#barbara broccoli what will happen now

[lightgaswaterelectricityrent]

They killed james bond. he died in an explosion and also he had a kid he didn't know about. james bond spoilers

[houseofbrat]

[Twenty-Seven Days Ago]

You may already know this, but while those figures were circulating the streets of Markle-world, in the real world, she had her PR grossly inflate her earning potential to match her inflated self-evaluation. Here's what was really going on for anyone who may not know already:

I'm connected to a prominent figure in the film industry. He told me that she NEVER had any hope of actually working in Hollywood neither before her marriage nor after Megxit. Suits was a cable show produced in Toronto and she A) never made it past #6 on the call sheet (importance of cast members in each episode) and B) was being written out BEFORE she met Harry. She spun it to look like they wrote her out because of Harry and her marriage, but that's not what happened. She was scrambling for work and aggravating the shit out of everyone from Reese Witherspoon, to Barbara Broccoli, all the way to Wendy Williams trying to get screen work.  She was also having her agent trying to get her work as the face for major fashion labels and nobody was returning her calls except for Reitman's, and her behavior was so awful they regretted it. She didn't save her Suits money, she owned no property, and she was running out of time and money. Kind of like now.

The truth is that Markle is the luckiest con artist in the world and I have to give her credit for scoring a fucking Prince of the United Kingdom right when she needed money most.  It's uncanny.

Now, though, she's shown her hand. She may not realize it, but she has. Nobody will ever hire her for anything again unless they've been in a coma the past five years, and she'd ruined herself in Hollywood back when she played the Fed Ex girl in Horrible Bosses. She pissed off Jennifer Anniston by acting like a diva, and Jen has a lot of clout. No one legit was going to hire her after that.

The ONLY reason she got the Netflix, Spotify, and Penguin contracts was because HARRY was worth the money-- or so they thought. They were all told at the making of the deals that H&M would be working for i.e. giving access to the Royal Family for 50% of the time. When that fell through, a huge part of their "business plan" died. Meghan was allegedly on speakerphone with the meeting and screaming mad when that didn't happen. She allegedly told the Queen to drop dead. I don't know that for a fact, but as Netflix had been following them around, it is a rumor that came out of the NF crew and trickled out to the rest of Hollywood. I personally would hope she wouldn’t tell anyone to drop dead, certainly not the Queen of England, but...

Anyway, the palace reportedly hung up on her and have refused to speak to her since. There have been times when she has been handled, like by Camilla at the Jubilee or Sophie at the funeral, but no one really speaks to her and she will never have a direct audience with the monarch again. Anyway, when they lost the 50/50, they lost a lot of what they promised these companies, but they were still popular enough with the public then that they could have still made something work. We've watched how that has turned out.

So long story short, Meghan isn't worth what was reported. Best estimates for the contracts are

Netflix- $20 million Spotify- $5 million

I don't know what the big wigs are paying for memoirs from ex-royalty and shitty children's fiction from an ex-Royal's soon-to-be- ex wife, but my best guess, for a four book deal with Prince Harry writing a tell all, is $10 million advance and then a percent of sales.

That seems like a lot of money to us plebes, but they hemorrhage money on housing alone. Then there's staff, publicity, SECURITY, legal fees, Meghan's ugly designer clothes, private jet flights, polo (an incredibly expensive sport), et al. Their money is spent before it even comes in. They lose more money through Archewell than they gain.

Anyway, the truth is that without Harry, Meghan is worth $0. She's worth less than $0. And the Royal Family know it. Hopefully she'll take whatever they offer, sign an NDA and run. But this IS Meghan... so...

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 110

Chapter 110: “What I Can Do”

Their concerns are all valid. Both dads were indeed injured and sorta trapped for a little bit, but it’s far too risky to go back and check on them without knowing the status of the enemy. Poor Ray, always being the logical one and dealing out the hard truths no one wants to hear.

At least he feels bad for the outburst. Can’t really blame him for losing his cool either. Everyone’s emotions are a mess at the moment and we already know Ray doesn’t take loses well when it comes to family.

Sandy is such a sweetheart to the younger kids. (I wonder who actually made his little broccoli eyepatch though. it’s adorable.)

You would think I would be making a comment about the Seven Walls or Emma’s dilemma with these panels, but surprise, it’s actually gonna be about Ray. Listen, I dunno the exact layout of the tunnels or how close everyone is to one another right now, but Ray had to be yelling so loud if Emma was able to hear him from her spot next to Chris, a place where I assume she hasn’t moved from since they arrived underground. It’s just amusing to me since Ray is usually level headed and quieter than most of the other kids, even compared to Emma & Norman.

Precious child quite literally being that perfect ray of sunshine everyone needs and brightening the mood in these dark times.

Y’all are so lucky that call came through when it did and not a couple minutes after when Andrew & his men showed up.

So convenient that it was Lucas who was down there to answer the call too. If it was anyone from GF, they might’ve picked up on Norman’s voice.

For real though, even if someone couldn’t realize the difference between James & Norman’s voices, their way of speaking and their plans are very different. A bit surprised Lucas didn’t notice that since he happen to listen to both recordings, or maybe he did and we just never knew because.. well, very dramatic life changing reasons. Either way, I’m glad Emma figures out both WMs are different.

Someone tell me why this bastard gets plot armor and not either one of our bunker dads? Or literally any other human we love? like fucking hell, how can Andrew survive a close up explosion unlike Yuugo & Lucas and Isabella dies by being stabbed by a demon, especially when both Emma & Barbara suffer similar wounds and walk away relatively fine?? I just.. really hate this man okay.

Favorite panel/moment:

I can’t remember all the wholesome father & son moments of everyone off the top of my head, but they all probably belong to Lucas & Oliver and this one in particular is one of the best despite it being so heartbreaking.

[jinmukangwrites]

@damianwayneweek 6 (6-18): Baby Damian | Family bonding | First crush

Warnings: none

Notes: Short, sweet, barely edited cuz it's 1am. Please enjoy some de-aged Damian and frazzled Dick. Yes I'm back on my Damian and Dick bullshit. I just love them so much.

-o-o-o-o-

Three days, according to Zatanna. The magic that hit Damian isn't permanent, and should wear off on its own within three days.

Dick already doesn't know what to do with himself. He was hardly prepared to take over and raise a ten year old, let alone a toddler.

But here he is, sitting in the manor living room watching as a small version of his already little brother toddles around on chubby baby legs. He can't be more than two. He can walk around on his own well enough—though Alfred did block off all of the stairs in the manor anyways—and every so often he'll point at something and say... Something that sounds like a demand.

Dick wasn't really ever good with understanding baby gibberish. It doesn't help that Damian seems to have reverted in memories as well... so the things he's demanding probably aren't in English as it's not his first language.

Damian wobbles up to Dick, holding out a toy train that Alfred dug out from the attic that used to belong to Bruce. Dick takes it and thanks him, but Damian pays him no mind and returns to his toys, babbling about something only he understands.

It's so weird seeing him like this. All small, chubby, soft, and bright eyed. Dick doesn't know everything Damian has gone through... growing up in the League... and as much as Dick dislikes Talia, he knows she was the best mom she could be to him. She's raised him to be a smart, strong young man, and taught him to be able to protect himself in his dangerous surroundings... and of course Dick has known Damian long enough to have gotten through his walls and see the wonderful boy underneath, but as he watches this toddler squeal as another toy train turns on and runs on its own...

He cannot help but mourn the child Damian could have been. Should have been if every child in the world had the privilege of growing up in a safe home and no worries besides homework.

He shakes his head. He cannot think like that. Whatever child Damian could have grown into if he hadn't been raised by the League is still in there. Just a bit harder to bring out. Dick can feel himself getting closer every day.

Damian notices him shaking his head and makes a curious ah sound. He walks over to Dick, lifting his arms, and Dick assumes he wants to be lifted. He smiles at the kid and grabs him under the armpits and lifts him into the air perhaps a bit quicker than what he was expecting. The kid screeches as Dick lifts him over head and let's go for just a moment to catch him and bring him back down to his face.

Damian scowls a familiar scowl and hits Dick on the nose with his stubby little fingers.

"Bah," he scolds, and a laugh bursts from Dick's throat.

Yup, Damian is still in there.

-o-o-o-o-

"I'm beginning to understand why B adopted all of us when we were already in elementary," Dick complains as baby Damian screams in his wooden high chair—yet another thing dug up from the attic that probably belonged to Bruce.

Alfred hands Dick a rag with a smirk. The thrown bowl of mac-and-cheese is all over Dick's shirt.

"Master Bruce always had a tenderness for infants," Alfred replies as he uses another rag to wipe off the still screaming and complaining Damian. "He always found joy in finding whatever excuse he could to hold and play with a baby. We used to go to a church when he was still a child himself, and there was a woman there without a husband who would always bring her infant. He would always offer to hold the child for her during the sessions to give her a break."

There's a twinkle in his eye when he looks over at Dick. "I imagine that if this had happened to you, or your other siblings, when he was still around, he would have loved every second of it. Food throwing, tantrums, and all."

Dick can't help but smile. He looks over at Damian who's now kicking his legs and waving his now clean hands in a fit. "Still, I wonder what's making him so mad."

"He might not like the taste," Alfred says, "or the texture. Perhaps some experimentation is due."

After some expiration and a lot of screaming through baby lungs that couldn't possibly hold that much air, they find that Damian really likes tomato soup, apple sauce, and broccoli.

-o-o-o-o-

"Master Dick," Alfred speaks up on the first evening while they were showing Damian Pooh's Heffalump Movie. Dick was relaxing and watching the movie, trying to remember if he's seen this one or not, while Damian was on the floor playing with an old kitten stuffed animal.

"Yeah?" Dick asks. He looks over at Alfred, only to see Alfred raise an eyebrow down at Damian. Dick follows his look, then his stomach drops when he finds that under the recently shopped for infant clothes, is a full looking diaper.

Dick looks back up at Alfred.

"Please, god, no."

Alfred drops a diaper, a bag of wipes, and a cloth into Dick's hands. "Good luck, sir."

-o-o-o-o-

Dick's about to lose his mind. He did everything Alfred told him to. He read a bedtime story—Where the Wild Things Are, as it was Dick's personal favorite as a child. He made sure his diaper was clean. He turned on some white noise. He even gave him Zitka. Yet, everything he did, Damian would scream and sob in his borrowed crib until Dick picked him up and started to sing the lullabies sung to him as a child. He sings the ones from his own native language, and even though there's no way Damian understands Romani, the kid calms down and reduces to exhausted little hiccups and almost seems to fall asleep with his little fingers curled in Dick's shirt.

And the second Dick puts him down, the crying rekindles.

Dick doesn't know what to do. Damian cries and cries until he's held and sung to, but Dick can't hold and sing to him all night. He paces Damian's room, bouncing the aforementioned kid-turned-infant in his arms, mumbling tunes to whatever lullaby decides to leave his lips.

Alfred told him he has permission to wake him up if he needed anything with Damian through the night, but Dick can't bring himself to. Alfred already works so hard during the day and night, keeping the manor in shape and making sure Dick doesn't get himself killed during patrol... He shouldn't have to be relied on to take care of a grumpy baby that won't go to sleep.

No, no Dick can handle this. Damian is calm when he's held and sung to, so that's what Dick will do. He walks to the cradle and pulls out Zitka, then goes to his own bedroom to sit on his bed and holds Damian close to his chest, singing and bouncing him gently.

Eventually, Damian goes completely still against his chest, snoring slightly, but Dick's too fearful to risk anything now. He stops singing though, resorting to simply holding Damian and trying to keep his own eyes open.

