#Edgar Award Winner

[bargainsleuthbooks]

Murder Your Employer: the McMasters Guide to Homicide by #RupertHolmes #Audiobook #NeilPatrickHarris and #SimonVance #NewBooks

#MurderYourEmployer #TheMcMastersGuidetoHomicide is hopefully the start to a magical mystery series by #EdgarAward winner #RupertHolmes. An added bonus is the #audiobook narrated by #SimonVance #NeilPatrickHarris #BookReview #newbooks #february2023books

Who hasn’t wondered for a split second what the world would be like if a person who is the object of your affliction ceased to exist? But then you’ve probably never heard of The McMasters Conservatory, dedicated to the consummate execution of the homicidal arts. To gain admission, a student must have an ethical reason for erasing someone who deeply deserves a fate no worse (nor better) than…

[birdfrenchforbird]

2025 book bingo tbr

i'm gonna be following the 2025 book bingo created by the magnanimous @batmanisagatewaydrug and i have just completed (to the extent i can today) my tbr! (this has also inspired me into making a list of 25 things i need to do 25 times throughout 2025... so if there's one thing i will be next year, it is occupied). i drew from books that i own/my roommate owns as much as possible.

Literary Fiction: Luster by Raven Leilani (which has been on my libby holds list since mackenzie last recommended it. abt 20 weeks to go).

2. Short Story Collection: Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur (advanced reader's copy i got for free from my college's book club)

3. A Sequel: A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

4. Childhood Favorite: The Sword of Darrow by Alex and Hal Malchow or Heidi by Johanna Spyri or something i find when i am home for the holidays that calls my soul more than these two

5. 20th Century Speculative Fiction: The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkein (because TECHNICALLY it counts)

6. Fantasy: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (one of the few remaining Book of the Month editions i still own)

7. Published Before 1950: Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, published in 1915

8. Independent Publisher: I Love Information by Courtney Bush, published by Milkweed Editions (will need to either get over my fear of going to the library in person to set up my online account and put a hold on this OR purchase a copy)

9. Graphic Novel/Comic Book/Manga: Fun Home by Allison Bechdel or Saga by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples, have not decided (both owned by my roommate)

10. Animal on the Cover: Diminished Capacity by Sherwood Kiraly (he was my playwriting/fiction professor and gave me my copy of the novel)

11. Set in a Country You Have Never Visited: Euphoria by Lily King, set in New Guinea (owned by my roommate)

12. Science Fiction: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

13. 2025 Debut Author: Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang, expected May 2025 (another physical hold or purchase situation)

14. Memoir: Reading With Patrick by Michelle Kuo (commencement speaker at my graduation!)

15. Read a Zine, Make a Zine: tbd! will probably be more than one!

16. Essay Collection: The Book of Difficult Fruit by Kate Lebo

17. 2024 Award Winner: How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair, NBCC Award for Autobiography (will borrow from libby, audiobook is also available)

18. Nonfiction: Learn Something New: I was paying more attention to the nonfiction part than the learn something new part and i do need to find a new book for this because originally i was gonna go with one of Caitlin Doughty's novels which, while lovely, are not something New To Me. i know i have a biography of Anna Freud somewhere so maybe i will dig that up? otherwise it might be a scroll-through-libby adventure

19. Social Justice & Activism: The Theater of War by Bryan Doerries (read a few chapters first year of undergrad but never the whole thing so technically it counts as a new book for me)

20. Romance Novel: Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

21. Read and Make a Recipe: Jane Austen's Table by Robert Tuesley Anderson, specific recipe to be determined upon reading

22. Horror: Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews (owned and recommended by my roommate as a good option for me, because i do not do well with horror. respect the genre so much!! but my anxiety disorder)

23. Published in the Aughts: Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik (just got my thrift books copy a couple weeks ago. i am making myself SAVOR this series)

24. Historical Fiction: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

25. Bookseller or Librarian Recommendation: tbd upon getting over my fears and actually visiting my library in person! it's a five minute walk from my apartment i do not know what my problem is

[weclassybouquetfun]

Film awards season is that much closer to the end with todays' BAFTA Awards. No real surprises with OPPENHEIMER, Christopher Nolan, ANATOMY OF A FALL, Emma Stone,

Da"Vine Joy Randolph

and Cillian Murphy winning top honours.

Cillian is the first Irish EE BAFTA Best Leading Actor winner.

B-Rad, it should have been you. Just sayin'.

BAFTA Awards and after-party moments.

Host David Tennant with Bark Ruffalo.

Cillian holding court with Oppen-homie Rami Malek and his partner Emma Corrin.

MORE BAFTA TALK

Daisey Edgar Jones

Honourary The Strokes member, Dominic Sessa.

On-screen cuzzos, Archie Madekwe and Alison Oliver.

Rosamund Pike with Sophie Ellis-Bextor who performed "Murder on the Dancefloor", which hit a resurgence after its use in SALTBURN.

The Irish: Andrew Scott, *Ayo Edebiri, Paul Mescal and Alison Oliver of SALTBURN.

Shout out to Barbie Wine, wife of Bobi Wine subject of Oscar nominated documentary BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE'S PRESIDENT. She sat at the same table as Cillian at the Oscar Nominee Luncheon and knew how to play it cool.

Paul Mescal does nothing for me, but I admit I see his charms (especially in his episode of "Chicken Shop Date") and those of his sister Nell. I may have to marry into that family...by way of Nell.

