my mother knows me better than anybody, but I dont tell her when I slip. You know, when Dr. Drew offered me 250 grand to do Celebrity Rehab, I thought to myself, Do I just want to kill my mother now? Like its going to be me and Dennis Rodman throwing up in the same bucket. I love Dr. Drew, but I knew that show was going to go off the air because the recovery rate is like zero. If Pablo Escobar were alive today, hed be running a rehab. Its such a corrupt industry.

Mandy: You seem to still get offered drugs a lot. I think about that scene in Crashing where its the super hot woman from Showgirls who has coke and wants to do it with you.

Artie: Gina Gershon? Yeah, you know, that episode is based on one of my stories. And if the woman who inspired the episode figures it out, shed be very happy with the casting.

Mandy: Do you think it was a good idea to leave rehab early?

Artie: I have to do this intense outpatient thing which is five days a week. I go in there in the morning, and I get piss tests there. Screen Actors Guild doesnt let you do that to people. Like its almost an NFL union. You cant pee-test people. Not that Im complaining about it, but I dont get fired from shows because ultimately its a forgiving business for stuff like that. People always say its a forgiving business. And, its true. Robert Downey Jr. came back, and hes like the best actor ever. But for every one of him, theres like two thousand Jeff Conaways from Taxi living at a right angle and nobody cares and they die alone.

Mandy: Youre just working so much right now.

Artie: The one genre where I have some juice is the radio business, and you know Anthony Cumia, I love Anthony so much now. I never really met him before. Were both sort of outlaws. Without this podcasting technology you know we both would be out of a job now, probably. Its such a weird existence I have right now. Over on one side, Im doing this crazy podcast with Anthony on Compound Media that I love, and then Im on Crashing which is an HBO-produced show I love, but which could not be more the other way. Judd Apatow is another famous guy who saved my life. Like, what a great person. Ive got books and stand-up, and Im still making a lot of money doing it. If thats not going to go away, theres not much of an incentive to stay in rehab.

Mandy: And Im guessing, from what you said, you dont want to leave your mom with nothing. So what about a gig like the one with Anthony Cumia. Is that enabling or is that helping you stay clean?

Artie: Let me tell you something: I love doing it. Its almost like therapy. A lot of people dont understand a comics mind. People are like, Youre going to jump right into stand-up? Yeah, thats what I have to do. I cant stop doing it. And Anthonys show is like from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Its the most fun Ive ever had in my life. Even more fun than Howard. Because I was never uncensored on Howard. Its his show. Its Howard. So what was happening near the end when his life changed, he would meet somebody in the Hamptons, and we wouldnt know about it. Like me and Fred [Norris, the longest tenured Howard Stern staff member] wouldnt know about it. And then hed be friends with them, like somebody we bashed for 10 years. So Id say something about Richard Gere, and hed go, You got a problem with him? Id go, Havent we always had a problem with him? No, I had dinner with him. Well, can I get the memo? I dont give a shit. Ill put him on the fucking list. But I wouldnt not be able to make fun of Orlando Bloom. The show, I couldnt be on now. And he knew that.

Mandy: Anthony probably does a better Howard impression than Howard at this point.

Artie: Well the thing about Anthony is that hes the same guy off-air. But its not true for Howard. Howards a very fascinating guy. He must have an IQ north of 180. But the example I always use is that Hunter S. Thompson was a guy who destroyed like the wealthy and corporate America, and he walked the walk until the end of his life. He was a crazy maniac in Colorado and shot himself in the head. And Howard was like that for a while. He was making fun of all these people, and when he got a chancelike no one else has become an A-list person through the radiobut when he got a chance to be with those people, fans thought hes going to be like Hunter S. Thompson. Like you see them through the window eating, and hes going to bust through the window or moon them or something. And when he got the chance, like Jennifer Anistons wedding, he starts making out with Orlando Bloom.

Mandy: Metaphorically.

Artie: Right. And to me as a fan, its like, what the fuck have we been laughing at all this time? Me and my first girlfriend at the time Dana [Sironi], she was close with Beth [Ostrosky Stern]. And Beth is a sweetheart. I dont want to make it sound like Im bitter. I still love Howard.

Mandy: Who are the people from the Stern show you keep in touch with?

Artie: Well, theyre not allowed to call me. I swear to God, Ive had people tell me from the show they were worried they were talking to me. Look, Im a person whos impulsive, and I get very angry and I say things I shouldnt say. Its hurt me my whole life, and Im a junkie.

Mandy: You tweeted a few days ago, Look out Marci. Im talking to Howard without your permission, referring to his high-profile handler Marci Turk. Did you actually talk to Howard Stern?

Artie: No, I dont talk to Howard. We hate each others guts. He cant stand me for some reason, and Ive learned to hate him.

Mandy: Whats your reaction to Louis C.K.? And now everyones talking about the story that was written about Aziz Ansari.

Artie: Aziz Im sorry is a better name. I dont have any respect for Aziz Ansari. Im glad nobody got raped. But you know, I agree with Samantha Bee when she says it doesnt have to be rape to ruin somebodys life. Thats true. And what Louis did is despicable. That was a rumor for a long time. But if youre a couple of women at the Aspen Comedy Festival, youve got a lot going on, probably. And theres this comedian, who back then he wasnt famous, but hes always been respected, and they certainly knew him. And hes promising them shit supposedly, and its just because he wants to jerk off in front of them. Its just the creepiest thing ever. Louis was always overrated to me. He has like five jokes hes written that I like. But you know Ill go along with it, if it gets me spots. I just think hes overrated. To me, it was like the emperors new clothes came off. In the hotel room.

Mandy: Have you had any women approach you with any kind of Me Too moment, something they wanted to confront you about?

Artie: A girl? No. I mean, some people think Im a misogynist because of stuff on the Stern show. You know Ive never told anybody this, but this is how my family feels about sex predators: After I told my father about a high-school teacher hurting a girl I knew, the way my dad dealt with it was by waiting outside the teachers house, putting a bag over the guys head, and leaving him in a car for two days. My dad came back, disguised his voice, and he said, Stop fucking touching little girls. Im not condoning how he handled it, but thats just the truth. My father thought that was justified. You know, there are people who think Goodfellas is horrible. We think its a comedy. My momshe is the strongest woman in my lifeand she and my sister are my heroes. Any woman whos ever dated me will tell you, Im like, Are you sure? Can we get this in writing and an email from you? I think in Hollywood, its a case of these nerdy guys who dont know what to do with a woman, and they get a chance to do it, and they do something inappropriate. Like Ive never been a Casanova but Ive always been able to get a date. I think the more time you stay asexual in your adult life, you get creepier.

Mandy: Ive had several comics over the years tell me about their personal dislike for Aziz based on his standoffish behavior. Do you think theres any schadenfreude right now as he is coming under fire?

Artie: Im probably one of those guys. I thought he could follow me on Bitter. I dont like bashing of comedians in general. I hated the Dane Cook-bashing thing. And Dane goes on to make all that money, and that bitterness comes out. Then his brother steals millions of dollars from him. I wish Dane well. And you know, I think Aziz gets a lot of that bitterness, too. You know, his timing is perfect for comedy. But what he does at the Comedy Cellar is not going to endear him to anybody. What he does there, he sits in the corner like a young Dylan writing jokes, and he can do that at home. We get it. Youre a hard worker. But I guess were going to have to get over that, because a new generation of people is coming.

I think he was trying to figure out a way to get rid of me. I did the job for him, but I dont think he was rooting for it.

Artie Lange on Howard Stern

Mandy: Do you think that Crashing captures the changing culture in comedy at all?

Artie: Judd is so great at what he does, and so is Pete [Holmes]. The way Judd lets you improvise, and the money… see Ive never been involved in something that you might call a hit. Except the Stern show, but that was very different. Judd is so successful. The money HBO is spending. They shot it like a playyou dont have to do over-the-shoulder stuff. And the way that I talk and work, it was way better for me. Judd knew that. Like the scene in the pizzeria, Judd read my book, which was flattering, and he said, Just tell me stories about your life, about what can happen off-stage, so like the ghost of Christmas future. Comedy future. I think its great, because Judd lets us talk.

Mandy: I was relistening today to your very first Howard Stern appearance. And Stern is joking, saying, You need coke. Youre a lot better on it. He also says, Go out and get into more trouble, and well have you back on.

Artie: I know. But you cant blame anyone else for any of this. Howards genius is seeing which way the wind is blowing in society and acting accordingly. I think he noticed after the Janet Jackson thing, we started getting fined for stupid shit. Were getting $500,000 fines for jokes Im making about farting. The guy is a genius at marketing and comedymore so in marketing. I think he saw over time the way the show was going, and that it would not be conducive to have me on it. But he also knew that I was popular. I think he was trying to figure out a way to get rid of me. I did the job for him, but I dont think he was rooting for it. I think he conquered that era of radio with me. I wouldnt fit in now at all. I cant stand Gwyneth Paltrow. The contrast between the old shows is crazy. Like if you listen to shows we did of us talking about Jennifer Aniston or Ellen DeGeneres dancing in the 2000s. He said Aniston was a cunt. Even I was like, Jesus, it must be personal. Now he goes to her wedding.

Mandy: So whats going on with your health? The diabetes has gotten really bad? Have you had to amputate anything?

Artie: God no. The rumors have gotten really bad, havent they? No, the diabetes is under control every time I go to the hospital. But the thing is, its a confusing disease. One day a Twinkie could save your life, and another day it could kill you. Im not a good preparer so thats why I was bad in school. I was like, Lets get the fuck out of here and get to life. Which comedy lets you do. But yeah, with diabetes, youre supposed to measure your blood sugar every time before you eat. Im like, What the fuck, are you kidding me? Im going to take my blood sugar in the parking lot of McDonalds? Its bad, but when I go to the hospital they get me under control. So now its under control. Its fine, actually. But you know, give me two months out of the hospital and my blood sugar is higher than my credit score. Thats the signifier of a loser. They also put me on the liver list. I needed a new liver. But I went to a medical clinic someone recommended, and they gave me this special shit they put in the saline, it cost like $80,000, and my liver enzymes were like 900, which is like Mickey Mantle at the end of his life. And it went to normal, completely normal. My kidneys, my liver are all fine. The doctor said, Youve got the bloodwork, despite the diabetes, of an Olympic athlete.

Mandy: Have you thought about going down to Hippocrates Health Institute, where a lot of entertainment industry people have gone?

Artie: I did that once. Yeah, my sister found out about it. You need a prescription for an apple. I ran away from that in 2008. Howard said, go away for as long as you need to. Eight days in with these two other guys who were Stern fans who would have done anything for me, we just escaped in the one guys car. I got a $3,500 room at the Setai in South Beach, and I got a hooker and a bunch of pancakes. And I called into the show and said I have whiskey and pancakes with this Ecuadorian hooker, and he put me on the air. So I left early from that, and I was out of control. And Howard didnt think I was going to die or anything. You know, Chris Rock came in once and said, Howard, I think youve got to fire Artie. I love him. But he needs consequences.

Mandy: I guess my take is, from observing you from afar, youve said, Im clean so many times, and that youre always somebody who is going to use.

Artie: People think that I want to be someone who uses. I dont. I mean, I remember in Little League when I didnt use anything, I was very happy. When I am emphatic about it, in my personal life, I dont lie to friends of mine. But I can think of a lot of reasons why you dont tell your boss youre doing heroin, and why I lied to Howard Stern. Theres also a misconception I hate that Howard didnt care about me. He tried to get me help. Several times he said to me, Take as long as you want, and when you come back you have a job.

Mandy: So do you think some of the drug abuse comes from massive, massive self-hatred? That was the case for me, I know, and many addicts.

Artie: Thats interesting. Listen, Bernie Brillstein was talking to Norm Macdonald and me once. Hes the legendary manager who managed [John] Belushi, and he managed Chris Farley. And he supposedly said to Belushi and Farleyits funny he had guilt that he said this to Belushi, and 20 years later he said it again to mehe said, Well, whatd you get into show business for? Not to fuck hookers and do drugs? I was brought up on Sam Kinison and Richard Pryor. With Richard Pryor, I wanted to do almost everything he did, short of burning himself. And thats a terrible thing to think, but I got the opportunity, and I made every mistake you could make. I was like, Why not? The first time we went to Las Vegas with Howard, I fucked 11 strippers in four days. We were like the Rolling Stones going in there. Two years on MadTV aint exactly the Rolling Stones. The stuff Ive done with Norm Im so proud of because it was Norm, but it was never like a big hit. Like Dirty Work has become a little bit of a cult thing, which Im proud of. But with the Stern show, this was like rock-star shit. We flew into Vegas on a private jet, and theres a line around the block, and its all for us. Howard is married. Fred is married. Everyones married, and then theres me. The strippers going down her list, and she says, I guess Ill fuck him.