He fails, but he wakes up in the morning with Damian laying on his chest, still fast asleep and drooling all over his shirt.

Dick doesn't look a gift-horse in the mouth. He shifts into a better position, then allows them both to sleep in a little longer.

-o-o-o-o-

Alfred discovers the problem quickly when Dick tells him how hard it was to get Damian to sleep. Turns out, Damian's teething. By noon, Alfred had returned from the closest grocery store with a few tools to help with that. He puts a few water filled plastics into the fridge, then gives Damian one to chew on in the meantime. And chew on it, Damian does. He gets slobber everywhere, but at least he's no longer so upset, especially once a cold one is exchanged into his grubby little hands.

-o-o-o-o-

"That's absolutely adorable," Barbara says over the phone. Dick's just finished sending her a massive amount of pictures he's taken of Damian after taking him outside to play in the backyard with the dogs. He's sent her the pictures mostly because he needs people to see how cute Damian is while trying to tackle a dog twice the size of him... but also partly because he gets the feeling once Damian's back to his normal age, he will make sure all evidence of this is destroyed.

Barbara is someone Dick's sure can keep pictures hidden in a safe place... just in case Dick wants to see them again after lying to Damian he deleted them.

-o-o-o-o-

Dick's beginning to understand why people like babies. Like, they're cute, yes. The sounds they make are cute sometimes too. The things they find funny are usually very goofy and enjoyable to watch. Their laughs are contagious, and their babbles are enjoyable to try and decipher...

But nothing beats watching them sleep, curled up against your chest. Full trust in you that you'll keep them safe. It's nap time, and instead of trying to peel Damian off from him and put him in the crib, he's decided to just let the kid pass out in his arms and use the opportunity to take a nap himself.

Apparently it's bad to always let babies sleep with you, but Damian's not going to be this small forever. Might as well enjoy holding him like this in pure peace while he can.

-o-o-o-o-

It seems Zatanna was generous with her prediction, as he wakes up with his breath being knocked out of him. Damian, his rightful age and dressed in his full Robin uniform, scrambles off of Dick's chest. It's all knees and elbows, and Dick's left rubbing his ribs as Damian pats his body, as if making sure he's really a 10 year old boy and not an infant.

"Good to have you back," Dick grunts, rubbing his eyes and holding back a grin.

Damian whirls on him and points an accusing finger. "I don't remember what all happened," he hisses, "but you will delete any photos immediately."

Dick bursts into laughter, grabbing Damians pointed hand and tugging him into a proper hug. Damian squawks just a little, but relents when Dick squeezes him tighter than what he would to an infant. Yes. This feels right. Baby Damian was cute and cuddly, but he really missed the prickly attitude of this rascal.

"Okay," he says, releasing his charge. "I'll delete the photos, after we tell Alfred you're back and you've changed out of the suit."

Damian huffs and nods. "That was horrible."

"I don't know, I thought it was fun," Dick teases. Damian glares at him and Dick grins back.

Yeah, he missed his kid.

[pleasereadmeok]

Can you help me please? I'm sure you had an English translation of Matthew's interview with Style Italia (2017?) on your blog however I can't find it. Can you help? Thank you. A Goode fan x

Hi Anon - yes of course. This one right? ⬇️

It's such a great interview with some lovely personal details from Matthew. @di-elle kindly did a translation for the matthew-goode.net press archive a few years ago so that follows ⬇️. Enjoy. : -

Matthew Goode is one of the most recognizable British actors of his generation. 38 years old, tall, slender, handsome, with a face composed of classic proportions and precise features that lends itself to both modern settings and period dramas.A look that’s allowed him to dive immediately into the world of Match Point, Brideshead Revisited, The Imitation Game, and A Single Man. In the last season of Downton Abbey, he was one of the most beloved characters as Lady Mary’s husband, a role that brought him popularity with the television audience. Now he appears with Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard in Allied.Skill,talent, determination and a bit of luck (essential in this business) have made Goode a sought-after and versatile actor, without affecting his overwhelming pleasantness and playfulness onset and off that serve as useful talents as well.In the penthouse of the London hotel where he is being photographed, he strokes the oval marble bathtub sitting in the middle of the room (‘So cool!’), gets enthusiastic by touching the clothes, the collars of the shirts, and the wool of the jackets.

Do you like design?I love it, even if it is my wife who has the eye for it.In front of the mirror, in the barber’s and makeup artist’s hands, he is a bundle of energy.  He is worried about Brexit (‘What’s happened? Where are we going?’) but happy to be able to buy a house. He is a little anxious, too, about the last phone call from his bank: ‘Being an actor means  living day by day. Banks don’t like it.’

Psychologically what does it entail?During dry spells you can lose confidence and believe that you will never work again. It’s not easy.

However you are not lacking jobs. How  was working  on Allied?Movies are strange beasts. You come, you spend two days on the set, you shoot your own scenes and you go. Despite this it was electrifying as it can be a film of these proportions. There was an atmosphere of great professionalism and harmony. Brad Pitt is a great person. He welcomed me fondly, as did Marion Cotillard. I had already met them both, but they are always like that, even with those they don’t know.

Is variety important to you?It’s the essence of life, isn’t it? At the end  the face and the voice are always those and if you specialize in a genre, it’s not easy to come out of it. It’s hard for me to resist period movies, it’s a great temptation. Costumes and interiors have a very strong charm.

Your name was made for the Bond role…I’ve sabotaged myself. Barbara Broccoli  (the film producer) called me and I didn’t realize it was an audition. I thought it was just a chat. She asked me what I thought of Bond. I was honest , I told her that the way it is today doesn’t work. They need to scale down the budget, and make the character more complicated, go back to the origin from the books: a dark, difficult, incomprehensible man. At the end she said goodbye and I didn’t hear from her again. Maybe sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut.

Do you like going to movies?There’s a little bit of jealousy to overcome but generally yes. I’d like to see Tom Ford’s new movie, Nocturnal Animals. He is a genius, he has an eye like no other. A Single Man should have won more awards. Ford was born as a stylist but he is a real artist.

Are you not tempted to move to the USA?I have three children and I want them to grow up here. I don’t like to go too far away. I told my agent I don’t want to work in the US for a year.

Is Matthew Goode a good father?It depends on the days. The noise stresses me. If there are two children crying, or screaming, I panic. In those cases, my wife takes care of it.

What do you do at home?I cook. It’s less tiring than playing with a one-year-old child… I can do a little of everything: my father taught me the first recipes when I was about to start university. Over the years I have made a leap in quality, from scrambled eggs to stews.

Your best recipe?Beef and Guinness stew. Two or three parsnips, a couple of carrots, two onions, some mushrooms. Two pounds of meat, a little flour. Mix it up, then slap it in the pot. Salt, pepper, some herbs and some beer. I love it. You put it on, you go get the kids from school, and when you come back, the house smells of dinner.

The role you’ve always wanted.Sherlock Holmes. Damn it, Benedict Cumberbatch has stolen it from me! Joking aside, it’s Jeffrey Bernard in the comedy Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, by Keith Waterhouse. Many years ago I saw Peter O’Toole in it and I’ve never forgotten. But you need to be 50 or 60 years old for it, so I’ll have to wait a little longer.

Did you want to be an actor as a child?My mother would say yes. Actually I discovered my path later in life. For a while I wanted to be an archaeologist, because my father was a geologist. One day one of my university mates went to audition for an acting school and I said: Why not, I should try it too. Finding an agent was a stroke of luck. Then the fight for survival began. It’s a slow and complicated road.

From the outside you look like someone who made it.(It may look that way) now, but like with everything when you start you are at the first step, you look up and say: I’ll never get there.

What’s your secret to overcome difficult moments?I have stopped watching the films I make. This has helped me a lot. You can’t control how they cut and edit your character. You can only control the experience, what you give and what gives to you. The result is almost insignificant. After a few years it can be fun watching yourself because you seem very young.

Do you practice sport a lot?I go to the gym in the morning, to start the day well. Twice a week I go out for lunch with my wife: and since I like to eat, and occasionally even drink, the gym is imperative. I also play golf but it takes time, it’s not an activity that fits well with a big family.

Your ideal holiday?I have fond memories of my childhood, camping with my father, the fishing rod, the green. I’d like to take my children. My wife resists for now.

What do you read?I hate to admit it, but I read very little. By the time I go to bed, I’m too tired.

A luxury?We’re planning how to sort out the house. If I could afford it I’d buy one of those enormous american washing machines with a tumble dryer.  It’s not what you’d expect from a star, is it?

[nyaheum]

My yearly list of Eurovision songs after the first impression (I mean, for like, half of them. I heard snippets of some songs.). Judged on music videos, because...if I only listen to the songs on Spotify, my eyes get bored. :’)

(oh, and don’t talk to me about iceland’s placement, I know this might be unpopular)

X. Belarus

Fuck Belarus, all my homies hate Belarus. Not even going to grace them with a rating.

Norway (TIX – Fallen Angel)

...no. :( And it’s not even because Keiino didn’t win, I just wholeheartetly hate this song. And I’m kinda sorry to TIX, because he seems like a cool dude and his stage outfit is absolutely hilarious, but oh my god do I hate this song with an absolute burning passion.

Poland (RAFAL – The Ride)

eye emoji mouth emoji eye emoji – well, this is a non-qualifier if I’ve ever seen one. Can we just...skip this?

Belgium (Hooverphonic – The Wrong Place)

Nap time! This song annoys me. I cannot explain it, but it gives me a headache and my whole body is revolting against this song. I am not kidding. Objectively, I don’t even hate it, but there’s just something about it...that makes me go...hnghgng…

North Macedonia (Vasil – Here I Stand)

eye emoji mouth emoji eye emoji ver. 2 – I am not trying to sound mean, but does North Macedonia do any music that is not dramatic power ballads? I’m serious. (And I don’t like it, sorry. :((...except for the high notes, I like them. When he can hit them live.)

Estonia (Uku Suviste – The Lucky One)

This (the music video)...is soft porn. I am slightly scared of Uku. I don’t know why. But, uh...this is better than last year’s song? Still, it wouldn’t qualify under my watch, whoops.

Georgia (Tornike Kipiani – You)

He stopped yelling angrily at the microphone. :((( Nah, but this isn’t my thing. It’s great that they are doing their own thing, it’s just not really my thing...it also reminds me of a song I know, damn.

Austria (Vincent Bueno - Amen)

He looks like a german youtuber. I don’t know hich one, but he looks like one. I also canot tell if he’s 18 or 38, lol. (For some reason he also reminds me of Alex Albon, which is even weirder.)...oh, uh, the song? Idk, I don’t care for I. It’s fine.

Spain (Blas Cantó – Voy A Querdarme)

Confession: I’m probably the only person who actually doesn’t like the sound of Spanish all that much. Whoops. Apart from that though, I’m not the biggest fan of this song. Can’t really say more about that. Meh.

The Netherlands (Jeangu Macrooy – Birth Of A New Age)

Listen: I really like the tone of this voice. It’s great. I am not a fan of the song. There’s something just very off about the loud percussions (?) in the background that make me go absolutely crazy when listening to this. My sensory-overload-prone ears hate it, and I’m sorry...the part before the last chorus on the other hand I love. The whole song could have sounded like that and I would have loved it. (...and I can’t unhear “You are my broccoli – You know my broccoli!” ;-;)

Azerbaijan (Efendi – Mata Hari) Whenever I see Efendi, my brain still goes “Cleopatrrrrra!”, oof. This song sounds like a song I know. Which...is super unprecice, but I genuinely don’t know which one. I do like that they kept the weird pre-chorus thing from Cleopatra (and reference the song later on), but I must say that I liked Cleopatra more...but it’s a party song, so I think it will be fun on stage!

