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marvella15 · 4 years ago

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Astaire & Rogers Rewatch Part 3: Roberta

• The Gay Divorcee was a smash hit, raking in almost $600k in profit for RKO during the Depression. It was also nominated for Best Picture. So then why are Astaire and Rogers not the headliners for Roberta? No clue.

• As dumb as that decision was and is, in some ways, it makes their parts even more enjoyable. As the secondary pair, they don’t have to deal with misunderstandings and contrived plot devices keeping them apart or interfering with the development of their relationship. From the moment they’re on screen together, they’re a pair.

• Their romance in Roberta is of two teenage sweethearts reuniting as adults and instantly falling back in step and in love with one another. The warmth and friendliness of their relationship, which I believe mirrors the true relationship between Astaire and Rogers in many ways, is one of the main reasons I adore this film. There are several scenes/moments where they seem to be themselves and it works perfectly.

• Our characters/actors: Huck (Fred Astaire), Lizzie (Ginger Rogers), John (Randolph Scott), Stephanie (Irene Dunne).

• Love their names in this film: Huck (short for Huckleberry) and Liz. A vast improvement, especially for Rogers who has so far been Honey and Mimi.

• Of course for plot reasons Huck’s teenage sweetheart will be in the exact same place he ends up. But it’s worth noting that he requests for John to ask his aunt about Lizzie. He intends to look her up himself.

• Could John be a himbo?? He’s handsome, kinda dumb, but very kind.

• I like how Liz, in her alter ego as a Polish countess, continues throwing a tantrum even though John pushes her to the couch twice. Rogers doesn’t get enough credit for her slapstick abilities. She also somehow makes the word “orchestra” seem very suggestive.

• Love how Huck slides in towards the elevator in his hast to meet Lizzie again. She’s not mad to see him either, only worried he’ll blow her cover. Which he immediately almost does.

• A snarky reunion:

Liz, as the Countess: “Huck is for Huckleberry, n’est-ce pas?”

Huck: “Uhh yes, a couple of n’est-ce pas.”

• His face at being called a piccolo player is only bested by Liz’s barely concealed glee at Huck being demoted this way. In their first interaction, he calls her babe, toots, and playfully bites her hand and she puffs smoke right in his face. I love it.

Not for nothing, later in the film he will also call John babe and toots. Huck is an equal opportunity complimenter.

• Their relationship is established immediately as he celebrates her success and beauty. There’s no rivalry or obstacles between them, not even her stage name. While she is careful to remove her hand from between his when their private moment is interrupted, she doesn’t mind it being known she’s going off somewhere with him.

• Irene Dunne has a fine singing voice but it’s just not what I came to this movie to hear.

• Huck’s face as he watches Liz sing is adorable. Maybe a tad overdone but incredibly sweet.

(gif credit @themaladjustedjester)

• It’s a bit irritating that Rogers is forced to sing and speak in her fake Polish accent for most of the film but dang she does an amazing job with this song. It’s a full-body performance and she does it with gusto.

• I adore the way Astaire tosses the baton over his shoulder as soon as she comes to sit with him. He’s just like, don’t need that anymore.

• So cute as they reminisce about their younger years:

Liz: “You know I think I was in love with you then, Huck.”

Huck: “I know you were.”

Liz, mildly offended: “Youuuu.”

Huck: “Meeee. And what’s more, I was madly in love with you.”

• Their entire exchange is funny and wonderful. The teasing, the flirting, the declaration of past love for one another that is obviously still true. How he punctuates certain moments with a bit of tap for emphasis. They smile naturally and it feels like two friends talking. This could be AU Fred and Ginger’s real-life story and I would believe it.

• Talking about how she won a beauty contest:

Liz: “Well, you won it for me. How did you get all the men from the overall factory to vote for me?”

Huck, very pleased with himself: “That was easy. I showed them a picture of Lillian Russell.”

Liz, incensed: “Lillian Russell? Well what was the matter with my picture?”

Huck: “Well if you must know, we got a lot of votes from the farmers with a picture of a prize heifer.”

