#Mescal Park

[denimbex1986]

'THE POWER OF LOVE

When lensing an amalgamation of haunting and precious memories and heartbreak, director Andrew Haigh and cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay SASC wanted to avoid being too heavy handed with nostalgia, instead opting for a subtle and organic visual expression of reminiscence and relationships.

Much like the journey of reflection and discovery that unfolds in author Taichi Yamada’s novel Strangers – a traditional Japanese ghost story of love, loss, the afterlife, and treasured and sometimes painful memories – the process of translating the book for the screen took writer-director Andrew Haigh (Lean on Pete, 45 Years, Weekend) on his own emotional voyage.

In Haigh’s cinematic reimagining, All of Us Strangers, we meet Adam (Andrew Scott), a 40-something gay screenwriter who lives alone in a high-rise flat in London. Still impacted by grief from the traumatic incident in his childhood which claimed the lives of his parents, when Adam meets Harry (Paul Mescal), who lives in the same block of flats, the love that grows has a transformational power.

Returning to his childhood home, Adam is transported back to the ‘80s and as past and present collide in a nostalgia-infused dreamlike world, he has the opportunity to spend moments with his parents who have been frozen in time at the age they were when they passed away. Memories of those he has lost and feelings of grief and suffering are revisited as Adam has conversations he wished he could have experienced if his parents had lived to see him reach adulthood.

In the telling of an ethereal tale of the power of love, Haigh wanted to “pick away” at his own past in the same way as protagonist Adam, even choosing to shoot the scenes with Adam’s parents at the director’s childhood home in Croydon, South London. “I was interested in exploring the complexities of both familial and romantic love, but also the distinct experience of a specific generation of gay people growing up in the ‘80s,” says Haigh, wanting “to move away from the traditional ghost story of the novel and find something more psychological, almost metaphysical.”

Speaking on a panel session following a BAFTA screening of the film which British Cinematographer attended, Haigh spoke of his interest in “the need to connect, or to soften whatever the pain is that you carry around with you.” While some changes were made to the story that unfolds in Yamada’s book, the central idea of the protagonist getting the chance to meet his parents, and “go back in time to have those conversations again, get to know them and them get to know him” felt really powerful to Haigh.

“I wanted to incorporate the idea of a love story into that and see how those two things connect and bounce off each other,” says the director. “There is a sense of yearning – he has lost his parents and is yearning for them as well as yearning to find someone to give him comfort and love. His parents are also yearning to be alive again and to spend more time with their child.”

A fresh narrative

The script stood out as extraordinary to Jamie D. Ramsay SASC, a cinematographer who finds it “rare to come across a piece of literature in script form that excites you, feels fresh and unlike something you’ve seen before.” He was fascinated by exploring the way people deal posthumously with trauma. “It touched me because there’s a lot of emotion attached to the subject, especially for those who grew up feeling prejudice against homosexuality and uncomfortable to come out to their parents. That was a childhood trauma that stuck with Adam, coupled with the grief he experienced,” says Ramsay, speaking to us from the location of his next production.

The feeling and “the way the movie moves you” always come first for the cinematographer, and is then “serviced by the next layer which is the choice of lights, glass, and style. “So in this film, there’s the feeling of loss as well as the emptiness of never being able to get the acceptance of the two most important people in your life. The relevance of the story to the current day when isolation is all too common struck a chord with me, and I also wanted to be part of making the movie because I love Andrew’s previous work – he’s an incredible filmmaker.

“He’s a rare director who has impeccable taste and direct sharp vision about what he wants to do. However once you have aligned with him and understand what he’s looking for creatively, he hands it over to you and trusts you completely.”

The South African/British cinematographer is familiar with lensing heart wrenching stories with sensitivity and creative flair, having won the Bronze Frog at Camerimage 2022 another adaptation of a book – Oliver Hermanus’ Living which sees a civil servant reflect on his life and how to spend his remaining days when faced with a fatal diagnosis. Ramsay’s work on All of Us Strangers also struck a chord with audiences and immersed them in another emotional story, resulting in the film being selected in this year’s Main Competition at Camerimage and scooping multiple British Independent Film Awards including Best Cinematography, Best Film, and Best Director.

Discovering the look

It is the smooth-flowing conversation between director and DP during the five-week prep and five-week shoot which Ramsay believes was key in the creative process and a result of Haigh being “super smart and knowing what he wants.” For Ramsay, a DP is “a visual ideas engine which the director then guides into place” and as Haigh knew so specifically what he wanted in terms of the story being told, the pre-production period of fleshing out their approach to the film was a joy.

“Andrew didn’t have a fixed idea of what it should look like though, which is great for me because I love the process of finding out what it should look like with the director,” adds Ramsay. “When the director is autonomous and has a strong visual idea, it’s difficult for you to collaborate and truly imprint your personality onto the film. We discovered it together through deep conversation, starting with what the narrative was really about, who the characters were, and then just talking about the references that appealed to us over the years.”

These inspirations included Ingmar Bergman productions such as Swedish period drama Cries and Whispers (1972) due to its unsettling movement, even though the narrative themes differed to All of Us Strangers. Taking creative influence from that production subconsciously and “allowing it to sit in the background” of their decision making, the filmmakekodrs explored Haigh’s wish to “create a sense of nostalgia but not be too heavy handed with it,” producing a subtle memory of sadness.

While Yamada’s book was a strong influence on Haigh, when shooting an adaptation of a novel, Ramsay “tries to avoid being affected by outside sources besides the script” and rarely reads the book because it “overprescribes your creativity and imagination”.

Discussions led them to explore the organic feeling of memories, and decide that those recollections of the filmmakers’ and protagonist Adam’s past would feel analogue. “We knew it would probably be things like 35mm prints from the ‘80s and early ‘90s, 300g printed records, a photo diary, or a tape deck which are all indicative of the era we grew up in, and the era in which the lead character went through this trauma,” says Ramsay.

The duo agreed this organic and analogue feeling would drive the visual approach – they wanted “to feel the dust on the negative, to feel that human touch to the film. We never wanted something that felt overly structured and overly perfect, it had to feel flawed.” With the touch of the filmmakers behind the lens combined with the creations of the art department shaping the final result on screen, the choice to shoot on 35mm 3-perf film was made quickly, working with Arricam LT and Kodak VISION3 500T, 250D and 50D film stocks and processing, scanning and dailies colour carried out at Cinelab.

“You can’t argue the value of shooting on 35mm film and I had great support from the teams at Kodak and Cinelab in terms of the tests and the dailies. Choice of film stock was largely driven by function as much as aesthetic. When you don’t have a huge budget for lighting and you’re using a lot of practical light, having the speed of 500T is really useful,” says Ramsay. “From a light perspective, we also did a lot of transitionary filming and having the extra bit of love out of the 250D allowed us to transition between day into night smoothly. For a lot of our daily life sequences we went for 50D because we love the robust strength it offers.”

The more vintage aesthetic was paired with cutting-edge technology in line with the filmmakers’ aim to “not be overly dramatic with the feeling of nostalgia.” Already venturing into a more organic technique of shooting on film, they wanted to avoid “adding another layer by using vintage lenses to achieve flares”. Instead they sought “the reality and responsibility of a sharp set of lenses, offset with the romance and organic nature of film” which led them to test multiple options before landing on Zeiss Master Primes.

“That contrast played with the analogue versus digital, the pastels versus the primaries which we kept leaning into,” says Ramsay. Colour palette was largely inspired by the era, selecting signifying tones that felt aesthetically pleasing as well as true to the time period. “We then worked out the evolution of those tones in a contemporary context. And whenever we went back in time, we imprinted those tones onto those moments,” says Ramsay.

A “journey of colour” that was birthed in Adam’s childhood found its way into his apartment in adulthood. “From the art department through to the camera and lighting crew, we all wanted to convey the feeling that Adam never quite grew up. He got Peter Pan syndrome and was locked into an area of his life he couldn’t move past.”

Haigh and production designer Sarah Finlay spoke about the design of the film needing to look quite naturalistic and avoid jumping in and out of the different time periods visually. Haigh’s childhood home needed to be modified in some ways to look as he had remembered it. He “wanted the past and present to bleed into each other and a lot of the design was more about feeling the past.”

Vintage meets cutting-edge

Both Haigh and Ramsay are fans of the look and feel of film, but they also wanted to create a “feeling of being out of touch with reality – a symptom of the self-induced isolation and loneliness Adam experienced.” This resulted in a collision between the analogue and digital filmmaking world, and Adam’s apartment being built in a studio at Wembley Park Studios in London. Incorporating virtual production techniques, the set was surrounded by an LED wall comprising ROE Visual Ruby 2.3mm (running on the Helios processing platform), upon which all of the views from Adam’s apartment were displayed. The 120ft by 50ft volume was built with the help of the team at Creative Technology – which supplied the LED screens – and plates were captured in and around Stratford, East London.

