#Steven Salerno

[stevensalerno]

5 new MADELINE picture books & board books

Back in 2020 I signed the contract with publisher Viking (Penguin Random House) to engage in a very interesting picture book project -to illustrate a series of 5 new mini picture books & board books featuring one of the most well known and beloved characters in all of picture book history, MADELINE. Yes that Madeline! The classic 1939 picture book (and still a best seller today) with the famous opening line: “In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.” (The brave, charming little girl in the yellow hat living in an old Paris boarding school along with eleven other girls, and always under the watchful eye of the towering Miss Clavel.

Read more detail about my involvement with this special MADELINE project.

For these new titles I created all the illustrations in the style of the famed originator of the Madeline character, author/artist Ludwig Bemelmans. All 5 of these new MADELINE titles are written by John Bemelmans Marciano, the grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans.

The first four titles in this new MADELINE series have already been completed, published, and released… And the 5th and final title, MADELINE Says Be Kind, was delayed considerably due to the story manuscript not being finalized on schedule, and was not in my hands until Spring 2024. Update: I just recently completed all the final illustrations for this 5th book, and it’s being released by the publisher in Spring 2025.

FYI: For those who don’t know Ludwig Bemelmans (born 1898 - died 1962), he was a well established illustrator/travel writer who had already penned & illustrated a number of picture books for children when in 1939 his little gem of a picture book entitled, MADELINE was first released. It grew into a hit, striking a popular note with both children and adults and over the years became one of the most loved and memorable characters in children’s picture book history. The first Madeline picture book in 1939 was followed by four more Madeline titles before Bemelmans’ death in 1962, then with a sixth title released posthumously.

These MADELINE books were released in the following order:

(1) Love from Madeline -released April 2022

(2) Madeline’s ABCs -released June 2022

(3) Madeline’s 123s -released Nov 2022

(4) Madeline’s SEASONS -released Spring 2023

(5) Madeline Says Be Kind -to be released Spring 2025

[queer-book-society]

do you know any lgbtq+ children books?

Absolutely :) 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Title: All Bodies Are Cool

Author(s): Tyler Feder

Description: This picture book is a pure celebration of all the different human bodies that exist in the world. Highlighting the various skin tones, body shapes, and hair types is just the beginning in this truly inclusive book. With its joyful illustrations and encouraging refrain, it will instill body acceptance and confidence in the youngest of readers. “My body, your body, every different kind of body! All of them are good bodies! BODIES ARE COOL!”

Title: A Family Is a Family Is a Family

Author(s): Sara O'Leary, Qin Leng (Artist)

Description: When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways — but the same in the one way that matters most of all. One child is worried that her family is just too different to explain, but listens as her classmates talk about what makes their families special. One is raised by a grandmother, and another has two dads. One is full of stepsiblings, and another has a new baby. As one by one, her classmates describe who they live with and who loves them — family of every shape, size and every kind of relation — the child realizes that as long as her family is full of caring people, her family is special.

Title: When Aidan Became A Brother

Author(s): Kyle Lukoff, Kaylani Juanita (Artist)

Description: When Aidan was born, everyone thought he was a girl. His parents gave him a pretty name, his room looked like a girl's room, and he wore clothes that other girls liked wearing. After he realized he was a trans boy, Aidan and his parents fixed the parts of life that didn't fit anymore, and he settled happily into his new life. Then Mom and Dad announce that they're going to have another baby, and Aidan wants to do everything he can to make things right for his new sibling from the beginning--from choosing the perfect name to creating a beautiful room to picking out the cutest onesie. But what does "making things right" actually mean? And what happens if he messes up? With a little help, Aidan comes to understand that mistakes can be fixed with honesty and communication, and that he already knows the most important thing about being a big brother: how to love with his whole self.

Title: My Maddy

Author(s): Gayle E. Pitman, Violet Tobacco (Artist)

Description: A child celebrates her Maddy, who is neither mommy nor daddy but a little bit of both, like so many things in nature. Includes note to parents.

Title: This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us

Author(s): Eric Bell, Ashley Herring Blake, Lisa Jenn Bigelow, Lisa Bunker, Alex Gino, Justina Ireland, Shing Yin Khor, Mariama J. Lockington, Marieke Nijkamp, Claribel A. Ortega, Mark Oshiro, Molly Knox Ostertag, Aida Salazar, A.J. Sass, Katherine Locke (Editor), Nicole Melleby (Editor)

Description: A boyband fandom becomes a conduit to coming out. A former bully becomes a first-kiss prospect. One nonbinary kid searches for an inclusive athletic community after quitting gymnastics. Another nonbinary kid, who happens to be a pirate, makes a wish that comes true--but not how they thought it would. A tween girl navigates a crush on her friend's mom. A young witch turns herself into a puppy to win over a new neighbor. A trans girl empowers her online bestie to come out.