Romania (ROXEN - Amnesia)

I didn’t like her song last year, I don’t enjoy this all too much and I’m kinda sorry but also...I don’t want to apologize for my taste in music, lmao. I want her hair though. Give me her hair.

Denkmark (Fyr & Flamme – Ove Os Pa Hinanden)

Ring ding ding, native language bonus. This is also way more fun than I thought it would be, hah. VERY retro, but I don’t hate that? :D (this and sweden really aren’t any different in terms of how much I like them)

Portugal (The Black Mama – Love Is On My Side)

I can appreciate this. I just wish it was in Portuguese, honestly. I don’t really know if I like the English for this song. That being said, I don’t know if you can make these very specific tones (you know what I mean) in portuguese without it sounding super off, so…

Ireland (Lesley Roy – Maps)

Okay, you do you Ireland. :D

Israel (Eden Alene – Set Me Free)

This exists. :D

Cyprus (Elena Tsagrinou – El Diablo)

Cyprus came to party, and I can’t be mad at that. I just don’t know why everybody in the YouTube comments loves this SO MUCH that they are sure that it will win if it gets the jury votes. I don’t think it’s as good as Fuego or She Got Me were, but maybe I just have no taste in party music. I don’t party. (Only if you got a 2000s playlist and some iced tea.)

France (Barbara Pravi – Voilà)

FRANCE sending a BALLAD? In MY Eurovision? It’s more likely than you think. It’s good, objectively. Personally, I don’t really care for it all that much and feel like I already know it.

United Kingdom (Embers – James Newman)

A good, modern song? In my british eurovision song? What happened on the Isles over quarantine? Are you guys okay? Did you find yourself? Have you taken your last breath (breath!) and looked at your past results? I’m impressed enough to put this relatively high, wow.

Serbia (Hurricane – LOCO LOCO)

*adore delano voice* party! Oh, and native language bonus...for a party song! I’m...impressed, actually. I cannot decide wheter I prefer this or Hasta La Vista, but I think it’s this one? The flows smoother, if that means literally anything.

Bulgaria (VICTORIA – Growing Up Is Getting Old)

*shrugs* I think a lot of people will like this. And I get that. I think I even understand it...yeah. I didn’t like her song last year either. It’s just personal preference, I think. I just want to have fun during Eurovision, hah.

Finland (Blind Channel – Dark Side)

Finland: FUCK YOU!!! Germany: Fuck you. <3

That’s all I’ll say, we know how the Finnish are, this is not surprising, lmao. (And I’m one of those children that grew up on Rammstein, so I legally cannot dislike this.)

Croatia (Albina - Tick-Tock)

Tick-tock, can you hear me go tick-tock? My heart is like a clock, I'm steady like a rock-...oh wait, wrong tick-tock! Still, really enjoy this song’s chorus – I actually enjoy it so much that it makes up for the utter loss of interest I experience once it’s over, chrm.

Sweden (Tusse – Voices)

I mean...let’s be honest, it’s a generic swedish pop song. It sounds like every other Swedish entry, and I think that bothers me. I know, that sounds kind of...weird, looking at my choices higher up in the list, but...meh. I think this will easily qualify for the Final and place high, and I am totally okay with that. It’s just not...what I wanted, I guess? :D (and i’m sorry but as a german-speaker I cannot get over the name “tusse”) (oh, and tusse seems to be super cool)

Albania (Anxhela Peristeri - Karma)

Oh, we’re going to war in 130 A.D.? Fine, let me just pack my spear and- oh, Albania has already sent a singer? Ah, well, might as well give up and just vibe.

Czech Republic (Benny Cristo - omaga)

This sounds fun. Not a winner or anything, but fun. I’ll probably still be on Twitter when he’s performing, whoops.

Slovenia (Ana Sklic - Amen)

Wait, there’s TWO songs called Amen? And why do I actually kinda like this? Oh well, might as well just accept it. (Her voice though...mhmmhmhm…yes please)

Iceland (Dadi og Gagnamagnid – 10 Years)

We just vibin’. I liked Think About Things more, but I’m very much biased here...because I’ve known that song for a year now. But this is still very good, and very on brand. (And I understand like...half of the lyrics, but I am okay with that.)

Australia (Montaigne - Technicolour)

not australia flexing at all of europe that they can hold big gatherings! D: oh, but I like this way more than last years song. I feel like Montaigne can show her GREAT voice way better in this song. (Even though her outfit and the sound of the song reminds me of the UK song that had...a dude run on the stage. I can’t think of the word for it right now.)

Malta (Destiny – Je Me Casse)

Destiny’s voice is just….wow. This is very different than All My Love, but it’s fun. The topic of the lyrics kinda remind me of Toy, and I like that…..I don’t really like the music video (especially the dancers in the colorful dresses? idk), but I’ll just ignore that.

Germany (I Don’t Feel Hate - Germany)

Confession time: I actually actively enjoy this song. Everybod is shitting on it, but it’s FUN and it has a good message, and Jendrik seems like the nicest dude ever and...it doesn’t deserve all the hate it’s getting? It’s completely self-produced and just fun. Stop being mean. :(

(...also someone on youtube said “pewdiepie” and I can’t unsee that now so fuck you >:((...no, no I don’t feel hate, just rethink your life choices)

Moldova (Natalia Gordienko - SUGAR)

What in the “Eis.de ist in der Kiste” is this music video? And I thought I would absolutely hate this song, but I actually don’t mind it all that much. It’s actually fun. Oh no, I’m splipping, someone catch me, aaaaaahhhhh….(and that poor cake dude. Is this song about cannibalism? Does she want to eat him?)

San Marino (Senhit – Adrenalina)

Catch me hum the chorus of this song at least once a day...but honestly, without any malicious intent: what the actual FUCK san marino? This is so much better than Freaky, and even though I do not believe for one second that this will win, the simple outragiousness of bringing Flo Rida to Eurovision deserves attention. (Bringing someone like Flo Rida to ESC sounds more like Scandinavia/Bulgaria, doesn’t it?)

Russia (Manizha – Russian Woman)

Not gonna lie, I miss Little Big, but at least they are sending something that’s at least as weird. I love that. Russian Rap is cool as fuck anyway, so I’m fully here for this...but I’m glas this song doesn’t have a music video, this just has to be a live performance. (Oh, and another strong woman!)

Ukraine (Go_A – SHUM)

I’m SO glad Go_A are back. But, let me be completely honest: I know why they had to change the lyrics, but I still liked the first version better. BUT I feel like the new one will grow and me and it will climb one or two places, because the Instrumental just slaps SO HARD. (Makes me feel like putting on a Cybergoth outfit and start dancing at a German industrial park, lmao.)

Latvia (Samanta Tina – The Moon Is Rising)

Does this count as my guilty pleasure this year? I loved her song last year, and this sounds similar, so...I like this too. It sounds modern as fuck (well, for Europe, you know) and I can definitely...”vibe” with that. I genuinely really enjoy this, and I don’t know why. (Even though I prefer last years drop.) A lot of “strong, independent women”-songs this year, and I’m not complaining.

Switzerland (Gjon’s Tears – Tout l’Univers)

Just so we’re clear, this and Italy share the exact same spot. I just cannot compare them at all. Gjon’s voice just takes me hostage throughout this whole song and won’t let me go. And everything that isn’t english/is in the countries offical language immediately gets plus points from me. As if this song needed them anyway.

Lithuania (The Roop – Discoteque)

Aaaaaand...dance break! Good, I just love them so much, it’s not even funny anymore. And I’ve been singing this song randomly since it came out. I can’t stop. It has burned itself into my brain. Let’s dis-co-teque right at my home! *waves arms around with no sign of coordination*

(and does anyone else feel like he’s serhat, just with a different alignment? Like, they are both chaotic, but serhat is chaotic neutral and he’s either chaotic good or chaotic bad, it really depends on the way he looks at the camera)

Italy (Maneskin – Zitti E Buoni)

Italy delivers, as they do every year. Not only do I really like this song (it is very much my genre), THIS is an aesthetic I can get behind! Knowing Eurovision, I doubt it will win, but damn if it won’t be super fun! (I am so glad this won Sanremo, hah.)

[sasrednoticewatchonline]

Watch SAS Red Notice online English 2021

SAS Red Notice 2021 full - https://sas-red-notice-eng.blogspot.com/

Rating: R (language throughout | strong / bloody violence) Genre: Action Original language: English (United Kingdom) Directed by Magnus Martens Producer: Laurence Malkin, Allan Niblo, Joe Simpson Author: Laurence Malkin Release date (streaming): March 16, 2021 Duration: 2h 3m Production Co: Altitude Films A SAS agent finds his romantic short vacation in Paris cut short when a high-quality mercenary target kidnaps a train in the Channel Tunnel.

The market for hard-hitting British action thrillers was rather cornered by James Bond. It's rare for the UK to have really solid action spectacle without Ian Flemings 007 joking his way through the middle and making it feminine. With that in mind, director Magnus Martens' SAS: Red Notice feels like a rare and rather welcome animal. It's the kind of film Hollywood can easily produce - with everyone from Jason Statham and Vin Diesel to Nicolas Cage and Liam Neeson - but this film has a decidedly British feel to it.

Outlander star Sam Heughan - often suggested as the main competitor for 007 in the future - leads the film as Special Forces agent Tom Buckingham. Interestingly, he's a spoiled, classy boy who grew up in a mansion, which makes him far from being a Bruce Willis-style everyone in a bloody vest. After participating in a raid on a group of mercenaries, he takes a much-needed break by kidnapping his doctor partner Sophie (Hannah John-Kamen) to Paris for a romantic marriage proposal. Unfortunately, he got really bad luck when his cross-channel train was kidnapped in the tunnel by the psychopathic mercenary leader Grace (Ruby Rose).

It's a pretty standard action setup, but Martens makes the most of it. The script by Laurence Malkin and Chad Thumann - adapted from the novel by ex-soldier Andy McNab - is elegantly drawn and combines exciting set pieces and crunching action with solid emotional beats. After more than two hours, there is no doubt that the film is a little limp and overly long, but it is never anything other than outstanding to watch, which makes up for a multitude of sins. It helps that Heughan and Rose form a dynamite pair of leads. Heughan is just as charismatic as he has dedicated himself to the action sequences. He wears scenes of polite bravery and bruising with the kind of serenity that suggests he would actually make a terrific 007. It's not easy to sympathize with such an obvious classy boy, but Heughan manages to do it in his scenes with John-Kamen and a brief bond he shares with a young passenger on the train. He's also good at comedy, including a scene with perhaps the most surprising thing ever seen on the floor of a train toilet. Or maybe not. Anyone who's used the loo on a long distance Pendolino is likely to have some stories.

Rose is a perfect sparring partner for Heughan, both physically and verbally. An argument between the two in act three is perfectly choreographed and encompasses the grubby realism of facial claws and swinging limbs rather than the hyper-stylized punches and shots of other action films. Red Notice is a film ready to go its own way in terms of visual spectacle. A downright fallible hero meets his match in a shrewd, ruthless opponent who will never stay down and give up.

However, when it moves its focus away from Heughan and Rose, the film more than stuck a little. Most importantly, there is an overarching political conspiracy involving Ray Panthakis Prime Minister and Andy Serkis as a corrupt military guy too complex and labyrinthine for his own good. These extended sojourns in back room intrigues are much less exciting than the events on the train and only serve to furnish the film with furniture it doesn't need. Its bite is much stronger than its bark, but it ends up barking too long. Fortunately, it won't be long before the movie is back with Heughan, Rose, and the heavy-hitting action core at the heart of this film. Given the rather variable quality of Sky Cinema's original excursions, this is a pleasant surprise. Heughan, Barbara Broccoli, and the Bond team could certainly make it a lot worse.

