#Variety Magazine

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

There’s a Variety article I read today that summarizes how I felt about “Deadpool and Wolverine”. It’s a movie that was made by a genuine Marvel fan, from the fanservice to the disses.

The fanservice in this movie feels like it’s targeting the fans that are really into Marvel. Of course, you have yellow suit Wolverine. But there are references that casual fans probably wouldn’t understand, like Channing Tatum playing Gambit, the Wolverine crucifix, and Henry Cavill Wolverine.

The disses in the movie feel like they also came from a Marvel fan. When Wade says stuff like, “You joined at a low point” and “You’ll be playing this role till you’re 90”, those are the kind of jabs that the fanbase would make. Think of it like this. A hater would probably say something along the lines of superhero movies are the death of cinema, or that we should be watching A24 over anything Marvel related. You know, surface level criticisms. A fan would make digs that they could only do if they’ve been following the universe for a long period of time.

For example, I’m a fan, and I know I’ve made jokes in the past about the whitewashing in Doctor Strange. Or that Agents of SHIELD is better than anything in the main movies. Or that the Netflix Marvel shows were so poorly organized that they failed to properly build up to the Defenders miniseries. Or that the people behind the Fox X-Men movies don’t know how to make a good story without Wolverine. Those are critiques, but I could only make those critiques if I’m a genuine fan who consumes this material.

That’s why I like how Variety described Deadpool as if he was a Marvel fanboy. Because he is! He spends a great deal of the movie fanboying over Captain America and Thor, he views the Avengers as the gold standard of what it means to be a hero, he jokes at the expense of Fox and Disney, and he winks at the audience when he knows that the next scene is something that the Marvel fanbase would truly love. Again, the movie is a love letter to Marvel and the Marvel fanbase and it shows.

[tswiftupdatess]

New/old pictures of Taylor Swift for 2020 Variety Magazine photoshoot!

(October 14, 2024)

[world-of-celebs]

Sydney Sweeney arrives at the Variety Power Of Young Hollywood held at NeueHouse Hollywood, California on August 10, 2023. 

[theerastour]

Taylor Swift for Variety’s Directors on Directors

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

WRITER SARA HESS TALKING ABOUT RHAENYRA AND ALICENT'S RELATIONSHIP IN SEASON 1 AND THEIR MOTHERHOOD FOR VARIETY MAGAZINE.

“I can definitely understand that it’s hot watching complex female characters who have agency and who are trying to navigate the world and understand themselves. Like, that is hot,” nonbinary actor D’Arcy says.

“And is very different from, I suppose, more two-dimensional portrayals of female sexuality.” 

Cooke adds: “I guess what’s alluring, and quite scintillating, is that they all live in quite close proximity to each other,” noting “House of the Dragon” Season 1’s focus on keeping its characters near the Iron Throne in King’s Landing.

“Stealing these loaded looks with someone that you fancy and that’s forbidden, that’s hot. It’s all hot.”

“We had a lot of conversation at the beginning about, is this a feature or a flaw?” Hess says.

“There’s a lot of births, do we want to see a lot of births? My thinking was, every single childbirth I’ve ever seen on television, in any show, in any genre at any time, has always looked exactly the same: the woman lying on her back with her feet in the stirrups and doing the pushing and the baby comes out.”

“In my experience, women give birth in vastly different ways.”

“I thought we should show them all and they be really, really different, separate experiences and not just, now there’s that birth scene and we all know exactly what it looks like.”

FOLLOWING THE BIRTH SCENE IN EPISODE 6, D'ARCY RECALLS SHOOTING A PARTICULARLY REALISTIC MOMENT OF MOTHERHOOD WHEN RHAENYRA FINALLY GETS TO REST AFTER GIVING BIRTH AND IMMEDIATELY GOING OFF TO SHOW THE BABY TO ALICENT:

“She gets in and [her sons] Jace and Luke have gone and got a dragon’s egg and want her to look at it.”

“And I just remember responding, ‘Wow, that looks perfect,’ but not looking at them at all, I was looking in the other direction.

“And that felt like what a lot of parenting is probably like.”

FOR COOKE, THE MOTHERHOOD MENTALITY HIT IN EPISODE 9, WRITTEN BY HESS AND DIRECTED BY CLARE KILNER:

“That moment in the carriage where Alicent’s hungover son asks her if she loves him, and she says it by smiling and saying, ‘You imbecile.’

