#I do remember Eugene Levy in that movie

[wanderingmind867]

I think the movie Serendipity had a special relationship to my parents. I don't remember off the top of my head, but I think it was one of the first films they saw together. So it's a movie with special significance to them. I've never fully paid attention to it, but I've still seen it with them. Now that my mom's dead, I imagine it has even more meaning.

[mostlyinthemorning]

On misinformation, alpaca wrangling and a Schitt's Creek reboot

Can I talk about media misinformation for a second, if I promise to tie it back to Schitt's Creek?

So in my day job, which for the purposes of this rant, I’m going to say is in alpaca wrangling, I do a lot of media. In my city, I’m one of the go-to experts on alpacas and I’m usually on TV a couple of times a month. 

Last month, I get an email from one of the local TV stations saying that a new ranking has listed our city as #2 in alpaca wrangling in the country, would I like to comment?

It’s important to remember that I get requests like this all the time. The reporter sent me an article from their national affiliate along with a spreadsheet that had some ‘data’ showing the rankings. I looked at the data, and it certainly wasn’t what I would have chosen as categories, but it linked back to sources. 

We did the interview.

Later that afternoon, the reporter emails me to say they’re pulling the story because the source of the alpaca-wrangling ranking that was cited in the original article hadn’t produced the data or the ranking and the reporter wasn’t able to verify where any of it had come from. 

Huh, I thought. That’s really weird. But I appreciated them doing their homework and not running a bad story. 

I went back and looked at the data again and realized that while the numbers had been pulled from other sources, there was no way to tell how they’d been used to determine any kind of ranking. Plus the data was old and not from local sources. My bad for not catching that sooner, but at least the story won’t run, right?

Hahahaha.

A week later, I get an email from a different TV station with the same deal - here’s the story, do you want to comment? This time I say no and explain that the data is at best unverifiable (although I highly suspect that it’s actually fake). Let me see if I can confirm it, the reporter says. (I assume he can’t because I never hear from him about it again).

And then, about two weeks after that, the story really picks up steam. It’s everywhere. It’s on social media. TV stations and newspapers across the country are running variations of this story about alpaca-wrangling, clearly without checking the data or the sources. 

In the long run, this isn’t important. It’s a puff piece about a ranking that doesn’t mean anything. However, if you search for my city plus ‘alpaca wrangling ranking,’ you’ll get lots of information that erroneously confirms that we are the second-best alpaca wranglers in Canada.

Which brings me to Schitt’s Creek.

Since the final episode aired, Dan (and anyone else associated with the show) have been pestered by the media about whether there will be a movie or a reboot. Dan has been consistent in saying that if the right idea comes along, he’ll think about it, but there are no concrete plans.

This week, Andrew Barnsley, one of the Schitt’s Creek executive producers, did an interview where he said “It’s something that we know there’s demand and interest for it, really. It’s something that I know Dan and Eugene [Levy] are considering all the time, and I think it’s going to be a timing thing.” He continued, “The fear is: does it tarnish the legacy to go back and revisit them in the way that maybe the Entourage movie did?”

First of all, nowhere in this quote does it say that there will be a reboot or a movie. On the face of it, it’s not that different from the statements that Dan has made all along. Second, Andrew Barnsley may have been an EP on Schitt’s Creek, but does he really know what Dan is thinking on this?

But none of that matters, because this is what the news headlines for Schitt’s Creek look like this morning:

There are two stories that I know things about. How many other stories do I read in a day that I don’t have the same familiarity with but that are created using the same hype and lack of attention to detail?

My point, in as much as I have one, is that the media needs to stopping feeding off each other like sharks chasing a school of tuna, and do some actual fucking research that involves primary sources instead of playing a game of telephone every time something juicy-looking slides across their desks. 

And all of us who are trapped on the other side of the media funhouse mirror need to be careful about checking sources if the media won’t. 

Fin.

[tangledbea]

You ever think about things you might've changed about the movie despite loving it just the way it is? Like if I could change something I'd add these small things to the character designs that'd make a world a difference to me, like for example give Rapunzel a few features from her father so she isn't entirely just her mom but smaller? Like they could've given her broader shoulders and a more angular jawline, and maybe make Frederic the one with the green eyes instead. I kinda think it's cute when a character's resemblance leans more towards one specific parent, but I still want to see some of the other parent in their appearance to balance things out a little and be creative, y'know?

Oh, absolutely. Having the King be the one with the green eyes is something I thought about ages ago. Or perhaps have her parents have noticeably different hair colors so that she can take on her father's hair color instead of her mom's.

Usually, it very much bothers me when a character is a clone of their same-sex parent, but in the case of Tangled it doesn't bother me as much, since her resemblance to the Queen is part of how they knew her at once. But yeah, some slight color alterations would have made a world of difference. Also, I could stand for Rapunzel's eyes to be a tad smaller. They seriously take up most of her face. When I'm looking at the whole picture, it doesn't really bug me, but sometimes I'm suddenly just so aware of it. XD

Other than that? Put Rapunzel in green. Please, god, let us go back in time and make green Rapunzel's color and give Tiana something else as her trademark. Also, show off Punz's shoulders, and make them freckly, too.

Give Eugene one more song, a solo. I can't believe we had to wait until 2019 to get a Eugene Fitzherbert solo, as sung by Zachary Levi.

Maybe put an in-universe reason why Rapunzel knew (or decided*) that that was when her birthday was, so that I wouldn't see the obnoxious as hell take of, "Gothel was so stupid, why did she tell Rapunzel when her birthday was?" every few weeks in the tag. Like... just suspend your disbelief for a few hours, people. It's a fairytale. Why do you need everything explained?

*I have a headcanon that Rapunzel picked her own birthday, because Gothel doesn't like marking age like that. As a woman who wants to never age, it doesn't matter to her when birthdays are. But Rapunzel charts stars and clocks the seasons. Maybe after she found out what a year was, she decided to pick a day to be her first day, and she's the one who made it coincide with the floating lights. And maybe she decided that at such a young age (like four or five) that she doesn't remember doing it. Now, she only knows that her birthday is the same day as the floating lights.

[onlymurdersintheafterparty]

OMITB S4:E1 "Once Upon a Time in the West" Recap

The show is finally back! We no longer have to deal with Tobin, Loretta is back, and we've got a star studded cast of guest stars. I can't wait to see what's in store for this season. I'm bummed we only get one episode to kick off the season instead of two but I'm hopeful that means there's going to be a lot of twists, drama, and etc to get through in due time. Time to dive into the first episode.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Our favorite trio is recording their final episode of their newest season on Ben Glenroy when the power briefly goes out. To celebrate the end of yet another season they decide to go to Charles' place for a nightcap and Charles remembers Sazz never came back. On the way to the apartment Oliver mentions a cold case and I can't help but wonder if this is foreshadowing for next season 👀 Anyways they go into Charles' apartment and find the wine but there's no body!

Mabel being the clever woman she is spots blood spatter on the stove but I don't think she realizes yet what it is. Or does she and assumes it was a cooking accident? As the camera zooms out we realize that the trio has yet to notice the gunshot hole in the kitchen window. The fact that the body is missing is such an interesting concept because how do you solve a murder with no body or proof just the window and the stove if that?

And they don't even know it's a murder because whoever killed Sazz and haphazardly cleaned up the scene texted Charles the next day impersonating her and stating that she had to go be a double for Bakula in LA. So I think it's safe to assume the killer is one of the new characters in LA. Speaking of LA, a mysterious Bev Melon who has kept contacting the trio has invited them to come visit because Paramount wants to make a movie based off of their podcast. How convenient that "Sazz" is in LA and now the trio is as well. I'll be confused though if that whistling keeps happening to Charles even across the country.

When they get to LA and meet Bev, she's disrespectful as hell when describing their personalities. Oliver is the one she wants to strangle or hug, Charles is the un-fun uncle with a turtle face, and Mabel is a millennial with no job, no house, and basically a failure. Charles leaning across the table to give his folded note was hilarious, especially when Oliver tried to help him up only for the number to say 4 🤣 While it rolls off Charles and Oliver's backs, Mabel is offended and rightfully so. It's only one episode so far but Selena is doing a great job at showing this side of Mabel. You can really see her shrink into herself and that she's less confident than she was in the previous seasons.

Because Mabel doesn't yet want to sign away her life rights, there's a party that evening which will give her a chance to reconsider. But before then, you know the cast has to explore LA. Driven by Charles' old chauffeur in his limo, we see the trio standing in the sunroof while driving down a street lined with palm trees, In-N-Out Burger food and drinks in hand. Side note: I miss In In-N-Out Burger so bad. Their animal style fries are my favorite! But I digress.

Charles mentions that Sazz's apartment is located in one of the places on the tour so they make a detour to see if she's home. There is a stack of unopened mail and packages outside her door which is odd considering the text message said that she was in LA. How can she be in the city but her house deserted? Thankfully Charles picks up on this but tries his best not to worry and be fun to prove he's not the unfunny uncle.

The party is as awkward as you'd expect but with some fun moments. Loretta shows up and she and Oliver talk about their future and if Oliver will move to LA to be with her. It's a complex decision that I don't expect to be answered anytime soon. Charles is still worried about Sazz and Mabel just looks like she doesn't even want to be there.

We discover the actors playing the trio are Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, and Zach Galifianakis. None of the trio vibe with their counterparts. Eva tries too hard to be young and hip with Mabel, Zach is rude and dismissive to Oliver, and Eugene bores Charles with his impressions. Plus again, the Sazz disappearance is concerning. Seeing someone in a hat and trench coat, Charles follows them and the person is revealed to be Bakula. When asked about the body double work, Bakula reveals that Sazz never showed. Now the warning signs are fully going off in Charles' head. But wait! Things get even more weird because Charles gets a call from Lester that they couldn't get the window changed out that day. The same window that no one has noticed has a whole bullet hole through it. So that's where the whistling came from.

Howard got a new dog named Gravy because he can no longer adopt cats from the shelter and this is an interesting development because Gravy used to be a working dog. We don't know what job but I assume some sort of police work because when Gravy entered the middle of the kitchen where Sazz's body was she would not stop howling. So either a cadaver dog or maybe one used to sniff out certain substances? The killer could have messed with something in Charles' apartment that is causing that ringing that he's experiencing. We'll find out soon enough by episode 9 or 10. Ok it turns out that we won't have to wait because it's not Gravy it's Gravey because she is in fact a cadaver dog! I was right!

When the trio returns to New York, Howard brings over Gravey who searches the apartment and follows the trail up to the incinerator that was labeled out of order. When they go into the incinerator room and check what was recently incinerated all they find in the ashes is the replacement joints that Sazz received in Bulgaria. And the fake Sazz finally drops the act and texts back "Not your fucking friend" meaning we're dealing with a cold killer and one with a grudge against Charles for whatever reason.

I think this is honestly the saddest death in the series because this is someone that they all knew and was a good friend to Charles. He knew something was wrong just not what, and now his fears have been confirmed in the worst way. Not only did they kill her but they incinerated her too which is just so cruel to me that they'd dispose of her like that. It also makes me wonder what she had on her body that they didn't want to be discovered because a note can be thrown away but another thing such as a birthmark or tattoo can not. All I can say is that Charles is a very good friend for not only worrying about Sazz but going out of his way to find out where she went and I'm sorry for his loss. He'll be devastated when he realizes he was the target.