Liz, about to playfully sock him: “Oh youuuu.”

• “I’ll Be Hard to Handle” is a special dance for many reasons including that the taps were not dubbed over later. Since they used the original sound, we can hear both Astaire and Rogers giggling and whooping throughout the dance.

Usually, Astaire recorded the taps in post-production since the sound could not pick them up very well during filming. Hermes Pan, Astaire’s choreography partner, often recorded Rogers’ taps since she was typically off filming a different movie by then.

• Astaire often gets a lot of the credit for their dancing because he worked tirelessly on the choreography. Rogers was often away filming non-musical roles while he did this. She was in three other films in 1935 alone, in addition to both Roberta and Top Hat with Astaire. But she put in a lot of hard work too. While filming those other roles, she learned the choreography from Pan so when she showed up for the six weeks of rehearsal, she was prepared.

• And somehow this number feels perfectly spontaneous. At the start, as he pulls her in, she looks at him flirtatiously and it’s not acting. She waits for him to come spin them around and of course it’s part of the choreography but it’s a lovely feeling of anticipation all the same. Several times they appear lost in their own world, dancing for one another. They also seem to be talking to one another quietly throughout most of the dance. Like before in their films, you can see the acting start and stop pretty clearly.

• When one of them does a little extra dance, the other watches in true appreciation and delight. Again, not acting. Most instances where they make eye contact they look very pleased with themselves. This is the closest we’ll ever get to seeing what Astaire and Rogers were like in rehearsals, complete with the in-joke bugle call.

• To understand better the moments of reality vs. acting, just look at the sequence where they challenge each other and argue using different dance steps. All acting. Then look at their faces immediately after this sequence ends and they enter the final moments of the dance. All them.

Side note: don’t miss how Astaire claps his hands together to make the smacking noise when she slaps him.

• While watching a private fashion show, John and Huck dislike a gorgeous black satin gown that’s low cut and with an almost completely open back because they think it’s too revealing. But later Rogers is going to wear almost this same gown and will look marvelous in it during the “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” dance.

• After selecting a new gown, Liz teases Huck that “tall, handsome gentleman with large bank accounts will be asking for my telephone number. And getting it.” He replies, “And won’t they be surprised when I answer?”

• Upon hearing that John’s terrible ex, who has just arrived to undump him now that he’s rich and famous, will be leaving on Saturday, Huck departs with this line: “Goodbye, John. I’ll see you Sunday.”

• Irene Dunne definitely enjoys her few seconds of being spun around with Astaire. But who wouldn’t?

• Huck’s line to Sophie, “Gee, darling, you look terrible,” is such a burn and I love it.

• Another thing I have a soft spot for is Astaire’s piano playing. It’s energetic and fun and he doesn’t do it nearly enough imo.

• Astaire sings 3 songs (I’m not counting the fashion show “song”) in Roberta but they all have that very conversational style that suits him. And in fact both “I Won’t Dance” and “Lovely to Look At” are duets framed as a conversation with Rogers. My favorite part of “I Won’t Dance” is this exchange:

Astaire: “You know what? You’re lovely.”

Rogers: “And so what? I’m lovely.”

Astaire: “But oh what you do to me.”

• I also have to mention the little callback to “The Continental” as well as the strange rhyme of “for heaven rest us, I’m not asbestos”??

• Notice how this solo routine for Astaire is not interrupted by any cuts to his face or feet like previously solos? He got his way with the camera work.

• “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” is a lovely song that I don’t necessarily want Irene Dunne to sing, not when Ginger Rogers is in the same film.

• Rogers’ acting when Huck talks rhetorically about wanting to marry Liz is fabulous. First, she has to be incensed at the mention of a “Liz” when publicly she’s still known as the Countess. Then she’s flustered that he’s just admitted he wants to marry her. And then she glares at him when he takes up the joke and describes his fiance-to-be as “simple” with “big feet.” And all of that happens in about three seconds. The way she sharply looks him up and down always makes me snicker.