Title: Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag

Author(s): Rob Sanders, Steven Salerno (Artist)

Description: In this deeply moving and empowering true story, young readers will trace the life of the Gay Pride Flag, from its beginnings in 1978 with social activist Harvey Milk and designer Gilbert Baker to its spanning of the globe and its role in today’s world. Award-winning author Rob Sanders’s stirring text, and acclaimed illustrator Steven Salerno’s evocative images, combine to tell this remarkable—and undertold—story. A story of love, hope, equality, and pride.

Title: Jack (Not Jackie)

Author(s): Erica Silverman, Holly Hatam (Artist)

Description: Susan thinks her little sister Jackie has the best giggle! She can't wait for Jackie to get older so they can do all sorts of things like play forest fairies and be explorers together. But as Jackie grows, she doesn't want to play those games. She wants to play with mud and be a super bug! Jackie also doesn't like dresses or her long hair, and she would rather be called Jack.

Title: I Am Jazz

Author(s): Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings, Shelagh McNicholas (Artist)

Description: From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boys' clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way.

Title: Rebel Girls Celebrate Pride: 25 Tales of Self-Love and Community

Author(s): Rebel Girls, Elena Favilli (Forward)

Description: This collection features 25 inspiring tales of proud members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Read about how these women, girls, and nonbinary people broke down barriers, honored their identities, and lived authentically no matter what anyone else said.

Title: The Mother of a Movement: Jeanne Manford -- Ally, Activist, and Co-Founder of PFLAG

Author(s): Rob Sanders, Sam Kalda (Artist)

Description: The Mother of a Movement tells the story of Jeanne Manford, the founder of PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). When her son Morty was beaten by New York City officials for handing out pro-gay leaflets, Manford wrote a powerful letter to the New York Post to complain about how Morty was treated. In the letter she came out as the mother of a gay son. The letter was published. Morty invited his mother to march with him in the June 1972 Christopher Street Parade. While marching, she had the idea to form a group to help parents and families of LGBTQ+ people. That was the beginning of PFLAG.

[byneddiedingo]

Enrique Irazoqui in The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964)

Cast: Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, Susanna Pasolini, Marcello Morante, Mario Socrate, Settimio Di Porto, Alfonso Gatto, Luigi Barbini, Giacomo Morante, Giorgio Agamben, Guido Cerritane, Ferrucio Nuzzo, Otello Sestili, Alessandro Tasca. Screenplay: Pier Paolo Pasolini. Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli.  Production design: Luigi Scaccianoce. Film editing: Nino Baragli. Music: Luis Bacalov. 

Sandwiched between two epic Hollywood versions of the life of Jesus released in the 1960s -- King of Kings (Nicholas Ray, 1961) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (George Stevens, 1965) -- Pasolini's version looks like the most successful today. It is raw and unfiltered through Technicolor and wide-screen processes, unencumbered with movie stars. Its Jesus is not blue-eyed like Jeffrey Hunter or Max von Sydow, but a darkly handsome Spanish economics student named Enrique Irazoqui, who had never acted before. (His voice is dubbed by Enrico Maria Salerno, a professional actor who also dubbed Clint Eastwood's voice in the Italian releases of Sergio Leone's Westerns.) The film takes no liberties with the story as presented in the New Testament Gospel of St. Matthew, following it virtually to the letter. The dialogue in Pasolini's screenplay relies for the most part only on the words actually spoken in the gospel. In fact, those unfamiliar with the narrative presented there may sometimes find the film's story hard to follow. No elaborate sets were constructed: Pasolini filmed on locations in Calabria and Sicily and other parts of southern Italy, enlisting the locals as cast members and extras. Like Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), it is a film of faces, and seldom handsome ones -- with the exception of the delicately beautiful Margherita Caruso, who plays the young Mary. (The older Mary is played by Pasolini's mother, Susanna.) Irazoqui, with his unibrow, looks strikingly like a figure out of a Byzantine mosaic or a Russian icon. The cumulative effect of the film is plausibly much closer to the actual events than the more conventional dramatizations of them like the Hollywood epics. Pasolini was, of course, an unbeliever, a gay Marxist, and the film is more intellectual than spiritual. The Jesus of the film preaches love, but he can also be harsh and enigmatic, proclaiming that he comes to bring not peace but a sword and, in one of the oddest moments in the gospel, smiting a fig tree for some unspecified offense. There are moments when, by following the biblical narrative so closely, the film falls apart, as in the interpolation of the story of Salome (Paola Tedesco) and John the Baptist (Mario Socrate), and it's clear that, as he later admitted, Pasolini's heart is not in the depiction of such miracles as the loaves and fishes and Jesus's walking on water. The choice of music to accompany scenes is curiously eclectic, ranging from the obvious, Bach and Mozart, to the derivative, a bit of Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky score, to the startling, African-American spirituals. But even when Pasolini's film goes awry, it remains a fascinatingly personal response to the source material.

