#Ted Malawer

[honey-bri-books]

Thinking of Mom's reaction, when she finds out.

Thinking of Zahra's reaction, when she finds out.

[waterloo-carte]

I just think that red, white and royal blue could easily turn into a series, at least a series of books, and, I do not say that even because of the boys themselves (of course the novel gives a greater tension) and, yes, the history of the book. The geopolitical history and direction that the English monarchy will take having a prince declared gay, dear ones, this is incredibly fertile for various directions.

Okay, I’m not a writer, but it’s not possible that only I can think about it.

[idealuk]

A truly belaboured observational post about Red, White, And Royal Blue.

(Reposted with out ironic typos)

Do you know what I love about the differences between the book and the movie? The fact that Alex and Henry fucked in the book and dated in the movie. Now, don't get me wrong, they fall in love equally in both and have sex in both. What I mean to say is (pun unintentional) the novel uses sexual experiences to mark milestones in the deepening of their feelings for each other whereas the film implements relationship experiences to mark those same milestones. I just think that goes to show how brilliant Casey, Matthew, Ted, Taylor, and Nick all are at what they respectively do to highlight that distinction considering the constraints of a film's runtime limits vs. the imaginative freedom of writing your own novel.

I've been trying to put this in to words for months.

[babygalitzine]

Guys, have you noticed the security guard who is always standing guard in front of the door, when Alex enters his mother's room? In my head, it's most likely the representation of Cash 🤭.

[neverwritewhatyouknow]

Fuck it, here’s a post about Ted Malawer.

Playwrite, trained opera singer, literary agent, and co-writer for RWRB.

I knew nothing about him prior to about fifteen minutes ago.

He wrote one play called Daddy Issues: a gay romp through history starring Adolf Hitler!

The synopsis: Von Blergh is an aspiring Jewish artist in New Rochelle. Adolf Hitler is an aspiring artist in Germany. As they mature, their lives intertwine in ways neither of them thought possible, leading to the discovery of love, the pursuit of passion, and their own coming-of-age and ultimate destruction. A fast-paced, dark comedy set against a historical re-imagining of the early-to-mid twentieth century.

The reviews say it’s a lot of fun.

Now, when I think Hitler, I don’t think “lots of fun.” Call my opinion unpopular, I guess. And I’m not immune to comedy, The Producers had an entire thing about a Hitler musical (Springtime for Hitler, anyone?), but that was the joke. The Producers made fun of people making Hitler shows because it’s weird, it’ll make money, but it’s weird and harmful. Ted’s play is tagged as being a satire… but that doesn’t matter, it’s still a play about Hitler finding love and then starting the Holocaust over a breakup. Ted said, let’s downplay the entirety of a genocide that killed 6million people, because I can make it gay and funny.

Anyway so Ted made gay Hitler fanfiction. It starred Robin De Jesús, who I personally really love and have seen basically every film he’s in, but uh, were there no gay Jewish actors in New York who wanted to play Hitler’s love interest? Hmm… wonder why.

Next!

Ted wrote a little thing and described the Jewish character as the following: “He is neurotic and hungry — in other words, Jewish.”

Ah, yes, the classic “Jews are neurotic” thing haha. While you’re at it, why don’t you make a joke about women staying in the kitchen and someone taking your wife. Calling Jews neurotic is dead. It’s a dead joke. It’s dumb, it’s untrue, and it’s old. It’s a stupid, stupid stereotype joke that has become literally the biggest way Jews can be presented in media.

He then uses the whole “First they came” poem(?) as the basis of the opening, but changes all the words. First They Came is a WW2 writing about how they come for the groups you’re not and if you don’t speak out, by the time they get to you, there’s no one there to help you. It’s powerful. Anyway, he says “they came for the Jews but I didn’t speak out because I had a nose job, a good one, so I could pass.”

Ah, yes, Jews have big noses, but once you get yours ripped off you can hide your Jewishness and no one ever has to know you were a Jew. Isn’t it so great to pass? What the fuck, Ted. Come on, man.

More, the character refers to himself as Anne Frank on PrEp.

Says that he would rather be buried in a Jewish cemetery than get a tattoo. In some places you can’t be buried if you have a tattoo since it’s technically against religion rules, but that’s pretty relaxed nowadays from what I’ve seen. Like, pretty sure only the really religiously places might reject someone on tattoo basis. It was in the context of saying that the main character made a group of friends, but they dropped him when he wouldn’t get a tattoo, because he’d rather be buried in his family plot. So basically saying that by picking his religion, he loses all his friends. Basically Ted is saying that if you pick being overtly Jewish over fitting in, you lose out.

