#director: stephen williams

[blackinmotionpictures]

CHEVALIER (2023) dir. Stephen Williams

[rwrbmovie]

Variety: Stephen Fry on Reprising the King in ‘Red, White & Royal Blue 2’ and Why Prince William and Harry Are ‘Very Gay-Friendly’

You played King James in “Red, White & Royal Blue.” I always tell younger people that it still astonishes me that something like this could get made.

It’s wonderful — shout out to [director and co-writer] Matthew López, who’s an extraordinary talent — and indeed that I would ever play Oscar Wilde in a film. That was an extraordinary idea. My little self would say, “No, this is fantasy. Fantasy is dangerous. The hope is what kills.” But part of me wants to fly back through time and just sort of rest on the shoulder of my young unhappy self and say, “It’s going to be all right. Don’t worry.”

When you’re on a set of something like “Red, White & Royal Blue,” do you think, “I am making the most mainstream queer story. As mainstream as queer could get.”

Yeah. We have reason sometimes to doubt the sense of the younger generation in some respects. And there’s that typical old fart behavior of myself. But I’m so impressed by their willingness and openness to play those roles, those two boys [Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez]. They were terrific at it. That’s the openness that I really treasure because I can remember when Rupert Graves and James Wilby were in “Maurice.” They were brilliant in the E.M. Forster adaptation, but I can remember how the business looked down on them and said, “But they’re both straight and doing that. That must be so embarrassing for them. How could they. Oh, gosh! How would they prepare for that?”

Will you play the king again in the “Red, White & Royal Blue” sequel?

Matthew’s become a friend and he’s told me he’s doing it. I’m hoping that he hasn’t left me out. We need the king. You’ve got to have the king.

🔗 full interview

[jaimeshanice]

"Geoffrey Rush was never meant to look like Vincent Price (star of the original film House on Haunted Hill (1959)). The original screenplay described Stephen Price as a regular looking businessman. Rush didn't care for this, so he suggested that his character look like the film director John Waters. The director agreed to test this look out. After his transformation, he ended up looking so much like Vincent Price the director decided to keep the look."

House On Haunted Hill (1999) dir. William Malone

[nerds-yearbook]

Star Trek the Motion Picture premiered on December 8, 1979. Paramount had planned to launch a new television network and was going to relaunch Star Trek as Star Trek Phase II as the part of its initial programming. When the network fell apart, Paramount decided to rework Phase II into a movie. The motion picture introduced new Star Trek and Klingon themes by Jerry Goldsmith as well as a new look for the Klingons. New uniforms were introduced in this film, but they were hated and discarded for following films. Until the movie franchise was rebooted in 2009, this film had the longest run time of all the Star Trek films. Until Superman (1980) was released, it was the most expensive film made. It was the only Star Trek film in the franchise to be rated G. The film brought back the crew from the TV series James T Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (a reluctant Leonard Nimoy), Dr McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Scotty (James Doohan), Sulu (George Takei), Dr Chapel (Majel Barrett), Chekov (Walter Koenig), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney). The movie introduced the new characters Decker (Stephen Collins) and Ilia (Persis Khambatta). Paramount and Director Robert Wise were annoyed by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's constant script rewrites and story demands. The film was mostly savaged by critics and the public, but financially successful. Paramount was onboard for a sequel as long as Roddenberry was involved in name only. The events of the film took place during 2273. ("Star Trek the Motion Picture", Movie, Event)

[leonardcohenofficial]

as is tradition here are my top nine new-to-me watches of the year—in no particular order (l-r, top row to bottom row):

the african desperate (martine syms, 2022) not a pretty picture (martha coolidge, 1975) anatomy of a fall (justine triet, 2023) the girls (mai zetterling, 1968) network (sidney lumet, 1976) the year of the cannibals (liliana cavani, 1970) all the beauty and the bloodshed (laura poitras, 2022) straight on till morning (peter collinson, 1972) microhabitat (jeon go-woon, 2017)

i hit 150 total films and my continual goal of half of the films by women and nonbinary filmmakers, and still definitely need to keep up with deliberately seeking out films by directors of color! feel free to tell me your faves if you’ve seen any of these 🖤👀🎬🍿🎥

i'll tag @privatejoker / @wanlittlehusk / @majorbaby / @edwardalbee / @draftdodgerag / @lesbiancolumbo / @frmulcahy / @nelson-riddle-me-this / @firewalkwithmedvd and anyone else who'd like to share their top watches of the year!

full list of films for the year is included below, favorites are bolded in red:

Farewell Amor (Ekwa Msangi, 2020)

Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare (Liza Williams, 2023)

Blacks Britannica (David Koff, 1978)

New Year, New You (Sophia Takal, 2023)

Family Band: The Cowsills Story (Louise Palanker and Bill Filipiak, 2011)