Paul being starstruck by David Beckham, Nell doing her top four Letterboxd and the Mescal family lipsycing poorly.

[lookslikethatsallthetimewehave]

Previous Medallion Owners

Early Poptropica Island: The chief of Early Poptropica

Possible reason: Political

Shark Tooth Island: Professor Hammerhead

Possible reason: Science

Time Tangled Island: Your future self

Possible reason: Adventuring

24 Carrot Island: Mayor McTeague

Possible reason: Political

Super Power Island: Chief of Police/Ned Noodlehead

Possible reason: Public service

Spy Island: Top Secret Secretary

Possible reason: Agent work

Nabooti Island: Nabooti African Museum Curator

Possible reason: Public service

Big Nate Island: Mrs. Godfrey

Possible reason: Public service

Astro-Knights Island: King Richard

Possible reason: um... royalty

Counterfeit Island: The Curator

Possible reason: Public service

Reality TV Island: The helicopter pilot

Possible reason: Game show award

Mythology Island: Athena

Possible reason: Offering

Skullduggery Island: Governor Roland

Possible reason: Political

Steamworks Island: Mayor Crumb

Possible reason: Political

Great Pumpkin Island: Lucy van Pelt

Possible reason: Good student

Cryptids Island: Harold Mews

Possible reason: Public service

Wild West Island: Marshal Flint Taylor

Possible reason: Public service

Wimpy Wonderland Island: Greg Heffley

???

Red Dragon Island: Jack and Annie

Possible reason: Adventuring

Shrink Ray Island: C.J.

Possible reason: Good student/science

Mystery Train Island: Grover Cleveland

Possible reason: Political

Game Show Island: Dr. Harold Langley

Possible reason: Science

Ghost Story Island: Magistrate Henry Flatbottom

Possible reason: Political

S.O.S. Island: Captain Boomer

Possible reason: Public service

Vampire's Curse Island: Count Bram

Possible reason: Science

Twisted Thicket Island: Elf Queen

Possible reason: Peace offering

Poptropolis Games Island 2013: MC

Possible reason: Contest winner award

Wimpy Boardwalk: Greg Heffley

Possible reason: ???

Lunar Colony Island: Director McNabb

Possible reason: Public service/science

Super Villain Island: Security Guards

Possible reason: Public service

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Island: Mr. Willy Wonka

Possible reason: Business

Zomberry Island: Samuel Brains

Possible reason: Business

Night Watch Island: Slugger's Storekeeper

Possible reason: Sports

Back Lot Island: Sofia May

Possible reason: Business/Hollywood related award

Virus Hunter Island: Dr. Lange

Possible reason: Science

Mocktropica Island: A woman working at Poptropica headquarters

Possible reason: She's written to give it to you

Monster Carnival Island: Edgar

Possible reason: ???

Survival Island: Max McGullicutty (supposedly)

Possible reason: Piloting

Mission Atlantis Island: Cam Jameson

Possible reason: Science

PoptropiCon Island: Tessa Turncoat

Possible reason: ComicCon related... award

Arabian Nights Island: Sultan

Possible reason: Trading

Galactic Hot Dogs Island: Cosmoe

Possible reason: Adventuring

Mystery of the Map Island: Mya

Possible reason: ???

Hub Island/Tutorial Island: The pilot

Possible reason: Piloting

Timmy Failure Island: Timmy Failure

Possible reason: Detective work

Escape from Pelican Rock Island: Marshal Tex Brannigan

Possible reason: Public service

Monkey Wrench Island: Race Officiate

Possible reason: Racing award

Reality TV: Wild Safari Island: Jim Probably

Possible reason: Game show award

Fairy Tale Island: Amelia

Possible reason: Adventuring

Goofball Island: Mayor Naise

Possible reason: Political

Jade Scarab Island: Claria

Possible reason: Public service

These are the only characters where I wonder how they got their medallions:

I guess Greg Heffley could've gotten his medals from winning a video game competition. That's the only thing he's good at.

Edgar... has zero talent. Except for eating. Maybe he won a pie eating competition or something.

Mya is not a native to Poptropica. Where did she get it?

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Manhunt

Tobias Menzies -Emmy Award Winner in the ‧ Conspiracy Fiction Manhunt - 2024

The 2024 Winter Television Critics Association press tour, Apple TV+ revealed the trailer for “Manhunt,” the upcoming seven-part, true crime limited series starring Emmy Award-winning actor Tobias Menzies (“The Crown,” “Game of Thrones”), and created by Emmy nominee Monica Beletsky (“Fargo,” “The Leftovers,” “Friday Night Lights”), who also serves as showrunner and executive producer. “Manhunt” makes its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Friday, March 15, 2024, and new episodes will debut Fridays, culminating in the finale on April 19, 2024.

Based on the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning nonfiction book from author James L. Swanson, “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer “ is a conspiracy thriller about one of the best-known but least understood crimes in history, the astonishing story of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.

Part historical fiction, part conspiracy thriller, Edwin Stanton delves into the aftermath of the first American presidential assassination-and the fight to preserve and protect the ideals that were the foundation of Lincoln's Reconstruction plans.

