#Things To See In Marrakech

[10cities10years]

Marrakesh, Morocco

What you should do, see, and eat in Marrakesh. Or do other things. I'm not your boss. #VisitMarrakech

[verystrxxwberry]

Also now that I think about, Even if I hate New era and refuses to acknowledge it exists bc I’m stubborn as hell and when I dislike something I just ignore it, Yaqut really remind me of the Maghreb countries, especially Morocco since I’m from there and most buildings looks like this in Marrakech, + there is a desert and Morocco is half desert of the Sahara. So now, I’ve decided that All Vampires are originally from Maghreb countries. I love this even more because my mom absolutely LOVES vampires, so now it’s canon in my mind Vampires are Moroccans. Yaqut = Morocco

(Remind me of that one meme, ‘character I love, they’re now from my country and have my culture.)

Also this may have been talked about already but I don’t pay attention to a lot of things so I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t know things abt it Yaqut.

-🐚 (not yet killed by 🐜)

I agree with the Yaqut hc! I mean, it's canon that Nevra knows how to speak arabic so I would see it as something accurate. For me vampires can be from everywhere but their origins are from romania (I mean it in the sense of the beginnings of the vampire history as dracula is from there and I had a fantasy nerd era when I was a kid -I was obsessed with dragons and vampires-)

Btw, how are you doing with the mutant ants? Are you still alive or fighting them?

[jbaileyfansite]

Jonathan Bailey's interview with Gay Times (2023)

From his work in regency-era dramedy Bridgerton to groundbreaking period piece Fellow Travelers, as well as an upcoming role in the movie adaptation of classic musical Wicked, Jonathan Bailey is blazing a trail as one of the world’s most prominent out gay actors – and activists. This year’s GAY TIMES Honours sees the star succeed 2022’s recipient of the Changemaker Award, Tom Daley, as a result of his new partnership with the official LGBTQIA+ young people’s charity Just Like Us, a collaboration he describes as “critical and crucial”: “LGBTQIA+ issues don’t speak for themselves, and you need people to step forward. It’s important for me to be able to do that.”

Three days after his infectious, frenetic energy made its mark on the GAY TIMES set, a freshly bronzed Bailey is preparing for yet another shoot in Marrakech, Morocco. Speaking from Zoom, he laughs (slash glows): “I’ve been sent out early just to get a tan.” After reminiscing on his “spiritual” on-set discourse about zodiac signs with our fashion and creative director, the aforementioned frenetic energy is back on display as he immediately dives into his Just Like Us partnership. “I’ve worked with Albert Kennedy Trust before, and there’s so many different charities that I look forward to working with,” he says. “Just Like Us really hit something that I felt was important. One thing is, how can people describe what they’re feeling and experiencing if they don’t have the vocabulary and tools to do so?”

Since Just Like Us was founded in 2016, the charity has collaborated with primary schools, secondary schools and colleges across the UK to improve the lives of queer youth. Their annual, UK-wide celebration of LGBTQIA+ awareness, School Diversity Week, sees thousands of schools take part with student talks and assemblies led by their Ambassador Programme, which trains LGBTQIA+ people aged 18-25 to speak about allyship and their own personal experiences with sexuality and/or gender identity. Bailey tells us that the partnership comes after an “extraordinary shift of years of opportunities and possibilities” via his various projects, from Netflix’s smasher Bridgerton to Showtime’s new LGBTQIA+ series Fellow Travelers and his upcoming role as Fiyero in Wicked, which will also star Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. “I now have a platform by which I can help guide people towards different narratives and causes.”

Laura Mackay, CEO of Just Like Us, praises the star’s activism in the following statement to GAY TIMES: “It speaks volumes about the calibre of our programmes that Jonathan Bailey has decided to join us as a patron. When we met with him to discuss the vital work we do, Jonathan spoke with vigour and sincerity of his unwavering commitment to improving the lives of LGBTQIA+ young people. I am so impressed with our Just Like Us team for creating this partnership and engaging such a wonderful role model. Jonathan oozes panache and gravitas, Just Like Us.”

First visiting the charity at their headquarters in July, Bailey was “blown away” by the team and their ambassadors. Praising their “assuredness, confidence and eloquence” in what they aim to achieve in schools, Bailey admits that he would “never have been able to speak” on LGBTQIA+ issues like that at their age. “There’s so much for me to learn,” he shares. “There’s just something that happens when people speak authentically about their identity in a way that is generous, because they want to connect and tell their story. I was there with my jaw slightly on the floor. I thought, ‘If I had met either of these two people when I was younger, I would’ve been so starstruck’ because they had such ownership of who they are. They had such charisma without shying away from the unsurprising vulnerabilities and obstacles they’ve had to overcome.”

Describing Just Like Us as a “supernova ball of energy” due to their united front in transforming the way in which schools across the UK discuss LGBTQIA+ matters, Bailey lauds the diverse and “enriching” stories that have been told via their ambassadors. Over the past four years, GAY TIMES has partnered with the charity on numerous occasions, with their ambassadors sharing their unique upbringings and experiences with oppression, resistance and hope. A selection of stories featured this year include: ‘As a Brown, Asian, Muslim LGBTQIA+ person, Middlesex Pride felt like home’; ‘Films taught me that LGBTQIA+ and faith identities couldn’t co-exist – but that wasn’t true’; and ‘How Loveless by Alice Oseman helped me discover my aromanticism’.

“I was particularly struck by the fact that there seems to be a knock-on effect of how many people linked to the ambassadors and their friends then jump on board because they see how beneficial it can be,” explains Bailey. “Not just for the people in the schools who are receiving those speeches and interactive sessions, but also for the ambassadors themselves.” Just Like Us is notable for their Pride Groups programme, where they help secondary schools set up and run lunchtime clubs for LGBTQIA+ pupils and their allies to learn, make friends and have a place in school that is free from homophobia and transphobia. Additionally, Just Like Us launched their landmark Positive Futures report earlier this year. Surveying 3,695 people aged 18 to 25 from across the UK, including 1,736 LGBTQIA+ young adults, the report identifies a link between lack of LGBTQIA+ support in childhood and poorer outcomes for mental health, wellbeing and career prospects in adulthood.

“It’s interesting hearing about Positive Futures and the difference between queer youth either being surrounded or in a nourished environment where people freely talk about identity and labels, versus kids that don’t,” he says. “The opportunities it gives them in young adulthood, as well as the increase and decrease in anxiety and panic attacks and depression; purely on the basis of their identities being acknowledged at a younger age. It’s huge. The correlation between conversation and the vocabulary that comes with that leading to a happier life is just… It’s undeniable.”

Clear communication about LGBTQIA+ issues was scarce – rather, non-existent – when Bailey was at school. The partnership forced him to reflect on his “own upbringing, what has changed and, more crucially, what hasn’t changed. One of those things for me was about education, schools, and growing up and my own youth.” For a recent Fellow Travelers campaign, Bailey returned to his home village in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, a place where anyone who was “other” was “deemed not acceptable”. “That’s how I felt growing up, purely on the basis that I wasn’t aware of any gay people around me,” he says, criticising mainstream media’s archaic portrayal of LGBTQIA+ people at the time. “The media spun stories that were so negative towards the plight of the gay experience, so I didn’t really have access to anything that made me feel welcome or like I was going to be okay, and I was someone who was very aware of who I was. I talked about it from the age of eleven. I wonder what my life would’ve been like, had there been the vocabulary and ambassadors coming into my school. It would’ve definitely helped me feel more secure and to blossom quicker. For me, that sort of confidence in myself has come later on in life because of not having that.”