The Color Purple (Blitz Bazawule, 2023)

The Apology (Alison Star Locke, 2022)

Close (Lukas Dhont, 2022)

Unintended (Anja Murmann, 2018)

Other People’s Children (Liz Hinlein, 2015)

Omega Rising Women of Rastafari (D. Elmina Davis, 1988)

The Gypsy Moths (John Frankenheimer, 1969)

Be My Cat: A Film for Anne (Adrian Țofei, 2015)

Insomnia (Christopher Nolan, 2002)

Chowchilla (Paul Solet, 2023)

Intimate Relations (Philip Goodhew, 1996)

Monument (Jagoda Szelc, 2018)

After Sherman (Jon Sesrie Goff, 2022)

Remnants of the Watts Festival (Ulysses Jenkins, 1980)

Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (Joseph Sargent, 1974)

Down Low (Rightor Doyle, 2023)

Our Father, the Devil (Ellie Foumbi, 2021)

The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer, 2023)

Youngblood (Noel Nosseck, 1978)

Joy Division - Under Review (Christian Davies, 2006)

Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story (Steve Sullivan, 2018)

Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise (Robert Mugge, 1980)

Fanny: The Right To Rock (Bobbi Jo Hart, 2021)

Depeche Mode: The Dark Progression (Alec Lindsell, 2009)

Kraftwerk And The Electronic Revolution (Thomas Arnold, 2008)

Blank City (Celine Danhier, 2010)

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (Ric Burns, 2019)

Monster (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2023)

Black Is Beltza (Fermín Muguruza, 2018)

Werewolf (Ashley McKenzie, 2016)

The Humans (Stephen Karam, 2021)

Relative (Tracey Arcabasso Smith, 2022)

The Believer (Henry Bean, 2001)

Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill (Brian Lindstrom and Andy Brown, 2022) 

Animals (Collin Schiffli, 2014)

Scott Walker: 30 Century Man (Stephen Kijak, 2006)

Novitiate (Maggie Betts, 2017)

Hunger (Henning Carlsen, 1966)

Late Night With The Devil (Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes, 2023)

The Stunt Man (Richard Rush, 1980)

New York Doll (Greg Whiteley, 2005)

The Iron Claw (Sean Durkin, 2023)

Your Fat Friend (Jeanie Finlay, 2023)

Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968 (Bestor Cram and Judy Richardson, 2008)

Targets (Peter Bogdanovich, 1968)

Uptight (Jules Dassin, 1968)

Messiah of Evil (Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck, 1973)

Plastic Paradise (Brett O’Bourke, 2013)

You Hurt My Feelings (Nicole Holofcener, 2023)

Pretty Poison (Noel Black, 1968)

The Shout (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1978)

Shakedown (Leilah Weinraub, 2018)

Class of 1984 (Mark L. Lester, 1982)

Betty: They Say I’m Different (Philip Cox, 2017)

Beautiful Boy (Felix van Groeningen, 2018)

Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet, 2023)

Gimme Shelter (Albert Maysles, David Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin, 1970)

The Beach Boys (Frank Marshall and Thom Zimny, 2024)

High and Low (Kevin Macdonald, 2023)

Brats (Andrew McCarthy, 2024)

I Saw The TV Glow (Jane Schoenbrun, 2023)

The Talented Mr. Ripley (Anthony Minghella, 1999)

Altered States (Ken Russell, 1980)

This Closeness (Kit Zauhar, 2023)

How To Have Sex (Molly Manning Walker, 2023)

American Commune (Rena Mundo Croshere and Nadine Mundo, 2013)

Look In Any Window (William Alland, 1961)

Private Property (Leslie Stevens, 1960)

We’re Still Here: Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited (Antonino D’Ambrosio, 2015)

The Wobblies (Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer, 1979)

Last Summer Won’t Happen (Tom Hurwitz and Peter Gessner, 1968)

Goodbye Gemini (Alan Gibson, 1970)

Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story (Posy Dixon, 2019)

The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri, 2021)

The Passenger (Carter Smith, 2023)

The Boys Who Said No (Judith Ehrlich, 2020)

Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)

Karen Carpenter: Starving for Perfection (Randy Martin, 2023)

...And Justice For All (Norm Jewison, 1978)

I Used To Be Funny (Ally Pankiw, 2023)

Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973)

Straight On Till Morning (Peter Collinson, 1972)

The Same Difference: Gender Roles in the Black Lesbian Community (Nneka Onuorah, 2015)

Thanksgiving (Eli Roth, 2023)

Sorry/Not Sorry (Caroline Suh and Cara Mones, 2023)

Am I OK? (Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne, 2022)

Joan Baez: I Am a Noise (Maeve O’Boyle, Miri Navasky, and Karen O’Connor, 2023)