Mandy: Do you still talk to Norm Macdonald?

Artie: We communicate with text, like everybody else. He put a very nice thing in his book about me. He called me the last time, and he said, you gotta stop doing this. He was worried about me. I love Norm. Norm saved my whole career. Out of nowhere. I was about to start driving a cab again. I got the call for Dirty Work, and that led to everything else. Norm. Howard. Quincy Jones, who gave me MadTV. And Judd now. These are famous guys. [Bruce] Springsteen called me. And Apatow said to me, he said, You must be a really bad addict going back to this shit after all these people, your heroes, saved you. Hes right. I mean, Quincy Jones saved my fucking life. He also got me these insane privileges in L.A. County. Like my own shower. And I asked Quincy, How do you have so much sway in prison? He said, I made Thriller.

Mandy: So why do you go back to the drugs after you get clean each time? Is it the boredom?

Artie: Its the anger. Ill give you an example. Its a story I kind of keep on the down-low, but there was this girl that I dated in San Diego. She worked at an agency as an assistant. She was 23. I was 28, and I was on MadTV. And she was pregnantshe got pregnant, found out it was a boy. I was all excited, and she was scared to death because of how I had been living. Me at that age makes this look like Mr. Rogers. So the first place we made out was Zuma Beach, and she said, Lets go to that place. I want to tell you something. Shes crying, and she says, I had an abortion. I was mad, and I said, Why? And she said, You know, Artie, youre going to make your mark in this business, but I hope you do it before you die. And I cant deal with that.

Mandy: So anger is often the cause of relapses for you? Anger at the world?

Artie: It is a strange world. Its like rereading the Unabomber Manifesto its kind of like, I get it now. I dont agree with how he went about it, but he was clearly on the money about technology. Or look at the movie Network. That one scene, he lays everything out about what is to come.

Mandy: When do you find out if youre going to jail?

Artie: Feb. 23. You know, if they want to send me away for being a junkie, thats fine. The judge was very fair. Very smart. I dont know if she was a big fan of mine, but thats all right.

Mandy: When do you think you were happiest in your life?

Artie: You know, its funny. When I was broke, when I left the port as a longshoreman, and I decided to drive into New York City one night, I was 19 years old. When I started doing well, I was driving a cab, I was broke, trying to help my mother out. We were about to lose the house. And I told her I could go back to the port. She said I could keep doing it. But you know, I was happier during the struggle because of hope. I was 23, broke, driving a cab, parking a cab in front of The Comic Strip, which was the first place I passed. I would have [Joe] Matarese or [Dave] Attell watch the car. I was happier then, I swear to God.

Mandy: Hollywood can be fairly crushing. So many transactional relationships and people who dont care if you live or die and want to use you.

Artie: At the Stern show, I saw how toxic that entire environment was. You have some people who are without talent who just leached onto Howard. Talentless guys whose entire life is based on pleasing that one person. I saw people who werent comedians who thought they could sit in that chair and do what I did. When I went down with the heroin thing, they were clearly making statements about it. Like if I died, they would have been almost happy about it, I guarantee it. I saw the sharks swimming like Ive never seen before. I thought I knew a lot about people in a non-naive way coming into that job, but man, the way people wanted what I did for a living. What pissed me off is that they thought they could do it. And you know, theres a reason that chair stayed empty. Im done being humble with some things. That chair isnt empty completely because Howard felt like it; that chair is empty because he knows no one can do what I did. There are people who are funnier than me, but theres no one who would have been as honest, and no one who knows that show better. I left a lot of blood on that fucking floor, man. I told stories that cost me relationships with some people, and I didnt realize it. I almost got arrested. The DEA came to the fucking show because of something I said on the air, in their fucking windbreakers, to grill me about Heath Ledger because they thought we had the same heroin dealer. Im like, Why the fuck do you think that? I guess theres reasons they could. There was a security guy who worked the door, and he saw the whole thing, and he said, Artie, you are one entertaining fuckup.

Mandy: What do you think of Donald Trump, who used to do the Howard Stern Show quite a bit?

Artie: I love Trump. Ive had like four times when I interacted with him. I roasted him. Trump said I was the best of the night, but then Howard is so smart, he told me to tell the joke that was making fun of him in business. I do, and then Trump goes, Artie was the worst of the roast. He bombed. I had a CNN guy call me about it, and I said, Im not doing it. Because Im fucking rooting for him. And I golfed with him and Eli Manning once at his club. I did nothing but laugh along with him. Then I saw him at Howards wedding. Howard had bought out Le Cirque. But it was still small. I had played Carnegie Hall at this point, but it was so nerve-wracking. Billy Joel and his wife were there, two feet from me. Howard. Trump and Melania. Barbara Walters, Joan Rivers, Chevy Chase. It was a tough room, you know. And I killed. The first joke was how much Beth looks like Christie Brinkley, so I made a Billy Joel joke. And thank God he laughed at it. But Howard was drunk, and doing that great Howard laugh. I loved making Howard laugh. But Trump came up to me afterward, because other people spoke and kind of bombed, and he shook my hand, and he said, That was a very hard thing to do, and you were amazing. He respected that even though I look like a slob he could tell I worked hard. Because, yeah, you think I walked into Stern because I won a lottery? So I always respected the guy.

Whether youre for him or not, what he represents is that this country can vote out politicians and elect a game show host because theyre pissed off about stuff. You know, there are two guys on that Billy Bush tape. One guy apologized. The other guy didnt. One guys working at a gift shop in Kennebunkport. The other guys president. The fucking country likes alpha males. The Midwest does, I know that. And the stuff with the Mexicans. He didnt say he hates all Mexicans. He told the truth about the drug problem. How do you think I get dope? Trump just doesnt give a shit. You know, Louis C.K. wrote an op-ed piece, while he was, jerking off next to women, calling Trump Hitler? And its like, Calm the fuck down. It washes down what Hitler did. A guy who let the Mob take away garbage because you have to? The naivete of these people. If you build a building in New York, you have to deal with the Mob. Trump knows that. Ted Cruz lost so many votes during the primaries when he attacked him on that.

Mandy: What do you think of the porn star Stormy Daniels and Trump? I guess he asked her to spank him with a copy of Forbes.

Artie: Well, I think Ive done worse. Comparing him to Harvey Weinstein? Thats a fetish. Listen, if Trump has raped someone, of course I hate his guts.

Mandy: So for you, what has the reaction been to your latest near-death experience? From everything that Ive read on Twitter and Reddit and YouTube, I feel like half the fans are saying, I dont want to watch him kill himself anymore, and like, Ive stopped believing him.

Artie: The fact that I havent got it yet is hard to understand. I think theyre disappointed in me. It was an easier sell at 30 than it was at 50.

Mandy: Whats the best sobriety advice youve received, do you think?

Artie: To not make my Higher Power my career or another human being because it can disappoint you.

Mandy: Do you believe in God? Do you pray?

Artie: You know, Ill give you something Ive never told anybody. So my father was obsessed with Houdini the magician, and Houdini was obsessed with the occult. Houdini always tried to contact the other side, like dead relatives. So Houdini said, If I die, lets have a word. If the psychic tells you the word, you know, we talk. So my father said, when he was lying in bed, he had the plan to kill himself, but I didnt know that. He said, Lets do that. I go, OK. His father, who I never knew, died when he was 11. He got shot in front of him. His father worked at a factory. The Otis Elevator Company in Newark. It was a bookie, I guess. But he said, Lets make it Otis.

So Im in rehab this latest time, several weeks ago. And Im in the van, which the hilarious security guards call The Druggie Buggie. Or The Loser Cruiser, thats what they call it in jail. So Ive just come out of the shit, with the withdrawal part, and I looked better, I guess. It was a beautiful day. Where I went in Connecticut, it was like a Christmas card, it was unbelievably beautiful. And I said, I feel better this time. I felt really good. The sky was clear. I was with people I like, and they both said out of nowhere, I think youre going to make it this time. And I said, I guess I gotta think like that. And I stretched over, and there was a car that said Otis on it. The elevator at the rehab that never broke, they said, when I told them the story, the Otis Elevator Company was repairing the elevator. Listen, I dont believe in any of that shit, but that is the most spiritual thing thats ever happened to me. I tell my mother that, and clearly shes religious, and she goes, Dads talking to you. Im telling you, that was fucking freaky. So you know, just at that moment, when I had hope and I looked up and it was a clear sky and it says Otis, I was just like, Jesus Christ.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/artie-lange-is-not-ready-to-die-fck-em-all

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The Weekend Warrior 8/6/21 - THE SUICIDE SQUAD, FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL, VIVO, ANNETTE, AILEY, NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL, JOHN AND THE HOLE, and More

After a week with three new wide releases and others coming up in August with three and even four (!), it’s kind of nice to get a “quieter” week with only one wide release, plus it's one that I’ve already reviewed. Yay!

With that in mind, that allows me to start things off with two film festivals that are near and dear to my heart, the first being the 25th annual installment of the Fantasia International Film Festival, which runs from this Thursday, August 5 through August 25. That’s three weeks, which is sort of the norm, although it will be a festival that blends virtual with in-person screenings making it a true hybrid festival. Personally, I would love to be up in Montreal for some of the in-person screenings, as they tend to be quite rousing and rowdy events -- and that will include an early preview of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad this Thursday -- but I will have to settle for the fest’s vast screener library inste ad. Not that I’ve actually had time to watch much as I watched my entire weekend and free time slip away in order to watch and write about other things, but there’s some good stuff.

For instance, they’ll be premiering Donnie Yen’s new movie, Raging Fire, directed by Bennie Chan, next Tuesday, a few days before it gets a theatrical release across North America. (Its International Premiere is actually taking place at the New York Asian Film Festival, which you can read more about below.) Fantasia will also have the World Premiere for Rueben Martell’s Don’t Say Its Name, a horror movie featuring indigenous talent both in front of and behind the camera. Let Me Make You a Martyr filmmaker returns with his new crime-thriller Ida Red, starring Joshua Hartnett, Frank Grillo and Melissa Leo.

This year’s Fantasia is going to close with The Great Yokai War - Guardians, the sequel to Takashi Miike’s The Great Yokai War which opened Fantasia way back in 2006. In fact, Miike has probably been one of Fantasia’s most consistent guests, having many movies playing at the festival that never get released in the United States in any form.

It’s going to be an interesting mix of in-person screenings and on-demand virtual ones, and as in the past, it’s almost impossible to see everything. I think my only issue with Fantasia is that there are so many great genre films played there every year that it’s very hard to figure out which ones to watch when you’re not actually there on the ground.

And then closer to home in New York, another personal favorite, the New York Asian Film Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary in a combination of virtual and in-person screenings running between Friday, August 6 and August 22. Sure, there can be a bit of overlap between the NYAFF and Fantasia, particularly in the Asian content, but there are also a few distinct things, like the festival’s opening night film, Escape from Mogadishu from South Korea’s Ryoo Seung-wan, which covers the same Somali civil war as Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down but from another perspective. It will also be released in theaters this Friday. Chinese actor Chan King Long’s directorial debut, Hand Rolled Cigarette, will also premiere this Friday, as will Aimee Long’s directorial debut, A Shot Through the Wall, both of them debuting at the Walter Reade Theatre (the latter on Sunday).

And there’s just a slew of virtual screenings of some of the latest and most recent Asian films, many of which will never get any sort of release in the United States. That is probably the best aspect of the NYAFF, because while there are many filmmakers like Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho, who will eventually break out here, many of the biggest Asian filmmakers first got their start with movies at NYAFF. That’s why those interested in international cinema should definitely be giving the NYAFF some of their time and money every year, since it’s such a terrific discovery festival… plus it’s also a lot of fun. I’m half tempted to go up to see some of the in-person screenings myself, this weekend.

I’ve never attended Geena Davis’ 2021 Bentonville Film Festival, but thanks to it also going semi-virtual or hybrid, I’ll have a chance to see a few movies I might not have otherwise. There are a few great films by women directors that have already played at other festivals and will be released soon, such as Sian Heder’s Sundance award-winning Coda (which opens next week!) and Natalia Morales’ Language Lessons, both excellent films that have played festivals this year. Other films I’ve seen and liked that are playing Bentonville, including the Van Jones doc, The First Step, and the comedy, 7 Days.