Immediately after Bailey completed his A-Levels in 2006 – the day of, actually – he moved to London to replace Andrew Garfield in a stage adaptation of the cult queer rom-com Beautiful Thing. As an 18-year-old from a rural village, the multicultural hub of London allowed him to “accrue information and experiences” that weren’t previously accessible to him. “It was meeting amazing people. I wasn’t anywhere near the point where I was going to come out to people I didn’t know, but I already had conversations with my friends,” he remembers. “So, moving to London was sort of a patient and nerdy acquisition of facts and experiences, which emboldened me to the point where I could finally talk to my family [about my sexuality], particularly my parents.” Assimilating to the inclusiveness of London made Bailey project his own growth onto his school, assuming that it would have been transformed into a “multicultural hub with clear access to education or information to anyone who wasn’t a white straight kid”. However, as he discovered: “It wasn’t, actually. What was true is that the same tree of Christianity and faith, with the same laminate piece of paper from when I was there, is still on the wall. Of course, I’ve got no judgement on any of that, other than it’s a reminder of the work that needs to be done for those who are trying to survive. How do you inspire people to understand things outside of their own experience, if they don’t need to or it doesn’t suit them or challenge them?”

Fellow Travelers ties in with his Just Like Us partnership, he says, as it has allowed Bailey to look at the “underside of the queer experience”. Airing on Paramount Plus in the UK, the series is based on Thomas Mallon’s acclaimed novel of the same name and follows the toxic romance between Bailey’s character Tim Laughlin and Matt Bomer’s Hawkins Fuller in the shadow of McCarthy-era Washington. Created by Oscar nominee Ron Nyswaner, Fellow Travelers chronicles their romance over the course of four decades whilst exploring the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the “drug-fueled disco hedonism” of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. His first major LGBTQIA+ project, Bailey says “you can’t get more queer than Fellow Travelers” and adds that “it’s the gayest show I could find.”

Quite correct; the first episode introduces the sub-dom dynamic between Tim and Hawk with a now-infamous foot-fetish sequence which, unsurprisingly, spawned a plethora of horny headlines (yes, we’re guilty of this) and went viral on social media. The remainder of the season continues to depict gay sex with authenticity which is, sadly, still a surprise in 2023. When we spoke with Nyswaner, he told GAY TIMES that it was important for him to “embrace” sex in the show as a result of his own personal experiences. “When I came out in the 1970s, those were the celebratory days of the gay experience. It was pre-AIDS and we were released. Sex is the way that we expressed our community,” he explained. “That connection that I got to have with other gay men, whether it was one night or a little bit longer, was very powerful to me and gave me joy.”

Bailey says Fellow Travelers came “at the right time”. “Someone asked me after Bridgerton, ‘What do you want to do next?’ and that is an amazing position to be in, having worked for so long to suddenly have real choice in what you do. I knew that I wanted to do a sweeping gay love story because I hadn’t seen it, especially one that’s detailed over eight hours.” While Bailey admits he doesn’t respond to fans on Instagram – with over three million followers, we’ll let him off – he’s read “extraordinary” messages from people who have connected to Fellow Travelers’ story. “People have messaged saying, ‘I’m closeted but watching this is helping me in a way that you might not understand.’ Someone else said it made them come out, and these are people in their 40s and 50s. There’s these lost generations that Fellow Travelers is highlighting, people who are more scared than ever to feel invalidated if they were to finally come out and speak their truth. I’m mindful of the fact that there are people of every age who are striving to live authentically.”

With this in mind, Bailey continues: “It’s funny, people look at the 1950s setting for Fellow Travelers and say, ‘God, how awful must it have been back then?’ We’re incredibly privileged in the west. Fifties America is pretty much everywhere else in the world, and still can be. There’s so many places where people are experiencing that level of oppression and so I’m really proud of Ron’s work because it presents 40 years of an incredible celebration of progression.” In October, Bailey attended the Human Rights Campaign’s 2023 dinner, where he presented Bomer with the Impact Award, which recognises members of the LGBTQIA+ community who are dedicated to championing and advocating queer issues. Bailey’s Bridgerton co-star Golda Rosheuvel also introduced Shonda Rhimes, the recipient of the National Equality Award. His first political gala, Bailey describes the event – a room of over three thousands queer icons, allies and activists – as “enthralling, energised and inspiring” and was another pivotal moment of self-reflection for him. “I was like, ‘Blimey, if you think about the 12-year-old boy who knew something about himself, knew 100 per cent that he was not like other people, to then be in a room where he feels completely galvanised and inspired…’ That sort of joy, ferocity and forward-thinking is so intoxicating and important for people to feel because there’s also so much residue. The vitriol and hate is always bubbling under, so you need organisations like Just Like Us who are going to be going into schools to culture students at a young age and make them think outside of their own narratives they get given at home by their parents or films and stories that aren’t helpful. It’s a better landscape for us all, really.”

With the “cobwebs of old archaic belief systems about what a gay man can and can’t do as an actor,” Bailey is proud to be accepting the Changemaker Award, describing it as a “fully realised vocation to make change”. He’s humble, of course, as he takes the time to acknowledge the internal, grassroots operation at Just Like Us and their objective to revolutionise the experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth. “Once you’ve done the work as an actor in this way, all you have to do it turn up and be there,” he says. “The real work comes from the people who are working at Just Like Us, the charities and support groups who have to constantly chug away to get the funds and be noticed. There’s a glimmer in me that knows the work is done elsewhere. But my God, I’m thrilled that I can use my platform to raise the volume on so many other people’s brilliant policies.” Bailey credits his role as straight lead Anthony in Bridgerton with his power to incite change within the LGBTQIA+ community. "As one of the world’s most streamed and acclaimed dramas, Bridgerton’s impact is undeniable. You get a fanbase and it’s almost like a conga line, where you can then lead those people to other stories which feel really important to you. To be able to go from that to Fellow Travelers and Just Like Us is something I’ll be proud of for the rest of my life.”

Source

[catofadifferentcolor]

The Old Guard (2020)

A fine justification. I’ve heard it so many times before.

I stumbled quite by accident on The Old Guard two weeks ago, as part of a crossover with another fandom. At that point I'd only heard of the comic as the inspiration for a movie that came out on Netflix shortly after I got rid of my account, but I was intrigued enough that I went looking for more.

Contrary to my usual order of things, I ended up reading a lot of the fanfic first - and then went looking for the movie. Unfortunately, it was only on available on Netflix - and such was my intrigue that after three days of wrestling with myself I reopened my account just to watch the movie.

And I was hooked.

