#ang talks classic tv

[the-price-of-tomato-juice]

The best ways to determine what season of MASH you're watching: Trap or Beej Frank or Charles Henry or Potter Is Klinger wearing a dress or fatigues? Is Margaret friendly toward Hawk or no Does BJ have his 'stache yes/no How grey is Hawkeye's hair

[asherlockstudy]

How to do perfect staging: a lesson from Italy

I mentioned at some point I might actually make a post drooling over Italy's Måneskin performance and staging. I was kinda bored to be honest and decided against it but then all those trashy rumours that try to bring the winners down seemed so disgraceful and embarrassing to me that I decided again to do it. Now, the truth is that their performance was a little better in the semi-final introduction act. Perhaps this was due to the anxiety of the Grand Final. This is why I am going to use photos and gifs from that act and perhaps this will show to some that the perfect package might need a little bit of everything, and not just slap your language on the audience's ears with the expectation that this alone is always enough. *Did I make this too personal?*

Anyway, I digress. And I don’t mean that the Grand Final performance wasn’t still the best of the night, I just mean it wasn’t at the same God Tier level as the semifinal one.

Here's why the Italians took advantage of the Dutch stage until its very last millimeter and way more cleverly than any other country.

This is the only act that starts from the back of the stage, where the singer Damiano David waits for us alone.

Even with the rest of the 25 competing countries, this intro makes you forget that you are watching a contest with 26 countries as guests. Unlike anyone else, Italy looks like the host, like this place belongs to them and the frontman waits for you to show you around and possibly drag you to the world of Måneskin. In fact, you almost forget it’s Eurovision - this now looks like a Måneskin concert or, even better, a more private space of theirs with an ominous industrial feel. One of the most impactful things now is the lighting. Take a look at it. Almost all contestants throw all the lights on themselves or on some important prop they have prepared. The Italians are the only ones who chose to just light the stage itself. The simple white lights on the black stage give the impression of depth and it is the only act which shows emphatically the size of the stage. Why this? Well, we already established that in the first seconds the viewers feel they are in a new space belonging exclusively to Måneskin - the lights make us feel that their area is vast and dark and we are about to be drawn to its depths.

Damiano indeed guides us to the front as he sings, where the rest of the band are on the top of a platform. The other members won’t come down and join Damiano until he sings the appropriate verse “Buona sera, signore e signori” (=Good evening, ladies and gentlemen) and accompany it with a theatrical flamboyant bow (that feels very Italian). That’s when, technically introduced to the audience after the official greeting, bassist Victoria de Angelis and guitarist Thomas Raggi come off the platform and join Damiano.

There’s nothing excessive about the visual effects. Only the use of white lights that give the perception of depth and in the background the big shadows of the group’s silhouettes. They are in the front and they cast their shadows in the back; they create to you a feeling of being trapped by them but do you really want to escape?

When the second verse starts, Victoria and Thomas take the paths left and right of the stage and leave Damiano alone. They take even more advantage of the stage and in a typical classic rock band way. These two play with the side cameras but the focus is more on Damiano, whose verse sounds more like a tongue-twister. Since the cameras are rightfully on Damiano, I must now address the elephant in the room. Damiano is particularly attractive. In fact, the whole band is almost mind-bogglingly attractive and they clearly take a lot of care about how exactly they are going to look but Damiano, as the frontman, does especially so. So let’s talk about the outfit. They all have essentially the same outfit, however it is cut differently for each based on the person’s looks and personality. Isn’t it fantastic?

Damiano, who oozes confidence and sex appeal, has accordingly the most “provocative” outfit of the four. His chest and arms are bare so that his many tattoos can be seen. I’ll talk about the other outfits later as they all have their place in the... uh... white lights.

During the second chorus Victoria and Thomas return at the center and after the chorus it is time for the first solo; Victoria’s. The cameras are now on her but the lighting remains modest to accentuate the dark beat of her bass.

Victoria is the only girl of the group and the most dressed of them all - how refreshing! Her outfit is more similar to Thomas but she is buttoned up in the front. How does she wish to underscore her uniqueness as the woman of the band? But of course, with long flamboyant girly sleeves that come to delicious contrast with her aggressive stomping and her wide strides. Both her hairstyle and her outfit is inspired or basically just outright 70′s classic rock look.

It’s time for the bridge of the song right after her solo and Damiano has his attention on her and also draws the viewer’s attention to her some more. This part of the song is lower and softer - in relative terms - that’s why Damiano “chooses” her to sing it to. The lights now turn red, the intensity rises but there’s light flirtatiousness between them, with many smiles to each other and the camera that turns around them as they launch at each other playfully.

Then the song gets darker, more intense, the guitar stronger than the bass and Damiano’s voice turns to a scream. For this part, he turns to his bro, guitarist Thomas and he now draws the attention to him.

He grabs Thomas by the neck in an intense, intimate way (that doesn’t mean sexual, just intimate. His interaction with Victoria wasn’t sexual either). It is clear that through different ways Måneskin want to stress how good and close their relations are and that their singer, who is apparently a show stealer by birth, wants to ensure that they all get equal amount of attention from their audience. I love this.

True enough, nobody is left behind! The last chorus starts with a drums solo and Damiano goes up to the platform to now meet and introduce to us Ethan Torchio. Ethan stands up and his giant shadow is on the now blue background: this is the moment for the - so I hear - somewhat shy drummer to shine in his own aesthetic. The Italians leave none of their assets to fall down and Ethan’s impressive hair rightfully steals the show.

Just like Victoria and Thomas look alike, so do Ethan and Damiano, that’s why their costumes are the most similar. Ethan has a vest that covers him more than Damiano but leaves his arms bare. Because whose else the arms do you need to see if not the drummer’s?

This song has something peculiar because it was not a song originally written for Eurovision; it slows down in the end and  does not end on some impressive note from the singer as usual but with the last solo we expect, that of the guitarist, because everything is fair in Måneskin! The focus has to leave Damiano, so now it’s the time for the visual effects to finally catch fire, literally,  because nobody is allowed to take their eyes off them! Måneskin use a huge amount of pyro that however feels appropriate for the intense chorus and the ending guitar solo.

Thomas steps up for his solo and I forget we are in 2021. This is the most 70s thing I would ever hope to see.

In a hell of pyro, Thomas looks like he was tranferred right from a 70s rock ‘n roll concert. His outfit would be gladly taken by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. The unbuttoned jacket with this boho tie, such a classic 70s fashion touch. His haircut and even his FACE are the epitome of the 70s - what an ending sequence!

But hey we reached the end and this is Eurovision, the song slows down dangerously. Like I said, the Italians forbid us to get distracted. The attention must return to Damiano ASAP. Damiano says one last line and takes the audience with him to the very end with a death drop.

There you have it. Måneskin had me holding my breath for the full three minutes and I did not want to take my eyes off my TV. There are countless shows that are awesome - in this very Eurovision as well - but I was impressed by how they seemed to have found the perfect balance for everything in every single moment. They found the perfect stage concept for the song, they relied on visual effects only when they needed them and they stressed every twist and turn of their sound with a perfectly fitting move or interaction. They also all effortlessly could hold your attention and they made sure that they all would, with members often helping bring out other members. This performance was beautiful and, above all, clever which is why it was undoubtedly the worthiest of the win.  

[ilballodellavitaa]

Måneskin for QX Magasin - translation

The Swedish magazine QX did an interview with Måneskin when they were in Sweden, which they’ve now posted and here it is translated into English! Also a huge shoutout to @bidet-and-legolas for checking spelling and grammar for me!

The Italian Eurovision winners Måneskin have achieved great success during the ummer. No other Eurovision winner, ever, has managed to get new hits immediately after the win of the over 60 years old music competition. ABBA didn’t become an international success until one and a half years after the win of Eurovision 1974. But the unusual thing is that it has gone “worst” for the winning song Zitti e Buoni of all their songs on the top lists. Instead the single Beggin’ from 2017 (!) and I Wanna Be Your Slave, which was released this spring, have been topping the lists all over the world and have been talked about far outside of the classic competition’s borders. Måneskin, who most of us know about at this point, got their name after the Danish word moonshine which came from the bassist Victoria De Angelis with a Danish background. The band had their breakthrough in the Italian X-Factor 2017 and have had success in Italy until they won the San Remo festival earlier this year and thus got the opportunity to represent Italy in Eurovision. They entered as favorites, and took the victory with a lot of support from Europe’s tv-voters.

- We never thought we would win. But when we saw how many points the people gave us we had hope, says Victoria De Angelis.

They are late to their interview in the Upper House suite in Gothia Towers in Gotherburg when Victoria, singer Damiano David, guitarist Thomas Raggi and drummer Ethan Torchio come out from a nearby room styled in black and white. It is Victoria who with her hoarse voice starts talking with the help of Damiano; the other two are listening interestingly, but mostly nod in agreement.

At this moment Beggin', a cover from X-Factor which came out in 2017, is number one on Spotify's global top list. Isn't it weird to have a hit with such an old song?

- Yes, very weird. It is not really typical for how we sound today either. Our sound has developed, Damiano David explains and Victoria continues:

- As soon as the European tour is over we will go back to the studio again and continue writing. We have a few songs but we feel that it's important to find new material. We like to do a lot of songs, so we can pick the favorites later.

At the beginning of the summer the band was on the cover of the Italian Vanity Fair's pride edition, a statement that was very important for the band.

- It was important for us, especially in Italy which is a very closed-minded country when it comes to LGBTQ+ people. They have a conservative way of thinking and many people are against being gay. It is crazy, and it shouldn't be like that. We have a huge audience so we try to spread a positive message. Hopefully people who look up to us can find the courage when we say that everyone should be able to be whoever they want. It has been a taboo subject in the past, but we think it is important to spread that everyone should be able to be who they want and love who they want.

When I ask what it means when Damiano David is mentioned as a "LGBTQ-advocate" on his Wikipedia he blushes and explains:

- We try to not call ourselves that. Because those are such huge words. We do our best, and only because we talk about it we can't call ourselves that. But if we have knowledge on a subject we try to talk about it.

Victoria continues:

- I read an article yesterdy about an 12-year-old boy who likes us and wears makeup to school. He was beaten because of that, it was so sad to hear. When something like that happens we want to spread a message about feelig free to be whoever you want and not let idiots push you down. You are the one who is right and they are wrong.

In an earlier interview it was reported that Thomas is straight, Ethan "sexually free", Victoria bisexual and Damiano David is straight but "curious". Is that true?

- That was reported incorrectly. I am completely straight, but I'm not against anything. I think it was a missunderstading of the answer, says Damiano.

Do you think putting people in boxes acording to their sexuality is an old view of reality?

- Yes, but people are comfortable to put people in boxes. But often that isn't possible. I think there are many different boxes today. People should be more open-minded and stop putting people in boxes. You should only be curious of life and other people, tastes and passions, says Damiano and the others agree.

Victoria talks about when she realized she was attracted to girls and that she then didn't want to put a lable on herself.

- It is so stupid that people create a picture of who you are based on your sexuality. That's when stereotypes are made which some people don't recognize themselves in at all. That you are gay for example says nothing about your personality. The norms say that people are straight, but it limits so many people if they get to hear that at a young age. It takes a lot to break free from it when you figure out your own sexuality.