Starring alongside Menzies are Anthony Boyle (“Masters of the Air,” “Tetris”), Lovie Simone (“Greenleaf”), Will Harrison (“Daisy Jones & The Six”), Brandon Flynn (“13 Reasons Why”), Damian O’Hare (“Hatfields & McCoys”), Glenn Morshower (“The Resident”), Patton Oswalt (“A.P. Bio”), Matt Walsh (“Veep”) and Hamish Linklater (“The Big Short”).

Manhunt” is produced by Apple Studios and coproduced by Lionsgate Television, in association with POV Entertainment, Walden Media, 3 Arts Entertainment, Dovetale Productions and Monarch Pictures. Beletsky, Emmy nominee Carl Franklin, Layne Eskridge and Kate Barry executive produce. Swanson, author of “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer,” also serves as executive producer alongside Michael Rotenberg, Richard Abate, Frank Smith and Naia Cucukov. Franklin (“Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” “One False Move,” and “Devil in a Blue Dress”) also directed the first two episodes.

“Manhunt” will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, March 15.

Tobias Menzies great actor. I’m determined to watch the series 🍿

[blackstarjp]

On 17 October 2022 at The Savoy, we were delighted to welcome accomplished actor Martin Freeman in conversation with the British Council’s Director of Film, Briony Hanson.

The BAFTA Award winner explored his many comedic roles, sharing details of his time in The Office and in Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s  cult-classic ‘Cornetto’ trilogy, and offered entertaining insights into the much-loved British crime drama Sherlock, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy and the Marvel Universe. Martin also shared advice and reflected on his journey into the industry with the young BAFTA scholars at the event. (x)

[ultrameganicolaokay]

Cruel Universe #1 by Corinna Bechko, Matt Kindt, Chris Condon, Caitlin Yarsky, Jonathan Case, Kano and more. Cover by Greg Smallwood. Variant covers by (2) J. H. Williams III and (3) Jay Stephens. Out in August.

"Compelled to OBLIVION, driven to ENTROPY, all life in our cosmos can only end in one place: COMPLETE ANNIHILATION! For the first time in 70 years, the limitless fury of EC Comics rages back to life to shred the very fabric of the universe itself—and wrench bizarre tales of time and space into our dimensional plane! Our guides across this double-sized, 40-page introduction to a cosmic maelstrom of strange extraterrestrial entities, malevolent scientists, and terrifying technological catastrophe? Learn to fear the void with the irradiated imaginations of Hugo Award nominee Corinna Bechko (Invisible Republic), rising star Chris Condon (That Texas Blood), Eisner Award nominee Matt Kindt (BRZRKR, Mind MGMT), and Edgar Award winner Ben H. Winters (The Last Policeman) as they collide with the wondrously destructive visions of artists Jonathan Case (Green River Killer), Kano (Immortal Iron Fist), Artyom Topilin (I Hate This Place), and Caitlin Yarsky (Black Hammer: Reborn)! The unpredictable return of EC Comics continues here with the quantum comics event of the millennium! Galaxies will collapse. Space-time will be distorted. And your very will to exist, too, shall be broken... Just remember: it's all in the name of SCIENCE!"

[themusicaldesk]

"We Wish a very Happy Birthday to One of the Greatest Violin Players of our time Hilary Hahn

Hilary Hahn (born November 27, 1979) is an American violinist. A three-time Grammy Award winner, she has played as a soloist with orchestras and conductors, and as a recitalist. Several composers have written works for her, including concerti by Edgar Meyer and Jennifer Higdon, partitas by Antón García Abril, two serenades for violin and orchestra by Einojuhani Rautavaara, and a violin and piano sonata by Lera Auerbach."

[dweemeister]

2024 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Picture

Here now are my ten Best Picture winners for the last calendar year. A reminder that films that count towards the Movie Odyssey are movies that I saw in their entirety for the first time over that calendar year. Rewatches don't count.

In other words, these are my top ten "new-to-me" films from my 2024 viewings. I name all ten as "Best Pictures" in alphabetical order. I don't rank them. Any links in the titles take you to my write-ups... regrettably, there are only two:

Adam's Rib (1949; dir. George Cukor)

George Cukor's legal comedy comes with the tagline: "It's the hilarious answer to who wears the pants!" Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn were long-unmarried romantic partners, and their professional partnership included nine films from 1942-1967. Here, he plays a prosecutor; she plays a defense attorney. While in court, Hepburn will claim that a woman’s (Judy Holliday) attempted murder of her adulterous husband is justified. Despite that crazy premise, Adam’s Rib sizzles: this is an ideal movie to watch if you want to know what the comedic and romantic chemistry between Tracy and Hepburn was like.

Awaara (1951, India; dir. Raj Kapoor)

In only his third feature film, Raj Kapoor directed himself, Nargis, and Rithviraj Kapoor (Raj’s father) in a gorgeously made Bollywood movie unafraid of asking questions of class, crime, capitalism/socialism, and personal redemption. The title, which can be translated to “tramp”, is only the first of several aspects in this film reflective of Raj Kapoor’s admiration of Charlie Chaplin’s silent films – humor, pathos, and social consciousness colliding, poetically, into a deeply human work. One of the few ‘50s Bollywood movies to achieve widespread popularity beyond India's borders: it's a touchstone in the former USSR nations, the Balkans, and China. You can watch it here.