Having just finished watching it for the third fourth time in a week, I have several strong feeling about the 2020 movie... many of which are similar to my feelings for Opening Fire, which it closely follows - and which I read for the first time the other morning.

First: Charlize Theron looks amazing with dark hair, and puts up a masterful performance as Andy. It took me a couple of rewatches to get the full depth of her character, but she is fascinating and I can't wait to see more of her in the next movie.

Second: Though closely following the first installation of the comics, the changes it makes from the source are ones that only improve the narrative. Giving us glimpses of Joe and Nicky's torture while they're being held by Merrick not only ups the stakes, but lifts the pair from a gay interracial couple we know little about to a gay interracial couple which we empathize with and who provide more than background color to the narrative. Having Nile meet Joe and Nicky before they're taken - and chose to come back to help them after leaving - also adds something that is missing from the comic. And the cold, immoral Meta Kozak and sleazy, bottom-line driven Steve Merrick are only improved as antagonists by the additional screen time. As are most of the characters. Booker's motivations admittedly feel clearer in the movie than the comics, though his speech is mostly the same. The slight changes of venue - Barcelona to Marrakech, a Paris safe house to an abandoned church - give events a more global, more historic feel and a more interesting backdrop - though I am curious to the chain of events that moved the climax from Dubai to London.

Third: I have very strong feelings about the first half of the movie and am vaguely indifferent to the second. It's not that I dislike the rescue and climax, but more that I want to know everything about the Old Guard themselves before the betrayal and addition of Nile to their number. And watching you can very much tell Booker is the baby of the group, stuck doing the things the others can't or won't - Andy gets a hugs in Marrakesh, Booker does not; Booker closes doors and opens gates and buries ruined gear - very much the youngest sibling despite his apparent age - and is a part of the group, but easily able to convince himself he's not. I could easily read a half a million words about the Guard and their dynamics, Merrick or no Merrick.

That being said, I feel the scene with the woman in the pharmacy patching up Andy's wounds is the heart of the movie. It hits the perfect tone for everything that the Guard has done - everything they stand for - in a way that doesn't feel preachy or overdone. Though my favorite scene by far is when they open the armored van to find Joe and Nicky sitting lazily amongst the carnage. The casual way Nicky flexes his fingers and asked to be released... well, it is a thing of beauty.

Also, I love that Nicky's hoodie in Sudan gives off a vague Crusader-like silhouette, especially when paired with his body armor. Subtle, but a lovely callback. Less lovely was my realization halfway through watch three that the actor who plays Booker looks exactly like one my coworkers, just with better hair and a French accent. I will never be able to unsee that now.

Otherwise... I'm eager to see what they do with the sequel, and hope they expound upon the various origins of the characters and the actions they've undertaken throughout history. I came largely for the Joe and Nicky - and rewound multiple times to delight in the subtle interactions between the two, happy to have a healthy gay relationship on screen that's played as causally as most heterosexual background relationships - and would love to see more. (Though, to be fair, I rewound and lingered on most of the quiet team dynamic establishing scenes. As much as I harp about plot, I fall in love with characters.)

There's definite rewatch value here - a solid four out of five - but also sections I'd fast forward though on any future rewatch. Even so, it remains one of the better comic book movies I've seen.

[tina-aumont]

I found this beautiful photo and is new for me!

Here is the article in french language:

 https://www.cinematheque.fr/article/1976.html

🌟Thank you very much for these great findings Andrea, you are great!!🌟😍💜

A new Home Movie by Frédéric Pardo has been found and it will be shown the 9th March 2023 at 19:30h at Cinema Reflet Medicis

                        Home Movie : New York

Frédéric Pardo

France 1968  / 20 min  

With Tina Aumont, Nico, Jackie Raynal.

Jackie Raynal and Tina Aumont in Central Park. Views from an apartment, from a car, Nico at the window above Tina Aumont. Jackie Raynal, pregnant, gets dressed in an apartment, Tina is lying down in bed. Walks in the streets of NYC at dusk.

2K digitization at the CNC laboratory by the Cinémathèque française, from the 8 and 16 mm copies kept in the collections.

Three Home Movies, from a collection deposited at the Cinémathèque. Three previously unseen films, which show, in their simplicity of family films, an artist in love: Tina Aumont is permanently at the center of Paris Home Movie With Tina, a candid poem shot mostly in the alleys of Luxembourg and Pardo New York, where the couple joins Viva and Michel Auder in Central Park, and where we also see Nico at the window of a room in the Chelsea Hotel. Here again, Tina magnetizes the painter’s gaze. What he does with her and the light has no other aim than to translate into images an intimacy that obsesses and delights him. Different, because devoted to the group – in this case the Zanzibar band, Philippe Garrel, Serge Bard, Patrick Deval, Jackie Raynal, Michel Auder, Daniel Pommereulle and Sylvina Boissonnas – Home Movie Marrakech begins in Venice. Tina contemplates the Grand Canal from her room before continuing in a boat, then it’s Morocco, crossed in a large American car. We recognize Sylvina Boissonnas, producer and patron of the group, Caroline de Bendern, Auder, and others (it could be, it is to be confirmed, Jean Mascolo, Babethe Lamy and Pierre-Richard Bré). It is a prolegomena to the Home Movie that Pardo will do in the wake of the filming of Garrel’s Le Lit de la Vierge. It is notable that these films were not listed in the catalog of Zanzibar productions. Pardo obviously had no intention of showing them. Discovering them today, however, leads us to place them (all things considered) alongside certain films by Pierre Clémenti, Warhol, Mekas or Garrel: a whole crest line of a cinema that fuels the intimate, the couple, to the band, and to the meeting. In the psychedelic paintings that Pardo was doing at the same time (from his initiation, by Klarwein, to the ancestral tempera method), the princes, the sponsors were replaced by friends, loves. It was an idea he held dear. When we know the influence (aesthetic in all) that Pardo had on the Zanzibar group, we understand better in what perspective Garrel, at the time of Le Berceau de Cristal (where he films Pardo at work) needed in turn to gather his “ family” in his films. To repopulate an imaginary in exile, caught in a perpetual flight.

Philippe Azoury

[yosoyloqueveo]

Io Capitano | dir. Matteo Garrone, 2023.

Seydou, a teenage boy, together with his cousin Moussa, decides to leave Dakar in Senegal and make his way to Europe. A contemporary Odyssey through the dangers of the desert, the horrors of the detention centers in Libya and the perils of the sea.

I was deeply moved by the immense courage and humanity, the cinematography and costumes. Outstanding.

"Over the last 15 years, 27,000 people have died trying to make the journey that I show in the movie," explains the filmmaker. "We wanted to give a visual form to a part of the journey we don't see." “...I was honestly very worried about this movie, and it took eight years to decide to make it," Garrone says. "I was worried about the risk of speculating too much and exploiting these poor migrants by making their journey about, and from, my point of view."

- Garrone.

"The first thing apparent to anyone who meets Matteo Garrone is his intrinsic kindness. When asked if the story is inspired by real events, Garrone answers, “yes of course, have you met Mamadou?” referring to Mamadou Kouassi Pli Adama, who is listed as one of the “collaborating writers” on Io Capitano, and has joined Garrone, actors Sarr and Moustapha Fall in Marrakech. “He’s one of the three guys who inspired the movie with his life and his experience,” Garrone explains, continuing “every frame of the movie is connected with some real story, of someone who really lived that experience.”