They really came out swinging with this first episode and I really hope they keep the momentum going because if so, it's shaping up to be the best season yet.

[hot-take-tournament]

Thank you so much for putting this together, it was really fun to do. These are the best answers I could come up with:

1. In ‘what the hair’ I believe it’s Gothel in the dream sequence right? Thats such a cool way to open a show I think, it really draws to you. But it is incredibly confusing if you didn’t watch ‘before ever after’ first

2. I think in the first opening it’s 3, I’m not sure about the other two. If I’m being honest the first season is my favourite.

3. A music box is laid out and when rapunzel plays it it activates the atomatons hidden in the gift boxes.

4. Okay that’s one’s really hard, I know for a fact Varian has blue eyes and I’m pretty sure Monty does, but I really can’t hunk of anyone else. Rapunzels are Green, Eugene and Lance’s are both brown. I don’t know, Faith? Maybe Frederick but I think his are green.

5. The one in the right I think

6. If I remember correctly, which is highly unlikely, Rapunzel starts the song so I’m going to guess Eugene finishes it as a part of the little back and forth they have. I’m more of a ‘nothing less to loose guy myself’, so I don’t actually remember that song much.

7. I think it’s in ‘Once a handmaiden’, but I could be wrong. That episode is really good for a number or reasons, but there’s something really funny about Varian canonically inventing a gun, good for him.

8. The left one?

9. Happily ever after, I know it’s a reprise of the first song in the ‘Before ever after& short movie but I’m not sure if it’s called something slightly different

I really struggled with most of these, clearly I’m a fake fan </3 it’s fine I tried my best, at least this makes good practice for when I do eventually have to go up against the devil to avoid eternal damnation.

It was really fun though :D thank you for putting this together it was super cool. (Not to be that really annoying guy but I do highly recommend TTS it is a very fun watch)

Also slightly related fun face Zachary Levi plays Rocky in the the new chicken run movie and you can really tell. He uses the same line deliver as he does with Eugene it’s pretty funny to compare the two characters.

it's no problem at all, one of the best parts of this blog for me is being able to learn about everyone's special interests!

besides, considering how much experience i have in combing the internet to research fandoms i'm unfamiliar with (mostly so i can make bad puns), it was kinda fun for me to try and put that ridiculously niche skill to the test under time pressure

though... in retrospect i maaaay have accidentally made some of the questions completely impossible

(also, i know i answered your asks out of order, it sounds weird but the genuine reason is that because of the times you sent asks i was worried you were losing sleep over the stress of not knowing whether your asks were anonymous or not)

anyway, here are the answers:

1. you're totally right, it's Gothel who speaks first - no one else has a line until the 2-minute mark, they just kind of make noises at each other. i know they did it because it's a dream sequence, but it's still inexplicably funny if you pay attention to it, it reminds me of final fantasy

i did watch the first episode in full to get an idea of what this show was about, and i do have a lot of questions - tangled was one of the only two disney princess films i watched when i was a kid and i still don't really understand how her hair has grown back or who cassandra is (she seems nice though)

2. yeah in hindsight this one is basically impossible to get from memory, and when i wrote it i didn't even realise that there were different animations for the later seasons

the first one has 7, the second has 4 (i think?), and the third has 3, though it's really hard to tell

3. i actually got that wrong, i thought the music box turned into the robot, but you're right, it activates the parts hidden in the presents that then assemble themselves

4. people make fun of disney for their disdain for green eyes, rapunzel is the only disney princess who has them

excluding tangled, i can't even think of two human disney characters with green eyes period

well apparently they decided to overcompensate by making it so that almost no tangled characters have blue eyes, and honestly it's kind of hilarious

even characters who had blue eyes in the movie had their eye colour switched to green for the series

i was only able to pick out five because i noticed the trend and started actively looking for it - and even then, it was like finding a shiny pokemon anytime someone with blue eyes appeared on screen

so the fact that you were able to think of five off the top of your head is crazy impressive

he does - so do varian, frederic, faith and monty, so that's five

5. the mirror is the one on the left

the one on the right is actually based on the broken plate from breaking bad

6. eugene sings last, i have no idea what the context of the song is though

i actually was originally going to use 'nothing left to lose' but i changed it like five minutes before the timer ran out because i realised there were a lot of questions about cassandra, she's just in every clip

7. yeah, it's 'once a handmaiden', i think once her imaginary british friend pulls the cloak off it never comes back

i may have got this one from the wiki

8. the yellow eye is her(?) right eye

9. you're right, it is just a reprise of the first song from before ever after

(though i found out just now that disney's official songlist technically calls it 'life after happily ever after', which is dumb, so i'm going to ignore it)

so, overall i don't think anyone can accuse you of being a fake fan, you definitely got most of them

still, i'm glad you enjoyed it <3

[be-side-my-self]

First watch of Season 4 of Only Murders In The Building

Rewatch of ONLY Murders In The Building to prepare for season 4:

<Part I> // <Part II> // <Part III> // <Part IIII> // <Part V> // <Part VI> // <Part VII> // <Part VIII>

This is no rewatch but my new posts can also easily be blocked because I'll continue to use #OMITBRewatch as a tag. I'll also tag #OMITBS4. While quoting, I use M, O, C for the main characters.

S4 E1

I'm excited... who killed Sazz?

Those old home movies are adorable. And it shows again, how people are still recognizable even decades later.

... how sad that they didn't even go looking for Sazz?

In the intro... Howard is walking a dog? Not his cat?

What the fuck?! They did not find Sazz... :(

Again, What the fuck??

At least Charles is worried...

Funny that Mabel is now crashing at Olivers place when he crashed at her place before.

O: "Donna and Cliff have pulled their financing! For 'bail' and 'defense attorneys', some stupid shit like that!!"

Not stupid to them!

Oliver is so dramatic.

C: "Hey, I'm sorry about all this but it could be worse. All morning, I have been hearing this whistling sound. I might have a brain tumor" O: "Look, don't try to cheer me up."

Howard got a puppy! Why did he come to Charles apartment?

Awww Gravy is cute. A goldie!

Okay... did Gravy used to work as a cadaver dog?

Lmao...

Oh my god! The corpse is not there anymore but Gravy did smell the blood Mabel smelled.

That really is a bit of a bizarre scene of New York... and if it is a Godzilla movie why is it important that the one grandpa needs help with his microwave? ... is it a parody movie?

Bev Melon...

Bev is a freak.

The Brothers... yeah I can see how that is confusing.

Trina and Tawny Brothers

They don't look Identical. And... they are kind of weird.

Bev: "Oliver who we want to strangle and cuddle at the same time. And Charles, everyone's un-fun uncle with his grouchy, little turtle face. And Mabel, with your traumatized, homeless, jobless, mumbling millennial charm stuck between these two old dudes."

I think that would be the point when I jam on the breaks. Jeebus fuck, Bev.

Bev: "Oh, we don't need to do numbers. You can just have your lawyers call business affairs."

Fucking hell, Bev.

... they don't have lawyers... I assume. Mabel certainly has none.

What the fuck?

"Howdy!"

Sidney...

C: "Well, let's get into this gas guzzler"

When they are in the limo and stand up, I can't help but remember the Bob's Burgers episode in which they are told they can't do it because so many people lost their heads because of the movie "Big" with "Thomas Hanks". Nat (the limo driver) is great.

OH! Okay... the stop Oliver wanted to do was to get burgers. Of course he needs food.

What is up with all those Western motifs? What is up with that?

C: "I'm Eugene Levy?" M: "I'm Eva Longoria." Eva: "Yeah." O: "I'm... I wanna say Tim." "I am Jack Black." (???????????) O: "Ah, that's it. Yeah." "I'm not Jack Black." Bev: "Oliver, that is Zach Galifi--" O: "Oh, yes! Zach Galifragilistic, of course." Zach: "Ha! I see what you're doing. People do this. You're trying to 'Beween two Ferns' me."

... Oliver really does not know him... well neither do I... who is this? I think I've seen him before but uhm... also let me check something.

"Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis is an American talk show hosted by comedian Zach Galifianakis which features celebrity guests." ... I have never heard of this. Okay, I checked and I might recognize his voice as Felix Fishoeder from Bob's Burgers. And... that is probably it. I haven't even watched the Hangover movies and without the beard I did not recognize him at all.

... the age gap was creepy? Really?

The people who thought it's creepy need to check their reality.

Holy shit. Zach and Oliver do not get along. Like Zach is burning Oliver... holy shit.

Also it's amazing that Eugene is a fan of Charles. That is a fun twist.

They are equally awkward too.

Loretta!

That is actually a good advice, Eva.

Cowboys and whistling wind are motifs in this episode... maybe the season.

... omg Loretta and Oliver are so cute... and it looked like he almost asked her to marry him or something? Awww...

SCOTT BAKULA!

Okay, now I see why Sazz was also doing stunts for him. I always remember him younger.

They are breaking in.

Sirens blaring in LA is not worrysome at all.

Lester is great...

Howard: "No, it's Grave-y. Shewas a CADAVER DOG!" Called it!

And everything comes together.

So, where is the body?

The trash chute... of course.

Right in the incinerator...

Oh Sazz :(

... so how did they get on the other building to shoot Sazz and then got into the Arconia to get rid of the body?

[greensparty]

Remembering Joe Flaherty 1941-2024

Sad news that comedy legend Joe Flaherty has died at 82. I don't use the word Legend lightly. As a part of Second City in both Toronto and Chicago, he was a cast member / writer / producer on the brilliant sketch comedy show SCTV (1976-1981), SCTV Network (1981-1983), and SCTV Channel (1983-1984). Talk about a meeting of the comedic minds: you had Flaherty along with John Candy, Robin Duke, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, Tony Roasto, Martin Short, and Dave Thomas doing some of the most LOL sketches in TV history. He won two Emmys for writing on the show He did so many awesome impressions and characters, notably Count Floyd, the scary TV movie host. He brought that character back for a short film shown at Rush's 1984 concert tour and also for the live action portions of the animated The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley (1988-1989). He played so many other great characters like Caballero, the owner of the SCTV station, and co-host of Farm Report. SCTV was so good and so much comedy that came after was influenced by it. Conan O'Brien was said he learned so much from SCTV but the biggest thing was to do something funny until it's not funny anymore.

Count Floyd

One of my favorite scene-stealing moments from him was as the Western Union rep in Back to the Future Part II. He shows up with a delivery for Marty!

Flaherty makes a special delivery in Back to the Future Part II

Other notably performances included Used Cars, Stripes, Johnny Dangerously, Club Paradise, One Crazy Summer, Innerspace, Happy Gilmore, Detroit Rock City, and as the dad on Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000).

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

[cinema-tv-etc]

Celebrate Pi Day

The Truth About Jason Biggs' Warm Apple Pie Scene

by Thanos – onin Marvel Cinematic Universe

In the annals of "teenage sex comedies," few have been quite as successful, or well-remembered, as American Pie. Released in 1999, the film followed the hilarious, often utterly embarrassing journey of four high school pals (Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Eddie Kaye Thomas) who make a pact to lose their virginity by Prom night. Flying mostly under radar before its release, the film hit theaters in the summer of 1999, and ended up becoming one of the year's biggest, and most unexpected hits. Sharply scripted and lovingly rendered, American Pie also made stars of its talented young cast. It also made infamous the concept of "warm apple pie." For those who haven't seen the film, "warm apple pie" is how one of the pals in question crassly describes third base to his sex-crazed comrades. If you aren't aware of that little nugget, you probably aren't aware that kooky notion inspires one of the boys to take deeply indecent liberties with a fresh baked pie in the comfort of his family's kitchen.