[rpmtrish]

NEOPMA/PMRA PRO MODIFIEDS READY FOR EMPIRE DRAGWAY SHOWDOWN THIS WEEKEND

LEICESTER, NEW YORK (June 17, 2024) – The Pro Modifieds of the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA) and Pro Modified Racing Association (PMRA) will return to Empire Dragway in Leicester, NY this weekend in the first of two scheduled weekend shows for 2024. Last year, Pro Modifieds from both series ran successfully on the New York state eighth-mile drag strip and this year’s event promises to provide more action and cars in this popular door-slammer class. "It is always a pleasure to return to Empire Dragway. The facility is first class and Jerry Scaccia, his family and officials go above and beyond to prepare an excellent racing surface," stated John Mazzorana of the NEOPMA. “We hope to have over 20 pro modified cars attending, breaking track records and giving fans one of the best shows ever. Empire Dragway is one of the best tracks in North America and combined with our two associations, it is the perfect formula for an amazing race.” Expected Pro Modifieds for this weekend’s show include James Beadling, Cedrick Beaulieu, Gary Courtier, Mike Decker Jr., Mike (Hollywood) Decker III, John Glekas/Pierre Chicoine Team, Paulo Giust, Jack Grainy, Andy Jensen, Kenny Lang, Louis Ouimette, Chris Russo, Melanie Salemi, Jay Santos, Mike Stawicki, Claude St. Maurice, Dave Texido, John Vergotz and Derek Ward. Along with a strong Pro Modified presence, the Quick 32 Sportsman Series and Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) will also compete at the Empire Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Challenge VI and VII on June 21- 22 and August 16-17, plus a standalone event on September 13-14, 2024. The Quick 32 Sportsman Series includes a Top Sportsman and Top Dragster qualified field of 32 teams and the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) is comprised of a qualified field of 16 quick motorcycles and snowmobiles. Quick 32 Sportsman Series entries include Tim Antinora, Brett Bennett, Jessica Bennett, Craig Chadderdon, Scott Church, Art Cioffi, Charlie Emler Jr., Buddy Forrest, Dan Germano, Andy Gregoire, Bob Jaus, Don Kiekel, Billy Leber, Doug Lynden, Tony Madonia, Gary O'Connell, Anthony Platania, Cody Reome, Mark Romanofsky, Tyler Rudolph, Tom Simone, Bill Stevens and Ron Szewczyk, who will do battle with Dave Burchell, Luke DeJonge, Jeff Gabel, Brooklyn Noakes, Phil Sampson, Kayden Wicke and Wilson & Grey, all of Ontario.  Included in the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) entries is Nicole Albin, Lee Burgess, Josh Costra, Ron Dean, Peter Edwards, Dick Nearhoof, Bill Pippard, Mike Puglia and Bob Salerno. Qualifying for all classes will be held Friday, June 21, at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm and Saturday, June 22, at noon, with eliminations starting at 2:00 pm Saturday. Empire Dragway will also offer a Box and No Box Eliminator program. Spectators can go to EmpireDragway.com for schedule, admission and camping details. Visit the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association at neoutlawpromods.com, the Pro Modified Racing Association at facebook.com/promodifiedracing, the Quick 32 Sportsman Series at facebook.com/quick32, the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) at facebook.com/probikeandsledseries and Empire Dragway at EmpireDragway.com for more information and event updates. For more information, please contact Bruce Mehlenbacher at Bruce@JAJentertainment.com   Read the full article

[denimbex1986]

'A formidable Andrew Scott brings to life the iconic character created by Patricia Highsmith: Time, Nature, and Evil according to Steven Zaillian, on Netflix

Thomas Ripley, a petty swindler, is tracked down by a private detective on behalf of the wealthy Herbert Greenleaf, who wants to use him to bring back his idle son, Richard “Dickie” Greenleaf, who has been living in Atrani (Salerno), Italy, with his girlfriend Marge for some time. In reality, Tom is not the close friend of Herbert’s son as Herbert believes: he met him only once at a party and barely knows him. However, the opportunity is unique: to fly to Italy, become Dickie’s best friend, take his place, and take over his belongings.