SAS: Red Notice is the type of action film you'd want to dig into its narrative and characters. There are tons of gunshots, bangs, bangs - don't worry - but there is also a lot of emotional engagement between the players and a story that has a lot more gray areas than just "good versus bad". The film struggles in a few areas, but its intent gives it at least a few points. You can see what it's trying to do and you want it to pin it down. Will it get there or not? Well let's sum it up.

In the beginning, we believe our narrative will follow Grace Lewis (Ruby Rose) and her family - "lovingly" known as The Black Swans. We're not going to spoil any specific details, but some actions in about ten minutes make it clear that the Lewis family are not the heroes of this story. No harm, no foul there. We start with antagonists all the time. The problem is that the story frames them as protagonists before things go sideways. The water just gets muddy as the story progresses. Once we have witnessed some unfortunate deeds committed by the swans in Georgia (not our Georgia, the other) we meet Tom Buckingham III (Sam Heughan). Now it's pretty clear that Tom is our dashing hero. He has everything the stereotypical espionage protagonist has to offer, right down to devilish charm. He will become his lover, Dr. Sophie Hart (Hannah John-Kamen), despite the ocean of differences between them, make a suggestion. But first he has to defeat those annoying swans. It's a quick entry and exit, despite the profile of those they are supposed to capture. Without a few sacrifices (one of which is very important to Grace), things go smoothly and our ignorant hero returns to Sophie's hospital.

He really loves her - a refreshing aspect of the movie - but she struggles with the fact that he doesn't seem to find any human response to anything in the world but her. Blinded to her concern and convinced of his bragging rights, Tom takes Sophie to France by train.

Of course, their move happens to be the same one that Grace and the rest of the Swans attempt to kidnap for reasons we won't discuss in a spoiler-free review. What I will confirm is that they really had no intention of meeting Tom or ruining his proposal. Talk about a crazy coincidence.

SAS Red Notice free movies online SAS Red Notice free movie

SAS Red Notice  full

[dojan-dog]

For your write: what happens if Beetlejuice’s striped suit gets damaged beyond repair? Who dress that demon and in what? Do they give the suit a funeral? How many cries happen?

No one in the Deetz Maitland household wanted to know exactly what Beetlejuice did to get his suit so torn up. When the green haired demon had come home with shreds of clothing hanging off of him, and a desperate look in his eye, they didn't question him. The women looked the other way while Adam and Charles grabbed Beetlejuice a bathrobe to cover himself up in. When I say his clothes were shredded, I meant all his clothes were shredded.

Once the demon had time to mournfully pack together the remnants of his pinstriped suit into a tasteful tote bag (courtesy of Delia,) he sat down on the couch and held the bag in his grimy hands. There was a confused silence in the room. Lydia, the closest person to understanding Beetlejuice, decided to speak up.

"So..." Lydia started, unsure of where her sentence was going to go. Should she console him? It was just a suit, wasn't it? She had an barely an idea of what it meant to him

"Can't you conjure up another suit, Beetlejuice?" She said hesitantly. Beetlejuice sitting this still and silently for an extended period of time was far more terrifying than any snake arms gag that he could pull. She was almost more afraid of what he would do now than she had ever been since she first met him.

The demon still sat, staring at the tote bag that cruely bore a cartoon of a happy little broccoli waving and saying, "Have a nice day!"

Beetlejuice sighed and said numbly, "I could. It's just a simple conjure."

Delia clapped her hands together, the loud and sudden noise shattering the tense atmosphere. "Well, there you go! I can take that tote bag off of your hands, and you can make yourself a new suit! Problem solved." She smiled.

Barbara and Adam looked at each other. They seemed to have both had noticed that Delia's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Adam raised an eyebrow at his wife. She raised one back.

A silent conversation was held in the focus of their stares, rapid fire quips heard and seen only by the ghostly couple. After a moment, Barbara blinked and spoke up.

"See, Delia, I don't think that's what the problem is here. Beetlejuice seems to have an emotional connection to his suit. Throwing it away might not help." She said gently, placing a hand on Delia's shoulder. Delia said quietly, "So... No new suit then? Or at least for now?" On the couch, Beetlejuice glumly nodded.

Lydia knew about loss. True, a suit was barely anything compared to her mother, but loss is loss. And grief is grief. The thought gave her another idea, and was just about to propose it when her father's booming voice interrupted her.

"We can hold a funeral for it."

Lydia's eyes opened wide. She had forgotten that her father was a mourner as well, and that, being her father's daughter, they would have similar ideas. Either way, Charles' genuine look of empathy for Beetlejuice and his suit made Lydia feel like either crying or laughing.

The idea was met with no protest.

Charles and Delia took the lead, organizing the surprise funeral (a choice of words Lydia felt a blurry of emotions for, none of them too positive,) and helping Beetlejuice into one of Charles's old suits. The Maitlands and Lydia organized the living room, rearranging the chairs and sofa so that they had an faint attempt of a professional funeral parlor. Charles dug a little grave outside. Lydia was surprised at how seriously her dad was taking the whole situation. It seemed to be very personal. Maybe it was the businessman in him, grieving along with Beetlejuice at the prospect of a suit gone too soon.

By early evening, the procession began. Beetlejuice, looking as sullen as they had ever seen him, led the way, carrying the tote bag with as much dignity as a neon green canvas with a personified broccoli wishing you well could ever be. His head bent low, he placed the bag on the coffee table, pushed to the front of the chairs, and serving as a makeshift altar, behind which stood Lydia, the priest for hire. He sat down in the chair up front.

Behind him came Charles, arm in arm with Delia. He wore his darkest suit and, like Beetlejuice, hung his head in solidarity. Delia wore a navy blue dress, the darkest color she had in her wardrobe, and gave a little sniffle. They took a seat next to Beetlejuice.

Lastly came the Maitlands. They looked just about the same, holding hands while walking down the aisle. They too, looked as sympathetic as they could, and sat down on the sofa in the second row.

Once they were all settled, Lydia, wearing her usual outfit, plus an oversized black sun hat (she hoped it would give her some sort of effect,) stood to address the little crowd. She cleared her throat, and spread her hands out wide.

"Dearly beloved," she said, her voice attempting to drop an octave lower than usual. "We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of Beetlejuices pinstriped suit." (A choked sob from the chair up front.) "Let it never be forgotten, in all its glorious and unique fashion choices. It's bedazzled pins and cuffs, it's shiny black stripes, it's artistically placed sweat and grease stains, and it's deadly stench were what made the suit... The suit." She raised her hands up high, channeling her inner preacher. "Scripture tells us..." A quick look at her father. She had been to church twice in her lifetime, once for her baptism, and once for Dad and Delia's wedding. She had never read the Bible. Then again, Beetlejuice most likely didn't care for correct biblical quotes. She took a deep breath and thought fast.

"Scripture tells us: 'The ones who have been with us longest, have loved us the most. The ones who have loved us the most, will leave knowing they have done a job well done. And that is reward enough.'"

Beetlejuice teared up.

The rest of the day was a quiet one, and when Beetlejuice appeared in a new suit, just like his old one, several days later, not a word was said about it.

[hcbraziliansfans]

Mais um sonho a realizar! . . Posted @withregram • @qbranchmedia Double Tap for Henry Cavill as the next James Bond 007. --- After betting was suspended in the UK for Tom Hardy landing the role as the next James Bond, @henrycavill has come out and shared his desire to play 007. After nearly landing the role back in 2006, is it his time now? Let us know in the comments what you think! --- “At this stage, it’s all up in the air. We’ll see what happens. But yes, I would love to play Bond, it would be very, very exciting. If Barbara [Broccoli] and [producer Michael G. Wilson] were interested in that, I would absolutely jump at the opportunity.” Henry Cavill to GQ --- Follow along and Tag @QBranchMedia in your photo if you want to be featured on our page and have your content shared with 4500+ other 007 fans. . . . . . . . . . . #HenryCavill #JamesBond #007 #Bond #JamesBond007 #Bond007 #BondJamesBond #Movie #Film #Superman #thewitcher #witcher #geraltofrivia #justiceleague #dccomics #manofsteel #dc https://www.instagram.com/p/CFqBbGFhlq0/?igshid=jdrvbmydy455

[ringobean]

Part 9 and End... Hope that you like it.

I took one last look at my friends as a sign of approval, then I took Ringo in my arms kissing him,

"of course I'm coming with you, I don't know what's waiting for me in the 60's, but I'd love to share your life."

He was overjoyed. He hugged me so hard, lifting me from the ground, that I thought he was going to grind my bones.

"I love you so much (Y / N)"

"I love you too Richie, how could I live without you?"

I hugged Luna and Michelle tightly.

"I will miss you girls."

"We will miss you too, I hope everything will happen as you wish" said Michelle

"Everything will be the way she wants, enjoy your life darling, and we'll see each other again in 2019 when you'll be an old grandmother" laughing Luna.

Ringo took my hand and we entered the cabin, we were all 5 pretty scared about whether it was going to work or not, and especially if the scientist wasn't going to make another mistake by sending us anywhere.

I finally waved a last goodbye to my friends.

Then the scientist informed us that he was going to start the machine, he counted backwards. The doors closed, the cabin shook, and went black.

I opened my eyes, I was lying on a bed, I recognized my room that had changed a lot, no doubt we were in the 60s. I turned my head and I saw Ringo who still held my hand, who awoke gently in turn, I couldn't believe that I had changed times, and especially that he was officially my man.

He hugged me, and said, "you took care of us when we were lost in 2019, now it's my turn to take care of you, I'll always be there for you (y/n) I love you."

Afterwards, he introduced me to his mother Elsie, and his father-in-law, who welcomed me as a daughter, we lived at their home at first, then we got married discreetly because Brian thought it was better for sales, and I also thought it was better not to be too exposed to the media.

I also spent a lot of time with John's wife Cynthia, who was also a hidden woman. Later, as I got along rather well with everyone and especially Brian, he proposed me to become his assistant and help him to manage the various tours, which allowed me to stay close to my husband, without being always stuck to him.

knowing in advance that they would stop touring in 1966, I waited for that moment to finally start a family, I preferred that Ringo be more present to enjoy the children and not have to raise them alone, we had 2 children, a boy and a girl, when the band broke up, it was a little bit difficult, Ringo feeling a little useless, began to drink more and more regularly, it was the period of his life that I dreaded the most, but finally as we was a rather stable couple, and with lot of love he picked himself up, we approached the 80s, one day he received the scenario of "caveman" I had confidence in him, but also a little bit scared of his meeting with Barbara, I knew she was a very beautiful woman, but finally the script didn't interest him, whew!

Came the terrible day of December 8, 80, I phoned John to make sure he hadn't forgotten the date, finally he went through the back door to go to the studio while asking for security, searched the man I had described to him, who had a weapon on him! John was safe, thank you God.

His marriage with Yoko was no longer working, he divorced some time later, realizing then that he still loved Cynthia, he returned with her for the greatest pleasure of all, the boys reconciled themselves definitively, they had the project of getting back together and making new albums and tours, which was done in addition to their solo career, George had long since stopped smoking, he was taking care of his health, Paul had the same life as my first era, my Ringo, who wasn't athletic at all and who loved good bloody steaks, became a gym addict and a vegetarian. He also stopped his 60 cigarettes a day. The first time he started using Tweeter made me laugh, he wanted me to show him how to do emojis, as I had taught him in my previous era.