Måneskin are different from other rockbands with their style, when they mix looks that traditionally are viewed as masculine and feminine. Victoria often wears pants, the boys wear makeup and Damiano David can sometimes be seen in skirts.

The stylist Nicoló "Nick" Cerioni is the man behind many of the looks of the band.

- We like him because he is smart and good. He understands what we want and stand for with our clothes. When he wants to experiment we often say yes, says Damiano David and continues:

- Tonight I will maybe wear a skirt, but I don't feel like that's feminine. It is my skirt. Everyone should wear what they want. If I wear a crop-top, skirt, I should feel free to do so. We don't think masculine and feminine clothes exist...

- But you have to think about enough space for the cock, Victoria butts in.

Everyone laughs before Damiano continues:

- I would say so, but in a little more reserved way (laughs) "Obviosly our bodies have different forms..." but, yes for boobs and cock.

Have you always been experimental with your style?

- Yes as a 6-7-year-old I was very "boyish" in the way I dressed, and I had short hair. I thought girl clothes stopped me and prevented me from having fun. Luckily I had the strength to not care about what others said about me, says Victoria.

Thomas, who has been mostly quiet and listening adds:

- Be yourself and experiment with whatever it is, music, style...

Do you notice that the fans are looking up to you?

- They are writing that they are thankful. That thanks to us they dare to take the step to dye their hair, wear jewelry or wear makeup. We are so greatful, because that means they have understood us. To give the strength to others is one of the most beautiful things in this job, says Damiano David and the others agree.

What does the rock stage look like in Italy?

We ARE the rock stage (laughs). There are many older bands, and there are almost no young ones. We hope our fans can form their own band and strengthen the stage.

Do you have a dream collab?

- Rihanna. Miley Cyrus. Harry Styles. But maybe they are a bit too big?

Not really though? If you as an Eurovision winner reaches number one on the global Spotify chart nothing is impossible.

[ronmanmob]

Get To Know the Muse: Ron Kray

Below, we see a gangster in his natural habitat

Favorite things.

season: Like th’eat in summah, bu’ th’scents in autumn. Spring’s good f’me garden, ‘n wintah’s got ‘ot chocolate goin’ for it -- There’s goods ‘n bads fer each, y’know? Prob’ly autumn, if I ‘av t’pick one.

pie: R squared. *a snicker escapes* Don’t mind as long as i’s got fick gravy, bu’ f’pref’rence - beef. Not th’kind made wiv red wine though. Tha’ makes it taste sour ‘n sour meat, t’me, ain’t gonna be ate.

fruit: Same wiv meat - not sumfin sour. Quite like bananas, though mostly b’cause y’can eat ‘em quick when yer on th’go.

ice cream flavor: *a moment of deep consideration passes; he may as well have been asked to contemplate the meaning of life*...I do quite like mint. Mint chocolate.

breakfast food: Full English fry up made by me Aunt May *the answer is almost reflexive and comes through a smile’s implication*

alcoholic drink: *laughter now* It’d be easier t’pick ones I don’t like, mate. Ain’t a wine person, ‘n don’t enjoy cream-based drinks like Baileys. Ovvahwise, if i’s wet i’s fair game - especially if i’s a gin ‘n tonic or a species of brahn ale.

soda flavor: *a brief moment’s shocked contemplation* Didn’t realise there was more than coke, mate.

scent: Petrichor on th’air. Autumn evenin’s. Bonfire ‘n coal smoke on a cold breeze. Clean dog. Chanel n’5 on a lady’s collarbone. Dab’a somefin’ woodsy undah a man’s jaw. Clean skin ‘n sweat on a summah’s day. Old, well-kept leather jackets.

flowers: Me pick’ll change on th’season, mate. Though I do like Buddleja davidii, th’summah lilac. It smells gorgeous, ‘n is good fer th’bees too.

animal: Dogs. Dogs b’fore people.

movie: *a pause for consideration comes on* Prob’ly Darkest Hour.

tv show: Don’t really watch th’telly much, though I do ‘av ‘alf a mind fer th’soaps, since me mum ‘n aunt watch ‘em a lot.

book: Any’a Churchill’s.

fairy tale: Don’t really keep any too close t’me ‘eart if m’onest.

genre of music: Quite like classical, bu’ if m’aht on a date m’more a jazz man

genre of movies: ‘Istorical *a lopsided grin appears* M’a critic in them seats

genre of books:  ‘Istorical again, mate. Same again f’bein’ a critic too. I’ll go frew ‘em with a pencil markin’ aht all th’inaccurate bits. 

We on th’next bit yet? 

‘Ang on. Tea break.

Tha’s bettah. Right then.

Pick one.

hot or cold: Cold.

juice or soda: D’pends.

tv or movie: Movie

movie or book: Book

late night talk shows or reality tv: Talk shows. I can’t abide watchin’ people jus’ existin’ on th’telly. If I wanna do tha’ I’ll got t’th pub ‘n people-watch.

twitter or Instagram: Eh? Er...*c o n s i d e r a t i o n*...Prob’ly Instagram b’cause I can advertise me clubs on it bettah than th’ovvah one.

trees or flowers: Naw mate, bowf. Can’t pick.

philosophy or psychology: Now them-- They’re related I fink. Bowf again. I’ll talk bollocks abaht eivah fer ‘ours if y’catch us in th’mood.

ocean or lake: I’ve fished dogs ahta bowf. Ain’t got no preference.

water park or amusement park: Bowf’re too crowded, fanks.

cats or dogs: Dogs, though I don’t mind cats.

fresh water or sparkling water: Fresh. Tha’ sparklin’ stuff’s poison.

sugar or honey: Sugar.

cookies or candy: *derisive look* Biscuits. F’kin’ cookies- ‘Oo wrote this fing.

bath or shower: D’pends if there’s someone wiv me *a cheeky smirk tugs his lips* Showers’re f’two. Bafs I like alone.

morning or night: F’preference, mornin’. M’n early riser. Bu’then again I like th’night as well - s’parties ‘n drinkin’ ‘n dates, right?

running or walking: Walkin’. Don’t run by choice, me.

piercings or tattoos: ...S’cuse us a second- 

I’ll give yah a guess. Wha’s next?

frozen yogurt or ice cream: Ice cream

vanilla or chocolate: Chocolate, every time.

caramel or butterscotch: Caramel

art or music: Music

t-shirt or button down: D’pends on wha’ m’doin’.

text or call: Text. Every time.

ghosts or aliens: ...Fink I’ve seen more’a th’former, bu’ we c’n fuck off wiv tha’ line’a questionin’ right? Bit close t’me bones. Next.

Have they ever.

ridden a motorcycle: Yes

stolen something: Yes

eaten an entire pizza by themselves: Yes

made a prank call: Yes

broken a bone: Someone else’s

fallen asleep during a concert or movie: No - if y’fink I’d fall asleep in a public place y’don’t know me at all

walked out of a movie because it was so bad: Yes

been on the phone with someone for longer than 2 hours: Yes

dined & dashed: Th’fuck is tha’? No.

held a gun: Yes

ding dong ditched: *c o n s t e r n a t i o n* Wha th’fuck is THA’?

gone skinny dipping: *cheeky smile* Inside, yes. Outside, no.

cried during a movie: Fuck off

smuggled food into a movie: Every time I’ve been t’one. I don’t eat from conveniences.

lied to get a job: No

practiced lines in front of a mirror: Yes

tried to see how many marshmallows they can stuff in their mouth at once: No

been kicked out of somewhere: Yes

been on a blind date: When I was youngah

ghosted someone: No - if I ain’t interested I tell ‘em. Ain’t a coward.

bragged about something they haven’t done: Fink mos’ boys ‘av.

said i love you without meaning it: No. I don’t lie.

gotten in a fight: *throws his head back to bark out a laugh* Fuck off wiv th’stupid questions

fallen asleep on a bus: Wha’d I say abaht fallin’ asleep in public?

Miscellaneous.

how do they take their tea or coffee: Medium strengf wiv a sugar lump, fank you.

what is their ideal date: D’pends ‘oo I’m aht wiv really, bu’ th’fings tha’ stick are goin’ to a place where we c’n ‘av a lovely meal ‘n a chat; maybe aftah tha’ goin t’a spot wiv live music - maybe jazz, maybe soul. We might ‘av a dance while we’re there, bu’ if they know me they’ll know m’more a swayer while I talk ‘n cuddle yah than much else. Aftah tha’ it d’pends, again, on ‘ow we’re feelin’. If eivah’s tired I’ll take me date ‘ome, since m’a gentleman like tha’. If we ain’t, I know an ‘undred five star ‘otels where I can fetch us a suite t’enjoy coffee ‘n talk til th’early ‘ours. Or wha’evah else y’can get up to in a suite wiv a king sized bed in it, y’follow? *a snicker escapes through a lopsided smirk* I bet y’do.

what are some of their guilty pleasures: Pleasure ain’t sumfin I feel guilt abaht.

longest they’ve stayed up for: Oh fuck off, days. Near a week I fink. *flicks a point to himself* Insomniac.

greatest talent: *again with the lopsided smirking; he doesn’t say what he’s thinking real loud* Makin’ business connections ‘n ‘elpin’ me ‘n me bruvvah’s ventures grow.

strange habits: *SCOWL* Fuck RIGHT off.

can they do a handstand: I need a gun t’me ‘ead, bu’ I can

can they cook: *snort* I get distracted. A lot. I don’t do well if fings get too involved in th’kitchen.

do they have allergies: Lawyers ‘n th’police.

do they believe in love in first sight: Lust, yes. Love, no.

have any special talents: *a frankly evil chortle escapes* Ask me tha’ again aftah a skin full ‘n I’ll tell yah ALL abaht ‘em. Might show a couple off too, if yer ov a mind.