• This lengthy fashion show is something else I usually skip. Was there a line of gowns that were sold as movie tie-in merchandise? I highly doubt it. But why else is this so long??

• When Astaire sings the lyrics “and heaven to kiss,” his voice drops and Rogers glances at him. Huck and Liz have most certainly been kissing off screen.

• Absolutely love how the lyrics of “Lovely to Look At” change for Astaire and Rogers. Instead of a “most impossible scheme come true, imagine finding a dream like you,” Rogers sings that he is her “most impossible dream come true, imagine finding a boy like you.” She takes his arm and on the lyrics “it’s thrilling to hold you terribly tight,” he squeezes her hand.

• Their dance, set to “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” is slow and stunning, one of the most beautiful they created. It’s full of soft looks between them. Rogers spends most of the beginning gazing at him lovingly. Not to be outdone, Astaire does the same when she’s turned away or not looking at him. He also has a small, private smile soon after they begin. It’s lovely.

• The duet is romantic and yet they don’t embrace fully until about a minute in. Instead, they hover near one another, faces angling together, small touches here and there. Holding fingertips for a particular move. His fingers briefly touch her ribs when she places his hand there for a beat. It’s a dance of deep partnership and love, not courtship. Neither needs to woo the other.

• And when they do embrace, he holds her close for a prolonged moment before moving into the next step. As he does, that private smile sneaks out again.

• The sudden dip is another example of Rogers trusting Astaire. She looks magnificent in the pose too. They both do.

• She lays her head on his shoulder, his hand resting gently on her hair, and her arm is around him. It’s a very intimate pose, made even more so by how he tilts his head towards her and his lips are very close to her brow. And there again, that smile.

• When the music becomes playful, Rogers glances over her shoulder at him and finds his eyes are already on her. Both of their faces soften.

• And ending a sumptuous dance with a backwards leap up three stairs. Super casual. They walk off the way they began, their arms linked.

• Speaking of casual, Huck and Liz get engaged in the most laid back way ever. Perfect for them.

• I have always loved Stephanie’s expression when she realizes just how dumb (but sweet) John is.

• The reprise of “I Won’t Dance” ends the film. Newly engaged but still in the same clothes they just performed a slow, romantic duet in, Astaire and Rogers perform a much more energetic dance. She makes her dress work for her superbly. The way they dance is very like “I’ll Be Hard to Handle,” which shows that this celebratory number is Huck and Liz, not the bandleader and the Countess performing for a crowd. And the choice of song is fitting since in the lyrics he said he couldn’t dance with her for fear he’d fall in love with her. But now they have danced quite intimately and they’re engaged. Might as well keeping dancing together.

• Soooo another film finished! We’re getting into some of the best ones now. Up next: Top Hat.

• Also if fanfiction is your thing, here’s a very sweet one for this film.

#fred astaire #ginger rogers #roberta #classic hollywood #old hollywood #astaire and rogers rewatch #fred and ginger #y'all have got me making gifs now for this #and by y'all i mean my own perfectionism and obsession

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kiivg · 5 years ago

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I was so obsessed with you’re art! It seemed like no one else did Dorian/Blackwall and Kruber/Saltzpyre stuff, artwork or otherwise. And then all the dedication you put into drawing and writing for No One was so amazing. Loved your stuff then, and still love it now! Happy you’re still around and kicking, King!

.Obsessed? Thank you, that’s so sweet. I can’t imagine someone else finding a passion for the things I make. I do rather like being the person who makes those tiny ships, and I can’t tell you how many people have tagged my Dorian/Blackwall things with “I should have thought of this ship years ago”. I’m reminded of my Alistair/Gaspard stuff, I made people ship that, I made people like that. Fantastic. There’s too much power in art.

.Enjoy No One on a horse, though, I’ve never actually been up close to a horse, so maybe my size ratio is bad, because I have heard too many horror stories from my father about them. I have heard too many stories of my parents being chased by large animals, and that’s… suspicious. No One, as he is now, on a horse of perhaps odd size?. (Ramblings below.)