“Like, it’s so obvious, this is all for you.”

“Everything that I’ve done.”

“Everything that I’ve sacrificed.”

“All the awful things I’ve done in order to facilitate your ascension is because I love the bones of you.”

BUT MOTHERHOOD IS FAR FROM THE ONLY ASPECT OF A WOMAN'S LIFE THAT FEMALE WRITERS LIKE HESS AND WOMEN DIRECTORS INCLUDING KILNER AND PATEL INFUSED INTO THE STORY, WITH MUCH OF THE SEASON FOCUSING ON YOUNG ALICENT (EMILY CAREY) AND RHAENYRA (MILLY ALCOCK) AND THEIR DEEP BOND AND INTENSE FALLING OUT.

“There’s an element of queerness to it,” Hess says.

“Whether you see it that way or as just the unbelievably passionate friendships that women have with each other at that age.”

“I think understanding that element of it sort of informs the entire rest of their relationship… Even though they’re driven apart by all these societal, systemic elements and pressures and happenings, at the core of it, they knew each other as children, and they loved each other and that doesn’t go away.”

Hess continued: “Olivia has told me she believes — and this is her headcanon — that they at some point kissed or made out or had some kind of physical interaction that Alicent’s mother found out about and forbade.”

“And that was Olivia’s head story, ‘Oh, I can’t do that. That’s not right.’ And that’s the background for her in their relationship going forward. I would be 100% down with that.”

COOKE SAYS SHE AND D'ARCY HAVE “DEFINITELY” TALKED ABOUT ALICENT AND RHAENYRA BEING “EACH OTHER'S FIRST LOVE”:

“But when it comes to our iterations of the characters, too much has happened and too much time has passed to probably even recognize those fledgling feelings.”

“But Condal and Hess weren’t “necessarily interested in ever defining” what that love meant in terms of the women’s sexuality.”

“I happen to be a queer woman, but I know straight women who had ‘Heavenly Creatures’ -esque, romantic friendship with their best friend at that age,” Hess said.

“That’s something that I think, probably — I don’t want to stereotype anybody – but it seems to be more a phenomenon with young women than it is with men, probably because whether you’re queer or not, society cares less if you’re physically intimate with each other or hugging or touching each other.”

“You can have sleepovers and sleep in the same bed and nobody cares.”

[marvelsgirl616]

Sebastian Stan getting a standing ovation 🥹😭❤️ (I know his introverted ass is internally wanting them to stop but is also super grateful) the tears omg I’m so proud of my you seb 🥹😭 I wish anthony was there with him😭😭

[mrs-stans]

@ericaerk: BTS // SEBASTIAN STAN // @variety @imsebastianstan photos x @heatherhazzan styled x @mjonf hair x @ericaerk @ericaadamshair using @gamaitaly.us skin x @akgroomer using @circa1970beauty

[sincericida]

ANDREW GARFIELD

at 'Variety' dinner at the Toronto International Film Festival 2024

[pro-royalty]

Victoria Monét x Variety

[remusfinglupin]

New photos from the Percy Jackson show from Variety!!

[p0p-salvation]

Paul Mescal

Variety November 2024, photographed by Mason Poole.

[itsagentromanoff]

Sebastian Stan for Variety

[lovelyy-moonlight]

Elizabeth Olsen and Meghann Fahy for 2023 Variety Exclusive Outtakes.

[krispyweiss]

“Beatles ’64” Premieres Nov. 29 on Disney+

The Beatles are coming to America again - on celluloid.

Producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi’s “Beatles ’64” is to debut Nov. 29 on Disney+ and chronicle the Fabs’ first trip to America via rare and previously unseen footage alongside new interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Variety magazine reports.

Though much of this period was covered in Ron Howard’s 2016 film “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years,” “’64” promises “a more-intimate, behind-the-scenes” look at this opening salvo in the British Invasion.

McCartney, Starr, Olivia Harrison and Sean Ono Lennon are among the film’s executive directors.

10/15/24

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

EWAN MITCHELL INTERVIEWED BY VARIETY MAGAZINE.

AFTER THE BATTLE OF ROOK'S REST, WHERE IS AEMOND AND AEGON'S SIBLING RELATIONSHIP?