But then it talks about, of course, the overbearing mom wanting her son to be a doctor and never leave home. Because of course all Jewish moms are overbearing and want a doctor in the family. I’m literally so over these stereotypes.

Mention about temple membership being expensive. That made me laugh, because it is kinda expensive. Butttttt also, you don’t have to pay for weekly services. Those are free. You can join a temple and pay, you get better high holy day tickets that way, your kids can go to Hebrew school, etc, but the majority of temples just let you walk in. Because we’re not, like, a money making organization. But obviously Ted had to make sure the audience knew that Jews have a whole money thing going, so he made sure to talk about how expensive going to temple is. Tell us more how you feel there, Teddy!

Talk about low self-esteem and a bad stomach.

I think Ted has low self-esteem and takes it out on himself by writing some…interesting…stuff.

Ha ha ha another classic Jew™️ moment. A bad tummy. 1. There are genetic things (I’m not a doctor don’t ask me) that make Ashkenazic Jews more prone to gastrointestinal problems, but NOT everyone!!! 2. I repeat not. Every. Jew. Has. Stomach. Trouble!!!!!!!!! Every race/ethnicity/group of people has shared genetic markers, that’s how DNA works, and different races have different issues. But, god, it’s so damn annoying for this to be what Jews are known for. I swear to god I’ve had people ask me if I should be eating something because I’m Jewish, like, what the fuck? Anyway, Ted thinks Jews are only a collection of stereotypes.

Hasidic drag queen named Torah Portion murdered someone. First off, lazy name. You can do better than that. There’s like a bunch online. Regardless. Torah Portion is a terrible drag queen name. And is more telling that Ted is saying that the Torah killed someone. We’re seeing his inner thoughts here for sure. This is a man who does not like his Jewish religion or being seen as visibly Jewish. Plus, Hasidic being specified really shows what he thinks of the other branches of Judaism.

Lastly, the Jewish character says he’s done a lot of mitzvahs, like selling a blind girl to the zoo.

Because Jews love money and are awful people haha, right Ted?

So what’s the point of this post, I’m sure you’re asking. It’s to show that self-hatred is big in the Jewish community. It’s the whole “I’ll punch myself so you don’t have to” thing. It’s why there’s so many Jewish comedians. We can make fun of ourselves so you don’t. It’s a survival thing. But, there becomes a time when it stops being for survival or for comedy, and it becomes believed by society and by that Jew themself. Ted wrote these things because it’s what’s expected of a Jewish character. To be full of stereotypes. He wrote a gay Hitler play, I don’t even have any idea where to go with that. So, it’s easy to see that Ted is someone who is embarrassed by who he is, and hides that in self-deprecation on stage. It’s literally the self-hating Jew trope that some Jews use to pretend that they’re not different, they’re not like those other Jews, they’re cool Jews. Well, Ted, imho you just seem kinda like you hate that you were born Jewish and, like, kinda gross with your Hitler fanfic

When RWRB erased their only Jewish character for the screen, was it Ted saying to do so? Because I don’t want a man who thinks exploring a Hitler romance is funny or saying that a nose job means a Jew isn’t really a Jew anymore because they can pass, making the calls for which Jews get to exist and which don’t. Like, Jews are so little good representation, and based on Ted’s past stuff and the fact that RWRB literally erased their Jewish character, it really looks like the brain trust there (Matthew, Casey, Ted) don’t think Jews are worthy of anything better. That Nora couldn’t possibly be Jewish onscreen, because she’s not riddled with stereotypes (I mean… not any more than usual and easily changed), instead she was a strong character first and Jewish second. Which, to Matt, CMQ, and Ted, I guess they don’t think a Jew can be that

So, Ted, what the actual fuck?

[genevieveetguy]

. Please be patient with me, and I promise I will try and be brave for us. Because when they write the history of my life, I want it to include you and my love for you.

Red, White & Royal Blue, Matthew López (2023)

[rwrbmovie]

Red, White, and Royal Blue has been nominated for 4 awards at the Astra Awards, presented by the Hollywood Creative Alliance.