I’m also interested in the World Premiere of The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu, directed by Anna Chi; Waikiki, Christopher Kahunakana’s feature debut about a Native Hawaiian hula dancer trying to escape an abusive boyfriend; Edson Jean’s Ludi; and Andrew and Joe Erwin’s doc, The Jesus Music, which looks at Christian Music. Bentonville tends to be another great discovery festival. This is obvious when I look at winners from past festivals like Yellow Rose and The Garden Left Behind.

As mentioned above, there’s only one new wide release, and it’s James Gunn’s THE SUICIDE SQUAD (Warner Bros.), a semi-sequel to the 2016 blockbuster Suicide Squad directed by David Ayer that includes a few of the original actors but a few not of others, although it’s still the same general principle, only done in a far more comedic way. Got it?

In case you missed all that (or the original movie), The Suicide Squad is based on the DC Comics superteam, of sorts, made up of DC villains who are seen as expendable as they’re sent on missions by Amanda Waller (played again by Viola Davis). If they fail or try to escape, their heads get blown up by explosives planted at the base of their skull. Fun, huh?

The original movie opened with an amazing $133 million and grossed $325 million In North America alone and another $422 million overseas, although reviews were less than kind and the fans, maybe a little less kinder. Sure, some people liked parts of it, but there were other parts that were just a disaster, so the movie grossing over $300 million was astounding (similar to the “Transformers” movies, in fact.)

Along comes James Gunn, freshly fired from the third Guardians of the Galaxy, which he will be doing next…. After a Christmas Special next year, and a Peacemaker HBO spin-off from this movie that hasn’t even been released yet. Warners snapped up Mr. Gunn, hoping that he could do for their property what he did for Guardians. While this may not be the most important IP in their drawer but has already proven to make enough money that you couldn’t just leave it in there forever. Fortunately, Gunn convinced Warner Bros. to let him make the R-rated Suicide Squad movie that the first one should have been and without the reins of a PG-13 Disney-released movie, Gunn could go absolutely nuts, and he did.

Some might be worried about WIll Smith not being in the sequel, because let’s face it, Big Willie is indeed an A-list star with a wide variety of fans of different ages, creeds, and colors. The fact that Will Smith could help turn an Aladdin movie directed by Guy Ritchie into a significant hit for Disney, well, that shows his power.

Even without Smith, Margot Robbie returns as Harley Quinn, who was last seen in last year’s Birds of Prey, a movie that was expected to do a lot better than its $33 million opening last February, before it got completely hobbled by the rise of COVID in March. It ended up grossing just $200 million worldwide, less than half of that in North America, and it might have put a damper on DC doing another R-rated superhero movie… except The Suicide Squad was well under way. Also back is Joel Kinnaman as Col. Rick Flag, a regular in the comics, and a decent actor but not someone anyone could seriously consider a box office draw. Other than Suicide Squad, Kinnaman has starred in quite a few bombs including a Robocop remake that tanked with $58.6 million domestic (it did better overseas), and then Run All Night, directed by Jaume Collet-Sera of last week’s Jungle Cruise, which made half that amount.

More importantly, the movie introduces a lot of new characters, including Idris Elba as Bloodsport, replacing Will Smith’s Deadshot, which might seem like a bit of a stepdown considering that Smith may be one of the top A-list stars on the planet, while Elba is popular but nowhere on the same level. Hey, it’s truth. Granted, Elba played Heimdall in Marvel’s Thor and a bunch of his sequels, and he’s provided his voice in quite a few Disney hits, while also appearing in a few odds and ends in terms of genre films like Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim (which hit the $100 million mark) and Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, which did a little better. Still, Elba has created quite a fanbase around him for shows like Luther and The Wire, and his role in The Suicide Squad should help him line up more leading roles in bigger movies. I wouldn’t expect him to play James Bond but he’ll be around a long time.

After that, there’s sometimes-wrestler John Cena as Peacemaker, another less-than-known DC character, but Cena also brings his fanbase (sort of) from wrestling, to which he’s returning for WWW SummerSlam in a few weeks. Cena hasn’t necessarily made huge waves on the big screen, although we can’t forget that he was just in F9: The Fast Saga, the latest in the unstoppable franchise that’s one of the biggest movies of the pandemic year. He also starred in Paramount’s Bumblebee, adding to his franchise cred. As mentioned above, Cena already has warranted his own HBO Max series, so obviously, someone at Warner Media felt he was doing something right.

Other key roles include Sylvester Stallone voicing King Shark, David Dastmalchian from Ant-Man playing “Polka Dot Man” (about as D-list a DC character you can possibly get but used hilariously in the movie), as well as Ratcatcher 2, played by Daniella Melchior, not be confused with her father, Ratcatcher 1. Oh, and of course, Viola Davis, the Oscar-winning goddess who should have won another Oscar for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, but no, I’m not bitter that it screwed up my oscar pool. There’s a lot of other actors, many from Gunn’s other films like Mike Rooker, brother Sean Gunn, and Nathan Fillian, and if they were in the movie for very long, I would consider them something to consider, though their presences does insure that this is indeed a James Gunn movie.

As has been the case quite a bit since I revived this column to discuss box office, we have to take two things into account, one being COVID and the fears surrounding it that have kept many otherwise sane people away from movie theaters. Also, The Suicide Squad will be premiering concurrently on HBO Max, so anyone who has the WM streamer could literally just turn it on Friday and watch the movie for no extra charge beyond whatever they pay per month. Unlike other movies that had this kind of release, Warners is allowing theaters to play the movie for Thursday night previews, so there’s a lot of money that can be made there (and all weekend) from those who choose to see it in theaters. (Honestly, I have no idea why anyone would want to watch this movie, especially it’s absolutely enormous last act, on a computer or television, but welcome to 2021. Whine whine whine.)

I was ready to go north of $60 million on this one because it seems like the kind of movie that could get people back out into theaters, especially when you realize how much the original movie made and how the idea of heroes whose heads can be blown up at any moment (and in that case, the R-rating helps). Then I remembered Birds of Prey and how that came out pre-COVID and couldn’t even open over $40 million, so I had to lower my expectations, although I still think this will fare very well even with HBO Max and COVID in play, so I’m going with somewhere in the mid-$50 million range.

You can read my review of The Suicide Squad over at Below the Line.

This is how I see the Top 10 playing out at the box office:

1. The Suicide Squad (Warner Bros.) - $55 million N/A

2. Jungle Cruise (Walt Disney Pictures) - $17.5 million -50%

3. Black Widow (Marvel/Disney) - $3.6 million -45%

4. Stillwater (Focus) - $3.1 million -40%

5. Old (Universal) - $3 million -56%

6. The Green Knight (A24) - $2.8 million -58%

7. Snake Eyes (Paramount/MGM/Skydance) - $2.1 million -52%

8. Space Jam: A New Legacy (Warner Bros.) - $2 million -53%

9. F9: The Fast Saga (Universal) - $1.5 million -45%

10. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (Sony) - $1.3 million -42%

Hitting Netflix on Friday is the animated musical, VIVO (Netflix), which was produced by Sony Pictures Animation but then sold to Netflix rather than trying to make it work in theaters. Directed by Kirk DeMico (The Croods) and Brandon Jeffords, in features the voice of Lin-Manuel Miranda as the voice of the title character, an organ grinder’s monkey in Havana, Cuba with his organ grinder Andrés, voiced by Juan de Marcos González (Buena Vista Social Club), who desires to be reunited with his long-separated love Marta (voiced by Gloria Estefan), who went off to fame and fortune as a singer because Andrés didn’t want to express his feelings for her in fear of her giving up her singing career. Vivo ends up in Miami and decides to try to find Marta and reconnect the lovebirds.

Just really catchy numbers written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, so if you like his work from In the Heights and Hamilton and Moana, etc. etc, then there are more songs he wrote, which he sings… mostly in the body of an animated monkey. The story itself isn’t particularly great, as the movie takes what would be a unique and novel setting i.e Cuba and introduces a number of animated movie stereotypes, including the weird girl Gabby (Ynairaly Simo), who gets increasingly more annoying as the film goes on.

In general, I loved most of the songs and the musical production (other than Gabby’s theme, which I was not crazy about), more than the story or the actual animation. Because Vivo is a monkey, there’s a weird section of the film that talks about vaccines and quarantines, probably written before the pandemic, which just makes it that much weirder.

Vivo has some decent emotional beats and terrific songs, but otherwise, it seems very cookie-cutter in terms of the storytelling. It’ll be just fine for kids, but adults may have trouble staying very interested.

Speaking of musicals, the rock opera ANNETTE (Amazon), written by, and with music and songs from Russell and Ron Mae AKA Sparks, will hit theaters this Friday in advance of its debut on Amazon Prime Video on August 20. Directed by Leos Carax (Holy Motors), the movie stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard as stand-up comic Henry McHenry and opera singer Ann, respectively, who get married and have a baby girl named Annette, who is actually a puppet that sings. (I did warn you that this is from Sparks and Leos Carax, right?)

Annette is exactly what anyone should expect from this collaboration between the quirky L.A. avant-rock duo and the French auteur, even if you believe the FFS song that “Collaborations Don’t Work” -- which you would know not to be true if you went to see Edgar Wright’s documentary, The Sparks Brothers, as I recommended last month! But instead of dubbing this a musical, it’s gotta be called for what it actually is… a ROCK OPERA. Annette reminded me a lot of ‘70s musical movies like Tommy and Godspell, where you knew there must have been some drug use involved (cause it was the ‘70s).

Driver’s stage performances are definitely some of the aspects that will divide audiences, because he veers from being an outrageous shock comic (think a mopeyer Sam Kinnison) to just being an insane and abusive jerk who drives even his devout fans away. The two extended sequences show Driver at his most emotive, but he’s also the kind of character that could push the movie’s audiences away as effectively as he does his fans. On the other hand, Cotillard is absolutely brilliant, even if she isn’t singing her own opera, as is Simon Helberg -- yes, that guy from The Big Bang Theory -- as her piano accompanist who later becomes a conductor, and then more.

The movie’s mood constantly shifts gears and direction, although it never is quite funny enough to be considered “comedy,” and if one really needed to categorize it, it would be placed in the realm of dark thriller… with music.

One thing that Sparks fans should know is that this is not a movie full of new Sparks songs, even if it is full of Sparks music. In other words, other than a couple actual songs -- like the opening overture -- there isn’t much of the music that might work separately or out of content with the movie or the story. Like in opera, almost everything is sung with very little spoken dialogue persé, and this was clearly a decision.

I’m not quite sure Annette will find either Sparks or Carax many new fans -- I definitely liked it more than Holy Motors, that’s for sure -- but for many, it’s going to be a strange experience to get through and maybe one they won’t necessarily need to see in theaters.

I finally got around to watching Jamila Wignot’s documentary, AILEY (NEON), which has been playing in theaters in New York the past few weeks and is expanding to other areas this Friday. Of course, the film is about legendary New York choreographer Alvin Ailey, whose work spanned six decades before his death in 1989 but not before he helped many dancers and other choreographers beak it into the contemporary dance scene.

It’s a little weird writing about this movie now, because just two weeks ago, I was writing about another dance doc called, Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters, about another specific work by a choreographer and the message it was sharing about AIDS. In fact, Jones also appears in this doc talking about the influence and assistance Ailey gave him earlier in his own career.

Ailey is a much more straight-forward portrait doc about Ailey’s life and career, and because of that, I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as Can You Bring It, but the two movies actually end up acting as nice companion pieces to each other despite being made by different filmmakers in different environments.

Lucy Walker’s documentary BRING YOUR OWN BRIGADE (CBSN) will play in theaters starting Friday and then on Paramount Plus and CBSN starting August 20. It looks at the 2017 fires that absolutely destroyed Paradise, California, and unlike Ron Howard’s Rebuilding Paradise, this is as much about the fire and how it affected people as the aftermath and figuring out how to rebuild. I thought it was pretty good, although it’s tough to

Incidentally, I wrote about and reviewed Edson Oda‘s NINE DAYS (Sony Pictures Classics) last week, but it’s going to expand into a few hundred more theaters this weekend, as well.