Thomas Ripley, the unsettling character created by Patricia Highsmith in 1955 and the protagonist of five novels by the American writer, can rightfully be considered one of the last literary archetypes of the modern era. From the first big-screen adaptation, the splendid Plein Soleil by René Clement starring Alain Delon, through films by Minghella and Cavani, adaptations of his criminal deeds on both the small and big screen are now numerous. Viewers now approach these adaptations in a philological manner, as one might go to the theater to see Hamlet: not just for the story, but for how it is staged. Central to the discussion, therefore, becomes the viewpoint of the adapter, his fidelity to Highsmith’s original text, and the liberties he has taken. This premise is necessary to understand a fundamental point: you will not find unanimous consensus for this monumental endeavor by director and screenwriter Steven Zaillian (Oscar winner for Schindler’s List in 1993: hardly a newcomer).

Minghella’s Matt Damon is still too fresh in the hearts of the nearly boomers, and even the diabolical John Malkovich by Liliana Cavani has his admirers. Likely, the black and white and the extremely calm pace will disorient many viewers who, after exhausting, hot days of work, tend to doze off on the couch after vainly hoping a thriller would keep them awake. Yet, detractors should not be offended; criticizing this Netflix series for its slowness means having understood very little of the entire operation (which does not necessarily have to be liked, that’s another matter).

Time, in its various facets, is the true protagonist of Zaillian’s Ripley. The year 1960, marked by a caption, seals an era that seems mythical—a version of Italy unknown to people in 2024, without traffic or cars, a primordial nature barely touched by sparse human presence (the outdoor cinematography by Robert Elswit is formidable). An Eden whose tranquility is disrupted by a dark drop of evil, that of Tom Ripley, who is not a son of this world and does not belong to it. Tom’s sole rooting in another world seems to deform the environment, turning it into an expressionist and livid set, or a sick fantasy of Escher. His struggle to take Dickie Greenleaf’s place is also an attempt to merge into a world that rejects his presence from the very first moment—consider the suspicious glances of the servants in Atrani, the bank men, the receptionists. It is even Nature itself that rebels against the infected germ of evil embodied by Tom, when he falls off a boat in Sanremo right after committing his crime, risking his life in turn.

The hieratic slowness of the narrative is even more eloquent in revealing Zaillian’s intentions: Time, in addition to being the protagonist, is Tom Ripley’s accomplice. Accustomed since CSI to ultra-sophisticated investigations supported by the most refined anti-crime technology, the incredible deception of Tom Ripley would have had a very hard time nowadays. But the 1960 of Steven Zaillian allows him to get away with it: the slowness belongs to a daily life different from ours, made of phones, letters, telegrams, very long train journeys to summon witnesses for questioning, investigations that are necessarily very slow, the impossibility of immediately refuting statements or versions of facts. Time Is On My Side, Tom Ripley might sing to the tune of the Rolling Stones, were he not a fan of Mina and Il cielo in una stanza.

Finally, the time of interminable seconds, of nothing happening, is what helps us closely see and desecrate any possible fascination with evil. Ripley will receive no ellipsis to hide a body killed in cold blood in his living room; he will have to wait hours and hours in front of it, waiting for night, to head out at night on the Appia Antica in Rome, and we with him. Taking on this criminal via Crucis, where a single mistake can indefinitely prolong the process, is the delicious torment through which the viewer’s emotional involvement passes, called, despite themselves, to share the frustration and discomfort.

Andrew Scott is formidable, and the latent homosexuality of his character mirrors that present in Highsmith’s novel. Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fanning also perform admirably, and like Scott, they speak excellent Italian, which was not a given. The Italian cast, directed by a foreign filmmaker, is always a bit over the top: Margherita Buy, perhaps, is not quite in her element, or maybe she has been playing the same role for years and this time something different was needed. Always emerging with credit is the inspector played by Maurizio Lombardi, who is truly convincing. All this is supported by a top-notch technical department, from the set designs and costumes to the music by Jeff Russo.

