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fallinginaforrest · 1 year ago

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SPOILER WARNING FOR WORKIN BOYS, I BREAK DOWN MY FAVOURITE SHOTS. SPOILERS WILL BE HERE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Okay here's my opinion:

Curt being the DP for Workin' boys is the best thing that coulda happened to it. There are so many choices that were made during filming that just absolutely heighten the level of comedy. It's shot like a Mockumentary almost? The shakycam and the randomized movement? As someone who wrote a Mockumentary last year, I can only dream of pulling off a film like this.

A couple things I wanna point out:

-the minuscule push in on Hidgens when he realises he won the workshop competition feels very office-ey.

-the cut back to MK's amused face had me WHEEZING

-the pan over to Paul as be reminds Hidgens to remember the changes

-"apparently a musical about six men bonding on a football field isnt 'of the times..."'etc, this line right here felt like a talking head, I appreciated it.

-those time cards eg: "Rehearsal #2, 28 days until opening" lent itself so much to the documentarian feel of it.

-"wow, what an auteur", not a camerawork comment but I appreciate the joke for all of the film and theater theory studiers

-the "rehearsal montage" I love a good meta joke.

-even in this montage, the camera is never really onstage. At all. Like, it's always situated off to the side or in the audience, and then zoomed in, the documentarian is trying to capture all of the action on stage instead of trying to make us feel immersed in the rehearsal process. We're not really aligned with any of the characters, we're an audience, and we better stay that way. For our own sake.

-and then this dynamic totally changes, and shifts away from the mockumentary feel

-but I'll get to that in a second

-henry is almost always by himself in the shot. I think the one of the only other times that the entirety of another character's face is seen alongside Henry's (I mean, both faces are CLEAR and uncovered in the shot) is in the two shot of him and Paul's stage manager in the rehearsal montage. He is totally singular in his experiences with this show! He is not one of these girls, if anything he is opposed to them. And this becomes clearer later, but it's a nice seed to sow, establishing that he is not in a collaborative mindset at all. The only other time I can think of is him and Zoey behind the curtain, even then, the only time both of their faces are actually IN the shot is when they're behind all the workin' girls. There's probably more but ykwim.

-also the sheer number of times that Henry is off centre in the shot with just a bunch of space surrounding him.

-okay after "two week notice" or whatever tf that song is called (Kim sounds amazing as always) is when the style shifts. It feels less like a mockumentary and more like this sort of voyeuristic peek into Henry's psyche. I LOVE IT.

-the fact that he is never shown in the shot with the workin' boys! It makes you absolutely feel like he is just talking to the air around him (this is hatchetfield so who knows, either way its unsettling)

-we get aligned with ruth, for the first time, we see the audience from the perspective of a character, not just from a stage POV

-the camera roll!! We don't get a full rotation but we feel dizzy and unsettled when we look at ruth, which is exactly how she feels!

-camera roll close up on Zoey. Uncomfortable, unsettling! Rests in a canted angle before continuing to roll on Hidgens! Who is centered in a low angle shot! We don't see the axe until he brings it up to his face! He is not only in a position of power here, but revealing the axe only when Henry makes it clear he is gonna kill them makes it clear that he calls the shots! We've departed from the Mockumentary style completely, as if this was never a documentary to begin with, more like we're flies on the wall or spirits in the theater or omniscient eldritch beings... anyway-

-long shot of Henry dragging zoey's body, no footage of them being killed, aligns us with the audience

-our friend the camera is getting shakey again, the chaos is in the process of ensueing

-THE PULL OUT SHOT OF GRACE WITH THE GUN. I GASPED. I KNEW IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN AND I GASPED. Fun fact on my first watch I thought this was a dolly shot but I dont think y'all are fitting a dolly on the Hudson theater main stage steps, and also the distance is too short so it must have been a pull out. It was REALLY SMOOTH.

-notice, when grace quotes the bible, we are EVER SO SLIGHTLY looking up at her. It gets progressively more obvious the further she gets into the line, but she has the power now. Somehow she always ends up with the fuckin' power, maybe I should convert to christianity smh.

-shakeycam is back again baby!

The creative minds put so much love and care into Hatchetfield, and you can tell that every project is a passion project. People know starkid primarily as a theater company, and that's great and all, but in reality it's an Avenue for all kind of creatives to not only have the opportunity to create all kinds of amazing things, let alone theater, but also have a way to show people. It's moved past being a theater company, with things like Starkid returns and Workin' boys, it's more like a production collective, and it feels like the beginning of a new era. Not only in terms of broadening the way that they Express themselves and be creative, but also in terms of finding a new niche in the industry. Finding a new, wider audience. Because yeah, you're always gonna have people that dislike the new media you produce, for nostalgia's sake or whatever, but beyond that, there are going to be be people that absolutely love what you have to offer. There's no point in trying to revert back to the way it was before, or trying to cater specifically to an audience from an era gone by. How do you grow as an artist if you're always thinking in the past? Starkid is moving in a new direction. The next musical is likely not going to be hatchetfield, but I dont even mind because it's going to be new. New is always good, and Starkid has a bright future.

TL;DR @curtmega you're a literal genius, and starkid is TOTALLY AWESOME

#workin boys #workin boys spoilers #starkid #hatchetfield #curt mega #team starkid #henry hidgens

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inkyweenus · 1 year ago

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Thinking about time travel and all the secrets Lu Guang is keeping. And how long he's been keeping them.

And also what his limitations are... because I don't think he knows as much as he thinks he knows.

I've got a lot of thoughts and a lot of questions. I tried to organize them in the hopes to maybe work out some ideas, but it got a bit... Much. Weigh in if you have thoughts because...I'm clearly vibrating in place wanting to talk about this. But anyway, here we go.

How is the present affected by future dives into the past? (Alternate timelines or pre-determined track)

This section is basically me asking a lot of questions that might just be writing holes or maybe not and we just don't find out for, like, 6 years. And that's fine. I'm here for it, I just need to sort out all these theories in my head.

In S1E9, LG looks into the surveillance photo and sees CXS on the solo dive. Is this because CXS was currently in the photo? Is it because CXS had already done the solo dive and so LG was seeing the affected photo? Is it because CXS was always going to go into the photo, so LG saw the past that always was going to be?

When Liu Min called from Xu Shanshan's phone, was it because CXS was always going to set up the meeting? What if CXS hadn't come to that conclusion and didn't reveal himself in Shanshan's body? Would the call have never happened? Does Lu Guang allow this huge "deviation" because he saw it was supposed to happen? Did he lie about what he saw in the photo? Was his elevated concern in that moment he claimed was about CXS's potential mental state while of going into his friend's potentially dying body actually about CXS starting the game? Is he just as clueless as everyone else and now everything is spiralling?

Chen Xiao. Chen Xiao, Chen Xiao. Oh man. "Nothing will be affected" my ass Lu Guang. Pretty sure you created an entire person that didn't previously exist from that mission. Sure, all the people that were supposed to die in the earthquake died, but Chen Xiao did NOT have a wedding ring on when he came to the photoshop to hire them. He was a miserable man with regrets he couldn't move past, including missing his "first love." Now, I get that first loves have a lot of weight, but he's like 30+ and so desperate... this is not a man who looks at his wedding ring with care and sings his son to sleep. But he becomes that. Where did that child come from?!?

Just because the 12 hours after the photo are the same doesn't mean that the 12 years after it are. Lingering resentment--or the lack thereof-- is a strong shaping force. Also. Chen Xiao's lack of regrets from a successful mission means that he never would have hired them to dive in the first place. So to make it full circle, Chen Xiao "returns" to the photo shop (for the first time?) to have CXS develop the photos he took himself on the camera he saved from the wreckage...And, I have to assume from the implication of a new timeline, THAT is how they get paid for the job. How much are they charging to develop film? Was it worth it??

Does LG even know about this kind of change? Is it just too far out of his range to see? He didn't seem to know about Emma until he saw the news, so maybe he's limited in what he can see, but he found that article pretty fast, so maybe he knew something was happening. It's hard to know.

What are the extent of LG's powers? Is he from the future?

He always says not to ask about the "past or future." I assumed this meant the future of the past that CXS was currently in, but what if he also means the future of the present that we're currently seeing? Can he see the future of the present he's in now?

In season 1, he knew that CXS would appear as himself when he dove into the surveillance camera footage. How? It was obviously CXS's first time doing that, but maybe not LG's. If it was his first time, how did he know?

We recently learned that he can see the present through surveillance footage the same way he does looking at footage of the past. Does this mean he can also see 12 hours into the future? It's 20:44 when LG unlocks Chen Bin's phone, so it's probably around 21:00 when he uses his powers. Does he know how things will unfold? Does he see the twins moving through the building? Does he realize there are two of them?

He's obviously been up to something this whole season: watching the clock, hiding photos, opening up stitches without much physical effort beyond using his powers... 🤔

My current crack theory is that LG reopening his stitches while using his powers to watch the fight is actually related to him escaping and/or jumping off the boat to free CXS. I'm not sure how because it's definitely more than 12 hours between the events, but something is up.

It's not surprising to me that CXS and Wang Juan were controlled through touch. The moment Li Tianxi reached out her hand to shake CXS's I yelled at my TV. It looked too similar to LG reaching out to start a dive.

And I yelled even louder when she made contact

CXS can dive on his own and LG can see into a photo on his own. The physical touch only connects their minds, it's not necessary to activate the powers. Could LG touch CXS and communicate telepathically without diving into a photo if they had an activation touch? Does LJ need a time travel element to get into CXS's head?

I think Li Tianchen's powers at least are touch related because when he touched Xixi, CXS lost his connection with LG. But I think there may be something else going on with the twins. I'm just not sure what I think yet. We wouldn't know if one was possessing the other because their eyes are the same.

How do the powers manifest, and what does that mean for Lu Guang's backstory?

I think we saw the moment when Li Tianxi and/or Li Tianchen acquire powers. Was it a predisposition that unlocked during a highly traumatic moment or did it just manifest somehow from an extreme desire to take control of the situation?

Li Tianxi was a child who wanted to communicate and be present but felt trapped in her over stimulated body. Li Tianchen was a boy with strong ideals and a sense of protectiveness... without the strength of an adult body to follow through with that protection. While they were holding the photo, huddled together in close physical contact after Tianchen's head injury, one of them or the combined force of them was able to 1.) take over their mother's body and 2.) blank out Xixi's mind to the point of cutting CXS's connection with LG and eventually the whole photo. But something went very wrong along the way. Maybe some signals were crossed.

CXS is a highly empathetic person. He feels so much for everyone and wants to connect with people emotionally. And his powers reflect that. We know CXS has probably at some point had a strong enough desire to go back in time, if anything to see his parents.

What, then, do the circumstances look like for a logical, emotionally reserved--but deeply caring--person to acquire powers to see snapshots of the past? What would drive him to want to change the past so much that he manifests these powers?

We know CXS had never done a dive without LG before he temporarily went rogue in S1E9... because he didn't know he could do it until he tried.

We know S1E1 isn't the first time they dive. CXS nags LG about having heard the rules a hyperbolic amount of times. So the powers aren't new at this point. But I don't think they both had powers before they met. So how and when did they get their powers? Was it when they met? When they travelled abroad? After some accident or something?

LG just shows up in CXS's life unannounced. Twice. And that's how they got close. Was it just the random fated meeting of soulmates as per fiction standards or did LG intentionally seek out CXS for more timey-wimey reasons? Did meeting LG activate CXS's powers? Did they experience something together to have compatible abilities? Did LG already have his and teach CXS how to manifest his own? How much did LG already know before he picked up that basketball?

I have this other crack theory that I absolutely hate and don't want to be true at all and almost certainly isn't, but, like...what if if LG and CXS are actually the same person from different timelines. Like LG is a version of CXS that doesn't get to have familial love and maybe experiences too much trauma, and he goes back in time to give himself some semblance of a home and a set of rules to hone his powers without altering the timeline that he's actively changing. They're intentionally written to be two halves of a whole, and there's been more than one joke made about LG being a ghost or not existing. I hate it. But it's in my head.

One last question for today... because I have to wonder:

Who makes the rules?

Has LG just read enough books to feel knowledgeable about how time travel works? Is he from the future trying to maintain a desired outcome? Are they following the rules of a third party who's orchestrating the flow of events from a distance? Are they... Leaving their fates to the ones who aren't in control?

#link click #shiguang dailiren #This is obnoxiously long but I'm not sorry. I ask too many speculative questions and don't answer any of them. This is my brain right now.#It's not my fault that Lu Guang has too many secrets and time travel writing can kinda set its own rules #Send help #Also just assume that any theories I posit are all heavily influenced by my brain reading Shiguang as cannon rather than just a ship.#Because it is. It's literally the title of the show. Can't change my mind. But I'm very impressionable when it comes to other theories so..#Tell me about your thoughts so I can mitigate my own

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willthewise7 · 2 years ago

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Byler Week Day 2 - 80’s films

For Day 2 of Byler week I want to bring attention back to a pre-existing theory of mine surrounding “The Neverending Story”, which was released in 1984. You can read my full theory here.