Legendary character actor Udo Kier stars in Todd Stephens’ SWAN SONG (Magnolia Pictures), which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival back in March, and I quite enjoyed it. It will get a limited theatrical release this weekend and then will be released digitally. In this comedy, Kier plays Pat Pitsenbarger, a flamboyant hairdresser who escapes from his Ohio nursing home in order to grant a former client her dying wish of having him design her hairstyle. Also starring Jennifer Coolidge, it will be in theaters this Friday and On Demand August 13, and hopefully I can write more about it next week, because I did quite like it but didn’t have time for another viewing.

Another movie from Sundance that’s finally hitting theaters (and digital) this Friday is Pascual Sisto’s JOHN AND THE HOLE (IFC Films), written by Nicolás Giacobone, who wrote Alejandro Iñárritu’s Birdman and Biutiful. It stars Charlie Shotwell as the title character, John, who traps his family in a bunker that he finds in the woods behind their home. I wish I could tell you that there’s more to the movie than that or that it offers something riveting or thought-provoking or something unforgettable, but I’d be lying. It’s not good.

It stars Michael C. Hall as John’s father and Jennifer Ehle as his mother, but Shotwell plays such a bland character that I just had a hard time finding anything that could really maintain my interest. The characters were boring, the writing was bland (which says a lot about how great a director Innaritu is), and there was just nothing I could glom onto. In that sense, the movie reminded me a bit of the first time I saw M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable in terms of all the boring conversations that dragged that movie down, and this has a similar issue.

There’s just no way around declaring that there really wasn’t very much that I liked about this movie, and honestly, the fact I tried to watch it a THIRD time after my first two attempts tell me that I’ve done more than my share of trying. It’s just not a good movie.

Unfortunately, my schedule this week got derailed quite tragically, so there were a few other foreign films I hoped to get to but just didn’t have the time…

From Korea (via the New York Asian Festival, as mentioned above) is Ryoo Seung-wan’s Korean war thriller, ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU (Well GO USA), as the movie is in Korean, but it’s about two Korean war correspondents caught up in the Somali war.

From Uruguay, Maxi Contenti’s THE LAST MATINEE is about an audience attending the last showing of a horror film in a downtown cinema that’s terrorized by a murderer killing them off one by one. (This is actually my kind of jam so I’ll try to watch and write something about it once I do. I just ran out of time this week.)

From Afghanistan comes Mariam Ghani’s doc WHAT WE LEFT UNFINISHED (Dekanalog), which takes a look at the state-funded filmmaking program during the country’s Communist era with a bunch of writers, actors and filmmakers talking about five unfinished and unedited projects made between 1978 and 1991.

The Film Forum in New York City is starting another film series (or rather, continuing it from when it started before COVID in March 2020) called “The Woman Behind Hitchcock,” starting this Friday, which is fairly self-explanatory, but it should be a great series with a lot of rare films being shown.

Also hitting Apple TV+ this Friday are the first few episodes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s MR. CORMAN, in which he stars as the title character, produces, directs and writes a bunch of the episodes. In it, he plays an elementary school teacher in L.A., who is trying to come to terms with a lot of portions of his life. I’ve seen about half the episodes in the first season, and it’s quite a different show than anything else out there. I’ll have an interview with the Cinematographer, Jarod Presant, over at Below the Line later today.

A few movies that I just didn’t get to this week, include: THE MACALUSO SISTERS (Glass Half Full) MATERNA (Utopia) FIREBOYS NIGHTDRIVE (Dark Sky Films)

Next week, it’s August 13, and we have three new wide releases! (See what I mean?) We get Ryan Reynold’s Free Guy, the horror sequel Don’t Breathe 2, and the Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect.

#The Weekend Warrior #Movies #Reviews #Box Office #Suicide Squad #Annette #Vivo #John and the Hole #Ailey #swan song

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fashiontrendin-blog · 7 years ago

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Chloë Grace Moretz's New Film Explores Gay 'Conversion Therapy' In The Trump Era

http://fashion-trendin.com/chloe-grace-moretzs-new-film-explores-gay-conversion-therapy-in-the-trump-era/

Chloë Grace Moretz's New Film Explores Gay 'Conversion Therapy' In The Trump Era

PARK CITY, Utah ― The coming-of-age genre is having a moment, and rightfully so.

Following the success of Oscar-nominated films “Lady Bird” and “Call Me By Your Name” comes Desiree Akhavan’s “The Miseducation of Cameron Post,” which took home the grand jury prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival last month. Although it has yet to find a distributor, the film’s contemporary appeal is apparent: The teenage tale revolves around the horrifying realities of so-called conversion therapy, a discredited pseudoscientific practice some say was backed by Vice President Mike Pence. (Pence made statements during his 2000 congressional campaign suggesting he supports conversion therapy, but a spokesman in 2016 said it was “patently false” that Pence “supported or advocated” the practice.)

The movie follows Cameron Post (Chloë Grace Moretz), a 17-year-old girl whose aunt/legal guardian sends her to a camp called God’s Promise after Cameron is caught fooling around with her best (female) friend Coley (Quinn Shephard) in the back seat of a boyfriend’s car on prom night.

God’s Promise, run by conservative brother-sister duo Reverend Rick (John Gallagher Jr.) and Dr. Lydia Marsh (Jennifer Ehle), specializes in therapy that aims to “cure” teens of “same-sex attraction.” There, Cameron grapples not only with her own desires, but the dilemmas of those around her, including commune-raised Jane Fonda (“American Honey” star Sasha Lane), native Lakota teen Adam Red Eagle (Forrest Goodluck of “The Revenant”), and football fanatic Erin (Emily Skeggs of “Fun Home” fame). Through a surprising mix of comedy and drama, Akhavan’s film unravels the pressures young people face to conform to the unfathomable ideals of misguided adults.

“Cameron Post” is based on a 2012 young adult novel by Emily M. Danforth, which centers on a 12-year-old Cameron in the 1990s trying to come to terms with the realization that she’s gay. Although the film adaptation focuses on Cameron as a 17-year-old, the message of the movie and the novel is the same: Yes, conversion therapy is real, and it’s still happening today.

While in Park City for Sundance, I sat down with Chloë Grace Moretz and Sasha Lane to talk about coming-of-age tales in the time of Donald Trump, and what Hollywood’s reckoning means to a younger generation of actors. Unfortunately, ahead of our conversation, a representative informed me that Moretz isn’t answering questions about her controversial movie “I Love You, Daddy” and co-star Louis C.K., who has acknowledged sexual misconduct. When Variety pressed her on the subject earlier, Moretz said, “I could single-in and talk about my experience, but I think it’s more important to talk about the entire movement as a whole.”

Read more on what Moretz had to say about the “entire movement” below:

“The Miseducation of Cameron Post” was my favorite film at the festival. What were your thoughts when you watched it for the first time?

Sasha Lane: I’m so proud of it. I love it so much. I think it hit all the right messages, all the right tones. It was just incredible. I loved watching it. You get so nervous to watch yourself on screen, but a couple minutes in, I was like, man, this is a dope movie.

Chloë Grace Moretz: Yeah, all of us aside, it was just a great movie.

On set, did you have a feeling it would be as impactful as it turned out?

SL: I kind of knew, because especially as we’re filming around election time, you got the sense that, oh shit, we’re really making this movie and it’s very relevant. So, we did get that hunch. But I think I was even still like, wow, this really is something, watching it again.

CM: We all really became the characters and the characters became us. We shot it in 23 days. It was this whirlwind of a movie. We just jumped in and gave our all to every piece of it.

How did it feel, as young actresses in Hollywood, to find roles as dynamic as Cameron and Jane?

SL: I feel like Jane Fonda was kind of the momma bear of the whole group, and I’ve always been that way with my family and my friends. So it was kind of nice to go into that with the mentality of holding everyone together. It’s a nice role to play. Very comforting.

CM: It was a real departure for me from the other things I’ve done in my career, and that was important to me because it was the first movie I did after taking a break for a year. I really wanted to do something that, in a lot of ways, hit close to home [Editor’s note: Moretz has two gay brothers] and was able to show a side of myself that I hadn’t been able to depict on screen. And, in turn, through depicting it on screen, I think I opened my mind up into different areas of my emotionality, and my own depth and perspective on things.

Was it scary at all to jump into this character, Chloe? Some of the scenes you’re in are very raw and, again, very different to what we’ve seen from you.

CM: Completely. You just kind of try to jump in head-first, and if you looked toward the day and thought about the scenes you were about to film, I think you could psych yourself out very easily.

SL: You have to have no fear, you just gotta do it.

CM: Yeah. Just not think and just act on the emotion and the feeling. And it was really easy to do that, especially with Ashley Connor, our cinematographer. Pretty much every scene was just her and the camera, and then us.

SL: And she gave you that space.

What was your research process like? Were you at all surprised conversion therapy is still practiced?

CM: It was shocking for all of us. Even after reading the script, we probably Googled it, too. Like, “Is this real?”

SL: Yeah. Knowing a little bit about it, you’re still like, wait, this is like legit and actually happening? It’s a lot of emotions, man. You feel a lot of empathy. It’s shit. But what this film does is there’s also this kind of other perspective where these people [the counselors] truly feel like what they’re doing is something. Like they’re really helping these people by converting them. You start to think about that, too. It’s kind of a bit of a mind-fuck.

CM: We got really lucky to be able to meet a lot of survivors and to hear their stories. The truth of it is, a lot of the stories they told us, and what they told us happened to them, were almost too dark to put in [the movie]. I mean, they told us even heavier things than what’s in the film, and what’s in the film is already really, really heavy. Again, it’s just the reality to realize that these weren’t stories from 15 years ago, these are stories from four years ago, two years ago, a year ago. Right now, conversion therapy is only illegal in nine states in this country, and it’s only illegal for minors. And New Hampshire, two weeks ago, voted against banning it. [Editor’s note: The New Hampshire House bill to prohibit conversion therapy was defeated by one vote last month.] The reality is Mike Pence is our vice president, Donald Trump is our president, and this administration is not fighting for LGBTQ rights.

Do you feel like now is a good time to release this film because of that reality?

SL: It’s relevant and it’s in people’s faces and it’s impactful. And people can correlate.

CM: I think a headline on one of the reviews was “This Movie Is Mike Pence’s Biggest Nightmare.” And it’s like, yeah, it should be. It should be the administration’s biggest nightmare.

So movies coming out of Hollywood should try to push the limits in terms of testing the administration?

Do you find that the industry is trying to do that ― switch up storytelling to touch on relevant and important issues facing our world today?

CM: I think in some ways, yes. And in a lot of ways, so not.

SL: I think they’re trying.

CM: It’s still hard though to fight. It depends on what part of the industry you’re talking about. There are studio films, streaming services, independent films. You know, there’s more of a conversation [in independent films] that I think’s important. More communication.

The reality is Mike Pence is our vice president, Donald Trump is our president, and this administration is not fighting for LGBTQ rights. Chloë Grace Moretz

Sundance, especially this year, is seemingly highlighting films that are trying to say something about our reality. Whereas, like you mentioned, you see the big studio, superhero movies and you’re like … not so much.

CM: You’re like, hmmm, the gender roles are still super messed up!

SL: Like, what is this even really about?

CM: It’s not about anything!

Within the Time’s Up movement, are you seeing more colleagues come forward to test the boundaries and fight for not only their rights, but the rights of their fellow actresses?

CM: I think people are being held accountable.

SL: That’s the driving force of it.

CM: And the communication. You would never tell people your story even a few years ago, because you were like, well, I feel alone in that. But I think just to realize that you’re not alone — the biggest actresses and actors in this industry, to the smallest actresses and actors in this industry, we’ve all had a story. Everyone had the same things they’ve been going through. And to realize that makes you feel so much more supported. And it also allows you to stand together in solidarity and be like, F this. F the system. Let’s change it. And let heads roll. Heads should roll 100 percent from even the silence. Even if you haven’t acted out or done something, you should be taken out of your position for silencing, because you were aware.

Are the women who’ve spoken out paving a path for you, the younger generation of Hollywood? Or do you feel you’re in that mix too, paving a path for those even younger than you?

CM: I feel like we’re definitely in that mix.

SL: Everyone is starting to speak out, I don’t think it’s an age thing.

CM: In some ways, the younger people are speaking out first because there’s a lot of people that might not have wanted to speak out, since they grew up a part of an industry which was a lot more silent. Now, the fact that everyone is speaking out, it gives the older actresses more courage to say, “Me too. This is what happened to me at that point in time. But I’ve never felt bold enough to acknowledge it.”