.I mean, because you mentioned No One and my almost zealous writing of his story, I want to write a bit about Not That Kind of Man. Simply because I love it. It’s a thing that’s explorative for me, being able to delve into my own characters and figure out little things about them I wouldn’t have otherwise thought about.

.Like, an example, Andrastopher Cousland my Hero of Ferelden, and his relationship with his brother Fergus. Now Andrastopher has massive issues regarding what canonically happened at Castle Cousland, and because of this he fortified the castle, like to the point that other nobles think he’s mad for doing it, and he keeps Fergus in there when he can. Not like a prisoner or anything, but he has mercenaries patrolling the halls, he has people able to deliver him a message in mere moments if need be. All because he wants to keep Fergus safe. Hell, he even rides day and night to reach the castle in NTKoM because he thinks Fergus is danger.

.Andrastopher’s love for his brother is maddening. He won’t let anything happen to him, he knows that if Fergus is in peril, he will defend him, until he himself perishes first. But, it’s not reciprocated. Not in the same way. Fergus, I think, doesn’t realise what Andrastopher went through. They both lost family; they both count their dead together. But Andrastopher saw it, Andrastopher suffered it, and Andrastopher survived it, if only for that night.

.If I hadn’t written NTKoM, I would have just kept them friendly as brothers.

.But, I know, that Fergus does things to Andrastopher, and Andrastopher forgives him (unknowingly I think) because Fergus can do no wrong. Fergus is his brother, and Andrastopher loves him. One of the things he does it cut Andrastopher’s hair. Which seems silly, really, I mean you’d be annoyed about that if your sibling did that to you, but it’s nothing major. Except, if anyone can remember what Andrastopher looked like, he had extremely long hair; and in NTKoM it is described as “unsightly when the wet ends stick to his arse” more or less, I don’t have the exact quote. And he takes pride in his hair, and the reason why is revealed in the chapter I’m writing now.

.“[Annette, Andrastopher’s ex-wife] knew of haircare, and she had pampered [Andrastopher] in his youth, whence bathing himself was a difficult thing… It was one of the things that had kept him alive back then, something most would have laughed at, just one thing that made him feel less disfigured, less monstrous.”.

.And Fergus cuts it off because he wants Andrastopher to look more like a nobleman than the barbarian that he makes himself out to be, just so that he might impress Sophia, the woman that Fergus is currently courting. He doesn’t care for Andrastopher’s feelings over it, he just does it without thought of why his brother has kept his hair so ungodly long.

.And, again, I wouldn’t have known this without writing NTKoM.

.But, it isn’t the only thing. I know a whole bunch about my OCs that I wouldn’t otherwise have though of. Like, No One can’t swim and can’t actually walk in boots anymore, Goddard Trevelyan is afraid of pretty much every animal, Marcus Hawke has pretty much hidden an entire village with magic, Andrastopher doesn’t drink alcohol, Lei can’t remember names for shit. And there’s more, but I’m not one for revealing all my story factors before I’ve written them in.

.Anyway, if you’re still reading this, I want to explain more about NTKoM’s basics.

.On the surface it looks like 600k of sloppy Blackwall/OMC drivel that doesn’t sound appealing. I mean, strange stinky werewolf falls in love with strange stinky bear? Not the story I’d read realistically. And I know that my writing in the beginning is somewhat awful and vulgar (I was learning!) but it’s so much better now.

.And it’s so much more. Early on it’s mostly No One and Thom, and it’s written like that because No One doesn’t want anything to do with anyone else. Only, Goddard sees him, and he has his own questions, and he has an Inquisition to ask them. And what happens when a demon wolf ravages Skyhold? You request the only family in Thedas who have a heritage in hunting the things down, because they’ll be the best. So Andrastopher arrives, with new knowledge, and his eyes are sharp, and No One cannot hide from a man who has learnt how to recognise his enemies and allies in just a second. Perhaps Goddard asks one too many questions, finds out a history he didn’t know he had, finds out he fathered a child some twenty years ago. That’s Lei. Bastard born, half-elven, strong-willed and strong-jawed.