“Behind these numbers are human beings,” Garrone continues on the thought above, “human beings who are exactly like us, with the same desires — to move, to look for a better life, to discover the world.” Like looking in a mirror really. Only that mirror holds up the similarity of the power of humanity, not the reflection of our different skin tones. And what that entails, as far as privilege.

- E Nina Rothe

Io Capitano premiered at the 80th Venice Film Festival, where Garrone was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Director and Sarr won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor. Now, the film is nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Oscars, which Garrone tells A.frame has made him "incredibly proud." | AFrame Article

Images:

The New Yorker

E NINA ROTHE

Kang diego | kang_junior64

EdisonFilmHub

[moroccotoursgates]

https://www.moroccotoursgates.com/things-to-do-in-marrakech-with-family/

[raedear]

I wrote something very, very mean. I'm sorry.

Canon-divergent MCD, all hurt no comfort.

Somehow, Andy knows before Booker makes a single sound. There's some change to his face, his posture, a weakness to his hand on the keyboard of his laptop, and she knows.

He makes a noise like a wounded animal, small and piteous and full of pain, and Andy shuts her eyes. For the first time in her life, she prays. Prays that it was quick. That they didn't suffer.

That they went together.

Nile says something. Does something. Andy can hear her right at the edge of her perception, moving around the fire. Reaching for Booker maybe, who sobs like the world is crashing down around him; the way he sobbed when the first of his children died.

His tears got quieter with each one, until there was nothing left. No children, no sound.

'Andy,' Nile barks, grabbing her by the shoulders. Her hands are shaking. 'Help me!'

It's a wonder how much grief a person can bear. How different the limits are. Andy can't remember her youth. Not really. She carries her mother's axe but not the memory of her mother's face. She carries the knowledge that she grieved a sibling, but not their gender or their face.

She can't remember grief at all until Lykon left them. And then, like an unwelcome guest, grief made a home in her life. It lives in her now, filling every corner of her soul.

'Just the one?' Andy asks, opening her eyes to Nile's terrified face. Booker chokes on a sob, and then Nile knows too. Andy sees the knowledge bloom in her wide eyes.

'Both,' Booker grinds out eventually, through teeth clenched so hard around his tears that the words end up mangled and chewed. 'It's—They're—Both.'

Nile sits heavily, dropping with a thump from where she'd been crouched on her toes in front of Andy.

Her hands are still shaking. Andy watches them for a moment, and the way Nile can't seem to decide what to do with them, before she looks over the fire at Booker.

The laptop lies beside him, upside down with its screen on the cave floor and its keyboard sticking upright. Its screen is dull, but bright enough to illuminate Booker slumped beside it, collapsed in grief, hands over his face like he can hide from the whole world.

There will be time for tears later. There are things that must be done first.

'Where are they, Booker?'

'Andy—' Nile starts, looking at her in surprise. She isn't quite crying, but then again, she'd only known the boys a single night. Enough to like them, maybe. Not enough to love them.

She closes her eyes when Booker answers. Clutches at her cross and looks so terribly, awfully young that Andy's heart bleeds for her.

'London,' Booker says, his breath heavy, but mercifully free of sobs. 'They—Their—' he swallows heavily, throat jumping like he's about to vomit. 'They're in London.'

Andy has been many things in her long life, but she has never been stupid.

'Since Marrakech?'

Booker doesn't even flinch.

'Since Almaty.'

It feels like every single one of her years weighs her down as she gets to her feet. A chain so long and heavy it could circle the world wrapped around her neck; crushing her shoulders, hobbling her legs. She cuts the palm of her hand on a rough edge of the cave wall as she levers herself up, and feels it heal before she's even let go.

Maybe if pain could learn to linger in her skin it would leave her heart alone.

There are things to be done. Andy is always, always the one to do them.

'Tell me,' she says as she moves around the cave, collecting what she needs. Booker gasps wetly, but doesn't make her ask again.

'Joe—he,' there's that heavy swallow again. Andy knows it well. Joe used to jokingly duck and cover when Booker made that sound, hiding behind whoever happened to be closest to avoid what might follow a noise like that. 'He was. First.'

Andy pauses with her hands deep in the belly of a barrel, closing her eyes against the swell of grief that rises in the wake of Booker's words.

'How long?' she rasps, forcing herself to keep reaching for the money she stashed the last time she passed through this way. It doesn't really matter what his answer is. Any time was too long.

'An hour,' Booker whispers, so thick with shame it colours the air around him. 'Only an hour.'

Andy's at his side before she truly registers she's moved, her fingers twisted tight in the collar of his shirt. Booker looks at her, his eyes wet and completely clear. They heal too fast for red to build up in the white. Nicky used to kiss the tears from Joe's cheeks and claim it only made him more beautiful.

'Say that again,' she says softly, holding him up at his full seated height. 'Look at me and say that again.'

'I'm sorry,' whispers Booker through trembling lips.

'Only an hour,' Andy repeats, slowly. 'Only an hour, without him.'

When the next tear falls from Booker's eye, Andy strikes it from his face, dropping him as she does.

'Pack your shit,' she orders, leaving him where he fell. 'We're leaving in five minutes.'

There will be time enough to deal with him after.

Nile is crying now, Andy notices. Silent tears tracing heavy tracks down her cheeks.

'I can get you transport to Alaska,' Andy says, crouching beside her. 'And money to get you the rest of the way. I'll come find you when it's done.'

Nile nods, watching the fire.

In the best years of Andy's life, Quynh and Nicky used to take turns teasing and scolding her for being so quick to distrust people. So ready to see the worst in them. Joe stood up for her, singing her praises and writing odes to her heroism. Her kind heart. Her indomitable spirit.

Her kind heart lies in London, broken by an hour of grief beyond measure.

Her indomitable spirit lies at the bottom of the sea, crushed under its inescapable weight.

Her heroism did nothing for the people she loved most.

Andy helps Nile to her feet, and tucks her grief away behind her heart.

Grief is a polite squatter in her soul. It will wait patiently for her to do what needs to be done.

It has all the time in the world.