“In doing so, we could manage the time of day, luminance, position of the view, cloud structure, movement of traffic, or whether we wanted to do a time lapse with the clouds,” says Ramsay. “It just allowed us to put the reality a little bit outside of the realm of normal, just beyond his apartment. This helps create a slightly strange feeling in his apartment, which is a significant location as it’s where 30 minutes of the movie takes place.”

Ramsay enjoyed a harmonious combination of old and new technology, using ARRI SkyPanel LED lights to create an ambience matching the colour of clouds displayed on the LED wall in addition to 12K or 24K ARRI T12 or T24 tungsten fresnel lights to create the feeling of a sunset illuminating the room.

“I haven’t been able to achieve that with any other light besides the fresnel tungsten head which have a warmth and analogue feel,” he says. “My sweet spot is a specific combination between old and new such as using 35mm film against the LED wall to soften the wall. And by embracing LED technology to marry the colour tone of the wall with the ambience, you then create an interesting synergy with the analogue feel of an old fresnel.”

Helping Ramsay achieve this synergy was Warren Ewen, a gaffer the DP has collaborated with a number of times in the UK, who “goes above and beyond” and is “one of the strongest hands on set.” Working with a stellar lighting crew, the DP learnt about safeguarding himself from an exposure perspective and making sure there is enough lighting in place to service what is needed when shooting on film.

In addition to the benefits Ramsay and the crew enjoyed when working with the virtual set, the cast expressed their appreciation for having a visual context of the outside world displayed on the LED wall in contrast to their experiences of green screen shoots. However, Ramsay’s greatest challenge when shooting on the volume was occasionally discovering moiré in the dailies. “It gave me sleepless nights because when we got our dailies moiré might be introduced in the strangest situations – in reflections on the set as if a glass, mirror or wall was acting as a sensor,” he explains.

“That’s still a mystery that needs to be solved. It’s the hard thing about seeing your dailies 16 hours later when shooting on film. But Andrew was so collaborative and supportive throughout, knowing we were going down the 35mm and virtual production route and the emotional turmoil we might encounter along the way. But the results were well worth it.”

Prior to shooting commenced Ramsay explored technical challenges that might arise for scenes which were to be shot against the LED wall with his longtime colour collaborator, Joseph Bicknell, colourist at Company 3. “After understanding the story in broad strokes and Jamie’s perspective on it, I like to create a strong show LUT for him to load in camera during tests, so he can see live how it might react before photography,” says Bicknell. “Once we have that test footage we’ll dial in the look further, I’ll make a few adjustments and he shares his thoughts which we built into the final show LUT. The overarching look of the film didn’t end up straying far from this in the final grade.”

Bicknell felt the production was a “masterpiece” from the first time he watched the cut without final mix or colour as “all the mood and intensity was there”. Haigh and the cinematographer’s shorthand was so strong that Ramsay had a clear idea of the visual vibe the director desired when it came to collaborating with Bicknell again in the final grade. “Andrew is very supportive in that way and has a lot of confidence in the HODs he’s picked because he loves what they do. He trusts them and that’s why it’s wonderful to work with him,” says Ramsay.

Exploring the film’s emotional qualities, in the grade Bicknell and Ramsay worked with DaVinci Resolve to achieve a “light blend of magical realism to help the audience travel through the story”. On specific scenes they used colour to more forcefully convey emotion, for example during moments of distress such as the sequences that take place on the underground. “Inspiration for this was partly taken from the performances but also what was happening in the sound design,” says Bicknell.

Reacting to the moment

The majority of the narrative plays out in Adam’s childhood home, which Haigh was keen to shoot in the house he grew up in. But, as Ramsay highlights, shooting in quite restrictive spaces such as those in the house location with low ceilings and small windows would have been tricky even when working with small digital cameras. “The fact we are shooting on 35mm cameras with 1,000 foot loads made filming and lighting tough,” he says. “We managed to get permission from the property’s current owner to cut out a doorway to extend the lounge but it was still very challenging.”

Wanting to work within a wider frame to allow themselves the option to isolate characters, but also centralise characters in important moments led the cinematographer and director to adopt a 2.39: 1 aspect ratio. “There are scenes where we isolate the characters on either side of the 2:39 aspect ratio and others where we centralise the character and tighten the eyeline to a great extent,” says Ramsay, using the sequence where Adam and his parents are all in bed together as an example. Haigh and Ramsay wanted this to be an uncut scene, and to hide when the cast members in the bed needed to switch and move, creating a beautiful yet strange and jarring experience.

“This was difficult as we were on location at the house in Croydon and needed to build a cage inside the bedroom from which we could suspend the 35mm camera with a 1,000 foot mag above the characters,” says Ramsay, who likes to operate and “react to the feeling of a moment”, and was behind the camera for All of Us Strangers. “I had my grip Kevin Fraser seven inches above this rigging, operating the dual slider as the scene developed. It’s tough to find 35mm familiar crew but Kevin’s very comfortable with rigging film gear.”

Meanwhile, Ramsay was on the zoom, timing it precisely to push in so another character disappeared from the frame. “Each time they had to leave the bed without us feeling the bed move, and then another character got in and they were revealed. Building a structure to support the 35mm gear on location was difficult but what was most important to us was having absolutely no cuts in that sequence, so there was no chance to lose the audience’s attention, locking them in this dream.”

As well as not being too heavy handed with the sense of nostalgia, Haigh wanted to avoid being overbearing with the suggestion of Adam’s different states of mind, wanting the subtlety to almost make the audience question where they were and whether it was the past or present. “The only time we pushed it was the club sequence where Adam is intoxicated and that feeling was motivated more by the drugs he had taken than by the state of mind and the presence of ghosts in his life,” says Ramsay. “For the club scene, we had more free rein to really push the lighting, transitions, use reflections and break the fourth wall by Adam looking into the camera, confusing the situation.”

While pushing the camera movement and making it more confusing in that sequence, the filmmakers wanted everything else to be fairly stable, with a “slight movement and breath to it” achieved by shooting on zoom lenses and moving “constantly in and out of the zoom, to make everything feel like it was breathing a little and slightly strange.”

Difficult locations to control where the crew were at the mercy of what already existed included the Whitgift Centre shopping centre in Croydon. Shooting there demanded the crew carefully pick the time of day they were filming due to the large glass ceiling through which the sun would shine.

“Sequences that were fun to work out included the tube scenes which were shot on a tube line we had access to for a certain amount of time and could go back and forth on,” says Ramsay. “Adam’s journey always needed to appear to be in one direction, so I needed to work out when to mirror his placement on the tube and when to switch extras, so he always seemed like he was going in the right direction.”

In scenes taking place on the train, reflection was an important motif because “reflection is your self-identity” and the filmmakers “wanted to represent the decay of Adam’s psychology through the way he was seeing himself in those moments.” In line with Haigh’s subtle storytelling, the director wanted the use of reflections to be gentle and quiet rather than overbaked. “So, it was a case of choosing when to do it and leaning into what exists in reality,” says Ramsay. “For example, tube windows morph your face naturally, so we thought let’s lean into what happens in this environment and use it as a tool.”

Haigh emphasises the importance – “especially when lensing a story with queer identity at the heart of it – that the reflection a person gives to the world can be very different to how they feel. It can be quite problematic and traumatic.” The director felt it was important that Adam sees himself in a different light each time he looks at his reflection “and things are changing and he’s learning or coming to terms with things.” Another central and constant theme running through the film for crew and cast was conveying the power of love and that “long after you’re gone, that feeling of love remains.”'

[hollywoodfamerp]

UNFOLLOW (5+ DAYS OF INACTIVITY: THE FOLLOWING HAVE BEEN REOPENED)

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WARNING (3 - 4 DAYS OF BEING INACTIVE/INCONSISTENT ACTIVITY)

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*Inconsistent activity, only answering memes, signing on the day before an activity check, reblogging/posting social media and photos do not count as activity. Bubble warning is for members who fall under what HFRP considers to be bubble rping. Further explanation of bubble rping is defined in our rules.

Those who have been unfollowed are more than welcome to return! You have 24 hours to message us via ask box POLITELY if you’d like to reclaim your character before it officially gets reopened. Don’t forget, if you feel like you need to step away - you can always ask for a hiatus!

[thealogie]

I’m sorry….what’s the Paul mescal running away from women in parks thing?