For ease of access, however, I’ll post the main parts of the theory here and how this relates to Byler.

The Neverending Story is used twice in the series so far and almost links with some of the storyline quite closely. The main character, Bastian, has been a victim of bullying and to avoid all of these personal issues that he has, he escapes into a fantasy world.

Will is also described in the original script to have lots of personal issues relating to his identity and sensitivity. We can see clearly from season 1 too that Will has been bullied frequently in the past, which we can see clearly from Troy and when Mike confronts him. Many times Will feels like he doesn’t seem to fit in properly, but Mike allows him to feel more secure and valued. Other than Mike, Will escapes through the fantasy of D and D, which we also know that Mike does to avoid reality. This therefore is similar to the Neverending Story and so it is intriguing that the Duffers even included the song in a main scene in the finale of season 3. They either are using this alongside D and D to foreshadow events in the story, or it means that things are becoming real as a result of some power, possibly Will. We see how he can create drawings and almost predictions in some circumstances and therefore, it is plausible that Will is almost creating this Neverending Story due to his personal trauma. Maybe Mike is the key to ending that story?

A first line I want to mention is “rhymes that keep their secrets”, is used when the camera pans onto Will. What secrets is he keeping? The most obvious one is that he has romantic feelings for Mike, which seems to be a foundation of Will’s character arc and story. But check the next part out “will unfold behind the clouds, and there upon a rainbow, is the answer to a Neverending Story”. So Will’s secret will indeed unfold and be told and when it does, him saying his truth could be the answer to the story, given that Mike gives a positive response. This world of trauma that he has potentially created, or been actively involved in involuntarily, can be beaten with positive emotions of love, happiness and safety. Also interesting the use of “on a rainbow” which we know can relate to lgbt.

Lastly, I want to talk about Will potentially having alot of power and being instrumental, therefore, in how the story unfolds. “Fly a fantasy, dream a dream, and what you see will be”, sounds very much like D and D. All through the seasons, many of the campaigns foreshadow events that unfold throughout the season. This could just simply be cool foreshadowing, but it could be much deeper. Many of the monsters could simply be metaphoric for trauma and, therefore, trauma that Will has faced. What if Vecna represents the fear that he has from Lonnie and his past? We know the Duffers said the mindflayer monster form in season 3 represented puberty and the troubles and negative side of this. On the other hand, it could be both metaphoric and foreshadowing.

My previous posts have outlined how I believe Will could have hidden powers that he isn’t aware of and that he could potentially be very powerful. We also know that love is used to beat Vecna, not once, but twice. Once with happy memories with Max and twice in the lab. Therefore, Mikes love could be the answer to solve the story and to beat the trauma that Will has faced in the past? Totally possible I’m going crazy too, but it is worth considering the importance of this. A last thing to note, therefore, is that the answer to everything is Will needs to speak his truth and to finally face his demons (quite literally). But he has to receive the power to do this from Mike.

For more information on my Byler theories you can see my index page on my profile. More specifically, check out this theory here which gives an insight into how this could unfold in Season 5.

Overall, it’s possible that Will needs to speak his truth and to gain acceptance from those who love him. Mike reciprocating though could potentially give him the courage and power, literally, to overcome his demons and to help El defeat the Upside Down. The Willel sibling duo, defeating the Upside Down.

#bylerweek2023 #byler #will byers #mike wheeler #neverendingstory #byler theory #will the wise

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denimbex1986 · 10 months ago

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'Note: The following article contains discussion of themes including suicide and drug addiction.

All of Us Strangers might have missed out at the Oscars, but the excellent movie has kept viewers talking long after the credits about its devastating ending.

A loose adaptation of Taichi Yamada's novel Strangers, the movie follows screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott) as he revisits his childhood home and reunites with his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), who died 30 years ago in a car accident.

Whether they are ghosts or just products of Adam's imagination is one of the movie's biggest mysteries, but writer/director Andrew Haigh is happy to leave that up to your interpretation.

What isn't up for interpretation is what happens to Adam's neighbour Harry (Paul Mescal) which is unveiled during an emotional finale.

So let's dig into that and what it means for Adam too as we explore the emotional ending of All of Us Strangers. Needless to say, major spoilers await.

All of Us Strangers ending explained

After sharing some soul-healing moments together, Adam's parents realise it's time to say goodbye. Adam is getting too consumed by this ghostly reality, and he needs to make peace with their deaths and move on.

After sharing one last meal full of nostalgic memories, they disappear.

Adam might be sad, but he has also come out stronger from this experience. He even finds himself brave enough to go knock on Harry's door. Adam has never been in his apartment before, and we're about to find out why.

After opening the suspiciously unlocked door, Adam is hit by a strong smell coming from the place. When he looks in the bedroom, he finds Harry's dead body. He appears to have died a while ago, given the state of decomposition of the body.

The 'dead all along' trope has never been so devastating.

Harry's ghost shows up in the apartment as if nothing has happened, but he quickly catches up. "I’m in there, aren’t I?" he asks Adam, right before he melts completely at the realisation of his own passing.

Adam consoles him as he leads him back to his own flat.

They lie in bed, Adam folding his arm around Harry. 'The Power of Love' by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (the same song that was playing on TV the first time they met) starts playing in the background.

The camera pulls away from them. They become a glowing light getting smaller and smaller, and soon they are surrounded by a constellation of other star-like lights.

In an interview with Digital Spy, director Andrew Haigh explained what this ending means, and why it didn't need to be a happy ending.

"There is a way in which this film could have ended on a very optimistic, joyful note. To me, that would have been a little bit simplistic in terms of what the story is trying to unpick and understand, which is about the actual nature, the essence of love, and what is important within that."

In an interview with EW, producer Graham Broadbent argued it can be a "more optimistic" interpretation of the ending of the movie.

"There's something in Andrew's filmmaking. Although it's a sad story, there's something kinder and gentler and more beautiful, more generous. People might perceive the end of the film as being sad, but I think when you watch it again and again, you see it's actually more optimistic."

Was Harry dead the entire time?

There are several questions surrounding Harry's death in All of Us Strangers.

One is in relation to the cause of death. Although it's not explicitly revealed, the drugs and alcohol that Adam finds in the living area in the reveal scene would suggest an overdose.

Another question, perhaps more critical, is when exactly Harry dies in the timeline of the story. Is it before or after starting a relationship with Adam? It's not 100% clear, so there are a couple of theories.

The most likely explanation is that Harry died by suicide the night he knocked on Adam's door, therefore before their relationship went from neighbours to lovers.

When Harry shows up at Adam's door with a bottle of whiskey, he is most probably alive. He is a lonely young man looking for company and human connection, but Adam is wary and rejects his proposition.

"I was so scared that night. I just needed to not be alone," Harry's ghost recalls later on, when his body is found.

There is also a theory that points at the elevator scene (when Adam tries to flirt with Harry, regretting his earlier rejection) being the last time we see him alive. This doesn't really feed into Adam's ghostly fantasy, given Harry's lack of interest, so this could still be the real Harry. He could have died after that cold encounter.

The decomposition of the body makes it clear it's been some time since he passed. So, when did Harry die then?

Harry wearing his pink sweatshirt both on the night they met and in the big reveal scene might make us lean more towards the first theory — that Harry died on that same night

However, there is another theory — what if Harry never really existed?

Maybe he was a product of Adam's imagination from the very beginning. And that leads us to another possible interpretation of All of Us Strangers.

Is Adam dead in All of Us Strangers?

It's unclear what is real and what is not in All of Us Strangers, so it's all theories at this point.

The movie can be interpreted as a paranormal story where ghosts are real and Adam happens to be able to see them. We can also think Adam is dead too by the end of the movie, and that last scene means he is joining Harry in an otherworldly realm.

And the movie can also be interpreted as a fever dream full of regrets, trauma and loneliness.

In one scene, Adam asks his mother: "Is this real?" She responds: "Does it feel real?"

After all, it's not important if Adam's journey is real or not, as long as it touches deep in his soul, as long as it helps him find a way back from the grief that has been eating him alive.

In a similar way for viewers, it doesn't matter if the events we see in the movie are real or not, but how they make us feel.

In an episode of EW's Awardist podcast, actor Andrew Scott revealed he sees the movie as a dream. "You wake up from a very, very potent dream and you can feel so sad; you can wake up with floods of tears; you can wake up screaming; you can wake up laughing. I don't think you go, 'What happened in the dream? Let's rewind it.'"

"We try desperately to understand it, but I think Andrew's achievement is that he directs us towards the feeling, rather than the logic of what the feeling might be. The most important thing, and the most difficult thing to do, is making the audience genuinely moved."

In an interview with EW, Andrew Haigh shared his view on what the movie really means.

"In many ways, the whole film to me was a love letter saying, it's okay. It's quite hard. You've all been through some stuff, but you can move on from this and you can find love," he explained.

"You might lose it again, but you might find it again. That to me is an optimistic outcome in some strange sense, that you can just keep finding love even when it vanishes. And it doesn't vanish forever. That's important to me. That's where it is all about love at the end."'

#Andrew Haigh #Andrew Scott #Paul Mescal #Claire Foy #Jamie Bell #Taichi Yamada #Strangers #Graham Broadbent #All of Us Strangers

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goldlock1 · 2 years ago

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~ideological state apparatus theory~ & la la land

I love this theory so I just want to talk about it! Basically, it's the idea that film is a vehicle for the dissemination of an ideology that reinforces the control of the dominant class. Mainstream cinema would have us believe that it is doing its best to represent real life, and Bazin would say that this is cinema's most important aim. Colin MacCabe, however, thinks that cinema is not equipped to represent reality because reality is something that just...isn't representable. He's fighting against this idea we tend to have of films being real and raw and emotional -- and I would tend to agree with him. i think that there is something that a lot of films are missing when it comes to emotional integrity. there's something about a lot of them that i just don't buy.

at the same time, i also think that films affect us emotionally because we have accepted our position as the subjects of the film. We relate to the characters and their experiences. we fall into the trap of being affected and inspired.

Perhaps one of the most powerful methods of inspiration is music -- or, for our context, the movie musical. And since we're talking about reality here, I'm going to talk about the 2016 film La La Land. I think it's a film that represents reality in a very convincing way, through the emotional appeals of its songs and dances and harkening to a more nostalgic era of art. But I also believe that it is trying to convince us of a capitalist falsehood: that belief and hard work in your dream will one day be enough for you to actually achieve it.

youtube

This scene, like many others in the film, is one long, deep take (an important element of Bazinian realism), in which we are actually experiencing time at the characters do -- pay attention to how the camera moves, and who the camera is focused on. Listen to the lyrics of the song.

Without looking at it too closely, this just looks like the opening number to a feel-good musical (which on some level, it really is, and it's ok to take pleasure in it). But let's look a little deeper. I believe this clip employs some method of subversive realism, in the sense that we're not following the story of any one character for too long: it's what MacCabe refers to as "a systematic refusal of any such dominant discourse", like in Van Sant's Elephant. We're seeing a very mobile camera, and even the cars are blessedly normal (Pontiac Aztek amirite). So in this sense La La Land is shaping up to be a bit of a subversive realist film. The rest of the movie also contains elements of it -- we see people dancing in the air among the stars, we see alternate realities, we see reflexivity in a scene where all but one of the actors are frozen in a tableau.

Personally, however, I think that these elements produce the opposite effect of subversive realism. Within the context of this particular film, they actually draw us deeper into the narrative, and this opening number "hooks the eye, the heart, and the mind. And once it snags you, it keeps getting better" (Variety.com).

This opening scene is so compelling because of its ensemble nature, where there seems to be no dominant discourse. But that's where it gets you! Because while we're introduced to different characters, distracted by the bright colors, we simply accept, and even delight in, the fact that they're all singing the same song: therefore, perpetuating a unified discourse or IDEOLOGY. This is where it gets fascinating. We're in horrible Los Angeles traffic. It's hot. It's boring. Yet everyone breaks into song and dance, glorifying life in traffic under the hot California sun, the endless dance of sacrificing everything to chase a dream that probably won't come true. One could even say it's glorifying the American dream, this idea that if you just work hard enough, if you want something enough, you will succeed.

In this manner, we are swept into a romantic notion of hard work, one that keeps us working and working and running this Pontiac Aztek of a country steered by the bourgeois class. This is the ideological capitalist falsehood of La La Land. The main characters achieve their ultimate goals -- albeit with the sacrifice of the life that could have been -- but we don't ever see those hundreds of dancers again, people that didn't achieve those goals. We don't get to see the reality of sky-high rent and working three jobs to make ends meet while you're waiting for the big break that never comes.