[mchiti]

a few things:

thank you for the reassurance and perspective on the support hakim gets in morocco 😭 it made me happy and also it makes me happy to see him having a great time there right now

did you notice how the bulk of the players saudi have gone after are muslim...i don't know if i'm reading too much into this but i suspect that they are targeting these players and trying to shill the "we're a muslim country don't you want to play in a muslim country and help develop it blah blah" thing. Which, if true, makes me very annoyed because a lot of the things they do are very unislamic lol. like spending the first ten days of dhul-hijjah (literally the most sacred days in the entire year) doing shady deals with the shadiest club in the premier league

that racist white girl in footyblr who made the sabiri/ghazali post a while ago made another post basically saying that hell isn't hot enough for the players going to play in saudi because they are funding the yemeni war and famine 💀💀 i wish white people would stick to talking about what they understand

hii anon!! Ohh really, no need to thank me. ♡♡ You can't imagine after world cup 2018, I was in Fez/Tanja (Tangier) and then we went down to our usual trips as usual (Marrakech, Casa etc) and all I could see was his shirt everywhere. And my cousins were telling me all the time of the amount of craziness around him growing even more and more (also 2018 was our first world cup in 20 years can you imagine loool. And he played a big part in that qualification. Now we're here but look what we were even 5 years ago...and what we were when he joined back then...yeah anyway). Like, look at him now when Morocco train, he's always subjected to a lot of media attention etc. Moroccans love him, don't worry about a few of them on twitter. YEAH I love to see him there. I always think how he didn't get to go until he was in his teen years which is so so so sad, a lot of maghrebis can't afford trips to visit more often and it's heartbreaking.) ... to see him in Morocco is. Special. ♡♡ To see so many of them home!!!! Either Marrakech or around in their places of origin, I was watching Sabiri's latest ig stories and mashallah. It makes me so emotional. As if they kinda decided to be there at the same time. 😭I miss it so much i can't wait to be back inchallah.

I'll put the rest under shortcut

yeah the narrative of muslim players x a muslim country it does seem to me like being part of a developing plan. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if Saudi will truly be competitive in a few years time, now we're joking about it but - it seems way different than MLS now or what China tried to do years ago. You know, I do have conflicting thoughts about it- bc on one hand I agree with you, it is upsetting given the high percentage of poverty in Saudi. A country with so much money and so much power in the hands of a few oligarchs... of course leaning on those players' religion seems like a big fallacy. But then again, you have the same oligarchs in the US, in England, in China, in Russia (and nobody gave a shit about it before the war) in the very heart of Europe... also billionaires, rich, powerful, investors in every major top league. And so you do wonder if somehow we're also being affected by the same double standards. When Arab people tell you: after everything Europe has done, it's our turn, why are we the only ones subjected to your moral standards? - When you put it that way, can you blame them? As a Muslim you get upset because again, I totally understand your feelings and they are also mine. But I also wonder about these stuff, you know

WHICH WELL I guess it also applies to this white girl on tumblr (not kidding I tried to find their blog bc I was so curious fodjsha) are we have to blame players for going Saudi? What about players who are paid by Saudis in Europe? Bohely's bought part of Strasbourg - what about players payed by americans in Europe? Arsenal is owned by an american who both financed trump and israel - are we have to blame arsenal players too? These double standards are just....unreal to me really. It's so easy to blame one part of the world and dismiss what happens in the heart of your own continent or your own part of the world. White privilege as its finest.

Players ain't to blame. You can question their decisions and whatever but they are just players in this system - lots of them grew up poor and weren't born into the massive privilege these multi billionaires were born into. And i'm sure they are gonna love putting all the blame to Muslim players for going Saudi - what can you do, shit white people do.

thank u for writing to me anon! sorry for the long reply ghgh

[saunne]

Perfumes

Mom found back in her pocket one of those little papers to test the perfumes that she had made me smell last week. The perfume in question already smelled amazing last week and it still smells amazing now and holy shit I have a physical need to own this perfume. I'm normally quite loyal to a "small" French brand that makes fairly simple perfumes (things that are too complex or too strong tend to give me migraines + they make small bottles for 10 euros, which allows me to change fragrances regularly without breaking the bank) but there. THERE.

"Un bois vanille" by Serge Lutens. Mexican black vanilla, sandalwood and licorice. The fucking best thing I ever smelled.

This perfume just ticks all the boxes in terms of satisfying smell in my brain and I have never wanted to smell a perfume on myself so badly. Cause, like, I like perfumes. I LOVE perfumes. I have a sensitive nose so smelling good/having things that smell good easily accessible helps a lot in everyday life. I usually wear perfume more for my own comfort than for that of the people around but damn this smell is just right.

Just. It smells fucking sexy, okay ? My ace ass doesn't even have the need to feel sexy, but this smell is just. Ugh. This is the kind of scent I would want to have to make people around swoon if the world was a fucking Omegaverse. We've reached that point of toddler-brain screaming "WANT WANT WANT".

But fuck it, next sales or if I see it in a second-hand resell, I'll buy it. It's very, very far out of my usual price range but for now, when it comes to expensive perfumes, I'm like my mother: if we find one that we like and we stick, stick, stick to it. Mom wore the same perfume for 20 years until production was discontinued.

Fortunately, I was able to secure two full replacement days in the coming weeks and with my birthday and Christmas coming up, I should be able to put a nice nest egg aside to pay for at least 50 ml.

Anyways, if you have time to loose, I had fun listing all my perfumes under the cut with what they smell / what I think of it.

Montblanc Legend : My very first perfume after starting my transition, it's what helped me the most to feel good about myself when I had really bad dysphoria. It's a very, very rich fragrance, with a fougere/lavender/citrus top note, a floral rose/jasmine heart and an end note of oakmoss. Now that my nose has become even more sensitive, I have difficulty wearing it, but I still like it.

After that, all hail Adopt Perfumes lmao

At The End Of The World : Lavender, tonka bean, coconut wood and incense. Very "warm" and a little sweet, it is quite heady and a more “autumn” scent.

Blue Suit : Grapefruit, Apple, Violet Leaf, Vetiver. Very sharp and fresh, my mother hates it (she can't stand violet leaf) so I tend to avoid it around her. More of a spring scent.

I bought these two at the same time, for my first birthday after starting testosterone if I remember correctly. The first was my daily perfume for a very long time while I rather used the second, more lively and fresh, for more specific moments, like job interviews.

Hypnotique Incense : Pepper, Frankincense, Cistus Labdanum. Worn quite rarely, mostly when I'm in a witchy mood. Best smell to have around when I do my oracle readings. Very, very heady unfortunately, tends to cause me headaches and even a nosebleed once.

Vanilla Bourbon : Vanilla, Almond and Iris. One of my favorites from last year and what I wore almost all summer. Very very sweet, I smell like candy. Got a lot of compliments on that one.

Ravaging Vanilla : Amber vanilla, cognac and oak wood. I smell like a prohibition style bar with this one lmao. Much more intense and marked than my other vanilla perfume, I wear it on my most "masc" days. Smelling kinda like alcohol draws funky looks though.

Marrakech Royal : Cinnamon, orange blossom, tobacco and amber. My most recent purchase, because I wanted to smell spices because 🍁fall🍂. Very soft and sweet, I smell exactly like the gazelle ankles my roommate baked which is hilarious.

Since my birthday is coming up and I have a 1 bought, 1 offered, I'll probably end up with those two in addition.

Dubaï Palace : Saffron, black cherry, oud wood, vanilla. The one I was hesitant with when I bought Marrakech Royal. Also spicy, but more pronounced and I liked the saffron/oud wood combination.

Eternal Osmanthus : .... ZHONGLI HERE I COME LMAO. Osmanthus and cedar wood ? Empty brain no thoughts, sign me in babe.