"See, I told you that one day you'll stop the cigarettes and start tweeting broccoli"

We are finally in 2019, I am a granny of 76 years, who tries despite everything to appear as young and as hot as his magnificent husband who seems 50 when he is almost 80, I can't believe that we are already 57 years of wedding, and still be as much in love as the first day, despite my apprehensions, he has always been a wonderful loving husband, and a very good father.

The Beatles, well... They're going very well, they're all 4 hot grandpas who have just celebrated together the 50 years of their most legendary album "Abbey Road" to the greatest joy of their fans of all ages. I can't thank enough the destiny and the error of this scientist for all this, and for this wonderful life that I lived alongside the man I love who was my idol formerly.

[di-elle]

Matthew Goode interview - Style Magazine Italia - January 2017

[as requested by @pleasereadmeok. thanks @adow-trash for proofreading it]

[the rest of the pics in HQ here]

Matthew Goode is one of the most recognizable British actors of his generation. 38 years old, tall, slender, handsome, with a face composed of classic proportions and precise features that lends itself to both modern settings and period dramas.

A look that's allowed him to dive immediately into the world of Match Point, Brideshead Revisited, The Imitation Game, and A Single Man. In the last season of Downton Abbey, he was one of the most beloved characters as Lady Mary's husband, a role that brought him popularity with the television audience. Now he appears with Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard in Allied.

Skill,talent, determination and a bit of luck (essential in this business) have made Goode a sought-after and versatile actor, without affecting his overwhelming pleasantness and playfulness onset and off that serve as useful talents as well.

In the penthouse of the London hotel where he is being photographed, he strokes the oval marble bathtub sitting in the middle of the room (‘So cool!’), gets enthusiastic by touching the clothes, the collars of the shirts, and the wool of the jackets.

Do you like design?

I love it, even if it is my wife who has the eye for it.

In front of the mirror, in the barber’s and makeup artist’s hands, he is a bundle of energy.  He is worried about Brexit (‘What’s happened? Where are we going?’) but happy to be able to buy a house. He is a little anxious, too, about the last phone call from his bank: 'Being an actor means  living day by day. Banks don’t like it.’

Psychologically what does it entail?

During dry spells you can lose confidence and believe that you will never work again. It's not easy.

However you are not lacking jobs. How  was working  on Allied?

Movies are strange beasts. You come, you spend two days on the set, you shoot your own scenes and you go. Despite this it was electrifying as it can be a film of these proportions. There was an atmosphere of great professionalism and harmony. Brad Pitt is a great person. He welcomed me fondly, as did Marion Cotillard. I had already met them both, but they are always like that, even with those they don't know.

Is variety important to you?

It's the essence of life, isn't it? At the end  the face and the voice are always those and if you specialize in a genre, it's not easy to come out of it. It's hard for me to resist period movies, it's a great temptation. Costumes and interiors have a very strong charm.

Your name was made for the Bond role…

I've sabotaged myself. Barbara Broccoli  (the film producer) called me and I didn’t realize it was an audition. I thought it was just a chat. She asked me what I thought of Bond. I was honest , I told her that the way it is today doesn’t work. They need to scale down the budget, and make the character more complicated, go back to the origin from the books: a dark, difficult, incomprehensible man. At the end she said goodbye and I didn’t hear from her again. Maybe sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut.

Do you like going to movies?

There's a little bit of jealousy to overcome but generally yes. I'd like to see Tom Ford's new movie, Nocturnal Animals. He is a genius, he has an eye like no other. A Single Man should have won more awards. Ford was born as a stylist but he is a real artist.

Are you not tempted to move to the USA?

I have three children and I want them to grow up here. I don't like to go too far away. I told my agent I don't want to work in the US for a year.

Is Matthew Goode a good father?

It depends on the days. The noise stresses me. If there are two children crying, or screaming, I panic. In those cases, my wife takes care of it.

What do you do at home?

I cook. It's less tiring than playing with a one-year-old child... I can do a little of everything: my father taught me the first recipes when I was about to start university. Over the years I have made a leap in quality, from scrambled eggs to stews.

Your best recipe?

Beef and Guinness stew. Two or three parsnips, a couple of carrots, two onions, some mushrooms. Two pounds of meat, a little flour. Mix it up, then slap it in the pot. Salt, pepper, some herbs and some beer. I love it. You put it on, you go get the kids from school, and when you come back, the house smells of dinner.

The role you've always wanted.

Sherlock Holmes. Damn it, Benedict Cumberbatch has stolen it from me! Joking aside, it's Jeffrey Bernard in the comedy Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, by Keith Waterhouse. Many years ago I saw Peter O'Toole in it and I've never forgotten. But you need to be 50 or 60 years old for it, so I'll have to wait a little longer.

Did you want to be an actor as a child?

My mother would say yes. Actually I discovered my path later in life. For a while I wanted to be an archaeologist, because my father was a geologist. One day one of my university mates went to audition for an acting school and I said: Why not, I should try it too. Finding an agent was a stroke of luck. Then the fight for survival began. It's a slow and complicated road.

From the outside you look like someone who made it.

(It may look that way) now, but like with everything when you start you are at the first step, you look up and say: I'll never get there.

What’s your secret to overcome difficult moments?

I have stopped watching the films I make. This has helped me a lot. You can’t control how they cut and edit your character. You can only control the experience, what you give and what gives to you. The result is almost insignificant. After a few years it can be fun watching yourself because you seem very young.

Do you practice sport a lot?

I go to the gym in the morning, to start the day well. Twice a week I go out for lunch with my wife: and since I like to eat, and occasionally even drink, the gym is imperative. I also play golf but it takes time, it's not an activity that fits well with a big family.

Your ideal holiday?

I have fond memories of my childhood, camping with my father, the fishing rod, the green. I'd like to take my children. My wife resists for now.

What do you read?

I hate to admit it, but I read very little. By the time I go to bed, I'm too tired.

A luxury?

We’re planning how to sort out the house. If I could afford it I’d buy one of those enormous american washing machines with a tumble dryer.  It's not what you'd expect from a star, is it?

[theabominableblogger]

My Reaction to “Gotham” S4E16

ONLY TWO MORE OF THESE TO GO, KIDDIES!

The rest of these reaction posts I’ll be uploading are not chronological order.  They’re like that because A) college and B) more college.

My sister watched it with me (as well as the other episodes left in my epic “Gotham” reaction series) so my comments will be in bold, and hers will be in regular font.  Author’s notes courtesy of me will be bolded and italicized.

Also, quick warning (and probably obligated to say this), we don’t like Barbara’s storyline.

AN:   I managed to record our reactions to this episode and hopefully I can transcribe what I said into this post. 

*Lee shoots Sofia in the recap*  Oooooohhh!!

But she’s not dead though, apparently!

*sighs*  Nobody’s dead on this show...

And he’s [Jerome] alive!

*flatly*  Was there any doubt.

Meanwhile, at Arkham Asylum...

*The Arkham guard turns on her Walkman*  Oh, this is never a good idea...

*starts slow jamming out to "Fool For You” by Alice Smith*

Yeah headphones are required...

Ohhhh OK...

Because!  *points excitedly at screen when Jervis appears*

*scoffs in hilarity when Jervis tries to talk to the guard, who can’t hear him*

What.

*gasps when one of the guards pops up behind the main guard*

“Tortuga!  You almost gave me a heart attack!”  Tortuga?

*shrugs cluelessly*

*Tortuga slices the guard’s neck*  Ooooooohhhhhhh!!

Jesus God!

Jervis, I like your shorter hair much better.

Tortuga.... *claps hands*  THE MOCK TURTLE!

OH MY GOD!

YEAH!

Wha- oh my God...

*jaw drops in excitement when we see Scarecrow*

[Jervis] I LOVE YOUR NEWSPAPER HAT!

That’s a different actor [playing Scarecrow].  That’s not Charlie Tahan.

*chuckles*  He’s [Scarecrow] experimenting in his toilet.

Did he just put a whole bunch of that sodium stuff in his freaking toilet?

That thing is gonna get blown right off the wall in a matter of minutes.

I know!

*Scarecrow pours that crap on a lock*  Holy shit!

That’s all you were doing with that?!?

*Cue Jerome*  EEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY!!!!!

Ohhh dear.

EEEEYYYYYY!!!

“When I [Jerome] say ‘three hairs past a freckle,’ gentlemen, I do not mean five hairs past.”  *both immediately smile*

“Boys, boys, let’s not squabble too early in our partnership.  There will be plenty of time to stab each other in the backs later!”  *both chuckle*

“That’s the spirit, boys.  Think big- and kinky.”  *done*

“And lose the weirdo.  She’s [Tortuga] giving me [Jerome] the heebie jeebies.”  *trying her absolute damndest not to laugh*

*laughs*  Stop calling us out!

*both yell in horror when Tortuga slices her own neck*

“Now, to free the rest of our cronies and blow this pop stand.”  WELL DANG!

It’s “Popsicle stand,” you cretin.

*laughs*  He don’t know that.

If you’re gonna insult me, do it properly.

WHO’S THE LOSER WITH THE DRUMS?!?

I KNOW, I LOVE THAT DUDE!!!

*both crack up at Jerome going down the aisle and making stupid faces at other inmates*

Ohhhhh, he’s great.

*jams out to opening theme*

“How many got out?”  “87.  The entire violent ward.”  *jaw drops in shock*

“Yeah, we’ve rounded up most of the serious nutjobs; they’re the guys that think they’re walruses or what not.”  *both immediately do finger guns at screen*

EEEEEEYYYYYYYY....

Any carpenters in there?

Please tell me there’s gonna be more Benedict Samuel.  Two minutes of that guy, and I already love him.

*chuckles*

Like he’s not the Jervis Tetch I know and love, but he’s entertaining as hell.

He’s very good!

Yeah, Benedict Samuel’s real voice sounds nothing like that.  It’s like stereotypically British.  But not Cockney, just British.

AN:  WHAT?!?!  HE’S ACTUALLY FROM AUSTRALIA?!?

*smiles*

“All right, listen up!  If I’d [Jim] have known I’d be seeing your ugly mugs tonight, I’d have stayed in the hospital.”  *both chuckle*

Ben McKenzie directed this episode, I forgot!

I take it that means we’re in for a good one.

AN:  Yes.

“Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim!”  *laughs*

JIM JIM JIM JIM JIM JIM JIM JIM JIM JIM JIM JIM JIM

“Do it, OR I’M [Jervis] GONNA KILL SOMEONE!  In case you have any doubts.”  *both crack the hell up*

I shouldn’t be... God, he’s good!

“Let’s go.”  Here we go go go go gooooo!

"You [Jim] said we had to have each other’s backs tonight, right?”  Yes!

“So what, we’re [Jim and Harvey] either idiots, or we’re hypnotized?  Good choices.”  *both laugh*

Oh please tell me this is the episode with Harvey being awesome.

Uh, that’s the next episode.

AAAAUUUUUGGGHHHH!!!

*Jervis meets Jim with a hypnotized couple*  SON OF A BITCH! 

Who the hell are they?!?

*so done*  A random married couple!  Because in the previous season, Jervis was all like “Oh, Jim, what are you worried about?  Your love life?!?” and I’m like “SHUT UP!”

“Lo and behold!  The bold Captain Jim Gordon, and his rusty caboose in tow.”  *chuckles*  ‘Rusty caboose in tow...’

*giggles*

Dude, look at that scarf [that Jervis wears]!

Do you recall when I [Jervis] first came to this fair city, Jim?  A bawling mess, wanting nothing more than to address the safety of my dear sister Alice?”  :/

“You gave me NO CHOICE!”  *tries not to laugh at the SUDDEN YELLING*

“I was willing to give you any life you wanted, just to keep you out of mine.”