Captured with surprisingly vivid frankness, and acted with laugh-out-loud hilarity by Jason Biggs and Eugene Levy, the so-called "pie f***ing scene" in American Pie has lived both in comedic infamy and reverence in the more than two decades since the film first shocked the movie-going public. And in that time, all sorts of behind-the-scenes tales have come out about the making of American Pie's most talked about moment. The New York Times even revisited the scene for a revelatory exposé celebrating the film's 20th anniversary. Here's a few things we now know about Jason Biggs' warm apple pie scene in American Pie.

The infamous Pie scene wasn't in the original American Pie script

Even if you didn't see American Pie when it was released, it's all but certain you were aware of the pie scene, because it became an instant entry into the cultural zeitgeist of the time. And if you're among the millions who did see American Pie in its theatrical run, you know it's all but impossible to imagine the movie without it. But as it happens, American Pie screenwriter Adam Herz claims in that NYT piece that the scene wasn't originally in his script.  "[The pie scene] wasn't in my original draft. There was this line somewhere early in the first act where the kids are talking about rounding the bases of sex." Per Herz, the line which inspired the pie humping was actually intended to "show Jim's naïveté but also show, do the other guys know what they're talking about either? I wrote this line 'What does third base feel like?' And Chris Klein was like, 'Warm apple pie, dude,' and he does this gesture. That line always stuck with me."The line apparently stuck enough that Herz and company felt the need to show Biggs' character taking the idea to a wholly unexpected extreme. And Herz goes on to claim the scene became such a seminal part of the narrative it led to the film being renamed.  "If you talk to Chris [Weitz] and Paul [Weitz], or any of the producers, nobody seems to take credit for coming up with American Pie. But I remember at the time thinking [the name] was awful, because I was a huge Don McLean fan. I don't know how Don McLean feels about it, but it worked."

The scene apparently took hours to shoot

In Biggs' comments to the Times, it seems shooting the pie scene was every bit as absurd as you'd expect too. "We did it once where I straddled the counter and the pie on that island in the kitchen. Then we did it a second way where I was doing it standing up. I believe the latter was the version that was in the theaters, and then the former was where I was on top of the counter." Just FYI, the "Unrated" DVD release of American Pie features the counter top version of the scene, and yes, it's even funnier than the original.

The actor goes on to detail that shooting the scene was not only logistically difficult but also time consuming. "Each time it was very tricky. I'll never forget J.B. [American Pie first assistant director J.B. Rogers] would be coming in and would be adjusting my pants ever so slightly [...] It was probably like six hours of doing it from all different angles and all different versions of it."For Biggs' co-star Eugene Levy, it seems the day's work was far less intricate however. "For me it was more anti-climactic than one might think. I walked into the kitchen and I was only looking at a piece of tape marked on a light stand where my son would have been humping the pie. So, I had to react to a piece of tape." It's perhaps a testament to Levy's legendary comedic acumen that even in responding to a piece of tape, he delivers one of cinema's greatest reaction shots. Jason Biggs was understandably quite nervous about shooting the scene

Eugene Levy might've gotten off easy in the moment, but the pie scene was one that legitimately tested the nerve of then-unknown Jason Biggs. The actor admitted as much in the NYT  piece, claiming he almost didn't go through with it, remembering that he was thinking, "Could this come back and just totally haunt me? Am I about to ruin my career before it even starts?' I called my manager, and I was like, 'Man, I am about to go film that scene, and I'm kind of having a bit of a moment. Should I be freaked out?' He was like, 'Jason, you go and [have sex with] that pie with all you got, man.'"

Biggs obviously approached the difficult scene with the laudable verve of a true professional, which is why it continues to earn laughs decades later. Biggs goes on to claim, however, another actor almost performed the act instead."I remember reading the American Pie script. I would've been happy if I had gotten any part. It was like nothing I had read. It was brutal because the feedback I had gotten was that I was the director's first choice, but the studio was still potentially holding out for a name in the role. The name that was I hearing the most at the time was Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who was at the height of Home Improvement fame."It's safe to say that as impossible as it is to imagine American Pie without Jason Biggs or the pie-humping scene, it feels just as impossible to imagine Jonathan Taylor Thomas doing the warm apple pie deed.

Biggs and Eugene Levy are still receiving free apple pie when dining out

In spite of the fact that Biggs' Jim has endured far more egregious humiliations throughout his tenure in the American Pie franchise (see that unsettling Nadia scene, the unfortunate super glue incident, a gross-out beard-trimmer moment, and countless others), the pie-humping scene is the one which as followed the actor most frequently throughout his career. As Biggs told The New York Times, it's also kept him in free pie for the better part of a couple of decades. "For a long time after, and still occasionally, I'll get sent an apple pie at a restaurant. It's definitely not as intense as it was when the movie first came out. That I think is just always going to happen. I've resigned myself to that. I got a lot of pies sent to me."

Perhaps not surprisingly, Biggs' co-star in the scene, Eugene Levy (for whom the movie was a legitimate breakout moment), has seen his share of free apple pie as well. "I still have people stopping me on the street and talking to me about American Pie. To this day, people love the movie. I've had more apple pies put in front of me in restaurants with waiters and waitresses giggling as they set it down."

Luckily, the legacy of the American Pie's warm apple pie scene is one both actors are perfectly willing to embrace. It helps, of course, that so many people still relate to the film on a deeply human level as well. And it seems that much remains true even more than two decades after American Pie first made pie-humping a thing. Seriously though, pie-humping didn't really become a thing, right?

https://marvelmoviesnews.com/the-truth-about-jason-biggs-warm-apple-pie-scene

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - The Lost Treasure of Herz Der Sonne

So now we get to what is, in my opinion, the best episode in season three. However, it’s still season three, so that’s damning with faint praise. 

Summary: Rapunzel tasks the kingdom with refurbishing the throne room. While breaking down a wall, they find a map to the Lost Treasure of Herz Der Sonne and Rapunzel decides to set up a race to the location. The teams, which consist of twos, are only allowed to look at the map briefly before the start of the race. However, Rapunzel's partner, Feldspar, brings a copy of the map with him and he warns her that the treasure is cursed. 

Why Are You Just Getting to This Now? 

It’s literally been months since you defeated the Saporians. Edmund had to have time to travel all this way to Corona and you’ve rebuilt an entire village since then. We’re talking at bare minimum three months or more. 

Who just leaves a gapping hole inside their home for three months? Where did you conduct the government’s important business during that time? Is there any other structural damage to the castle or the town outside from previous battles that you’ve just left unattended? I understand that rebuilding Old Corona is important but those villagers have been evacuated and living elsewhere for a year and a half now since Queen for a Day. It wasn’t a priority, but this is. 

Also this episode has to come after The Return of the King and Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf because Red, Angry, and Hamuel exist. It can’t just be slotted in somewhere else in order for it to make more sense. The writers genuinely planned for Rapunzel to be this disorganized and didn’t think to give a logical reason as to why. 

Also Why Are You Conscripting Regular Citizens Instead of Hiring Professional Contractors?

Unlike Old Corona, which is a full on community that would require multiple building projects going on simultaneously and therefore could use volunteers, this is a single government building. It’s Rapunzel’s job as leader to make sure that that building is kept maintained and up to code. It’s her responsibility not the regular average citizen’s who has their own jobs to do and zero experience with construction.  

Rapunzel is literally forcing these people to be slave labor for her under the pretense of ‘community’. She’s taking their time away from their own busy lives, forcing them to work a dangerous job, and not compensating them for that time, effort, and risk. And no, they’re not just volunteers at this point; because as acting queen, no one can safely say no to her nor can they just leave even when they’re clearly annoyed and fed up at having to do the work.  

Lastly they’re untrained. They lack the skills and tools to this job. You need an architect, you need a safety inspector, you need actual carpenters and masonries ... maybe even an interior decorator... The point is you need trained professionals and part of being an administrator is using government funding to hire these people in order to make sure the work gets done safely and efficiently and create jobs and keep money circulating through the economy.       

Rapunzel may not mean any harm. She might just be oblivious and untrained herself. But this is terrible leadership and the show never points that out. It never has her learn how to be a better a ruler so by the end of the series you don't feel she’s earned that title of Queen and you fear for the kingdom’s continued existence.   

So Why Is This Here?

Why would there be a Saporian map to a king of Corona’s tomb hidden in the wall? What’s the story behind this? 

Yes we know his wife was Saporian, but that doesn’t explain anything. Why would she need a map on the wall to her own husband’s resting place; assuming he didn’t out live her himself. Why would said map be carved into the wall of Corona’s castle and not written on a scroll? Why is it in Saporian when they don't speak that language in Corona? 

Like I could come up with explanations and create this whole backstory for Herz Der Sonne and the first Saporian/Coronian War, but at this point I’d just be doing the work of the writers for them. They’re the ones who introduced this lore and had it inform plot points and character motivation; and then failed to explain any of it to the audience and adequately have it all connect back together in a way that makes sense. 

The Moment When You Realize This Whole Episode Exists Because Zachary Levi Enjoys Doing an Ed Wynn Impersonation 

Ok time to explain some behind the scenes Info.

This is Ed Wynn. 

As you can tell from the gif above, he’s famous for voicing the Mad Hatter in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. He’s also done a whole bunch of other stuff and was well known even before working with Disney, but the Mad Hatter is his most well remembered role today. 

Many actors, particularly voice actors, like to do impressions of him because he has such a distinctive voice. Including Eugene’s VA, Zachery Levi.  

Now I don’t know if the character of Feldspar was created specifically because the creators were inspired by Zachery Levi’s impression, or if they had this character already planned out and just casted him in the role since he could do it and it’d save them money. Either scenario is plausible and not unheard of in animation. But the long and short of it is, as a shoemaker, Feldspar is intended to be a parody of the Mad Hatter. That is why the character exists. 

Now as I said, this isn’t unusual for animated tv shows. Quite often you get main cast members to voice secondary and/or one off characters because it’s convenient, efficient, and doable when working with audio recordings. Also quite often voice actors will do impressions of other famous people to flesh out these background characters. It’s also not out of left field for these secondary characters to get an episode of focus if they’ve been around for awhile and keep popping up in the story. 

What is unusual, however, is to focus on said character in the final season when there are a bunch of other more important characters with unresolved arcs that need the screen time more. It’s an incredibly odd decision to highlight Feldspar here when we still got Varian readjusting back into society, Red and Angry settling into their new home, and Edmund running around off screen. And while some of these character feature in the episode, they’re just there for the jokes not for any development. 

What’s a “Sap Pond” and How Does That Even Work?

Ok its a fantasy world, I get it. But the franchise does try to have a distinction between the magical and the mundane. Or at least pretends to try and have a distinction. There’s to my knowledge no such thing as a ‘sap pond’, and if such a thing does exist I doubt it’s an actual deep pit full of tree sap as shown here. 

If you want characters to still be surprised by out of the ordinary occurrences and have the supernatural world be separate from the regular world; then you need to have the mundane world grounded in our known reality. Nature needs to function as real world nature would. If something exists in your world that doesn't in ours, then you need to either explain it or have the characters responded appropriately to it. 