This is not a love letter to the life of the struggling artist, it is a romanticism of that life. Our main character, an aspiring actress, only has to work her one job at the coffee shop to afford her gorgeously decorated 791-square-foot apartment, and eventually shows up to the one-in-a-million audition for a role she's already been cast in. it's the dream of every person dancing on their car in gridlock. It's the reality for almost no one.

But damn if that scene isn't inspiring. And it's made more so by the fact that our main character does make it. The trap of inspiration can be a comfortable one. I know it is for me -- I'm someone who's deeply affected by ideological state apparatuses like film and theater and music, and there isn't any shame in that. Because even though they are perpetuating ideologies I may not subscribe to, i find there is some grain of truth to them.

they are art, after all.

#la la land #film theory #ideological state apparatus #apparatus theory #bazin #colin maccabe #film #film analysis #subversive realism #bourgeois #pontiac aztek #Youtube

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maxwell-grant · 3 years ago

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PET THEORY: While others cannot see a vampire's reflection, when a vampire looks into a reflective surface they behold all their sins reflected back at them in a visibly twisted version of their own person (Very few of them enjoy the experience, since they prefer to regard themselves as something other than walking corpses rotten with stolen blood and their own Evil).

I like this one. I like ideas that go out of their way to make vampires weirder and less natural than they already are, especially when they are built around contrasting or defying the usual expectations about vampires. It's something I'm VERY much looking forward to in the next season of What We Do In The Shadows, considering the state they've left Colin Robinson in and how they've been playing up the weirdness of energy vampires by contrast with regular vampires.

Actually, what this reminds me of is something I picked up more recently in a recent rewatch of one of my top 3 favorite films, Phantom of the Paradise, a film that has no literal vampires, but pulls a lot of influences from supernatural horror fiction and, really it's the kind of film where vampires existing wouldn't even be one of the weirdest things about this world.

To give a brief overview in case you don't know about it and only recognize it through the works that referenced it which you have DEFINITELY seen even if you don’t think you have, the story of POTP is about a disgraced composer named Winslow Leach who hands over his cantata about Faust to be produced by the all-powerful mogul Swan, who ends up stealing it and having Winslow beaten and framed and sent to prison (where his teeth are all pulled out). He ends up escaping and being heavily disfigured by a record press of his own stolen music, and after he reemerges as a costumed Phantom attacking Swan's production, Swan ends up conning him into a Faustian deal where he'll give him a new voice and have his music performed the way he wants it to, by the woman he loves (Phoenix, played by Jessica Harper in her first role), as long as Winslow accepts working for him.

I should probably mention also that Winslow was extremely obsessive over his music even before he became the Phantom, which is why he agrees to work for Swan. He is okay with working for the man that destroyed him as long as his music gets performed, because from beginning to end, Phantom of the Paradise is a painstakingly clear and brutal criticism of the music industry and that informs every single aspect of the movie, even down to miniscule details like Swan employing bikers as henchmen (referencing the infamous Altamont Free Concert where the Rolling Stones employed Hell's Angels) or a gag where Swan serves "Breakfest!" to Winslow while opening a briefcase full of drugs.

This is a very brief overview and doesn't begin to convey the experience of watching this movie, but I have to get it out of the way first to talk about Swan and why it relates to this ask. This is Swan, played by Paul Williams.

The quickest way to describe Swan is that he's Dorian Gray meets Phil Spector (he’s been called a “dark parody” of Spector, but he’s not really a parody, if anything he’s nowhere near the ghoul that the real Spector was known to be even at the time). He's the film's villain and an all-powerful producer and living legend of entertainment, whose goal throughout the film is to complete construction of "The Paradise" opera house, described as "his Xanadu", in one of the film's many allusions to Orson Welles. Swan's always even-tempered and manipulative and extremely charming and persuasive, to the characters as well as the audience (I cannot overstate how great Paul Williams is and what a goddamn crime it is that he's never been asked to voice or play The Penguin outside of TAS), even when we know from his first scene that he's rotten.

Said scene is a parody of The Godfather's opening scene, where Swan's hidden off camera except for his white gloves and his main assistant Philbin's begging him to solve his problems with a rebellious star named Annette (whose only crimes, according to Philbin, are breaking contract, suing them for taking advantage of her and "giving free concerts to starving gook orphans"). When Philbin asks Swan to break her, Swan merely asks "Is that all?", to which Philbin replies "Isn't that enough?", and Swan replies that Annette, who's at the top of the charts, is "yesterday's news" for what he's looking for in his next venture, which turns out to be Winslow. A poor shmuck who just so happens to produce music that greatly appeals to Swan, so he takes the music and destroys the man, and when the man transforms into something too angry and strange to die, Swan finds a way to bleed him dry as much as he can before he comes up with a new way to put him away for good when he’s no longer got anything left to give.

(Fanart by Spoonfayse)

I bring this up to show how effectively the film establishes Swan early on as this supernaturally powerful force of evil, in that the very concept of "breaking" a person, something the brutish thug Philbin considers a great deal, is passe and unremarkable to Swan, something he does daily for breakfest and with zero investment, because all he cares about is the pursuit of his own desires. He is so powerful and uncaring, he even purposefully kneecaps his own stars for being too perfect, because he says "You know how I abhor perfection in anyone other than myself". And yeah, I know I'm quoting the movie a lot, it's fucking amazing and I want to shout it from the rooftops how much I love it, but I need to get across what kind of character he is to get to the next bit.

One detail of Swan throughout the film is that he never allows himself to be photographed or taped, he's seen mainly through mirrors or logos or audio before he actually shows up on screen, and the film consistently plays up Swan's manipulation of media, how he’s got cameras all over the place watching everything and how he’s constantly surrounded by mirrors and smokescreens. We later find out that Swan is immortal, after his attempted suicide resulted in him making a deal with the devil for eternal youth, and he's gotten both Winslow and Phoenix to sign the same contract binding all their souls together, and that in order to uphold this immortality, Swan has to watch every day the tape he made of his attempted suicide/contract so that, much like Dorian Gray, the version of himself on the tape ages and decays instead of him. Later, when Winslow breaks into Swan's viewing room, he sees that the tape of Swan's deal also includes a tape recording of his own deal with Swan, as well as Phoenix's.

Early on in the movie, before the true nature of Swan's deals are revealed, we get to see one of the very few times Swan displays weakness, which is also the only scene in the movie where we get to see Swan entirely on his own without anyone around him. It's a scene where he's watching a taped recording of his deal with Winslow, but with his voice altered, sounding both older and as well as far raspier and crueler, the same voice that Winslow's going to hear later when he watches the same recordings.

This is the one time in the movie where Swan seems to not be in control of the situation, the other being the finale, where his show is ruined, the Paradise's in chaos, his face is rotting, and he's trying to strangle Phoenix while screaming "YOUR VOICE, REMEMBER! YOU PROMISED ME YOUR VOICE!" in the same voice Paul Williams used for these recordings, and it pairs up with the scene where we get to see Swan's own initial deal: He was afraid of his looks being ruined by age, so he decided to kill himself young rather than fade away. He became immortal to try and defeat the inevitable decay brought by time, and ended up decaying anyway and bringing others down with him.

This is a strangely, uniquely sympathetic moment for a character who's otherwise completely irredeemable, and it opens up the question of whether his anguish in the scene comes from merely disgust over the sight of what he ultimately is and looks like, over seeing that which he tries to pretend isn't him, or whether it's a form of regret over what he's putting Winslow through and seeing that he too isn't as different from Winslow as he'd like to be, as later when Winslow tries to stab himself to death and fails, and then tries to stab Swan, Swan plucks the knife and grimly remarks "I'm under contract too.*

It creates a correlation between Swan and Winslow as two shmucks with great talent but little wisdom, who signed deals with forces beyond their understanding and became masked monsters as a result. Swan, for all his power and mystique and cruelty, is himself a victim of the entertainment industry he rules over, even before his demise where he is killed not just by the Phantom, but by his own audience perpetuating the violence Swan’s been selling to them since the beginning of the film, dancing over both of their corpses, still hungry for more.

To bring this back to the original point a little, Phantom of the Paradise includes a lot of references to horror fiction, not just in it’s elements taken from Phantom of the Opera and Faust and Dorian Grey but also smaller references here and there to works like Nosferatu. There’s arguments to be made that both of the titular characters of POTP could be vampires, Winslow in his monstrous persona, superhuman efforts, brutal murders after he becomes The Phantom, and his continued existence fueled by love and hatred at equal measure, and Swan, in his deceptful and predatory demeanor, his vast ability to manipulate and command even in a hypnotic fashion, and his unending consumption of all the corpses he’s built an empire on. That both of their attempts to attain immortality backfire on the two of them is certainly consistent with the prevailing idea in vampire fiction, that being a vampire is ultimately a terrible deal for all parties involved.

But I think there’s an argument to be made that, if anything in Phantom of the Paradise constitutes a vampire in it’s most dangerous, primal form, it’s not any of it’s main characters. It’s the audience. The audience that they chase and attain and find themselves unable to live without. The audience that Swan commands and corrupts as easily as he does everything else, the audience that abandons Winslow and makes a party of his misery, the audience that Phoenix sells her soul to Swan for the minute she realizes she cannot live without, the audience that cheers the hardest for Beef when he’s a charred corpse carried away in a stretcher. The audience that consumes and spits out all of them and trods on, hungry for more, hungry for everything and without end, because it’s all just part of the show, it’s all entertainment, it’s all another way to keep us, those in the audience seats, sated.

We watch vampire stories for the same reason we watch stories period: because there’s an 3-pound electric flesh sponge burrowed in your head that’s piloting your every motion and thought and, to keep running, demands to be fed stimulation and nourishment at every turn, and if you don’t feed it, it starts to eat you instead. It feeds to live and it lives to feed and it’s hunger only grows, and there’s nothing you can do about it but try and find ways to make peace with it, and try to survive the whims of others who have not, before it’s too late. The person dies, but the hunger remains, consuming even those that try to weaponize it or enjoy it. The hunger of showbiz is what all comes down to.

"And though your music lingers on

"All of us are glad you're gone"

"If I could live my life half as worthlessly as you"

"I'm convinced I'd wind up burning too"

The major themes of the piece are set out in the first song, "Goodbye Eddie," about a singer who commits suicide in hopes of making his debut album a posthumous hit. As the song reaches its end, Juicy Fruit Archie Hahn pantomimes Eddie's suicide, playfully pretending to slice his wrist open with his own microphone, and then writhing in pain on the floor as his bandmates seemingly obliviously continue to perform around him.

Encapsulated in this song and in Hahn's performance are the concepts that people will do anything, even killing themselves, in exchange for the chance for success; that the public eats this up, making Eddie's "memorial" album a hit; and that the Juicy Fruits' own audience is thrilled to see a simulated suicide -- even one performed for laughs -- onstage.

As the film progresses, the onstage carnage (and the audience's reactions to it) become more and more serious, mimicking (and anticipating) the real-world one-upsmanship of performers who commit ever more outrageous acts in an effort to outdo themselves and their competitors for the public's attention, with the ultimate attention-getter being complete self-destruction.

We make our way from Hahn's innocent goofing with the knife/microphone to the simulated spearing of mannequin audience members, to Beef's impromptu electrocution, to a premeditated "assassination live on television coast to coast," as Swan has his henchman take aim at his bride during their televised wedding, and finally to Swan's and Winslow's onstage deaths, which the crowd assumes to be just part of the show. Ultimately, Swan, Phoenix, and the Phantom are all destroyed by their own ambition, as the audience at the Paradise takes it in with glee.

Phantom's melding of "the show" and "the real", perhaps inspired by Altamont and the resulting 1970 Gimme Shelter documentary, anticipated today's "reality" shows, the success of which proves that there's a hunger that mere "fictional" tragedy no longer satisfies. As De Palma predicted with Phantom, the culture demands entertainment that is more and more visceral, with the most desensitized among us insisting upon manipulated "reality" as entertainment, and snuff films the inevitable end result; people are willing to watch video of New York's twin towers tumble hundreds of times, and entire websites have been dedicated to photographs of unfortunates jumping out of the skyscrapers to escape the heat.

Of course, in order for "death as entertainment" to flourish, there must be a culture that is sufficiently interested to watch it, while being sufficiently apathetic to do nothing about it; and Phantom is as much an observation of that culture as it is an indictment of the media machine that happily provides that culture with what it wants.

There's nothing new about a culture of "death as entertainment" of course; it's been around at least since the Romans came up with throwing Christians to the lions. But it's something we like to think we have risen above;

Phantom reminds us that we haven't - “It’s More Than Just Songs”, by The Swan Archives

#vampires #phantom of the paradise #brian de palma #paul williams #william finley #jessica harper #vampire fiction #replies tag #yes this movie lives rent-free in my head 24/7 and I will take any excuse to rant about it #why do you ask?

