#Brian Gillespie

[colferpics]

brianjosephgillespie Instagram Story May 27, 2024

[dorothy16]

chriscolfer Halloweenie 2024! I was a snack. Get it? Get it?

[jordi-gali]

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Brian Gillespie 

[gardenwalrus]

Brian Epstein & Diz Gillespie's relationship

So I put together most of the quotes on Brian and John 'Diz' Gillespie's relationship from Peter Brown & Steven Gaines's book The Love You Make & Jim Irvin's MOJO article on Brian's death earlier to make it a bit easier for me to look at in full - I'll put it on here too if anyone wants to read.

(Some of the quotes from the MOJO article are in the BBC documentary The Brian Epstein Story. It's available on YouTube here but its also available on BBC iPlayer for the next three weeks in better quality)

//

In spring 1965, Brian meets and quickly falls for 'Diz' Gillespie, a young Californian actor living in London, who soon moves into his Whaddon House flat. 

'Dizz was an aspiring actor-singer in his early twenties, with dark hair, mischievous eyes and an impish, upturned nose. Brian was so taken with him he seized upon Dizz’s phantom acting career to play Svengali. … Using the excuse that Dizz was a NEMS artist, Brian paid many of his debts and began to dole out a small allowance from his own pocket. Naturally, all of Brian’s friends warned him against being used by this boy. “He may be manipulative,” Brian said, “but he’s different than most. There’s something special about him, something that I can’t name.”'  - Peter Brown, The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of The Beatles (1983) p.172

Despite Brian's infatuation, the relationship is evidently volatile and unhappy - 

'But Diz was bisexual and upset Brian by bringing women back to the flat and causing scenes in public, once in front of Brian's parents. Their doomed relationship lasted too long and clearly made him miserable.' - Jim Irvin, “The Death of Brian Epstein”, MOJO (November 2002)

- and this instability was further intensified by the pair spending many nights at Brian’s flat ‘ingesting large amounts of uppers, Tuinals, and Cognac’, which would often turn violent:

‘…these drugged, drunken nights ended in some sort of unhappy confrontation. They ran from simple arguments to all-out fistfights, which included breaking vases and mirrors. One night, unhappy with Brian’s largesse, Dizz worked himself into a rage. When Brian ordered him out of the house, Dizz raced to the kitchen, grabbed the largest knife he could find, and held it to Brian’s jugular vein while extracting an additional sum of money from Brian’s wallet.’ [Brown, p.72] 

As a result of the incident, Brian ends the relationship, yet according to Brown ‘[Brian] only pined away for the boy, lovesick over him.’

Yet it isn’t long until Gillespie appears again in August 1965, contacting Brian, who was in New York two days ahead of the Beatles’ Shea Stadium concert. Brian appeals to his New York business partner, Nat Weiss, to keep Diz away. 

In a meeting with Weiss, Gillespie pushes for a car in exchange for staying away from Brian. When told this information, Brian insists that Nat Weiss gives Diz $3,000 to buy a car. Weiss therefore strikes a deal with Diz - that he was to ‘be kept locked in a hotel room at the Warwick Hotel on Sixth Avenue - with a private guard hired by Nat - until the Beatles and Brian left town.’ [Brown, p.185] 

After this event, Gillespie disappears again, only to appear a year later in LA on August 28 1966, the day of the Beatles’ penultimate live performance. Brian, overjoyed, believes it to be a true show of Diz’s love for him, and the pair spend the day together at a house in Beverly Hills - despite Nat Weiss’ scepticism: 

‘At first Nat was incredulous, then angry. “Brian, you must not have anything to do with that boy–”  “Now, now,” Brian interrupted, “he came all this way to find me. He said he came because he loves me.”  Nat sighed but said nothing. As preposterous as it was that Dizz Gillespie had any real affection for Brian, Nat could see by the smitten look in Brian’s eyes that he believed it. ... Brian had been so skittish lately that one wrong word could send him off on a three-day snit.' [Brown, p.205]

Weiss’s caution was not unfounded - the following day, Diz had disappeared and taken briefcases belonging to Brian and Weiss. Weiss’s case had contained important business documents, whereas the contents of Brian’s case would have been even more damaging if made public: 

First, there was his large and questionable supply of pills, obviously the property of a junkie. Then there were half a dozen or so billets-doux containing explicit references to his conquests, along with Polaroid photographs of his young friends. Lastly, there was $20,000 in brown paper bag money skimmed from concert funds to be distributed as a bonus [Brown p.206] 

Nat Weiss soon received a blackmail note from Gillespie, demanding an additional $10,000 for the return of Brian’s personal photographs and letters. The suitcase was eventually recovered, however $8,000, the pills and Brian’s photos and letters were all missing - as was Gillespie, who had not been found by the police. 