"It’s never been great between those two."

"Aemond has always seen Aegon as someone inferior who lacks the dedication and persistence to be king, whereas Aemond has always seen himself as — although he is the spare — that he should have been treated as the first son."

"Aegon himself even says, in Episode 9 of Season 1, he has no wish to rule."

"You get the idea that he has no political ambition whatsoever."

"You can see how that might look to members of the small council, because that’s someone you might be able to control, and have some sway on their direction."

"You couple that with Aemond, who you could argue has a political agenda and does have his own ambition, and you can see how that might not be as lucrative to the small council because that might be a wildcard — someone you might not be able to control as much."

"I love that scene when they vote Aemond into power, and he goes from one end of the table to the other because there is this massive switch."

"Aemond has been serving the war from this side of the table."

"He goes to the other side, and he sees all of these other characters in a new perspective."

"How can they serve Aemond now? It’s somewhat similar to the relationship with Aegon."

"How can he serve me now that he’s in his bed, and he’s terribly crippled from what Aemond did to him in the skies above Rook’s Rest?"

"It raises the question of how much of a hindrance he might serve to me in the state that he’s in, and now with Aemond’s newfound power, will he get in the way?"

"Is he still on my side?"

"I love all the shakeups in Episode 6."

WHAT POLITICAL AGENDA AND AMBITION DOES AEMOND HAVE NOW THAT HE'S ON THE IRON THRONE?

"He doesn’t even want to sit on the throne."

"Aemond recognizes that he who sits the Iron Throne ultimately becomes the most wanted man in the realm."

"Aemond has a pretty large target on his back already."

"A part of Aemond knows that anyone who sits on the Iron Throne accidentally cuts themselves."

"Heavy lies the head that wears the crown."

"Aemond might be happiest operating as prince regent."

"Or maybe he does want the throne! Maybe he does want absolute power."

"That’s what I love about Aemond, that ambiguity."

"You don’t know what master he serves, what he’s ultimately striving for."

"Whatever it is, it’s not going to be pretty."

AEMOND AND AEGON FINALLY TALK IN THIS EPISODE AFTER THE ROOK'S REST. AEMOND ASKS HIS BROTHER HOW MUCH HE REMEMBERS FROM THE BATTLE AND AEGON SAYS "NOTHING." BUT IT SEEMS LIKE AEMOND IS COERCING HIM INTO SILENCE, AND HE GIVES HIM THE LITTLE BALL FROM THE SMALL COUNCIL SEEMINGLY AS A BRIBE OR A THREAT. HOW SHOULD WE INTERPRET THAT SCENE?

"You’ll have to wait and see. I love that scene, because it’s almost like Stephen King’s “Misery.”

"It’s like this spider leering over his prey in the web."

"You’re right there in the palm of my hand."

"That’s certainly a new dynamic for Aemond, as well as his brother, who’s now physically inferior than him."

"I can’t wait to see where it goes."

"If I give all the answers, people will stop asking the questions."

"That’s a really cool way of looking at it."

"It’s the king’s marker."

"Maybe Aemond is giving it back to his brother, maybe he’s trying to reassure him that everything’s gonna be okay — “You’ll be king after you recover” — maybe lure him into that false sense of security."

WILL AEMOND GIVE UP THE THRONE ONCE AEGON RECOVERS?

"Aemond has a multitude of motivations."

"One of them is that he wants to be the war hero, and to be seen as this nigh-unkillable force, very similar to the Rogue Prince, the younger Daemon Targaryen."

"Especially because Aemond wields the largest singular power in Vhagar, with that power comes a great responsibility."

"He has to be seen as someone who can capably control that power."

"It ultimately means that in his mind has to be the person who wins the war for the Greens."

"He’s prepared to do the necessary evil."

"That’s the thing with Aemond, he doesn’t necessarily consider other people’s perspectives in the situation."

"He’s got his own singular vision."

"He sees the world through a very black and white filter."

"You’re either with him or you’re against him, and if you get in his way, he will cut you down."

AEMOND AND DAEMON HAVE SO MANY PARALLELS, BEYOND THEIR NAMES SOUNDING ALMOST IDENTICAL. THEY'RE BOTH SECOND SONS WITH GRANDER POLITICAL AMBITIONS WHO HATE EACH OTHER. WHERE DO YOU SEE THEIR RELATIONSHIP GOING WHEN THEY INEVITABLY MEET BACK UP?