What I love about the film, too, is it’s made by women — director, editor, cinematographer, writer. How did that feel to be a part of that female community, which we’re all hoping expands to more and more Hollywood sets?

SL: Badass. Especially because the only two films I’d done before had been made by women, as well. Then going to something that had a woman director and cinematographer, I was like, “Yes, let’s keep this going!” It’s such a good feeling.

CM: It’s right where you want to be at this point and time in the industry. If you’re not making a cognizant decision to work with more diverse directors, and specifically female directors, than you’re making a mistake. It’s something that everyone should be thinking about, and it was definitely in the forefront of our minds.

How do you go about finding roles and pushing your limits in the industry?

SL: For me, it’s all feeling. I have to feel it. If I read a script and I don’t like it or I don’t have any connections to it, or don’t have enough heart in it, I’m not going to do it. I choose very wisely, I feel like.

CM: It’s changed over time for me, you know? Because when you’re younger, you’re just kind of doing a lot of roles to get all the kind of roles under your belt and really try things out. It wasn’t until about two years ago when I really sat back and was like, What do I want to do? Who do I want to work with?

And I saw this massive discrepancy in the industry with diversity, on all fronts — behind the camera, in front of the camera — and it really, really angered me. I had seen with so many studio films that I’ve been making, I would get into these fights, fighting for a female director or fighting for a more diverse cast. And I realized ― why am I having to fight for this? That shouldn’t be a fight! The fact that I’m having to say, “Why aren’t you putting X, Y and Z into an audition? Why aren’t you looking at this director?” And it wasn’t even in their minds to think about it. I was like, OK, I got to step back. I made a very big decision to try and be as proactive with working with female directors and it all worked in my favor.

What do you hope this movie does for not only theatergoers, but those in Hollywood who see it?

SL: Gets them talking, gets them feeling. We keep saying, communication, communication, communication. Knowledge, new perspective, awakening.

CM: Exactly, knowledge. Sometimes you’re put into certain circumstances as a young person or you’re born into a family that you feel like you don’t fit into. Don’t take everything the way it is — you can find your own life. You can create the life that you want to lead. You’re never alone. You can find people who will fill your heart up more than you ever thought was possible, platonically. And those relationships as you grow up are so important. That support. I think that’s very prevalent in this film and it really hits you.

Also, bringing this to the forefront of their mind and going, “This is a massive issue.” Google it, look up the statistics. If you go through conversion therapy, you’re eight times more likely to attempt suicide; you’re three times more likely to use illegal drugs; you’re three times more likely to contract HIV. These are true statistics that you can’t deny and all you have to do is Google it. The fact that people can watch this, and it doesn’t feel like taking medication, and just Google it and educate themselves on it, that’s impactful.

It’s coming-of-age story with a very powerful message. Was that what drew you in?

CM: It’s the same struggle with authority that everyone goes through in high school, but all the sudden you throw one sexual conversion therapy in there and being a young gay person, and you layer it on top. But at its core, whether you’re gay, straight, wherever you come from, you can sit and understand and perceive and be able to relate to it.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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bestmovies0 · 7 years ago

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Artie Lange Is Not Ready to Die: F*ck Em All

It’s hard being friends with the notoriously demon-plagued comedian Artie Lange–which, full disclosure, I am. This is in no way objective. I truly want the guy to live.

I first interviewed Lange in 2006 as part of the New York Post ‘ s coverage of the annual New York Comedy Festival. He had just sold out Carnegie Hall in a few hours and was on top of the world. Over the next few years, we met at comedy fraternities from time to day. I mentioned how healthy he appeared in a May 2009 Page Six item about his visiting Colin Quinn’s one-man display( which he mentioned in his book Crash and Burn ). When I interviewed him again on Oct. 30, 2009, it was a longer talk this time, with a few insights that astonished me. He talked about the “game” comics play of initially sabotaging a determine with the audience, then realise if you are able dig yourself out of that pit. I asked if he had ever thought that he might be playing the same game with his own life.” You should be a diminish ,” he said.

Sixty-nine days later, I heard the news, like anyone else who follows Lange: that he was near death after stabbing himself in the belly nine days with a 13 -inch kitchen bayonet.

Then on Sept. 27, 2010, I got a call from comedian Dan Naturman, who told me all about Artie’s triumphant return at the Comedy Cellar, which led to an incredibly feel-good lead item in Page Six called:” Artie Lange Thrills Audiences Again .”

I interviewed him several more times over the years, and when my husband Pat Dixon, who is also a comedian, started his own prove in 2015 at Compound Media, run by controversial radio legend Anthony Cumia, I told Artie that he ought to consider joining the network. To my surprise–and unrelated to me telling him that, as the pairing of two Sirius refugees is a no-brainer to all persons who follows shock-jock radio–in August 2017, he started a new reveal with Cumia called The AA Show . Now , not only did Lange have a regular broadcasting outlet, but the HBO series Judd Apatow and Pete Holmes enlisted him in called Crashing , where he played himself, was a bona fide hit. His third book, Wanna Bet ? em >, was inked, his standup was doing well, and so if you were doing any kind of predictive sequence , what happened next was no surprise.

Oct. 16, 2017:” Artie Lange rushed to hospital, cancels weekend indicate .” Dec. 13, 2017:” Artie Lange Arrested After Missing Court Date for Drug Charges .” Dec. 15, 2017:” Artie Lange Headed to Rehab on Private Jet After Drug Charge .”

Less than a month afterward, on Jan. 12, Lange been returned to New York and tweeted out to his 364,000 followers:” I’m back guys. Clean& Sober 32 days .”

On Jan. 18, after celebrating Dave Attell’s birthday( Artie merely turned 50 himself ), Lange satisfied me in between specifies at New York City’s Olive Tree Cafe. To avoid the requests for photos from devotees and occasional paparazzi, we sat in his SUV and drove around the city for an hour and a half before returning to the slapstick club. With one hand on the steering wheel and one on an unlit Marlboro Red, Lange talked about everything from Harvey Weinstein to Donald Trump to Louis C.K. to Aziz Ansari to the fundamental question at hand:

Artie Lange doesn’t want to die … right?

The following interview has been condensed and edited for clarity . i>

Mandy: So I guess I’m wondering at what phase all of this is enough to get you to stop. Like, for example, I have a friend who if he did cocaine one more time, the doctors told him his nose would collapse–

Artie: Well half of my nose is run. My nose had not yet been septum. I intend I’ve been snorting coke and heroin…

Mandy: When was the last time you did coke or heroin?

Artie: Well I just pissed clean at Hazelden so that’s 38 days. But here’s the thing: 31 of them were in lockdown. So now’s the real job. And I’m not going to lie to you, it’s a struggle lying there every night.

Mandy: What’s the longest you’ve ever been clean?

Artie: Since I was 15, 11 months. And two weeks in my twenties.

Mandy: Do you take, what is it, methadone?

Artie : b> No , no. I was on methadone years ago. There was a methadone clinic on Eighth and 35 th, and I would go there before Howard . They would make it out to me, like special, at 5:30 a.m. I had to stop doing heroin because I was losing my job. They gave me the methadone. It’s fucking heroin, basically. I left during interviews to throw up. And I said,” Well this is worse than fucking heroin, so why don’t I stay on that .” I take Suboxone now. Suboxone works well for me, and it’s agreed to by civilization. It looks like a capsule you take for blood pressure every morning, so that’s how I’ve got to look at it. It lets you not run cold turkey.

” Aziz’ I’m sorry’ is a better name. I don’t have any respect for Aziz Ansari. I’m glad nobody get raped .” div>

— Artie Lange

Mandy: You detoxed cold turkey in jail this last hour?

Artie : b> I’ve been in jail like eight times, and this past hour, I detoxed. I kicked heroin, like lying on the floor. When I got arraigned, you always want to be very respectful in front of the judge. She was like,” What are you doing ?” And I’m thinking to myself,” Well, your honor, I’m dead .” And you know, I’m trying to stand up. Withdrawal, the physical material, people would realize the first or the second period of withdrawals, girlfriends would say,” Well, that was really bad .” And I’m like,” You learnt the opening act. That was The Clash. That was David Johansen. The Who is about to take the stage .” The third or fourth day of heroin withdrawal, if you’re a big user like I became, if you’re not physically stopped from get dope, you’ll get it. With heroin, I became an addict on the road. I ever had fund. I’ve never had to steal. I don’t judge those people. Like people say to me,” Have you ever blown a guy for heroin ?” I say, “No.” But then again , no one’s ever asked.

Mandy : b> If you do fall off the wagon again, are you scared of fentanyl at all?

Artie: No. A real heroin addict is not just scared fentanyl. I’d do it in a heartbeat. I crave strong shit.

Mandy: Have you insured the tiny sum it takes to kill you?

Artie: I don’t know what it is, but outlines it back one inch. I would accept fentanyl in a heartbeat. I had a fentanyl patch on in a mental home. It was unbelievable. I’ve never ODed. I’ve had dealers say,” Jesus Christ. What the fuck .” But the nose is bad now. I could get a brain infection. If I did it, anything would go right to the brain. But again, I heard that six months ago, and I moved and used an hour after.

Mandy: So I signify … it was necessary to crave to succumb.

Artie: No, I don’t want to die. I want to be high.

Mandy: But that will eventually kill you.

Artie: I’m 50 . If you would have told me in 1995, if you tried to bring up “2018,” it would be like The Jetsons . I’d be like,” What are you talking about ?”

Mandy: So you’re having fun on borrowed time.

Artie: I’m playing with the house’s money. As far as I’m concerned, I’m an overachiever. A lot of fund changed hands on the internet when I turned 50. I was so happy. Fuck’ em all.

Mandy: But I intend … your mommy and your sister. They’re the main people who maintain you from was intended to to be reckless with the house’s money, right?

Artie: Yes that’s the … that’s the worst.

Mandy: I called your momma when you were practically in a coma these last few weeks, and her voice was just so heartbroken. I don’t think she thought you were going to make it.

Artie: Yeah, you are familiar with, my father left us with nothing. I desire my dad. He was my best friend. But my father was a criminal. My father was an impulsive guy, and that’s what killed him. Just like my father, with me, there are real high highs and real low lows. Like my mother recognized me at Carnegie Hall, when my book went to No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller listing, and I reckon[ Barack] Obama’s was like No. 7. She has that framed. But then she’s also appreciated me withdrawing in jail.

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Mandy: Your mommy detected you when you tried to kill yourself in 2010, right?

Artie: That was not a suicide attempt. I was in such bad withdrawals. Believe me, I leave a note. The one other time, I left a note. But diminishes move,” You’ve never tried to kill yourself. Because there was always a mountain of drugs involved .” I was in such bad withdrawals, I wanted to feel something different. I was by myself. I wanted to lose enough blood to pass out. When I woke up, I don’t know, I figured I’d put on a ruby-red shirt and used to go. I didn’t know my mother was coming over. They had an intervention schemed that I didn’t even know about. I run,” Ma, “youve never” schemed a surprise party .”

Mandy: Does your mama talk to you every day?

Artie: Yeah, my mother knows me better than anyone else, but I don’t keep telling her when I slip. You know, when Dr. Drew offered me 250 grand to do Celebrity Rehab , I thought to myself,” Do I merely want to kill my mother now ?” Like it’s going to be me and Dennis Rodman throwing up in the same pail. I enjoy Dr. Drew, but I knew that show was going to go off the air because the recuperation rate is like zero. If Pablo Escobar were alive today, he’d be running a rehab. It’s such a corrupted industry.

Mandy: You seem to still get offered drugs a lot. I think about that scene in Crashing where it’s the super hot lady from Showgirls who has coke and wants to do it with you.

Artie: Gina Gershon? Yeah, you are familiar with, that episode is based on one of my stories. And if the woman who inspired the episode figures it out, she’d be very happy with the casting.

Mandy: Do you think it was a good idea to leave rehab early?

Artie : b> I have to do this intense outpatient thing which is five days a week. I go in there in the morning, and I get piss tests there. Screen Actors Guild doesn’t let you do that to people. Like it’s almost an NFL union. You can’t pee-test people. Not that I’m complaining about it, but I don’t get fired from demonstrates because ultimately it’s a forgiving business for material like that. People ever say it’s a forgive business. And, it’s true. Robert Downey Jr. came back, and he’s like the best performer ever. But for every one of him, there’s like two thousand Jeff Conaways from Taxi living at a right slant and nobody cares and they die alone.