Tha’s yer lot now. 

stolen from: @tarnishedhalo

stolen by: anyone who wants it

[tabloidtoc]

Closer, April 12

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Bette Davis -- a life of fame and tragedy

Page 1: Contents

Page 2: The Big Picture -- actress Pier Angeli and James Dean who dated in 1954

Page 4: Sharon Osbourne under fire at The Talk

Page 5: George Segal was lucky at life and love

* The world remembers her as the trailblazing comic legend who starred in the classic '50s TV show I Love Lucy, but Lucille Ball's granddaughter Kate Luckinbill-Conner recalls a loving woman who was happy just being her Nana

Page 6: Picture Perfect -- Heidi Klum and her look-alike daughter Leni posing for some makeup free selfies

Page 7: Gabrielle Union and her daughter Kaavia James were all smiles during a boat ride in Miami, Kurt Russell teaching granddaughter Rani Rose to putt, Dr. Mehmet Oz and his granddaughter

Page 8: Katie Couric with her husband John Molner in Joshua Tree National Park

Page 10: Iman wearing her Iman Global Chic Graphic Tee and posing on a NYC rooftop

Page 12: Elizabeth Hurley in a white bikini at the beach

Page 13: Paula Deen with a pretty bouquet of flowers, Rob Lowe and Gwyneth Paltrow, Mayim Bialik with a cat

Page 22: Cover Story -- the Bette Davis only I knew -- the icon's personal assistant shares sweet memories and the lessons she learned from the star

Page 26: Chip and Joanna Gaines -- why our marriage works -- the demands of family and fame can't break their enduring bond

Page 28: 5 Things You Didn't Know About Me -- Sigourney Weaver

Page 33: Horoscopes -- Aries Paul Rudd turned 52 on April 6

Page 34: Entertainment -- Melissa McCarthy on Thunder Force, In the Spotlight -- Topher Grace

Page 36: On the Move -- George Strait

Page 38: Best Friends -- Chrishell Stause couldn't be happier that her sweet dog Gracie was successfully treated for two cancerous masses and she reminds people if you feel lumps and bumps on your dogs go get them looked at, Ramona Singer and a cockatoo in Palm Beach, Florida

Page 39: Isla Fisher and Akoha who is a horse that belongs to her friend Elsa Pataky, Mayim Bialik who stars in Call Me Kat snuggles up to puppies at Paw Works which is an L.A.-based rescue, Henry Winkler and his dogs Sadie and Linus

Page 40: Great Escape -- Danica Patrick on Egypt

Page 44: 5 foods that will make you smarter

Page 46: Exclusive Interview -- Marie Osmond -- challenges can be blessings -- the veteran performer reflects on family and faith

Page 50: Charlton Heston's son remembers he was a family man -- the Oscar winner portrayed larger-than-life characters, but his favorite role was simply dad

Page 52: Home Sweet Home -- when they need a little R&R, these celebrities retreat to luxurious dream properties -- George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Martha Stewart, Celine Dion

Page 53: Pierce Brosnan, Candice Bergen, Sting, Emma Stone

Page 54: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle -- big changes ahead -- with his first real job and a new baby on the way, Harry has finally taken control of his life

Page 56: Style -- add some spring to your step -- be bold in this season's colorful footwear favorites -- Caitriona Balfe

Page 58: My Life in 10 Pictures -- Anthony Hopkins

Page 60: Flashback -- sunshine yellow, head scarves, Aretha Franklin, tutus

[cherryonigiri]

the retrospective: alice’s 1k special || lover masterlist

matchup requests: CLOSED

@bbytetsu​ asked: 💘id love a matchup. mbti: infp/isfp. in kind, creative, strong-willed, independent, romantic. my hobbies: cooking, doing my nails, gym-ing, watching movies, writing, astrology. my style is minimal, a lil romantic, and a lil punk (i 💖daisy daisy tv, vivienne westwood). fav outfit: white oversized button up + corset skirt (like orseund iris’s gamine skirt) + black kitten heels. fav drink: cold barley tea/passion fruit green tea w boba! i dont have a fav team but it wouldnt b karasuno yikes + omg i didnt know my house or patronus lmfaoo but i took a quiz n it said ravenclaw n orca 😳 hope that helps  — ang

A/N: aHHHHHH ANG!!!!!! HIIIIII I HOPE U R DOING WELL ALSO OMG TYSM FOR GOING OUT OF UR WAY TO TAKE UR PATRONUS + HP HOUSE TEST HEHEEH OOO THAT IS SUCH AN INTERESTING COMBO WITH ORCA + RAVENCLAW. LOTS OF LOVE -alice PS - lmaoooooooo I was gonna match u with suga but ig that’s not happening 

Your matchup is: Semi Eita

How you met: You’re working part time as a bartender at a place where Semi regularly performs with his band. He probably does 2-3 shows per month, and you come in early before the night starts to set up the bar, so the two of you end up talking because it’s only the two of you in the bar until opening. You’re working on finishing up your college degree and Semi just graduated and started his job as a civil servant. The two of you strike up easy conversation whenever he’s setting up for the night, and by now you know his regular drink and have it ready for him after he and the band finish their set. Eventually, you find out that the two of you actually attended the same university, only that you were in different departments/colleges. 

Your first date: I feel like Semi is the kind of guy who will play things by ear for a while - and figure out if you’re interested or not. He probably just approaches you after his set and sits down at the bar until closing, sipping his favorite drink. He offers to help you clean up and the two of you enjoy companionable silence. Probably acts all chill/suave and is like “hey do you want to go out with me?” once you finish locking up the bar. For your first date, probably a nice dinner befor hand followed by a movie. I feel like Semi is a sucker for classic date ideas. Ooo but he’d probably take you to a drive in movie theatre - probably in a pickup truck. He packs several blankets, pillows + snacks so the two of you can lie in the bed of the truck watching the movie in peace. Lots and lots of cuddling during said movie.

Your first kiss: Ahhh it’s so romantic bc it also happens on your first date. The credits are rolling and people are slowly starting to pack up their stuff but you and Semi just sit there, kind of leaning on each other and enjoying each other’s presence. Slowly the lights + the projector turn off and it’s just the two of you and the stars. Mayhaps there is (coincidentally) a shooting star or meteor shower as you cup his cheek to bring his face closer to yours. I just imagine after the first time your lips touch Semi can’t get enough and pulls you closer, dragging you into his lab where the two of you continue to make out for quite a bit before packing things up and driving back to the city. When he drops you off at your place late at night he pulls you into another long and fierce kiss before you get out of the car. 

Anniversary: I feel like Semi would get you two matching/paired leather jackets - custom made/comissioned with some elaborate embroidery. They wouldn’t be identical, but the designs would be similar or centered around a similar theme - maybe the same flower/object embroidered but with slightly different designs that represent your individual quirks and personalities - your jacket might have symbols related to astrology, have some laces/ties whereas semi’s might have some references to his band + volleyball. I feel like you might get creative and maybe getting some custom jewelry for the two of you - some rings, studs, earrings, etc. For the day of the anniversary itself - the two of you have a lazy day at home - maybe a jam session or karaoke session where Semi plays the guitar + binge watching marvel movies or something. 

How they propose: Probably after you graduate from university. Semi still plays gigs at the bar you used to work at, except now that you have a full time job in a field you’re passionate about, you’re usually part of the audience, nursing some fruity version of a Long Island iced tea. As the band has grown, Semi has also grown as a songwriter (let’s be real he’s secretly a poet) so they’ve been performing more and more songs with Semi’s original lyrics/melodies. Towards the end of the night, when the bar isn’t as crowded, Semi steps up to the mic and dedicates the next song (I think he might call it “glowing eyes in the evening”) and it’s basically a song about your first date + other memories in your relationship. At the end he walks into the audience and kneels down in front of you, and says “Hey, can we get married?” 

What your wedding looks like: Definitely on the smaller side - Semi is a private person and invites a small group of people that he genuinely cares about + really values to the wedding. I feel like both of you have kind of a punk + modern aesthetic, so I feel like your wedding might also reflect that - I’m thinking you’ll probably find a gothic style chapel (architecture wise) to get married in bc it matches your aesthetic, but also the decorations would be super sleek + modern. As part of your reception Semi sings you a song + your first dance is to the recording of the song he sang when he proposed. I think Ushijima and Tendou tag team the best men toast and Semi probably yells at Tendou to stop calling him “semi semi” but also Tendou comes in clutch by providing desserts/chocolate for your wedding. 

Newlywed/domestic hc: You and Semi buy a house together, mainly because you convert one of the larger bedrooms into a creative studio/haven of sorts. It’s soundproof so Semi can jam inside and also has a bunch of production equipment but it’s also sort of cozy - with fairy lights, bean bags and a lot of throw pillows + blankets. Also there’s a lot of cupboards of stuff that you use for your artistic/creative projects. Also I feel like you and Semi would enjoy couple workouts - maybe every weekend on Saturday morning you’ll clear out your living room and lay out some yoga mats + weights and follow a workout video together.

[reidscanehand]

I've watch Frasier and Bob's Burger. I love it. You have such a good taste sweetheart.

As you can see i like your taste in series soo can you give a list of your series and films recommendation?

Ah! I'm so glad you enjoy them!

This is so sweet especially because I lowkey think I have absolutely horrendous (and/or just bizarre) taste, so I'm thrilled to hear that you like them, too!

In terms of other series I enjoy: I do not watch a lot of television, but I'm a big fan of Murder, She Wrote, Poirot, and Miss Marple (these are technically ITV series, but they're straight up like mini-movies). I really liked Downton Abbey until, like, season 4 or so. I watch Big Mouth a little, Brooklyn 99 (I have to be in a very specific mood to sit down and watch TV, so it really just depends on that). I grew up watching a lot of British television like The Vicar of Dibley and Are You Being Served?, which I like a lot as well. I grew up watching Friends and I like it as a comfort thing, but I barely 'watch' it, if that makes any sense. I will also...ever so occasionally watch documentaries about ghosts (I don't like ghost hunter things because I believe in ghosts and that feels...rude to the ghosts?) and Old Hollywood.

In terms of film, I'm all over the place. I like slightly creepy stuff and old stuff. My favorite film of all time is The Philadelphia Story, which is a classic farce based on a play and it stars Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart (who I adore), and Cary Grant. I'm a big fan of Bringing Up Baby (which also stars Katharine Hepburn), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (another Jimmy Stewart film). I love Alfred Hitchcock movies and my favorite is probably Rear Window. While it isn't a Hitchcock film, I love Charade, Wait Until Dark, and How to Steal a Million (all of which star Audrey Hepburn). I studied theatre and the best movie musicals I've ever seen are Cabaret, The Sound of Music, Meet Me in St. Louis, and Funny Face. I love period romance films, too, like Emma (2020), Sense and Sensibility (the one directed by Ang Lee and written by Emma Thompson because oh my GOD), and the 2005 Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Oh, and An Education.

I'm trying desperately to become like...a film buff? If I had my time again, I'd minor in film studies because I'm a huge fan of it...but I'm not smart enough to, like, talk about it? So, I'll occasionally try and watch, like, a 'smart' movie? In this category of films, there are more critically acclaimed things like When Harry Met Sally or Network or Misery or In the Mood for Love. From this year's Oscar nominees, I loved Nomadland and Promising Young Woman a whole bunch.

However, I also just like what I like and I'm fortunate enough to be getting to an age where I really just watch what I want to watch and don't watch what I don't want to. I'm really easy to please, which is helpful. Growing up, my favorite films were things like Return to Oz, The Cheap Detective, Clue, A League of Their Own, Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Corpse Bride (which I still list in my top 5 films of all time), The Secret Garden (1993 one, I think), Little Women, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Practical Magic (comfort tip: if you're having a bad day, cut yourself a slice of banana or pumpkin bread, pour a coffee or tea to have with it and watch Practical Magic; it cures the soul).

When I was young, I also listened to director commentaries on movies all the time, still do, sometimes, so I always recommend doing that because it's super fun and interesting. I, like, love knowing why a director wanted a certain actor to stand where they're standing or, like, the symbolism behind a shot. I did this all the time for my favorite Disney films. My favorites are any of them where the art is slightly different or more interesting, so I really love Snow White (frankly, a miracle that film got made), Sleeping Beauty (there was a different animation director than the other original few films and you can really tell), and 101 Dalmatians.