No Direction Home (Martin Scorsese, 2005)

Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese, 2010)

Water Lilies (Céline Sciamma, 2007)

The Strings (Ryan Glover, 2020)

The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996)

Woman of the Hour (Anna Kendrick, 2024)

The Platform (Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, 2019)

Tabloid (Errol Mark Morris, 2010)

Will & Harper (Josh Greenbaum, 2024)

Miller’s Girl (Jade Halley Bartlett, 2024)

Give Me Pity! (Amanda Kramer, 2022)

Landlocked (Paul Owens, 2021)

Perfect Love (Catherine Breillat, 1996)

Not a Pretty Picture (Martha Coolidge, 1975)

Seeking Mavis Beacon (Jazmin Jones, 2024)

Renfield (Chris McKay, 2023)

Compulsion (Richard Fleischer, 1959)

An Angel At My Table (Jane Campion, 1990)

Longlegs (Oz Perkins, 2024)

Rare Beasts (Billie Piper, 2019)

Nightman (Mélanie Delloye-Betancourt, 2023)

The Changin’ Times of Ike White (Daniel Vernon, 2020)

The Substance (Coralie Fargeat, 2024)

The Year of the Cannibals (Liliana Cavani, 1970)

Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara (Erin Lee Carr, 2024)

The Loneliest Planet (Julia Loktev, 2011)

Marjoe (Howard Smith and Sarah Kernochan, 1972)

Witches (Elizabeth Sankey, 2024)

Angela (Rebecca Miller, 1995)

The Morning After (Richard T. Heffron, 1974)

Beach Rats (Eliza Hittman, 2017)

Last Summer (Catherine Breillat, 2023)

The Fits (Anna Rose Holmer, 2015)

Hold Your Breath (Karrie Crouse and Will Joines, 2024)

What Comes Around (Amy Redford, 2022)

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (Kurt Kuenne, 2008)

Priscilla (Sofia Coppola, 2023)

The Girls (Mai Zetterling, 1968)

Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989)

Victim/Suspect (Nancy Schwartzman, 2023)

The African Desperate (Martine Syms, 2022)

Les Nôtres (Jeanne Leblanc, 2020)

A Sacrifice (Jordan Scott, 2024)

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras, 2022)

My Name is Not Ali (Viola Shafik, 2011)

Committed (Sheila McLaughlin and Lynne Tillman, 1984)

Chained (Jennifer Lynch, 2012)

The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived (Heiny Srour, 1974)

All Power To The People! (Lee Lew-Lee, 1997)

Night Moves (Kelly Reichardt, 2013)

Destroyer (Karyn Kusama, 2018)

Late Night (Nisha Ganatra, 2023)

The Year Between (Alex Heller, 2022)

Loved (Erin Dignam, 1997)

Girl In The Picture (Skye Borgman, 2022)

Microhabitat (Jeon Go-Woon, 2017)

Dear Ex (Mag Hsu and Chih-yen Hsu, 2018)

[glennk56]

William Hootkins in the 2000s

In 2001 William Hootkins worked with Director Peter Chelsom for the third time in the comedy Town & Country starring Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton.

He also appeared in vampire movie The Breed in 2001.

In January 2002, he appeared in TV Movie The Magnificent Ambersons.

These photos are from the Screening of The Magnificent Ambersons. Notice the difference in height between William Hootkins and James Cromwell. Hootkins was a foot shorter. 5'7" vs 6'7".

In 2004 Hootkins was in Blessed, a supernatural Horror Thriller starring Heather Graham. Filmed in Romania, November 2003.

William Hootkins was in an episode of The West Wing as a translator. Hootkins learned Mandarin at Princeton University and that is what most likely got him this job but he was never shown speaking Mandarin or even got a close-up. This episode was shown in December 2004, one month before he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I don't know when it was filmed but he must've been dealing with symptoms (pain, jaundice, worsening diabetes) at the time.

William Hootkins made 3 appearances on film in 2005. He was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in January and passed away in October. There was the comedy film Dear Wendy that was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2005 but it was filmed in late 2003. There was an episode of Absolute Power starring Stephen Fry that aired in August 2005. I don't have photos of these two. The last credit is from Colour Me Kubrick (photos above) which was shown in France at the Dinard Festival of British Cinema in October 2005, however this was filmed in early 2004. So his last appearance on film was either on the TV shows The West Wing or Absolute Power.