Only the funniest completely unverified celebrity rumor of all time:

[behindblueeyesrpg]

[liste des faceclaims réservés]

— behind blue eyes.

a,b,c

adrien sahores — si la rose alexa demie — wasted comets andrew garfield — faithfully anouchka gauthier — rattlesnake. billie eilish — nevra carla guetta cohen — léa charleen weiss — rainbow stars charles leclerc — davidou charlie hunnam — mars christina nadin — mikrokosmos cindy kimberly — néréide. cooper koch — absolem

d,e,f

daniela garza — lachrymarum danika pieenar — blue. david alexander flinn — nonameforyou dove cameron — cheryl drew starkey — sidesnack ellis iyayi — ness emilio sakraya — ariesfelis evan mock — dulapeep francisca gomes — lakostas freya walton — lumos solem

g,h,i

grace van patten — bliss gracie abrams — desert bleu harris dickinson — anaïs ian fonz — lavoice

j,k,l

jacob elordi — samhain jacob rott — mayumi/clémence jade distinguin — astræa jeon jungkook — fatigay jessica alexander — alli joseph quinn — evermore kaden hammond — ivory keith powers — prince naveen kim jennie — midnight shadow kim taehyung — astrhal kim yeri — tempted laetitia casta — adé lalisa manoban — mannie lea elui — hemera lexi sonnett — salvìa louis baines — hoodwink.

m,n,o

madelyn cline — endlesslove. matthew noszka — doflamingo meeya dugied — vampyllia. nadia lee cohen — themuseparadox nathan niehaus — anakinough nicholas alexander chavez — ησησ nicola peltz beckham — jawbreaker.

p,q,r

park chaeyoung [rosé] — oxymore paul mescal — meuf géniale pierre garnier — loredana rachael lange — rage. rachel bilson — mixsy-cute rudy pankow — marie

s,t,u,v

sabrina carpenter — lattee. sam corlett — rascal shanina shaik — bluemoon sydney sweeney — clem tamika fawcett — bluemoon vinnie hacker — deathless saints. viv may — anne-constance

w,x,y,z

yumi nu — saturne

[destinyc1020]

Official Trailer for "Gladiator 2"

😲 😱

Omg wow.... okay this trailer has me excited! 😁

First of all.... FIRST OF ALL ....I can already tell that Denzel is gonna knock this out of the park!! Why was I more excited to see him than Paul Mescal? Rofl 👀 🤣

Second, this movie looks intennnnnse. I don't recall the first movie looking so violent. 🥴👀🫣

Anyway, I'm excited to see this! I think it's going to do well at the box office and will certainly get butts in the seats. 😁👍🏾

Some ppl in the comments section are hating and harping on the rap music being used in the trailer, but c'mon! 🙄 Who cares? It's just a trailer? Goodness... I'm sick and tired of people hating on rap music and not giving it the respect that it deserves as a valuable piece of music. 😤 No, I don't like ALL rap music or artists, but I DO like some of it, and I respect it as a valuable musical art form in our society.

Anyway....This movie is going to make a killing at the box office regardless.

[awardseason]

2023 BAFTA Awards — Winners

Best Film “All Quiet On The Western Front” — WINNER “The Banshees Of Inisherin” “Elvis” “Everything Everywhere All At Once” “Tár”

Outstanding British Film “Aftersun” “The Banshees Of Inisherin” — WINNER “Brian And Charles” “Empire Of Light” “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande” “Living” “Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical” “See How They Run” “The Swimmers” “The Wonder”

Director Edward Berger, “All Quiet On The Western Front” — WINNER Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees Of Inisherin” Park Chan-wook, “Decision To Leave” Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All At Once” Todd Field, “Tár” Gina Prince-Bythewood, “The Woman King”

Leading Actress Cate Blanchett, “Tár” — WINNER Viola Davis, “The Woman King” Danielle Deadwyler, “Till” Ana De Armas, “Blonde” Emma Thompson, “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande” Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Leading Actor Austin Butler, “Elvis” — WINNER Colin Farrell, “The Banshees Of Inisherin” Brendan Fraser, “The Whale” Daryl Mccormack, “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande” Paul Mescal, “Aftersun” Bill Nighy, “Living”

Supporting Actress Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Hong Chau, “The Whale” Kerry Condon, “The Banshees Of Inisherin” — WINNER Dolly De Leon, “Triangle Of Sadness” Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All At Once” Carey Mulligan, “She Said”

Supporting Actor Brendan Gleeson, “The Banshees Of Inisherin” Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees Of Inisherin” — WINNER Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All At Once” Eddie Redmayne, “The Good Nurse” Albrecht Schuch, “All Quiet On The Western Front” Micheal Ward, “Empire Of Light”

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer “Aftersun” – Charlotte Wells (Writer/Director) — WINNER “Blue Jean” – Georgia Oakley (Writer/Director), Hélène Sifre (Producer) “Electric Malady” – Marie Lidén (Director) “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande” – Katy Brand (Writer) “Rebellion” – Maia Kenworthy and Elena Sánchez Bellot (Directors)

Film Not in English Language “All Quiet On The Western Front” — WINNER “Argentina, 1985” “Corsage” “Decision To Leave”  “The Quiet Girl”

Documentary “All That Breathes” “All The Beauty And The Bloodshed”  “Fire Of Love” “Moonage Daydream”  “Navalny” — WINNER

Animated Film “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” — WINNER “Marcel The Shell With Shoes On” “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish” “Turning Red”

Original Screenplay Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees Of Inisherin” — WINNER Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All At Once” Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg, “The Fabelmans” Todd Field, “Tár” Ruben Östlund, “Triangle Of Sadness”

Adapted Screenplay Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell, “All Quiet On The Western Front” — WINNER Kazuo Ishiguro, “Living” Colm Bairéad, “The Quiet Girl” Rebecca Lenkiewicz, “She Said” Samuel D. Hunter, “The Whale”

Original Score Volker Bertelmann, “All Quiet On The Western Front” — WINNER Justin Hurwitz, “Babylon” Carter Burwell, “The Banshees Of Inisherin” Son Lux, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”  Alexandre Desplat, “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” 

Casting Lucy Pardee, “Aftersun” Simone Bär, “All Quiet On The Western Front” Nikki Barrett, Denise Chamian, “Elvis” — WINNER Sarah Halley Finn, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”  Pauline Hansson, “Triangle Of Sadness”

Cinematography James Friend, “All Quiet On The Western Front” — WINNER Greig Fraser, “The Batman” Mandy Walker, “Elvis”  Roger Deakins, “Empire Of Light” Claudio Miranda, “Top Gun: Maverick”

Editing “All Quiet On The Western Front” “The Banshees Of Inisherin” “Elvis” “Everything Everywhere All At Once” — WINNER “Top Gun: Maverick”

Production Design “All Quiet On The Western Front” “Babylon” — WINNER “The Batman” “Elvis” “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio”

Costume Design “All Quiet On The Western Front” “Amsterdam” “Babylon” “Elvis” — WINNER “Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris”

Make-Up & Hair “All Quiet On The Western Front” “The Batman” “Elvis” — WINNER “Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical”  “The Whale”

Sound “All Quiet On The Western Front” — WINNER “Avatar: The Way Of Water” “Elvis” “Tár” “Top Gun: Maverick”

Special Visual Effects “All Quiet On The Western Front” “Avatar: The Way Of Water” — WINNER “The Batman” “Everything Everywhere All At Once” “Top Gun: Maverick”

British Short Animation “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse” — WINNER “Middle Watch” “Your Mountain Is Waiting”

British Short Film “The Ballad Of Olive Morris” “Bazigaga” “Bus Girl” “A Drifting Up” “An Irish Goodbye” — WINNER

EE Rising Star Award Aimee Lou Wood Daryl McCormack Emma Mackey — WINNER Naomi Ackie Sheila Atim

[mortemhq]

[ ANONYMOUS ASKED ... ] MW fcs?

OF COURSE, ANON! sorry that this took so long. i just wanted to make sure i had a lot of suggestions for you! buckle up for a big list! i'd love to see: emma d'arcy, quintessa swindell, dua saleh, poppy liu, asia kate dillon, lizeth selene, emma corrin, janelle monae, yaya dacosta, liv hewson, celeste o'connor, zion moreno, aj clementine, jessie mei li, serena motola, mimi keene, nana komatsu, davika hoorne, chase sui wonders, maia reficco, chandler kinney, zaria simone, ayo edebiri, lola tung, anya chalotra, maggie q, benjamin bratt, jaz sinclair, laura harrier, zendaya, courtney eaton, hunter schafer, jessica henwick, medalion rahimi, simone ashley, khadijha red thunder, zion moreno, amita suman, olivia cooke, ella purnell, sophie thatcher, yasmin finney, rachel zegler, bruna marquezine, taylor russell, alisha boe, antonia gentry, ashley moore, naomi scott, natasha liu bordizzo, melis sezen, hande ercel, aslihan malbora, havana rose liu, amy adams, jessica alexander, grace van dien, danielle rose russell, sarah snook, adria arjona, ayo edebiri, bahar sahin, jasmin savoy brown, anne hathaway, michelle yeoh, anya taylor-joy, lucy liu, viola davis, ming na wen, sandra oh, gemma chan, maddie phillips, park sooyoung, jamie chung, tati gabrielle, sydney park, hoyeon jung, brittany o'grady, lily gladstone, savannah lee smith, nicola coughlan, greta onieogou, kylie verzosa, moon gayoung, madeleine madden, ni ni, alba flores, gugu mbatha raw, adeline rudolph, cierra ramirez, kiki layne, ryan destiny, zoey luna, lovie simone, blu hunt, park sooyoung, im jinah, samantha logan, tessa thompson, mint ranchwaree, yara shahidi, zorzo natharuetai, sobhita dhulipala, mookda narinrak, namtan tipnaree, nychaa nuttanicha, pat chayanit, nadine lustre, wawwa nicha, maris racal, ayca aysin turan, may calamawy, megan suri, banita sandhu, priscilla quintana, brianne tju, melis pamuk, camila mendes, demet ozdemir, sophia ali, bree kish, maddison bailey, jeremy allen white, tamino amir, mena massoud, archie renaux, evan mock, dev patel, taylor zakhar perez, tommy martinez, maxence danet fauvel, rege jean page, kiowa gordon, d'pharaoh woon-a-tai, derek luh, apo nattawin, tom blyth, freddy carter, deniz can aktas, emre bey, ilhan sen, josh o'connor, mike faist, joseph quinn, manny jacinto, callum turner, alex landi, barry keoughan, paul mescal, rami malek, simone baldasseroni, woo dohwan, yahya abdul mateen ii, mason gooding, cody christian, michael evans behling, jordan gonzalez, drew ray tanner, ito hideaki, peter gadiot, gong yoo, michael b jordan, hugh dancy, ben whishaw, swann arlaud, froy gutierrez, alex meraz, emilio sakraya, rahul kohli, oscar isaac, peter gadiot, jonathan daviss, danny ramirez, kento yamazaki, omar sy, cillian murphy, oliver jackson-cohen, brian michael smith, idris elba, william jackson harper, and lewis tan.