[kysnv]

I wrote this ages ago as the start of a longer fic and decided to tidy it up and post it here. I have bits and pieces of the rest of the story written so I might post more one day but I'm also working on other stuff so who knows :)

  The Old Guard, gen, post-movie, no warnings, 758 words

  Seeing the rectory again is like standing in a painting.

The TV sits dark and reflective atop the cabinet. The chair Joe was watching the game in is overturned. Plaster and stone dust have long since settled, debris littering the floor where the wall next to the closed-off fireplace has been blasted away.

“Was that your handiwork or theirs?” Joe asks. He and Nicky had been given the bare-bones of what happened between them getting knocked out by the gas and Andy and Booker showing up at the lab, but he doesn’t remember this coming up.

Andy was fast getting her things and she glances over at the gaping hole in the wall as she comes out of the back room, bag already on her back. “Mine.”

Joe should’ve known; it has Andy written all over it.

A plane shudders overhead. Nicky rights the armchair and passes Joe his sketchbook. Nile stands at the edge of the ruined wall, looking into the church.

In the back room, Joe grabs the few things of his and Nicky’s they’d left lying around—the pouch with his pencils, the novel he’s been reading, Nicky’s jacket hanging over the bed frame. Their swords are still propped up in the corner at the end of their bed.

They always travel light, which means most of their lives are scattered across safehouses, and here is no different. Joe finds a small stack of old sketchbooks and loose drawings to take, and a book of poetry he bought for Nicky decades ago, which Nicky lost track of a few years back and has been looking for ever since.

Backpacks zipped tight, he gives the room one last cursory glance for anything he’s missed. Somehow, it’s not until then that he sees Booker’s duffel on the other side of the tiny room.

A dull stab of pain ignites in him.

A hundred years. Maybe it’s too harsh – half Booker’s lifetime, and by the end of it, Andy will be gone – but as soon as he thinks it, Joe remembers Booker calling him and Nicky about meeting up in Marrakech for their first job in a year and acting no different to when they last saw him. Booker using him and Nicky’s relationship, not to mention Andy’s grief over Quynh, as an excuse for what he’d done. Booker pretending to track down Copley on his laptop right in the other room while Nicky worked on the first homecooked meal they’d all had together in a year, and the first they’d had with Nile.

Joe slings both bags over his shoulder, grabs his and Nicky’s swords, and leaves the duffel behind.

Back in the other room, he finds Nicky and Andy emptying the cupboards and fridge of not just the leftovers from the other night, as they always do when leaving a safehouse, but the non-perishables too. He passes Nicky’s backpack over to him, wordlessly swapping it for Nicky’s Le Creuset.

“They clean up after me?” Andy asks, seemingly to no one until Joe sees Nile, having come back into the rectory through the newest entrance.

Nile nods, her expression a little shuttered. Briefly, Joe catches Nicky’s eye.

“Anything I can do?” Nile asks.

“We’re almost done.” Andy tosses something from the fridge into the bin. “Double check the back room, and then grab those books.”

Joe hitches his backpack higher on his shoulder and heads outside to the car, his hands full of swords and cookware. Thankfully, Andy has left the car boot open, and as he tucks the empty Dutch oven between the bags and an old blanket, Nile’s question to Andy carries from inside the rectory;

“What about Booker’s stuff?”

“He’ll come and get it if he wants it,” Andy tells her.

Joe looks down at the things packed into the car. Another plane passes overhead.

Most of his anger has already dissipated, or maybe he’s just tired. It’s been a long day – the pub and then Copley’s house in Surrey before a five-hour drive here to Goussainville, where the light is starting to fade.

As in any safehouse, they ate countless meals together here. They joked and laughed and watched football together. The ghost town plus the lack of windows in the rectory made it a good find, a good place to lay low. But now they throw out the food and rid the place of (almost) every sign they were ever there, and they close up the Charlie safehouse for the last time, and then they get in the car and they drive.

[daytimedrinkingdiary]

Perhaps - if anyone is reading this - you might wonder what on earth could keep me so busy, while not working, that I haven’t posted for weeks? Surprisingly, a lot! Visitors, Greek school, wandering around Athens.

It’s almost seven weeks since we made the journey from Marrakech to Essaouira and though mentioned in the previous post, there’s much more to recount.

The journey of a couple of hours was extended by our interesting stops. Where we didn’t stop was as interesting; villages where horse-drawn taxis were the main form of local transport and early model cars provided longer distance travel. Men - we didn’t see many women in public spaces - were often dressed in traditional robes. The ‘Universal Day of the Donkey’ should be declared for the countless donkeys we saw carting, pulling, carrying, standing around. I think the donkey holds economies together in some parts of the world….. We’d been told that we’d see goats in Argan trees but there was no evidence of that so perhaps it’s the wrong season or it’s a myth?!

Essaouira is famous for it’s connection to the hippie trail that brought famous folk like Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones, to the town and the reminders of that are everywhere. Orson Welles has a square named after him in memory of both his love of Morocco and filming of “Othello” on and around Essaouira’s walls and fortress (“Game of Thrones” also filmed an episode there apparently).

G swam in the Atlantic Ocean on our first day in Essaouira which, after the Meditteranean, was bracing. You’ll see a photo below of G and Lucien having a lovely time on the shore.

Essaouira is a significant fishing port, bringing in large catches of sardines and anchovies that are shipped to Spain and Portugal. The boats, squashed together in the harbour every day, are painted blue which apparently attracts sardines. It’s possible to walk amongst the fishermen as they bring in their catches and, by walking further along the port, seeing the larger boats bringing in their nets. All along the quay, fishermen sell their catch and, if you wish, you can buy the seafood you’d like and have it cooked on an open grill back at the entry to the port. Lucien (aged 6.5) is a keen fisherman who was fascinated by everything that was happening, especially the fish being sold and the nets being winched off and on the big boats.

Away from the port, within the walls of the medina, craftspeople make and sell their wares. Like so much of Moroccan culture there’s great delight in the hidden. Behind a blank door you might find a beautiful riad or a hammam; a wooden box requires a particular twist, turn or trick to open it. I am beguiled by the pride and skill of Moroccan artisans and craftspeople and their delight when their work is appreciated.

We ate some wonderful meals with J, J & the boys especially at a restaurant where we lolled about on divans listening to the owner’s favourite tunes of the ‘60s and ‘70s!

The Essaouira bazaar, smaller but as fascinating as Marrakech, revealed everything from woven goods, clothing, second hand everything-you-can-want-or-need, jewellery, Berber crafts (astounding), birds, food, rugs, spices, scents to buy by the gram (I bought amber and orange blossom). A sensory dictionary.

On our final day, G, J, J and the boys decided that a camel ride along the beach was in order and what a marvellous time they had! I spent a blissful hour or so alone at the riad, horses being more my thing!

There is so much more to write about Morocco but this probably isn’t the place. My memories will live on through photographs and my recollections will bring me great joy for as long as I’m around to remember. I hope we return some day…..

Pics by me, G & J

[twwpress]

Weekly Press Briefing #55: July 9th - July 15th

Welcome back to the Weekly Press Briefing, where we bring you highlights from The West Wing fandom each week, including new fics, ongoing challenges, and more! This briefing covers all things posted from July 9 - July 15, 2023! Did we miss something? Let us know; you can find our contact info at the bottom of this briefing!