Alongside the fear that the content of the suitcase may still at some point be made public, as well as the realisations that:

‘...he'd been duped by someone he trusted – coinciding with the last performance by his boys – seemed to tip Brian into despair. "That accounts for his first major depression," says Weiss. "That was the beginning of Brian's loss of self-confidence." [Irvin, 'The Death of Brian Epstein']

--

Also of note - this livejournal account pointed out that a ‘vendor’ mentioned in the descriptions of two Christie’s auction items in 2006 was most likely Diz Gillespie. The items were a 1962 Beatles handbill and an autographed copy of John Lennon’s book In His Own Write, which was addressed ‘To Diz, You're a great turn, good God, from John Lennon’

The description of the 1962 handbill: 

‘According to the vendor, he was given this handbill by Brian Epstein in 1966. The two met at a party in Los Angeles in 1964 and maintained a friendship for many years.’

The description of the autographed book: 

The vendor first met John Lennon and Brian Epstein in 1964 and was given this book by John Lennon when he visited him at his home, Kenwood, in Weybridge, Surrey. Diz was the vendor's nickname.

[the-hottest-band-tournament]

Round Two

Thin Lizzy

Defeated opponents: The Human League

Formed in: 1969

Genres: Hard rock, heavy metal

Lineup: Phil Lynott- bass, vocals

Scott Gorham- guitar

Snowy White- guitar

Darren Wharton- keyboards, organ

Brian Downey- drums, percussion

Albums from the 80s:

Chinatown (1980)

Renegade (1981)

Thunder and Lightning (1983)

Propaganda: 

The Jesus and Mary Chain 

Defeated opponents: Simple Minds

Formed in: 1983

Genres: Noise pop, alt rock

Lineup: Jim Reid – vocals, guitar

William Reid – vocals, guitar

Douglas Hart – bass

Bobby Gillespie – drums

Albums from the 80s:

Psychocandy (1985)

Darklands (1987)

Automatic (1989)

Propaganda: 

[singeratlarge]

SONG OF THE WEEK: “That Lucky Old Sun” https://johnnyjblairsingeratlarge.bandcamp.com/track/that-lucky-old-sun

The lyrics of "Lucky Old Sun" contrast the toil and hardship of the singer's life with the obliviousness of the natural world. Yet he sees a silver lining and God's deliverance behind it all. This song was written in 1949 by big band musician Beasley Smith and prolific Tin Pan Alley lyricist Haven Gillespie—who also wrote "You Go To My Head" (another favorite of mine). They said “Ol’ Man River” inspired this song, which gained more presence with me after hearing Brian Wilson's 2007 concept album based on this song. In 2020 I added it to my set list for when I perform in assisted living homes. My arrangement blends the definitive Frankie Laine recording with the soul of Louis Armstrong's (in 1949 both artists released "competing” versions). I've grown fond of singing it and I added a gospel flair to it. Please listen (feedback welcome), and don’t work too hard out there.

#luckyoldsun #GreatAmericanSongbook #OlManRiver #BeasleySmith #HavenGillespie #BrianWilson #LouisArmstrong #FrankieLaine #gospel #work #river #johnnyjblair #singeratlarge

[movie-titlecards]

Space Clown (2016)

My rating: 4/10

How is it that, in the past 24 hours or so, I watched two amateurish no-budget horror "comedies" featuring a monster traditionally associated with children's birthday parties, and they both had graphic scenes of genital mutilation? I mean, what are the fucking odds?

Anyway, I guess some dudes decided they needed to make a mockbuster of Killer Klowns from Outer Space, and the result kind of sucks, but at least the acting isn't entirely terrible.

[just-some-guy-joust]

Just Some Guy Joust - Contestants List

Note: This is NOT the order of the brackets. Like with the last tournament, the order of the brackets will be a surprise. This list was randomized from the brackets I set up and does not represent who each character will be up against. The only thing you know for sure which side of the bracket they're on. When the polls go up, they'll be posted in order based on the list here, NOT based on where their brackets actually are!

Round 1 of Side A is over! Round 1 of Side B is CURRENTLY UP!