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cloveroctobers · 2 years ago

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Okay, but is nobody gonna talk about how the alien/monster from “NOPE” (Jordan peels film) looks like a biblical Angel?

It’s kind of accurate cause as you can see when em is running away from the creature you can see how large it is in the camera’s view, and as OJ stares at it, the green eye could be seen revealing itself as it stares at OJ, (but I have a feeling OJ isn’t dead) I haven’t seen the movie yet but I have seen a clip, It’s just my theory that Jean Jacket is a biblical Angel.

Elohim would change itself into a could or any other it wishes to turn into and would watch over humanity and as I think if God ever gave up on humanity Elohim would take those people and there would be no more humanity. (I hope I said it right)

I just haven’t seen any other theory like this, I’m sorry if I bothered you! And I love the OJ fan-fiction you wrote!

You know what…this is a very valid take as well! I agree, physically and figuratively. I’m not very religious myself but definitely the way you explained it makes sense! I don’t want to spoil anything else for you, just in case your viewpoint may or may not change—we ultimately don’t see it’s purpose of why but mostly it’s what.

What Jean jacket is doing? Mainly what is its correlation with the given name Jean jacket from OJ himself? Which I think ties into the whole Animal vs. Human’s theme I was going off of. Regardless there are many themes throughout this film! The biblical stance surely could be another.

Jean jacket is definitely birds eye view, seeing everything from above, maybe even further since we don’t know fully where it came from besides the sky—watching, and waiting. It has the power see what’s down below from their own eye, the greenery you speak of which appears as a lens, will wipe or rather clean up everything in its path. Relating back to the biblical viewpoint, jean jacket (Elohim) will go after those who have lost their sense of humanity 100%!

Thanks for this perspective!

Also glad you enjoyed the OJ fic 🫶🏽

#nope #nope spoilers #asks #nope 2022 #Jordan peele #oj haywood

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inky-quilled-dragon · 2 years ago

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When Wikipedia Inadvertently Leads You to Massive TUA Realizations

Alrighty-dighty i've decided i'm gonna post this here because now i actually have somewhere other than my AO3 that works!

im just gonna copy this down.

Let's give some context first. Season 1--episode 4. Man on the moon.

I'm sure you all remember that one, it was pretty painful--but also had so much beautiful, beautiful Klaus development that seriously made my heart sing.

And it all started with Ben and, most importantly in this theory, Zoya Popova. She was the first ghost Klaus had talked to besides my darling Ben in who knows how long, and the first ghost in the long line of Hazel and Cha-Cha's victims that he would end up talking to in hopes of escape.

Zoya Popova. She was Russian, older, wearing a headscarf known as a babushka, and she'd been killed by the commission thanks to their BS rasion d'être.

We all liked her. She was a very likeable character, despite not having a whole lot of screen time. This was thanks in no small part to her tragic backstory and distinction as the non-Ben ghost who arguably kickstarted Klaus' journey towards accepting his powers.

But we never did find out why she died. We never did figure out what she did that caused the commission to deem her a threat to the timeline. We never even learned when she'd lived.

Season 2

I'm sure you all remember Diego's obsession with his asshole father's connection to the Kennedy murder.

And i'm sure you all may have noticed that plot line was never quite resolved.

(to be honest though, that was hardly top of mind after the crap-loads of crazy we were gleefully showered with. Heck, we learned Reggie was an alien and we all basically did that John Mulaney quote and just breezed right on bye with barely a second glance)

But yes, the last we see of Reggie in the sixties is him peeling off his face and going to murder a bunch of shadow government figures. Fun times.

And the last we hear about his role in the assassination is his little monologue before he kills them--and the reveal of his driver's identity as the Umbrella Man.

so, yeah. it's very much implied, but not confirmed, that Reggie had some role.

The entire series.

The Commission wants to cause the apocalypse for some twisted-ass reason.

Viktor causes the apocalypse both times we've seen it so far.

and it's all thanks to Reggie's asshole-er-y and beyond S****Y parenting.

Now why don't you take a look at this? (I'll summarize below in case you don't feel like it)

Babushka Lady

basically, to summarize, the so called "babushka lady" is a figure present in many eyewitness accounts and films (including the Zapruder footage) of the assasination, and she had her camera raised the exact moment Kennedy was shot. In other words, she very well could have taken a photo that proved the existence of a conspiracy. after the assasination, she joined the crowd that left via the Grassy Knoll

Her identity is unknown, and the only thing known about her appearance is that she was wearing a babushka, hence her alias.

She never came forward.

And yes, I'm claiming that Zoya Popova was Babushka Lady.

Ok, hear me out. If Reggie was indeed involved in the assassination (which he almost definitely was) and Zoya Popova was indeed babushka lady, and she had indeed taken a photo that would have proved his involvement, what would have happened?

Well, assuming she'd turned it over to the police, I'm assuming that would be more than enough to put reggie behind bars for years. Not even political connections can do that much for you when the evidence is that solid and the crime so severe and high profile.

So let's say Reggie is convicted, scentenced to what will likely be no small amount of jail time.

And what does that make him unable to do?

Yes. It makes him unable to adopt our darling Hargreeves children.

It makes him unable to traumatize Viktor

And under those circumstances--Viktor, untraumatized, with a likely loving family that was not pitted against each other by a complete dickhead--there is a very low chance he'd ever break.

There's a very low chance he'd ever cause the apocolypse.

So what's the commission to do? If Zoya releases those photos, the domino effect essentially completely negates any chance the 2019 apocalypse will come to pass.

So they dispatch Hazel and Cha-Cha, and they kill Zoya, destroy the camera, make sure those photos never see the light of day.

Boom, Reggie's secret is safe and the apocalypse is back on track.

And that, dear reader, is how i think Zoya died.

***

Ok, did that make sense??? Like, i think there's a real chance this could be true. If so, then seriously PROPS to the umbrella academy team for this because the level of detail is simply astounding here. Like seriously I'm so impressed.

And if you doubt that they'd put so much detail into the show for a character who only appeared for a moment?

Well.

Eyewitness accounts also mention seeing what looked like "smoke or flashes of light" from the Grassy Knoll, right before the shooting.

And in TUA, what happened at the Grassy Knoll right before the shooting?

Oh, nothing much. Just two versions of Five duking it out with no small amount of teleporting involved.

Five's teleporting lets off light.

TUA literally explained the tiniest detail from the assassination, and it nearly flew right under my nose.

So i think there's a very real chance they did it again.

#the umbrella academy 3 #the umbrella academy #tua netflix #original post #original content #tua spoilers #well kinda #theory

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spookyfbi · 4 years ago

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what did cody said about klave?

Omg Anon okay so, twitter user umbrellaacademy invited Cody to do a twitter space with them which they did yesterday (8PM Friday EST) and Cody stayed for OVER TWO AND A HALF HOURS answering fan questions and saying SO MANY things about Dave and Klave and I am still so overwhelmed. I have recorded it and I’ve sent the video to the host and they’ve said they’ll release it soon (although the file is massive so I suspect they’ll have a bit of trouble wrangling it like I did so it might take longer). In the meantime, some highlights under the cut:

- Dave’s favourite thing about Klaus is his openness. He’s charismatic because he’s unafraid to be himself. Cody also finds it endearing that Klaus marches to the beat of his own drum.

- He likes the idea that the briefcase brought Klaus to Dave because of fate/destiny. Dave is the missing piece of Klaus, he fills a void in Klaus. He’s as interested as we are to find out if the timeline loops back in season 3

- Dave is soft spoken. There are qualities of Dave that have grounded and soothed Klaus but also Klaus has pulled Dave out of his shell. Klaus’ openness was like an invitation to Dave to open up and be goofy and strange, and this was a vibe Cody got from Robert as well in the bar scene, but then the dynamic shifted later and he felt that Dave was the one who was opening up first.

- Dave would go with Klaus to be with his family. He would want Klaus to take the reigns and would trust Klaus re- what kind of life they could have together post Vietnam. Although there would be no hesitation from Dave about his love for Klaus, there might be hesitation about planning a life together because of the time period they were in. There’s a sense of peace and wanting to settle from Klaus. Cody just basically being solidly on the Klaus bringing Dave back to 2019 to meet his family train.

- There is a sensitivity and self awareness to Dave, Cody thinks he accepted his sexuality but just was careful about advertising it because of the time period. He also says that his Dave in season 1 didn’t have the experience we saw in season 2 with his uncle and that might have made him more open (I am staring directly at my reverse George McFly theory).

- Dave’s love for Klaus is unconditional, he loves him for exactly who he is. Dave’s unconditional love is a foil for the conditional love Klaus gets from his family. Klaus doesn’t really know what love is and then he gets fired this laser beam of love from Dave.

- Cody that been in a play where his character was in a relationship with a guy but he thinks Rob hadn’t done that before. The director set the tone that the kiss scene was an intimate and tender scene. He feels like there was a reassurance from Dave to Klaus in that moment.

- Dave was holding 4 shot glasses in the scene where he’s holding them with both hands.

- Cody describing Dave in 4 words - kind, sensitive, empathetic, soft. Dave would describe Klaus as free spirited, open, unfiltered, unexpected (he also put forward chaotic but didn’t stick with it and replaced it with unexpected).

- Dave’s first thought when he woke up and saw Klaus was “Is this a dream... We’re not sleeping much so this could be a dream, I wouldn’t put it past my brain” Also “The dream coming to reality but maybe not necessarily looking like what he thought.”

- He thinks Klaus probably took the dogtags off Dave after he died as a way to remember him rather than them exchanging them

- He wants Klaus and Dave’s storyline to end with love prevailing. He also floats the idea of Dave taking a dark turn and Klaus has to be the redemptive person to bring Dave back.

In preparation for playing Dave he watched the Ken Burns Vietnam War documentary series on Netflix and also looked up online about the Vietnam war. He also listened to music he thought Dave would be into from 1965-1968: He mentions Motown and Stones (Cody said he himself likes Motown)

- Cody’s favourite thing about Dave is the quality of how he loves Klaus. He describes it as pure and unconditional and simple and he talks about he thinks people need to love each other fearlessly - not just romantically but in friendships as well, especially with what’s happening now (and this sort of clarifies to me why he was talking about love over fear so passionately in the clever klaus q&a and what he meant by that)

- Cody is a fantasy nerd

- He would love to see Dave giving Klaus some agency

- He thinks that Klaus has some guilt about Dave’s death

- He would like to play a Commission agent (Commission Dave rights!!)

- Robert is very open and unassuming and funny and it was easy to have an immediate rapport with him. Cody also talked with Tom Hopper (about their mutual friend Bradley James). He also briefly met Colm and Robin and he also remembered he met Aidan (who here had a theory about a deleted scene with Aidan in the attic?)

- He doesn’t know how time works in the afterlife or how Klaus’ power works but Dave would have waited 50 years for Klaus

- Calem joined the space and they said that they hadn't interacted before but they had a bit of a chat. Calem said that his filming in season 2 was 4 days but about 1 month apart. Calem’s internet kept cutting out and then he disappeared.

- If Dave was one of the 43 children his power could be the care bear love blast and he could fire hot beams of love out of the hole in his chest. He would give Dave a more passive power to round out the more active powers the other Hargreeves have, like a healer

- The scene in the tent was filmed at the studio. The scene on the bus was shot outside. The scene in the trench was partly shot outside but some of it was shot in the studio as well (I wonder if he’s confusing that trench scene with the hallucination at the Rave though?)

- He said the scenes were beautifully lit (I beg to differ, Cody!)

- Klaus helped unlock that part of him (I think he means Dave’s sexuality) and he also says that Klaus was a very specific target to Dave’s love. Klaus seems like one in a million. When you love someone there’s something specific about them that pulls that out of you.

- Calem returns! He was in his room where the internet crapped out on him but then he went downstairs. Cody asked what it was like for Calem to come in and play an established character. Calem said he purposely didn’t talk with Cody about the character before playing him because he’d done the audition without knowing anything about the character so he didn’t want to risk doing something too different from what he’d done in the audition, but he did watch season 1. He also said he was a bit anxious about what the audience would think of him playing the character, and Cody went into acting mentor mode and said that he doesn’t think the job is about appeasing the fans but about trying to be as true as possible. He also said that Calem did a good job and he shouldn’t be hard on himself but Calem then said that he quickly got over it and he wasn’t thinking about it on set, just afterwards. Calem mentioned that he creeped Cody’s IMDB and he said that his dad was a camera operator on Lizzie Borden Chronicles this Cody guest starred in an episode of.

- Dave loves music like Cody. He mentioned Four Tops as another band and then Motown again. He thinks the bar scene shows Dave’s love of music but he wasn’t thinking about that at the time.

- Dave would be overstimulated at first if he came to the future because we’re bombarded with a lot more stimulus than in the 60s. The internet and iPhones would blow his mind. He let’s a “we’ll see” slip, which he then quickly corrects to “we would see”

- The kiss in the bar was definitely the first kiss and he thinks it happened a couple months into the tour. He thinks the feelings were mutual quite early, but that it would have taken some time to act on them and to be able to gauge if each other were really giving off the signals that they like each other.