But You’re a Prince Now?

Look, I’ll buy that season one Eugene didn’t have unlimited access to the royal treasury as he and Rapunzel were still new to their roles and their relationship. But it’s been over two years since the movie ended. 

Since then Eugene and Rapunzel have lived together, shared finances together, and currently are co-acting rulers of the kingdom. He’s also a bonified prince in of itself on top of being practically married to princess/queen. 

Yeah I said it. Part of what makes season three so frustrating is that Rapunzel and Eugene are functionally married at this point, they just haven’t gone through the ceremony yet, and there’s no stated reason for why they keep dragging things out.  

This is why we get out of place jokes like this that no longer reflect who Eugene is now as a person and feel like they belong back in season one or the even the movie itself. 

I can understand if he wanted to join in the competition because it’s fun, but he’s not poor. Neither he nor Rapunzel needs the treasure. I’m not sure even Lance needs it because as Eugene’s best friend/adopted brother he’s piratically nobility at this point as well. 

Royalty and the rich are not and never will be underdogs show. Stop trying to make them such. 

So Why Feldspar Again? 

This is such a half assed plot point. 

Remember Rapunzel literally pulled out a book earlier to translate the map.  Xavier not only knows the legends about the Saporians, but also keeps a book of magic lying around, and the Saporians are the only human people who have functioning magic in the show as part of their culture.    Varian spent a year living and working with the Saporian leader, and knows how to decipher ancient scrolls written in dead languages.  And said Saporians, are being currently held in the dungeons of the castle.  

But you’re telling me that only a random cobbler can read the warning clearly written on the map? 

They give some bullshit reason as to why Feldspar knows Sapoprian but it doesn’t matter. It’s a forced and contrived excuse to get the character involved in a plot he has no business being in. The story fails to justify the use him over the other more prominent characters who have closer ties to this particular subplot. 

And We’re Suppose to Believe That Herz Der Sonne Was a Good Guy?

Why would a benevolent king who supposedly brought peace to a warring land have a doomsday curse involving zombies? Why would said king be enshrined a tomb that’s not native to his culture? What even is the treasure and why be buried with it? 

There’s clearly more going on here regarding Corona’s past and the treatment of the Saporians as a people in their own right, but the show never does anything with it. Why introduce these complexities and world building if you’re not going to tell a story with them? Why have the Saporian subplot at all in a series already over stuffed with villains if you aren’t going to have them challenge your protagonist and have her grow into a more mature person? 

I’m not dunking on the series for being ambitious nor for having flavor text to help flesh out the world, but it so aggravating that there’s no follow through on the show’s set ups and narrative promises. If you’re not going to give the needed focus to something then just don’t put it in. Cause once it’s aired you’re committed to it and the audience is going to hold you to account. 

I haven’t seen plot mismanagement this bad since the 80s; back when cartoons had to battle network syndication, episode commissions instead of contracted seasons, and could be canceled at any time without prior notice. Now there’s still plenty of bad practices going on in the industry, especially as the move to streaming messes with things, but Tangled does not have the same excuses as say Johnny Quest, Dungeons and Dragons, or even Gargoyles did. 

How Do You Even Know That Would Work, Rapunzel?

No seriously, how does Rapunzel know that putting the treasure chest back on the pedestal will stop the cruse? That hasn’t been established yet by any known source of information. Heck no one knew what the curse actually entailed until it was activated. Except for Xavier who oh so conveniently didn’t say anything until the last moment. If anyone should have the knowledge to on how to end the curse it’s him. But nope we gotta make the Rapunzel the infallible hero who is always right for no logical reason.  

I don’t know how to explain this to you show, but perfect is boring. No one wants a flawless protagonist who can do it all 24/7 without any help whatsoever. And it becomes down right annoying to watch a hero who is clearly flawed still put upon a narrative pedestal as if they weren’t. 

So Why is Varian Suddenly Useless In This Fight?

This entire climax is about showcasing the ‘power of teamwork’ by having the characters use their various skills sets and work together to defeat the enemy. 

Except for Varian. 

He’s treated at best as a spectator to the unfolding events and at worst as a damsel in distress. 

Varian. You know the guy who is the series most competent and threating antagonist. Who brought an entire kingdom to it’s knees, twice. The only other character besides Rapunzel herself who could and does hold his own against other major antagonists, including super powered ones.  

If this was just a one off incident, I’d just shrug it away as him being a glass cannon; insanely overpowered when well prepared but easily out of his depth when not. But that’s not what’s happening here. 

Season three constantly nerfs Varian’s abilities, same as they did back in The Alchemist Returns, and there’s three reasons for this. 

The first is to try and stop him from overshadowing Rapunzel and Cassandra. The writers don’t want to give him any more story focus for fear of him being more popular the the two girls. Which is a ridiculous and petty reason to write a character OOC but there you go. 

The second is the on going issue of making Rapunzel needlessly the center of any and all solutions to every problem regardless of her level of involvement in the initial conflict. Yes, it’s her show, but she’s still not the whole world. Other people exist outside of her and it’s not fair to anybody when the writers ignore that simple fact.   

Last is the writers sacrificing established character for a joke. And as already pointed out, even in this very review, Varian’s not the only character to fall victim to this. It’s just bad writing. Yeah the joke might be funny in the moment but you run the risk of jarring you’re audience’s immersion. In a series like Tangled where you’re constantly asking the audience to suspend their disbelief, humor needs to be firmly rooted in the characters natural behaviors and must evolve to match any character development.   

Why not just have Varian throw a chimball or two, run out cause he wasn’t planning on fighting anybody that day, and then have the other characters rescue him? It’s not that hard to work in a joke while still being respectful of the characters.  

So What Does Anybody Learn From This Episode?

Yeah the other characters learn some vague lesson on teamwork and getting along or something, but they’re not the focus of the episode. What do Rapunzel and Feldspar learn? 

Unlike some people I don’t mind Feldspar’s existence. When’s he’s kept as a background character he works. In fact he’s one of the few townspeople who do work as intended, because he’s representative of the everyday citizen who’s often on the outside looking in on these fantastical events and therefore gives insight into what’s going on and the populous’ opinions on things without being a major player in anything. 

That's fine, needed even, and I don’t mind him getting a single focus episode to gain a greater insight into how this world works or even flesh out his character more, but that’s not what we got. Feldspar doesn’t grow as a character because of this episode. I, as the viewer watching, learn nothing about him nor his life that I didn’t already know. This resolution with him resolves nothing cause it’s a ending for a conflict that was never established beforehand.  

In fact what even was the main conflict of the story? Rapunzel being annoyed by Feldspar? Ok and..? Did she need to learn not to be annoyed by him? Was that a thing that needed to be addressed? Hasn’t Rapunzel already put up with annoying people before now? Was was this deficiency of character actually solved by this one interaction? Has she learned to be more appreciative, attentive, or open minded of others? 

If you tell me it’s Rapunzel’s show then I expect Rapunzel to actually learn shit! 

I expect the external conflicts to tie back into her interpersonal conflicts. If the external conflict does not do that than there better well be a another character who gets that focus instead without her hogging the limelight. 

This Dynamic Adds Nothing

They set up this friendship with Varian and Xavier and it doesn't go anywhere. It never comes back into play and we never see them interacting on screen together again. It also undermines a future plot point that’s coming up later. 

More over it doesn’t further either of their characters. 

Xavier is still an extraneous exposition fairy. Turning his flat characterization into a one note joke does not erase that fact. Giving him a kid to tell stories to doesn’t explain his place in the narrative or give him purpose to the story. We still don’t know why he has these connections to magic nor how he knows all the this lore, and he doesn’t push the plot forward. 

Meanwhile Varian maybe lonely but that doesn’t mean he needs yet another mentor figure in his life. We already have his father, who we barely see him interact with since coming back, and all his other ‘friends’ are way older then him already as well. Rapunzel’s the closest in age to him and she is constantly condescending to, well everybody, as she pretends to be more mature than she actually is. There’s no one in the story who Varian is on equal footing with, and no Angry and Red don't count as they’re far younger than him. 

I don’t know what this series has against teenagers but it showcases some very unhealthy depictions of them; ether by constantly infantilizing them, traumatizing them while subjecting them to parentification, or just flat out ignoring their existence all together. 

Teenagers exist and they need to be treated as teenagers. I don’t know how to put it more simply than that. Teens aren’t children. Teens aren’t adults. They’re teens. And when writing for them you need to understand that difference and acknowledge that they have a completely different phycological development and placement within society to anybody else. That’s why the category of adolescence exists separately from childhood and adulthood in the first place.   

So to tie things back to the first point. The concept of Xavier and Varian having a friendship is not a problem. But as with so many things on this show, it’s the surrounding context and lack of follow through where the issues arises. 

Varian needs a friend his age, who is his equal, more so than a mentor; if indeed Xavier is even intended to serve that function as he doesn’t do any real mentoring. This should have been an opportunity to bring Faith in and establish her better. In fact it’s reasons like this why she should have been a bigger character all along but we’ll get more into that as we get to her only ‘focus’ episode. 

Conclusion 

It’s fun seeing all the various character interactions and unique team ups. Also the humor does work. The jokes do land even if they do bulldoze through established canon. Plus seeing Rapunzel actually annoyed by shit going on around her is always entertaining as it humanizes her. If watched in isolation from the rest of season three, this is an enjoyable episode. But that’s it’s core problem. I shouldn’t have to find filler to keep me going in the last leg of the show. 

This was pretty short comparatively speaking with the rest of the ones I have to write for S3, but longer ones are going to come out more slowly just due to real life and time. As always though you’re support is helpful in keeping going, and if you feel like you can donate to my Ko-fi and leave a tip there. 

https://ko-fi.com/rachelbethhines

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael After Midnight: Heavy Metal

Sometimes it’s fun to revisit old movies you watched when you were younger and find out, hey, this is better than you remembered! Sometimes your young mind just wasn’t ready to accept how awesome something was, and you needed time to fully understand what you look for and like about cinema to truly appreciate it. But then, sometimes, you watch something you liked when you were younger, and you realize… wow, this is absolute dog shit!

Such is the case with Heavy Metal. This is a movie I have frequently cited as a low-ranking entry on lists of the finest animated films of all time, and to be entirely fair to the film, it is important in a historical sense, being a cult classic that was passed around through bootlegs because music rights kept it from getting a home video release, and it came out around the dawn of the 80s and kind of destroyed what you would think an animated film was capable of. This film is full of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and it entirely, unabashedly unashamed of this, for better or for worse.

Now, while I do think the overall film is a bit lacking, it is an anthology film divided into segments, and there are some pretty good ones I will make note of; this is not a film with absolutely no merit. But before that, let me point out the one thing everyone can agree is amazing about this film: the soundtrack. You’ve got Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Stevie Nicks, Devo, Cheap Trick… if nothing else, the kickass soundtrack is worth a listen, though Blue Oyster Cult’s song inclusion irritates me to a great degree. The movie went with “Veteran of the Psychic Wars” for the soundtrack, despite the fact Blue Oyster Cult had a song ready to go that is literally about the final entry in the anthology, called “Vengeance (The Pact).” Why the people compiling the soundtrack made this choice baffles me; it reminds me of how they didn’t use “Jennifer’s Body” in, well, Jennifer’s Body, instead opting for a different Hole song from the same album.