(Full list of characters in text format is under the cut)

Side A

Sasha James (The Magnus Archives)

Reigen Arataka (Mob Psycho 100) - died round 1

Joy (Underworld Office/Charlie in Underworld) - died round 1

Junpei (Zero Escape)

Horse (Centaurworld)

Phone Guy (FNAF) - died round 1

Gordon Freeman (HLVRAI)

Joshua Gillespie (The Magnus Archives) - died round 1

Namari (Dungeon Meshi)

Shez (Fire Emblem: Three Hopes) - died round 1

Henry Stickmin (Henry Stickmin)

Stanley (The Stanley Parable)

Whole (Chonny Jash's Charming Chaos Compendium) - died round 1

Larry (Pokemon)

Luke Carder (Inscryption) - died round 1

Leorio Paladiknight (Hunter x Hunter) - died round 1

Barry the Quokka (The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog)

Tommy (HLVRAI) - died round 1

Ulala Serizawa (Persona 2: Eternal Punishment) - died round 1

April O'Neil (TMNT - All versions)

Tsuzuru Minagi (Act! Addict! Actors!) - died round 1

Matt (Woe.Begone)

Gilear Faeth (Fantasy High - Dimension 20)

Apollo Justice (Ace Attorney)

Emmet Brickowski (The LEGO Movie) - died round 1

Stahl (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

Doug Eiffel (Wolf 359) - died round 1

Jack Townsend (Tales from the Gas Station) - died round 1

Frisk (Undertale) - died round 1

Brian Pasternack (Yuppie Psycho)

Trevor Hills (American Arcadia)

Barry Bluejeans (The Adventure Zone: Balance) - died round 1

Side B

Carol Kohl (Carol and The End of The World)

Jaehee Kang (Mystic Messenger) - died round 1

Paul Matthews (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals)

Emma Perkins (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals) - died round 1

Su Moting (God Troubles Me) - died round 1

Satou Hiroshi (Disastrous Life of Saiki K.)

Chilchuck Tims (Dungeon Meshi) - died round 1

Michelle Nguyen (Welcome to Night Vale)

Tad Strange (Gravity Falls)

Colin Robinson (What We Do in the Shadows) - died round 1

The Bard (Wandersong)

Usopp (One Piece) - died round 1

Nick Carraway (The Great Gatsby)

Link (Ocarina of Time) - died round 1

Kazooie (In a Manor of Speaking) - died round 1

Connecticut Clark (FlorkofCows)

Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings)

Hitomi Shizuki (Madoka Magica)

Junpei Iori (Persona 3)

Han Solo (Star Wars) - died round 1

Tomoya Mashiro (Ensemble Stars!) - died round 1

Peter Sqloint (Just Roll With It: Apotheosis)

Cabbage Merchant (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Marta Cabrera (Knives Out) - died round 1

Greg Universe (Steven Universe)

Yuuki Mishima (Persona 5) - died round 1

Gingerbrave (Cookie Run) - died round 1

Arthur Dent (Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy) - died round 1

Elsen (OFF)

Mob (Mob Psycho 100)

Tadano Hitohito (Komi Can't Communicate) - died round 1

Rung (Transformers - IDW Continuity) - died round 1

[menlove]

the craziest part is that they don't need to make up any new lover for Brian when Dizz Gillespie exists

maybe, they are trying not to make it too dark or smth because Gillespie truly put Brian through hell and was abusive, but still... at least it's real and not surface level research

genuinely! I think that's part of The Problem w biopics is they tend to portray very romanticized versions of people and their lovers and their lives to a point where it is Truly just fiction

[dannyreviews]

Veteran British born/based film/TV actors born before and including 1936 still alive:

With the recent death of Dame Maggie Smith, I thought I'd detail the legendary actors of UK cinema and television that are still living as of the date of this post:

Eileen Bennett (b. 1919)

Arnold Yarrow (b. 1920)

Beulah Garrick (b. 1921)

Elizabeth Kelly (b. 1921)

Elisabeth Kirkby (b. 1921)

Sara Luzita (b. 1922)

Annabel Maule (b. 1922)

Paul Harding (b. 1923)

Vincent Ball (b. 1923)

David Lawton (b. 1923)

Anne Vernon (b. 1924)

Donald Pelmear (b. 1924)

Thelma Ruby (b. 1925)

Pete Murray (b. 1925)

Michael Beint (b. 1925)

Shelia Mitchell (b. 1925)

Kerima (b. 1925)

David Attenborough (b. 1926)

Elizabeth Benson (b. 1926)

Margaret Barton (b. 1926)

Terry Kilburn (b. 1926)

Stanley Baxter (b. 1926)