*Jervis gives the command to drop the wrecking ball*  Ooohhh..

Oh shit-

*both yell and reel back in absolute horror when the couple gets squashed*

*both still in :O for a good minute or so*

He [Jervis] drives off!  *laughs*

I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE HELL I JUST SAW!

That just killed the moment, just him randomly driving off.

I don’t know what the hell I just saw!

I don’t know either.

That was kinda awesome!  I’m not gonna lie!

*Bruce and Selina enter the precinct*  Yaaay!

The dynamic duo.

Yaay!

*laughs*  She [Selina] just growled at him [Bruce]!

Ooooohhhh I like that [Barbara’s] office.

I like her hair.

Season 4:  the season of Booze ™ !

*chuckles*

There’s just so much booze in this season!

*sings*  Alcohol... my per-ma-nent accessory...

*mouths while aggressively pumping hand holding phone in air*  Shots shots shots shots!

[Barbara] Don’t mix pills with booze.  Don’t do that.

“He [Ra’s] brought me [Barbara] back to life.  We’d never even met.  Why choose me?”  Because he brought you back to life?!?

Are you two [Barbara and Tabitha] still going out or like what?  What’s the situation here?

*shrugs*  I guess...

What’s the situation here?

Friends with benefits?

I guess...

*chuckles*  I don’t know...

*gasps when we get a flashback of Barbara’s death in S3*

Oh shit!

WHY HER THOUGH?!?  That is my question!

That’s a great shot though [of Ra’s reviving Barbara], I have to say.

What the hell...

*Ra’s brings out the Lazarus water*  Oooo-oohhhhhhh...

Is that from the Lazarus pit?!?

I think that’s from the Lazarus pit!  Yeah, ‘cause it’s like a neon color in this show!

Oh my God!

*Ra’s revives Barbara*  There we go.  That explains it.

So you can drink in it rather than bathe in it in this continuity.

Yeah.  I mean, you can do both.

*Barbara is resurrected*  Ohhh!

Oh shit!

“Oh, what a vital, poisonous little mind you [Barbara] have.  And yet, everybody hates you for it, don’t they?”  I don’t think that’s why they hate you.

“You are just the one I’ve been looking for.”  :/

“You [Barbara] shall become the Demon’s Head.  The League of Shadows will be yours to command, an army of assassins.”  *rubs head in frustration*  Ohhhh, are we doing this again... ohhh....

They’re not talking “Oh, Dark Knight!”  That’s later.

[Ra’s] You’re gonna hand the League of Assassins over to her [Barbara]?!?

I know, I don’t like it either.

WHy?!?

I don’t know.

That sounds stupid.

“I’m [Barbara] OK.”  No you’re not.

*The remnants of the married couple*  Oh my God.. those are just dummy parts sticking out of the bottom!

I mean, it was effective.

Yeah.

It was hella effective!

It was very effective!

“Midnight, right?  That’s less than an hour.”  Midnight?  Why is it always midnight?  *chuckles*

*shrugs*

“’Fliers become die-rs.’”  It’s like in “Lovers and Madmen.”  He rigged all of those people to jump to their deaths.

Ohhhhhhhhh!!

*slaps knee*  And it’s like in “Mad as a Hatter” [in Batman:  The Animated Series], when he told those guys to jump in the river!

*gasps*  Yeaahhhhh!  Oh my gosh!

AN:  Also, I highly recommend the comic “Lovers and Madmen.”  Different interpretation of the Joker but still pretty solid and also quotable.

*wheezes when Bruce tries to give Detective Harper money to protect him*

*tries not to laugh when Bruce starts to fake cry*

*laughs when Bruce pulls a Stealth Hi-Bye on Harper*

Bruuucceee!

*gasps and claps hands*  His [Jervis’s] theme in the background!

*jaw drops when it’s revealed that a lot of rooftops are lined by people ready to jump*

Ohhhhhh shit.

“Your ego, Bruce.  It’s huge.”  *tries not to laugh*

“Get over yourself.  It’d make you a little easier to be around.”  *both try not to laugh*

Oh...

Oh shit!

Oh... oh-

*Bruce ends up opening the door for Selina instead*  Oh.

*groans in frustration*

That’s not a hug, I’m just getting the door for ya!  *laughs*

*both laugh at Selina’s little giggle*

That little giggle, oh my God!

“You don’t owe me [Bruce] anything, Selina.  You never did.”  You two are adorable!

They’re cute!

“Geez, there’s a lot of gum under here!”  *chuckles*

*whispers*  What?

Ew no no no-

Oh no no-

*both yell loudly in disgust when Jerome eats some ABC gum*

You are crazy!

*chuckles*

“Jim,  it’s happening all over the city.  Thousands are climbing up roofs!”  How many people are in this freaking city?!?

Probably at least a couple thousand, I’d say.

“He [Jervis] must’ve commanded them [the drivers] to change the station so that we couldn’t find him.”  How complicated are these commands?  It’s like explaining Kilgrave’s powers.  Did he tell them to do that or...

“Ugh, it’s that song I [Harvey] hate!”  *chuckles*

*jams out and sings along with “Foolish Pride” by LAB*

“Just right!”  Oooh, broccoli cheddar [soup] though.  Good choice.

“Mamma Mia!”  *both start singing “Mamma Mia”*

“What was the special ingredient again?  Ah, right.  It was my [Jerome’s] hand.  The one you [Uncle Zach] dipped in a boiling pot of chicken stock!”  *both bug eyes*

“That smell, it was ...mouthwatering....”  *shakes head in disgust*

You are disgusting, dude!

“I [Zach] set out three bowls of soup, nephew, so I’d have enough for all my guests.”  [Crap]

*small gasp when the strong man drags Jerome out of the booth*

Ooh shit!

“The ‘just right’ soup is for him.  The ‘cold’ is for me!  I always loved gazpacho!  The ‘too hot,’ that’s for you, nephew.”  Ohhh shit!

Oh he’s gonna heat it again!  Damn!

*jaw drops when the microwave starts shorting out*

Isn’t this the Iceberg?!?

No, it’s her [Barbara’s] lounge.

The Sirens, right?

Yeah.

*All the lights go out*   Ooooooohhhhh!

Shit!

“We’re [the League] here for the Demon’s Head.  Where is he?”  “She.... is right here.”  I call bullshit.

It’s a flashlight.  I could make a joke out of that but I’m not going to.

*gasps when Hypnotized!Harvey knocks out Jim*

“Hickory, dickory, dock.  The copper went up the clock.  The clock struck 12, he fell pell-mell, and that was it for the cop.”  *in unison*   Noooooooooooooo.....

Ohhh dear.

*Zachary takes out the boiling soup for Jerome*  Oh no.

*gasps when Zachary prepares to pour the boiling soup on Jerome*

“Here, nephew, have a taste of one of my three soups!”  *in shock*  Roll credits!

AN:  The name of the episode actually came from in the writers’ room.  Tze Chun came in having ordered 3 soups and Charlie Huston (the writer of this episode) said “I’m gonna put that in the script” and Tze Chun went “Yeah, right.”  Welp.

*both yell in horror when Zachary pours the soup down Jerome’s throat*

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

OOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!!!  [Jerome] You’re gonna have welts all over your face for a month, dude!

“No one deserves that.”  “You tell ‘em!”  *both have to stifle a laugh*

That is a very Joker moment, I have to say.

“Let him [Jerome] go... and get rid of the kid [Bruce].”  *bug eyes*

*Bruce throws a bunch of plates at the strong man*  Ohhhh shit!

Did he just No-Sell a porcelain plate to the face?!?

Yeah, he just did!

*both jaws drop in horror when Jerome finds the gallon of bleach meant for him*

He [Zach] was gonna poison his nephew!

“She’s [Barbara] got the Demon’s Head.  Ra’s chose her.”  “She doesn’t even know what it is.”  Fair point.

I don’t know what that haircut is.

Whose haircut?

That dude’s!

He doesn’t have any hair!

Exactly!

“Women serve in the League, but they do not lead.”  “That’s now a law, just a stupid tradition.  Ra’s chose her.  We need to honor his choice.”  Barbara’s like “Yes, random lady, I accept you!”

*gasps when Barbara takes out the male League member who tried killing her first*

“Anyone else want a shot at the title?”  Everybody does.

“Here comes the airplane!”  *tries not to laugh*

“Got it.  Lost it.  Write it down!”  Me in school.

*giggles when Jerome looks over at Bruce still fighting and does a quick second of fake shadow boxing*

*Jerome kills Zach*  :(

“Boy billionare Bruce Wayne, my [Jerome’s] savior!  Wow, I did not see that one coming.”  *both chuckle*

“Really makes a man wonder... what the hell is wrong with you?!?”  :[

*sighs*  Ohhh dear...

*claps hands when Jim finds Jervis at the radio station*  Let’s go!

How is he doing the whole hypnotizing thing?

It was over the radio.

Yeah, I know, but what does he use to do it?

He has a ticking mechanism.

Oh.  Does he always keep that on him or what?

He always has that [pocket watch] on him.  He goes “Look into my eyes and listen.”

Wait, if they can’t look into his eyes, then-

It’s the noise.

Oooohh kay.

It’s the stimuli.

*both yell and reel back in horror when Jim shoots Jervis’s hand*

What the hell was that for?!?

OK, here’s the thing:  he [Jervis] got shot in the freaking hand!

And it’s like nothing!

I will say though, the rhyming integrated in with the dialogue is done really well!

*in unison when Selina comes to save the day*  EEEEEYYYYYY!!!

*Bruce finally knocks out the strong man*  Oooohhh.

“Selina, huh?  Well isn’t that a nice name...”  Go to hell.

*Selina pulls a gun on Jerome*  Ohhh.

“Uh, uh, uh.  She’s not that kind of girl.”  Wanna bet?

“Oh, all right!  See you crazy kids later!  Ciao!”  *both crack up*

“Ra’s chose me [Barbara] for a reason, I know it.”  Looks like he was playing you for a stooge.

“You’re all so damn weak.  That’s it.  That is why Ra’s chose me.  Because he knew I would see how pitiful you all are.  Afraid of change.”  Yeah, that’s gonna endear you to them.

*bug eyes when the lights suddenly go out and gunfire ensues*

Shhiit!

Whaaaaaat?!?

What the hell is going on?

*The midnight bells go off*  Oooohhhh...

Noooo... nooooo....

Noooo.... we’re not doing this... noooo....

*both freak out in unison when the jumpers get ready*

*both freeze when there’s absolute radio silence*

“It worked!”  *both let out a huge sigh of relief*

That was good.  That was damn good!

*both giggle when the DJ gives Jim a thumbs up*

*Jim lets out a sigh of relief*  Same.

*Jim and Harvey enter the captain’s office*  That requires... some booze!  No, I’m kidding.

I’d want some booze after that.

OK, yeah.

“You [Jim] need a drink.”  *waves hand toward screen in agreement*

“Squirrels hide nuts for the winter.  I [Harvey] got this for whenever.“  EEEEYYYYYYYY!!!

The hell is that?

BOOOOOOZZEE!

*both giggle*

That looks like scotch.

No, that’s whiskey.  Like Fireball whiskey.  See, Harvey’s the hard drinker.

Yeah.  Gordon looks like he’s getting used to it.

He’s like “It’s dull.  Whatever.” *pretends to take a shot*  It’s like Steve Rogers. 

As long as it’s alcohol.

For glory, for justice-

*in unison*  -for sweet, sweet booze!