But I digress. Let’s go one by one and touch on the segments:

The framing device is about an entity known as the Loc-Nar, who claims to be the sum of all evil, detailing to a little girl how it has influenced chaos and carnage across time and space. The thing is, though, the Loc-Nar doesn’t come out on top in any of the segments, and its schemes are often thwarted. So the entire movie is basically this supreme evil being detailing to a little girl how much it sucks ass at its one job.

The first segment is Harry Canyon, a story about the eponymous futuristic New York taxi driver. In some regards it reminds me of The Fifth Element, what with a scruffy, slummy, futuristic taxi driver trying to help a smoking hot babe find out the truth and all, but unlike that film, this short is a lot bleaker and gritty. You kinda know what you’re in for when Harry vaporizes a dude who tries to mug him, and if that’s not enough, the female lead of this short literally throws herslef at him, and yes, he gets to take a dive into her Harry Canyon – and you get to see it.

This is a running theme throughout these shorts – almost every female character has huge titties and is sexually promiscuous, throwing themselves at the first penis they see as if it was their job. It’s so incredibly juvenile and tacky as to be laughable, but I guess this comes with the territory considering the magazine this film adapted.

Anyway, the segment is harmless and unremarkable. It’s exactly what you’d expect from this sort of story, without much in the way of twists or turns.

The second segment, Den, is arguably the best segment in the entire film. We have a nerdy kid named Dan who gets transported across space and becomes the musclebound warrior with a huge cock known as Den. Every woman throws herself at him, every villain in his way gets pummeled, and no task is too impossible for this man! And did I mention that he is voiced by John Candy? Really, Candy’s comedic touch is what makes this entire thing feel fun and palatable; it’s a cheesy swords and sorcery romp through and through. Honestly, I don’t have much bad to say about this one, it’s just very silly fun.

Unfortunately we are back to being not great with Captain Sternn. Sternn, played by Eugene Levy (of The Wacky World of Mini Golf fame), is basically an intergalactic war criminal on trial, and when his paid witness Hanover Fiste (played by Rodger “Squidward Tentacles” Bumpass) comes up to the stand, the Loc-Nar influences him to the most evil act possible… betraying this war criminal in front of the judge and jury! GASP! I’m not sure what the Loc-Nar is really trying to do here; you’d think it would maybe want Sternn free to continue spreading wicked influence across the galaxy, but nah, it just makes Squidward hulk out and tries to kill him, only for the tables to be turned and Squidward to be dropped out an airlock, further cementing how utterly useless the Loc-Nar is.

Thankfully, once that’s over, we have yet another very strong segment, another contender for best in show: B-17. This is a genuinely creepy zombie short film, and the zombies are utterly horrifying and grotesque. This is regarded as the most nightmarish part of the film, and for good reason; this shit is certainly worthy of being called “heavy metal.” Honestly, there isn’t much bad to say about this one either, except perhaps that it is over far too soon.

Then we get to what is probably the worst segment: So Beautiful, So Dangerous. The entire segment is sort of meant to be a lighthearted comedic breather between The last segment and the final one, but it just comes off as combining every problem the movie has into one segment: the uselessness of the Loc-Nar, copious and ridiculous sex, drugs, and so on. Really all that’s missing from this is gratuitous violence, but hey, guess you can’t have everything all the time, right? It just comes off as really dull and pointless, and there’s not really anything particularly funny about anything that happens in it, unless of course you’re a thirteen year old who thinks “big boob woman having sex with robot while aliens snort cocaine” is the funniest shit on Earth.

Thankfully, we end on a strong note with Taarna, which is about a proud warrior woman dressed in horrifically impractical armor (and this actually effects the plot, I’m not kidding, somehow there was some self-awareness here) and a cool alien pteradactly flying off to fulfill a vengeful pact after the slaughter of a peaceful race by barbarians mutated by the Loc-Nar, in what may be the Loc-Nar’s sole impressive feat. Taarna is the ultimate hero, giving us the trifecta of qualities a heroine in this movie should have – boobs, butt, and bush... Er, I mean, sword, cool mount, and ass-kicking prowess. This one is not quite as good as “Den” or “B-17,” but I still think it’s a solid finale that has enough action and awesome music to make up for its tackier elements.

The movie ends with Taarna’s defeat of the Loc-Nar echoing through time and killing it which… makes absolutely zero sense, but whatever, the Loc-Nar is an absolutely atrocious villain and perhaps one of the most useless in cinematic history, he gets a 1/10 on Psycho Analysis. Then the girl gets her own kickass space dragon thing and becoming the new Taarna or something and, honestly, it’s the exact  sort of batshit ending you should expect from the film.

So, is this really an awful film? In some places, no. It’s a love letter to cheesy, trashy sci-fi fantasy from the 70s, with all that comes with it, and in that regard it does succeed. But still, a lot of the film feels like the utterly juvenile fantasies of same sad high schooler, or perhaps even middle schooler, who has never had and who likely never will have sex. It’s a tashy little time capsule to a bygone era where this sort of storytelling was okay so long as there was enough blood and titties on display, so if that appeals to you, by all means, check this film out. It’s certainly not the worst thing in the world to watch, but animation has come so far and adult animation in particular is capable of so much more than adolescent masturbatory fantasies that this film has little value beyond a few solid segments and a damn good soundtrack.

Hell, just go listen to the soundtrack. I think you’d have a better time doing that.

[strawberries-n-sugar]

I just want to talk about why I love Schitt's Creek

I have always been a huge Eugene Levy fan, since Cheaper by the Dozen when I was little, he is a amazing actor

Catherine O'Hara actually portrays a decent character and decent mother who is trying. I love Beetlejuice, always have, but I hated her character in it, I also hated her character in Home Alone, they were both garbage mothers

Daniel Levy, oh my God, I've never seen him in anything else but I love him. I love David Rose. He is a "bebe".

David, I love David and respect him and I relate to him. I also look up to him. He has no shame or doubt in his sexuality and is up front and honest about it. He doesn't let his financial status define him. He is so pure. He is so romantic. I relate to how he is afraid and cautious with love because of being hurt, and him not having a plethora of friends. I love how he is pan but he's not overly flamboyant or a femboy or any of that, he is him, he is a guy who just loves and he's not trying so hard like Wade Wilson XD. I relate to how he had to be hurt a lot to find happiness. I relate to how he had to care for a pill popping mother. I love his style, fashion wise and romance wise. I relate to his battle with anxiety and over thinking.

I like Alexis. She bettered herself and I admire that

I love Johnny and I relate to him too

I love how there aren't a obnoxious amount of Christmas episodes like on most sitcoms. I also relate to how Johnny feels about it. How it is a bad time for him and lonely but still he holds out hope for a better one. I relate to how he strives for it to be perfect and gives up and gets hurt when it isn't , and I just really see where he comes from because I'm the same way that holiday and he and I generally want the same one thing for similar-ish reasons

The David and Stevie relationship, as someone in David's boat, it shows realistically what it's like to have little to no one friend wise

I love how they handle relationships on the show. How they handle the drama is so much better than how it is on most shows and in real life, unfortunately

Moira, she's not perfect but she tries and I love that, again, I can relate to having a mother like that

Uhm, hot guys, hello Mutt and Ted and David and Eugene (personally I like Mutt clean shaven or full beard but did not care for that midway thing he did lol) but like David though

I like how the gay relationship is realistic in comparison to others I've seen on TV and movies

The character development is great

Johnny remains down to earth and I love that

The strained sibling relationship, I can relate

It is hilarious

It holds my attention

David. Just David. Did I say that?

Johnny, did I say that?

I love the Dom/sub vibes David and Patrick both give off. That's weird I know 🤷🏻‍♀️

Realistic small towns. Most of the time on TV shows if theyre in a "Podunk" town the characters just seem to always have everything they need like wtf no, this show is actually like "yeah fam, you gotta go over to this town"

David's birthday and how he reacts to people forgetting it,I feel that. It is realistic. When people forget, speaking from experience the only ones who remembered my birthday most of my life were my parents, but, when people do that, you really feel like dying or popping pills and going to bed early. Realistic. His dad remembered, I feel that. Christmas and my birthday are my two least favorite holidays

Patrick knew he his sexuality but never kissed a guy until he was a grown man. I'm grown and I'm bi. I've known I was bi since I was about 15, with my first girlfriend. However, I have only been kissed by a girl once very quickly for a nervous game of truth or dare, I've never been with a girl, I never kissed or was with my ex girlfriend. It's realistic

I love how Johnny is okay and accepts David as his dad for his preferences. Like I just said, I'm bi and I've known for a while. When I was with my ex girlfriend I tried to come out to my dad. We were talking about her and I said, "What if I like her as more than my friend, I definitely like her more than my sister's" to which he responded, "Nah, you ain't like that, she's like your sister" so from that time until I was 22 he never knew, neither did my mom. My dad passed between father's day and my birthday last year and he never knew I was bi, my mom still doesn't. He went to his grave with me never telling him but here I am saying online to everyone else. Parents acceptance is important. I'm the kind of person who believes who you sleep with isn't your parents business but they should be able to know who you love and accept that. Sure, Johnny did express it would be easier for David to pick a gender, but ultimately, it doesn't matter. David brought the people he loved to Johnny and Johnny loved them in return

The in law situation with Stevie and Johnny. I know they aren't in laws but she did sleep with David once, that's not the point. I love how he steps in as a parent for her much like my mom in law did for me, she's like a friend and the parent I go to if I need something wether it be help or otherwise, I go to her for grown up stuff

The town is a big family, I love that and again, kind of relate

That's a few reasons I love Schitt's Creek

[autumn-sundrop]

Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure Countdown To Season 3

Destinies Collide

General Thoughts

The season 2 finale of Tangled is a pretty exciting episode for me, for a good number of reasons, including:

The group finally reaching the Dark Kingdom.

Eugene origin story. — Eugene has always been my favorite character from Tangled (Rapunzel being a very close second) and so this e

The Dark Prince Eugene Theory (by @forever-tangledup / @darkprince-eugene) confirmed by this episode. :)

Everything I Ever Thought I Knew

Lance being awesome throughout the episode.

Hamuel the raven. xD

The big twist at the end.

So, long story short, I love the season 2 finale! :)

(Also, R.I.P. Caravan)

My Favorite Moments

Baby Eugene! :)

“Oh no, all my clean clothes!” “Shorty, you didn’t have any clean clothes.” “Well, not with that attitude, I didn’t.”

The animation of the wind blowing Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra’s hair (right before With You By My Side).

With You By My Side — Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra’s voices sound amazing together. It’s a sweet song :) , and also a little sad knowing what happens later...

Eugene, about Cassandra, “She’s become like a sister to me.”

The Pascal vs. Hamuel scenes. xD

Hamuel crashing through the wall, leaving behind a raven shaped hole. xD)

“Yeeeaaah, high fives! I love these attitudes!”

Eugene to Rapunzel: “The thought of anything hurting you...”

King Edmund looking into Eugene’s eyes and recognizing his long lost son.

King Edmund beginning the story of the moonstone much like Eugene‘s narration in the beginning of the movie. (Once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight/moonlight fell from the heavens...”)

When King Edmund shows Eugene one of his Flynn Rider wanted posters while saying, “These don’t do your nose any justice.”, and Eugene replies, “That’s what I’ve been screaming!”