[powderblueblood]

May I vent? Don't worry I'm not bashing either party. So this whole thing was equal parts hilarious and equal parts concerning to me. Concerning because even though I know full well that he's just some guy whom none of us really know or ever will, I felt weirdly possessive when I saw the pictures and video the first time. And bummed out too which is not how I want to feel at all. Whoever he chooses to see is his business and I just want to have fun and enjoy myself, you know? I think it's because I've been keeping up with the latest about him since 2022. I can't think of any other fandom I've been into like this one. Either way, I think I just became too invested without realising it until now. Major go out and touch some grass moment. I genuinely want to be unbothered and have a giggle over all of this and whatever might come in the future. Anyway thanks for letting me spew some nonsense. Also btw, what exactly is a melt? Ngl it sounds kind of yummy even though im guessing it's far from that😂

it do happen when we participate in online communities and it’s not a bad thing to fall ‘’’victim’’’’ to it (I say victim dead loosely because it’s not falling victim to it really, it’s just Thinking About Some Guy Too Hard Disease—and let he among us cast the first stone am I right sluts!!!) but yeah at the end of the day who cares but also furthermore… whole thing gives me the ick re: him lol we’re better off just enjoying the work

but that said and my hand to the fire I do love the goss

and when I say melt I do mean someone exhibiting drippy fool behaviour. barry keoghan leaving his baby mother for sabrina carpenter and generally acting the maggot—melt. Paul mescal running away from women in parks after one night stands—melt. Doja cat showing feet in racial chat rooms—melt city.

[8ightisfate]

[TRANS] Stray Kids: El poder de la perseverancia (2/2)

Incluso antes de su creación como banda, sus vidas han sido transmitidas por televisión. Los chicos aparecieron en un reality show dirigido por JYP Entertainment, donde un grupo de chicas y un grupo de chicos competían por la oportunidad de debutar como grupo. El grupo de chicos, que se convertiría en Stray Kids, ganó y, desde ese momento, casi no se han separado. 

Hasta este verano, Stray Kids no había actuado en el Reino Unido desde julio de 2019, cuando agotaron las entradas de la Brixton Academy. Es un destino que no suele aparecer en su agenda; en cambio, optan por Estados Unidos y París cuando se aventuran al oeste. Luego, en julio, volvieron para encabezar el cartel de la última noche del BST Hyde Park en Londres. Con capacidad para 60.000 personas, es un honor que ya se ha otorgado a leyendas de la música como Adele, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Guns N’ Roses, Lana Del Rey y Taylor Swift. La enormidad del concierto no se les escapa a ninguno de ellos cuando lo comentamos en la sesión fotográfica de portada de julio. 

“El festival en Hyde Park es enorme”, dice Changbin, que escribe y produce para el grupo y es conocido por sus versos de rap a la velocidad del rayo. “No puedo esperar a ver la reacción de los fans y cómo me recibirá STAY en Londres”. 

“Hace mucho tiempo que no estamos en Londres”, dice Han, que durante la entrevista grupal se muestra encorvado en una pose relajada con su melena despeinada cubriéndole los ojos. Aunque su delgada figura se desliza cada vez más hacia abajo en la silla, de vez en cuando comenta algo. “Estar allí [en Londres] es algo que espero con muchas ganas, pero también el festival en el que vamos a actuar es un gran acontecimiento para mí”, dice. 

Lee Know tiene previsto volver a visitar algunos de los lugares emblemáticos de Londres después de haber visitado la capital británica por su cuenta en mayo. “Fui brevemente al desfile de Gucci en Londres y vi el Big Ben por la noche y me impresionó mucho”, me cuenta en voz baja. “Así que quiero volver a verlo y también quiero visitar Londres en profundidad”. Confiesa que no tuvo tiempo para mucho más en su reciente visita, aparte de una sesión en el gimnasio del hotel, que al menos tenía una vista decente. 

Quien no sea STAY habrán notado que Stray Kids ha aparecido con más frecuencia últimamente, ya que el grupo se ha convertido en un nombre conocido a nivel mundial. El año pasado, interpretaron ‘S-Class’ en los VMA (y también se llevaron un premio esa noche) y fueron vistos pasando el rato con Dua Lipa, Anne Hathaway y Paul Mescal en desfiles de moda en Londres, París y Milán. En un panorama musical bastante sombrío, los grupos de kpop como Stray Kids nos permiten revisitar los días felices de la MTV de alta energía de los años 90 y 2000, con todos los videos musicales tecnicolor de gran presupuesto y las enormes giras musicales que vinieron con esa era definitoria. 

No contentos con el reino mortal, SKZ incluso hizo incursiones en el universo cinematográfico de Marvel cuando la música del grupo apareció en la banda sonora de Deapool & Wolverine. Hugh Jackman y Ryan Reynolds le devolvieron el favor al aparecer en el video musical de SKZ para ‘Chk Chk Boom’. Y luego estuvo esa novedosa interacción con el ex Avenger Chris Hemsworth cuando se topó con el grupo en la Gala MET en Nueva York y procedió a levantar físicamente del suelo a varios miembros del grupo. “Simplemente los levanté, les di abrazos”, dijo Hemsworth sobre el momento. “Los amo. Eran un manojo de energía y alegría, y yo estaba como, ‘Los amo, chicos’”. 

“La última persona que Chris recogió fui yo y después de eso, se dio por vencido: ‘Tengo que parar ahora; es más pesado que mi martillo’”, bromea Changbin. Como el miembro más musculoso de Stray Kids, el grupo a menudo bromea sobre su físico. 

A pesar de que el grupo orbita constantemente la Tierra para cumplir con diversas obligaciones que están cuidadosamente programadas al minuto, la música sigue siendo el corazón de Stray Kids. Elaborando conceptos creativos para cada álbum, son una amenaza sextuple que puede cantar, bailar, rapear, coreografiar, escribir y producir su propia música, todas habilidades que han sido rigurosamente perfeccionadas y agudizadas por el implacable sistema de aprendices del kpop. Oficialmente, el octeto se divide en tres subunidades llamadas “RACHAs”. 3RACHA, que consta de Bangchan, Changbin y Han, se encarga de la mayor parte de la escritura y producción; DANCERACHA, que incluye a Lee Know, Felix y Hyunjin, se encarga de las tareas de coreografía; y VOCALRACHA está formado por Seungmin e I.N, los cantantes principales designados. (Hay unidades no oficiales otorgadas por los fans, incluyendo la cariñosamente llamada ‘PABORACHA’ - ‘pabo’ significa tonto en coreano – cuyos estimados miembros son Hyunjin, Han y Lee Know, conocidos por su comportamiento caótico y tonto). 

Dejando a un lado a los RACHA, los roles de los miembros de la banda pueden ser bastante fluidos debido a su formación multidisciplinaria. Felix ha coescrito 'Runners', una canción en inglés del nuevo álbum, y Hyunjin escribió 'Cover Me' para su último EP, ROCK-STAR. Depende completamente de varios factores que cambian constantemente. 

Lee Know, por ejemplo, asuma cada vez más papeles vocales en las canciones: “Siempre es diferente según la canción que estemos haciendo, y también depende de los horarios”, dice Bangchan. En lo que respecta a la composición de canciones, Bangchan explica que si el grupo tiene un horario ajustado, se reúnen de antemano y deciden quién hace qué. “Luego, durante nuestro horario, mientras estamos de gira y durante nuestro tiempo libre, es cuando tenemos tiempo para editarlo”, dice. “Así que siempre es diferente”. 

Changbin añade: “Cuando hay un calendario ajustado, cada uno intenta hacer su propio trabajo. En cuanto a las canciones principales, tres o cuatro miembros tienen que reunirse y hacer el trabajo juntos. En cuanto al trabajo individual, todos pueden pedir ayuda a los demás miembros”. Los fans suelen presenciar el proceso cuando la banda comparte imágenes detrás de escena en el estudio, con 3RACHA guiando a los miembros cantando y rapeando en la cabina, ajustando meticulosamente sus creaciones para asegurarse de que cada elemento sea exactamente como lo quieren, colaborando en las ideas y moldeando la canción a medida que avanzan. 