David Frankham (b. 1926)

William Glover (b. 1926)

Josephine Stuart (b. 1926)

Patricia Davidson (b. 1926)

Barbara Clegg (b. 1926)

Glen Michael (b. 1926)

Araby Lockhart (b. 1926)

Eileen Page (b. 1926)

Rosemary Harris (b. 1927)

Cleo Laine (b. 1927)

Lee Montague (b. 1927)

Genevieve Page (b. 1927)

Neville Phillips (b. 1927)

Jean Lodge (b. 1927)

Barbara Ashcroft (b. 1927)

Jill Freud (b. 1927)

Jean Southern (b. 1927)

Antonia Pemberton (b. 1927)

Peter Cellier (b. 1928)

Jeanette Landis (b. 1928)

Sheila Ballantine (b. 1928)

Dorothea Phillips (b. 1928)

Jeannie Carson (b. 1928)

Hazel Ascot (b. 1928)

Brenda Hogan (b. 1928)

Philip Guard (b. 1928)

Raymond Llewelyn (b. 1928)

Pauline Brailsford (b. 1928)

Leonard Weir (b. 1928)

Kevin Scott (b. 1928)

Tony Hughes (b. 1928)

Joan Plowright (b. 1929)

Patricia Routledge (b. 1929)

Colin Jeavons (b. 1929)

Michael Craig (b. 1929)

Thelma Barlow (b. 1929)

Peter Myers (b. 1929)

Paul Williamson (b. 1929)

John Gale (b. 1929)

Phillip Ross (b. 1929)

Jimmy Fagg (b. 1929)

Hazel Phillips (b. 1929)

Mignon Elkins (b. 1929)

Margaret Stallard (b. 1929)

Maya Koumani (b. 1929)

Clive Revill (b. 1930)

Charles Kay (b. 1930)

Roy Evans (b. 1930)

Una McLean (b. 1930)

Roddy Maude-Roxby (b. 1930)

Ruth Trouncer (b. 1930)

Cyril Appleton (b. 1930)

Vera Frances (b. 1930)

Gary Watson (b. 1930)

Keith Alexander (b. 1930)

Libby Morris (b. 1930)

Pauline Jefferson (b. 1930)

Claire Bloom (b. 1931)

Leslie Caron (b. 1931)

Carroll Baker (b. 1931)

Virginia McKenna (b. 1931)

Vivian Pickles (b. 1931)

Stanley Meadows (b. 1931)

Gerald Harper (b. 1931)

Patricia Greene (b. 1931)

Ellen McIntosh (b. 1931)

Elvi Hale (b. 1931)

Maureen Connell (b. 1931)

June Laverick (b. 1931)

James Martin (b. 1931)

Denyse Alexander (b. 1931)

Arthur Nightingale (b. 1931)

Eileen Derbyshire (b. 1931)

Carl Held (b. 1931)

Shelia Bernette (b. 1931)

George Eugeniou (b. 1931)

Corinne Skinner-Carter (b. 1931)

Tusse Silberg (b. 1931)

Petula Clark (b. 1932)

Prunella Scales (b. 1932)

Phyllida Law (b. 1932)

Ray Cooney (b. 1932)

Brian Murphy (b. 1932)

Edward De Souza (b. 1932)

Alan Dobie (b. 1932)

John Turner (b. 1932)

Roland Curram (b. 1932)

Gabriel Woolf (b. 1932)

Johnnie Wade (b. 1932)

Eileen Moore (b. 1932)

Laurie Leigh (b. 1932)

William Roache (b. 1932)

Athol Fugard (b. 1932)

Carmen Munroe (b. 1932)

Norman Bowler (b. 1932)

Marcia Ashton (b. 1932)

Thelma Holt (b. 1932)

Antony Carrick (b. 1932)

Sally Bazely (b. 1932)

Michael Caine (b. 1933)

Joan Collins (b. 1933)

Sian Phillips (b. 1933)

Sheila Hancock (b. 1933)

Elizabeth Seal (b. 1933)

Shani Willis (b. 1933)

Patrick Godfrey (b. 1933)

Caroline Blakiston (b. 1933)

Donald Douglas (b. 1933)

Ann Firbank (b. 1933)

Vera Day (b. 1933)

Tsai Chin (b. 1933)

Geoffrey Frederick (b. 1933)

Marla Landi (b. 1933)

Monte Landis (b. 1933)

Mary Germaine (b. 1933)

Ruth Posner (b. 1933)

Barbara Archer (b. 1933)