“I think this reunion is off to a great start! We’re finding common ground, exchanging stories. I just might run him over yet!” “You know, I can hear what you’re saying.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I must be speaking my thoughts out loud. I have been alone a long time. How’s this? You are unaware of what I’m thinking now, yes?” “Yeah, no, you’re saying everything that you’re thinking out loud, and I can still hear all of it.”

Like father, like son — “Alright, listen, I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Here comes... the glower.” xD And then the, “This is kinda an off day for me, this doesn’t usually happen.”

The portrait of baby Eugene with his mother and father.

Lance saying to Rapunzel (after Eugene is forced to prevent her from getting inside the castle) — “I’ve known Eugene my entire life, and he has never, and I mean never, loved anyone as much as he loves you.”

Eugene looking up and seeing the statues of his ancestors, and the music that plays during this scene.

Everything I Ever Thought I Knew 😭 — Zachary Levi’s performance of this song is so amazing and everything about this scene was beautifully done.

During Everything I Ever Thought I Knew — The wanted posters forming the image of Rapunzel before “crumbling”.

Shorty almost falling into lava (“Well great, I’m shrinking.”). xD

Zachary Levi’s delivery when Eugene says, “The last time someone tried to destroy the moonstone, I lost my mother. I mean, what if we lost Rapunzel, Pascal?”

Pascal emphasizing with Eugene over losing his mother and patting his hand.

Pascal getting Eugene to come to his senses.

Rapunzel, remembering the “When did you stop trusting my judgement?” scene from the midseason, choosing to listen to Cassandra over Adira.

“Let her in! She’s the sundrop!”

Rapunzel and Lance getting excited when they find out that King Edmund is Eugene’s father:

Lance saying, “You finally got adopted! 😀”

Rapunzel and Eugene teaming up for that power kick move. :)

When King Edmund is running to stop Rapunzel from getting to the moonstone chamber, and Eugene tackles him.

“But what if my destiny is not to join you in this place, but rather it is to rescue you from it!”

“You said you can tell a lot by looking into a man’s eyes, right? Well, look into mine, because I have faith in Rapunzel. And you should too.”

Adira thanking Lance.

Lance slicing one of the spirits in half.

“Okay, Lance buddy, I think we learned something today. Everyone has a destiny. We have no idea what that fate is, but we do know one thing —we are not going to meet it today!”

Lance figuring out how to stop the spirits attacking them and destroying the statue.

Everyone tossing Adira’s sword to each other and getting a chance to shine while destroying the statues.

Edmund destroying the last statue — “Our family is just... awful.”

Slide and kiss. :)

The scene in which Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra enter the moonstone chamber — I love the music that plays when three of them lay eyes on the moonstone, and the animation of the black rocks.

And this amazing scene. :)

Rapunzel hugging Cassandra, (“I want thank you, for everything.”).

“This is it, Rapunzel. Now go get your destiny.” “I love you.”

The final moments of the finale.

[tangledbea]

In another universe where everything about the Tangled movie and series (story, dialogue, designs, etc...) was the same, but the actors were different, who do you think would be a decent fit? Assume that this other world has all the same actors as ours, and the reason for the change was because of who was available/interested.

Here's the thing: So much of Tangled - especially Eugene and Lance - are based on the actors who play them. Zac Levi basically is Eugene, and I was able to guess what Lance would be like as a character based exclusively on knowing that James was voicing him and that he was Eugene's friend. Eugene would literally not be the same person if Zac hadn’t voiced him, because he got to help shape who the character is. So it's hard for me to imagine anyone else in these roles.

I mean... Frederic and Arianna could have been anyone. It's a shame that Clancy Brown's talent was used on a character so unliked, and Arianna's actor was actually changed from Ashley Judd to Julie Bowen after Before Ever After was recorded, and they had to redo her lines. I guess I always imagined her a little less husky than she ended up being.

Also, I openly admit to being bad with actor names. I have to have a specific interest in someone if I'm gonna remember who they are and what roles they've done.

But whoever they cast, I would want them to be Broadway ready.

[marshmallowbee13]

The full playlist

I decided to do this here because Insta has been a butt for too long and wouldn't let me add songs to my stories. If you read this, I tag you to make your own playlist and tag me in it so I can listen to your music tastes.

Day 1: Deep Purple by Artie Shaw & Helen Forrest

I really have a thing for old Big Band music. I blame my dad. We have an old home video of us dancing together to that music.

Day 2: I'm a Slave 4 U by Britney Spears

Listen. It's a classic.

Day 3: Soak Up the Sun by Sheryl Crow

So it's not the greatest song, but I've spent many a summer listening to it.

Day 4: Pyromania by Cascada

I used to watch old AMVs of this song dedicated to a character from one of my favorite movies, who I used to have a huge crush on. My interests have since changed and now I can't listen to that song without thinking of my old obsession with him. It's cringey, bro.

Day 5: Everytime We Touch by Cascada

It's a BOP!

Day 6: Show Me How You Burlesque by Christina Aguilara

Burlesque is one of my favorite movies and this song especially makes me wanna jump on a table and dance. I don't actually do it, tho.

Day 7: A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton

Perfect for road trips.

Day 8: Starships by Nikki Minaj

I was told it was about getting high. I just thought it was about cool space crafts. I'm not good at song comprehension.

Day 9: Fishy Love by Griffinilla

It's such a cute song. I love Alphys and Undyne.

Day 10: Dreaming of You by Selena

Listen. If you've seen the movie, you'll understand.

Day 11: Toxic by Britney Spears

It's such a great song.

Day 12: Leave (Get Out) by JoJo

This was my #1 favorite song when I was a preteen.

Day 13: Dancing Queen by ABBA

It's quite possibly the only 70s song I like.

Day 14: I See the Light by Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore

It's the most romantic song I know and finding love is my new dream™.

Day 15: Emperor's New Clothes by NateWantsToBattle

Honestly, I prefer this version over the original.

Day 16: Oops I Did It Again by Britney Spears

90s kids understand.

Day 17: Leaves In the Stream by Aurelio Voltaire

Ignoring the fact that I hate singing out loud and would never do karaoke, this song would be the perfect song to karaoke.

Day 18: All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow

Do you know how hard it was finding a song from the year I was born that I actually heard before and relatively liked? Actually harder than I thought.

Day 19: Through Heaven's Eyes by Brian Stokes Mitchell

This song really helps me feel a little better about things. Especially my self image.

Day 20: The Devil and Mr. Jones by Aurelio Voltaire

I was really stumped with this prompt because I have trouble understanding the lyrics being sung, much less what they mean. So I chose this. I thought it was about an actor who sold his soul to the Devil in return for Fame, but was cursed to never make a true connection to another person. Turns out, it's just about Doug Jones. You can watch the full explanation here.

Day 21: Pretty Lavinia by American Murder Song

Okay, yes, I understand it's a song about the murderer Lavinia Fisher, but it's a good song! Very catchy.

Day 22: High Hopes by Panic! at the Disco

It's a fun song that gets me through the day

Day 23: The Gael... Time Flies by Pirates For Sail

I know you gays out there love pirate shanties. This is my #1 favorite in my piratey playlist.

Day 24: Bye Bye Bye by N*SYNC

Honestly, I don't listen to a lot of bands, much less ones that broke up. I really don't care if they no longer make music. It's their choice and there's nothing I could do to change it. But this song is good and I miss the days when it was more popular.

Day 25: Como La Flor by Selena

Selena. Need I say more?

Day 26: Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis

It's such a romantic song.

Day 27: Remember Me from Coco

This song has a deeper meaning when you have a family member who doesn't remember who you are.

Day 28: Chupando by Aurelio Voltaire

Voltaire is my favorite singer. He has such an amazing voice.

Day 29: Someday My Prince Will Come by Adriana Caselotti

I watched Snow White so many times as a child, my parents and I know like every word, every song, etc.

Day 30: When Will My Life Begin by Mandy Moore

Staying home, keeping busy with dozens of crafty hobbies, and waiting for my own Eugene to help me figure my life out? I am Rapunzel.

[aion-rsa]

Emmy Awards 2020 Predictions and Analysis

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

After several years of, let’s say, improved taste, the Emmy Awards backslid a bit last year. Sure, it was nice to see Fleabag get the recognition it deserved. But that recognition came along with a Game of Thrones final season onslaught that nobody asked for.

With Thrones firmly in the rearview, the 2020 Emmy Awards have a chance to welcome in some new blood. And with an eclectic list of first-time nominees like The Mandalorian, The Morning Show, and Watchmen they may be able to do just that! Below you can find all the major categories that will be announced during the 2020 Emmy Award ceremony at 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 20 on ABC. We have indicated what shows we think will win in bold and what shows should win in italics. 

Outstanding Drama Series

Better Call Saul

The Crown

The Handmaid’s Tale

Killing Eve

The Mandalorian

Ozark

Stranger Things

Succession

Who Will Win: The Emmy Awards have a preoccupation with HBO dramas and who could blame them? For the better part of 30 years, HBO has been the go-to spot for brilliant television drama. That preoccupation went too far last year though with the choice of the questionable final season of Game of Thrones. Thankfully, this year’s HBO choice won’t be nearly as onerous. Succession season 2 is a superb year of television.

Who Should Win: Though Succession is a wonderful TV series and a fine choice for Outstanding Drama, the real winner here should be Better Call Saul. Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad prequel just gets better with age and arguably reached its apex with its fifth season. 

Outstanding Comedy Series 

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Dead to Me

Insecure

Schitt’s Creek

The Good Place

The Kominsky Method

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

What We Do in the Shadows

Who Will Win: The Emmys have largely ignored Schitt’s Creek’s existence up to this point but could no longer do so in its final season. The little Canadian show that could took in an impressive 16 nominations – the most for any comedy in its final season. And the Emmys didn’t hand out all those nominations just to leave the show hanging at the podium. Schitt’s Creek will win big throughout the night, including taking home Outstanding Comedy Series

Who Should Win: We have no complaints with Schitt’s Creek winning Outstanding Comedy Series to honor its contributions to television and comedy for the past six years. But for the purposes of choosing 2020’s best comedy, What We Do in the Shadows has to be it. Shadows was at its absolute best in season 2, a year that contained zombies, witches, and one Jackie Daytona, normal human bartender. 

Outstanding Limited Series

Little Fires Everywhere

Mrs. America

Unbelievable

Unorthodox

Watchmen

Who Will Win: Watchmen will win. Obviously.

Who Should Win: Unbelievable is a remarkable piece of work. Mrs. America more than lives up to its potential. But let’s not overthink this one – Watchmen was arguably the best thing on television this past year and will likely be remembered for years to come. It’s the only choice here.

Outstanding Television Movie

American Son

Bad Education

Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bones

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend

Who Will Win: The Emmys always like to honor big name film actors like Hugh Jackman when they can. This time they get to do so and select the best TV movie of the year to boot.

Who Should Win: Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings is great but not really a TV Movie and slipped in here as a technicality. The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt interactive special was wonderfully executed. But Bad Education is as deserving as any. 

Outstanding Reality/Competition Program

The Masked Singer

Nailed It!

RuPaul’s Drag Race

Top Chef

The Voice

Who Will Win: RuPaul’s Drag Race has won this honor for the past two years and there’s no reason to believe it can’t be victorious again. 