Felix explica que la situación es similar a las rutinas y los conceptos de baile: “Cuando se trata de la interpretación, siempre enviamos nuestros comentarios sobre lo que sentimos acerca de la coreografía y siempre tratamos de encontrar la mejor interpretación para esta canción. Hablamos de ello con todos también, mientras todos están actuando”. 

El sonido de Stray Kids siempre ha sido muy experimental, abarcando varios géneros, y ATE continúa su exploración sonora. “Es bastante diferente a lo que hemos hecho antes, pero siempre estamos abiertos a cosas nuevas”, dice Bangchan. Como su mini álbum, ATE se siente más maduro, con la banda habiéndose desecho de la ingenuidad de sus letras. Por ejemplo, ‘I Like It’, una canción de R&B infundida con trap-pop, explora la idea de una relación de pareja: “Espero que no cometamos un error apresurado / Demos un gran paso atrás”, cantan. Es un área gris líricamente que el kpop, al que le encanta tratas con absolutos, no aborda a menudo. ‘Twilight’, escrita por Han, baja el ritmo, con una brillante introducción de piano que suena como si perteneciera a una película de Studio Ghibli. La pista cae en cascada en un estilo suave, jazz y bossa nova que examina la naturaleza combustible del amor, mirando lo que queda cuando una chispa inicial ha ardido demasiado y se ha perdido en un resplandor de gloria lujuriosa, dejando solo ceniza atrás. 

Sin embargo, el pan de cada día de la banda consiste en crear himnos, y tanto ‘MOUNTAINS’ como ‘Chk Chk Boom’ de este álbum cumplen con ese cometido, con sonidos electrónicos bajos y sinuosos y coros atronadores que están diseñados para que las masas los coreen cuando actúan en el escenario. 

El grupo suele experimentar con efectos de sonido en su música. ‘ITEM’, una canción de su último álbum 5-Star, hace referencia al icónico videojuego Pac-Man en su letra, y Bangchan, Changbin y Han jugaron con la producción, aderezándola con sonidos de arcade retro. Ahora se ha convertido en una canción popular entre los fans. 

Siguiendo el modelo popular del kpop en la actualidad de lanzar material nuevo casi dos veces al año, Stray Kids no tendrá tiempo para pensar demasiado en este álbum. “Ya estamos trabajando en cosas nuevas”, explica Bangchan. 

Les propongo la idea de un álbum acústico como algo nuevo que pueden probar, y la idea provoca en ellos un coro de “oohs”. “Eso sería divertido y otro desafío para nosotros”, dice Han, sentándose y con gran interés. “¡Me encantaría!”, dice Seungmin con entusiasmo, visiblemente animado ante la perspectiva. “¡Últimamente toco la guitarra! ¡Estoy practicando!”. “Demasiado ruidoso”, interrumpe Felix en tono de broma. “Cuando duermo, pienso: ‘¡Este tipo!’ (risas). Pero es un buen guitarrista”. 

“Me encantaría tocar en acústico”, reflexiona I.N, con su melena rubia decolorada y su jersey de cuello alto negro que recuerda a Andy Warhol. El miembro más joven del grupo, sin embargo, tiene una condición: “Me encantaría que fuera una canción acústica que yo mismo escribiera para la ocasión. Si tuviera que imaginar una canción con todos los miembros, que ya hemos lanzado, mientras toco el piano, sería nuestra canción llamada ‘Stray Kids’ del nuevo álbum”. La canción habla de su trayectoria como banda y del regalo que se esfuerza por lograr juntos. 

“Las amistades más fuertes se forjan con luchas. Ahora podemos decir que nuestros lazos son más fuertes” - Changbin

Los conceptos gemelos de trabajo en equipo y unión son los pilares de SKZ. Su determinación conjunta ha sido vital para su éxito. El agotador proceso de formación, en el que los aspirantes a estrellas del pop entrenan más de 10 horas al día, seis días a la semana durante un período indefinido, no ofrece garantías de que debuten. Esto significa que cuando una banda triunfa, debe centrarse en sus objetivos para mantener una trayectoria ascendente. 

Una vez que debutan, es costumbre que el grupo viva junto. Esto les facilita la vida con sus horarios, pero significa que los miembros de SKZ pasan literalmente las 24 horas del día juntos. 

“Ya han pasado casi ocho años desde que empezamos, y los años de prácticas, así que hace casi una década que vivo con estas personas”, explica Han con franqueza, sin rehuir a abordar la compleja dinámica de un grupo grande en un entorno tan intenso. “A veces tenemos diferencias de opinión y a veces tenemos conflictos, lo cual es totalmente normal, pero al principio, sentí que eran mis compañeros porque compartían un sueño y una meta de trabajar juntos. Luego esa relación se convirtió más en una amistad que mantienes para el resto de tu vida, y ahora está cambiando de nuevo. Ahora es casi fraternal; se sienten como parientes de sangre, y cuando estamos juntos, parece que es obvio que debemos permanecer juntos. A veces, cuando no nos hemos visto durante algún tiempo, los extraño. Ha sido una relación maravillosa para compartir”. 

“No tuve ningún problema con los demás miembros, ya que desde que era estudiante solía juntarme con los hyungs [hermanos mayores]”, comenta Lee Know. “No fue nada difícil para mí, fue divertido”. Como es el segundo mayor del grupo, suele ser mucho más comedido cuando están todos juntos. 

Seungmin no puede evitar hacer una broma cuando le pregunto cómo fue conocerse tan rápido al principio y vivir tan cerca el uno del otro. “Terrible”, dice con su tono seco y sonrisa irónica, haciendo reír a todos. Hay un elemento de realidad en lo que dice. El grupo es muy abierto cuando se trata de discutir sus desacuerdos con sus fans. 

“La primera fase fue la más incómoda”, dice Han, quien quizás sea quien mejor habla sobre el tema. En el pasado, ya se había sincerado sobre cómo él y Hyunjin no se llevaban bien al principio, lo que casi terminó en una pelea física durante la práctica. “Tuvimos que encontrarnos y llegar a conocernos. Pero una vez que esa primera fase terminó y vivimos juntos por primera vez, es algo precioso que podemos disfrutar. Al principio, fue muy, muy difícil”. 

Seungmin pasa de la comedia a la filosofía con su visión de la dinámica de la relación en el grupo. “No ha cambiado, pero se ha profundizado. Vivimos juntos, tocamos música juntos, bailamos y cantamos juntos, disfrutamos del escenario juntos. Hablamos mucho... sobre lo que hemos estado haciendo últimamente, sobre los pensamientos que tenemos en estos días. Este tipo de conversaciones se vuelven más profundas”. 

Changbin expresa lo que es muy evidente: la mentalidad de colmena inquebrantable de la banda cuando se trata de éxito. “Compartir el mismo objetivo y sueño con otras siete personas no es algo menor”, dice. “Las amistades más fuertes se forjan con peleas. Estoy feliz de haber pasado por el proceso porque ahora podemos decir que nuestros vínculos son más fuertes”. 

Durante todo el tiempo que estuvieron en Rolling Stone UK, su conexión tácita es evidente. Cuando llegan al set y les dicen cuál es su objetivo, todos se ponen en formación sin discusión. Es una mente de colmena que sabe a dónde ir aparentemente de manera telepática. Es fascinante verlos moverse como si fueran un solo ser orgánico. 

Las experiencias que compartieron unieron al grupo y tuvieron que navegar por mares agitados. Uno de los obstáculos para la banda fue el confinamiento por la pandemia que comenzó en 2020. El grupo estaba empezando a recuperar fuerzas, pero todo se detuvo. “La COVID fue horrible. Hubo muchas cosas que no pudimos hacer debido al confinamiento”, reflexiona Bangchan. 

“Lo extraño fue que después de actuar frente a tanta gente, hacer un concierto sin gente fue difícil”, añade Felix. “Estábamos actuando frente a las cámaras. Ese fue uno de los momentos que más nos costó. Y ahora por fin estamos actuando frente a los fans”. Aquella primera vez que actuaron frente a una multitud de nuevo a finales de 2021 les emocionó al instante. “Fue increíble y muy diferente. ¡Es como si nos pusiéramos todos tímidos” Fue como, ‘¡Oh, una multitud! ¿Qué decimos? ¿Qué decimos?’”. 

Al no poder seguir con su habitual e incansable agenda, el grupo aprovechó el período para pasar mucho tiempo en línea y cultivar una relación con su base de fans, que ahora es muy leal y activa. La conexión forjada ha demostrado ser férrea. 