“[Jim] You know what I [Harvey] was thinking when I jumped in that car and I was flicking through those channels?  I was thinking ‘I can do this crazy thing.  ‘Cause if it goes sideways, Jim Gordon will save me.”  *both smile*

“Feet of clay are heavy to carry around.  That’s what the whiskey’s for.”  *softly chuckles*

“There are no heroes here.”  I will clink to that!

“Got the Wayne kid on line three.  Something about Valeska.”  Oh dear.

“I’ll see you at St. Ignatius, Jim.  You can yell at me [Bruce] there.”  *softly* Hoooooooo.... hoo hoo....

“Kid in trouble again?”  “More than he can handle.”  Summary of the show.

They put a mouthguard on him [Jervis]!

At least somebody’s gotta shut him up.

*Scarecrow douses a guard with fear toxin*  AAAAYYYYYYY!!!

Scarecrow!

*Jerome in his final costume*  EEEEEYYYYY!!

“How do you like the new threads?”  I like ‘em a lot!

Those are awesome!

*gasps and points excitedly at Scarecrow’s new costume*

“We have fish to fry.  And by fish, I mean faces... or feet... ah, something fun to fry!”  *laughs*

Man, he [Jerome] looks so good.  So does Scarecrow!

I know!  Everyone looks great!

Scarecrow looks amazing!

“ALL ABOOOOAAARRDD!”  Hey look, the Joker hijacks another truck!

And that’s the end of the episode!

Man, that was awesome!

[hillywooddestiel]

Stranger Things Have Happened: Chapter Six

Chapter 6: The Battle of Troy

Characters: Sam, Dean, sister!Reader, Nancy (mentioned), Will (mentioned), Troy, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Eleven

Warnings: language, Troy being a dick

Word count: 1.3k

Series description: Hawkins, Indiana, November 1983. The Winchesters got out of hunting and decided to settle down in a small town. The youngest of the three, Y/N, just wants to get on with her somewhat normal life and go to a good college. But that’s a little tricky when disappearances start occurring, including her friend Barbara Holland, and there’s reports of a mysterious new girl in town. Can she balance boyfriends, teen drama and monster hunting?

A/N: Another chapter! I really want to get to all the good stuff so I’ve found myself more motivated to write. Plus my brain is already feeding me ideas for a series based on season 2 so thanks brain. Some feedback would be much appreciated xx Series Masterlist Masterlist

Story:

I have no idea where Nancy has got to. One minute, we’re sat next to eachother in American Lit reading along with the rest of the class half asleep and the next she’s being called out of the classroom by a woman from the school office for some unknown reason. And she never came back. I try to look for her in the crowds of students heading towards the assembly but I don’t spot her familiar face or even the back of her head. Looks like I’ll be sitting alone for this one.

No one looks particularly sad or even a little sympathetic as they file into the benches with the friends. Instead, a lot of people are just chatting and even laughing with eachother like this is just a regular assembly. Assholes! Half the people in here picked on Will or helped spread the rumours at least once in their school lives, in his short life. I manage to get a seat near the back of the gym where I can see nearly everyone. The principal is watching from his podium, a solemn expression painted on his face- it’s only there because if not people would ask questions. He didn’t care about Will. Nobody here did.

“Today… Is a terrible day in our school’s history.” He begins, saying words that, come home time, no one will even remember. “Will Byers was taken from this earth far too early. In his brief time here, he was a member of the school AV club…” And off he goes just making a list. Is that all Will’s life was to these people? A list of clubs and minor accomplishments? I suppose that’s all they can say because nobody took the time to really get to know him. Hell, even I only knew bits and pieces about his life.

All of a sudden, the door to the gym opens. Mike, Dustin, Lucas and… I have no idea who that is. A petit blonde girl in a pink dress and sneakers follows behind Mike to get to the remaining seats. She doesn’t go here. I know because I made sure to know everyone at this school: old habits die hard I guess. So who is she?

“Oh, he’s gonna leave a whole in the community!” A boy a few rows ahead of me mocks the speech before sniggering with his friend. Troy, I think that’s his name. If you were to look up the definition of an ignorant, dick headed twat in an encyclopedia, there would be a photo of Troy, no description required. I’d seriously like to punch him in his greasy little face. Maybe later.

When the bell for the end of the period rings, everybody shoots up out of their seats and pushes towards the doors. To be honest, I’m inclined to do the same: that assembly was a load of bullshit! With no one around me to talk to, I follow on behind some other sophomores that I recognize from some of my classes. They just pick up their ordinary conversations from earlier, unfazed by the whole assembly.

“Hey Troy!” As I’m just making it off of the steps, someone calls out to that Troy kid, “You think this is funny?”

“Wha’d'you say Wheeler?” Oh my God, Mike?! I’d better stick around to make sure he doesn’t get his ass kicked again.

“I saw you guys laughing over there. And I think that’s a real messed up thing to do.” Well I never though I’d see the day when Mike stood up to those bullies. Part of me wishes he wasn’t though because I can already see them flexing their fingers, ready to throw a punch

“Didn’t you listen to the counselor Wheeler? Grief shows itself in funny ways.” Troy’s equally moronic friend sneers at them all.

“Besides, what’s there to be sad about anyway? Will’s in fairyland now, right? Flying around with all the other little fairies, all happy and gay!” Troy mocks maliciously before doing some stupid dance and flapping his hands in the air like wings. Is it wrong to punch a kid in middle school? Like I care at this point.

Troy and his lackey turn to leave the gym but before they make it three steps, Mike runs up and pushes Troy over. He wasn’t expecting it so he falls straight to the floor. The crowd that has gathered to watch all ‘ooh’ s in unison.

“You’re dead Wheeler! Dead!” Troy screams as he gets up, barreling towards Mike. Only, he freezes midway. He looks just as confused as the rest of us in the gym. That is until a dark patch forms at the crotch of his pants, spreading down his leg rapidly.

“Dude, Troy peed himself!” One child shouts and the rest join in with the laughter. I find myself unable to: this is wrong. Nobody just stood and wets themselves like that, no. This looks suspiciously like a spell or a hex bag. A witch. Mike’s new friend! I spot her wiping something from her nose before turning and leaving the gym.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Our pathetic excuse for a principal finally notices the drama. Lucas grabs Mike and Dustin and they run, following the girl. The second they start to run, my body jolts to action like a reflex and I follow them too. The doors are still swinging as I burst through them out into the corridor. I look to my right, there are people leading the assembly, laughing about Troy. No Mike or his friends. I look to my left. There’s nobody. Where the hell did they go?

“Hey! I’m home!” Dean calls from the hallway, closing the door behind him and wiping his boots on the door mat.

“Hey!” I shout back absentmindedly, focusing on the trigonometry on front of me. Sam is busy boiling some potatoes to have with the meatloaf that’s in the oven. And of course, there’s a mountain of veggies in the steamer.

“Good day at school?” He asks, grabbing a clean shirt from the laundry pile to take to the shower with him.

“I guess. We had an assembly about grief, some asshole kid from the middle school peed himself in front of everyone. Oh, and I got an A for my English essay.” I shrug my shoulders, reeling off my list from the day.

“A kid peed himself?”

“Yeah. I doubt anyone’s gonna let him forget it for years. He’s a bully though so I guess it’s what he deserved.”

“Deserved? You say that like somebody made him do it.” Sam, ever the clever one, points out, placing a steaming plate of food in front of me. I move my books to make room before continuing.

“Someone kinda did. Nancy’s little brother pushed him over for laughing in the assembly and that’s when it happened.”

“Mike Wheeler? That scrawny little kid stood up for himself?” Sam asks, stunned.

“He did. Speaking of the Wheelers, Nancy asked me to come to the funeral tomorrow with her.” I mention casually, pushing my broccoli around my plate with my fork.

“Then you should go. In fact, I think we all should.” Dean suggests, smiling wisely at Sam. I find myself struggling to not choke on my water.

“Wait, really!?” I finally manage to get the words out. Dean nods, taking a seat at the table instead of going upstairs to the bathroom.

“Yeah! I think we should go as a family and pay our respects. Show our support.”

“But-”

“So it’s settled! Right, I’m off for my shower.”

“What?”

Why would Dean just change his mind? He didn’t know Will, he doesn’t know the Byers family and he certainly didn’t care this time yesterday. So what’s changed?

STHH tags:

@marslovesme @bluedefundead @elenavaldez09 @mysanityisgone27

[yessadirichards]

Daniel Craig on bidding Bond goodbye in 'No Time to Die'

NEW YORK

When Daniel Craig first got the gig, he felt like something had gone amiss. “You’ve got the wrong guy,” he told the producers.

But Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson insisted. No, he was the one. He was James Bond.

Craig, then a rising performer but far from the expected choice, never had any ambitions to play James Bond. He had assumed he was being strung along as part of a massive casting machine, one of dozens of actors screen tested.

“Once I did find out, I was incredibly flattered and deeply confused,” Craig recalled in an interview. “I just felt like I wasn’t the right person.”

Fifteen years and five films later, Craig’s tenure as 007 is coming to a close. “No Time to Die,” which opens in the U.S. on Friday after a 16-month delay due to the pandemic, is the last hurrah in Craig’s celebrated Bond era, a stewardship that saw Craig remake and emotionally deepen the once retrograde superspy — with more than $3 billion in box office along the way. Once derisively labeled “Blond Bond,” Craig turned out to be a smash success.

“It paid off in spades,” said Broccoli. “He’s truly remarkable. He’s reinvented it for the 21st century. He explored the inner-life of Bond.”

But would Craig have ever gone through with it had he known what he was in for?

“If I had known more, I don’t think I would have been able to do it. The less information I had back then, the better,” said Craig, speaking by Zoom from New York. “The rest of it, the weight of it, how huge it all really is — I didn’t know. I didn’t really understand.”

He pauses. “I don’t suppose I really understand it now, either,” Craig added. “I pretend to understand. That’s what getting older is all about. I pretend better than I did back then.”

“No Time to Die,” directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, is, with certainty, Craig’s final turn in the tux. But it’s also a culmination to where Craig has been driving Bond. His 007 is a character, not an icon, capable of grief and regret, and far from bulletproof. That evolution takes center stage in “No Time to Die.”

“I always just felt: How do these things affect him? Within a Bond world. Not in, like, a Hamlet way. But in a Bond world,” says Craig, who won’t play Hamlet but Macbeth — a play about the perils of ambition — on Broadway next year.

“No Time to Die” started off unsteadily with writer-director Danny Boyle departing over creative differences. Fukunaga stepped in and the script was completely rewritten. That the film was even happening in the first place was, to some, surprising. After the previous entry, 2015’s “Spectre,” Craig had suggested he’d rather slit his wrists than make another. The physical toll of the films and the time commitment — “It’s a year,” he says of each film -- was wearing on him.

“I’ve often been criticized as moaning about it,” said Craig, 53. “After ‘Spectre’ I went: I don’t think I can do this anymore. I got to a point where it was like: The risk feels too great. That phone call home where I phone up and say I’m injured, I’m in the hospital -- it’s not a nice phone call to make, and it’s happened a lot over the years.”

He chuckles. “It happened on this as well, but there you go.”

During filming in Jamaica, Craig slipped while running on a wet dock and badly injured his ankle. The filmmakers could hardly know then that temporarily losing their star would just be one of many headaches to come. Before the pandemic arrived, “No Time to Die” was slated to open in April 2020. Television ads ran. Craig hosted “Saturday Night Live.” The film’s theme, by Billie Eilish, was released, and won a Grammy months before the film’s London premiere.

“No Time to Die” arrives at a crucial juncture for the movie business. Lately, some ticket sales have been reaching pre-pandemic levels. Bond is poised not just to save the world one more time but also give movie theaters a lift while he’s at it. Sales in the U.K. over the weekend were on par with the opening for 2012’s “Skyfall,” which cleared $1.1 billion at the box office.