To sum up, I'm a long-winded gal who enjoys old comedies, laughing, slightly spooky things, old-fashioned things and listening to slightly nerdy commentaries. Hope this was...informative? Slightly helpful? Fun?

Love you xx

[joealwyndaily]

 Joe Alwyn — Red Magazine (Jan 2020) interview 

You’d think that a back-to-back Hollywood movie career and a megastar girlfriend might have changed Joe Alwyn, but he’s quick to assure Nathalie Whittle that his feet remain firmly on the ground. 

“So you didn’t see the part where the aliens attack?” asks Joe Alwyn, a playful smirk on his face. He’s referring to his latest film, Harriet, which I had a sneak preview of the previous day, although the fire evacuation (false alarm) meant I missed the ending. The biographical drama tells the story of Harriet Tubman (played by Cynthia Erivo), the historic abolitionist who escaped slavery and led hundreds of others to freedom. Alwyn plays her insufferably cruel and capricious slave master Gideon Brodess. He is, of course, joking about the aliens. At least, I hope he is. Today, we’re tucked away in the corner of a dimly lit bar at London’s Covent Garden Hotel. It’s the sort of drizzly afternoon that might dampen the moods of most, but not Alwyn. He appears cheery and at ease, sporting country casuals: a grey mohair jumper, blue jeans, and brown boots along with an unkempt beard; perhaps an attempt to disguise the boyish good looks he’s become known for. He stops to interrupt me only once with a look of alarm: he’s forgotten to offer me something to eat or drink. I can have anything I want, he assures me.

At 28, Alwyn has had the sort of career trajectory that most aspiring actors wistfully dream about for years, even decades. His education included a degree in English literature and drama at the University of Bristol, followed by a BA in acting at London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. But within two weeks of his graduate showcase, Alwyn received a life-changing phone call. He refers to it as the thing “I owe everything to.”

“I’d just signed with an agent and I was kind of pinching myself, you know, how surreal is that?” he says. “She sent me a portion of the script for a film, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, that Ang Lee was directing. I’d grown up watching his films — Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi — so I couldn’t believe I was even going to do a tape for someone like that. I got my dad to film me in a scene in my bedroom and some mates to film me during a lunch break. The next thing I know, Ang wants to meet me in New York.” Cue a series of auditions and screen tests that led to Alwyn bagging the title role in his first big-budget Hollywood film. He was just 24. “It was so much so fast that I didn’t really compute what was going on,” he concedes. “Before that I was just a poor student who barely understood how people got auditions, let alone landed jobs.” Did he have any jobs before that? I ask. “I did have this one job in London,” he says wryly. “Do you know that frozen yogurt place, Snog?” I’m struggling to picture Alwyn serving up frozen delights. He’s laughing now. Was it a good gig? “Exceptional!” More laughter follows. “I mean, I was paid some money! Then I worked in a menswear shop. I did what I could to make some extra cash.”

A far cry from a frozen-yogurt counter, doors started opening to bigger and better opportunities as soon as Billy Lynn hit cinemas. The next script Alwyn read was Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite (released in 2019), in which he secured a small but riotous role as young baron Samuel Masham alongside acting greats Olivia Colman and Emma Stone. “Putting on giant wigs and running around in make-up and chasing Emma Stone through the forest — what more could you want?” he laughs. The film earned widespread critical acclaim, receiving seven BAFTAs and a record 10 British Independent Film awards. 

Having further honed his craft in subsequent films Mary Queen of Scots and gay-conversion therapy drama Boy Erased, Alwyn is about to enter into unknown territory. This Christmas, he’ll play Bob Cratchit in his first-ever TV drama, BBC One’s A Christmas Carol; a “darker, twisted, less glossy” version of the Charles Dickens classic. He’s “feeling good about it,” but I’m curious as to how he’s approached this change of scenery. Was he not nervous? “Oh, very. I tried to watch other people. It’s the second time I’ve worked with Guy Pearce [who plays Scrooge] and I asked him a lot of stuff, which probably annoyed him. I watched the way he works and the questions he asked on set when he was approaching a scene.”

Two people who will definitely be watching Alwyn’s TV debut are his mother, a psychotherapist, and his father, a documentary-maker. “They’d better be watching!” he laughs. Born in London’s Tufnell Park, Alwyn recalls being given stacks of videos every birthday and “watching them to death, until the tapes burned up.” One of his favourites was The Mask of Zorro. In fact, he was so obsessed with it that he and his best friend took up fencing lessons at a local community centre in Crouch End, where, by chance, he was spotted by a local casting agent for the hit British romcom Love Actually. She asked him to audition for the role of Sam; he breaks into a wide smile when I ask what he remembers of it. “I didn’t know much about what the film was; I was most excited about the fact I got the day off school! But I remember being in a room with Richard Curtis and Hugh Grant reading scenes, many of which didn’t make it into the film. And I left the audition thinking, ‘I really recognize that guy from somewhere’.”

Alwyn didn’t get the part. Instead, he forgot about acting for a while, with the exception of summer holidays, where his parents would send him and his older brother off to “some drama camp as a way of preoccupying us.” He explains that when he later realized he wanted to act on a serious level, he kept it a secret. Was it because he was worried how his parents would react to a somewhat precarious career choice? “Well, it meant putting myself out there in a performative way, and that wasn’t necessarily something I did or was used to doing. It felt like it should be quite a ‘look at me’ job, and that wasn’t really how I felt growing up. I wasn’t a painfully introverted kid, but I wasn’t a particularly extroverted one, either. So maybe I was self-conscious about the idea of saying to people, ‘Look, I can do this’.”

He credits drama school with giving him “permission” to go for it. “Plus my parents were great about it. They’re both freelance themselves, so while they recognize the perils, they also couldn’t say to me, ‘We can follow what we want, but you can’t’. There wasn’t a boundary, which helped a lot.”

I wonder if it’s been difficult acclimatizing to the level of fame that’s come as result of his roles. “There have definitely been changes that have taken some getting used to, whether it’s sitting down and doing an interview or someone recognizing you,” he says. “There are things that have changed in my life, but I still very much feel like the same person. It probably helps that I’ve been hanging out with the same friends literally every day since I was 12 years old. Maybe it’s when those things change that people change, I don’t know.”

It’s fair to say that the level of interest in Alwyn has, in part, been heightened by the fact that, in his spare time he plays the role of Mr. Taylor Swift. The pair reportedly met in late 2016 and became in item shortly afterwards. I’ve been warned ahead of our meeting that Alwyn “doesn’t talk about that”, and he’s keen to justify his stance in person. “I feel like my private life is private and everyone is entitled to that.” he says. “I’ve read stories recently about people like Ben Stokes and Gareth Thomas, which are a gross invasion of their privacy and of their lives. It’s disgusting. That’s not journalism, that’s just invasive.”

It must be tough, I suggest, being in a relationship that is surrounded by so much scrutiny. “I just don’t read the headlines,” he says. “I really don’t, because I can guarantee 99% of them are made up. So I ignore it.” Recent rumours suggest the pair are engaged, and are owed in part to one of Swift’s latest songs, Lover (’My hearts been borrowed and yours has been blue. All’s well that ends well to end up with you’), as well as a piece of string tied around Swift’s finger in a Vogue cover shoot. According to die-hard fans, this means something. But to Alwyn, it’s clear it means nothing at all. Is he never tempted to respond to the mistruths, to shut them down? “No, because it’s just pointless,” he sighs. “It won’t change anything. I just don’t pay any attention. I have my life and it’s kind of separate to all that stuff.”

I’m curious as to how much time he gets to simply enjoy the success he’s experiencing. “There’s lots of time not working, I wish there was less in a way!” he laughs. “I go to the pub, play football, go to gigs, watch TV (he’s just finished season three of True Detective), pretty normal things. There’s no ‘secret life’. But ultimately, I worry about finding the next job; that’s the truth. In the midst of everything, there’s always that feeling of ‘I’m never going to work again’. It’s a cliche, but you can’t just sit there waiting for the phone to ring. You have to try and take control. You’re at the mercy of the things you seek out — the directors and the connections — so I try to be on top of that as I can and read what I’m sent and be discerning. I try to pick wisely and follow up on people and leads that I’m interested in.”

Is there an end point he wants to get to, where he’ll feel like he’s made it? “Things have certainly shifted in my twenties,” he says. “Success to me now is doing things that make me happy and that make me feel fulfilled, doing what I want to do and being on the right track. Not in terms of being on a results-based track, but just doing something I love.” He pauses and smiles. “That sounds a bit sentimental, doesn’t it?” 

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

Talk to me about Star Wars!! When did you get into it, favorite movies/tv shows, do you play the games, anything you wanna talk about! I love Star Wars, the prequels are my jam and it’s cool that you’re into it as well - 🎄✨SS✨🎄

I’m gonna go ahead and tag @ange-de-la-musique since the package with the reveal came before I had time to answer this :)  I’m also putting this under a Read More because (to absolutely no one’s surprise) this got VERY LONG.

I first saw Star Wars (specifically, the original trilogy and The Phantom Menace) when I was about 7 or 8.  The Empire Strikes Back has always been my favorite because I’m basic and because as a kid I was OBSESSED with the snow walkers in the first battle sequence.  I also have a vivid memory of telling a classmate that I thought Jar Jar Binks was funny, so...there’s that :P

I rewatched the original trilogy a number of times as a kid, but I didn’t really pay that much attention or get into it until TFA was announced.  Like a lot of others, I got caught up in the cultural zeitgeist, but I also got into a personal rabbit hole surrounding both the filmmaking and the narrative background of the original trilogy.  It started me down a path that (with a number of other things) finally led to me getting more into classic film (particularly Lawrence of Arabia, and ohhhh boy if you’d been here earlier, you’d know just how into it I got!  I own a truly comical number of books on T.E. Lawrence himself, but that’s veering too far from the original question.  I also read Dune somewhere in there bc it’s the perfect bridge between LoA and SW, and also fun and iconic and all that.)  I also became a huge fan of Ralph McQuarrie’s artwork, so you can imagine how pleased I was to see Rebels use his style to its fullest potential!

I also read a number of now-Legends books between 2015 and 2017, mostly Timothy Zahn’s.  I thoroughly enjoyed his Thrawn trilogy and Hand of Thrawn duology (Mara Jade is everything I never knew I needed and I found I loved her relationship with Luke.  Also the audiobooks are DAMN GOOD).  Other Legends books I enjoyed were Zahn’s Outbound Flight and Choices of One and John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi.  (I read a TON of fic in here too, including the Son of Suns trilogy, which is brutal but brilliant.)  I also read some New EU books, including Ahsoka, Lost Stars, Bloodline, Thrawn (I never did read the rest of the new series), Catalyst, Guardians of the Whills, the beginning of the new Star Wars comic, some of the Darth Vader comic, the first issue of the Kanan comic, and more, but my favorite was BY FAR the Rebels prequel (and first New EU book) A New Dawn (John Jackson Miller and the incredible SW audiobook team strike again!).  I remember being so utterly blown away by how atmospheric it was...and by how much pre-Rebels Kanan is my fictional type, HOO BOY.  It was so impressive to me that something inherently non-visual nevertheless managed to capture Ralph McQuarrie’s style so well.