Mandy: You’re just operating so much right now.

Artie: The one genre where I have some juice is the radio business, and you know Anthony Cumia, I love Anthony so much now. I never really met him before. We’re both kind of outlawed. Without this podcasting engineering you know we both would be out of a task now, likely. It’s such a weird existence I have right now. Over on one side, I’m doing this crazy podcast with Anthony on Compound Media that I love, and then I’m on Crashing which is an HBO-produced depict I love, but which could not be more the other style. Judd Apatow is another famous guy who saved my life. Like, what a great person. I’ve got volumes and stand-up, and I’m still making a lot of fund doing it. If that’s not going to go away, there’s not much of an incentive to stay in rehab.

Mandy: And I’m guessing, from what you said, you don’t want to leave your mommy with nothing. So what about a gig like the one with Anthony Cumia. Is that enabling or is that helping you stay clean?

Artie: Let me tell you something: I love doing it. It’s almost like therapy. A lot of people don’t understand a comic’s thinker. People are like,” You’re going to jump right into stand-up ?” Yeah, that’s what I have to do. I can’t stop doing it. And Anthony’s show is like from 4 p. m. to 6 p. m. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in “peoples lives”. Even more fun than Howard . Because I was never uncensored on Howard . It’s his show. It’s Howard. So what was happening near the end when his life changed, he would satisfy someone in the Hamptons, and we wouldn’t know about it. Like me and Fred[ Norris, a long time tenured Howard Stern staff member] wouldn’t know about it. And then he’d be friends with them, like somebody we bashed for 10 years. So I’d say something about Richard Gere, and he’d go,” You got a problem with him ?” I’d move,” Haven’t we ever had a problem with him ?”” No, I had dinner with him .”” Well, can I get the memo? I don’t give a shit. I’ll set him on the fucking list .” But I wouldn’t not be allowed to make fun of Orlando Bloom. The present, I couldn’t be on now. And he knew that.

Mandy: Anthony likely does a better Howard impression than Howard at this level.

Artie: Well the thing about Anthony is that he’s the same guy off-air. But it’s not true for Howard. Howard’s a very fascinating guy. He must have an IQ north of 180. But the instance I ever use is that Hunter S. Thompson was a guy who destroyed like the wealthy and corporate America, and he walked the stroll until the end of his life. He was a crazy maniac in Colorado and shot himself in the chief. And Howard was like that for a while. He was making fun of all these people, and when he got a chance–like nobody is has become an -Alist person through the radio–but when he got a chance to be with those people, fans thought he’s going to be like Hunter S. Thompson. Like you watch them through the window eating, and he’s going to bust through the window or moon them or something. And when he got the opportunity, like Jennifer Aniston’s wedding, he starts making out with Orlando Bloom.

Mandy : b> Metaphorically.

Artie : b> Right. And to me as a devotee, it’s like, what the fuck have we been laughing at all this time? Me and my first girlfriend at the time Dana[ Sironi ], she was close with Beth[ Ostrosky Stern ]. And Beth is a sweetheart. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m bitter. I still desire Howard.

Mandy: Who are the people from the Stern prove you keep in touch with?

Artie: Well, they’re not allowed to call me. I swear to God, I’ve had people tell me from the show they were worried they were talking to me. Appear, I’m a person who’s impulsive, and I get very angry and I say things I shouldn’t say. It’s hurt me my whole life, and I’m a junkie.

Mandy : b> You tweeted a few weeks ago,” Look out Marci. I’m talking to Howard without your permission ,” referring to his high-profile handler Marci Turk. Did you actually talk to Howard Stern?

Artie : b> No, I don’t talk to Howard. We dislike each other’s intestines. He can’t stand me for some reason, and I’ve learned to detest him.

Mandy: What’s your reaction to Louis C.K .? And now everyone’s talking about the tale that was written about Aziz Ansari.

Artie: Aziz ” I’m sorry” is a better name. I don’t have any respect for Aziz Ansari. I’m glad nobody get raped. But you know, I agree with Samantha Bee when she says it doesn’t have to be rape to ruin somebody’s life. That’s true. And what Louis did is despicable. That was a rumor for a long time. But if you’re a couple of women at the Aspen Comedy Festival, you’ve got a lot going on, likely. And there’s this comedian, who back then he wasn’t famous, but he’s always been respected, and they surely knew him. And he’s promising them shit supposedly, and it’s just because he wants to jerk off in front of them. It’s just the creepiest thing ever. Louis was always overrated to me. He has like five jokes he’s written that I like. But you are familiar with I’ll go along with it, if it gets me spots. I just think he’s overrated. To me, it was like the emperor’s new clothes came off. In the inn room.

Mandy: Have you had any women approach you with any kind of” Me Too” instant, something they wanted to confront you about?

Artie: A girl? No. I signify, some people reckon I’m a misogynist because of material on the Stern display. You know I’ve never told anybody this, but this is how their own families been thinking about sexuality predators: After I told my father about a high-school teacher injuring a girl I knew, the style my papa dealt with it was by waiting outside the teacher’s mansion, putting a suitcase over the guy’s brain, and leaving him in a car for two days. My dad is coming, disguised his voice, and he said,” Stop fucking touching little girls .” I’m not condoning how he handled it, but that’s just the truth. My father-god thought that was justified. You know, there are people who think Goodfellas is horrible. We think it’s a comedy. My mom–she is the strongest lady in my life–and she and my sister are my heroes. Any lady who’s ever dated me will tell you, I’m like,” Are you sure? Can we get this in writing and an email from you ?” I think in Hollywood, it’s a instance of these nerdy guys who don’t know what to do with a woman, and they get a chance to do it, and they do something inappropriate. Like I’ve never been a Casanova but I’ve always been able to get a date. I suppose the more hour you stay asexual in your adult life, you get creepier.

Mandy: I’ve had several comics over the years tell me about their personal disfavour for Aziz based on his standoffish behavior. Do you think there’s any schadenfreude right now as he is coming under fire?

Artie: I’m likely one of those guys. I thought he could “re coming with me” on Bitter . I don’t like bashing of comedians in general. I disliked the Dane Cook-bashing thing. And Dane goes on to make all that fund, and that bitterness comes out. Then two brothers steals billions of dollars from him. I wish Dane well. And you know, I reckon Aziz gets a lot of that bitterness, too. You know, his timing is perfect for slapstick. But what he does at the Comedy Cellar is not going to endear him to anybody. What he does there, he sits in the corner like a young Dylan writing gags, and he can do that at home. We get it. You’re a hard worker. But I guess we’re going to have to get over that, because a new generation of people is coming.

” I think he was trying to figure out a style to get rid of me. I did the job for him, but I don’t think he was rooting for it .” div>

— Artie Lange on Howard Stern

Mandy: Do you think that Crashing captures the changing culture in slapstick at all?

Artie: Judd is so great at what he does, and so is Pete[ Holmes ]. The style Judd lets you improvise, and the money … insure I’ve never been involved in something that you might call” a reach .” Except the Stern demonstrate, but that was very different. Judd is so successful. The money HBO is expending. They shot it like a play–you don’t have to do over-the-shoulder stuff. And the route that I talk and run, “its been” lane better for me. Judd knew that. Like the scene in the pizzeria, Judd read my volume, which is now being flattering, and he said,” Just tell me tales about their own lives, about what can happen off-stage ,” so like the specter of Christmas future. Comedy future. I think it’s great, because Judd lets us talk.

Mandy: I was relistening today to your very first Howard Stern appearing. And Stern is joking, saying,” You need coke. You’re a lot better on it .” He also says,” Go out and get into more hassle, and we’ll have you back on .”

Artie: I know. But you can’t blame anyone else for any of this. Howard’s genius is ascertaining which way the wind is blowing in society and acting accordingly. I think he noticed after the Janet Jackson thing, we started get fined for stupid shit. We’re getting $500,000 fines for gags I’m making about farting. The guy is a genius at marketing and comedy–more so in marketing. I think he saw over time the style the indicate was going, and that it would not be conducive to have me on it. But he likewise knew that I was popular. I think he was trying to figure out a route to get rid of me. I did the job for him, but I don’t think he was rooting for it. I think he conquered that age of radio with me. I wouldn’t fit in now at all. I can’t stand Gwyneth Paltrow. The contrast between the age-old shows is crazy. Like if you listen to shows we did of us talking about Jennifer Aniston or Ellen DeGeneres dancing in the 2000 s. He said Aniston was a cunt. Even I was like,” Jesus, it must be personal .” Now he goes to her wedding.

Mandy: So what’s going on with your health? The diabetes has gotten really bad? Have you had to amputate anything?

Artie: God no. The rumors have gotten really bad, haven’t they? No, the diabetes is under control every time I go to the hospital. But the thing is, it’s a confusing cancer. One period a Twinkie could save your life, and another period it could kill you. I’m not a good preparer so that’s why I was bad in school. I was like,” Let’s get the fuck out of here and get at life .” Which comedy lets you do. But yeah, with diabetes, you’re supposed to measure your blood sugar every time before you feed. I’m like,” What the fucking, are you kidding me? I’m going to take my blood sugar in the parking lot of McDonald’s ?” It’s bad, but when I go to the hospital they get me under control. So now it’s under control. It’s fine, actually. But you know, gives people two months out of research hospitals and my blood sugar is higher than my credit score. That’s the signifier of a loser. They also set me on the liver list. I required a new liver. But I went to a medical clinic person recommended, and they gave me this special shit they put in the saline, it expense like $80,000, and my liver enzymes were like 900, which is like Mickey Mantle at the end of his life. And it went to normal, perfectly normal. My kidneys, my liver are all fine. The doctor said,” You’ve got the bloodwork, despite the diabetes, of an Olympic jock .”

Mandy: Have you thought about going down to Hippocrates Health Institute, where a lot of entertainment industry people going to go?

Artie: I did that once. Yeah, my sister found out about it. You necessity a prescription for an apple. I ran away from that in 2008. Howard said, go away for as long as you need to. Eight days in with these two other guys who were Stern devotees who would have done anything for me, we just escaped in the one guy’s auto. I got a $3,500 room at the Setai in South Beach, and I got a hooker and a bunch of flapjacks. And I called into the display and said I have whiskey and pancakes with this Ecuadorian hooker, and he put me on the air. So I left early from that, and I was out of control. And Howard didn’t think I was going to die or anything. You know, Chris Rock came in once and said,” Howard, I think you’ve got to fire Artie. I adoration him. But he necessity consequences .”

Mandy : b> I guess my take is, from find you from afar, you’ve said,” I’m clean” so many times, and that you’re always somebody who is going to use.

Artie: People is considered that I want to be someone who use. I don’t. I intend, I remember in Little League when I didn’t use anything, I was very happy. When I am emphatic about it, in my personal life, I don’t “re fucking lying to” friends of mine. But I can think of a lot of reasons why you don’t tell your boss you’re doing heroin, and why I lied to Howard Stern. There’s also a misconception I detest that Howard didn’t care about me. He tried to get me help. Several periods he said to me,” Take as long as you crave, and when you come back you have a occupation .”

Mandy: So do you think some of the drug abuse comes from massive, massive self-hatred? That was the case for me, I know, and many addicts.

Artie: That’s interesting. Listen, Bernie Brillstein was talking to Norm Macdonald and me once. He’s the legendary administrator who oversaw[ John] Belushi, and he managed Chris Farley. And he supposedly said to Belushi and Farley–it’s funny he had guilt that he said this to Belushi, and 20 year later he said it once again to me–he said,” Well, what’d you get into show business for? Not to fuck hookers and do drugs ?” I was brought up on Sam Kinison and Richard Pryor. With Richard Pryor, I wanted to do almost everything he did, short of igniting himself. And that’s a terrible thing to imagine, but I got the opportunity, and I constructed every mistake you are able make. I was like,” Why not ?” The first time we went to Las Vegas with Howard, I fucked 11 strippers in four days. We were like the Rolling Stone going in there. Two years on MadTV ain’t exactly the Rolling Stones. The stuff I’ve done with Norm I’m so proud of because it was Norm, but it was never like a big hit. Like Dirty Work has become a little bit of a cult thing, which I’m proud of. But with the Stern prove, this was like rock-star shit. We flew into Vegas on a private airplane, and there’s a line all over the block, and it’s all for us. Howard is wedded. Fred is marriage. Everyone’s married, and then there’s me. The stripper’s going down her listing, and she says,” I guess I’ll fuck him .”