But Craig’s departure may test the franchise more than any previous 007 changing of the guard since Sean Connery exited. During his five films, Craig has shaped the overall series as much as he has the character, bringing in top-class filmmakers and raising the bar, overall.

“I asked them straight out. I said: Listen, the confidence I need to play this role — one of the most confident people in movie history, if not the most confident human being in movie history — I need to be able to take part,” said Craig. “I need to be able to know what’s going on, to have an opinion, to feel like I have a voice. They just said yes, we want you to be involved.”

Expect to hear endless rumors and speculation of a successor to Craig for the next year. (The Onion wryly reports Wallace Shawn is in the mix.) Broccoli and Wilson, though, say their current focus is on celebrating Craig’s swan song. They’ve set no parameters except to say that Bond is foundationally a male character.

“It’s not like we’re trying to be evasive,” said Broccoli. “We’re genuinely not at a point yet where we want to start thinking about where it could go. So, I think it is a clean slate. We could go anywhere with the character.”

Craig cares that the films remain relevant in the future. But he sounds almost gleeful that those concerns are no longer his.

“Thankfully, it’s not up to me anymore,” said Craig, smiling. “I will admire from afar.”

[aion-rsa]

Would Streaming The New James Bond Movie Kill Theaters For Good?

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If the new James Bond movie, No Time to Die, skipped theaters and went straight to streaming, how would you feel about that?

The chances of that happening briefly flared up in late September when the studio behind the 007 franchise, MGM, put out feelers to Apple, Netflix, and other streaming services about picking up the 25th official entry in the series and the final one to star Daniel Craig.

According to multiple reports last weekend in the Hollywood trades (after Bloomberg initially broke the story), MGM was looking for a deal in which the streamer would license the movie for one year for $600-700 million (with rights to stream the rest of the Bond catalog possibly included in the deal as well). But only one outlet, Apple TV+, responded with an offer of its own, which The Hollywood Reporter said was in the range of around $350-400 million.

The talks ended shortly thereafter. MGM not only wanted more money, but Barbara Broccoli, head of Eon Productions — which has controlled the Bond franchise since 1962 when her father Albert co-produced the first movie, Dr. No — apparently nixed any such deal (she allegedly was not informed about MGM even exploring the idea, which must have made for an awkward conversation).

No Time to Die was originally supposed to come out last April, nearly five years after the previous entry, Spectre. But as the COVID-19 pandemic began to grip the world in earnest last March, the Bond thriller was actually the first major studio tentpole to postpone its release, moving its arrival date to what was then a more optimistic November.

But with the virus not abating (and in fact even surging again) and movie theaters, while largely open, not pulling in business, MGM again delayed No Time to Die to next April, a full year after it was originally supposed to arrive. Since the studio was essentially loaned the $250 million needed to produce the film, the delays have reportedly cost MGM anywhere between $30 million and $50 million in interest and other costs while the movie sits collecting dust and not box office receipts.

If the deal had gone through, and if Netflix or Apple had ponied up the vast fee that MGM was looking for, would you be perfectly happy to watch No Time to Die at home, on whatever screen you use for all your viewing, or would you miss watching the latest 007 action spectacle on a full-sized movie screen? And if you were content to watch it via streaming, what kind of impact would that have on the theatrical business going forward?

The need to watch a giant cinematic behemoth on the biggest screen available clearly did not sway enough moviegoers to brave the ravages of the pandemic and see Tenet. Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller has earned just $52 million in the U.S. and $341 million globally, not a bad outing under the circumstances but still far from what Warner Bros. Pictures needs to even break even on the movie.

Nolan’s epic was billed as the movie that was going to save theaters, the kind of immersive, senses-melting experience that only a movie theater could provide. Instead, most potential customers said, “Nah, that’s okay,” and a number of them are no doubt hunkered down and waiting for the movie to premiere on HBO (or most likely HBO Max, which would be another dumb move for different reasons).

Now, of course, Tenet was an original high concept adventure sold mostly on its premise and the name of its director, while No Time to Die is the 25th entry in one of the most popular film series of all time, whose last two movies alone grossed nearly $2 billion combined. It’s possible that Bond would draw more folks to theaters even in this uncertain and increasingly (again) unsafe times. But if you had the option to watch at home instead, would you?

A large number of consumers seem to think that may be the way to go, judging purely by their purchases this year. Even though overall TV sales are down from 2019, USA Today said earlier this year that sales of TVs that are 65 inches and up are on track to easily surpass those of 2019. That includes 75-inch and 90-inch screens as well as 4K Ultra High Definition units. The sales are driven by the pandemic forcing many people to stay home, as well as the prices dropping for 65-inch units in particular.

And the bottom line is, consumers want to put those TVs to use: in a survey issued by Variety last May, some 70% of respondents said that they would watch a first-run feature film at home, while only 13% said it was necessary to go to a movie theater. Fully 10% of people in the survey insisted that they had no plans to ever return to a movie theater again.

Combine that with the always increasing growth of smartphones, tablets and other devices as many young people’s primary method for watching entertainment, and it points to the conclusion that sitting in a theater, waiting for the lights to go down and experiencing a movie on a big screen in a communal setting is just not as important to consumers as it perhaps used to be (although diehard cinephiles will no doubt always treasure that experience to some extent).

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If No Time to Die premiered on a streaming or as a PVOD option, it seems likely that it would be a monster hit. The films that have switched from theatrical to VOD or PVOD this year already — including Trolls World Tour, The King of Staten Island, Greyhound, and even Disney’s Mulan — don’t have quite the cache of 007. The only question is whether the numbers would make sense for both the streaming service involved, the movie studio and all their partners.

But if MGM were to take that step — and if the pandemic refuses to subside in a meaningful way in the next six months — a successful launch could pave the way for other major studio blockbusters like Wonder Woman 1984, Black Widow, Top Gun: Maverick and more to do the exact same thing. And that, almost certainly, would be the final nail in the coffin of the already weakened and desperate theatrical exhibition industry.

Just as people today look at rotary phones and transistor radios as strange relics of past eras, movie theaters might become abandoned shrines to a type of group experience that vanished, along with so many others, into the mists of history.

The post Would Streaming The New James Bond Movie Kill Theaters For Good? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[audreycritter]

“You mean so much to me. Please let me help.”with Bruce and Cass? *runs back into corner"

Woah, I have not written in so long and I’m finally getting back into it. Sorry for the wait! And this went slightly fluff despite my intentions, haha.

***

The morning was a red hot haze of sun through the window and across the cot. Cassandra Cain did not get up to pull the blinds down against the heat and light, but she lay waiting. Eventually, the heat would fade from the bare safe house and the hurt in her would fade, too.

That was how the world worked: you went until your body wouldn’t go anymore, and then you waited until it would listen again.

The light moved as the day swelled from morning to noon and then evening. It took a long time after darkness fell for the heat to dissipate and the hurt in her stayed the same.

She waited.

Her mouth was dry and her stomach tight, beginning to burn like the morning from the window. It was empty, like light, like sun so far away she’d never touch it. Moving hurt but she told herself she didn’t get up because her body didn’t deserve it, not yet, not until it fixed what wasn’t working.

At some point, Cass slept. She woke to golden glow across her face and began to sit up, but her shoulder stopped her and she dropped back down without a sound. More waiting or eventually ignoring the pain to go on, but there was no rush. She could handle hunger for a while longer.

It was another day gone, the window dark when the window grew suddenly darker and then he was in the safe house room with her. He stood for a moment in the shadows and then stepped forward, silent as a shadow himself.

Cass’ lips were cracked and her mouth was dry, but she didn’t need to say anything. He saw her; he knew she was there. And she was…her stomach was confusing her head, the words weren’t there. There were flashes of her father’s face, clouded with furious lines at her failure to be enough, for needing things that were distractions.

She closed her eyes and rolled over. Her eyes were dry even though her shoulder was unhappy with the movement.

“Batgirl,” he said in a low voice, from behind her now. It was not as hard as she was expecting, his voice, his upset at her disappearing. There was a rustling of stiff fabric and it was only when a hand rested on her head that she recognized it as the removal of gloves, of cowl.

She knew from the angle of his arm that he had crouched down and that she could break it or dislocate the elbow, even one-handed, with quick and sharp motion. She didn’t want to, but she knew how.

“Cassandra,” he said, and this time his voice was soft and gentle, like a pillow or a breeze; the way it was when he helped Barbara teach her to take black lines dancing across paper and see words in them.

“Failed,” she said, because he had to know, he needed to know before he kept sounding like that and making her throat ache.

“No,” he said. There was a long pause and then, “Even if you failed, you’re still important to me. Let me help you.”

In the thick and hot air of the room, she nodded. Her father’s angry face faded from her thoughts when she turned and saw Batman– Bruce– there instead. He looked a kind of sad, not angry, that made him look younger than he usually did to her.

“Your shoulder?” he asked, when she sat up without moving her stupid arm.

“Grappling,” she said.

It hasn’t even been a fight. A fight would be not as dumb.

“That happens to me, too, sometimes,” he said, his eyes on her shoulder while her eyes watched his face. He was concentrating and she didn’t react to his hands prodding her arm. When he glanced at her, she raised an eyebrow.

Things like this didn’t happen to him.

“Don’t make that face at me,” he scolded, with one of his small sideways smiles. It was little and brief, but she had sharp sight. “I’ve had to go to Alfred for this often enough. Ask him if you don’t believe me. Hold still.”

And then with a press and a pop and a shrieking, voiceless pain inside that made her bite her lip, her shoulder felt better. Not healed like magic, but less spiteful.

“Three nights off,” he said, in that tone that she wouldn’t argue with or ignore. Sometimes, it was worth ignoring him– sometimes, she had to. But not now, for this, when he used that voice that made her feel safe. “I’m going to patrol a few blocks while you change out of the suit. I’ll come back with food.”

Cassandra looked up from the cot when he stood, pulling the gloves back on.

“Thank you,” she said. It was the whisper of a mouse, a small thing that wanted to be heard and wanted to be secret all at once.

He brushed her hair back with a gloved hand, left it for a moment heavy and warm on her neck.

He didn’t have to say You’re important to me. again with his mouth when she could see it across his body, his face, the way he moved.

And then he was gone, out the window, but she knew he’d be back if he said he would be. She peeled off the Batgirl suit and found the shower in the safehouse.

Her shoulder ached but she was clean and dry and moving when he came back, when he took his mask off again and sat on the floor with a box of take-out and she sat next to him and made a pillow of his shoulder while she chewed spicy chicken. She took long drinks of water over her dry lips until they felt less like desert sand.

“Next time, come home,” he said. “Alfred can help, or I will.”

“Okay,” she said with a nod, rolling that word over, that new idea: home. It wasn’t real to her yet but it could be, she thought, if home was like a father who didn’t hurt you for hurting and seasoned broccoli on sticky rice and a strong side to curl up against.

The food was almost gone when he pried the fork from her sleepy fingers and when he leaned to put a kiss on top of her head.

“Thank you for letting me help,” he said.

And she thought of Barbara, on the phone; of Stephanie and Tim and the things they said to her, to each other, to Dick and Babs and Alfred.

“I love you, Papa,” she echoed them and the books she’d read. Sometimes she wasn’t sure about the right words but she was sure now, even when he went rigid next to her for the span of a breath.

She knew what words she wanted and she knew that they were sometimes heavy, difficult words.

“Love you, too, Cassandra,” he said, his voice scratchy like the way her shoulder felt inside.

Hurt, but getting better.