Challenges/Prompts:

The following is a roundup of open challenges/prompts. Do you have a challenge or event you’d like us to promote? Be sure to get in touch with us! Contact info is at the bottom of this briefing.

We (@twwpress) recently hosted a Wheel of Destiny Drabble Challenge. Check out the AO3 collection here. 

Photos/Videos:

Here’s what was posted from July 9 - July 15. 

Allison Janney posted a photo of herself striking in support of SAG-AFTRA.

Amy Landecker posted photos of herself and Brad at the Leadership Blue Gala in Miami in support of the Florida Democratic Party. 

Amy Landecker posted a photo of her and Brad’s pets, Kiki and Izzy. 

Amy Landecker posted photos of herself and Brad in Lebec, CA, including a photo of Brad on a horse. 

Bradley Whitford posted a photo of himself on a horse.

Dule Hill posted photos of himself and his family in Marrakech, Morocco. 

Mary McCormack posted a video of Harry Dean singing and playing guitar, in memory of him on his birthday. 

Peter James Smith posted a selfie from the picket line.

Peter James Smith posted a video in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Donna Moss Daily: July 9 | July 10 | July 11 | July 12 | July 13 | July 14 | July 15

Daily Josh Lyman: July 9 | July 10 | July 11 | July 12 | July 13 | July 14 | July 15

No Context BWhit: July 9 | July 10 | July 11 | July 12 | July 13 | July 14 | July 15

@twwarchive: July 9 | July 10 | July 11 | July 12 | July 13 | July 14 | July 15

Edits/Artwork:

#ABBEYANDJED: the story started when you said hello. by @livsbenson [VIDEO EDIT]

#JOSHDONNA oh no I’m falling in love (Donna and Josh’s version) by @somethingbuffy [VIDEO EDIT]

#JOSHDONNA: i can see you by @JessBakesCakes [VIDEO EDIT]

Editors’ Choice:

Sometimes you just need a little fluff to get you through the day. Here is a selection of some of our favorite fluff fics! Be sure to share yours that we may not have included!

there’s more to love than what we’re making by sam_writes_fics for swancharmings | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | Josh moves to roll over, but Donna just holds on to him tighter.

“No, don’t move,” she tells him, splaying her hand across his chest. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

/ / little spoon josh lyman

 all i gotta do is say your sweet name by hufflepuffhermione for mikaylawrites | Rated M | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | "You’re not going to come out and hear me speak?”

Josh kisses her cheek. “We’ll be waiting in the wings, and then I’m taking you home.”

“Home?”

“Well, to the hotel here. We have two rooms…” he says, wiggling an eyebrow.

.

October 2022. While surprising Donna on the campaign trail, Josh reads an article and finds a new word to describe his wife.

 all’s well that ends well to end up with you by Luppiters |  Rated G | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | Complete | C.J. and Danny find a moment of quiet in a hectic day and reflect about how they got to where they are.

 this night is sparkling (don’t you let it go) by singingaboutwishing for crystallineirises | Rated G | C. J. Cregg/Kate Harper | Complete | CJ and Kate, post-"The Wedding".

Ikea by gutsandglitter | Not Rated | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | Complete | Danny takes CJ to Ikea for the first time. 

Distracted by VarjoRuusu | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn | Complete | The recent addition of Sam's reading glasses is distracting. Very distracting. One late night Josh get's caught being distracted by Sam's glasses while Sam is trying to read the budget memo.

 a thrill to rest my cheek to by thefinestmuffins | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | “Then we have to tell CJ.” And, already in motion, Josh grabbed her hand and attempted to take it with him.

“Now?” Donna’s brain scrambled to catch up with her body, and her heart was still fluttering with all the words, and the dancing, and most especially the kissing. “Is CJ even still here?”

//Or: after a fairy tale evening, our favorite idiots in love enlist the help of their friend the press secretary, who just so happens to be... completely wasted. 😅

Fics:

Presenting your weekly roundup of fics posted in the tag for The West Wing on Archive of Our Own.

Josh/Donna

Errors and Omissions by Chinesepapercut | Rated M | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

Exile by MatthewsMary | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

i hate accidents (except when we went from friends to this) by JessBakesCakes | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

Domestic Days by spooky_spacegirl | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

Wonderful in a Loathsome sort of Way by JayeReid1 | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

all roads lead to rome by thefinestmuffins | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

Hawaii by JessARober1501 | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

CJ/Danny

hope you couldn’t see what i was thinkin’ of by Luppiters | Rated G | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | Complete

Eight Years by miabicicletta | Rated G | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | Complete

just wrong enough to make it feel right by Luppiters | Rated G | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | Complete

12 Months by Jxjxjx |  Rated G | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | In Progress

our secret moments (in a crowded room) by onekisstotakewithme for, miabicicletta, Luppiters, daylight_angel | Rated T | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | Complete

Abbey/Jed

That’s What Friends Are For by mlea7675 | Rated G |  Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | In Progress

Wait For Me by imperfectirises | Rated M | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | In Progress

Which Plantagenet Do I Most Remind You Of? by GlitteringNiffler | Rated G | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | Complete

Always and forever yours by Labda | Rated G | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | Complete

 Other Pairings/Gen Fic

Running Scared by bklynleo77 | Rated M | C.J. Cregg/John Hoynes | Complete

Stranger than years before by Not_the_ghost | Rated G | Sam Seaborn (No Pairings Listed) | Complete

Maybe the moment’s right (the moment’s right) by Worldsofdreamers | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn | Complete

Do you think I forgot about you? by Worldsofdreamers | Rated M | C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler | Complete

The Language of Tomorrow by silasfinch for justdreaming88 | Rated T | Ellie Bartlet/Original Female Character(s) | In Progress

What, you are saying a Southern Republican can’t be gay! by Serene_Ms_S | Ainsley Hayes/Donna Moss | Complete

it started off with a kiss... now it ended up like this by imawkwardlysoc | Rated G | Sam Seaborn/Original Female Character | In Progress

 Multiple Pairings

Paradise City by casliyn | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Josh Lyman & Donna Moss, Amy Gardner/Josh Lyman | In Progress

she was the type of girl the great poets would’ve written about. by katereadsandwrites | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Ainsley Hayes/Sam Seaborn | Complete

like a kennedy when camelot went down in flames by MarvelousAvengfulSlytherin | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Joey Lucas/Sam Seaborn | In Progress

THE WEEKLY PRESS BRIEFING TEAM CAN BE REACHED VIA THE FOLLOWING METHODS:

Twitter: @TWWPress

Email: weeklypressbriefing@gmail.com

Feel free to let us know if we missed something, if you have an event you’d like us to promote, or if you have an item that you’d like included in the next briefing!

 xx, What’s next?

[silveragelovechild]

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

The thing about a franchise like McDonalds is that you can go to any outlet and knows exactly what to expect. A few years ago I toured Turkey and Greece. After 3 weeks of lamb kabobs and souvlaki I was desperate for something familiar. When I got back to Athens I went straight to the McDonalds on Syntagma Square and ordered a Big Mac meal. It was delicious and exactly what I wanted.