In 2003, William Hootkins played Alfred Hitchcock in Hitchcock Blonde in the London Theatre to great acclaim. Hootkins worked hard for this role learning Hitchcock's mannerisms and accent. There were plans to bring the production to Broadway in 2005 where he would've been eligible to win a Tony Award. This never happened once he was diagnosed with Cancer.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Published: Jul 13, 2023

As experienced professionals involved in direct care for the rapidly growing numbers of gender-diverse youth, the evaluation of medical evidence or both, we were surprised by the Endocrine Society’s claims about the state of evidence for gender-affirming care for youth (Letters, July 5). Stephen Hammes, president of the Endocrine Society, writes, “More than 2,000 studies published since 1975 form a clear picture: Gender-affirming care improves the well-being of transgender and gender-diverse people and reduces the risk of suicide.” This claim is not supported by the best available evidence.

Every systematic review of evidence to date, including one published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, has found the evidence for mental-health benefits of hormonal interventions for minors to be of low or very low certainty. By contrast, the risks are significant and include sterility, lifelong dependence on medication and the anguish of regret. For this reason, more and more European countries and international professional organizations now recommend psychotherapy rather than hormones and surgeries as the first line of treatment for gender-dysphoric youth.

Dr. Hammes’s claim that gender transition reduces suicides is contradicted by every systematic review, including the review published by the Endocrine Society, which states, “We could not draw any conclusions about death by suicide.” There is no reliable evidence to suggest that hormonal transition is an effective suicide-prevention measure.

The politicization of transgender healthcare in the U.S. is unfortunate. The way to combat it is for medical societies to align their recommendations with the best available evidence—rather than exaggerating the benefits and minimizing the risks.

This letter is signed by 21 clinicians and researchers from nine countries.

FINLAND Prof. Riittakerttu Kaltiala, M.D., Ph.D. Tampere University Laura Takala, M.D., Ph.D. Chief Psychiatrist, Alkupsykiatria Clinic

UNITED KINGDOM Prof. Richard Byng, M.B.B.Ch., Ph.D. University of Plymouth Anna Hutchinson, D.Clin.Psych. Clinical psychologist, The Integrated Psychology Clinic Anastassis Spiliadis, Ph.D.(c) Director, ICF Consultations

SWEDEN Angela Sämfjord, M.D. Senior consultant, Sahlgrenska University Hospital Sven Román, M.D. Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

NORWAY Anne Wæhre, M.D., Ph.D. Senior consultant, Oslo University Hospital

BELGIUM Em. Prof. Patrik Vankrunkelsven, M.D. Ph.D. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Honorary senator Sophie Dechêne, M.R.C.Psych. Child and adolescent psychiatrist Beryl Koener, M.D., Ph.D. Child and adolescent psychiatrist

FRANCE Prof. Celine Masson, Ph.D. Picardy Jules Verne University Psychologist, Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants Co-director, Observatory La Petite Sirène Caroline Eliacheff, M.D. Child and adolescent psychiatrist Co-director, Observatory La Petite Sirène Em. Prof. Maurice Berger, M.D. Ph.D. Child psychiatrist

SWITZERLAND Daniel Halpérin, M.D. Pediatrician

SOUTH AFRICA Prof. Reitze Rodseth, Ph.D. University of Kwazulu-Natal Janet Giddy, M.B.Ch.B., M.P.H. Family physician and public-health expert Allan Donkin, M.B.Ch.B. Family physician

UNITED STATES Clin. Prof. Stephen B. Levine, M.D. Case Western Reserve University Clin. Prof. William Malone, M.D. Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine Director, Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine Prof. Patrick K. Hunter, M.D. Florida State University Pediatrician and bioethicist

Transgenderism has been highly politicized—on both sides. There are those who will justify any hormonal-replacement intervention for any young person who may have been identified as possibly having gender dysphoria. This is dangerous, as probably only a minority of those so identified truly qualify for this diagnosis. On the other hand, there are those who wouldn’t accept any hormonal intervention, regardless of the specifics of the individual patients.

Endocrinologists aren’t psychiatrists. We aren’t the ones who can identify gender-dysphoric individuals. The point isn’t to open the floodgates and offer an often-irreversible treatment to all people who may have issues with their sexuality, but to determine who would truly benefit from it.

Jesus L. Penabad, M.D. Tarpon Springs, Fla.

[ Via: https://archive.today/IRShy ]

==

The gender lobotomists just got called out.

[brokehorrorfan]

Alfred Hitchcock: The Iconic Film Collection will be released on November 26 via Universal. The 4K Ultra HD + Digital set collects six of the Master of Suspense's classic thrillers: Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, Vertigo, North By Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds.

Limited to 5,150, the six-disc collection is housed in premium book-style packaging featuring artwork by Tristan Eaton along with photos, bios, and trivia.

The uncut version of Psycho is included. Special features are detailed below.

1954's Rear Window is written by John Michael Hayes (To Catch a Thief), based on Cornell Woolrich’s 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder." James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, and Raymond Burr star.