The Big Heat (1953; dir. Fritz Lang)

One of two films noir here, this one by German director Fritz Lang (whose film M, from 1931, heavily influenced the creation of noir). Homicide Det. Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) is investigating the death of a fellow cop when he receives word from “upstairs” to stop. He suspects a conspiracy, and turns in his badge (but not his .38) to get to the bottom of it. How far will he go? The Big Heat benefits from a cavalcade of excellent supporting actors – including Lee Marvin and especially Gloria Grahame. Don’t read reviews or other pieces before viewing this film: The Big Heat contains one of the most vicious moments in film history – unforgettable to anyone who sees it, not just to noiristas.

Detour (1945; dir. Edgar G. Ulmer)

Film noir #2 among this year’s Best Pictures. Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour was made by “Poverty Row” studio PRC (derisively nicknamed “Pretty Rotten Crap”) and does so much with so little. Unemployed piano player Al Roberts (Tom Neal) is the unreliable narrator recounting how his life was destroyed after hitch-hiking cross-country to reunite with his girlfriend (Claudia Drake) and his encounter with maybe the meanest woman in film noir history, Vera (Ann Savage; what a surname). Detour’s tawdry, yet brilliant, filmmaking and unreliable narration subconsciously creates its own internal logic. This 68-minute film has the tone and rhythm of a nightmare. In the public domain. Best watched in the dead of night, half-asleep. Did you watch or dream this movie?

Dinner at Eight (1933; dir. George Cukor)

Ten years ago? George Cukor’s Dinner at Eight (Cukor again!) doesn’t make this list. I’ve taken a while to come around to comedies of manners. Based on the play of the same name with an adapted screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz, Dinner at Eight sees a socialite (Billie Burke, Glinda in The Wizard of Oz) organize a dinner party for all her friends. Also starring Marie Dressler, John Barrymore (whose fallen silent film actor character is alarmingly prescient), Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, and especially a fantastic Jean Harlow, this is a racy, elegantly-costumed witty comedy of high society figures deceiving themselves about their stations in life.

Flow (2024, Latvia/Belgium/France; dir. Gints Zilbalodis)

One of two animated features this year. In only his second feature, Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis delivers a dialogue-free animated feature that follows a black cat and their companions in a boat while they navigate the world, which has been destroyed by water. Made with free software Blender, this is a remarkable production that, like Detour, succeeds beyond its paucity of resources. Zilbalodis – who also was co-producer, co-writer, co-composer, cinematographer, editor, and art director – will tell you not to sweat plot details. This is a movie that is about how one learns to trust and work with others – something that Zilbalodis, usually a one-man show, learned himself while making Flow.

One Way Passage (1932; dir. Tay Garnett)

Along with Dinner at Eight, this is one of two pre-Code films among the Best Picture winners. Tay Garnett’s romantic drama stars two major figures from the pre-Code era: William Powell and Kay Francis. On a monthlong ferry from Hong Kong to San Francisco, Francis plays a terminally ill woman (not that you could tell she was terminally ill) who falls for a murderer (Powell) who has escaped authorities and is bound to be hung. Despite what might appear to be a morbid premise, One Way Passage has a romantic delicateness to it, mixing light comedy with unsentimental gestures for a most curious concoction. Fantastic ending.

Son of the White Mare (1981, Hungary; dir. Marcell Jankovics)

As some of you may know, one of my cinematic blind spots that I am most aware is a blind spot and would like most to address is Eastern bloc animation. Marcell Jankovics’ Son of the White Mare is a mythological movie that takes elements of the creation myths of the ancient nomads of the Eurasian steppe. Our main character is Treeshaker, the third human son of a mare, who has superhuman strength. He later meets his two similarly strong older brothers, Stonecrumbler and Ironrubber. Our trio journey to defeat three dragons spreading evil across the world. Jankovics’ film may be standard folklore, but its visual splendor – bright and bold colors, representational character animation – has never been imitated.

​A Special Day (1977, Italy; dir. Ettore Scola)

No other Italian actors could fit the idea of glamor as much as Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. And in Ettore Scola's Una giornata particolare, the two inhabit roles far away from their public and on-screen personas. On the day of Hitler's arrival in Rome on May 3, 1938 to citywide celebrations, a housewife (Loren) and a recently-sacked radio announcer (Mastroianni) have a chance encounter. With everyone else in the apartment complex away to watch the pomp and circumstance, the two discuss their lives, their disappointments, and the expectations hoisted upon them by others. Both actors tap into their wartime experiences to deliver performances among the best of their careers.

20 Days in Mariupol (2023, Ukraine; dir. Mstyslav Chernov)

“It's painful to watch. But it must be painful to watch.” So narrates director Mstyslav Chernov. Produced by the Associated Press and PBS for the latter’s Frontline, 20 Days in Mariupol is a war documentary that captures the twenty days that Chernov and his fellow AP photojournalists spent in Mariupol at the beginning of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine before their dangerous escape. With spare narration from Chernov (that I think I could’ve done without), we see moments unfold that became some of the most infamous images of the conflict in those early weeks – all involving the suffering and deaths of civilians (including children). Essential journalism, harrowing filmmaking. Available on Frontline’s YouTube.

[denimbex1986]

'Andrew Scott revealed his accomplishments have been bittersweet since the death of his mother last month.

In March, the TV actor announced his beloved mum Nora had tragically died after a short illness, just days before they had planned to celebrate Mother's Day together. She passed away at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin while being surrounded by her loved ones.