Best TV Movie

Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie, Nicholas Galitzine

Best Directing in a Limited Series or TV Movie, Matthew López

Best Writing in a Limited Series or TV Movie, Matthew López and Ted Malawer

The 2024 Astra TV Awards will be a two-ceremony event on Sunday, August 18, 2024, in Los Angeles.

[screenwrite]

You thought I was going to tell you a story about a guy who's ruined men for me forever?

— RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE (2023) screenplay by Matthew López & Ted Malawer — MISS STEVENS (2016) written by Julia Hart & Jordan Horowitz

[daisiesonafield-blog]

I've been an avid romantic comedy watcher for well over a decade. And "Red White and Royal Blue" is one of the best rom coms I've ever seen. And it's queer. Literally everything my queer heart has ever desired from a young age!

[shelbbswrites]

I woke up thinking about the RWRB movie.

I’ve read Casey McQuiston’s book a handful of times, and this movie did NOT disappoint.

Taylor Zakhar Perez & Nicholas Galitzine are the PERFECT Alex & Henry. Matthew López’s direction and script, co-written with Ted Malawer, are rom-com GOLD.

PLEASE flood my inbox with thoughts, feelings, and questions.

[honey-bri-books]

Yeeeeessssss!!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[kissablelips-desireslure-vol2]

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE (2023)

TAYLOR ZAKHAR PEREZ (as Alex)

&

NICHOLAS GALITZINE (as Henry)

Directed By: Matthew Lopez

Written By: Casey McQuiston (novel) Matthew Lopez (screenplay) Ted Malawer (screenplay)

Synopsis: Two high profile young men fall in love but must keep it secret (in the beginning) at all costs as one is the first son (female president's kid) while the other is an English heir to the throne.

[byneddiedingo]

Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine in Red, White and Royal Blue (Matthew López, 2023)

Cast: Taylor Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Ellie Bamber, Rachel Hilson, Uma Thurman, Sarah Shahi, Aneesh Sheth, Clifton Collins Jr., Juan Castano, Malcolm Atobrah, Stephen Fry, Thomas Flynn, Bridget Benstead. Screenplay: Matthew López, Ted Malawer, based on a book by Casey McQuiston. Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt. Production design: Miren Marañón. Film editing: Kristina Hetherington, Nick Moore. Music: Drum & Lace.

The old lefty queer in me tried to resist the rom-com blandishments of Red, White and Royal Blue, but by the time Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid showed up for their cameos, I was hooked. Yes, it could have had more bite and edge. It might have shown the viciousness of the British tabloid press, or the Fox News spin on the same-sex romance of the son of a Democratic president and a member of the British royal family. It might have been more searching in its treatment of the atrophied American electoral process or the inane perpetuation of the monarchy. But we have the movies we get, and this one is formula filmmaking at its silkiest, a product it's often foolish to resist. In the end, everything we anticipate slides smoothly into place, so why throw grit into the gears? What's so bad, as they say, about feeling good?

[livvyofthelake]

see the thing is that sometimes in a story you just have to believe that characters are in love because the story tells you they are and then there’s plot that happens. like romeo and juliet. or the babysitter killer queen. or riverdale or zombies or the pirates of the caribbean. and there’s nothing wrong that sometimes a romance is not central to the story but needed in order for the story to happen. however. you can’t write a Romance and then try to pull this cop out writing by having a political plotline that you then pretend is the main plot. no the main plot in red white royal blue is the romance. it’s a romance. but it’s written like the main plot is the political stuff and the romance is second. but we all know the romance is not second. basically it’s very badly written there’s not another way to say it. i feel bad saying it because i didn’t read the book so i’m not like informed on the primary sources but like. i’ve read like roughly ten pages of it via tiktok and from those pages and also tee’s haterism i have extrapolated that it is bad. so. like it’s just bad girls. it’s not well written. and i wish whoever wrote this movie had noticed the ways in which the book was not well written and taken the initiative to fix some of that shit. who is this guy i need them on my shit list immediately. ok matthew lópez former staff writer on the newsroom. well i don’t think he learned much from aaron. and ted malawer who’s previous credits are just from that glee knockoff show rise that the moana girl was in and two episodes of another show i’ve never heard of but ewan mcgregor is in it. he also executive produced what looks like a really shit movie. anyway. matthew. ted. go to hell. as for casey it’s a given that they’re ending up there anyway just for being the root cause of all this.

[neverwritewhatyouknow]

I was waiting to post this next week when the movie comes out, but I’ll just make a repost if anything changes.