Rear Window special features:

Audio commentary by Hitchcock’s Rear Window: The Well-Made Film author John Fawell

Rear Window Ethics - 2000 documentary

Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes

Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of The Master

Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock

Masters of Cinema

Hitchcock/Truffaut - Audio recording from filmmaker François Truffaut’s in-depth interview with director Alfred Hitchcock about Rear Window

Production photo gallery

Theatrical trailer

Re-release trailer narrated by James Stewart

A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

1955's To Catch a Thief is written by John Michael Hayes (Rear Window), based on David Dodge’s 1952 novel of the same name. Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis, and John Williams star.

To Catch a Thief special features:

Audio commentary by Hitchcock historian Dr. Drew Casper

Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on To Catch a Thief

Behind the Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly

A retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.

1958's Vertigo is written by Alec Coppel (No Highway in the Sky) and Samuel A. Taylor (Sabrina), based on Boileau-Narcejac’s 1954 novel The Living and the Dead. James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, and Henry Jones star.

Vertigo special features:

Audio commentary by filmmaker William Friedkin (The Exorcist)

Obsessed with Vertigo: New Life for Hitchcock’s Masterpiece

Partners In Crime: Hitchcock’s Collaborators

Saul Bass: Title Champ

Edith Head: Dressing the Master’s Movies

Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock’s Maestro

Alma: The Master’s Muse

Foreign censorship ending

100 Years of Universal: The Lew Wasserman Era

Hitchcock/Truffaut - Audio recording from filmmaker François Truffaut’s in-depth interview with director Alfred Hitchcock about Vertigo

Theatrical trailer

Restoration theatrical trailer

A former police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with a hauntingly beautiful woman.

1959's North by Northwest is written by Ernest Lehman (The Sound of Music, West Side Story). Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, and Jessie Royce Landis star.

North by Northwest special features:

Audio commentary by writer Ernest Lehman

North by Northwest: Cinematography, Score, and the Art of the Edit

Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest

The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style

North by Northwest: One for the Ages

A Guided Tour with Alfred Hitchcock

A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.

1960's Psycho is written by Joseph Stefano (The Outer Limits), based on Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel of the same name. Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire, and Janet Leigh star.

Psycho special features:

Original uncut and standard re-releases version of the film

The Making of Psycho

The Making of Psycho audio commentary with Alfred Hitchcock and The Making of Psycho author Stephen Rebello

Psycho Sound

In The Master’s Shadow: Hitchcock’s Legacy

Newsreel Footage: The Release of Psycho

The Shower Scene: With and Without Music

The Shower Sequence: Storyboards by Saul Bass

The Psycho Archives

Hitchcock/Truffaut - Audio recording from filmmaker François Truffaut’s in-depth interview with director Alfred Hitchcock about Psycho

Posters and ad gallery

Lobby card gallery

Behind-the-scenes photo gallery

Production photo gallery

Psycho theatrical trailers

Psycho re-release trailer

A secretary on the run for embezzlement takes refuge at a secluded motel owned by a repressed man and his overbearing mother.

1963's The Birds is written by Evan Hunter (High and Low), based on Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 short story of the same name. Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, and Veronica Cartwright star.

The Birds special features:

The Birds: Hitchcock’s Monster Movie

All About The Birds

Original ending

Deleted scene

Tippi Hedren’s screen test

The Birds is coming (Universal International Newsreel)

Suspense Story: National Press Club hears Hitchcock (Universal International Newsreel)

100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics

100 Years of Universal: The Lot

Hitchcock/Truffaut - Audio recording from filmmaker François Truffaut’s in-depth interview with director Alfred Hitchcock about Vertigo

Theatrical trailer

A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.

Pre-order Alfred Hitchcock: The Iconic Film Collection.

[paigegonerogue]

TLOU s2: Behind the Camera

One of the most anticipated shows of 2025, The Last of Us (my favorite show of all time), is likely getting an official teaser trailer this month for the absolutely stacked season 2! If you’ve been keeping up with the news around it, you’ll know the incredible new actors added like Kaitlyn Dever, Isabella Merced, Jeffrey Wright, Katherine O’Hara, and Young Mazino, but they’re not the only rockstars stepping onto the set.

(Super long post)

Directors:

Aside from the amazing returning directors, TLOU has added four prestige legends to the lineup. Thank you for your service, Ali Abassi, if you’re past work directing stories about blonde sex-offenders is any indication, your Trump biopic will be fantastic.

The four directors added to the lineup are Stephen Williams, Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, and the legend himself, Mark Mylod.