As you can probably gather from that, I LOVED the major animated series.  While I definitely remember seeing trailers and other material for the 2007 Clone Wars movie and subsequent series, I never watched it until it came on Netflix years later.  The Clone Wars, for all its inter-arc tonal issues, is now one of my favorite animated series of all time.  When it’s good, it’s REAL GOOD, you feel?  It, along with Stover’s RotS novelization, retroactively boosted my appreciation for the prequels and for Anakin specifically (ilu Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen I’m sorry I doubted you as a kid).  There’s so much good material to dig into in the prequel era and I’m so glad that I and others have come around to it.  Ahsoka and the clones live in my head rent-free.  I also found Rebels fairly enjoyable, especially after season one.  Like with TCW, the pacing/tonal consistency wasn’t always great, but a lot of good shines through in the end.  I loved seeing TCW (and Legends!) characters in there, of course, but my favorite Rebels-specific characters were Kanan, Hera, and Kallus (also I got really emotionally invested in Kallus/Zeb haha WH O O P  S).

I have never played a Star Wars game apart from my brother’s copy of Lego Star Wars for the Wii, but I hear there’s some good stuff out there!

I have...Many Thoughts about the sequel trilogy/Disney era, but this reply is already monstrously long and I think that’s gonna have to be a post for another time.  My favorite films from the new era are The Last Jedi and Rogue One.  I will say John Williams really went ham with the TFA soundtrack and it’s lowkey a Christmas album for me bc of how often I listened to it when it came out.

[technicolortheshow]

Remigio Ducros & Daniela Casa - the golden couple of the Library Music

I have been collecting Library Music for a few years now, every month spending my little salary in obscure records I don't need (naaaa, joking, of course I do need them!). Complex music composed by underground musicians, whose lives were often a puzzle. What’s not to be obsessed with?! In many cases, these library music themes are linked to primordial memories, often associated with tv shows I used to watch when I was a kid - stuck in my mind because of some opening or ending titles I vaguely remember.

Over the years, I learned how to love two authors: Remigio Ducros and Daniela Casa. Both different but complementary, both sophisticated but in different ways.The reason why I match them in this is article is merely practical: they were a married couple and they often released albums collectively. Their artistic partnership was strong and intellectually stimulating, so much that the work of the duo can be analysed together. I decided to talk about this with Valentina Ducros, their daughter, on a Monday evening during the lockdown in June 2020, via Zoom. She is friendly and polite, opening up about her past, telling me great stories about the family as well as sharing some precious audio. What a bless! Valentina is a singer and dancer herself, singing on the Italian National TV in several shows, releasing her music and singing for the composer Franco Micalizzi and his band. 

Daniela Casa is well renowned nowadays for her sophisticated productions in the intricate Italian Library Music world, she is the author of several masterpieces, spanning from Bossanova-like to chamber music, from rock and roll to pop and much more. But her musical career, though, started in the 70s when she was adapting famous English or American songs into Italian (such as Petula Clark for instance). During her school years, Mrs Casa was a pupil of Domenico Guaccero, a very famous Italian composer, and she studied guitar with the Maestro Claudio De Angelis. Mr Guaccero was notable for numerous compositions within the Associazione Nuova Consonanza group, a contemporary avant-garde music group established in the 60s and 70s in Rome, whose important members were Ennio Morricone, Egisto Macchi among others. During his life, he composed theatrical Operas, ballets, Chamber Music and Symphonic Music. Mrs Casa absorbed these influences, developing her unique taste and experimenting into the Library Music productions or, as it was called in Italy, "Sonorizzazioni".  

She was also a singer herself, producing and recording songs; I am particularly obsessed by her version of "Senza Fine" by Gino Paoli - IHMO better than the original. Her influences spanned from Roman, Milanese and Neapolitan folk songs to jazz, blues, disco and to Brazilian folk music, such as Samba and Bossa Nova. It was common in 60s Italy to hear Brazilian influences in the local music, as many Brazilian musicians moved to Rome in 1964, because of the military dictatorship of the South American country.  

At the end of the 60s, Mrs Casa was the lead member of the first all-female beat band at the Piper Club in Rome, and later she founded a disco/blues band called Dani & Gepi, with her husband Remigio Ducros at the saxophone. During the 70s, the married couple produced songs for popular artists, Mina, Dalida, Gianni Morandi and others, they also played in the band Gli Idoli, the band of Lucio Dalla. As the partnership of the duo was well-oiled, at the end of the 70s, the couple decided to write, produce and release their music under the name Mariposa, mixing orchestration, bossa nova, soundtracking and much more: a very original take on music for children. 

One of the fist Library production of the duo is dated 1971 and named 'Lo Sport" together with the musician Gian Piero Ricci. The triple (sic) record is outstanding, with each musician scoring a set of sport. Casa is showing her talent in each of the compositions. Remigio Ducros as well is sonorizing several sports, I love "Canottaggio", an alt-jazz composition with Morricone-like sounds and instruments. 

Mr Ducros, a Genoese pianist living in Rome, released in 1970 "La Palla è Rotonda" and "Tempo di Naja", with jazz and rhythm and blues influences. While Mrs Casa was interested in South American sounds, Mr Ducros was attracted by North American productions, such as jazz and funk. 1972 "La Fatica" shows an experimental and ambient side of the author. "I Sentieri del Mondo" is part of a series that explores the sound of the world music. and "T.S.T. '73 Cronaca" is more songwriting in style and mood. "America Amore Amaro" is an absolute banger of a funky record, you must own this in your collection. "America Giovane" has been recently re-pressed and is worth every single penny. "Misticismo" represents a step into the eastern philosophies by the author: spiritual music for mystic documentaries. If Marco Ferreri would have needed a score for a movie on the claustrophobic bureaucracy, he surely would have used the wonderful "Governo... Padroni...". On an interview Valentina shared with me, Ducros tells the story of when he was playing on piano bars "I was playing with one hand only, as with the other you have to shake hands of the people or holding a glass, it was a bar after all" - showing a great sense of humor. there were many more Library records composed by Ducros, one of the latest is “Cuba Libre”, a central america inspired record, way before Buena Vista Social Club even existed. There is another composed together by the couple and it is called “Acqua Passata”: stunning chamber music with a hint of nostalgia. 

While Ducros was producing more scores and “sonorizzazioni” for tv, Casa was focusing on contemporary classic music and music for Art Exhibitions. “Italia Minima” and “Vernissage” are beautifully difficult records. The astractism of Casa reached its peak with thise latest records: elegant chamber music. 

I believe that the combination of their talents created something unique in the Library Music world, defining a style and highlighting the roman school, prominent in Italy. I am not the only one who believe this, look at this...

[olehistorian]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-interview-imelda-staunton-is-tight-lipped-on-playing-the-crowns-future-queen-pkzpb76b2

Have you watched Vera Drake lately? Obviously, you have to be in a certain Saturday-night mood to turn off The Masked Singer and choose to put on Mike Leigh’s tale of a big-hearted backstreet abortionist in the East End in 1950. But it’s worth another visit. It’s one of the great British films and turbo-boosted the careers of many a character actor. Leading the ensemble cast in the title role — in an Oscar-nominated, Bafta-winning performance — was Imelda Staunton, who would become queen of them all. And possibly even the Queen. We’ll come to that.

“Just the best, best, best job of my life,” is how Staunton reflects on Vera Drake now. “Yeah, it was very hard to continue after that.”

After Vera Drake, Staunton had the little-old-lady role pretty much sewn up. The “little” is unavoidable. She’s 5ft nothing. In the hotel sideroom in which we meet, she fidgets on the edge of an armchair, sipping a juice a similar shade of green to her blouse and trench coat, which she keeps on throughout the interview. The “old” is perhaps more unfair: she was in her forties when she played Drake. We meet the day before her 64th birthday. “I think a lot of women now don’t think about their age because it’s changed for women, hasn’t it?”

She did “harrowing” again last year in ITV’s true-crime A Confession, playing the mother of Sian O’Callaghan, the 22-year-old from Swindon who was murdered in 2011. But otherwise, of late, she’s been — in the nicest way possible — British cinema’s arch biddy: in the gay-rights drama Pride; in Nanny McPhee; in the Downton Abbey movie alongside her husband, Jim Carter, who plays the long-suffering butler Carson; and as Professor Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films. It all comes back to Mike Leigh. “I wouldn’t have got Harry Potter if my profile hadn’t been upped with Vera Drake,” she says. “They might have wanted me, but I wasn’t, you know, hot enough.”

At the end of last year, it was reported that the ultimate little-old-lady part was coming Staunton’s way: succeeding Olivia Colman as the Queen in series five and six of The Crown. Netflix played it down as “speculation”. But at a charity event at the Ivy before Christmas, Grant Tucker, the Sunday Times entertainment correspondent, asked Staunton’s husband, Carter, what it was like being married to royalty. “Thankfully I don’t have to start bowing to her for another two years,” he replied, “so I have plenty of time to practise.” So it’s true? Staunton’s reply is immediate, polite and professional: “I can’t discuss anything to do with that.” Which isn’t, you’ll note, a no.

She tells me she woke up at 4am today, thinking about her next big gig — Hello, Dolly! at the Adelphi Theatre. It isn’t on until August. Rehearsals don’t start until June. But “to me, that’s 10 minutes”, she says. “I just know the process is beginning. As Jim said, ‘This is the rest of the year, is it?’ I think about it and think about it. ‘How the hell am I going to do that?’ [Past success] means nothing at all, because it’s the next challenge. The more people say, ‘Ooh, it’s going to be great,’ the more I just get so depressed.”

And what success. In the West End, she’s busted free of the twinsets to become a bona fide, big-lunged musical star — a pocket rocket with a trail of five-star reviews and awards in her wake. Her first Olivier was back in 1991, for Into the Woods. In 2013, she won one for Sweeney Todd, in which she appeared alongside Michael Ball. Stephen Sondheim saw her performance and told her she should take on a revival of Gypsy next. The 2016 Olivier followed for that.

Her dog, Molly, a terrier, appeared on stage with her in the early performances of Gypsy, at the Chichester Festival Theatre. One time, during the West End run, a mouse snuck into her costume. “I did the whole first 20 minutes with a mouse inside the sleeve of my coat, singing the song, carrying on the scene. It’s good what your head can cope with, isn’t it?” It’s not the sort of thing that should happen to a Harry Potter star, surely? “That’s what you want. That’s the reality of the glamour of the thing.”

Staunton grew up in Archway, north London, above her mum’s hairdressing shop. Her dad was a labourer. Her mum, a first-generation Irish immigrant, was a big fan of the Queen. She died just before her daughter received her Oscar nomination for Vera Drake, and before Staunton collected her OBE and later CBE from the palace. “She’d have bloody loved all that,” she says.