Let’s talk about Nora, Red, White & Royal Blue, and how from the very first meeting there was Jew-erasure.

Book!Nora is 100% Jewish. No debate. She is. Canonically. Fully. She’s a Jew.

Now, when a book is adapted into a movie (or a TV show) it goes through steps. The first is the script adaptation and all the meetings involved with that. Then the pre-production meetings.

When adapting a novel, the screenwriter will read the book and work on writing the physical script. If the author of the book is alive, they will very likely have input. They will go through writing a draft, getting approval, writing another, that will continue on for a while until the production draft is ready to go.

When RWRB went from book to script, Matthew wrote and directed it, with a co-writer Ted Malawer who is a literary agent and a playwrite (who has literally written a gay Hitler rom-com stageplay and some extremely self-hating things about Jews btw, might make another post about how Jews have self-hatred for the sake of comedy or to fit in). With Casey also being credited for their novel and script input. It was here that they thought about what they wanted to keep and what they wanted to get rid of. It was here that they decided that Nora would no longer be Jewish in the movie.

Now, I do want to take this time and say that I was wrong for saying that Rachel (not Jewish) was playing a Jewish role. Because while Nora is Jewish canonically, because they wrongly decided to erase that in early stages, movie!Nora to them was never considered Jewish at all. Therefore they don’t consider the casting of a non-Jew as a Jewish character wrong, since in the movie, they never had Nora as Jewish ever. I was never mad at Rachel, but the circumstances in which I was under the impression that she was playing a Jewish character while not being so herself. I’m not ashamed to say that I was wrong about that, the movie hadn’t come out, I was relying on all the same info we all had. Nora was Jewish in the book, why wouldn’t she be onscreen? But then, it became clear she’s not Jewish and based on the reactions from the cast and crew… She never was to them.

With that being said, the problem still remains. Nora, a canonically Jewish character, had her ethnicity and religion erased. Why? Nora is still in the movie, why not just keep her Jewish? Why during the initial writing phase did they decide to just ignore that and erase her ethnicity completely? And why do they refuse to own up to it? Was it Ted’s self-hatred of all things Jewish? (‘Cause, like, please take care of that, bro). Was it Amazon not wanting a Jewish character? The executive producers wanting a visually diverse cast and not thinking Jews were a minority enough? While completely ignoring Jews of color? Was it Casey not understanding that they wrote a Jewish character that could be important onscreen?

Whatever it was. They decided very early on that to them, Nora wasn’t Jewish.

There won’t be mentions of it in the movie, because Nora isn’t Jewish in this universe.

The reactions from the cast and crew make so much sense now. For a long time I was calling them out for casting a non-Jewish actress in a Jewish role, but I had it slightly wrongly worded. They erased the Jewish role, period. I should’ve been calling them out on removing the Jewishness from Nora just straight up. Regardless of the actress. Just solely based on the fact that the character isn’t Jewish anymore at all and to them, she never was.

What RWRB did wasn’t okay. They looked at a canonically Jewish character and said “Fuck her, she doesn’t have to be Jewish anymore,” and erased all of her Jewishness. Nora was a badass Jewish girl. But in the movie’s universe she’s not Jewish, never has been, and the cast and crew of the movie have never considered her Jewish at all. Think about how you’d feel if you had your canon representation literally erased without a second thought. Jewish girls never get to see themselves onscreen in a positive light where their Jewishness isn’t the “thing” about them. This was an opportunity to show the world who Jewish people are, how amazing, smart, talented, sexy, and more we are. But nope. RWRB hated that idea from the jump, and Casey cared more about finding the proper ice cream than keeping Jewish rep

That’s shitty. That’s erasure. And based on the reactions of the highest crew members, there’s some hatred and ignorance there as well.

If the movie changes any of this, I’ll update. But, I’m fairly certain it won’t.

[ramascreen]

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE | New Poster And Clips | Exclusively on Prime Video this Friday!

RED WHITE & ROYAL BLUE premieres On Prime Video this Friday, August 11. Check Out the NEW Poster and the film’s new clips here below! Directed by Matthew López Screenplay by Matthew López and Ted Malawer Based on the novel by Casey McQuiston Produced by Greg Berlanti, p.g.a., Sarah Schechter, p.g.a. Executive produced by Casey McQuiston, Michael Riley McGrath, Matthew López, Michael S.…