Praise goes to Steven Zaillian, who in an era of bite-sized, disposable series, takes the necessary time for a broad reflection, while at the same time offering us entertainment of cinematic quality. For those who might not appreciate it: tastes vary. And on the couch at home, one can always sleep away from prying eyes.'

[nerds-in-wonderland]

🌈✨📚Childrens Books Banned For Inclusivity📚✨🌈

PRIDE: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag

By: Rob Sanders and Steven Salerno

"In this deeply moving and empowering true story, young readers will trace the life of the Gay Pride Flag, from its beginnings in 1978 with social activist Harvey Milk and designer Gilbert Baker to its spanning of the globe and its role in today's world. Award-winning author Rob Sanders's stirring text, and acclaimed illustrator Steven Salerno's evocative images, combine to tell this remarkable - and undertold - story. A story of love, hope, equality, and pride."

~Alice 🌌

[fewbat]

The 3rd Annual Davey Awards - The Winners!

Hello and welcome to the big day, the day I announce the winners of the 3rd Annual Davey Awards for Film Excellence for 2022. It's been a long couple of weeks of deliberation and speculation and whatnot, so let's get into it. First, our previously announced award, the Davey Award for “Wow I hadn’t seen you on screen for a while and seeing you again made me feel kind of emotional.” The winners this year are of course, David Lynch for his role in The Fabelmans and Janet Fielding for her role in The Power of the Doctor. Now, on with the show.

The Davey for Best Supporting Actor goes to...

It's a tie! Can you believe it. I can't. The winners are Stephen Lang for Avatar: The Way of Water, Sigourney Weaver for Avatar: The Way of Water, Paul Dano for The Fabelmans, and Michelle Williams for The Fabelmans. Wow! They should swap roles next time they each do a movie. Paul Dano as Quaritch. Up next: The Davey for Best Animated Feature. The winner is.... Turning Red! Wow. What a year for animated pictures. The Davey for Best Production Design is awarded to Jess Gonchor, for White Noise! Likewise, the Davey for Best Costume Design goes to Ann Roth for White Noise! Wow! The Davey for Best Screenplay (Original) this year goes to Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner for The Fabelmans! The Davey for Best Screenplay (Adapted) goes to... Avatar: The Way of Water, written by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, Story by Cameron, Jaffa, Silver, Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. I see you! The Davey for Best VFX is likewise awarded to Avatar: The Way of Water! The Davey for Best Ensemble goes to....the team who brought us so many laughs, tears, and incredible moments of discomfort - Jackass Forever! The Davey for Best Original Score is this year awarded to...Tindersticks, for Stars at Noon! The Davey for Best Editing goes to...Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond, for their work on Elvis! Shake rattle AND roll. Now for the The Davey for Best Cinematography, which this year is awarded to...Hoyte van Hoytema, for Nope! The Davey for Best Actor. This year, as always, two performers were recognised for their incredible work. The winners are... for his stunning breakthrough role in The Fabelmans, Gabriel LaBelle, and for her incredible turn in Nope, Keke Palmer! For our penultimate award of the night, it's time for the Davey for Best Director. This year, the award goes to....Charlotte Wells, for her debut feature, Aftersun! And finally...the Davey for Best Picture. Joining Never Rarely Sometimes Always in the pantheon of Best Picture winners at the Daveys is.....Nope! Congrats to Nope. And that's it! See you again in 2024 for the next round of Daveys.

[novelistra]

NoveList's Juvenile Brain Trust is a group of readers' advisory librarians and metadata librarians who focus on books for kids and teens. Once a week, the JBT gets together to catch up and share new books. On 9/19/2018, we discussed:

The Voice, the Revolution, & the Key, Jenny L. Cote

Mustafa, Marie-Louise Gay

Spooked!, Gail Jarrow

Pass Go and Collect $200, Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Steven Salerno

Every Month is a New Year, Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Susan L. Roth

Have you read any of these books? What do you think of them?

For more recommendations (plus printables and readers’ advisory tips), subscribe to the NoveList Book Squad! It's free :)

[confessionsofabingefreak]

Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)

20th Century Fox

Impression: and the series goes back to cheesy and utterly predictable

Collection: no

Overall: ⭐️⭐️

Concept: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Story: ⭐️1/2

Storytelling: ⭐️⭐️

Characters: ⭐️⭐️

Casting: ⭐️⭐️1/2

Visually: ⭐️⭐️

Score/Soundtrack: ⭐️⭐️1/2

Entertainment: ⭐️1/2

Best: nothing stands out for me...