.There are a fair few storylines that run parallel to one another, actions that No One takes that affect Andrastopher’s story, Goddard’s decisions which alter Blackwall’s path. Many things just like that, throughout, and, right now, I’m at the point (almost) when everything converges back. The next chapter, I think, will be when everyone of my characters are back in Skyhold, and that is the beginning of the end. Amidst the stone walls there will be murder, triumph, revelations on a dozen tongues to a thousand ears. And everything will come together, to the final point of the story I began almost four years ago, when I thought of a repentant Chevalier named No One whilst I was in the shower.

.And, I think, honestly, it’s worth a read. I know it’s terribly long, and it’s only bound to get longer. In my notes I’ve written that there’s only three months left of this story, though I do tend to write day-by-day in NTKoM, there will be some drastic time passage for a certain reason. Granted those three months will take me a long time to write, and I won’t lie about that. But it’s just so brilliant, and it’s just fantastic.

.And. I’m certain it would be so much more popular if it was Solas or Cullen that I wrote about.

.Only, it’s not just No One/Blackwall that I write about explicitly, though they probably have the most amount of smutty scenes. I wrote about Goddard and his wife, Yetta, then Andrastopher and Zevran, No One and Caldwell, Blackwall and Raas, Goddard and Florent in the past, hell, I even mention The Iron Bull and that Orlesian dragon enthusiast that I cannot remember the name of. And background couples! The Iron Bull and Dorian become something, Quincy and Kina become a couple, and Lei has too many crushes! I am building up to something deliciously smutty, however, and I cannot wait to get to it.

.Plus, I have this big family tree I’m remaking because I’m adding more characters to it, I currently have 215 names on it, because I’m hellish. I’m two hours in and this is where I’m at.

.Ah! I just want to talk about it all day. I really wish people would read it. It’s difficult to explain the plotline to people in real life when you’ve got a dozen storylines with a dozen characters to each one, and you’ve knowledge of over half a century of this story wrapped up in your head.

.I wrote 7k words the other day, and about 4.5k of that was a smutty scene to begin the lovely chapter 60. Can you believe?.

.Thank you for the ask!.

#anonymous #answer #ntkom #no one #oc

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angrykpoprants · 7 years ago

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just a disclaimer, i do not hate bts, I’ve actually been a fan of them since the beginning and I am not saying they dont deserve anything that they achieved

I still don’t understand as to where people are getting the idea that BTS is the biggest boy band in the world? Are they looking at stats? Just assuming? or is it just their opinion? BTS is a group of very talented people, they have achieved a lot for being in a small company, and their music and look isn’t like the average kpop group. Though, all that I mentioned reminds me of another group, Bigbang, don’t say “you can’t compare because they are from YG and YG is one of the big three”. Before you say anything about how Bigbang has it easy because they are in YG, I would suggest you watch Bigbang’s 2006 documentary. Bigbang made YG, YG did not make Bigbang.

Also, if BTS is the biggest boyband in the world how come they haven’t made more in album sales that Bigbang? Bigbang made 140 million in album sales, they beat the backstreet boys and the Jackson five. Being the only Korean group to do so. Also, BTS fans like to say that the Wings tour was the best in Kpop history. I believe the estimated attendance for the Wings tour is around 600k - 700k and their first world tour, The Red Bullet brought in 80k. Where as Bigbang’s first world tour Alive had about 800k and the Made tour’s attendance was 1.5M and it was the most attended concert in the US for a Korean artist and Act III: M.O.T.T.E was the largest tour done by a Korean artist in both America and Europe, along with that it was the largest tour done by a Korean solo artist. Also BTS fans, Bigbang actually invented the light stick, just wanted to let you know that and G Dragon designed it and most of you like to call him an irrelevant druggie, that being said you wouldn’t have your precious army bomb if BigBang didn’t come up with that concept.