- He’s appreciative of the fan love and he tries to make a connection with everyone he can

- Dave is an optimistic force who thinks that love will prevail so he would have wanted to do something to make it work despite the obstacles they faced

- Cody doesn’t know how close to the vest Klaus kept the stuff about his powers and the time travel etc but he did see Klaus appear so he does know there’s something strange about him. Dave trusted Klaus and even if it wasn’t explicitly talked about there was enough trust to go “wherever you go I’ll follow, wherever that leads.” When Klaus conjures Dave, Dave is excited to see him but isn’t really surprised or put off by any of the circumstances that Klaus is in.

- He thinks that Dave is more the listener of the relationship, but he could certainly see Dave telling Klaus about Dune and Klaus indulging him.

- Rob is very genuine, very unassuming, very immediately open, very funny, definitely puts you at ease, incredibly thoughtful, very considerate, good dude (wow it’s the complimenting Rob speed run! 8 in a row!)

- The aspect of Dave that Cody connects to most is his non-judgemental quality

- Dave would connect with Vanya’s softness and Luther’s moral compass (he said Diego’s moral compass in the cleverklaus q&a so not sure if he just mixed them up). He thinks Dave might be a bit too sincere for Five and Ben would appreciate being able to unload Klaus on Dave.

- He thinks Dave is not a tattoo guy but Klaus is impulsive so getting a tattoo really aligns with his personality. He thinks that Dave’s actions speak louder than words written on him

- He connects to the fractured family theme of the show on a personal level

- Dave being jewish was something he only learned about through looking at the dogtags, it wasn’t in the script or anything

- Dave might have studied Philosophy if he’d gone to college instead of joining the military, he feels like there’s a dreamer quality to Dave

- Even though Dave was pressured into joining the military, he thinks that Dave believed he was going the right thing by enlisting

- Colm is a Canadian Hall of Fame actor and Reginald is such an intense character so Cody would love to do a scene with him. He would also love to do a scene with Elliot.

- Cody remembered waiting on set to film the scene in the club and he, Rob and Tom were in an 80s hotel with a heart shaped jacuzzi (??? oh was this the set with the Handler and Agnes maybe?)

#the umbrella academy #dave katz #klave #cody ray thompson

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myladyofmercy · 3 years ago

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young royals rewatch

episode 5

i love the opening to this episode. nearly makes us forget august being a fucking piece of shit creep who filmed his cousin having sex

the golden lighting is so pretty

i support the wille cum breath theory

this kiss is definitely their most passionate

simon being a little shit again

tack malin

what's with the lens flares jj abrams?

love that wille is wearing a new pair of underwear. it's so weird when tv shows have couples lay there in underwear after sex like huh?

simon looks so gorgeous laying in bed

i would never use this bread as a sandwich. we have it in germany and it's so hard i don't like eating two stacked on top of each other

august cockblocking wilmon AGAIN

wille is wearing his happy scarf

they are so not subtle

i love how sara catches on immediately. who says she's bad at reading social situations?

they support the death sentence. love it

little simon popping up in the back trying to see what's going on

so many people outside of sweden were confused by lucia but i knew about it bc of googling our own names with my friend lucia so i had prior knowledge

love that felice is so understanding towards the micke situation even tho she doesn't understand it at first

lake date!!!

they are so goofy and in love i can't

i wonder what the bodyguards are talking about

we need a prp interview with malins actress

sara brushing augusts picture parallels simon brushing willes magazine cover in ep6

in one scene felices mom gives her clothes that are a little to big for herself so they'll fit felice and in the next she expects her to fit into her own lucia dress

i love how they get dress up for dinner

also love the face stuff stella has going on

and willes happy scarf was never seen again

they are GAYming your honor

simon too with the bedlamps on. think of the power bill

simon has a skateboard. petition to seeing him skate in s2

fish scene

wille is a little shit

love the little smirk

olle, oski, felle and horni

this time simon is shirtless first. justice

does that make you horny/does that turn you on

love the little black dots on maddies nails. may or may not have taken inspiration once or twice

love the healthy communication

did felice break up with august in a private ig story or a public one? it's not green so i think it was public

stella is a lesbian. pls.

love vincents idea to go down on the headmistress. like yes she totally seems like the kind of woman to let things slide because of good head

how august makes it seem like simon dealt to them regularly for months and not once sold the alcohol and once pills

simon thinks their gonna secretly make out or smth isn't he?

this isn't healthy communication but atleast they are communicating

how the camera focuses and unfocuses on simon when wille gets louder feels like a deliberate choice to bring us back to the trauma from his father

august has a phone case. i retract my earlier statement.

love vincents striped jumper

hey august why don't you try vincents idea? maybe the headmistress would ignore your financial problems then

and he's training again. of course.

vincent sticks out so much in his colorful clothes

yes wille. stand your ground.

also love the fact that wille doesn't even mention that he's the fucking crown prince and future king of sweden to give him authority over august

power is sexy (I'll see myself out)

awkward tension as everyone stands up and leaves august standing alone

still don't understand how alex would have gotten of scott free if they had blamed simon since he was caught with the drugs and simon was not

were they prescription tho? and had mickes name on them?

the mulled wine in the shampoo bottle. i already don't like wine so that sounds twice as disgusting to me

did felice not have a normal lucia dress? do you have to buy those or are they rented? or does the school just have them laying around in a storage room for the rest of the year

the lucia dresses remind me of edwardian nightgowns ala wendy in peter pan

felice finally standing her ground

so many mommy issues in this show

again with the golden lighing reminiscent of the episodes opening

wille only has simon right now and in the end he will have no one

this hug is so heartbreaking i can't

fuck of august

love the nose thing wilmon do after their kiss

i wonder who august send the video to? a news site? or did he just upload it to youtube or some kind of social media?

my mom and i had the lucia song in our heads for a whole evening once. as soon as someone stopped the other would hum it and it would start again

the subtitles say angelic beacon but i always read angelic bacon

as someone who is very wary of fire i would not want to be lucia and wear a drown with burning candles

oh august couldn't you have waited a little longer with your revenge

wille has no clue who micke is doesn't he?

yes linda is way too passive in this scene. but despite of her flaws she is still the best mom on this show but that is not hard

and now the storm is coming

#young royals #lana rewatches yr

22 notes · View notes

raimispiderman · 4 years ago

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From the booklet which comes with the Spider-Man Trilogy Limited Edition Collection blu-ray!

This talks about the making of Spider-Man 2, here’s the bit about the first Spider-Man movie.

Click for a transcript:

THE EVOLUTION OF A SUPERHERO

“It was truly gratifying and even a bit overwhelming to witness how strongly moviegoers around the world reacted to Spider-Man,” said director Sam Raimi. “As a filmmaker, I always want people to really enjoy my movies, and on that level, Spider-Man exceeded my expectations.”

After the triumph of the first Spider-Man, Raimi knew he had a responsibility to follow it up with a story that justified the fans’ enthusiasm and their built-in expectations for the next adventure. “There’s great interest in this movie, following the success of the first one,” he acknowledged. “For the kids who come to see it, Spider-Man is their hero. So while the job of making this movie is to provide entertainment, it is also to create a story that shows them a moral character, someone who has to make tough choices and the right decisions in order to continue to be worthy of their admiration.”

The wealth of detailed stories and characters in the Spider-Man comic book series provided a mother lode from which to cull the plot for Spider-Man 2. “The Marvel artists and writers have done a great job through the decades – I know, because I’m a big fan myself – so there’s a tremendous amount of good material to draw upon,” noted Raimi. “Finding a storyline wasn’t that difficult. It was finding the right story, the one that made for a proper follow-up installment, and provided a logical progression for the audience and a logical growth for the character. For the, I relied on the terrific storytelling instincts of my very fine producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad. Together with the contributions of our great writers, we found a plot line with ideas that reverberated.”

With the storyline of the new adventure locked, Arad looked forward to the reunion of the Spider-Man filmmaking family, not the least of which was Tobey Maguire. “Tobey was so happy to be Spider-Man again and to be Peter Parker,” said Arad. “As an actor Tobey relished deepening the audience’s understanding of who Peter Parker is and who is becoming,” added Ziskin. “Peter’s a man who is transition, someone who’s struggling with the choices he is making.”

Maguire added, “The theme ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ is never lost on Peter. It’s difficult to be a young man and have to sacrifice as much as he has – presumably for the greater good – and to neglect his personal desires. The struggle continues here and it’s quite complicated, because Peter’s searching desperately for a way to achieve some balance in his life.”

As Peter becomes more immersed in his dilemma, it creates a rift between him and the important people in his life. Though his love for MJ is stronger than ever, she has moved on with her life, pursuing an acting career, living in Manhattan and moving in new social circles. “In this film, Peter is off in his own world and not a reliable presence in MJ’s life,” explained Kirsten Dunst. “She still loves him a great deal, so it has become painful for her to be around him. Though they’ve both done a lot of growing up in the past two years, at the same time, they’ve drifted apart.”

Then, as if Peter’s life were not complicated enough, the situation moves from bad to worse – much worse. Enter Doc Ock.

Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is a brilliant scientist whose life work has been dedicated to experiments utilizing fusion as a new source of energy. Charming, vibrant and energetic, Dr. Octavius is introduced to Peter by Harry Osborn.

“This movie is the story of Peter’s life, which is out of balance, and Dr. Octavius who, for Peter, represents someone who has achieved that balance,” explained Raimi.

“Peter sees Octavius as somebody who has mastered both his gifts – in this case science, through which he can serve the good of mankind, while also maintaining a personal life, a loving relationship with his wife Rosie (Donna Murphy). This leads Peter to the conclusion that it’s possible to have both.” Dr. Octavius, with the support of his wife, has been working diligently in his home laboratory, trying to perfect his groundbreaking fusion theory. But when a demonstration of his creation goes horribly wrong, Dr. Octavius undergoes a terrible transformation – evolving into the powerful, multi-tentacled Doc Ock.

In Spider-Man 2, the talented and versatile Molina brings this powerful adversary to terrifying life. “He is a formidable enemy for Spider-Man,” said Arad. “He can climb walls faster and better than Spider-Man. In fact, there’s nothing Spider-Man can do that Ock cannot counteract.”

Doc Ock, one of the most popular villains of the Spider-Man comic book series, first appeared in “The Amazing Spider-Man #3,” which was published in 1963. He immediately became one of Spider-Man’s most formidable foes. According to comic lore, each of Ock’s limbs can move at speeds of up to 90 feet per second and strike with the force of a jackhammer. The extremely powerful tentacles enable him to lift a vehicle off the ground, pulverize bricks, claw through concrete walls and hover above his victims by rising into the air.

The filmmakers were eager to attract Molina for the central role. “We needed someone who brought a palpable reality to the part, and who was also sincere, had a great sense of humor and personal warmth,” said Raimi. “Alfred is a brilliant actor, and what he’s brought so effectively to the character of Doc Ock is the sense of him as a misunderstood man who has turned into a beast.”

Molina confessed, “I’ve always been a Marvel Comic fan because their characters are so interesting. They have problems. They’re very realistic.” From him, the mechanics behind the role of Doc Ock was a true education. “It was mind-boggling, the breadth and the imagination that went into how each of my character’s actions – flying across the room, crashing through a plate glass window, smashing a taxicab – was to be executed. It’s a unique way of filming that’s not like anything most of us get to do really. It’s a very particular way of working, and absolutely fascinating.”

J.K. Simmons also returns in Spider-Man 2 as Peter’s gruff boss at the Daily Bugle, J Jonah Jameson. “I fire Peter several times in this movie. Every time I see him, I fire him,” laughed Simmons. “And then I re-hire him because there’s always some pressing need for his services.”

Principal photography on Spider-Man 2 began on April 12, 2003, in New York City, where the production spent approximately three weeks shooting at various locations in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, as well as on a Yonkers stage. From ground-level street shots to rooftops high above the city, the filmmakers efficiently utilized the time they spent in New York, giving them the opportunity to expand on the city’s unique environment, which had lent such vibrancy to the first Spider-Man.

“In the first film we established New York as a character in the movie. With Spider-Man 2, we went even further,” said production designer Neil Spisak. “We used a lot more of the city, including [photographic] plates of real buildings and real streets. Improvements in technology over the past three years enabled [visual effects designer] John Dykstra and I to marry existing buildings to scenery buildings to CG buildings even better than the first time around. It’s a much more complete experience.”

“We got more of a feeling of New York in this movie,” added Ziskin. “The movie is being shot in widescreen, which is appropriate because this is a different story, so it required a different approach.”