The star - who features in a new Netflix adaption of The Talented Mr. Ripley from Patricia Highsmith - - has now paid tribute to Nora whom he still mourns and said: "She was the source of practically every joyful thing in my life."

The Fleabag star, 47, shared his sorrow following his recent loss and says he's managing each day as it comes. "Well, you know, you have to — life goes on, you manage it day by day," he told The Sunday Times.

"It’s very recent, but I certainly can say that so much of it is surprising and unique, and there is so much that I will be able to speak about at some point." Scott went on to reveal that he has been trying to keep himself busy and remain positive.

Andrew has received numerous accolades due to his on-screen performances, including a BAFTA Television Award and two Laurence Olivier Awards, and has previously been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.

More recently, the star went on to collect a Critics’ Circle Theatre award for his performance in the West End show Vanya. Scott confessed that his mother had inspired him to experiment with fashion. "My mother was an art teacher, she was obsessed with all sorts of design,' he recalled. 'She loved jewellery and jewellery design.

"Anything that is visual, tactile, painting, drawing, is a big passion of mine, so I have tremendous respect for the creativity of designers."

Nora - who was mother to Sarah, Andrew, and Hannah - appeared to be one of Scott's biggest supporters and would often visit him while he worked on set. However, six years before her sad passing, Nora revealed that she was sent a stunning bouquet of roses after she informed Anthony Hopkins that she was ill.

During a meeting with the actor on the set of King Lear, in which Andrew played Edgar, she informed him that she was unwell and Anthony went out of his way to cheer her up. Speaking on RTÉ, she told Ryan Tubridy: "There was probably more than three dozen red roses and attached to them was a little card from Anthony saying 'Be well, sending hugs', and all sorts of things.

"I was thrilled to get such a gift and for the kind thought that promoted it. Now I have recovered, I can enjoy these exquisite roses that grace our hall. It was such a beautiful gift" which came after Andrew and his All of Us Strangers co-star Paul Mescal revealed that they were not fond of the idea of their parents seeing the movie.'

[favescandis]

Stellan Skarsgard to Receive Locarno’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Skarsgard will attend the Swiss festival to accept the Leopard Club Award and present 'What Remains,' a film in which he co-stars with his son, Gustaf.

BY SCOTT ROXBOROUGH, JULY 10, 2023 3:15AM

Legendary Swedish star Stellan Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting, Mamma Mia!, Nymphomaniac) will be honored with the Leopard Club Award, a lifetime achievement honor, at this year’s Locarno International Film Festival.

Skarsgard will receive the prize on Aug. 4 at a ceremony at Locarno’s Piazza Grande and will take part in an audience Q&A on Aug. 5. In his honor, Locarno will screen Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg (1990), Kjell Grede’s period drama in which Skarsgard plays Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during the final months of World War II. The festival will also screen What Remains, Ran Huang’s crime drama, co-written by his partner Megan Everett-Skarsgard, which features Skarsgard and one of his actor sons, Gustaf (Vikings, Oppenheimer). Huang and the Skarsgards will attend the Locarno screenings.

The 72-year-old has successfully balanced a career as a European art house star. He has made five films with Lars von Trier — including Breaking the Waves (1996), Dancer in the Dark (2000), Dogville (2003) and Melancholia (2011) — and five with Norwegian auteur Hans Petter Moland, such as In Order of Disappearance (2014) and Out Stealing Horses (2019). Skarsgard has also held supporting roles in Hollywood blockbusters, like Pirates of the Caribbean, Mamma Mia!, Thor and the Avengers movies. He played Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, a role he will reprise in the upcoming Dune: Part Two. On the small screen, Skarsgard won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a miniseries in 2019 for his performance in HBO drama Chernobyl and recently starred in Tony Gilroy’s Star Wars spinoff Andor for Disney+.

“Stellan Skarsgard belongs to the tradition of European actors who have distinguished themselves between auteur cinema and Hollywood,” said Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro. “Endowed with a very powerful stage charisma, he has been able to make every role he has played unforgettable. Capable of reinventing his character according to the needs of the director and the script, he was able to inject his personality into films that were extremely different from each other.”

Locarno’s Leopard Club award is presented every year to an individual “whose work in the film industry has left its mark on the collective imagination.” Previous winners include Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, Adrien Brody, Meg Ryan, Hilary Swank and Daisy Edgar-Jones.

The 76th Locarno Film Festival runs Aug. 2 to 12. (Switzerland)

First photo via Deadline by ©Agnete-Brun. 2nd photo and text via The Hollywood Reporter (photo by Rachel Luna/Getty). Third photo is the poster for 'What Remains' found on IMDb.

Locarno Film Festival

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Jane Eyre adaptation OSTs, ranked

Because I have OpinionsTM. The main criteria here is "how Jane Eyre" each of these feel, being the main trait in it how much drama, high emotion, operatic-ness and cheese they contain, how much they reflect the environment and feel of the story, independently of how much they fit the specific adaptation they were made for. Some context will be taken into account, and also how aesthetically pleasing they are, etc, but not specifically their overall match with the tone of the adaptation they belong to (mainly because that makes them really impossible to compare with each other).

Before properly beginning, I will put outside this list the OST of the 1973 BBC adaptation. As much as it is big and operatic and has a lot of gusto, it's also not an original composition for the series -it's Edgar Elgar's 'Introduction and Allegro' for Strings (Quartet and Orchestra), Op. 47, and I think that disqualifies it.