"I think they’d be really good friends in reality."

"Aemond wants to be his uncle, but he also wants to be better than him."

"To achieve that, he has to do more than what he did, which is a tremendous feat in itself."

"So much of Aemond’s costume lends to the idea that he very much idolizes Daemon."

"He’s Daemon’s biggest stan."

"From the Targaryen blacks to the long hair, it’s so reminiscent of a young Rogue Prince."

"It’s a homage to his idol."

"I don’t want to spoil anything, but if those guys end up meeting in a room somewhere, every household object would become a dangerous weapon."

HAVE YOU AND MATT SMITH SPOKEN ABOUT HOW SIMILAR YOUR CHARACTERS ARE?

"One of the first decisions I made on my first shoot day was this idea that I would avoid Matt Smith’s eye contact, and only ever see Daemon."

"I was a big fan of “Doctor Who” growing up, and Matt Smith was such an electricity and a useful vibrancy that was a lot more accessible for a young kid."

"I dreamt of going on adventures with him, very similar to how Aemond would probably dream about going on adventures with his idol."

"So I thought there was something interesting in keeping Matt Smith on the podium, keeping Daemon Targaryen on that platform, so long as he was OK with it and Ryan Condal, our showrunner, was OK with it."

"That was definitely the direction that I wanted to go."

"I wanted to save that eye contact for a very particular moment in Season 1, where these characters finally come face to face at the banquet table and save the eye contact for that moment."

"It was just pure electricity in the room, to only ever see Daemon and to not see Matt."

"If you can keep those same relationships off of set that your characters have on set, it can pay off in tremendous dividends."

WHAT WOULD AEMOND BE LIKE IF HE HADN'T LOST HIS EYE WHEN HE WAS A CHILD?

"From losing his eye, he’s in a very different place physically and psychologically between Episodes 7 and 8 of Season 1."

"He’s developed himself into a weapon."

"I think about a line from M. Night Shyamalan’s “Split” in that “the broken are the more evolved.”

"Because he had his eye taken out, and was harmed and neglected for years as a child, he thought, — “I’m never going to get hurt like that ever again."

"I’m going to train with Criston Cole relentlessly and temper myself into a lethal weapon.”

"If he didn’t lose his eye, maybe he’d be a maester."

"I think he’d be a maester in the Grand Sept in Oldtown."

"But he would still have Vhagar."

"You could argue that if he didn’t claim Vhagar, he wouldn’t have lost his eye, maybe."

"That’s one of the really cool things about the show, tracing back to when the actual Dance of the Dragons started."

"You could say it was when Aemond killed Lucerys in the skies above Storm’s End, or when Lucerys took Aemond’s eye — or when Lucerys and Aegon brought the Pink Dread pig out, and bullied him relentlessly."

"It’s a very gray area, and that’s what I find really compelling."

WHEN I SPOKE WITH DIRECTOR GEETA PATEL, SHE SAID THAT AEMOND HAS SOME "MOMMY ISSUES" AND THAT'S WHY HE HAS A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH VHAGAR, THE OLDEST FEMALE DRAGON, AND THE MADAM AT THE BROTHEL. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT?

"I don’t know if he has mother issues."

"He just wanted to be loved by his mom a little bit more; he never really had that."

"He’s the spare son, and felt like he should have been treated as the first."

"He felt like he had to find surrogates in other areas, like this dragon."

"He found it in the madam, but are they enough? Kids need that unconditional love to develop a balanced view of themselves."

"If a child isn’t embraced by the village, they’ll burn it down to feel its warmth."

"Aemond’s going to seek validation through other means, and through war."

"Ultimately, one of the other driving factors Aemond is he wants his mom, that thing he’s always craved."

"He wants her affection."

"I don’t think there was anything more Aemond wanted at the end of Episode 10 of Season 1 than to just be held by his mom, and he wanted to say: — “I’m sorry. I messed up. I made a mistake. I let my emotions get the better of me.”

"He possesses this code that stops him from doing that."

"He must be seen as this nigh-unkillable, Terminator-like figure who doesn’t feel anything because love is weakness, and “weak” isn’t in Aemond’s vocabulary.

[spoileryreblogs]

season one was not just an isolated incident