Who Should Win: It would be nice to see Netflix’s charming Nailed It! take home the top prize. And though The Masked Singer is certainly a corny endeavor, one cannot argue that the show hasn’t executed its concept perfectly. 

Outstanding Variety/Talk Series

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Who Will Win: At this point, for as long as Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is on television, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be expected to take home the Outstanding Variety/Talk Series trophy. 

Who Should Win: And there’s a reason for Last Week Tonight’s dominance. The category has gotten weaker in recent years with many talk shows understandably working on expanding their respective brands into the digital space. Last Week Tonight does the most research, has the best writing staff, and the most appealing host. It’s the best show of its kind on television and will likely continue to be so for quite awhile. 

Outstanding Animated Program

Big Mouth

Bob’s Burgers

BoJack Horseman

Rick and Morty

The Simpsons

Who Will Win: The Emmys do enjoy honoring series in their last season. The fact that BoJack Horseman’s last season was truly superb is just icing on the cake. 

Who Should Win: Rick and Morty’s creative demise is not as steep as some cultural commentators would have you believe. It would be a decent choice here. As would the relentless charming Bob’s Burgers, which just keeps getting better. But BoJack Horseman deserves this trophy for a pitch-perfect final season that brilliantly blends the series comedic and dramatic impulses. 

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show

Olivia Colman, The Crown

Jodie Comer, Killing Eve

Laura Linney, Ozark 

Sandra Oh, Killing Eve

Zendaya, Euphoria

Who Will Win: At first glance, Aniston seems like a solid possibility for her work on The Morning Show. She has the biggest name recognition and the world’s most valuable company marshaling its resources behind her. But something tells us that Olivia Colman is the surer bet. The Emmys have always been fond of The Crown. And after Colman took home an Oscar for The Favourite, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences might be eager to remind folks what medium Colman is best known for. 

Who Should Win: Anyone would be a fine choice here, really. We will go with Zendaya for the degree of humanity she brought to a truly difficult role. 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman, Ozark 

Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

Steve Carell, The Morning Show 

Brian Cox, Succession

Billy Porter, Pose

Jeremy Strong, Succession

Who Will Win: Billy Porter was a pleasant surprise last year but this time around the Emmys likely won’t be able to resist the allure of Succession. Either Brian Cox or Jeremy Strong are extremely likely to win this. We will guess Cox as his Golden Globe win is likely fresh in voters’ minds. 

Who Should Win: Being the lead on a prestige HBO drama often means getting to play with a pretty showy role. Jeremy Strong’s beaten down Kendall Roy is anything but showy and that just makes the actor’s performance all the more impressive. The consequences of a lifetime of outrageous wealth and outrageous paternal neglect play out mostly between Strong’s ears in a superb, subtle performance. 

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Christina Applegate, Dead to Me

Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me

Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek 

Issa Rae, Insecure

Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Who Will Win: It’s likely to be a big night for Schitt’s Creek but even if it isn’t, all involved can be pretty certain that they’re taking home at least this award. Catherine O’Hara is Schitt’s Creeks MVP and here she becomes the show’s Emmy firewall. 

Who Should Win: O’Hara absolutely should win for her consistently larger-than-life performance. It’s a shame we won’t be able to honor Issa Rae with a statue this year though. 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish 

Don Cheadle, Black Monday 

Ted Danson, The Good Place 

Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method

Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek 

Ramy Youssef, Ramy

Who Will Win: Look, we’re just betting big on Schitt’s Creek around these parts. Comedy all-timer Levy has won an Emmy for writing but never for performance and that seems bound to change this year. 

Who Should Win: We have absolutely no problem with Levy getting his first acting Emmy. But Ted Danson would be the slightly better pick this time around. His performance as Michael on The Good Place is one of TV’s most human creations…despite Michael being a demon.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie

Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America

Shira Haas, Unorthodox

Regina King, Watchmen

Octavia Spencer, Self Made

Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere

Who Will Win: Lock this one in. Empty out your savings and 401k and take it all to the betting markets. 

Who Should Win: Duh.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series/TV Movie

Jeremy Irons, Watchmen

Hugh Jackman, Bad Education

Paul Mescal, Normal People

Jeremy Pope, Hollywood

Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True

Who Will Win: It’s tempting to make fun of the Emmys preoccupation with big name film talent as a reason for giving Mark Ruffalo this award. In fact, this award in recent years has been all but reserved for film stars “slumming it” on television. But the truth is that Ruffalo gives a spectacular performance in I Know This Much is True and is certainly worthy of recognition.

Who Should Win: Also worthy of recognition in Paul Mescal for his warm, human performance on Normal People.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Laura Dern, Big Little Lies

Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies

Fiona Shaw, Killing Eve

Julia Garner, Ozark

Sarah Snook, Succession

Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown

Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale

Thandie Newton, Westworld

Who Will Win: Julia Garner won this award last year and has done nothing to lose it since. But if Succession is destined for a big night, Sarah Snook is likely to be a part of it.

Who Should Win: Snook should win anyway for her performance this year. Until Kendall pulls off his major finale maneuver, Snook’s Shiv is undoubtedly the character who grows the most in Succession’s second season. 

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul

Nicholas Braun, Succession

Kieran Culkin, Succession

Matthew Macfadyen, Succession

Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid’s Tale

Billy Crudup, The Morning Show

Mark Duplass, The Morning Show

Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

Who Will Win: Look, Succession is really good. And Kieran Culkin gets to play one of the show’s flashier characters. 

Who Should Win: Culkin’s castmate Matthew Macfadyen deserves consideration here but in the end it’s hard to justify anyone other than Kieran winning. 

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Betty Gilpin, GLOW

Yvonne Orji, Insecure

Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live

Annie Murphy, Schitt’s Creek

D’Arcy Carden, The Good Place

Alex Borstein, the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel 

Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Who Will Win: This might be the hardest award to predict of the night. Though Borstein and Hinkle are wonderful, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel feels like a bit of an afterthought this year. And who knows if Schitt’s Creek’s big run will make it all the way down to the supporting category. Gilpin and Orji are very intriguing but in the absence of a sure thing, this feels like a year in which the Emmys could return to McKinnon. 

Who Should Win: It’s hard to think of someone in the TV landscape more deserving of an Emmy than D’Arcy Carden for her work on The Good Place. The actress has taken a Siri-like digital assistant of the afterlife and transformed it (not a girl) into a full-fledged character. 

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Mahershala Ali, Ramy

Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live

Dan Levy, Schitt’s Creek

William Jackson Harper, The Good Place

Alan Arkin, The Kominksy Method

Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Who Will Win: This is a particularly stacked category that is hard to pick. And when that happens at the Emmys, a good rule of thumb is to go with recency bias – who has won the most awards recently? Multiple Oscar award-winner Mahershala Ali fits the bill here but Shalhoub and Arkin are also appealing in that regard. Levy could ride the Schitt’s Creek wave as well.

Who Should Win: It’s quite frankly asinine that Andre Braugher has not won an Emmy yet for his nuanced, yet still utterly hilarious performance as Captain Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Portrayals of police officers are particularly fraught this year but Braugher deserves some recognition all the same.

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

Gordon Smith – Better Call Saul “Bagman”

Thomas Schnauz – Better Call Saul “Bad Choice Road”

Chris Mundy – Ozark “All In”

John Shiban – Ozark “Boss Fight”

Miki Johnson – Ozark “Fire Pink”

Jesse Armstong – Succession “This is Not for Tears”

Peter Morgan – The Crown “Aberfan”

Who Will Win: This is a strong category. Sometimes writing awards can be seen as a consolation prize for excellent series that can’t otherwise pick up the biggest honor of the night. Should that formula hold true, one of the two Better Call Saul entries has a shot, but the allure of Succession will likely prove too strong this year.

Who Should Win: Both Better Call Saul options are worthy of an Emmy. But the writing of season 5’s penultimate episode “Bad Choice Road” is brilliant and absolutely teeming with tension.

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek “Happy Ending”

David West Read – Schitt’s Creek “The Presidential Suite”

Michael Schur – The Good Place “Whenever You’re Ready”

Tony McNamara – The Great “The Great”

Sam Johnson and Chris Marcil – What We Do in the Shadows “Collaboration”

Paul Simms – What We Do in the Shadows “Ghosts”

Stefani Robinson – What We Do in the Shadows “On the Run”

Who Will Win: “Happy Ending” is the platonic ideal of a comedy series finale. It’s perfectly executed with callbacks, humor, and heart. The Emmys will be happy to award it. 

Who Should Win: “Happy Ending” is a superb choice but any half hour of television that features Matt Berry living a life as a bartender in Pennsylvania just cannot be allowed to lose. Justice for Jackie Daytona!

Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Special

Tanya Barfield – Mrs. America “Shirley”

Sally Rooney and Alice Birch – Normal People “Episode 3”

Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon, and Ayelet Wadman – Unbelievable “Episode 1”

Anna Winger – Unorthodox “Episode 1”

Damon Linelof and Cord Jefferson – Watchmen “This Extraordinary Being”

Who Will Win: A good rule of thumb for this year’s Emmy Awards is that if Watchmen is in a category, it’s going to win that category. Such is the case here. 

Who Should Win: “This Extraordinary Being” deserves to win. Lindelof and Jefferson’s script was the starting point for a stunning episode of television that presented an idea so radical (and yet so logical) it inspired Lindelof and HBO to reimagine an already near-perfect graphic novel. 

Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series

Leslie Linka Glatter – Homeland “Prisoners of War”

Alik Sakharov – Ozark “Fire Pink”

Ben Semanoff – Ozark “Su Casa Es Mi Casa”

Andrij Parekh – Succession “Hunting”

Mark Mylod – Succession “This is Not for Tears”

Benjamin Caron – The Crown “Aberfan”

Jessica Hobbs – The Crown “Cri de Coeur”

Mimi Leder – The Morning Show “The Interview”

Who Will Win: The Emmys really love Ozark. And they should! It’s a good show. Having said that, the dominance of Succession will likely close off a lot of opportunities for the series this year. But it should be able to at least squeak this one out.

Who Should Win: Ironically, this is the one award that Succession really should win this year above all else. Mark Mylod’s direction of “This is Not for Tears” is a minor miracle, turning a sun-drenched day on a luxury yacht into a tense, paranoid thriller. 

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series

Gail Mancuso – Modern Family “Finale Part 2”

Ramy Youssef – Ramy “Miakhalia.mov”

Andrew Civdino and Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek “Happy Ending”

Matt Shakman – The Great “The Great”

Amy Sherman-Palladino – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel “It’s Comedy or Cabbage”

Daniel Palladino – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel “Marvelous Radio”

James Burrows – Will & Grace “We Love Lucy”

Who Will Win: It’s a little weird to see the Modern Family series finale in a category and not be favored to win. For years, the Emmys heaped statues upon this very good but not all-time classic comedy. In the end, the Academy will instead opt to honor the tasteful direction of another series finale in Schitt’s Creek. 

Who Should Win: The Great has a real argument here with its drama-level production design assisting director Matt Shakman. But at the end of the day, “Happy Ending” accomplishes exactly what it needs to accomplish and is a fine choice. 