That now out of the way, let's proceed:

7. Jane Eyre (1983) by Paul Reade.

This one is at the bottom mostly because of how sweet and tranquil and restrained it is overall. I'd rather expect it for something like Cranford or Anne of Green Gables. There's nothing even remotely Gothic or super dramatic to it.

6. Jane Eyre (1943) by Bernard Hermann.

Bombastic, like all things Hollywood in the 40s, but also very, very, very generic. Can fit anything from Victorian Romance to Contemporary drama and a serious old-timey silly simphony cartoon.

Best tracks: Rochester, Springtime, Mr Mason, Farewell.

5. Jane Eyre (1970) by John Williams.

It's comforting, once in a while, to know even the greatest are not very inspired sometimes.

Mind you, this still IS John Williams. The melodies are beautiful, the leitmotif carries solidly through the different pieces and morphs deliciously... but it doesn't sound like Jane Eyre. It doesn't sound like anything remotely in a zone anywhere near Jane Eyre. The tone is epic, but as in war-epic, with a dash of romance. What you'd expect for, say, a Zefirelli adaptation of a Shakespeare play?. The instrumentation, heavy on flute and a sort of harpsichord and sometimes... glockenspiel? does very little to evade that idea.

Best tracks: Trio (The Meeting), Across the Moors, Reunion.

4. Jane Eyre (2006), by Rob Lane.

This one is... fine. It's fine. It surely does have big emotions, it can do spooky and it can do joyful... but, listen, Rob Lane is an award-winner composer. We are talking of the person that composed the epic theme of Merlin. Here are some samples of his Jane Eyre score:

All except the intro an outro can be found at: https://www.roblanemusic.com/portfolio-item/jane-eyre-2006/

But you know what really puts it at the "bottom of the best" list? The... peculiar... way in which it sometimes sounds way too close to Thomas Newman's score for Little Women 1994. Maybe it is a matter of the director temping scenes with LW tunes and requiring the score to sound very similar, but even then, it's not... a good look.

Listen, for example, to this segment (it will play first "New York" from the score of Little Women 1994, then the music you hear when the servants prepare Thornfield for the arrival of the guests. The sound on the second is a bit muffled because I removed the vocals manually):

Also, this one (Learning to Forget, from LW 94, then the Rivers Family tune):

Badly done, Rob, badly done.

3. Jane Eyre (2011) by Dario Marianelli.

*gasp*

Yes, I went there and I'm not sorry. But also, this is not about dissing this score at all. It's really, really good. And truly, the difference between 3 and 2 is almost a technicality.

Declaredly, the director wanted Dario Marianelli to make this score as contrasting as possible to the one he composed for Pride &Prejudice (2005). This is in principle a good idea, because these works do feel like completely different universes. But one thing that the P&P score had going for itself, and that I see as a weakness of this one, is the distinctive character of each piece of the score; one blends into the other, and the general tone, while very atmospheric and supremely gothic, is also very restrained (it sounds contradictory, but it isn't). Which isn't very Janeeyresque at all.

Best pieces: A Thorough Education, Waiting for Mr. Rochester, The Wedding Dress.

2. Jane Eyre (1997), by Richard Harvey

(here is my own extraction of the music from the movie itself. As such, because of vocal isolation procedures, there's distortion and quality loss, specially in the parts under dialogue, but it still gives a complete impression of the OST as a whole).

I mourn that it has never been released, because to me at least it is hauntingly beautiful and memorable. Jane's leitmotif really just captures so much about the hardship and grief mingled with hope and yearning, and high drama and struggle of the story, that even if some of the other parts of the score aren't as distinctive or memorable, it still places it near the top.

Best pieces: Jane Eyre (Main Theme), Rochester's Fire, Handshake at Sunrise.

1. Jane Eyre (1996) by Claudio Capponi and Alessio Vlad

Jane Eyre (1996) will justly loose most accuracy rankings, but the score, the score is the one thing in it that very much does feel like the novel to me.

The music for this production is distinctive and gorgeous; it’s very simply structured around three main motifs: a journey motif (very clear in Infanzia di Jane, Viaggio di Jane), a love motif with a joyful (Tema di Helen, Matrimonio di Jane) and a wistful movement (Tema di Jane, Jane e Rochester), and a dark motif with a regret (Tema di Rochester, Ritorno a Thornfield) and a danger (Incendio a Thornfield, Inverno a Lowood) movement. The score moves seamlessly from poignant and reflective to sinister to hopeful, to innocent and pastoral and back again.

Best pieces: Infanzia di Jane, Helen e Jane, Tema di Jane Eyre (reprise).

What are your favorite moments of Jane Eyre scores?

[literaticat]

Which book awards are widely recognized in the industry? How are books nominated? Thanks!

ThE iNdUsTrY is a big place. There are a lot of awards! All with different criteria. Most (all?) of them are decided on by a committee of judges, and that panel looks at all books that fit the specific criteria; publishers send them the books.