Production began on the campus of Columbia University in uptown Manhattan, which served as the university Peter Parker attends while he struggles with the responsibilities of his academic workload and his superhero duties. The rooftop of the Hotel Intercontinental, across from the Waldorf Astoria, was the location where Spider-Man contemplates his next move, while downtown, in the Wall Street area, another rooftop served as the “launch-pad” for the Spydercam camera, as it dipped and swooped over several blocks to replicate one of Spider-Man’s high-stakes aerial journeys through the city.

“We executed one of the longest wire shots the Spydercam has ever done,” said executive producer Joseph M. Maracciolo. “The Wall Street shot was around 2,400 feet. I’m an ex New Yorker, so I didn’t find the location shoot particularly daunting. But there are always difficulties when you’re doing wire work in New York, including the placement of the cranes on the buildings, the movement of the cast, crew and equipment, and of course, the crowds.”

“It was a challenge for us to move our production to the tops of buildings, but we couldn’t have been happier, because rooftops are Spider-Man’s world and that is his view of the city as he swings through it,” noted co-producer Grant Curtis. “It was breathtaking to see the world from 70 stories up – a world unto itself. You can’t fully really appreciate the beautiful architecture of New York’s skyscrapers from ground level. We showed some of that in the first film, but we wanted to show more of Spider-Man’s vertiginous world, and I think we really captured that with this film.”

In Spider-Man 2, Doc Ock sweeps Aunt May off her feet – literally – and takes her up several stories of a tall building. Rosemary Harris performed her stunts in a variety of harnesses, but only after she had managed to talk the filmmakers into letting her give her stunt double a rest. “I was a bit miffed at first, because my wonderful stunt double was going to do a lot of these harness maneuvers,” recalled Harris. “So I asked Sam and Laura, ‘Why not let me have a go at it?’ At first they were reluctant. But I begged them to at least let me try and they finally relented.”

Returning to Los Angeles, Spider-Man 2 shot on several stages on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City. Stage 15 was home to the Daily Bugle offices, as well as Peter’s tiny apartment and Dr. Octavius’ elaborate home laboratory. On Stage 29, the Osborn mansion, where Harry Osborn now lives, was recreated. Stage 27 housed MJ’s apartment set, a giant spider web, the interior of the Planetarium, the massive clock tower set as well as various other set pieces. A series of elevated trains were built on Stage 14, where Spider-Man and Doc Ock match wits.

One of the most elaborate sets for Spider-Man 2 was the pier set, designed by Spisak and built over the course of 15 weeks on Soundstage 30. “In contrast to Dr. Octavius’ lab, which was part of his apartment – a streamlined, organized and clean space – the pier is a maniacal, decaying, decrepit space,” explained Spisak. “It follows his character development in terms of his becoming a wilder, more dangerous and more formidable adversary for Spider-Man.”

The set, approximately 60 feet wide by 120 feet long and 40 feet tall, was constructed over a water tank and enhanced by several different components, including CG/plate work and miniatures.

“Before we built the set, we created an exact ¾ scale model of it, about 7 feet long and 4 feet wide, from drawings and blueprints. The model was extremely useful to the carpenters, who could take measurements to help them construct the full-sized pier, as well as for the miniatures team, so they could ascertain the dimensions, textures and materials that were used,” explained art director Tom Wilkins. “We shot plates down in San Pedro, where we panned from a real pier to the water. In post-production a New York background was added. We also built a miniature pier – interiors and exteriors – to complete the composition on the East River.” The art department team designed a 136 foot by 40 foot-high vinyl backing to represent Ock’s view of Manhattan through a large window at the end of the pier set. Wave machines were rigged in the water to create movement under the pier.

The production then moved to the Universal backlot for two weeks of shooting. Several city streets were transformed into a variety of New York neighborhoods including the exterior of the Lyric Theatre where MJ performances in an off-Broadway production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Ari’s Village Deli and Bakery became the site of an extremely complex scene involving a quiet conversation between Peter and MJ, which is interrupted by Peter’s “spider sense” – and a car careening through the plate glass window, followed by the arrival of Doc Ock.

“It was a great luxury to be able to build that set from every aspect, so that we could do everything we needed for the scene,” said Spisak. “The walls were made of french plate so that when the car smashed through it, the buildings around it were protected. We were able to design what we thought it should look like visually, then as tricks, gags and stunts became clearer, we were able to add them to the set before it was completely finished.”

“The deli was a full, 360 degree set, with a kitchen, deli counters, pastries, ceiling fans and chandeliers,” added art director Steve Saklad, who worked closely with Spisak. “We dressed the exterior streets so that you could look out of the window and see the intersection of Lafayette Street and Astor Place. It required an enormous amount of signage, billboards, street dressing, trees and traffic lights.”

For Raimi, “The diner was a complex technical scene, because it brought together so many different departments, each relying on the other to fulfil their function and communicate with each other so that each individual shot would work. We utilized mechanical effects and the stunt department had to take an automobile, spin it and flip it through the deli window, with the prop department providing the breakaway items. What made it even more complex was that we had to fly Doc Ock in, using something we dubbed the “walk rig.”

The “walk rig” was created for Doc Ock, because the character not only moves himself, but his tentacles move him around as well. When he walks on the tentacles, they support his weight, so a device was constructed to harness him and move him through space as if the tentacles were supporting him. The visual effects department also created “virtual” tentacles where practical ones weren’t feasible.

When he was in full costume, Molina’s tentacles weighed between 75 to 100 pounds, depending upon the action required for the scene. Each of the tentacles was fully articulated. In their expanded, 13-foot length, each upper tentacle consisted of approximately 76 individual pieces Each vertabra was handmade, hand molded, sanded, individually hand painted, chromed, then painted again and assembled by hand. The entire collection of Doc Ock tentacles, bases, heads and wrists, if laid end to end, would be taller than a 20-story building.

Academy Award winning costume designer James Acheson welcomed the opportunity to further explore and improve upon the already classic Spider-Man costume for Spider-Man 2. “Creating the Spider-Man suit for the first film was a real challenge since we were designing for a kind of Cirque du Soleil acrobat, someone who had a unbelievable kinetic spiraling ability,” he said. “So the suit had to be extremely flexible. For the new installment we made several improvements, though you’d have to be a real enthusiast to spot them. The colors are slightly different, and we have made subtle changes in terms of the movement inside the costume’s hood. We also adjusted the eyepieces of Spider-Man’s mask as well as certain aspects of the spider design on the front and the back of the suit.”

For Spider-Man 2’s Doc Ock, Acheson and Raimi spent close to a year collaborating with Spisak and visual effects designer John Dykstra and working with Edge FX in what began as a series of “group think” sessions, according to Raimi. “I needed John Dykstra’s input, because it was John who was going to have to handle Doc Ock’s movements in CG, so he had to be involved in designing the character, along with Jim, who was going to determine the look of the character,” recalled Raimi. “Part of the look determined the movement, and what the arms look like began to govern how it functioned. Neil was involved because Ock had to be a part of Neil’s world in the film. A great interdependence developed among the department heads in order to achieve the complex nature and physicality of the character,”

“The challenge with Doc Ock is to visually create a believable world, focusing on a man with four tentacles growing out of his back,” said Spisak. “Now, that can be a tough swallow. So, in creating Ock and his world, we needed to design and play it so that everything was credible. Ove the course of several months, it became clear what was physically possible for Ock and what would have to be achieved via CG. We conceptualized the look and only then did we deal with the physical limitations, rather than letting them stop us at the beginning.”

Added Dykstra: “It was a huge challenge to make Doc Ock come to life. His tentacles had to meet several criteria. They had to be appropriate with regard to the world Neil had created for Spider-Man and Ock. The components of the costume – the texture and the weight – had to bed something an actor could actually wear. Since using the tentacles wasn’t always practical, we had to create ‘virtual’ versions with Edge FX. In the end, integrating the tentacles into the story was a marriage of all those components and the collaboration of everyone involved.”

Spisak and his team designed and dressed more than 100 sets and locations for Spider-Man 2. “There are probably 10 enormous sets, while some are simply street corners. We covered eleven blocks in downtown Los Angeles and used many rooftops, streets and buildings in New Yorj City,” noted Spisak. “This is certainly the biggest film I’ve ever done.”

Spisak worked with director of photography Bill Pope on the color palette for the sets, and they pored over research and location pictures to inspire them for the story’s lighting requirements. “In the first film, Peter Parker was younger, less aware and just beginning to discover his new powers. That was reflected in the overall look of the movie,” said Spisak. “With this film, he has been Spider-Man for a while, so his frustration over how to deal with his life versus his duty is more complex. That’s reflected in the color palette and the tone of this film – it’s a little more sophisticated, more complicated and deeper, in terms of color and look.”

Among the tools Dykstra and his team utilized to achieve the shots presenting Spider-Man’s point-of-view, while he is soaring over the city, was Earl Wiggins’ Spydercam. During the New York portion of the shoot, the specialized camera was launched using a remote-controlled computer suspended on a cable from a Wall Street-area rooftop more than 30 stories in the air, which recorded what DSpider-Man saw as he swung over the city. The camera traveled along a line suspended over four blocks, dipping down into the street and over the tops of several blocks of vehicles and background art that had been placed for the sequence.

“We were dropping the camera and moving it up and down over the course of the shot to follow Spider-Man’s trajectory as he swings through the arch, releasing a web, and shooting a new web as he swings into the traffic below,” explained Dykstra.

“One of the successes of the first film was the empathy the audience had for the main character. He was very sympathetic,” Dykstra said, “This movie explores the character in greater depth, and in terms of the visual effects, we’re hoping to give audiences an event more intimate sense of what it’s like to be Spider-Man. In the first film, we get to fly with him. The idea here is to make the flying sequences poetic enough and evocative enough that you will get an even stronger sense of what it’s like to fly like Spider-Man.”

That approach is reinforced by Raimi, said Ziskin, “One of the really striking aspects about Sam is that he is the audience for this film. He makes the movie for the audience, identifies with the characters and is always aware of the rhythms and how each sequence will play – both to him and the other members of the audience. That makes him the perfect director for this kind of material. Also, he’s at a point in his directing career where he’s at the top of his game. He is brilliant technically, but also works extraordinarily well with the actors. Ultimately, his personal connection to Peter Parker and the other main characters is a great gift to the audience.”

“These are tough, scary times and during such periods we look to heroic stories to give us hope,” noted Raimi. “Maybe that has something to do with why the audience was so taken with Spider-Man when he first appeared two years ago. With Spider-Man 2, I truly hope that audiences will feel that they’re seeing a love story, that they’re participating in another episode of Peter Parker’s life and are seeing the challenges and conflicts he faces and how he overcomes them. I hope it will leave them feeling uplifted and exhilarated.”

#spider-man #spider-man 2 #sam raimi #avi arad #laura ziskin #tobey maguire #kirsten dunst #alfred molina #rosemary harris #jk simmons #interviews #behind the scenes #concept art #peter parker #aunt may parker #mary jane watson #doc ock #j jonah jameson #set design

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rinisbowen · 2 years ago

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curious about your take on matt’s story. have a fear that it’s hinting at him wanting to have a career bts as a director and that tim will attempt to keep him in the show as miss jenn’s assistant director next school year.

there are a few reasons why i don’t like that at all. 1) i feel like it sort of takes carlos’s role as miss jenn’s right hand man and gives it to ej as a reason to stick around. yeah, carlos is a choreographer and he’s interested in starring now, but i feel like his relationship with miss jenn was unique to him and the show. also, i feel like there’s this thing with this show where they try to make everyone change their initial interests (yay, growth!) as a life lesson, but its also normal for someone to know what they’re passionate about and stick with it. one thing i didn’t like in s2 was that everyone besides nini was involved in the play. think it would’ve been cool to see big red wanting to know more about tech and mazzara could’ve mentored him.

anyway, i just got completely off track, but ej potentially wanting to be a director is such an obvious plot device to keep him in the show. they could’ve atleast developed this way better in s2b after he got rejected from the colleges but they decided to put all that on the back burner in favor for relationship drama for him.

another reason i would hate it is if they continue pw. i’m sorry, but i’m uncomfortable with the shift in power dynamics in that situation. ej would be in a position of power and be dating a student (basically his student if he’s a hired assistant director). it just gives me the ick. and what growth does that show if he sticks around his high school. with his high school attending friends, with his girlfriend who’s in high school?

hi anon! thanks for the ask, i really love talking in depth about these things. i find it to be a lot of fun!

honestly- for my personal take on matt's story, i think i'm best off making a separate post explaining my thoughts, but the gist is i think it's potentially something about his sort of getting ready to grow up and such maybe? but i'll explain it better later when i get a chance haha.