Mandy: Do you still talk to Norm Macdonald?

Artie: We communicate with text, like everybody else. He set a very nice thing in his volume about me. He called me the last day, and he said, you gotta stop doing this. He was worried about me. I desire Norm. Norm saved my whole career. Out of nowhere. I was about to start driving a cab again. I got the call for Dirty Work , and that led to everything else. Norm. Howard. Quincy Jones, who gave me MadTV . And Judd now. These are famous guys.[ Bruce] Springsteen called me. And Apatow said to me, he said,” You must be a really bad addict going back to this shit after all these people, your heroes, saved you .” He’s right. I entail, Quincy Jones saved my fucking life. He likewise got me these insane privileges in L.A. County. Like my own rain. And I asked Quincy,” How do you have so much sway in prison ?” He said,” I stimulated Thriller .”

Mandy: So why do you go back to the drugs after you get clean each time? Is it the boredom?

Artie: It’s the rage. I’ll give you an example. It’s a story I kind of keep on the down-low, but there was this girl that I dated in San Diego. She worked at an organization as an aide. She was 23. I was 28, and I was on MadTV . And she was pregnant–she got pregnant, found out it was a boy. I was all excited, and she was scared to death because of how I had been living. Me at that age stimulates this definitely sounds like Mr. Rogers . So the first place we made out was Zuma Beach, and she said,” Let’s go to that place. I want to tell you something .” She’s crying, and she says,” I had an abortion .” I was mad, and I said, “Why?” And she said,” You know, Artie, you’re going to make your mark in this business, but I hope you do it before you die. And I can’t deal with that .”

Mandy: So anger is often the cause of relapses for you? Anger at “the worlds”?

Artie: It is a strange world. It’s like rereading the Unabomber Manifesto it’s kind of like, I get it now. I don’t agree with how “hes been gone” about it, but he was clearly on the money about technology. Or look at the movie Network . That one scene, he lays everything out about what is to come.

Mandy: When do you find out if you’re going to jail?

Artie : b> Feb. 23. You know, if they want to send me away for being a junkie, that’s fine. The magistrate was very fair. Very smart. I don’t know if she was a big devotee of mine, but that’s all right.

Mandy : b> When do you think you were happiest in your life?

Artie : b> You know, it’s funny. When I was broke, when I left the port as a longshoreman, and I decided to drive into New York City one night, I was 19 years old. When I started doing well, I was driving a cab, I was broke, trying to help my mother out. We were about to lose the house. And I told her I could go back to the port. She said I could keep doing it. But you know, I was happier during the struggle because of hope. I was 23, violated, driving a taxi, parking a taxi in front of The Cartoon strip, which was the first place I passed. I would have[ Joe] Matarese or[ Dave] Attell watch the car. I was happier then, I swear to God.

Mandy: Hollywood can be fairly crushing. So many transactional relationships and people who don’t care if you live or die and want to use you.

Artie: At the Stern display, I saw how toxic that entire context was. You have some people who are without talent who just leached onto Howard. Talentless guys whose entire life is based on pleasing that one person. I saw people who weren’t comedians who thought they could sit in that chair and do what I did. When I went down with the heroin thing, they were clearly building statements about it. Like if I succumbed, they would have been almost happy about it, I guarantee it. I considered the sharks swimming like I’ve never seen before. I belief I knew a lot about people in a non-naive way coming into the number of jobs, but boy, the behavior people wanted what I did for a living. What pissed me off is because they thought they could do it. And you are familiar with, there’s a reason that chair stayed empty. I’m done being humble with some things. That chair isn’t empty entirely because Howard felt like it; that chair is empty because he knows no one can do what I did. There are people who are funnier than me, but there’s no one who would have been as honest, and no one who knows that demonstrate better. I left a lot of blood on that fucking floor, boy. I told narratives that expense me relationships with some people, and I didn’t realize it. I virtually got arrested. The DEA came to the fucking reveal because of something I said on the air, in their fucking windbreakers, to grill me about Heath Ledger because they thought we had the same heroin dealer. I’m like,” Why the fuck do you think that ?” I guess there’s reasons they could. There was a security guy who worked the door, and he saw the whole thing, and he said,” Artie, “youre one” entertaining fuckup .”

Mandy: What do “youre thinking about” Donald Trump, who used to do the Howard Stern Show quite a bit?

Artie: I adoration Trump. I’ve had like four times when I interacted with him. I roasted him. Trump said I was the best of the night, but then Howard is so smart-alecky, he told me to tell the gag that was making fun of him in business. I do, and then Trump runs,” Artie was the worst of the roasted. He bombed .” I had a CNN guy call me about it, and I said,” I’m not doing it. Because I’m fucking rooting for him .” And I golfed with him and Eli Manning once at his fraternity. I did nothing but laugh along with him. Then I appreciated him at Howard’s wedding. Howard had bought out Le Cirque. But it was still small-scale. I had played Carnegie Hall at this degree, but it was so nerve-wracking. Billy Joel and his wife were there, two feet from me. Howard. Trump and Melania. Barbara Walters, Joan Rivers, Chevy Chase. It was a tough room, you are familiar with. And I killed. The first joke was how much Beth looks like Christie Brinkley, so I made a Billy Joel joke. And thank God he giggled at it. But Howard was drunk, and doing that great Howard laugh. I loved making Howard laugh. But Trump came up to me afterward, because other people spoke and kind of bombed, and he shook my hand, and he said,” That was a very hard thing to do, and you two are amazing .” He respected that even though I look like a slob he could tell I worked hard. Because, yeah, you think I walked into Stern because I won a lottery? So I ever respected the guy.

Whether you’re for him or not, what he represents is that this country can vote out politicians and elect a game show host because they’re pissed off about stuff. You know, there are two guys on that Billy Bush tape. One guy apologized. The other guy didn’t. One guy’s working at a endowment shop in Kennebunkport. The other guy’s chairwoman. The fucking country likes alpha males. The Midwest does, I know that. And the stuff with the Mexicans. He didn’t say he dislikes all Mexicans. He told the truth about the medicine problem. How do you think I get dope? Trump merely doesn’t give a shit. You know, Louis C.K. wrote an op-ed part, while he was, jerking off next to women, calling Trump Hitler? And it’s like,” Calm the fuck down .” It cleanses down what Hitler did. A guy who let the Mob take away garbage because you have to? The naivete of these people. If you build a building in New York, you have to deal with the Mob. Trump knows that. Ted Cruz lost so many polls during the course of its primaries when he attacked him on that.

Mandy: What do “youre thinking about” the porn star Stormy Daniels and Trump? I guess he asked her to spank him with a transcript of Forbes .

Artie: Well, I imagine I’ve done worse. Comparing him to Harvey Weinstein? That’s a fetish. Listen, if Trump has raped someone, of course I detest his guts.

Mandy: So for you, what has the reaction been to your latest near-death experience? From everything that I’ve read on Twitter and Reddit and YouTube, I feel like half the devotees are saying,” I don’t want to watch him is killed anymore ,” and like,” I’ve stopped believing him .”

Artie: The fact that I haven’t got it yet is hard to understand. I think they’re very disappointed in me. It was an easier sell at 30 than it was at 50.

Mandy: What’s the best sobriety advice you’ve received, do you think?

Artie: To not induce my Higher Power” my career” or another human being because it can disappoint you.

Mandy : b> Do you believe in God? Do you pray?

Artie: You know, I’ll give you something I’ve never told anybody. So my father was preoccupied with Houdini the magician, and Houdini was obsessed with the occult. Houdini always tried to contact the other side, like dead relatives. So Houdini said,” If I succumb, let’s have a word. If the psychic tells you the word, you are familiar with, we talk .” So my father said, when he was lying in couch, he had the plan to kill himself, but I didn’t know that. He said,” Let’s do that .” I move, “OK.” “His fathers”, who I never knew, died when he was 11. He got shot in front of him. “His fathers” ran at a factory. The Otis Elevator Company in Newark. It was a bookie, I guess. But he said,” Let’s make it’ Otis .'”

So I’m in rehab this latest period, few weeks ago. And I’m in the van, which the hilarious security guards call” The Druggie Buggie .” Or” The Loser Cruiser ,” that’s what they call it in jail. So I’ve just come out of the shit, with the withdrawal proportion, and I appeared better, I guess. It was a beautiful period. Where I ran in Connecticut, it was like a Christmas card, it was unbelievably beautiful. And I said,” I feel better this time .” I felt really good. The sky was clear. I was with people I like, and they both said out of nowhere,” I think you’re going to make it this time .” And I said,” I guess I gotta believe like that .” And I stretched over, and there was a vehicle that said ” Otis” on it. The elevator at the rehab that never transgressed, they said, when I told them the tale, the Otis Elevator Company was repairing the elevator. Listen, I don’t believe in any of that shit, but that is the most spiritual thing that’s ever happened to me. I tell my mother that, and clearly she’s religious, and she goes, “Dad’s talking to you.” I’m telling you, that was fucking freaky. So you know, just at that moment, when I had hope and I seemed up and it was a clear sky and it says “Otis,” I was just like, “Jesus Christ.”

Read more: https :// www.thedailybeast.com/ artie-lange-is-not-ready-to-die-fck-em-all

from https://bestmovies.fun/2018/01/26/artie-lange-is-not-ready-to-die-fck-em-all/

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thegirlinthecloudedstars · 8 years ago

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How often do you watch a movie?

As many times as I can a week.

What movie genre are you particularly fond of?

Sci-Fi; Superheroes/Villains; chick-flick; comedy; psychological thriller… anything really.

What was the last movie that you’ve watched and liked?

The last one was In Your Eyes. It was so fascinating and clever how it was done. I really liked it! Find it on Netflix!

What was the last movie that you’ve watched and hated?

I don’t think I’ve watched a bad film for while…

What is your most favourite movie of all time?

The Breakfast Club!

Your most favourite guilty pleasure movie?

Harry Potter and Mean Girls. If there was ever a parody show where they combined the two, I would be all over that!

What movie/movies have you watched a million times already?

Harry Potter! There was a time when I could quote Order of the Phoenix from start to finish. If I was bored, I would just recite the whole film… yeah, I had no life.

Are you the type who watches a movie on its first day of showing?

If I get the tickets and have the money. Of course! The audience will actually respect the movie then, usually.

Do you use Fandango or do you pre-booked movie tickets?

When it comes down to it, I pre-book. I’ve never heard of Fandango…

Cinema, Blu-ray/DVD, or download?

DVD! I can keep it forever then. I have a whole collection of DVDs in my office. It’s huge!

How often do you go to a Cinema to watch a movie?

I used to a lot, but now I don’t really, as I feel as if it’s a lot of money to just hear people giggling and chatting on their phones, taking photos and not actually respecting the films or the people trying to watch the film.

I’d rather buy the film and watch it in my own time on my own where no one can talk over it.

When you’re deaf, going to the cinema where people chat behind you, actually hearing the film is painfully difficult. I’ve walked out and asked for my money back more times than I should because of people’s rudeness…

Sorry… it irritates me.

What are the movies that made you cry?

The Fault in Our Stars!

Do you watch foreign films?

I’ve only watched one called Mon Oncle and I love it.

What are your favourite foreign films?

Mon Oncle!

Who are your favourite directors?

Christopher Nolan; Steven Spielberg; Tim Burton.

Are you particular with movie scores, soundtracks, and musics?

Ish. The music for a film, I feel, shouldn’t just be thrown together. It should reflect on the film, the genre, the characters, the emotions and the scene. It should all be thought out. The dialogue should be able to be muted, and the music should still tell the story without words.

What movie soundtrack can be found in your iPod?

LOTS!!

Guardians of the Galaxy; Les Miserables Film Edition; Pitch Perfect 1 & 2; Into the Woods; Divergent; The Fault in Our Stars; Frozen; Lion King; Moulin Rouge; The Perks of Being a Wallflower; The Rocky Horror Picture Show; Suicide Squad Score and Soundtrack; Zootopia; Big Hero Six… To name a few.

Have you ever watched a movie alone in a movie house?

No, I haven’t.

What is the best chick flick for you?

Mean Girls!!

Is there any movie that has changed your perspective in life?

The film The Breakfast Club made me remember that we’re not all that different; we’re all just living by a label that society has given us, slipping us into categories. We’re made to think that these categories can not mix and converse, when really, everyone is able to be friends and get along, we just need to walk out of our stereotypical bubbles. We’ve all got baggage. We’ve all got problems. We’re all capable of loving one another, but we’re just too scared of what every one else will think to step outside of our categories and talk to one another.