W.B. Brydon (b. 1933)

Robert Gillespie (b. 1933)

Brian Patton (b. 1933)

Arthur White (b. 1933)

Barbara Archer (b. 1933)

Sally Bazley (b. 1933)

Madhur Jaffrey (b. 1933)

Jeanette Sterke (b. 1933)

Ann Rogers (b. 1933)

Barbara Knox (b. 1933)

John Boorman (b. 1933)

Derek Martin (b. 1933)

Michael Aspel (b. 1933)

Bill Edwards (b. 1933)

Judi Dench (b. 1934)

Eileen Atkins (b. 1934)

Tom Baker (b. 1934)

Alan Bennett (b. 1934)

Jean Marsh (b. 1934)

Annette Crosbie (b. 1934)

Wendy Craig (b. 1934)

Richard Chamberlain (b. 1934)

Millicent Martin (b. 1934)

John Standing (b. 1934)

Vernon Dobtcheff (b. 1934)

Nanette Newman (b. 1934)

David Burke (b. 1934)

Christopher Benjamin (b. 1934)

Mary Peach (b. 1934)

Geraldine Newman (b. 1934)

Renny Lister (b. 1934)

Priscilla Morgan (b. 1934)

Audrey Dalton (b. 1934)

Leila Hoffman (b. 1934)

Simone Lovell (b. 1934)

Magda Miller (b. 1934)

Robert Aldous (b. 1934)

Ram John Holder (b. 1934)

Jamila Massey (b. 1934)

Margaretta D’Arcy (b. 1934)

Leslie Saeward (b. 1934)

Maurice Podbrey (b. 1934)

Steve Emerson (b. 1934)

Peter Bland (b. 1934)

Michael Darlow (b. 1934)

Barbara Archer (b. 1934)

Joy Webster (b. 1934)

Jacqueline Ellis (b. 1934)

Jacqueline Jones (b. 1934)

Julie Andrews (b. 1935)

Julian Glover (b. 1935)

Jim Dale (b. 1935)

Anne Reid (b. 1935)

James Bolam (b. 1935)

Christina Pickles (b. 1935) 

Judy Parfitt (b. 1935)

Wanda Ventham (b. 1935)

Amanda Barrie (b. 1935)

Derren Nesbitt (b. 1935)

Nadim Swalha (b. 1935)

Gary Raymond (b. 1935)

Janet Henfrey (b. 1935)

Melvyn Hayes (b. 1935)

Susan Engel (b. 1935)

Amanda Walker (b. 1935)

Delena Kidd (b. 1935)

Derek Partridge (b. 1935)

Allister Bain (b. 1935)

Derry Power (b. 1935)

Phyllis MacMahon (b. 1935)

Rowena Cooper (b. 1935)

Derek Partridge (b. 1935)

Jill Dixon (b. 1935)

Des Keough (b. 1935)

Barbara Angell (b. 1935)

Lucille Soong (b. 1935)

Anita West (b. 1935)

June Watson (b. 1935)

David Daker (b. 1935)

Shirley Cain (b. 1935)

Bobby Pattinson (b. 1935)

George Roubicek (b. 1935)

Brian Blessed (b. 1936)

Richard Wilson (b. 1936)

Tommy Steele (b. 1936)

Edward Petherbridge (b. 1936) 

Ursula Andress (b. 1936)

John Leyton (b. 1936)

Jess Conrad (b. 1936)

Elizabeth Shepherd (b. 1936)

Sandra Voe (b. 1936)

Doug Sheldon (b. 1936)

John Golightly (b. 1936)

Peter Ellis (b. 1936)

Andria Lawrence (b. 1936)

Jon Laurimore (b. 1936)

Tony Scoggo (b. 1936)

Barry MacGregor (b. 1936)

Frank Barrie (b. 1936)

Kenneth Farrington (b. 1936)

Eileen McCallum (b. 1936)

Frederick Pyne (b. 1936)

Philip Lowrie (b. 1936)

Marian Diamond (b. 1936)

Anthony Higginson (b. 1936)

Elsie Kelly (b. 1936)

Ann Taylor (b. 1936)

Heidi Erich (b. 1936)

Keith Faulkner (b. 1936)

Ruth Meyers (b. 1936)

Julia Blake (b. 1936)

[nimayndolo]

1. My friend Brian made this dress, so I wore it and posed with a foam gun I got from Comic Con last week (my first ever!!!)