Stephen Williams, the director who’s known for constantly directing episodes with an 8.7 score on IMDB (that’s not what he’s actually known for). He’s directed episodes of Westworld (one in s1 and one in s2, both with an 8.7 score) and Lost (in which he has two more 8.7s, and I believe over 10 other episodes in the range of .2 points of 8.7), so he’s pretty good with time-skips and flashbacks. He’s also worked on Persons of Interest in which he directed another, you guessed it, 8.7 episode, as well as two more win the .2 range of it. Recently he’s broken out of the “almost nine” range with HBO’s Watchmen, in which he directed episodes 3 and 6. (He’s directed 9s before, but this was the first time where they weren’t surrounded by 8.7s). His work with time shenanigans, and the fact that TLOU is rated 8.7 on IMDB, make this a fantastic match.

Kate Herron is next up, known best for her work on Loki. She directed the entirety of season 1, which includes my favorite episode of the show ‘The Variant’, in which Loki and Mobius go to the location of a disaster in the near future to find a sinister variant. It’s practically a demo real for TLOU, since a lot of it takes place in a supermarket filled with people waiting out a disaster that none of them survive, showing she’s got the skill to pull of apocalyptic. She also delivered us the absolute gold of the salad scene. Other than that, she directed multiple episodes of Sex Education back when it was still beloved and acclaimed.

Third we have Nina Lopez-Corrado. While she hasn’t directed shows quite as high-caliber as some of the other directors, she’s proven she’s good at found family through her work on Agents of Shield, in which she delivered one of the highest rated, and roughest episodes of the show ‘Devil Complex’, in which our favorite characters get put through absolute hell (so she’ll be perfect for TLOU s2!). She’s also shown that she can get Tumblr obsessed with queer ships with her work on Supernatural…

Last and certainly not least is the most well known and acclaimed of the new directors, Mark Mylod. I believe he will be directing the most episodes of this list, but I’m not entirely certain. Mylod is probably best known for his amazing work on Succession, which he won an Emmy for. He’s directed all of my favorite episodes except Panic Room and America Decides. While he’s worked on other projects like Game of Thrones, Entourage, and The Menu, it’s his directing for Succession that gets me most excited for his work on TLOU. He’s proven he can elevate emotional scenes, and his directing is consistently incredible across all spectrums of human feeling. His thematic work with grief, trauma, and the cycle of violence will very much carry over into TLOU, and I can’t wait to see the absolute emotional brutality and heartbreak of his direction paired with Bella’s acting. Actually I can wait because holy shit I’m not going to make it… He directed Kendall’s traumatizing car crash in the s1 finale, Shiv’s self-destructive decisions in Ternhaven, Kendall’s breakdown in s3 when he admits to Roman and Shiv what he did, Roman’s grief and self-harming behaviors at the funeral, the bittersweet bonding in the finale of the show, and obviously Connor’s Wedding. If you’ve seen Succession or know the plot of TLOU part 2 you’ll know exactly how that might carry over…

You thought this was the end? Hell no! Directors aren’t the only ones behind the camera!

Writers:

Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann wrote season one. Their brilliant writing elevated the show and led to some truly unforgettable moments, and this season they’ve brought in some more incredible writers to help!

Halley Gross co-wrote The Last of Us part 2 alongside Neil Druckmann. No one was particularly surprised by this news, but it’s still great nonetheless. It’s clear how much Mazin respects the source material, and I love how TLOU brings in the people who wrote the games to help adapt it for television. She also wrote episodes for Westworld s1.

The other writer is more unexpected. Bo Shim joined the writers room of TLOU s2, but we don’t know much about him. He currently has no official writing credits, which either means it’s a pseudonym (which I doubt), or, more likely, they found a young, talented writer who hasn’t made it big yet and decided to give him his big break and use his skills for TLOU. If you’re looking, Craig, I know a film student who’d love to join the writing room for TLOU…. She’ll do it for free… she’ll pay you… please??

Cinematographers:

Cinematographers work with directors to create the look of the show, the shots, the lighting, etc.

Ksenia Sereda, who did the cinematography for TLOU episodes 1, 2, and 7 will be returning along newcomer Catherine Goldschmidt who worked on the always-gorgeous House of the Dragon.

Some of her amazing HotD shots:

Finally, Emily Mendez and Timothy A. Good are returning as editors. Set designers Austin Chuqiao Wang, Kyle White, and Shannon McArthur are returning as well.

There are wild amounts of other crew members who work on everything from lighting to costumes to vfx to storyboards. If I mentioned all of them this post would be as long as the credits, but every single one of them is important to the show and helps make it as incredible as it is!

I can’t wait for season 2!

[citizenscreen]

Miriam Hopkins, William Collier Jr., and director Stephen Roberts during filming of THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE (1933).

[kstarlitchaotics]

🚨 Superman (2025)

Release: July 11, 2025

★ Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Isabela Merced, Frank Grillo, Nathan Fillion, Milly Alcock, Sean Gunn, Skyler Gisondo, Anthony Carrigan, Wendell Pierce, Will Reeve, Edi Gathegi, Sara Sampaio, Maria De Faria.