She went to a convent school — “a really nice one because we had a lot of lay teachers”. Her report cards read: “Imelda could try harder, but she was very good in the play.” Her elocution teacher, Mrs Stoker, pushed her towards Rada, where contemporaries included Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall and Juliet Stevenson. When she got her first job in London, in 1982, it was in a musical: Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre. Staunton, by now used to lead roles, was only in the chorus. “I was thinking, ‘I just played Electra, what am I doing? Oh God.’” But Ian Charleson, Bob Hoskins, Julie Covington and Julia McKenzie were higher up the bill. “That’s what I was doing there: learning, really, really learning. That was wonderful.”

Also in the cast, seven years her senior, was Jim Carter. They married the following year. In 1986 they appeared together in Dennis Potter’s classic TV musical The Singing Detective. But, until the Downton movie, their working lives seldom intersected. “We don’t ever try not to work together — we just haven’t,” she says. “On the Downton film, we got completely overexcited, as we went to work for three days at the same time. What was lovely was doing the publicity together: travelling, just being in a hotel. We made sure we enjoyed ourselves.”

They have had a long-standing pact not to spend more than a couple of weeks apart, a rule Staunton broke to film Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock (no, me neither). “I think it was five weeks: I was in America and thought, ‘Yep, that’ll do.’”

She enjoyed last summer filming Flesh and Blood, a new four-part ITV drama, on the coast near Eastbourne. “The sea does do something different to you, doesn’t it? I do think it would be brilliant to have somewhere by the sea, but it’s not going to happen.” She’s happy at home in Hampstead with Carter, walking the dog, spending days at the Test match and doing the gardening: “That’s probably an older person’s thing to say. Well, f*** it, you know? It’s healing, really healing. Having a stable place to come back to is quite necessary for me and for Jim, I think. It nourishes us. It allows us to go into a place that isn’t comfortable because you know you can get back to a more comfortable place.”

Flesh and Blood is an example of good parts being written for older people, especially women. “I’m encouraged by it,” says Staunton. “Very encouraged.” It’s not so much a whodunnit as a whodunnwot. In its rather gripping first episode, there’s a mystery body on a beach and a recent widow (played by 74-year-old Francesca Annis) starting a new life with a new fella who has a whiff of the gigolo about him. Staunton is back as the little old lady, Mary, a creepy next-door neighbour with a pair of binoculars and penchant for opening other people’s mail. This primetime drama does contain scenes of pensioners smooching.

“It’s not just for the sake of it,” says Staunton. “This isn’t trying to be ‘Oh, we’re beautiful things having sex later in life.’ There’s a loving relationship developing. The fact that [in one of Annis’s scenes] the dressing gown slips off is not extraordinary.” Would Staunton ever want a crack at being the older woman getting the, ahem, action? “I don’t think that would be required,” she replies. “I don’t think so, no — not unless it was funny.”

We talk about the trial of the film producer Harvey Weinstein. What experience has Staunton had of that grim — and criminal — casting- couch culture? “None. Absolutely none,” she says. “I’m not surprised [that it goes on], but I’ve always been in situations where women are treated equally. In the rehearsal room, women behave as they wish to behave and are listened to, and that’s normal. I never thought, ‘Oh, isn’t this marvellous, somebody’s listening to me?’ I’ve never witnessed it, but I hope good will come out of this. The irony of that” — she pauses to choose the word carefully — “situation is that that man [Weinstein] has made good things happen now. Hurrah.”

It won’t come as too much of surprise that she voted Labour in last month’s election — her MP, Tulip Siddiq, has a 14,000-vote majority in Hampstead and Kilburn, Glenda Jackson’s old seat. Staunton voted for remain. She also featured in a video last year for Extinction Rebellion, organised by Richard Curtis. “It was a friend who said, ‘Could you come along, they’re just doing it today, this bit of filming.’ Well, I was doing nothing else. I’m not climbing up the side of a building, so I’ll go and do that. If I can help, I’ll do that. As much as we can all do, every little bit helps.”

Does she worry about putting her head above the parapet like that? “No, not at all. That’s the only bloody point of any slight fame: you’ve got to use it, to put it to good use.” She has also provided the voice for some polar bears for Greenpeace. “Trump is just an absolute … It’s just a nightmare, and the climate’s a nightmare and Brexit’s a nightmare. And yet I wake up thinking about Hello, Dolly!”

At 64, Staunton seems to recognise that a Vera Drake or Hello, Dolly! might not roll round again. Even Harry Potter was, she says, “a very serious piece of work, weirdly”. She feels lucky that an actor’s life goes on. So no plans to retire? “I don’t think people do, do they? Name me an actress! No, you won’t get bloody Maggie Smith retiring. It’s a very nice job, if you can get it.” Plus, she’s still hoping someone will cast her alongside her 26-year-old daughter, Bessie, also an actress. “I’d love that. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

I hope they do give her the Queen job. If there’s anyone who could add some plausibility and empathy to the madcap past 12 months of royal history, from Megxit to the sweat-free antics of Prince Andrew, it is Staunton. I would pay good money to watch her, in standard-issue HRH lemon-yellow frock and tight-curled wig, look up, fix her aide with a stare and utter the words: “A Pizza Express … in Woking?”

Flesh and Blood is on ITV in February

[the-price-of-tomato-juice]

Ok so I know the ship of the hour in Comrades in Arms is Hawk and Margaret, but it's worth noting klinger calls he and Charles soulmates when they're chilling in potter's office so there's that

[ruoxin]

Hello everyone!!

I noticed that I gained a lot of new followers recently, and I realized I haven’t really made a post introducing myself like ever lol so I brain dumped 50 random facts about me and hopefully you guys know me better! ^-^

My name is Angela, but I also go by Ang/Angie/Leighann

I’m currently 22! I was born in 1997 (Chinese zodiac is year of the Rat since I was born before the Lunar New Year)

i’m quite short at 4′11″

My Myers-Briggs is INFJ

For those into Astrology: Aquarius sun, Sagittarius moon, Cancer rising

I just graduated last month from UCSB as a psych major with a minor in English literature!

Born and raised in the Bay Area ❤ Hoping to live in SF someday!

I’m ethnically Chinese/Dutch, but both my parents are from Taiwan

I have a HUGE birthmark from my ankle to my thigh (it’s insane haha but it faded a lot throughout the years)

I have 8 piercings! All in my ears (6 lobes, 1 tragus, 1 helix)

Only countries I been to: U.S., Mexico, China, Taiwan. Top of my bucket list include: Iceland, Santorini, Japan, South Korea!

I guess I’m bi? Still figuring it out tbh. But guys my type include: Doctor Mike, Andre Hamann, Nick Bateman. girls my type: Hyoyeon, Seulgi, Maggie Q, Lucy Liu

My fav (American) TV shows are: OITNB, Grey’s Anatomy, Burn Notice, and FRIENDS

My fav kdramas are: Encounter, City Hunter,  IRIS, Legend of the Blue Sea

My fav movie is Breakfast at TIffany’s

I listen to a lot of indie/alternative (Foster the People, Lana Del Rey, Naked and Famous, Mumford & Sons), kpop (right now loving Red Velvet, SNSD and Gfriend), and classic 60s - 80s (Beatles, Motown, Frank Sinatra, etc.)

I got into kpop in 2009 but stopped listening around 2013-2016 and started again in 2017. My ult kpop group is pROoOBably SNSD and my (ult) bias is Hyoyeon ❤ PLEASE STAN HER AND LISTEN TO HER NEW SINGLE BADSTER WHEN IT COMES OUT JULY 20 6PM KST!!

I was raised Catholic but now I am spiritual but not religious. I believe in constantly working on becoming a better person and doing good.

My fav colors are: black, white, most shades of light pink, turquoise (or TIffany blue), and recently I’ve been obsessed with yellow! I can’t pick a single one!

My favorite time of day is prob dawn but I haven’t been awake for it in years lol. I do love twilight too because it gives me a weird nostalgic feeling

I speak English and proficient-fluent Mandarin (I prob can’t have a deep conversation about economics or politics or something lol but I grew up speaking it with my parents 24/7). I also took 4 years of Japanese in high school (but i prob forgot most of it welp). I’m going to relearn Japanese/Mandarin and hopefully start learning Korean sometime in the near future! I know the alphabet and some basics from my countless of hours watching kdramas lol

If you’re one of my female friends, I will melt if you call me these: angel, sweetie, beautiful, babe, hun, etc!!

I try to avoid mainstream things that are talked about too much because I really believe that things are overhyped and people can lose their identity by liking things just because other people are. (no hate, but e.g. BTS, Ariana Grande, Game of Thrones, Beyonce).

I LOVEEE receiving and giving handwritten letters

Speaking of, I change my handwriting every few years since I haven’t really found one that stuck yet and I have like 5 different types of handwriting from all caps to very neat print to almost calligraphy-like cursive

Games I play(ed): Pokemon (Silver, Leafgreen, Emerald, Ultra Sun, Alpha Sapphire, and Pokemon Go lol), Animal Crossing (Wild World, New Leaf, Pocket Camp). I also did my fair share of League but stopped before it consumed my life with toxicity. I was a support main who used Nami, Janna, and Thresh!

27 is my favorite number but I really do not know why lmao

My guilty pleasure song is Britney Spears - Toxic and I still haven’t gotten sick of it. Some favorite songs of all time are prob: Aretha Franklin - Day Dreaming, Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World, SNSD - Gee, SNSD - Genie, Amy Winehouse - Valerie

My best subject at school was English and I received an academic excellence award at the end of my junior year out of all the juniors in my grade in American Lit

When I was younger, my first dream job was an artist. then I watched Grey’s and wanted to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Other dream jobs I had for brief moments: makeup artist, fashion designer, motivational speaker. Now I’m hoping to go to grad school to be an MFT/LPCC!

I love black cats and german shepherds! But I’m more of a cat person

If I could travel back in time I would want to live in 60′s New York or the 90′s.

Biggest turn on: someone who can hold a deep and intellectual conversation with me about meaningful subjects! Biggest turn off: someone who is extremely vapid and has no ambition whatsoever

My fav season is autumn!

The perfume I use is Marc Jacobs Daisy but I think I want to change to Versace Bright Crystal after I finish

I have perfect vision!

I did track during my prime teenage days (long jumper!) and my fastest mile was 7:20. I haven’t ran for years after that and I just started again 7 years later around this March, and I improved from around a 10 min mile in the beginning to my recent fastest at 8:09! I am hoping to get back in the ~7 mins

I also did a little bit of swim team, and I can swim all four strokes (free, back, breast, butterfly) but I mainly raced freestyle and butterfly!

I am literally the least picky eater you will ever meet. Take me to any restaurant and I wouldn’t complain. I also have a decently high tolerance for spicy things. The only food that I ever really tried and disliked is liver and the one thing that I probably wouldn’t ever try is something way out there like snail or scorpion lol

Speaking of food, I love food on the heavier side and tend to over season and over-sauce my foods lol. I love onion, ketchup, ranch, black pepper, soy sauce, korean chili spice (what they use for kimchi)

I can crack all my toes at will (it grosses everyone out xD)

My favorite book of all time is East of Eden by John Steinbeck ❤

My super power of choice if I had one would probably be invisibility

I played piano for 6 years in my childhood and I can still read notes, but veeery slowly lol

I’m kind of VERY unhealthily obsessed with (Japanese) stationery. Moleskine journals, Uni alpha gel, Pilot Dr. Grip, Zebra Mildliners, Staedler Triplus fineliners, Sakura Microns, Uni-ball signo, Pilot Hi-tec-c... yeah... i have all of those and more... yiKEs

My fav holiday is Christmas. I love holiday spirit and Sleigh Ride (I only accept the Ella Fitzgerald version) is literally such a good song??