Worst: do we have that much time?

[carmenandcamila-blog]

BOOM! Big, Big Thunder and one Small Dog

What a fun read!

Story is about brave, little dog named Rosie, who isn’t afraid of anything but thunder.

We are dog lovers so we were especially fond of this story.

We will definitely keep this book in our list of library faves!

[stevensalerno]

TAX DAY tomorrow!

Posted here are a couple recent drawings I created reflecting on TAX DAY -the annual (and usually depressing) payment to a host of various taxes… Chin up!

[twopoppies]

Hey, this is a list of YouTubers who enjoy Harry’s and/or Louis’ music and are respectful to larries/do not mention them (as far as i know):

Steven In Stereo

Michael Beveraggi

Blake McLain

Anthony Aiken Junior

Caitlyn Marie Reacts

Fabrizio Salerno

Jacob Restituto

Sound Vapors

The Bascome Twins

ChaseNRio

Turning the Tables

Yam Haus

Derrik Rockne

P.s if there is anyone on this list that has been offensive or a bully towards larries, or used them for clout and then made fun of them after please feel free to mention them. Maybe we can start a tag #reaction channels ?

P.p.s excuse that they are not alphabetically ordered, its bugging me too but i couldn’t bother its 3am where i live

Hi darling, thank you so much for this! I'm only familiar with the first 4 plus Turning The Tables (although their wonderful Harry's House reaction video got taken down 😠). I'm looking forward to checking the others out!

[abs0luteb4stard]

WATCHING

For a movie with Actors from across “24”, “Rescue Me”, “Sons of Anarchy” and “True Blood” you’d think the movie would be pretty good, right? The acting was fine considering… But the writing sucked ass it was almost like a trope-y slasher horror movie where any time a female character removes her shirt someone dies. And this writer is going to be in the team that writes James Cameron’s Avatar 2-5? Oh god help us. The Directing duo of brothers who directed this only made the movie Skyline after this so they’re pretty much done or something. This movie was a major Fuck up. AVP was okay. I’m not a huge fan of cross-franchise ‘VS movies’. Even Freddy VS Jason was “meh”. Steven Pasquale as Dallas (Rescue Me; Sean Garrity) Reiko Aylesworth as Kelly (24; Michelle Dessler) Johnny Lewis as Ricky (Sons of Anarchy; Half-Sack) Sam Trammell as Tim [is killed buy a Xenomorph within the halfway point of the film] (True Blood; Sam Merlotte) ALSO how the fuck did Japan get such an awesomely designed poster for this shitty movie and the US and English countries got the one that looks a 12 year old made it in MS Paint?

[rpmtrish]

STELLAR FIELD OF COMPETITORS EXPECTED TO COMPETE THIS WEEKEND AT EMPIRE DRAGWAY

LEICESTER, NEW YORK (June 3, 2024) – With only a few days left before the kickoff race at Empire Dragway this weekend for the Series, Director Bruce Mehlenbacher is very pleased with the expected Quick 32 Sportsman Series and Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) entries that are scheduled to participate at the northern New York State facility in Leicester, NY. The Quick 32 Sportsman Series and Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) will compete at the eighth-mile track on June 7-8, 2024 and September 13-14, 2024. The PMRA/NEOPMA Pro Modifieds will compete with the Quick 32 Sportsman Series and Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) on June 21-22, 2024 and August 16-17, 2024. The Quick 32 Sportsman Series is comprised of Top Sportsman, or “door” cars (full-bodied, full-fendered cars) and Top Dragsters. The series will be divided among Top Dragster and Top Sportsman cars. Some of the entries include New Yorkers Tim Antinora, Brett Bennett, Jessica Bennett, Craig Chadderdon, Scott Church, Art Cioffi, Charlie Emler Jr., Buddy Forrest, Dan Germano, Andy Gregoire, Jennifer Guenther, Doug Lynden, Ed McGuinn, Gary O'Connell, Anthony Platania, Cody Reome, Tyler Rudolph, Tom Simone and Bill Stevens, who will do battle with Jeff Gabel, Brooklyn Noakes and Kayden Wicke, all of Ontario. The Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) is comprised of a qualified field of 16 quick motorcycles and snowmobiles and presents the best in E.T. style, dialled-in drag racing.   A partial list of entries is Nicole Albin, Lee Burgess, Josh Costra, Ron Dean, Peter Edwards, Dick Nearhoof, Mike Nearhoof, Bill Pippard, Mike Puglia and Bob Salerno. “We have a great lineup of teams,” added Mehlenbacher, who has worked with Jerry Scaccia, his family and his team in the past and all are instrumental in putting together this show. “With the large number of teams in the Northeast U.S. and Canada, fans will see a great race.” Qualifying will be held Friday at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm and Saturday at 10:00 am and 12:00 pm, with eliminations starting at 2:00 pm Saturday. Visit the Quick 32 Sportsman Series at https://www.facebook.com/quick32, the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) at https://www.facebook.com/probikeandsledseries/ and the Empire Dragway at EmpireDragway.com for more information and event updates. Read the full article