Movie Franchises operate in the same way. A movie with a new idea, or state of the art effects will be successful. It becomes a franchise when the studio orders sequels. The marching orders are to make the sequel more of the same. The hero is never in any real danger, otherwise who will star in the next sequel.

When George Lucas and Steven Spielberg reinvented the 1930s serial adventure with Indiana Jones, a new iconic hero was born. Four sequels followed over the next 42 years.

Of course, like everyone else I loved Raiders of the Lost Ark. I don’t remember the details of Temple of Doom except that the excessive violence gave birth to the PG13 rating (and Spielberg himself hated it). Last Crusade was fun, with Sean Connery as Indy’s dad.

Then… a 19 year wait until Crystal Skull. Ugh. In my opinion it’s worse of the bunch. Adding scifi to Indy’s resume was a big mistake. But did Lucas and Spielberg learn their lesson not to go back to the same well again? No.

With another 15 year wait, Dial Of Destiny arrived at theaters this week. What did these masters of cinema deliver? More of the same… lots more of the same. There are more Nazis, more long chase scenes; more Christ-related artifacts, and more science fiction! Did I mention more Nazis?

I’ve got to hand it to Harrison Ford. He gives it the old college try, huffing and puffing through each chase. At the age of 81, for his sake I hope a stunt double did most of the hard stuff. I imagine insuring Ford in case of accidental death took a chunk of the $295 million budget.

But it was nice seeing John Rhys-Davies in a couple of scenes. I probably shouldn’t say this but I was surprised he is still alive. But guess what? He is 2 years younger than Ford.

Co-Star Phoebe Waller-Bridge is the most unlikable character in the entire Indiana Jones pantheon. She is an annoying and untrustworthy - more so than the Nazis.

I need to mention Ethann Isidore, he plays a young teen who is this film’s Short-Round. I suspect Harrison Ford will forget all about him until Isidore wins an Oscar in 20 years.

Speaking of the Nazi villains, Mads Mikkelsen plays a Nazi scientist trying to get his hands on the McGuffin. Mikkelsen can play Nazi villains in his sleep but I thought the character was underwritten. No real motivation other than “I’m a power hungry Nazi.”

Boyd Holbrook and Thomas Kretschmann also play Nazis. I’d love to ask them “Don’t you ever get tired of playing Nazis?!?”

As I mentioned, there are several chased sequences - in streets and tunnels of NYC, in the crowded streets and alleys of Marrakech, and another that I’ve already forgotten entirely about. But here’s the thing about the chase scenes… it doesn’t matter how fast they go or the short cuts they take, the Villains always catch up to the heroes within a couple minutes - every single time.

And the most annoying thing of the entire plot… Mikkelsen and his Nazi thugs kill plenty of innocent people throughout the kill. But when Mikkelsen finally obtains the McGuffins he was searching for, does he kill Indy? No - like a Bond villain, he decides to Monologue is plans and bring Indy with him through the <redacted> to witness his triumph. Such Bullshit.

And the scifi element? I won’t describe it but it is full of plot holes and so far beyond anything featured in an Indiana Jones movie so far, it’s more laughable than the aliens in Crystal Skull.

I’m sure you’ve read that, like other movies starring old actors, Harrison Ford was “de-aged” for portions of the films. While it looks better than the first de-aging I saw in “X-Men Last Stand”. Young Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen looked like cabbage patch dolls!

The problem with the de-aging here it that the scenes go on way too long. And the longer you see it, the weirder it becomes. It’s especially noticible when his face is in shadows or in profile (his nose just looks weird). They should have just used it briefly, but the scenes go on about 15 minutes.

NOTE 1: There are NO scenes after the credits BUT the final scene of the movie may be its best.

NOTE 2: The film is rated PG13. It’s probably due to the extraordinary people shot and murdered throughout the movie - lots of Nazis and lots of civilians too.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 93%

Temple of Doom (1984) 77%

Last Crudade (1989) 84%

Kingdom of the crystal skull (2008) 77%

Dial of Destiny (2023) 66%

[tina-aumont]

Hi Eleni! Look what I’ve found!

This is the link:

https://www.cinematheque.fr/film/154288.html

WOW ANDREAAAAAA 😍 😍 😍 🌟 Thank you very much for sending me this, it is totally new to me!!🌟

I’m going to translate the text into English and paste it here, it’s really interesting!! 😍💜 💜

A new Home Movie by Frédéric Pardo has been found and it will be shown the 9th March 2023 at 19:30h at Cinema Reflet Medicis

                         Home Movie : Tina Aumont

Frédéric Pardo

France 1968  / 9 min 

With Tina Aumont & Roland Pardo (Frédéric Pardo’s dad).

Editing of found footage of fiction in Italian and shots of Tina Aumont and Frédéric Pardo in the Luxembourg Gardens, and in the countryside in a cemetery. Then shot of a lunch in the garden of a country house, we see Tina and Pardo’s father.

2K digitization at the CNC laboratory by the Cinémathèque française, from the 8 and 16 mm copies kept in the collections.

Three Home Movies, from a collection deposited at the Cinémathèque. Three previously unseen films, which show, in their simplicity of family films, an artist in love: Tina Aumont is permanently at the center of Paris Home Movie With Tina, a candid poem shot mostly in the alleys of Luxembourg and Pardo New York, where the couple joins Viva and Michel Auder in Central Park, and where we also see Nico at the window of a room in the Chelsea Hotel. Here again, Tina magnetizes the painter’s gaze. What he does with her and the light has no other aim than to translate into images an intimacy that obsesses and delights him. Different, because devoted to the group – in this case the Zanzibar band, Philippe Garrel, Serge Bard, Patrick Deval, Jackie Raynal, Michel Auder, Daniel Pommereulle and Sylvina Boissonnas – Home Movie Marrakech begins in Venice. Tina contemplates the Grand Canal from her room before continuing in a boat, then it’s Morocco, crossed in a large American car. We recognize Sylvina Boissonnas, producer and patron of the group, Caroline de Bendern, Auder, and others (it could be, it is to be confirmed, Jean Mascolo, Babethe Lamy and Pierre-Richard Bré). It is a prolegomena to the Home Movie that Pardo will do in the wake of the filming of Garrel’s Le Lit de la Vierge. It is notable that these films were not listed in the catalog of Zanzibar productions. Pardo obviously had no intention of showing them. Discovering them today, however, leads us to place them (all things considered) alongside certain films by Pierre Clémenti, Warhol, Mekas or Garrel: a whole crest line of a cinema that fuels the intimate, the couple, to the band, and to the meeting. In the psychedelic paintings that Pardo was doing at the same time (from his initiation, by Klarwein, to the ancestral tempera method), the princes, the sponsors were replaced by friends, loves. It was an idea he held dear. When we know the influence (aesthetic in all) that Pardo had on the Zanzibar group, we understand better in what perspective Garrel, at the time of Le Berceau de Cristal (where he films Pardo at work) needed in turn to gather his “ family” in his films. To repopulate an imaginary in exile, caught in a perpetual flight.

Philippe Azoury