My favorite non alcoholic drink is prob earl grey boba tea. fav alcoholic drink is whiskey!

I do not have any tattoos, but the top two I am planning are: “♒” behind my left ear, and “英” behind my neck (my mom’s Chinese name, but it also means brave/hero/outstanding person)

city > countryside

How I would describe my fashion style: tomboy, casual, chic, comfortable

[weloveperioddrama]

Fall is almost here, and with it a new season of period dramas, so we thought it might be a nice idea to talk a little about the shows, movies and miniseries that will premiere during the season. To that effect, we have put together a list with all the period dramas that are coming up the next few months plus some information about them, so we can offer a remainder and a recap of what is to come!

And, as always, to keep an eye to period dramas in general, remember you can always check this page: period dramas 2018

We hope this list is helpful! What period dramas are you excited about this fall? :)

(In this list we will list both shows and movies with a confirmed release date, as well as period dramas that are rumoured or expected to be released during the fall, for the sake of completeness and so you can keep an eye on those you are interested in. Please, do excuse us if the schedule changes and a show is moved to later in the year.)

CABLE GIRLS (tv show)

What: the third season of the show will follow this group of young women working at the phone company as they deal with the aftermath of season two’s shocking finale.

When: September 7th

Where: Netflix (wordwide)

TRAILER / IMDB

THE DEUCE (tv show)

What: a look at life in New York City during the 1970s and '80s when porn and prostitution were rampant in Manhattan

When: September 9th

Where: HBO

TRAILER / IMDB

THE FAVOURITE (movie)

What: the movie focuses in the close relationship between Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill and how it is threatened by the arrival of Sarah's cousin, Abigail Masham, resulting in a bitter rivalry to be the Queen's favourite in the English court in the early 18th century,

When: November 23rd (USA) ; check the dates for all countries here

TRAILER / IMDB

FIRST MAN (movie)

What: a look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

When: October 12th (USA) ; check the dates for all countries here

TRAILER / IMDB

FRONTIER (tv show)

What: follows Declan Harp, a part-Irish, part-Native American outlaw who is campaigning to breach the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly on the fur trade in Canada.

When: it hasn’t been confirmed, but the first two seasons aired in October, so it seems probable that the third would too.

Where: CBC (Canada) and, afterwards, Netflix

IMDB

HOLMES AND WATSON (movie)

What: a humorous take on Arthur Conan Doyle's classic mysteries featuring Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.

When: November 9th (USA) ; check the dates for all countries here

IMDB

GOYO: ANG BATANG HENERAL (movie)

What: a continuation of Heneral Luna, this movie focuses on Gregorio del Pilar and the events leading up to the Battle of Tirad Pass during the Philippine American War.

When: September 5th (Philippines)

TRAILER / IMDB

IN LIKE FLYNN (movie)

What: the biopic depicts Flynn's roust-about early life in Australia, before he became an internationally famed celebrity. In those days he was an adventurer, opium smuggler, gambler, street fighter, womanizer, and gold prospector. The film, based on Flynn's early autobiography "Beam Ends," was written for the screen by Large and Luke Flynn, who found the inspiration as a result of their travels through Australia in the footsteps of Luke's iconic grandfather. Film production will start next July in Australia with a budget of $12 million. The book's title refers to the last visible sign before a ship sinks.

When: October 11th (Australia)

IMDB

THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL (miniseries)

What: brilliant young actress Charlie strikes up an acquaintance with an intriguing stranger while on holiday in Greece, but it rapidly becomes apparent that his intentions are far from romantic. The man is Becker, an Israeli intelligence officer, who entangles her in a complex and high stakes plot orchestrated by Spymaster, Kurtz. Set in the late 1970s yet sharply contemporary, the miniseries weaves a dynamic and exciting story of espionage and international intrigue; of love and betrayal.

When: November 19th (UK)

Where: BBC (UK) and AMC (US)

FIRST LOOK / IMDB

LIZZIE (movie)

What: the film is based on the true story of Lizzie Borden, who was accused and acquitted of the ax-murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892.

When: September 14th (USA) ; check the dates for all countries here

TRAILER / IMDB

THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (tv show)

What: the second season of the show will continue to follow Midge Maisel’s career as a comedienne in the 1950s. 

When: a date hasn’t been confirmed, but the filming of season 2 has been completed and Amazon has already shared a trailer for the new season, so it’s possible it will be release during the fall, as season 1 was

Where: Amazon (worldwide)

TRAILER / IMDB

MEDICI: THE MAGNIFICENT (tv show)

What: the second season of the show will include a 20 years time jump and move to 1469 Florence. An attempt on Piero de Medici's life forces his son Lorenzo to assume leadership of the family-run bank. Once in power, young Lorenzo resolves to do things differently. With his brother Giuliano and young artist Sandro Botticelli at his side, he abandons the cynical politics of the past to usher in a new era of creative and political revolution. This swiftly brings him into conflict with the head of Florence's other powerful banking family, Jacopo Pazzi, who will stop at nothing to defeat Lorenzo. Their clash gives rise to one of the most thrilling political intrigues in all of history, the infamous Pazzi conspiracy.

When: October 24th (Italy)

Where: RAI (Italy) and, afterwards, Netflix

FIRST LOOK / IMDB

MY BRILLIANT FRIEND (miniseries)

What: based on Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, the series follows the lives of two perceptive and intelligent girls, Elena (sometimes called “Lenù”) Greco and Raffaella (“Lila”) Cerullo, from childhood to adulthood and old age, as they try to create lives for themselves amidst the violent and stultifying culture of their home – a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Italy.

When: no date has been set, but it’s been confirmed that it will air in November

Where: RAI (Italy) and HBO (US)

TRAILER / IMDB

OUTLANDER (tv show)

What: the fourth season will adapt the novel Drums of Autumn, following the loves of Claire and Jaime in her new home in North Carolina, in Colonial America.

When: November 4th (US)

Where: Starz (US)

TRAILER / IMDB

OUTLAW KING (movie)

What: a true David v Goliath story of how the great 14th Century Scottish 'Outlaw King' Robert The Bruce used cunning and bravery to defeat and repel the much larger and better equipped occupying English army.

When: November 9th (worldwide)

TRAILER / IMDB

PETERLOO (movie)

What: the story of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre where British forces attacked a peaceful pro-democracy rally in Manchester.

When: November 2nd (UK) ; check the dates for all countries here

TRAILER / IMDB

ROBIN HOOD (movie)

What: a war-hardened Crusader and his Moorish commander mount an audacious revolt against the corrupt English crown in a thrilling action-adventure packed with gritty battlefield exploits, mind-blowing fight choreography, and a timeless romance.

When: November 21st (UK) ; check the dates for all countries here

TRAILER / IMDB

VANITY FAIR (miniseries)

What: a new adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s classic, this miniseries is set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, and follows Becky Sharp as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and scale the heights of English Society. Her story of “villainy, crime, merriment, lovemaking, jilting, laughing, cheating, fighting and dancing”, takes her all the way to the court of King George IV, via the Battle of Waterloo, breaking hearts and losing fortunes as she goes.

When: September 2nd (UK)

Where: ITV (UK)

TRAILER / IMDB

VELVET COLECCIÓN (tv show)

What: a new season following the new Velvet shop in Barcelona in the 1960s.

When: September 13th (Spain)

Where: Movistar + (Spain)

IMDB

VICTORIA (tv show)

What: a new season of the show that follows the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign. This third season is  expected to explore the tensions in the bedroom between the Queen and and her husband, Prince Albert, with the Queen increasingly resenting the fact that he husband is constantly making her pregnant.

When: a date hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the show is due to premiere in PBS in the US in January, and it will probably air first in the UK this fall

Where: ITV (UK)

IMDB

VIKINGS (tv show)

What: the second part of the fifth season will pick up from the shocking midseason finale and the Battle of Kattegat.

When: November 28th (US)

Where: History Channel (US)

TRAILER / IMDB

Other dates

A number of shows that have already aired in some countries will premiere worldwide in streaming services or, in the case of co-productions, in a second nework. Here’s a brief list of the ones being released on the fall:

Anne with an E (season 2) will air on CBC on May 13th (IMDb)

Cathedral of the Sea / La catedral del mar (miniseries) will be relased on Netflx on September 1st (IMDb)     

[ifeveristoday]

Buffy Summers’s Diary (VI)

TRANSCRIPT FOR EPISODE 06, THE ANDREW AND VI PODCAST

Andrew: Before we start this episode, I just want to shout out to our sponsor, ZZZZTop mattresses. Hey Vi, did you know ZZZZTop mattress has a lifetime warranty?

VI: I did. I had the best sleep of my life on my ZZZZTop mattress. I think everyone should experience ZZZZTop’s 100 day trial period. Just use ANDYVI at the checkout online.

Andrew: That’s right, and if you don’t have the best sleep of your life on the ZZZZTop mattress, you can just return it with no questions asked. 

[muffled noise]

Andrew: How can they make any money with this model? What if I spill tomato soup on my mattress and it looks like a murder scene, I’m just going to nonchalantly have them pick it up and go, ‘oh I don’t know how that happened?’

Vi: Andrew, we’re recording. Also, why are you eating soup in bed?

[cupped microphone noise]

Andrew: You’re not the boss of me.

Andrew: That’s ZZZZTop mattress, with four z’s because of all the great sleep you’ll be getting!

Vi: So we have a very special guest with us today. I’m very excited, she was like, my idol when I was growing up. 

Andrew: Yes, today on our show we have [drum roll effect], former Olympic gold medalist Buffy Summers! Buffy is someone I’ve known for a very long time, so I’m really happy she could make it on our podcast today.

Buffy: Thanks for inviting me, Andrew. And it’s nice to meet you, Vi.

Vi: Oh my god. It’s really an honor. I mean, I had a poster of you on my wall. And my sister and I saved up our birthday money to see your skating exhibitions. That was so not cool what happened with Riley, by the way.

Buffy: Uh thank you for coming out to see me skate. Well, it was a long time ago, and it worked out in the end.

Andrew: Let’s not bring up the ugly past. We all love a comeback story, and to fit in with our theme of new beginnings, what have you been up to, Buffy?

Buffy: I’m working as a blogger for Young Magazine. 

Vi: Oh, I’ve heard of that. Isn’t that Kendra Young’s magazine?

Buffy: Yes, it’s her namesake magazine, and she’s the CEO. 

Vi: What’s it like working with a legend?

Buffy: Surprisingly easy - but I know what you mean. Kendra’s been an inspiration for me, both as a fellow skater and as a human being.

Andrew: Weren’t you guys competitors at one point?

Buffy: Only for two competitions. She placed first in one and I placed first in the other. Then she retired.

Andrew: Well, it’s always good to go out on top.

Buffy: Yeah.