Big Huge Awards, Mostly for Grownups

Nobel Prize in Literature (given to an author for their whole body of work, winners get a LOT of $$$)

Pulitzer Prize in Fiction (for a distinguished book of adult fiction by an American author on an American topic published in the past year, chosen by a panel of judges, there's no kids category, winners get $$)

Booker Prize (best work of adult fiction published in the past year in the UK/Ireland, there is no kids category, chosen by a panel of judges, winners get $$$)

Kirkus Prize (all books that get a Kirkus star are automatically nominated, the finalists and winners are chosen by a panel, there's a fiction, nonfiction and young readers prize, they get $$$)

National Book Award (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature - must be published in the US in the past year, authors must be US citizens or residents, they get $)

You'll note that of these Big Awards, ONLY the Kirkus Prize and NBA have children's/YA categories.

There are also "smaller" (but still very meaningful!) awards in different genres -- for example the Nebula and Hugo awards for SF/F, and the Edgar awards for Mystery, all of which I believe have a young people's category.

Big Huge KIDS Awards, mostly for kids books

The biggest kids book awards in the US are given by librarian organizations (YALSA/ALSC) under the umbrella of the ALA Youth Media Awards, all of which are chosen by committees who look at all eligible books; each award has different criteria, and publishers send the appropriate books to those committees, any eligible book is technically 'nominated' just by dint of being eligible.

Those ALA awards include (but are not limited to) the Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, Printz, Pura Belpre, etc. You can find out more about all these awards here. There's really only one of these given to grownup books - that's the Alex Award, which is for grownup books that have high kids/YA interest.

All ALA awards are great to get, of course, and can be a nice boost to a book that wins -- but only the Newbery and Caldecott really make a huge impact on sales (and even those are less impactful than they used to be, sadly).

The biggest international kids awards are the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, "This global award is given annually to a person or organisation for their outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature" -- and the Hans Christian Andersen Awards, which "recognize lifelong achievement and are given to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children's literature."

There are lots and lots of "smaller" awards too of course -- different states and regions have awards, lots of organizations have awards -- any of which are, naturally, an honor to get. But they probably would not have a huge impact on sales or anything like that.

[wellesleybooks]

The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced yesterday, amazingly there were two novels chosen for the award for fiction.

Pulitzer Awards for Books, Drama and Music

Fiction

"Demon Copperhead," by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper)

"Trust," by Hernan Diaz (Riverhead Books)

Finalist:

"The Immortal King Rao," by Vauhini Vara (W. W. Norton & Company)

Drama

"English," by Sanaz Toossi

Finalists:

"On Sugarland," by Aleshea Harris

"The Far Country," by Lloyd Suh

History

"Freedom’s Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power," by Jefferson Cowie (Basic Books)

Finalists:

"Seeing Red: Indigenous Land, American Expansion, and the Political Economy of Plunder in North America," by Michael John Witgen (Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture/University of North Carolina Press)

"Watergate: A New History," by Garrett M. Graff (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster)

Biography

"G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century," by Beverly Gage (Viking)

Finalists:

"His Name is George Floyd," by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa (Viking)

"Mr. B: George Balanchine’s 20th Century," by Jennifer Homans (Random House)

Memoir or Autobiography

"Stay True," by Hua Hsu (Doubleday)

Finalists:

"Easy Beauty: A Memoir," by Chloé Cooper Jones (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster)

"The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir," by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Doubleday)

Poetry

"Then the War: And Selected Poems, 2007-2020," by Carl Phillips (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Finalists:

"Blood Snow," by dg nanouk okpik (Wave Books)

"Still Life," by the late Jay Hopler (McSweeney’s)

General Nonfiction

"His Name is George Floyd," by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa (Viking)

Finalists:

"Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern," by Jing Tsu (Riverhead Books)

"Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction," by David George Haskell (Viking)

"Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation," by Linda Villarosa (Doubleday)

Music

"Omar," by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels

Finalists:

"Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)," by Tyshawn Sorey

"Perspective," by Jerrilynn Patton

[neverthetwinsshallmeet]

#QueerYourYear prompt 39: A Lambda Award finalist or winner

I had a lot of options to pick out for this prompt, but I ended up going with High Risk Homosexual by Edgar Gomez (any pronouns) because I’ve been getting more into nonfiction lately. Gomez’s writing first came to my attention through his essay “I Dedicated My Book to My Mother, But I Can’t Tell Her I Wrote It” published in Electric Literature. It’s about writing and publishing a deeply personal memoir while keeping that a secret from their family, an honest look at what it means to tell your story while stilling grappling with the complicated familial relationships that have shaped it. 

High Risk Homosexual, the debut memoir that is the topic of Gomez’s essay, is a witty, honest, and heartfelt account of coming-of-age as gay and Latine. Gomez writes about navigating the machismo of her family and the racism they encounter in the gay community in a voice that is equal parts dynamic and poignant, exploring intersections of identity and their journey to find his place in the world. From their first visits to gay clubs to their experience of being prescribed HIV-preventing medication, Gomez’s writing manages to be both frank and funny. (I personally enjoyed the chapter on Gomez’s time in a burlesque troupe a lot as someone who was part of my college’s burlesque troupe.) The chapter on Pulse is probably the stand-out of the memoir as Gomez writes with real vulnerability and grief about the Pulse shooting, contemplating both his relationship to the nightclub and the painful similarities between her life and that of the shooter’s.

Overall, High Risk Homosexual is a vivid, moving, and candid memoir that’s put Edgar Gomez on my list of authors to watch. 

[annarellix]

From Dark to Very Dark to Black

I recently read and love these three books. I’m a huge fan of Joe Lansdale so I couldn’t help loving this anthology.