[denimbex1986]

'Ripley is the story of a con man who assumes the identity of a wealthy American expat. But, as star Andrew Scott told Netflix, it’s also “a story about art and beauty and sensuality… helped by the great beauty of Italy.”

Based on the 1955 Patricia Highsmith novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, the limited series follows charming con artist Tom Ripley (Scott) on a trip to Italy in the 1960s bankrolled by a shipping magnate to retrieve his wayward son, Richard “Dickie” Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn). Tom ingratiates himself into Dickie’s life — much to the chagrin of Dickie’s suspicious girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (Dakota Fanning) — and soon is on the run from police while posing as Dickie in Rome.

Creator Steven Zaillian’s team of talented artists — production designer David Gropman, director of photography Robert Elswit, and costume designers Maurizio Millenotti and Giovanni Casalnuovo — meticulously re-created a 1960s aesthetic. Below, find out how they fashioned such a stunning period setting in Ripley.

THE LOCATIONS

Ripley’s filming locations read like a dream vacation: Venice, Rome, Naples, Palermo. Zaillian and Gropman drove the length of the Amalfi Coast, going from Salerno to Sorrento, “looking for the town we imagined Dickie Greenleaf settled in,” Zaillian told Netflix. “Most have been too modernized or gentrified for a story taking place in 1960, but there was one we came upon, a village of about 800 people called Atrani, that we found perfect.”

When the series finally filmed in 2021, it was the height of the Covid pandemic, so “there were no tourists,” said Zaillian, “which made it feel all the more like we’d gone back in time.”

Beyond the postcard-perfect vistas provided by the location, Gropman had more than 200 sets and locations to design. His researchers worked in New York, London, and Italy to make sure the plans were as accurate as possible. While Gropman and Zaillian visited several Roman apartments, the one used in the show was a set. But those real estate tours were inspirational.

“The sofa in Tom’s Rome apartment was the sofa that we saw in a villa in Rome that we both fell in love with, so we just built an exact replica,” Gropman told Netflix. “The leather chair that Ravini sits in in Tom’s apartment? I was walking by a shoe store in Rome, and there was this beautiful old leather chair. We couldn’t get that chair, but we worked with the most wonderful Italian decorator to source something. She made all of these interiors come to life in a really spectacular way.” THE STYLE

Unsurprisingly, the costumes were as meticulously researched as the locations. Designers Millenotti and Casalnuovo created “thick binders” of images, arranged by region and year, to show Zaillian their vision of what the costumes would look like. The finished products included vintage pieces as well as outfits they crafted themselves. “From the feel of La Dolce Vita in Rome to a more working-class wardrobe in Palermo or Atrani, it’s always accurate,” said Zaillian. “And even though it was always the intention for Ripley to be in black-and-white, I asked them to clothe no one in colors, which limited them in a way that made their job even harder than it already was.”

Millenotti and Casalnuovo initially worried about the black-and-white restriction, but once they got comfortable, they told Netflix, “[We] learned how to express ourselves and build the characters only with a thousand shades of gray. It was the greatest challenge we ever faced as costume designers.”

The quiet luxury of Dickie Greenleaf

The object of Tom’s admiration, Dickie, is the heir to a shipping fortune — someone who grew up around wealth. For him, luxurious fabric and timeless style is second nature. For Flynn, the “beautifully tailored” costumes helped him get into character. “The way that the trousers sit on your waist and everything like that helps when you’re playing in this period — the grace that the clothes allow you,” he told Netflix.

Tom’s style evolution

Tom, on the other hand, is quite uncomfortable in the moneyed world he steps into, because he’s only crafting a facade. He’s a quick study, but he gets plenty of things wrong, too, like the purple paisley robe he brings to Dickie from New York. “Tom doesn’t come from the culture that Dickie comes from,” Flynn tells Tudum. “Dickie can spot something that’s unfashionable a mile off. And his taste — not necessarily in terms of his own paintings, but everything else — is meticulous.”