Outstanding Direction for a Limited Series or Special

Lynn Shetlon – Little Fires Everywhere “Find a Way”

Lenny Abrahamson – Normal People “Episode 5”

Maria Schrader – Unorthodox

Nicole Kassell – Watchmen “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice”

Stephen Green – Watchmen “Little Fear of Lightning”

Stephen Williams – Watchmen “This Extraordinary Being”

Who Will Win: Watchmen will win this category. It’s only a question of which episode. The premiere, “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice” thanks to the two stunning setpieces guided by Nicole Kassell. 

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Who Should Win: And “It’s Summer…” is the right choice in the end. “Little Fear of Lightning” and “This Extraordinary Being” are both superb but credit always goes to the premiere director for establishing a visual tone for the rest of a series. 

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from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2RBll45

[patrickbrewerisgay]

It’s been — checks watch — 43 years since Second City Television first aired, and Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy are still flexing their comedic skills in made-up towns in 2019. With Schitt’s Creek, the show created by Levy and his son, Dan, they’ve revived that familiar slow burn: The show premiered on the CBC in 2015, but it wasn’t until the fourth season that the fever spread. This year, Schitt’s Creek received four Emmy nominations, including acting nominations for Levy (as patriarch Johnny Rose) and O’Hara (his wife, Moira), costumes, and Outstanding Comedy Series. In a three-way phone call, we discussed their respective nominations, their teary final days shooting on set, and whether we can expect to see Moira during her favorite season.

Congratulations to you both. Did you talk yesterday? 

Eugene Levy: Yes, we did. We were actually on the phone. [The publicist] Gab was watching the live feed and I guess my category came up first, and she phoned me to say that I’d been nominated, and right after that Catherine’s category came up, so I just heard, “You and Catherine have been nominated.” And then she tagged Catherine in on the phone call and we were actually on the phone while they were watching the livestream.

Catherine O’Hara: And that’s when they announced Best Show!

EL: And then we heard, “Well, the show got nominated.” And that was the best of all worlds. That was like really exciting news, because that really gives a nod of recognition to every single person that works on the show. It was actually a very exciting call.

COH: [laughs] It was. We were kind of stunned. We were just stunned and laughing.

Did you do anything to celebrate?

EL: I went out with my brother, who’s one of our producers, Andrew Barnsley; Deb, my wife; and Sally Catto, who runs CBC up here, and we went down to Soho and had a little celebratory dinner.

COH: That’s lovely. My husband, Bo [Welch, a production designer], is nominated for production design for A Series of Unfortunate Events, but here we are in cottage country, where it’s the last concern of anyone, what’s going on with the Emmys. But we’re excited at our cottage, and we toasted each other and the shows. But today we kind of said, “Okay, we’ve got to stop talking.”

Both of you have been at this for a couple of years, and I was wondering, is it still exciting?

EL: Well, it was exciting yesterday on the phone. It was a pretty exciting day, don’t you think, Catherine?

COH: Absolutely. Anytime anyone pats you on the head and says, “Good job,” it’s always nice, and I’m especially happy for Daniel. This was his baby to begin with. It’s a lovely thing to have anything to celebrate in life. I’m happy.

EL: It’s actually more exciting that it’s happening now in our fifth season on the show. I keep thinking, had this happened after our first season, it could have been a lot tougher to maintain this caliber over the next four or five seasons. But the show has built so nicely in terms of following and viewership, and how it’s been embraced by the critics. I mean, it was an exciting year after our fourth season when we end the year making a lot of top-ten lists; that itself was incredibly exciting, where you get the feeling that your show is being recognized for the first time. Now in our fifth season, we get the Emmy nominations, and we still have one more season to go, so I just love the arc here and how the show has caught on. I’d rather have it this way than starting off like a bat out of hell and then trying to hang on.

COH: Yeah, it’s almost like we got to do the show in an old TV–world way before the internet, where you just build the show according to your own instincts and develop the characters and try to make the best show you can make. It was so nice to not feel like you were too affected by outside sources or outside opinions. We were on our own to build the show, in a way that TV shows used to get to do.

It feels increasingly rare to make TV outside of the rapid-fire response of social media. Schitt’s Creek feels like the little show that could, and because of that, was preserved on its own island that people discovered slowly.

EL: Yeah, I don’t know if that has to do with shooting the show in Toronto. It reminds me of when we were doing SCTV and how removed you are from the mainstream of show business, so you’re relatively unaffected by it. You just get the feeling you’re going into the studio, you’re going to work and then you’re going home and having dinner. And SCTV as well had a nice build to it over the years, where it caught on with fans and critics. You really just get to focus on the work and eventually the work kind of speaks for itself.

COH: I think it works for shows or movies that get to go to remote locations, too. They get away from the head office and focus only on the work, and you have a better chance of succeeding at what you’re attempting.

Do you think that might be a benefit to being a Canadian production? 

EL: I think so. With our show, I guess you can prove that you can work and produce a show here in Canada that can get the same kind of recognition that any other show can get — mainly, I guess, getting Emmy nods. I got an email from Rick Moranis. It said, “Congratulations. 37 years between Emmy nominations, not bad.”

COH: [laughs] That’s great.

EL: Yeah, I think it helps to be able to focus on the work just shooting away from the mainstream of the business and avoiding getting caught up in the hype.

You also just wrapped shooting the final season. What was the last day on set like? 

COH: I think back to the table read. I think we got a lot of the good weeping out of our systems at the table read for the last two episodes. At lunch hour while you’re shooting, you do a table read for the upcoming episodes, and the upcoming episodes that day were the last two episodes of the sixth season, and when you shoot your scenes, you’re not in every scene with everybody, so you don’t get to see everything get shot, but we got to see everybody read their last scenes and it was really emotional. I mean, there were lots of laughs, because the scripts were great and funny, but oh my god, they were also so heart-wrenching for us. I had to go back to shoot that afternoon, and Moira wears a lot of makeup, so I looked like Alice Cooper.

The last day was just, “Oh.” Every moment is like, “This is the last time we’re going to do this. This is the last time we’re going to stand here,” but it was sweet. It really felt like I was part of a really lovely, talented family. It was hard to say goodbye, but the last episodes are really a lovely goodbye.

EL: Catherine’s right, it really started with the table read, where you got to lose a few pounds in tears. And then as we wound down, we would be wrapping certain sets: wrapping the town hall set, and then wrapping Café Tropical, and then we were wrapping the motel set, so every last scene in all these sets, there also was a nice emotional moment between characters. A lot of tears. And then we get to the last day, and once again it was quite emotional. Although there was a lot to do. On the one hand, you know that if you’re breaking down for 20 minutes having a nice sob-fest, then you’re adding 20 minutes on to the day. It was a very sweet, rewarding way to end the series.

Moira Rose, of course, is an actress. What would she say in this scenario, if she got a surprise nomination?

COH: [laughs] I went to the Tonys a month ago. I got to present a musical number for Beetlejuice, and my husband said that Moira would have called them ‘the Anthonys.’ [does Moira’s voice] “So lovely to be here at the Anthonys.” So now I’m trying to think of what it would be for [the Emmys]. I was thinking ‘Emily,’ then I was like no, it should be ‘Emmanuel.’ [does Moira’s voice again] “It’s so exciting to be nominated for an Emmanuel. Finally, they got it right,” Moira would say, to be clear. I would not say such a thing.

EL: Didn’t Dan tweet something about, “Finally, Moira —”

COH: [laughs] “— gets her Emmy,” or something, yeah. Oh, who would care more for this? I try to keep a level head here, and thank goodness I’m a Canadian, so I’m raised to not take show business all that seriously. But Moira, oh my lord. This is it. The Crows Have Eyes, she was already seeing Oscars for that. So this is a win. This is a win for Moira.

EL: Well, it would be great to see Moira at the podium.

COH: [laughs] I already did that in Canada, though. I did that for the Canadian awards.

Would you ever consider doing it in character again?

COH: Well, I’m not gonna talk about getting up on the podium. Don’t get me sucked in. But it’d be fun to present an award, let’s put that out.

EL: How about doing the carpet as Moira?

COH: The carpet as Moira! Yeah, I usually can’t help myself. If I’m answering questions about Moira, I can’t help myself. I go in the Moira zone, yeah. She’ll probably leak out. She’ll be dying to be there.

And both of you have already satirized this whole awards campaign with For Your Consideration.

COH: Yeah, that’s why I say, please don’t suck me in.

EL: That’s just how it starts, it’s the what if, “What if? What will you do if?” And the more that gets planted, the more it becomes just like, “Ahhh!” Yeah, that’s what For Your Consideration was all about. You know every single twitch that signals falling into that trap, so you’re extremely defensive about it for all those reasons.

COH: I remember for my character, it was also, “Why not? They have to nominate someone, why not me? Someone has to win, why not me?” Let’s remember that movie. Let’s keep it in mind.

EL: I have to watch that again, actually.

COH: Yeah, this is good timing for it.

EL: I haven’t seen it since it came out.

COH: Yeah, it’s a good reminder. It’s a cautionary tale.

But also, these things happen, and are happening!

COH: Yeah, it’s fun. All good fun.

EL: Well, you know, to be honest, the most fun aspects of this thing are moments like yesterday, being on that phone call when it first happens and experiencing that excitement and surprise. And then just getting to go to the party. Whether you walk out with a statue or not is really not the thing. The fact that you’re there with everybody else pouring their heart and soul into whatever shows they’re working on, and you’re there at the party with some lovely, talented people who you respect and admire. You’re on the same team, so to speak, with the other nominees, and that’s really the joyous part of it all.

COH: You’re right. I was reading the nominees yesterday and saying, “Oh, I get to see them, I’ll get to meet them, I’ll get to tell them how much I love their show.”

Like who? 

COH: Patricia Arquette, love her. Love Escape at Dannemora. And Ben Stiller, who directed it. Yeah, I’m happy for them. Benicio del Toro and Paul Dano, I love that series, amazing. Love Succession.

It’s so good.

COH: Oh my lord, yes. It’s just so much good material. So much talent. Laura Linney, Ozark, everyone. John Oliver. Everyone! I’m excited to see everyone. And Eugene! I’m very excited to see Eugene again. In a tux, no less.

EL: Yes, in a tux.

You’ve known each other for over 40 years. What do you think makes a working friendship like that last?

EL: I don’t know how that works. I think we’re probably two of the un-show-busiest, un-show-business-iest kinds of people. I think we’ve always taken our work seriously, but you know, Catherine’s just a regular person. Like, you don’t get caught up in the trappings of the business that you’re actually in. And nothing has really changed in all of these years. Catherine hasn’t changed at all.

COH: No, and you haven’t.

EL: At all. And you get to enjoy what you’re doing in a very real way, the way other people get to enjoy what they’re doing. And it’s just fun to be around, it’s been that way since the very beginning.

COH: Yeah, same for me. I respect Eugene, I trust Eugene, and I know that when we talk about the work, it’s about the work. But I say, “Eugene’s a gentleman,” and what comes with that is a certain lovely amount of diplomacy, or gentlemanly behavior, good manners. It counts for a lot when you’re working day-to-day. Since SCTV, this is the most amount of time we’ve spent together. We see each other periodically through our mutual friends — Martin Short, especially. It feels like family who live in different cities. You know, you don’t see each other all the time, but when we do, we pick up where we left off. It helps that Eugene keeps giving me jobs, so thank you, Eugene. [laughs] I think that’s probably the main thing that keeps us together.

EL: Excellent work, Catherine’s done.

COH: Thank you, Eugene.