BTS fans really like to go off of the amount of twitter followers for some sort of weird justification thing. Okay, BTS has 10M followers on twitter but you know who else from Asia does? Vice Ganda, and I’m just going to guess that you don’t know who he is or what he does unless you are Filipino or a huge Dara fan and watched Pinoy Boyband Superstar. I hate to break it to you but the only reason why BTS looks so popular outside of Asia to you is because you are having news tailored to for you, that’s how facebook, twitter, google, and Instagram work. They also tend to go off their Billboard ranking, to me the Billboard chart doesn’t really matter, and I dont think that that is an accurate way to gauge their popularity anymore. The reason why I say that is because Billboard is constantly changing what and what not gets counted on the charts, they count youtube, spotify, and I believe itunes radio, prior they only counted album sales and domestic radio play which to me is way more accurate. Anyway, If it wasn’t for the Wonder Girls and Bigbang Billboard wouldn’t have even cared to put kpop on their charts and they wouldn’t have made a kpop specific page

I am also a bit confused as to why people are treating Love Yourself: Her as the most sold kpop album? I mentioned this before where people should take that one million and dived it by four, selling four versions of an album and just looking at one number is really going to make it seem like a lot, then you have G Dragon, where his album Kwon Jiyong also pre-sold over one million and he didn’t even overly promote the album and he had no time to perform Untitled 2014 on any music shows, and 4 out of 5 songs were banned from radio play. Also, Bigbang’s Alive album sold about 22 million copies, just thought I should throw that in. It also seems like people are forgetting that Fantastic Baby was played in Glee and Pitch Perfect, also YG ent didn’t need to brag about it in a passive aggressive way. In other words, he did not feel the need to try to prove that his group is something,

I wouldn’t feel the need to make this post if people actually gave some credit to the other artist that actually opened the door for kpop to come to America and for America to somewhat notice kpop. Look at everything that Rain has achieved, I think he’s achieved a lot more than BTS did. Rain had achieved a ton of stuff and he’s quite young too, he’s only 35. He also doesn’t like to brag about his achievements, I don’t even think JYP bragged that much about Rain. You also have to give credit or thanks to G.O.D being one of the first kpop groups to perform out side of Asia, they performed at the Korean Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in 2003. If your going by solo tours or concerts that aren’t a festival than you have to give credit to Rain, he was the first Korean artist to hold a solo tour outside of Asia, he did that in 2006. YG Family held their concert in 2006 also, Bigbang went, it was a little over a month since their debut too. After that it was Epik High and the Wonder Girls. That being said, BTS did not start the hallyu wave, they did not bring kpop to America, they did not make kpop mainstream, they didn’t make kpop a global phenomenon (though their fans and company really believe that they did…the oldest member was 11 and youngest was 6 when the first kpop concert outside of Asia happened). If anything it was more so given to them because of the hard work Rain, YG Family, and the Wonder Girls did. I’m in no way saying that BTS didn’t work hard to do what they did, I’m just implying that if it wasn’t for the said artist there might not have even been a chance for BTS to do that or non-Asian media to even look at them… even at that, I would say maybe 80-90% of their western interviews were either paid for or arranged by bighit’s team and look, Bang Shihyuk was with them the whole time they were in America…(he has the team and money to do so) he also knows JYP), not the interviewer’s team

I’ve actually been seeing this a lot, some of BTS fans feel they need that they dont need to respect the older kpop groups, some of them even bash using what BTS did or achieved in part of their argument. I’m not saying you need to become their fan or support them, just dont bash them, just acknowledge that the older groups did help out BTS and kpop a lot, they made it where it is today. There are a lot of older groups that I actually respect, G.O.D, Shinhwa, and DBSK/TVXQ to name a few. I’m not a fan of theirs and I dont really listen to their music but I dont hate them. I think that BTS is counted as a third generation kpop group. You don’t need to be a fan of Bigbang, you don’t need to listen to Bigbang but don’t treat them like they have done nothing to help your group be what they are today.

One more thing, if Kpop and Asian stuff is so “mainstream" in America how come the only thing that Asians have is the unforgettable gala?

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