Los “ídolos” del kpop (término que se usa para referirse a una estrella de la música en Corea), como sugiere su nombre, son tratados como semidioses por sus fans, y el grupo tiene que lograr un delicado equilibrio entre ser inalcanzable y al mismo tiempo identificable. Stray Kids existe en todo un ecosistema que produce contenido para permitir que su base de fans se conecte con ellos. Al igual que en The Truman Show, documentan todos los aspectos de sus vidas. Pero a diferencia de la película de Jim Carrey, Stray Kids está al tanto de todo y selecciona cuidadosamente lo que muestra de sí mismos. Casi todos los miembros tienen dificultades cuando se les pide que compartan algo que no sepamos ya sobre otro miembro de la banda. Sencillamente, ya han puesto todas sus cartas sobre la mesa. 

La conexión de SKZ con sus fans va mucho más allá de los vídeos de TikTok y los chats en directo de Instagram. Youtube alberga una serie completa de vídeos que sigue un formato de concursos en el que juegan a juegos con prendas, se sumergen en piscinas y se disfrazan. Abren sus regalos de cumpleaños y soplan pasteles de celebración (normalmente solos) delante de sus fans y tienen charlas nocturnas con ellos, respondiendo decenas de preguntas mientras comen solos en la habitación de su hotel. Esto le da una sensación muy íntima a su celebridad, reforzada por confesionarios compartidos que actúan casi como una sesión de terapia en la que diseccionan sus relaciones entre ellos y superan los obstáculos. Todo esto ayuda a consolidar sus prístinas personalidades en el escenario y en los vídeos musicales. 

Parece que compartir un flujo constante de información se ha convertido en una especie de flujo de conciencia para ellos, tanto que olvidan que todo el mundo sabe cada uno de sus movimientos. Hyunjin está realmente sorprendido de que sepa que perdió la tarjeta bancaria de Felix en París hace unos meses. Se ríe y suelta un “Arghhh... ¿viste eso?”. Echa la cabeza hacia atrás y se ríe, antes de sonreír tímidamente y decir: “Erm... Lo siento por Felix...”. 

Cuando le pregunto a Felix sobre un video en particular donde un experto le dice que no le queda bien su tono favorito de azul hielo, se lanza a dar su respuesta, antes de dar marcha atrás como Hyunjin, sorprendido de que yo lo hubiera sabido. “Sí, sí, sí... ¡oh, has visto eso!”. El video de RACHA LOG al que me refiero ha sido visto 2,3 millones de veces en los últimos meses. Pero si se olvidan de que las cámaras están casi constantemente sobre ellos, Bangchan me dice que su miembro más joven siempre está al acecho, controlando lo que hacen sus fans: “I.N siempre están monitoreando todo lo que está sucediendo. Nos enviará un enlace en el chat grupal. Todos estos memes y esas cosas”. 

Sus bromas privadas tampoco pasan desapercibidas: una de las favoritas del grupo y de STAY es: “That’s not very noice”, pronunciada con un marcado acento australiano. I.N, con su sonrisa perenne y su risa entre dientes, explica cómo empezó. “Ese era Felix”, dice antes de que el propio Felix continúe la historia. 

“Estaba recreando un momento en el que estaba hablando con mis amigos. Si ellos decían algo gracioso o de una forma divertida, bromeando como “That’s not very noice”, entonces este tipo”, dice Felix señalando a Hyunjin, “tomó esa forma de decirlo, y luego todos empezaron a decirlo también”. 

“¡Noiceeee... Acento australiano!”, repite Hyunjin casi instintivamente y, tal como hace con sus mejores amigos, el resto del grupo se lanza a un coro de “very noice”, donando como una bandada de gaviotas. 

“Mostramos mucho amor fraternal”, dice Felix. “Los fans pueden vernos como personas ordenadas, tranquilas y relajadas, pero incluso fuera de cámara es el doble de loco. Somos más activos físicamente. Somo más tipo del tipo fraternal, ¡como luchadores!”. 

Lo demuestran en el set cuando el fotógrafo les pide que hagan algunos movimientos más bruscos para una toma en particular, y al instante salen de sus frías poses para pelearse, reír y bromear. Finalmente, termina con Seungmin empujando a propósito a Changbin para sacarlo de su posición, lo que provoca un grupo ahogado que pronto de convierte en risa. 

“Cuando pienso en Inglaterra, lo primero que me viene a la cabeza es el rock y el punk. Por eso quiero sumergirme en su cultura”. - Hyunjin 

Cuando me reúno con el grupo, casi una semana después en Londres, es el día de su concierto en BST Hyde Park. Me llevan a través de una puerta en la zona opuesta del amplio terreno y paso por una barrera tras otra bloqueada por el acceso con pase, así como por grupos de fans que han estado esperando allí desde primera hora de la tarde (la primera hora a la que se les permitió el acceso). Finalmente, llego al punto de encuentro, esperando no llegar tarde. Es una operación muy encubierta, ya que me llevan detrás del escenario. 

Hyunjin me saluda con entusiasmo mientras se pone de puntillas y me sonríe radiante cuando me ve, como si acabara de ver a un viejo amigo. Antes de darme cuenta, estoy envuelto en un cúmulo de energía increíble. Puedo ver de qué estaba hablando Hemsworth cuando los conoció en la MET Gala. 

“¡Oh, mira quién es!”, bromea Bangchan. “Cuando tiempo sin verte”, interviene Felix. 

I.N sonríe y Lee Know me da su mejor chispa de estrella de cine mientras charlamos. Esta calidez es parte de una cualidad intangible que hace que Stray Kids sea tan especial. La autenticidad que han cultivado entre ellos a lo largo de los años se ha manifestado de tal manera que sus fans la sienten a través de una especie de ósmosis. Lo que se nota más que nada es que, aunque han dicho que están nerviosos, están completamente listos. Se ven confiados y tranquilos y me devuelven la sonrisa cuando Bangchan dice en broma: “Te unirás a nosotros en el escenario, ¿verdad?”. 

Felix habla sobre su increíble espectáculo en Milán. Es evidente que el perfeccionista Bangchan tiene algunas notas para mejorar en su actuación, pero se las guarda para sí mismo. No han tenido tiempo de visitar ninguno de los lugares de interés de Londres que tanto ansiaban ver, pero Lee Know menciona que lograron probar la comida coreana que tanto ansiaban. 

Seungmin esperaba actuar bajo la lluvia. “Fui al concierto de Coldplay en Seúl cuando era aprendiz. Ese momento fue el concierto más memorable al que he asistido. Tengo muchas ganas de asistir a un concierto de Coldplay en un día lluvioso. Sueño con un escenario lluvioso. Tuvimos uno hace mucho tiempo, pero fue un concierto con otros grupos, no solo de nosotros”. 

Después de despedirme y desearles la suerte que no necesitan, tomo una foto y miro a la multitud de más de 60.000 personas que esperan que aparezcan sus ídolos. Están bañados por la luz dorada de una gloriosa tarde de julio. Es un escenario perfecto y claramente a Seungmin no se le concederá su sueño meteorológico. La multitud ha comenzado a cantar sus canciones favoritas incluso antes de que SKZ esté en el escenario. Luego, se despliega una enorme pancarta roja con el logotipo de Stray Kids y el grupo finalmente aparece. 

Su actuación es absolutamente eléctrica y, mientras tocan, me viene a la mente lo que dijo Hyunjin sobre el espíritu del rock’n’roll. “Obviamente, cuando pienso en Inglaterra, lo primero que me viene a la mente es el rock y el punk”, dijo. “Así que quiero sumergirme en la cultura y experimentar este estilo y la gente que voy a conocer, por eso el festival que voy a disfrutar con la banda es algo que espero con ansias y no puedo esperar a sumergirme en la cultura de Inglaterra”. 

Con guitarras eléctricas y bajos que realzan los elementos rockeros de su música, los ocho miembros parecen disfrutar de la actuación. Su sonido combina múltiples géneros (sobre todo trap-pop, hip hop y música electrónica) y se traduce excepcionalmente bien del estudio a la actuación en directo. Adoptando el estilo ruidoso por el que alguna vez fueron criticados, lo han reconfigurado para que funcione perfectamente en el escenario, lleno de riffs y bajos resonantes. Himnos como ‘Topline’ y ‘MIROH’ realmente cobran vida en un escenario de concierto como el de Hyde Park, donde el enorme público canta con ellos. 

A menudo, un miembro sale corriendo del escenario. Corre entre la multitud y se rocía agua a sí mismo o a la multitud, mientras alterna pausas de baile y mantiene una voz exquisita. Conectados por una cuerda aparentemente invisible, todos parecen encontrar el camino de regreso para realizar una coreografía increíblemente intrincada. 

Felix está particularmente entusiasmado, salta tanto que su voz suena ronca cuando se despide de Londres. La unión de la que todos han hablado y su vínculo fraternal son evidentes en el escenario. 

Mientras Stray Kids mira a la multitud, después de hacer un bis de seis canciones, empapados en sudor, exhaustos pero emocionados, puedes ver en sus ojos que están bebiendo el momento en el que todo su arduo trabajo, noches largas y el jet lag finalmente están dando sus frutos y, lo más importante, están subiendo a la cima del mundo de la música juntos. 