i do think the directing / miss jenn's assistant director path for ej is definitely a strong possibility, regardless of whether it's what they're going for with the 'becoming something different' thing. i think it's good to remember though that ej spent a single episode filming something, and it's notable to me he also wasn't the one to organize any of the you ain't seen nothing video stuff. if they wanted him to do filmmaking, they could've easily given him a nod in that episode to him being involved in maybe the editing (which big red did) or any part of the planning / organization process. gina did say he did a great job with the video he made in 2.05 when they talk in 2.08, which could potentially point to this all coming back, but i think as much as this is an easy thing to do, it is just something a lot of the fandom's theorized at this point, and not a guarantee by any means. we don't even know if ej likes film- the whole point of 2.05 was for him to focus on other people than himself, not actually be physically behind the camera. is that an easy thing to extend the metaphor on? yes. but it's just a theory still. we don't know for a fact this is where they're going with ej.

now to your points of potential distaste, because i think you raise some very good arguments here.

i agree with you that the bond carlos has with miss jenn, particularly in season 1, but also in season 2, is fairly special amongst the group. in season 2, miss jenn bonds with nini a bit in 2.04, which was a nice moment (and foreshadowing for season 3's musical), but the relationship miss jenn has with carlos in particular is the closest of the whole theatre group. theoretically, it should be the sm, natalie, who's miss jenn's right hand, because that's how it works in theatre, but carlos, as choreographer, has that role on this show, and that's just something we accept haha. to make ej the assistant director for east high's theatre department would definitely put him closer to miss jenn (at least in a professional sense), and i think that'd perhaps be a hard pill for carlos to swallow, which actually could be an interesting character thing for him, but we shall see how it goes.

as a slight tangent- making carlos want to act a lot more from here on out, after canonically in season 2 he only did it to be able to potentially win an award, will bug me a bit. carlos definitely wants to shine, and he does, but he seems vastly more confident choreographing than being on stage himself. look at how shaken up he was in 2.11? he clearly prefers the control of his role behind the scenes. but i mean it's obvious a lot of the time this show is created by people who were actors and not techies in theatre in school, so y'know, it's not shocking they want to push all of the kids into on stage roles. it's easier to write about. like you bring up big red- and that's a fantastic example. he absolutely could've been a tech focused character, and that could be a lot of fun actually, but in fairness i'm sure once they learned larry could tap dance they were like oh we definitely have to use that and lean into it. carlos and big red could've just been techies, that's totally totally a great thing to be. like the being sure of and then sticking to your passions thing is less applicable to big red bc red didn't go into this like- totally wanting to tech a musical, but carlos especially. would it be so bad if he was satisfied being a choreographer?

exploring new interests is fun, and not everyone does know what they want, but i think sometimes the show forgets that it's okay to have drive in one specific area. the idea of ambition is usually looked down upon, when truly as long as you take ambition as drive and apply it in a positive way, it's not an inherently bad thing to be ambitious and passionate. nini's the only character who's been allowed to be truly ambitious in the sense of deeply and wholeheartedly pursuing her big dreams, but i'd argue that's likely due to the fact she doesn't tend to believe in herself so much necessarily, so it's more emotionally loaded when she achieves things for herself. (even if it doesn't turn out how she expected when she does).

if they make him aspire towards directing, they'll need to grow that interest in season 3, because he did seem to be having a good time in 2.05 making the video, and it did turn out well according to gina, but they didn't spend much time on showing any real development of a true interest. it was more of a teachable moment than a fleshed out thing, beyond him somehow becoming president of the av club in what can't have been more than a few weeks haha. as a note: i don't consider his being an anchor on the morning show a development towards him wanting to make films- that's him being in front of the camera again, even if they do have their one bit that we see focusing on nini's song blowing up, the slideshow of photos focused on him and gina being the intro to the morning show tends towards the self-focus that mazarra was in theory trying to guide him away from by suggesting he try being behind the camera. (that said it does fall into 'telling stories'- which mazarra mentions in 2.04- when ej interviews nini)

but yeah idk- i think there is definitely time to prove this is what he wants to do during season 3, if it is the case that he goes in this direction, but they are going to have to dedicate time to it. i think the majority of ej's arc this season has to be about him coming into his own and finding out what he wants going forward. if they use directing as a way to keep him more involved on the show, and don't develop it right, yeah- it'll probably feel like more of a plot device. like you say- in 2b, which is when he started properly having screentime this season, he didn't have a lot of personal focus so much as it was involved with gina. the good thing there, is that they tied a lot of that into his personal arc, but they could've for sure done more with his actual future- considering they ended that with the no duke thing, without getting into what that means he will do. we could've seen ej contemplating that a bit at the end like particularly to go with his 'senior moment'.

(also like- the writers know that unless you're taking a semester off or planning on going to a community college you are required to make your college decision by may 1st right? by the time season 3's timeline begins he should technically already be decided, but for show purposes he won't be i'd assume.)

i'll try to keep my thoughts on this semi brief- but i agree with you on this, and it's why i actually have been concerned about the ej potentially coming back and working at east high idea since people started talking about it ages ago. it's also why i feel a bit weird about him being a counselor in terms of that relationship (and have been saying since the season was announced to be a summer camp that they probably should avoid that), but his working at ehs is worse. if they want me entirely on board with this relationship, they cannot put him in a real position of authority over his girlfriend. like the counselor thing would feel better if she were going into senior year rather than junior year, but that aside, him working at the school would be... a lot. it's going to bother me if they go there too, so please know you're not alone. like the power dynamic shift you mention is for sure a potential issue. if they frame it carefully enough, maybe they'll get away with it, but it's still a concern. it gives me the ick too haha

the last part about his growth is slightly more complicated for me... because ej's arc trends towards him connecting with other people- and being satisfied with genuine connections and genuine emotions rather than trophies and being mr. perfect with his flashy ivy league (duke isn't technically an ivy but it's close) acceptance and such... so if we take away the hanging around the high school when he's graduated aspect, it would be a positive thing for ej to keep his strong connections with the wildcats even as his world expands. i don't think that needs to be through working on the musicals with them though. i think it's good to like- evolve past high school, and for him to have new connections and find himself in a new environment would be great to have, because i think that would allow ej to perhaps gain a sense of himself disconnected from places associated with all the ways he wasn't being as genuine... but this requires them to down his screen time, given they cannot logically show ej at college much if at all, with the show's focus being the east high theatre department. they'd realistically try to tie him in primarily through relationships with ashlyn as his cousin, and gina as his girlfriend + him coming to support the group at bigger things, particularly if his college is semi-local.

ej finding a group of people that accept him for himself is important, given how much he's put on a front, and i think it's not necessarily a disservice to the character to keep him in utah, but i think him working at east high does deprive him of the opportunity to carve his own path that isn't so tethered to his past. (if we see any degree of regression from him in season 3 with being back at camp {if this is the same camp he's gone to prior} i think that will lend towards him leaving slc for school)

there are levels to this. it's in some ways a question of would you rather see a bigger progression of opportunity for ej with him maybe guest starring and we hear about him a bit from the others- or would you rather see a lot more of ej but have him confined to salt lake. i think there are good and bad ways to keep ej in slc, and i think there are ways he can grow and be in slc... but there is for sure a certain sense in which the character could have more. (but then it's the question of does he want more- which the ej we knew in season 1 definitely would, but while i don't see ambition as bad, maybe ej's ambition to go beyond this town would be seen as him regressing in that way? i disagree with that concept, but y'know, this show typically frowns upon ambitious tendencies.)

#hsmtmts #ej caswell #portwell negative #//sorta?#//as a warning this isn't negative on the ship mentioned but it does discuss it in a way that would be... negative? idk idk idk #answered #anonymous #//i never know whether i should put stuff in the tags or not but i'll just do it anyway #//even though people are talking about people 'writing dissertations' or whatever like i don't care i find analysis fun #//like there's a reason i'm in cla haha #hsmtmts: ej caswell

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according-to-the-laura · 3 years ago

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StackedNatural Day 159: 2x18, 13x19

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

April 19, 2022

2x18: Hollywood Babylon

Written by: Ben Edlund

Directed by: Phil Sgriccia

Original air date: April 19, 2007

Plot Synopsis:

Sam and Dean discover that a group of ghosts are attempting to shut down production of a movie that they feel is mocking them.

Features:

The biggest soundstage in the world, Dean’s crush on Matt Damon, an interfering producer, Dean as a PA, summoning a ghost to do your dirty work, an ancient motorola phone camera, the world’s most determined B-List horror movie.

My Thoughts:

This is just a fun little episode where Dean does a silly little job. Also, it’s maybe the happiest we’ll ever see him except for 10 minutes in the middle of Tombstone?

People have been talking on Tumblr for years about how Dean would be fixed if he could just quit hunting to go be competent in a job where he gets to be part of a team, and this is why. He could literally quit hunting and con himself into a very successful career in film production. It’s really fun to see him being such a nerd and so unreservedly enthusiastic, and I love how it’s carried all the way through to Mint Condition in season 14.

A fun way to be sad is to think about how we just watched a season 10 episode where Dean said he’d never been to the beach. They were IN LA and he wanted to go to a beach and had to work and then he never got another chance to go to a beach. Also, do NOT think about A Complete Kingdom.

I like Tara, it’s rare that a female character in a monster of the week episode isn’t a complete stereotype. They could have made her a classic starlet that was a real bitch but instead she’s just a normal lady doing her job even if she doesn’t like it that much. The polaroids are cute, too.

The best part about watching this episode is that Dean has already been all over the news for theoretically robbing a bank and he still hooked up with a movie star on set. Icon.

Notable Lines:

“You know nothing of your cultural heritage, do you?”

“What's a P.A.?” “ I think they're kind of like slaves.”

“You know, I thought you hated being a P.A.” “I don't know. It's not so bad. I kind of feel like part of the team, you know?”

“You know, maybe the spirits are trying to shut down the movie 'cause they think it sucks.”

“You are one hell of a P.A.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 8.6

IMdB Rating: 8.5

13x19: Funeralia

Written by: Steve Yockey

Directed by: Nina Lopez-Corrado

Original air date: April 19, 2018

Plot Synopsis:

Sam and Dean must stop Rowena, who is on a deadly mission. Meanwhile, Castiel looks to heaven to recruit angels for an impending invasion but is shocked by not only what he finds, but who.

Features:

Rowena’s powerful sense of the dramatic, Jessica the baby monitor-Reaper, Reaper assassinations, the machinery of Death, Death’s notebooks, Naomi’s return, Big Pharma as the real monsters, Rowena confronting Death.

My Thoughts:

This isn’t my favourite Yockey episode, but even still it’s got lots of good stuff in it. Tons of Samwena straight-bait, A little sprinkling of Billiewena for spice. Cas being called handsome.

The A plot and the B plot line up really nicely in this episode with the thematic understanding that we can’t control everything and we can’t win every time.

I have a theory that Yockey’s Dean is happier than a lot of other writers. Even when he’s drinking (flirting) in the kitchen with Cas and the world is gone to shit, he’s a bit lighter. I like seeing that in his interactions with Cas.

I really like Rowena the more she shifts to the good guys’ team (which is rare, come to think of it - I usually think it ruins a villain to turn good). The alley scene fucks extremely hard. She gets a lot of space to have her emotions explored and I love the mutual misery between her and Sam when they learn about her fate.

In terms of fate, this is a nice gentle way to start setting God up as the ultimate villain - they didn’t tear up the script at the end of season 5 like they’ve always been told. Chuck has brought fate back.

I love Yockey making all of the angel death (and genocide) matter, in a way it should have since season 7 but was overlooked. I like Naomi too, so it’s fun to see her back around. All of the Heaven stuff does make me wish that the finale had been about abolishing afterlives and allowing souls to return to the universe.

Notable Lines:

“Ah, the handsome angel is there, isn’t he? Hello tweety pie.”

“ you stole my memories, and you threatened to "tear me apart," and you made me repeatedly act out Dean Winchester’s murder, and you killed many, many people.” “Those were simpler times.”

“There are a grand total of nine angels in Heaven, present company included,”

“Sometimes life is unfair, and sometimes we lose things. And sometimes we make mistakes. And some of these things can never be fixed, no matter how powerful you become. Some things just are, and everyone has to live with that.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 8.2

IMdB Rating: 8.2

In Conclusion: We are just over a month away from the end of Stacked. The light at the end of the tunnel.

<< Previous Day | Next Day >>

#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #2x18 #Hollywood Babylon #13x19 #Funeralia

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risingphoenix761 · 3 years ago

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Phoenix and the Kubrick-a-thon

Back in....February? March? Let's go with March. Anyway, back in March, I decided I needed to stop watching The Shining so goddamn much and instead try to branch out and expand my movie watching horizons. And instead of tackling the list of horror flicks I'd been putting together since August that's m i l e s long, I figured it wasn't too much of a leap to work my way through the rest of Stanley Kubrick's filmography. I mean, I'd only been watching The Shining relentlessly since September, right? And since I'm now halfway there (cue Bon Jovi), now seems like as good a time as any to ramble about it. No analysis, just opinions under a cut because this is going to take awhile. And because I like to torture myself, I'm going to try to pick my top moments.