2. The first cool thing I saw on EBay today. If anyone has a woman’s version in a small (or men’s XS), kindly lmk

3. Mini photo shoot I did with my new digital disposable cam—all of these pics except for 5 were taken with it. Since getting it last week, I can’t get over it.

4. The second cool thing I saw on EBay today. Tarot has been becoming more interesting recently. HOWEVER, seeing that it’s an Alexster Crowley deck sent me on a Google rabbit hole. Btw, does anyone else watch ESOTERICA on YT?

5. This morning loving the way my fit and scrunchie colors contrasted with the gym colors.

See yall tomorrow 🫂

[mappingthemoon]

Movies/TV Watched 2023

The Postman Always Rings Twice / Bob Rafelson (1981)

Secretary* / Steven Shainberg (2002)

Spirited Away* / Hayao Miyazaki (2001)

Watcher / Chloe Okuno (2022)

The Talented Mr. Ripley / Anthony Minghella (1999)

Pride & Prejudice / Joe Wright (2005)

Moonage Daydream / Brett Morgan (2022)

Volver / Pedro Almodóvar (2006)

Belfast / Kenneth Branagh (2021)

The Last Picture Show / Peter Bogdanovich (1971)

I, Tonya / Craig Gillespie (2017)

The Postman Always Rings Twice / Tay Garnett (1946)

Rocketman / Dexter Fletcher (2019)

The Unholy / Evan Spiliotopoulos (2021)

Mara / Clive Tonge (2018)

Frogs / George McCowan (1972)

Prometheus / Ridley Scott (2012)

Men / Alex Garland (2022)

All the Right Moves / Michael Chapman (1983)

Poseidon / Wolfgang Petersen (2006)

Saint Maud / Rose Glass (2019)

Monstrous / Chris Sivertson (2022)

Wander Darkly / Tara Miele (2020)

Howl’s Moving Castle / Hayao Miyazaki (2004)

Iris / Albert Maysles (2014)

Lamb / Valdimar Jóhannsson (2021)

In Fabric / Peter Strickland (2018)

The Elephant 6 Recording Co. / C.B. Stockfleth (2022)

The Visitor / Justin P. Lange (2022)

Smile / Parker Finn (2022)

Yellowjackets [szn 1-2] (2021-2022)

It Comes at Night / Trey Edward Shults (2017)

Everything Everywhere All at Once / Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (2022)

Black Bear / Lawrence Michael Levine (2020)

mother! / Darren Aronofsky (2017)

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story / Eric Appel (2022)

X / Ti West (2022)

I Heart Huckabees* / David O. Russell (2004)

The Right Stuff / Philip Kaufman (1983)

Goliath Awaits / Kevin Connor (1981)

Poltergeist* / Tobe Hooper (1982)

Doctor Who [TV Movie]* / Geoffrey Sax (1996)

Earthstorm / Terry Cunningham (2006)

Lake Eerie / Chris Majors (2016)

Fantastic Planet* / René Laloux (1973)

Synecdoche, New York* / Charlie Kaufman (2008)

Flight of the Navigator* / Randal Kleiser (1986)

NOPE / Jordan Peele (2022)

Women Talking / Sarah Polley (2022)

Striking Distance / Rowdy Herrington (1993)

Vivarium / Lorcan Finnegan (2019)

Saw* / James Wan (2004)

A Peculiar Noise / Jorge Torres-Torres (2016)

In the Earth / Ben Wheatley (2021)

Cats 2 / Jake Jones (2023)

Bringing Out the Dead* / Martin Scorsese (1999)

The Last Blockbuster / Taylor Morden (2020)

The Dance of Reality / Alejandro Jodorowsky (2013)

In the Mouth of Madness / John Carpenter (1994)

The Chamber / Ben Parker (2016)

Tenet / Christopher Nolan (2020)

Synchronic / Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead (2019)

Paprika / Satoshi Kon (2006)

The Menu / Mark Mylod (2022)

Sunshine / Danny Boyle (2007)

Devil’s Island / Sean King, Taylor King (2021)

Benedetta / Paul Verhoeven (2021)

Scotland, PA* / Billy Morrissette (2001)

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover / Peter Greenaway (1989)

The Color of Pomegranates* / Sergei Parajanov (1969)

Face/Off* / John Woo (1997)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial / Steven Spielberg (1982)

The Gilded Age (PBS American Experience) / Sarah Colt (2018)

Aniara / Pella Kågerman, Hugo Lilja (2018)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas* / Chuck Jones, Ben Washam (1966)

The Quake / John Andreas Andersen (2018)