Como le dije a Bangchan cuando tuvimos nuestro momento de tranquilidad durante la sesión de fotos, seguramente seguirán las giras por estadios, así como más hitos que rompan récords. Está claro que ven esto como solo el comienzo y no tienen intención de detenerse hasta llegar a la cima. Es todo un espectáculo ver a Stray Kids en pleno vuelo, precipitándose hacia su destino en común. 

[blcssom]

after what feels like YEARS i've finally finished the muse page built into my theme (u can find a less fun/detailed list of my new muses here too) which means it's time for a STARTER CALL : ' )))

below the cut are my new muses and a lil bit abt them !! like this and i'll throw you a few starters with my new/rebranded babies !! note: i'll likely slide in your dms to ask if there's anyone in particular you're interested in <3

abigail hyland || twenty9 - waitress/folk singer // bisexual // margaret qualley

mean trailer park queen trying to bury her white trash roots and fear of abandonment !!!

catherine meyer || forty3 - interior designer // bisexual // jessica chastain

walking cleanliness complex who holds herself and everyone else around her to impossibly high standards

daphne barlowe || thirty3 - art curator // bisexual // meghann fahy

trust fund baby who resents her upbringing but not enough to stop living off of their money altogether O:)

ines morreno || twenty5 - bottle girl (succubus au) // bisexual // camila morrone

literal demon (if u so choose) who goes through men faster than she goes through singles on a busy night at the club

josie tanaka || twenty7 - vet tech // bisexual // fivel stewart

likes animals more than she likes ANY human but is willing to forego judgement until you share a blunt w/ her and she can suss out the vibe

lydia xiao || twenty5 - classical violinist // bisexual // havana rose liu

sheltered princess strikes out on her own !!! as much as you can when you're auditioning to join the met :' )

maeve willis || twenty8 - assistant choreographer // bisexual // taylor russell

people pleaser w/ the memory of a goldfish !!! REALLY wants to do a good job but REALLY can't say no when someone invites her out either so... c'est la vie

rosie burton || thirty2 - florist (royal au) // bisexual // laura harrier

classic oldest child mother to all but lacking a caretaker herself but that's !! fine !! she's fine !!

sylvie bane || twenty4 - social media influencer // bisexual // lily rose depp

party princess desperate to prove she can make it w/ out daddy's money or a rich s/o (spoiler alert: she can't xx)

taylor corbyn || twenty3 - drummer // homosexual // reneé rapp

GAY and way more confident abt it until she actually has to act !! queen of talking a big game and absolutely blowing it after that

beau crawford || twenty7 - phys ed teacher // bisexual // mason gooding

just a big ole puppy witfh too much energy not even a day of back-to-back p.e. classes can burn it off !! good vibes only except when he doesn't get what he wants :o

dominic hyland || thirty - dj/bartender // bisexual // nicholas galitzine

chasing down his abandonment issues with straight gin and pretending it's fine !!! absolutely not running from his own traumatic past why would u ask that

ezra bhatti || thirty8 - tattoo artist // bisexual // rahul kohli

v chill v calm v antisocial and yet always somehow at the center of all the action !! unbearable know it all that's probably why he just HAD to correct someone

hugo danaher || twenty9 - firefighter // bisexual // paul mescal

reckless physically and emotionally always falling in love and always running into burning buildings w/out thinking twice

jace warren || twenty8 - mechanic // bisexual // nick robinson

basically raised seven siblings in a double wide when his parents bailed and he's TIRED now v responsible but also v apathetic deadly combo

jacob park || thirty3 - newspaper editor // bisexual // charles melton

perfectionist who keeps succeeding but the bar is just getting higher and he's !! nervous !! golden child of his family and they're banking on his success no pressure

miguel avila || forty4 - literary agent (vampire au) // bisexual // oscar isaac

functioning alcoholic who soothes whiny writers all day he's doing GREAT !! failed (in his own mind) writer who's helping others live out their dreams yay

oliver kothari || thirty5 - pediatrician // bisexual // dev patel

came across the pond to escape his mother but she just followed him here so... constantly being the perfect boy but v lonely up on his pedastal

reid whittman || thirty4 - fashion photographer // bisexual // callum turner

party boy photographer living his bachelor dream even tho it isn't !! actually his dream but it's what he's good at so .... luvs being the fun uncle his TRUE calling

thomas thorne || forty2 - novelist (pirate au) // bisexual // michiel huisman

dramatic nervous king prone to rambling on about his ideas but then never actually following thru with them :' )

[denimbex1986]

'Andrew Haigh’s (‘Weekend’) emotional, near-indefinable and multi-BAFTA-nominated new film ‘All of Us Strangers’ – a ghostly story of love and loneliness set in an eerie but very recognisable London – lands like a blow to the solar plexus. You think you have its measure, even as lonely screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott) embarks on a journey back into his own childhood, searches for a sense of himself, and falls hard for his mysterious neighbour (Paul Mescal). Then the credits roll and you find yourself sobbing on the floor. And, well, maybe you didn’t.

It’s a movie, in other words, that contains an ocean’s worth of emotional undercurrents. And if you’re a Londoner, you can double that. Adapting Japanese novelist Taichi Yamada book ‘Strangers’ and switching its Tokyo setting for London, Haigh creates an almost imperceptibly off-kilter London of soulless apartment blocks, disconnection and loneliness, and adds a wealth of autobiographical detail to the story. For all that, it’s a London film that’s full of love for its setting – and it’s the adopted home of its filmmaker, who was born in Yorkshire, lived in the Midlands for a time, but has lived here since graduating uni aged 18. ‘I love it in London,’ he says. ‘You have your history around you, your life growing up.’

All of that personal history is poured into ‘All of Us Strangers’, which completes the filmmaker’s loose trilogy of films about love, alongside ‘Weekend’ and ‘45 Years’ before it. ‘Those two are about the beginning and end of love, and this one is about its power and – not to sound idiotic – its cosmic importance,’ says Haigh. To make it, he did something almost unprecedented and filmed in his own childhood home, as well as another old haunt. As he tells Time Out, the ghosts were behind the camera, as well as on-screen.

1. The haunted East End tower block

‘All of Us Strangers’ introduces Andrew Scott’s struggling screenwriter Adam as the (almost) lone resident of a new apartment block. ‘Initially, we chose a building in Vauxhall,’ explains Haigh, ‘but it was run by a multinational corporation and they would never let us [film] there’. Instead, the exteriors of Adam’s tower block were filmed at a new tower in Stratford, East London. The buzz of the city is seemingly just out of reach for the lonely writer. ‘The rest of London is out there, but it feels a bit distant,’ says Haigh. ‘I liked that feeling for the character: it should be great, but the building is not embedded into London yet and that can feel especially isolating.’

2. The entirely fake stoner apartment

Confined spaces being fiendish to film in, and Adam’s apartment not being palatial, Haigh opted to film the interior scenes – where Adam and Harry hang out, have sex and get stoned – in a specially reconstructed ‘flat’ on a Wembley Park Studios soundstage. ‘Your brain just adjusts to it,’ remembers Haigh. ‘You’d walk in and think: oh yeah, we’re in an apartment.’ Plates of Adam’s actual views were projected onto the windows. ‘I hate green screen,’ he notes, ‘but you can’t shoot on a 22nd-floor apartment because they’re not very big and I wanted the light to move. Everything in this film is a representation of how Adam is feeling: the light and the movement of the clouds is all part of it.’

3. The nostalgic ’80s family home

A time-travelling train journey into the suburbs of London takes Adam back to his childhood home, where his mum and dad (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) are there to welcome him. In what may be a movie first, these scenes were filmed in Haigh’s own childhood home in the London suburb of Sanderstead: ‘I left that place when I was eight or nine and I’ve never been back,’ he says. ‘You see Adam lift up a photo [when he’s trying to find the house], and that’s a photo of me and my mum, with Claire Foy in place of my mum – I used that photo to find it. When I walked in there again, it felt like a haunted house.’ Strangely, the filmmaker’s old boyhood eczema broke out during filming. ‘I thought: maybe it’s the fucking house!’ laughs Haigh. ‘The film is about how we store traumas, big and small, and it felt like my body was physically reacting to how I felt when I was younger.’

4. The full-on, legendary dream club

To break him out of his isolation, Harry takes Adam out for a ketamine-fuelled night on the tiles. The club they wind up at isn’t specified – there’s a deliberate vagueness to ‘All of Us Strangers’ London settings – but it was filmed at another old Haigh haunt, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. ‘I spent many nights there in the ’90s,’ says the director. ‘We saw ourselves as gay indie kids, so I’d go there and to Popstarz and Ghetto behind the Astoria.’ The 50-year-old has mostly given up on clubbing these days, but still knows what feels real and what doesn’t. ‘I wanted to get across what it’s like to be in a club: it’s exciting and you feel together, especially in a queer context, but it can be complicated too.’ The result was two 12-hour days, with proper disco tunes booming out and a sweaty crowd of up-for-it background actors to make it all look real. ‘It’s exhausting and it’s so loud, but it’s the only way to do it,’ says Haigh.