S.A Cosby wrote the introduction ot Lansdale’s anthology and I love this dark story that caused me a serious book hangover

I think that Ronald Malfi is an excellent horror storyteller and Black Mouth was one of my top books of last year.

Below my reviews and info about each book:

All The Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, Charon has had only two murders. After years of working as an FBI agent, no one knows better than Titus that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface.

But a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student. The student is then fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes, and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon. With the killer’s possible connections to a local church and the town’s harrowing history weighing on him, Titus tries to project confidence about closing the case while concealing a painful secret from his own past. At the same time, he also has to contend with a far-right group that wants to hold a parade in celebration of the town’s Confederate history. Charon is Titus’s home and his heart. But where faith and violence meet, there will be a reckoning.

Book page: https://www.headline.co.uk/titles/s-a-cosby/all-the-sinners-bleed/9781472299130/

My Review: The audiobook of Razorblade Tears was how i got to know S.A. Cosby. All Sinners Bleed is a book that got me hooked since the beginning, punched me in a way that i loved and didn't want to stop being punched, a left me with a terrible book hangover. It's twisty, dark, a sort of southern gothic noir that deals with racism, prejudice and doesn't sugarcoat or hide any issues or nastiness that can be found in a small town. Titus, the sheriff, is a clever man who believe in what is doing but must also face the fact that someone is still nostalgic of the lazy and white previous sheriff. It's not a cozy or light read, there's dark humour and there's a master storyteller that keeps you turning pages. I loved it and It's strongly recommended. Many thanks to Headline for this digital copy, all opinons are mine

The Author: S. A. Cosby is an Anthony Award-winning writer from Southeastern Virginia. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, was a New York Times Notable Book, and was named a best book of the year by NPR, The Guardian, and Library Journal, among others. When not writing, he is an avid hiker and chess player.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/blacklionking73

Things Get Ugly: The Best Crime Stories of Joe R. Lansdale by Joe R. Lansdale

In the 1950s, a young small-town projectionist mixes it up with a violent gang. When Mr. Bear is not alerting us to the dangers of forest fires, he lives a life of debauchery and murder. A brother and sister travel to Oklahoma to recover the dead body of their uncle. Edgar Award winner and bestselling author Joe R. Lansdale (the Hap and Leonard series) returns to the piney, dangerous woods of East Texas to reveal the best of his award-winning crime fiction.

Book page: https://tachyonpublications.com/product/things-get-ugly/

My Review: I'm sure Joe R. Lansdale  cannot write a bad or boring story. He can write stories that brings very far from my comfort zone, dark story, story where the dog dies or mix of all the possible elements. But he always write great stories that make you face the darker side of life.. And always add a pinch of dark humour that makes you smile even if you are immersed in blood up to your here. This is not a book for you if you do not want to read about the darker side of life or hate too much violence and gore But if you want to read an anthology of excellent crime/thriller/noir/etc stories be read to get it and start a wilde ride I thoroughly enjoyed it and strongly recommend it. Many thanks to Tachyon Publications for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Author: Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over forty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in more than two dozen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies. He has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. His novella Bubba Ho-Tep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" was adapted to film for Showtime's "Masters of Horror," and he adapted his short story "Christmas with the Dead" to film hisownself. The film adaptation of his novel Cold in July was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Sundance Channel has adapted his Hap & Leonard novels for television. He is currently co-producing several films, among them The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero. He is Writer In Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University, and is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats.

Website: https://www.joerlansdale.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/joelansdale

They Lurk By Ronald Malfi

Five terrifying collected horror novellas newly reissued from the “modern-day Algernon Blackwood”.

Skullbelly A private detective is hired after three teenagers disappear in a forest and uncovers a terrible local secret.

The Separation Marcus arrives in Germany to find his friend up-and-coming prizefighter Charlie in a deep depression. But soon Charlie’s behavior grows increasingly bizarre. Is he suffering from a nervous breakdown, or are otherworldly forces at work?

The Stranger Set a rural Florida parking lot, David returns to his car to find a stranger sat behind the wheel. The doors are locked and there’s a gun on the dashboard. And that was when then the insanity started…

After the Fade A girl walked into a small Annapolis tavern, collapsed and died. Something had latched itself to the base of her skull. And it didn’t arrive alone. Now, the patrons of The Fulcrum are trapped, held prisoner within the tavern’s walls by monstrous things, trying to find their way in.

Fierce A teenage girl and her mom are in a car accident with another vehicle on a remote country road in the middle of a nightmarish snowstorm, which soon devolves into gruesome madness.

Bookpage: https://titanbooks.com/71528-they-lurk/

My Review: I discovered Ronald Malfi last year, loved Black Mouth and Come with and enjoyed this collection of short stories. Ronald Malfi excels at writing novellas and short stories: they're all well plotted, tightly knitted and there a beginning and an apex of horror that keeps you on the edge. There's different type of horror and all of these stories was quite terrifying regardless of the genre. It's a good way to get to know this author. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Author: Ronald Malfi is the award-winning author of several horror novels, mysteries, and thrillers, including the bestselling horror novel Come with Me. He is the recipient of two Independent Publisher Book Awards, the Beverly Hills Book Award, the Vincent Preis Horror Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, and his novel Floating Staircase was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Maryland and

Tweeter at @RonaldMalfi Website: https://titanbooks.com/creators/ronald-malfi/