The Guilty / Gustav Möller (2018)

The Muppet Christmas Carol* [VHS] / Brian Henson (1992)

M3GAN / Gerard Johnstone (2022)

Caught / Jamie Patterson (2017)

Shot / Jeremy Kagan (2017)

A Charlie Brown Christmas* / Bill Melendez (1965)

Body at Brighton Rock / Roxanne Benjamin (2019)

Trancers / Charles Band (1984)

Higher Power / Matthew Charles Santoro (2018)

*Asterisk = rewatch

Favorites first watched in 2023: Men, In Fabric, Yellowjackets, Everything Everywhere All at Once, mother!, NOPE, The Dance of Reality. (ETA: Vivarium and Aniara, which I wouldn't necessarily call "favorites" but they've stuck with me.)

Favorite rewatches: Secretary, I Heart Huckabees, Poltergeist, Bringing Out the Dead

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday actor Tommy Flanagan who turns 58 today.

Flanagan was born in Eaterhouse, Glasgow on July 3rd 1965, the former painter and decorator got into acting after a stint DJ'ing and a violent episode which left him with his distinctive scars, he was randomly attacked outside a Glasgow bar, slashed horribly and robbed.

His friend Robert Carlyle then persuaded him to join him with his theatre company, Raindog Theatre, but it was not an overnight success for either of them as Flannagan admitted in an interview neither of them ha “a pot to piss in” he remembers “touring the Highlands in this old blue Transit van, but it had a broken window. It was so freezing inside, one of us had to hold a piece of cardboard up to stop the wind coming in.”

Two years later, he, and almost every other actor in Scotland, appeared in Braveheart. But Flanagan stood out. Mel Gibson told him to come to America. A year later, the Scot did, but the journey west was more about being with his then wife Rachel, an American film producer. Rachel, was from San Diego and he followed her home.

Of course Tommy had appeared in a couple of things beforehand, the obligatory Taggart being the standout, but it was after the William Wallace romp that he got noticed, Rab C Nesbit, A Mugs Game and The Saint followed that, of The Saint, he confirms something I assumed for a few years "Val Kilmer is a prick”.

Tommy got roles in Face Off , The Game and Plunkett & Macleane before the excellent Ratcatcher, set in 1970’s Glasgow and written and directed by fellow Glaswegian Lynne Ramsay, Flanagan plays the main part’s Da, George Gillespie, if you haven’t seen it do so, it’s a great film. One person who agrees with me about Ratcatcher is actress Drew Barrymore, who had seen Tommy in the film and called him up and offered him a part, of the film Tommy admits “You get to have your ass kicked by Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore. What’s bad about that?” Who gave you the best ass-kicking? “That’d be Lucy.”

Among Tommy’s other films are Trauma, Smoking Aces and Sin City, he was making a steady living in Hollywood but it wasn’t until the part of Filip ‘Chibs’ Telford in Sons of Anarchy in 2008 that people started recognising him for his acting, rather than the glesga guy in the films with scar, he is also an occasional face in the spin off Mayans MC.

The series was an international hit. But Flanagan had mixed feelings about the role. His character was called Chibs, for a start. Flanagan didn’t miss the irony; he’d gone to Hollywood to forget the worst memories of Glasgow life and was playing the sort of creature who’d attacked him.

Flanagan admits to previously playing up to the hard man characters he portrays, but his wild days have been behind him since meeting Dina his second wife, they have been married for 12 years now and they have a daughter together.

Tommy has recently appeared in the TV series’, Westworld and Wu Assassins which are on Sky Atlantic and Netflix respectively. We also seen him in the movie There Are No Saints, teaming up with SOA co-star Ron Perlman and fellow Scot Brian Cox, I wasn’t impressed with the film, but if you like action and gore you might want to give it a go.

I have been more impressed with Tommy in the latest instalments of the Power Book series, where protagonist Tommy Egan heads for Chicago and pits his wits against Walter Flynn, played by Flanagan. The series can be viewed as a stand alone, or you can go back and watch the beginnings in Power, which ran from 2014 to 2020.

Tommy will be back with season two of the gangster saga which is premiering on September 1st. Tommy has two movie projects set for next year, Road Movie Casey and Mary and Sleeping Dogs.

[best-magnus-archives-character]

Closed the nomination form! I made a list with all nominations by category! I'll accept suggestions of stuff to move around (change a character from minor to one of the other lists, but not the other way around cause the minor list is long enough). The Main Character list is a bit awkward with 18 characters, but I'm not really willing to move any away from it even if people might disagree? Unless I see a very strong argument.

the only nominations that didn't get in were the artifacts, since people voted for those to have their own poll later on!