The Shining

This stupid movie has infected my brain. Nowhere NEARLY as badly as the conspiracy theorists, but still. If we're close enough that I feel comfortable rambling at you, you've heard me mention this movie at least five times over the last eight months. I honestly can't remember my first opinion of it, but safe to say that it has CHANGED. Holy SHIT. This is a long ass movie that I feel absolutely none of the run time because there is always something going on. The camera work, the art direction, the music, the performances, all of it. I didn't find it all that scary or even creepy the first couple times I watched it, and now it gets to me more and more the more I come back to it. A full-on ramble could take up its own post, tbh. The geeking out and the occasional existential crisis and the rampant enthusiasm are too much to cram into one paragraph. The long and short of it is, it's pretty safe to say this is one of my favorite movies.

Top moments: 95% of the movie if we're serious but Danny riding the big wheel, Jack walking to the Gold Room, the Bat Scene™, "Here's Johnny" (ofc)

A Clockwork Orange

Funny story, I ended up watching this for the first time after a friend of mine told me something I wrote reminded her of this movie. If you've seen it, you can imagine the WTF running through my head afterwards. And somehow, it's even more fucked up on a revisit. It's interesting to note this is Kubrick's low budget movie, because it seems to be one of the first that comes up when talking about his body of work. IDK, that's just amusing to me. Visually, it's a trip. Thematically, it's a doozy. Which is worse, a violent individual committing all sorts of atrocities for fun, or state sanctioned violence that strips an individual of their free will? The cinematography and design are, again, distinctive, but what sticks out the most to me is Malcolm MacDowell's performance. He's despicable but charismatic and I want to look away but I just. Can't. Do. It. I loathe Alex and his crimes are horrifying, but I don't enjoy watching him get his comeuppance, and yet the way it's portrayed is all horribly mesmerizing/surreal/cartoonish. A tough watch, but a brilliant film.

Top moments: Alex and his droogs' first meeting with the drunk, Alex's second meeting with the writer

Dr. Strangelove, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb

I'm a big fan of irony, so I dug this movie. I also don't think I've watched anything that made me facepalm more. It's just so ABSURD. And by highlighting the absurdity, it makes it easier to laugh at what is truly a horrifying concept. In summary, one nut job decides to launch a nuke and jump start nuclear war because he has a weird conspiracy theory, and the most powerful figures on the world stage are utterly incompetent to stop it. It's frustrating as hell, and fucking hilarious, and that ending is just the icing on the cake. As far as comedies go, this one is DARK.

Top moments: "You can't fight in here! This is the war room!" and any time Peter Sellars is on screen.

Full Metal Jacket

*sigh* Y'know, if you've seen one war movie, you've pretty much seen them all. That said, it does feel like two different movies, though it still didn't do much for me. At this point in my watch-a-thon, though, I'd picked up enough of Kubrick's style to read it, in terms of what the camera is doing and how character arcs progress, which was pretty cool. However, I reeeeaaaally don't understand why I've only heard this movie mentioned as being an uber-macho, by-dudes-for-dudes flick about guys being dudes, because....that is NOT the reading I got. If it's not Sgt. Hartman during basic training, then it's the door gunner shooting down random civilians or the Marines being interviewed that seem to hammer in the idea that war breaks down your humanity and leaves you a mindless killing machine. It's easy to see Hartman as the antagonist of the first half, and very hard to sympathize with the soldiers in the second, and unless I'm missing something in my reading, that's how it's supposed to be. Which gives the ending more of an impact, if you ask me, when one last killing is, given the situation, the most humane action that could be taken. Not a bad movie, but not my cup of tea.

Top moments: Private Pyle's...er...DOR, and Joker's response to the sniper reveal

The Killing

Back to our good friend Irony. This is one of Kubrick's earlier movies, and it shows quite a bit in the mechanics of the film. The story itself, on the other hand... I don't really have too much to say about this one. It's a straightforward heist movie with some fun moments and some aspects that just don't work very well. I was occasionally entertained, and occasionally bored. I'll give points for the ending, though, as I couldn't stop laughing until the credits were over. Again, the IRONY.

Top moments: the final scene

Lolita

Watching this was easily one of the ickiest viewing experiences I've had so far, full stop. Made even worse by the fact that this is a good movie. Which makes it really. Frigging. Hard. To talk about. You probably know at least the general premise of one of thee Problematic™ novels some people love to wring their hands over, and in case you don't: a middle aged man becomes obsessed with his landlady's young daughter, and it gets gross fast. Apparently there was all kinds of trouble adapting it in a way that appeased the censors, and gee whiz, I wonder why. It's also one of those cases when working backward from a twist actually works. The cast is excellent, and while I'd never heard of Peter Sellars before starting this watch project, I might have to look up more of his work, because dude can steal a scene. All in all, a beautifully made and perfectly nauseating flick. I mean, damn.

Top moments: the opening scene, Charlotte finding Humbert's diary

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that'll wrap it up for now. Only six more to go!

#kubrick a thon #phoenix watches movies #stanley kubrick #the shining #a clockwork orange #dr strangelove #full metal jacket #the killing #lolita

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sevenkittensinatrenchcoat · 4 years ago

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1998 Film Tugger Rewatch Part 5

This part will run long entirely because of Misto’s number.

So, after Old Deuteronomy is kidnapped, Tugger disappears from his Perch only to return right after the Macavity fight. Where was he? Well, I have my theory:

When Macavity left with Old Deuteronomy, all the toms went after him, but he was nowhere in sight, so they divided the party to search in different directions. Tugger and Misto somehow ended up alone together and figured out that Old Deuteronomy was somewhere too well-guarded for them to just go there and get him back. Tugger suggested that Misto should just teleport him back, but Misto had never done that before and got nervous. He usually doesn’t lack confidence in his magical abilities, but he normally uses magic just to perform. There have never been actually stakes before. Tugger isn’t sure if Misto can do this either, but they’re desperate, so they have to try anything that could possibly work. Tugger decides to go back to the junkyard and hype Misto up a bit. Misto will be right behind him, waiting for the signal. Tugger had already planned to put on a show for Misto as a sort of Grand Romantic Gesture, but now it’s also a plan to get Old Deuteronomy back.

Before Tugger says “Please! Listen to me.” there’s this awkward cut and he’s speaking as if he’s trying to raise his voice over everyone talking. I think the rest of the tribe was supposed to have responded to his suggestion like, “Mistoffelees? The tuxedo kitten? You’re kidding! He’s a stage magician, at best!”. But, no one says anything, even though Tugger acts like they did.

This is also another bit where John Partridge and Tyler Hanes can be compared and contrasted. Hanes Tugger yells the entire “Listen to me and don’t scoff!” while Patridge only yells the initial “Please!” And speaks the rest softly. They also pace the line differently:

Partridge: “Please! Listen to me. And don’t scoff.”

Hanes: “Please! Listen to me and don’t scoff!”

When Tugger starts singing and putting on a show, he comes down from his Perch and goes over to the kittens. It feels like he’s partially aiming the song at them. They’re all his fans, so they love seeing him perform, but the adults are the ones he needs to convince to give Mistoffelees a chance. Tugger found yet another purpose for the song here. I think he’s actually trying to use the number to distract the kittens from everything that’s happened.

Think about it. The kittens most likely hadn’t even heard of Macavity before tonight. Suddenly, this big, feral cat who looks like a monster comes in, scares even the adults, kidnaps the leader of their tribe, someone they’d probably see as invulnerable, and attacks and injures the adult most in charge of physically protecting them. Munkustrap is the one who’s supposed to keep them safe but Macavity is stronger than him. They’ve also seen Macavity attempt to kidnap one of the queens and even strike two of the kittens themselves. And Old Deuteronomy’s still missing. AND all the power’s out now. The dark makes everything scarier. This is a pretty traumatic thing for kittens to go through.

But, Tugger speaks up. He’s calm. He’s confident. He has a plan. And then he puts on a show for the kittens, so now it’s like they’re at a rock concert. Tugger basically shows up, and makes everything the kittens are afraid of look like no big deal.

And Presto! It looks like everything’s going to be okay.

So, a lot of what I have to say about this number I already said in the Mistoffelees rewatch, but there are a few more things.

Like this sparkly finger waggle. That’s a thing. Also, this is set-up for another lightning bolt. Misto’s gonna zap Tugger, apparently. Though, the special effects make the lightning bolts look pretty deadly, so maybe not. He was probably going to zap something right next to Tugger to make sure he still had his attention.

And then the zap doesn’t work. At least he still has Tugger’s attention despite his powers not working.

And then they start working a little too well. Tugger realizes that Old Deuteronomy’s life depends on a walking fire hazard. He didn’t come up with this plan ENTIRELY to get laid, but he’s still wondering if the plan is good for anything else. Actually, if it doesn’t work and they don’t get Old Deuteronomy back, then the “get laid” part of the plan probably won’t work either.

Well...I guess we’ll move on to the second verse then...Let’s just pretend that didn’t happen.

Tugger doesn’t know why Misto doesn’t want him to talk about the kittens. He thought that was awesome. He can CREATE LIFE whenever he feels like it! If either one of them wants kids someday, they can be summoned out of a hat.

Tugger hopes that Misto drawing a rainbow ring around him with magic is a good sign.

He’s got a kitten on each arm (Electra is hidden behind Misto) and they’re both watching Misto instead of obsessing over him! At this rare, Misto might have a fanclub of his own before the sun rises.

When it’s time to actually Do the Thing, Tugger runs around making sure that everything is perfect and nothing will go wrong. He makes the kittens stand back and tells the chaos twins that they’d better not try any bullshit. They weren’t going to, but he had to make sure.

And it actually works. Tugger wasn’t sure if it would, but he got his dad back. This is as close to a hug as Tugger is willing to go for.

“Hey dad, you know, Misto, right? He’s cute, he’s sparkly, he’s a great dancer, and also he saved your life with his magical miracle powers. Can I keep him?”

Okay, onward to Memory. But, there’s an interesting bit right before that:

Look at the right side of the picture. Tugger is there. On the ground. He’s not the center of attention, but he’s not on his Perch. You NEVER see him do anything like this at any other time.

Meanwhile, I think Alonzo might’ve been so impressed by Misto’s magic that he’s hitting on a tom for a change. Misto is ignoring him.

When they all gather around Old Deuteronomy, Misto sits down next to Tugger. Tugger normally doesn’t sit next to anybody, but I think he might’ve stayed on the ground just for that. Neither one really wants to make a scene but they’re both casually implying that they’re a Thing now.

When Grizabella shows up, Misto is the first to notice, which is nothing new. But, instead of the psychic twins being the next to immediately notice, at least with the camera close up on them, Tugger appears to be the second to notice, because Misto gets up and he has to know why.

Most of the cats make a big show of shunning Grizabella in this scene. A few of them hiss at her, Victoria tries to touch her again, Jellylorum yanks her away again, but that’s about it. Well, except for Tugger. The first time Grizabella showed up, Tugger stormed off. The second time, he basically did the feline equivalent of flipping her off and stormed off again. This time, he actually approaches her, and though still antagonistic, he basically tells her to go on ahead. If she has something to say, she should just say it already.

Tugger’s reactions to Grizabella are negative, but a bit different from the other cats and he’s basically giving her a chance here. I see Tugger as one of the younger adult cats, older than Misto, Jerrie, or Teazer, but younger than many of the other adults. I’ve got the timeline as Grizabella having left the tribe around two years prior to the events of the story. The seven kittens hadn’t been born yet. The youngest adults were alive, but too young to remember anything, so Grizabella recognizes Misto, but he doesn’t recognize her. Tugger was also a kitten when she left, but he was old enough to know who she was. He was most likely old enough to know that something bad happened, but too young to understand exactly what was happening and the adults never explained.

He doesn’t hate Grizabella because of The Incident. He hates that she keeps interrupting the ball, crashing the party, often stealing his spotlight. She keeps showing up and just hanging around without making much of a point and Tugger finds her annoying. That, combined with the fact that older cats don’t like her, is enough to get him to shun her.

But, Memory happens, Grizabella makes her point and she’s back in the tribe.

Tugger hangs back as various cats come up to welcome and apologize to Grizabella. Maybe he’s a bit too proud to apologize. I’m not sure. There probably just wasn’t enough time or space to show everyone interacting with Grizabella after Memory.

And when it’s Heaviside Layer Time, Tugger goes back to keeping his distance, though he doesn’t get all the way up onto his Perch. He just stands on the car. He participates in the song, so he clearly agrees with the Jellicle Choice, but it feels like something’s still bothering him. So, when the play ends, Tugger’s story isn’t quite finished yet. But, with so many stories to tell, they can’t all finish on time.

#cats 1998 #rum tum tugger #mr mistoffelees #grizabella #tuggoffelees #alonzo has cassandra and still thinks he can't get laid #the unfinished story of tugger

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