Was the robe really so terrible, though? “It was pretty garish,” says Flynn. “But it wasn’t that bad. It was something that your grandfather would’ve worn maybe — or certainly mine — and felt very suave.”

But as Tom becomes more comfortable amid such affluence, he begins to understand how fashion helps him fit in. “Ripley’s transformation is about seeing a subtle change but not being too brash about it,” said Scott. “We see there are different Toms: We’ve got New York Tom, Amalfi Tom, Tom as Dickie, and Venice Tom.”

1960s DESIGN

Tom is fixated on Dickie, and that singular focus extends to the objects in Dickie’s orbit, all of which are in 1960s midcentury style. Tom pockets a pen off of Dickie’s desk before returning it, a sign of what Scott calls Tom’s “almost sensual relationship with things.”

All of those meticulously curated objects — Dickie’s ring, his typewriter, even a hefty glass ashtray — become fixations for the camera, too. Scott said on Netflix’s Skip Intro podcast that Tom “loves [things], and you feel like he protects them. The camera is trained on these things so much. I suppose we as an audience are invited to just really appreciate them.”

THE ART

Life imitating art

The final episode opens with a flashback of sorts, but not to another period in Tom’s life. Instead, we travel 350 years back in time for a glimpse at the life of famed Italian painter Caravaggio. Tom is enamored by Caravaggio’s gruesome, dramatic paintings, but the two men have more in common than an appreciation for beauty and art.

“Caravaggio is another man who lived in Rome who murdered somebody and then was on the run for it for the rest of his life,” Zaillian tells Tudum. “That little parallel I thought was interesting. For the final episode, I thought it would be a lot of fun to suddenly flash back 350 years and have people say, ‘Are we watching the same show?’ And then realize, ‘Oh, yes, Caravaggio. I understand this.’ ”

Art as status symbol

For all of Dickie’s wealth, there’s one thing his money can’t buy: talent. While Dickie might enjoy the finer things in life, his artistic pursuits are a vanity project. “There’s some stuff that’s passable in the landscapes,” says Flynn, “but we all found it very funny that it was [mostly] the really objectively bad paintings that you see.”

Is Dickie a good painter? Emphatically, no. “Here’s the thing: The story is so much from Tom’s perspective, you should be in his head going, ‘Oh my God, that’s disgusting,’ ” says Flynn. “And the same with Marge’s writing as well. I think it works well if we, through Tom’s perspective, think of these people as fooling themselves and that their whole life is a bit of a bubble and an illusion and the lie that they’ve created about being these artists in exile. Yeah, the paintings were pretty bad!”

BLACK AND WHITE AND SHADES OF GRAY

One of the most distinctive — and perhaps most period-appropriate — aspects of Ripley is its black-and-white palette, something Zaillian had planned from the beginning.

“I never saw it as some sunny, colorful postcard of a story but rather as the foreboding suspense story that it is,” he told Netflix. “It takes place in the winter of 1960 and, like many of Highsmith’s stories, has a film noir quality to it. Black-and-white can be striking in a way color can’t be, and I’m grateful Netflix agreed.”

A frame within a frame

Zaillian and Elswit had worked together on the miniseries The Night Of, so Zaillian knew his director of photography would be up for the challenge. “He loved the idea of shooting in black-and-white and brought to that seemingly simpler palette a depth to the photography that’s more evocative than color,” Zaillian said.

Another of Elswit’s choices brought even more depth to the visuals — the shots that frame Tom within another frame, including windowpanes, mirrors, doorways, and other enclosed perspectives. They suggest that, as viewers, we’re watching Tom fit himself into a box.

The deeper meanings found within Tom Ripley’s story are also imbued in the cinematography. “This show is so much about light and dark and contrasts and the underbelly and what’s going on under the surface,” said Fanning. “I love that Steven and Robert are really playing with that through the lighting and the sets, and the color palette and the tone.”

Take, for example, the closing montage that focuses on a painting from Picasso’s cubist period. “Cubism is all about deconstructing usually a human figure into parts, so that we can somehow see them more clearly when we’re not distracted by them all being in the right place,” Zaillian tells Tudum. “I felt like at the end, to see these pieces of Tom, these different personas of Tom, these different identities that he assumed, that we were actually seeing him fragmented like the cubist painting that’s right in front of him.”'