So here's the 3 lists I have under the cut!

Main Characters 

Jonathan Sims

Martin Blackwood

Timothy Stoker

Sasha James

Basira Hussain

Daisy Tanner

Melanie King

Georgie Barker

Elias Bouchard

Jane Prentiss

NotThem/NotSasha

The Distortion

Nikola Orsinov

Peter Lukas

Gertrude Robinson

Jonah Magnus

Gerry Keay

Annabelle Cane

Minor Characters with Major Impact 

Michael Shelley

Adelard Decker

Michael Crew

Oliver Banks

Jude Perry

Simon Fairchild

Robert Smirke

Mikaele Salesa

Agnes Montague

Simon Fairchild

Jurgen Leitner

Julia Montauk

Trevor Herbert

Mikaele Salesa

Breekon and Hope

Mary Keay

Minor Character

Joshua Gillespie (MAG 002)

The Admiral (Georgie’s Cat)

Major Tom (MAG 016)

Helen Richardson (MAG 047) 

Karolina Gorka  (MAG 071)

Graham Folger (MAG: 003)

Alexander Scaplehorn (MAG 054)

Jordan Kennedy (MAG 055)

Hezekiah Wakely (152)

The Piper (MAG 007)

Gabriel/Worker of Clay (MAG 126)

John Amherst (Corruption Avatar)

Naomi Herne (MAG 013)

Amy Patel (MAG 003)

Werewolf/Hunt Avatar (MAG 031)

Alfred Breekon (MAG 096)

Alexia Crawley (MAG 110)

Emma Harvey (MAG 167)

Elias Bouchard (original)

Evan Lukas (MAG 013)

Laverne (MAG 136)

Callum McKenzie (MAG 125)

John Haan (MAG 072)

Tom Haan (MAG 030)

Jonathan Fanshawe (MAG 127)

Fiona Law (MAG 167)

Spider on the wall (MAG 038)

Leto (MAG 184)

Nathan Watts (MAG: 001)

Sebastian Skinner (MAG 087)

Carlita Sloane (MAG 033)

Erika Mustermann (MAG 034)

Jan Novak (MAG 034)

Piotr Petrov (MAG 034)

Pavel Petrov (MAG 034)

Fulan Al-Fulani (MAG 034)

Juan Pérez (MAG 034)

Jane/John Doe (MAG 034)

Lee Kipple (MAG 042)

Robin Lennox (MAG 100)

“John Smith” (MAG 100)

Celia/Lynne Hammond (MAG 100)

Brian Finlinson (MAG 100)

Carlos Vittery (MAG 016)

Francis (MAG 172)

Wilfred Owen (MAG 007)

Father Edwin Burroughs (MAG 019)

Maxwell Rayner (MAG 002)

Rat from the Bone Turner’s Tale (MAG 017)

Sergey Ushanka (MAG 065)

Angela (MAG 014)

The Anglerfish (MAG 001)

Jan Killbride (MAG 106)

Natalie Ennis (MAG 025)

Alfred Grifter (MAG 042)

Benoît Maçon (MAG 102)

Dr Lionel Elliot (MAG 034)

Rosie Zampano (MAG 192)

Manuela Dominguez (MAG 135)

Petite Scarabée/Little Beetle (MAG 102)

Sarah Baldwin (MAG 001)

Agape (MAG 153)

Monster Pig (MAG 103)

Callum Brodie (MAG 173)

[compo67]

14, 17 and 25 for the Music asks, please and thank you!

Hello, dear anon. Thank you for the ask!

14. A song that you would love played at your wedding

Oh gosh, so many. But the #1 song I'd want played is "Through Heaven's Eyes" as sung by Brian Stokes Mitchell, from the movie The Prince of Egypt. It's always meant a lot to me.

17. A song that would sing a duet with on karaoke

The best one I can think of is "Take Me or Leave Me" from RENT. I have always wanted to sing that with someone else, and have, for a long time, wanted to incorporate it into a fic. It's just never quite "fit" in just yet. I can see it doing well in Photo Op or Back Pocket.

25. A song by an artist no longer living

Hmm. Let's see. One of my favorites is "The Umbrella Man" by Dizzy Gillespie. You cannot not smile when listening to that song. It's even better if it's raining outside. Just a great feel good song.

Thank you again, anon! <3

[colferpics]

From Brian Gillespie's Instagram Story