★ Director: James Gunn

[The Suicide Squad, GOTG Trilogy]

★ Written By: James Gunn

★ Music: John Murphy

[GOTG3, The Suicide Squad, Kick-Ass, 28 Weeks Later, Sunshine, 28 Days Later]

★ Cinematographer: Henry Braham

[GOTG3, The Suicide Squad, GOTG2, The Golden Compass, The Legend of Tarzan]

★ Editor: William Hoy

[The Batman, War for the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Sucker Punch, Watchmen, 300, I-Robot]

★ Costume Design: Judiana Makovsky

[GOTG Vol 2 & 3, The Grey Man, The Suicide Squad, Avengers: Endgame & Infinity War, Captain America: Civil War & The Winter Soldier, The Hunger Games]

★ Visual Effects Supervisor: Stephene Ceretti

[GOTG Vol 1 & 3, Eternals, Avengers: Endgame, Doctor Strange, Thor: The Dark World, CA: The First Avenger, X-Men: First Class, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, HP and the Goblet of Fire, Batman Begins, The Matrix: Reloaded & Revolutions]

[byneddiedingo]

Michelle Rodriguez in Girlfight (Karyn Kusama, 2000)

Cast: Michelle Rodriguez, Jamie Tirelli, Paul Calderon, Douglas Santiago, Ray Santiago, Victor Sierra, Elisa Bocanegra, Shannon Walker Williams. Screenplay: Karyn Kusama.  Cinematography: Patrick Cady. Production design: Stephen Beatrice. Film editing: Plummy Tucker. Music: Gene McDaniels, Theodore Shapiro. 

An attractive cast and intelligent camerawork and editing help make Girlfight watchable even for someone who dislikes boxing and finds sport movies boringly predictable. And yes, Girlfight is predictable. The protagonist is Diana Guzman (Michelle Rodriguez), who lives in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood with her father, Sandro (Paul Calderon), and brother, Tiny (Ray Santiago). Sandro is a macho bully whom Diana suspects of abusing her mother, who committed suicide. He takes little interest in her, putting his hopes on Tiny, whom he forces to train as a boxer, even though Tiny really wants to be an artist. After getting in trouble for fighting at school, Diana thinks that she might want to try to learn to box, too, so she persuades her brother's coach, Hector (Jamie Tirelli), to coach her. When she turns out to be good at it, Hector sets her up with a sparring partner, a guy named Adrian (Douglas Santiago), who wants to be a professional boxer. And of course Diana and Adrian fall in love, which presents a problem when through a series of plot contrivances they find themselves fighting each other in an important amateur competition. With the help of solid performances, writer-director Karyn Kusama makes all of this more interesting than it sounds in summary. That she named a character Adrian and has someone comment that it's usually a girl's name shows that she knows her sports movies and doesn't mind the comparisons. 

[spookyserenades]

Do you recommend some piece of spooky, edging literature in this club? I am really looking forward

Hiii hehe! If you're looking for some good creepy literature, I usually recommend the classics:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Perfume by Patrick Suskind

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Dracula by Bram Stroker

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

As well as anything written by Edgar Allan Poe!

I goddamn hate Stephen King so I won't recommend him. I don't read much modern horror fiction, but Stephen King is a thumbs down for me LMAO... The Shining (the movie) however I ADORE but that's because director Stanley Kubrick made it fifty million times better and I love knowing that that pisses Stephen King off fjdksafdsklf

I actually get my spooky fixes through cinema. You all will probably be sick to the back teeth hearing about David Lynch from me, but he inspires like 70% of what I do creatively. Besides his whole filmography, there are an endless amount of movies and TV series that I can recommend if anyone is interested :) I am watching The Grudge as I type this too HA

[asgoodeasgold]

💥New Role💥

Matthew Goode is credited in IMDB as having a role in monster horror film Abigail, due for release in April this year. I assume Matthew filmed this in May while in Ireland shooting Freud’s Last Session. His exact role is not specified in IMDB credits but it is likely to be small.

Plot: After a group of criminals kidnap the ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they're locked inside with no normal little girl.

The film is based on a reimagining of the 1936 Universal Classic Monsters film Dracula's Daughter.

Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Writers: Stephen Shields and Guy Busick

Other cast members: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, William Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, Alisha Weir, and Giancarlo Esposito.

World premiere: Overlook Film Festival on 7 April.

World theatrical release: 19 April (Universal Pictures)

📷 Film poster and still: Universal Pictures, photograph of MG-Getty.