Your favourite comic book movie?

The Dark Knight!

DC or Marvel movies?

Admittedly, I’m more of a DC girl, but recently DC just CAN’T MAKE FILMS!! They’re either boring, plot-straying, or don’t stick to the facts of the comics in any shape or form, or all of the above!! I mean, sure Suicide Squad was good in my opinion, and it was pretty, but it was NOTHING like the comic!! The joker doesn’t even exist properly in the Suicide Squad Issue #1 comic. Harley’s trying to get away from him and start new!! I mean look how different comic Harley and film Harley are!

She’s meant to be insane. Where was her insanity?

So I think Marvel movies are better. They’re exciting, and stick to the comics. DC needs to learn how to create a good movie by looking at how Marvel makes there’s.

What are the movies in the top 10 in IMDb that you have watched?

Okay!! The list is…

The Godfather (have not watched, but need to)

Schindler’s List (have not watched)

12 Angry Men (have not watched)

Life is Beautiful (have not watched)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (have not watched, but been meaning to)

The Shawshank Redemption (have not seen)

The Pursuit of Happyness (have not seen)

Seven Samurai (have not seen)

Untouchable (I think I have seen some of this… need to watch it full)

Central Station (have not watched)

For last year’s 2016 top ten list however!!!

Moonlight (Have not watched YET)

Zootopia (WATCHED AND LOVED!)

Hell or High Water (Not yet watched)

La La Land (Will see asap!)

Manchester by the Sea (Have not watched)

Arrival (Apparently this is good… will need to check it out)

The Jungle Book (Been meaning to watch this!)

Love & Friendship (have not seen)

Finding Dory (SEEN AND LOVED!)

Kubo and the Two Strings (I have seen!)

So, I’ve seen more of the top ten of last year!

What is the best movie adapted from a book?

The Prisoner of Azkaban! And Me, Earl and the Dying Girl.

Do you read movie critic reviews before watching a film?

No. I like to go in with an open mind, without someone’s views already whizzing around my head. I don’t want to get too hyped, and I don’t want to go in with no hope at all, because chances are I’ll either be let down, or the same as when I came in, just because someone told me how I’ll probably be after the film. It’s all psychological.

I like to have my own opinions, I discuss others’ views after I’ve made up my own mind on what I got from the film.

Do you watch the movie before reading the book or vice versa?

Hell no!!

I read the book – If I knew it was a book – before watching the film. Then I get to judge whether it is in fact a good film. A bad film is if they go off track from the original story. Trust me! Fans HATE a film that go away from the plot and change things around. Just look at The Mortal Instruments. It was a train wreck.

What is your most favourite comedy movie?

Either Bad Neighbours or Bad Teacher. They’re both brilliant!

Favourite Drama movie?

Heathers!

Western movie?

A Million Ways to Die in the West.

Romantic Comedy film?

The Switch.

Horror film?

Carrie (1976)

Sports movies?

Haven’t really watched any…

Sci-fi?

Guardians of the Galaxy!

Action movies?

This Means War.

War movies?

Don’t really watch them…

Who is your most favourite movie couple?

Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters.

Any movie character you can relate to?

Veronica from Heathers… in a way that’s complicated to explain.

And Harley Quinn… a LOT like Harley Quinn. I’m just not homicidal.

If you are to only watch five movies for the rest of your life, what would the movies be?

Prisoner of Azkaban

Heathers

Assault on Arkham

Mean Girls

The Breakfast Club

From left to right, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker and Winona Ryder on set of the film ‘Heathers’, 1988. (Photo by New World Pictures/Getty Images)

Your least favourite movie of all time?

Annabel… I won’t even put a picture up of it. It creeps me out too much.

Have you ever watched a movie based on the lead actor/actress only?

Yes! I watched White Bird in a Blizzard specifically because Shailene Woodley was in it, which turned out to be a really good film, but super weird. I recommend it, but just be warned of its weirdness.

And I also watched Women in Black, just because Daniel Radcliffe (My love) was in it. Terrifying. Seriously wish I never had now.

There are some films you just have to say no to, even if you’re trying to watch everything that one actor is in.

What movie you expected and wanted to be good but failed you?

I was seriously excited for Suicide Squad! And in the end, it was good, but was just too bigged up for what it truly was. It was off plot from the original comic. I don’t even think they knew what they were doing during the filming.

They didn’t explain the concept of Suicide Squad or Task Force X, even. They didn’t involve IMPORTANT PLOTS!! It was a good film, but everything was off about it and it disappointed me.

Favourite movie character of all time?

Oh my G! Seriously??

Harley Quinn! Animated in Assault on Arkham.

Favourite movie villain?

Heath Ledger’s Joker! So sad that it drove him insane. He was incredible…

Any movie sequel that you’re still waiting to see?

Incredibles 2!! Obviously.

Ever made a movie review?

I have! Check one out HERE!

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Wars!

Right now, think of any movie, what comes first?

Heathers, honestly. I really want to watch it now!

Favourite movie lines?

The gif in the above question.

TV series, books, computer games, or movies in order of interest?

Okay, that’s just mean… Right, let me think!

Books

Movies

Video Games

TV Series

But they’re all REALLY close together.

Lastly, if your life story is to be made into a movie, who would you like to portray you? Who should be directing it and what would be the title?

The actress portraying me would be Emma Stone.

The Director would be Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg . They’ll work as a team.

The title will be The Trauma of Thinking Positively.

I think my life would be quite an interesting film…

Let's Dive into my thoughts on... MOVIES. How often do you watch a movie? As many times as I can a week. What movie genre are you particularly fond of?

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willpollock · 8 years ago

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We haven’t had Tangerine Satan president even a week before the wheels have come off the American wagon.

Trump has so many conflicts of interest, so many defiantly ignorant and wrong ideas of procedure and tradition, that gaining focus to resist is not an easy task. Today we’ll take two: his cabinet net worth and treatment of the press.

Remember when Trump said he was “for the little guy?” Yeah about that… The combined net worth of Trump’s cabinet choices and other “important presidential appointments” so far exceed $20 billion. If you isolate just his closest circle (from the WaPo):

The net worth of the Cabinet Trump had selected as of Monday was at least $13.1 billion, based on available estimates, or more than the annual gross domestic product of about 70 small countries.

So when all the focus was on Hillary Clinton being beholden to Wall Street and too cozy with monied donors, he was projecting.

By comparison, by the end of his presidency George W. Bush’s team was worth “about $390 million collectively,” says the Washington Post.

Trump is in fact so corrupt, so full of daily lies, that the resistance to him could splinter since there are so many strands on the sweater to pull.

The one that is currently frying my rice? The reaction of D.C. poh poh to the constitutionally protected action of protesting—and covering those protests. Granted, some of the protestors became violent and caused damage. But that doesn’t justify rounding up whole swaths of people and throwing them in jail—some of them without charges.

I also learned a new word that you need to know: “Kettling.” Think of it as the opposite of law-enforcement restraint. In a nutshell, when police set up a perimeter around a group of protestors, all of the people within that circle are subject to arrest and detention. Here’s the problem: innocent protestors, marchers and, yes, journalists can get ensnared in a situation that could involve confiscation of cell phones and lack of access to communication, food and water, and bathroom services.

D.C. police ignored decades of precedent and “kettled” a large group, including approximately six journalists. All of them are subject to a felony sentence of 10 years in priz or a hefty fine. Sound outlandish? That’s because it is (ThinkProgress):

It’s a tactic known as overcharging, where prosecutors use the threat of long jail terms to induce guilty pleas. Even if Phillips ultimately drops some of these 200-plus felony cases after reviewing evidence more carefully, Hopkins-Maxwell said, he’s already sent a clear and ugly signal.

I don’t see our union can survive this. Setting aside egregious civil liberties violations of the peaceful protestors, our media and legal observers cannot and should not be intimidated into silence. We won’t be silent, either.

We can thank producer Sheila Nevins for Bright Lights (HBO)—the greatest unintentional farewell gift imaginable. After Nevins had seen Fisher’s show Wishful Drinking (based on the book of the same name, which is great—highly recommended), she thought it would be perfect to adapt it for television.

What was uncovered in that process was the bond these two women shared, and Fisher’s desire to film her mother’s continuing performing verve. “In my heart of hearts, I think Carrie wanted to memorialize Debbie,” Nevins told The Hollywood Reporter.

Bright Lights would have been poignant and sad in its own right without the deaths of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds a day apart. The doc’s producers moved up the release date from March after they sadly passed away.

Many scenes in this brilliant documentary (which, by the by, will win an Emmy) spoke to me, but most of all, the moment in the antique shop where Carrie was filled with enthusiasm as a collector. “I’m having a crisis of joy” she quipped wistfully. To me this encapsulated her as a person, surviving manic depression and addiction, only to come out on the other side shopping with gusto.

I had the privilege to be at Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, and I attended one of the black-tie parties with some pals. Carrie Fisher was there, sitting quietly by the side of the stage, watching Cyndi Lauper sing with Rufus Rainwright. I didn’t know it at the time, but I captured a rare moment of Carrie enjoying the show, seated to the side of the stage—much like I imagine she did when her mother was performing.

I was so happy to dig this series out of the vault so I can share it with you.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

One final postscript: director Fisher Stevens played a bit part in Friends as Phoebe’s annoying psychologist boyfriend who analyzed the bunch, much to their chagrin. Stevens’ interview with Access Hollywood is actually quite good and gives some background on how the two women reacted to the film.

Last week (CrankyYank Vol. 47) we had esteemed guest blogger and great pal Rob “Reenage” O’Connor review the first episode of Homeland (Showtime) Season 6. He wrote that this new season episodes have “some exciting possibilities in them already, and offer the taste of some real meat as they begin to intertwine.”

I offer a quick counterpoint to Rob’s review, which was largely positive. For me, the first episode landed like the thud of yellowpage books on your front porch. The writing and directing were spotty and vague—certainly not in keeping with past episodes that were built around suspenseful plot arcs and gripping sequences in foreign lands.

As I mention in my sidebar bio, I’m obsessed with the mechanics of filmmaking. In this case, there were many stumbles in the plot and directing that gave me pause. Why did Quinn have to visit the drug den? Why did that intruder come in and decide, “nah, I’ll wait” and pause on his robbery and get serviced by a hooker first. Huh?

I especially loathe when filmmakers do too many takes and try to overlap them to make sense in post-production editing. With a show so heavily reliant on storytelling, tell the fucking story in a single shot, rather that stunt the emotional impact by cutting to different angles. Single long shots ask more of the actors but, in the end, produce a way more convincing product.

Todd VanDerWerff over at Vox has the best take on the series in my view:

Most seasons of Homeland start slowly. Showrunner Alex Gansa and his writers want nothing more than to emulate great spy novels, which take time to build up steam.

But even by those standards, the early episodes of season six are a patience-testing slow burn. The Quinn stuff is unnecessary, and every other storyline feels like it’s taking place on a different show. It’s not clear why Carrie, Saul, and the president-elect are all in the same series, except for the fact that they have been before. And even when Homeland tries to knit them together, the result feels slightly forced.

The show—even with a surprising course-correction from frantic thriller to build-as-you-go drama—is still one of the best on TV. I’m putting my trust in writers, directors and producers to take us on a ride that both mirrors and exposes political life as we know it.

My friend Eddie Duke here in Atlanta gave me a heads-up about meditation audio on YouTube that can help you center yourself and encourage you to breathe. Do a search and find one that suits you, but this 3-Hour Reiki Music video above has a great selection of healing, meditative “soundtrack-y” instrumental music that will cure your crankies in no time flat.

That’s a wrap guys. We’ll see you right back here next Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Will Pollock is an Atlanta-based freelance multimedia journalist focusing on pop-culture, politics, journalism & media, retail, real estate, travel, politics, and human interest.

He is the author of two books (Pizza for Good & Leaving Triscuit), with more on the way. Sign up for the mailing list, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram—and check out the book links below.

Make sure to comment often—cranky loves company.

Support independent authors, writers, artists, journalists and professionals. Buy a book, leave a review, start a discussion. Our success as a nation depends on your engagement and involvement.

CrankyYank Vol. 48: Felony Journalism | ‘Homeland’: The Quieting | Carrie Fisher’s ‘Crisis of Joy’ & More We haven't had Tangerine Satan president even a week before the wheels have come off the American wagon.

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