5. The eerie, unsettling Tube carriage

‘All of Us Strangers’ isn’t Haigh’s first foray into London locations. His 2009 debut ‘Greek Pete’ was filmed quasi-guerilla style in Soho, and at one stage, ‘Weekend’ was going to be set in South London (‘I wanted that to be a tower block too – there was one near Clapham Junction – but we couldn’t get the money in London,’ he explains). It was, however, his first time experiencing that old staple of romcoms, thrillers and action movies: a scene on London Underground. ‘I wanted to use the Central Line, because it has the right glass [for the reflection shots] but there’s loads of people on it all the time, so we did it on the Waterloo and City Line,’ he says of the scene in which Adam travels across the city. ‘It’s closed on Sundays, so we filmed then. The track is so bumpy to film on that by the end of the day, everyone was feeling sick.’

While he has nothing planned yet, it’ll take more than a spot of motion sickness and a few other logistical trials to stop Haigh returning to London for a future project. ‘It’s expensive to shoot in and it’s complicated and there’s no fucking parking anywhere,’ he says, ‘but I love London so I'm sure I'll film here again.’'

[skeetzupdates]

Bobby Skeetz on stage tonight at Wythenshawe Park!

📸 mescalisms via Twitter

[redcreekfm]

mw fcs?

          𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄 ! we prepared this in advance , and since the list is rather long , i'll leave it under the cut for you anon ! here are our most wanted fcs , in no particular order , semi sorted by age :

MWM 21+

mason gooding , charles melton , thomas weatherall , taylor zakhar perez , harris dickinson , avan jogia , damian hardung , archie renaux , alex fitzalan , lorenzo zurzolo , daniel ezra , drew starkey , jacob elordi , cha eunwoo , kim seok-woo , rudy pankow , damson idris , keith powers , kim minkyu , woo dohwan , sean teale , fabien frankel , antonio cipriano ,  jeong yunho , jacob anderson , callum turner , bill skarsgard , win metawin , danny ramirez , clinton liberty , xolo maridueña , jonhatan daviss , michael evans behling , nam joohyuk , cody christian , felix mallard , charlie  plummer , luke pasqualino , paul mescal , bright vachirawit , nick robinson , kubilay aka , evan mock , emilio sakraya , david iacono , broderick hunter , alp navruz , berk cancan , deniz can aktas , mert ramazan demir , byeon woo seok , kento yamazaki , kim jiwoong , d'pharaoh woon-a-tai , owen teague , noah lalonde , assad zaman , toby wallace , richard harmon , lakeith stanfield , song kang , dev patel , dominic fike , enzo vogrincic , park solomon , apo nattawin , joe keery , kiowa gordon , aaron piper , kofi siriboe , raymond ablack , kim min-jae , froy gutierrez , john boyega , jeremy allen white , logan lerman , jung jaehyun , matthew broome , tom blythe , mackenyu , michael  cimino .

MWF 21+

julia dalavia , ayo edebiri , jenna ortega , quannah chasinghorse , zion moreno , benedetta porcaroli , kitty chicha , taylor russell , giovana cordeiro , rabia soytürk ,  khadijha red thunder , moon gayoung , go minshi , davika hoorne , alice pagani , maris racal , kawennáhere devery jacobs , aubri ibrag , anya chalotra , sophie thatcher , ashley liao , nicole wallace , chase sui wonders , park sooyoung , ashley moore , jung hoyeon , melissa barrera , zendaya , jessica alexander , hunter schafer , mikey madison , madelyn cline , savannah lee smith , yang hyeji , ellie bamber , lizeth selene , yara shahidi , diana silvers , jung somin , samantha logan , margaret qualley , bahar sahin , aslihan malbora , halston sage , choi heejin , jasmin savoy brown , alva bratt , olivia holt , ayca aysin turan , melisa asli pamuk , odessa young , silan turkoglu , sobhita dhulipala , simay barlas , brianne tju , greta onieogou , bae ganghee , özge yağız , han sohee , jeon jong seo , yandah sallah , cierra ramirez , elle fanning , havannah rose liu , jennie kim , lola tung , madison bailey , maia refico , lily-rose depp , jane de leon , alisha boe , india eisley , ella purnell , milena tscharntke , daisy edgar jones , seychelle gabriel , laura harrier , grace van dien , sadie sink , kathryn bernardo , victoria pedretti , courtney eaton , maya hawke , emily rudd , kristine froseth , simone ashley , christian serratos , bruna marquezine , sadie soverall , krystal jung , laura kariuki , katherine mcnamara , adria arjona , eva de dominci , megan suri , niamh mccormack , anna sawai , pinar deniz , zorzo natharuetai , anya taylor joy , sarah gustafsson , seo yeji , antoinette robertson , derya pinar ak , celeste o'connor , amber midthunder , sofia carson , lovie simone , sasha calle , im jinah , adeline rudolph , ryan destiny , kim yerim , sasha luss , yaya urassaya , nana komatsu , neslihan atagül , paulina singer , ju jingyi , sasha lane , valentina zenere , camila mendes , amita suman , keke palmer , olivia cooke , isabela merced , gigi zumbado , frida gustavsson , samara weaving .

MWM 35+

oliver jackson-cohen , serkan çayoğlu , boyd holbrook , manny jacinto , santiago cabrera , kyle gallner , kim jihoon , oscar isaac , kivanc tatlitug , tom ellis , max riemelt , seo in guk , garrett hedlund , daniel sharman , ben barnes , lee je hoon , theo james , robert pattinson , gong yoo , lee pace , max irons , rahul kohli , shiloh fernandez , collin o’donoghue , daniel henney , tom hardy , sebastian stan , regé-jean page , nick sagar , michael b jordan , dan stevens .

MWF 35+

angela sarafyan , sophie cookson , ni ni , deniz baysal , katie mcgrath , keira knightley , lily gladstone , hazal filiz küçükköse , sonoya mizuno , rebecca ferguson , deborah ann woll , ming xi , lee dahee , nathalie emmanuel , ana de armas , angelina jolie , lupita nyong'o , anne hathaway , lea seydoux , yoghurt  nattasha .

MWM 50+

mads mikkelsen , colman domingo , timothy olyphant , idris elba , mahershala ali

MWF 50+

melissa mcbride , mädchen amick , rachel weisz , courtney cox , michelle yeoh

[thealogie]

One of my coworkers knows a bartender who says he’s talked to people who’ve met Paul Mescal. Which is a looong walk and I wouldn’t put much weight on anything relayed over that distance, but my coworker specifically brought this up as how she heard about Mescal running away from women in parks. She clearly found this very offputting, which is totally valid, so I didn’t make a joke out of it. But I did have to hold myself back from going. Okay yes. But it is also. Pretty funny.

Right like. We don’t have a single person who says this actually happened (it’s always a friend of a friend of a friend). But I want to live in a world where it’s true because like yes…it’s so shitty but in such a silly superficial way. If a guy took me for a walk in the park and then mid-conversation just bolted out of there….like???I wouldn’t be traumatized I’d be laughing I’d be doing stand-up about it I would be on Graham Norton. If those women had that happen to them and aren’t doing this? Skill issue

[agendaculturaldelima]

#ProyeccionDeVida

🎬 “ATARDECER” [Aftersun]

🔎 Género: Drama / Años 90 / Adolescencia / Drama Psicológico

⌛️ Duración: 98 minutos

✍️ Guión: Charlotte Wells

🎼 Música: Oliver Coates

📷 Fotografía: Gregory Oke

🗯 Argumento: Sophie (Francesca Corio / Celia Rowlson-Hall como la Sophie adulta) reflexiona sobre la alegría compartida y la melancolía privada de unas vacaciones que hizo con su padre (Paul Mescal) 20 años atrás. Los recuerdos reales e imaginarios llenan los espacios entre las imágenes mientras intenta reconciliar al padre que conoció con el hombre que no conoció.

👥 Reparto: Paul Mescal (Calum), Frankie Corio (Ocean Park Father), Celia Rowlson-Hall (Sophie), Spike Fearn (Olly), Kieran Burton, Sarah Makharine, Kayleigh Coleman (Jane) y Brooklyn Toulson (Michael).

📢 Dirección: Charlotte Wells

© Productoras BBC Film, Creative Scotland, AZ Celtic Films, PASTEL, Unified Theory & BFI Films

👤 Productor: Barry Jenkins

📼 Distribuidora: A24

🌎 Países: Reino Unido-Estados Unidos

📅 Año: 2022

📽 PROYECCIÓN:

📆 Jueves 10 de Octubre

🕗 8:00pm.

🎦 Cine Caleta (calle Aurelio de Souza 225 - Barranco)

🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Ingreso libre

🙂 A tener en cuenta: Prohibido el ingreso de bebidas y comidas. 🌳💚🌻🌛

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Ok just found out Joe Alwyn was in a group chat called the tortured man club with Paul mescal so with that context, her album name became slightly funnier

Lool, that makes all of them sound like total losers 🤣

What is Paul Mescal feeling tortured for as a man? Feeling not so good after leaving his hookups in the park while he makes a run for it?

Love it though