Read more here:

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Judd Legum at Popular Information:

Project 2025 is a radical blueprint for a potential second Trump administration, spearheaded by the right-wing Heritage Foundation. The plan calls for withdrawing approval for the abortion pill, banning pornography, slashing corporate taxes, abolishing the Department of Education, replacing thousands of experienced federal workers with political appointees, imposing a "biblically based… definition of marriage and families," and placing the Justice Department and other independent agencies under the direct control of the president.  These and other provisions of Project 2025 are quite unpopular. As Project 2025 has gained notoriety — thanks to actor Taraji P. Henson and others — Trump has sought to distance himself from the effort. On July 5, Trump posted on Truth Social that he knows "nothing about Project 2025," has "no idea who is behind it," and has "nothing to do with them." 

This is false.  The co-editors of Project 2025, Paul Dans and Steven Groves, both held high-ranking positions in the Trump administration. Under Trump, Dans served as Chief of Staff at the Office of Personnel Management, the agency responsible for staffing the federal government, and was a senior advisor at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Groves served Trump in the White House as Deputy Press Secretary and Assistant Special Counsel.  Project 2025's two associate directors, Spencer Chretien and Troup Hemenway, are also tightly connected with Trump. Chretien was Special Assistant to President Donald J. Trump and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel, "helping to identify, recruit, and place hundreds of political appointees at all levels of government." Previously, Trump appointed Chretien to a position at HUD. Hemenway also served as an Associate Director of Presidential Personnel and previously worked on Trump's 2016 campaign and Trump's 2016 transition team.  

Project 2025's 922-page policy agenda has 30 chapters and 34 authors. Twenty-five of Project 2025's authors served as members of the Trump administration. Another Project 2025 author, Stephen Moore, was nominated by Trump to the Federal Reserve but forced to withdraw "over his past inflammatory writings about women." Further, William Walton, the co-author of the chapter on the Department of the Treasury, was a key member of Trump's transition team.  All told, of the 38 people responsible for writing and editing Project 2025, 31 were appointed or nominated to positions in the Trump administration and transition. In other words, while Trump claims he has "nothing to do" with the people who created Project 2025, over 81% had formal roles in his first administration. 

Here is the complete list of the 31 authors and editors of Project 2025 that have formal connections to the Trump administration. 

In addition to a detailed policy agenda, Project 2025 also involves the training and recruitment of political appointees for a potential second Trump administration. One key component of this effort is the "Presidential Administration Academy," which Heritage bills as "a one-of-a-kind educational and skill-building program designed to prepare and equip future political appointees now to be ready on Day One of the next conservative Administration."  Among the program instructors is Karoline Leavitt, the national press secretary for the 2024 Trump campaign and an assistant press secretary during the Trump administration. Leavitt co-teaches a video course on "The Art of Professionalism." She also appears in a promotional video for the academy. 

Also appearing in the video is top Trump advisor Stephen Miller. Despite his role in the academy, Miller claims he has "never been involved with Project 2025." Miller's organization, America First Legal, is a member of the Project 2025 advisory board. 

Popular Information exposes Donald Trump's deranged lie that he has "nothing to do with them", as 31 of the 38 authors of Project 2025 were in the Trump Administration in some capacity, including Paul Dans, Peter Navarro, Stephen Moore, Ken Cuccinelli, and Russ Vought.

See Also:

Right Wing Watch: Trump Team Lies About Project 2025 Reveal its Potential to Cost Him the Election

MMFA: Donald Trump on Heritage’s Kevin Roberts, who oversees Project 2025: “He’s going to be so incredible”

[thewarmestplacetohide]

Dread by the Decade: Cry of the Werewolf

👻 You can support me on Ko-fi! ❤️

★

Plot: A Romani woman shapeshifts into a wolf to kill anyone who might discover her people's secrets.

Review: Convoluted and born from harmful stereotypes about Romani people, this film has nothing to add to the werewolf genre.

Year: 1944 Genre: Werewolves Country: United States Language: English Runtime: 1 hour 3 minutes

Director: Henry Levin Writers: Griffin Jay, Charles O'Neal Cinematographer: L. William O'Connell Editor: Reg Browne Cast: Stephen Crane, Osa Massen, Nina Foch, Barton MacLane, Fritz Leiber

-----

Story: 1/5 - Dry, racist, and nonsensical. Characters' motives are inscrutable at points, and the werewolf lore is dull.

Performances: 1.5/5 - A mix of generic to outright bad. Crane delivers his lines with all the humanity and charm of a cardboard cutout.

Cinematography: 2/5 - Uninspired.

Editing: 2/5 - Inept cuts are used to poorly portray attacks.

Music: 2/5

Choreography & Stunts: 1.5/5 - The "fight" scene with the "werewolf" is just awkward.

Sets: 2/5 - Bland. Some look artificial.

Costumes, Hair, & Make-Up: 2.5/5 - Nothing memorable.

Trigger Warnings:

Mild violence

Racist portrayal of Romani people as evil, magical devil worshipers

Brownface (performance only; not make-up)

Inaccurate and racist description of the Vodou religion