Andrew was nice enough to edit out the five minutes of me disassociating after that, and told me it was a good interview. I think I disappointed his partner though - I could tell. You know the look when someone doesn’t live up to your expectations. 

I’ve been on the wrong end of that look far too often this month. Kendra didn’t like the column I turned in about self-care so I had to rewrite it, and then I got into a stupid fight with Cordelia at the staff meeting.

She cornered me afterwards and told me that I got lucky because Kendra offered me the job, while she busted her ass in journalism school.

What could I say to that?

She was right.

I missed Dawn’s recital by accident - the date completely slipped my mind and she left me a voicemail - she didn’t scream at me, but I almost wished she did.

I haven’t been the best older sister to Dawn - by the time she came along, I had started my skating lessons and mom’s attention was split unevenly between us. Dad ended up looking after Dawn while Mom drove me to practice. I pretty much ignored Dawn until she was old enough to speak in complete sentences and even then all we did was argue.

Now that she has her dance career and is the successful one in the family, she treats me like I’m the embarrassing younger sister. She’s always checking on me to make sure I’m eating - stopping by with groceries because she ‘was in the neighborhood.’ Dawn lives 45 minutes away in Dad’s condo.

It’s supposed to be my job to take care of her and I tell her so. She just rolls her eyes and says she doesn’t mind.

I don’t know what possessed me to agree to go on a date on Valentine’s day. It’s unnecessary pressure for a first date. It’s just that William and I kept on missing each other - either I had to work overtime or he was traveling for research or it was raining and I was in no mood to go outside - we might as well have been living in the missed connections section on Craigslist. Finally he just appeared in my cubicle and told me that we were going out for dinner and drinks and that he would pick me up.

Maybe it was because I haven’t been on a real date in so long, that I let the whole macho schtick pass.

He looked really good too - classic leather duster, black shirt and dark jeans. He looked like he stepped out of a noir film. All he was missing was a cigarette dangling out of his mouth and a fedora.

He bowed when he saw me. ‘Your carriage awaits, my lady.’

Okay, there might have been a little bit of fluttering.

William drives a vintage Cadillac, because of course he does.

I wore red because it’s legally mandated to do so on Valentine’s day.

Dinner was fine. It was excellent actually. William had gotten reservations at one of the best restaurants in LA - one that had a months long waiting list. ‘Must be nice to be famous,’ I said.

He shrugged, and then smirked. ‘It has its perks.’ We were tucked away in a corner, and the candle light made shadows flicker against his face. He looked unearthly, his head bowed over the menu. He sighed and then looked up at me. ‘Buffy, I can’t take it anymore.’

‘What?’ 

‘I can’t bloody see in this lighting.’ He fumbled in his pockets and slid out a pair of reading glasses. He put them on and then raised an eyebrow at me. 

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. 

He scowled, then his mouth relaxed into a smile. ‘You look lovely in this light.’

‘Only this light?’

‘In every light.’

It was my turn to study the menu. ‘So what should we get for appetizers?’

He chuckled.

It was what happened after the dinner that the date went completely downhill. It wasn’t completely William’s fault.

It was just a massive circus of embarrassment with a side of testosterone poisoning.

Anya called me as I was waiting for William to pull up with his car. ‘You have to come over to the store right now,’ she said. ‘Your special order has arrived.’

‘I didn’t special order anything.’

‘I did, for you. Because you’ve been looking so lonely lately and Willow told me you spend your weekends drinking tea and reading trashy novels.’

‘Anya - I am not lonely, I am actually on a date. And I haven’t been reading trashy novels. I’ve been watching Lifetime movies.’

‘So the television version of trashy novels. Got it. Bring your date to the Magic Box. It’ll benefit you both.’

‘I do not need another vibrator,’ I said. Loudly.

William’s eyebrows practically elevated to his hairline. ‘All right there, pet?’

‘Oooh, he’s got an accent. Bring him over,’ Anya ordered. ‘Buffy, this was very expensive and time consuming to order and is now taking up space in my storage room.’

‘I didn’t ask you to.’ 

‘Well I did and since it has your name on it, I can’t exactly just sell it on the floor as is.’

‘Oh my god, Anya, what is it?’

‘Come over and see.’ Then she hung up.

Would it really be murder if I had justifiable cause?

William couldn’t stop snickering on the drive over. ‘Is it made of glass? Leather? Bigger than a bread box?’

“Just shut up.’

The bell over the Magic Box’s door jangled a little too loudly as I burst in. ‘I’m here, you demon.’

Anya was not alone. There was a couple next to her, the man’s tall form vaguely familiar as I stomped toward her. ‘Just give me the sex toy or whatever it is so I can get back to my date.’

‘Buffy?’ 

The man turned to look at me, and if I could have melted into the floor, I would have. As it was, my cheeks felt like they were on fire.

‘Ang-Liam,’ I stammered. 

‘You’re on a date?’ Angel said just as his date put her hand on his arm. ‘Who’s this?’

It was not my brightest moment. ‘Uh no one. We’ve never met - An, we need to talk. About boundaries.’

I glared at her meaningfully. She pursed her lips. ‘I was trying to be helpful. It’s not my fault you want to be a spinster.’

‘Anya!’

‘Buffy, this is Fred. Fred, is this Buffy. We grew up together,’ Angel interrupted. He smiled and I tried not to notice how it made his eyes crinkle at the edges. 

Fred stuck out her hand and then I noticed how pretty she was. Her eyes were doll-like and thickly lashed. She looked like Bambi.

‘Hello, Buffy,’ she said cheerfully. There was sweet drawl to her voice and I felt even more embarrassed about yelling at Anya.

‘Hi -- Fred?’

‘Short for Winifred, but only strangers call me that,’ she said. ‘So you and Angel go way back?’

‘Yeah, we do, but I haven’t really seen him in the last few years,’ I said, trying to get Anya’s attention. ‘I’m sorry, I need to borrow Anya for a minute. I didn’t mean to interrupt your date.’

‘Oh lord, we’re not on a date,’ Fred laughed. ‘I’m helping Liam with party favors for a bachelor party. Because this one,’ she jerked her thumb at him, ‘is utterly clueless about what to get.’

‘Buffy, do you have change for the meter? Because I’m out and this has to be one of the last relics that still require actual coins --’

William came through the door, patting his pockets. Angel stiffened.

‘Spike,’ he said in a tone I’ve never heard him use.

William’s eyes narrowed. ‘Angel,’ he spat.

Angel went straight for his throat. Fred shrieked, and I wasn’t thinking too clearly either, the shock temporarily freezing me to the floor. Anya, however had no problems. She grabbed a broom and started swinging at them. ‘There will be no fighting in my store. Don’t think I won’t call the police. Also if you break it, you buy it!’

Fighting on tv always looks cooler than it really is - Angel and William’s fight devolved very quickly into William pulling Angel’s hair and Angel clumsily smacking him on the chin.

It ended with them collapsing onto the floor, with Angel putting William in a headlock.

Fred and I rushed over to break it up - Fred pulled William’s ear and I pinched Angel on his neck. ‘What the hell is wrong with you?’

‘Are you dating this asshole?’ Angel sniped.

‘He started it,’ William said. He shoved Angel off of him. ‘Fuck, you still weigh a ton.’

‘We were on a date,’ I pointed out. ‘Then you attacked him, and I’m guessing you two know each other.’

‘He’s an uptight arse,’ William said, his accent losing its customary smoothness. Angel snorted. ‘And he’s a piece of shit liar.’

‘And you two are both allegedly grown men who fight -’

‘Like sad mimes,’ Anya chimed in. ‘Very amusing.’

‘Liam, are you all right?’ Fred asked. ‘Do we need to call the police?’

‘That’s a good idea, I should press charges for assault,’ William said belligerently. 

Angel stood up and brushed off his jacket. ‘Try it and I’ll end you. Don’t think I won’t this time.’

‘I’d like to see you try -’ 

‘William, shut up.’ I pushed my way through them. ‘I’ve decided I don’t care. Whatever your issues are, they’re yours. I am going home.’

‘I’ll drive you home, love.’ 

Angel bristled - I could practically see his hair getting spikier with anger. 

‘You know what, that’s okay -- I’m going to call a ride. I think I’ve had enough of Valentine’s day and this whole..’ I motioned at them, ‘whatever drama you two have.’

‘I could drop you off,’ Angel quickly said. ‘After Fred,’ he added.

‘Yeah, no. I’m good. Anya - I’ll get that thing later. Or you can burn it. You have my express permission to destroy it.’

I ran out of the Magic Box before she could respond. 

No one followed me, which was a relief.

Angel called me on the ride home and I dismissed it. A text popped up a few minutes later. 

Buffy, William Pratt is bad news. I worry about you. Call me when you get home.

previous entry | next entry

[yessadirichards]

Almodovar's 'queer' Western heats up rainy Cannes

CANNES

The premiere of Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's queer western, with Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as tormented lovers, received rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday and left many wanting more.

The 31-minute "Strange Way of Life" was the hottest ticket in town on the French Riviera, with hundreds lining up huddled under umbrellas in the pouring rain, many of them left furious after being turned away at the last minute.

Those who got in were treated to the presence of Almodovar, 73, discussing only his second-ever English-language project -- following another short film with Tilda Swinton, "The Human Voice" -- as well as a flash of Pascal's backside onscreen -- the only nudity in a movie which chose dialogue and tender moments over explicit sex.

The Chilean-born Pascal, 48, who has become a global icon thanks to TV hit "The Last of Us", stars as former gunslinger Silva.

He travels to see an old acquaintance, Ethan Hawke as a raspy-voiced Sheriff Jake, and the two spend what Almodovar calls an "orgiastic" night.

The next morning, however, the tone changes, as it emerges "both of them have an ulterior motive," said Almodovar.

The two men grapple with their feelings for each other, duty, family, and what it would look like for two men to actually build a life together.

"I wanted to make a classic western where I talk about the desire between two cowboys," said Almodovar, an avowed fan of the genre.

He said "Brokeback Mountain" by Ang Lee has come the closest, but sees his film as the first "really queer western".

He compared his film to 2021's "Power of the Dog" starring Benedict Cumberbatch but said "the sexuality of (its) protagonist is very ambivalent. They never talk about desire, and of course they didn't" have sex, he said, drawing laughter from the audience.

Not that he is only interested in eroticism.

"My movies have had many scenes of explicit sex, but as time goes by, I want to show pleasure in another way," said Almodovar, a regular at Cannes, where he won best director in 1999 for "All About My Mother" and best screenplay for "Volver" in 2006.

He also highlighted the seemingly banal details of the film, saying "in no western have you seen two men making a bed."

Pascal, who is so popular he has been dubbed the "Internet's Daddy," did not attend the screening.

Hawke was present and hailed the chance to work on "a Western that wasn't pretending to be old... and to get a chance to work with Almodovar."

Asked about expressing desire with Pascal, he said: "I like to be wanted, I don't care and if it happens to be a very attractive, extremely talented man, all the better."

Variety magazine was among many to praise the film, saying: "In a world where auteurs are becoming increasingly entitled to overly long runtimes, 'Strange Way of Life' begs for more."